Hi there, !
Today Fri 12/24/2021 Thu 12/23/2021 Wed 12/22/2021 Tue 12/21/2021 Mon 12/20/2021 Sun 12/19/2021 Sat 12/18/2021 Archives
Rantburg
558472 articles and 1926228 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 71 articles and 250 comments as of 8:33.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix    Main Page
Saudi Arabian 'potential terrorist' nabbed at US-Mexico border
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
3 20:27 Merrick Ferret [11134]
17:27 3 19:44 Lord Garth [11134]
11:48 2 14:48 Merrick Ferret [11130]
11:14 1 14:25 Glenmore [11131]
09:42 4 17:23 Merrick Ferret [11132]
09:38 7 23:14 Zhang Fei [11135]
09:29 4 17:45 Merrick Ferret [11130]
09:27 19 22:05 Thing From Snowy Mountain [11138]
09:16 5 18:38 Glenmore [11129]
08:31 4 19:34 Lord Garth [11145]
08:28 5 21:52 dacama [11139] 
06:50 5 16:35 M. Murcek [11129]
01:18 0 [11136]
00:00 5 20:26 Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 [11141]
00:00 20 20:45 Shusolet Panda3990 [11141]
00:00 3 16:01 Rob Crawford [11130]
00:00 12 17:47 Woodrow [11130]
00:00 4 17:52 Woodrow [11130]
00:00 13 23:22 Skidmark [11137]
00:00 0 [11146]
00:00 0 [11153]
00:00 3 16:29 Tiny Darling of the Weak4705 [11131]
00:00 3 11:12 Mullah Richard [11143]
00:00 4 20:03 no mo uro [11139]
00:00 3 19:00 trailing wife [11138]
00:00 12 18:04 Woodrow [11135]
00:00 2 18:02 Woodrow [11136]
00:00 2 16:37 Silentbrick [11137]
00:00 2 10:21 M. Murcek [11131]
00:00 1 07:11 Procopius2k [11138]
00:00 2 10:35 ruprecht [11130]
00:00 0 [11140]
00:00 0 [11153]
00:00 0 [11143]
00:00 8 22:02 Frank G [11139] 
00:00 1 14:53 Merrick Ferret [11138] 
00:00 0 [11141]
00:00 0 [11143]
00:00 0 [11131]
00:00 0 [11138]
00:00 15 17:02 newc [11140]
00:00 0 [11128]
00:00 0 [11138]
00:00 0 [11132]
00:00 1 18:45 Skidmark [11147]
00:00 0 [11141]
00:00 1 18:43 Skidmark [11148]
00:00 0 [11126] 
00:00 0 [11140]
00:00 1 18:41 Skidmark [11147]
00:00 7 19:41 Procopius2k [11147]
00:00 0 [11129]
00:00 1 18:47 Skidmark [11133] 
00:00 0 [11135]
00:00 0 [11133] 
00:00 0 [11139]
00:00 6 11:21 SteveS [11160]
00:00 0 [11129] 
00:00 9 20:10 Shusolet Panda3990 [11141]
00:00 0 [11140]
00:00 1 08:11 Skidmark [11132]
00:00 0 [11138] 
00:00 4 17:56 Woodrow [11129]
00:00 1 06:36 Vinegar Spolusing6485 [11130]
00:00 8 22:05 Frank G [11137]
00:00 0 [11138] 
00:00 0 [11129]
00:00 9 17:59 Barbara [11132]
00:00 5 10:07 M. Murcek [11134]
00:00 13 15:08 M. Murcek [11141]
00:00 6 16:38 Procopius2k [11140]
Good Morning

Pentagon issues rules aimed at thwarting
rise of extremism among service members
Tuesday December 21st, 2021

bessielove101
TTP Commander Killed
Espionage racket busted in Rajouri, 2 booked: Police
Gunmen kill 47 in latest attacks in Nigeria's troubled north
Somali army makes gains against Al-Shabaab
Court hands final prison sentences to Egyptian activists Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Oxygen, lawyer Baqer
Iraqi air force targets two ISIS members in Diyala
Rockland County deputy mayor indicted
for arsenal, pretending to be a cop

Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11134 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Naked as an egg! (except for the heels)
Posted by: jpal || 12/21/2021 18:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Seasonal.
Roasting chest nuts by an open fire.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 18:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Women Who Warm. Could be a trend.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 20:27 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
OXFORD STUDY 1 in 100 Vaccinated Individuals Were Admitted to Hospital or Died with Arrhythmia During Study Period
[Nature Medicine]
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:27 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11134 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I get PACs if I don't take enough salt.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 18:48 Comments || Top||

#2  That's a 'tad' bit higher rate than the virus.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 19:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Of the 38,615,491 vaccinated individuals included in our study, 385,508 (1.0%) were admitted to hospital with or died from cardiac arrhythmia at any time in the study period (either before or after vaccination).

The deaths were about 7k or the 385k. A substantial number of these were people who tested positive for Covid.

The study period was 28 days post vaccine.

There doesn't seem to be a control group.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/21/2021 19:44 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Foreign-born population soars to new record under Biden; highest rate of immigrants since 1910
[Washington Times] The U.S. has had a massive surge in immigration this year, with as many as 1.5 million newcomers and a record 46.2 million foreign-born people, according to a report for the Center for Immigration Studies.

After a deep trough last year, likely because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and migration restrictions imposed to control the spread, the flow of people rebounded around the time President Biden was elected.

In numbers never seen before, they are coming legally through airports and land border crossings and illegally across the Rio Grande and remote regions of Arizona and California.

"There was pent-up demand for legal immigration, and illegal immigration has exploded in one of the greatest surges, if not the greatest, we’ve ever seen," said Steven A. Camarota, the demographer who was the chief author of the report. "It’s driving the numbers up and up and up."

As it stands, 14.2% of the U.S. population is foreign-born, or 1 out of every 7 people. That is the highest rate of immigrants in the population since 1910, when the number was 14.7%. At current trends, the government says, the U.S. will break that record well before the end of this decade.
Posted by: Shinerong Elmereling9132 || 12/21/2021 11:48 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The babies are here to stay and so are their parents. #FJB knows that.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Great Replacement proceeds apace. Ahead of schedule, even
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:48 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
New Videos Capture Pennsylvania Officials Hiding Evidence Of Alleged Election Fraud
[Federalist] New whistleblower videos capture Delaware County, Pennsylvania officials plotting to recreate missing election data from the November 2020 contest, with one official later bragging that the local Democrat district attorney "owes him." These recordings represent the latest evidence of the alleged fraud officials in the Pennsylvania county undertook to hide widespread violations of the state’s election laws, according to a source familiar with the recordings.

Whistleblower Regina Miller, who worked as a contract employee for Delaware County, secretly recorded the behind-the-scenes videos of election officials after witnessing concerning conduct, according to sources with knowledge of a fraud lawsuit filed last month against county election officials, based in part on the recordings. That lawsuit alleged county election officials destroyed election data in response to a May 21, 2021 Right to Know Request filed with Delaware County that requested the final certified return sheets from the Nov. 3, 2020 general election for all Delaware County precincts, as well as the tapes from the voting machines.

While earlier videos captured Delaware County officials destroying election material or blocking out "derogatory" information in the copies made in response to the Right to Know Request, the latest video captures two election officials discussing putting in "blank" V-drives, which are the thumb drives that record the results from election machines, to recreate the election results reported by the county.
Posted by: Shinerong Elmereling9132 || 12/21/2021 11:14 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11131 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They only need to hide fraud until the 'elected' are sworn in, then it's moot, since there is no provision for 'unswearing.'
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 14:25 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline shot that PREVENTS HIV infection if injected every two months
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Booster?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 09:42 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11132 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Almost all HIV infections can be prevented a lot more easily, safely and cheaply than that - just don't get 'injections...'
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 14:20 Comments || Top||

#2  I bet this costs over $10,000 a dose
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 12/21/2021 16:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Bet it costs more after The Community forces business to provide it within their health coverage plan.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/21/2021 16:43 Comments || Top||

#4  ^ not if subsidized per Brandon & Buttguggles' BrokeBack Better legislation
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 17:23 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Former Versace model claims he's still in enviable shape at 55 thanks to drinking his own urine daily and applying it to his skin for nearly two decades
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 09:38 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11135 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An ancient folk remedy. Not one I’m tempted to take up.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 12:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Ah so that's what the Brits mean by taking the piss
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Not Right Said Fred
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 16:10 Comments || Top||

#4  ^
Is that safe to open at work?
Posted by: Vespasian Ebboting9735 || 12/21/2021 16:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Depends if you want everyone humming it for the rest of the shift. Maybe even until the end of the year.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/21/2021 17:13 Comments || Top||

#6  He don't looks that well.
Posted by: Kofi Panda2845 || 12/21/2021 19:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Some people might prefer to die young if they had to drink their own urine every day.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/21/2021 23:14 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
New Russian stealth warship suffers £225million of damage after catching fire during construction
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 09:29 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Russia hired Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Great opportunity for a false flag for Putin
Posted by: Tiny Darling of the Weak4705 || 12/21/2021 16:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Yes Hunter, vodka is flammable.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Remember The Maine Minsk!
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 17:45 Comments || Top||


Putin drops first hint at potential war in Ukraine as he warns of taking 'military measures' against the West and his propagandist says Russia is prepared to turn 'everyone to radioactive ash'
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 09:27 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  We can't be concerned with this, don't they know we have a covid outbreak going on?
Posted by: Chris || 12/21/2021 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  It's amazing how far the democrats will go to protect their Ukrainian bribes.
Posted by: Vespasian Ebboting9735 || 12/21/2021 13:08 Comments || Top||

#3  It's amazing how far the democrats will go to protect their Ukrainian bribes.

It's like it's WW2 and every five minutes someone comes along and accuses Phillipe Petain of being a warmonger against Germany.

I get it, I get it, that's your Gleichschaltung and you're sticking with it.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/21/2021 14:32 Comments || Top||

#4  What's our vital national interest in Ukraine?

Not History-Channel tales from 1940, or Fulda Gap scenarios from 1979, but an **actual threat to our freedom and prosperity** today / in 2022.

A real and present existential danger, the prevention of which justifies sacrificing your or son's life.

Anyone?
Hunter? Brandon?
Bueller?
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:39 Comments || Top||

#5  What's our vital national interest in Ukraine?

What's Putin's? What makes it so important to him that he's willing to risk a world war?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/21/2021 14:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Nuland's and Vindman's genitals get chronically itchy when we don't meddle there. Ukraine, that is...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  He wants NATO to pull back -- just as the Warsaw Pact did (dissolved entirely, in fact) -- after 1990. He's proposing a demilitarized and neutral space in the borderlands next to Russia.

This is what Baker, Bush pere and Gorbachev discussed in the negotiations surrounding German reunification: a totally sensible idea that Clinton and his people foolishly rejected in their delusions of a "unipolar" US order. Now we're suffering the effects of that hubris, with a devastated military and a demoralized and broken populace.

Any intelligent US president would seize the opportunity and try to meet Putin halfway with our own counter-offer --beginning with disentangling the US from that miserable tarbaby called Ukraine.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 15:09 Comments || Top||

#8  The mere fact Putin, or any Russian head of state, would want it puts it in play as a piece on the board. What do they give us in return? Promise to behave? No, it doesn't work that way.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:12 Comments || Top||

#9  The upside to us is that we keep Russia from falling into China's orbit. The game here is about CHINA. Not Ukraine or Ossetia or Kaliningrad or Whatdafukystan.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 15:15 Comments || Top||

#10  What would we promise in return? Hands off Cuba. Opps, that's called embargo and all leftists hate it. Stop meddling in Latin America? Comon, Santa Clause ain't bringing that...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:17 Comments || Top||

#11  1) Removal of all US military advisers, special forces et al from Ukraine
2) An end to US military assistance to Ukraine.
3) the same thing that Bush pere insisted on 30 years ago in his speech to the Ukrainian parliament: no NATO membership for Ukraine
4) Ukraine becomes a demilitarized, neutral, peaceful country a la Austria after 1947. The Russian-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine get limited autonomy to be agreed on through negotiations.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 15:25 Comments || Top||

#12  In 1962 Kennedy removed our missiles from Turkey. We can easily agree to stop meddling with javelins and advisers on the ground in Ukraine.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 15:26 Comments || Top||

#13  The way games are played, what was offered earlier but not deliverd is no longer even a starting point for negotiations.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:27 Comments || Top||

#14  Could we toss public execution of the members of the Ukraine cabal at DoS, NSA and CIA into the mix?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:29 Comments || Top||

#15  Sorry, meant NSC. NSA just opens other gentlemen's mail.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:30 Comments || Top||

#16  All the Ukrainians have to do is to not fire o Russian troops on the border.
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 16:04 Comments || Top||

#17  Jeez - you sabotage one lousy corvette in a shipyard …
Posted by: Tiny Darling of the Weak4705 || 12/21/2021 16:42 Comments || Top||

#18  Do we have an interest? Yes. Keep Putter in check but that is not the real issue, to me. China will invade Taiwan at the same time.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:51 Comments || Top||

#19  I'm afraid Russia already fell into China's orbit twenty years ago when they worked to turn Venezuela into a CHINESE satellite.

All the Putinistas keep asking what's the US interest. The US has an interest in not selling OUT people to its enemies. But that's not what The Machine's about, I guess.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/21/2021 22:05 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Nancy Pelosi unveils plans to commemorate the first anniversary of Capitol riot with PANEL DISCUSSION, prayer vigil and by allowing lawmakers to ‘share experiences from that day'
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Brilliant idea — commemorate instead of accomplishing anything, and remind everyone what the Democrats have chosen to become.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 09:16 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1  Of course it's a load of crap but the media will lap it up and beg for more.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:02 Comments || Top||

#2  When I was a kid and would get punished for something I did not do, I tended to go ahead and do it the next time, since I was going to get punished anyway. I wonder how that concept extrapolates to a whole electorate...
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 14:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's make it a holiday - National Insurrection Day! I'm sure the Founding Fathers would approve.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/21/2021 14:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Can we all take the knee and drape ourselves in kente cloth -- (or whatever the Insurrectionist equivalent is) ... Water-Buffalo hats? Red fleeces inscribed with Let's Go Brandon?

Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:43 Comments || Top||

#5  National Insurrection Day!

Already have that on Jul 4!
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 18:38 Comments || Top||


Economy
U.S. sets 55-mile-a-gallon fuel-efficiency standard for 2026 models
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 08:31 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11145 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Yeah ! Uh-huh ... Righ BS.
Mopeds here we come, some get 100+ mpg.

But a SAFE to ride in and low speed impact resistant car... Hell we'll be wearing positive pressure NBC suits and respirators before then and being allotted 1 day a month to leave the house based on Street/Apt. numbers.
Posted by: nn2n1 || 12/21/2021 12:41 Comments || Top||

#2  The last time they tried that the sales of "light trucks" skyrocketed and the "SUV Craze" was born. Idiots.
Posted by: magpie || 12/21/2021 12:53 Comments || Top||

#3  If Ford/GM… had any business sense they would double the output of 2024 & 2025 models and make very few 2026 models
Posted by: Airandee || 12/21/2021 15:54 Comments || Top||

#4  it is a fleetwide standard so if your company made two cars, one all electric and one with 27.5 mpg, you would be in compliance
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/21/2021 19:34 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
[unnamed] House Dem blames Biden WH for not holding anyone 'accountable' for multiple crises: 'Started with Afghanistan'
[FoxNews] ‘This is an indictment of the senior leadership in the White House,' the House Democrat said

A House Democrat blamed President Biden’s White House for not holding anybody "accountable" for the multiple crises plaguing America, saying it "started with Afghanistan."

The lawmaker eviscerated Biden over the multiple political pit traps the administration has dug itself into. Specifically, the lawmaker took aim at the White House over its handling of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal that saw 13 U.S. service members killed in the Kabul suicide bombing in August.

"This is an indictment of the senior leadership in the White House," the lawmaker told The Hill during a lengthy Monday phone call. "The worst part is nobody will be held accountable for this."

"They don't understand the American people want results; they don't want drama and rhetoric," the House Democrat continued. "Everyone has been left high and dry."

Additionally, the Democrat said that they could "see everyone" — meaning vulnerable Democrats — "fleeing for the hills at this point" to shy away from Biden and run for election on their own.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 08:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11139 views] Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1  Biden has to keep his boys at the Pentagon so they can continue the purge of white supremacistssoldiers, sailors and airmen.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 12:46 Comments || Top||

#2  But then, how about Congress holding Biden accountable?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 12:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Historically the House would hold offenders accountable by not funding future expenditures.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 12:49 Comments || Top||

#4  they don't want drama and rhetoric

Gee, twenty years of nation building rather than destroying your enemies says you want drama.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 14:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Trump gave us fantastic results, but it came with drama and rhetoric. I ignored everything but the results, which is the only way I was able to maintain my support for him.
Posted by: dacama || 12/21/2021 21:52 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Wheel of Misfurtune - Young Jock or Yung Joc? You decide
[Yahoo] The worlds of rapper Yung Joc and Wheel of Fortune collided on Monday, when WoF contestant Kennise Miller - with nearly $30,000 in prize money and a trip to Maui already in her pocket - faced a Bonus Round puzzle under the category of "person."

With only two of the nine letters showing on the board, even an impressive player like Kennise couldn’t come up with a single guess for the answer, which was "Young Jock."

But that’s when things exploded on Twitter, with many viewers assuming that the show meant for the puzzle to be the name of popular rapper Yung Joc, best known for his 2006 hit single "It's Goin' Down." With some blaming the show’s research department, and saying that Kennise deserves another shot.

Posted by: Besoeker || 12/21/2021 06:50 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Forgot to turn off 'Spell Check ?'

A total cockup as further attempt at WOKE goes very badly....or so it would appear.

Wheel will likely soon be "Goin Down" with the contestant Miller receiving a huge, undisclosed settlement.

Posted by: Besoeker || 12/21/2021 7:00 Comments || Top||

#2  The "person" category often includes generic descriptions, like "fireman", so the properly spelled English words are likely.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/21/2021 7:56 Comments || Top||

#3  And regardless of the breathless commentary from the fanbois (and fangirlz) I'd imagine the standard contract all contestants sign is an agreement to accept the results the producers decree in these sorts of "situations."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:09 Comments || Top||

#4  I hope you are right Rob. About the only thing worth watching these days.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/21/2021 8:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Cream of Sum Yung Gai
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 16:35 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel said to arrest over 100 Hamas members in Hebron area in major sweep
[IsraelTimes] TV news hound, who accompanied troops, says cell operating out of southern West Bank hoped to carry out several attacks in area and inside Israel, directed from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...

Israeli troops operating in the Hebron region in the southern West Bank have arrested more than 100 Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, members in recent days who were planning to carry out terror attacks, Channel 13 reported on Monday.

There was no official comment from the Israel Defense Forces, however, the TV crew accompanied troops on some of the raids that took place over the last two weeks.

The report said that the raids were sparked by a recent botched terror attack, when a 16-year-old Hamas member, armed with an M-16 rifle tried to carry out a shooting at the entrance to the Efrat settlement south of Jerusalem, but failed and fled when his gun jammed.

The incident lead the IDF and the Shin Bet security service to realize that there were Hamas cells armed with military-grade weapons operating in the Hebron area in the southern West Bank who were planning attacks in the West Bank and Israel, the report said.

In the last two weeks, a wide range of IDF units have been operating in Hebron and the surrounding villages looking for members of the ring. The TV called it one of the largest operations in recent years against Hamas in the West Bank and said more than 100 members of the terror group’s military wing were tossed into the calaboose.

"We are operating on a very wide-ranging and aggressive scale in order to prevent the next attack," one of the officers taking part told Chanel 13.

The report compared it to the arrests announced last month of a major Hamas cell operating in the northern West Bank.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
those arrests were publicly announced by the IDF and Shin Bet, who detailed the members captured and killed, the arms recovered and the targets they were planning to hit.

The report said that the Hebron cells, like the other cell, were being directed by a Hamas operative based in Turkey, who was released in the Gilad Shalit deal, but did not name him.

The accusation is similar to one made during the bust of the other cell.

According to the Shin Bet, it was led from afar by Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the terror group’s politburo, and Zacharia Najib, a member of the organization who was released from Israeli prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit exchange, where he allegedly continues to operate on behalf of Hamas. In the 2011 deal, over 1,000 Paleostinian turbans were released from Israeli incarceration in exchange for the release of Shalit, an IDF soldier who had been kidnapped by Hamas 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...
border in 2006.

Both al-Arouri and Najib live in Turkey, which has long had a close relationship with Hamas, which is politically linked to Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than there are in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really most important...
Israeli officials generally believe that Hamas is looking to carry out attacks in the West Bank and in Israel while maintaining relative calm in the Gaza Strip, where the group serves as the de facto ruler.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 01:18 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11136 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Africa Subsaharan
Gunmen kill 47 in latest attacks in Nigeria's troubled north
[AlAhram] Nigerian security forces are searching for armed gangs who killed 47 people in attacks in recent days in rural areas of the country's northwest, the latest killings in the troubled region.

Nigerian security forces are searching for armed gangs who killed 47 people in attacks in recent days in rural areas of the country's northwest, the latest killings in the troubled region.

The attacks took place in the northwest Kaduna state which neighbors Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, Kaduna commissioner for security Samuel Aruwan confirmed.

No group has grabbed credit for the attacks but they are suspected to be by the gangs of bandidos who have killed at least 2,500 people in the northwest and central states so far in 2021, according to statistics collated by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. The attacks have escalated in the past three months so the corpse count for the entire year is expected to increase.

The gangs mostly consist of young men from the Fulani
... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity...
ethnic group who had traditionally worked as nomadic cattle herders and have become caught up in a decades-long conflict with Hausa farming communities over access to water and grazing land.

Security forces deployed after the attacks are patrolling the affected areas, but no arrests have been announced and details are still emerging. Local residents reported that the assailants rampaged for hours in some of the villages.

Nine people were killed across three villaged on Friday, according to Kaduna commissioner Aruwan, a reminder of how the gangs are able to carry out prolonged assaults in remote locations where help is often delayed as a result of inadequate security presence.

Another 38 people were killed on Sunday by assailants in another part of Kaduna, Aruwan confirmed.

Houses, trucks, and cars were burned, along with agricultural produce at some farms, he said.

The ongoing violence in Nigeria's troubled northwestern region has defied measures introduced by authorities including the deployment of thousands of security forces to restore peace in violent mostly peaceful hotspots and the recent designation of the gangs as terrorist organizations.

Part of the problem is that Nigeria's military is already overstretched in a decade-long war against Islamic holy warrior rebels in the northeast region. The rebels of Boko Haram
...Nigeerian Islamist group, formerly paying homage to al-Qaeda, then, when the money ran out, to the Islamic State, and headed by nutcase Abu Bakr Shekau. Once he exploded in a gunfight with ISWAP, many in the group surrendered to the govt and others went with their new overlords. The remainder are a shell of their former selves, stmbling glassy-eyed and lonely through the Sambisa Forest and the soothing waters of Lake Chad, asking themselves What is truth?, or maybe just I wonder what's for dinner? I hope it's not rhinocerous again! ...
and its offshoot, the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in West Africa Province are reported to have infiltrated the armed bandidos of the northwest as they seek to expand their influence and control, according to local authorities.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11153 views] Top|| File under: Banditti


Africa Horn
Tigray retreats
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Boris Rozhin

[ColonelCassad] A new decisive turn in the war between Ethiopia and Tigray.

The head of the NFOT sent a letter to the UN, where he stated that he had given the order to begin the retreat of all Tigray troops from Ethiopia to the borders of Tigray. In fact, this is a recognition that despite the initial high-profile victories with the capture of vast territories and no less a huge number of prisoners, the operation to capture Addis Ababa failed and the NTLF cannot end the war in its favor with military means.

Having been defeated in the battles south of Dessie and surrendering the city and the surrounding territories, the Tigray army began to retreat to the north, and the Oromo rebels controlling large areas of the country very poorly coordinated their actions with the NFOT, as a result of which a concentrated offensive on the capital from several directions did not work. Quite strange behavior, since having beaten off Tygra's offensive,

Now, in Tigray, they again started talking about the need for peace negotiations and an end to the war, which is a consequence of the realization of the fact that it will not be possible to win.

One of the reasons for this is serious foreign military assistance to the Abiyan government. More than 90 flights of military transport aircraft were carried out from the UAE to Ethiopia alone, which delivered various weapons, ammunition, equipment and drones to Addis Ababa.

As Al-Jazeera writes, in the country through the UAE were delivered strike UAV "Wing Loong", and the UAE itself acts as an intermediary for the supply of foreign weapons, which played a role in stopping the Tigray attack on the country's capital. In fact, the head of the NFOT in a letter to the UN directly named foreign drones as one of the reasons for the decision to withdraw.

Nevertheless, hostilities continue with foreign support, the government may well try again to climb to conquer Tigray, despite the previous collapse of the group that occupied it. Today, Ethiopia's aviation and drones, after a break, again bombed the capital of Tigray. During the bombardment of the city of Alamat in the south of Tigray, 46 civilians were killed and 86 were wounded in 3 days of airstrikes. It is difficult to calculate how many of them died during the conflict.

By mid-December, Tygray had up to 27,000 - 29,000 prisoners of war and central government officials in his hands. In the hands of Ethiopians up to 21,000 - 22,000 prisoners of war and arrested during the occupation of the members of the NFOT.

Al Ahram’s take on the situation:
Tigrayan rebels announced on Monday they were withdrawing from several areas of northern Æthiopia and retreating to Tigray, marking a new turning point in the 13-month war which has left thousands of people dead.

"We decided to withdraw from these areas to Tigray. We want to open the door to humanitarian aid," Getachew Reda, front man for the Tigray People's Liberation Front, told AFP, announcing a pullout from the regions of Amhara and Afar.

The decision was made a few weeks ago, Getachew said, adding that TPLF fighters were carrying out "phase-by-phase withdrawals" from various towns, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lalibela, which has changed hands several times during the conflict.

The move marks a major reversal by the rebels, who previously dismissed the government's insistence on their withdrawal from Afar and Amhara for talks to begin as "an absolute non-starter".

The conflict between forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the TPLF has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis and prompted the UN's top rights body to order an international probe into alleged abuses.

Starting in late October, the two sides have each declared major territorial advances, with the TPLF at one point claiming to be around 200 kilometres (125 miles) of the capital Addis Ababa by road.

Abiy, a former lieutenant colonel in the military, headed to the front last month, according to state media, and the government has since claimed to have retaken several key towns.

Communications have been cut in the conflict zone and access for journalists is restricted, making it difficult to verify battlefield claims.

The fighting has sparked alarm among the international community, as diplomatic efforts led by the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
to try to reach a ceasefire failed to yield any visible breakthrough.

HUMANITARIAN 'SIEGE'
Prior to Monday's announcement, TPLF leaders had refused to pull out of Amhara and Afar, unless the government ended what the rebels describe as a humanitarian "siege" of Tigray.

Aid workers have repeatedly complained that security and bureaucratic hurdles are impeding access to the region, where some 400,000 people are thought to be on the verge of famine.

The UN also suspended humanitarian flights from Addis Ababa to Tigray's capital Mekele in October amid a campaign of government air strikes in the region. The flights resumed in November.

Fears of a rebel march on the capital prompted countries such as the United States, La Belle France and Britannia to urge their citizens to leave Æthiopia as soon as possible, although Abiy's government insisted the city was secure.

The war broke out in November 2020 when Abiy sent troops into Tigray, Æthiopia's northernmost region, to topple the TPLF, accusing them of attacking army camps.

He vowed a swift victory but the rebels mounted a shock comeback, recapturing most of Tigray by June before advancing into neighbouring Afar and Amhara.

The fighting has displaced more than two million people and driven hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates, with reports of massacres and mass rapes by both sides.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council voted to send international Sherlocks to Africa's second most populous nation amid warnings of looming generalised violence, in a move slammed by Addis Ababa.
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11140 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
200+ MPH 2022 Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing
Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What about 1:1, face-to-face?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 1:12 Comments || Top||

#2  I dared to get up to 100mp briefly once and thought I was going to have a heart attack...
Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 || 12/21/2021 1:20 Comments || Top||

#3  ^ Mrs. Warthog did that during the test drive of our E55 AMG back in the day. True story...how fast these modern muscle cars get to that number is incredible and a bit scary.
Posted by: Warthog || 12/21/2021 10:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Mom gets scared in my fast car...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Warthog,

When I young fireman I took my mom for a spin in my new Firebird expecting the same reaction as in the above videos at M. Murcek's link above. But when I let her get behind the wheel she drove down to fire station and she started doing tire burning donuts in front of my co-workers...
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 12/21/2021 20:26 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
Igor Danchenko Now Represented by Hillary Clinton Lawyers
[The Last Refuge] This is weirdly revealing (Hat Tip Technofog).

In a court filing today by Special Counsel John Durham [pdf here] it’s noted that previously indicted Igor Danchenko, the primary sub-source for Christopher Steele’s fraudulent dossier against Donald Trump, is now represented by the same lawyers representing Hillary Clinton’s legal interests.
Taking care of their own?
John Durham is asking the court to evaluate the legal conflicts:

Why would the legal firm representing Hillary Clinton (to the Durham probe) step-in to represent Igor Danchenko in his criminal indictment?

The only logical reason would be for Danchenko to represent a legal risk to the interests of Hillary Clinton, likely through the direct association between Hillary Clinton and Charles Dolan, Danchenko’s collaborator and the liaison to Chris Steele from the Clinton campaign.

As a result of the Durham indictment, we know Igor Danchenko was working closely with Democrat Party public relations executive Charles Dolan to funnel the fabricated source material to Chris Steele. The Clinton team’s communication and contact with Charles Dolan would represent a legal risk to Hillary Clinton.

If Charles Dolan and Hillary Clinton were in communication, it seems like that would be the motive for Clinton’s lawyers to want to control Danchenko’s legal status and any statements to John Durham or the court. More than likely, the people in/around Hillary Clinton are the ones paying the law firm to represent Igor Danchenko.
Posted by: Threanter Angack6216 || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11134 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why? To control the narrative.

Filing
Danchenko - ECF 35 - US Motion to Inquire Into Potential Conflicts of Interest
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 8:42 Comments || Top||

#2  They're just rubbing our noses in it now. This moronic hoax was a Clinton operation from the start. They don't even care how obvious their behavior is anymore.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:22 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd give Mr. Danchenko another 3-6 months of earthly existence.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/21/2021 9:25 Comments || Top||

#4 

My Question:

Will they be indicted before the Statue of limitations are due to run out?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 10:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Timing is everything.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:07 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Hero Amazon driver puts herself in front of rampaging pit bull to save customer's daughter, 19, who was on verge of being attacked by bloodthirsty dog
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
The world is full of good people stepping forward.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:


#2  Millennial Mom! 'Tis a pity
She couldn't make do with a kitty.
A sphinx sits, dispirited,
By a fitty grand pyramid
Beside the wide Nile. Ain't it pretty?
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 2:47 Comments || Top||

#3  And while I'm being a cynical ashbole...

Amazing, and such self-effacement!
Perfection... in paid product placement:
"Please, do not be nervous.
Our bundling of services
FREES YOU... to fill up your basement!"

Er... Mouth of the Amazon, or, "That strong orange yellow god is not a river in Egypt."
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 3:09 Comments || Top||

#4  I saw that on The Five last evening.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/21/2021 7:45 Comments || Top||

#5 
AMAZON

The Amazon Driver earned should get more recognition than a few free tickets. Amazon HQ needs to get off it cheap A$$ give a reward here.

THE PITS OWNERS
If the Pit Owners are the cause of the dogs behavior then drag them into court. If the owners were unlucky and got a Pit bred for "Gaming" and its a male, have it "clip". Otherwise it needs to be put it down.

Regarding PITS in general.
How they behaved is 99% on how they are treated and raised.

BTW: During the earlier times, Pits were considered to be the best breed for babysitting children. Hence the name Nanny Dog, despite what some claim otherwise. Heck even studies involving Pit Bull behavior revealed that they are the 2nd most tolerant dogs, right after Golden Retrievers.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 9:58 Comments || Top||

#6  "Pitty" behavior is a lot like gun violence. As a general rule, nobody has been chewed to death by most breeds of dogs. But "true pittyism has never been tried."

Assh*les...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:01 Comments || Top||

#7  My take on pitbulls has never been of the "most of them are great dogs" variety. Instead its been to point out that when a truly horrible ________ (insert most any other dog breed here) goes rogue, nobody loses a limb or their life.
Posted by: Crusader || 12/21/2021 10:23 Comments || Top||

#8  The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's Pomeranian dog. I have 2 Pits and my daughter has 1. My 2 are very gentle and love people. Her dog is a service dog who regularly goes to the VA and to various nursing homes.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/21/2021 11:08 Comments || Top||

#9  The data vs anecdote problem arises.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 11:20 Comments || Top||

#10 

I look at Pit Bull stories, the same way I look at how the media sells the COVID-19/21 and the VAX.
Click Bait and Hype.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 12:46 Comments || Top||

#11  My personal experience is they seem to get "off their chain" a lot more often than other dogs. Smarter than other dogs or owned by dumber people? Or some combination?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:24 Comments || Top||

#12  It was wagging it's tail and not jumping. Hum.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:47 Comments || Top||


Economy
Elon Musk says he will pay more than $11BILLION in taxes this year - after Elizabeth Warren called him 'the world's richest freeloader' in bitter war of words
The world is full of good people stepping forward.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think he means he will pay > $11B in 2022 for the tax liability for calendar 2021.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/21/2021 9:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Must not have a very good tax accountant...
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 14:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Or there just aren't big enough tax shelters.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/21/2021 16:01 Comments || Top||


Iraq
US combat forces completed their withdrawal from Ain Al-Assad base


Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Africa North
Libya Foils Attempt to Smuggle €326,500 into Turkey
Curious that they’re all running off to Turkey with their overfull suitcases, given that the Turkish Lira continues to lose value daily.
[LibyaReview] On Sunday, the Internal Security Agency (ISA) managed to thwart a smuggling attempt of foreign currency, estimated at € 326,500, to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
through Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
-based Mitiga airport.

In a statement, the security agency said that four Libyan travellers were apprehended at the airport and all seized money was confiscated before being smuggled to Turkey.

This comes as part of the country’s security services’ continuous efforts to combat the crimes of smuggling foreign currency outside the country.

The agency said that it had taken legal measures against them, and referred them to the competent authorities. It confirmed that it was "ready and vigilant" to stop smugglers.

Last month, the ISA thwarted an attempt to smuggle €252,400 on an Afriqiyah Airways flight bound for Turkey.

The agency explained that the currency was seized from two Libyan nationals. He was in possession of €143,400 euros, and with the other holding $109,000.

It had also foiled two smuggling operations of €378,000, at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, and Misrata.

During the inspection of passengers’ bags at Mitiga International Airport, the ISA discovered €179,200 with passengers travelling on flight 970 bound for Istanbul.

On 7 October, the Customs Department at Misrata Airport managed to thwart an attempt to smuggle €3.720 million (22 million LYD) to Turkey.

Notably, the smuggled and frozen funds, which include billions of dollars in cash, bonds, deposits, large hotels, lands, yachts, luxury cars, and private planes, are owned by the state, which is unable to benefit from them.

The authorities claim they do not know the total amount of the funds that were "looted and smuggled" abroad. Furthermore, the authorities have not revealed the amount of smuggled assets in official reports.

The years of intense chaos and corruption caused the previous United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
(UN) Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamé to reveal the rampant financial corruption in Libya, and confirm its existence.

"There is a new millionaire every day in the country, and the middle class is shrinking day by day" Salamé noted. "The political class", he added, "is shamefully corrupt and fortunes collected from political ranks are being invested abroad. Politicians in Libya seize public money and invest it overseas."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11133 views] Top|| File under: Ottoman Proxies


Home Front: Politix
Manchin Dares Democrats to Push Him Out of Party
[NATIONALREVIEW] Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) on Monday dared Democrats to push him out of the party if they are unhappy with his views, one day after he announced he will not support President Biden’s "Build Back Better" agenda, effectively killing the bill.

Asked on Hoppy Kercheval’s West Virginia radio show if he believes there is still a place for him in the Democratic party, Manchin replied: "I would like to hope that Democrats feel like I do. I’m fiscally responsible and socially compassionate."

"Now if there are no Democrats like that, they ought to push me where they want me," he added.

During the interview, Manchin said he had gotten "to the wit’s end" with the negotiation efforts, saying the White House knows "the real reason" things fell apart.

White House staff "drove some things and they put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable. They know what it is," he said.

"The bottom line [is] I knew that we could not change, it was never going to change," Manchin added.

He reiterated that he warned Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
...Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras and microphones. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower, which is 46.04224 years. Senate minority leader as of 2017...
months ago that there needed to be means-testing and work requirements for the child tax credit and that the bill was "very far-reaching."

"We have been way far apart philosophically," he added.

Manchin said he "just knew what the intent was from day one," given that there are only two out of 50 Democrats — Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) — who did not support a $3.5 trillion price tag.
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11132 views] Top|| File under:

#1  please please oh please baby PLEASE
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  I had no idea the times could become even more interesting.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 0:14 Comments || Top||

#3  The Sin-ate may go ahead and vote on it. Which means they may have lined up enough RINOS to push it through.
Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 || 12/21/2021 1:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Good to see someone is pushing back against the far left agenda. Good man.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/21/2021 2:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Why not be a JFK of your own party? Reform that pile of shit?

Or who knows. Just hold This Republic together by not bending knee to orchristrated opine and sway of political weather vanes.

Up to you. I suggest you give a good read over The Federalist Papers to find compass. Prolong hard decisions. No one is in a hurry as there is no doom unless they take hold of it and they already put your State out of business.
Posted by: newc || 12/21/2021 6:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Yeah, I'm afraid I have to go even money with one of the sob sisters - Droopy (Collins), Murkey (Murkowski) or Pierre (Romney) crossing the aisle to save the dems' bacon. With nary a whimper from Cocaine Mitch.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 7:25 Comments || Top||

#7  I think it would be hilarious if Manchin primaried #FJB and beat the crap out of him.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:27 Comments || Top||

#8  I think a bent shitcan could primary Brandon. And his little dog too.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/21/2021 17:26 Comments || Top||

#9  "And his little dog too"

Poor, poor doggie. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara || 12/21/2021 17:59 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Tribal People Try American Burgers For The First Time
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They don't actually eat a burger, just a chicken sandwich and what looks like a cheese sandwich with no meat.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 12/21/2021 3:03 Comments || Top||

#2  All the "Tribal people try" videos are amusing if a bit similar after a while. For a real hoot, search on "Irish people try" and "Scottish people try" videos. The alcohols ones are often hilarious. So will probably be cancelled soon.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:15 Comments || Top||

#3  "It's an acquired taste"

#2 I like the 'North Koreans try barbecue'.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 16:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Bull. 1983 I was in an open air truckstop south of the Kyber. We ate Naan and ground beef patties. The beef was lightly mixed with tomatoes, bone marrow and onions. Darn good.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:56 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran will respond to any Israeli attacks against its nuclear program by targeting all sites used to launch the attacks


Related: Top Iranian commander: Israel can’t strike us without US ‘green light’
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11133 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Can they be launched from Moscow?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 18:47 Comments || Top||


Britain
Belarus says diplomat hurt in London embassy attack
[IsraelTimes] Belarus says one of its diplomats has been injured following an attack on its embassy in London, amid international backlash over a migrant crisis the West blames on the ex-Soviet country.

The Belarusian foreign ministry says in a statement that its embassy in London had been attacked by suspects it suggested belonged to a "radical immigrant group."

They damaged the facade of the building and "physically attacked" diplomats who arrived at the scene, says the statement.

One of the diplomats was taken to hospital with a broken nose, a mild concussion and a missing tooth, the ministry says.

The Metropolitan Police confirm that a Belarusian embassy staffer reported having been "assaulted and was left with a facial injury."

It says one man had been arrested nearby and detained, and that their investigation is continuing.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11132 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants


Caribbean-Latin America
The left tide has come to Chile
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
By Boris Rozhin

[ColonelCassad] Another pink tide in South America continues.

In the elections in Chile, the moderate left "socialist" defeated the right-wing candidate and Pinochet's supporters with a score of 56 to 44 percent.

The victorious Gabriel Boric rose to prominence during massive protests against pension reform and student protests. He is only 35 years old.

Among his promises are to reverse pension reform, introduce environmental taxes for large industry, and reform education and health care.

Most of the Chilean socialists and the Chilean Communist Party supported Borich. The right has already admitted defeat. De facto, this is Chile's most leftist leader since the assassination of Allende, which clearly demonstrates the historical defeat of the Pinochet movement. Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Argentina have already congratulated Chile on the victory of the progressive forces.

It is noteworthy that in socialist and communist circles Borich is considered "insufficiently socialist and anti-imperialist," while among Pinochet's admirers he is branded as a "left extremist."

In my opinion, Borich is more of a social democrat and left-centrist. I believe that the real essence of Borich will become clear rather quickly when he, not in words, but in deeds shows himself in matters of pension reform, as well as other social transformations. If he screws up on these issues, his popularity will quickly fizzle out, as has happened more than once in South America with some left-wing leaders who could not deliver on their promises. If he can manage and still be able to bury neoliberalism in Chile, then he will be able to stake out a place for himself in history as the man who hammered the last nail into the lid of Pinochet's coffin.
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Excellent! It's about time we had another public demonstration of the destruction that socialism brings.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/21/2021 2:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Quite a celebration.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 8:16 Comments || Top||

#3  My Mom had friends that retired to Chile about 20 years ago. They said that, at the time, it was like living in the 1950's and was a great place.

Don't know if that still holds true.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/21/2021 8:40 Comments || Top||

#4  The economy in Chile took a big hit in 2020 (like the rest of the world). It has recovered nicely in 2021 but the struggle to keep inflation under control has been unpopular at times. This undoubtedly led to the election of Boric.

The pension system that Boric doesn't like is one in which workers must finance at least part of their own pension. Boric will probably want to raise the VAT and use some of that to finance the worker contribution. Since the revenue stream from the VAT rises with inflation this could work for a few years as long as the economy doesn't tank.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/21/2021 9:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Welcome, Bad Luck™
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 10:13 Comments || Top||

#6  My next-door neighbor (Bidet voter, on disability, union fanatic, veteran fixation although he never served) is talking about moving to Costa Rica when his wife retires. I said "Well, they're gonna love you down there if you refuse to speak Spanish." He's still butt-hurt.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:16 Comments || Top||

#7  Joining the Chavez Parade:

(not for your eyes, TW)
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/21/2021 10:24 Comments || Top||

#8  <3
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 18:14 Comments || Top||

#9  That wasn't so bad, possibly because I (honest Injun!) happened to see the desecrated statue scene from The Exorcist last night. Yeah, first time... is that all there is?
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 20:10 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemen: Saudi coalition conducts airstrikes on Sanaa airport
[DW] Civilians and UN agencies were asked to leave the airport, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
movement. It's still unclear whether strikes caused any damage or casualties.


A military coalition led by Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
carried out Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s Monday which targeted Sanaa International Airport in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, according to Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya.

WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR?
The coalition said the "strikes" targeted "legitimate military targets" in the airport, and claimed that the airport's facilities are used to launch cross-border attacks.

The coalition urged all civilians and UN aid workers to evacuate the area before carrying out the strikes, al-Arabiya claimed.

The damage caused by the strikes on airport is still unclear. There is also not yet any available information about casualties caused by the strikes.

The airport in the Yemeni capital is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi movement, a rival of Saudi Arabia.

YEMEN FACES WORLD'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
The airport has been previously used for humanitarian aid flights under the auspices of the UN. Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab World, faces the world's worst humanitarian crisis since it became engulfed in civil war in 2014.

The Houthis have controlled Sanaa since September 2014. Saudi Arabia intervened in the war in 2015 to fight the militias, which it fears will help Riyadh's archrival Iran
...They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
get a larger foothold in the region.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11140 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Home Front: WoT
Saudi Arabian 'potential terrorist' nabbed at US-Mexico border; ties to Yemeni subjects of interest, feds say
[FoxNews] Saudi man, 21, was photographed wearing 'Central Oneida County Volunteer' jacket.

A "potential terrorist" with links to a number of "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...
i subjects of interest" was captured in Arizona late last week after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Border Patrol officials announced Monday.

The 21-year-old man was apprehended Thursday night entering the U.S. from Mexico through Yuma, Arizona, according to a tweet from Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem. He appears to have been wearing a jacket emblazoned with an American flag patch and another that stated: "Central Oneida County Volunteer."

The man is allegedly from Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
and "is linked to several Yemeni subjects of interest."

Speaking to Fox News on Monday morning, Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps Chief Thomas Meyers said the man, whose identity has not been released, has no affiliation with the New York-based group. Meyers added that he does not know who the man is or how he acquired one of the jackets, which is outdated from the version the ambulance corps now uses.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11160 views] Top|| File under: Devout Moslems

#1  He appears to have been wearing a jacket emblazoned with an American flag patch and another that stated: "Central Oneida County Volunteer."

C.O.C.V. = COC(K)UP

#FJB
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Stalking horse?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 9:21 Comments || Top||

#3  How many more?
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Being reported today that DHS will fill in some gaps in Trump’s border wall and then dispose of rest of materials. Wasn’t Texas just recently saying they were going to build the wall themselves? Might be time to discuss helping the GAO in disposing of the ‘excess.’
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/21/2021 10:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Abott said they are approaching the Feds about buying the materials scrapped there in TX. I bet Biden's regime says "NO"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 10:12 Comments || Top||

#6  "Nice pile of scrap material ya got there! Be a shame if somebody walked off with it..."
Posted by: SteveS || 12/21/2021 11:21 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Japan executes three death row inmates, a first under PM Kishida
[JPost] Japan executed three people who were on death row on Tuesday, marking the first time the death penalty was carried out under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government, Kyodo news agency reported.
It was the first time for the government to carry out the death penalty since December 26, 2019, Kyodo added.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  about the death penalty in Japan it is:
Posted by: Vinegar Spolusing6485 || 12/21/2021 6:36 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Espionage racket busted in Rajouri, 2 booked: Police
[GreaterKashmir] Security forces on Sunday claimed to have busted an “espionage racket” in Rajouri district by arresting two persons they said shared information of sensitive security establishments with “handlers sitting in Arab countries”.

The duo, the identity of whom was not immediately known, were held by a team of police headed by SHO Rajouri Sameer Jillani, an official said.

“They were questioned jointly and it came to fore during the investigation that they were in touch with some handlers sitting in Arab countries.” said officials.

As per an official, both the arrested persons had recently made some videos of sensitive security establishments and shared the same with their handlers. “Prima facie it has been established that they also received some amount of money,” officials said.

They further said that a case under relevant sections of including Official Secrets Act has been registered in Rajouri police station and further investigation is going on, added an official.

Meanwhile, police in an official statement said that a case in FIR 743/2021 under relevant sections of the law have been registered in Police Station Rajouri and further investigation is going on.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11146 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Nigerian Military Raids Bandit Kingpin, Turji’s Hideout, Kills Scores Of Bandits In Zamfara, Sokoto Forests
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11143 views] Top|| File under: Baloch Liberation Army


Boko Haram Fighters Kill 25 In Borno Hours After Buhari Boasted 'Insurgents Weakened, Preying On Soft Targets'
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11131 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Africa North
Court hands final prison sentences to Egyptian activists Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Oxygen, lawyer Baqer
Final for this case. The miscreants are in process or serving sentences for other cases even as this one finishes.
[AlAhram] The Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court sentenced renowned Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah on Monday for five years in prison over joining a terrorist group and spreading fake news.

Activist Mohammed Ibrahim (aka Mohammed Oxygen) and Lawyer Mohammed El-Baqer, co-defendants in the case 1228/2021, were handed a four-year-imprisonment sentence.

The rulings against the three defendants are issued by a state security court, and thus are final and cannot be appealed.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11140 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood


Government Corruption
Crowd Demands Arizona Attorney General Take Action Regarding Alleged Fraud in 2020 Election
[THEEPOCHTIMES] A crowd of more than 100 people rallied outside the office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich in Phoenix on Dec 17 to demand the prosecution of any criminal activity associated with the 2020 election in Maricopa County.

A contingent of police offers kept people off the front steps of the Attorney General’s office building except for event organizers and speakers.

Those gathered called out not only for fair and honest elections but that Brnovich begin criminal prosecutions for alleged wrongdoing stemming from the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county with over 2.5 million registered voters.

Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem (R) said that there "was at least probable cause if not clear and convincing evidence that we had significant discrepancies in the election."

Finchem said if there are "lower-level people in the food chain" that engaged in criminal activity" in the election, authorities could "try and flip them to go up the food chain."

"I will tell you there are many signs around this that suggest to me that we are looking at a racketeering case," said Finchem, a retired criminal investigator.

"There’s a whole lot of evidence that suggests both incompetence and criminality, sloppy process, and intentionally bad process. What this man (Brnovich) and his staff are doing—I fully believe they are going through the evidence meticulously to try and develop higher food chain actors."

Arizona politicians were told during a Sept. 24 hearing of inconsistencies uncovered during a forensic audit of the 2020 election conducted in the state’s most populous county..
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11136 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Where is that mysterious Democrat whistleblower? Get him or her to come forth, with police protection
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Brnovich has proven his corruption. Now who are his masters?
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 18:02 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Week Long Series of Storms for Calif.
[Weather]... heavy snow and occasional wind gusts over 60 mph could make travel increasing difficult, if not impossible, by later Tuesday [21-21]or Wednesday through the Sierra. Major routes including Interstate 80 over Donner Summit and U.S. 50 could be shut down for a time.
All Sierra Passes will be affected. Storm will be comprised of multiple waves over the next week or so with snow level as low as 1000' or as high as 7500' at times. Some passes will be shut down for more than 72 hours at a time - great for water supply - horrible for travel and goods shipment
Stock up and stay safe and warm if you’re in that area, dear Reader.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11137 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any chance the storms could wash all of the Left Coast out to sea? - It will clean up a heck of a mess if that happens.

Posted by: Shusosing Crugum4087 || 12/21/2021 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ no, that's the "Big One". Hey what you say, there goes LA, Hey what'cha know, tie up the boat in Idaho.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 7:06 Comments || Top||

#3  ^ Ha Since I'm an Idahoan, that would be great! Unfortunately, the geology doesn't support that end game. The San Andreas is a right-lateral Strike slip fault rather than a Dip slip fault. In common parlance that means that L.A. will be right next to San Francisco in 10M years rather than plunging into the sea.
Posted by: Warthog || 12/21/2021 9:39 Comments || Top||

#4  As we move from wildfire season to mudslide season.
Posted by: ed in texas || 12/21/2021 16:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Weathertainment ghouls here in Florida looking for recompense from the truncated hurricane season. They were disappointed again.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 16:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Do you suppose it will clean all of the sidewalks in San Francisco?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 12/21/2021 16:37 Comments || Top||

#7  ...Augean Stables.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 19:38 Comments || Top||

#8  #6 Do you suppose it will clean all of the sidewalks in San Francisco?
Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom


Refrain from eating seafood from the bay/immediate ocean
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 22:05 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Omicron is Not Normal
[EUGYPPIUSsubstack] Everything suggests this variant was leaked from a laboratory engaged in gain-of-function research.

Omicron is not normal. No immediate progenitors are known; its closest relatives are viruses last seen in early- to mid-2020. The orthodox explanation for this awkward fact, is that it has spent the last 18 months lurking "in a geography with poor genomic surveillance ... or ... in a chronically infected individual." The simpler explanation is that it leaked from a laboratory.

Omicron sweeping across America, now 73% of all new US COVID-19 cases

[IsraelTimes] CDC data shows some 650,000 Omicron cases across country in last a week, a six-fold increase in the variant’s share of infections to become dominant strain.
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11137 views] Top|| File under:



#3  Nothing "normal" about this entire pandemic from its very beginnings to now, and to the future.
Posted by: Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 || 12/21/2021 10:29 Comments || Top||

#4  In a correct world, leftists would be told "you voted for this (COVID). You are free to take whatever measures you wish out of your own pockets and be informed that freaking out about masks or vaccine passports will get you exiled to an iceberg."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:32 Comments || Top||

#5  Endemic. Not pandemic.

The jig's up: the vaccines have failed, and now we're looking at an extremely infectious, relatively benign version of the seasonal flu
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 10:33 Comments || Top||

#6  It is game over. Fauxi, Gates and the worldwide leftist cabal look like the guy at the p0ker table who went all in and lost and now refuses to get up and leave. The game goes on around them and they don't get why they are dealt out.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:36 Comments || Top||

#7 
Omicron is simply Biden as the Man behind the curtain in OZ.

The Junta desperately needs deflection from Biden/Harris/Pelosi and their growing stupidity.

An Omicron will give them and the Media something to distract many with thru the 2022 mid-terms.

It is 2023-24 that will be the real problems for the Far Left Liberals.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 11:10 Comments || Top||

#8  Omocron ain't going to give them anything outside of the lying MSM.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 11:19 Comments || Top||

#9  They will use the "pandemic" to steal more elections, silence critics, and enrich themselves.
Posted by: Vespasian Ebboting9735 || 12/21/2021 12:00 Comments || Top||

#10  How come no one can tell you what variant you have when you get test results?
Posted by: warthogswife || 12/21/2021 13:42 Comments || Top||

#11  @warthogswife : The standard PCR tests (which have their issues) are looking for bits of RNA which distinguish SARS-COV-2 from other viruses. They apparently are NOT looking for the other bits that distinguish the variants (alpha, delta, omicron, eieio) from one another. Until and unless such a test is developed, you have to put the sample into an actual gene sequencer to find out what you've got, which is a good deal slower and more expensive. So they are likely only doing that on a limited sample of cases.
Posted by: Nero || 12/21/2021 17:34 Comments || Top||

#12  Bio weapon of a different strain? Possibly to keep the fear level. Which does not rule out a mutation, guessing there...
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:40 Comments || Top||

#13  I prefer pandemic o a global nuclear war
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 23:22 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Pentagon issues rules aimed at thwarting rise of extremism among service members
[IsraelTimes] Warning that extremism in the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials are issuing detailed new rules prohibiting service members from actively engaging in extremist activities.

The new guidelines come nearly a year after some current and former service members participated in the riot at the US Capitol, triggering a broad department review.

Officials say the new policy does not largely change what is prohibited, but is more of an effort to make sure troops are clear on what they can and cannot do, while still protecting their First Amendment free speech rights. And, for the first time, it is far more specific about social media.

The new policy lays out in detail the banned activities, which range from advocating terrorism or supporting the overthrow of the government to fundraising or rallying on behalf of an extremist group or "liking" or reposting extremist views on social media.

The rules also specify that commanders must determine two things in order for someone to be held accountable: that the action was an extremist activity, as defined in the rules, and that the service member "actively participated" in that prohibited activity.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11140 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I sense General Loyd Austin is having trouble executing his responsibilities with the likes of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as his bosses.
Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 || 12/21/2021 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Would that be a belief in the Constitution as a contract between the people and their government? Or, the will to actually win wars?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 8:15 Comments || Top||

#3  # 1, see Mr. Spock telling Mr. Scott "Intelligence does not require bulk..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:17 Comments || Top||

#4  ...Sounds to me like a solution looking for a problem.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/21/2021 8:20 Comments || Top||

#5  So... who gets to decide what an extremist view or group is?

Seriously - consider what our government leadershit consider 'extremist'. Half of the DNC calls Trump supporters 'extremist' and 'terrorists', particularly Jan 6th..
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/21/2021 8:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Are these "views" and "groups" listed anywhere?

If they resemble what the Southern Poverty Law Center or The NY Times or CNN call "extremist," then this is a partisan sh!tshow that will simply destroy what's left of our military's ability to fight and win wars.

I'm pretty sure that SPLC would characterize the following views are "extremist" examples of "hate":

- opposing BLM, CRT, Antifa
- advocating reduced immigration generally
- advocating reduced Muslim immigration in particular along with a shift toward skills-based immigration
- support for aggressive policing on the Bratton-Giuliani 1990s NYC model
- supporting the overturn of Roe v. Wade
- opposing vaccine mandates
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:02 Comments || Top||


#8  Is the 'burg "extremist"?
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:33 Comments || Top||

#9  ^ In a Barry Goldwater sort of way.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 9:42 Comments || Top||

#10  ^ ain't Vice, dat fo' sho
:-)
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 10:22 Comments || Top||

#11  Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Barry Goldwater
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:23 Comments || Top||

#12  Of course, our version of justice would be teefas and blammos in camps and fauxi at the end of a rope. YMMV.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:25 Comments || Top||

#13  ^ extreme-ly appealing
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 10:29 Comments || Top||

#14  Barry "the bomber"...1964...
Posted by: crazyhorse || 12/21/2021 11:17 Comments || Top||

#15  democrats are all extremists. Why are they in the military?
Posted by: newc || 12/21/2021 17:02 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Troops come under fire as they ready to raze home of suspects in terror shooting
The EU or one/some among the European nations will no doubt pay to rebuild, but at least for a little while the supporters of jihad will be inconvenienced.
[IsraelTimes] Forces enter Paleostinian town of Silat al-Harithiya, hand demolition order to family of two men suspected of killing Yehuda Dimentman last week

Israeli security forces measured the home of two Paleostinian brothers suspected of carrying out a shooting attack in the West Bank last week that killed Yehuda Dimentman and injured two other Israelis, in the first step before the building’s demolition, the military said Monday.

Troops entered the town of Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin in the northern West Bank, where they were met with heavy gunfire and rioting, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

"During the activities, massive gunfire was directed at IDF soldiers, who returned fire," the military said.

Dozens of Paleostinians also threw stones and bombs at security forces, who responded with riot dispersal weapons, the IDF said.

There were no injuries to Israeli forces.

As a punitive policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Paleostinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. The military first measures or maps the building in order to determine the best way to raze the structure. The suspects’ families are notified in advance of the demolition, giving them a chance to appeal to Israel’s High Court of Justice. These attempts rarely succeed, though in some cases the court can limit the demolition order to only the parts of the house used by the terrorist.

Large numbers of forces took part in the raid, according to Paleostinian media reports.

Videos shared on social media showed IDF troops streaming into the town and button men firing at IDF units.

The Ma’an news agency identified the home as that of Ahmed Muhammad Yassin Jaradat, the father of brothers Ghaith and Omar, who are suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting, with help from a number of accomplices. The Shin Bet security service said the suspects were members of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
terror group.

According to Paleostinian reports, the residents of the home were handed documents warning them to evacuate the premises ahead of its demolition and the family began removing their furniture.

The two brothers and four other suspects were arrested during a predawn raid on Sunday in Silat al-Harithiya by the IDF, Shin Bet security service and Israel Police’s Yamam counterterrorism unit. They were all handed over to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

The Shin Bet said troops also recovered weapons suspected to have been used in Thursday’s attack, along with at least one other that was in the possession of the cell, including two M-16 rifles and a Carlo-style submachine gun, a locally produced makeshift weapon. Police later released photos of the guns.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Afghans fleeing Taliban trapped in Iran
[Rudaw] After the fall of Kabul cemented the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
’s control of Afghanistan in August, 23-year-old Ramazan Ali took his father’s savings and fled the country in a bid to reach Europe, alongside hundreds of thousands of similarly desperate Afghans. His attempt failed, and he is stuck in Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites....
with little hope for his future.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Frying pan, fire... I guess things could be worse.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:53 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Kidnapped Missionaries Made Daring Escape in Haiti
[YouTube]


Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11140 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A bit surprised there is no talking Donkey named Dominic in the story.
Posted by: Airandee || 12/21/2021 6:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Our church supported a missionary in Haiti. He was working on agricultural development. Failed to pay off the gangs. He's back, recovering from traumatic brain injury. Never be right. We're helping. His wife, from Haiti, has a job and the son is in a Christian school where we know a couple of staff. Duck Haiti. Also auto-correct.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 12/21/2021 8:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Charity begins at home does not have to mean under your own roof. Someone on your street probably needs some kind of help, even if it isn't financial.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 9:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Pretty sure I'd never really be accepted. No Toto, "It ain't Kansas." Yet another example of cultural non-compatibility.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/21/2021 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  ^We are rayciss for disturbing their primitive culture. We are also rayciss for not paying Guatemalans half a million dollars for coming here illegally.

Got that?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 9:45 Comments || Top||

#6  Soon to be a made for TV movie. Ripped from today's gripping headlines! Oh, wait, they're Christian missionaries. Forget it Jake, it's Tinseltown.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 16:38 Comments || Top||


Arabia
The Arab Coalition destroyed a Houthi drone that was aiming to target civilians at King Abdullah airport in the southern city of Jizan
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11135 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


India-Pakistan
Two Jaish associates arrested in south Kashmir's Pulwama: Police
[GreaterKashmir] Police on Monday claimed to have arrested two Death Eater associates of Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
outfit in south Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
Pulwama district.

A police front man said that the accused duo identified by him as Umer Ramzan son of Mohammad Ramzan Wani of Brabandina and Javid Ahmad Malla son of Ali Mohammad of Khelan were held with "incriminating material of JeM" by Pulwama police with assistance of 55 RR and 182 Bn CRPF.

The two, police said, were involved in providing shelter,logistics and other support to the snuffies as well as in transporting of arms/ ammunition and kaboom for the snuffies in Awantipora and Tral areas.

Besides, the arrested miliant associates were in touch with JeM commanders, it added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11139 views] Top|| File under: Jaish-e-Mohammad


Home Front: Politix
Dems pivot from Build Back Better to illiberal voting 'rights' bill
[NYPOST] Unable to pass their welfare-state expansion with a simple majority, Democrats have shelved Build Back Better. Now prepare for the entire left-wing infrastructure — politicians as well as the establishment press — to pivot hard from the fake "social safety net" bill to the fake "voting rights" bill, which will quickly become the most vital piece of legislation in the history of the republic.

Last week, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders
...The only first openly Socialist member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders was Representative-for-Life from Vermont until moving to the Senate for the rest of his life in 2006, assuming the seat vacated by Jim Jeffords. He ran for the 2016 nomination for president, to be cheated out of it by Hillary Clinton, then went back to being an Independent socialist, waiting for 2020 to roll around...
, who not long ago heralded the mere framework of Build Back Better as "by far the most significant piece of legislation ever passed in the world," told news hounds that it was more important to get a "voting rights" bill through the Senate.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Senator Kyrsten Sinema has already said she won’t support the voting rights bill, so it looks like that’s dead in the water, too.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 0:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I thought what Sinema said was that she would not support eliminating the filibuster in order to pass the voter fraud bill, not that she would not support the bill itself.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 10:15 Comments || Top||

#3  I stand corrected, Glenmore.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 19:00 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
TTP Commander Killed
[NATION.PK] On Saturday, news reports emerged that security forces killed a terrorist commander, identified as Ghafoor alias Jaleel, in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district. The ISPR has revealed that the terrorist was a close acquaintance of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad — a top leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) — and was involved in many terrorist activities.

We gave peace a chance and since that offer was thwarted, now there can be no compromise on our internal security and no more innocent lives of civilians and security forces can be lost to this menace. This operation was conducted two days after Maulvi Faqir escaped unhurt from a suspected dronezap—and a week after the ceasefire with the Pakistain government collapsed—on a safe house in eastern Afghanistan. While there has been no confirmation regarding who carried out the attack, the Taliban government has stated that the strike was an explosive fired from the ground.

In addition to the operation in Bajaur, two more holy warriors were also killed in a clearance operation in the Boya area of North Wazoo district. It appears that a crackdown against the TTP has commenced and the government must be commended for acting swiftly. It is also important to note that terrorist targeted in the rumoured dronezap, Maulvi Faqir, was part of the recent talks between the TTP and the government before the ceasefire was violated by the turban group.

It remains to be seen how comprehensive this operation is going to be what strategy the security forces will adopt. Is the focus going to be on decapacitation of leadership figures or will it extend to the foot soldiers as well? Regardless, the authorities will have to be extremely vigilant in the coming days as the group will try to muster a response. Going forward, Islamabad must also take the Afghan government into confidence regarding next steps and ensure that the bully boyz find no space across the border to operate and conduct cross-border attacks.

Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11153 views] Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)


Afghanistan
Allegedly, There Are Only a Few Americans Left in Afghanistan
[PJMedia] About 110 days after President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S., who gives the term geriatric a bad name. He blames Afghans for losing Afghanistan....
’s chaotic Afghanistan surrender, his State Department claims fewer than a dozen Americans who want to get out still remain stranded in the country.

Should we believe that?

For weeks after the shambolic retreat that earned opprobrium on both sides of the political aisle, Team Biden claimed it left roughly 100 U.S. citizens behind, yet now says it has "directly assisted" 479 Americans and more than 400 green-card holders in coming to America since the late August military withdrawal. Of course, hundreds more got out without State Department assistance.

That’s because private groups rush to fill the void left by our government.

"No One Left Behind" is tracking more than 10,000 Afghans applying for the Special Immigrant Visas created by Congress, along with nearly 40,000 of their family members.

"Task Force Argo" is another group of private citizens working to get people out. Led by a former Army Ranger, they have a backlog of more than 4,000 people, including family members, still looking to escape. More likely want to get out, but Argo has run out of resources to accept more applications.

Team Antony Blinken says it’s relocated over 2,000 Afghan allies who worked with U.S. forces and are at grave risk of Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
retaliation if they stay. But according to the Wall Street Journal last week, tens of thousands are still stuck.

Washington reports roughly 75,000 Afghans have made it to America since the end of August, with another 3,000 being processed overseas. There is funding to resettle almost 100,000 through the end of next summer.

Regardless of the numbers, it’s all part of a totally unnecessary chapter in the anti-war movement’s sordid history, and it’s still being written. Our national media has also disgraceful itself by ignoring these abandoned Americans and allies, rather than hold a Democrat president accountable for his feckless and immoral decisions.
Related: More Than 60,000 Interpreters, Visa Applicants Remain in Afghanistan: About 33,000 of those could be eligible for immediate evacuation, State Department says
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11131 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  F--king liars. Impeach this asshole
#FJB
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 15:18 Comments || Top||

#2  In theory, the last ones still there have "reasons" for not getting out sooner. If they were CIA type reasons, we'd not even be hearing about them.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Task Force Argo (civilian volunteers) are still in country and bringing our folks out in small groups. 33 in the last batch
Posted by: Tiny Darling of the Weak4705 || 12/21/2021 16:29 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Security forces found body parts of ISIS terrorists killed in an airstrike
Ewwww!
[Shafaq News] Iraqi security forces reportedly found body parts of ISIS murderous Moslems who died in an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in al-Saadiya sub-district, northeast Diyala.
"Hey! I've got an ear here!"
"I found a .....looks like a lower lip"

A security source told Shafaq News Agency that the weapons were found near the body parts of two ISIS Lions of Islam who died in an airstrike in the outskirts of al-Saadiyah, 60 kilometers to the northeast of Baqubah.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11148 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Prison guard stabbed by Palestinian inmate, lightly hurt
[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian security prisoner stabbed and lightly injured a guard in the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, wing of the Negev desert Nafkah Prison on Monday, the Israel Prisons Service said.

The IPS said that the officer was being treated at the prison’s clinic, adding that "the wing is under control."

A photo of the weapon shared by the IPS appeared to show a small kitchen utensil with one end broken to create a sharp edge.

The Paleostinian Prisoner’s Media Office, a group that represents Paleostinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, said in a subsequent statement that "the hero who committed the stabbing was a prisoner from 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...
," and claimed the attack was a response to a recent assault on inmates by Israeli prison guards.

"Israel bears full responsibility for any deterioration in the situation," the group says.

Paleostinian media identified the prisoner involved as Yusef al-Mabhouh, a resident of Gaza.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11128 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


14-year-old Palestinian girl indicted for Sheikh Jarrah stabbing attack
[IsraelTimes] Prosecutors charge a 14-year-old Paleostinian girl for stabbing a Jewish woman in Jerusalem earlier this month.

According to the charge sheet, the girl planned the morning of the attack to carry out the stabbing, and followed her target — 26-year-old Moriah Cohen — for several minutes before stabbing her in the back in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where they both live.

Cohen — who was with her children at the time of the attack — was treated at the hospital and released the same day.

The stabber expeditiously departed at a goodly pace and hid out in her school, where she swapped clothes with a friend, the indictment says. Police say some of the clothes were found in several locations around the school, including in the principal’s office.

The friend is also expected to be indicted, police said last week.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Candidates loyal to China’s Communist Party win a landslide victory in Hong Kong’s legislative elections


Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11147 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Candidates loyal to China’s Communist Party win a landslide victory in Hong Kong’s legislative Dems win landslide victories in elections after pro-democracy activists were imprisoned and authorities FBI received the power to exclude those deemed inappropriate for office.
Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 || 12/21/2021 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Guess where Dominion gets its machines made?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 7:29 Comments || Top||

#3 
Anyone surprised
Given CCP controlled EVERY aspect of the election monitoring and how they voted.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 9:18 Comments || Top||

#4  ...our Donk are envious, not that they haven't tried (again and again).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Wow, What A shock!
Posted by: Sonny Black || 12/21/2021 11:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Dominion or another shade?
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:48 Comments || Top||

#7  ..their chips are all made in China
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 19:41 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
Trump Files Lawsuit Against New York Attorney General Letitia James
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] Former President Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
has filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James over her probe into his business dealings.

Lawyers representing Trump are arguing that she has violated his constitutional rights with the investigation that has been going on for more than two years.

In the suit, lawyers representing Trump and his family’s real estate company argue that the inquiry is politically motivated.

"Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent," Trump’s lawyers wrote in the complaint, according to a report from the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11131 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

Watching the Liberals Junta/Coup participants all grasping for something anything, with 2022 around the corner.

Is like watching them blindly headed to the camp showers with the Media playing the part of the band.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 10:14 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ Nice image. We can certainly hope...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:21 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi air force targets two ISIS members in Diyala
[Rudaw] Iraqi air force carried out an operation against 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....
(ISIS) remnants in northeastern Diyala province on Sunday, killing two suspected members of the hard boy group.

F-16 jets conducted the operation at al-Sadiyah town with intelligence information from the interior ministry and the Iraqi intelligence agency, Iraq’s Security Media Cell said early Monday morning.

The strikes killed two ISIS members, it added.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 9 attacks in Iraq from December 9 to December 15, killing and injuring 25 people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa Horn
One man was shot dead during protests against Sudan’s military leaders
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa North
Sahara of Discord: Political Crisis in Algeria and Morocco
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] The global economic crisis and the fall in world oil and energy prices hit the Middle East and North Africa region seriously, as oil exports are traditionally the main source of income for most of the region's countries. The second challenge for the region's economy was the COVID pandemic, which left the region's beaches and hotels without tourists. And each new month of the crisis further aggravates the economic situation in the region.

But this is only one aspect of the regional crisis. In Morocco, economic problems have exposed many internal political divisions. The government has proven unable to curb the crisis and offer new jobs for the tourism sector. To support the tourist business, direct investments are made from the country's economic reserves, which, alas, are far from unlimited.

Moreover, the voices of supporters of reforms demanding the abolition of the monarchy have increased in the country. The pro-democracy movement in Morocco has received many supporters who believe that the country's economic problems are largely related to the corruption of officials close to the royal family.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11132 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nice summary.
Thanks for the translation cleanup, Bad.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 8:11 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
California 'Deputy Superintendent of Equity' Resigns
[PJMEDIA] A recent Politico investigation found that Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,’s first Department of Education deputy superintendent of equity, Dr. Daniel Lee ,was hired even though he "lives in Philadelphia and has a separate job there, more than 2,500 miles away" from the California schools he was charged with "fixing." Afterward, California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-06) sent a letter to the Government Operations Agency in Sacramento questioning the lawfulness of Lee’s hiring.

Remarkably, only a few days later Lee resigned from the position. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
if you’re like me and don’t live in woke world, you probably didn’t even know there was such a position as a deputy superintendent of equity; nor is it likely you know what such a creature does. Don’t worry, no one really knows what he does.

So how did Lee get this cushy no-show state job that pays nearly $180,000 in taxpayer-funded salary? Kiley said the brand-new position was created by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond specifically for Lee, his personal friend and former groomsman. On June 4, 2020, Thurmond announced several "multi-pronged partnerships and initiatives" to address so-called implicit bias and racism in California schools. Among those partnerships included in the announcement was "Dr. Daniel Lee, President-Elect for the New Jersey Psychological Association and Principal Consultant of N-PSY-T Psychological Services, who is developing a model for schools to address the impacts of implicit bias on student achievement."

The Department of Education claims a deputy superintendent of equity concentrates on equity in areas like student counseling, social-emotional learning, and other educational programs—areas which Lee has no actual experience in performing within the academic setting of public schools. Of course, "equity" is that favorite woke term of the left designed to sound like "equality," though it is in actuality anything but equal. "A good rule of thumb in California politics is when you hear the word ’equity,’ something fishy is afoot," said Kiley.

Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...best said.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 7:11 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Turkey and Qatar may control five airports in Afghanistan
[JPost] Turkish foreign minister Mevult Cavusoglu said that Qatar and Turkey will probably control five airports together in Afghanistan after negotiations between Doha and Kabul.

Speaking with his Malaysian counterpart in Islamabad Cavsuoglu said, a delegation that will also include a technical team of the two countries is supposed to visit Afghanistan to assess the nature of controlling these airports.

Kabul International Airport is also rumored to be among the five airports but names of all the airports are not disclosed yet.

The delegation is supposed to submit suggestions of the two countries to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by next week.

Turkish foreign minister Mevult Cavusoglu also met Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Motaqi at the sideline of the OIC session in Islamabad and discussed the issue.

It is worth mentioning that the IEA had previously asked Turkey and Qatar to take control over Kabul International Airport but Turkey had proposed to send their own security personnel with a technical team that was refused.

It is still not clear whether the Taliban will allow the security forces of Turkey to Kabul or not.

After the full withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Kabul International Airport was mostly destroyed by the forces that were then repaired by a Qatari technical team.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA


Europe
Families launch legal action against UK, French authorities as first body of drowned migrant returns
A bold move for those transiting illegally, to be sure.
[Rudaw] The body of a Kurdish migrant who drowned in the English Channel in November along with 26 other people is set to arrive in Tehran on Monday night, his brother told Rudaw English, as families of the victims and a humanitarian organization begin legal proceedings against officials on either side of the Channel.

The plane from La Belle France carrying the body of Sirwan Alipour is set to arrive at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport at 10:40pm (Tehran time) on Monday with his family traveling for 12 hours from their home city of Sardasht to Tehran in order to receive their son, his brother Saman Alipour told Rudaw English on Monday.

Sirwan was one of around 34 passengers on a dinghy that capsized in the English Channel on November 24, as it attempted to cross from La Belle France to the United Kingdom. He had left Iran
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11139 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants

#1  Something, something...about a sovereign nation.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 7:30 Comments || Top||

#2  "It is absolutely non-sh*thole nations' responsibility to pay for the bad choices of sh*thole countries' denizens!" Spoken with a strident muzz or north African accent.

F O A D, sh*tbags...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 9:58 Comments || Top||

#3  "Maybe the dinghy ate your baby."
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 15:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Here in America, if the mother was a middle-class white going to g@mble, shop or buy a hit, it would be her fault. All other situations are the "deep pockets'" fault. Oh, yeah, right.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:38 Comments || Top||

#5  I come to your house, demanding to be let in. I climb a tree in hopes of jumping onto your balcony. I fall from the tree and break my neck. My heirs sue you for... what, again?
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 17:15 Comments || Top||

#6  Apparently outside the USA you can do something fricking stupid and win a prize.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:58 Comments || Top||

#7  Attractive Nuisance. Always thought that'd be a good name for a boat, Nowadays... maybe a tat?
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 18:08 Comments || Top||

#8  #3 "Maybe the dinghy ate your baby."
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990

Very late SNOD for #3
Posted by: Frank G || 12/21/2021 22:02 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Schools Closed In Niger State Over Planned Attack By Bandits
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under: Banditti


Terror Networks
Four terrorist organizations boosted their online activity between April and November 2021, Saudi center says
[Shafaq News] The Saudi-based Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, Etidal, said it has monitored growing online activity for the terrorist organizations of ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
, Boko Haram
...Nigeerian Islamist group, formerly paying homage to al-Qaeda, then, when the money ran out, to the Islamic State, and headed by nutcase Abu Bakr Shekau. Once he exploded in a gunfight with ISWAP, many in the group surrendered to the govt and others went with their new overlords. The remainder are a shell of their former selves, stmbling glassy-eyed and lonely through the Sambisa Forest and the soothing waters of Lake Chad, asking themselves What is truth?, or maybe just I wonder what's for dinner? I hope it's not rhinocerous again! ...
via 1958 accounts on social media platforms.

Between April and November of the current year, Etidal marked 782 "primary" accounts affiliated with those terrorist organizations, 42 of which were reactivated. The Saudi-based center also detected 934 active sympathizer accounts, 499 of which were dormant before this period and 242 were new.

Etidal said that 785 al-Qaeda accounts spawned on the same digital platform between April and November; 344 accounts were active in Pashto, 310 in Arabic, 102 in Urdu, and 29 in other languages.

The center deemed this activity an attempt by the terrorist organization to restore its image (in the first place), disseminate its ideology, and recruit new members.

Etidal said that 843 accounts were affiliated with the terrorist "Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham" in the list of accounts under scrutiny, including 706 accounts in Arabic, and 137 accounts in other languages, which reflects the organization's interest in Syria.

ISIS has activated 305 accounts, 241 of which were in Arabic, 20 in Urdu, nine in Persian, eight in Ottoman Turkish, seven in English, and 20 accounts in different languages.

In Africa, Etidal monitored 25 accounts affiliated with the terrorist "Boko Haram" organization. It was remarkable that the majority of those accounts, 15, shared Arabic content, while only four accounts used local Somali languages. The remaining accounts were active in Urdu (2) and English (4).
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11126 views] Top|| File under:


Government Corruption
Recall, Remove & Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor
[REALCLEARPOLITICS] Last year, our nation experienced the largest increase in murder in American history and the largest number of drug overdose deaths ever recorded. This carnage continues today and is not distributed equally. Instead, it is concentrated in cities and localities where radical, left-wing, George Soros
...either Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Auric Goldfinger come true...
progressives have captured state and district attorney offices. These legal arsonists condemn our rule of law as "systemically racist" and have not simply abused prosecutorial discretion, they have embraced prosecutorial nullification. As a result, a contagion of crime has infected virtually every neighborhood under their charge.Soros prosecutors refuse to enforce laws against shoplifting, drug trafficking, and entire categories of felonies and misdemeanors. In reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx allows theft under $1,000 to go unpunished. In Manhattan, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. refuses to enforce laws against prostitution. In Baltimore, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has unilaterally declared the war on drugs "over" and is refusing to criminally charge drug pushers in the middle of the worst drug crisis in American history. For a time, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon even stopped enforcing laws against disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, and making criminal threats.

All of these cities have paid a terrible price for these insane policies. Last year, the number of homicides in Chicago rose by 56%, and more than 1,000 Cook County residents have been murdered in 2021. In New York City, murder increased 47% and shootings soared 97%. In 2020, the murder rate in Baltimore was higher than El Salvador’s or Guatemala’s — nations from which citizens often attempt to claim asylum purely based on gang violence and murder—and this year murder in Baltimore is on track to be even higher. Murder in Los Angeles rose 36% last year and is on track to rise another 17% this year.

Soon after taking office in Boston, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachel Rollins published a list of 15 crimes that she would refuse to prosecute except under special circumstances. Among the charges on her "do not prosecute" list was drug trafficking, malicious destruction of property, trespassing, driving with a revoked license, and resisting arrest. Rollins also declared that she was "going to battle" against the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts and has slandered Boston coppers as "murderers" before accusing the department of "white fragility."



Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11137 views] Top|| File under:

#1  recall - remove - replace
(and reload)
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:51 Comments || Top||

#2  I really prefer the Vlad the Central Park in NYC?
Posted by: Silentbrick || 12/21/2021 16:37 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Elon Musk says he will pay $11BILLION in taxes
[Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Elon Musk has claimed he will pay more than $11billion in taxes this year after Elizabeth Being Native American has been part of my story since the day I was born Warren
...The Great White Squaw, Lizzie is the Dem Senatrix from Massachussetts. She traces her noble lineage all the way back to Big Chief Spouting Bull. She has high cheekbones that stretch all the way to the top of her head. It has been alleged that she speaks with forked tongue but she denies that. She had a DNA test to prove her lineage and it turns out she's colorless...
accused him of 'freeloading' during a bitter war of words between the pair.

The Tesla CEO, 50, took to Twitter to claim he would be paying billions of dollars in taxes this year following a row with Massachusetts Sen. Warren over his taxes.

He wrote: 'For those wondering, I will pay over $11billion in taxes this year.'

Musk could face a tax bill of more than $10billion in 2021, which could be the largest individual payment to the Internal Revenue Service, according to calculations by Bloomberg News.

It comes amid claims that Musk 'paid nothing' in federal income taxes in 2018 and less than $70,000 in 2015 and 2017, while Warren dubbed Musk 'the world's richest freeloader' amid a row over the billionaire's taxes.

Musk responded to her criticism by saying that he 'will pay more taxes than any American in history this year'.

Musk is currently the richest man in the world with a net worth of $265.4billion, as of last Monday, followed closely behind by Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

His company Tesla is worth about $1trillion and over the last few weeks, Musk has sold nearly $14billion worth of Tesla shares.

Musk and Warren's war of words began after the news broke that Musk was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

Warren tweeted last Monday: 'Let's change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.'
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any question Mr Musk could do a better job of spending it than Congress? /rhet question
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 7:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Guarantee he will be audited and everything will be carefully double-checked by the IRS.
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/21/2021 10:35 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Blasts heard near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear site; officials cite air defense test
[IsraelTimes] Anti-aircraft fire heard near plant; official say exercise carried out ’with full preparation and coordination with the armed forces’
That certainly is one possible reason.
Anti-aircraft fire was reported Monday in the vicinity of a nuclear site in Bushehr, Iran, according to preliminary reports.

An Iranian official told the country’s semi-official Fars news agency that the anti-aircraft fire was to test air defenses at the site.

"This exercise took place at 5 a.m. local time (130 GMT) with full preparation and coordination with the armed forces," Mohammadtaqi Irani told the agency, according to Rooters.

Numerous explosions have been reported over the past few years in complexes vital to Iran’s nuclear program and its energy and military sectors.

Some of the incidents have been said to stem from technical malfunctions as well as air defense tests, while others have been blamed by the Islamic Theocratic Republic on its enemies, including the US and Israel.

Earlier this month, Iran
...The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both...
said it carried out similar air defense tests near the Natanz site after explosions were heard in the vicinity.

Initial reports had said a drone was shot down. Several media outlets including Nour News, a website linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said the earth-shattering kaboom was not an attack, but rather was caused by a missile as part of a test of air defenses’ response to a potential strike.

Israel has said it will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he notified US officials that he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for a strike against Iran.

A senior US official said earlier this month that Israeli and American military leaders are set to discuss possible military drills to practice destroying Iranian nuclear facilities in a potential worst-case scenario if nuclear talks fail.

Israel has reportedly approved a budget of some NIS 5 billion ($1.5 billion) to be used to prepare the military for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear program. It includes funds for various types of aircraft, intelligence-gathering drones and unique armaments needed for such an attack, which would have to target heavily fortified underground sites.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11147 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Mysterious `boom' rattles central Illinois communities
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 18:45 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Rockland County deputy mayor indicted for arsenal, pretending to be a cop
[NYPOST] A Rockland County, New York deputy mayor has been hit with more than 100 felony charges after a raid of his home uncovered an arsenal of weapons and bogus police badges, prosecutors said.

Airmont Deputy Mayor Brian Downey, 47, was indicted by a grand jury Friday on 117 counts of possessing weapons and three counts of having forged law enforcement credentials, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News reported.

The charges come after a Sept. 2 search of his home turned up 12 firearm silencers, 19 assault rifles, and more than 85 high-capacity magazines, Rockland District Attorney Thomas Walsh said.

Federal and local authorities also found numerous fake federal law enforcement badges and insignias, as well two bogus New York State Court Officer shields and a New York State Court Officer ID card, prosecutors said.

Downey, through his lawyers, has denied the charges, the outlet reported.

Prosecutors said they began investigating after being tipped off by Homeland Security agents to a package being mailed to Downey’s home containing a firearm silencer. Further investigation revealed other packages had been delivered to his residence.

Downey acknowledged that weapons were not licensed in an interview with federal agents, according to the complaint filed in federal court.

"He stated that he lacked any registration or authorization for controlled firearms, such as the short-barrel rifle or the sawed-off shotgun," said Daniel Suden, a special agent with the US Department of Homeland Security.
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11143 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No mention of party affiliation, so.....
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/21/2021 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  He's Republican.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 10:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Thank you, Glenmore. Odd that info wasn't on the first line of the story, based on typical media reporting of bad things 'pubs do.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/21/2021 11:12 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Somali army makes gains against Al-Shabaab
[Garowe] The Somali National Army [SNA] continued to unleash on al-Shabaab
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
snuffies in most parts of Lower Shabelle, which have been detrimental in terms of operations according to the National Army, which is preparing to take security responsibilities.

On Sunday, state media reported, Special Forces commonly known as Danab waged an operation against the snuffies in several parts of Lower Shabelle. The region has been a key hideout for the degraded snuffies in the country.

State media reported that the Danab Special Forces killed six al-Shabaab snuffies during the operation besides destroying hideouts I'm Mayondo, Dust, and Kubow in Lower Shabelle. The operation was planned, state media added.

"Somali National Army’s commandos [DANAB] killed six Alshabab Death Eaters and destroyed their hideouts in planned security operations in Mayondo, Dhay, Abdi-Marodi, and Kubow in Lower Jubba region on Sunday, " the state media noted.

At least 600 al-Shabaab snuffies have been killed in 2021 according to statics given by several stakeholders, including the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission Forces [AMISOM], the Somali National Army, and the foreign troops, especially from the United States.

The United States is keen to redeploy its troops to the country, almost a year after their unprecedented exit which has caused a void in the country. Thousands of people have been killed by the snuffies which security forces being their major target.

Somalia is struggling to rebuild after years of civil war which was triggered by the war between north and south, but a host of challenges have since taken a toll on the situation, including the al-Shabaab insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation.

The outgoing President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo has often been questioned about his commitment towards the fight against al-Shabaab, but he has always defended his administration, arguing that the snuffies have lost ground.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11143 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


India-Pakistan
Punjab sacrilege: Be warned, the ISI-Khalistan nexus is in full force
[OneIndia] Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

has been witnessing violent mostly peaceful incidents following the sacrilege that was reported in the state. Another incident of lynching was reported over an alleged sacrilege attempt that was reported from Kapurthala in Punjab in less than 24 hours.

A young man was seen disrespecting the Nishan Sahib (Sikh triangular flag) installed near the Dera complex. He was allegedly beaten to death by a huge crowd which included Nihangs and radical leaders. The Kapurthala Granthi, Baba Amarjit Singh went live on Facebook to share details of the incident.

He also called on radical leaders such as Amrik Singh and others who are said to have beaten up the unidentified man. Singh has been going on pilgrimages to Sikh shrines in Pakistain for the past five years.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that this is a clear attempt by the ISI to rake up tensions in Pakistain. The ISI has for long being making attempts to revive Khalistan terrorism in the state. They had even made attempts to infiltrate the farmer protests and ensure that the situation turns violent mostly peaceful.

The Intelligence has warned for long that the ISI and the Khalistan forces will try taking advantage of any instability in Punjab. These recent incidents are a pointer to that fact. The ISI would incite violence by undertaking such acts knowing fully that some radical elements would react in a violent mostly peaceful manner.

While the Khalistan movement has not been re-kindled the way the ISI would have wanted, the fact remains that the activities of these groups have only been on the rise off late.

Former Pakistain Prime Minister, Zulfikar Bhutto had once said that Pakistain will also have a Bangladesh carved out of India, but it would be on the Pakistain border. This was a reference that he made to Khalistan.

The NIA too had recently in its chargesheet said that the killing of Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu, a Shaurya Chakra awardee was part of an international conspiracy. Investigation revealed that the three holy warriors against whom the chargesheet was filed were involved in conducting reconnaissance of the target and organising logistics and shelter for the shooters.

Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu was rubbed out by two faceless myrmidons in the early hours of October 10 2020 at the residence-cum-school run by him in Bhikiwind, District TarnTaran, Punjab. The assailants then escaped on a bike, following which a case was registered by the Punjab police.

Investigation has revealed that the execution was undertaken with an intention of striking terror in the minds of the people and especially those opposed to Khalistan ideology. The transnational conspiracy in the instant case was hatched by Pakistain based self styled chief of the KLF, Lakbhir Singh Rode.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11147 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies

#1  Something about a sword as a religious artifact would suggest a bad outcome.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 18:41 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Dems Admit Reality Too Late
[NYPOST] "That screeching noise you hear is not just the sound of Democrats wailing over their collapsing popular support," snarks Hugo Gurdon at Washington Examiner, "it is also the squeal of their tires as they race away from their anti-law-and-order policies in hope of avoiding an electoral smash against reality." the Socialist paradise of San Francisco
...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...
Mayor London Breed "announced a 180-degree turnaround" regarding her policing policies, launching emergency police intervention in the "city’s crime-wrecked Tenderloin district." But it’s not likely enough for Democrats to salvage the next election: It "would take Houdini to escape the bind" they’ve "put themselves in after allowing, indeed warmly welcoming, a large phalanx of gunnies into their midst." Dems’ "extreme progressivism, with its attendant lunacies on immigration, spending education, and a host of other matters, is alienating minority voters" that Dems need.

Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11139 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dems Admit Reality Too Late

That there still are not enough commies to make up for the votes of independents you abandoned?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  "Real communism has never been tried" is the entirety of their philosophy.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:19 Comments || Top||

#3  But they'll still all bow their heads and vote the party line, whatever it turns out to be.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/21/2021 8:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Like the Kzinti.

Always attacking too soon.
Posted by: no mo uro || 12/21/2021 20:03 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Newly-ordained Lutheran pastor hosts DRAG Bible study class for children at woke Chicago church
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Aaron Musser decided to host a children's Bible study class while in drag

  • Musser could be seen in pictures wearing a blonde wig, lipstick and white dress

  • 'I wasn’t sure how the outside world would handle me when they saw me this morning. Joy is difficult to feel,' he wrote
At least he respected his congregation enough to wear a modestly cut dress, however brassy and stereotypically ultra-femme the rest of it. But consulting the congregation beforehand instead of presenting them with a fait accompli would have been more respectful.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because apparently the ELCA isn't losing members fast enough.
Posted by: Tom || 12/21/2021 11:42 Comments || Top||

#2  I donated a lot over the years. I really don't care whether their imported Syrians and ghey disciples make up the difference.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 11:50 Comments || Top||

#3  When xe was a child cis-heteronormative, xe spake as a child cis-heteronormative, xe thought as a child cis-heteronormative. But when xe became a Pastor of Woke, xe put aside childish cis-heteronormative things
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 17:21 Comments || Top||

#4  No longer a church of the Christ. Now a temple of satan. Honestly.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:52 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
How Did the FBI End Up in This Mess?
[AMERICANTHINKER] The fact that the FBI has lost its way has been on public display for at least five years now. Truth be told, it probably strayed off course way before that. But during the Trump Presidency, it became too obvious to ignore. It has been involved in everything from the creation of an "insurance policy" against the peaceful transition of power, to the targeting of parents as domestic terrorists for the sin of disagreeing with school boards. How did our "premier law enforcement agency" stray so far from its motto of fidelity, bravery, and integrity?Simply put, the FBI’s current state is the result of horrible leadership. Any organization with a solid culture of ethics can survive a bad leader, but the FBI has had 20+ years of ethically challenged leadership. Over time that leadership influences hiring, firing, promotions, and training. Given enough time under bad leadership, even the strongest foundation of ethics will crumble, and be replaced by a culture of corruption -- as we’ve seen with the FBI.

A significant shift in the culture of the FBI happened under Robert Mueller. Mueller came up through the ranks of the DoJ -- holding the positions of Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney, and Deputy Attorney General. He was appointed to lead the FBI, by President George W. Bush, in 2001, just one week prior to 9/11.

Almost immediately upon being sworn in as the director, Mueller began politicizing the bureau by bringing in outside people to staff high-level positions. One of those people was the execrable Andrew Weismann, who at the time had just been in the headlines for his own scandals. Yet that was just fine by Mueller. He appointed Weismann to be the special counsel to the director in 2005. The ethically challenged Weismann eventually became the FBI general counsel in 2011, to provide legal guidance throughout the FBI, and nobody saw any problem with that.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11135 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mueller's wretched track record in Boston alone should have disqualified from advancing in the FBI, or any organization for that matter
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2 

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everybody. That many States originally OPPOSED the creation of a National Police Force foreseeing that it would become a POLITICAL Weapon.

PLUS, it was opposed by many in Congress, who feared that its growing authority could lead to Political abuses of power.

HOWEVER
While in these modern times we need something like the FBI. But it needs flushed of ALL Political manipulations or steering of it activities.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 10:30 Comments || Top||

#3  What we think we "need" and what is within the realm of possibility are different things. What we have is organized crime running a national police force.
Posted by: Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 || 12/21/2021 10:35 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Greng Black3494 || 12/21/2021 10:39 Comments || Top||

#5  ^ William Burroughs wannabe got some bad junk.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 10:41 Comments || Top||

#6  When was the FBI not a mess?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:05 Comments || Top||

#7  When was the last time they did anything right?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:06 Comments || Top||

#8  Defund the FBI.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:07 Comments || Top||

#9  I understand the Greng at #4 will likely be asked to leave the internet for being too fucking stupid but his description of our ruling elites and their little pet police force is not without merit.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/21/2021 13:09 Comments || Top||

#10  All government operations start out to accomplish a goal, turn into a jobs program, and end up as a political lobby.
Posted by: ed in texas || 12/21/2021 16:18 Comments || Top||

#11  I have no respect for them anymore.

they are nothing but an arm of the democrat party
Ergo not trustworty.
Posted by: newc || 12/21/2021 17:04 Comments || Top||

#12  Shit that crossdresser Hover was corrupt from the start. What a dumb question.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 18:04 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
After Brest: South of Russia and the Caucasus
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. With this post we are caught up to date.
by Oleg Airapetov

[Regnum] The conditions of the Brest Peace were constantly violated by the Germans, but even without that they were monstrously difficult. Losses amounted to 26 percent of the population, four percent of the territory, 37 percent of the harvest, 73 percent of pig iron, up to 75 percent of coal.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11129 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
Swedish company showcases microchip that can download COVID-19 passport status
[FoxBusinessNews] The firm has showcased an implant capable of storing a COVID passport that can then be read by many devices.

A microchip technology introduced in recent years by the Stockholm-based startup, Epicenter, is being presented as a means to store one's COVID-19 vaccine passport under the skin, according to a video from the South China Post that went viral Friday.

The firm has showcased an implant capable of storing a COVID passport that can then be read by any device using the near-field communication (NFC) protocol, according to the video.

The video featured Hannes Sjöblad, founder of the Swedish Association of Biohackers, advisor, and speaker on Human Augmentation, and ambassador for Sweden at the Singularity Universe.

Sjöblad demonstrated how Epicenter's rice-sized microchip, has been adapted as a COVID-19 passport, which is implanted under the skin either in the arm on between the thumb and forefinger.

Three Square Market, a Wisconsin-based technology company, became the first company in the U.S. to offer its employees similar free microchip implants in August 2017. The chip gives employees access to locked rooms and the ability to pay for food and drinks in the break room.

"Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.," said Todd Westby, a 32M CEO at the time.

The technology the company uses is called RFID or (Radio-Frequency Identification), which uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically-stored information. The chips also use near-field communications (NFC), the same type of technology that is used in most contactless credit cards and mobile payments.

Westby said at the time that these microchips have already become very popular in many European countries and that the companies intended to be ahead of the curve in bringing it to the U.S. Now they could become COVID passports.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Social Credit, comin' at ya
E.g.

- Biometrics and Insurance Risk Rating: Have you done your 10k steps today? (Y=$1 off Amazon purchase; N= higher risk rating, higher premiums)

- Telematics + Apple-Snooping for Security Risk Analysis: Which destinations do you visit frequently, how often, what duration, which day parts? Whom do you meet with? What do you discuss?

etc. The possibilities are endless.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 0:06 Comments || Top||

#2  My dogs are chipped...
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 1:08 Comments || Top||

#3  So...how easy is it to clone one of these chips?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/21/2021 1:18 Comments || Top||

#4  "Pfizer is about to buy Arena Pharmaceuticals for $6.7 billion. Arena is a biopharmaceutical company focused in part on cardiovascular and inflammatory medicines to a global patient cohort."
Posted by: Whons and Tenille1463 || 12/21/2021 4:03 Comments || Top||

#5  The chip "readers" will be very soft targets.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Revelation 13:17

And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark— the name of the beast or the number of its name. Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.…
Posted by: Warthog || 12/21/2021 9:57 Comments || Top||



#9  Warthog - next time, please include a link to the relevant video, okay?
Posted by: Raj || 12/21/2021 10:58 Comments || Top||

#10  ^ Total incoherence now. The vaccination failed-- so let's repeat it, and 'vaccinate' some more. We need 'boosters' every year - but those are failing, too.

So let's amp up the frequency to every few months.

Which will in turn fail, so the frequency will be increased, and increased and increased until the injections need to happen morning noon and night.
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 11:08 Comments || Top||

#11  The acceptance of the microchip speaks to what the Swedish are, lemmings.
Posted by: Vespasian Ebboting9735 || 12/21/2021 11:19 Comments || Top||

#12  If there's a dumb idea the Swedes haven't tried first, it's because the muzz beat them to it. No wonder they love importing so many sand crawlers...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 11:22 Comments || Top||

#13  My dogs are chipped...

As are our munks.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/21/2021 11:28 Comments || Top||

#14  ^ that was a chip shot, Steave
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 14:52 Comments || Top||

#15  Scandis have been trying to chip their people for about a decade now. The first try was shopping fashion, today it is covid chic.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/21/2021 15:24 Comments || Top||

#16  Same psychology that wants tattoos up the neck and across the face.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:26 Comments || Top||

#17  Actually I'm sort of cool with 'chipping' the illegals before they are released. Not that the chips have to do anything but just the idea planted in their mind that they might would be entertaining. Let them know that it too 'migrates' around the body, so trying to dig it out won't work.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 16:43 Comments || Top||

#18  Please, let us showcase a Mossberg side by side.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/21/2021 17:59 Comments || Top||

#19  I believe the technique is to feed them a meal then tell them it include a small microchip which will attach to the inside of their digestive tract so they can be identified and tracked for the rest of their lives.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/21/2021 19:37 Comments || Top||

#20  "Blood. Smart blood." Or should that be a comma?
Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 || 12/21/2021 20:45 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Suspect fined for terrorism advocacy
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a resident of Adygea Kazikhan Shakhpazov to a large fine, finding him guilty of publicly acquitting terrorism after comments on the Internet.

Kazikhan Shakhpazov, a 35-year-old native of the village of Azodogly, Magaramkent district of Dagestan, who lives in Adygea, was accused of publicly justifying terrorism using the Internet (part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia). The punishment under this article provides for both a fine of three hundred thousand to one million rubles and imprisonment for a term of five to seven years.

"It has been established that Shakhpazov, being at his place of residence in the village of Novaya Adygea, Takhtamukaysky district of the Republic of Adygea, using a mobile phone, posted comments on one of the social networks of the information and telecommunication network" Internet "under a news note containing positive assessments of the activities of the members of the banned terrorist organization, " told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in the press service of the Southern District Military Court.

The criminal case against Shakhpazov came to court on November 16, it was considered at one session, it follows from the card index on the website of the Southern District Military Court. The defendant was found guilty, he was fined 400,000 rubles.

The man pleaded guilty, the press service said. The "Caucasian Knot" has not yet received any comments from Kazikhan Shakhpazov and his representatives regarding the court's decision.

Daestan suspect convicted of participation in ISIS

[KavkazUzel] A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Abdulla Hasanov to 11 years in a strict regime colony, recognizing him as a member of an illegal armed group that was part of the Islamic State.

A 30-year-old native of the village of Berikey in the Derbent region of Dagestan, Hasanov was accused of participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of Russia) and participation in an illegal armed group (part 2 of Article 208 of the Criminal Code of Russia). The maximum punishment under these articles provides for up to twenty years and up to fifteen years in prison, respectively.

According to the investigation, Hasanov in December 2014 arrived through Turkey to the territory controlled by ISIS in Syria and joined an illegal armed group, which is a structural unit of ISIS.

In January 2015, Hasanov temporarily left for Russia, from where in June of the same year he left for Turkey in order to return to Syria, but in August 2015 he was deported from Turkey. In May 2016, through third countries, Hasanov again arrived in Syria, where he continued to participate in a terrorist organization. In June 2016, Hasanov left on vacation in Egypt, from where he was deported to Russia on January 18, 2021 and was detained on January 21, 2021.

"The defendant Hasanov admitted his guilt in his deed during the trial. In accordance with the court's verdict, the defendant was found guilty, and he was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in a maximum security correctional colony with serving the first two years in prison, with restriction of freedom for the term is one year," the press service of the Southern District Military Court told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Hasanov's criminal case came to court on August 9. The process took eight sessions. The "Caucasian Knot" has not yet received any comments from Abdulla Hasanov and his representatives regarding the decision of the court.

Kabardino-Balkaria suspect fined for justifying the militants' attack on Nalchik

[KavkazUzel] A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Luisa Kirzhinova, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, to a large fine, having found her guilty of publicly acquitting the militants' attack on Nalchik in October 2005.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the armed attack on the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria was carried out by militants on October 13, 2005. At least 35 security officials and 15 civilians were killed. Another 129 security officials and 66 civilians were injured, according to the "Caucasian Knot" statement "Attack on Nalchik on October 13-14, 2005." 

Luiza Kirzhinova, then a 23-year-old native of the village of Shalushka in the Chegem region of Kabardino-Balkaria, was accused of publicly justifying terrorism using the Internet (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia). The punishment under this article provides for a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to one million rubles or imprisonment for a term of five to seven years.

Investigators found that in July 2021, Kirzhinova, while at her place of residence in Nalchik, posted on a public page on a social network under a publication condemning the terrorist act committed on October 13, 2005 in Nalchik, a text commentary approving the actions of the perpetrators of this attack. The court found that this commentary contains "linguistic and psychological signs of the recognition of the practice of terrorism as correct, in need of support and imitation," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the press service of the Southern District Military Court.

Kirzhinova pleaded guilty, she was sentenced to a fine of 300,000 rubles, depriving her of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of sites for two years.

The criminal case against Kirzhinova entered the court on November 19, it was considered in one session, follows from the card index on the website of the Southern District Military Court. "Caucasian Knot" has not yet received any comments from Kirzhinova and her representatives regarding the court's decision.
Posted by: badanov || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11138 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: Politix
Three Democrats Announce Retirement Within 24 Hours
More leaving the field? What a lovely idea.
[Breitbart] Three vulnerable Democrats announced they would not be seeking reelection to the House of Representatives within 24 hours of each other, bringing the total of House Democrats not seeking reelection to 23.

Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Chairwoman of the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing immigration issues, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), announced they would not run for reelection within 24 hours of each other.

The three announcements from the House Democrats come as other older or more vulnerable Democrats have also announced they would leave their current seats, with more still rumored to come. The three announcements make 23 total Democrats: 15 have announced actual retirement from the public eye — including three committee chairs — while eight more Democrats announced they would run for a different office, either in a local or state election.

Breitbart News has extensively reported on Pelosi’s majority crumbling and the Democrats’ struggles to keep members in the House and find new candidates to run for office. There have also been rumors of more Democrats abandoning ship in the coming weeks and months leading up to the midterms, as more redistricting maps are accepted and deadlines to file for reelection are getting closer.
Posted by: Threanter Angack6216 || 12/21/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11141 views] Top|| File under:



#3  Even his dog is leaving.

White House shakeup: Biden to get new German Shepherd and cat as current dog gets rehomed
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/21/2021 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  So "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog" didn't work for Bidet the first time.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 8:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Pooch followed his nose ... sensed that a master who sniffs around little girls is bad news
Posted by: Merrick Ferret || 12/21/2021 9:20 Comments || Top||

#6 

Have to ask ....
Given whats her name trial and sequestered Diary ... Were any Epstein's customer/visitors or friends? ☺
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/21/2021 10:03 Comments || Top||

#7  Doubt Roybal-Allard's seat is in jeopardy. Sires' could be, but it'll be a long shot. Murphy's is certainly a possible flip (back.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/21/2021 10:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Interesting that two are from blue states.
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/21/2021 10:36 Comments || Top||

#9  CA and NJ redrew / are redrawing congressional districts (we know Adam Kinziger's worthless ass is gone because of it), so keep an eye on the other redistricted states for 'retirements' (AZ, CO, ID, WA, MI and HI).

Funny how this happened within a day+ of Manchin's NO on BBB vote. Well, I think it's funny (as shit)...
Posted by: Raj || 12/21/2021 11:08 Comments || Top||

#10  Remember - when they retire they get to make their reelection funds personal income. Even if you are in a safe district, but believe a tsunami of seats are going the other direction, why suffer through two more years or get out now. Far fewer GOPe and more Trumpist to be around. See - revenge is a dish best served up cold.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/21/2021 11:27 Comments || Top||

#11  Some of them are stupidly old and stupidly rich. What has to stop is people who serve one term or less getting lifetime bennies.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 11:30 Comments || Top||

#12  What has to stop is elected office being an avenue for enrichment.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/21/2021 15:04 Comments || Top||

#13  ^ Simply done. Hard term limits and asset freezes while in office. Anyone who isn't anxious to return to their lucrative private pursuits is "suspect," as Franklin said.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/21/2021 15:08 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
40[untagged]
3Islamic State
2Hamas
2Banditti
2Commies
2Govt of Iran
2Houthis
2Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
2Taliban/IEA
2Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1Govt of Sudan
1Baloch Liberation Army
1Pak Taliban (TTP)
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Jaish-e-Mohammad
1[untagged]
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Devout Moslems
1Ottoman Proxies
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
Comments Spam
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
RSS Links
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio
Sink Trap

Alzheimer's Association
Day by Day
Counterterrorism
Hair Through the Ages







On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2021-12-21
  Saudi Arabian 'potential terrorist' nabbed at US-Mexico border
Mon 2021-12-20
  Death Toll In Fresh Bandits’ Attack On Kaduna Communities Rises To 38
Sun 2021-12-19
  2018 Bodh Gaya blast: 3 JMB terrorists get life imprisonment
Sat 2021-12-18
  ISIS-linked extremists decapitate Christian pastor in Mozambique
Fri 2021-12-17
  US Navy rescues Iranian drug smugglers from burning ship off coast of Oman
Thu 2021-12-16
  Libya PM's office surrounded by militia
Wed 2021-12-15
  Police foil Al-Shabaab's attempt to abduct Imam in Kenya Mosque
Tue 2021-12-14
  Taliban Seek Ties with U.S., Other ex-Foes
Mon 2021-12-13
  Four dead at funeral of Hamas member killed in Lebanon explosion
Sun 2021-12-12
  Warring Libyan Armed Forces Agree to Unite Army
Sat 2021-12-11
  Pakistani Taliban have called off a ceasefire mediated with the help of the Afghan Taliban
Fri 2021-12-10
  Bandits Raid Another Mosque In Niger State, Shoot 15 Worshippers Dead
Thu 2021-12-09
  French cops foil 'ISIS' Christmas knife rampage as they arrest two
Wed 2021-12-08
  Syria Says Israeli Warplanes Hit Latakia Port Containers
Tue 2021-12-07
  Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga retake northern village from ISIS fighters

Better than the average link...



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.
216.73.216.177
Paypal:
WoT Operations (24)    Non-WoT (15)    Opinion (7)    (0)    Politix (16)