#3
Welds in the cryogenic bulkhead failed. Not clear if it was actual LOX or something like liquid nitrogen in the LOX tank. Bulkhead top went 500 feet in the air
#6
IMHO they need to be putting these things together in a climate controlled facility. A tent on the Gulf Coast is not good enough to do a high-quality stainless steel weld.
h/t Instapundit
Egyptian-American feminist Mona Eltahawy is in the news again, having gone on record suggesting the weekly "culling" of men. She calls this an imaginary scenario, but it is nonetheless hateful and an obvious incentive to homicidal violence.
...Eltahawy’s vehemence, alas, is not new. It is mainly a rehash of Valerie Solanas’ 1967 SCUM Manifesto (an acronym for Society for Cutting Up Men), which reads in part: "No aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex." Solanis leapt to notoriety when, true to her word, she near-fatally shot Andy Warhol. As she wrote: her paramilitary would "coolly, furtively stalk its prey and quietly move in for the kill." No man is safe.
...Feminists like Eltahawy and Solanas may seem like the stuff of farce, whatever suffering, real or fictitious, they may have undergone. But we should not be deceived or amused by the eltasolanic shtick of feminist performance artists, who should be regarded as the clown-world side of feminism’s Medea-like seriousness. The misery inflicted by feminism upon Western societies has a somber and funereal history, going back to the Declaration of Sentiments, signed at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. The lies, misdirections, tactical omissions and manipulation of facts assembled by its key author Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her colleagues, scrupulously analyzed in Steve Brule’s recent and brilliant video exposé, The Birth of Feminism, underlies the bad faith and partisan virulence of modern feminism.
Influential feminists like Andrea Dworkin, who saw little to differentiate rape from intercourse; Germaine Greer, author of The Female Eunuch, who believes feminism must continue to advance; Gloria Steinem, whom many consider the face of modern feminism; and especially Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, who passed herself off as a typical suburban housewife but was, in fact, a passionate communist writing for Marxist publications were, among others, the "real thing." Lesser known but highly motivated journalists and academics like Clementine Ford, Jessica Valenti, Meghan Murphy, Roxane Gay, Julie Bindel, and Suzanna Walters continue to bear the flaming torch. Their unrelenting hostility against men is not just a kind of vaudeville capering; it has the weight of substantive authority behind it, a declaration of sentiments in contemporary regalia. The sorority is on the warpath.
h/t Instapundit
(Interfax-Ukraine) ‐ Ukrainian members of parliament have demanded the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, investigate suspicions of the legalization of $7.4 billion by the "family" of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych through the American investment fund Franklin Templeton Investments, which they said has ties to the U.S. Democratic Party.
#4
Hold on there, ponder. The Ukrainian MPs are either totally incompetent financially or else something was garbled in translation. This is absurd: ""the Yanukovych 'family' illegally obtained $7.4 billion and laundered the funds through an investment fund close to some representatives of the U.S. Democratic Party in the form of external government loan bonds."
Yanukovich i semya grabbed $7.4 billion? Really? They misappropriated a miulti-billion $ government bond offering to their personal accounts? If so, then the entire governmental apparatus must have been in on the heist. But not bloody likely.
Also, iiuc Sir John Templeton was a devout Christian fundamentalist who lived out his days in the Caribbean. Neither his firm nor BlackRock has ever had any attachment to the US Democratic Party.
Let's not get entangled in Ukraine's madness. Again, Ukraine is Africa with white faces. A complete shitshow.
#6
Yanukovich i semya grabbed $7.4 billion? Really?
Yanukovich (real Putin puppet, got elected through ballot stuffing in east Ukraine) turned the entire country into a bribe machine. You couldn't even die in Ukraine w/o bribing someone. The $100 million house he built w/ bribe money during his rule.
[Jpost] Blue and White leader Benny Gantz informed President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday evening that he did not succeed in forming a governing coalition.
Gantz returned the mandate four hours before the midnight deadline. Dodged the bullet of Arab supported minority government!!!
Ah, there it is: After unanticipated troubles in testing and integration, NASA officially pushes launch of James Webb Space Telescope to March 30, 2021, bringing estimated total lifetime cost for the observatory to $9.66 billion. https://t.co/QiWk7RBEos
[SD U-T] The disgraced former DEMOCRAT
mayor of Baltimore who resigned amid investigations into deals to sell her self-published children's books has been charged with fraud and tax evasion.
An 11-count federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses DEMOCRAT
Catherine Pugh of abusing her office for personal gain.
Pugh resigned in early May after authorities began probing whether she arranged bulk sales of "Healthy Holly" books to disguise hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.
[Mil.com] MOGADISHU, Somalia ‐ A Somali intelligence official says a U.S. drone strike has killed a senior officer with the al-Shabab extremist group.
The official says the unidentified officer had maintained links with foreign extremist groups with the aim of coordinating future attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Residents said the officer’s vehicle was struck Tuesday outside the al-Shabab-held town of Kunya Barow in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region.
The U.S. military in a statement confirms the strike and says the al-Shabab member had direct ties to al-Qaida. The U.S. says the strike was carried out in coordination with Somalia’s government.
A United Nations expert report released this month says al-Shabab remains a potent regional threat and now makes its own explosives.
[Right Wing Watch] Upset by former CIA director John Brenna’s reply to President Trump’s tweet disparaging former U.S.ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, last week, right-wing commentator and radical conspiracy theorist Chris McDonald declared that Brennan is "going to hang from a noose."
During Yovanovitch’s testimony on the second day of the public impeachment hearings into Trump last Friday, the president attacked her on Twitter, claiming, "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad." Trump’s tweet prompted Brennan to respond, "May your downfall be swift, your penalty onerous, & your legacy condemned by all."
McDonald was greatly offended by Brennan’s tweet.
“I have had so many officials, so many security officials—high-ranking security officials—tell me this man committed treason, and I’m telling you tonight, he tweeted out his own downfall, not Trump’s,” McDonald said during the Friday night broadcast of his “The MC Files” program.
“He is a modern-day communist, he is a modern-day America-hating, America-betraying, former CIA agent that committed nothing but treason against this country,” McDonald added. “He lied under oath and he’s going to hang from a noose.”
“If there is any justice in this country, he is going to hang from a noose,” McDonald said. “He’s going to be one of the big players, one of the big names that is going to be removed very soon from the landscape of this country. I don’t say that lightly, but take that to the bank. What he did today was prophesy his own doom.”
#5
Brennan's organization and management of his war room at Langley during the election seems like a fairly obvious violation of the prohibition on domestic spying activities. IIRC that's a felony meriting prison time.
#6
We don't do nooses in this country anymore. Maybe Brennan could get a cell next to El Chapo.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/20/2019 12:10
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#7
A little irony, there, P2K?
Beria and the others were tried by a "special court presence" of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union on 23 December 1953 with no defense counsel and no right of appeal. Beria was executed separately. He was shot through the forehead by General Pavel Batitsky who had to stuff a rag into Beria's mouth to silence him.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/20/2019 13:37
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#8
No need to stuff a rag in Brennan's pie hole. Just put him in a cell where the only person who can hear him is his next door neighbor, El Chapo...or put them together in the same cell. That might be interesting.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/20/2019 15:31
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#9
Christmas ornaments,
drywall,
Epstein
and John Brennan?
[Times of India] The Indian Army plans to buy just 1,800 state-of-the-art sniper rifles and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition -- less than a third of its total requirement -- driven by budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries, people with knowledge of the matter said. Rifle in the graphic appears to be an American M-24. Not certain if that is subject of the reduced order.
The military pruned its original requirement of 5,720 sniper rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition, which would have cost $140 million, to prioritize spending and advance the purchase of more modern equipment, they said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
Indian Army spokesman Aman Anand said he had no comment to offer on the change in procurement plans.
The Indian armed forces have 450,000 infantry soldiers, of whom only half go into ground battle and an even smaller number of them use sniper rifles to take out specific enemy targets through precision firing.
The move is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $250-billion modernization plan for the Indian defense forces, as the infantry soldiers continue to face the brunt of deadly attacks in disputed border areas such as Kashmir and the northeast.
#2
Military procurement in India is a preserve of career bureaucrats, and politicians. People who never saw a bullet hole in their lives, people who scold their sons for even thinking of joining the army; people secure in the knowledge that we'll put up a wall of bodies between the borders and New Delhi before their gravy train is conquered. Aaaargh !
#5
While it's correct that unless you're engaged in war there's no sense in arming 3,000 snipers; the neighbours have collectively 27,000 specialized infantry training on chinese knockoffs with drills and routines copied from the west.
Our units that undertake 'other than war' ops have a mandate to procure directly, but the regulars are increasingly being called upon to defend against chinese knockoffs and imports showing up in the sasquatch arsenal. The govt knows this.
The procurement process in a country like India is riddled with corruption and sycophantic remfs throughout. Unless the military bureaucracy is trimmed down and the executive starts listening to grunts and field officers, this attitude won't change.
"No problem, Sir ! The boys don't need 1200 Accuracy Int Arctic kits. They can do with 500 Dragunovs, 200 Belgian AMRs and 500 retrofitted Excalibur IIs. And only as much ammo as the mags can hold."
"Hmm... thank you, Gupta. We can really use the money on some trips to Switzerland. Y'know, to research how they're dealing with their hostile neighbours." [winks]
[The American Thinker} I thank God that President Trump is not like other Republicans.
It truly amazes me that many high-profile conservatives and Republicans still wish Trump would dial it back, not be so confrontational, and behave more presidentially. I feel like saying, "Are you guys nuts? Have you not been paying attention?" Desperate times require desperate measures. Donald Trump is God's perfect man in the White House for such a time as this.
...It has been revealed that a few days after Trump was elected in 2016, Democrats, the deep state, and fake news media launched their coup to remove him from office. In essence they said, "Screw idiot American voters. We will not allow this guy to interrupt our plans for America's decline and transformation."
...Frustrated that every play in their Destroy-the-Republican-Playbook has failed against Trump, Democrats' and fake news medias' hatred for Trump and his supporters has grown to pure foaming-at-the-mouth rabid insanity.
For you folks on our side who still wish Trump was kinder and gentler, the truth is that no other Republican could have survived. Trump has the perfect instincts to fight and emerge victorious in this openly treasonous and extremely corrupt political climate.
...Remember the lyric in the Billy Joel song, "I love you just the way you are"? Please Mr. President, don't go changin'. We love you just the way you are.
#3
I woke up to a gentleman on the television news saying that President Trump is causing a flood of kidnapped Americans around the world to be released. He has been intervening personally, according to the reporter, speaking in his most serious voice, and the families of those kidnapped are aware and grateful. Someone whose daughter died in captivity — probably the young lady held as a personal rape slave of al Baghdadi (you must understand that I was just waking up, and not completely aware) — reportedly wished that Donald Trump had been president earlier, because then their child would have been returned instead of murdered.
#4
To be candid, when Trump was elected, I thought of him as the well-known American Archetype - a snake oil salesman. Turns out, the medicine is real.
#5
#4 To be candid, when Trump was elected, I thought of him as the well-known American Archetype - a snake oil salesman. Turns out, the medicine is real.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2019-11-20 09:11
That roughly parallels my own thinking at the time. When I voted for him, I was more voting against Hillary than I was voting for Trump. I didn't expect much from him.
Needless to say, my expectations have been wildly exceeded. Even if he accomplishes nothing more than he has already, he will at least have taught Republicans (except for the 'NeverTrumpers') that you might as well not bother playing nice with the Dems and the media, because they're all gonna hate you anyway unless you cave to their every demand.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/20/2019 11:32
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#6
Bluster and exaggeration have always been the hallmark of the American rhetorical style. "Make the world safe for democracy." "The last best hope of mankind." "We have it in our power to make the world anew." "Religion of peace," etc etc
The difference between Trump and his fellow blusterers W, 0, Clinton, Reagan, Kennedy, FDR, and Wilson is twofold:
1) Trump never invokes God
2) Trump doesn't ever claim American exceptionalism.
#2 is very important. Trump is a Realist-- like nearly every other leader around the world. He expects Putin, Xi, et al. to act in their nations' interests, and he fearlessly and plainly states that he will do likewise.
Despite the man's twittermania and chaotic ways, there be method to his madness. He is putting a stake through 100 years of American global-exceptionalist blather and BS.
In this sense Trump is the anti-bullshitter, the voice of Realism.
#8
I still think Trump's being way too kind to the Washington political establishment. I really, REALLY want to see heads on pikes, literally. I think a row of heads on the wrought-iron fence around the White House would set a STERLING example for future generations.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/20/2019 18:44
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#9
^Second that.
Well, maybe not their ugly heads defacing perfectly good fences, but it would be good to have democrat bastiches and deepState flunkies get horribly sick and die; find themselves entrapped in scandals and Jeffried in jail.
I want the whining left con artists to feel the reality of the words they throw at conservatives. Racist, fascist, nazi etc. The bastards have made 'Nationalist' an insult. I'm hoping he will consolidate enough power in the DoJ by next term.
Soldiers are not Robocops
[Townhall] President Trump’s decision to grant clemency to three United States soldiers ‐ and the attending backlash from the Washington, D.C. establishment ‐ confirm what servicemen and women have known all along: President Trump is the champion our troops have been missing for decades.
...Politicians often pay lip service to the armed forces without backing us up when real decisions are on the line, but President Trump walks the walk. He’s put the troops at the core of his national security decision-making, fighting against entrenched political interests to ensure that America’s warriors are only asked to make worthwhile sacrifices. The president’s withdrawal of American troops from Syria is a perfect example ‐ the move was overwhelmingly supported by our veterans, but received vociferous criticism from establishment politicians.
[ToloNews] President Ghani, visiting Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province on Tuesday, said the "elimination "of ISIS in the province is a major achievement for Afghanistan, the region and the world.
In recent years, Nangarhar has been named a key ISIS base in Afghanistan.
According to government forces in Nangarhar, 243 ISIS fighters with 625 women and kiddies have surrendered to the government.Ghani made the trip expressly to acknowledge the achievement of Afghan cops.
"I want to congratulate you (residents of Nangarhar) and say that you have come up with a formula that will be a model for the survival of Afghanistan; Meaning: the people, based on a cautious security analysis, work with the security forces and the civilian administration, and with unity make everything possible," said Ghani.
Ghani also considered what to do with the ISIS members and their families who have surrendered.
"My request, Mr. Governor, is to speak to the elders as soon as possible in order to deal in an Afghan and Islamic way with the women and kiddies of ISIS fighters and to prepare a plan to transfer them to the other tribes-- of Wazoo or Khyber Agency ... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... . I don't want to hand them over to Pakistain." Ghani said.
Local officials told of the significance of public uprisings in confronting ISIS in Nangarhar.
"We achieved this without a lot of bombings, without a lot of force, but with cooperation among our forces and with the people," said Shah Mahmood Miakhel, Nangarhar’s governor.
[KhaamaPress] A helicopter crash killed two service of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... -led Resolute Support Mission said in a statement.
"Two U.S. service members were killed in a helicopter crash on November 20, 2019 in Afghanistan," the alliance said in a statement. RIP
The statement further added "The cause of the crash is under investigation, however preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire."
The Resolute Support Mission did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident and identities of the dear departed soldiers.
"In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," the statement added.
[ToloNews] The US Treasury imposed sanctions against Afghanistan-based "Nejaat Social Welfare Organization" for using "false charitable pretenses" while transferring funds and supporting activities of ISIS in Afghanistan, the US Treasury said in a statement released on Monday.
The report said that the Nejaat Social Welfare Organization has "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, ISIS-K( Khorasan)."
In mid-2016, the report claimed, "an ISIS-K controller managed a non-governmental organization called Nejaat," and an "ISIS-K recruiter worked at Nejaat and recruited ISIS-K fighters in Kabul and arranged for their travel to Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. Province."
Also according to the report, in late 2016 "Afghan leaders of ISIS-K held planning meetings under the cover of a Salafi solidarity meeting sponsored by Nejaat" and "executive members of Nejaat and prominent Salafi leaders in Afghanistan led the meeting, some of whom were financial supporters of Nejaat."
The report named "Rohullah Wakil" as one of the "executive members of Nejaat who co-led the meeting."
The US Treasury described the organization’s raising and distribution of funds for ISIS.
"Nejaat collected donations on behalf of ISIS-K from individuals in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries. Money was then transferred from the Gulf to Asia‐via the banking system‐where an ISIS-K coordinator would collect the transferred funds. Nejaat's offices in Kabul and Jalalabad distributed the funds to ISIS-K commanders."
The US Treasury report named individuals:
Sayed Habib Ahmad Khan
"Sayed Habib Ahmad Khan is a leader or official of the Nejaat Social Welfare Organization," whose property and interests in property have been blocked," the Treasury report stated, adding "As of 2019, Sayed Habib Ahmad Khan was identified as the director of Nejaat. He is located in Kuwait." The report also described Sayed Habib Ahmad Khan "as an ISIS-K controller."
Rohullah Wakil
The report states that Rohullah Wakil has "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, ISIS-K" and is "an executive member of Nejaat who co-led a 2016 Nejaat Salafi solidary meeting which served as a cover for ISIS-K planning."
As a result of the US Treasury action, all financial activity or related dealings with Nejaat and the individuals named in the report are prohibited, and any person or group involved in transactions with Nejaat "could be exposed to sanctions or subject to an enforcement action."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/20/2019
01:27 ||
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Excerpt:
[Breitbart] Rob O’Neill, the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden, also criticized Vindman as an "operative."
"I agree. I wish the left wouldn’t use his uniform to make him a saint. He’s an operative with an agenda," he said in response to a tweet by the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. tweeted: "Anyone listening to Vindman stammer through this seemingly trying to remember the Catch Phrases he was well coached on should get that. He’s a low level partisan bureaucrat and nothing more."
"You had one fucking job ! We piled you with trinket after trinket. Propped up your sagging, wilted ego for years ! For this ? Useless man ! Get out. Get Out !! "
[The Federalist] The Inside Story Of How America’s Intelligence Agencies Tried To Undo Trump’s Election.
Lee Smith’s new book, The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in U.S. History, lays out a compelling case of abuse against the United States’ major intelligence agencies. In great detail, he explains how the FBI and the Department of Justice not only abused their power in going after Donald Trump, his campaign, and later his administration, but how they sought to cover it up.
Unlike some of the other recent books on this topic, Smith’s epic has a hero. Smith makes a compelling case that California Rep. Devin Nunes and his steadfast team stood up to an army of Goliaths. This small team of committed truth-seekers took on the most powerful intelligence apparatus in the world, a hostile media, and a dishonest opposition party to hold them accountable for violating American citizens’ constitutional rights.
Continued on Page 49
[KhaamaPress] The Department of Justice of the United States has announced that a federal grand jury has charged an Indian national with two accounts of aggravated sexual abuse and one account of abusive sexual contact.
According to a statement released by Department of Justice, the federal jury in the District of Columbia charted the 35-year-old Lokesh Naik with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contract on on Nov. 6, 2019.
The statement further added "U.S. military authorities in Afghanistan arrested Naik on Nov. 8, 2019, and his initial appearance was held before U.S. Magistrate Judge Harvey via video teleconference, at which time Naik was ordered detained and removed to the United States pursuant to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA)."
According to the indictment, on Aug. 7, while working as an employee of a U.S. military contractor on Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan, Naik allegedly entered the room of a 24-year-old U.S. national and sexually assaulted her by force.
The Department of Justice also added in its statement that "The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."
#1
This is one of those nasty issues created when you decide to be a world power and being twisting and turning the Constitution to fit your convoluted legal system.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. 6th Amendment
In older times before the judiciary decided to become America's aristocracy, these matter would have been settled locally, by the ship's captain or ground commander. So instead we 're-interpret' the Constitution. Just another brick in the wall of judicial rewrite of the contract.
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces ...established in 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional infantry kandak (battalion) from each of the regional ANA corps, giving them special training and equipment, and reorganizing based on the U.S. Army Rangers. Each battalion is assigned to one of the six regional corps. The commandos comprise 7% of the Afghan National Security Forces but conduct 70% to 80% of the fighting... killed 13 Talibs and arrested 14 others during separate operations in the past 24 hours.
The military officials said Tuesday the Special Forces killed 8 Talibs and destroyed a small cache of weapons in Baraki Barak district of Pashtun-infested Logar province.
The officials further added the Special Forces killed 5 Talibs and destroyed a cache of weapons during a separate raid in Gizab district of Daykundi province.
The Special Forces arrested 5 ISIS Khurasan bully boyz and destroyed a small cache of weapons during a separate raid in Shinwar district of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , the officials said, adding that the Special Forces arrested 3 Talibs during a separate raid in Deh-e Sabz district of Kabul.
The officials also added that the Special Forces arrested 3 Talibs and destroyed a small cache of weapons during an operation in Jaji district of Paktiya.
[KhaamaPress] A series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s killed at least 19 Taliban ...Arabic for students... and ISIS holy warriors in five provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.
According to military officials, an airstrike in Sayyid Karam district of Paktiya killed 6 Talibs and destroyed a small cache of weapons.
The officials further added an airstrike in Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz killed 3 Talibs.
Another airstrike in Achin district of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province killed 3 holy warriors of ISIS Khurasan, the officials said, adding that airstrikes in Pul-e Alam and Charkh districts of Pashtun-infested Logar killed a Taliban bully boy and destroyed a small cache of weapons.
The officials also added that an airstrike in Maraj district of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province killed 3 holy warriors of Taliban group.
The anti-government armed bully boy groups including Taliban and ISIS Khurasan have not commented regarding the airstrikes so far.
[The National Interest] Key Point: The QBU-88 or Type 88 is a relatively modern design, utilizing the bullpup layout to gain additional barrel length. Chinese sources state that the penetration and accuracy are higher than the Type 85.
While the U.S. Army is concerned about next-generation Russian precision rifles and tactics, China has also been making significant advances in the field. In the 1980s, the Chinese used practically the same equipment as the Soviet Union. Nowadays, they use fairly different sets of equipment, including some rifles chambered in NATO calibers. The diverging development of Chinese precision rifles from the same base is an interesting parable of small-arms development driven by doctrine.
In the 1980s, the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union used the same "sniper" rifles, although these rifles would be more accurately described as designated marksman rifles in the west. The Soviet Union used the SVD, a gas-operated short stroke 7.62x54R rifle that fed from a ten-round-box magazine and had an effective range of around eight hundred meters. With proper Russian sniper ammunition, the SVD could achieve accuracy from 1-2 MOA. China made its own clone of the SVD after capturing a sample during the Sino-Vietnamese war called the Type 79, later refined into the Type 85. These were produced alongside copies of the Soviet PSO-1 4x optical sight. Apparently China has problems copying the SVD as its gunsmithing industries were not quite mature. The cloned PSO-1 was not able to handle the recoil of the 7.62x54R cartridge in early versions, and issues were found with the metallurgy of the firing pin, which broke easily in the Type 79. According to sources in the CPAF, this was fixed by the Type 85.
The primary problem with the Type 79 and Type 85 was the lack of proper ammunition for it. Russia issued special 7.62x54R ammunition along with the SVD, the 7N1 and later 7N14 cartridges. China did not develop a version of this and simply issued machine gun ammunition with the Type 79 and Type 85. This resulted in the subpar accuracy. Why China didn’t produce a sniper round is uncertain, but perhaps the limited usage of 7.62x54R in the Chinese military, combined with the PLA’s drive for a new intermediate cartridge in the 1980s made developing an additional sniper round an unnecessary burden. The lack of integration of marksman and precision rifles also delayed the need for such a round, Type 79 and Type 85 rifles were not issued widely among regular troops, only finding use with special operations troops, police units, and border guards.
While Russia still continues to use the SVD as the primary "sniper" rifle, China developed a replacement in the QBU-88 in the 1990s. Development started around the early 1990s, with the rifle completing trials in 1996 and first reaching service with the PLA’s Hong Kong garrison in 1997. The real root of the project was in the development of the 5.8mm cartridge for machine guns. A 5.8mm round was developed that was found to perform better or the same as existing 7.62x54R rounds in Chinese inventory, so a specialized rifle was developed in that caliber for sniping purposes.
#2
The key to producing better rifles is field use and troop feedback. If your battle experience with rifles for the past half century has been strutting about for PR videos, and smashing buddhist monk faces in - the best you can do is copy someone else's specs, and hope you never have to use the darn thing.
[Libya Observer] Libya's Misrata city was under Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... attacks in different areas by Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... 's warplanes, which; according to commander of the military intelligence in central Libya Ibrahim Baytalmal, were foreign aircraft.
Baytalmal assured Misrata people that the response to the airstrikes will be tough as it was to ISIS in Sirte.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... the Health Ministry denied any casualties or serious injuries in the airstrikes on Misrata, while Misrata medical center said 13 injured people arrived in there after the airstrikes.
The media office of Volcano of Rage Operation posted on Facebook photos of the aftermath of the airstrikes, saying that the emergency and accident section of Misrata medical center received 13 injured civilians, including one woman.
[NPASYRIA] The Ottoman Turkish military and its backed armed opposition groups continue their military attacks on areas in Tal Tamr northern countryside, targeting villages with artillery shells, in addition to the abduction of two young men from the area of Abu Rasin (Zargan). As Ottoman Turkish-backed armed opposition groups launched a large-scale attack, on Sunday evening, on Tal Tamr northern countryside, targeting several villages including Qasimiya, Manakh, Dardara, Rashidiya, and the surrounding farms and hills, the festivities continued until Monday morning.
Moreover, those gangs targeted villages along the road between Tal Tamr and Abu Rasin (Zarkan) with artillery shells, injuring one person.
Local sources confirmed that the gangs kidnapped two young men, from the village of Um Harmala of Zarkan district, while they were cultivating their land, as the gangs demanded ransom money estimated at 15 million SYP from their families. Field sources also indicated that heavy fire shot took place between the Death Eaters of those gangs in Bab al-Khair area, which is controlled by those gangs affiliated with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , in the eastern countryside of Ras al-Ain (Sere-Kaniye), amid reports of deaths and injuries among them.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have confirmed that Ottoman Turkish military and their affiliated Syrian armed opposition groups have taken control over 60 villages since the ceasefire was declared. While Kino Gabriel, SDF spokesperson said: "The Ottoman Turkish military and its affiliated gangs are still launching the heaviest attacks on the villages of the town of Tal Tamr, and did not commit at any moment to the ceasefire agreement."
Furthermore, the head of the SDF Press Office Mustafa Bali told North-Press that "Since the ceasefire was declared on the 17th of October, neither Turkey nor the pro-Ottoman Turkish Syrian National Army groups have committed to the ceasefire, rather, they have continued launching attacks in all axes," he said.
Mr. Bali added that since the ceasefire up until now, Ottoman Turkish military have taken control over 60 villages and festivities have continued in the vicinity of Tal Tamr. He pointed out that the Ottoman Turkish-backed gangs supported have targeted the town of Tal Tamr, while sporadic festivities still occur in the vicinity of Ein Issa on more than one axis.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/20/2019
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[CollegeFix] Cellphone footage obtained by Young America’s Foundation shows that a joint tabling event by the College Republicans and Turning Point USA chapters at the State University of New York at Binghamton descended into chaos Thursday afternoon as a swarm of students surrounded their conservative peers.
The video shows some members of the mob vandalize and trash the conservatives’ displays, curse at them, and get inches away from their faces as they yelled aggressively and demand they pack up and leave and never table on campus again.
When police officers who were called in are shown keeping the crowd at bay, the protesters expressed fury, and eventually start chanting: “No justice, no peace, no racist police.”
“Fuck Trump” and “suck my dick” were also yelled by some of the aggressors to, in their own words, engage in their First Amendment rights too, and later they chanted “pack it up, pack it up.”
Materials laid out on the tables that may have triggered the student aggressors included a Gadsden “don’t tread on me” flag, USA buttons, “Capitalism Cures” stickers, red, white and blue “Big Government Sucks” posters and yellow “taxation is theft” posters, among other materials.
#5
So why didn't the conservatives hit them ? There's got to be muscle in the Republican ranks. Why not use it ?
We're polite and we do believe in free speech, even if we don't like them. To quote Voltaire, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
#6
Probably a better strategy to let these illiterate little thug princesses show the world how stupid and deranged they are.
The truly appalling aspect is that these cretins were admitted to a major state university.
Then again, Yale admitted the retarded screamer, Jeralyn Luther-- look for her unhinged screaming fit, with the usual ghetto-speak and f-bombs, against her Yale house-master Prof. Christafakis.
Navy could remove Gallagher from SEALs, even after Trump intervention
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, whose rank was recently restored by President Donald Trump in a controversial move, could be removed from the Navy SEALs, U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
Gallagher, a SEAL team platoon leader, was accused of committing war crimes while deployed in Iraq in 2017.
In July, a military jury acquitted him of murdering a captured Islamic State fighter by stabbing the wounded prisoner in the neck, but it convicted him of illegally posing with the detainee's corpse. That led to his rank being reduced. Some jack-offs just don't understand the field. I mean the anal retentive complainers, not Gallagher. Gallagher's a fuckin' gem. I'd give him the Nobel ! I'd give him one with a cigar in ol' Alfred's mouth !
Last week, Trump restored Gallagher's rank and pardoned two Army officers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. Critics said Trump's moves undermined military justice and sent a message that battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Gallagher and three other SEALs are likely to be notified on Wednesday that they must appear before a board that will decide whether they should be stripped of their SEAL status.
Officials said that process could take weeks, but that the decision to review Gallagher's status had the support of senior Navy leaders. We know what kind of leaders they'll be if they don't let this bloody thing go, now that the Prez has spoken.
If Gallagher is removed from the SEALs, he would either have to retire or find a different position in the Navy.
#6
I just hope better sense prevails and not some misplaced loyalty to the anti-Trump club. Because not even the most pathetic militaries do that. Let's just see what happens. But it would be good to know the identities of officers who even propose to apply their own 'managerial acumen' to something already settled by the CinC.
#8
Wow. Good one #5. "Praetorianism definition, the control of a society by force or fraud, especially when exercised through titular officials and by a powerful minority."
#9
IIUC he is going to retire anyway as they have created a toxic work environment. A review of the Brass pushing this is in order. Remove the Obama tools
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/20/2019 6:33
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#10
The reassignment of Gallagher might be a wise decision.
#13
I think the issue is manifestly one of authority and by extension chain of command. That and this disease of competitive woke virtue signalling.
That said, personally I was deeply unimpressed with Chief Gallagher, admittedly from what little I know. Right off the bat, it is extraordinarily unwise to go around photographing your own criminal activity, or what can be interpreted as such. Arrogant or stupid, well small matter since
it took him to the same destination regardless.
Then there was his entrance to the court, and yes I suppose I am an old fud with a poor attitude and a filthy mouth. But his cover belongs on his f'ing head not as an inconvenient after thought in hand.
The ubiquity of Starbucks is no doubt a wonder of modern times, but waltzing around outdoors to a serious official proceeding with a G'damned coffee cup in hand is something I would have cut him off at the ankles for, not to mention the hand holding with who ever the Hell she was/is.
If you're going to wave a banner of 'Elite' and notify every third stranger on earth of your status, well, at some point you need to behave that way and respect for the uniform and military courtesy is a serious issue, to me at least. I'm not talking about life in the field whether training or the real deal. It was a piss poor performance, and no, that was not a randomly chosen word.
I don't think he should have been there, but he was his own brilliant travel agent on that excursion.
#14
Dale, this is what I had in mind (see the bolder part esp.):
The Praetorian Guard (Latin: cohortes praetoriae) was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army whose members served as personal bodyguards and intelligence for the Roman emperors. During the era of the Roman Republic, the Praetorians served as a small escort force for high-ranking officials such as senators or provincial governors like procurators, and also serving as bodyguards for high ranking officers within the Roman legions. With the republic's transition into the Roman Empire, however, the first emperor, Augustus, founded the Guard as his personal security detail.
Although they continued to serve in this capacity for roughly three centuries, the Guard became notable for its intrigue and interference in Roman politics, to the point of overthrowing emperors and proclaiming their successors. In 312, the Guard was disbanded by Constantine the Great.
#15
In our own time, praetorianism is a feature most often associated with corrupt, feeble, basket-case governments in the third world: Pakistan especially, Nigeria, most of South America during the late 20th century etc.
#20
#18 According to my uncle every German captured by soviet army was asked to show left armpit. These who had SS tattoo where taken aside and shot. These who had wound dressing on their left arms ...
While I would give a wide margin for actions like offing captives, it does not serve the SEALs reputation or the general image of the troops if you're doing silly stunts like selfies with bodies.
Even so, your unit is supposed to stand up for you. If special forces are going to have to work under the same pressure as Brooklyn cops...
#22
I agree with you and cesare, dron. Slap him on the wrist with a stern warning though. They are there too kill , don't throw one of our better killers a scapegoat though.
Posted by: chris ||
11/20/2019 18:51
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[Breitbart] WASHINGTON, DC ‐ Former U.S. Special Envoy Kurt Volker maintained during a public hearing Tuesday afternoon that he never "took part" in what Democrats have characterized as President Donald Trump’s efforts to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in exchange for aid.
Volker’s testimony once again undermined the quid pro quo claim contained in a "whistleblower’s" complaint that triggered the impeachment inquiry launched by House Democrats.
GOP lawmakers have said Volker’s October 3 deposition obliterated the accusation against Trump at the center of the impeachment investigation and "exonerated" him.
Volker’s October 3 deposition is consistent with his public testimony on Tuesday.
The "whistleblower" complaint accused Trump of abusing his power by leveraging U.S. aid during a July 25 call to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into corruption allegations against the Bidens.
Echoing his October 3 secret deposition almost verbatim on Tuesday, Volker testified alongside former top European affairs official on Trump’s National Security Council (NSC) Tim Morrison, the only two witnesses sought by the Republican minority and accepted by Democrats.
#1
So lets talk about Quid pro Quo. Call a congressman as a business leader and ask for 30 minutes with the congressman. You are expected to bring a check for $1,250, the max you can donate to his campaign, or you wont get in to see him. That my friends is the Quid,
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/20/2019 10:07
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Georgian riot police yesterday dispersed protestors and broke a blockade of parliament established on Sunday. A small report on the renewal of the #TbilisiProtests.
Analysts believe the protests are about more than just about Gavrilov’s appearance in the Georgian Parliament. They also represent disillusionment with the ruling Georgian Dream party and the societal divide between a younger generation looking to the West and Georgia's older, more conservative and traditional institutions.
[DW] German authorities watched the suspected illegal banking operation for a year before their raid. The suspects are accused of running an illegal hawala banking system between Germany and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
German authorities have carried out a raid on an organized international network suspected of illegally transferring millions of euros to Turkey.
Why Turkey?
Police searched about 60 apartments and offices in Tuesday's early-morning raids across Germany. Officers say 27 people are suspected of being involved in the scheme; six arrest warrants have been issued.
Posted by: chris ||
11/20/2019 10:47
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#4
Because it takes time to get all the evidence, the addresses and accounts, Chris. By any estimate, one year of investigation and getting a conviction on even half the operators is a top notch job.
[Daily Caller] The federal government hosted a "Mindfulness & Resiliency Summit" in August where 450 employees from the IRS and other agencies spent two days receiving new-age wisdom, learning to meditate, and receiving on-site massages, photos of the event and a website show.
Participants sat through an hour of talks before taking a half-hour "stretch and self-care break." Next, they heard a 90-minute talk from Gretchen Rohr, an activist working for George Soros’s Open Society Foundations who presented about "restorative justice" and overcoming "trauma," according to a schedule obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Then they adjourned for a two-hour lunch and returned for two hours of advice from Ashanti Branch, who teaches "young men of color" to "hold safe space." He presented a bizarrely capitalized Powerpoint that included lines such as "the Longest distance most people Travel is the 18-inches between their head and their heart," a photo shows.
They let out at 4 p.m. to rest up for the next day, the schedule shows.
"The Mindfuless & Resiliency Summit will gather 450 federal employees from various departments (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, IRS, Department of Justice, and more) to engage, learn, and practice mindfulness and wellness tools," the summit’s website states.
"The USDA Forest Service is cohosting with Wisdom 2.0 the 2-day summit, held in the Jefferson Auditorium on August 6-7, 2019," it continues. Jefferson Auditorium is in the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) headquarters, and the Forest Service is part of USDA.
The two-day summit took up a combined 7,200 hours of federal employees’ time.
Mali and Niger forces were carrying out a joint operation when a patrol was attacked by Takfiri terrorists near the northeastern town of Tabankort,
...long time center of the intermittent Tuareg rebellion to establish their Azawad homeland...
the army said on social media.
According to the military the total toll was "24 dead, 29 injured and material damage" while 17 of the terrorists were killed and a hundred more suspects captured.
The prisoners are in the hands of Niger soldiers, the statement said.
In an earlier statement, which gave a lower death toll, the army said French and Niger forces took part in a counterattack.
Our reporter: A military vehicle of the Turkish patrol runs over a woman's leg in the village of Terri, in the eastern countryside of Kobani A passing by civilian's car hit by the Turkish patrol vehicle, in the same area. pic.twitter.com/ebuCGBdcia
[IsraelTimes] Israel-based analyst says decision apparently aimed at preventing fresh escalation of violence and out of fear crowds could turn against Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, terror group.
The weekly "March of Return" protests along 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 border have been called off for the second week in a row, organizers said Tuesday, in a move seen as marking further attempts by Gaza’s Hamas rulers to avoid fresh confrontation with Israel.
Continued on Page 49
[NYPOST] A Michigan man confessed in court to butchering his girlfriend’s husband with an ax ‐ but insisted he at first only meant to frighten his romantic rival with the weapon, according to reports.
Jacob Ficher, of Lansing, testified Monday that Ammar al-Yasari "needed to be scared" for physically, emotionally and sexually abusing his wife, Bdour al-Yasari, who had been Ficher’s lover, the Lansing State Journal reports.
"I didn’t plan on hurting him, but I just .... All I could hear was my heartbeat, and I just kept swinging," Ficher recalled of the 24 times he hit al-Yasari on the head, face and neck in his Holt home in February.
"A discussion wasn’t going to push him away from the actions and the things he was doing," Ficher said on the witness stand, alleging that al-Yasari was a rapist and an abuser.
Ficher and Bdour al-Yasari are facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 35-year-old man’s death. Ficher said Bdour al-Yasari thought he was just going to talk with her husband that day.
Testifying as the defense’s only witness, Ficher said Bdour turned off her home security system to allow him to confront her husband by surprise while she was at work, WILX reports.
"I wanted him to leave," Ficher said. "Whether he ran to police or a different county, I just wanted him to be gone."
Ficher, a US Army veteran, testified that he covered his face with a mask and used gloves from his days as an infantryman during the confrontation, which went awry when al-Yasari spotted him and started attacking him.
"I fired off two strikes with my right hand, which was holding the ax," Ficher said. "All I could hear was my heartbeat and I just kept swinging and kept swinging and kept swinging."
Seventeen of the 24 blows by the ax would have been deadly "almost immediately," a coroner testified during an earlier hearing, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Sad story. Should've gone a different way about it.
[DAWN] A special court in Islamabad on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the high treason case against former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Heading a three-member bench, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth asked where Musharraf's lawyer was. He was informed by a special registrar of the court that the lawyer was gone to perform Umrah.
Following this, Justice Seth said that the former president's lawyer had been given a third chance to submit his arguments today.
The proceedings were briefly adjourned, after which the court said that the verdict in the case will be announced on November 28. Additionally, the court said that Musharraf's counsel could submit written arguments by November 26.
The interior secretary appeared before the court today after he was summoned in the previous hearing on October 24.
[THECONSERVATIVETREEHOUSE] HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes questioned NSC official Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman about whether he had shared the contents of the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky with anyone outside the White House.
In responding Vindman stated "two people", and then named State Dept George Kent, and a person from the intelligence community. Then things get interesting. Vindman refused to name the intelligence agency because it would likely expose the CIA "whistle-blower".
This non-answer makes Alexander Vindman the source for the CIA "whistleblower" Eric Ciaramella.
#6
LTG Kellogg came on line and said he was also on the call but heard nothing inappropriate. This is the Army trying to salvage its reputation. Kellogg was doing wat an Army officer is supposed to do around politics-remain silent. But this dumbass LTC has decided the Ukraine comes before the USA, we call that going native. He embarrassed the officer corps, the DAO officer, the Army and DOD. he will forever be shunned by what was once called his peers, he will retire in shame, I for one hope he realized the shame he brought to the rest of us and lives a long life as a shameful representative of what happens when you forget what country your represent.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/20/2019 10:01
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#7
49 Pan, "he will retire in shame".
Nonsense. He has no sense of shame. He feels he did the "right thing".
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/20/2019 10:28
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#8
...and gigs in various Left wing media, lobby, or think tank organizations.
#9
The only catch is that if he retires, he's still subject to recall and any UCMJ violations a priori. If the environment changes, his fortunes may too.
#12
g(r)omgoru, Lt Colonel is a correct Rank in the US military.
"In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force, a lieutenant colonel is a field-grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services."
Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
[NYPOST] Here’s one act he had no problem passing.
A congressman from Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, became the butt of everyone’s joke for appearing to fart on live television Monday night.
Rep. Eric Swalwell was mid-sentence on MSNBC’s "Hardball with Chris My Thigh is Tingling! Matthews ... the late Tip O'Neill's former gopher who has magazines with centerfolds of Barack Obama in his bathroom... " when it sounded like he let ’er rip.
"Chris, so far the evidence is uncontradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars to help him cheat ‐" Swalwell says with a pause, as the noise is clearly heard, "‐ an election."
But the 39-year-old Democrat, who’s been in Congress since 2013 and sits on the House Judiciary Committee, was quick to deny the apparent tummy troubles.
[Libya Observer] Ras Lanuf Commercial Port has received the fat merchantman "Sun Discovery" carrying operational materials for the industrial complex of the city, after 9 years of suspension at the port.
The vessel is the first fat merchantman carrying goods belonging to Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company to enter the port since it halted operations in 2010, according to the port's management,
It stressed that the reactivating of the port is an important step that would contribute to boosting the company's revenues, in addition, to help reduce the burden on the company and accelerate the arrival of all operational materials.
[NPASYRIA] The Ottoman Turkish military and its affiliated armed opposition groups (mostly Islamist militias under an umbrella name of National Army), continue to keep their control over Sharakrak silos on the Highway M4, near the town of Ein-Issa, northern Raqqa.
Special sources told North-Press that the Russian forces continue to negotiations with the Ottoman Turkish military and its backed gangs to push them to withdraw back from the strategic silos point, that was controlled by the Ottoman Turkish military.
This information came in conjunction with the Russian claim in Ein-Issa, that it is seeking to persuade the Ottoman Turkish military controlling the silos to withdraw, after taking control over the point about 48 hours ago.
The operation of control took place by the infiltration of the Ottoman Turkish military and the gangs to the area and into Sharakrak, after the separation of the Russian and Ottoman Turkish patrols from each other, after a tour in which they explored the area.
Since October 9, 2019, the Ottoman Turkish military and its affiliated Syrian armed opposition groups have been conducting military operations in the area from (Sere-Kaniye) Ras al-Ain to Abu-Rasin (Zargan), and Tal-Abyad (Gre-Spi) to Ein-Issa countryside. These military groups were able to control large areas, including looting of civilian properties, private and public facilities by those gangs in northwestern Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/20/2019
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#1
Where is Lex? - this whole schmegga needs a Sh*tshow serial number.
[NYPOST] Two corrections officers tasked with guarding Jeffrey Want Some Candy, Little Girl? Epstein ...A high class pimp financier who was alleged to maintain a stable of underage whoressex slaves who were paid big bucks to entertain the rich and/or famous. He is a registered sex offender and made att least 17 out-of-court settlements with former members of his stable, with some cases still ongoing. 2011 court docs reveal that 21 email addresses and phone numbers for Bill Clinton and an aide were found in Epstein's electronic black book, and that Clinton frequently flew with Epstein on his private plane between 2002 to 2005. But really, they were probably just discussing finance or politix or something. While getting massaged. Then things got serious, Jeff was tossed in the slammer in New York and then he killed himself. Really. That's what happened... at the time of his suicide have been arrested, sources said Tuesday.
The two officers will face charges related to accusations of falsifying prison records at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein died on Aug. 10 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Both guards were working overtime at the time of the financier’s death and allegedly failed to check on Epstein every half-hour as they were required to do. The charges stem from the duo falsifying forms to claim they’d carried out the required check-ins.
They will appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday.
While the city medical examiner ruled the pedophile’s hanging death a suicide, a forensic pathologist hired by his brother Mark Epstein has said his autopsy was more consistent with homicidal strangulation.
The 66-year-old multimillionaire was placed on suicide watch after he was found with marks on his neck on July 23 but was removed from the monitoring a week before his death.
Federal prosecutors offered the corrections officers plea deals, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named previously reported, but the officers turned them down.
The warden of the MCC, Lamine N’Diaye, was also reassigned in the wake of Epstein’s death, pending an investigation.
What is the penalty for that? A bit of googling suggests a couple years. Being corrections officers, I guessing they get stashed somewhere special so as not to interact with the GenPop. Time off for good behavior. Maybe not a bad price for a big payday. Gotta keep your mouth shut though. Otherwise, it's Epsteins all the way down...
#7
The arrests fît a story that gives a thin figleaf to the suicide lié. They quickly bail out and months go by as they are on admin leave and then the charges change to something prearranged and convincing for all concerned. Voilà a cold trail assuma conspiracy theory status and can be dismissed as right wing crackpot nonsense. Think they have a sweet deal somewhere, follow the money if you can and discover the truth when you hit the powerful roadblocks.
[CNN] A secretive startup backed by Bill Gates has achieved a solar breakthrough aimed at saving the planet.
Heliogen, a clean energy company that emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday, said it has discovered a way to use artificial intelligence and a field of mirrors to reflect so much sunlight that it generates extreme heat above 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Essentially, Heliogen created a solar oven — one capable of reaching temperatures that are roughly a quarter of what you'd find on the surface of the sun.
The breakthrough means that, for the first time, concentrated solar energy can be used to create the extreme heat required to make cement, steel, glass and other industrial processes. In other words, carbon-free sunlight can replace fossil fuels in a heavy carbon-emitting corner of the economy that has been untouched by the clean energy revolution.
Heliogen, which is also backed by billionaire Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, believes the patented technology will be able to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry. Cement, for example, accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Unlike traditional solar power, which uses rooftop panels to capture the energy from the sun, Heliogen is improving on what's known as concentrated solar power. This technology, which uses mirrors to reflect the sun to a single point, is not new.
Concentrated solar has been used in the past to produce electricity and, in some limited fashion, to create heat for industry. It's even used in Oman to provide the power needed to drill for oil.
The problem is that in the past concentrated solar couldn't get temperatures hot enough to make cement and steel.
What about this?
The world's largest #solar furnace in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, #France has 10,000 mirrors that concentrate the sun's rays to generate power. https://t.co/nRtOecafPp
#7
Concur w/ #5. I just re-read the 'Troy Rising" series, again. I hope there is a fourth book. Also went back through all the Aldenata series, which also needs another volume.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
11/20/2019 10:50
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#9
Getting up to temperature is one thing, producing enough continuous heat to melt a ton of iron is quite another. I suspect this process only works between the hours of 10 and 3 on a sunny day, and not at all at night.
Was reading the other day about Liberty ship production during WWII, something that was critical to the war effort. Imagine the reaction you'd get saying "Sorry, boss. We got to shut down production. Sun went behind a cloud."
[DW] Swedish prosecutors have said that though the accusations are "credible," there is not enough evidence to indict the Wikileaks founder. Assange's main concern now is fighting extradition to the United States.
Swedish prosecutors announced on Tuesday that they were dropping a probe against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange ... Australian journalist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks made the Big Time in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by then Bradley, since Chelsea Manning. After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance. U.S. officials are seeking to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, blaming him for directing publication of a huge trove of secret documents that disclosed the names of people who provided confidential information to American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.... , who had been accused by two women of assaulting them in Stockholm in 2010.
Although officials said they believed the women's claims to be "credible," they have now said that there does not appear to be enough evidence for an indictment. This follows a June decision by a Swedish court that Assange should not be detained.
Wikileaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote on Twitter that public conversation should now focus on the "the belligerent prosecution of the United States and the threat it poses" to free speech.
Assange had consistently denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! claiming it was a ploy by Washington to get him extradited to the United States.
To evade an international arrest warrant, Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012. In April 2019, however, Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said that the 48-year-old Australian had violated the terms of his asylum and he was expelled from the embassy. He was then promptly arrested by British authorities.
Assange is currently serving a 50-week jail sentence in the UK for skipping bail. He is still fighting extradition to the US after he has served this sentence, where he is wanted for violating the Espionage Act in connection with Wikileaks' publishing of classified documents.
#2
Quite similar to the FISA warrants issued for the investigation (or monitoring) of Trump campaign member Carter Page. When Page no longer had placement and access, the investigation was terminated.
#7
Probably noticed how many rapes with tons of evidence that are dropped lately because of PC reasons and realized even an amateur lawyer could get him off so why bother and avoid the embarassement.
[Free Beacon] Former independent counsel Ken Starr said Tuesday that the impeachment hearings have yet to produce any compelling testimony from witnesses accusing President Donald Trump of any unlawful acts.
Starr, who conducted the investigation that led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment, said that impeaching Trump based on the evidence offered in the opening days of the hearing would be an "extravagant" move.
"What we hear is ’improper,'" Starr said about witnesses' testimony so far. "I've never heard the suggestion ’unlawful.' I think again the president's judgment is being called into question‐whether this is wise or not, but not a crime."
Starr criticized House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) for acting as a prosecutor rather than an evenhanded leader of his committee.
"The chairman has chosen to be chief prosecutor," Starr said. "He long ago left the idea of being the fair and balanced chair of the committee, and he uses terms such as bribery and extortion. But we're not hearing that from the witnesses."
Fox News host Bill Hemmer asked Starr about ranking Republican Devin Nunes's (Calif.) approach at the hearings. "What he's driving at is there really is no crime," Starr replied. "This is in the nature, as we've been saying, of an oversight hearing. Do we like the president's style? Was it an appropriate thing for him to do? And reasonable people can say he should not have done that. Perfectly reasonable conclusion. But the idea that this is an impeachable offense is to me quite extreme, it's extravagant."
Starr said congressional Democrats were wielding their impeachment power as a political weapon.
"It's certainly not what the founding generation intended," he said. "Here we are 11 months and a few days away from a presidential election. It's extravagant, it's political."
During Starr's independent counsel investigation, President Clinton did commit a crime by lying under oath. The GOP-controlled House impeached him for perjury and obstruction of justice, but the Democrat-led Senate did not vote to convict him. The Senate was split 50-50 on whether Clinton obstructed justice, falling short of the needed 67 votes to convict.
Starr later said he regretted how his investigation turned to Clinton's sexual relationship with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, although he said he still sees "no practical alternative." Clinton stridently denied the allegations but eventually admitted he had engaged in a relationship with Lewinsky.
#2
Newspeak, per the Shitshow:
"Austere religious scholar" = f---ing murdering monster
"Some people did something" = mass jihadi slaughter of infidels on 9/11
"interagency consensus" = conspiracy behind attempted palace coup
Term formerly used in reference to national intelligence estimates, now broadened to describe collective agreements on governance and policy made by the Intelligence Community unelected shadow government and Deep State decision makers.
When reading or listening to someone use the term 'interagency agreement', caution should be advised.
#5
The only charge they (think) they need is "Orange man bad". The rest is just details.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/20/2019 8:21
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#6
They all agree they hate him, but no crime yet.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/20/2019 10:02
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#7
I've been asking this question all along. Is it not wise for a president to try to ascertain that large sums of money given to a foreign government will not end up in the pockets of people like Hunter Biden?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/20/2019 11:19
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#8
That is why support for impeachment has dropped. The people gave the benefit of doubt initially but even the dim are starting to see the sham.
The zealots remain but they don't care about breaking the law, they want to break Trump.
[IsraelTimes] Assailants wielding knives and machetes ambush a Revolutionary Guard and two members of the Basij militia west of Tehran.
Three members of the Iranian security forces have been stabbed to death by "rioters" near Tehran, the ISNA and Fars news agencies reported late Monday.
The assailants wielding knives and machetes ambushed the three ‐ a Revolutionary Guard and two members of the Basij militia ‐ west of the capital, the news agencies reported.
The deaths take to at least five the number of people confirmed to have been killed in violent demonstrations that erupted across Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... on Friday against a surprise gas price hike.
One of the three was identified as Morteza Ebrahimi, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Fars.
The other two were Majid Sheikhi, 22, and Mostafa Rezaie, 33. Both served in the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the establishment.
State television said a ceremony would be held for Ebrahimi and Rezaie in Tehran on Tuesday afternoon.
[NYPOST] Accused bike path terrorist Sayfullo Saipov told a Manhattan federal court judge Monday he doesn’t respect his authority ‐ while prosecutors said they want to empanel an anonymous jury to oversee the death penalty case.
"The orders issued here have nothing to do with me," Saipov told Judge Vernon Broderick through an Uzbek interpreter. "I am following orders of Allah, who gave me life."
The comments followed a hearing regarding jury selection ahead of the alleged ISIS bad boy’s trial for driving a truck down a crowded bike path on Halloween 2017, killing eight people.
Saipov stood as he spoke, wildly gesticulating as he asked Broderick why he was sitting in judgement of him "for the eight people killed" and "not those who are killing thousands and millions of Moslems over the world."
Broderick eventually cut off the 31-year-old, and told him a judge’s role was more like that of a "referee."
"I recognize that you don’t recognize me, or recognize my authority," Broderick added. "This isn’t the time or place to be making statements."
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido stepped from behind the suit of armor, rapier in hand. Ciccolini snarled and reached for his own weapon... Manhattan federal prosecutor Matthew Laroche said the government plans to seek an anonymous jury to sit on the case.
Defense attorney David Patton said his team would be opposing that request.
#5
i bet he starts too believe in the system when the appeals start
Posted by: chris ||
11/20/2019 10:58
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#6
The irony is, he is following the orders of Allan. While the cops who arrested him, the judge... they don't know just what the fuck they're doing anymore. The only one who does is the cop who shot him in the stomach. I don't know why he couldn't empty the mag though.
Conventional 'due process' should not apply to people caught red handed in acts of terrorism or mass murder. A new paradigm of dealing with 'spectacular' heinous crime must evolve. It is the goddamn duty of the States we prop up in the hopes they'll protect the citizen.
Follow up to this article on the EU settlement labeling directive from a few days ago.
[IsraelTimes] Coalition-approved decision calls on government to object to EU court’s ruling as discriminatory, unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories around the world.
The Dutch parliament on Tuesday approved a motion pushing back against a Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an Court of Justice decision that ordered the labeling of Israeli goods made in West Bank settlements.
The motion, approved 82-68, calls on the government to object to the ruling, unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories around the world. It deems the singling out of Israel in such regard unfair and discriminatory.
Israel has heavily criticized the the court’s ruling last week, calling it discriminatory and noting that there are more than 200 territorial disputes across the world, but that the European court had never ruled on any of them.
The Dutch vote, supported by Christian groups in parliament and backed by the governing coalition, does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... diplomatic officials told the Ynet news site that the strong support from the coalition indicated it would guide government policy to an extent.
Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Naor Gilon thanked politicians for their support and expressed hope that if the court ruling stands, Dutch leaders "will adopt their own recommendation and not implement a discriminatory resolution."
An Israeli diplomatic official told the Israel Hayom newspaper that Jerusalem hoped other European countries would follow the Dutch lead and question the court ruling.
According to the Luxembourg-based court, the EU’s highest legal instance, "Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance."
The court took on the case after Psagot Winery ‐ which is located in a settlement by the same name just north of Jerusalem ‐ challenged a 2016 ruling by a French court that said goods produced in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights must be labeled as originating in an "Israeli settlement."
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Rep. Matt Gaetz celebrated the news on Monday that the woman who threw a sports drink at him had been sentenced to 15 days in prison for the attack.
"Physical assault has no place in our political discourse," Gaetz said. "I am grateful that law enforcement and our judicial system recognized this principle today."
During a campaign event in June, Amanda Kondrat'yev threw a red drink at the congressman from the Florida panhandle. She was there along with other protesters who shouted at him and held signs telling him to "wipe the blood off his hands" and shamed him for his "A+" rating from the NRA.
"Constituents deserve to be safe at events hosted by our congressional office. My staff deserves to be safe," Gaetz said in a victim impact statement submitted in court. "Their families and mine shouldn’t have to worry that while federal officials are doing their jobs, we are at risk of assault."
Kondrat'yev, a 35-year-old wife and mother of two, briefly ran against Gaetz as a Democratic challenger in the 2016 election, according to the Pensacola Journal. She faced up to a year in prison as a result of her conviction.
[Libya Observer] The Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Sayala called in his address at the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the withdrawal of Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... 's forces to their pre-April positions without preconditions.
Sayala added on Monday that the ceasefire is very significant but after the withdrawal of Haftar's forces, saying the halt of hostilities can be monitored by a UN mission that could be formed by a Security Council resolution.
He also asked the UNSC to ensure the countries involved in Libya's conflict halt their actions that could get in the way of local and international efforts to resolve the conflict.
He renewed the call on International Criminal Court and UN sanctions committee to hold Haftar accountable for crimes against civilians and infrastructure in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and its suburbs.
"Targeting the biscuit factory in Wadi Rabea in southern Tripoli caused deaths and injuries and it was committed by Death Eaters loyal to Haftar." Sayala said, adding that the continuation of Haftar's offensive on Tripoli is linked to the silence of the international community.
He called on the Security Council to take a unified and firm stance against the offensive on Tripoli, saying the Presidential Council's government won't sit idly by and watch the legitimate government institutions are being targeted as all its response actions are as per the legitimacy and state laws.
[NYPOST] Two hostages ‐ an American and an Australian ‐ who’ve been held since 2016 have been released in a prisoner swap that let three top Taliban ...Arabic for students... figures walk free, the Taliban said Tuesday.
American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, both professors at the American University of Kabul, were released in the southern Zabul province.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the two men were handed over to Afghan government representatives, intermediaries or US forces.
King and Weeks were kidnapped outside the university three years ago. The following year, the Taliban released two videos of them and another in January 2017 in which they appeared pale and gaunt.
Both claimed at the time that they were being treated well and asked their governments to help in their release ‐ but it’s impossible to know whether they were forced to speak.
[KhaamaPress] Three senior Haqqani Network leaders including Anas Haqqani have arrived in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... after being released from prison in Afghanistan, it has been reported.
Sources privy of the development have confirmed to media outlets that the Afghan government released the three senior Haqqani network ...a branch of the Afghan Taliban, based in Pakistain. The network is a family business founded by the later Jalaluddin Haqqani... leaders late on Monday night.
Presidential spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi earlier said President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money... phoned the Secretary of State of the United States Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Rober O’Brien on Monday night to review the steps necessary to implement President Ghani’s recent decision to release the three high-level Taliban/Haqqani detainees.
[DAWN] The Talibansnuffies released two Western hostages ‐ Kevin King from the United States and Timothy Weeks from Australia ‐ on Tuesday in a prisoner exchange deal with the Afghan government, two Afghan officials said.
"This morning at around 10am two American University professors were released in Nawbahar district of Zabul province. They were flown out of Zabul by American helicopters," a local police source said.
"The two professors are safely freed and are being taken care of now," one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , told Rooters.
The American and Australian were exchanged with three Taliban leaders, including key krazed killer figure Anas Haqqani, added Rooters.
[ToloNews] The US White House issued a statement on Wednesday responding to the release of Kevin King, American, and Timothy Weeks, Australian, saying: “The Taliban have indicated that the release of the two professors is intended as a goodwill gesture, which the United States welcomes.”
It added that the United States condemns the taking of innocent civilians as hostages.
The White House statement continued, “Additionally, we welcome the Taliban’s impending release of 10 Afghan prisoners, and the Afghan government’s release of 3 Taliban prisoners,” the statement said.
"We see these developments as hopeful signs that the Afghan war, a terrible and costly conflict that has lasted 40 years, may soon conclude through a political settlement," the statement added. "We commend President Ashraf Ghani and the Afghan government for advancing that goal while simultaneously working to strengthen and reform Afghanistan’s security forces."
According to the statement, during the past two years, President Ghani extended an offer to talk to the Taliban “without preconditions” and “called for a ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr in 2018, which the Taliban reciprocated.”
The statement addresses the complex Afghan political environment: “The United States also commended the many Afghan politicians who put their political differences aside and did not use these humanitarian gestures for personal political gain.”
Notably, the statement acknowledged that a change in recent Taliban attacks might indicate an opportunity for peace talks: “Along with a reduction of violence in Kabul during the past few days, the above developments give us hope for the success of intra-Afghan peace negotiations, which the United States stands ready to support.”
Meanwhile, US envoy in Kabul, John Bass, said in a tweet that "today we saw important humanitarian steps by Afghan govt and Taliban. American Kevin King, Australian colleague Tim Weeks and 10 ANSDF members will soon reunite with families. One step leads to a step in response. More steps create a pathway to peace in Afghanistan."
[DAWN] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one that was led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spent more time running his madrassah until his secretary rubbed him out in a jealous rage. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman ...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty... on Tuesday declared that the government's days are numbered and that the JUI-F's drive had successfully mobilised masses to remove the ruling regime.
Addressing the participants of a sit-in at Bannu, the JUI-F chief strongly criticised the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) government and said that the rulers were either incapable or they were working under an agenda of destroying the country through crippling its economy.
"Prime Minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders... is trying to become 'Gorbachev' of Pakistain," he said, referring to the former Russian president largely credited with decentralising the country's economy, bringing an end to the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union.
"Your roots have been cut, you have been shaken, now count your days," Rehman warned the prime minister.
Talking about the party's Azadi March, which had culminated in Islamabad, he said that the JUI-F didn't go to the capital without any purpose, neither did it return without any purpose.
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Amid months of speculation, Stacey Abrams said that she would be "happy" to run for vice president alongside the Democratic nominee.
Abrams is the 45-year-old former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor who lost a close race against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018. She has repeatedly tamped down rumors that a meeting she held in March with Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant... , 76, was to discuss running as his number two.
Speaking at an event in Iowa on Monday, Abrams said that she would consider joining the ticket of whoever wins the nomination, according to the Daily Iowan.
"You do not run in a primary for second place, so no, for whatever rumors are out there," Abrams said. "However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... I’m not in the primary, but you can run as second in the general election, and I am happy to do so with the nominee. That is my answer."
There was also some speculation that Abrams, who has little political experience beyond the state legislature, would run for president. Abrams went back and forth on whether she wanted to run for president, try for a Georgia Senate seat in 2020, or make another gubernatorial bid in 2022. But she ruled out both a Senate run in August and a presidential run that same month.
You notice that no one enters the primaries for the vice-president's job? Go file. Before someone decides to stack the deck again, take the opening since you won't face any opposition.
The Islamic republic has been largely offline since the internet restrictions were imposed the day after the nationwide demonstrations broke out on Friday.https://t.co/BHSe1de5H4
It's a touch surprising that the Moon admin is pushing back so hard after largely capitulating on trade, but politics are politics and anti-Americanism is fairly strong in SKorea. I rly don't think it's sunk in that the US really <wants> to leave. https://t.co/nlcddK8Qm6
#1
They benefit wildly from our troops being there. If they don't want to pay fair market rates, screw 'em. Why is the US in the business of providing welfare to wealthy First World countries? Ones that can easily pay for their own defense?
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
11/20/2019 3:03
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#2
You will find on scrutiny of their policies, that most Asian countries except for Japan and Israel are ultimately thankless ingrates that will just as soon turn against you as they vehemently attack your enemies with rhetoric. Fair weather friends. This conceit is rooted in not only the cultures of respective societies in these countries, but is also a result of witnessing or being a victim of high handedness by some of Uncle Sam's previous administrations. It's a sad reality. No one trusts each other, and not many societies value or unilaterally accept responsibility.
Trump realized this long ago, in his businessman avatar. It's a wise decision in the long run, purely from a practical viewpoint; to disengage with welfare and security for the whole world, and concentrate on reinforcing his own ramparts.
States that benefit off the US in some way do not see it as an ally or a partner in equal responsibilities. They see it as 'the one with too much for one country, enough to share'. They feel they aren't obliged to any kind of loyalty and can change sugar daddies as and when necessary. The repeated attempts of American politicians to try and imprint their image as saviors on other societies is a typical western conceit, re-paid again and again by ingratitude and mistrust.
Why do I say this ? By experience. India sees this attitude all the time with the smaller nations we help on their way to some modicum of modernity and security. And watch them walk over to China who throws dough at them, almost unconditionally.
#3
yeah, sort of like the US and Russia signed a 'guarantee' to protect the Ukraine in return for them giving up their nukes. Then there was the quid pro quo agreement between the Bush administration and Libya to give up their WMD program in return for being left alone.
They're not paying attention that Trump wants the remove the American 'hostages' from around the world.
#6
Makes sense to me. Major threats to South Korea come from China and North Korea who is somewhat of a China puppet. Make friends with China and your security is a bit more secure. it's not as if they'll be called up to defend China against invasion as the west has no plans for that.
It will probable be used to peal them away from Taiwan, but South Korea has to do what is in South Korea's best interests and if this can leverage NOrth Korea safety so be it.
#7
Make friends with China...
Right, sure thing you can be a "friend" with the Imperial Dragon. Now, a useful puppet state, that is doable.
...and maybe you can survive and re-absorb North Korea when it's dynasty finally implodes out of inbred craziness.
Perhaps one day this obstreperous gentleman will be publicly identified, and we’ll be allowed to know whether he had arrived legally, whether his asylum request had finally been rejected... all the usual stuff.
[DW] German authorities say they've arrested a Syrian observed in chat networks seeking ingredients to make the explosive TAPT. When and where the suspect, allegedly with Islamist leanings, was planning an attack is unclear.
Special federal police units detained a Syrian man in his Berlin apartment early Tuesday on a charge of preparing a text aimed at perpetrating a terror act endangering the state, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors said the suspect had begun to procure the "requisite components and chemicals for the construction of an bomb" with the intention of killing as many people as possible.
"This was intended for detonation at an unknown point in time and at an unknown location in Germany," they added.
In August he had purchased hydrogen peroxide and acetone ‐ two chemicals used to synthesize the high explosive TATP.
UNDER OBSERVATION
Berlin prosecutors said that since early 2019, the Syrian had been observed nine times in an electronic message group affiliated with the terror militia "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.... " (IS).
Topics had included instructions on plastic explosives, packet and magnet bombs, and booby trap-explosives, followed by Kalashnikov K-47 guns and machine pistols.
German public broadcaster ARD said initial tips had been given by an unidentified foreign secret service to Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV).
EMPLOYED AS CLEANER
The suspect was employed as a cleaner at one of Berlin's primary schools and had been under observation since early this year, according to Berlin city-state's interior senator Andreas Geisel.
The Berliner Zeitung daily said the suspect lived near the town hall in Berlin's district of Schöneberg.
Before working at the school, he had been employed at Berlin's renowned Bode Museum.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/20/2019
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During our strike of Iranian & Syrian terror targets, a Syrian air defense missile was fired despite clear warnings to refrain from such fire. As a result, a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed.
[Jpost] "During the attack, Syrian air missiles were fired, despite a clear warning that was ignored. As a result, several Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed." KER-WHUMP !!
A spokesperson for the IDF confirmed early on Wednesday morning that IAF fighter jets performed targeted air strikes against dozens of military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds Force (IRGC) and the Syrian army on Tuesday night in Syria.
The targets included air-to-ground missiles, headquarters, warehouses and military bases.
"During the attack, Syrian air missiles were fired, despite a clear warning that was ignored. As a result, several Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed," the IDF said.
The attack was carried out in response to rockets which the IDF said were launched by an Iranian force from Syrian territory into Israeli territory in the early hours of Tuesday morning, that despite being intercepted, were intended to hit Israeli territory.
"The Iranian attack on Israeli territory yesterday is further proof of the current Iranian purpose in Syria. Their presence in the region is a danger to Israel's security, regional stability and to the Syrian regime."
Breaking video footage emerges huge fire ripping through unknown object in southern #Damascus amid #Israeliairstrikes. pic.twitter.com/5LHaG3AHxO
- Majd Fahd (@Syria_Protector) November 19, 2019
"The IDF also sees the Syrian regime as responsible for what is happening in its territory, and warns it not to act or allow action against Israel."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement following the attack, saying in it that "I made it clear that whoever harms us - we will harm them."
"That is what we did tonight in Syria against Iranian Quds Force targets and Syrian military targets, after rockets were fired from its territory towards Israel. We will continue to aggressively guard the security of Israel."
According to Syrian news agency Sana, Syrian aerial defense systems were able to intercept some of the missiles before they were able to reach their targets. In fact, some zealous launchers themselves met them head on.
Warning of a possible retaliation, the IDF closed their statement by saying that "the IDF is highly prepared for a variety of scenarios In each of which, Arabs and Iranians end up dying
and will continue to operate as required for the security of the citizens of the State of Israel. The Home Front Command instructions should be obeyed if required."
The Quds Force is the overseas arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
The Times of Israel has a brief video here ‐ it looks to me like something interesting is cooking off. The article also adds:
SANA added that the aggression was carried out from "Lebanese and Paleostinian territories." Israel sometimes launches its attacks on Syria from planes flying over neighboring Leb.
Early Tuesday morning Israel’s anti-missile defense system intercepted four rockets fired from Syria toward the Golan Heights. All four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Shortly afterwards blasts were heard near Damascus International Airport, the official SANA news agency reported. The agency gave no further details, but its statement came shortly after the Israeli army had announced that it had intercepted the rockets fired from Syria.
Some Syrian outlets speculated that the blasts were an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... , while others said it may have been the sound of the rockets being launched at Israel.
The rockets triggered sirens in the northern Golan Heights and Galilee region at 4:52 a.m., sending residents rushing to bomb shelters.
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[THEBAGHDADPOST] The Karkh investigation court for integrity issues issued an arrest warrant and a travel ban against MP Talal al-Zobaie on corruption charges, and ordered freezing his assets.
Zobaie previously served as chairman of the Integrity Committee in the previous session of the Iraqi parliament.
Iraq, one of the world's largest oil reserves, ranked 169 out of 180 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
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[Libya Observer] A secret deal between Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... and figures from the Muammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... -era Revolutionary Committees has been signed in the UAE, Libya al-Ahrar TV Channel has reported.
The Revolutionary Committees' figures met with Haftar and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aqila Saleh in Abu Dhabi to coordinate more regarding the offensive against Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , the channel added.
"Haftar proposed to share power in Libya with the figures of the Revolutionary Committees and to enable the Qadaffy loyalists to regain power in Libya in return for having their support in the ongoing fighting." The report added, saying they discussed intensifying military and media attacks on the cities that are defending Tripoli, especially Misrata.
According to Libya al-Ahrar, the meetings were very confidential so they avoid any reactions from the Qadaffy loyalists who think of the UAE as a country that helped topple Qadaffy in 2011.
It added that the leader at the Qadaffy-era Revolutionary Committees Mustafa al-Zaydi was one of people who arrived in Abu Dhabi, coming from Cairo, to meet with Haftar.
Meanwhile, ...back at the game, the Babe headed for second base. He almost made it. Then Sheila slapped him.... the front man for the Libyan National Popular Movement Nasser Saied has stated full support for Haftar's forces in their attack on Tripoli to eradicate "February Conspiracy".
The movement, whose members are mostly from the Qadaffy-era Revolutionary Committees that are involved in many human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... violations and crimes, said in a statement that supporting Haftar's forces is a strategic decision and needs no political deals.
#1
From the article: "The Argus Leader reports a Minneapolis marketing agency created the campaign. South Dakota´s Department of Social Services paid the agency nearly $449,000 this fall, according to the state´s finances website."
I wonder how much meth both the adverting agency and the SDDSS were on when this campaign was thought up and implemented?
#2
They just take a different tack to get attention and it has. No one was addressing the issue, so they decided to force the issue to the front. Just like they can't figure Trump out they can't figure why SD decided to do this. See - laser and cat
See their other ad campaign - Why die on Mars when you can live in South Dakota.
#3
"The lawn needs mowing."
"I'm on it!"
It's a common expression. I suspect the disconnect here is the SD folks don't know any actual druggies and have no idea another meaning of "on" might exist.
[AnNahar] 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... 's prime minister on Monday flew back to the southern city of Aden under the terms of a peace deal with southern separatists who expelled the government from its provisional capital in August.
The return from Riyadh of Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and four other ministers, initially planned for last week but delayed for logistical reasons, follows the November deal with separatists who had chased the government out of the port city.
Fighters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) last August seized control of Aden, which had become the seat of government after it was driven out of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014 by 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... sThe STC and the government, which are technically allies in the fight against the Huthis, inked a power-sharing deal in Riyadh on November 5 under Saudi mediation.
As well as heralding the government's return to Aden, it laid the foundation for forming a new 24-member cabinet with equal representation for southerners, including the STC.
Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has lived in Riyadh since Sanaa fell to the Huthis.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 as the Houthis closed in on Aden, prompting Hadi to flee into Saudi exile.
Infighting in Yemen's south had posed a headache for regional powerhouse 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... , which remains focused on confronting the Iran-aligned Huthis.
The war within a war also raised fears that Yemen could disintegrate, threatening to sharpen a humanitarian crisis in the country that the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... has termed as the world's worst.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016.... has said the deal would "open a new period of stability in Yemen".
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said it was "important to the political efforts to achieve peace in the country".
Yemen's conflict has since 2015 killed tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, and driven millions more to the brink of famine.
[ConsortiumNews] The FBI relied on CrowdStrike’s "conclusion" to blame Russia for hacking DNC servers, though the private firm never produced a final report and the FBI never asked them to, as Ray McGovern explains.
CrowdStrike, the controversial cybersecurity firm that the Democratic National Committee chose over the FBI in 2016 to examine its compromised computer servers, never produced an un-redacted or final forensic report for the government because the FBI never required it to, the Justice Department has admitted.
The revelation came in a court filing by the government in the pre-trial phase of Roger Stone, a long-time Republican operative who had an unofficial role in the campaign of candidate Donald Trump. Stone has been charged with misleading Congress, obstructing justice and intimidating a witness.
The filing was in response to a motion by Stone’s lawyers asking for "unredacted reports" from CrowdStrike in an effort to get the government to prove that Russia hacked the DNC server. "The government ... does not possess the information the defandant seeks," the filing says.
In his motion, Stone’s lawyers said he had only been given three redacted drafts. In a startling footnote in the government’s response, the DOJ admits the drafts are all that exist. "Although the reports produced to the defendant are marked ’draft,’ counsel for the DNC and DCCC informed the government that they are the last version of the report produced," the footnote says.
In other words CrowdStrike, upon which the FBI relied to conclude that Russia hacked the DNC, never completed a final report and only turned over three redacted drafts to the government.
These drafts were "voluntarily" given to the FBI by DNC lawyers, the filing says. "No redacted information concerned the attribution of the attack to Russian actors," the filing quotes DNC lawyers as saying.
In Stone’s motion his lawyers argued: "If the Russian state did not hack the DNC, DCCC, or [Clinton campaign chairman John] Podesta’s servers, then Roger Stone was prosecuted for obstructing a congressional investigation into an unproven Russian state hacking conspiracy ... The issue of whether or not the DNC was hacked is central to the Defendant’s defense."
The DOJ responded: "The government does not need to prove at the defendant’s trial that the Russians hacked the DNC in order to prove the defendant made false statements, tampered with a witness, and obstructed justice into a congressional investigation regarding election interference." Much, much more at the link.
People ask me why Trump sent Giuliani to investigate Burisma instead of the FBI. I tell them Trump cannot trust the FBI. They look at me like my head is on backwards because they get all their news from MSM.
#2
I don't understand cybersecurity very well however there were some other cybersecurity companies that reached the same general conclusion as crowdstrike, that is that the hacking of the DNC was the work of a Russian operation.
Other conclusions of the crowdstrike company, e.g., that a Russian operation had hacked a Ukraine artillery unit, were, however, contested by other cybersecurity companies. Ukraine itself rejected crowdstrike's conclusion regarding the artillery unit.
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/20/2019 6:24
Comments ||
Top||
#3
More telling was earlier questioning by House Intelligence Committee member, Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), who had been a CIA officer for a decade.On March 20, 2017 while he was still FBI director, Comey evidenced some considerable discomfort as he tried to explain to the committee why the FBI did not insist on getting physical access to the DNC computers and do its own forensics:
Few people need permission to walk their own dog. No need to "insist" on anything. They very likely already had the content.
#5
The transfer speed is a giveaway. No way on earth that a dinky operation like the DNC would have paid for the kind of content delivery speeds that a YouTube or an ecommerce site customer of say Akamai would be paying.
IOW the probability that the download made a round-trip to Eastern Europe is about zero.
Almost certainly the data was copied to a USB Flash drive, which destroys the CrowdStrike hypothesis and points to an inside job. Several ex-NSA experts arrived at this conclusion.
This Russia-hacked-the-DNC notion is yet another absurd act in The Shitshow.
[Free Beacon] Sen. John N. Kennedy (R., La.) during a Tuesday hearing listed off three things that don't hang themselves: Christmas ornaments, drywall, and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
"Christmas ornaments, drywall and Jeffrey Epstein‐name three things that don’t hang themselves. That’s what the American people think," Kennedy said. "And they deserve some answers."
The Louisiana senator was questioning Federal Bureau of Prisons director Kathleen Sawyer about Epstein's death in federal custody.
Questions have surrounded Epstein's alleged suicide by hanging. Conspiracy theories have spread that the sexual predator was murdered by the government or by his influential associates. Kennedy urged transparency to quell the rumors surrounding his death.
"I need you to take a very respectful message today," Kennedy told the director. "Tell the American people what happened. And don't rush it so that they don't do a thorough investigation. But you and I both know they can make this a top priority and get it done more quickly than they normally would. They need to do that and I would like you to deliver that message."
"I agree with you sir. I can pass along the message, but the FBI and the inspector general's office works on their own timeframe," Sawyer said. "I want the investigation completed as soon as possible too."
The Justice Department is currently probing the matter and have charged two guards with six counts of falsifying prison records. The two guards were on duty the night of Epstein's death and allegedly failed to conduct routine checks; they are also accused of changing internal records to cover up these lapses.
#1
"Per the advice of my counsel, I (Vindman) have been advised not to answer specific questions about members of the intelligence community," the witness said.
Vindman has the interests of himself and the CIA in mind, nothing more.
I believe Foreign Area Officers (FAO's) used to be managed and assigned from the very small FAO division in the Pentagon. Whomever he worked for in the National Security Council (NSC) would constitute his chain of command, rater, etc. I have no idea who the next uniformed person in his chain would be.
West Point graduate Colonel John Young Filmore Blake (1856-1907) lead the Irish Brigade against the British in the Boer War. Buried at West Point Cemetery, NY. (Third from left in foto).
Digressing even further, I'm calling that handsome horse in the photo a Basuto.
A tech CEO's #Tesla has been broken into 4 times in 18 months at the same city parking lot, and he's so frustrated with the city's response, he's thinking of relocating his software company. https://t.co/at8JIkKgxMpic.twitter.com/raMi7gt2nK
#1
To be secure Each App needs to be sandboxed from the others as if it's the only thing running on the phone.
So each app needs to have it's own storage etc.
[DW] Franco A. posed as a Syrian refugee, allegedly to orchestrate a terror attack he hoped would be mistaken for Islamist extremism. He faces up to ten years in prison if convicted.
Disgraced German army officer Franco A. is due to face trial on charges of preparing a far-right terror attack, a federal court front man said on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old spent months in jail in 2017 but a lower state court in Frankfurt dropped the case against him. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... federal prosecutors continued to pursue the case and now the higher court has agreed to hear it.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Franco A. was first arrested in April 2017 and was detained for six months while Sherlocks probed his alleged plan target center-left politicians like Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and prominent Green party politician Claudia Roth, as well as human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... activist Anetta Kahane.
To that end, he impersonated a Syrian refugeeand had himself registered as such with the authorities, reportedly in the hope that his attack would be mistaken for Islamist extremism.
Police reportedly found a G3 semi-automatic rifle, pistols, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and 50 bombs procured by the suspect. He is also being charged with stealing military weapons.
WHAT COULD THE OUTCOME BE?
Franco A. faces up to ten years in prison if convicted. He remains a soldier in the Bundeswehr but is not allowed to wear his uniform.
A friend of the defendant has already been found guilty of storing illegal weapons on the soldier's behalf and was sentenced to a year in prison. He has appealed the decision, stating that he believes he did nothing wrong.
[Stratfor] How Governments Control the Flow of Information Online.
HIGHLIGHTS
As the internet matures, states will continue to refine their techniques for managing the flow of online information to their citizens.
Nearly every national government exerts some level of control over domestic internet use, but the extent of the manipulation, and the tactics used to achieve it, varies widely from state to state.
Four countries — Iran, China, Turkey and Russia — merit special attention for their efforts to break Western hegemony on the internet and, by extension, to challenge the free internet model.
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.
[SD U-T] The disgraced former 
[Mil.com] MOGADISHU, Somalia ‐ A Somali intelligence official says a U.S. drone strike has killed a senior officer with the al-Shabab extremist group.
[Right Wing Watch] Upset by former CIA director John Brenna’s reply to President Trump’s tweet disparaging former U.S.ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, last week, right-wing commentator and radical conspiracy theorist Chris McDonald declared that Brennan is "going to hang from a noose."
[Times of India] The Indian Army plans to buy just 1,800 state-of-the-art sniper rifles and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition -- less than a third of its total requirement -- driven by budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries, people with knowledge of the matter said..png "Wazoo")
Wazoo
... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...
[KhaamaPress] A helicopter crash killed two service of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, the 
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
[The Federalist] The Inside Story Of How America’s Intelligence Agencies Tried To Undo Trump’s Election.
...established in 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional infantry kandak (battalion) from each of the regional ANA corps, giving them special training and equipment, and reorganizing based on the U.S. Army Rangers. Each battalion is assigned to one of the six regional corps. The commandos comprise 7% of the Afghan National Security Forces but conduct 70% to 80% of the fighting...
...
...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
[DAWN] A special court in Islamabad on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the high treason case against former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
...
A 
... Australian journalist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks made the Big Time in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by then Bradley, since Chelsea Manning. After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance. U.S. officials are seeking to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, blaming him for directing publication of a huge trove of secret documents that disclosed the names of people who provided confidential information to American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan....
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Rep. Matt Gaetz celebrated the news on Monday that the woman who threw a sports drink at him had been sentenced to 15 days in prison for the attack.
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
...Arabic for 
/Haqqani detainees.
...aka 
...Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call 
...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 
[Jpost] "During the attack, Syrian air missiles were fired, despite a clear warning that was ignored. As a result, several Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed." 
...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....
"Per the advice of my counsel, I (Vindman) have been advised not to answer specific questions about members of the intelligence community," the witness said.
Ha, g(r)om. Here's one for you from the memory cave. 
Also from the cave:
