Top US Senate Republicans have asked the White House to withdraw Andrew Puzder's nomination for labor secretary because there are not enough votes to confirm him, CNN reported on Wednesday.
It said a senior Republican source told the network there are four Republican senators who would definitely vote against Puzder's confirmation. The Republicans control 52 of the chamber's 100 seats.
#1
Continued effort by the left and their MSM propaganda machine to de-legitimize a major segment of the U.S. and their candidate who defeated them in the election.
In other words, the framing of the election outcome MUST be blamed on election interference by Martians Russians and not via a legitimate act of Democracy.
h/t Instapundit
President Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop settlement construction for "a little bit" and declared he's fine with a two-state solution or one-state solution during the leaders' first meeting at the White House today. So, it's the same old song again
#1
This meeting was a bit different. BB was in rare form and very upbeat. I have never seen him this happy. This is a new opportunity for US Israel relations. BB can see it as well.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
02/15/2017 16:12
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#2
So, it's the same old song again
I dunno. That's the cherry-picked headline, but I read that as Trump just squirting a little lube into the 'negotiations'.
From the article: The Palestinians, the president said, "have to get rid of some of that hate that they are taught from a very young age."
"They're taught tremendous hate. I've seen what they're taught. And you can talk about flexibility there too, but it starts at a very young age and it starts in the schoolroom. And they have to acknowledge, as you know, they're going to have to do that," Trump said.
Maybe I'm just giddy, but has an American president *ever* acknowledged this? Also, Netanyahu mentions "Arab partners". The Arab world has some bigger fish to fry at the moment. Sure, it's fun using the Paleos as tools to torment the Juice, but the Iranians are the real concern.
[ARA News] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the allied Jaish al-Thuwar group denied media reports that they handed over Tal Rifaat town and neighbouring villages in northern Aleppo to the Syrian government.
"YPG hands over Tal Rifaat and neighboring villages to the regime. YPG took the villages from rebels in February 2016," Abdurahman Harkoush, a former spokesperson for the Army of Islam group, said on 10 February.
Also, the pro-Syrian government Al Masdar News reported that six towns in northern Aleppo decided to reconcile with the government after mediation by the Russian army.
The pro-Turkish government news agency Anadolu claimed on Sunday that the Kurds and the Syrian government discussed the possibility to work against the The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... -backed Euphrates Shield operation in al-Bab city, and that during a Russian sponsored meeting in Latakia, it was decided to host the Syrian government flags over the six towns to stop ’advances of Operation Euphrates Shield Forces’.
"I am present now in Tel Rifaat, and I want to reassure everyone that the towns of Tel Rifaat, Sheikh Eisa, Ein Duqna, Mennag and the Menage airport are completely under SDF control," Abu Araj, an SDF officer, told ARA News.
"There is no flag raised in these areas but that of the SDF," Araj stressed.
The SDF-affiliated Jaish al-Thuwar also denied the reports.
"The claims stating that many towns and villages such as Tel Rifaat in the north of Aleppo were handed over to the regime forces two days ago are untrue. This situation is only the result of an agreement between Russia, Iran and Turkey," the group said in an official statement.
"Turkey, in line with its politics and interests, claims that the Syrian regime forces have come together in the north of Aleppo with representatives of opposition groups in Syria. The gangs are trying to stage new theatre plays on the land we saved with the efforts of our deaders," it said.
"The only thing right in this regard is that the Syrian regime forces have handed over al-Bab to Turkish troops and their gangs," Jaish al-Thuwar said. Moreover, the SDF-affiliated group said they will continue to capture territory in northern Aleppo.
"We know that the Syrian regime forces did not fire a single bullet against Turkish troops and their gangs. We promise our people, we will continue the struggle until the Shahba [Northern Aleppo] region is liberated from the gangs and occupying forces. We will protect the efforts of our deaders," the group concluded.
On Sunday, the Turkey-backed Tel Rifaat Military Council said that it hit the YPG in Tel Rifaat town with mortar shells and artillery.
Last week, Turkey-backed rebels and the Turkish army shelled Kurdish positions in Afrin district [Efrin] northwest of Aleppo. The Turkish troops have started to enter areas near Afrin since February 10 with trucks and cranes to build walls on the borderline with Syria.
Today, officials lifted the mandatory evacuations of Oroville and other areas below the Oroville Dam on the Feather River. According to the Butte County Sheriff's Office, "Due to lower lake levels, further inspections, ongoing work to shore-up the Oroville Dam emergency spillway and updated weather forecasts…the Evacuation Order …has been reduced to an Evacuation Warning." Excellent pictures at the source. Whoever coordinated all the trucks, construction equipment, copters, etc. did a pretty darn good job.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2017
08:02 ||
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#7
I've been noticing a lot of comments from various folks in the construction industry that the photos of the damaged spillway do not appear to show any embedded rebar or mesh in the exposed concrete.
Seems very odd, but I'm not a hydro guy. Frank?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/15/2017 11:38
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#8
and updated weather forecasts
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this was the major contributor.
Fix the dam. Maybe they could run some kind of conveyor belt to drop a bunch of boulders into the hole and pave it over.
#12
Thanks, Shipman. Most of the folks were referencing the photo here because it was the largest image file available showing the damage fairly close up. If there is rebar, it doesn't seem to be as much as expected, though.
Still, that image is taken from 100-ft or more away so you are most likely correct.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/15/2017 12:55
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#14
the repair team has been placing about 30 truck loads of stones and boulders per hour in the area behind the emergency spillway with priority to the part of the spillway that had the most erosion near it - they also have been placing about 10 large sandbags per hour and sometime today, they will place the first slurry over some of the resulting mass
Abu Uluques makes a good point that this should not have been necessary at all but the people who designed and built these dams have mostly retired by now and its not productive to concentrate on this aspect of the situation - and it any event, its not the fault of today's repair crews that yesterday's designers made mistakes
the repair team isn't responsible
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2017 15:15
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#15
30 truckloads an hour is a pretty good pace, lg. At roughly 40-yards per haul (based on the size of the trucks I saw in the photos), that's some serious tonnage at about 110,000 pounds per load.
Kudos to that crew.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/15/2017 16:26
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#16
Lost in all the news about the spill are the initial reports, before the emergency spillway near-failure, that the auxiliary spillway damage wad been inspected mere months before its failure, but tha the inspection was "visual, not actually physically inspected". The sinkhole that developed was the result of massive undercutting by high dynamic water forces through failed concrete seams in the spillway, seams that would have been easily detected if someone had actually walked the spillway in the time preceding the failure. I bet a big lunch that no civil servant from DWR walked that spillway in a very long time. That failure, and the stoppage to inspect the hole, and then the overflow and massive erosion hole now created, and the hundreds of millions of dollars to remedy the mess, all are the result of sloth and deferred maintenance, soon to be paid for by the taxpayers of the nation. Wanna bet no one gets fired?
[AlManar] Egypt’s army on Tuesday announced the release of 13 Egyptians kidnapped in eastern Libya, which has been plagued by chaos and security problems since 2011.
Army front man Colonel Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement the 13 "were kidnapped by an armed criminal group in the Ajdabiya region".
The statement said their liberation had been made possible by "coordination with the general command of the Libyan army", without elaborating.
The Libyan National Army is loyal to Marshal 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... , the strongman in eastern Libya and a rival of Fayez al-Sarraj, leader of the 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... -based and internationally recognized national unity government.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/15/2017
06:20 ||
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[AlManar] Syrian Army and Armed Forces units continued targeting turbans from ISIS and al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front in several areas across the country, thwarting a number of terrorist attacks in Daraa city.
Deir Ezzor
SANA news hound said Monday that the army eliminated all members of an ISIS terrorist group and destroyed their weapons’ depot and a car equipped with heavy cannon near Ghassan Abboud roundabout in Deir Ezzor city.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there... local sources said that the ISIS terrorist organization liquidated the leader of their operation in al-Maqaber (graveyards) area due to the failure of the operation and the big losses inflicted upon the terrorist organization.
Daraa
Army units thwarted al-Nusra terrorists’ attacks on a number of residential neighborhoods in Daraa city, inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment.
An army unit thwarted an infiltration attempt by a terrorist group affiliated to al-Nusra from the direction of al-Yarmouk School towards al-Manshia neighborhood in Daraa city.
SANA’s news hound in Daraa said that all the members of the terrorist group were killed or injured in the festivities, adding that the infiltration attempts of al-Nusra were accompanied by the terrorists’ targeting of the residential neighborhoods in the city with rocket shells and weaponized gas cylinders, which caused material damage to properties.
Earlier, a military source told SANA that the army units foiled al-Nusra terrorists’ attack on al-Manshiyeh, Hamida al-Taher, Bosra square, al-Moassaseh axes in the city of Daraa.
The source added that the army units inflicted heavy losses upon the terrorist organization in personnel and equipment.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there... the terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media pages the killing of 11 terrorists, including 4 al-Nusra turbans . The turbans killed are Abu Raiyan al-Muhajer from Jordan and Mosa Awad al-Shahadeh, Mohammad Abdel-Ghani Ostah and the nicknamed terrorist Abu Mohammad in addition to turbans Khaled Ahmad Nassar from Paleostine, Ibrahim Nidal al-Masri, Ahmad Mohammad Salman Abazaid, Ahmad Khayam al-Mahamid, Mahmoud Amjad issa al-Mahamid, Basel Nayef Suleiman al-Doroubi and Ahmad al-Qaddah.
[AlManar] The head of Libya’s unity government and a rival army chief were to meet in Cairo on Tuesday to find a solution to turmoil in the country, a government official said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord has struggled to assert its authority across the North African country since starting work in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... nearly a year ago.
GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj and Marshal 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... were due to meet on Tuesday afternoon in the Egyptian capital, the official said, without providing further details on the agenda.
Haftar, whose forces control much of Libya’s east, is backed by a parliament based in the far east of the country that has refused to recognize the unity government.
Sarraj met Haftar in January last year in the eastern city of al-Marj shortly after he was named GNA head.
The UN-brokered agreement that created the unity government did not give Haftar a role in the new administration, but the Egypt-backed strongman made clear he was a key player when he seized control of major oil terminals in the country’s east in September.
UN envoy Martin Kobler last week said talks had made progress on "possible amendments" to the political agreement, and notably on Haftar’s future role.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/15/2017
06:20 ||
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[AlManar] Syrian Army units established full control over Hayyan gas factory in the eastern countryside of Homs province after targeting ISIS terrorist organization.
A military source told SANA Tuesday that the army units in cooperation with the supporting forces carried out, during the past few hours, a wide-scale military operation and established full control over Haiyan gas field after eliminating the latest gatherings of ISIS terrorists.
The source added that the army engineering personnel are working to dismantle the mines and IED planted inside the factory by ISIS terrorists.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... SANA news hound in Homs said that the army units in cooperation with the supporting forces have broaden their control over the western countryside of Palmyra city after the army units established full control over Jahar area, located to the west of Hayyan Factory as the army eliminated the latest gatherings of ISIS terrorists.
The source added that the army units inflicted heavy losses upon the ISISgunnies in personnel and equipment, while the army pursued gunnies who fled away towards al-Abar (the wells) area.
The army units continued military operation to the east of Hayyan Factory and established full control over all the hills surrounding it, according to SANA news hound.
In the northern countryside of the province, the source added that an army unit in cooperation with the popular defense groups destroyed a tank for al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front on al-Ghanto-al-Halmouz roundabout in the southeastern direction of Jabourin village, north of Homs city.
Hama
An army unit carried out an accurate operation targeting a car belonging to gunnies of Jaish al-Fatah who attempted to attack a military post to the southeast of al-Hamamiat village in Hama countryside, according to SANA news hound.
The news hound said that as a result of the operation, the car was destroyed with 3 gunnies on board, while a RPG launcher, an automatic rifle, Terrestrial Trunked Radio (Tetra) device and an ID card of a Turkish officer.
To the east of Salamiyeh city in the eastern countryside of Hama, the news hound added that the army air force destroyed a bulldozer that ISISgunnies were using in setting up fortifications in Abu Hbilat village.
[AlManar] Three soldiers and four suspected holy warriors were killed in separate gunbattles in Indian-administered Kashmire on Tuesday, officials said, marking an uptick in violence in the restive region.
The soldiers died during a shootout with holy warriors that broke out at Hajin in Bandipora district, army front man Rajesh Kalia told AFP, adding that five other soldiers were maimed.
A police official said a civilian also sustained injuries in the cross-firing which erupted after the government forces cordoned off an area following a tip-off about the presence of bully boys.
"A search party was suddenly fired upon by the holy warriors as it zeroed in on a residential area," a police superintendent told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... as he was not authorized to talk to the press.
One bully boy, whose identity was not yet known, was also killed in the operation, he added.
In the second deadly clash Tuesday, three holy warriors were killed while a soldier received bullet wounds during a shootout in Kupwara district, army front man Colonel Manish confirmed to AFP.
"Police and army laid a siege... after intelligence inputs about the presence of bully boys," he said.
"The holy warriors fired upon the search party, injuring an army trooper, and in the retaliatory firing three holy warriors were killed."
Tuesday’s deadly violence came days after four bully boys, two soldiers and two non-combatants were killed in a flare-up in southern Kashmire.
[Las Vegas Journal-Review] CARSON CITY -- State Sen. Becky Harris said a bill to prohibit forced microchipping of people is not as far-fetched as it might seem, because it happens in some places around the world.
Senate Bill 109 would make it a Class C felony to require someone to be implanted with a radio frequency identifier, such as microchips placed in pets. The idea for the bill came from a constituent, the Las Vegas Republican said.
"As I began to look into the issue, I was surprised with the merit that I believe the issue warrants," Harris told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.
She said sales of radio frequency identifiers are escalating around the world, and a company in Australia as of June 2016 sold more than 10,000 implantable chips with do-it-yourself kits.
"Each kit costs about $100 and includes a tag and an injection tool," Harris said.
The Wall Street Journal has reported an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 chips have been sold globally, she said. Harris said the technology is used by companies in Belgium and Sweden to identify employees.
"It’s done under the idea to unlock doors or use copy machines or maybe pay for lunch, you could use your hand," she said.
Besides privacy concerns, Harris said the concept raises ethical questions, such as who owns the chip or the information contained on it, and how does someone get "de-chipped" if they are no longer employed by the company that required it. She also wondered if a chip could be hacked to harass or stalk someone. Harris said the Nevada bill is modeled after legislation passed by at least 10 other states.
"It wouldn’t prohibit the voluntary decision of a person to be microchipped," she said, adding that a nightclub in Europe offers microchipping to customers so the establishment can provide tailored service.
There was no total opposition to the bill, though some witnesses said the technology could help patients with dementia.
"Some Alzheimer’s patients wander away," said Jonathan Friedrich of Las Vegas, adding the technology could be used to help find them quickly.
State Sen. Don Gustavson questioned whether military pilots are microchipped so rescuers can find them if aircraft crash or are shot down. Harris said she would check with military officials.
#3
Alzheimer's patients wander away all the time. A lot of time and money is spent trying to find them and sometimes when they are found it's too late.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/15/2017 11:14
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[Breitbart] The Korean embassy has warned against visiting the migrant-dominated Paris region of Seine-Saint-Denis after thugs terrorised a coach of tourists.
A group of around forty South Korean tourists were ’slapped’, threatened, and robbed by five men who climbed aboard their coach as it was stuck in traffic near Bobigny, where anti-police riots were taking place.
The intruders first "slapped" some of the passengers, then proceeded to loot the vehicle, stealing "all valuables: blue cards, cash and even Eurostar train tickets" before finally attempting to set fire to the coach as they left the vehicle, Le Parisien reported on Tuesday.
According to the Korean embassy in Paris, the perpetrators shouted as they boarded the coach, and then threatened tourists with what is believed to have been a glass bottle, which they also used to "tap" the heads of passengers sitting towards the front of the vehicle.
The incident took place as the group of holidaymakers travelled from the Eiffel Tower to their hotel in Seine-Saint-Denis. Describing them as "panicked" when they finally arrived at the hotel, its manager said the tourist group refused to leave the hotel to report their ordeal to the police
#2
Because then the French would have arrested THEM.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
02/15/2017 7:16
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#3
South Korean men are supposed to all have studied martial arts as boys, preparatory for their military service, but that isn't true. Also, it occurs to me that sitting in tourist coach seats, which are not easy to get out of, intermingled with untrained women -- most Korean women do not train in the martial arts -- would handicap any of those prosperous, likely middle aged gentleman who'd had such training in their youth.
[Breitbart] Monday on MSNBC conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said America was "getting tired of the pile on 24/7 " of President Donald Trump.
Hewitt: said, "I do believe the hair-trigger criticism of everyone is wearing out it’s welcome with America."
He continued, "So the overblown hysteria and Jeff was just venting there about transcripts that may or may not exist, that have or have not been seen like the BuzzFeed dossier which was trash, I think most people in America are getting tired of the pile on 24/7 of the new president. He had a very successful weekend, and Mike Flynn, by the way, very successful statement about Iran. We haven’t seen any Iranian speedboats charging at American destroyers since General Flynn made his statement. So, all in all, I think the original team is still there and Donald Trump is sticking with them."
#2
The Donks are incapable of 'getting into someone else's mind and think like them'. While they are fully capable of running false flag events, they can't conceive others doing it to them. They've stuck their neck out so far, such an act could easily be executed which would greatly delegitimatize their own standing. Who'd believe them that they weren't the perps?
#4
If they pile on everything it might be easy to trap them into opposing something they actually support. At least it might put them in a real bind. Perhaps Trump should look through his to do list and see if anything qualifies.
#8
Their piling on has only failed. Now that they are going after the people around him we have to be careful. This tactic can work if we are not careful. We need to support the next person under attack and drive this tactic back or they will isolate trump and win.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
02/15/2017 16:10
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#9
I have started "unfollowing" anyone who posts that kind of crap on FB. It got real tiresome by 9 Nov 2016. Now my FB pages are getting vewy, vewy quiet.
Sweden’s second largest city of Gothenburg has invested in a Camel Park saying it will help integrate migrants and turn a depressed neighborhood into a tourist mecca despite strong criticism from politicians, businessmen, and locals.
The Camel Center is expected to be built in Gothenburg’s north-eastern migrant-dominated suburb of Angered, and the major goal of the park would be to create jobs for migrants and ease their integration into Swedish society, the Goeteborgs Posten, a local daily, reports.
#5
Dear God, Sweden: get a grip, grow a spine. Muslims don't hate us and commit atrocities against us because of anything we've done to them, or because of anything we've failed to do for them; they hate us because their evil "religion" commands them to.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/15/2017 11:20
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#6
What's next, a jockey training center for the camel center?
#1
...Although I'm glad we're doing this - between the Minuteman test a week ago and now this one, it reminds the bad guys that we still love 'em - as much as I hate to admit this, these had to have been scheduled under the Previous Administration.
Which, of course, questions.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/15/2017 7:18
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#2
End of Life testing of the solid-state fuel in the missile?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2017 7:07
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#2
...Sorry, MAJOR Broadwell. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
BONUS:
Broadwell on Petraeus
2017-02-15
Posted by:Skidmark
(sterlingarcher/ON)
"Seriously, are we not doing phrasing anymore?"
(sterlingarcher/OFF)
:D
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/15/2017 7:25
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#3
there are plenty of people with National Security credentials
Petraeus showed horribly poor judgement multiple times with Broadwell.
I'd like someone else in the job of Nat Sec Advisor
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2017 7:49
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#4
Forget about Petraeus and Flynn, I'm still waiting for a thorough airing of Obama's, and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton's crimes. When the rule of law is returned and the swamp is drained, let me know.
#5
"I feel there's been a double standard," Broadwell said, adding, "I take full responsibility for the mistakes that I did make."
They were a bit more than 'mistakes' Ms. Braodwell. They were gross violations of the UCMJ and the law. Consider yourself fortunate in not writing from the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Please drop the pathetic, droning whine as well.
#6
"I feel there's been a double standard," Broadwell said
Yeah, sometimes it just doesn't pay to put your clothes on in the morning--or the screwing you get just isn't worth the screwing you get; ya da ya da ya da in other words.
#7
Somehow I don't remember ABCNBCCBSCNN going bananas over the Petraeus/Broadwell scandal. It doesn't seem to me they were all going on and on and on about the chaos in the Obama administration like they all are now with this Flynn thing. So yeah, you might call it a double standard. I'd call it hypocrisy. No. I'd call it bullshit.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/15/2017 10:47
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#8
"The irony is again that David Petraeus is being considered for this position, which is terrific, he's very qualified, and as I said everyone should be able to go on with their life. But he's two months away from a two-year probation period being finished, and I'm still in limbo with the military," Broadwell said.
The guy is still on probation and couldn't even get a job at a local sheriff's office. Why in the world would he be considered for any high level governmental position? Thank you Paula for reminding us.
#10
Dude, who'd deny David his solace?
Bathsheba when bathing was flawless!
1. Cease pubic coition.
2. Make act of contrition.
3. Go venerate Petrus and Paulus.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/15/2017 18:22
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#9
Chicago is shooting her kiddies,
Descendants of thirty-ish biddies.
If you weren't so stingy,
She'd sit and sing Dindi,
Not nurture these juvenile Nittis.
"...Marquez and Farook first met in 2005 after Marquez moved next door to Farook's family in Riverside, about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, officials said. The then-teens would meet in Farook's garage and Farook, a Muslim, began educating his new friend about his religion. Marquez converted and became a Muslim in 2007.
The FBI said the two began discussing extremist views shortly after Marquez converted...."
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2017 7:41
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h/t Instapundit
...Mike Flynn, a good man who saw the enemy clearly, and had the courage to name it, saw Russia not as an enemy but a geopolitical adversary with whom we could make common cause against Islam -- and who also vowed to shake up a complacent and malfeasant IC -- was its first scalp, and an object lesson to new CIA Director Mike Pompeo should he have any reformist notions. As for the media, having previously failed to take down Trump aides Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, Flynn was the next best thing; their joy today is unbounded.
...Welcome to the Deep State, the democracy-sapping embeds at the heart of our democracy who have not taken the expulsion of the Permanent Bipartisan Fusion Party lightly. They realize that the Trump administration poses a mortal threat to their hegemony, and so have enlisted an army of Democrats, some Republicans, the "neverTrumpumpkin" conservative die-hards, leftist thugs, Black Lives Matter and anybody else they can blackmail, browbeat or enlist. They mean business.
I'm thinking about Mike Flynn "under the bus" a bit differently.
#2
Welcome to the Deep State, the democracy-sapping embeds at the heart of our democracy who have not taken the expulsion of the Permanent Bipartisan Fusion Party lightly.
The 'embeds' exercised full span control of our drone zapping, Affirmative Action Kenyan master and would have likely enjoyed the same freedom with HRC. Who else profits from decades of conflict in the ME? Starting with a 100 hour war in 1990, and who was President then? Not that he knew what was actually going on mind you.
These puppet masters managed to successfully extinguish the Petraeus thirst for power with the oldest of Samsonian ploys. Make no mistake, they are the king makers.
#3
Then we really have no use for them when they become just as much a danger to the republic as any external enemy. Disassemble, extreme vetting in reorganization.
#4
The previous administration ran a wire tap on the Russian Ambassador and picked up an American (Mike Flynn) having a conversation with the Ambassador. As I understand it, by law the identity of the American should have been shielded--It was not and was leaked. To spy on American citizens requires a FISA court order and sign off from someone high up in the previous administration since most of this was set in motion in a post election, pre-inauguration time frame. The nature of those conversations has not been released to the public so we don't know what was discussed. At the time Flynn was having conversations with many representatives of countries which seems appropriate for an incoming National Security Advisor. When he said, he didn't recall the exact nature of all the conversations, it not too difficult to believe. The Donks seem hell bent on lynching Flynn under the Logan Act. It's kind of like "Let's have a fair trial and then hang him."
Schumer and other Donks have been calling for independent investigations. He claims that Jeff Sessions should not be allowed to handle such an investigation. (Not much was heard or was there much clamor for such an investigation when WJC met with Lynch on a tarmac in Phoenix).
It is a bad precedent to throw Flynn under the bus. It is a bad example to others who have signed on to the Trump administration. In Washington, loyalty is a valuable commodity and it should be preserved. Dumping Flynn is red meat for the left and they will continue their witch hunt until they take down Trump. There are too many hold-overs in the bureaucracy who are sympathetic and loyal to previous Democrat administrations. Trump needs to pair down many of these agencies one way or another (personnel reductions or budget cutting or both) who are undermining him and sabotaging him.
[Khaama] At least 20 Lions of Islam were killed in a series of Arclight airstrikes conducted in southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan.
According to the local security officials, the Lions of Islam were targeted in the vicinity of Tarinkot city, the lovely provincial capital of Uruzgan.
Provincial governor’s front man Dost Mohammad Nayab confirmed that several Arclight airstrikes were carried out against the Lions of Islam in this province.
Nayab further added that the Lions of Islam were targeted in strikes conducted both by the Afghan forces and the foreign based in the country.
He said at least 20 Lions of Islam were killed during the Arclight airstrike conducted recently in Tarinkot.
According to Nayab, the Arclight airstrikes are being carried out as part of clearance operations against the Lions of Islam which were launched few days ago.
Nayab says at least 43 Lions of Islam have been killed or maimed since the operation was launched a few days ago.
The anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban bully boyz have not commented regarding the report so far.
Uruzgan is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban bully boyz and Lions of Islam belonging to the myrmidon groups are actively operating in its various districts.
According to the local officials, the Lions of Islam have intensified attacks in this province during the past six months and have conducted numerous attacks on government compounds and security posts.
[FoxBusinessNews] Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) tells us that the intelligence community is resisting Trump with all its might and trying to will its vision of the future on America. That future involves a new Cold War with Russia.
It's scary now that we finally see what is going on with our own eyes. If nothing else, Trump has turned on the light and showed all of the roaches in the kitchen. He has shoved the red pill down America's throat and finally we can see we really were living in The Matrix. So many of our institutions are corrupt and the power they have is astonishing.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
02/15/2017
00:16 ||
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#1
The Kucinich analysis is spot on. The "Gone Rogue" lineage goes a bit deeper however. How about rolling the 'Regime Change' tape all the way back to Apr 17, 1961 – Apr 19, 1961 and the Bay of Pigs.
As Kucinich obliquely alludes, political turmoil and regime change is a business development imperative. DJT's 'America First' and 'Stay Home and Stay Out of Other People's Business' is an anathema to these people. 'Drain the Swamp' is definately not on their menu.
The 'Trump Revolution' is perhaps more of a 'revolution' than many realize.
#4
Trump needs to get out ahead of the intelligence community and drain the swamp faster. There are people left over from Obama's administration and the Clinton administration who can and will do harm to a DJT administration. The MSM will applaud this shadow government and any problems created for Trump.
#5
In the Southern States, the selling of mules, horses, teams and wagons to Great Britain was quite lucrative during the period 1900-1902. So much so that prices were driven up here at home and domestic availability had not fully recovered at our entry into WWI.
Anyone want to venture a guess as to where those commodities ended up ?
Ike knew what he was talking about when he warned us of the "military-industrial complex."
#9
Apparently the CIA has a recording of Flynn and Russian discussing sanctions (though 'discussion' could well be a simple mention), which Flynn later denied having to VP Pence. 1) Flynn, with his history, should have known phone calls to Russians were recorded, so either he is senile (unlikely) or the discussion was so trivial as to escape memory, making his statement to Pence unremarkable and not a 'lie.' It did leave Pence out there dangling in the wind though, which is not a good thing for Flynn to have done. That shouldn't have been 'terminal,' suggesting there is more to the story.
#11
You gotta have open borders to get that heroin to Chicago.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/15/2017 11:34
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#12
Flynn, with his history, should have known phone calls to Russians were recorded, so either he is senile (unlikely) or the discussion was so trivial as to escape memory
Yes, w/o the transcripts, I'll go with 'trivial' for now. And yes, there's very likely 'more to this story.' One of the 'more's' is Flynn is fully aware of the Klingon MO and was/is giving DJT the daily dump. Former Congressman Mike Rogers wasn't quietly dumped form the DJT campaign effort due to bad breath. Pompeo was on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He and Gowdy both knew of Rogers' poo pooing of the Benghazi affair and his wife's connections. Flynn was likely awares also. Pompeo is the clean-up hitter. I hope and pray he is successful.
#15
The MDW/CONUS Institutional IC has atrophied and become irrelevant over the past two decades. I am not sure they can find their way back...this is a horrible culture that wraps itself around the successes of the operational IC...in which they are way too timid to take part in...because you know, careers and things (cowards).
Intel folks at the operational level, however, make a difference on a daily basis. The gulf between the institutional and operational is huge.
Retire the beltway IC folks that haven't deployed and replace them with operators (who know their requirements) and operational IC folks (who know how to get it done). There is a war to win, we don't have time for this political foolishness.
#16
.....this is a horrible culture that wraps itself around the successes of the operational IC...in which they are way too timid to take part in...because you know, careers and things (cowards).
Why 'take part' when you can simply control the mission, the COP (Common Operational Picture) and selectively exploit whatever tactical intelligence people turn up ?
"No, don't send Muktar to Parwan. Yes, we know he's a pos, but we have other plans for him which we are not at liberty to discuss. Do you need further verification from the country team? Ok then, see you at the weekly update."
The story is Flynn has a history of shaking up the powers that be. He also has a history of being right.
The first thing he did was increase the capabilities of the DIA (which he headed) to the point that 40% of the President's daily briefing was DIA material, even though the DIA was only 20% the size of the CIA.
The next thing he did was try to set up an organization very similar to the CIA's Special Activities Division. These would report to the commanders of the various Area Commands and be area specialists. The CIA went volcanic; especially since one of the duties was to "validate intelligence coming from the CIA." As far as the CIA was concerned, "We don't need no stinking validation!"
This effort was sharply curtailed, but Gen. Flynn now had a target on his back.
The next problem occurred when some WH dweeb noticed the DIA needed fewer permissions to do an operation than either the CIA or FBI. Thus the DIA could get thing done more quickly and discretely than other agencies. The other agencies saw this "invading their turf" and "unfair competition." This put Flynn in the crosshairs of more Federal agencies.
Finally, Flynn warned Obama that Daesh was a dangerous new terrorist organization. Flynn warned they could be a major threat unless stopped. This warning went against the "current truth" that Obama was pushing at the time.
Even worse, Flynn had the nerve to be accurate when all Obama wants are lies. Obama relieved Flynn of command.
When Trump appointed Flynn to be National Security Advisor, he insulted Obama and waved a red flag in front of all Obama holdovers in the federal government.
People attacked Flynn to prove their loyalty to Obama, humble Donald Trump and avenge themselves on General Flynn. He had made bureaucrats look lazy and stupid. And for he has to pay.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/15/2017 15:07
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The next problem occurred when some WH dweeb noticed the DIA needed fewer permissions.......
Not to be a total jerk, but we're headed behind the green door with that one. Might not want to expand further.
#20
Shut the place down, suspend all security clearances and subject everyone to intense investigation. Waterboard them if you have to. The deep state players must be hunted down and removed.
#21
Why 'take part' when you can simply control the mission, the COP (Common Operational Picture) and selectively exploit whatever tactical intelligence people turn up ?
I know yours is a hypothetical question...but, man it is really hard to get any type of perspective from 10k miles away...and provide real reach back support...and the spin cycle downrange can never be matched by the 9-5 types.
#22
I know yours is a hypothetical question...but, man it is really hard to get any type of perspective from 10k miles away...and provide real reach back support...and the spin cycle downrange can never be matched by the 9-5 types.
Posted by: Tennessee
No argument there, but that "10k mile" gap is bridged fairly rapidly when people are on the ground, calling the shots in select locations. The late Mike Spann is one example.
#24
I know this sounds off the wall, but assuming Flynn is a smart and savvy man with respect to the possible tapping and recording of phone conversations, would it be possible that Trump set him up to do just that to rat out these deep state bastards? Just a thought. Could be a bit of a sting to bring the cockroaches into the light.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2017 19:45
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#25
Very interesting theory AP. Very interesting indeed.
#28
A complex? It couldn't be clearer:
A face and a heel, and a shearer;
The Greens or the Blues,
And which champ we should choose,
As we curse the reverse in a mirror.
#29
Amazing how Facebook is full of Trump is in a quagmire posts today. They have been waiting and having two guys resign in the same week just has the left filled with glee. It won't last, but it is interesting to watch.
#30
Now you all know what I was saying here years ago when I told you that the Intel Community, especially the CIA, needed to be disbanded then restructured and reassembled - with personnel cleaned out with a flamethrower in some cases.
[Khaama] President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. has called on Taliban group leaders to return to Afghanistan and live in the country with dignity.
In his speech during a gathering to mark the 28th anniversary of the Soviet forces withdrawal, President Ghani said the Taliban group members who are having an independent and an Afghan mindset should return to Afghanistan and start a dignified life.
President Ghani further added that the signing of peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... has paved the way for the return of Mujahideen to the country.
He said the Afghans waged Jihad for the freedom of the country in the past but the current Jihad is for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country.
Questioning the approach of the Lions of Islam in their so-called holy war, Ghani said the Mujahideen were not conducting suicide kabooms and there was no news regarding the destruction of the mosques and killing of the innocent people.
He added that the Mujahideen were waging Jihad for the freedom and development of the country.
The latest call by President Ghani to Talibs comes as the group has repeated rejected to participate in peace talks with the Afghan government.
The group maintains withdrawal of the foreign forces as one its main conditions to participate in reconciliation process.
[Ynet] Turkish authorities have tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! a man they believe is among the planners of the New Year's Reina nightclub massacre in Istanbul that killed 39 people, a news agency report said Tuesday.
The private Dogan news agency, citing officials from the prosecutors' office in Burdur, southern The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , identified the suspect only by his initials, A.S., and said he is a French citizen with an ethnic Turkish background. On him, authorities discovered a contract to rent an apartment that was used by Abdulkadir Masharipov, who carried out the nightclub attack, the agency said.
The man, a 22-year-old French citizen of Turkish descent, was caught in Istanbul, Anadolu said. A police official said he were tossed into the calaboose weeks ago and formally charged last week. His detention had not previously been made public.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/15/2017
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[Ynet] According to reports in the British daily The Telegraph, David Guvrin was brought back to Israel from Cairo three months ago after fears arose over his personal safety; while it is believed that since his departure Guvrin has not returned to Egypt, the Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the matter.
Israel's ambassador to Egypt, David Guvrin quietly returned to Israel in late 2016 from Cairo over concerns for his personal safety, it was reported in The Telegraph. The Shin Bet confirmed that due to security concerns the ambassador and his staff have yet to return to Cairo.
Foreign Ministry front man Emmanuel Nahshon declined to comment on the report which was first reported in the British daily.
According to the report, Guvrin was evacuated from Cairo some three months ago and is currently working from Jerusalem. The Foreign Ministry is hoping to return him to Egypt as soon as circumstances permit.
The Telegraph said the exact circumstances are unclear, but it is most likely due to a series of terrorist attacks in the Egyptian capital which claimed the lives of several people and officials.
Ambassador Guvrin was appointed last summer and in September presented his credentials to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A security source in Anbar Operations Command revealed on Tuesday, that a soldier was killed, while three others were wounded in an armed attack on a checkpoint in Km 35 area, west of Ramadi.
The source said, “Members of the Islamic State attacked a checkpoint in the Km 35 area on the international road, west of Ramadi, killing one soldier and wounding three others.”
“The wounded were transferred to a nearby hospital, while security troops conducted an extensive operation to search for the perpetrators of the arrack, who managed to escape toward the western desert,” the source added.
The source also declared that dozens of terrorist attacks were launched by the Islamic State, on military checkpoints and headquarters on the international road and the liberated western areas, from the open desert areas.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A source in Anbar Operations Command revealed, that security forces discovered a cache of weapons containing 400 improvised explosive devices, east of Ramadi, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source said, “Army forces discovered a cache of weapons containing 400 improvised explosive devices in Husaiba area (23 east of Ramadi).”
“Security sources detonated the cache, without inflicting any human losses,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Noteworthy, Husaiba area was liberated from the Islamic State’s control more than a year ago, while military engineering brigades are continue searching and cleansing the area, in preparation for the return of displaced people.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/15/2017
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The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that it has repatriated some 4,753 Somali refugees in Kenya by road between Jan. 16-31 before a court suspended the closure of the world’s largest refugee camp in northeast Kenya.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-weekly Update that in total as of Jan. 31, 44, 365 Somali refugees had returned home since December 8, 2014 when the UN agency started supporting voluntary return of refugees in Kenya.
It's a start.
“During the reporting period, 4,753 refugees were supported to voluntarily return to Somalia by road. Road convoys are organized from Dadaab to Dhobley on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays,” it said.
According to UNHCR, flight transporting returnees to Mogadishu remained temporarily suspended during the month of January owing to the security situation in Mogadishu during the current presidential election process in Somalia.
During the period under review, the UNHCR said it the Voluntary Repatriation Cross Border Meeting was held on Jan. 31 to deliberate on security situation in the 12 areas of return, the impact of drought on repatriation and reintegration process, cross-border peace building projects and enhancing provision of country of origin information as well as monitoring and management of cases of returnees with specific needs.
The UN refugee agency also said ten flights were organized during the period under review, transporting 1,030 non-Somali refugees to Kalobeyei at the Kakuma camp in northwest Kenya.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
I once met a young somali journalist living in kenya who, as a child, was one of the boys running through the streets of mogadishu laughing and carrying on as the dead bodies of us military were being dragged behind a car after black hawk down
He went to the uk for a conference, where he promptly claimed refugee status
He showed no evidence that he had changed his ideas. He loved islam. a lot
Trump tries to face this threat and gets sabotaged by the Deep State who are trying to stop us allying wih russia to smash this ideology
[IsraelTimes] IDF also arrests two suspected of carrying out a separate attack that maimed one person.
The Israeli army said Monday that an indictment has been filed in military court against five Paleostinian residents of the settlement of Yabed, west of Jenin, suspected of firing at a nearby army post in a drive-by shooting on December 30, 2016.
Security forces seized the vehicle used to carry out the attack, and the suspects gave up the weapon used in the attack, the army said
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... the IDF also jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! two suspects involved in an earlier shooting near the West Bank settlement of Nili, the army said.
Paleostinian gunnies had shot up passing vehicles lightly injuring one Israeli on December 19, 2016.
The injured man, said to be in his 20s, received medical treatment on the scene for wounds to his face from glass shards, sustained when the gunfire shattered the window on the driver’s side. He was later transferred to a hospital.
The firearm and vehicle used to carry out the terror attack were seized by security forces during the investigation.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A booby-trapped car blast left a yet indefinite number of casualties in western Baghdad on Tuesday, reports said in breaking news quoting the Interior Ministry.
The blast rocked a so-called Senai (industrial) neighborhood in al-Bayaa region west of Baghdad, the ministry’s Baghdad Operations was quoted as saying in a statement.
No exact count of casualties has been given yet.
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 bombing, but IS militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left nearly 382 dead, including security members, and 908 injured during January. Baghdad was the most affected province with 128 deaths and 444 injuries, according to the organization.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers argue that attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat for all cities.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Ministry of Defense’s War Media Cell announced on Tuesday, that security forces arrested three terrorists, who were planning to attack civilians and security units in Tarmiyah District, in northern Baghdad.
The Cell said in a press statement, “Military intelligence Directorate arrested three terrorists,” pointing out that, “These terrorists were planning to attack innocent civilians and security units in Tarmiyah District, in northern the capital, Baghdad.”
Earlier today, Baghdad Operations Command announced that a terrorist attack hit al-Baya’ area, southwest of Baghdad.
[al-Manar] Syrian Army units established full control over Hayyan gas factory in the eastern countryside of Homs province after targeting ISIL terrorist organization.
A military source told SANA Tuesday that the army units in cooperation with the supporting forces carried out, during the past few hours, a wide-scale military operation and established full control over Haiyan gas field after eliminating the latest gatherings of ISIL terrorists.
The source added that the army engineering personnel are working to dismantle the mines and IED planted inside the factory by ISIL terrorists.
Meanwhile, SANA reporter in Homs said that the army units in cooperation with the supporting forces have broaden their control over the western countryside of Palmyra city after the army units established full control over Jahar area, located
to the west of Hayyan Factory as the army eliminated the latest gatherings of ISIL terrorists.
The source added that the army units inflicted heavy losses upon the ISIL terrorists in personnel and equipment, while the army pursued terrorists who fled away towards al-Abar (the wells) area.
The army units continued military operation to the east of Hayyan Factory and established full control over all the hills surrounding it, according to SANA reporter.
In the northern countryside of the province, the source added that an army unit in cooperation with the popular defense groups destroyed a tank for al-Nusra Front on al-Ghanto-al-Halmouz roundabout in the southeastern direction of Jabourin village, north of Homs city.
Hama
An army unit carried out an accurate operation targeting a car belonging to terrorists of Jaish al-Fatah who attempted to attack a military post to the southeast of al-Hamamiat village in Hama countryside, according to SANA reporter.
The reporter said that as a result of the operation, the car was destroyed with 3 terrorists on board, while a RPG launcher, an automatic rifle, Terrestrial Trunked Radio (Tetra) device and an ID card of a Turkish officer.
To the east of Salamiyeh city in the eastern countryside of Hama, the reporter added that the army air force destroyed a bulldozer that ISIL terrorists were using in setting up fortifications in Abu Hbilat village.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/15/2017
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Aleppo – Clashes broke out on Tuesday between Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants and Syrian regime’s army forcers south of al-Bab city in northern Syria.
ISIS militant fighters recaptured the town of Abu Jabbar in southwestern al-Bab. This comes just a few days after the group lost the town to the Syrian Army.
“ISIS attacked the regime troops in Abu Jabbar with mortar fire and car bombs, killing and wounding dozens,” local media activist Mahmoud al-Mansour told ARA News.
“ISIS took over the town after heavy clashes, pushing the Syrian regime’s forces towards Aleppo,” the source reported.
A Syrian military source also confirmed the withdrawal.
Islamic State’s militants have been under a huge pressure in al-Bab city and its environs, with the Turkish Army and rebels hitting the area from the north, and the Syrian Army advancing from the south.
“ISIS started regrouping and fortifying its positions in al-Bab in a bid to avoid its loss since the city is one of the group’s last key strongholds in northern Syria,” rebel spokesman Salih al-Zein told ARA News.
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that ISIS fighters started to withdraw from al-Bab city.
On Saturday, Turkey’s military forces and allied Syrian rebels entered the city of al-Bab for the first time after months of clashes with ISIS. The Turkish-led forces entered al-Bab from the northwest, seizing control of several neighbourhoods. This while the Syrian regime’s troops continued to push towards the city from the south, cutting off a main ISIS supply route.
However, Islamic State’s (ISIS) fighters still hold control of major parts of the city, and the group started to fight back in order to keep its positions in al-Bab.
Turkey and its rebel allies have been bogged down in al-Bab for almost three months, taking significant casualties. ISIS constructed a warren of tunnels and an extensive trench line in anticipation of the fighting.
On August 24, the Turkish military and allied rebel factions launched Operation Euphrates Shield. As part of the operation, Turkey’s military and its allies took over Jarablus city in August.
In early January, the Russia Air Force conducted several airstrikes near al-Bab, targeting Islamic State’s tactical units and fighting positions. The Russian air raids destroyed key ISIS strongholds, killing and wounding dozens of ISIS militants.
On 4 January, Erdogan had also said that the Turkey-backed offensive of the Euphrates Shield Operation to take Syria’s al-Bab city from ISIS should conclude soon.
In mid-January, the Syrian regime has also joined the battle for al-Bab city. Analysts believe that the regime is increasingly alarmed by the Turkish advance towards al-Bab, considering it a direct threat to eastern Aleppo, which was recently retaken.
Posted by: badanov ||
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The Netherlands has granted 18 months of right to stay for a group of Turkish soldiers who sought political asylum from the country after the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has allowed the Turkish officers and their families to stay in the country during the period needed to examine their asylum requests, Dutch daily NRC reported on Feb. 14.
The group of soldiers, whose numbers remain unknown and who were assigned for duties in Europe, refused Ankara’s calls to extradite them to Turkey over concerns that they will be prosecuted. The soldiers said that “there is no opportunity of a fair trial in Turkey” in their asylum requests.
Turkish authorities have previously announced that the citizenships of those who are sought as suspects of the thwarted coup will not be revoked, if they returned to the country within three months starting from January.
According to NRC, the Dutch authorities are not leaning toward the extradition requests of Turkey due to the state of emergency declared after the foiled coup.
A Turkish authority, who spoke to the daily on condition of anonymity, told NRC that a “fair trial” would be guaranteed. They stressed that it was “unacceptable” for the “NATO ally Netherlands” to become “a safe port” for the fugitive soldiers.
The Netherlands’ Justice Ministry previously suspended the extradition of criminals to Turkey, citing the events that unfolded after the July 2016 coup attempt.
Dutch politician Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, meanwhile, said the asylum requests were evaluated as a subject above political interests. Sjoerdsma from the Democrats ‘66 (D66) political party also called on the authorities to renew the regulations regarding the asylum requests of the Turkish citizens because of measures taken after the thwarted coup.
Sharon Gesthuizen, from the Socialist Party, told NRC that the asylum requests of the Turkish officers should be given priority when being examined.
“The right to asylum is beyond diplomacy and is about human rights and security,” Gesthuizen said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
It wasn't a coup - it was a purge. By Erdogan.
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/15/2017 15:08
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#2
correct, it was a set-up, a purge by erdogan
so are these soldiers secularists who fell for the ruse?
The ouster of North Korean eminence grise Jang Song-taek throws into relief the fate of leader Kim Jong-un's older half-brother Jong-nam, who was raised by Jang and his wife.
Kim Jong-nam is the eldest son of former leader Kim Jong-il and was thought to be the designated heir until he fell from grace in 2001. Since then he has lived in lavishly funded exile in Macau and Beijing and has had practically no contact with his younger half-brother.
Half-brother by birth, not by weight...
Kim Jong-nam has not been seen in Macau for over a year. "He seems to be living a quiet life traveling between Singapore and China," a source based in Beijing said Tuesday. "He's probably lying low now that Jang, to whom he was close, has been whacked purged."
Kim Jong-nam has been critical of the dynastic succession of power in the North, talking freely to a Japanese journalist about the need for reform in the North. But lately he has been more quiet.
There is speculation that China is grooming Jong-nam to take over if the regime of Kim Jong-un were to collapse. "Rumor has it that China is protecting Kim Jong-nam," the source added.
Any time, China...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
There was a lot about him when Dear Leader passed. He's a worthless playboy who does nothing but gamble in Macau and generally behave as a wastrel. He's so unimportant he didn't even have a security detail. He just arrived in Beijing airport and got into a taxi just like everyone else.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
02/15/2017 1:41
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#3
Ok, the orignal artice Kim Jong-un's Older Brother 'Lying Low' is from Dec 2013. Chosun has an article from 2/15/2015:
Kim Jong-un's Brother Killed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother died in mysterious circumstances at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday morning.
Kim Jong-nam died on the way to hospital after he told airport officials he had been attacked by unknown assailants.
Intelligence officers here briefed the media that Kim, who lived in gilded exile in Macau after falling out of favor with his father Kim Jong-il, was killed with a poison needle or spray by two female North Korean agents.
#12
Kim Jong-nam's 21 year old son is now reported lying very low in China. He won't be seen any any budget airline counters. Probably be groomed by the Chinese to take over North Korea when the time comes.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A source in the Joint Operations Command revealed on Tuesday, that the self-proclaimed Islamic State group detonated the houses of 15 former policemen, west of Mosul, as well as arresting ten civilians on charges of collaboration with security forces.
Colonel Khodier Saleh said in a press statement, “The Islamic State group blew up 15 houses belonging to former police officers in Badush village, west of Mosul.”
“The group also arrested 10 civilians in the village, on charges of collaboration with security forces,” Saleh added.
[AAWSAT] Mosul – Despite his young age, Mohammed Ahmed of Ibrahim Khalil village in Mosul was one of ISIS’ most dangerous snipers.
Shortly after ISIS took over Mosul city in June 2014, Ahmed, 14, joined the terrorist organization and began his training on all types of weapons. His skills developed rapidly until he became one of the most skilled and dangerous members.
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper toured the southeastern villages and cities of Mosul where it met Ahmed who was arrested along with his father and uncle. After several attempts, the Iraqi army allowed the newspaper to speak to the boy before being transferred with other ISIS militants to the headquarters for interrogation.
Mohammed began telling the story of when ISIS first took control over Mosul and how his father gathered the weapons of the police in their village and handed them over to ISIS militants as a gift. He described the relations his family had with the organization as strong, which later contributed in making them in charge of their town and other nearby towns.
Ahmed said he was fascinated by the way the militants dressed and the weapons they carried, and after encouragement from his father he joined ISIS.
He was then sent to Raqqa, Syria, for training and was assigned to the children’s camp where thousands were receiving their training.
He explained the detailed drills they received which included physical training and intensive educational courses. They would wake up at four in the morning and finish late in the afternoon.
Ahmed said that they were taught the organization’s ideologies as well as military and physical training on how to use all kinds of weapons, make bombs and execute attacks – as well as training on assassination, torture, and how to engage in combats.
“We used to try killing and execution on detainees arrested by ISIS and armed men who disobeyed the organization’s laws,” he added.
According to Ahmed, he was trained for six months in “Farouq” Camp on snipping and killing and most trainers were Arabs and foreigners. He graduated from the camp among ISIS’ “top” snipers.
He admitted that he participated in battles in Iraq and Syria, but his most prominent battles where in Iraq. He supervised several checkpoints and executions.
“I pledged my allegiance to ISIS and was involved with it,” he acknowledged.
Due to the decline in its adult members, ISIS resorted to enrolling children labelled as “Scouts of the Caliphate” to perform terrorist operations.
Citizens in liberated areas reported that ISIS resorted to luring teenagers and children with money, guns, and cars. The organization assured the young members that they would live luxuriously among members.
Shortly after their enrollment, ISIS leaders would tell the young recruits they have to fight on the frontlines or else they will be executed for disobeying the orders.
Since 2014, the terrorist organization opened dozens of training camps for young members between ages of 5 and 17. The most important two camps are “Farouq” and “Scouts of the Caliphate“.
Some of the children in the camps joined willingly, while others were enrolled by their parents for $200, and some were kidnapped when ISIS took control over cities in Anbar and Saladin.
Informed sources reported that there are about 4500 children in ISIS camps, 2000 from Nineveh.
Alaa Khalid, Iraqi soldier, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army captured Ahmed along with four others while their displaced families were moving from one of the Namroud area villages.
Khalid said that villagers told the security forces about Ahmed and he was arrested after further investigations.
Residents in Mosul liberated areas said that ISIS used their children for spying as well. They would report back to their commanders about citizens and their movements.
The terrorist organization brainwashed the children into believing that Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, ISIS “caliph”, was their father.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/15/2017
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#5
CF, The Immigration Attorneys probably prefer that label rather than Ambulance Chasers, Illegal Alien Attorney or Rio Grand Frogmen representatives.
#10
“Trumpwants to lift up stories of crimes because he wants the American people to think that most undocumented immigrants are criminals,”
I'd just like to know if it zero, as the media keeps telling us, or some other number. But then, to decide if the criminals are 10% or 90%, we'd need to agree on how many illegals are in the Country, wouldn't we?
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/15/2017 12:56
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[AnNahar] NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday said the top priority for the transatlantic alliance is to increase defense spending, as demanded by U.S. 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... "Regardless of language, the most important thing is that we increase defense spending and that is exactly what we are doing," Stoltenberg said when asked about NATO's response to Trump's calls for it to do more to share the burden with Washington.
On the campaign trail and in his first days in office, Trump appeared to put in doubt the near 70-year U.S. security guarantee for NATO which he dubbed "obsolete" while accusing some allies of not paying their way. His remarks caused consternation among the allies who, stung by Russia's intervention in Ukraine, had agreed in 2014 to increase defense spending to two percent of national economic output by 2024, reversing years of cuts.
Stoltenberg said all 28 allies had agreed that commitment and they reaffirmed it last year at a Warsaw summit.
"That has been my top priority and I have raised it in all the meetings that I have had," he told a press briefing before a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday.
"In 2015, we stopped the cuts and in 2016 ... we made the first significant step in increasing defense spending by 3.8 percent" or $10 billion, he added.
He said that in two phone calls with Trump, the new president "strongly expressed his strong commitment to NATO ... but in both calls he underlined fair burden sharing."
"Those that spend less than the two percent have to meet the two percent target and I agree with him," he said.
The NATO defense ministers meeting is being closely watched as it is the first for new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, with his peers anxious to hear first hand what the new administration plans. Mattis, who served several years in NATO, has appeared more conciliatory on the future of the alliance and relations with Russia compared with the president.
Stoltenberg downplayed the issue when asked about possible differences or tensions within the new U.S. administration.
"The important thing for me is that the president, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state have all conveyed the same strong message about NATO," he said. "They stated clearly that the United States stays strongly committed to NATO and the transatlantic bond."
ADEN: A suicide car bomb attack in a rebel-held Yemeni town on Tuesday killed three people, including a child, and wounded eight others, a provincial official said.
The attack targeted a sports and culture club in the Houthi-controlled town of Radaa, he said, in the central province of Baida where Al-Qaeda fighters are present.
A security official said: “Houthi fighters opened fire on the car before it attacked the club, causing it to explode at the gate, leading to the deaths and injuries.”
A nearby school was also damaged, the source said.
Late last month, dozens of suspected Al-Qaeda militants, civilians and a US Navy Seal were killed in a US raid on a compound in the same province.
The United States considers Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be the extremist group’s most dangerous.
AQAP and the Daesh jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and the Shiite rebels to expand their presence in Yemen.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/15/2017
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[Bloomberg] If we are to believe the Trump White House, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn just resigned because he lied about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the vice president. As White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told NBC's "Today Show" on Tuesday: "Misleading the vice president really was the key here."
That sounds about as credible as when the president told CIA employees that the media had invented the story about his enmity toward the spy agency, not even two weeks after he had taken to Twitter to compare the CIA to Nazis. It's about as credible as President Donald Trump's insistence that it didn't rain during his inauguration. Or that millions of people had voted illegally in the election he just won.
The point here is that for a White House that has such a casual and opportunistic relationship with the truth, it's strange that Flynn's "lie" to Pence would get him fired. It doesn't add up. Oh for fok's sake. These libtards simply cannot resist the temptation to mock and belittle.
It's not even clear that Flynn lied. He says in his resignation letter that he did not deliberately leave out elements of his conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when he recounted them to Vice President Mike Pence. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the transcript of the phone call reviewed over the weekend by the White House could be read different ways. One White House official with knowledge of the conversations told me that the Russian ambassador raised the sanctions to Flynn and that Flynn responded that the Trump team would be taking office in a few weeks and would review Russia policy and sanctions. That's neither illegal nor improper.
What's more, the Washington Post reported Monday night that last month Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, had informed the White House that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak and that he could be susceptible to blackmail because he misled Pence about it. If it was the lie to Pence that sunk Flynn, why was he not fired at the end of January? The WAPO, an acknowledged guardian of truth and civility. Skipping down to the BLUF
In the end, it was Trump's decision to cut Flynn loose. In doing this he caved in to his political and bureaucratic opposition. Nunes told me Monday night that this will not end well. "First it's Flynn, next it will be Kellyanne Conway, then it will be Steve Bannon, then it will be Reince Priebus," he said. Put another way, Flynn is only the appetizer. Trump is the entree. So, the revealing of the left's target folder is somehow news ?
#1
Flynn had to know someone somewhere had ears on Sergey. The channel he used obviously wasn't deep enough or perhaps he didn't care. Either way someone was willing to reveal methods in order to bring him down. But why so public? Lake is right. This one smells like a hit job with a larger agenda.
#3
CBS is repeating the word "chaos" as often as they possibly can. Forget Flynn. This is all about Trump. It seems there are more than one way to assassinate a president.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/15/2017 11:09
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#4
Alex jones says Rinsed Penis is indeed the termite undermining, the leaker-in-chief and the problem
#5
The problem here is that instead of sacking flynn, Trump should have said: so what? He should have been talking to russia along with other countries, which he did, its routine and normal. The cold war ended in 1991. Lets have a congressional investigation into Saudi influence on US elections and foreign policy instead
And start your own witch hunt into saudi influence
You'd claim hillary and obama and the deceptacon deep state
The Iraqi Air Force carried out a strike on a house where Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was thought to be meeting other commanders, the Iraqi military said on Feb. 13, without making clear whether he had been hit.
In a statement, it said Iraqi F-16s had targeted the house in western Iraq on Feb. 11. It published the names of 13 ISIL commanders it said had been killed in the air strike, but the list did not include Baghdadi. Three other ISIL positions in western Iraq were targeted in the same wave of air strikes, killing 64 fighters, the statement added.
The military said Baghdadi moved last week in a convoy from Raqqa, in Syria, to the region of al-Qaim, on the Iraqi side of the border, to discuss with commanders “the collapse happening in Mosul and to choose a successor for him.”
Baghdadi, an Iraqi whose real name is Ibrahim al-Samarrai and who proclaimed a “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014, has been reported wounded several times in the past. His last known public message goes back to November last year, when he called on ISIL fighters to defend Mosul, their last major urban stronghold in Iraq.
Baghdadi’s health is unknown, but the Pentagon said six weeks ago that he was still alive and leading ISIL as it tries to defend the remnants of its crumbling “caliphate.”
Pray for sepsis...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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Four Russian military aircraft conducted low passes against a U.S. destroyer in the Black Sea last week, the first such military provocation since the new Trump administration took office.
The incident took place Feb. 10 and involved the USS Porter, a guided missile destroyer, fending off low flights by what the commander of the ship regarded as potentially dangerous flybys.
"There were several incidents involving multiple Russian aircraft," said Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez, spokesman for the European Command. "They were assessed by the commanding officer as unsafe and unprofessional."
The first buzzing involved two Russian Su-24 jet fighters followed by a single Su-24 and, in a third incident, an IL-38 transport aircraft.
The passes were described by Hernandez, the Eucom spokesman, as ranging from unusually low altitude to low altitude and high speed. The Russian aircraft operated without their electronic identifying transponders activated. The Russian aircraft also failed to respond to several radio requests from the Porter to halt the overflights.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
In the good old days, US Navy ships used to turn on their missile fire control radars as a warning if the Russkies got too aggressive.
Apparently that's considered an act of war these days. Too bad, really. It should raise the pucker factor in the pilots just a bit.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/15/2017 11:28
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[al-Manar] At least seven Saudi soldiers have died on the southern border since late last week, according to an unusual series of official reports released.
In separate dispatches since last Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has carried photographs of funerals for the “martyrs” it said had died “defending the southern borders.”
The most recent report, published late on Monday, named Mohammed al-Manjahi as the latest soldier to have been killed.
A Saudi-led coalition began a brutal aggression on Yemen in March 2015 to support its ally the fugitive President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
An earlier AFP tally of reports by the Saudi interior ministry and civil defence department found that at least 115 Saudi soldiers and alleged civilians had been killed on the southern border since coalition operations began. That total has now reached at least 122.
The Saudi interior ministry regularly gives details of casualties among its border guard troops but other military services normally do not.
Official media have previously reported on funerals for dead troops but the series of dispatches since last week is unusual.
Three Indian soldiers and a suspected militant were killed in a gunbattle in held Kashmir Tuesday after an army patrol came under fire in the north of the territory, officials said.
“Three soldiers were killed during a gunfight with militants that broke out at Hajin in Bandipora district,” army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told AFP, adding that five other soldiers were injured.
A police official said a civilian also sustained injuries in the cross-firing which erupted after the government forces cordoned off an area following a tip-off about the presence of militants.
“A search party was suddenly fired upon by the militants as it zeroed in on a residential area,” a police superintendent told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the press.
He added that nine soldiers were injured in the initial attack and were immediately shifted to army hospital.
“Three among them later succumbed to their injuries,” he added.
One suspected militant, whose identity was not yet known, was also killed in the operation, he added.
Tuesday's deadly violence came days after four militants, two soldiers and two civilians were killed in a flare-up in southern Kashmir.
Prior to the Super Bowl, I was made aware of a television ad from Audi. The ad was based on the long ago discredited claim that women are systematically paid less for doing the same work as men. Here’s the ad. It’s one of those times when the PC proselytizing is actually worse than what you expected. Watching it through to the end is difficult because the smug radiates from the screen like a bad odor. It’s not the ridiculous preening that is repugnant. It is the inappropriateness. Who does Audi think buys their cars?
It’s not hard to imagine the room where this ad was screened for the executives at Audi USA. Men and women in snappy business suits talked about how to target the professional female car buyer. Maybe they had data showing that Audi lags in this segment compared to its competitors. Everyone watched the ad, nodded in agreement, felt brave and wonderful and then agreed it should be the big ad for the big game. No one bothered to ask if Audi or the ad agency pays their females less than their males.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/15/2017 10:57
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#3
Audi probably has it right with their ad - their market is women and men who identify as women much of the time. Their cars seem great but break to often and way too expensively, IMO.
#5
I have at my desk a blue automatic pencil and a pink automatic pencil. Both use identical erasers and lead; the only difference is color. Although I paid the same for each pencil, the "culture" seems to be saying that I pay an approximate 17% discount for using the pink pencil.
If I were a capitalist interested in enhancing my EBITA, would I not purchase and use pink pencils exclusively?
There is much more than the Y chromosome to explain the "reduction" in pay women receive for "same" work. It's just easier to clamor along about it, because, well, math is hard.
#6
Love those terms "dirt people" and "cloud people"
Yes indeed
However i think it is untrue to say there is no longer any workplace issue with women being paid less for work of the same description, hours and value.
I have seen it in my former workplace.if they can get away with it they will
[Ynet] Turkish police detained more than 500 people on Monday in operations across The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... targeting suspects linked with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) turban group, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
It said senior members of the group were among the 544 suspects held in operations across 25 provinces, including the major western cities of Istanbul and Izmir.
Officials from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were among the 45 detained in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, the provincial governor's said in a statement.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/15/2017
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Prominent Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal has been convicted on charges of conducting “terror propaganda” due to a 2016 article regarding one of the leading figures of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), receiving a suspended sentence of one year, three months in jail.
In the second hearing of the case on Feb. 14 in which Cemal was charged with “conducting terror propaganda” and “praising crime and criminals,” an Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes sentenced him to a 15-month suspended prison term but acquitted him on a second charge.
The journalist was on trial for a July 11, 2016, column titled “Fehman Hüseyin.”
“I have been doing journalism for 47 years. For the first time, I am being accused like this for the articles and books that I have written,” Cemal said during his hearing. “I have never defended terror. I have never become a tool for terror propaganda. I have always defended peace. Journalism is not a crime. There is no law, freedom and democracy in a society where journalism is a crime.”
Cemal is separately on trial for terror-related charges allegedly committed while he was serving as a one-day editor-in-chief of daily Özgür Gündem as part of a solidarity campaign with the now-closed paper.
Özgür Gündem was shut down on Aug. 16, 2016, for allegedly conducting propaganda on behalf of the PKK and acting as the organization’s media organ.
During that case’s trial held on Feb. 14, prosecutors demanded Cemal’s imprisonment for up to eight years over charges of “carrying out terror propaganda.”
Along with Cemal, trials into more than 20 other journalists and intellectuals, including Ayşe Düzkan, Ragıp Duran, M. Ali Çelebi, Can Dündar and Necmiye Alpay, who participated in the solidarity campaign for Özgür Gündem, were also held at two Istanbul courts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
Prominent Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal has been convicted on charges of conducting “terror propaganda.” If we did that in the USA, our jails would be full of MSM fake news hacks.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A Counter-Terrorism Officer announced on Tuesday, that 24 members of the Islamic State, including two elite leaders, were killed, after sneaking into eastern Mosul.
Major Ali Mohsen said in a press statement, “Security forces killed 24 members of the Islamic State, including two senior leaders, after sneaking into al-Maliyah area, in eastern Mosul.”
“The security forces emphasized the importance of reporting any suspicious movements in the area, to prevent the sneaking of the Islamic State’s members into the liberated areas,” Mohsen added.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/15/2017
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[AnNahar] Libya on Tuesday repatriated nearly 200 illegal migrants colonists from Niger who had been held in detention centers in the capital, an AFP photographer said.
They were flown home from Mitiga airport 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... , in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Hosni Abu Ayana, a front man for Libya's office that deals with illegal migrants colonists, said the repatriated group included 50 women and four children.
He added that more than 900 other detained migrants colonists will be repatriated in the coming weeks.
The IOM website said that in 2016, the organization "supported 1,589 migrants colonists to voluntarily return to their countries of origin" from Libya, giving priority to "the most vulnerable."
People smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since the 2011 revolution to greatly boost their lucrative trade.
Most departures take place from the west of the North African country, usually heading for Italia 300 kilometers (190 miles) away across the Mediterranean.
Europeans are considering measures aimed at blocking the arrival of thousands of migrants colonists, alarming NGOs which fear those stranded in Libya may suffer mistreatment.
In the absence of an army or a regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often accused themselves of complicity or even involvement in the people-smuggling business.
Nur Jumale Farah, Somalia’s auditor general, said Somaliland’s deal with United Arab Emirates (UAE) to set up military base in the port town of Berbera is illegal and against law.
Somaliland has more of a functioning government than the rest of Somalia. Like, for example, they have a functioning government...
Mr. Farah said in an exclusive interview with VOA Somali service that UAE’s controversial military agreement with Somaliland will jeopardize the two countries’ bilateral relationship.
The auditor General added UAE has inked a military deal with a tiny administration in Somalia, without the permission of the Federal government in Mogadishu. He called on UAE to review the deal and stay working with Somali government over its interests in the country, including investments and establishment of the military bases.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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Someone should remind China just how quickly Japan and South Korea could develop working nuclear weapons, and platforms to deploy them.
South Korea is mulling staging own ballistic missile test after the North's recent launch, a military source told a local news agency, Sputnik reported.
South Korea is mulling staging own ballistic missile test after the North has recently fired what it said was a nuclear-capable missile, a military source told the local news agency Yonhap.
"In response to North Korea's missile launch Sunday, we are reviewing measures to discard security concerns and show our determination to retaliate against any aggression by the North," a defense ministry official said.
The South Korean Defense Ministry official told the agency they were considering live-firing a Hyunmoo-2A missile with a range of 186 miles or a Hyunmoo-2B missile, which can travel for more than 300 miles, and publish photos or videos of the test.
I think the SKors need a missile with a longer range. I think 3,000 km would fit nicely in their arsenal...
"There is also an opinion in the military that it will be more effective to unveil the test-firing scene of a new 800 km ballistic missile which is in the final stage of development," the source added.
North Korea said earlier in the day the Sunday launch of its Pukguksong-2 missile was a success. It was fired from an airbase in the western province of North Pyongan and travelled around 300 miles before plunging into the Sea of Japan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2017
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#1
...There has been an assumption for some time that the Japanese - practical souls that they are - are a 'breakout power', i.e.; they have various components scattered about (they definitely have the boosters) and in about four to six months from giving the word, they get up one morning and say, "Oh, by the way, we've got about a dozen ICBMs, and they're aimed at Pyongyang...and other places."
The fun thing to do there would be to quietly let the Chinese know that everything gets reduced back to components the minute Fat Boy goes away. I suspect that might happen right quick at that point.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/15/2017 5:24
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#2
interesting Mike. Plus i liked your story about langley AFB and the russians and the topless ladies.
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.
[Breitbart] The Korean embassy has warned against visiting the migrant-dominated Paris region of Seine-Saint-Denis after thugs terrorised a coach of tourists.
Sweden’s second largest city of Gothenburg has invested in a Camel Park saying it will help integrate migrants and turn a depressed neighborhood into a tourist mecca despite strong criticism from politicians, businessmen, and locals.
"I feel there's been a double standard," Broadwell said, adding, "I take full responsibility for the mistakes that I did make."
Chicago toddler shot and killed; 11-year-old wounded in weekend shooting dies
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
The Iraqi Air Force carried out a strike on a house where Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was thought to be meeting other commanders, the Iraqi military said on Feb. 13, without making clear whether he had been hit. 
Four Russian military aircraft conducted low passes against a U.S. destroyer in the Black Sea last week, the first such military provocation since the new Trump administration took office.
