[Independent] Nineteen people have been killed and at least 50 people have been injured following an kaboom at Manchester Arena which is being treated as a terrorist incident.
Footage shows thousands of panicked young people fleeing the arena in panic after an kaboom went off at around 10.40pm.
Eyewitnesses said the kaboom sounds were heard outside the auditorium after the artist had finished her show and left the stage, with people claiming on social media they believed the bangs were a bomb.
One fan leaving the concert described how the loud bangs resonated as fans were leaving the venue, which has a capacity of 21,000. It is not known how many people were attending the concert, but the majority of the American pop star's fans are young people in their teens and twenties.
One eyewitness named Andy who had been at the concert with his wife and daughters told the BBC he had seen many people lying on the ground injured as he desperately searched for his family.
"Whoever's done it has done it on a kids' concert," he said, adding that the whole building had shook from the force of the kaboom.
Another eyewitness said he was thrown "30 feet in the air" by the force of the kaboom.
Emergency services are said to be in attendance at the venue close to Manchester Victoria station with police helicopters reported to be circling overhead.
Police have warned people to stay away from the arena while investigations take place and put out a a statement confimring the number of fatalities shortly after 1am.
Police confirmed a bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled kaboom of a suspect device around 1am.
#9
NBC reporting law enforcement officials say at least 20 dead and hundreds have been injured.
But the hundreds injured claim is being challenged on Twitter, and the police reports continue to say 19 dead and at least 50 wounded -- though that may mean seriously enough wounded to be taken to hospital rather than slapped with a bandaid and sent home. Still, given the size of the crowd and the average age of the audience, and the supposition of a suicide bomber plus a second device, it's fairly miraculous it wasn't a very great deal worse. Thank you all for being on top of this.
I've set it as today's headline, late in the day though it is.
California would have to find an additional $200 billion per year, including in new tax revenues, to create a so-called "single-payer" system, the analysis by the Senate Appropriations committee found. The estimate assumes the state would retain the existing $200 billion in local, state and federal funding it currently receives to offset the total $400 billion price tag.
The cost analysis is seen as the biggest hurdle to create a universal system, proposed by Sens. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.
Steep projected costs have derailed efforts over the past two decades to establish a publicly funded, universal health care system in California. The cost is higher than the $180 billion in proposed general fund and special fund spending for the budget year beginning July 1.
Californians already pay some of the highest tax rates in the nation, which have all but driven out the state’s formerly robust middle class.
Single payer -- and the taxes required to pay for all that paying -- would be the final nail in California’s coffin.
#1
Imagine the illegal rush if this passed. Also budget estimates on costs of things always, ALWAYS comes in low. I would expect to see this roar to 600-800 billion a year.
#2
Imagine the waiting lists and waiting times as private medical practices are driven out of business and/or leave the state rather than submit to being lorded over by government bureaucrats when it comes to determining treatments and fees.
Moved to P.6: Seedy Politics and Lurid Crime Tales to fit with the rest of the stories we've had about Mr. Rich. For futu reference, if you are not sure where your article goes, please post it on P. 3: Non-WoT and Short Attention Span Theater, unless it is clearly War on Terror (bombs, bullets, arrests and sentences involving jihadis), War on Terror Background/Politics (anything else involving jihadis), Opinion (op-ed pieces or blog posts not involving seedy politics), or Seedy Politics (anything anti-Trump or aimed at undermining our political system, including egregious politicians). Thank you.
#1
It shouldn't be too difficult for LEO's to obtain Rich's ER records. It shouldn't be difficult to determine the authenticity of this Anon ER doc by checking duty records on the date of the murder. Do HIPPAA laws come into play for someone who has expired? Also there should have been an EMS ambulance report also.
#3
John, HIPPAA laws stay in effect even if the person is dead. If you want to find out if your sleazy cousin died from herpes complex, you won't be able to pull the medical records.
[Disobedient Media] Last week, Fox 5 DC’s report incited a storm of controversy after former D.C. police homicide detective Rod Wheeler stated that there was tangible evidence on murdered Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich’s laptop suggesting that he was communicating with Wikileaks prior to his death. The story generated a large amount of outrage, with outlets like the Washington Post and Vice labelling it a "conspiracy theory" and claiming that it had no basis in fact. But details regarding the political affiliation of spokespeople and representatives of the Rich family appear to indicate that the DNC may be prioritizing its own interests, minimizing alleged political elements to the tragedy.
I. Legal Representatives And Spokespeople For Rich Family Have Ties To DNC, Crime Connected Unions
Since Fox 5 DC’s report, a number of individuals speaking on behalf of the Rich family have blasted Fox News and Rod Wheeler for speaking out on the case. Rich family spokesman Brad Bauman insisted that anyone who continued to push the story either had a "transparent political agenda," or were a sociopath. But an August 2016 tweet from Wikileaks revealed that Bauman is a crisis public relations consultant working with the Pastorum Group. A media release from the Pastorum Group reveals that Bauman previously worked for the DNC and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
The SEIU has previously been reported by the Wall Street Journal as a "top spender" for the Democrats, openly endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and actively assisted in her campaign. It has been widely criticized by some groups for the involvement of union members in crimes including embezzlement, criminal conspiracy, perjury and identity theft. The SEIU is also a client of the Strategic Consulting Group, which was founded by the Democratic operative Robert Creamer. In 2016, Creamer was implicated in footage obtained by journalist James O’Keefe which revealed that Creamer was engaging in voting fraud and violent disruption of political events, sometimes using his connections to unions who were as clients of his.
Bauman’s past professional ties to the DNC and the SEIU raise questions about the vehemence with which he has attacked journalists reporting on the circumstances of Seth Rich’s murder.
#2
Rich family spokesman Brad Bauman insisted that anyone who continued to push the story either had a "transparent political agenda," or were a sociopath.
Gosh, you mean like that conspiracy theory about Trump and the Russians?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/22/2017 17:02
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...There can be no serious debate. Donald Trump has done a truly outstanding job of not being Hillary Clinton.
...Now, that is not to say there have not been challenges, but we must be careful not to confuse the lies of the media and their Democrat masters, repeated by the Never Trumper geek chorus, with problems Trump himself caused.
Here’s the brutal reality: No matter what Trump does, he will always be evil, awful, criminal, and/or treasonous. It doesn’t matter if he does something good. It’s doesn’t matter if Obama famously did the same thing ‐ or worse. It doesn’t matter if it’s an outright and obvious lie. It will never stop. The soft coup plotters’ plan is to generate a constant barrage of bullSchumer designed to eventually browbeat the weak-hearted among the GOP into going along with their impeachment scheme as the first step on the road to the left retaking power and consolidating it so that we normals can never again have our voices heard.
If you want to blame Trump for the phony "controversy" surrounding him, ask yourself ‐ what actions could he take that would stop the liberal feeding frenzy? Be nicer and gentler and act like "the bigger man? Worked great for W.
h/t Instapundit
OPEC’s members brought in less cash from selling oil in 2016 than in any of the past dozen years. That grim reality comes to us courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earned about $433 billion in net oil export revenues in 2016, the lowest since 2004. In real dollar terms, the 2016 revenue represents a 15% decline from the $509 billion earned in 2015, mainly because of the fall in average annual crude oil prices and, to a lesser extent, because of decreases in OPEC net oil exports.
That 15 percent year-on-year decline is a dramatic example of the fiscal pain these petrostate regimes are enduring as a result of the collapse in crude prices. Those low prices come to us courtesy of American shale producers, whose output contributed to a global glut that brought prices from their $100+ per barrel levels down to the $50 range they occupy today.
[NoisyRoom.net] Does Russiagate Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, have any credibility? Kenneth J. Dillon, a former Foreign Service officer and intelligence analyst, says, "My research on the 2001 anthrax mailings case suggests that former FBI Director Robert Mueller was responsible for the suicide of the alleged, but wrongly accused mailer, Bruce Ivins, as well as for the subsequent cover-up." Link to Kenneth J. Dillon's Scientia Press.com
[ICE Newsroom] Defendant’s extensive collection included images of child rape.
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. ‐ A Mount Vernon, Wash., man was sentenced in federal court Friday to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession and distribution of child pornography, as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Eric Bongiorni, 32, was arrested by HSI Blaine special agents in March 2016 after a court-authorized search warrant revealed numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse on his electronic devices.
According to court documents, an undercover HSI special agent downloaded child pornography in February 2016 that was shared over a peer-to-peer file sharing network linked to the IP address belonging to Bongiorni. The subsequent law enforcement investigation disclosed Bongiorni is a registered sex offender with a 2009 conviction in Skagit County Superior Court for three counts of child molestation.
Bongiorni pleaded guilty in February admitting to collecting child pornography since 2003. One device seized from his home contained 436 images and 267 videos of child pornography.
[Defense Watch] There are very few crime/mystery novels that approach this true story for compelling drama, intrigue and brinkmanship (with the nation in the balance).
* Don’t believe the fake-media story that Trump made a mistake or huge gaffe by firing Comey.
* Don’t believe the media narrative from the left that it was an attempt to silence Comey from some investigation into Trump.
* Don’t believe the RINO narrative that Comey is a good guy just trying to do his job in terrible circumstances and the timing was bad.
* Don’t believe the lie that Comey was admired and respected by career FBI investigators and agents.
* Don’t believe the lie that Trump’s "tweets" are not professional and have no strategic purpose. His tweets are weaponized and deadly.
James Comey is a poisonous snake of the highest order... a deep-water Swamp Denizen who has been highly paid to deliberately provide cover for high-level corruption by the Clintons and Obama. He is has been central to trying to destroy the Trump campaign and then the Trump administration from the start. He is as dirty as they come in DC. He had highest-level cover (the FBI no less) and was deep into an effort to eliminate Trump. Trump had to move hard, fast, and at exactly the right time to cut the head off the snake without getting bitten by the snake or being finished by the other swamp denizens.
Begin by noticing how the President fired Comey when Comey was 3,000 miles away from his office, that Comey had no inkling he was being cut, that all his files, computers, and everything in his office were seized by his boss Sessions and the justice department. This was not a violation of protocol, it was tactical. Notice how Prez Trump compartmentalized the strike and did not inform any of his White House “staff” to prevent leaks. Notice how he emasculated Comey and the swamp denizens by letting them know in a tweet that the Attorney General got information (surveillance “tapes” from the seizure of Comey’s office) to let Comey and his handlers know that Trump’s DOJ has the goods on them. This was a brilliant, strategic and totally imperative move at exactly the right time against horrible, evil and corrupt powers infesting our government.
The swamp is on notice that the President is on to them, they are sweating bullets because their criminal games of corruption are being pursued and they know it. They are screaming and ranting because they are desperate denizens of the swamp who are beginning to realize they are roadkill.
THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMEY SCAM. Taken from credible public sources (readily available if you want to look or want me to send them to you), with a few reasonable “fill in the blank” conclusions of my own.
#1
MUCH more at the link. An interesting story that'd make a good book. I bet a lot of folks don't think Trump has the brains to pull of what is described. We shall see! Interesting times.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/22/2017 12:42
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#2
that all his files, computers, and everything in his office were seized by his boss
That was SOP when you fire someone in a sensitive position (after various compromises with computer based materials we've all watch unfold these past couple of years). You fire'm, and then have security escort them to HR for their papers and out the door. They get their 'personal' stuff sent to them and don't get to rummage through anything in their old office or cube.
#3
There is a meme going around that the contents of Comey's computer was stored on a flash drive and given to the Russians. It's as believable as The Saudi King converting to Christianity.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/22/2017 13:27
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#4
I bet a lot of folks don't think Trump has the brains to pull of what is described.
That's been the standard line of crap the Dems throw at every Repub. president since I've been alive. Of course it's bullshit, and it doesn't explain how a guy builds a huge real estate business through his own efforts, or (in the case of W.) why the Air Force Reserve would let a blithering idiot fly multi-million dollar jet aircraft.
#5
... all his files, computers, and everything in his office were seized by his boss Sessions and the justice department...
Heh, heh. Kinda makes me wonder again exactly where that one famous Comey memo is.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/22/2017 17:15
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#6
"THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMEY SCAM. Taken from credible public sources(readily available if you want to look or want me to send them to you...)"
I'd be wary of clicking on the "available" as my computer gives me a warning about a Zeus virus.
#4
I'm sure it would've been a lot more if she'd worn the scarf. - MSM
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/22/2017 12:17
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#5
Alice Roosevelt : Teddy's Daughter
taken from Wikipedia........
"When her father took office in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley, Jr. in Buffalo (an event that she greeted with "sheer rapture"[13]), Alice became an instant celebrity and fashion icon at age 17, and at her social debut in 1902 she wore a gown of what was to become known forever afterwards as "Alice blue", sparking a color trend in women's clothing.[14] Alice was known as a rule-breaker in an era when women were under great pressure to conform. The American public noticed many of her exploits. She smoked cigarettes in public, rode in cars with men, stayed out late partying, kept a pet snake named Emily Spinach (Emily after her spinster aunt and Spinach for its green color) in the White House, and was seen placing bets with a bookie.[5]
Alice Roosevelt with her dog, Leo, a long-haired Chihuahua. She was also given a Pekingese named Manchu, by the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi in 1905
In 1905, Alice, along with her father's Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, led the American delegation to Japan, Hawaii, China, the Philippines, and Korea. It was the largest such diplomatic mission thus far, composed of 23 congressmen (including her future husband Nicholas Longworth), seven senators, diplomats, officials and businessmen.[15]
During the cruise to Japan, Alice jumped into the ship's pool fully clothed, and coaxed Congressman Longworth to join her in the water.[16] (Years later Bobby Kennedy would chide her about the incident, saying it was outrageous for the time, to which the by-then-octogenarian Alice replied that it would only have been outrageous had she removed her clothes.[17]) In her autobiography, Crowded Hours, Alice made note of the event, pointing out that there was little difference between the linen skirt and blouse she had been wearing and a lady's swimsuit of the period.
1902 studio portrait of Alice Roosevelt by Frances Benjamin Johnston.
Once, a White House visitor commented on Alice's frequent interruptions to the Oval Office, often to offer political advice. The exhausted president commented to his friend, author Owen Wister, after her third interruption to their conversation and threatening to throw her 'out the window', "I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both." [18]
Alice was the center of attention in the social context of her father's presidency, and she thrived on the attention, even as she chafed at some of the restrictions such attention placed on her. In this, Alice resembled her father. She later said of Theodore, "He wants to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening."
#1
and has used the money — called the “bishop’s fund” by some critics — to bolster mismanaged or underfunded military programs
Been playing that game for generations. Looting one fund to pay for the 'golden child' procurement programs. What was the original cost projection of the F35 and the number of airframes they expected to receive? What is it today? How much money has been diverted? Like maintenance and upkeep of the existing fleet? Or killing off the A-10 to find more money to cover the costs?
h/t Instapundit
Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to provide a transcript of a controversial private Oval Office meeting between President Trump and two Russian diplomats has further fueled allegations that the White House has had improper dealings with Moscow, a U.S. adversary.
Putin said allegations that Trump had disclosed top-secret intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak, Moscow’s ambassador to the U.S., proved that the U.S. was "developing political schizophrenia," according to the Russian state-controlled news agency Tass, which quoted comments Putin made at a Wednesday news conference in Sochi, Russia. Never new you could translate "dolboeobi" as "political schizophrenia".
"If the U.S. administration considers it possible, we are ready to submit a transcript of Lavrov’s talk with Trump to the U.S. Senate and Congress, if, of course, the U.S. administration would want this," Putin said.
#1
The mask comes off again.....this is who they are, and how they behave, its pure power and tribalism, not unity but a coalition of groups banded together for gain, at the expense of others and with no thought for the health of the nation.
In 2008, Burton settled a $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Kathleen Driscoll, then the executive director of his charitable foundation for homeless children. She claimed Burton sexually harassed her by making unwanted advances, using suggestive language and commenting on her body.
At a 2008 news conference in her attorney's office, Driscoll said, "I had a dream of helping homeless children through a job I loved. John Burton turned that dream into a sexual harassment nightmare and quite frankly a living hell." [5]
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/22/2017 20:45
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[Guardian] The life story of Simon Mann reads like pages torn from a thriller. Now the former mercenary and SAS officer is to publish a thriller of his own: an international action adventure written to stay sane in prison in Africa.
"I wanted to write something for my son Freddie, who was 13 at the time, and I realised he would want to read something grown-up."
The manuscript of Kass, hidden by him in prison, was also written partly in honour of Mann’s favourite book, The Thirty-Nine Steps. In a surprising twist, Mann’s novel, full of crime, violence and treachery, is written from the point of view of a woman.
Skipping down a bit to 'who is Mann:'
In 2004, in an affair known as the Wonga coup, Mann and 69 mercenaries attempted to replace Equatorial Guinea’s dictator, Teodoro Obiang, with an exiled opposition politician, Severo Moto. A series of stories in the Observer told how details of the plot had been revealed to the British government, and that "Scratcher" was a nickname given to Mann’s associate, Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark.
Mann’s memoir, Cry Havoc, came out in 2011, but was heavily censored by government lawyers. "It is extremely painful to have a truthful story messed up when it is your one chance to tell it," said Mann, who claims 20% of his story was lost. Neither time nor ink will permit a fair examination of Mann's 2004 failed efforts in Equatorial Guinea. A fascinating study in non-gov't sanctioned regime change however. I've always believed Thatcher's involvement was an attempt to right his mum's Afrikan wrongs. Others thought he was simply a wanna-be.
[Guardian] The British economy needs a net inward migration flow of 200,000 people a year, double the Conservative target, if it is to avoid the "catastrophic economic consequences" linked to Brexit, a study by an employer-backed thinktank has said.
The Global Future report says the UK’s low productivity, ageing population and shortage of labour in key areas, such as the NHS, show that net migration of 200,000 will be needed annually.
The report, backed by three employer groups, criticises Labour and the Conservatives for refusing to be honest with the British public about the level of migration the UK requires. It warns that if the UK refuses to be flexible about its sources of labour, it could face a decade of slow growth similar to that of the Japanese economy.
#3
To be fair, it is the Guardian, selling the Narrative in what purports to be a factual article. Plenty of Tory politicians believe the same thing, and don't differentiate between productive Europeans and dole-seekng "refugees". But given that Princess Katherine is rumoured to be pregnant with her third, and many actresses are making the same choice, improved prosperity and security at home ought to goose law-abiding, middle class British fertility numbers.
#6
Assuming that was true that they needed those numbers, why not promote British to have children or immigration from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada rather than bring in folks from foreign cultures that have previously caused problems?
Even bringing in Bonded laborers from Latin America would be smarter than their previous plans to keep the numbers up.
[Wash Times] A friend of James B. Comey says the former FBI director was "disgusted" by President Trump’s attempt to hug him during a White House visit earlier this year. I am a 'deep state' gawd. You do not embrace me.
Benjamin Wittes told PBS on Wednesday, "If you watch the video, he extends his hand, and Comey’s arms are really long, and he extends his hand kinda preemptively, and Trump kind of grabs the hand and pulls him into a hug. But the hug is entirely one-sided. So one guy in the hug is shaking hands."
"Comey was just completely disgusted by the episode. He thought it was an intentional attempt to compromise him in public," Mr. Wittes said.
Mr. Wittes is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a noted critic of Mr. Trump. He wrote an essay of his conversations with Mr. Comey on Lawfare earlier this week. Mr. Wittes said the conversations give an insight into the type of cozy relationship Mr. Trump wanted with Mr. Comey. I fear this 'senior fellow' Wittes, reaches a bit too far.
During his interview with PBS, Mr. Wittes also made it clear he drew his own conclusions on Mr. Comey’s state of mind, and that his insight was only based on these conversations.
In which the Washington Times "reports" as useful fact what is actually unconfirmed, single source hearsay from a party known to be biased.
[Wash Times] Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, said Monday that if anyone can broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, it’s Mr. Trump.
"If any president over the last 40 years can bring peace to this part of the world, it is Donald J. Trump," Mr. Gorka said on Fox News. "He has said explicitly he’s not going to impose any deal upon the parties. They have to come together, and we can help midwife it."
Mr. Gorka said that the main negotiator between the parties is the president’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.
"It is his son-in-law, it is Jared Kushner, one of his most trusted advisers, who is the point person for all of these issues. So he will be right in those meetings, especially."
The president is currently in Israel as part of his first foreign trip in office. His visit will include a meeting with Palestinian leaders.
#3
It is my opinion that it cannot be done. But President Trump is the first American president who might possibly recognize that fact after performing the experiment, and the first who might openly place the blame where it properly belongs -- and make it stick. I think Bibi Netanyahu is counting on that.
Mine too. Short of a catastrophic war. Which may well be coming. The current Syrian and Yemen wars look to me like the Balkan wars that were the prelude to WWI.
#6
Gorka is a very interesting man. From time to time he shines brightly. "midwife it" yes, best way to present this approach. Hands on leadership in action.
#7
The Muslim middle east is fueled by hate filled zealots, oil revenue, and Saudi enlightened self-interest.
Oil revenue are drying up and the Saudi princes may be looking for survival now. Who knows what could happen when the jihad financing dries up. Can a frothing zealot survive on a diet of sand and blood?
[Conservative Tribune] Former FBI Director James Comey’s alleged memo on President Donald Trump and Michael Flynn is all the talk in Washington right now. However, a major GOP legislator just requested another batch of Comey’s memos -- and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch isn’t going to be happy. Sorry, no can do. Executive privilege, national security, on-going investigations...u pik. Once you hand them over, it just never stops.
According to The Daily Caller, Texas. Rep. Pete Sessions said that in addition to the alleged memo involving the president’s request to drop the investigation against former National Security Advisor Flynn, he also wants Comey to turn over all memos relating to Lynch’s infamous tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton last summer.
"If The New York Times has (Comey’s memo) that means we’re going to be able to see it and I would assume that would be fair. I assume that Mr. Comey also kept, if he’s disturbed by the same memos, that he gave to or about when Mrs. Clinton’s husband appeared in the jet with the attorney general," Sessions said Tuesday.
[Wash Times] Satire publication Mad magazine mocked Time for its latest cover design, which mashes up an image of the White House with the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, saying the news publication was guilty of “stealing our material!”
“Honestly, we’re flattered, but we would have appreciated a credit — something like, ‘Idea stolen from MAD, which in 1952 we called a short lived satirical pulp!’ the humor publication said in an online post Thursday that showed the cover images side by side.
Mad’s cover from Dec. 12, 2016, bore the caption “Putin’s Influence Over Trump Continues to Grow,” and showed the onion domes of St. Basil’s topping the White House. Time magazine’s May 18, 2017, cover, which lacks any caption, is shown for comparison, depicting the White House seemingly morphing into St. Basil’s.
Once a functioning Russian Orthodox Church and formally named The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, the building is popularly called St. Basil’s for a venerated “fool for Christ,” Blessed Basil of Moscow.
St. Basil’s was seized by the Soviet government in 1923 and remains to this day part of the Russian government’s State Historical Museum. Contrary to popular conception, however, it is not part of the Kremlin complex.
#1
Most of these people don't remember what they drank for lunch, and the last thing they actually read was that "Attend J-School on the Gummint Dime" matchbook cover. That happened while they were waiting to see if the dry heaves had actually stopped for a bit...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/22/2017 8:25
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#2
According to definitions: "Parody--an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. Satire--the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues."
The Time mag is neither paradoxical or satirical. It is basically a "Hit" on Trump.
#4
The idea is not all that creative, those domes are really the main recognizable architectural feature of Russia to most people. Might have been better to have had Trump as an engineer installing Putin onto Mt Rushmore or something like that.
[Conservative Tribune] On Tuesday, The New York Times fired a shot heard round the world when it claimed President Donald Trump had asked former FBI Director James Comey "to shut down the federal investigation" into former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s contacts with the Russian and Turkish governments.
According to the writer of the story, Michael Schmidt, the exchange was all written down in a memo by Comey after a meeting with Trump.
I mean, allegedly. And the memo was read off to him over the phone. Oh, wait, no -- not quite read off. His source saw it and vouchsafed for its authenticity. But he didn’t remember the exact wording.
Do you perhaps begin to see the problem here?
Schmidt revealed this during an interview on MSNBC with Brian Williams -- a man not exactly known for veracious rigor -- when The Times reporter was asked about his sources.
"We’d been working -- I’d been working on a story for the past few days about the fact that Comey had written these," Schmidt said. "We thought that was pretty significant in and of (itself)."
#1
It is easy to quickly get lost in ambiguation, dissembling, propaganda, lies, and weasel-wording when reading stories involving WAPO, the NYTs, and other left MSM publications. It is kind of like the symbolic logic problem where a traveler comes to a fork in the road. There are two people there who provide directions; one always tells the truth and the other always lies--what single question can one ask to get the correct direction? One path leads to death and the other to riches. (Perhaps, the traveler should find another road).
#2
As I recall, the question is: Where would the other man tell me these roads go? Or, if the questioner knows the possible destinations: Which road would the other man tell me goes to X?
#3
NYT reporter's source does not remember the exact wording. I'm guessing Comey doesn't remember Trump's exact wording either. We got nothing.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/22/2017 10:51
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#4
If I were a politician I'd write crazy memos (Obama put a gun to my head and demanded this and that! Hillary admitted to killing this person, etc) so that if they ever leaked folks would look foolish. At that point you claim they were notes for a satirical novel you were writing. It's a memo, it's proof of nothing.
BLUF: [Daily Caller] That last piece appeared after the jihad attack on the Boston Marathon, where, it might well be argued, Mueller’s see-no-Islam FBI policies, honed over both the see-no-Islam Bush and Obama administrations, came to deadly fruition. In the explosive video clip above, Rep. Louie Gohmert extracts from Mueller the extraordinary admission that he, as FBI Director, did not know the mosque the Tsarnaev brothers attended ‐ Islamic Society of Boston/ISB (Muslim Brotherhood) ‐ was founded by Al Qaeda financier Abdurahman Alamoudi. Director Mueller defended not sending FBI agents to the ISB [until] after the bombing because the FBI was there before the bombing doing `outreach’ with the Imam."
Which brings me to my question. How can someone who has long engaged in the political and ideological exercise of blinding himself, the FBI, and the USG to Islamic influence on terrorism and subversion suddenly be expected to assess Russian influence on the Trump (and, a must, Clinton) campaign(s) free from politics and ideology?
#1
Yes, it deserves a good look. "Apology tours" are part of the problem left over from previous admins. As the result we ended up with many in the government who are not really a part of American culture and who don't believe in American ideals.
[Breitbart] A Baltimore man was sentenced to four years behind bars for illegally trafficking food stamps.
U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Mohammad Shafiq, 51, to four years in prison and three years of supervised release after his sentence ends, in addition to making him pay $3.7 million in restitution, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Shafiq was the latest defendant to be sentenced in a series of prosecutions of 14 retailers in the Baltimore area. A federal grand jury indicted the retailers in August 2016 for food stamp and wire fraud.
The 14 retailers stole a total of $16 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture by illegally exchanging food stamps for cash, according to the indictment. Twelve out the 14 defendants pleaded guilty, and two were sentenced this week, according to the Sun.
Multiple stores across the country have been cited for millions of dollars in food stamp fraud. Investigators found more than $20 million worth of food stamp fraud at retailers in Florida, and 140 stores in Chicago were cited for food stamp fraud.
#3
Really, they are more carrion eaters. The money the government tosses around is mostly roadkill in the economic scheme of things, and guys (and gals) like this are feeding on the remains.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/22/2017 7:17
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#4
They prey on "unbelievers": some commit terr-acts, some rape and steal, some do fraud
[PJ] A few days ago, a New York Times headline informed readers that the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade held in New York City would honor Oscar Lopez Rivera, a person they described as a "long-jailed militant" and a "nationalist" -- certainly a misleading description of the self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist and terrorist.
If you’re wondering how this could have happened, you should thank President Barack Obama, who paid off any debts he had to the far left by granting Lopez Rivera clemency in the last few days of his administration.
Rivera was a leader of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN, whose members pledged to wage war against the United States until Puerto Rico gained full independence. The group carried out more than 100 bombings, the most famous being the deadly 1975 one in Wall Street that targeted Fraunces Tavern, which served as George Washington’s headquarters during the Revolution. In 1991, Lopez Rivera was sentenced to 55 years in prison; after a botched escape attempt, the sentence was increased to 70 years.
Actually, when Bill Clinton left office and freed other Puerto Rican terrorists who were FALN members, he also offered amnesty to Lopez Rivera. The terrorist would not accept Clinton’s offer, however, unless all other FALN members still in prison were also freed. Those freed had pledged not to use violence, a pledge Lopez Rivera would not make at the time. Both the House and Senate passed resolutions condemning the pardons. Clinton ignored them.
[Independent] Security forces now fear the Islamist group may hatch a plot to contaminate Western food supplies with formulas that quickly dissolve in liquid
Isis are conducting chemical weapons experiments on "human guinea pigs" before launching attacks on Western targets, according to secret documents.
The extremist group has reportedly poisoned prisoners by spiking their food and water with compounds used in pesticides that are easy to obtain
Security forces now fear the terror network may hatch a twisted plot to contaminate Western food supplies with formulas that quickly dissolve in liquid.
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05/22/2017
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#2
Melania Trump who has recently won several personal slander lawsuits against journalists is now letting the White House Communications people know she is not happy with the weak defense they have put forth for her husband who is under constant attack. Look for her to step up on his behalf.
#3
Such appointments are always fraught with risks. Special counsels often feel/think they are supposed to find some wrongdoing and go to great lengths to prove it. What are the chances Mueller will (a) Find something that rises to the level of criminality, or (b) Find nothing and pack up his bags and depart? Either way, there will be one party or the other who complains about the results. I never saw the need for a Special Counsel in the first place. If Mueller says "nothing to see here," Trump will be able to keep his enemies at bay but barking. If there is something that is problematic, Trump will be fighting calls for impeachment, resignation, and become a lame duck.
[Khaama] The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... holy warriors suffered heavy casualties in a series of Arclight airstrikes conducted in southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 53 holy warriors were killed after they were targeted in the vicinity of Tarinkot, the lovely provincial capital of Uruzgan province.
According to MoD, the Arclight airstrikes were carried out in Shah Mansoori area, in the outskirts of Tarinkot city.
The anti-government armed holy warrior groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
This comes as at least twenty five holy warriors were killed and a vehicle packed with explosives was destroyed in a similar Arclight airstrike conducted in Tarinkot city earlier last month.
Uruzgan is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban holy warriors and hard boyz belonging to the other krazed killer groups are actively operating in its various districts.
[Khaama] The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) is in lead of the fight against corruption as the government of national unity has stepped up efforts to root out graft from the government institutions.
Syed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, the Minister of Urban Development and Housing, told news hounds in Kabul today that millions of Afghanis received in extra from the housing sector customers were returned to them for the first in the administrative enforcement of the country.
He said the committee to fight corruption has been established under leadership of the minister and the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has secured the first place in administrative reforms Capacity Building for Results (CBR) process.
Naderi further added that educated and talented cadres have been employed into the ministry which has resulted into the recovery of the ministry’s image which was severely damaged in the past.
He also added that Afghanistan for the first time managed to gain the membership of the UN-Habitat Governing Council, calling it a major step in the housing sector of the country.
According to Naderi, important meetings were held regarding the urban and housing development in Kenya conference with the deputy secretary general of the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... and UN-Habitat chief.
Separate meetings regarding the urban and housing development were also held with the head of Indian’s urban and housing development as well as the ministers of urban and housing developments of Iraq and Poland, Naderi added.
[Khaama] At least twenty coppersbit the dust during festivities with the Taliban ...Arabic for students... snuffies in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.
Provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal said Sunday that the coppers suffered the casualties during the festivities late on Saturday night.
Afghanmal further added that the festivities between the coppers and the Taliban snuffies erupted after scores of bully boyz launched coordinated attacks on security posts in Shahjoi district.
He said several Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel are also among those killed during the festivities.
According to the provincial governor, the Taliban snuffies were busy plotting attacks to take control of Qalat city and finally launched attacks on security posts on Saturday night.
In the meantime, another local official said the Taliban snuffies have managed to take control of Bolan Rubab area in Shahjoi.
The official further added that additional forces have been deployed to the area from the picturesque provincial capital of Qalat city to push back the Taliban holy warriors.
Zabul is among the volatile provinces in south of Afghanistan where the Taliban snuffies are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
[Khaama] The Stand Integrated Government Tax Administration System was formally launched in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan amid optimisms by the local officials that the system will help in transparent and better collection of taxes.
Provincial deputy governor for finance and administrative affairs Abdul Hanan Munib said the activation of SIGTAS in the provincial Revenue Department is vital and helpful step which will help in the collection of taxes in a modern manner besides helping the Revenue Department to expedite its work.
He said the government is committed to provide further facilities for the traders and investors and sideline the available challenges.
The head of the systems department in the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance Noorullah Habib said SIGTAS has been activated with an aim to provide better and easy facilities for the taxpayers.
Habib further added that the system will help the government to control the taxes in a transparent and standard way and implementation taxes law in a uniformed manner and keep the documents of the taxpayers safe.
He said the system will also help to keep secure the information of the taxpayers, produce tax statements automatically, and calculate taxes.
The SIGTAS system was launched for the first time in the Ministry of Finance nearly six years ago and the system is fully operational in six provinces of the country.
[Khaama] A foreign woman was rubbed out by unknown gunnies in Kabul city late on Saturday night, it has been reported.
Security sources have confirmed the incident has taken place in the vicinity of Dar-ul-Aman area of the city.
The sources further added that preliminary reports indicate the woman was from Germany and was killed along with her security guard.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) front man Najib Danish confirmed the incident took place around 11:30 pm local time in the vicinity of the 7th police district of the city in Dar-ul-Aman area.
He said another foreign woman belonging to Finland is missing following the attack and an investigation is underway in this regard.
According to Danish, the foreign women were serving with an international non-profit organization in Kabul city.
That was their first mistake.
No individual or group including the anti-government armed myrmidon groups has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.
As the Iran-controlled Shiite paramilitaries continue doing whatever it is that they do.
djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... (IraqiNews.com) The paramilitary troops have liberated several villages in Qairawan region and blocked an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... supply route, west of Mosul.
In statements on Sunday, al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) media service the troops freed villages of al-Mesabas, al-Niliya, Sadet Zawbaa and Thara al-Owaiset in south of Qairawan. "Huge losses in lives and equipments were inflicted on the enemy."
"The troops cut off an IS supply route that extends between al-Hatmiya and Tal Qasab, north of Qairawan," according to the statement.
Many villages in Qairawan region, a main Islamic State bastion which links between Tal Afar town and the Syrian borders, have been freed since the troops launched an offensive on May 12 to free the region. Last week the troops announced liberated of Sahl Sinjar airbase, located south of Qairawan, in addition to cutting off a main supply route between the freed Tal Banat village and Qairawan
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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Sinjar (BasNews.com) The mass graves of Yezidis are under threat of disappearance and destruction by the Iraqi paramilitary forces engaged in the battle against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in the Yezidi areas in southern Sinjar region.
Mahma Khalil, the mayor of Sinjar, said "We have fears that the Iraqi forces may not assist in uncovering these mass graves (of Yezidis) ISIS has made in the area and will be destroyed."
Speaking to BasNews, Khalil stressed that "Baghdad has not done anything for Sinjar," adding that they object to the deployment of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in Sinjar as it will create tensions in the region and put the mass graves of Yezidis under threat of disappearance.
The official called on the Iraqi forces and Hashd al-Shaabi to withdraw from the Yezidi areas and allow the people of Sinjar to rebuild their hometowns. He also demanded the forces to refrain from destroying the mass graves.
Mass graves of Yezidis who were massacred by the IS faceless myrmidons in August 2014 are believed to exist in the areas of Kojo, Tel Banat, Tel Qasab, Siba Sheikh Khidir, Gir Uzeir and Hatima located in southern Sinjar in which the Iraqi military and militia forces have been deployed.
#2
For the Left, there is no truth, no good or evil, just power. Thus their ability to work with and on behalf of their share goals of the destruction of Western Civ.
[Khaama] At least seven turbans affiliated with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group’s offshoot in Afghanistan, ISIS Khurasan, were killed during the operations in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
The provincial police commandment said the turbans were killed or maimed during the past 24 hours in Chaparhar district.
The operations were conducted in the vicinity of Latakpur and Kandi Bagh areas of Chaparhar district, the police commandment said, adding that the operations were conducted with the support of the air power.
The Afghan cops also confiscated a RPG rocket launcher along with a vehicle belonging to the ISIS terrorist group, the police commandment added.
The security officials are saying that the Silab-5 operations launched to eliminate ISIS holy warriors are successfully being conducted in the restive districts of Nangarhar.
Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in eastern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed holy warrior groups have recently increased their insurgency activities in some parts of the province during the recent years.
The Afghan cops have stepped up operations to eliminate the loyalists of the terrorist group as they attempt to expand their operations in this province and other parts of the country.
The US forces based in Afghanistan also conduct regular Arclight airstrikes to target the ISIS loyalists and support the Afghan forces in their fight against the terrorist groups.
The US forces based in Afghanistan said Friday "In the last nine months alone, Afghan and US counter-terrorism forces have killed the ISIS-K Emir Hafiz Sayed Khan and his replacement Abdul Hasib. They have also killed over a dozen of their top leadership. Since March, they have killed more than 750 ISIS-K fighters, recovering territory so that displaced Afghans have been able to return to their homes."
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A soldier was killed, another was injured in an IED blast that targeted an army patrol in Baghdad, according to security source.
Speaking to Alghad Press on Sunday, the source said, "a bomb, placed on the side of the road in al-Halabsa region, in Tarmiyah district, went kaboom!."
"A soldier was killed, while another lieutenant general officer was maimed."
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Twenty Islamic State members were killed trying to reach an old bridge in Mosul, an officer was quoted saying Sunday as security operations near a total recapture of the group’s largest stronghold in Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Jubouri, from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said the twenty militants killed included senior leaders of Arab nationalities as well as Western nationals. They were bound to a security deployment near the Old Bridge, said the officer.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Federal Police forces are working on a combat plan for the invasion of the Islamic State-held Old City as operations reach the final stage to retake the city.
Deputy Federal Police commander, Maj. Gen. Jaafar al-Battat, was quoted Sunday saying in statements the density of the civilian population in the area had obliged the delay of the invasion until districts overlooking it from the northwest are retaken.
Only four districts are left under Islamic State militants’ control in western Mosul : the Old City: Zanjili, al-Shifaa and al-Sihha, according to Battat, who added that the Old City has recently seen an increase in militants numbers as many sought refuge there after Iraqi forces had retaken areas to the northwest, most notably the 17 Tamuz and Iktisadiyeen districts.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militant in charge of the administrative affairs of Nineveh province in Iraq and the Syrian city of Raqqa has been declared to be killed in western Mosul.
In a statement on Sunday, the military intelligence department confirmed the death of IS leader called Mohamed Mejbal al-Jawari, who was recently appointed as head of the administrative affairs in Nineveh and Raqqa in an airstrike at al-Zanjili district, in western Mosul.
Iraqi forces have been sweeping through northwestern neighborhoods over the past few weeks in a way to invade the strategic Old City, after finding it hard to invade from the south.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service has declared liberating 47 out of 74 residential districts in western Mosul.
Speaking to the Kurdish-owned Rudaw network, Lt. Gen.Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, CTS commander, said “during our battles in western Mosul, hundreds of Islamic State militants were killed by CTS troops. Once the battle ends and Mosul is liberated, we will announce the total losses and number of IS militants killed.”
CTS, according to Saadi, “is ready to take part in all battles in Iraq and to receive commands from the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”
On Saturday, CTS declared concluding its mission in western Mosul.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces are in control over 97 percent of territories at the western side of Mosul, a municipal official said Sunday as battles against the Islamic State near a total recapture of the city.
Hossam al-Abbar, a member of the Nineveh province council, was quoted by Russian Sputnik news agency saying that Iraqi forces had managed to liberate 97 percent of the western side of Mosul, besieging more than 450 militants in the region.
“Federal Police and Rapid Response forces are heading towards the liberation of al-Shifa, al-Zanjili and al-Sihha neighborhoods, once done with clearing this axis, they will all unite to attack the Old City from all directions,” he said in his statements.
Also on Sunday, Federal Police commander, Shaker Jawdat, said military forces were positioning at the southern outskirts of 17 Tamuz, the first neighborhood occupied by IS in 2014 which troops recaptured on Saturday, preparing to invade the Old City.
[ALMASDARNEWS] ISIS appears to be running low on volunteer suicide bombers in Mosul after the Iraqi Federal Police captured a large car bomb factory in the newly liberated ’17th Tammuz’ district of northwestern Mosul.
Upon discovery of over a dozen ready-made fortified car bombs, these were hastily transferred to rearguard positions for immediate destruction to avoid any complications following a potential ISIS-counter attack:
Prior to Mosul’s encirclement late last year, ISIS withdrew all its armored vehicles and tanks to Syria; instead, Islamic State commanders have relied heavily on modified civilian cars to function as deadly mobile bombs.
Due to recent advances, the Islamic State controls just three neighborhoods anchored on the western part of the Tigris River.
Meanwhile the Counter Terrorism Units, 9th and 15th divisions have been relieved of their duties in Iraq’s second largest city, rendering the final counter-insurgency operations to the Iraqi Federal Police and Rapid Response Division to deal with.
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[Khaama] The former Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ...A product, probably the sole product, of the Southern Alliance... on Saturday met with the leader of Hezb-e-Islami 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... in his residence.
The Office of the former President in a statement said the HIA leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and several other government officials and political figures participated in a gathering in the residence of the former President Hamid Karzai on Saturday.
The statement further added that the party participants discussed regarding the ongoing situation of the country, peace efforts and its importance for the country.
Hekmatyar arrived in Kabul earlier this month from Jalalabad city, the scenic provincial capital of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province, almost a week after he appeared before the media and people in 20 years.
The Afghan officials are optimistic that the conclusion of peace deal between the Afghan government and Hezb-e-Islami is a major step towards reconciliation and stability of the country.
During a meeting with the tribal elders and influential figures of southern Kandahar province last week, 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. .. said the peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami is based on four main principles, including goodwill, determination, judgment, and legality.
President Ghani further added that the conclusion of peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami has encouraged some others to participate in peace talks as well but did not elaborate further in this regard.
[AlAhram] Egypt's general prosecution referred on Sunday 48 defendants to military court on charges of involvement in three recent deadly church bombings in Egypt, according to a statement by Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek.
The accused are also charged with being members of terrorist cells, affiliation with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, and manufacturing weapons and explosives, among other charges, the statement reads.
The defendants are accused of being involved in the December 2016 suicide kaboom on St Peter's Church in Cairo that killed 29 worshippers, as well as the two Palm Sunday suicide kabooms in April 2017 that killed 46 people at two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria.
The Palm Sunday bombings, which were claimed by the Islamic State turban group, were the deadliest attacks on Copts in the country's recent history.
One day following April attacks, the interior ministry said that police had killed seven members of a terrorist cell connected to the bombings in a shootout in Upper Egypt's Assiut governorate.
A three-month state of emergency was declared by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on the day of the church attacks.
In a statement on Sunday Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadek said some of the suspects held leadership positions in Islamic State cells that carried out attacks on churches in Cairo, Alexandria, and Tanta in December and April that killed more than 70 people.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Sunday morning, two jacket wallahs infiltrated an area controlled by Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... in eastern Idlib and detonated tons of explosives inside a military base at Tall al-Toukan.
The suicide bombers carried with them powerful homemade bombs concealed in bags and subsequently entered a camp where some 200 Ahrar al-Sham recruits were undergoing training. At least 20 fighters were killed in the kabooms and dozens more maimed.
As of yet, no faction has taken responsibility for the suicide kabooms. Nevertheless, rebel factions blamed the attack on the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Hundreds of ISIS sleeper cells are still active inside Idlib province while the Mukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) also conducts operations behind enemy lines. Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, the little lost dog had finished eating the rat terrier... sporadic infighting has also resulted in countless liquidations and car kabooms.
The source said that two jacket wallahs, wearing boom belts, blew up themselves, this morning, in the headquarters of ’Lions of Islam Brigade’, which belongs to Ahrar al-Sham Movement, in the eastern countryside of Saraqib City.
The suicide kaboom resulted in the killing of at least four persons, including the movement’s resources official Mahrous al-Khatib, in addition to wounding many others.
The source also revealed that the deaths are expected to increase due to the severity of the casualties’ injuries that were transferred to Saraqib Hospital.
Ahrar al-Sham Movement is widely deployed in Idlib Province, northern countryside of Hama, northern and western countryside of Aleppo, countryside of Damascus and Daraa.
The corpse count of the suicide kaboom that hit the headquarters of Ahrar al-Sham, east of Idlib, today, rose to 16 dead and more than 40 maimed, Qasioun News Agency reported on Sunday.
Earlier today, a jacket wallah blew up himself in the headquarters of Ahrar al-Sham, east of Idlib, followed by a booby-trapped cycle of violencekaboom at the headquarters’ entrance.
Local source pointed out that the deaths are expected to increase due to the severity of the casualties’ injuries that were transferred to Saraqib and Bab al-Hawa Hospitals.
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ِAnbar (IraqiNews.com) Fighter jets from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... have killed dozens of the group’s members and destroyed their combat vehicles in a raid in western Anbar, a military source was quoted saying.
The convoy was arriving from Syria to Iraq’s Anbar, the source was quoted saying by Alsumaria News.
Islamic State forces of Evil have held Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa since 2014. Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the allied U.S.-led coalition have also regularly pounded IS locations in the province. Local officials believe Islamic State is holding thousands of civilians at its western strongholds to use them as human shields against any future security offensive.
The Iraqi government and army commanders say they will aim at IS havens in Anbar once they are finished with eliminating the group from djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , its biggest bastion in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said that as the battle in Mosul approached its end, securing the Iraqi borders with Syria at Anbar became a top priority.
Islamic State has escalated its attacks against army and paramilitary forces in the province over the past few months, leaving several personnel dead. It has also executed dozens of civilians over charges of collaboration with security forces or attempting to flee the group’s domains.
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[Hurriyet] An Ankara court will begin a highly anticipated hearing on May 22 into 221 defendants ‐ most of whom are high-ranking military officers ‐ who are being charged over their alleged connections to the events at the Turkish General Staff on the night of the July 15, 2016, coup attempt.
A group of soldiers allegedly loyal to U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... attempted to overthrow the government in the coup attempt in which warplanes bombed parliament and state offices and opening fire on civilians who resisted the coup plotters. Some 248 people were killed and around 2,700 were maimed during the coup attempt.
Of the 221 defendants, 200 are currently imprisoned, nine are released pending trial, and 12 are on the run, including Gulen himself.
Of the military personnel, there is a four-star general, three lieutenant-generals, four major-generals, 16 brigadier-generals, 26 colonels, lieutenant-colonels, 37 majors and 21 captains, with the rest of lower rank.
Also, 12 civilians, including former teachers, civil servants and tradespeople, will also be tried by the Ankara 7th Court of Serious Crimes.
The first stage of the trial will run until June 16 and seek to determine the suspects’ connections to the coup attempt.
The charges against the defendants include "attempting to abolish the Turkish Parliament by force and violence," "attempting to abolish the Turkish government by force and violence," "managing an armed organization," "attempting to assassinate the president," "killing 250 citizens," "injuring 2,735 citizens," and "restricting the liberty of state officials."
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... daily Yeni Safak reported on May 19 that the air force major who notified The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) early on July 15 about the failed coup attempt gave testimony to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office on Aug. 11, 2016.
The major, a former Gulenist himself, visited the MIT building at 2:20 p.m. on the day of the coup attempt and met with two officials 10 minutes later, informing them about possible plans for a coup, the newspaper said, basing its claim on the officer’s own testimony.
"I told the two people [at MIT], ’one person will pick up Hakan Fidan [chief of MIT], and I don’t know about the other helicopter.’ They asked me what could happen, and I told them a big action was going to take place, even a coup attempt," the major reportedly told the prosecutor’s office, according to testimonies obtained by the newspaper.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Over the course of ten days, hundreds of Hezbollah and Iraqi paramilitary fighters have poured into the southeastern countryside of Damascus, taking up positions alongside the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies.
The Iraqi paramilitaries, comprised of fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd Al-Sha’abi), greatly outnumber the Hezbollah forces in southern Syria and for good reason.
Similar to Hezbollah’s field operations along the Lebanese border from 2013-present, the Iraqi paramilitaries are poised to not only secure the Baghdad-Damascus Highway, but also, seal the border from any jihadist forces.
Elements of the Popular Mobilization Units have been inside of Syria for 15 months, with the initial forces deployed to Damascus (Sayyida Zaynab area), Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor.
The Popular Mobilization Units will now have much more responsibility inside Syria, as the government in Damascus hopes their participation will help eliminate the last remnants of the Islamic State (ISIL) inside the country.
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Some are born tools, some have toolhood thrust upon them, and some go looking for it and seize it with both hands. I hope Israel blackballs this lot from ever entering the country again, and tracks down all their no doubt interesting connections so they can be sent home from Ben Gurion airport upon arrival.
[IsraelTimes] Army, accused of assaulting demonstrators, says they erected illegal structures meant for Paleostinian village in a closed military zone.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers raided a protest encampment in the South Hebron Hills late Saturday night, sparring with a group of largely American Jewish activists who had erected it a day earlier.
According to the activists, some 25 soldiers arrived at the "Sumud Freedom Camp," which they had set up with the goal of reestablishing the Paleostinian village of Sarura, near the Israeli outpost Havat Ma’on. Israeli officials said they had erected "illegal structures" in the area without a permit.
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#4
Nope. Just seal the entrances and burn it down. Most likely it is a biohazard with all their contamination anyway. Just look at what they did when protesting the pipeline.
Burn it down with the infestion inside and start over.
#7
Oh yeah, you would, while I'm out there trying to figure how to clear the established trade route of debris like so many tarantulas on the highway. I have to figure how to replace the fuel spent on the superlaser shot now that the transport guild is on strike after filing a complaint concerning the loss of business with the destruction of Tatooine. Intelligence is pissed because a number of deep moles within the smuggler community were killed so rebel plots have gone dark. Surviving smugglers are committing sabotage and worse, joining the rebel scum.
Oh to top it off, get this. You know those stupid little glass orbs the Emperor loves so much....well guess where Xenemific Glass Intergalactic, Inc. got their sand. Everyone sitting around, drinking Zam Zam juice, talking about big boom booms, guess what I'll be doing. Crap. I wasn't even supposed to be here today.
#10
Oh boy, did you know there is a Gungans for the Ethical Treatment of Aliens? GETA? Guess what was on their watch list...freakin' sarlaccs. Really. So in about 30 parsecs a mob of Gungans with pink frilly looking things are going to be in hanger 43-C laying on the ground belching as a protest.
#11
Oh, and the Geonosian who claims he is a Jedi Master isn't really a Jedi Master, he is the face of the Galactic Association of Alienated Species - GAAS - yeah guess who were members. The Sand People.
[IsraelTimes] A court in the Gazoo Strip on Sunday sentenced three men to death over the liquidation of a Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", military commander that the terror group accused Israel of criminal masterminding.
After a trial that lasted four days, two of the accused were sentenced to be hanged and one to be shot, the military court announced.
The liquidation of Mazen Faqha in the middle of the Hamas-run Gazoo Strip in March shocked the Islamist terror organization. Hamas immediately blamed Israel.
Israel has not confirmed or denied the accusations.
In Sunday’s court ruling, the chief suspect, Ashraf Abu Leila, 38, was sentenced to hang after being convicted of murder.
The others were identified only as Hisham al-Aloul, 44, who was also sentenced to hang, and Abdallah al-Nashar, who was to face the firing squad. They were convicted of collaborating with Israel.
Faqha had been in charge of forming cells for Hamas’s military wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank.
[IsraelTimes] US president touts anti-terror partnership, but says Middle East must end ’crisis of Islamic extremism,’ slams Iran, says if religions can coexist, so can Israelis and Paleostinians.
US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a "crisis of Islamic extremism" emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a "battle between good and evil," not a clash between the West and Islam.
Trump’s address Sunday was the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , his first stop overseas as president. During a meeting of more than 50 Arab and Moslem leaders, he sought to chart a new course for America’s role in the region, one aimed squarely on rooting out terrorism, with less focus on promoting human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. and democratic reforms.
"We are not here to lecture -- we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship," Trump said, speaking in an ornate, multi-chandeliered room. "Instead, we are here to offer partnership -- based on shared interests and values -- to pursue a better future for us all."
He urged Moslem countries to ensure that "snuffies find no sanctuary on their soil" and announced an agreement with Gulf countries to fight financing for holy warriors.
Even as the American president pledged to work alongside Middle Eastern nations, he put the onus for combating terrorism on the region. Bellowing into the microphone, he implored Moslem leaders to aggressively fight holy warriors: "Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities."
But he said Middle Eastern countries must "honestly confront the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. [And stand] together against the murder of innocent Moslems, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians."
Trump made almost no mention of Israel, his next stop on the tour Monday, leaving it off a list of countries fighting terror. But he briefly referred to his upcoming meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... "If three Abrahamic faiths can join together, then peace in this world is possible, including peace between Israelis and Paleostinians," he said.
The president has been enthusiastically embraced in Riyadh, where the ruling royal family has welcomed his tougher stance on Iran, its regional foe. Sitting alongside Trump, Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... declared, "The Iranian regime has been the spearhead of global terrorism."
Trump also devoted much of his speech to railing against Iran, accusing it of trying to destabilize the region.
"The people of Iran have endured hardship and despair due to their leaders reckless pursuit of conflict and terror. Pray for the day that the Iranian people have the just and righteous government they so richly deserve," he said.
"It is a government that speaks openly of mass murder, vowing the destruction of Israel, death to America, and ruin for many leaders and nations in this room," he added.
Read the full transcript of Donald Trump’s speech here.
For those who prefer to watch and listen, Ynet has the 34 minute video here.
He notably refrained from using the phrase "radical Islamic terror," which had been a staple of campaign speeches and which he had chided predecessor Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... for refusing to utter.
But on Sunday, Trump was full of praise for Moslem world’s history and culture. He declared Islam "one of the world’s great faiths."
White House officials said they considered Trump’s address to be a counterweight to US president Barack Obama’s debut speech to the Moslem world in 2009 in Cairo.
Obama called for understanding and acknowledged some of America’s missteps in the region. That speech was denounced by many Republicans and criticized by a number of the United States’ Middle East allies as being a sort of apology.
That's how I see it, too. And a signed contract and performance perameters against which the 50+ Muslim heads of state will be measured, not the usual meaningless diplomatic dance they've done since oil became a critical resource sometime in the 1930s. If President Trump can stay the course, this will be game changing. But if not, even China is now looking at fracking their own, I've read, so the Muslim Middle East will soon enough run down their bank accounts... and then the criminal side enterprises of the jihadis will be all they have.
#6
Saudi Arabian oil money is drying up. They will need friends (or a place to flee) pretty bad in a couple of decades. Trump could make a lot of hay by promising that if they end Islamic terror before his second term is out he'll do something to shut down fracking.
[Ynet] Israeli security forces tossed in the clink Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! 10 wanted suspects in the West Bank overnight Saturday.
They are suspected of beng involved in terror activity and violent rioting.
In addition, the IDF and Shin Bet also arrested several senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP) in Ramallah overnight.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Fifty members of the Raqqa Internal Security Forces (RISF) are currently in training by the US-led coalition, a coalition spokesperson confirmed on Saturday.
“The Coalition began training the first class of the RISF on May 17. This is a vetted local Syrian Arab Coalition force selected to serve as a holding force to guard liberated areas in Raqqa Province against ISIS attack,” the official said.
“This is the initial class, from which a training cadre will be developed to continue training RISF members, with assistance from U.S. trainers. They will be trained in security operations, and the Law of Armed Conflict,” he said.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Russian paratroopers and special forces arrived in the Al-Sweida Governorate of southern Syria this week, following the U.S. attack on a pro-government convoy near the Iraqi border-crossing, a military source told Al-Masdar News last night.
The Russian military personnel will take the role of advising the Syrian government troops in southern Syria, while also helping to deter any potential response from the U.S. and Jordanian forces that have carved a niche in the Al-Sweida and Homs governorates.
According to some media activists in southern Syria, the Russian forces are planning to build a base along the Al-Sweida Governorate’s border with Jordan; however, this could not be confirmed by Al-Masdar News.
Rumors have also surfaced regarding the deployment of the 31st Brigade of the Russian special forces; they are allegedly meant to engage the enemy forces and help the government troops seize the Iraqi border-crossing.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Turkey’s President Tayip Erdogan was elected as leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Sunday in Ankara. The election was held during an extraordinary assembly of the party in Ankara and resulted in Erdogan becoming the sucessor of Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in the role of the party’s chairman. Erdogan was the only candidate.
Out of 1470 votes in total he gained 1414 positive votes from the delegates. This is the second time Erdogan holds this post. He had already been acting as chairman for 13 years, beginnning the the party’s foundation 2001 until 2014. This sequence ended with him being elected as President of Turke due to a law, that prohibited affiliation of the President with political parties.
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#1
He will win the general election with 105% of the vote next time, topping Kim Jong Un's previous world record of 102%.
[Daily Caller] Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich regurgitated a baseless claim on Sunday that former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was assassinated after giving thousands of Democratic party emails to WikiLeaks.
Who debunked it, when, and where was this infornation published? I am agnostic about the truth of this, but assertion is not proof.
Gingrich suggested police and the FBI have covered up Rich’s July 10 death in an effort to pin the DNC hack on the Russian government.
"We have this very strange story now, this young man who worked for the Democratic National Committee who apparently was assassinated at 4 in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 23,000 -- I’m sorry, 53,000 emails and 17,000 attachments, nobody’s investigating that," Gingrich said in an interview on "Fox & Friends."
The conspiracy theory that Rich stole DNC emails has been floating around ever since he was killed in what police say is a robbery gone wrong. But nobody has been arrested in the case, a fact which has stoked speculation that Rich, a data analyst at the DNC, had something to do with the email dump.
#2
"It was a robbery, I tell you! A robbery!"
"What? Can't be robbery - no valuables were taken."
"Than it must be a suicide!"
"What? Two bullets in the back!"
"You are racist, sexist, and a Russian spy!"
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, a new batch of armaments and military vehicles traveled through Kurdish-held northern Syria en route to the Raqqa frontier where Kurdish forward units are just four kilometers from the Islamic State capital.
The convoy was spearheaded by US Humvees and traveled from Iraq through the city of Qamishli onwards to rural Raqqa where the equiptment was handed over to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a staunch US ally in the battle against ISIS.
Pictures of the US convoy passing through territory Kurds have dubbed ‘Rojava’
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Aleppo (SyriaNews.media) The Syrian opposition, on Sunday, tossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! three members of the Syrian regime forces in the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo, Qasioun News Agency reported.
Muntasir Billah Brigade stated on its Facebook page that its heroes managed to arrest three members of the government forces, near Amiyah Village in the countryside of al-Bab City, east of Aleppo.
The soldiers were arrested for looting property of citizens in the village, the statement added.
Noteworthy, Amiyah Village is located near al-Bab in the opposition-held areas, east of Aleppo.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, the renown Abu Omarah Regiment announced it would merge with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda affiliated group known to be the largest turban faction in Syria.
The Abu Omarah Regiment ‐ a prominent faction in the Fatah Halab operations room ‐ rose to fame in the battle for Aleppo which nevertheless culminated in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) taking full control of the city in December, 2016.
With the remnants of the Islamist group evacuated to the western Aleppo countryside, a few hundred fighters were on the verge of disbanding but have now decided to join HTS instead of leaving the battlefield.
The Abu Omarah Regiment was accused by Amnesia Amnesty International of conducting war crimes on the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsoud district last year, including a chemical attack and indiscriminate shelling.
With more and more jihadist factions joining what was previously known as the 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, HTS now boasts a fighting force of some 50,000 bully boys.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday morning, Yemeni Air Defense officials announced their forces had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Saadeh province in northern Yemen.
Today al-Sahat TV, a satellite channel broadcasting from Beirut, published a video supposedly showing the moment when the warplane was hit by a surface-to-air missile
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[AlAhram] North Korea's main spy agency has a special cell called Unit 180 that is likely to have launched some of its most daring and successful cyber attacks, according to defectors, officials and internet security experts.
North Korea has been blamed in recent years for a series of online attacks, mostly on financial networks, in the United States, South Korea and over a dozen other countries.
Cyber security researchers have also said they have found technical evidence that could link North Korea with the global WannaCry "ransomware" cyber attack that infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries this month. Pyongyang has called the allegation "ridiculous".
Continued on Page 49
I had fun with this yesterday, but I'm very glad the idiots came out alive. Here's hoping they didn't do something irremediably stupid, either by intent or accidentally.
[DhakaTribune] Five suspected bad boys, who were hiding inside a den in Narsingdi’s Gabtoli area, have surrendered to the law enforcers.
They came out of the under-construction two-storey building Sunday morning.
Confirming the matter, RAB spokesperson Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan said: "Details regarding the matter cannot be disclosed now. We are looking into the matter."
Earlier, he said they were able to establish contacts with the suspected forces of Evil hiding in the den and have convinced them to surrender."
Besides, three families entered the building to convince their children to surrender around 9:20am.
[IsraelTimes] Ahead of US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s visit to Israel and the PA, cabinet ministers approve a package of economic benefits for the Paleostinians on Sunday evening.
Eight ministers of the 10-member security cabinet vote for the package, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who brought the plan to the ministers. But Jewish Home’s Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked vote against.
Among the measures presented by Netanyahu is the opening of the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan 24 hours a day, progress in developing West Bank industrial zones near Jenin and Tarkumiya (west of Hebron), and increased building permits for Paleostinians living in Area C of the West Bank.
#2
The Pals should never be given cash and any food aid should be given to the people directly.
If you really want to help them get the Filipino's and Malaysians out of Saudi Arabia and give those guest worker jobs to Palestinians. If they screw around (like they've done at every other opportunity) tell them they and their family will not be allowed to Haj.
According to the nifty little google map at the link, it looks like Muthanna province is in the southeast corner of Iraq near Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Samawah (IraqiNews.com) Security services in the southern Iraqi province of Muthanna said Sunday they had foiled an attack by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... using booby-trapped vehicles.
The announcement comes two days after authorities there raised the security alert to a highest degree as intelligence information told that five booby-trapped vehicles were heading to the province’s city of Samawah.
Muthanna governor Faleh al-Ziyadi told Sky Press that security forces apprehended the five vehicles at the city’s southern entrance.
The governor said that two other vehicles in the same convoy had headed to Basra province, carrying out the suicide kaboom which left civilian casualties on late Friday. The vehicles went kaboom! at al-Remeila military checkpoint, located on a highway near oilfields in Basra. Eleven persons were killed, while 32 others were maimed.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Footage emerged on Saturday of Iraqi pro-government fighters using anti-aircraft weaponry to shoot at US coalition jets near the Al-Tanf border crossing in eastern Homs.
How much higher were the jets than the weapons' reach? And yet we know that Allah could have made it so had he desired, demonstrating once again that Allah really does not approve of fighting against America and her allies, whether by Sunni or Shiite.
The amateur video was published by a fighter of the Badr Movement, an Iraqi contingent which operates alongside the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), 313 Forces (Syrian militia), Hezbollah (Lebanese paramilitary), Harakat al-Abdal (Iraqi paramilitary), Kata’ib al-Imam Ali (Iraqi paramilitary), Kata’ib Hezbollah (Iraqi paramilitary) along the Damascus-Baghdad highway.
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Homs (IraqiNews) Syrian Air Force, on Sunday, carried out air strikes on towns, in eastern Homs, while festivities broke out between regime forces and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... holy warriors, east of the city of Palmyra, Qasioun News Agency reported.
The agency stated that warplanes of the Syrian Air Forces bombarded the city of al-Sokhna and al-Taiba town, in eastern Homs, concurrently with an artillery shelling on the area.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Livia grabbed for Jane's hair to make her point. Jane elbowed her in the face in rebuttal... festivities broke out between government forces and the Islamic State hard boyz in the vicinity of silos, east of the city of Palmyra, while the IS hard boyz managed to foil the attempt of the regime forces to advance into the vicinity of al-Abtar Mountain and Kasr al-Halabat, west of Palmyra.
Furthermore, several civilians were maimed in an artillery shelling conducted by the government forces on al-Houla area, north of Homs.
Noteworthy, ongoing battles take place between the Islamic State hard boyz and Syrian government forces in the city of Palmyra, in an attempt by the latter to advance toward Deir Ezzor, east of Syria.
[PJMedia] In the concluding segment of my exclusive PJ Media interview with former top Egyptian counter-terrorism official Khaled Okasha, currently director of the National Center for Security Studies in Cairo, we get to the most important question: Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?
In the first segment of our interview, Col. Okasha discussed his experience as a counter-terrorism official personally working against the emerging terror networks in Egypt. He also covered the role of Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau member Mohamed Kamal in establishing the terrorist cells following Mohamed Morsi's ouster.
In the second part of the interview, we continued discussing the financing of Mohamed Kamal's terror network, and the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas role in the development of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the Islamic State affiliate operating in Sinai.
To conclude our interview, Col. Okasha and I focus on the following topics:
The intentional failure of Mohamed Morsi to address the rise of terror networks in Sinai.
The role of current Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahmoud Ezzat in activating the Sinai terror networks after Morsi's removal.
The transition of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis to an Islamic State affiliate, and its continued relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
The current political debate over designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
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[SunStar] Eleven New People’s Army militants and two Abu Sayyaf rebels have separately surrendered as Philippine troops continue their offensive in Mindanao.
Joint Task Force Central commander Arnel Delavega said the NPA militants surrendered Sunday morning in the village of Midtungok, Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat province. He said that all of the NPA surrenderees belong to the Manobo tribe and they were identified as Ayob Mopac, Benjamin Kalay, Samuel Badak, Mel Pandi, Kang Mopac, Tiin Mooac, Usad Mopac, Long Oding, Sebio Masandag, Gabriel Mopac, and Nonoy Lapi.
Colonel Bismarch Soliba said in the province of Sultan Kudarat the NPA is losing members due to demoralization in the ranks. He said, "The lumads are disgruntled over the unfulfilled promises of the NPA leaders. The members are dying in the encounters but the supamil (family support) for their followers was not provided."
The two Abu Sayyaf rebels surrendered on Saturday morning at Sitio Camalig in the village of Bohe Pahu, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan province. They were identified as Wowee Hassan and Samer Batin, alias Iroh. Both are followers of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Nurhasan Jamiri.
Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez said, "The two Abu Sayyaf revealed that they fear for their lives as more of their fellow ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) members surrendered and gave information of the others. They said that they opted to surrender now believing that the government forces will eventually get them."
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[DAWN] US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... on Sunday urged Islamic leaders to take a stand against violence done in the name of religion, describing the struggle against extremism as a "battle between good and evil".
In a highly anticipated speech in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Trump lashed out at Iran, accusing Tehran of fuelling "the fires of sectarian conflict and terror" and calling for its international isolation.
Saying he came with "a message of friendship and hope and love", Trump told dozens of Moslem leaders that the time had come for "honestly confronting the crisis of religious extremism".
"This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between good and evil."
The speech came on the second day of a visit to Saudi Arabia, part of Trump's first foreign tour that will take him next to Israel and the Paleostinian territories and then to Europe.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] ISIS Death Eaters are preparing to leave the districts under their control in the southern suburbs of Damascus as per an evacuation deal with the Syrian government.
According to pro-rebel activists, news spread in al-Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk Refugee camp that within a week, ISIS fighters are leaving the area for the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... control large swathes of land.
The same activists reported that those Death Eaters have already began to sell their belongings for a cheaper price as locals willing to leave the area were asked to enroll their names
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[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, Iraqi military commander Shakir Abid said a unit of Norwegian special forces had been allowed to enter Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing in western Anbar.
The Norwegian unit arrived at the Al-Tanf region on the Syrian side of the border, home to US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) that have become the target of an ongoing offensive by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) along the Damascus-Baghdad highway.
The Iraqi Army, Iraqi border guards and Iraqi Federal Police notably provided the Norwegian contingent safe passage to link up with US and British forces already deployed inside eastern Homs, despite vocal objections by the government in Damascus.
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[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... says two people suspected of being members of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group have been killed in an Ankara police operation.
Ankara's governor told the Anadolu news agency Sunday the suspects may have been planning an attack on Turkey's capital. Police recovered weapons and explosives in the raid. Governor Ercan Topaca said the two men, in their 20s, have not been identified yet.
The nighttime police operation was conducted after a man from Azerbaijan, thought to be an IS member, was detained in Istanbul. The unnamed suspect allegedly drove the two men to Ankara.
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[Khaama] The Afghan National Army (ANA) artillery units pounded the hideouts of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... Lions of Islam in southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, leaving scores of bully boyz dead.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the ANA artillery units pounded the hideouts of the Taliban Lions of Islam in Waghez district of Ghazni.
MoD further added that 48 Lions of Islam were killed in the artillery strikes and at least 28 others were maimed.
In the meantime, MoD said at least 5 Lions of Islam were killed and 6 others were maimed in a similar operation in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan.
According to MoD, the hideouts of the Taliban Lions of Islam were pounded by the artillery units of the Afghan army in Gortapa area of Kunduz.
Both the northern Kunduz and southeastern Ghazni provinces are among the volatile provinces where the Taliban Lions of Islam and bully boyz belonging to the other Lion of Islam groups are actively operating.
The Taliban Lions of Islam frequently carry out attacks in Kunduz city and the group managed to take control of the strategic Kunduz city for at least two times.
The Taliban Lions of Islam often carry out insurgency activities including roadside kaboomings, murders, coordinated attacks, and other types of insurgency activities in Ghazni province which links Kabul through Maidan Wardak province to the southern provinces of the country.
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.
California would have to find an additional $200 billion per year, including in new tax revenues, to create a so-called "single-payer" system, the analysis by the Senate Appropriations committee found. The estimate assumes the state would retain the existing $200 billion in local, state and federal funding it currently receives to offset the total $400 billion price tag.
[NoisyRoom.net] Does Russiagate Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, have any credibility? Kenneth J. Dillon, a former Foreign Service officer and intelligence analyst, says, "My research on the 2001 anthrax mailings case suggests that former FBI Director Robert Mueller was responsible for the suicide of the alleged, but wrongly accused mailer, Bruce Ivins, as well as for the subsequent cover-up."
[Defense Watch] There are very few crime/mystery novels that approach this true story for compelling drama, intrigue and brinkmanship (with the nation in the balance).
[Wash Times] Satire publication Mad magazine mocked Time for its latest cover design, which mashes up an image of the White House with the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, saying the news publication was guilty of “stealing our material!”
[Breitbart] A Baltimore man was sentenced to four years behind bars for illegally trafficking food stamps.
[PJ] A few days ago, a New York Times headline informed readers that the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade held in New York City would honor Oscar Lopez Rivera, a person they described as a "long-jailed militant" and a "nationalist" -- certainly a misleading description of the self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist and terrorist.
[Independent] Security forces now fear the Islamist group may hatch a plot to contaminate Western food supplies with formulas that quickly dissolve in liquid
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A soldier was killed, another was injured in an IED blast that targeted an army patrol in Baghdad, according to security source.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
...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. ..
ِAnbar (IraqiNews.com) Fighter jets from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the 
North Korea
