[Reuters] May 31 A Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur returned to the Australian airport shortly after take off late on Wednesday after a passenger attempted to enter the cockpit, authorities said.
Passengers and the crew of Flight MH128 had to tackle the man and tie him up with seat belts until the flight landed, one witness told Reuters.
The plane landed safely and the man was apprehended by airport security, said Malaysia Airlines, which is still recovering from two major airline disasters in recent years.
The airline stressed in a statement that the flight had not at any point been hijacked.
Flight MH128 returned to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport "after the operating captain was alerted by a cabin crew of a passenger attempting to enter the cockpit", the statement said. It had departed at 11:11 p.m. Melbourne time and returned at 11:41 p.m.
"Malaysia Airlines together with the Australian authorities will be investigating the incident," the statement added.
Passengers disembarked safely from the aircraft and those affected were offered the next available flight or flights via other carriers, the airline said.
Arif Chaudhery, a passenger on board MH128, told Reuters that about 30 minutes into the flight a male passenger attacked a female member of the cabin crew who screamed out for help.
"Some passengers and crew grabbed the man and tackled him to the floor," Chaudhery said, adding that seat belts were used to tie the man's hands.
[NBC] CNN ended its deal with Kathy Griffin after she caused outrage over a video clip she posted showing her holding a fake decapitated head made to look like President Donald Trump.
The news network announced the decision in a tweet from its Communications Department.
"CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program," the tweet reads.
Griffin has hosted CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with network anchor Anderson Cooper since 2007.
On Tuesday, Griffin posted a short video clip on Twitter of herself lifting a bloodied head that appeared to resemble Trump. She wrote in a follow up tweet that she doesn't condone violence, and was "merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."
Both tweets have since been deleted.
After the image began circulating online, Cooper tweeted that he did not condone the image or find it tasteful.
"For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate," Cooper wrote.
#6
...It is my understanding - YMMV - that Mr Cooper was, shall we say, not at all fond of Ms Griffin. (I know, line forms to the left, but I digress.) As he's the closest thing they have left to a star these days, I suspect his tweet made it very clear where he stood - had he NOT done so, CNN might well have decided to hunker down and try to ride it out.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/31/2017 21:11
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Ten Thousand Commandments is the Competitive Enterprise Institute's annual survey of the size, scope, and cost of federal regulations, and how the U.S. regulatory burden affects American consumers, businesses, and the economy. Authored by CEI Vice President for Policy Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr., it shines a light on the large and growing "hidden tax" of America's regulatory state.
Federal government spending, deficits, and the national debt are staggering, but so is the impact of federal regulations. Unfortunately, regulations get little attention in policy debates because, unlike taxes, they are unbudgeted, difficult to quantify, and their effects are often indirect. By making Washington’s rules and mandates more comprehensible, Crews underscores the need for more review, transparency, and accountability for new and existing federal regulations.
The 2017 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments is unique and will serve as a benchmark to measure President Trump's efforts to cut red tape against those of his predecessors. President Obama's final year in office showed a regulatory surge. Will Trump keep his promise and slam the breaks on overregulation?
Highlights from the 2017 edition include: Prepare for the butt screwin'
Based on federal government data, past reports, and contemporary studies, this report estimates regulatory compliance and economic impacts of federal intervention to be $1.9 trillion annually.
The Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center in Washington, D.C., jointly estimate that agencies spent $63 billion in fiscal year 2016 to administer the federal regulatory state. Adding the $1.9 trillion in off-budget compliance costs brings the total reckoned regulatory enterprise to about $1.963 trillion.
If U.S. regulation was a country, it would be the world's seventh-largest economy, ranking behind India and ahead of Italy.
The estimated cost of regulation is equivalent to half the level of federal spending, which was $3.854 trillion in 2016.
Regulatory costs of $1.9 trillion amount to 10 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, which was estimated at $18.861 trillion in 2016 by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
When regulatory costs are combined with federal FY 2016 outlays of $3.854 trillion, the federal government's share of the entire economy reaches 30 percent (not including state and local spending and regulation).
During calendar year 2016, Congress enacted 214 laws, whereas agencies issued 3,853 rules. Thus, 18 rules were issued for every law enacted. This "Unconstitutionality Index"--the ratio of regulations issued by agencies to laws passed by Congress and signed by the president--highlights the delegation of lawmaking power to unelected agency officials. The average for the past decade has been 27.
If one assumes that all costs of federal regulation and intervention flowed all the way down to households, U.S. households would "pay" $14,809 annually on average in a regulatory hidden tax. That amounts to 21 percent of the average income of $69,629 and 26.45 percent of the expenditure budget of $55,978. The "tax" exceeds every item in the budget except housing. More is "spent" on embedded regulation than on health care, food, transportation, entertainment, and apparel.
Of the 3,318 regulations in the pipeline, 193 are "economically significant" rules, which the federal government defines as having annual effects on the economy of $100 million or more.
The five most active rulemaking entities--the Departments of the Treasury, the Interior, Transportation, Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency--account for 1,428 rules, or 43 percent of all federal regulations under consideration.
Public notices in the Federal Register normally exceed 24,000 annually, with uncounted guidance documents and other proclamations with potential regulatory effect among them. There were 24,557 notices in 2016. There have been 550,489 public notices since 1994 and well over a million since the 1970s.
The 2016 Federal Register contains 95,894 pages, the highest level in its history and 19 percent higher than the previous year's 80,260 pages.
Last year, the Obama administration averaged 86 "major" rules, a 36 percent higher average annual output than that of President George W. Bush. President Obama issued 685 major rules during his term, compared with Bush's 505. The power of the Executive order needs to be severely scaled back. Regulations are little more than taxes as people and resources need to be expended to meet them. This should have stayed with congress (before congress gave up its power and let the agencies make their own rules) and any major rules that change how an agency operates should come from congress, not the president.
Of course I believe that 90% of these agencies need to be dismantled and the rest scaled back a bunch. They are truly becoming not only a drain on our national economy but also are running down the path of nanny state tyranny.
#2
Congress doesn't just pass the buck to the apparatchiks in the bureaucracy, they make the bureaucracy for everything. They need to show they are doing 'something'. See, we passed a bill! Poof, another bureaucracy. They're part of the cancer, enabled by issuing bonds and notes of promise that indenture future generations. If expenditures had to match receipts, a lot of this would not exist.
h/t Gates of Vienna
[TheLcal.de] President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to complain about a US trade deficit with Germany, and his belief that Germany needs to pay more for the NATO military alliance.
"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change," Trump wrote.
#1
Conservative? How about just plan Constitutional? Read it and apply it. No skipping Article V process and issuing royal decrees. Go back to Congress and/or the states and seek redress there.
#4
Yea, well, I'm afraid we'll see that the Mandarinate ignores Supreme Court decisions that they don't like - just as they're doing with Trump's executive orders.
#1
President Trump has reportedly decided to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement
Reportedly? Somebody heard a rumor? I read he might. But now he has 'decided'? Has a document been issued? An announcement, perhaps? Or just journalistic mind-reading?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2017 10:53
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#2
Was it submitted to the Senate for ratification? No.
It's a piece of paper. Those who howl about it show they have no loyalty to America, just a bunch of globalists (who, of course, expect the American deplorables to forfeit their sons around the world to provide the security they rely upon daily for their enterprises and power to exist).
#5
It will also set him against public opinion – 61 per cent of Americans said the US should uphold the agreement, according to a Huffington Post/YouGov poll on May 17.
Oh man I'm running out of fingers for them to pull! Look who conducted the polls
[Wash Times] A Nevada physician says insurance companies in states where assisted suicide is legal have refused to cover expensive, life-saving treatments for his patients, but offered to help them end their lives instead.
Brian Callister, associate professor of medicine at the University of Nevada, said he tried to transfer two patients to California and Oregon for procedures not performed at his hospital. In phone calls with representatives from two different insurance companies, he said those requests were denied.
"And in both cases, the insurance medical director said to me, ’Brian, we’re not going to cover that procedure or the transfer, but would you consider assisted suicide?’ " Mr. Callister told The Washington Times.
The phone calls took place last year within the span of a month, Mr. Callister said. He said he did nothing to prompt the suggestion in either case.
The patients were not terminal, but "would have become terminal without the procedures."
"It was estimated that their chance for cure -- cure, not just adding time -- of about 50 percent in one case and 70 percent in the other case," Mr. Callister said.
[AlJazeera] At least 80 people, mostly Afghan civilians, have been killed by a huge bomb blast in Kabul, and more than 300 people are wounded.
The explosion stuck at the heart of the Afghan capital's diplomatic area, with scenes of carnage, panic and sorrow quickly emerging. The 'message': No one is safe. Not in Afghanistan, anyway.
Journalists said the windows of their offices shook, while people ran from the epicentre of the blast with bloody faces.
The blast came just two days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Social media reaction at link, not so much news.
There is tweeted photo of the hole in the road left by the bomb blast, which appears to my untutored eye to be 10-12 feet deep (~3.5m). The article links to a proper Al Jazeera article here. It was updated around noon EDT, has a brief video reporting this took place at the height of morning rush hour, a map of sorts of the key buildings around Zanbaq Square, and adds:
Reporting from Kabul, Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy cited sources as saying that the death toll could be as high as 100, with more than 500 wounded.
The incident raised many security questions in Kabul, Azimy said, noting that many were wondering how "a truck full of explosives could manage to get to that highly secure" part of the Afghan capital.
"Heavily-loaded vehicles are checked thoroughly and usually they are not allowed to pass through these areas without prior clearance from the security forces," Rahim, the security commentator, said.
Bribery, a cousin of the guard got a special favour, the guard was one of the bad guys, or some combination thereof, I suspect.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2017
07:07 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
The bomb, concealed in a water delivery truck, detonated at 8:22 a.m. (local time) outside the offices of a major local cellphone company and a popular TV station. It hit about 400 yards from the German Embassy in one of the busiest parts of town, near big supermarkets and shops.
The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack in a statement. No group has yet claimed it.
Probably one of those 'lone wolf' guys.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2017 7:28
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#2
Thank you for being on top of this for us, Bobby. I've set it as today's headline.
#9
We cannot allow the usual "just a few bad apples" nonsense to prevail. *Islam* is the problem. It must be ridiculed and reviled until its relegated to the ashbin of history. Nobody who calls themself a "nazi" in the year 2017 gets a free pass in the form of "I'm sure there are good nazis and bad nazis"--instead the IDEOLOGY itself is so discredited that anyone choosing to wear the title is discredited as well. It can be no different for Islam.
A Kung Fu master has successfully pulled seven cars - using just his testicles .
Martial arts expert Hung Lo Ye Wei performed the eye-watering feat in front of stunned onlookers on March 30.
Channelling all of his strength into his genitals, Mr Wei towed the seven Audis, which weighed a combined 12.6 tonnes, for a total of eight metres. Hey, a metric tonne is only 0.984 long tons. Now I'm not so impressed.
The impressive performance took place in his hometown of Zibo City, in East China's Shandong Province, where Ye has been practicing his own brand of martial arts for the past three decades. His very own, I'm guessing.
He has made something of a name for himself over the years while following a style of martial arts that focuses on "inner strength", energy from his spine, as well as his testicles - which he calls his "outer kidneys". Now he calls them his distant outer kidneys.
Incredible mobile phone footage from Ye's attempt shows dozens of onlookers excitedly cheering him on.
After tying the rope around both his testicles, Ye heaves the linked cars and successfully pulls them backwards in a straight line.
Ye did not say which organisation he has enlisted to track his incredible feat, but he was quoted as saying: "The record keepers have confirmed my successful attempt." How do you confirm something you can't watch?
When asked why he chose to set such an unusual record, Ye added: "I do this in order to recognise the past 20 to 30 years that I've been practicing martial arts." It certainly isn't because he's looking for any students.
Ye practices what he calls "zen source tai chi". A very effective martial art. Once opponents see what he can do, they scatter like flies.
He says it exercises the pelvis and muscles around the thigh.
It is also thought to prevent premature ejaculation. More than anything else, probably because it takes a while for the nerve signals to travel eight meters.
[Breitbart] German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has praised the U.S. and President Donald Trump for "outstanding" cooperation on intelligence matters regarding radical Islamic terrorism.
Mr. de Maizière said it was of "outstanding importance" the intelligence agencies in both Germany and the U.S. worked together to combat radical Islamist extremism. He said the Trump administration has been both "highly professional" and "outstanding" in regard to intelligence cooperation, Die Welt reports.
Maizière made the remarks at a symposium of the Federal Office for Constitutional Protection (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV, also stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries saying that U.S. agencies are a "very important source of knowledge" and added: "I say that we need each other."
"Europe is the target of Islamic state terrorism," Maassen said adding: "In our opinion, Germany has been prioritised by the Islamic State."
An Indonesian and a Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea's leader with a deadly nerve agent, appeared in a Malaysian court Tuesday, wearing bullet-proof vests and under heavy security.
Both women, aged in their twenties, could face the death penalty, though they have denied murdering Kim Jong-Nam, saying they were duped into believing they were taking part in a reality TV show.
Seoul accuses North Korea of being behind the February killing, a charge Pyongyang denies.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, appeared for Tuesday's pre-trial hearing, during which their defence lawyers slammed the prosecution for failing to furnish them with relevant documents.
"The concept of a fair trial demands that all material documents should be supplied to the defence at the earliest opportunity," Gooi Soon Seng, chief lawyer for Siti Aisyah said.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad assured the defence they will be given the documents before the trial.
The High Court is expected within a month to fix a date when the accused will enter a plea. Prosecutors and defence lawyers will then have 60 more days to prepare for the case, after which the trial dates can be determined.
The Magistrate Court's judge also approved a prosecution request that the case be moved to the High Court for the trial.
Malaysian police accuse the women of wiping the banned nerve agent VX on Kim's face as he was about to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau, where he was living in exile.
Police are still trying to trace four North Koreans suspected of having taken part in the murder plot, who are believed to have returned to Pyongyang immediately after the killing.
The murder sparked a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea.
[Wash Times] President Trump has some unwavering support from a very unique demographic: Republican military veterans. An extensive new Pew Research Center reveals that 98 percent of these GOP vets approve of the job Mr. Trump is doing. He has some fans across the greater population of vets as well. The poll also found that 54 percent of them also approve of the president.
Another 47 percent of independent vets and 10 percent of Democratic vets approve of the president.
"U.S. veterans, who broadly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, have remained positive about the job he is doing as president," wrote Shiva Maniam, and analyst for the pollster.
"In April, 54 percent of those who have served in the military approved of his job performance. Trump’s job approval among the overall public was just 39%, according to the same survey, which was conducted using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel," Mr. Maniam said.
"Last fall, Trump held a wide 60 percent -- 34 percent advantage over Hillary Clinton among veterans, according to the national exit poll conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool," he added.
#1
This is the sort of demographic on which one could build a solid constituency. And if Trump has a constituency, he can use it to drive better results in Congressional races (and I'm not talking about beating Democrats).
#2
"In April, 54 percent of those who have served in the military approved of his job performance.
Another Poll that over represents the Democratic numbers and then tries to read an augury from the resulting entrails?
[Right Scoop] The black activists who appeared to put Evergreen college under complete mob rule are demanding that a video be taken down from the internet because it shows how crazy they actually are.
Video can be seen at the link -- just click on the headline and scroll down.
That is just pathetic and shameful. Even if they had a reasonable, rational argument to make against whites at the college, they completely and utterly undermined their credibility by screaming and yelling like petulant childish idiots. How despicable.
Here’s their demand:
"We demand that the video created for Day of Absence and Day of Presence that was stolen by white supremacists and edited to expose and ridicule the students and staff be taken down by the administration by this Friday."
And here’s how the college president responded:
"Based on conversations with the attorney general’s office, the most likely course of action requires an investigation. We commit to launching an extensive forensic investigation of the theft of this video and to determining who stole it from the student. If that investigation yields a suspect, we will seek criminal charges against the individual in consultation with the attorney general."
That’s pretty pathetic. Although he didn’t back down to all their demands, he DID back down to this one, and it’s just sad.
Luckily it seems that this obscene stupidity is an affliction of exclusively liberal colleges, but I fear for the future of our country when these idiots spew forth onto the American landscape...
#9
How low are the admissions requirements that allowed these entitled idiots into a place of "higher education". At about the 4 minute mark of the video one of them can't even read a document without stumbling and mispronouncing most of the words. These miscreants don't need college, they need reform school.
[Wash Times] What caused the Barack Obama administration to begin investigating the Donald Trump campaign last summer has come into clearer focus following a string of congressional hearings on Russian interference in the presidential election.
It was then-CIA Director John O. Brennan, a close confidant of Mr. Obama’s, who provided the information -- what he termed the "basis" -- for the FBI to start the counterintelligence investigation last summer. Mr. Brennan served on the former president’s 2008 presidential campaign and in his White House.
Mr. Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee on May 23 that the intelligence community was picking up tidbits on Trump associates making contacts with Russians. Mr. Brennan did not name either the Russians or the Trump people. He indicated he did not know what was said.
But he said he believed the contacts were numerous enough to alert the FBI, which began its probe into Trump associates that same July, according to previous congressional testimony from then-FBI director James B. Comey.
The FBI probe of contacts came the same month the intelligence community fingered Russian agents as orchestrating hacks into Democratic Party computers and providing stolen emails to WikiLeaks.
Mr. Brennan, who has not hidden his dislike for Mr. Trump, testified he briefed the investigation’s progress to Mr. Obama, who at the time was trying to aid Hillary Clinton in her campaign against the Republican nominee.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2017 7:22
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#2
The FBI probe of contacts came the same month the intelligence community fingered Russian agents as orchestrating hacks into Democratic Party computers and providing stolen emails to WikiLeaks.
Emphasis added.
#4
Sounds a lot more like CIA interference in the election than anything else.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/31/2017 10:27
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#5
Behind Brennan and the CIA cronies, you will find the actual architects of Champs administration. - ValJar, Soros and the Center for American Progress.
#6
Behind Brennan and the CIA cronies, you will find the actual architects of Champs administration. - ValJar, Soros and the Center for American Progress.
Yes, with Brennan at the wheel, architects of the 'Deep State' or 4th branch of government, or shadow government. You pick the title, it's all the same. Soetoro was little more than a face, an empty suit.
[Free Beacon] The Social Security Administration billed taxpayers $32 million for work conferences, according to a new audit.
The inspector general for the agency reported that just over 300 conferences cost taxpayers roughly $100,000 each in travel, meals, and lodging expenses during a three-year period.
The audit found that the agency mostly complied with federal reporting requirements to disclose conferences that cost $20,000 or more. The inspector general did find two instances where those conferences were not reported, because initial cost estimates fell below the $20,000 threshold.
In all, the inspector general identified 317 conferences that were held between fiscal years 2013 and 2016.
#3
Yet another illustration of the problem of counting on others ("government") to spend YOUR money wisely. Its doubly problematic when there is no P&L statement that holds anyone accountable for the decisions they made with that money.
[Daily Caller] The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) reinstated its advertisements on Sean Hannity’s nightly Fox News show Tuesday.
USAA was one of 10 companies to pull its ads from Hannity, due to the fallout from his reporting of the Seth Rich murder story. Hannity suggested that there was a conspiracy surrounding the death of the DNC staffer, but Fox News quickly backed off the story and retracted it from their website last Tuesday.
"We heard concerns from many members who watch and listen to these programs," USAA said in a statement Tuesday. "Our goal in advertising has always been to reach members of the military community who would benefit from USAA’s well-known commitment to service. Today, the lines between news and editorial are increasingly blurred."
The company chose to reinstate advertising while simultaneously reviewing corporate policy on opinion shows.
#1
"We heard concerns from many members who watch and listen to these programs,"
Forgot who you worked for? Unlike other 'companies', USAA is more a co-op. It's 'members' can change leadership if you give them enough motivation to pay attention.
#3
They are *really* a pain in the ass to work with. They sell "less expensive" home insurance...until you need to file a claim. Its a that point that you'll bother to actually learn what it is that you signed up for, and find that they don't payout claims in the same manner (nor for as much) as their competitors.
And God help you if use them for mortgage financing. You'll close on your purchase...eventually. But not before blowing past your contract date and generally pissing off everyone else involved in the transaction. But hey! You saved some money right?!? Afterall, USAA has a magic money tree that allows them to lend money out cheaper than everyone else...er...well...right...maybe?
#4
My older sister's experience with them was less than stellar, she was late mailing in a premium and *Bang* No Notice, No Courtesy Call, the Policy was cancelled. So... Not a fan.
#4
I enjoy pointing out to Sanders supporters that their candidate was *robbed* by the HRC campaign, and that their brave leader was complicit in the theft. The pained looks I receive in response always make me smile.
I usually also try to find a way to drop in the fact that this "socialist" and "man of the people" has 3 separate luxury houses.
[AnNahar] French customs officials said Tuesday that they had intercepted 135 kilograms (300 pounds) of Captagon, dubbed the "jihadists' drug", at Gay Paree' Charles de Gaulle airport this year, a first for La Belle France.
Captagon, a type of amphetamine, is one of the most commonly used drugs among fighters in the Syrian war.
"It is the first time that this drug has been seized in La Belle France," the customs agency said in a statement.
Customs officials at Charles de Gaulle discovered 350,000 Captagon pills weighing 70 kilograms on January 4 hidden among industrial molds exported from Leb and apparently heading for the Czech Republic.
An investigation was launched by German and Czech authorities "and it revealed that the real intended destination was 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... , by passing through The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ", the agency said.
Another 67 kilograms of the drug were found at the airport in February, hidden in steel molds.
Captagon is classified by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime as an "amphetamine-type stimulant" and usually blends amphetamines, caffeine and other substances.
Fighters who have taken the drug say it helps them to stay up for days and numbs the senses, allowing them to kill with abandon.
[IsraelTimes] A 17-year-old Paleostinian was detained in Hebron
...Hamas Central in the West Bank...
Tuesday after being caught with a large kitchen knife in her bag.
The girl attempted to resist security forces and had to be fought to submission.
Border Police said they believed the teen intended to carry out a stabbing attack against officers or against Jewish worshipers in the nearby Tomb of the Patriarchs.
[BBC] New analysis suggests Chinese-speaking criminals may have been behind the WannaCry ransomware that affected thousands of organizations worldwide.
Researchers from Flashpoint looked at the language used in the ransom notice.
They said the use of proper grammar and punctuation in only the Chinese versions indicated the writer was "native or at least fluent" in Chinese.
The translated versions of the ransom notice appeared to be mostly "machine translated".
The WannaCry ransom note could be displayed in 28 different languages, but only the Chinese and English versions appeared to have been written by humans.
The English text also used some unusual phrases such as: "But you have not so enough time".
The WannaCry cyber-attack infected more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries, affecting government, healthcare and private company systems.
The UK's National Crime Agency, the FBI and Europol are investigating who was responsible for the ransomware.
Some earlier analysis of the software had suggested criminals in North Korea may have been behind it.
But the Flashpoint researchers noted the Korean-language ransom note was a poorly translated version of the English text.
"It was only really the Chinese and the English versions that appeared to be written by someone that understood the language," said cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey.
"The rest appeared to come from Google Translate. Even the Korean."
Prof Woodward noted that the people behind the ransomware had not attempted to retrieve the money victims had paid in Bitcoin, and added it was likely they were keeping a low profile.
"I actually think they've run for the hills," he told the BBC.
"Their so-called command and control system, the thing that controls quite a lot of the software, has all been turned off.
"They know that so many people are watching them now and that following the money could lead to their downfall. I suspect if they've got any sense at all they'll leave it well alone."
[AlAhram] Indonesian police say they have made more arrests of suspected holy warriors following suicide kabooms in Jakarta that killed three coppers.
Central Java Police front man Djarod Padakova said a man identified as Wahyudi was tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! early Monday in Sukoharjo district of West Java and another man was caught hours later in the neighboring district of Karanganyar.
National police front man Setyo Wasisto said a third suspect was detained a day earlier in Cibubur, near Jakarta.
Authorities in Indonesia, the world's most populous Moslem-majority nation, have now arrested a total of six suspects since the May 24 attack which targeted police at a bus terminal in eastern Jakarta. Three coppers and the two attackers were killed and 11 people, both police and civilians, were maimed.
[AlAhram] An Indonesian Islamist leader who helped organise mass protests against Jakarta's Christian governor has been named a suspect in a pornography case, police said Tuesday, as authorities seek to rein in hardliners.
Rizieq Shihab, leader of notorious radical group the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), was Monday named a suspect for allegedly exchanging pornographic messages with a woman.
Shihab, who is also being investigated by police over a separate defamation case, is currently out of the country after travelling 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... on pilgrimage and has failed to return despite repeated summons from the police for questioning.
Analysts said it was the latest evidence the government of President Joko Widodo was seeking to clamp down on holy warriors in the world's most populous Moslem-majority country as fears mount they are growing increasingly influential.
Shihab was a key figure in organising a series of mass rallies last year against Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ally of Widodo, over allegations he insulted the Koran while campaigning for re-election.
The controversy led to Purnama's downfall -- he lost the election and was locked away I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! for blasphemy for two years this month over the claims -- and stoked concerns about rising religious intolerance in a country traditionally regarded as a bastion of tolerant Islam.
The FPI was long viewed as a marginal organization whose extreme views did not reflect those of most Indonesians, and was known for raiding bars during Ramadan, but gained national prominence due to the protests.
Jakarta police front man Argo Yuwono confirmed Shihab had been named a suspect for allegedly breaking Indonesia's tough anti-pornography laws by exchanging graphic messages and nude pictures with the woman.
Naming someone a suspect is a step in the Indonesian legal system which means authorities believe they have enough evidence to consider filing charges, and such cases normally go to court.
Shihab, who has been locked away I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! twice before, could face up to five years in prison if found guilty.
"We will issue an arrest warrant and check his house and work with immigration to determine his whereabouts," Argo said.
Shihab's lawyer Sugito Amto Prawiro denied the holy man had broken the anti-porn laws and said he was the "victim of a cruel act".
The woman who received the messages has also been named a suspect in the case.
Daraa (SyriaNews.media) Forces from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), on Tuesday, published a video on Facebook, showing of a heavy rockets shelling conducted by its forces on a military convoy belonging to the Syrian government forces, on Damascus-Daraa international road.
The footage showed a rockets shelling carried out by the Syrian opposition (Free Syrian Army) on a military convoy belonging to the regime forces, without identifying the number of casualties among the Syrian government forces and its affiliated Iranian militias.
Meanwhile, Syrian opposition affirmed destroying armored military vehicles and weapons, in addition to killing several soldiers of the Syrian regime during the shelling.
Noteworthy, Syrian government forces recruited Iranian and Iraqi militias, recently, in the city of Daraa, to participate in the ongoing battles in al-Mansheya neighborhood. Video at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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[AlAhram] Polish and Afghan special forces, backed by U.S. air power, freed 11 people who had been taken hostage by the Taliban ...Arabic for students... in Afghanistan's Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, Poland's Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said on Tuesday.
The hostages included two solders, four coppers and five civilians, all of them Afghan nationals who had been held captive for four months in a village held by the Taliban, Macierewicz told a news conference in Warsaw.
"These people were beaten, tortured, treated terribly for four months," he said.
The Polish special forces, who are usually based in Kandahar province but were in Helmand on a training mission, were primarily involved in preparing the operation to free the hostages and had a supporting role, but it was the Afghan forces who did the fighting against the Taliban, the minister said.
Macierewicz added that the success of the operation shows that the Afghan forces are well trained and able to "combat terrorists."
He said U.S. helicopters also took part in the rescue.
#1
Lots of western nations, which includes the old Warsaw Pact countries, have run some of their guys through Astan and iraq. It provides experience, exposure, interoperability, connections, and checks their doctrines against reality.
Plus, come OER time, the badasses have an extra point or two.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
05/31/2017 5:15
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#3
It provides experience, exposure, interoperability, connections, and checks their doctrines against reality.
I had the distinct honor and pleasure to work w/the Norwegian MJK (SEAL) for a year in Kabul. VERY capable plus all around nice guys. Viking blood still runs through their veins.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
05/31/2017 7:20
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[ARA News] Iraqi Kurdistan’s security forces of the Asayish on Tuesday repelled an offensive by Islamic State’s (ISIS) jihadists in Kirkuk province, officials reported.
A group of ISIS militants tried to infiltrate into the Dibs district in Kirkuk province, after opening fire on Kurdish Asayish forces at the Dibs Checkpoint.
“Clashes broke out between the Asayish and Daesh [ISIS] terrorists who were trying to enter the area and conduct terrorist attacks,” the Kurdish security said in a statement.
After nearly two hours of clashes, the Kurdish forces were able to repel the attack.
According to the Asayish leadership, two members of the group were killed before the withdrawal of several others.
This is not the first attempt by ISIS militants to infiltrate into Kirkuk. On 8 May, 2017, Iraqi Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces repelled an attack by Islamic State’s jihadists on a Kurdish-American airbase near Kirkuk city in northern Iraq.
According to the Peshmerga Ministry, five ISIS suicide bombers tried to infiltrate into the Kiwan Airbase west of Kirkuk. “Two of them detonated their explosive belts near the main gate of the Kiwan Airbase after failing to break into the base,” a Peshmerga officer told ARA News at the time.
At least two Peshmerga guards lost their lives and six others were wounded in the explosion. The source confirmed that three other suicide bombers were killed by Peshmerga fire before reaching their target.
“The strict security measures by the Peshmerga and allied US-led coalition’s forces prevented these terrorists from infiltrating into the base,” the Kurdish official told ARA News.
Kiwan Airbase is a main station for the US-led coalition and Kurdish forces in their fight against ISIS extremists in northern Iraq.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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A Russian senator released a minority report on the scale of government seizing children in the juvenile justice system, saying that the government news agency TASS is hiding the real statistics, according to a Russian language news account.
Elena Mizulina, in holding a press conference in Moskva on Tuesday, said that in 2015, the Russian government seized a total of 309,000 children from their families and placed them in "other settings", presumably state controlled care unnecessarily. A total of 87 percent of the total were placed in temporary state run shelters, Of those 38 percent, or half were returned to their families after 11 to 12 months.
According to a separate report in regnum.ru, for the year 2015, only 13 percent of children taken were found to have been neglected. The report also said that the government have been under reporting seizures by 90 percent.
According to the latest report, the Russian news agency TASS under reported seizures by a factor of 100 and have yet to correct the report. She suggested a nexus between the TASS report and a tacit government policy on families.
Senator Mizulina suggested that the reason for all the unneeded seizures was to justify the institutions' budgets.
[CNN] Kathy Griffin is defending herself after drawing fierce criticism for participating in a photo shoot that featured her holding up a bloody head resembling 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 Tuesday, celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, known for his provocative images, released photos he did with Griffin that immediately came under fire from people on Twitter, including the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, who called the imagery "disgusting but not surprising."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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#1
I wonder who she hangs with and what they talk about that makes her feel that this is acceptable behavior or maybe merely "edgy."
#4
She took it down and offered an apology, but no one is buying it.
Assassination chic was overlooked during W's tenure, but not anymore. We are sick of our leaders being threatened, our rallies attacked, and the deep state ruling however they like regardless of what the voters wish.
#5
How does this child abusing bitch have a career?
Posted by: chris ||
05/31/2017 9:26
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#6
My suspicion is that Ms. Griffin (Oak Park IL alumnus with her name emblazoned in the Village Hall Rotunda of Fame) received a communication from the Secret Service after the disgusting photo.
She seemed a little nervous in giving her "apology."
#8
DV put his finger on it. At this point in American history I'm afraid a couple of assassinations would be all it takes to start a nasty civil war. Off a Democrat then off a Republican and neither side will trust the other, both will think the only way to stay alive and win is to kill the other.
Birdbrain Kathy Griffin needs a visit from the Secret Service, a pair of stainless steel bracelets and a new orange jump suit.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/31/2017 10:36
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#9
You wanna talk about corporations pulling their ads from FOX because of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity? How about Kathy Griffins Viberzi ads. Check out the website. They still have her picture on it. I think if I was suffering from that particular ailment I'd ask my doctor for some other medication.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/31/2017 10:43
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#10
Pathetic when someone is so desperate for attention.
#11
You wanna talk about corporations pulling their ads from FOX because of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity? How about Kathy Griffins Viberzi ads. Check out the website. They still have her picture on it. I think if I was suffering from that particular ailment I'd ask my doctor for some other medication.
#12
The headline link is to a CNN website, in it there's this statement: "We found what she did disgusting and offensive," a CNN spokesperson said. "We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down."
Huh, huh, this is CNN, and they 'quoted' one of their own and called it 'news'!
There's also this following from the same article as above: The incident cost the comic at least one endorsement deal.
Squatty Potty, a line of footstools for toilets, said Tuesday it was "shocked and disappointed" and was pulling a new ad campaign starring Griffin.
"It was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for," Squatty Potty chief executive officer Bobby Edwards said in a statement. "We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility, and tolerance."
"Squatty Potty"? I'm trying to figure out who would use those! Okay Kathy lost an endorsement deal from a company nobody apparently ever heard of or care about.
I looked at the Squatty potty web page and fell off my chair laughing. Whew! I don't know if it was intentional or what! Make sense that the web page was designed with five year old humor for a product designed for toddlers.
What a shi**y way to raise awareness of a company.
#13
On the first day of Ramadan no less. I bet ya Daniel Pearl's parents haven't been approached by CNN to give their opinion on this "political" statement.
Raqqa (SyriaNews.media) The Syrian Democratic Forces, on Tuesday, captured the cities of Mazra’et al-Assad, north of the city of Raqqa, and the eastern Abu Qobeih and western Abu Qobeih, near the city of al-Mansoura, in western Raqqa, Qasioun News Agency reported.
Also, violent battles took place between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Islamic State group, which lasted for several hours, and coincided with a mutual shelling.
Meanwhile, international coalition aircraft carried out a number of air strikes on the city of Raqqa, amid an artillery shelling, killing six civilians.
Noteworthy, Syrian Democratic Forces managed to control several villages and cities in the northern and western country sides of Raqqa.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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[Straits Times] The Philippine military urged Muslim insurgents still holed up in Marawi to surrender as security forces, backed by armored vehicles, artillery and attack helicopters, continued their push to dislodge the militants and free trapped civilians. Military spokesman Restituto Padilla said, "We call on the remaining terrorists to surrender while there is an opportunity... Not surrendering will mean their sure death."
The military said on Monday that troops have taken back most of Marawi City. The call to surrender came as the miltants' hostages pleaded with the government to stop bombing rebel positions.
The siege of Marawi City is in its second week after about 100 Maute militants attacked the lakeside city on May 23. The attack followed a raid by special forces at an apartment where a top terrorist leader, Isnilon Hapilon, was thought to be hiding. The Islamic State has designated Hapilon as the "emir" of Southeast Asia.
Despite a sustained assault by the military over the past eight days, rebels still control pockets of the city. Marines and commandos spent yesterday clearing militant positions house by house, and street by street.
The death toll has exceeded 100, with 19 civilians and at least 65 militants killed. The government lost 17 soldiers and three policemen. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that a third Malaysian has been killed in Marawi.
In Singapore, the Ministry of Home Affairs said a Singaporean man implicated in terrorism-related activities in the southern Philippines is believed to be still alive. A spokesman for the ministry said Muhamad Ali Abdul Rahiman, alias Muawiya, has not returned to Singapore since he went to the southern Philippines in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, a Catholic priest who was taken hostage last week has appealed to President Duterte to consider the plight of the captives and stop the military operation. Father Teresito "Chito" Soganub, the city's vicar-general, said there were about 240 other captives. He said, "We are asking your help to please give what your enemies are asking for," he said in a video clip shown on a channel used by ISIS.
The video showed the priest, wearing a black shirt and trousers, standing in front of a razed building. As he was speaking, gunfire could be heard in the background. He pleaded, "They simply are not asking for anything, just to withdraw your forces... and to stop the air strikes, your air attacks, and stop the cannon."
Military chief Eduardo Ano said on Monday that the rebels had intended to raze Marawi, as part of a plan to launch violent attacks during Ramadan to earn recognition as a regional branch of ISIS. He said, "They wanted to show the world that there is an ISIS branch here which can inflict the kind of violence that has been seen in Syria and Iraq," insisting that the raid on Hapilon's suspected hideout disrupted that plan.
Posted by: ryuge ||
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#1
Not surrendering will mean their sure death."
Now that's an attitude for dealing with Islamic terror.
[NPR.ORG] They'd have a better chance if they changed their name to Hargesia or something. Take away Somaliland and Puntland and the remainder of Somalia becomes the Ethiopian Riviera.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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#1
I'm glad we cleared that up.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/31/2017 6:25
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#5
The Northern and Southern Tribes have been at war since African independence in ~1954. The Southern half allowed over a million Northern people to starve shortly there after. Different religions and tribes. If you are really interested read the following book. After reading it I gained a great respect for Mandela.
The Fate of Africa; The History of the Continent Since Independence. Meridith, Martin
#6
Can't imagine what could have possibly gone wrong to have led to such chaos and warring.
[sarc off]
"Yet, by one of those twists of fate that occurred so often during the Scramble for Africa in the nineteenth century, The Somali nation was carved up into five separate territories. The French occupied French Somaliland, a bleak enclave of lava-strewn desert surrounding the port of Djibouti at the southern entrance to the Red Sea which they wanted as a coaling station; the British acquired northern Somaliland, initially to ensure that the British garrison at Aden was kept regularly supplied with meat; the Italians established themselves in the Italian colony of Somalia, with a capital at Mogadishu. Further south, Somali communities were incorporated within the boundsaries of the British colony of Kenya; and to the west, on the Ogaden plateau, after Emperor Menelik extended the borders of the empire in the late nineteenth century, they came under Ethiopian jursisdiction."
Martin, Maradeth, The Fate of Africa pages, 464-465
#10
avoid "Chicago". The term conjures up an image of violence-wracked streets
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2017 20:18
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#11
The name "Detroit" may be available soon. Again, as with "Chicago", there are certain... associations. But come on, you're being mistaken for Somalia, fer cripes sake!
Hezbollah mujahidin (fighters) and the Syrian army targeted on Tuesday the sites and gatherings of Nusra Front terrorists with guided missiles, artillery, and machineguns, killing or wounding many of them. Video at the link
An Nahar reports this took place outside the town of Flita near Arsal.
[JEWISHPRESS] Despite heroic efforts by BDS Leb to block the screening of the new Wonder Woman movie in Leb, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot,
...the former Miss Israel, among other things...
the superhero movie may still open on the big screen nationwide.
Leb’s Daily Star is reporting that the showing will be cancelled, but on ArabNews.com, after speaking to one of Leb’s theater chains, declared that the premiere screening is still on.
According to a report on Israel radio on Tuesday afternoon, the Hezbollah terrorist group, which controls Leb’s government, has said the movie will be banned.
On Tuesday, Leb’s Ministry of Economy and Trade announced that they will forbid all movie theaters in Leb from showing the movie, and even wrote to the heads of Leb’s security administration to take all necessary measure to enforce this decision.
We’ll let you know after the Shavuot holiday what happened.
Hezbollah is terrified of a strong Israeli woman -- as they should be.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Libya’s eastern military commander General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... again accused on Monday Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... of supporting terrorist groups in Libya, while Egyptian and Libyan warplanes continued attacking positions and arms caches in several Libyan cities controlled by those groups.
In a message addressed to the entire Libyan Army units, Haftar said that Qatar, in addition to other states that he refused to mention, were handing large sums of money to the terrorist militias, adding that he had ordered that foreigners should not be allowed to carry arms inside Libya.
"The Libyan army recorded the arrival of citizens from Chad, Sudan and other African and Arab states to the country. They entered Libya due to lack of control over the borders. They received money from Qatar, as well as other countries and terrorist groups," he added.
Haftar’s statement said: "Any foreigner carrying arms in Libya will be nabbed Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! and punished collectively or individually."
Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... Egyptian and Libyan warplanes shelled for the third consecutive day, terrorist positions in the area of Jafrat, while Egypt continued its Arclight airstrikes carried on Derna since last Friday following the shooting of Coptic Christians in Minya in Upper Egypt, which resulted in the death of 29 civilians.
In the latest related development, forces loyal to Libya’s UN-backed unity government seized control of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... ’s international airport and Russian and Egyptian officials held talks in Cairo.
Russia affirmed its support for Egypt in its war against terrorism, during the visit of Russian Foreign and Defense Ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Shoigu to Cairo, where they met with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
For his part, the Egyptian president said challenges facing the Middle East require that both countries work together to eliminate terrorism and reinstall stability in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A security source in Anbar Province informed that a suicide bombing hit the center of the city of Heet, leaving a number of casualties, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source pointed out that a suicide bomber, wearing an explosive belt, blew up himself near al-Shaimaa School, in central Heet, west of Ramadi, leaving several casualties.
Security forces cordoned off the area of incident and imposed strict procedures in anticipation of other attacks, the source added on condition of anonymity.
Noteworthy, Islamic State group is trying to attack civilians in the liberated areas, to threaten the stability and safety of these areas.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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#2
We foul feral firearms form, flocking;
Flap, clatter, and click as we're cocking.
Cue gawking and chalking
And shock... but not talking.
We squawk from the power lines, mocking.
[CNN] Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland, kept in touch with the world by Obamaphone, ...was ruled by a Democrat machine from 1942 through 1971. After the river caught fire during the administration of Carl Stokes they tried a Republican, then went back to being Democrats when the party hacked up Dennis Kucinich ... police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014, was fired Tuesday -- not for the shooting, but because Sherlocks found he wasn't truthful about his employment history when he applied for the job, officials said.
The officer who was with Loehmann, Frank Garmback, will be suspended for 10 days because he violated tactical rules relating to how he drove to the scene that day, the city's public safety director and the police chief said.
An Ohio grand jury declined to criminally charge the officers in 2015.
None of the rule violations announced by Public Safety Director Michael McGrath and Chief Calvin Williams directly related to Loehmann shooting Rice outside a recreation center as the boy held a toy gun on November 22, 2014.
Posted by: Fred ||
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From the article:
[TheCollegeFix] Stark identifies Newtonian physics as one of the main culprits behind oppression. "Newtonian physics," she writes, has "separated beings" based on their "binary and absolute differences."
"This structural thinking of individualized separatism with binary and absolute differences as the basis for how the universe works is embedded in many structures of classification," according to Stark.
These structures of classification, such as male/female, or living/non-living, are "hierarchical and exploitative" and are thusly "part of the apparatus that enables oppression."
Therefore, Stark argues in favor of combining intersectionality and quantum physics theory to fight against the imperative to classify people based on hierarchical categories. Translation:
"Therefore, I AM pretty and sane! Quandumb fizzix sez so, ZOMG!
FUCK YOU, Dad! (Sob!)"
See, STEM people? It was only a matter of time before the SJWs came for you.
#1
Since you are so sure these distinctions are so arbitrary and therefore meaningless, I propose an experiment. Put your money where your mouth is and jump into that wood chipper over there.
Defining the difference between a "failed state" and a "completely failed state." [RT] Nothing has changed the dire situation in Libya since the fall of the Qadaffy regime, said John Graham, former US Ambassador to Libya. A couple of weeks ago there were three separate governments, now we may have a fourth, he added.
Global terrorism, 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.... , Libyan conflict
On Monday, Egypt has launched another bombing raid against murderous Moslem positions in Libya. Egyptian warplanes hit the city of Derna, close to the border with Egypt, said Libyan military commanders,
Egypt started its campaign against turbans after the killing of Coptic Christians in Egypt last week. On Friday gunnies, disguised as soldiers, opened fire on worshippers traveling to a monastery south of Cairo, killing 29. The Christian minority has been the frequent target of recent attacks. Cairo blamed the Libyan wing of ISIS and pledged to protect people, but the situation on the ground in Libya is complicated.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Ten days after the presidential elections, repercussions of the electoral campaigns still threaten of wider divisions in Tehran. On Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was offended by his rivals: defeated presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi and head of Judiciary Sadeq Larijani.
In his first speech after losing the elections, Raisi said on Sunday that Rouhani’s government has committed huge violations through tampering the elections.
"I ask the Guardian Council and the judiciary not to let the people’s rights get trampled. If this vote-tampering is not looked into, then the people’s trust will be damaged," said Raisi.
He lost the presidential competition for 16 million votes compared to 23 million votes to Rouhani.
Rouhani criticized last week the Guardian Council and the Ministry of Interior for not allowing four million Iranians to participate in the presidential elections, considering those who did not participate supporters of him.
Raisi, on the other hand, accused Rouhani of having inappropriately used TV, newspapers and government offices for campaign purposes throughout the five months, preceding the elections.
Official authorities in Iran describe the protests that took place in 2009 after the presidential elections as riot ‐ protests spurred when the two reform candidates claimed that election results were forged for the advantage of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
How about a cage match, popcorn, getcha popcorn here.
Posted by: Steven ||
05/31/2017 3:21
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[BREITBART] Taliban ...Arabic for students... jihadists in Afghanistan are increasingly targeting Islamic scholars, known as Learned Elders of Islam, to silence dissent and criticism as the terrorist group continues to capture territory and expand its influence across the country.
"The reason the Taliban resort to such acts is that they want to make sure their legitimacy is not questioned by the sermons of these Learned Elders of Islam," Mohammad Moheq, a prominent Afghan scholar of religion who also serves as an adviser to Afghanistan President 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. .. , told the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... (NYT).
"The only thing that undermines their legitimacy is the ability and power of these Learned Elders of Islam if they preach and argue against them," added Moheq. "Only they can challenge the Taliban’s ideology, not the liberal scholars or others, and the Taliban understand that."
"The reason these Learned Elders of Islam are getting targeted is because they tell the truth -- and the truth is that the ongoing fighting is just for power," noted Mawlawi Khudai Nazar Mohammedi, the chief of the Ulema Council in Taliban stronghold Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, located along the Pakistain border next to Kandahar province, the birthplace of the terrorist group.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Where have I seen this kind of behavior before?
1988 redux?
Baaj (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi paramilitary forces fighting the Islamic State alongside the government have begun digging trenches along the borders with Syria, crowning a successful push through villages near that area.
Popular Mobilization Units said on their website Tuesday they had begun entrenching along a line extending from Um Greis village, west of Sinjar region, to villages adjacent to the borderline. The step came one day after the force reached the borderline, taking over dozens of villages on their way.
The statement added that a second phase of operations launched to take over remaining villages north of Baaj, a major Islamic State holdout.
Last week, al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops resumed the second phase of operations, launched earlier this month, to liberate the remaining villages in the vicinity of Baaj, after the troops announced full liberation of Qairawan.
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.
The campaign in Baaj runs simultaneously with government troops operations in Mosul, Islamic State’s biggest stronghold in Iraq. As battles in Mosul approach victory, according to Iraqi generals, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said protecting the borders with Syria became a high priority.
Some senior PMU leaders had confirmed coordination with Syrian forces regarding security at the border area.
PMUs, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, are recognized by the government as a national force under the Prime Minister’s command.
[Asharq al-Aswat] It’s an idea that Syria, Russia and the US all might be willing to tolerate. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... however ... Outside the headlines, something remarkable is going on in Syria. The Kurds, making a long-term play for an autonomous region, seem to have decided that their best bet is to buy it from Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... . And the US is signaling that it may be on-board -- a startling reflection of its pro-Russian, anti-Turkish policy.
Continued on Page 49
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Tunisia – Clashes erupted between the Tunisian National Guard and an extremist group on Kasserine on Monday, official National Guard spokesman Khalifa al-Shibani said.
The National Guard killed two militants and arrested four others in the operation and they are still pursuing others.
Tunisian security forces killed a “dangerous” ISIS leader who was plotting attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, authorities said Monday.
Houssem Tlithi, 20, was killed in a National Guard operation on Sunday night near the Algerian border.
The Interior Ministry said the suspect, a member of the Oqba bin Nafi battalion, had been on the run since 2014 and hiding in the Mount Salloum region, an extremist stronghold.
Eleven arrest warrants had been issued against the suspect in connection with “terrorist operations”, the ministry said.
...for which he was wanted on twelve systems...
Mount Salloum is near Mount Chambi where 15 soldiers were killed in 2014 in the deadliest attack against the armed forces.
Posted by: badanov ||
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[Bangkok Post] Shots were fired at a ranger base in Yala province late on Saturday night, leading to a brief exchange of fire with a group of rebels. No casualties were reported.
The incident occurred when a number of rebels, using various types of weapons, opened fire on the base in Bannang Sata district. The rangers returned fire, and the exchange lasted 10-15 minutes. The attackers then retreated into the darkness.
Investigators recovered about 50 spent cartridges from M16 and AK47 rifles near a plot of durian seedlings about 200 meters from the base
The police believed the rebels were from a militant group led by Masanusi Luebaena operating in the district.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Two massive bombings killed at least 27 people and maimed more than 115 in Baghdad, Iraqi officials said Tuesday, as Iraqi forces battle to completely purge ISIS out of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... In the deadliest of the two attacks, a jacket wallah detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at a popular ice cream shop at around midnight (2100 GMT Monday)in the bustling Karrada neighborhood, killing at least 16 people and wounding 75.
In a statement, ISIS grabbed credit for the attack.
A closed-circuit camera captured the moment of the kaboom, the video showing a busy downtown avenue, with cars driving down the street when the blast strikes. A huge fireball then engulfs a building, forcing the cars to scramble to get away. Other videos of the attack posted on social media show maimed and bloodied people crying for help on the sidewalk outside the ice cream parlor.
In the second attack, a boom-mobilewent kaboom! during rush hour near the state-run Public Pension Office in Baghdad’s busy Shawaka area, killing at least 11 people and injuring 41, a police officer said.
In a second online statement, posted on a Death Eater website commonly used by Death Eaters, ISIS grabbed credit for the attack, saying its suicide bombers targeted gatherings of Shiites.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source informed that two mortar shells fell in the vicinity of Abu Gharib District, west of Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source said that unidentified gunmen fired two mortar shells on the district of Abu Gharib, west of the capital, Baghdad.
The shelling did not leave any casualties, the source added on condition of anonymity.
Earlier today, a booby-trapped vehicle explosion hit al-Shuhada Bridge in al-Shawaka, in central Baghdad, killing nine persons and wounding 36 others.
The capital, Baghdad, is witnessing several attacks, using booby-trapped vehicles and explosive belts, as well as separate attacks against civilians and security members.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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#3
Yeah if you have one of the torps they tried to power with high purity hydrogen peroxide they can go off if a sparrow farts near them. That peroxide can react over time with the alloys in the peroxide container and get really touchy. The Russians tried to blame the sinking on US Navy actions at the time. but unfortunately they had already bragged about their use of HP in their torps.
[Ynet] German Police arrest 17-year-old asylum seeker, suspected to have planned 2015 Christmas market attack; Interior Min. confirms suspect to be Syrian refugee planning suicide kaboom.
German Police detained on Tuesday a 17-year-old Lion of Islam, who a front man for the Interior Ministry in the state of Brandenburg said was a Syrian planning a suicide attack in Berlin, citing a report by the German news agency DPA.
"I can confirm that," the front man said, referring to the report.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... Brandenburg police said they had not yet found evidence that the suspect was planning an attack.
No doubt they will over the next few days. And that he was a highly connected known wolf whose not so petty criminality had been ignored for far too long.
He was detained Tuesday in the village of Gerswalde, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Berlin, after they learned he had sent a farewell message to family members and told them that "he had joined the jihad," or holy war.
The WhatsApp message talking about jihad to the suspect's family was sent within the last week, and Brandenburg authorities were told of it late Monday night by two other German states, stated Brandenburg Police Spokesman Torsten Herbst.
He said police were investigating but so far "evidence of the planning of a concrete act has not yet been identified."
Though the German Interior Ministry's office did already identify the suspect as Syrian, Herbst said Sherlocks were checking to see whether he falsely registered as a Syrian but was actually from a North African country.
Unexpectedly. Another Libyan, perchance?
The teenager, whose name wasn't released, came to Germany in 2015 as an unaccompanied minor and registered as an asylum-seeker. He has been living since 2016 in a home for minor refugees in Gerswalde, and was detained there in the Tuesday morning raid.
"The Syrian nationality and concrete attack plans could not so far be confirmed. The investigations continue," Brandenburg Police tweeted.
"According to evidence, he joined Jihad and said goodbye to family members," they added, referring to the term for Islamic holy war.
Memories are still fresh in Germany of the Berlin Christmas market attack last December, in which 12 people were killed by a failed asylum seeker who had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
But do they have enough evidence to disqualify him as a refugee and asylum seeker, and therefore send him home?
[AlAhram] Police in Germany say they have not found enough evidence to file charges against a 17-year-old Syrian asylum seeker taken into custody on suspicion he was planning an attack in Berlin.
Brandenburg police front man Torsten Herbst said Wednesday the teenager, identified as Nidal A., soon would be set free.
He was apprehended Tuesday at a home for refugees in Gerswalde, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Berlin. Authorities say he sent a WhatsApp message to his mother saying farewell and announcing he would be joining jihad, or holy war.
Herbst says A., whose last name wasn't released in line with privacy laws, was questioned for several hours. His cell phones and a tablet were confiscated and examined but authorities found no evidence he was planning a terrorist attack.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2017
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Aleppo (SyriaNews.media) The Islamic State group, yesterday, announced the city of Maskana, east of Aleppo, as a military area, and ordered civilians to leave the city, Qasioun News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The news agency stated that the Islamic State group announced the city of Maskana as a military area, after the Syrian regime forces, and its affiliated militias, captured the villages of Wadiha Jadida and Ras al-Ayn al-Ahmar, north of the city, amid artillery shelling.
Noteworthy, the Islamic State group recently lost several areas in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, however, the group is still controlling the city of Maskana, its last stronghold in Aleppo.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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[CNN] The Pentagon successfully shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile using its own upgraded long-range interceptor missile on Tuesday in what was widely seen as a test of US ability to counter a North Korean missile launch.
The Missile Defense Agency launched a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, to intercept a US-launched mock ICBM target over the Pacific Ocean, according to a US defense official.
The interceptor "destroyed the target in a direct collision," according to a statement from the Missile Defense Agency.
"The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment ... and a critical milestone for this program," said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring.
"This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat," he said.
While the Pentagon is calling this test a success, some experts cautioned that the $40 billion missile defense system still has a long way to go before it can be considered fully developed.
"It marks two successes in a row, which is significant, but only two hits out of the last five attempts; that is, only a 40% success rate since early 2010," said Philip E. Coyle, a senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
"In school, 40% isn't a passing grade," added Coyle, who formerly headed the Pentagon's office of operational test and evaluation. "Based on its testing record, we cannot rely upon this missile defense program to protect the United States from a North Korean long-range missile."
Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, congratulated the Missile Defense Agency for a successful test but sounded a note of caution that "much work remains to be done to ensure we have a reliable and effective system."
"After an investment of more than $40 billion since 2002, it's good that the Missile Defense Agency is finally doing a missile defense test against an ICBM target, some 13 years after the first Ground-Based Interceptor system's deployment," Smith told CNN.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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#1
Hmmm...ESA put a lander on a comet ten years out.
#2
"It marks two successes in a row, which is significant, but only two hits out of the last five attempts; that is, only a 40% success rate since early 2010," said Philip E. Coyle,
So the last two test of a program under development were successes is his "proof" that the program is a 'total' failure. Hard to say who is spinning more him or CNN [*spit!*]. From his resume he looks like a apparatchik deluxe...
[NEWSWEEK] Almost five years after the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya’s second city, the al-Qaeda linked group Washington held responsible for the siege has announced it is disbanding.
Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... (ASL), formed in 2012 following the overthrow of Libyan autocrat Muammar el-Qadaffy, announced its dissolution in a statement posted online on Saturday. The group is one of many fighting for supremacy in a civil war in the country and said it had been weakened by intense fighting with the forces of General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , an ex-Libyan army commander whose forces control much of eastern Libya.
While ASL suffered a dip in popularity following the Benghazi attack, its demise is mostly attributable to an attritional war in the city against Haftar’s forces. Since Qadaffy’s overthrow and Libya’s fracturing into several rival governments, Haftar has emerged as the main power broker in eastern Libya, commanding the remnant of Libya’s national military and courting Russian support.
Haftar has pledged to eradicate jihadi groups in Libya and his forces have wiped out most of the big shotship of ASL. The group’s founder and leader, Mohammad al-Zahawi, was killed in festivities with Haftar’s army, ASL said in January 2015.
ASL has also suffered as a result of the rise 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.... bad boy group (ISIS) in Libya. ISIS has built up support and territory in the North African country since late 2014, taking control of cities including Darna, Sabratha in the west and the coastal city of Sirte, though these gains have since been reversed. ASL has suffered numerous prominent defections to ISIS-- including its top jurist, Abu Abdullah al-Libi --and came under intense pressure to declare official allegiance to ISIS caliph His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... , though it appears not to have taken that step.
In its dissolution statement, ASL called on other Islamists and Islamic shura councils to join together to fight Haftar’s forces in Benghazi. But given the chaotic nature of the conflict in Libya--the country is currently home to two rival parliaments, three governments and a plethora of militias and jihadi groups--a unification of forces appears unlikely.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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Police have concluded that Salman Abedi mostly acted alone in the days before launching terror attack
They still need to find blue suitcase which he was seen with hours before he carried out attack on May 22
Two men aged 20 and 24 from the Fallowfield area and another man aged 37 from the Blackley area arrested in connection with the attack were released without charge; 11 are still in custody
In the four days between landing in the UK and carrying out the atrocity that killed 22 people, Salman Abedi bought most of the components and built the bomb by himself.
Police said they could not rule out that the Libyan was part of a wider network, but after seven days of investigation they concluded he mostly acted alone.
Meanwhile it emerged on Monday that three Malaysian students were detained for questioning amid fears Abedi used their address as part of his plot. The students, Aliff Farhan, Muhd Helmi and a third man, were released without charge on Monday night, The Times reported. It is thought the jacket wallah may have exploited the students and tried to use their accommodation as a place to stay, to avoid detection by the security services.
he revelations come as police said yesterday that suspects tossed in the calaboose Book 'im, Mahmoud! over the Manchester Arena bombing could face life in jail under charges of conspiracy to murder.
Officers also revealed details of bomber Abedi's past as a petty criminal who was investigated for theft, assault and handling stolen goods. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... Abedi had not featured in Prevent, the Government's voluntary counter-radicalisation scheme.
Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said he hoped to bring conspiracy to murder charges which carry a maximum sentence of life in jail.
Police are investigating the finances of university dropout turned Islamist killer Salman Abedi, and was in receipt of thousands of pounds of government money before the attack, reports the Daily Telegraph. Police sources told the paper the killer even got government handouts while he was abroad in Libya, where it is believed he was being trained in bomb making.
The report claims Abedi collected £7,000 from the UK government owned and run Student Loans Company in 2015 when commencing a course at Salford, which he dropped out of shortly after. Despite not continuing with studies, the Libyan heritage British passport holder received another £7,000 instalment of his student loan the following year.
The loans are given out to undergraduate students in the United Kingdom and repaid once graduates reach a certain level of income. It is estimated some two-thirds of UK students will never earn enough in their lifetimes to repay the cost of their enhanced education.
While it is not clear how many and what benefits the killer was receiving from the government, it is reported that despite never having held down a job Abedi was able to rent three residential properties in Manchester, purchase the components for his bomb, and regularly travel abroad -- it is now believed for terror training camps.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2017
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#2
Sure he was. Nobody even knew him. he spent his daylight hours indoors or hiding behind a dumpster. Was known to wear a bag over his head.
It's really remarkable how they've already decided that there's nothing to find out here.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/31/2017 6:23
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#3
Of course. To even think otherwise would offend those-who-you-must-not-offend.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi special forces said Tuesday they had managed to evacuate 380 civilians from a neighborhood in western Mosul as operations against Islamic State militants approach their final stage.
A security source was quoted by Shafaaq News website saying that the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service evacuated the civilians from Zanjili, one of a last three districts adjacent to IS’s last bastion in western Mosul: the Old City. Those included women, children and elders, said the source, adding that the evacuation happened after five hours of fighting.
Islamic State militants have faced accusations by Iraqi and United Nations officials, as well as local and world aid groups, of using civilians as human shields during the battle running in Mosul since October.
U.N. estimates put the number of civilians stranded at the battlefield in the Old City at 200.000, saying they suffer severe shortages in food and medicine.
According to news reports, IS had executed dozens of civilians in western Mosul for attempting to escape to security-held areas or acting as informants for the government troops.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Federal Police forces made more gains against Islamic State militants in western Mosul on Tuesday, taking over a commando training facility run by the extremist group.
The force’s chief. Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said in statements that his troops took over the so-called “commandos school” in Zanjili, adding that they also continued to open safe exits for thousands of civilians stranded in the battlefield.
Police forces have been bombarding Zanjili with heavy artillery and Grad rockets to facilitate advances by ground troops, said Jawdat.
Earlier on Tuesday, a security source was quoted by Shafaaq News website saying that the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service evacuated the civilians from Zanjili, one of a last three districts adjacent to IS’s last bastion in western Mosul: the Old City.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army warplanes and paramilitary forces killed 38 Islamic State militants during operations at areas west of Mosul and near the Syrian borders on Tuesday.
The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said warplanes killed 25 IS members at gatherings in Tel Fares, Baaj and Badush region west Mosul. Three vehicles carrying guns were destroyed in the strike, according to the media outlet.
Popular Mobilization Units also said they killed 13 suicide bombers from IS at Mahalabiya, Tel Zalat and Adaya, west of Mosul
Coincidentally with government troops operations in Mosul, army warplanes have been backing PMU operations against IS holdouts near the Syrian borders, most notably at the Qairawan and Baaj regions. Earlier on Tuesday, PMU media said its forces had begun to dig trenches along the Syrian borders one day after they had reached them through recapturing several villages on the way.
Iraqi forces have been approaching IS’s last entrenchment in western Mosul in the Old City since late April. Operations to recapture western Mosul launched on February 19th. Eastern Mosul was liberated in January. Iraqi generals had predicted the city to be recaptured before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, which began Saturday, but more recently put the expected date back to June 10th, the anniversary of the city’s fall in IS control in 2014.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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[THEBLAZE] Two liberal co-hosts on “The View” decried any shred of validity in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails during Tuesday’s airing of the ABC daytime show, calling the topic “fake news.” E pur se muove.
Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar claimed that the controversy behind Clinton’s email server could be chalked up to “fake news” planted by the Russians.
The women began addressing the Russian investigation as a whole, and discussed allegations from anonymous sources that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was heard communicating with Russians prior to the 2016 election.
Conservative host Jedidiah Bila gave the story no credence, but the remaining liberal panelists claimed that they believed the “leak” about Kushner and his purported tie to Russian officials to be creed.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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#1
Fake show offering fake information claiming it is fake news.
#2
Their collective IQ's wouldn't light an incandescent bulb. Shrieking stoopid harridans. Hillary's right at home there
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2017 8:44
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#3
It's ABC. What do you expect?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/31/2017 10:18
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#4
Anyone over 30 years old with a high school education that voted for Hillary Clinton is an evil person. I forgive the mistakes of youth, and I pity those who lack an education. But I don't forgive or turn my back on evil.
#7
The View panel and hostess are all Kool-Ade drinkers with the possible exception of Jedidiah Bila who used to be at Fox. Regurgitation of Dem talking points.
[Asharq al-Aswat] The idea of forming a Syrian opposition army is long overdue, but proposing the idea now is more suitable than ever.
Positions of concerned parties including those of the countries supporting the Syrian revolution as what is secretly known in Jordan as "military room", varied about the opposition army.
The situation now requires the establishment of a new Syrian army for several reasons. First of all, this army will represent all Syrians, and not just one sect or religion, or an bad boy group and will not be affiliated with any country or mercenary in the region.
Syria needs an army that represents all Syrians, reestablishes the state, imposes order and operates under international legitimacy.
The biggest challenge threatening Syrians today is the emergence of an Iranian army on their soil led by Revolutionary Guards and composed of militias from Iraq, Leb, Afghanistan, and Pakistain and of course troops from the Iranian Quds Force.
This is a direct threat to the project of the Syrian state as Iranians could stay there for a long time.
Two US Congressmen sent letters to the US secretaries of state and defense warning them that Iran is planning to use its presence in Syria to build military bases on the Mediterranean Sea.
Indeed, there no longer is an opposition free Syrian Army like the one we knew. It disintegrated into smaller groups after being a target of Iranians, Russians, ISIS, 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 and other groups.
So, why are we discussing the establishment of a new Syrian army?
The incentive is the proposed political solution and to help plan safe zones for refugees. The idea also derived from some countries’ desire to form a power that fights terrorist groups which have infiltrated within opposition-held areas.
In addition to all of that, we must not forget that establishing a military power is a requirement to recognize the opposition’s role in the new project of governance as it cannot live under the shadow of Assad’s army.
The need is for a new Syrian army that puts an end to the chaos resulting from the deployment of dozens of militias and unifies armed oppositions under one flag and leadership. Thousands of military defectors who refused to kill their fellow Syrians and left the Syrian army could be the foundations of the new army.
Everyone needs this army, not just Syrians. They need an army that fights terrorist organizations threatening Syria, the region, and the world, and confronts Iranian army and its militias if they refuse to leave Syria and clear the country of all hostile regional movements like Turkish Kurds and Iraqi ISIS.
In the case of a political agreement, the new Syrian army could be complementary to the regime’s Arab Syrian Army which has become weak with mere remnants left.
A political solution is useless if not preceded by a project that establishes army and security entities first and foremost. The opposition doesn’t trust the regime and wants a military power to protect the areas under its control and represent it within the adopted political solution.
When other countries insist on evacuating Syria of all imported muscle, the regime will also insist on Iranian militias unless a national army is formed to do the job.
It may be long before a political solution is agreed upon, and this should prevent the formation of a Syrian army during the negotiation period to fight terrorism and refute the alibi that the Assad regime needs Iran’s militias to stay.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
As if they don't have enough armies in Syria already. But, hey, it's fine with me as long as I don't have to pay for it or accept any more refugees.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/31/2017 10:29
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#2
Owner(s): Turki bin Salman Al Saud
The Saudis want Syria to remain a unitary Sunni Arab majority state. Easier said than done. In reality, it may split into three states - one for the Sunni Arabs, one for the Kurds and one for the Alawites (and other Arab religious minorities).
[ALMASDARNEWS] Skirmishes have resumed with ferocity on the western fringes of Aleppo city as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is exploiting a regional UN-brokered safe zone that prevents the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) from conducting sorties over Idlib province and limits it from targeting Islamist rebel groups in rural Aleppo.
A newly released HTS video depicts a recent raid on the Air Force Intelligence Building in the Jamiyat al-Zahraa neighborhood of western Aleppo. According to the media wing of HTS, five soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) were killed in the attack.
Despite partially overrunning a key government facility, HTS did not achieve any major breakthrough and later withdrew to its initial positions, a military source informed al-Masdar News.
HTS, a jihadist faction with close ties to al-Qaeda, is considered a terrorist organization by most countries worldwide and subsequently has been excluded from the de-escalation zones in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2017
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Syrian army killed 11 terrorists in an attack on their positions in Deir Ezzor, SANA news agency reported on Tuesday.
SANA said Syrian army units launched an intensive strike on the terrorist group’s “movement axes while attacking military posts in the vicinity of the gas plant west of the regiment 137 at the southern axis of Deir Ezzor.”
The agency quoted its reported as saying that the army units, backed by air force, engaged last night in fierce clashes with terrorist groups of the Takfiri organization in the cemetery area, the surrounding of panorama and the regiment 137.
Clashes followed by artillery fire at the terrorists’ supply routes and their centers in al-Reshidiya, al-Hamidiya and Sheikh Yassin, according to SANA reporter, who said that the clashes ended up with killing and injuring a number of terrorists and destroying their fortified positions and weapons.
Source: SANA
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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Taiz, Jeddah – Yemen’s national armed forces stormed the strategic Republican Palace in Taiz on Monday and were able to seize it from the insurgent militias after heavy clashes that led to a number of casualties on both sides.
The liberation comes days after forces from Yemen’s national armed forces launched a new offensive against Houthi and Saleh militias-held east side of the city.
Colonel Abdul Baset al-Bahar, deputy spokesperson for the Taiz front, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military forces stormed in the Republican Palace and seized the surrounding area after fierce battles and after besieging the insurgents.
He added: “Recapturing the palace came after purging of the locations overlooking the facility and securing them from snipers and mines.”
He clarified that the national army now controls over 75 percent of the palace and will seize it fully in the coming hours. He affirmed that dozens of militants were killed and wounded in the past two days, while 18 were captured.
Furthermore, six members of the militias surrendered to the national army.
Earlier, Yemen News Agency (Saba) reported from a military source that fighters of the national army broke through the wall of the palace amid heavy clashes.
During an inspection visit to the battlefront around the strategic location, Commander of Taiz front, Major General Khalid Fadel, hailed the courage and bravery of the army and urged it to move forward until every inch of Taiz is liberated.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Seven people were killed and six others were wounded in two separate gun and bomb attacks in Diyala, DPA reported Tuesday.
Islamic State members attacked a checkpoint in Qarra Tabba, north of Baqubah, killing four members of the Popular Mobilization Units and wounding two others, the agency said, quoting Iraqi security sources.
In a separate incident, a bomb exploded near a mosque in Tawakkol village, Maqdadiah, northeast of Baqubah. The explosion killed three of the congregation on their way out of the mosque and wounded four others.
Violence and armed conflicts claimed the lives of 317 Iraqis and caused injuries to 403 others during the month of April, according to a monthly United Nations count.
Islamic State, almost losing its main holdout in Mosul to a security operation running since October, has been escalating attacks at other provinces where it still has a presence.
Government and tribal forces have launched occasional operations over the past few months to clear border regions between Diyala and Salahuddin, killing dozens of militants. IS fighters have also responded with occasional attacks targeting troops, leaving several deaths.
Officials from towns still held by IS since 2014 have pressed the Iraqi government to hasten with security operations to retake those regions, but the Iraqi government is giving most attention to its battle in Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/31/2017
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Reuters] May 31 A Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur returned to the Australian airport shortly after take off late on Wednesday after a passenger attempted to enter the cockpit, authorities said.
[NBC] CNN ended its deal with Kathy Griffin after she caused outrage over a video clip she posted showing her holding a fake decapitated head made to look like President Donald Trump.
Ten Thousand Commandments is the Competitive Enterprise Institute's annual survey of the size, scope, and cost of federal regulations, and how the U.S. regulatory burden affects American consumers, businesses, and the economy. Authored by CEI Vice President for Policy Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr., it shines a light on the large and growing "hidden tax" of America's regulatory state.
[Wash Times] A Nevada physician says insurance companies in states where assisted suicide is legal have refused to cover expensive, life-saving treatments for his patients, but offered to help them end their lives instead.
A Kung Fu master has successfully pulled seven cars - using just his testicles . 
An Indonesian and a Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea's leader with a deadly nerve agent, appeared in a Malaysian court Tuesday, wearing bullet-proof vests and under heavy security.
[Right Scoop] The black activists who appeared to put Evergreen college under complete mob rule are demanding that a video be taken down from the internet because it shows how crazy they actually are.
[Wash Times] What caused the Barack Obama administration to begin investigating the Donald Trump campaign last summer has come into clearer focus following a string of congressional hearings on Russian interference in the presidential election.
North Korea
[CNN] Kathy Griffin is defending herself after drawing fierce criticism for participating in a photo shoot that featured her holding up a bloody head resembling President 
[Straits Times] The Philippine military urged Muslim insurgents still holed up in Marawi to surrender as security forces, backed by armored vehicles, artillery and attack helicopters, continued their push to dislodge the militants and free trapped civilians. Military spokesman Restituto Padilla said, "We call on the remaining terrorists to surrender while there is an opportunity... Not surrendering will mean their sure death."
[Asharq al-Aswat] Libya’s eastern military commander General 
[RT] Nothing has changed the dire situation in Libya since the fall of the Qadaffy regime, said John Graham, former US Ambassador to Libya. A couple of weeks ago there were three separate governments, now we may have a fourth, he added.
[BREITBART] 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Asharq al-Aswat] Two massive bombings killed at least 27 people and 
[Ynet] German Police arrest 17-year-old asylum seeker, suspected to have planned 2015 Christmas market attack; Interior Min. confirms suspect to be Syrian refugee planning 
North Korea
[NEWSWEEK] Almost five years after the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya’s second city, the al-Qaeda linked group Washington held responsible for the siege has announced it is disbanding.
[DailyMail] 
