[IsraelTimes] The US and Egypt, who are mediating renewed talks for a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, are pressuring Israel to agree to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, according to reports by the Kan public broadcaster and Saudi outlet Al Arabiya.
Al Arabiya also reports that the proposal being discussed in clandestine talks would have the Palestinian Authority manage the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and that Hamas has handed Egypt a list of hostages it is holding.
Israel has repeatedly said over the past months that it will not agree to leave the Philadelphi Corridor or to let the PA have any role in postwar Gaza.
Accordingly, Kan cites Israeli sources saying it is too early for optimism since a deal still depends on the sides showing more flexibility.
It cites an Egyptian source saying many problems remain, including that Israel is expressing dissatisfaction with the progress in the talks, especially “hawkish” elements in the Israeli government.
The same source says the outline under discussion isn’t very different from previous proposals that were discussed and ultimately rejected in the past.
This is despite renewed reports and statements about progress in the talks and hopes that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria will further drive the isolated Hamas to compromise on its long-held hardline demands.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 news reports that the government’s point man on the hostages, Gal Hirsch, has told hostage families recently that Israel won’t leave Gaza before the last hostage returns.
#2
Negotiate hard, O Feckless Weasels of the State Department! This will be your last chance to convince the Juice to throw themselves into the sea for quite some time. Your task will be made more difficult by the fact that they do not care about anything you have to say. Enjoy the buffet!
[IsraelTimes] Human trafficking has risen sharply due to conflicts, climate-induced disasters and global crises, according to a United Nations report.
In 2022, the latest year for which data is widely available, the number of known victims worldwide rose to 25% above 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons says. A sharp fall in 2020 had largely disappeared by the following year.
“Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labor, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence,” the report says, adding that organized crime is mainly responsible.
Children account for 38% of detected victims, compared to 35% for figures for 2020, which formed the basis of the previous report.
#1
The open borders crowd dance around the campfire of their own statistic.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 13:49
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Stacking bodies from keel to deck in any shitty apartment/hotel complex they can find.
Story time. Successful guy I know gathers with other successfuls annually. Among the crew is a dude of Indian decent, whose family did the whole buy a hotel, live in and rennovate, get another model. Making bank off of the illegals.
No hate on the player, they've been doing the model for decades. The Game gave them the Community Chest. Made a based family who now has money, because they know the raman months and work put in, and see their gov/NGO clients get all that money for nothing and their g_rapes for free.
[IsraelTimes] Aid group says Israel did not share evidence of claims, insists move taken ‘to protect our team and our operations’ and that it should not be seen as an indictment of those fired
A US-based charity, the World Central Kitchen, fired dozens of Paleostinians working for the charity in 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, three workers told Rooters after Israel said at least 62 staff were linked to terror groups.
In a message to staff, WCK confirmed that it had "made changes" after Israel demanded an investigation into its hiring practices in Gaza.
"This should not be taken as a conclusion by WCK that the individuals are affiliated with any terror organization," it said, adding that Israel had not shared its intelligence and "we do not know the basis for Israel’s decision to flag these individuals."
It said it had taken the step "to protect our team and our operations." A WCK spokesperson confirmed that 62 people had been let go.
An Israeli security official told Rooters that Israel had demanded an investigation into staff potentially linked to the Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... -led massacre on southern on October 7, 2023, after it said a WCK employee identified as Ahed Azmi Qdeih took part in the onslaught, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Qdeih was killed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in Gaza on November 30. WCK confirmed the airstrike at the time and said it had no knowledge about an employee involved in last year’s brutal assault.
The official said an Israeli security review found that 62 WCK employees had "affiliations and direct connections" with terror groups.
"Consequently, senior Israeli officials demanded that WCK terminate the employment of those workers," he said.
The Israeli allegations against WCK staff echo similar accusations against staff working for the main United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Paleostinian relief body, UNRWA. In August, the United Nations said nine UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the October 7 massacre and had been fired.
Israel has alleged that 10 percent of the UN agency’s staff in Gaza have ties to terror groups — a charge of which the agency says it has no evidence.
Two WCK workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said they had been informed the termination was based on an Israeli assessment of the workers and came for "security reasons," a term usually used to indicate links with Paleostinian terror groups.
"They told me and others that Israel rejected us for security reasons. It is a joke," one worker told Rooters, asking not to be named for fear of Israeli reprisals.
#1
Aid group says Israel did not share evidence of claims, insists move taken ‘to protect our team and our operations’ and that it should not be seen as an indictment of those fired
So, they say that they're firing these people just for being Gazans?
#4
So, they say that they're firing these people just for being Gazans?
It is more a matter of self interest. If the IDF thinks they are terrs, they are gonna get whacked. The rest of the staff do not want to be standing around next to them when it happens.
Way to respect — or at least recognize — diverse cultures, guys.
[IsraelTimes] US also mulling removing terror label from HTS if group takes steps to moderate, protect women and minorities, says new government must destroy chemical, biological weapons.
The IDF is taking care of fhe chemical and biological weapons, guys. Somehow they know exactly where the Assad regime had all that stored and manufactured. It’s like their spy squirrels see all, and pipe it directly to the targetting crews.
[IsraelTimes] Officers arrest suspected driver in parking lot after pursuit; police said to increasingly suspect earlier stabbing in Karmiel was also terror attack
A man was lightly injured Tuesday evening in a terror car-ramming attack, the Israel Police said.
Security camera footage published by the Ynet news site showed a car speeding up and then apparently hitting the 21-year-old victim off-screen.
The injured man was in good condition and was taken to Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center in the city, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said in a statement.
Police said they arrested the suspected driver in a nearby underground parking lot after a pursuit by officers.
Hebrew media outlets said the suspect was from the Arab Israeli town of Zemer.
Police said the incident is under investigation, and that they increased their deployment in the area.
Separately, police were increasingly suspecting that an incident earlier Tuesday in which a man stabbed a police officer and a security guard in the northern city of Karmiel was a terror attack, according to several Hebrew media reports.
The incident had its roots on Saturday, when the assailant, from the Arab town of Nahf, was briefly arrested after a soldier complained that he had tried to reach for her firearm. In his questioning, the man said he had merely tried to move the weapon out of his way, not grab it.
On Tuesday, the same man arrived at the cop shoppe in Karmiel and was stopped at the entrance after giving insufficient answers as to why he was entering, saying he wanted to "speak with the cops," according to the Ynet news site.
He then brandished out a knife and attacked the cop — who didn’t require hospitalization — and the guard, who was maimed.
Police initially said the motive was criminal, but later said all possibilities, including terror, were being looked into.
Tuesday’s incidents came only days after an Israeli soldier was seriously maimed in the southern West Bank, when an assailant rammed his vehicle into the reservist at a junction outside the Al Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron, before fleeing the scene.
Later in the evening, the suspected rammer turned himself in to security forces, the IDF said.
Since Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... ’s October 7, 2023, massacre, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in festivities with terror operatives in the West Bank.
[IsraelTimes] Australian PM denounces attack in Woollahra, which comes days after arson of Melbourne synagogue; Australian Jewish Association accuses government of ignoring warnings of violence
A car was set alight and two properties spray painted with anti-Israel messages in Sydney just days after an arson attack at a synagogue in Melbourne which is being investigated as terrorism, Australian authorities said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the latest attack, the second targeting the Jewish community in the Sydney suburb in three weeks, was an “outrage” and he would be briefed on it soon by a new antisemitism task force.
“This is an attack on people because they happen to be Jewish,” Albanese told ABC Radio.
“The idea that we take a conflict overseas and bring it here is something that is quite contrary to what Australia was built on … this is a hate crime, it’s as simple as that.”
Police said they were seeking two males believed to be in their late teens who were “disguised” and seen running from the scene in in the eastern suburb of Woollahra, an area with a large Jewish population.
The offenders burned the car they had been driving in the early hours, and spread graffiti over the burned car, another vehicle, two buildings and a footpath, New South Wales state police said.
Images on local media showed the misspelled phrase “Kill Israiel” sprayed in black on a white wall.
A contractor painted over the graffiti soon afterwards.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the incident would be treated as “a wanton act of vandalism,” with offenders facing up to 10 years in jail.
“I don’t think there is any point in sugar coating it or trying to downplay it. This isn’t just a random act of destruction, this was specifically designed to incite hate,” Minns said at a media briefing.
[IsraelTimes] GOP’s Brian Mast has been a pugnacious defender of Israel in Congress, wore an Israeli uniform to the US Capitol in show of support after Oct. 7
The US House of Representatives elected Florida Representative Brian Mast, a zealous pro-Israel Republican who has volunteered with a group that assists the Israeli army, to chair the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mast bested three other contenders to succeed Texas Representative Michael McCaul, who is term-limited. Insiders say that President-elect Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... lobbied the Republican Steering Committee, which names committee chairs, to choose Mast.
"I have no doubt Congressman Mast — a distinguished combat veteran and experienced member of this committee — will serve the nation well in this role, as he sacrificed in Afghanistan," McCaul said in a statement.
Mast, 44, first endorsed Trump in 2016, when Mast himself was first running for Congress, and has been one of his most loyal defenders in the body, taking a prominent role in this year’s campaign. Mast is also aligned with Trump’s more isolationist bent, opposing US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. McCaul and the three other contenders, Representatives Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Anne Wagner of Missouri and Darrell Issa of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, are more aligned with traditional Republican internationalist principles.
Mast, a Christian and military veteran who lost both legs on duty in Afghanistan in 2010, volunteered in 2015 with Sar-El, a group that places civilians from abroad in support positions with the Israeli army. He has said the experience helped shape him.
A dedicated page on his congressional website describes the experience. "I learned at the Shabbat tables of my hosts just how much each family truly desires peace between every neighbor of Israel, regardless of religion or history," he said. "We cannot let Israel face its enemies alone."
Mast wore his Israeli army uniform to Congress in the days after October 7, 2023, when Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... massacred some 1,200 people inside Israel and took 251 hostage.
Mast’s pro-Israel posture has often been pugnacious. California Representative Sara Jacobs, a Jewish Democrat, last year sought to censure Mast for suggesting that there were no innocent Paleostinian civilians in the war Israel was waging against Hamas in 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
"I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of innocent Paleostinian civilians, as is frequently said," Mast said at the time. "I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term innocent Nazi civilians during World War II."
[IsraelTimes] Channel 12 reports that months before Oct 7, terror group conducted mass exercise that flew under Israel’s radar, giving group confidence in ability to strike Jewish state
In a May 2023 exercise, the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... terror group in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with 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... mobilized some 2,000 fighters from its elite Nukhba force to simulate a surprise attack on Israel, some five months before it went on to launch its October 7, 2023, onslaught, Channel 12 reported Monday, citing the findings of a military probe.
According to the report, fighters were scrambled to various designated gathering points, mostly in mosques, to simulate preparations for an invasion of Israeli communities across the Gaza border.
The network said the drill became known to Israel only many months later through documents seized in Gaza during the subsequent war and through interrogations of captured Nukhba fighters.
It was one of the many signals that Israeli intelligence either missed or ignored that the terror group was planning to invade the country.
Following the exercise, a narrow panel of Hamas’s highest military council met to assess the drill, the report said. Among those who participated in the meeting — documents from which were found by Israeli troops in a Hamas bunker during the war — were Muhammad Deif, then commander of the group’s military wing, and Yahya Sinwar, then its Gaza chief.
The panel reportedly determined that the exercise was a resounding success, having flown under the radar of Israeli intelligence.
According to Channel 12, several officials from the security establishment confirmed the details of the report. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment.
Thousands of Hamas-led murderous Moslems invaded Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault, triggering the ongoing war.
Multiple media investigations in the 14 months since the attack have noted intelligence officers’ awareness of some Hamas exercises simulating an invasion, which led to warnings that were ignored by intelligence higher-ups, who believed the terror group was grandstanding, and uninterested in conflict.
A dossier compiled by the IDF’s Military Intelligence’s Unit 8200 less than three weeks before October 7 warned that Hamas was training for a large-scale invasion of Israel, during which hostages would be taken en masse.
In addition, an email sent to intelligence officials in the IDF’s Gaza Division just days before the attack reportedly warned that an invasion was imminent, citing Hamas exercises in the Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to allow for a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to the Hamas attack, despite calls to do so from politicians across the political spectrum, as well as the president and the attorney general.
Netanyahu has argued such investigations should wait for the end of the war, while reportedly seeking a lower-level committee with less robust investigative powers. Critics say Netanyahu fears he could face blame for the failures that enabled the attack.
[IsraelTimes] Military say aircraft attacked terror operatives who participated in killing of Staff Sgt. Ido Zano, Staff Sgt. Barak Daniel Halpern and Sgt. Omri Cohen
The IDF said Tuesday morning that an airstrike in Gaza had killed 10 Hamas operatives who were involved in the deaths of three IDF soldiers the day before.
Staff Sgt. Ido Zano, Staff Sgt. Barak Daniel Halpern and Sgt. Omri Cohen were killed and 12 others were wounded in Jabalia when Hamas operatives launched anti-tank projectiles and opened fire at troops as they were getting ready to head out of the Strip for a furlough.
The troops were boarding a lightly armored truck used to transport troops when Hamas operatives launched anti-tank projectiles and opened fire at them.
The military said it was further investigating the incident, which came amid an IDF offensive against Hamas in the Strip’s far northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun launched in early September.
So far, the military estimates that it has killed at least 1,750 operatives during the recent operation, while another 1,300 have been detained, and around 90,000 civilians evacuated from the area. Thirty-four IDF soldiers have been killed so far in the operation.
The IDF published footage of the strike that killed the Hamas operatives involved in the deadly attack on the soldiers.
It said operations against terror infrastructure were continuing.
The war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 386. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 44,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
[IsraelTimes] COGAT, the Defense Ministry body which coordinates Israeli activity in Gaza and the West Bank, says that 201 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Strip yesterday.
In a statement, COGAT says that 55 of the trucks entered Gaza directly through Gate 96, entering the northern Strip near Kibbutz Be’eri. It also says that six tankers of cooking gas were also transferred into Gaza yesterday.
[IsraelTimes] Tehran says it has brought home 4,000 Iranian citizens from Syria following the ouster of its ally Bashar al-Assad as rebels took over Damascus.
“Over the past three days, 4,000 Iranian citizens were returned to Iran,” Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokeswoman for Iran’s government, says at a press conference in the capital.
[IsraelTimes] The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says the Islamic Republic has not been weakened following the fall of its ally, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria, Iranian media reports.
“We have not been weakened and Iran’s power has not diminished,” Hossein Salami is quoted as telling members of parliament in a closed session. "No. No. We're fine. It's just a rash"
“The overthrow of the Zionist regime is not off the agenda,” Salami says in the session, which meets to discuss the latest developments in Syria.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, a senior commander of the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — which leads the insurgent alliance, says that the rebel forces completely took control of Deir Ezzor.
A member HTS says in a recorded video that the group will soon conduct a thorough sweep of the city’s neighborhoods to secure the area, adding that the strategic nearby town of Boukamal has also fallen to opposition forces.
“We will advance toward Raqqa and Hasakah and other areas in eastern Syria,” the HTS fighters says.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces had only held the city for a few days. The SDF said it deployed to Deir Ezzor and west of the Euphrates River on Friday, replacing Syrian government forces. At the time, the SDF said its fighters were not in control of the Boukamal border crossing with Iraq, which Israel has struck numerous times over the years to thwart arms transfers to Iran-linked groups.
SDF issued general amnesty in Deir ez-Zor Saturday
07-12-2024
[Rudaw] The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday issued a general amnesty in areas of Deir ez-Zor province that are newly under their control.
“As our forces advance into Deir Ezzor to secure the region in light of the evolving situation, we are declaring a general amnesty without exception in these areas,” SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi stated on X.
The SDF announced on Friday that they had deployed to areas previously held by the Syrian army in Deir ez-Zor. The army withdrew as it is facing a rapidly moving offensive by rebel forces in the north and west.
Basam Ishak, a representative of the SDF’s political wing in Washington, told Rudaw on Saturday that the Kurdish-led force is now in control of approximately 40 percent of Syrian territory. Ishak said the deployment into previously regime-held territory was necessary to avoid a “security vacuum.”
One of the security threats comes from a resurgent Islamic State (ISIS). Abdi told reporters on Friday that “there are increased activities of ISIS mercenaries in the Badia region, and the south, and east of Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa. There are movements and they have taken control of some areas recently.”
He said that they are working with the United States-led global coalition to recapture these areas.
839 Kurdish families return to Afrin
07-12-2024
[Rudaw] According to the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), over 4,000 Kurds have returned home to Afrin from Shahba. However, Arabs from Latakia, Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo and other areas have settled in Kurdish homes on the Afrin border and refuse to leave.
Rawaj Haji, member of the board of directors and human resources at BCF told Rudaw on Saturday that they are welcoming displaced Kurds from Afrin who are returning from Shahba. He explained that besides providing food, they are overseeing their return to Afrin while registering their names to offer further aid later.
‘’839 families have returned, totaling 4,100 people.’’ Rawaj Haji told Rudaw
Haji clarified that ‘’There is no one in camps, and those who do not have a home of their own, are in the homes of their relatives,’’.
There are 6 districts and 366 villages along the border of Afrin, and since it was taken over by armed opposition groups, most of the residents of these areas have been displaced and are not ready to return home.
When last year's twin earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, the BCF convoy was one of the first deliveries of aid to rebel-held northwest Syria.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, head of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) office for the displaced and refugees, told Rudaw English that the opposition militants have taken the 15,000 people to an unknown place. Most of these people hail from the Kurdish city of Afrin which was controlled by the same militia groups and Ankara in 2018.
International organizations have recorded numerous human rights violations in Afrin since 2018.
“Kurdish residents have borne the brunt of the abuses due to their perceived ties to Kurdish-led forces that control vast swathes of northeast Syria,” the Human Rights Watch said in February, referring to areas under the control of Ankara-backed groups, including Afrin.
On Tuesday, Ahmed told Rudaw English that about 100,000 people had left Shahba for Tabqa. He said on Thursday that the number has not increased, adding that the 15,000 people stuck in the area amount to 6,000 families.
200 Kurds remain Imprisoned in Afrin despite amnesty issued: Kurdish official
09-12-2024
[Rudaw] Despite a recent amnesty issued by the authorities in Afrin, around 200 Kurds remain in prisons, a Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) official said on Monday, noting that over 2,000 families have returned to the Kurdish city since the start of the recent escalations in Syria.
As the Syrian rebels, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), entered the capital Damascus, announcing the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the rebels released inmates of the country’s most notorious prisons. For its part, the Turkey-backed Syrian interim government that governs over Afrin issued a general amnesty.
“Nobody knows why the released prisoners were jailed in the first place, so we demanded to release any Kurd from Afrin and the surrounding areas, without any questioning,” Ahmed Hassan, the head of the ENKS local council told Rudaw.
Hassan noted that despite the general amnesty, some prisoners remain in the jails.
“We request that the prisons are emptied of prisoners. According to our information, around 200 Kurds have yet to be freed,” he said.
Hassan said that they have helped over 2,000 families from Aleppo, Shahba, and Tal Tamir to return to Afrin with the help of the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), since the start of the recent escalation in Syria.
Hassan said that many of the returning families found that their houses were occupied by Arab settlers, adding that “the returnees now live with their relatives that have a house in the area.”
The Arabs who have settled in Afrin are from the areas of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, and Deir ez-Zor, according to Hassan, who said that the settlers also desire returning to their homes.
“The Arabs also have their own homes and want to go back. When their return in phases begins, then the people of Afrin will go back to their houses,” Hassan said.
The ENKS official noted that they have no statistics on how many Arabs have returned to their hometowns and cities, but that ‘’the return has begun’’.
Hassan urged the people of Afrin, who have been displaced in Syria or sought refuge in Europe, to return home to “weaken the demographic change that had taken place.”
Many Kurdish families fled Afrin following the occupation of the city in 2018, after Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch, eliminating the Kurdish forces that once controlled the area.
[PJMedia] I wrote not long ago about the consequences in Germany after Reunification when the Stasi records weren't successfully destroyed and the German people got hold of them. I suspect that recollection has a lot to do with why so many entrenched bureaucrats are so opposed to Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Hegseth, and Patel.
I have to admit I'm looking forward to the side-effects of a bunch of Trump's picks getting into the Cabinet and doing something similar with the Epstein passenger lists, the other 30,000 hours of the tapes from the Capitol "insurrection," and the records of the extensive wiretapping and surveillance of Trump and the Trump campaign.
The Assad records, assuming they become public and I strongly suspect they will, may be 100 times worse than any of these, and comparable to the records of the Nazi Sicherheitsdienst and the death camps.
Bashir Assad's murderous dictatorial regime has, we're certain, killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians with everything from simple guns and bombs to chemical weapons. They've also collaborated with Iran to supply Hamas and Hezbollah with weapons and safe harbor. (The Wikipedia article, at this moment, looks pretty reliable — and very depressing — if you want a summary.)
Consider some of what we can be pretty certain is in those records: Who in Russia is going to be implicated? Who in Iran? What about connections to the Ba'athist movements in Iraq, and the records from the Syrian occupation of Lebanon?
[NYPOST] FBI Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday he was stepping down as head of the bureau, just days after Republicans expressed a loss of confidence in him.
Wray, 57, told FBI employees in an afternoon town hall that ''after weeks of careful thought,'' he had decided to resign in January at the end of the current administration, caving to pressure from GOP senators and President-elect Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... ''My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American people every day,'' he said. ''In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.''
#2
I got so tired of this guy being in front of some Congressional committee and always giving the same response: "I'm sorry I'm not at liberty to discuss that. It's under investigation." Good riddance that he's gone. Maybe a perp walk in his future?
Nota bene: A certain John C. Williams is the president and chief executive officer of the New York Federal Reserve. Is he aware of this?
Posted by: 3dc ||
12/11/2024
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[11166 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
Hezbollah was an Iranian proxy in Lebanon, Syria is bordered by Lebanon, pallets of NY Fed cash found in Assad Banks, billions released to Iran by Biden Admin....hmmm, there must be some whopping coincidences here, like the Epstein case, or ?
Perhaps someone has a clue?
#3
The US purchased something from these people. What was it ?
a. Military land basing lease agreements ?
b. Saddam's old Chemical weapons ?
c. Chemical research and destruction ?
d. Payments destined for third parties ?
#4
Besoeker third parties can buy currency and ship them elsewhere too. We will need the tracking for that QR code to see where it was shipped too from NY.
#8
Washington needs a lot of sunlight. The corrupticrats have had a stranglehold on D.C. for a long time. Ultimately, the American taxpayers are hosed. That is why there is all this talk of "blanket pardons."
[CruxNow] ROME -- In the wake of global controversy over a Nativity scene displayed at the Vatican showing the infant Jesus resting upon a Palestinian keffiyeh, widely seen as a pro-Palestinian statement, that set has now been removed.
The Nativity, designed by two artists from the Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, was described by the Palestine Chronicle as "a poignant nod to the Palestinian struggle," yet received blowback from the Israeli and Jewish communities.
Referring to Jesus's own historical Jewish roots, having been born to Jewish parents in what was then the Roman province of Judea, one online commentator wrote, "Does the pope think Jesus wasn't a Jew either? Did he even read the Bible?" The only way the attached image could have been even less appropriate was to put the image of the Christ Child in an oven.
[Tablet] As the dust settles from the 2024 presidential election, a new administration makes its way to Washington where it will find the same federal bureaucracy, four years older, four years more deeply entrenched, impassively waiting for the new reformers to expend their energy for change like a large ocean wave breaking on an unyielding rocky shoreline.
The entire history of the republic has taken place against the backdrop of steady expansion in the scope and concentration of power at the federal level. Once a new federal agency is put in place, to alleviate one or another societal alleged need or political expedient, removing it becomes a Sisyphean task. Good luck getting rid of the Department of Education. Over time, the old physical swamp at the center of Washington, D.C., has been replaced by a bureaucratic swamp—the marshland was drained, to be succeeded by an archipelago of imposing granite and concrete buildings, housing an alphabet soup of government entities: FBI, FTC, FRB, HUD, IRS, ITC, and so on. As more and more power flowed from the states to the central government, the capital became encased in ever-expanding rings of deep blue congressional districts peopled by equally expanding legions of government workers. The growth of the federal government is thus matched by the suburban sprawl that spreads every year farther into the countryside.
As power and control accumulates in Washington, tax revenue and other resources flow out of the rest of the country and into Washington like stuff being sucked into a black hole—even economically depressed areas are taxed to "feed the feds," driving up real estate prices and congesting the roadways in the nation’s capital.
While too many new presidents have embraced this process, Reagan sought to reverse it, only to slow the sprawl for a few years. Is the lesson, then, that Washington will continue to expand at the expense of the rest of the country? Is this process unstoppable? It needn’t be. While striking a balance between the attributions of the federal and state governments is complicated, controlling the physical location of government activity is much more straightforward.
Let’s disperse the government agencies away from the gridlocked highways and overpriced real estate of the Washington, D.C., area to the economically depressed regions of the country they serve, recycling the federal budget back to the economy from which it came.
#7
First close the FBI, or make it back to what its charter originally was. There is no real constitutional right for the feds to police the people, its a states rights issue. Policing the people by order of the president is not supposed to be allowed.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/11/2024 13:27
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#8
They could move the FBI to that town across the strait from Siberia— so they can keep an eye on it, at least clear days. ;-)
There's a little island way out at the very end of the Aleutian chain... About 100 miles from Russia... It desperately needs about 7,000 FBI agents from the Washington D.C. office...
Might take some time... I don't think the airfield can handle anything over a Cessna.
#9
Crazy Fool...
AP went out there once to check on it's sewer system. It couldn'd handle 7000 FBI agents.
There are really only 2 buildings of any size on that island. One contains the school. The other everybody lives in.
AP refused to bid on a contract for that sewer system.
#12
In Washington there are the FBI headquarters and the Washington FBI field office. I believe they are separate buildings.
A high school classmate was stationed at the field office. He is sickened by what the FBI has become. He blames it on the idiots at the headquarters.
[FoxNews] President-elect Trump on Tuesday announced several picks to join his incoming administration, including tapping Jacob Helberg to serve as his Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment and Kimberly Guilfoyle to serve as ambassador to Greece.
Trump announced the picks on his Truth Social platform.
"In this role Jacob will be a champion of our America First Foreign Policy," he wrote. "He will guide State Department policy on Economic statecraft, promoting America’s Economic security and growth, and American technological dominance abroad. Jacob is a successful technology executive, has the knowledge, expertise, and pragmatism to defend America’s Economic interests abroad, and always puts AMERICA FIRST!"
Guilfoyle was nominated to serve as ambassador to Greece.
"For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally. Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States, and safeguard its interests abroad," Trump said.
Guilfoyle, 55, who previously dated Donald Trump Jr., but the pair have reportedly broken up. She was previously married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
Guilfoyle has been a loyal ally of Trump and was a staple at many Trump family gatherings. In a post on X, she said she was "honored" to accept the nomination.
"President Trump’s historic victory is bringing hope and optimism to the American people and to freedom-loving allies across the world," she wrote. "It was the democratic values born in Greece that helped shape the founding of America."
The nomination would require Senate confirmation.
Tom Barrack, a private equity real estate investor and founder of Colony Capital LLC, was tapped to serve as ambassador to Turkey.
"He is a well respected and experienced voice of reason to a wide range of thought leaders in both political and business circles," Trump wrote.
Attorney Mark Meador was tapped to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. Meador previously served as deputy chief counsel for antitrust and competition policy to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee.
Ed Martin will serve as the next Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget, Trump also announced.
"Together with Phyllis Schlafly, they co-wrote 'The Conservative Case for Trump,'" he said, referring to the deceased anti-feminist activist.
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, R- N.C., was named the deputy director for the Budget at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
In that role, Bishop will implement Trump's "cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda" and root out the "Weaponized Deep State."
"I’m so honored to be nominated by President Trump to serve in the stellar OMB team led by @russvought," Bishop wrote on X. "Much work to do to fight for and implement President Trump’s agenda. I’m ready to get down to it. Let’s go!"
[FoxNews] Johnson previously served under Trump as ambassador to El Salvador during his first administration
Former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador Ronald Johnson has been tapped by President-elect Trump to serve as ambassador to Mexico in his upcoming administration.
Like many of his picks, Trump announced the news on his Truth Social network.
"Ron will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through strong America First Foreign Policies," he wrote.
"During my First Term, Ron served as the Ambassador to El Salvador, where he worked tirelessly with Salvadoran authorities and our team to reduce violent crime and illegal migration to the lowest levels in History," he added.
Johnson, a former official with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Army Green Beret, would serve in one of the high-profile diplomatic posts in the Trump administration.
Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexico if it doesn't do more to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs across the southern border. He's also threatened to impose tariffs on Canada and China as well.
In his announcement, Trump said Johnson would help put an end to "migrant crime, stop the illegal flow of Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our Country and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!"
[FoxNews] Nancy Mace says 'women deserve to be safe' after reports that she was physically accosted
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she was physically accosted on Capitol grounds Tuesday night, and the suspect has since been arrested.
The U.S. Capitol Police said that just before 6 p.m. the office of a member of Congress, later identified as Mace, reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building.
House division officers and agents with the Threat Assessment Section of the police department tracked down the suspect, identified as 33-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she was physically accosted on Capitol grounds Tuesday night, and the suspect has since been arrested.
The U.S. Capitol Police said that just before 6 p.m. the office of a member of Congress, later identified as Mace, reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building.
House division officers and agents with the Threat Assessment Section of the police department tracked down the suspect, identified as 33-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois.
Police interviewed McIntyre and ultimately arrested him on the grounds of assaulting a government official.
"I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women. Capitol police have arrested him," Mace said in a post on X. "All the violence and threats keep proving our point. Women deserve to be safe. Your threats will not stop my fight for women!"
Mace has been vocal about her opposition to transgender individuals using bathrooms not assigned to their biological gender.
[IsraelTimes] Assault rifle and knives found as police swoop in on two Lebanese-German brothers in Mannheim and a German-Turkish man from Hochtaunus
Three suspected Islamist forces of Evil have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of preparing a "serious act of violence," with an assault rifle and knives also seized, authorities said Tuesday.
Police swooped Sunday on the homes of two German-Lebanese brothers aged 15 and 20 in the city of Mannheim, and a 22-year-old German-Ottoman Turkish man from the Hochtaunus district of Hessen state.
That’s the very pretty, fairly expensive Taunus hills area west of Frankfurt am Main, where I lived when we were in Germany. Lots of international business and financial types.
The act that they were planning could have "endangered the state," local prosecutors and police said in a statement, without disclosing further details.
Germany has faced a string of attacks and plots by suspected Islamists in recent years and has been on high alert since Paleostinian terror group Hams led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, setting off the ongoing war in 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
The brothers detained in Mannheim, who had a "strong religious ideology and profound sympathy" for 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.... (IS) group, had made concrete preparations for an attack, authorities said.
The assault rifle, along with ammunition, was found during a search of the 22-year-old German-Ottoman Turkish man’s home, they said. Several knives, a balaclava and mobile phones were also found during searches.
But officials stressed that "at no point was there any concrete danger to the public." The suspects are in pre-trial detention.
Roman Poseck, Hessen state interior minister, praised law enforcement officials for making the arrests in "good time, before any acts could be carried out."
"At the same time, it is once again clear that the security situation is tense," Poseck added.
Germany has in recent times seen a series of allegedly Islamist-motivated knife attacks. Three people were killed and eight maimed in a stabbing spree at a street festival in the western city of Solingen in August. Police arrested a Syrian suspect over the attack that was claimed by IS. In June, a policeman was killed in a knife attack in Mannheim, with an Afghan national held as the main suspect.
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] "Squad" House member Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has been slammed as "delusional" by critics after she suggested that subway riders in New York City should be afraid of Daniel Penny. The 26-year-old Marine veteran was acquitted on Monday.
Penny was acquitted after a Manhattan jury ruled that Penny was not guilty of criminally negligent homicide and the judge dismissed the manslaughter charge against him. Amid the acquittal, a clip has resurfaced of Ocasio-Cortez reacting to Penny's previous comments saying that he felt he would take action again if there was a clear and present danger to the people around him.
''If we do not want violence on the subways and the point of our justice system is a level of accountability to prevent a person who does not have remorse about taking another person's life," Ocasio-Cortez said. ''I mean even people who have engaged in manslaughter or have taken a life accidentally express remorse." She added, "The fact that a person has expressed no remorse indicates a risk that it may happen again. And if we do not want to unleash that level of violence then we should exert a level of accountability to prevent that from happening."
Penny had been asked by news hounds in May 2023 if he would take action again prior to the case going to trial and said at the time, ''I would — if there was a threat and danger in the present." Social media users have slammed the Democratic politician as "delusional" for making the comments about Penny, per the New York Post.
One user mocked the representative's claim, saying, "They should rename that the Daniel Penny line. The only safe subway in New York."
#5
Nancy was smart enough to get and keep power til she lost it. AOC is America's dumbest bartender
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2024 19:14
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#6
TW, I have not been in a fight in years. Generally speaking, people tend to behave around me. I am 6’2” and 270 pounds. I imagine that things will change when I get my first walker. Kid tried to mug me 10 years ago. That stuff seems to still turn my dial to berserk.i am peaceful and try to stay out of situations where that stuff is necessary, but there is a freedom to just letting things go.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 20:29
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#7
<3 I found a book for Mr. Wife on fighting with walking sticks, Super Hose, but it didn’t teach him anything new after he’d trained with a bo staff. (Bo staffs, in my experience, are just like long twirling batons, which raises interesting questions about the pretty girls fronting marching bands.) Strap a sturdy aluminum walking stick to your walker and nobody will question its benign purpose, when the time comes.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A senior Syrian soldier who used to feed prisoners to his pet lion has reportedly been publicly executed by local rebels.
Talal Dakkak, a feared member of the Syrian Army's elite 25th Division - also known as the Tiger Forces - has been killed by local militia in the western city of Hama, according to media on the ground.
Videos posted to X on Tuesday claimed to show preparations being made for Dakkak's execution, although his death has not been officially verified.
It's said he was going to be killed in front of a crowd - a plan set for senior members of the Syrian Army by local rebel militia.
The brutal enforcer, also known as Abu Sakhr, was one of Syria's most notorious army leaders and powerful businessmen in Hama and at one point led a 1,500-strong militia of the Air Force Intelligence.
He gained notoriety after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it with the bodies of his prisoners, according to an article from The Syrian Observer in 2019.
Dakkak also reportedly filmed the cub demolishing a live horse before posting the footage on social media.
He is responsible for several other horrific criminal acts, including kidnapping, killing and organ trade the article adds. Dakkak was also reportedly involved in smuggling and selling unregistered vehicles and trading narcotics.
The former taxi driver is thought to be one of a number of senior army members to have been captured by the rebels after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's longstanding regime.
A Syria war monitor said on Tuesday that Islamic State group jihadists killed 54 government soldiers who were fleeing as Islamist-led rebels pressed an offensive. ISIS jihadists captured 'personnel fleeing military service in the dessert... during the collapse of the regime' of president Bashar al-Assad and 'executed 54' of them in the Sukhna area in the Homs desert, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syrian rebel groups capped off their lightning offensive against government forces this weekend when they seized the capital city Damascus, marking an end to al-Assad's longstanding regime. The president's last-ditch escape to Russia to avoid certain death at the hands of the rebels marked the end of some five decades of the al-Assad family's dynastic rule - and the end of a brutal 14-year civil war.
Syria's new interim leader Mohammed al-Bashir announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker Prime Minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled al-Assad three days ago. The rebel offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist group that burst out of its stronghold in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib less than two weeks ago.
HTS has its roots in the jihadist al-Qaeda, but since its founding in 2017 has tried to reposition itself as a more moderate Syrian nationalist organisation. Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa - better known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also written Jawlani or Julani) - insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilised nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live peacefully.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Federal Security Service (FSB) Directorate for the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has declassified documents containing evidence of mass murders of civilians by the Nazis in the territory of Donbass in the period 1941–1943.The FSB press service informed Regnum News Agency about this on November 10.
"From the first days of the treacherous invasion of the fascist invaders into the territory of Donbass, the occupiers created punitive bodies that were engaged in the extermination of communists, Soviet activists, partisans and civilians. Active participants in the punitive activities carried out by the fascist occupiers were Dinkel Alexander Gustavovich and Ponomarev Ivan Andreevich," the special service said in a statement.
It is noted that Dinkel headed and directed the punitive activities of the police in the occupied territories of Donbass, giving orders to Ponomarev and other subordinates to arrest and subsequently shoot Soviet citizens. In addition, Dinkel, the FSB noted, personally participated in crimes.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on November 1, the FSB published archival documents on the identification and capture of Ukrainian nationalist, SS man and executioner Vasily Malazhensky, who was a member of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) and who operated in Volyn and Yugoslavia.
On September 24, the FSB released archival documents about the bloody crimes committed by Poles in the village of Skopov in March 1945.
[FoxNews] The task force called on Congress to consider pulling Secret Service from DHS
The House Task Force investigating the assassination attempts on President-elect Trump's life has released its final report on Tuesday, detailing "preexisting conditions and leadership failures" that led to the deadly campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
While the bipartisan panel was given ample information on that shooting, the report suggested requests for documents on the second attempt on Trump's life – this one at his Palm Beach golf course in September – were seemingly stonewalled.
"The Task Force notes that as of the date of publication of this report, [the Department of Homeland Security], [U.S. Secret Service], FBI, and [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] have not produced any documents responsive to the Task Force’s requests regarding the preparation for, events of, and response to the second assassination attempt that occurred on September 15," the report said.
Lawmakers found "critical vulnerabilities" in the security of that site. The report said Secret Service agents identified the golf course's outer perimeter as "a favorable position for potential snipers."
The report also called on the Secret Service to review its protocols for golf courses – which would be a significant policy overhaul, given Trump and past presidents' historic penchant for golfing.
Other recommendations in the 180-page report include calling on Congress to consider taking the Secret Service out from under the purview of DHS.
"The current structure potentially weakens USSS, a small but critically important agency, in advocating for its budget and other priorities inside a much larger entity," the report said.
"The failure in [Butler, Pennsylvania] was far from the first significant USSS failure in recent history, and it is fair to question whether USSS should continue to be housed within DHS."
The Secret Service was under the Treasury Department until 2003, when it was moved to the newly formed DHS, but the task force advocated for it to be its own structure entirely.
"A fresh look at whether USSS might benefit from the status of an independent agency, with more freedom to make budget requests and advocate for itself, would be a healthy discussion for former USSS leaders to have with Congress," the report said.
The Task Force also recommended conserving resources by limiting who gets Secret Service protection.
"The number of individuals being protected has greatly expanded, a resource demand which becomes further taxed during the longer and more intensive modern presidential campaign seasons," the report said.
Foreign dignitaries' Secret Service protection particularly strains resources during the United Nations General Assembly, the report said. That takes place in September, the same month of the second attempt on Trump's life.
"As a result, Congress, DHS, and the USSS should jointly consider the protective role the USSS plays for foreign leaders and consider whether such duties can be transferred or abrogated in order to focus on the USSS’s primary duty: to protect the President and other critical U.S. leaders," the report said.
The House voted unanimously to form the committee earlier this year. The Secret Service was barraged with scrutiny after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump's July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania from just outside the rally perimeter. Trump was injured along with two others, and one attendee was killed.
Later in September, USSS agents opened fire on a 58-year-old man who had a rifle aimed at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, golf course where the president-elect was out for the day.
The task force contrasted both events in its report, however, and cast the latter incident in a better light.
"The various failures in planning, execution, and leadership on and before July 13, 2024, and the preexisting conditions that undermined the effectiveness of the human and material assets deployed that day, coalesced to create an environment in which the former President — and everyone at the campaign event — were exposed to grave danger," the report said.
"Conversely, the events that transpired on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida, demonstrated how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination."
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Fox News Digital in response to the report, "The U.S. Secret Service appreciates the diligence and dedication displayed by Chairman Kelly, Ranking Member Crow and the distinguished members of the House Task Force as they investigated and identified the factors that contributed to the assassination attempt of President-elect Donald Trump and the Secret Service’s failures during the protective advance leading up to July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania."
"The findings of the House Task Force align with our internal Mission Assurance Inquiry. Today’s report reinforces our resolve to bring change to the Secret Service. We continue to take action to acquire new technologies, strengthen training, develop our personnel, and seek resources to fortify the Secret Service," Guglielmi said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to DHS for comment.
[FoxNews] Yinpiao Zhou, 39, allegedly conducted a Google search one month earlier for the phrase 'Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules'
A Chinese citizen living in Los Angeles allegedly flew a drone and took aerial images of Vandenberg Space Force Base last month, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Yinpiao Zhou, 39, was arrested this week at the San Francisco International Airport prior to boarding a China-bound flight, the Justice Department said. He is charged with failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violation of national defense airspace.
He woulda got away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids!
On Nov. 30, drone detections systems at the military installation in Santa Barbara County detected a drone flying over the base, prosecutors said.
The drone originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base, and flew for nearly an hour. During its flight, the aircraft traveled to an altitude of almost one mile above ground level, authorities said.
Security personnel from the base went to a park and spoke with Zhou and someone with him.
Zhou had a drone that flew over the base concealed in his jacket, prosecutors said.
The drone was later searched and investigators found several photographs of the base were taken from above, authorities said. A search of Zhou’s cellphone showed that he conducted a Google search one month earlier for the phrase "Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules" and messaged with another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise.
Zhou is a permanent resident, most recently returning from China in February. The person with him at Ocean Park had entered the United States from China on Nov. 26.
Zhou faces up to four years in prison.
Vandenberg's host unit, Space Launch Delta 30, supports West Coast launch activities for the Air Force, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the military base.
[FoxNews] The 396 employees being laid off in Washington are part of the 2,199 workers that will be let go at the company's facilities in the state in the coming months.
The move is part of a 10% global workforce cut that the company announced in October, which is expected to impact approximately 17,000 jobs within Boeing.
A total of 2,199 Boeing workers in the state of Washington – where its workforce totals more than 60,000 – will be laid off over the next few months, Fox Business reported in November.
Another 200 or so employees will be laid off in Oregon, South Carolina and Missouri during the same timeframe.
According to Boeing, "only a very small number" of employees will lose their jobs in December, "while the majority will exit in mid-January."
"Eligible employees will receive severance pay, career transition services, and subsidized health care benefits up to 3 months after exiting the company," the company said previously.
The cuts are coming through layoffs or by not filling vacancies in efforts to revamp the company following a tumultuous year that began in early January when a panel blew out mid-air on an Alaska Airlines flight.
Most recently, the company was forced to stall production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX jet amid a weeks-long strike on the West Coast.
"As previously announced, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities. We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time," Boeing previously said to FOX Business.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The composition of the interim government has been fully formed in Syria. The corresponding statement was made on December 10 by the acting Prime Minister of Syria Mohammed al-Bashir, writes the newspaper al-Watan.
"A temporary government has been formed, it consists of several ministers from the 'salvation government'. It will operate until March 2025, until it resolves constitutional issues," the prime minister said.
Al-Bashir explained that the main tasks of the transitional government of Syria will be to prevent the collapse of the state, to ensure the security and stability of state institutions until a new, permanent cabinet of ministers is formed.
The Prime Minister expressed hope for assistance from ministers of the previous government, noting that they face many challenges.
Earlier, Regnum news agency reported that the head of the “salvation government” of Syria formed in Idlib by the armed opposition, Mohammed al-Bashir, announced his appointment as the head of the country’s interim government.
On December 9, Al Jazeera reported that the Syrian opposition plans to elect al-Bashir as a transitional prime minister.
On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Bashar al-Assad had decided to step down as president of Syria and left the country, giving instructions to peacefully transfer power. He and his family arrived in Moscow, and Russia granted them asylum.
For several years, Russia has supported the Syrian government led by Assad in their fight against terrorist forces. The country has pledged to provide support as long as the Syrian state itself is conducting military operations, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted earlier. At the same time, back in 2015, the head of state indicated that "we are not going to be more Syrian than the Syrians themselves," since this problem is an internal matter for Damascus. Nevertheless, Moscow has always advocated for the normalization of dialogue between political and religious Syrian forces and organizations, stating the need to conduct the most fruitful negotiations under the auspices of the UN in Geneva.
At present, the Russian Armed Forces are focused on successfully achieving the goals set during the special operation in Ukraine. As the Russian leader has repeatedly stated, all the specified tasks will be accomplished.
The armed Syrian opposition has ordered the withdrawal of its forces from the captured cities. This was reported on December 10 by the Al Hadath TV channel.
According to the channel's sources in the military operations department, the opposition is withdrawing its forces from the cities so that internal security units and police can enter them.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on December 10, the head of the "salvation government" of Syria formed in Idlib, Mohammed al-Bashir, announced his appointment as the head of the country's interim government. According to him, he will hold this position until March 1, 2025.
On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Bashar al-Assad had decided to step down as president of Syria and left the country, giving instructions to peacefully transfer power. He and his family arrived in Moscow, and Russia granted them asylum.
For several years, Russia has supported the Syrian government led by Assad in their fight against terrorist forces. The country has pledged to provide support as long as the Syrian state itself is conducting military operations, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted earlier. At the same time, back in 2015, the head of state indicated that "we are not going to be more Syrian than the Syrians themselves," since this problem is an internal matter for Damascus. Nevertheless, Moscow has always advocated for the normalization of dialogue between political and religious Syrian forces and organizations, stating the need to conduct the most fruitful negotiations under the auspices of the UN in Geneva.
At present, the Russian Armed Forces are focused on successfully achieving the goals set during the special operation in Ukraine. As the Russian leader has repeatedly stated, all the specified tasks will be accomplished.
BREAKING: Disgraced ex-FBI Dir Andrew McCabe ordered Apple+Google to turn over the text/phone records for 20 Republican staffers--inclg KASH PATEL--involved in investigating FBI's Russiagate scandal & its abuses of FISA spy warrants targeting Trump aide: new DOJ IG report reveals
Mr. McCabe was deputy director of the FBI 2016-2018, and acting director 2017-2018, following the dismissal of James Comey. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe just before he was to have retired.
#5
McCabe had no probable cause other than the hoax that he was well aware was false. I am sure that his fishing expedition retrieved info that was used In illicit ways. I can’t see Biden covering a bunch of people with pardons based on how the Hunter pardon was received.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 13:17
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#6
McCabe is throwing crap at a wall. Trump will turn it all off and the left will try to impeach him for interference. McCabe would rather burn down this great nation than admit the people's will matters. I hope he rots in hell.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/11/2024 13:25
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#7
McCabe is not in a position to order anyone to do anything. He might check out countries that don't have extraction agreements with the U.S.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:14 artillery attack from the Ukrainian Armed Forces was recorded in the direction of: 20:25 – Katerinovka – Gorlovka (Nikitovsky district): 2 155mm rounds. 20:38 Captured serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukrainecalledtheir fellow soldiers to surrender in order to save their lives
Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Vitaliy Zinkevich, who was captured by Russia, said that he is dissatisfied with the Kyiv regime that betrayed him.
"I've had enough. I need to go and surrender. I need to go and surrender and save my life for the future generation," Vitaly said.
Zinkevich admitted that he joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces voluntarily. However, having found himself on the front lines, he became disillusioned with his own ideals, and called what was happening in the Ukrainian army a mess.
"I was a guide. We got lost in this forest. There were FPV drones and drops. We couldn't hide. Then we found some hole. And as soon as we woke up in the morning, we were captured," Vitaly recalls.
19:24 Ukrainian channels reported on the advance of the Russian Armed Forces towards the settlements of Dachenskoye and Novoyelenovka near Pokrovsk.
19:20 Destroyed On November 18, 2024, in Liptsy, Khar'kov region, Colombian mercenaries:
- Oscar Dario Chico (call sign Roy);
- Carlos Mario Carrasquilla Torres (call sign Plata);
- Edgar Eduardo Lopez Saenz (call sign Choco);
- Jose Alzate Ramirez (call sign Bala);
- Sergio Luis Palomo Clemente (call sign Palomo).
19:00 Drone operators of the 3rd Tank Battalion of the 68th Tank Regiment of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Guards Army of the Russian Armed Forces set on fire positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces using dropped ammunition. As a result of these actions, conditions are created at the enemy positions in which it is impossible to conduct defensive actions and contain the onslaught of the assault forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The effective use of drones significantly increases the combat power of Russian troops in the region.
18:35 Situation in the Kherson direction:
Over the past two days, the enemy has suffered losses in manpower and equipment in the areas of the following populated areas: Antonovka, Pridneprovskoye, Lvovo, Olhivka and the city of Kherson.
Reconnaissance, together with strike UAV crews, continue to locate observation posts, UAV control points and enemy air defense systems, followed by their destruction in the coastal zone of the right bank of the Dnieper.
18:14 Servicemen of the "North" group using an FPV drone destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces shelters in the Kursk region.
18:05 Enemy reports: “Russian Armed Forces are only six km from the largest coal mine in Ukraine, which brought in 43.7 billion in revenue last year alone.”
17:50 In the Kursk border area, FPV drones disrupted the escape of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from their positions –video.
17:46 Ukrainian pretended to be transgender to leave the country: State Border Guard Service detained a 25-year-old draft dodger while attempting to cross the border.
The department reported that during the inspection of the train to Poland, one of the passengers presented a passport in the name of Ivanka and even provided a birth certificate, allegedly confirming the change of gender. However, after additional verification, the "transgender" admitted that he was a man and had not undergone any operations, and did not even plan to. His goal was to cross the border.
17:19 Russian Su-35s bombers carried out an airstrike on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.
16:25 Explosions in Konstantinovka (DPR, temporarily occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
16:17 Enemy reports: “the situation in the Pokrovsky direction is rapidly deteriorating: there is a threat of rapid loss of the settlement.
The Russian Armed Forces are not three km from the city, as stated in open sources, but much less. The Russians have a significant advantage in the number of drones in this direction. The Ukrainian leadership does not pay any attention to providing drones to the units defending Pokrovsk. The high command sets unrealistic tasks for the units. The generals do not know the situation on the line of contact."
16:05 Explosions in Zaporizhia (temporarily occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine). Before this, there were reports of rockets in the direction of the city.
15:14 Tankers of the "East" group of forces destroyed firing position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
To support combat operations of motorized rifle units, the crew of the T-72B3M tank advanced to the front line of defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces unit and immediately launched a powerful fire strike, working on the given coordinates. In addition, to advance Russian attack aircraft through the minefield, the tank crews made a passage using an anti-mine trawl.
14:45 Raising the Russian flag over the grain elevator in the village of Kurakhovo –video.
14:39 Russian military destroyed Ukrainian hexacopter "Baba Yaga" with FPV drone in Martynovka, Kursk region –video.
14:14 Video with Russian fighters from the liberated settlement of Zheltoe (DPR). The footage shows the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the settlement, as well as statements from prisoners.
13:56 The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk direction in one day exceeded 200 servicemen, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
13:22 From 10:40 to 11:10 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted.
Three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems on duty over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula.
13:14 Russian troops have advanced almost right up to the settlement of Velikaya Novosyolka in the DPR from the south, liberating a significant territory, Vladimir Rogov reported.
13:04 The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of Zheltoe in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
12:57 The Russian Armed Forces advanced from the settlement of Starye Terny to the village of Dachnoye, the Kurakhovo-Zaporozhye highway and the western exit from the city of Kurakhovo, Rogov reported.
12:31 A soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine complained that the regular army fled from Kurakhovo, leaving the mobilized in the city and asks for an order to leave the city – video.
12:20 Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks on Gorlovka have no military purpose, but are nevertheless constantly recorded - Pushilin
12:11 The Russian Armed Forces have taken a stronghold near Uspenovka to the south of Kurakhovo, making it difficult to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces units holding the settlement of Annovka, Vladimir Rogov reported.
12:00 Calculation of 152mm "Gyatsint-B" with an accurate hit struck enemy UAV control point, set up in an abandoned house in the Kakhovka direction.
Artillerymen of the Dnepr group of forces are destroying armored vehicles, fire weapons, ammunition depots, fortified positions, and also Ukrainian Armed Forces boats on the right bank of the Dnieper.
11:55 Situation in the Kurakhovsky direction (DPR).
Russian attack aircraft have taken control of the Yuzhny microdistrict. Fighting continues in high-rise buildings north of Mira Avenue and east of Pushkin Street.
In recent days, Ukrainian mobilized troops have begun to wait for the Russian Armed Forces in basements and surrender. Barrel artillery and MLRS are "working" in the industrial zone; after such strikes, the Troops partially retreated to Dachnoye. According to Ukrainian volunteers, 70-80 bodies are being taken out of Kurakhovo every day. South of Kurakhovo, battles continue to eliminate the "pocket" in the Uspenovka area.
11:15 A Ukrainian missile was destroyed in the sky over the Kursk region this morning, authorities reported.
11:14 An attack by two Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups has been repelled in the Kucherovka area, during which 22 militants and a pickup truck have been destroyed. In order to disrupt the transfer of additional forces and resources in Kupyansk, attacks on bridges and crossings over the Oskol have become more frequent.
11:07 Crews of T-72B3 tanks of Novorossiysk paratroopers destroyed fortified observation post of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Orekhov direction in the Zaporizhia region.
11:02 The Russian Armed Forces advanced in the Pokrovsk area and entered the territory of the Sumy region, Ukrainian resources reported.
Russian troops advanced in the area of Novoolenovka, Voznesenka, Grodovka, Vozrozhdenie, Petrovka, Solntsovka, Novotroitskoye and Shevchenko in 24 hours. The Russian Armed Forces also advanced in the area of Plekhovo in the Kursk region and occupied the border area near the village of Alexandria in the Sumy region.
10:49 Naval infantry and airborne units of the Sever group liberated the settlement of Novoivanovka in the Kursk region.
As a result of fierce battles and attempts to hold the captured settlement, the enemy lost more than 1,200 people. In total, in three days of heavy fighting, units of the "North" group of forces eliminated two important enemy defense nodes Plekhovo and Novoivanovka.
10:11 UAV operators of the 14th Guards Special Forces Brigade of the Vostok group are destroying enemy manpower and armored vehicles in the forest belts in the South Donetsk direction.
10:01 Russian troops in the Kursk region crossed the border south of Plekhovo and advanced towards the village of Alexandria, located in the Sumy region. 3.5 km² liberated –map.
09:35 The criminal Kiev regime continues to shell the civilian infrastructure of populated areas on the left bank of the Kherson region. Yesterday, during the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired from barrel artillery:
– Nine rounds to the settlement of Kairy;
- according to n.p. Ermine for rounds;
- according to n.p. Kakhovka six rounds;
– Five rounds to the village of Aleshki;
– according to n.p. Novaya Kakhovka four rounds;
– Foue rounds in the village of Bolshaya Lepetikha.
During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the settlements of Tavriysk, Korsunka, Podstepnoye, Sagi, and Novaya Kakhovka, firing a total of 18 rounds from barrel artillery. Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being clarified.
09:12 Russian military personnel have tripled the intensity of strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces units stationed in Petrovskoye (Ukrainian name - Grekovka) in the LPR, military expert Andrey Marochko reported.
08:57 More than 40 civilians from several subjects of the Russian Federation were injured, five people died over the past week as a result of strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik.
08:27 Investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee recorded more crimes committed by the armed formations of Ukraine against the civilian population of the DPR.
As a result of an explosive device being dropped from a UAV onto a passenger car in the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka, a man born in 1961 was injured.
At the same time, Ukrainian militants shelled the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka for 24 hours, using 155mm barrel artillery. In total, one vehicle was damaged by DPR shelling.
08:19 The Ukrainian Armed Forces are leaving their positions in the village of Shevchenko near Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian name - Pokrovsk). This was reported by the security forces.
08:16 Russian fighters have recaptured the Ukrainian Armed Forces position in the southern part of Volchansk, military expert Andrey Marochko reported.
08:12 The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to massively withdraw the remnants of the group from Kurakhovo, the security forces reported.
08:09 In the SVO zone liquidated foreign mercenaries Juan Carlos Peralvarez Zafra, born in 1972, from Spain, and Wilber Panuera Flores, born in 1990, from Peru.
08:07 Russian military personnel from the 56th Separate Special Forces Battalion of the 51st army of the South group of forces told about Canadian and black mercenaries in the Ukrainian Armed Forces who are found near Novgorodskoye and Dzerzhinsk in the DPR
08:06 The crew of the 152mm Giatsint-B from the Dnepr troop group destroyed Ukrainian drone control point in the Kakhovka direction on the right bank of the Dnieper.
08:04 Armed Forces of Ukraine continue unsuccessful attempts to force the Dnieper, trying to gain a foothold, but all the islands are under the control of the Russian military, Vladimir Saldo said.
08:01 Calculations of MLRS 122mm BM-21 "Grad" applied precise strikes on areas where enemy manpower and equipment are concentrated, strongholds and observation posts, routes of movement of armored vehicles and mobile fire weapons of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on units of three territorial defence brigades close to Liptsy and Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 70 troops, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and three 122mm D-30 howitzers.
The Zapad Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation and delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, two territorial defence brigades, and a National Guard brigade close to Andreyevka, Redkodub, Kupyansk (Kharkov region), Novoyegorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), and Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic). Fourteen counter-attacks launched by AFU assault detachments were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 530 troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, four pickup trucks, two 155mm howitzers, one 152mm D-20 howitzer, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two 122mm D-30 howitzer, and two 105mm guns. One ammunition depot and two Anklav-N electronic warfare stations were neutralised.
The Yug Group of Forces' units continue to advance into the depths of the enemy's defence and defeated the units of two mechanised brigades, one mountain assault brigade, and one air assault brigade near Kurakhovo, Novomarkovo, Ostrovskoye, Annovka, and Uspenovka (Donetsk People's Republic). Two counterattacks launched by enemy assault detachments have been repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 225 troops, one U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, and three motor vehicles.
As a result of active operations, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Zheltoye (Donetsk People's Republic). Manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, and one assault battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit near Dzerzhinsk, Shcherbinovka, Dimitrov, Petrovka, and Pushkino (Donetsk People's Republic). Eight counter-attacks launched by AFU armed formations were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 575 troops, one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, one U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, two motor vehicles, one 152mm D-20 howitzer, and three 122mm D-30 howitzers.
The Vostok Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line and defeated units of one mechanised brigade and two territorial defence brigades near Konstantinopol, Velikaya Novoselka, Neskuchnoye, and Vremevka (Donetsk People's Republic). Four counter-attacks launched by enemy assault groups were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 160 troops, one U.S.-made HMMWV armoured fighting vehicle, one U.S.-made 155mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system, three motor vehicles, two 2S3 152mm Akatsiya self-propelled artillery systems, one 122mm D-30 howitzer, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one electronic warfare station.
The Dnepr Group of Forces' units hit manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade and two territorial defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Dneprovskoye, Antonovka (Kherson region) and Kherson.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 25 troops, two motor vehicles, and one 152mm D-20 howitzer.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged AFU manpower and hardware clusters in 128 areas during the day.
Air defence systems shot down three U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles and 23 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 649 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 37,527 unmanned aerial vehicles, 586 anti-aircraft missile systems, 19,720 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,500 MLRS combat vehicles, 19,334 field artillery guns and mortars, and 29,123 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.
Units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of three mechanised brigades, one heavy mechanised brigade, one tank brigade, three air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the AFU close to Guyevo, Lebedevka, Leonidovo, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novoivanovka, and Sverdlikovo.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the enemy near Aleksandriya, Guyevo, Kruglenkoye, Lebedevka, Leonidovo, Loknya, Martynovka, Malaya Loknya, Mirny, Nizhny Klin, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Novaya Sorochina, Novoivanovka, Sverdlikovo as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Zhuravka, and Pavlovka (Sumy region).
Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 200 troops, eight armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, and two mortars.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 39,660 troops, 234 tanks, 171 infantry fighting vehicles, 123 armoured personnel carriers, 1,249 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,104 motor vehicles, 308 artillery guns, 40 MLRS launchers, including 11 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, seven transport-loading vehicles, 72 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 27 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, six armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, whose group HTS is rooted in Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, says the country is ‘exhausted’ by war and won’t embark on another one in wake of Assad regime’s fall
Syria’s new transitional prime minister on Tuesday said it was time for “stability and calm” in the country, two days after longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
The rebels appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional head of government to run the country until March 1, a statement said.
“Now it is time for this people to enjoy stability and calm,” he told Qatar’s Al Jazeera television in his first interview since being appointed.
As he spoke, two flags were behind him — the green, black and white flag flown by opponents of Assad throughout the civil war, and a white flag with the Islamic oath of faith in black writing, typically flown in Syria by Sunni Islamist fighters.
Bashir is a little known figure across most of Syria. A Facebook page of the rebel administration says he was trained as an electrical engineer, later received a degree in sharia and law, and had held posts in areas including education.
He previously headed the so-called “salvation government” in areas controlled by rebel groups — led by the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS — that swept into the capital Damascus over the weekend, bringing to an end five decades of brutal rule by Assad’s clan. A senior official told US broadcaster NBC that the ousted Syrian leader was now in Moscow.
“We were tasked by the general command with managing the affairs of the Syrian government during a transitional period,” Bashir said in a statement following the meeting in Damascus. He added that he hopes ministers in the former Syrian government will assist the new government during this transitional period.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the jihadist leader who headed the rebel offensive, had previously announced talks on a transfer of power and vowed to pursue former senior officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
On Tuesday, he sought to allay fears over how Syria would be ruled, telling British broadcaster Sky News the country was “exhausted” by war and would not be heading back into one.
“Syria will be rebuilt… The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability,” he said.
“People are exhausted from war. So the country isn’t ready for another one, and it’s not going to get into another one.”
He also claimed foreign countries’ concerns about Syria falling Assad’s fall were misplaced, saying, “their fears are unnecessary, God willing.”
“The fear was from the presence of the regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability,” he continued.
“The source of our fears was from the Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime which committed the massacres we are seeing today.”
“So their removal is the solution for Syria. The current situation won’t allow for a return to panic.”
Al-Golani’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is rooted in Syria’s al-Qaeda branch and is proscribed by many Western governments as a terrorist organization, though it has sought to moderate its image. Al-Golani himself has a US bounty of $10 million for information leading to his capture.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged all nations to support an “inclusive” political process in Syria, saying the United States would eventually recognize a government if it meets such standards.
Although they no longer hold any territory in Syria, the jihadists of the Islamic State group remain active.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said IS fighters killed 54 government troops after capturing them as they fled across the vast Syrian desert.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
The HTS (Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham), which came to power in Syria, issued a statement declaring that interference with women's clothing or the imposition of any requirements regarding their attire or appearance is strictly prohibited. pic.twitter.com/K5zGtuzKWg
“The White Helmets announce the conclusion of search operations for possible remaining detainees in potential undiscovered secret cells and basements” at the facility, says a statement. “The search did not uncover any unopened or hidden areas within the facility.”
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2024
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[11187 views]
Top|| File under: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
President Nayib Bukele revealed that El Salvador has discovered up to $3 TRILLION in unmined gold, and he is now moving quickly to repeal the mining ban regulation so that miners can get to work.
"We've also found gallium, tantalum, tin, and many other materials needed for the… pic.twitter.com/i8ddYPPayz
… other materials needed for the 4th and 5th industrial revolution." -
@nayibbukele
Of course, the environmental lunatics are attacking Bukele, saying he shouldn't do it to protect lakes & rivers from contamination, but they don't realize the only way to fix the water problem is with the money the gold will bring.
Additionally, the amount of jobs and economic growth this will bring to El Salvador will be magnificent. The discovery is a gift from God for the country's faith and perseverance under the demonic gangs.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2024
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#1
Is this the same deposit that China claims is within 12 miles of China surface?
[IsraelTimes] Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran-aligned 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... s have targeted three supply ships and two American destroyers accompanying them in the Gulf of Aden, a military front man for the Houthis says.
That’s nice. Did they hit anything other than water?
CENTCOM Forces Defeat Houthi Attacks on U.S. Navy and U.S.-Flagged Ships in the Gulf of Aden.
U.S. Navy destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and USS O’Kane (DDG 77) successfully defeated a range of Houthi-launched weapons while transiting the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 9 – 10.
… The destroyers were escorting three U.S. owned, operated, and flagged merchant vessels. The reckless attacks resulted in no injuries and no damage to any vessels, civilians or U.S. Naval.
The destroyers successfully engaged and defeated multiple one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWA UAS), and one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM), ensuring the safety of the ships and their personnel, as well as civilian vessels and their crews. During a transit on Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, the destroyers successfully defeated an Iran-backed Houthi attack.
These actions reflect the ongoing commitment of CENTCOM forces to protect U.S. personnel, regional partners, and international shipping against attacks by Iran-backed Houthis.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/11/2024 11:11
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#8
So apparently there's an Iranian mother drone off the East Coast that's launching these things and Fed is aware. That's what I just saw someone burp up on Faulkner's Fox show. Fun week for news - the ratings must be awesome even with Gutfeld out.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
12/11/2024 12:14
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#9
Makes me wonder what are they not saying elsewhere in the news?
That's what I wonder every time I heard the town clock strike thirteen.
#10
Somebody should ask Musk. He has surely be able to track them.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 13:26
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#11
So if the mother-ship story is accurate, every one of these drones needs to transit back for refueling, or are there assets ashore supporting them?
[FoxNews] Hundreds of deadly virus samples are missing from a laboratory in Australia, the Queensland government announced on Monday.
The government has instructed Queensland Health — Australia’s public health department — to launch an investigation into what’s being described as a "major historical breach of biosecurity protocols," according to the online media statement.
It was reported that 323 vials of multiple infectious viruses — including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus — went missing from Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023.
Hendra is a zoonotic (animal-to-human) virus that has only been found in Australia.
Hantavirus is a family of viruses that can lead to serious illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while Lyssavirus is a group of viruses that can cause rabies.
The lab where the samples went missing provides "diagnostic services, surveillance and research for viruses and mosquito and tick-borne pathogens of medical importance," the release stated.
It is not known whether the infectious samples were stolen or destroyed, the statement said, and there is "no evidence of risk to the community."
The government has launched a "Part 9 investigation."
#1
It is way overdue time to quit playing with this
$hit. Sooner than later, some gov will play with and develop a DNA genocidal race based killer virus.. then it will "accidentally" get released or stolen.
#3
Weapons of mass destruction - NBC - Nuclear, Biological, Chemical. Just think if we 'managed' nukes with the same attitude people do with these germs.
[FoxNews] NBC’s "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker has taken heat from conservatives for her performance during Sunday’s sit-down with President-elect Trump, his first major interview since winning the presidential election.
Trump addressed a number of topics during the wide-ranging interview, including his plan to restore the country's reputation globally, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters, immigration, his disdain for FBI Director Christopher Wray, and how he plans to unify a fractured country in his inaugural address. Many Trump supporters came away unimpressed with Welker, including NewsBusters analyst Jorge Bonilla, who felt she wasn’t honest.
"Meet the Depressed host Kristen Welker’s sit-down with the once and future president featured some newsworthy items, but was mostly a showcase for her blatant deceptions," Bonilla wrote.
Bonilla accused Welker of regurgitating "the debunked and ridiculed lie about migrants not taking over apartment complexes in Colorado," issuing a "fake fact-check predicated on a lie" about the 14th Amendment, and blaming Trump for divisions in America.
"Is this interview a preview of what the next four years will look like? Probably not. As one presidency transitions to the next, it is not unreasonable to expect the media to transition from Regime to Resistance. But today, we have a glimpse. A media insistent on plodding forward with fake narratives, and a President Trump that plows right through them," Bonilla wrote.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., took NBC News to task for "selectively omitting" a key part of the 14th Amendment in a question about birthright citizenship.
Trump was asked about a number of changes he intends to implement once he assumes office, including his plan to end birthright citizenship. Under the 14th Amendment, someone born in the U.S. is granted citizenship regardless of whether their parents are citizens. Trump confirmed that he intends to end the policy "on Day One," calling it "ridiculous."
Welker pushed back, arguing that the 14th Amendment "states all persons in the United States are citizens. Can you get around the 14th Amendment with executive action?" she asked.
Trump said he was open to using executive action, reiterating that the U.S. is "the only country that has it" and "we have to end it."
Lee shared a clip of the exchange on X later on Sunday, rebuking the NBC host for omitting six critical words from the 14th Amendment in her question to Trump.
"All persons born… in the United States, *and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,* shall be citizens of the United States," Lee wrote on X, highlighting the missing words in asterisks.
"Those words matter," he added.
Lee broke down the issue in a lengthy thread.
"Congress has the power to define what it means to be born in the United States ‘and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,'" he wrote. "It bothers me that @MeetThePress, long revered as America’s leading Sunday political news program, has become so one-sided."
Journalist Thomas Stevenson mocked Welker on social media.
"Welker attempts ‘journalism’ by forcing Trump to commit to a federal minimum wage level," he posted on X.
Trump at one point even called out Welker to her face.
"You have such potential. If you could be just, just non-biased. You hurt yourself so badly," Trump said.
A few more at the link, gleefully celebrated by the reporter.
Israel has conquered Mt. Hermon, the highest mountain in Syria, its peak reaching 2,814m. Syria’s capital, Damascus, is only 40 km away, now within range of Israel’s artillery shells. Here’s why Israel took this mountain: 1/7 🧵 pic.twitter.com/XZdjeeU9RD
[Rudaw] The Syrian National Army (SNA), an umbrella of opposition militia groups, has taken control of the northern city of Manbij from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a bigwig from the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) confirmed to Rudaw English on Tuesday.
The Ottoman Turkish-backed SNA has been attempting to take over the city for two weeks but it faced strong resistance from the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council.
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 in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... announced the "liberation" of the city from the SDF on Monday and Ottoman Turkish media published videos purportedly showing that the SNA fighters were inside the city.
The Rojava official told Rudaw English on the condition of anonymity that the forces of Evil are now in control of the strategic city that Kurds took from 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.... (ISIS) in 2016.
The SDF has recently published videos it said showed the resistance of their forces in the city, claiming that the two-week fighting inflicted a significant number of casualties among SNA ranks.
The US-backed force also said that The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... was supporting the forces of Evil from the air.
The SNA has said that their attempt to take Manbij is part of the code-named Operation Dawn of Freedom which was launched late last month in Tal Rifaat, forcing the SDF-linked fighters to withdraw from the town.
During his speech on Monday, Erdogan said that Ankara "has no eye on the territory of another country. The sole purpose of our cross-border operations is to protect our homeland and our citizens from terrorist attacks."
He added that they will also "not tolerate the emergence of new sources of terrorism beyond its borders."
Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - which has been involved in a decades-long war with Turkey.
In a presser on Friday, SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi stressed that SDF wants to resolve its problems with Ankara through a peaceful resolution to Syria’s war.
Responding a Rudaw question about the possibility of ending hostilities between Ankara and the SDF during a presser in Doha on Sunday, Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, "In short, no, unless they change themselves."
05/12/2024
[ShabelleMedia] The Federal Government of Somalia has successfully brought back 161 Somali youths from Libya under the Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) program, marking a significant step in tackling irregular migration.
The operation, orchestrated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, was led by Foreign Minister Ambassador Ahmed Moalim Fiqi.
The youths, who had been stranded in Libya, were repatriated with 74 arriving in Hargeisa and 87 in Mogadishu, where they received a warm welcome as part of ongoing efforts to aid reintegration and recovery.
Foreign Minister Fiqi expressed, “This operation highlights Somalia’s unwavering commitment to its citizens and to addressing migration challenges through cooperation with our international partners.” He extended gratitude towards the European Union, IOM, and UNHCR for their crucial support.
Ambassador Mariam Yassin, Somalia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Migrants, Returnees & Children’s Rights, highlighted the initiative’s role in restoring dignity and hope, stating, “This achievement reflects the power of collaboration and the Somali government’s dedication to protecting its people.”
The European Union Ambassador to Somalia, Karin Johansson, and IOM Somalia Country Director Manuel Marques Pereira were present at the event, applauding Somalia’s initiative in managing migration and promoting sustainable reintegration.
Ambassador Abdi Adan, Somalia’s Ambassador to Libya, was instrumental in ensuring the operation’s success, focusing on the safety and dignity of those being repatriated.
This repatriation operation occurs against the backdrop of global migration challenges, with Libya serving as a major transit point. Somalia’s proactive engagement showcases its commitment to humanitarian efforts and international cooperation in addressing these complex issues.
[DefenceBlog] The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has reportedly destroyed the entire fleet of operational MiG-29 fighter jets belonging to the Syrian Arab Air Force during recent airstrikes on Syrian air bases.
The strikes targeted the Khalkhalah Air Base in the Suwayda Governorate, as well as other critical installations.
According to reports, all airworthy MiG-29 interceptors stationed at Al-Suwayda West Air Base were eliminated in the attacks. This operation marks a decisive escalation in Israel’s efforts to neutralize Syrian military capabilities amid heightened regional tensions.
The strikes focused on Khalkhalah Air Base, a key facility for the Syrian Air Force, known for housing advanced fighter jets and military equipment. While the full extent of the damage has yet to be confirmed, preliminary assessments indicate that Israel’s operation has left the Syrian Air Force with no operational MiG-29 aircraft.
Israel has consistently stated that its air operations in Syria aim to prevent the transfer of advanced weaponry to hostile actors and to counter threats posed by Iran’s military presence in the region. The destruction of Syria’s MiG-29 fleet is expected to further degrade the country’s air defense capabilities.
Neither the Israeli nor Syrian governments have officially commented on the strikes. However, analysts suggest that the elimination of the MiG-29 fleet significantly alters the regional balance of air power.
Related from Naval News Israeli Navy destroys Syrian Fleet in Latakia
On the night of December 9, the Israeli Navy launched a strike on warships belonging to Syria's former regime, sinking them in the port of Latakia.
The IDF has not released a detailed statement regarding the strikes, but the military sources spoke to the Israeli media confirmed that the Navy conducted a major operation on Monday night to eliminate the former regime’s naval fleet. The operation is part of a broader campaign to neutralize military assets and prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile forces.
According to media reports citing official statements, following the collapse of the regime, Israel launched efforts to dismantle regime weapons sites to prevent them from being seized by hostile forces. This came amidst the chaotic takeover by rebel groups, many of which were previously linked to al-Qaeda and other jihadist organizations.
Photographs from the port of Latakia reveal sunken Osa-class (Project 205) missile boats, with P-15M Termit (SS-N-2C Styx) launchers visibly protruding above the water’s surface. While official statements have not disclosed the number of Israeli warships involved or the exact count of Syrian vessels destroyed, some Israeli officials have indicated that all strategic weapons were successfully eliminated during the recent raids.
The Osa-class missile boat is a high-speed naval vessel developed by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. According to open sources, the Syrian Navy operated approximately 16 OSA-class missile boats, with at least half being the upgraded OSA II variant. Read the rest at the link
The name of the operation to destroy the former Assad regime army’s weapons is dubbed "Bashan Arrow" within the military, after the biblical name for the region in the Golan Heights and southern Syria.
The military estimates that it has taken out over 70% of the former Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities.
The strikes began late Saturday, first taking out Syrian air defenses to give the Israeli Air Force more freedom.
According to the IDF, the 320 targets were struck across all of Syria, from Damascus to Tartus.
The targets destroyed in the strikes included Syrian air defense systems, missile depots, manufacturing facilities, drones, helicopters, fighter jets, tanks, radars, navy vessels and more, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Syrian navy vessels were destroyed last night in a large-scale operation carried out by the Israeli Navy.
The military says the missile depots destroyed in the strikes included long-range projectiles, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coast-to-sea missiles, and others.
The IDF also targeted several chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented... sites in Syria during the waves of strikes, Israeli officials have said.
Following the fall of the Assad regime, the IDF has said that it is tracking advanced weapons in Syria and working to prevent them from reaching Hezbollah or any other hostile force that could threaten Israel.
Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie ducked another tomato... the IDF says it continues to be deployed to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, on the Syrian side of the border, as part of Operation Bashan Arrow.
The IDF has stressed that its deployment to the buffer zone is a defensive and temporary measure amid the chaos in the country following the fall of the Assad regime, but it may end up staying there for a long time depending on the developments.
The military says it will not get directly involved in incidents in Syria and it is only carrying out defensive operations.
Courtesy of Grom in comments yesterday, Ynet argues for 80%, adding:
About 80% of Syrian military capabilities destroyed, IDF estimates; Netanyahu reaches out to new regime
After overthrow of the Assad regime, IDF attacked about 320 'strategic targets' in Syria; Monitoring what is happening in the neighboring country - as well as staying in the buffer zone - is an 'ongoing process,' IDF says; PM, in message from defense HQ, says: 'We want relations with the new regime, but if it allows Iran to return we will respond forcefully'.
The IDF estimates Tuesday evening that Operation Arrow of Bashan, which began on Saturday night, marks the end of the strategic phase of the offensive in Syria; Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached out to the new regime and in a surprise statement said that Israel wants "relations with the new regime."
More from regnum.ru
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Syrian Navy Destroyed by Israel Caught on Video
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroyed Syrian naval ships located in the port of the coastal city of Latakia and in the Gulf of Minet al-Beida. Video of the aftermath of the strike on December 10 was published by the Al Arabiya TV channel .
The footage shows sunken ships with mangled hulls and a lot of debris. Fires have started on some of the ships. The bodies of the dead are not visible.
According to The Times of Israel , the IDF struck Syrian warships with sea-to-sea missiles. The operation was carried out on the evening of December 9. The newspaper stated that this was done to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of the rebels.
As reported by Regnum , earlier on December 10, Al Arabiya reported that the IDF had attacked Syrian air bases and destroyed many helicopters and fighter jets. In addition, it had attacked the infrastructure of these bases.
Earlier in the day, Al Mayadeen reported that Israeli tanks had advanced to within 21 km of Damascus. The IDF denied the information and said that the Israeli army was holding only a buffer zone on the Golan Heights and approaches to the state border.
Israeli warships destroyed Syrian fleet, defense minister Katz says
Israeli naval missile ships destroyed the Syrian military fleet in an operation last night as part of a broad campaign to eliminate strategic threats to the country, Defense Minister Israel Katz says during his visit to a Navy base in Haifa.
In a statement, he says Israeli forces are establishing themselves in the buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights and says he has ordered a “sterile defensive zone” to be created in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence, to prevent any terrorist threat to Israel.
The consequences of the Israeli attacks on Syrian air bases
#2
Ooops, I sat on the Femto-violin....guess they don't get sad violin music. I'm sure Grandpa Buff would be happy to re-landscape the entire country just to reset it back to default settings.
#3
I don't know enough about the situation to express an opinion about whether this is a good idea, but I do wonder if Israel doesn't have enough on it's plate without opening a 3rd front.
[TennesseeStar] The Biden-Harris administration has granted millions of dollars in funding for a virtual treatment that aims to help cure eating disorders by “affirming” LGBTQIA+ patients’ sexual orientation and gender claims.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Auburn University Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences Tiffany Brown and San Diego State University Professor of Psychology Aaron Blashill up to $5 million in grants to “develop and provide” the Promoting Resilience to Improve Disordered Eating (PRIDE) treatment — a virtual “identity-affirming eating disorder treatment for LGBTQIA+ patients,” the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts website states. The PRIDE initiative is undergirded by the idea that “identity-related stress” is an “underlying motivator of disordered eating,” and thus that “affirm[ing] and support[ing]” patients’ beliefs that they are LGBTQIA+ can help cure eating disorders.
“Even when available, many LGBTQIA+ people across the country feel uncomfortable accessing treatment, for fear of discrimination or lack of understanding,” Brown said of the PRIDE initiative. “That is why we are so excited and honored to receive this grant from the NIMH to evaluate a treatment that integrates approaches that affirm and support LGBTQIA+ identities.”
Brown (pictured above, left) runs Auburn’s Appearance Concerns, Eating, Prevention and Treatment (ACCEPT) lab, which states its aim is to “improve eating disorder treatment for traditionally underserved populations,” according to the Auburn website. Blashill heads San Diego State University’s Body Image, Sexuality and Health lab, which “explores the role body image plays in influencing eating disorders and other health behaviors, with a focus on health disparities among sexual and gender minority individuals.”
Blashill (pictured above, right) co-authored a study published in November entitled, “The Association Between Minority Stressors, Intraminority Stressors, And Borderline Personality Disorder Symptomatology Among Sexual Minority Men,” which linked “minority stressors” such as “internalized homophobia and sexual orientation concealment” to criteria for borderline personality disorder.
The $5 million in total potential funding for the PRIDE program comes amid a broader Biden administration effort to fund LGBT initiatives across the globe, including the development of a mobile health app in Malaysia that instructs men on how to more safely engage in drug-fueled intercourse and a sex change program in Guatemala.
The incoming Trump administration could be poised to crack down on Biden’s LGBTQIA+ agenda, with President-elect Donald Trump announcing the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Nov. 12 that will look to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies.”
“The woke mind virus consists of creating very, very divisive identity politics…[that] amplifies racism; amplifies, frankly, sexism; and all of the -isms while claiming to do the opposite,” DOGE co-leader Elon Musk said at an event in Italy in December 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal. “It actually divides people and makes them hate each other and hate themselves.”
Brown, Blashill, Auburn, SDSU and the NIH did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
#2
Sam Kinnison speculated that gay sex contributed to eating disorders.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 13:12
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#3
Dear NGO Head,
Congratulations on receiving this large grant from the federal government for your important work! Spend it carefully, because this will be the last you get for the next four years. Also, understand that the new administration may decide to revoke the grant, at which time you may have to give it all back, even if you’ve spent it in good faith.
Happy Holidays!
(signed) The Biden (formerly Harris-Biden) Administration
07-12-2024
[Rudaw] European law enforcement agencies carried out two operations against suspected human smugglers this past week as they crack down on the networks moving people through deadly routes into European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... countries and the United Kingdom.
A Syrian national wanted by German authorities was arrested in the UK, British authorities said on Friday. He was suspected of moving large numbers of people from the Czech Republic into Germany and was arrested following a joint German-UK investigation.
He was found living in Leicester by officers from the National Extradition Unit, which is part of the UK’s National Crime Agency.
"People smuggling is an international crime and we are working closely with our counterparts in Germany and across Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to target the individuals and networks involved,’’ said Tony Allen from the NCA's Joint International Crime Center.
Human trafficking is a top priority for European police as the number of deaths related to smuggling increases. Since 2022, the EU has adopted the EMPACT policy - the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats - which is the EUs main weapon against fighting serious and organized crime. Smuggling was down 30% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to Europol.
According to the EU Council, criminals who deal in human trafficking make almost 30 billion euros a year.
The UK is a popular destination. As of the start of December, 33,684 people had crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2024, according to the British defence ministry. This is an increase from the 29,437 who arrived within the whole year of 2023.
More than 50 people have died trying to cross the Channel in 2024, which is a record high since the International Organization for Migration (IOM) started tracking the deaths in 2014.
Kurds are major players in the smuggling networks. On Wednesday, German and French police targeted a Kurdish human trafficking ring suspected of smuggling migrants colonists over the English Channel.
The network of Iraqi and Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin is suspected of smuggling Middle Easters and East Africans from La Belle France to the United Kingdom using "non-EU certified low-quality inflatable boats" sourced from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , according to Europol.
Police arrested 13 people - eight in Germany and five in La Belle France, including "one high value target," according to Europol.
Along with the arrests, 15 houses and 10 storage sites were searched, leading to the seizure of 70,000 euros in cash, gold valued at 5,000 euros, and over 40 electronic devices. Other seizures include 21 inflatable boats, 24 engines, 76 life vests, as well as over 600 inner tubes and air pumps.
UK authorities are working with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to combat human smuggling.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/11/2024
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BREAKING: The man who attacked a Las Vegas judge in this shocking viral video was just sentenced to 26-65 years in prison. The judge who sentenced him said “the attack was an attack on the entire judiciary.” pic.twitter.com/o9ZugahJbX
#4
Never mind, the video in the headline post only shows the actual attack, while the video Skidmark posted also shows the aftermath and what happened to the Judge.
Maybe I should just shut up and watch the whole thing before posting.
❗️ BREAKING: Russia supplies North Korea with MIG and SU fighter jets
"Russia has agreed with North Korea to send MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets to Pyongyang in return for that country sending troops to help with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine" - Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of… pic.twitter.com/KqHNHiSwtO
07/12/2024
[ShabelleMedia] A Chinese-owned fishing vessel with 18 crew members aboard was hijacked last week off the coast of northeastern Somalia, authorities confirmed on Friday. The ship is currently being held in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... An official from Xaafuun district, where the vessel is being detained, revealed that the hijackers included the ship’s security guards, who reportedly joined forces with gunnies from the region.
Did they indeed…
The European Union ;font-family:courier,"Courier New","Courier 10 Pitch",serif;background:#FFFB99'>...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s anti-piracy naval force, Eunavfor Atalanta, brought global attention to the incident on Thursday. In a statement, Eunavfor confirmed that local maritime authorities had notified them of the hijacking, adding that gunnies were in control of the vessel.
"Regarding the crewmembers, there are up to 18 people. None has been injured. After investigation, the event has been classified as armed robbery at sea," the statement read.
A local businessman familiar with the situation, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, shared additional details with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
He explained that the vessel, one of 10 licensed to operate in Somali waters by the Puntland administration, had two security guards aboard at the time of the hijacking.
The ship was initially taken to Jiifle, in Godobjiraan district, and has since been moved multiple times. It is now believed to be located in Maraya, a coastal village under the jurisdiction of Eyl district.
[IsraelTimes] South African police are investigating reports of an explosive device that was found outside a Jewish community center in Cape Town on Friday morning.
On Friday, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies informed police that an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) was discovered outside the Jewish community offices around 10:30 a.m.
Following some confusion, local media subsequently reported that the news was false. However, that was mistaken, and the serious crimes division of South African police, known as the Hawks, is now investigating.
It’s South Africa, so probably even odds it’s violent criminals or jihadis.
‼️ Lukashenka: "Belarus has several dozen nuclear warheads"
"I have brought nuclear warheads here. Not just a few, but several dozen. Many are saying, 'Oh, it’s a joke, nothing was brought in.' They were brought in. The fact that our opponents call it a joke means they missed… pic.twitter.com/9EqM5Zeqbe
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2024
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Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
09-12-2024
[Rudaw] A Yazidi woman kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Shingal in 2014 has been rescued from Syria's northwestern Idlib province and will soon be returned to the Kurdistan Region, Hussein Qaidi, head of the Office for Rescuing Abducted Yazidis,said on Monday.
“A few days ago, we received information that this girl was living in a specific place in a specific country. We did what was necessary to rescue her. Thank God, she is now in safe hands. Hopefully, necessary measures will be taken to return to the Kurdistan Region and reunite with her family soon,” Qaidi told Rudaw.
Rudaw has learned that the 29-year-old woman, whose identity the office is withholding for security reasons, was found in a house in the rebel-held Idlib province on Saturday.
The office is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency and was established in 2014 when ISIS swept through the Yazidi heartland of Shingal, committing genocide.
When ISIS swept through the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014, committing genocide, the group abducted 6,417 women and children who were forced into sexual slavery and labor.
He added that more than 2,000 Yazidis abducted by ISIS a decade ago remain missing.
Many have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters. Others have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels or Turkish-backed armed groups, and some have been located in third countries.
Kurdish security forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) last month announced they rescued a Yazidi man from the clutches of ISIS.
[USNI] The following is the Dec. 9, 2024, Congressional Research Service Insight report, Syria: Regime Change, Transition, and U.S. Policy.
FROM THE REPORT
Rapid offensives by Syrian armed groups opposed to the government of Bashar Al Asad (alt. Assad) forced Asad’s resignation and exile to Russia on December 8, 2024. This inflection point in Syria’s post-2011 civil war marked the end of decades of Asad-family rule.
Advances since late November by anti-Asad groups left much of western Syria (including Damascus and most other major cities,) in the hands of different forces: a coalition led by the U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) coalition, and southern Syria-based armed groups. Groups (including Alawite minorities) with historical ties to the Asad regime maintain a presence in some western coastal areas where Russian air and naval bases are located. Eastern Syria remains largely under the control of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the U.S.-backed Syrian Free Army, both U.S. counterterrorism partners against remnants of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) that once dominated parts of Syria and Iraq.
Many Syrians are welcoming the end of Asad’s rule and opportunities to reunite families and release long-held prisoners. At the same time, Syrians and outside observers note that considerable political, economic, and security challenges lie ahead.
President Joseph Biden called Asad’s ouster “a fundamental act of justice” and “a moment of historic opportunity.” On December 9, a senior Biden Administration official asserted that U.S. policy helped bring about the weakness of the Asad regime and the “entire Iranian-backed artifice in the region,” and has “completely changed the equation in the Middle East.” President Biden also said the U.S. government would protect U.S. citizens and personnel in Syria along with U.S. regional partners, and would remain vigilant against a possible IS resurgence.
Approximately 900 U.S. military personnel are present in eastern and southern Syria, conducting counterterrorism missions against IS remnants and supporting the SDF’s detention of more than 9,000 IS prisoners and administration of camps for more than 40,000 individuals from formerly IS-held areas. U.S. Central Command conducted dozens of airstrikes against IS targets in central Syria as Asad’s forces withdrew. The United States suspended operations at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus in 2012; the Czech Republic serves as the U.S. protecting power in Syria. President-elect Donald Trump made statements as Asad’s government collapsed, calling for the United States to refrain from involvement in Syria’s conflict.
SITUATION IN SYRIA
As of December 8, some Asad government officials appeared to remain in place and anti-Asad forces appeared to be coordinating with them to attempt to preserve order. Debate among Syrians over Congressional Research Service 3
governance may reflect the diverse interests of Syrian political, ideological, ethnic, and religious groups. While armed Sunni Islamist groups led the final military campaign that ousted Asad, non-Islamist locally-organized armed groups, particularly in southern Syria, participated and may control some strategic areas and resources. Syrians’ demands for accountability and personal grievances may affect security as the transition unfolds.
Outside actors, including Syria’s neighbors, may act to influence Syria’s transitional arrangements and the post-Asad security environment in ways that serve their discrete interests. Turkey supports armed groups in northern Syria that have seized areas near Aleppo from the U.S.-backed SDF since early December. The Turkish government seeks to counter the SDF because of links Kurdish SDF elements have with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, another FTO).
On December 8, Israel took control of some formerly Syrian military-held areas of the Golan Heights and said it would continue to strike “heavy strategic weapons throughout Syria.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized Israel’s military as taking a “temporary defensive position,” and expressed his hope that Israel and Syria could have peaceful relations in the future. To date, some Russian military forces have repositioned but reportedly remain in Syria. Iran reportedly evacuated some personnel from Syria.
Asad’s departure may enable additional international humanitarian assistance to Syria. In June 2024, a UN official warned that Syria was “facing its highest levels of humanitarian need since the start of this 13-year crisis,” with 7.2 million people internally displaced and 13 million people (of a population of nearly 24 million) facing “high levels of acute food insecurity.” Nearly five million Syrians are registered as refugees in regional countries. Any return home of displaced Syrians may ease pressures on host communities, but could increase humanitarian and service demands on transitional authorities and create new operational and diplomatic questions for donors.
#1
This may end up worse than the Afghanistan withdrawal for Joe historically.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/11/2024 13:21
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#2
things could go horribly wrong
but, there is a lot of potential for a good, or at least a decent, outcome
The Syrian diaspora includes a lot of wealthy people who would like to invest in rebuilding the country. Bringing back the refugees will mean a potential good workforce. A government that is moderate would mean good relations with Jordan, the Saudis and the UAE.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/11/2024 20:15
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#3
worse than the Afghanistan withdrawal for Joe historically.
Is it really possible to be worse for Jotato than it is now? Would he even notice?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Oleg Tyurin
[REGNUM] Less than a year ago, there were battles in Avdeevka, and now there is a large construction site here. Volunteer repairmen, gathered by the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, are working in the liberated suburb of Donetsk.
We meet the volunteers in one of the Donbass towns - here the volunteers live and rest, returning from Avdeevka. The most ordinary private house, inside - an atmosphere of coziness and warmth. It smells of freshly cooked borscht.
"The initiative to start the project came from the head of the Synodal Department for Charity of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Panteleimon. On March 8, 2023, the first team of builders arrived in Mariupol and began repairing the roofs. In total, 265 roofs and 43 interior work objects were restored - they worked on the "interior" during the winter: they restored ceilings, doors, walls, inserted windows, did electrical work and plumbing," foreman Anton told Regnum.
Previously, the man worked as a stage technician at the Moscow Philharmonic, with which he traveled all over Russia. He liked the job, and the man did not plan to quit it, but when he learned last September that volunteers were needed in Donbass, he went to Mariupol. And he stayed to restore destroyed houses.
Anton says he doesn’t feel like going home yet.
"I learned everything on the spot. Sometimes people come who have never even held a hammer in their hands. We teach everything, show everything, and then the guys come back for a second or third time. There are few professional builders here," the agency's interlocutor continues.
Volunteers arrived in ruined Avdeevka in October. The administration set the task of helping prepare the city for the approaching frost. They started working immediately: the local administration asked to urgently close the heating circuit of the temporary accommodation point for local residents. They repaired the walls, installed windows and laid a new roof, turning the concrete box into a cozy place to live for people who had lost everything.
"In addition to the temporary housing repairs, in a month and a half we have repaired 17 roofs of private houses, and three more are in the works. We work closely with the administration: it selects houses [to be repaired], the selection criteria are the housing of people who need help, the disabled and pensioners who live there or plan to return to them," says Anton
Currently, out of a population of more than 40,000, only 600 people remain in Avdeevka, for whom 250 houses are planned to be prepared in the near future. More than a hundred volunteers came to Avdeevka to help, including people of various professions and construction experience. There was even a cosmonaut.
"The most unusual person who has passed through our project is a Hero of Russia, a cosmonaut. Moreover, he arrived without saying who he was, they "identified" him by chance. A very modest person, he asked very much not to mention his name in the press. Writers, an artist, a GITIS graduate also came, and now we have a teacher from Moscow State University working for us... Everyone builds, except for the builders," the foreman laughs.
"It's more interesting to work here"
The aid project united people of different ages, professions and even religions. Despite the fact that the volunteering was organized by the Russian Orthodox Church, the doors are open to everyone - both atheists and representatives of other faiths.
There is only one condition: to sincerely want to help people in trouble.
"We are all united by the desire to help. Some come to see [what is happening in Donbass] - and this is also important when you live in an ordinary world where no one talks about war and nothing is heard. Many people's perception of the world changes when they see real people who survived the war," Anton explains.
His words are confirmed by one of the few construction specialists who is currently working on the project. Igor Nikolaev has worked as a carpenter in a monastery on the Solovetsky Islands for the last 11 years, and two weeks ago he came to help in Donbass.
"It's hard to say what I experienced - it was very difficult. And the people are good-natured and friendly, I'm surprised they didn't become embittered. They feed the children at the facilities, they are ready to help everyone," says the interlocutor of IA Regnum.
The local houses have one characteristic feature, the carpenter notes: the chimneys are not on the roof slope, but on the ridge.
"Why is that? I still haven't received an answer to this question, " he says. "But it makes work more interesting this way."
Nikolaev is sure that this is definitely not the last time he comes to Avdeevka, because the volunteers have a lot of work to do.
Another builder working today for the benefit of Avdeevka residents is Vitaly Kovrov. Before retiring, he worked at a military plant, building submarines in Severodvinsk. Today, he is one of the old-timers, working for more than 10 months - first he restored Mariupol, now he is rebuilding the Donetsk suburb.
"Avdeevka is much more destroyed [than Mariupol]. It's hard to watch, and the locals have already recovered from the shock - they need to live on. They are cheerful and smiling, and when everything is built, they thank us with tears," Vitaly shares.
Builders note that they are rewarded for their selfless help - and in the most unexpected way. Sometimes solutions are found to problems that previously seemed insoluble.
"We had a case: a guy came, a refugee from Kherson, worked for a long time, he had no documents - no passport, no registration, plus it was unknown where his relatives lived. Somehow, miraculously, he found a family, and now he was able to get documents and will soon go to them," says Anton.
THE TEN YEAR ROAD HOME
Another amazing story was shared by a correspondent of one of the federal media outlets, Yulia Andrienko. She was born in Avdeevka and came to make a report about volunteers. This is her first return to the city, which she had to leave 10 years ago at the risk of her life.
In 2014, Yulia worked as a correspondent in Donetsk. Maidan broke out, and life was literally divided into "before" and "after". In May, the girl helped organize a referendum on the independence of Donbass in Avdeevka. And when the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered the city, she was forced to leave her home and move to Donetsk with her family.
At that time, Andrienko could not even imagine that she would only return home ten years later, with the help of a volunteer project of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"The editor sent me [information about the project] and said: listen, this is an interesting 'test case'. Avdeevka is, of course, destroyed, but I am happy that I came here at all. Ten years... Even in my dreams it was out of reach - I was walking [down the street], and it seemed to me that I would be taken prisoner.
But I was even able to go into my apartment, take out an album with my black-and-white school photos and a box of Christmas tree decorations. Our stormtroopers who liberated the city accompanied me. It... brought tears to my eyes," the woman does not hide.
Seeing the state of her hometown, Andriyenko herself became a volunteer. Having swapped her pen and laptop for a ladle and an apron, she works in the communal kitchen. The woman believes that this is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Avdeevka.
"I am not a great connoisseur of cooking, but I take master classes, learn to cook in conditions of lack of water on an industrial scale. Water is given after two o'clock in the afternoon, and the guys need to be fed three times a day. Our builders are some kind of superhumans for me. I traveled with them from Moscow: one runs a large IT company, three children and a successful life, but he left everything and came here," Yulia continues in an interview with IA Regnum.
She does not hide the fact that at first she did not recognize her hometown: it is radically different from the Avdeevka that the journalist left in 2014. Destroyed houses, a school razed to the ground, where she once held a referendum... The woman did not even get into her apartment right away.
“I didn’t even cry when I saw her: the apartment had no windows, no doors, and the guys [who accompanied her] said: ‘Sorry, but we won’t let you in first, we don’t know what surprises the Ukrainian Armed Forces have left behind,’” the woman recalls.
For now, the work continues. The enemy has not yet been driven far away, it is impossible to begin large-scale restoration work with a large number of builders - it is dangerous. But Avdeevka is alive, the city is being restored and finding itself.
"We will continue to restore Avdeevka, we continue to work in Mariupol. And then, I think, we will go further and restore other destroyed cities," says foreman Anton.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In 2024, six terrorist attacks on educational institutions and crowded places were prevented in Russia. This was reported on December 10 by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC).
It is noted that thanks to the coordinated actions of security forces in Russia, 190 terrorist attacks were prevented at the preparation stage over the year.
“Six [of them] were trained by members of the movements banned in Russia, ‘Maniacs Cult of Killers’ (an extremist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) and ‘Columbine’ (an extremist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation), in educational institutions and places where large numbers of people gather,” the report says.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, earlier on December 10, officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia detained a 21-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation and Germany who was preparing a terrorist attack on the railway on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services. The young man is a member of a youth group of neo-Nazists.
The detainee later confessed that his assignment was to derail a freight train for a monetary reward. During the search, a ready-to-use homemade explosive device and means of communication with correspondence with an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine were seized from him.
09/12/2024
[ShabelleMedia] A major operation was mounted after a driver attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was Monday morning shot and killed by suspected al-Shabaab members in an attack in Lafey, Mandera County.
An unknown number of gunmen later grabbed his four-wheel drive car and escaped with it. Police said this was after they had dropped the body of the deceased from the car.
A passenger who was in the car was taken away by the gunmen, police said. The deceased was attached to the local police command. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia common border which is usually breached by the group.
Police said the gang crossed the border into Somalia. The body of the deceased was moved to a local mortuary. This is the latest such incident in the area amid operations by separate teams.
President William Ruto is scheduled to visit the neighboring Wajir County for a pastoralist meeting. This prompted more operations to tame any plans by the terrorists to attack locals.
Such operations have thwarted dozens of planned attacks in the area and inland. The area is under a multi-agency security operation and is near the Kenya-Somalia border.
The multi-agency operation seeks to flush out the militants from the hideout. This has seen a significant reduction in such incidents. The area has been facing an increase in terror-related attacks. This is among other things because of its proximity to the Somalia border.
The border areas of Mandera, Wajir, Lamu and Garissa too have faced similar attacks which have affected development at large. The government says they have acquired more resources to enhance operations in the border area against the terrorists.
The attacks have left many dead and displaced hence affecting development. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border where the terrorists cross at will for attacks before retreating to their areas of control.
04-12-2024
[Garowe] A senior Al-Shabaab operative was captured in Somalia, in a dramatic move that could lead to hints about the financiers of the militants who have been helping the group run its operations and logistics without many problems.
In an operation conducted within Buur Hakaba District of the Bay region in the Southwest, the government forces managed to capture Aliyow Isaaq Moalim who is believed to be the major financial operative within the militants in the country.
The operation was narrowed down to Buur-Helede village in the Bay region following a tip from members of the public who have been the target of extortion by the militants. He was caught issuing vehicle permits — a money-minting business by the Al-Shabaab.
Mohamed Hassan Adan alias Sandheere, the commander of the operation, said the move significantly weakens the al-Shabaab in the Bay region where the group has been terrorizing innocent civilians and security forces.
"Disrupting their financial network is a decisive step toward eradicating their influence," he said, emphasizing the broader implications of targeting the group's economic lifeline.
For sustainability, the group imposes taxes on business owners and travelers to finance its operations. A report by the United Nations indicates that the group can raise up to $130 million in a financial year from extortion mainly through Zakat.
09-12-2024
[Rudaw] Two suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members and two police officers were killed during a raid near Anbar province’s Falluja district, Iraqi police announced on Monday.
Ahmed al-Mashhadani, media director of Anbar police told Rudaw that a unit of Iraq’s national security service raided a house in Falluja’s Amiriya subdistrict, where they found “two known ISIS members hiding”.
Clashes erupted between the police forces and the gunmen, Mashhadani said, resulting in the killing of two police officers, as well as the two ISIS suspects.
Rumors circulated on Iraqi social media that the two suspects broke out of prisons in Syria and crossed Iraqi borders into Anbar. Mashhadani denied the rumors, stating that the suspects were from the area and are "well known."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces note that today the enemy carried out several assaults in the Orekhov direction.
The occupiers are now conducting reconnaissance and search operations, preparing to become more active, said a spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces.
Russian occupiers are preparing to step up assaults in the Orekhov area, where they are conducting reconnaissance and search operations. This was stated by the spokesman for the Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine, Vladislav Voloshin, on the air of the United News telethon.
He noted that the enemy had already carried out several assaults in the Orekhov direction today.
The Russians are now conducting reconnaissance and investigative activities, preparing to become more active in this particular direction.
"According to our intelligence, the enemy has redeployed the personnel of the assault groups to the forward positions. They have also evacuated the casualties, so now everyone at the front is "fresh" and ready to begin assault operations. But these will be assaults by small groups of infantry with the involvement of armored vehicles and under the cover of aviation and UAVs," Voloshin said.
Earlier, the National Guard stated that the Russians were preparing for a large-scale offensive in the Zaporizhia direction.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] A resident of Chelyabinsk was found guilty of justifying terrorism and sentenced to six years in prison.
The Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg found that the Chelyabinsk resident posted a comment on a social network "containing linguistic signs of justifying terrorist activity" under a news post about the attack on a church and synagogues in Derbent and Makhachkala, the court's press service reported.
That one was done for ISIS…
The man was found guilty of justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony. He was also deprived of the right to administer websites and channels on social networks for two years. The convicted man and his defense attorney filed appeals, Kommersant writes, citing the court's press service.
#2
"Captain, why are [cough] Muslims in distant
Domains so insanely insistent
On going to jail?"
[blue muezzin's sad wail]
"When released they are ultra-resistant."
["Smash that demonic harmonica, boy!"]
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Olesya Orlenko
[REGNUM] The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral on April 19, 2019, was one of the most shocking events of the year for the entire world. The fear of losing the famous architectural monument, which is not just a symbol of France, but has invaluable universal, historical and cultural significance, caused a storm of emotions.
French President Emmanuel Macron solemnly promised that the cathedral would be restored in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite everything, he kept his word. But the ceremony to return the masterpiece to the public was perceived as a fiasco for the French president instead of a triumph.
"THEY TOOK IT TO HEART"
The fire in the cathedral started in the evening, around 7:15 p.m. The nearby streets were filled with onlookers - tourists and Parisians, the firefighters worked until 4 a.m. Social networks were full of comments.
Many, including Donald Trump, criticized the firefighters' actions. Experts of varying levels of expertise offered theories about the cause of the fire, suspecting, among others, atheists, "leftists" and migrants.
However, as time has passed, experts agree that the fire was extinguished correctly, taking into account that it was necessary not only to eliminate the flames, but also to save the building from even greater destruction.
A government agency was quickly created to coordinate the restoration of the monument. The restoration work was carried out in several stages. Until 2021, the task was to preserve the structure and strengthen the walls. Then, for more than three years, the actual restoration of the cathedral's appearance was carried out.
After much debate, it was decided to return the building to the appearance it had received after its restoration in the 19th century, when it was led by the famous architect and art historian Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. The restoration of Notre Dame's interior is planned to be completed in 2027.
The unfortunate fire brought to light an internal problem related to the state's attitude to historical heritage. The cost of restoration work at Notre Dame Cathedral has already exceeded 700 million euros. They were made possible by organizing a collection of donations for the restoration of the monument.
To date, people from almost all over the world have already transferred 843 million euros. About half of this amount was given by representatives of French big business.
For example, the owner of the LVMH group, Bernard Arnault, who, according to him, took this tragedy to heart when he saw his 17-year-old daughter watching the fire in tears on live television.
Meanwhile, the budget for maintaining all monuments in the country, including churches, museums, secular historical buildings, etc., was only 326 million euros in 2019. And, apparently, the situation has not changed for the better now.
In 2024, a number of architectural monuments in France had to be closed to tourists because it was simply unsafe. The country has about five thousand churches classified as national heritage sites that are in a state of disrepair.
The authorities tried to repeat the Notre Dame experience and announce a collection for the maintenance of other cultural sites, hoping to receive 200 million euros. However, this topic did not find a response in the souls of people, so it was not possible to collect even 17 million.
Rachida Dati, who recently headed the Ministry of Culture, proposed transferring some of the funds sent to Notre Dame Cathedral to finance urgent work elsewhere.
But this idea met with a wave of disapproval, particularly from the Catholic clergy.
"SPLENDOR AND MISERY"
But the cathedral in Paris was lucky, and on December 7, its grand opening ceremony took place. The whole world was watching the event.
For many, the event was more important than the recent Olympic Games. Not to mention that the event itself received far more positive reviews than the scandalous opening of the summer sports competitions.
Representatives of the political elite of other countries came to the capital of France. In particular, the elected US President Donald Trump, for whom this visit was the first foreign trip after winning the election.
But the inexorable world press is in no hurry to describe what happened in rosy tones. And analysts see a large number of facts that darken the solemn mood.
Journalists note that the event was marked not only by the presence of important guests, but also by the absence of two iconic figures. Firstly, the Pope, who refused to attend the opening despite Macron's personal invitation, but is planning to visit Corsica on December 15.
The Pontiff explained his refusal by his reluctance to draw attention to himself, which on this day should be addressed only to the council.
However, behind the scenes, it is assumed that he rather does not want his person to be used as an argument in the rhetoric on the Ukrainian issue in the context of Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit.
The second absent guest is the current Prime Minister of France. Absent because there is still no one in that position.
Emmanuel Macron positions the restoration of Notre Dame as a symbol of France, capable even in a difficult situation of mobilizing resources and talents to save its heritage. But the world media wrote more about his kind of servility to the American president.
The Germans wrote that for Trump, Macron is “just an unpopular president in an ungovernable country on a continent drifting at sea.” The Italian La Stampa calls the ceremony “glitz and misery,” when “Paris shines again, but the nightmare of the crisis remains.” And the Spanish El Pais even dubbed the whole event “Macron’s requiem.”
And indeed, this time many are noticing the harsh reality that even such a truly grandiose event as the resurrection from the ashes of Notre Dame Cathedral cannot overshadow.
But even with his help, Macron will not be able to earn the glory of a creator, since not long before this he plunged the country into a crisis that is still far from resolved.
BREAKING: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors just voted 3-1 to turn the county into a "super" sanctuary county by shielding illegals from deportation and preventing police from notifying ICE about dangerous illegals in custody.pic.twitter.com/ApINL5CtRy
What was it the new Homeland Security chief said about a similar idiot? Something about he wanted to go to prison and I’ll happily send him there… And here’s another one.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2024 5:47
Comments ||
Top||
#4
Declare any sanctuary state/city/local to be in rebellion against the Federal government, anyone who voted for such actions are rebels and start arresting and jailing them.
#8
Where are the citizens when county officials openly admit that they prioritize the "rights" of dangerous illegals over the safety of those whom they represent?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
12/11/2024 11:07
Comments ||
Top||
#10
Smart move while also asking the Feds for $$$ to combat the Tijuana River sewage "invasion", shutting down the Imperial Beach and Coronado ocean to swimming.
Smart.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2024 11:43
Comments ||
Top||
#11
It seems like only yesterday that San Diego County was a sane place, the last major such place in California.
#12
When county officials make proclamations like that, they should be dragged into the streets and reminded who they work for. When did this kind of disregard of regular folks become ok?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov
[REGNUM] The flags flying over the Syrian embassies in Istanbul, Stockholm, Yerevan, and Moscow are being changed — a visible symbol of the fact that “power has changed.” The flag of the armed opposition that took control of the country was already the state flag — until 1958.
In a sense, time has turned back in Syria to the times before the rise to power of the secular Arab socialists, from whose ranks emerged the Assad “dynasty” that ruled the country from 1970 to 2024.
In order to understand the rapidly unfolding events now (after all, after 13 long years of civil war, the situation has changed dramatically in just 12 days), it is necessary to at least briefly glance at the recent history of Syria.
FOUR IN ONE
The word "Syria" ("Suriyya" in Arabic) is ancient, but the state with this name is only 78 years old. Until the end of World War I, this part of the Levant, that is, the Eastern Mediterranean, belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The Turks drew the borders of the provinces (vilayets) based on the convenience of governance, without regard for the diversity of ethnic groups and religions. Present-day Syria, Lebanon and the southern part of Turkey proper were divided between the vilayets of Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut and Deir ez-Zor.
When the Entente defeated Germany and its allies (including the Ottoman Empire) in 1918, the victorious powers divided up the Turkish Sultan's possessions. France — formally, under a League of Nations mandate — got the territories of modern Syria, Lebanon, and the Turkish province of Hatay. All of this was called Greater Syria.
Syrian centenarians – there are almost a quarter of a million of them in the country – can remember the times when the French assembled the country and drew its borders as they saw fit. Initially, the Mandatory authorities divided their possessions into six “states” along ethnic lines.
Thus, in the north, the state of Aleppo was allocated to the Kurds, Sunni Arabs, Turks and their relatives, the Turkomans. On the Mediterranean coast (in the present-day province of Latakia, where the Russian Khmeimim base and the Tartus base are now located) there was the Alawite state. It was intended for the compactly living Alawite religious community, whose religion is so different from orthodox Islam that many Sunnis and Shiites do not consider them to be true believers, as well as for Shiites and Christians.
Another unorthodox community, the Druze, living in southern Syria, was given the state of Jabal Druze. The Sunnis and Shiites of the southwest were given the state of Damascus. Finally, Greater Syria included what is now Lebanon.
But in 1926, the French separated Lebanon (which was distinguished by its high ethno-religious diversity, even by Middle Eastern standards) into a separate mandated territory. The Hatay region, after long interethnic clashes and complaints to the League of Nations, was given to the Turks (Syria, however, did not recognize Turkey's sovereignty over this territory until 2005).
And from the remaining lands, the French authorities, for the sake of convenience of governance, cobbled together a country that had never existed before. In one territory there were Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs, Alawites, Ismailis, Christian Arabs, Armenians, Druze, Kurds, Turkomans and Assyrians.
There is nothing special about this, however: the British authorities created the never-existent state of Iraq on the same principle. When leaving, the Europeans sought to ensure that their former colonies would always have ethnic and confessional tensions that would periodically “explode” into wars. And, it must be admitted, they succeeded.
ONE COUNTRY, TWO STARS, MANY REVOLUTIONS
Since gaining independence in 1947, Syria (like Iraq) has experienced a series of military coups, uprisings and has intervened in several wars with Israel.
The optimal way to keep ethnic groups, confessions, clans and influence groups in line (and to keep the interests of these warring groups in balance) was an army dictatorship. However, this type of government was traditionally unstable for the Middle East. Between 1946 and 1956, the country saw 20 governments and 4 constitutions.
In 1958–1961, the country lost its independence, becoming part of the United Arab Republic (UAR) for a time, the brainchild of the ambitious Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. At that time, instead of the previous green-white-black flag, Syria adopted the black-white-red pan-Arab flag of the UAR with two green stars (the two stars originally symbolized the two "union republics", Egypt and Syria). In 1961, another coup took place in Syria, this time against Nasser. The country left the UAR, but the flag remained.
In 1963, the military changed power again. Now the country is "ruled" by the regional branch of the Baath Party - the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (in the same year, Baath comes to power in Iraq). The word "Arab" was added to the name "Syrian Republic", which is unlikely to be to the taste of non-Arab ethnic groups, primarily the Kurds inhabiting the northeast of the country.
Three years later, in 1970, another coup takes place, this time within the Baathist leadership, and the leader of the country is the former commander of the Air Force, a native of the influential Alawite clan, Hafez al-Assad.
LIONS ON THE THRONE
The father and grandfather of the presidents of Syria, Ali Suleiman, the leader of a mountain clan in Latakia, changed his former nickname al-Wahsh (the savage) to a more harmonious one and one corresponding to his social status back in the 1920s: al-Assad (the lion).
Hafez al-Assad, who held the presidency from 1971 until his death in 2000, was called "the Sacred One" ("al-Muqaddas") and "the Immortal Leader." His son and successor, Bashar al-Assad, was titled a little more modestly upon ascending to the "throne" - "the Hope of the People."
It is hardly possible to reproach the Assads for a cult of personality: this was typical of Middle Eastern secular regimes - Baathist Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Egypt from Nasser to Hosni Mubarak, the Libyan Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi, etc.
There is an opinion that the years of the Assad family in power were a dictatorship of the Alawite religious community, to which Hafez and his son Bashar belonged. According to a slightly more complex version, the Assads relied on a coalition of ethno-religious minorities: Alawites, Shiites, Druze, Christians, etc.
In fact, a regime was created in the country that was in many ways similar to Saddam's government: a group of authoritative military men in power, united by common interests with a division of spheres of influence.
ON THE BRINK OF SPRING
And it was this system that largely allowed the Syrian government to successfully repel the first onslaught of Islamists – the Muslim Brotherhood* uprising of 1976–1982. The storming of the city of Hama, which was commanded by the president’s younger brother Rifaat al-Assad, was considered a model for restoring order (it was this battle that pacified the radical jihadists for a long time).
Syria's loss of the Yom Kippur War with Israel did not shake the regime's position. Especially since the Assads waged a successful proxy war with the same Israel in Lebanon.
Compared to Saddam Hussein’s regime, which essentially fell victim to its own foreign policy adventures, the Assad “dynasty” demonstrated stability. But Soviet specialists who worked in the country in the 1970s and 1980s recalled that the situation was consistently unsettled. Explosions and shootouts “somewhere on the outskirts” were commonplace, and even family members of civilian specialists were trained in case of a terrorist attack.
The stability gained at such a high price allowed the country's economy to develop until the crisis caused by the US invasion of neighboring Iraq in 2001 erupted. The constant influx of refugees and the growth of radical sentiments in the region could not help but affect Syria.
At the same time, discontent grew among a part of Syrian society and the army, who had been removed from key positions. The political opposition demanded democratic reforms (essentially, a redistribution of power and property), while the Islamists demanded the introduction of Sharia law.
Therefore, the wave of unrest throughout the Arab world (the so-called Arab Spring) and the fall of governments in Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia in 2011–2012 and the outbreak of war in Libya could not but lead to similar events in Syria.
BEGINNING OF HALF-LIFE
In 2011, protests began across the country, quickly escalating into fighting. Some of the armed forces broke away from government control, forming the Free Syrian Army (FSA). They were joined by local Islamist militias known as the Islamic Front and a number of other groups.
The country, first assembled by the French and then by the Damascus military regimes, began to fall apart at the seams. A number of regions in the north, near the border with Turkey (where the Turkmen tribes live), and in the south, in the regions adjacent to Jordan and Israel, where the Druze live, have left the government's control.
At the same time, in the northwest, in areas of ethnic Kurdish residence, a local administration and armed structures were created that were equally hostile to the government in Damascus and the opposition.
By the beginning of 2012, the revolution and “democratization” were forgotten – a full-scale civil war broke out in the country.
WAR OF THE ENCLAVES
Unlike traditional wars, where the sides are divided by a front line and strive to break through it, the map of the war in Syria quickly took shape into a bizarre mosaic of several colors.
After the authorities managed to suppress the opposition and Islamists in most major cities, they were pushed out to the outskirts, where they strengthened their positions. For example, in Aleppo, the armed opposition retained part of the central districts of the city and the northwestern outskirts, in Homs – the northern districts of the city and the suburb of al-Rastan, in the vicinity of Damascus – entire oases of dozens of settlements, closely adjacent to the city quarters. In one of these enclaves – Eastern Ghouta, there were up to ten thousand armed people.
On the other hand, the successful opposition offensive led to the capture of large territories in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Hama. But even here there remained enclaves that remained loyal to the government. First of all, areas inhabited by religious minorities.
For example, the cities of Fua and Kafariya in Idlib province; Nubl and Zahraa in Aleppo province have been fighting in complete encirclement for several years. The reason is simple: Shiites live here, “heretics” from the point of view of the militants who consider themselves devout Sunnis.
The history of the city of Deir ez-Zor stands apart, its garrison, together with local militia units, was able to withstand several years of siege and wait for help to arrive. Several airbases also remained completely surrounded, the garrison of which did not surrender and continued to resist. The Tabqa, Abu Duhur and Menang airfields were eventually taken by storm, and their garrison was killed.
However, the garrison of the Kweires air base, consisting mainly of cadet pilots, was able to repel attacks for several years and eventually received outside help. Such tenacity and sometimes, without exaggeration, heroism seem even more incredible against the backdrop of the events of 2024, when the army simply refused to participate in military operations.
In other words, military operations were conducted on dozens of fronts at once, and the decisive role was often played not by regular armed formations, but by local forces.
DIVERSITY VS. GENOCIDE
The semi-collapse of the Syrian state after 2011 went hand in hand with the internationalization of the conflict. Since 2013, Al-Qaeda* and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant* (ISIS, later the Islamic State*) have been actively involved in the war.
The Wahhabi IS*, which by definition does not recognize existing state borders, included part of the territory of Syria with the cities of Idlib and Raqqa into its “caliphate,” which continued further to the east, capturing part of Iraq.
It is noteworthy that even in a state of simultaneous war on ten fronts throughout the country, the Damascus government of Bashar al-Assad has not lost control of the situation.
Over the course of several years of military action, the troops managed to fully or partially hold all major settlements. This was partly possible due to the actions of the armed opposition itself, in whose leadership former politicians and military personnel were often replaced by radicals. Those groups that swore allegiance to the terrorist international directly stated that they were bringing death to representatives of other religious communities: Christians, Shiite Muslims, Alawites and Ismailis. For example, in March 2014, Islamist units stormed the Armenian city of Kessab, carrying out ethnic cleansing in it.
And in this case, the thesis about the “coalition of minorities” opposing the Islamists and situationally supporting Bashar al-Assad is correct.
Thus, a pro-government Druze militia was formed in the province of Suwayda, a Christian militia in the city of Maharda in the province of Hama (later one of the most combat-ready formations of the government forces), and an Ismaili militia from Salamiyah and Masyaf. These formations were created primarily for the survival of their communities. They waged war on the side of the Assad government as long as they considered this government capable of protecting the interests of communities and ethnic groups.
Also on the government's side were representatives of local businesses and/or criminals, who simply did not want to give up their positions to new people and created militia units with their own money. The most famous example of such formations is the "Desert Falcons", financed by the Jaber clan from the Latakia province.
One should also not forget about the loyalty of some army commanders who refused to go over to the opposition for one reason or another. Among them are the commander of the defense of the encircled Deir ez-Zor, General Issam Zahreddine, and the hero of the defense of Aleppo, Suheil Hassan. Therefore, Bashar al-Assad managed to avoid the fate of Gaddafi and retain power, albeit having lost control over part of the country's territories.
But this could not go on forever.
START FROM SCRATCH
With access to almost inexhaustible human, financial and military resources from abroad, the Islamists have organized a series of successful military operations.
Government forces, on the contrary, began to gradually “run out of steam” and give up their positions by the mid-2010s. In the circumstances, the Syrian government turned to foreign military assistance.
Russia's involvement in ending the Syrian conflict since 2015, including support for the government army and other anti-ISIS forces "on the ground" and in the air, has radically changed the course of the long-standing war. Russia's peacekeeping efforts require a separate description. For now, several important points should be noted
The Russian leadership has always supported the Assad government in its fight against terrorism, while emphasizing that intra-Syrian reconciliation, the restoration of the balance of interests of the various communities, faiths and ethnic groups living here is the business of the Syrian people themselves. As President Vladimir Putin noted back in 2015, “we are not going to be more Syrian than the Syrians themselves.”
Moscow has always advocated for the normalization of dialogue between Syria’s political and religious forces and organizations, speaking about the need to conduct the most fruitful negotiations under the auspices of the UN.
Now that the government has collapsed, the danger of the conflict becoming "Somalizatsi" is growing, with a complete collapse of statehood and intercommunal wars. Therefore, now more than ever, dialogue is needed between the constituent parts of Syria, from the Kurds to the Druze and from the Alawites to the Sunnis.
There are multiple everything sects everywhere in the region — Syria isn’t special. As far as I can tell, the descendants of everything mentioned in the Bible are still around, just no longer running things. Hittites and followers of John the Baptist, Samaritans, Sadducee Jews (though they call themselves something else now), even scions of the House of King David.
Anyone who isn’t suspicious that the new rulers aren’t going to impose Sharia Law on unbelievers sooner or later isn’t paying attention. Promising all unbelievers the status and rights of travelling merchants just means they won’t have equal rights under the law as permanent citizens — and as legal transients they’ll likely be forbidden to repair their religious buildings and train replacements for aging clerics, as a start. See the precarious situation of the native Coptic Christians in Egyptian villages in the upper Nile for what that looks like in a merely semi-totalitarian society.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] An equal three-on-three battle turned one-sided for the 425th assault battalion.
The shootout began when three soldiers from the 425th assault battalion noticed three Russian occupiers on the road.
A group of fighters from the 425th Ukrainian assault battalion, supported by mortars and drones, as well as American-made M-2 Bradleys, destroyed Russian forces that outnumbered them five to one, the military reported in a video posted on its Telegram channel.
The shootout began when three soldiers from the 425th assault battalion spotted three Russian occupiers approaching along the road. So the Ukrainian soldiers saw the Russians, but they did not see the Ukrainians.
Ukrainian troops "came out and controlled the situation with a grenade." A few well-aimed rifle shots ended the ambush, killing two of the hostage takers.
An even three-on-three battle turned one-sided for the 425th assault battalion. Another dozen Russians, who were being watched by a Ukrainian drone the entire time, followed the same road. The drone operators joined in the shelling.
An M-2 arrived on the scene, probably the same one that most likely landed the first three Ukrainian fighters and "added fire." The skirmish ended with the sappers blowing up the bridge, thanks to which two Russian assault groups approached Pokrovsk.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Armed Forces hit the Buk-M air defense missile system and destroyed the Buk-M2 air defense missile system of the occupiers in the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:57 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conversation with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. According to the Ukrainian leader, he discussed cooperation between Ukraine and Poland with the head of the Polish government and thanked him for his support.
21.35 In Zaporizhia, the number of people killed as a result of the missile strike by the Russian army has risen to four. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.
20:50 The US Treasury Department announced the allocation of a $20 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.
19.46 A drone hit an IAEA service vehicle heading to the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP. This was reported by the agency's Director General Rafael Grossi, who condemned the attack on his employees.
18.07 The attack of Russian invaders on Zaporizhia proves that it is necessary to increase the capabilities of Ukrainian air defense, and the question is only in the political decisions of Western countries. The corresponding statement was made by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
17:46 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will want to take revenge for the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, because they are accomplices in the violence, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
16.36 Since the beginning of the current day, 99 combat clashes have occurred on the front. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are repelling Russian attacks in 10 directions and in the Kursk region, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported in a report as of 16:00.
16.19 As a result of Russian shelling of Zaporozhye, three people were killed and 11 others were injured, the head of the regional military administration Ivan Fedorov reported on Tuesday, December 10.
15:50 Over the past month, the number of barges that the occupiers installed in the Kerch Strait as boom barriers to protect against Ukrainian Armed Forces sea drones has halved. This was reported by the Center for Journalistic Investigations.
15.15 The mayor of occupied Dneprorudnoye, Yevgeny Matveyev, died in Russian captivity in February 2024. This was reported by the Zaporizhzhya Regional Prosecutor's Office.
The department noted that the occupiers returned the mayor's body with signs of violent death. The mayor's death more than six months ago is confirmed by a medical death certificate.
14.51 Russian troops have been attacking Kherson and its suburbs with drones since the morning: Antonovka, Kindeyka, Novodmitrovka. Six people were injured. This was reported by the Kherson OVA.
14:10 In the frontline Toretsk, as of December, there are still 1.5 thousand civilians. The city has been almost wiped off the face of the earth due to enemy strikes with guided aerial bombs and artillery. Footage of the city was shown by the Telegram channel of the operational-strategic group of forces (OSGV) Khortytsia.
13:49 Explosions have thundered in occupied Yenakiyeve, Donetsk Oblast. Footage of secondary detonation sounds is being published by local publics. The occupation authorities have announced an emergency evacuation of residents near the impact site.
"They probably hit a Russian ammunition depot," writes Ukrainian journalist Andrey Tsaplienko.
13:06 Several dozen nuclear warheads have been delivered to Belarus and the locations for the Oreshnik ballistic missiles to be deployed are being selected. This was stated by the country's formal leader Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to Borisov.
12:48 Information circulated in the media about Russia's ability to produce up to 25 Oreshnik missiles monthly is not true. The disinformation was aimed at Western countries. This was stated by Andrei Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).
12:04 Russian aggressors launched two missile strikes on the city of Zlatopol in the Lozovsky district. A total of 10 people were injured. Preliminary reports indicate that the enemy used Iskander-M ballistic missiles.
10:36 Russian invaders launched a missile strike on the city of Zlatopol in the Lozovsky district of the Kharkiv region. Eight people were injured. The hit was recorded near a bank. Other non-residential buildings and civilian cars were damaged.
9:35 Over the past 24 hours, 175 combat clashes have occurred on the front. Most attacks have been repelled in the Pokrovsk direction - 51 attacks. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The missile forces of the Defense Forces have hit the command post of the Russian invaders.
8:19 In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, most schools have closed their canteens due to a lack of staff. This was reported by the Center for National Resistance (CNS).
"This concerns urban educational institutions. As for schools in rural areas, the canteens there have not worked since the arrival of the "Russian world," the report says.
7:45 Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed 1,350 Russian invaders. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the losses of the occupiers have exceeded 755 thousand troops in manpower. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7:23 The Ukrainian robotic combat complex Droid TW 12.7, equipped with a Browning 12.7 machine gun, has been codified and approved for operation. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense. The complex has proven its reliability during combat trials. Droid TW 12.7 has a 12.7 mm machine gun, a tracked platform for difficult conditions, remote control via a tablet, and operates on digital communications.
[NYPOST] Ousted Rep. Jamaal Firebug Bowman ...sleazy Dem politician and educator, U.S. representative for New York's safe 16th congressional district since 2021. On September 30, 2023, while House Dems were desperately attempting to delay a vote that avoided shutting the government down so they could blame it on the Pubs, Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building, causing the building to be evacuated. Bowman told reporters he thought it was a doorknob or something. Capitol Police released a statement saying they were investigating the fire alarm incident, and maybe a few rubes somewhere expected something to come of it. Republicans introduced a motion to expel Bowman from the House but that evaporated too. Bowman issued a statement saying they were Nazis. Bowman is a member of The Squad, a faction of like-minded subversives... (D-NY) argued in a letter addressed just to ''White People'' on Tuesday that ''white supremacy'' is the reason Daniel Penny was acquitted in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
In the bizarre rant, posted on X, the departing ''Squad'' lawmaker further suggested that he doesn't understand why he feels the need to ''keep talking'' to white people.
''Dear White People,'' Bowman's manifesto begins.
''I don't know why I feel the need to keep talking to you. I don't know why part of me still has hope for you and for us. Some of you are too far gone. But maybe enough of you aren't and will join us in fighting to end white supremacy,'' the congressman writes.
Bowman, 48, goes on to spotlight several high-profile cases of police violence against black men and women, as well as the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin by Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman — who was also acquitted of wrongdoing.
''White supremacy is not skin color. It's a state of mind,'' the Bronx and Westchester rep argues after referencing the death of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten by five black Memphis Police Department officers.
''Jordan Neely is the latest,'' Bowman adds. ''He was sick. He was not a threat. He was subdued. Still not a threat. Daniel Penny choked him for 6 minutes. And killed him. We all watched it on camera, and he was still acquitted.''
A community note appended to the tweet thread noted: ''As part of a plea agreement, after punching a 67-year-old woman in 2021, Jordan Neely was given free access to stable housing and healthcare at a treatment facility. Neely abandoned the facility after 13 days.''
X users also added: ''Penny's actions were in response to Neely threatening passengers.''
New York's 16th District pol then asserts that white social media users have ''never'' seen ''a white man killed in cold blood on camera on your newsfeed.''
''How many times have you even heard about this? The answer is never. You never have,'' Bowman declares.
''And whenever you feel discomfort from your whiteness, Black people are harmed or killed,'' he charges. ''And there is never accountability or justice. This is the evil of white supremacy. It spans across geography and political parties and sickens us all.''
''RIP Jordan Neely. The justice system failed you. Kyle Ritenhouse [sic] and Daniel Penny are free. You're gone. We must still fight,'' Bowman's missive ends.
Bowman argued that Penny's acquittal was because of ''white supremacy.''
Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran, was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide by a Manhattan jury on Monday.
Prosecutors argued that Penny was ''criminally reckless'' when he held Neely, who witnesses said was scaring passengers, in an approximately six-minute-long chokehold.
Defense attorneys raised doubts about whether Neely died from the chokehold, citing his schizophrenia, drug use and a genetic health condition.
Bowman was defeated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in New York's 16th District Democratic primary earlier this year.
The former Bronx middle school principal faced criticism for opposing Israel's war against Hamas and for infamously yanking a fire alarm in a Capitol office building in September 2023.
Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, agreed to a $1,000 fine and was later censured by the House over the fire alarm pull.
He claimed at the time that he ''thought the alarm would open the door'' and pulled it by ''accident,'' %u200B%u200Bsaying he ''was just trying to get to my vote'' for a critical government funding package.
Latimer went on to easily beat Republican Miriam Flisser in the general election and will replace Bowman in the House of Representatives next month.
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] In remarks delivered Tuesday, Biden claimed that the incoming Trump administration is going to be inheriting a "fairly strong economy," and expressed hope that the administration will "preserve" this "progress."
"Next month, my administration will end and a new administration will begin. Most economists agree the new administration is going to inherit a fairly strong economy, at least at the moment. An economy going through fundamental transformation," Biden said, later adding, "It is my profound hope that the new administration will preserve and build on this progress."
Biden's time in the White House has been marked by inflation and rising prices. Within the first year of being in office, inflation had hit the highest point seen since the 1980s. Record-high inflation continued into his second year in office and beyond.
Under the Biden administration, the US saw the highest-ever recorded average gas price, at $5.016 per gallon in June 2022, per AAA. Gas prices crept up once again in 2024, with Biden announcing the sales of gasoline from reserves. Inflation hit business across the US the last four years, with the pharmacy chain Walgreens announcing in July that it would be closing over 2,000 stores due to inflation. Other chains, such as Hooters and Red Lobster, have closed numerous locations across the US.
In an attempt to combat inflation, the Federal Reserve in 2022 and early 2023 implemented a series of interest rate increases. In September, the Federal reserve cut these rates for the first time in over four years, CNBC reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Laying the claim that a Trump economic recovery was due to his stewardship. Day one demand factual, truthful stats from the Dept of Labor where we are at without 'adjustments' months later.
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] Florida State Representative Susan Valdes announced her switch from the Democratic to Republican Party on Monday and said it would be "effective immediately."
In a statement posted to X, Valdes wrote, "I have spent my adult life fighting to give a voice to the people of my West Tampa home. I have done so as a Democrat partly out of habit - I come from a family of Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... - and partly because I believed the Democrats were the party most concerned with the working families I represent. In the House, I have long known that no one has a monopoly on good ideas. I will not waste my final two years in the Florida Legislature being ignored in a caucus whose leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community."
She pointed to the Florida House Speaker's "vision" to help "work on real problems facing our communities" and said she was tired of being part of the party of "protesting" instead of "progress."
"Effective immediately, I will change my registration from a Democrat to Republican and will join the Republican Conference in the Florida House of Representatives. Our Speaker, Rep. Daniel Perez, has laid out a vision for the House that focuses on empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities. That's what I want to be a part of. I want to roll up my sleeves and work. I want to be a part of solving problems for West Tampa. I'm tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress. I know that I won't agree with my fellow Republican House members on every issue, but I know that in their caucus, I will be welcomed and treated with respect," she added.
"I love my community, and I will continue to fight every day to benefit the people of West Tampa, Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. And in my heart, I know the best way to do that is to stand with Speaker Perez and join the Republican supermajority in the Florida House of Representatives," Valdes concluded in her statement.
Valdes, a resident of Tampa, represents Florida's 64th district in the state legislature. The area is a reliable swing district, per Florida's Voice. She won her 2024 race by less than five points.
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[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] FBI Director Christopher Wray is reportedly planning to resign on or before Inauguration Day, when Trump will begin his second White House term. This comes as Trump has nominated Kash Patel to head the agency under his forthcoming administration.
Sources inside the FBI familiar with Wray's thinking reportedly told the Washington Times that the current FBI head is quitting because he doesn't want to get fired by Trump. One source said, "He's going to be gone at the inauguration. On or before the inauguration." After Wray departs from the bureau, Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director and will appoint an acting deputy director.
On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter to Wray expressing a vote of "no confidence" in Wray and Abbate. "For the good of the country, it's time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I therefore must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI," Grassley wrote. "President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I've also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures."
Grassley took aim at the FBI raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in the letter, along with other concerns in the 11-page letter, writing, "President Trump has been subjected to a continuing double standard, an area where your failed tenure is consistent with your predecessor's. While the FBI under your leadership turned a blind eye to information contained in the FD-1023 that was prejudicial to President Biden, FBI agents conducted an unprecedented raid of President Trump's home in Florida to serve a warrant for records."
The senator later added, "This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it," noting that "No such raid took place at Crooked Hillary Clinton ...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away. Politix is not one of her talents, but it's something she keeps trying to do... 's premises, even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server after repeated warnings from State Department security personnel it was a security risk, and despite the fact her associates destroyed potentially-incriminating evidence."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
...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 
[FoxNews] Yinpiao Zhou, 39, allegedly conducted a Google search one month earlier for the phrase 'Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules'
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...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 in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
...sleazy Dem politician and 
...every time you hear the phrase 
...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as 
