[Just The News] Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was charged Friday with a felony and has agreed to plead guilty to altering a document in the Russia collusion probe, the first criminal case to be brought in the investigation of U.S. Attorney John Durham, according to officials and a court document.
Ahead of his plea, Clinesmith was charged in federal court in Washington D.C. with one count of making a false statement for altering information he had received from the CIA in June 2017 to hide the fact that Trump campaign official Carter Page was a source for the Agency. And very likely a 'source' for the FBI as well.
The alteration caused the Justice Department to make a false representation to the FISA Court that approved surveillance of Page for nearly a year, the criminal information filed by Durham states. Are we really expected to believe that the Bureau was conducting surveillance on a registered Agency intelligence source and the Agency was not fully aware? Please ladies and gentlemen, just foking please.
Clinesmith "did willfully and knowingly make and use a false writing and document knowing the same to contain a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and entry in a matter before the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch," the court filing said.
#3
Please provide the 'distro line' of the Bureau surveillance reporting.
I suspect the coming series of reports like this will make that perfectly clear, Besoeker. The disgust voiced by Rantburg’s own retired FBI long since suggested what would happen once their comrades were loosed to hunt.
I note in passing that it was repeatedly stated that President Trump was not the object of the FBI’s Russia collusion probe, and so take any statements about former president Obama in the same spirit, even as Senator Mitt Romney’s committee prepares the field by flooding it with sunshine.
#4
/\ There are legal and statutory provisions (very long standing established processes which will go unnamed in this forum) for the utilization, sharing, or exploitation of US Intelligence (USI) community assets. The central hub of this process is, yes of course, you've guessed it.
To think everyone was caught unawares or uninformed is simply crazy talk.
#5
The depth and breadth of my continued ignorance on such matters (because no, I haven’t guessed it) is a credit to the circumspection of all those here who ought to be, Besoeker. In short, I still have only a vague idea of what all that means, so well done!
Thank you Trump for flipping this looney court!
[Breitbart] The ruling came in Duncan vs. Becerra, which was appealed to an en banc hearing by the Ninth Circuit after a three-judge panel of the circuit upheld an injunction against the ban, issued by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez.
Benitez issued his injunction on June 29, 2017, and that decision was upheld by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit on July 17, 2018, Breitbart News reported.
An August 14, 2020, en banc decision from the Ninth Circuit ruled the ban on LCMs unconstitutional.
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling against California’s ban on LCMs says:
We also want to make clear that our decision today does not address issues not before us. We do not opine on bans on so-called "assault weapons," nor do we speculate about the legitimacy of bans on magazines holding far larger quantities of ammunition. Instead, we only address California’s ban on LCMs as it appears before us. We understand the purpose in passing this law. But even the laudable goal of reducing gun violence must comply with the Constitution. California’s near-categorical ban of LCMs infringes on the fundamental right to self-defense. It criminalizes the possession of half of all magazines in America today.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra now has the option of the appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States. Watch for the pressure and supposed blackmail on Roberts to get him to flip left on this
#1
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may already be dead. Her staff are probably playing reruns during their virtual sessions, sinse she never says much during hearings.
But Senior, el tank is out of gas!
[FoxNews] The Trump administration has successfully seized Iranian fuel from four tankers sailing to Venezuela, increasing their "maximum pressure campaign" against Tehran, a senior U.S. official confirmed for Fox News on Thursday evening.
Iran and Venezuela have tried to outmaneuver sanctions that the U.S. has placed on both countries by forming an oil partnership.
The confiscated cargo, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, was a direct violation of U.S. sanctions. A senior official clarified that the tankers were not seized but the oil is now in U.S. possession.
Federal prosecutors reportedly filed a forfeiture complaint and warrant in Washington, D.C. alleging that all "petroleum products" aboard the four vessels referred to as the Bella, the Bering, the Pandi and the Luna were a "source of influence" for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch in the Iranian armed forces.
The U.S. has designated the Guard a terrorist organization and therefore claimed that the sale of oil from Iran to Venezuela financially sponsors the The Guard and their militant actions.
President Trump has also increased U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil, preventing them from selling oil to other countries without in turn enduring U.S. sanctions.
The sanctions on Venezuela have meant a lack of business and investment in its oil refineries, preventing them from being able to produce oil supplies, which has left the country desperate for petroleum sources.
"The Iranian oil tankers arriving in Venezuela are nothing but a distraction from the real problems facing [President Nicolás] Maduro," a spokesperson from the State Department told Fox News in May when the U.S. first caught wind of the shipments. "These shipments will do nothing to help Venezuelans, they will only help prop up the former Maduro regime for a little while longer."
Venezuelan sanctions are an attempt to persuade Maduro to step down, or at the very least ensure he does not turn a profit and continue reported human rights abuses.
Iran has been undergoing U.S. sanctions as a strategy to prevent the country from investing in and developing their nuclear capabilities.
"We are two rebel revolutionary peoples that are never going to kneel before North American imperialism," Maduro said in a televised event in May.
The four vessels stopped by U.S. officials were privately owned vessels, originally sailing as a part of nine tanker flotilla. The other five tankers were Iranian vessels escorted by the Iranian navy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. reportedly contacted the owners of the ships before seizing the oil.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged the international community to not allow the current arms embargo placed on Iran expire come October.
"Tehran will become an arms dealer for the Maduros and Assads of the world, sworn enemies of Israel like Hamas and Hezbollah will be better armed, European nations will be put at risk," Pompeo said referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a news conference last month.
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 ||
08/14/2020
13:33 ||
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#1
Trump is just making my decision to vote for him all so much more delicious.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 13:11
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#3
role up his boss with a plea deal
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2020 13:32
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#4
^ That would be great, but I don't see it. He's going to lose his law license, he needs to be a "stand up guy" to land his next gig.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 13:49
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#5
True but he's toxic now. What white shoe law firm is gonna hire him?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2020 13:53
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#6
^ That's what I meant about him losing his license. He's gonna need a gig outside practicing law. Some cushy think tank or non-profit type thing where all the money is sluicing through from "donors."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 14:07
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#7
Daily Caller: he has a "cooperation agreement"
Kevin Clinesmith was not a bit player in Crossfire Hurricane.
*He worked with Strzok to arrange sending an FBI agent into Trump-Flynn briefing. *He was on the Mueller team *He took part in Papadopoulos interviews *He was part of FISA process. https://t.co/hJynsJ5jhs
#12
It is not obvious Wray is doing anything to clean up the horrendous mess left behind by the Obama administration. Maybe he is not the right man to head up the FBI.
[KYRN] A 56-year-old man in Georgia will spend more than a decade behind bars after he pleaded guilty to shooting at a police helicopter, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Terry Kielisch was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $54,960 in restitution to cover the repair costs on a Georgia State Patrol helicopter that was searching for fugitives when Kielisch aimed his rifle at it in 2019, prosecutors said in a news release.
Kielisch wasn’t a target in that search — but he reportedly told law enforcement "he fired at the helicopter because he didn’t like it flying near his home," the release says.
"When Terry Kielisch aimed and fired a high-powered rifle at a police helicopter, he callously endangered the lives of the officers aboard the aircraft and of any people on the ground," U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine said in the release. "The resulting sentence appropriately reflects the senselessness of this attack."
#4
That was really speedy justice. It seems like it just happened yesterday and now the guy is going to prison. Compare that with the never-ending attempted overthrow of a duly elected POTUS where no one faces justice or goes to jail.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. government scientists have begun efforts to manufacture a strain of the novel coronavirus that could be used in human challenge trials of vaccines, a controversial type of study in which healthy volunteers would be vaccinated and then intentionally infected with the virus, Reuters has learned.
The work is preliminary and such trials would not replace large-scale, Phase 3 trials such as those now under way in the United States testing experimental COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), according to a statement emailed to Reuters by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
U.S. officials organizing the fight against the pandemic have been under pressure from advocacy groups such as 1 Day Sooner and others that see challenge trials as a way to speed up tests of a COVID-19 vaccine. Most vaccine trials rely on inadvertent infection, which can take time to occur.
Some drugmakers, including AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), have said they would consider human challenge trials to test COVID-19 vaccines if needed.
"Should there be a need for human challenge studies to fully assess candidate vaccines or therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2, NIAID has begun investigations of the technical and ethical considerations of conducting human challenge studies," the agency statement said.
That includes efforts to manufacture a suitable SARS-CoV-2 strain, draft a clinical protocol and identify resources that would be required to conduct such studies.
Small challenge studies would be done in small isolation units to control the virus. Larger challenge studies involving 100 people or so would have to be done in multiple locations, adding months of preparations to coordinate the studies.
[Times of Oman] Muscat: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has issued a statement on relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
A statement issued online by the Oman News Agency (ONA), said: "An official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Sultanate’s support for the UAE’s decision regarding relations with Israel within the framework of the historic joint declaration between it and the United States and Israel."
"The spokesman also expressed his hope that this decision would contribute to achieving comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East and in a manner that would serve the aspirations of people of the region in sustaining the pillars of security and stability and advancing the causes of progress and prosperity for all."
#3
Others have said it; but Trump's successes make you wonder if the lat four presidents were even trying.
Posted by: Tom ||
08/14/2020 15:53
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#4
/\ Perhaps The Orange Man is taking the job seriously and the others were little more than sock puppets for the Deep State's 'Endless Wars' division ?
#5
Negotiations that reach an agreement come to an end, and the negotiators no longer get free travel to exotic locations, stays in fine hotels, and free fine dining for doing nothing more than saying the same things over and over.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/14/2020 17:40
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[BBC] Hospitals in Madagascar have been struggling to cope with a surge of Covid-19 cases, while the president has been promoting an unproven product he says can cure the disease despite the World Health Organization (WHO) warning against using untested remedies.
Cases have quadrupled in the past month in the Indian Ocean island, with more than 13,000 infections and 162 deaths from coronavirus, which has spread to all but one of its 22 regions.
Despite the spike, President Andry Rajoelina stands by the herbal concoction called Covid-Organics, which was launched to great fanfare in April.
It is produced by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research from the artemisia plant - the source of an ingredient used in a malaria treatment - and other Malagasy plants.
The drink has been marketed as a prevention and remedy - and for the last four months been offered to children at school.
#3
I can't blame this prez one bit. Give it a chance. It can't be any worse than the addictive rubbish put out by the pharmaceutical-industrial complex.
[New York Post] Ghislaine Maxwell is being held in isolation from other inmates in a Brookly Federal jail for her own safety and the "orderly" function of the facility, federal prosecutors argued Thursday.
The British socialite, 58, earlier this week petitioned to be released into the general population at the Metropolitan Detention Center. She whined in court documents of the "onerous" conditions she’s facing — including around-the-clock camera surveillance and guards filing notes on her every move.
But Assistant Manhattan U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller responded Thursday that the Bureau of Prisons’ exhaustive measures were to protect Maxwell.
"For reasons including safety, security, and the orderly functioning of the facility, BOP has made the determination that, at present, the defendant should not be fully integrated into the dorm-style accommodations of the general population," Rossmiller wrote. If she would only start cooperating.
The Bureau of Prisons "will continue to evaluate" where Maxwell should be placed and will only consider sending her into the general population "if and when BOP is assured that such placement would not pose a threat to the orderly operation of the institution," he went on.
Maxwell claimed she’s been treated "worse" than other pre-trial detainees because the prison is overreacting to the suicide of her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein and trying to prevent a similar situation.
#5
Her complaints indicate she is a very clever woman. She on the offensive. She can now actually argue that being in prison causes disruption of orderly prison function, thanks to the Fed Bureau of Prisons own words in the article above.
#6
Setting the stage for confinement elsewhere? Hint of the cooperation agreement or window dressing for something more sinister? There is no way a high value subject like this goes into genpop or stays in solitary for the years ahead.
#7
She's already using the media to be a pain in the ass. And if she is learned anything from her late, famous father, bullying the system relentlessly gets you results, but only if you are famous.
[Garden & Gun] Leo McGee has never been ambivalent about hydrangeas. When he was a boy, his dislike for the beautiful but temperamental blooms veered toward outright hate. "I did yard work for extra money growing up," he says. "Down in Arkansas, the weather was so hot; ten minutes after I’d water the things, they’d dry up again. I even smelled the blooms, and there was no fragrance! So I said to myself: I will never have a hydrangea in my yard."
For decades, McGee kept that boyhood promise. But a few years after he and his wife, Gloria, moved from Nashville to Cookeville, Tennessee, to take jobs at Tennessee Tech, he found himself at Johnson’s Nursery & Garden Center, standing in front of a tempting display of three-gallon Nikko Blue hydrangeas. Out of principle, he wandered around the nursery for forty-five minutes before he eventually gave in to the impulse, taking two plants. He carefully transferred them to his backyard—and waited. The cotton-candy blue puffballs didn’t appear again for three years, which should have validated his previous feelings; instead, it sparked his competitive spirit.
[Right Scoop] Earlier today when Kamala and Joe were doing a teleconference, at the end a reporter started asking Biden questions and his campaign handlers immediately cleared the room:
As the tweet and video shows, even CNN’s Brianna Keilar thought it was strange, saying "couple notes....one, not a whole lot of questions from reporters there. I mean we keep pressing the Biden campaign; there needs to be more questions from reporters. We know that."
And then it happened again. After Biden and Kamala’s short speech a little while ago, reporters immediately started asking questions and Biden just responded "We’ll talk about it later."
Uh yeah, sure Joe. Whatever you say.
Dana Perino was asking Ari Fleischer about this today, asking him if this unwillingness to take questions is sustainable. His short answer was yes, if the media lets them get away with it. And he’s right. If it were Trump doing this there would be segment after segment on Trump being afraid to answer questions. But with Biden it’s just a 10 second mention on CNN and that’ll probably be about it.
I’ll leave you with this clip of Biden saying that we need a national mask mandate because it saves lives ’expedentially’:
[Telegraph via Zero] Perhaps the biggest example of the Western media's inherent biases surrounding its coverage of Sweden's approach to tackling COVID-19. Plenty of media outlets decried the country's "massive" fatality rate compared to its lockdown-favoring neighbors, but failed to add the context necessary to see that the difference was only a couple thousand deaths, and that Sweden's per capita mortality rate was still lower than Britain's, and other countries that favored lockdowns.
When Anders Tegnell, the architect of Sweden's strategy, said during an interview that he would have done things "differently" if given a second chance, the Western press, including the NYT, rushed to frame this as an admission of guilt for failing to order the types of restrictive lockdowns seen in other European countries. Tegnell later clarified that this isn't what he meant at all.
What's more, in Sweden, deaths have declined nearly to zero. And since the country's economy has remained open this whole time, there's little risk of resurgence when whatever minimal restrictions are still in place are finally lifted.
[American Thinker] If you’re like me, you keep seeing headlines popping up about this or that retired military officer lambasting Trump as a dictator and, in some cases, offering wargame scenarios about how to evict Trump from the White House. These officers believe that Trump will lose the election and then, instead of leaving the White House, he will engineer a coup attempt with help from the DHS and those of his many supporters who own guns. (Never mind that it was Obama who already conducted a coup attempt.) Kurt Schlichter, who knows the military, thinks that if things go sidewise in January, many generals would join with the Democrats.
To understand what’s happening, you should start with Byron York’s excellent rundown of the fantasies that high-level retired officers are putting forward. In their fantasies, Trump, who has consistently abided by the law and with judicial decrees, will suddenly go rogue and, having lost the election, will then refuse to leave the White House:
A number of President Trump’s most implacable critics are fantasizing about deploying the U.S. military to remove him from the White House on Jan. 20, 2021, based on their assumption that a.) he will lose the election, and b.) he will refuse to leave office on his own.
Recently, two retired Army officers speculated about deploying a brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division to overpower Trump’s "private army" that they believe the defeated president will use to try to cling to office. Another retired officer, a former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, imagined the military in battle with armed Trump supporters, the result being that "all bets are off as to how much blood might flow." In addition, a group of former government officials, political operatives, and journalists concocted a scenario in which Trump actually won reelection but Democrat Joe Biden refused to accept the result in hopes that the military would side with him against the president.
Read York’s article to understand the true lunacy driving these officers’ speculation. What’s worrisome is that, when a group ironically named "Transition Integrity Project" did a wargame about what would happen if Biden, like Hillary, won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, it was the Democrats who wanted to go nuclear. They imagined Democrat states seceding, D.C. and Puerto Rico joining as states, and a possible military uprising to support Biden.
What should make people nervous is that, while it would once have been inconceivable that the American military would dream of turning the U.S. into a military dictatorship (because that is what always happens when the military is involved in a leadership battle), it’s conceivable now. In this regard, there are two articles you should read.
#1
The higher you are up the general officer ladder the more a politician you are. Your last set of steps up the ladder are approved by the White House.
We've had too many still fixed in the mindset of 1950 and unwilling or unable to refocus out of the 'world's policeman' mentality. Just another form of Deep State.
Any such act would break the military because while too many in the upper echelons think that way, the middle and lower ranks swing mostly the other way towards America first.
#4
People used to ask their opinions, and then ignore them. Now they don't even ask.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/14/2020 11:53
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#5
I was re-reading the importance of M.I.C.E on the motivation of people who defect against their home country (Money, Ideology, Compulsion , and Ego. These days they are saying Ego, seems to be the most important. Tips offs are they are often they are narcists , have poor relations with their fathers and They tend to be alcoholics.
[PJ] "The Palestinian leadership rejects and denounces the UAE, Israeli and US trilateral, surprising, announcement," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. That was just one indication of how welcome, how much of a breath of fresh air, the agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel really is. The Palestinian leadership has encouraged the murder of Israeli civilians and boasted of the ultimate destruction of Israel and the genocide of the Jews. If Abbas and company are unhappy, the free world should be happy.
Israel currently has peace agreements with only two Muslim Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, and those are cold friendships indeed, marred by a steady flow of hateful anti-Israel rhetoric in both Arab countries, and worse: Ahlam Tamimi, who aided the 2001 jihad massacre at a Sbarro’s pizza parlor in Jerusalem in which 15 people were murdered and 130 wounded, lives in Jordan, where she is a national hero and a popular television host. The United States has filed charges against her, as Americans were killed in the attack, but Jordan refuses to extradite her.
Words are cheap, but the UAE-Israel rapprochement doesn’t seem, at least at this point, to be a grudging, reluctant, cold peace at all. The official statement announces that "delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit. Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East’s most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations."
To be sure, the agreement is based on a quid pro quo that takes the wind out the sails of Palestinian outrage: "As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the UAE, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. The US, Israel and the UAE are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal." Now if only the Qatari clan leadership gave up supporting terrorism...
[Breitbart] There was a smattering of boos when players from FC Dallas and Nashville SC collectively took a knee during the national anthem before their MLS game on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas.
Dallas defender Reggie Cannon said he was disgusted by the boos at Toyota Stadium when players and officials knelt to call attention to racial injustice. He said teammate Ryan Hollingshead turned to him afterward and said he was sorry.
"You can’t even have support from your own fans in your own stadium. It’s baffling to me," Cannon said. "As a team we try to give the best possible product on the field and these last six months have been absolute hell for us. Absolute hell." Obviously, self-awareness isn't Cannon's strong suit. STFU and get a clue
Dallas and Nashville had not played a game since the season was suspended on March 12 because of the coronavirus. While Major League Soccer’s other teams played in the MLS is Back tournament in Florida over the past month, Dallas and Nashville were forced to withdraw before the start because of positive COVID-19 tests among players from both teams.
The teams met as MLS restarts the regular season in local markets. Some of the games will include fans if local jurisdictions allow it. Just over 5,000 were allowed to attend the match at Toyota Stadium, although the crowd that showed up appeared smaller.
The death of George Floyd has spurred a number of MLS players to form the group Black Players for Change, which seeks to address systemic racism in soccer and society.
#1
Floyd was smoking grass just before he complained of not being able to breath before the knee to the neck happened. That is on video. As that stuff is being legalized more and more users, the highest percentage being African Americans, are having health issues. Far worse than tobacco use. That is the primary racial inequality I see. Of course a knee on the neck doesn't help but unfortunately people can't see past that part of the incident.
#2
Everybody act like Asians, won't be no problem.
Plus, without ticket sales, where do the MLS salaries come from? Haven't seen them on television being sponsored by, say, Progressive Insurance or Budweiser. So it would be hard for a television audience to be even less commercially valuable. Tix are it and....
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/14/2020 7:46
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#4
About 1,700 families times the average length of a car (14.7 feet) divided by 5280 feet per mile is slightly less than five miles long for the line, but the Daily Mail would rather be excited than mathematically accurate.
Incidentally, one wonders how many of those Dallas families are illegals, and therefore receiving neither unemployment payments nor the COVID supplements. According to the charts, as of end-June, 2020 the Dallas, Texas unemployment rate had fallen to 9% from its peak of 13% at end-April.
[MAIL] SAS Who Dares Wins star Ollie Ollerton has revealed his 'shock and disappointment' at being axed from the survival reality show after five years.
The military veteran, 48, admitted that after 'threatening his security' as a former member of the Special Forces, he expected 'loyalty' from the programme in return.
Ollie told the Sun he was dropped from the show in an apparent 'diversity drive' and will be replaced in the next series, which he had already carved out time for.
He said: 'Five years ago we put our heads above the parapet for the first time ever — threatening our security as former members of the Special Forces — to bring that show to fruition. I expected that loyalty to be reciprocated. It clearly wasn't.
He has been a stalwart on the show alongside DS Ant Middleton, Jason 'Foxy' Fox and Mark 'Billy' Billingham since its inception in 2015.
Sultan Knish
How much did it cost to buy Biden's VP Spot? About $3.5 million.
That's how much Senator Kamala Harris' virtual fundraiser for Biden brought in back in June.
That not only beat Hillary’s total, but swamped every other Democrat fundraiser for Biden, except the Obama one, which brought in over $6 million for his old incontinent flunky, and Warren, who brought in more money in total, but had the misfortune of being a white woman.
The virtual fundraisers were the real beauty contest for the money hungry Bidens. And Kamala Harris won them in a swimsuit of money long before the official announcement was even made.
Susan Rice could hardly compete with a paltry $24,000 donation to Biden.
"She’s been a fighter and a principled leader and I know because I’ve seen her up close, and I’ve seen her in the trenches," Biden gushed about the California politician.
The trenches that Biden had in mind weren’t in the fields of France, but at high-end fundraisers.
Another one of Kamala’s virtual fundraisers for Biden in July brought in another million.
It’s been estimated that Kamala raised a total of $5 million for Biden.
What was Kamala's secret? She's plugged into a network of wealthy donors who got her to the Senate. And then poured over $40 million into her failed presidential campaign.
The fundraisers showed Biden what Kamala could bring to the party. And it wasn’t just money.
A Kamala fundraiser for Biden featured Diplo, DJ D-Nice, Jermaine Dupri and DJ Cassidy. It probably doesn't hurt that Kamala's husband is an entertainment industry lawyer.
It wasn’t just Willie Brown who got Kamala to the top. It was money.
Kamala had built her political career on tapping into big money in San Francisco and then statewide. She routinely outspent her opponents in her political campaigns. In 2016, she bought the Senate race by raising over $15 million and outspending her opponent almost 4 to 1.
More than half of her presidential campaign was funded by $23 million in large contributions.
That, and not small donors, is what Biden has been running on. After Kamala Harris dropped out, the Biden campaign "aggressively" pursued her donors. Now he doesn't need to. After the DNC’s clown car primary with its obsession with small donors, the jackass party is jettisoning the pretense that it cares about anything other than big donors and their giant wads of cash.
As CNBC notes, "her addition to the ticket could help push the Biden campaign over the top in the cash race with Trump."
Michael Kempner, a top Democrat donor and the head of one of the country’s biggest PR firms, gushed, "she has a strong and active fundraising organization. She will be an important and immediate addition to the Biden fundraising effort. She is a fundraising star."
It’s about the money. It was always about the money.
Did anyone seriously think that Biden would pick Stacey Abrams, Rep. Karen Bass, or Susan Rice, when he can marry Mrs. Moneybags for her money and the donors that come with it? And the fact that she can pose as "law & order" candidate based on her history won't hurt with Democratic voters shocked by Antifa/BLM riots.
#1
Kamala will push for the no-border policies that will drive down wages by getting middle class Americans to subsidise these migrants, with the benefits accruing to the donor-employers.
Then she'll increase regulation so that these employers face little competition ensuring they can raise prices as their costs fall.
[Jpost] The IDF struck terror targets in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... on Thursday night in response to continued incendiary balloon attacks, Kan News reports.IDF fighter jets, helicopters and tanks struck Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", air defense, underground infrastructure and observation posts.
During the day, 25 fires broke out in the Gaza Envelope as a result of incendiary balloons, and this week there have been more than 120 fires caused by balloons. Additionally, hundreds of balloons with explosives have been launched at Israel from Gaza this week, most of which detonated while still in the air.
[Jpost] The IDF announced on Thursday that it finished clearing mines from roughly 50 dunams (12 acres) of land in the Golan Heights, near Kfar Haruv and Afik in the southern part of the region.
The reclaimed lands will be handed over to the Golan Regional Council, which intends to repurpose them for agriculture and tourist uses.Earlier this month it was reported that the local council took possession of more than 100 dunams (24 acres) of lands, cleared of mines, in the Emek Habacha area in the northern part of the Golan Heights.
[IsraelTimes] Essam al-Erian, 66, was arrested in 2013 following army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, on the back of mass protests against his brief rule
A big shot of the outlawed Moslem Brüderbund died Thursday in an Egyptian prison where he was serving multiple sentences including on terror-related charges, his lawyer said.
Essam el-Erian, 66, was arrested in 2013 following the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on the back of mass protests against his brief rule.
"The authorities notified me of his death, and I informed his family to arrange for receiving his body [for burial]," lawyer Abdelmoneim Abdelmaqsood told AFP.
"It was a natural death," he added.
Egyptian media reported that Erian died of a heart attack, following an argument with a fellow inmate. "I used to be Somebody™!"
Erian was the vice president of the Brotherhood’s political wing, the now-dissolved Freedom and Justice party. He was sentenced in multiple cases on charges including incitement to violence, murder and espionage.
According to Abdelmaqsood, the cases brought against Erian carried sentences amounting to "a total of 150 years" in prison.
Since Morsi’s overthrow, the authorities have cracked down on the Moslem Brüderbund’s rank and file, jailing thousands of members and supporters. They have also blacklisted the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
But the Islamist group has consistently denied any link to violence.
Authorities placed Erian on their terror blacklist, a designation that has allowed them to freeze his assets.
Morsi himself died in jug in June 2019, after falling ill during a court hearing.
Morsi’s rule was marked by deep divisions in Egyptian society, a crippling economic crisis and often-deadly opposition protests.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/14/2020
02:34 ||
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#1
As Mort Sahl used to say, "It's Friday! FRIDAY! Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidayyyyyyyyyy!"
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 3:46
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#2
Oops, I meant Murray Saul, legendary Cleveland radio personality.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 3:54
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#3
Since Morsi’s overthrow, the authorities have cracked down on the Moslem Brüderbund’s rank and file, jailing thousands of members and supporters. They have also blacklisted the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
Half of Zero's former cabinet would be in jail if the USA did that.
#4
MEMORIES of 2012: "Senior members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood have reacted angrily to statements by US Senator John McCain in which he thanked the group for its role in lifting the travel ban on indicted foreign NGO workers. The US government paid the $330,000 bail of foreign workers in Egypt's ongoing NGO case, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed on Friday. According to Nuland, 13 US citizens and seven other foreign nationals departed Egypt on a US military plane on Thursday. ... The NGOS are accused of working in Egypt and raising US funds without appropriate government authorization.
[LinkedIn] I love NYC. When I first moved to NYC it was a dream come true. Every corner was like a theater production happening right in front of me. So much personality, so many stories.
Every subculture I loved was in NYC. I could play chess all day and night. I could go to comedy clubs. I could start any type of business. I could meet people. I had family, friends, opportunities. No matter what happened to me, NYC was a net I could fall back on and bounce back up.
Now it's completely dead. "But NYC always always bounces back." No. Not this time. "But NYC is the center of the financial universe. Opportunities will flourish here again." Not this time.
"NYC has experienced worse". No it hasn't.
A Facebook group formed a few weeks ago that was for people who were planning a move and wanted others to talk to and ask advice from. Within two or three days it had about 10,000 members.
Every day I see more and more posts, "I've been in NYC forever but I guess this time I have to say goodbye." Every single day I see those posts. I've been screenshotting them for my scrapbook.
#2
There's the rub. To get the excitement you want you have to tolerate the excitement you don't want. If enough people come for the excitement you don't want, you get Portland.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 3:00
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#4
upper class is leaving but moving to other big cities, e.g. Atlanta, Miami
working class, e.g., delivery workers, cleaning crews, etc. are still there
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/14/2020 10:13
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#5
Guiliani saved it once. It can be saved again. With the wealth fleeing as it did it might take a lot longer to recover though and DeBlasio isn't the one to do it.
#6
All delivery service will be severely reduced. Insurance coverage in areas unprotected by Police will stop. This is happening now. Why risk losing a claim when you knowingly entered a hazard zone. Can you imagine insurance coverage for a business in these areas. No, they have doomed themselves. Numbers will all go negative. Bail them out?, why bother if no effort is made to secure areas.
Pastor John MacAruthr hosted up to 7,000 worshipers at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, California
Photos showed many attendees without masks and flouting social distancing
California only allows religious institutions to host 100 people, or 25 per cent of the building's capacity if lower, for church services during the pandemic
MacArthur has called this restriction 'burdensome' and claims California officials have targeted churches
MacArthur filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials this week
Fair Park in Dallas held its fourth food drive since the pandemic was declared in March and the event on Tuesday by North Texas Food Bank fed 1,710 families
The offering included dairy, canned goods, noodles, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, rice, trail mix and some recipe ideas
It was their first mega distribution that offered an option for several hundred walk-up clients without transportation
About 10,000 boxes were distributed as people said cuts to unemployment benefit had left them without
Dallas County, where the food bank was located, has recorded 55,787 cases of coronavirus and 794 deaths - in Texas there are 524,814 cases and 9,552 deaths - it's the third worst affected state in the country
#3
Very misleading article written by someone in the UK.
The fake news writter sez they drove from across Texas, Texas is over a thousand miles across some parts of the state. Then the very next sentence the writer quotes only one driver saying he drove all the way from West Dallas (only 8 miles away) to the location at Fair Park which is near downtown Dallas encroaching the East Side of town.
Fair Park is surrounded by a huge low income area of Dallas, so the line should have been 5 miles long if all the people in East, West, South Dallas were starving to death, which they aren't.
#15
How many cars can you get in a mile long line, anyway?
Copied from a comment I made in response to the same article posted in another comment thread:
About 1,700 families served [according to the article] times the average length of a car (14.7 feet) divided by 5280 feet per mile is slightly less than five miles long for the line, but the Daily Mail would rather be excited than mathematically accurate. but photos at the link show four lanes of cars. So there should be up to 1.5 miles altogether — including spaces between the cars.
Since the dawn of drones, a quiet war has been raging, and drones are losing. A Michigan bald eagle didn't take kindly to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE, appropriately) operating a drone in its territory last month.
According to a Thursday statement from EGLE, drone pilot Hunter King, an environmental quality analyst, was flying the $950 Phantom 4 Pro Advanced drone to investigate shoreline erosion along Lake Michigan on July 21. He had called the drone back after a short flight when the eagle "launched an airborne attack."
King witnessed the aftermath when he saw the eagle flying away and the drone missing. "It was like a really bad roller coaster ride," King said of what he saw on the drone-tracking video screen. A pair of birdwatchers nearby confirmed the eagle's drone kill.
The antifa stabbing suspect was bailed out today. I assume that he (like the other violent criminal suspects) was bailed out by antifa bail group who raised $1.3m on GoFundMe. https://t.co/cvcHWJGj7E
The US government is looking at easing regulations on shower fittings following complaints from President Donald Trump who has regularly railed against water conservation rules in his quest for “perfect hair.”
On Wednesday the Department of Energy (DOE) said it was proposing to amend the definition of a showerhead to allow multiple showerheads on a single fitting, which would get around water conservation measures brought in under president George H.W. Bush.
The 1992 rules established a maximum water use of 2.5 gallons per minute for showers but the amendment means that will apply to each showerhead rather than a single shower fitting.
The announcement comes after Trump complained about the lack of water pressure in showers.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[Al Ahram] Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, by phone on Thursday on the "historic" peace move undertaken by the UAE to normalise relations with Israel.
"Such a historic peace move will advance grinding of the peace processor efforts and open horizons for stability in the Middle East," El-Sisi said, according to an official statement.
The UAE and Israel said on Thursday that they had agreed to normalise diplomatic ties and forge a new relationship.
Under the accord, Israel has agreed to suspend the planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank.
US President Donald Trump ...the Nailer of NAFTA... announced the deal, having helped to broker it.
In his statement, El-Sisi also praised the Israeli decision not to annex occupied Paleostinian territories.
The Egyptian statement said that Sheikh Mohammed had expressed the Emirati government and people's sincere gratitude for El-Sisi's gesture, Egypt's continuous support for achieving security and stability in the region, and also Egypt’s pioneering efforts and historical contributions in bringing peace to the Middle East.
Minneapolis is requiring owners of properties destroyed or damaged in the riots after George Floyd's killing to prepay the second half of their 2020 property taxes to obtain a demolition permit. That's leaving wreckage in place, unlike in St. Paul. https://t.co/Uz1Y6vOd7c
#2
That has to increase the temptation for a business to just walk away from this rotten nonsense. Reminds me of that scene from "Goodfellas": "Business problems? Pay me!"
Next comes the City threatening fines for not cleaning up your rubbled property.
#5
These idiot Dims projected an annual revenue forecast for the year before they joined the rioters who destroyed the tax paying businesses that feeds that forecast. After Trump denied their request for aid they now are going after business owners who were wiped out. Since they always run deep deficits their idiotic support of criminal looting and destruction means the businesses should tell them to go straight to hell, even if they can't meet city payroll the rest of the year.
#14
Rates right up there with: "Having been asked to come to New York City to help with the COVID-19 crisis, disaster relief organization Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has been told it must pay state taxes for the time it spent running its free-of-charge field hospital in Central Park."
#15
And to add insult to injury when the owner finally gets the rubble cleared Moronapolis will either a) deny any building permits for "reasons" or b) increase the property value because now it open space.
#18
CF, in big (Democratic run) cities, you need a permit to do ANYTHING.
Be appreciative that they don't require a permit ot breathe (yet, anyway).
That's where the opportunity for graft is.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/14/2020 19:26
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#19
So I would guess the rioters had a permit to create the rubble right?
[Al Ahram] Floods have displaced 53,158 Æthiopians, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Thursday.
"124,219 people have been affected by flooding in Æthiopia's Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, Southern and Somali regions, of whom 53,158 people were displaced," the UNOCHA said in a Humanitarian Bulletin report.
The UNOCHA said it's working with the Æthiopia National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and other humanitarian partners on flood preparedness and response measures. "We're also taking advance donations for the coming drought. Just $19/Month will support a family of parched, drowned, Ethiopians"
A flood contingency plan prepared by Æthiopia National Flood Task Force estimates the impact of the ongoing rainy season could displace around 435,000 people.
The plan estimates a total of 2 million people across Æthiopia could be affected by flooding during the current flooding season.
Æthiopia is in the midst of a rainy season which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September, which occasionally causes landslides and floods in some parts of the East African country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[BBC] A simple mathematical mistake may explain why many people underestimate the dangers of coronavirus, shunning social distancing, masks and hand-washing.
Imagine you are offered a deal with your bank, where your money doubles every three days. If you invest just $1 today, roughly how long will it take for you to become a millionaire?
Would it be a year? Six months? 100 days?
The precise answer is 60 days from your initial investment, when your balance would be exactly $1,048,576. Within a further 30 days, you’d have earnt more than a billion. And by the end of the year, you’d have more than $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 – an “undecillion” dollars.
If your estimates were way out, you are not alone. Many people consistently underestimate how fast the value increases – a mistake known as the “exponential growth bias” – and while it may seem abstract, it may have had profound consequences for people’s behaviour this year.
A spate of studies has shown that people who are susceptible to the exponential growth bias are less concerned about Covid-19’s spread, and less likely to endorse measures like social distancing, hand washing or mask wearing. In other words, this simple mathematical error could be costing lives – meaning that the correction of the bias should be a priority as we attempt to flatten curves and avoid second waves of the pandemic around the world.
#3
But it's not completely exponential it's more of a logistic map
Remember X(n+1) = RXn(1-Xn) because as more people catch it, it's harder to spread.
This function is actually chaotic (in parts).
BBC drivel here A simple mathematical mistake may explain why many people underestimate the dangers of coronavirus, shunning social distancing, masks and hand-washing.
So why are we not all trillionaires? Because the growth rate of an exponential function HAS to fall as it's change spreads!
This article is so stupid only an academic would think its useful.
#9
"when 150 million Americans will become infected, the infection rate will start going down?"
Of course. That which cannot continue indefinitely will not. In fact, it looks like only about 70 million will ever get infected, for whatever reason. Seems like around 1.5 million will probably die. It will take several years.
#13
Fascinating, #12. I got September3by averaging the death toll over the last 30 days (1,020) and dividing that into 189k-167,761=21 days from now.
Now that's 'science' you can reproduce! Assuming the average continues for the next 21 days.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/14/2020 15:09
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#14
Compound interest. My geometry teacher in 1965 read the class the story of John Jones Dollar.
Anybody else remember reading that story of how compound interest saved universal socialism?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/14/2020 15:21
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#15
The only creationist is Grom who thinks you could infect more people in an area than live there.
In the real world (not his badly programmed spreadsheets, where he doesnt really understand the maths) all exponents are bounded and the more expansion the more it's bounded.
#17
It's rather obvious that in real life the exponential growth comes to an end, but not before 50-70% of people are infected.
If you do nothing, mandate nothing, the economic disaster kicks in a bit later, because once numbers of infected people reach catastrophic levels, people will socially distance without being told so, avoid shops and restaurants etc.
And since this is a new virus we don't know what damage it can do and could do in the future.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
08/14/2020 23:06
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#18
Someone should paid some of those college students willing to risk getting the virus at Virus parties and spring break to be part in tests to see how infection it is for there age group.
#19
because once numbers of infected people reach catastrophic levels, people will socially distance without being told so, avoid shops and restaurants etc.
That all started before it was mandated in my part of the country, once reports of the situation in Italy started to spread.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
10,000 acres? Meh. The Nor Cali fire that destroyed my house was 34,000 + acres. No doubt it will grow. All that native brush going up in flames. Can we use Dem tears to dowse the flames?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/14/2020 1:16
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[KhaamaPress] Armed men have set on fire a school in the Taleqan city of northern Takhar province, an official said.
Armed men have set on fire a high school named Abu Osman Taleqani, located in the thriving provincial capital at around 3:30 on Thursday morning, Jawad Hijri, a provincial spokesperson told Khaama Press.
The school burnt today was a famous and old school in the city with around 3,000 students, Hijri added.
Hijri added that upon the arrival of the fire brigade, unfortunately, most parts of the school along with the documents were damaged and burnt.
The police department has started their investigation to find the motive behind this incident, he said.
No individual or group has so far claimed the responsibility.
This incident is not the first to happen in Afghanistan, many other schools were damaged or burnt by the government oppositions, especially the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... in the past years.
[Al Ahram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... and Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance trade and economic ties, Ottoman Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said.
"With the MoU, we have taken an important step together in order to solve the problems of the projects that were left half-finished in the past and their receivables, and realize new projects and investments," Pekcan said at a presser with al-Hadi al-Taher al-Juhaimi, Libya's planning minister.
Recalling that some construction projects by Ottoman Turkish companies in Libya had recently been interrupted, Pekcan said there were uncertainties regarding completion of these projects and Ottoman Turkish companies had remaining receivables in these projects.
"The signed document will facilitate the conclusion of bilateral negotiations between our companies and Libyan employers' management in a way that will produce solutions and serve as a guiding document in this sense," she stated.
The Libyan minister welcomed Ottoman Turkish contractors' work in Libya and said Ottoman Turkish firms contributed to 20 percent of the investment projects in the country.
As long as the turmoil ends in Libya, the country will focus on new development plans and is willing to partner with Ottoman Turkish companies under this development plan, he stated.
Turkey backs GNA led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and has signed agreements on maritime boundaries as well as security and military cooperation last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[Al Ahram] At least 17 people have been killed in southern Æthiopia during protests that followed the weekend arrests of local officials, the Æthiopian Human Rights Commission confirmed Thursday. The dead include children.
Security forces met the protests with force after the arrests of Wolaita zone officials, the rights commission said. It expressed ``deep concern over persistent violence and use of excessive force'' against protesters.
Local activists told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named they believed the corpse count was even higher, with at least 34 people killed and more than 100 injured, almost all with gunshot wounds.
This is the latest unrest to challenge the political reforms of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as various communities seek greater autonomy in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.
``There were also mass arrests of youths who tried to protest following the arrests of local officials and the killing of civilians. Sodo and Boditi towns have witnessed some of the worst violence in years,'' said one activist who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety.
Wolaita zone officials have long sought regional statehood, a proposal which they say has not been entertained properly by regional officials. They have said they would unilaterally declare the formation of a new regional state if their request was not addressed.
Officials have accused them of attempting to destabilize the region by chaotic and unlawful means.
The officials are now suspected of ``attempting to derail the constitutional order of the country.``
On Thursday afternoon, a court granted bail for the arrested officials, and several thousand jubilant people went into the streets to express their joy.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[KhaamaPress] The Talibs ambushed a vehicle carrying Afghan engineers on Kabul-Parwan highway, killing at least two of them, the officials said.
Abdul Shaiq Shorish, a spokesperson for Kapisa Police Headquarters, confirmed the incident and said the hard boyz killed two engineers of National Water Affairs Regulation Authority.
According to Shorish, the driver of the vehicle also sustained injuries in the attack.
He also added that the engineers were in charge of regulating the waters of Kabul River and had visited Kapisa province, accompanying a governmental delegation.
However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... he said the engineers were ambushed as they were on their way to Kabul after concluding a similar visit to northern Parwan province.
The Taliban ...Arabic for students... group has not commented regarding the incident so far.
[Al Ahram] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he agreed to delay annexation in the occupied West Bank as part of a normalisation deal with the UAE but the plans remain "on the table".
Netanyahu said that in agreement with US President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... he had "delayed" West Bank annexation plans, but that he would "never give up our rights to our land".
Netanyahu, like many in the Jewish state, refers to the occupied West Bank as Judea and Samaria and claims the territory as part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[NASA Spaceflight.com] United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) Delta IV Heavy rocket has received its clandestine payload for the upcoming NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office as teams continue launch preparations on SLC-37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
The mission is set to launch at the end of August and comes as ULA wins 60% of the National Security Space Launch award from the U.S. Space Force with SpaceX winning the remaining 40% of the missions.
NROL-44 progress:
The first Delta IV Heavy mission from Florida since August 2018 is in the final stages of preparation for launch, with ULA and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) personnel transferring and mating the classified NROL-44 payload on top of the heavy-lift rocket — the final integration activity prior to launch.
The Delta IV Heavy is the only remaining Delta family rocket variant currently in active status for ULA following the retirement of the Delta II line in 2018 and the Delta IV Medium line in August 2019.
Launch site preparations for the mission began in earnest in July 2019 when the two side boosters arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard the Delta Mariner (now named Rocketship).
Over the rest of 2019, the remaining flight hardware arrived at the Cape and was moved to the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) at SLC-37.
The Delta IV Heavy is built in Decatur, AL, like the Atlas V and Vulcan, ULA’s two other rockets.
Vulcan will serve as the Delta IV’s replacement but will begin flying as the Delta IV fleet is phased out over the next four years. Only five Delta IV Heavy missions remain — three from Cape Canaveral and two from Vandenberg Air Force Base. All are NRO missions.
The final Delta IV mission is NROL-70, scheduled for a 2024 launch from Cape Canaveral.
Vulcan, in its Heavy configuration (with six solid rocket motors and a stretched Centaur upper stage) will have 20-30% greater payload capacity than the Delta IV Heavy and will be far cheaper.
ULA confirms that a Delta IV Heavy costs about $350 million whereas Vulcan Centaur — of of 2015 — was targeting a $100 million per launch cost with the vehicle’s heavy-lift variant understood to have debut cost of $200 million per launch.
In response to a NASASpaceflight inquiry, ULA said that "due to competition sensitive information, ... no update [is] available on Vulcan Centaur pricing " as per the costs listed above.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020
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[Rudaw] The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) confirmed on Thursday a senior commander was killed in a Ottoman Turkish drone attack on a meeting between them and Iraqi border guards in the Kurdistan Region on Tuesday.
Agit Garzan, 45, joined the PKK in 1993 and rose through the organization to become a top-ranking commander, leading the gang in the Khakurk area of Erbil province’s border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... . He was part of a delegation that met with Iraqi border guards on Tuesday to resolve tensions after the PKK opened fire on the guards.
Iraqi border guards, mostly made up of Kurds, wanted to set up bases in the Sidakan area, to the south of Khakurk. The PKK, which has been in the area for decades, resisted the Iraqi expansion and shots were fired on Monday evening, without any casualties. The two sides arranged a meeting for the following day, but it was targeted by a Ottoman Turkish drone. Two senior border guards and one soldier were killed, as was Garzan.
Garzan, whose real name was Murat Kalko, was born in Turkey’s northeastern province of Kars in 1975. "I was from a poor family as were other Kurdish families," he said in a video published by the PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency (ANF).
"When I first came to the mountains, it was very important because it was a sort of enjoyment for us as youths," he said in the undated video. He added that he suffered a lot in the ranks of the PKK, especially in the nineties because of constant festivities with Ottoman Turkish forces, but claimed it was worth it as it served Kurds.
He first fought for the PKK in his southeastern Turkey, but was later moved to the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan Region where he was based for 18 years. The PKK described him as a "legend."
"In the 27 years of his guerrilla life he participated in countless actions and was injured several times. Nevertheless, he never left the freedom mountains for a moment," read a statement from the PKK on his death.
The Iraqi government condemned the drone attack, summoning Ankara’s ambassador and demanding Turkey cease its bombardment and withdraw its troops from the country.
More border guards have been deployed to the area.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/14/2020
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The lie went round the world while Truth was still tying its shoes. Copious details at the link.
[AmericanSpectator] They have a dismal record of blowing up "racial killings" that turn out to be nothing of the kind.
I read the "Second Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial" filed August 12 on behalf of George Zimmerman against Sybrina Fulton, Benjamin Crump, et al. without illusion. The major media will shrug off the suit, and even the trial if it comes to that, and Black Lives Matter (BLM) will likely continue on its meretricious way.
But maybe not. BLM was launched in 2013 "in response to" Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin a year earlier. In predicting that "Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till, as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all," Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump captured the confused mood of much of black America.
I attended the Zimmerman trial in July 2013, visited with Bob Zimmerman, George’s father, and surveyed the scene of the crime. At the time, I was writing a book on the case with a deadline six-weeks post-trial. I was guided in my research by the excellent, crowd-sourced deconstruction of the incident done by "Sundance" and his fellow "Treepers" at the blogging collective, "The Conservative Treehouse."
We all knew Zimmerman was innocent. We all thought he would be acquitted in anything resembling a fair trial. And we all suspected, but could not prove, that the State of Florida’s star witness, the girlfriend allegedly on the phone with Martin at the moment of his death, was a flat-out impostor.
In his stunning 2019 documentary and book of the same name, The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud That Divided America, Los Angeles filmmaker Joel Gilbert proved what we all suspected: The prosecution’s key witness, Rachel Jeantel, was an impostor. To close the case, Gilbert went and found the real girlfriend, Brittany Diamond Eugene, a then-16-year-old Haitian-American woman.
With impressive clarity, the Zimmerman lawsuit lays out the case against the defendants — Trayvon’s father Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s mother Sybrina Fulton, Eugene, Jeantel, Crump, and HarperCollins, the publisher of Crump’s compendium of lies, Legalized Genocide of Colored People.
A crocodile, livin' in style,
Abode by de banks ob de Nile,
Detesting conservatives,
And -- bless dose preservatives! --
He'd be Boss again, arter while.
#4
It matters not a bit. Some people....deluded....think black lives matter to Black Lives Matter and can't allow themselves to find out otherwise. Everybody else already knows it's been a scam since day one.
Still, if a number of people named can be punished, that would count for something.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/14/2020 7:55
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#5
The left huxsters have become adept a pushing hoaxes for for political purposes, e.g. the Russian collusion hoax. There are many left-wing dupes who are all too willing to be fed this pap that the MSM news spoon pushes and swallow it all without question.
[Al Ahram] The Paleostinian Authority on Thursday announced the "immediate" recall of its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in protest over the country's deal to normalise ties with Israel.
"At the request of President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... , the Paleostinian foreign ministry has decided to immediately recall its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates," Paleostinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said it a statement sent to AFP.
The Israel-UAE deal was also rejected by Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,, the Islamist group that controls the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... strip and is a rival of Abbas's Fatah party.
But Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... spoke following the deal's announcements, despite tensions between the two camps, a Hamas source told AFP.
"All Paleostinian factions are united to reject normalisation (with Israel)," the source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
I'm sure the Emirates are devasted.
The problem is usually getting them to leave.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/14/2020 19:45
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#2
So the UAE won't have to deal with constant begging for money. I think they'll get by.
[AnNahar] Lithuania on Thursday designated Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... as a terrorist organization and issued a 10-year ban on all individuals related to the Iran-backed group from entering the Baltic nation's territory.
"After receiving valuable information from our foreign partners, we can assume that Hizbullah is functioning on the principles of terrorist organization," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.
Linkevicius added, without elaborating, that some persons with the Iran-backed organization also pose threat to Lithuania's national security.
The U.S. and Israel, along with Britannia, Germany, the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... and Gulf Arab states have also designated Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has only designated the group's military wing as terrorist, in the aftermath of an attack on a tourist bus in Bulgaria in 2012.
[Al Ahram] President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that any attack on a Ottoman Turkish ship exploring for oil and gas in disputed Mediterranean waters would incur a "high price" and suggested The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... had already acted on that warning.
Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships, in a move Greece decried as illegal.
"We said that if you attack our Oruc Reis you will pay a high price, and they got their first answer today," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara without giving details.
The Oruc Reis set out on Monday with its military escort to survey waters between Crete and Cyprus.
In response, President Emmanuel Macron said La Belle France would increase its military presence in the region and called on Ankara to stop its exploration work. French and Greek forces held military training exercises off Crete on Thursday.
EU foreign ministers, who have already imposed sanctions on two Ottoman Turkish energy executives over Turkey's operations in the eastern Mediterranean, will discuss the situation on Friday.
Erdogan spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslem colonists... and EU Council President Charles Michel on Thursday. He "reiterated his commitment to defend Turkey's rights against attempts to disregard them", Erdogan's office said of the call with Michel.
Both Turkey and Greece said this week that they were willing to resolve the dispute over their overlapping maritime claims, but vowed to protect their interests and blamed the other side for the stand-off.
"The path to a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is via dialogue and negotiation," Erdogan said earlier on Thursday.
"If we act with common sense and reason, we can find a win-win solution that meets everyone's interests. We are not chasing any unnecessary adventures or seeking tensions."
In apparent reference to La Belle France, Erdogan also said Greece was being pushed into taking "wrong steps" in the region by "a country that doesn't even have a coast in the eastern Mediterranean".
"Nobody should think too highly of themselves. Let me be very clear: Don't try to put on a show," Erdogan said.
Hat tip to Powerline blog whose Scott Johnson notes that the writer George Perry is a former prosecutor. This is a long article which includes excerpts from both of the autopsies that were conducted. You can read the whole thing at the link. The paragraphs below are merely the introduction. Original article appeared in American Spectator. Spoiler alert: Fentanyl.
[KnowledgeIsPower] At long last, here’s my article published yesterday by The American Spectator regarding the death of George Floyd. After being featured on Real Clear Politics and by my friends at Powerline, it’s generated a great deal of comment pro, con and outright angry.
Here are two points that I did not address in the article.
First, as you will see, when approached by the police, Floyd was foaming at the mouth. When the police asked about that, Floyd replied that he had been "hooping earlier." "Hooping" is a street term that, in some locales, means placing drugs in one’s anus. Some junkies believe that absorbing drugs in that manner will produce a more intense and pleasurable sensation than that resulting from ingesting the drugs orally.
Since I am not familiar with Minneapolis street vernacular, I decided not to attempt to define "hooping" for the AmSpec readers. It could be a reference to playing basketball or some other innocent past time. But given the context, I doubt it.
Second, in addition to a drug overdose, there is an equally persuasive cause of death related to the autopsy findings that Floyd had severe coronary artery disease and had in his blood stream fentanyl and methamphetamine. Combine those findings with his agitated, incoherent and out of control behavior throughout his interaction with police, and it is entirely possible that he died of "excited delirium" which caused cardiac arrhythmia. In fact, a civilian recorded on the police body cam exclaimed that Floyd looked like he was about to have "a heart attack", and one of the police officers expressed concern that Floyd’s deteriorating condition could be due to "excited delirium".
Since lengthwise the article was turning into War and Peace, I decided to leave out the cardiac arrhythmia discussion. Just be aware that cardiac arrhythmia induced by excited delirium is also a leading contender for the cause of Floyd’s death.
#2
Floyd was just a convenient excuse. If it hadn't been him it would have been the next [appropriately colored] thug who fatally botched being arrested.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 1:56
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M. Murcek's deep dive article at #3 is also very good.
It would seem that if the cops are to blame for anything it is failure to recognize Floyd's symptoms soon enough to call for emergency medical aid at the outset of the encounter. But cops are not doctors. It would also seem that Floyd was going to die that day no matter what the cops did.
The problem now is that if and when the cops are acquitted, riots will almost certainly follow. Mainstream media types and reckless Democrat politicians will demand it. So be it. They can turn their own neighborhoods into burned out ghost towns but they better not come to mine.
BLM people say they want justice but lynching those cops because George Floyd overdosed himself is not justice.
Real justice would involve putting a stop to the flow of fentanyl and other poisons into our country. It seems reasonable to ask if politicians who oppose Trump's border wall have a vested interest in the continued flow of poison.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/14/2020 12:20
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#9
They seemed to understand he needed an ambulance and one had been called. This was before all the trouble started. Now, antifa "medics" and BLM "activists" would probably have prevented an ambulance from getting there anyway or EMTs getting near him if they did. If they had it to do over, I'm sure they would have blocked his vehicle in and said "you ar3en't fit to drive, just sit there and wait for the ambulance."
BTW, the SUV was a Mercedes according to reports. Whose vehicle was that and why was Floyd in the driver's seat?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/14/2020 14:13
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[Al Ahram] The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... movement in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... said on Thursday it intercepted and downed an armed drone and two ballistic missiles launched towards a southern part of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , in a statement carried by Saudi state news outlets.
Cross-border attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces have escalated since late May when a truce prompted by the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic expired. In late June, missiles reached the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The coalition has retaliated with air strikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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They haven’t yet signed a peace treaty with the Afghan government, so they have nothing to complain about in that quarter. And ISIS can’t sign with anyone less pious than themselves, so it’s war forever with that lot. Sorry.
[KhaamaPress] The Taliban ...Arabic for students... group has claimed that the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ’s offshoot in Afghanistan is planning attacks against the Taliban prisoners who are going to be released in Kabul in the near future.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokespreson for Taliban group said "Based on accurate intelligence reports and documents, the Islamic Emirate warns that there exists a grave security threat against the safety of the remaining prisoners to be released from Puli Charkhi prison."
"A group of ISISbutton men in coordination and cooperation with Kabul administration intelligence, some military personnel and prison check post commanders plan to conduct an attack against vehicles that are to transfer the remaining released prisoners," he claimed in a statement.
Mujahid went on to claim that "They seek to disrupt the negotiations process with this crime and exact Dire Revenge on the prisoners."
"The Islamic Emirate has serious concerns regarding this issue and notifies all involved sides to take preventative measures and execute the prisoner transfer process with utmost care and safety," the statement said, adding that "If, God forbid, anything unfortunate were to happen then all those sides will be held responsible whom have shown negligence in this regard."
[Rudaw] A car traveling on a road east of Duhok city was destroyed in a suspected Ottoman TurkishArclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... , according to a local official, as Ankara continues its military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), despite condemnation from Baghdad and Gay Paree.
The Ottoman Turkish Air Force fired on a vehicle driving on a road in the Zawita subdistrict, about 20 kilometres east of Duhok city, local official Mushir Bashir told Rudaw. Four people were in the vehicle, but their identities were not immediately known, he said.
Initial reports are that three people were killed and a fourth was injured. A witness who filmed the burning car told Rudaw he heard what he believed to be a rocket hit the vehicle.
The PKK is a Kurdish group fighting for increased rights for the Kurdish minority in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... , and is designated a terrorist group by Ankara and its allies. It has been in conflict with the Ottoman Turkish state for decades. Turkey launched new operations against the group in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories of Iraq in mid-June. Air offensive Operation Claw-Eagle began on June 15, with a ground offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, beginning two days later.
This week, three Iraqi border guards, including two commanders, were killed when a Ottoman Turkish drone targeted their meeting with PKK leaders. A senior PKK commander was also killed.
Baghdad condemned the killings, cancelling a planned visit by Turkey’s defence minister and summoning Ankara’s ambassador. Maj. Gen. Tahsin Khafaji, spokesperson of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi state media on Thursday that Iraqi security forces have the military capabilities to faceoff the Ottoman Turkish attacks in case officials choose a military option over diplomatic efforts to face Turkey’s incursion into Iraq.
La Belle France’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it condemns any violation of Iraq’s illusory sovereignty.
Ankara has vowed to continue its campaign against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region mountains "as long as PKK’s presence in Iraq continues to be tolerated," read a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
[Rudaw] The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday released nine detainees at the request of Arab tribe leaders from restive Deir ez-Zor province where relations between locals and the Kurdish-led forces are tense.
The nine men who were returned to their families are from areas that have seen recent unrest: including al-Shuhail and Ziban towns. They were considered eligible for release because their "hands were not stained with Syrian blood," according to Sawadi al-Abdullah, a leader in the al-Bomsarra clan.
Violent protests broke out in eastern Deir ez-Zor earlier this month after an Arab tribal leader, Sheikh Mutsher Hamud Jeidan al-Hifl, was assassinated by unknown button men, the latest in a spate of assassinations. Two members of the SDF were killed by "saboteurs" who had infiltrated the demonstrations, according to a commander of the force.
Tensions are high between the Arab majority and Kurds who lead the armed forces and the civilian administration in northeastern Syria. Power sharing between the two is "imbalanced," the Pentagon said in a recent report, with Kurds controlling the decision-making.
The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group (ISIS) is active in the area, carrying out destabilizing attacks and liquidations. The group’s bully boyz are believed to be fomenting unrest between Kurds and Arabs. Deir ez-Zor province also borders regime-held areas.
After meeting the SDF and American representatives, Arab tribal leaders agreed to call off protests for a month to give security forces time to find the Sheikh’s killers.
The clans of the Agaidat tribe gathered for another meeting on Thursday to discuss recent events. About 3,000 leaders were joined by representatives of the US-led Coalition against ISIS.
They demanded an investigation into killings of local leaders and asked for more support for the SDF-backed Deir ez-Zor Military Council.
"We call for support for the Military Council, financially and morally... in order to maintain security and stability," read a statement issued after the meeting.
"We call on the Global Coalition to meet our demands, because they are responsible for the region, in order to bring security and stability to our areas," the tribal leaders added.
The Coalition spokesperson took to Twitter on Thursday to confirm support for the province, which is home to much of Syria’s oil.
"ISIS can carry out attacks and liquidations, but cannot control land. The Coalition is committed to the long-term stability of Deir ez-Zor and respects the sacrifices made by its people against the evils of ISIS. We will work hand-in-hand to build a prosperous future of peace and security for the region," tweeted Col. Myles Caggins.
The SDF has thousands of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in jug, including foreigners. It has released hundreds of locals who are not implicated in killings of SDF members. The charges against the nine men released on Thursday were not disclosed.
[Al Ahram] White House adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday that a deal would take time to be implemented, when asked how long Israel had agreed to suspend its West Bank annexation plans as part of a normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Israel and the UAE announced earlier on Thursday that they will normalize diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Paleostinian issue to Iran.
[Al Ahram] Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... called an "urgent meeting" of his brass hats Thursday after Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise ties, in exchange for Israel suspending West Bank annexation plans. "Bring the Dread Red Binder!"
According to a statement carried on the official WAFA news agency, the Paleostinian Authority will announce its position on the deal following the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
Uh-oh. We got blindsided. Now what do we do?
Posted by: Tom ||
08/14/2020 15:59
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[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] The Civil Status, Passports and Residence Directorate of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, on Wednesday, the arrest of a human trafficking gang.
A statement by the directorate received by Alghadeer News stated that "the Directorate in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service arrested a gang consisting of 4 Iraqis and 16 foreigners in the Karrada region, foreign women trafficking"
It added, "The foreigners who were arrested will be deported outside Iraqi territory, and Iraqis will be held accountable according to the law."
The directorate called on citizens "not to accommodate foreign workers who violate the Iraqi residency law, and to inform the authorities about them."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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[Al Ahram] A top US diplomat said on Thursday the FBI would join a probe of the massive Beirut explosion that killed at least 172 people, urging change in Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... to "make sure something like this never happens again".
On a tour of a demolished Beirut neighbourhood, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale said Lebanon needed "economic and fiscal reforms, an end to dysfunctional governance and to empty promises".
The explosion at Beirut port injured 6,000 people and forced around 300,000 out of their homes in the city, which was already sinking deep into financial crisis. Some 30-40 people remain missing.
Authorities have blamed the Aug. 4 blast on a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored for years at the port without safety measures.
"The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international Sherlocks at the invitation of the Lebanese to help answer questions about the circumstances that led up to this explosion," Hale said on Thursday.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun ...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... has said the investigation will look into whether the cause was negligence, an accident or possibly "external interference".
Aoun has asked La Belle France for satellite imagery for the probe. A UK Royal Navy vessel was also deployed to Beirut to survey the site.
An Israeli seismological expert said on Thursday the earth-shattering kaboom was preceded by a series of blasts, the last of which was combustion of fireworks.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
"The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international Sherlocks at the invitation of the Lebanese to help answer questions about the circumstances that led up to this explosion," Hale said on Thursday.
Actually, I could give a fok about Beirut or their fertilizer storage problems. How about "answering questions" about what is taking place right here in the US? Perhaps a look into Clinton's home brew computer server and classified document storage system? Old news, I know, but I'm still curious.
[ToloNews] The 400 controversial and high-value Taliban ...Arabic for students... prisoners have still not been released despite 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... 's signing of a decree to do so on Monday evening, sources close to the Afghan grinding of the peace processor said on Thursday, amid renewed hopes that the intra-Afghan talks will start soon.
According to sources close to the Afghan grinding of the peace processor, the US and other Western countries have reservations with at least 6 to 10 of these high-profile prisoners because of their involvement in the killing of their citizens in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his leg. Son of a Breech! he exclaimed with feeling...... sources at the Presidential Palace have said that a recent warning by the Taliban about a possible attack by ISIS on these prisoners could be one of the reason behind the delay.
A document seen by TOLOnews shows that at least 124 Taliban prisoners who were sentenced to death by the courts are currently kept in Pul-e-Charkhi and Bagram jails.
Sources have said that some countries such as the US, La Belle France and Australia have reservations about the release of some of the prisoners.
"The delay is focused on the release of between 7 to 10 prisoners who have been involved in major crimes like plotting suicide kabooms, serial murders, drug smuggling---the Taliban are insisting on their release. According to our information, millions of dollars have been paid to the Taliban to get these individuals released, and some of them are even not members of the Taliban," said Saleh Mohammad Registani, an expert familiar with the peace talks.
"Countries like Australia, Britannia and the US have officially demanded six of the Taliban members who are involved in the killing of their nationals not to be released, they have asked the Taliban to introduce other names in their place," said Sami Yousufzai, a freelance journalist in Doha.
"I fear that they would have been released even before the Loya Jirga and now they would be in their homes," said Sattar Hussaini, a politician.
"Today, 100 of these prisoners will be released, another 300 should be released so that intra-Afghan talks are started soon to resolve the disputes," said Faiz Mohammad Zaland who is familiar with the peace talks.
According to government data, out of the 400 prisoners in question, 156 of them have been sentenced to death, 105 of them are accused of murder, 34 of them are accused of kidnapping that led to murder, 51 of them are accused of drug smuggling, 44 of them are on the blacklist of the Afghan government and its allies, 6 of them are accused of assorted other crimes, 4 are accused of unspecified crimes.
The list of 5,000 prisoners was given to the Afghan government by the Taliban to be released ahead of the intra-Afghan negotiations, which are now expected to be held in Doha.
So far, the government has released 4,600 of the prisoners on the Taliban list, and an additional 500 that were not on the Taliban list. These last 500 were freed during Eid in response to the Taliban’s announcement of a ceasefire.
Just in. They started to release prisoners from #Minsk Okrestina jail Many detainees have severely beaten faces, beaten people can barely walk, reports @Belsat_TV
[Al Ahram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... will continue its cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq if Baghdad "continues to tolerate the group's presence in its territory," the Ottoman Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday.
"Our country is ready to cooperate with Iraq on this issue. However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... if the PKK presence in Iraq is tolerated, our country is determined to take the measures it deems necessary for its border security no matter where it may be," the ministry said in a written statement.
"The PKK also challenges illusory sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and stability of Iraq," said the statement, noting Turkey is ready to cooperate with Iraq on the issue.
The Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK members have hideouts.
The Iraqi army said two border guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle were killed in a "blatant Ottoman Turkish drone attack" in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Iraq canceled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey's ambassador on Wednesday.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , has been rebelling against the Ottoman Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
Shades of Full Metal Jacket(1987): "If s Kurd shoots at us they are PKK....[fires MG at Kurds] If they don't fire at us they are undercover PKK! [fires etc etc.]"
Hundreds of open-border radicals swarmed ICE busses in #BendOregon & prevented arrest of 2 violent illegal foreign nationals. Bend is a small city in central Oregon where far-left politics has taken root. Even the DA @john_hummel came to join occupation. https://t.co/PFsnoMmt8B
Heavy losses as a result of the Libyan Air Force #LNA strikes on armed convoys carrying large numbers of #GNA / Turkish ) mercenaries in the area south of AbuGrian heading south , destroying equipment, & killing and wounding a large number of terrorist mercenaries pic.twitter.com/rvGfRyPXqV
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
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#1
Couple of questions. Are the aircraft shown stock photos or is this what the Libyans are flying? Where do they get the freaking money.? And, what good are mercs? All they seem to do from the Saudi peninsula fighting to Libya to Syria is get wiped out in large numbers while not even fighting?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/14/2020 7:37
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Man don't get me to lying. The Libyan's have access to oil and they could have mercenaries flying planes supplied by a number of cutouts. Also the mercenaries attacked were identified as Turks and it could even be Russian pilots in those planes....Or Pakistani's....or someone from a Blackwater group. Frogs , Scorpions, onions, carrots, boiling water ?
[ToloNews] The dead bodies of three members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) have been found in Khak-e-Jabar district of Kabul province, the family members confirmed on Thursday.
The family members of the dead soldiers said that the three were taken hostage by the Taliban ...Arabic for students... and were "brutally tortured" by the group before being shot.
Sherullah was one of the ANA soldiers who was killed alongside his two colleagues.
"We heard they were taken hostage, the Taliban had captured them during an ambush," said Saifullah, the brother of the fallen soldier Sherullah.
Sherullah has left four children behind.
"When we see this government---the government uses them when they (soldiers) are alive, when the soldiers are killed, then the government is not taking care of (their families)---but these soldiers have families and orphans," said Mohammad Asif, a relative of Sherullah.
"Peace will not come when you see the actions of the Taliban, because the Taliban do not have mercy on the poor, not even on women," said Manan, a relative of Sherullah.
Sherullah’s colleagues were named Arif and Baseer.
"They were taken hostage on the way and were brutally killed, they had 60 bullets in their bodies," said Sayed Asghar, the uncle of Arif.
"No one pays any mind to a son of the poor," said Mohammad Yousuf, Arif’s father.
The Taliban have so far not made an official comment about the claims.
“The revolution is now.”#Antifa are planning some type of autonomous zone occupation in Portland. They haven’t announced a location yet but likely contender is Lownsdale square, the park by the federal courthouse they’ve been using as operations base to launch attacks. pic.twitter.com/hR6zgzzuoK
.@DAMikeSchmidt announcement of not prosecuting whole list of criminal charges is having consequences. Oregon State Police is pulling out from protecting Portland. They issued blistering comment. #PortlandRiots#antifahttps://t.co/qEKYp87PIZ
Overnight on 12–13 Aug., another riot was declared by Portland Police after #antifa returned downtown to attack both the Justice Center & the federal courthouse. They came armed w/shields & batons, & started fires on the buildings. Only 2 were arrested. https://t.co/yEL30n8Ghjpic.twitter.com/JiYaFkEwY5
#Antifa in Portland are trying to organize a campaign to get restaurants to refuse service to @PortlandPolice officers. The campaign material is couched in language of “safety.” pic.twitter.com/0whfFSVXnO
[ToloNews] At least four non-combatants were killed and six others were maimed in a roadside mine blast in Kandahar province on Thursday morning, Kandahar police said in a statement.
The incident happened in Panjwai district of the province after a civilian vehicle struck a roadside mine, the statement said.
"Three women and a child were killed and four children, a woman and a man were maimed in the blast," it added.
The victims have been taken to the nearby hospital for treatment, according to officials.
No group has grabbed credit for the blast.
On Sunday, at least eight non-combatants were killed in a roadside mine blast in Arghistan district of the province when a civilian vehicle hit a roadside kaboom in Sheen Nari village in the district.
[ToloNews] At least four security force members and eight Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... were killed and two other security force members were maimed in Balkh province on Wednesday night, said a local police official on Thursday.
The incident happened in Timor-Sarai village in Balkh district on Wednesday night. The Taliban attacked the security forces and the "festivities continued for more than three hours," said Aid Shah Adil, a front man for the provincial police chief.
[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... ’s Parliament met Thursday in the first session since the tragic explosion last week that changed the face of the capital and forced the government to resign.
Parliament is convening outside its regular location to observe social distancing amid a coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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[BizPakReview] Wisconsin state agency tells employees to wear masks during Zoom calls, even if home alone. State workers urged to set safety example for others.
A Wisconsin official ordered employees to wear face masks when they're teleconferencing;even when they're at home alone and at zero risk of contracting or spreading the coronavirus.
Natural Resources spokeswoman Megan Sheridan told McClatchy News that employees wearing masks while video conferencing sends a visual reminder to external partners that they're adhering to safe practices.
Preston Cole is the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Cole was appointed to the position in 2018 by Democrat Governor Tony Evers.
Cole has a bachelor's degree in forest management from the University of Missouri. He previously was a parks superintendent in St. Louis. But now he's a self-anointed coronavirus expert.
In a laughable July 31 email, Cole urged his employees to wear face masks on video conferences even when nobody else is around at home. This defies logic and science. "And a condom. Just in case"
Republican Wisconsin state representative Joe Sanfelippo rubbished Preston Cole's suggestion, saying it’s epically stupid to wear masks at home alone.
He said it’s typical of Democrats to promote empty gestures rather than make useful suggestions that actually help people.
"I’m more inclined to support things that actually do help, as opposed to just putting on an appearance of helping," Sanfelippo said.Republican Wisconsin state representative Joe Sanfelippo rubbished Preston Cole's suggestion, saying it’s epically stupid to wear masks at home alone.
He said it’s typical of Democrats to promote empty gestures rather than make useful suggestions that actually help people.
"I’m more inclined to support things that actually do help, as opposed to just putting on an appearance of helping," Sanfelippo said.
A new poll finds that the average American thinks 9% of the U.S. population has died from coronavirus.
We have a family member that has worked there for some 30 years. Sent a message this morning to confirm. DNR more scared of the virus or being caught not virtue signaling at the right time?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/14/2020 1:07
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Thou shalt not commingle to kibitz,
Remaining apart by ten cubits;
Yea, cover thy hole
As comes nigh Dr. Cole,
Even stop up thy ears
When this Preston appears,
That thou catch not his biblical stupits.
Libyan Armed forces units have successfully raided a #ISIS den In the Wadi Al-Haya region Southwestern Libya approximately 170 km from Sabhah all terrorists were captured alive.#LNA#Libyapic.twitter.com/jHCXvnovW8
[Rudaw] As tensions rise between Ankara and Baghdad over the recent Ottoman Turkish drone attack that killed two Iraqi border officials and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... ’s continued bombardment of the Kurdistan Region, a top Iraqi military official is claiming that they have the military capability to repel foreign attacks on Iraqi soil.
Maj. Gen. Tahsin Khafaji, spokesperson of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi state media on Thursday that Iraqi security forces have the military capabilities to faceoff the Ottoman Turkish attacks in case officials choose a military option over diplomatic efforts to face Turkey’s incursion into Iraq.
Continued on Page 49
Roberts and Kavanaugh (from whom I always got a squish vibe) continue to pay dividends.
[Chron] The Supreme Court on Thursday rebuffed the Republican Party and allowed a consent decree to go forward so that Rhode Island voters during the coronavirus pandemic could cast mail-in ballots without in-person witness verification.
It was the first time the justices had agreed to a pandemic-related voter relief effort. But they explained in a short, unsigned order that state officials had agreed to relax the rules, and the change already had been implemented during the June primary.
Unlike "similar cases where a state defends its own law, here the state election officials support the challenged decree, and no state official has expressed opposition," the order said. "Under these circumstances, the applicants lack a cognizable interest in the state's ability to enforce its duly enacted laws."
The vote was not announced, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch noted that they would have granted the stay requested by the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party.
[Al Ahram] Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri ...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... urged on Thursday the formation of a secular state and adoption of a new electoral law to save the country from further collapse, the National News Agency reported.
"We need a new electoral law that does not take into account any religions or sects, as well as an ascending tax system, a proper social security system and the formation of a government ... that focuses on the fight against corruption," Berri said during a parliamentary meeting held at the UNESCO Palace.
Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 at around 6:10 p.m. local time (1510 GMT), killing 171 and wounding at least 6,000 others.
This led to the resignation of the cabinet as media reports show some cabinet members were aware of the 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at Port of Beirut and may have caused the earth-shattering kabooms.
People erupted into the streets in protest of the government, demanding early parliamentary elections and the overhaul of the ruling class.
The explosions pose a great challenge to Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... especially when the country is facing its worst economic crisis in its history.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
I would say that Hezbollah and Iranian influence needs purged before that happens...
"But charger! These numbers may be skewed by the overwhelming proportion of contributions by top execs!"
All the more reason to distrust these firms. If their top execs skew left, then so shall the employees in any decision that affects non-lefty representation on their platforms, etc.
"But charger! As good little spergatarians with Free Market Princuhpullz, it is our solemn duty to run interference for technogarchs that hate our guts! Princapullz, darn it! Ooh, just got my check from Alphabet!"
Employees who work for big tech and internet firms donate overwhelmingly to Democrats. (In the chart below, the percentage of donations which went to Democrats is in blue.)
99.6% of employee political donations at Netflix went to Democrats, 98.7% at Twitter, 97.5% at Apple... pic.twitter.com/oqUQ2aSam8
#1
Why shouldn't they buy off those playing the crowd that screams "soak the rich"? It's a game. They 'raise taxes' but write in loopholes galore so their donors pay but a only little bit more. The sheep don't grasp how the game is played. Wonder how all those congresscritters who stay around long enough are millionaires? /rhet question
#2
How many of those contributions were Voluntary versus the office manager's 'pet employee' telling you that "It would be a great idea if you donated to the Boss' favorite charity [the DNC]..." ?
#3
/\ The same Public Disclosure of Political Donations (see above) can be used in a totalitarian fashion. Welcome to our version of Soviet Russia or 1930's Germany where all of the promotions factor in your donations to the ruling party.
[Al Ahram] Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit Thursday discussed with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein the recent developments of the region and the Ottoman Turkish "aggression" on the Iraqi lands.
In a phone conversation, Aboul-Gheit stressed that the AL stands against Ottoman Turkish intervention in the Arab affairs, including the Ottoman Turkish military violations in Iraq, Syria and Libya.
The pan-Arab body chief voiced full solidarity with the Iraqi people for achieving their aspired stability soon.
On Wednesday, the Arab Parliament ...At the Arab League Summit of 2001-Amman, the Arab states came up with a resolution to have the Secretary General create a Parliament. Since throughout the Arab world rights accrue to the states, not to the people, each member state sends four members and nobody gets to vote on which ones. The headquarters was in Damascus until in 2012 the sessions were suspended and transferred to Cairo. The League is now preparing to move the headquarters of the parliament to Baghdad, from whence it will issue Pronouncements of Grave Import.... condemned in the strongest terms "the heinous aggression by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... on the illusory sovereignty lands of Iraq."
On Tuesday, a Ottoman Turkish drone attack killed two Iraqi officers and one soldier in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2020
00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
Lakshmi Menon, Kyra Nguyen, Julius Dela Cruz & Brian Quach were arrested at the violent #antifa riot in Richmond, Va. where businesses & a courthouse were smashed up with hammers and crowbars. pic.twitter.com/rGD6E1DYeU
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.
[Just The News] Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was charged Friday with a felony and has agreed to plead guilty to altering a document in the Russia collusion probe, the first criminal case to be brought in the investigation of U.S. Attorney John Durham, according to officials and a court document. 
Brennan knew the deal. Comey knew the deal. Wray knows the deal. Nobody wants to come clean. 
[KYRN] A 56-year-old man in Georgia will spend more than a decade behind bars after he pleaded guilty to shooting at a police helicopter, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. government scientists have begun efforts to manufacture a strain of the novel coronavirus that could be used in human challenge trials of vaccines, a controversial type of study in which healthy volunteers would be vaccinated and then intentionally infected with the virus, Reuters has learned.
[BBC] Hospitals in Madagascar have been struggling to cope with a surge of Covid-19 cases, while the president has been promoting an unproven product he says can cure the disease despite the World Health Organization (WHO) warning against using untested remedies.
[New York Post] Ghislaine Maxwell is being held in isolation from other inmates in a Brookly Federal jail for her own safety and the "orderly" function of the facility, federal prosecutors argued Thursday.
[Garden & Gun] Leo McGee has never been ambivalent about hydrangeas. When he was a boy, his dislike for the beautiful but temperamental blooms veered toward outright hate. "I did yard work for extra money growing up," he says. "Down in Arkansas, the weather was so hot; ten minutes after I’d water the things, they’d dry up again. I even smelled the blooms, and there was no fragrance! So I said to myself: I will never have a hydrangea in my yard." 
[Right Scoop] Earlier today when Kamala and Joe were doing a teleconference, at the end a reporter started asking Biden questions and his campaign handlers immediately cleared the room:
[American Thinker] If you’re like me, you keep seeing headlines popping up about this or that retired military officer lambasting Trump as a dictator and, in some cases, offering wargame scenarios about how to evict Trump from the White House. These officers believe that Trump will lose the election and then, instead of leaving the White House, he will engineer a coup attempt with help from the DHS and those of his many supporters who own guns. (Never mind that it was Obama who already conducted a coup attempt.) Kurt Schlichter, who knows the military, thinks that if things go sidewise in January, many generals would join with the Democrats.
[PJ] "The Palestinian leadership rejects and denounces the UAE, Israeli and US trilateral, surprising, announcement," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. That was just one indication of how welcome, how much of a breath of fresh air, the agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel really is. The Palestinian leadership has encouraged the murder of Israeli civilians and boasted of the ultimate destruction of Israel and the genocide of the Jews. If Abbas and company are unhappy, the free world should be happy.
[MAIL] SAS Who Dares Wins star Ollie Ollerton has revealed his 'shock and disappointment' at being axed from the survival reality show after five years.
...the Nailer of NAFTA...
[Al Ahram] Floods have displaced 53,158 Æthiopians, the 
[KhaamaPress] Armed men have set on fire a school in the Taleqan city of northern Takhar province, an official said.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
[Al Ahram] At least 17 people have been killed in southern Æthiopia during protests that followed the weekend arrests of local officials, the Æthiopian Human Rights Commission confirmed Thursday. The dead include children.
...Arabic for 
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...Arabic for 
...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] The Civil Status, Passports and Residence Directorate of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, on Wednesday, the arrest of a human trafficking gang.
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...Arabic for 
...Arabic for 
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...At the Arab League Summit of 2001-Amman, the Arab states came up with a resolution to have the Secretary General create a Parliament. Since throughout the Arab world rights accrue to the states, not to the people, each member state sends four members and nobody gets to vote on which ones. The headquarters was in Damascus until in 2012 the sessions were suspended and transferred to Cairo. The League is now preparing to move the headquarters of the parliament to Baghdad, from whence it will issue Pronouncements of Grave Import....
