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Veritas strikes again: Twitter caught doing shadow bans on conservatives through algorithm
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
09:31 5 17:13 charger [26]
08:49 10 21:42 Blackbeard Elmamp4744 [16]
08:46 1 09:23 Raj [9]
08:31 2 17:20 Oscar Jish7982 [13]
05:38 1 07:38 M. Murcek [8]
04:59 1 17:36 Skidmark [18]
04:48 2 22:55 rjschwarz [16]
04:42 2 12:41 Sock Puppet of Doom [7]
03:33 8 23:03 S. Chomoting5714 [16]
03:26 3 16:39 magpie [12]
03:21 1 17:40 Skidmark [18]
02:58 1 04:24 g(r)omgoru [11]
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02:43 2 17:30 Skidmark [14]
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00:00 6 18:21 Frank G [15]
00:00 1 04:17 g(r)omgoru [11]
00:00 1 17:47 Skidmark [19]
00:00 9 20:53 Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 [15]
00:00 4 22:23 Seeking cure for ignorance [14]
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-Land of the Free
Veritas strikes again: Twitter caught doing shadow bans on conservatives through algorithm
Update at 10:10a.m. ET: As Andrew Breitbart taught them, Project Veritas is staggering the releases. Drudge Report just put up these links:
UNDERCOVER VIDEO: Sr Network Security Engineer Reveals Twitter Ready to Give Trump’s Private DMs to DOJ
9 January

Project Veritas Twitter Video: Company Responds To Allegations It Can Share Trump's Deleted, Direct Messages
10 January
[IBTimes]
I find it interesting that both videos released thus far show conversations that occurred on January 3, 2018. Usually videos are released long after they were taped.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/11/2018 09:31 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [26 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It makes me happy when someone posts something I was considering adding. It tells me I was on the right track. Well done, DarthVader!
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 10:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Tell me again why the left calls us conservatives "fascists?"
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/11/2018 12:42 Comments || Top||

#3  So can they shadow ban POTUS too? It's a free country after all isn't it?
Posted by: jpal || 01/11/2018 13:00 Comments || Top||

#4  3 follow me daily, yet I still have the same number of "followers" since the year I started in twitter. Also, it un-follows those Whom I followed for me.

Which is why I AM only using it to record history. It is not reliable for anything but that, disasters and regime change.
Posted by: newc || 01/11/2018 13:11 Comments || Top||

#5  #2 Tell me again why the left calls us conservatives "fascists?"

Projection, o' course!
Posted by: charger || 01/11/2018 17:13 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Is this the US Air Force's secret 4,600mph spy plane? Mystery 'hypersonic aircraft' is captured in Google Earth images of a Florida airbase, claims conspiracy theorist
[DailyMail] - US Air Force is believed to be developing a spy plane that travels at 4,600mph

- Secretive hypersonic plane is being developed by defence firm Lockheed Martin

- Google Earth images show an object that looks similar to the artist's impression

- Pictures were taken by UFO conspiracy theorists from SectureTeam10

- Many have dismissed the latest footage, saying it just shows a high speed boat
Visually impaired pig? Acorn?

Not buying the "high speed boat" hypothesis. Strakes (?) at rear look like they would interfere with performance? The "X" indicates an airfield.

VFR Chart indicates this may have been taken of Pratt and Whitney Private airstrip identified as Class Echo Restricted Airspace R-2936. With a Control Tower. See here.

I'm unfamiliar with the symbol depicted that resembles an iris.

Dunno.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 08:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It looks like the old mockup for the F-117 Have Blue program...
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/11/2018 15:38 Comments || Top||

#2  The chart I looked at initially (and is not accessible by the link I left) is apparently outdated. Here is a link to a current chart.

The iris-like thingie has been removed.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 15:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Did the iris like symbol look like one of the symbol at this site? Iris like symbol

If it is what I think it is, it indicate the airfield is a military only airfield.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/11/2018 16:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Looks like an awning over something to shield overhead viewing.
Posted by: KBK || 01/11/2018 16:49 Comments || Top||

#5  My bet is on a UAV. Full-size flyable, flyable, papier-mâché piñata, who knows... *Shrug*
Posted by: magpie || 01/11/2018 17:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Yeah. Swamp gas.
Posted by: Blackbeard Bumble5724 || 01/11/2018 17:48 Comments || Top||

#7  What I find interesting is the search radar unit to left in the photo setup horizontal and on the centerline of the runway.
Almost like somebody's doing radar cross section tests of evidently gear down?
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/11/2018 19:28 Comments || Top||

#8  If it's that top secret it wouldn't be in Florida and it wouldn't be outside when there was a satellite passing overhead.
Posted by: Chantry || 01/11/2018 19:51 Comments || Top||

#9  Here a link to the chart with the "Iris" symbol. It is not a military airport symbol.

https://bonanza36.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/photo-f45.png
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 01/11/2018 19:57 Comments || Top||

#10  Last time we saw this picture it was supposed to be in China. My, Florida gets around...
Posted by: Blackbeard Elmamp4744 || 01/11/2018 21:42 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Dolly Parton's Dinner Show Drops ‘Dixie' from Its Name
BLUF:
[Breitbart] World Choice Investments CEO Jim Rule says the rebranding is part of an effort to "stay relevant in today’s changing world."

"There is interest in several parts of the United States and internationally to host one of our unique dinner attraction shows," Rule said. "We provide spectacular family entertainment at a great value. We continually listen to our guests and our desire to expand coupled with our desire to stay relevant in today’s changing world led us to simplify our shows’ names."

While some think removing "dixie" was the right way to go, others see it as "caving to political correctness."
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 08:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any guesses as to attendance levels going forward?
Posted by: Raj || 01/11/2018 9:23 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
B-2 Bombers Arrive in Guam
[War Zone] In August of 2016, B-1B bombers arrived at Andersen Air Force base on Guam to fulfill U.S. Pacific Command's continuous bomber assurance and deterrence mission. It was the first time the "Bone" had taken up station on Guam in over a decade, as the jets had spent years becoming the heavy-hitting all stars of America's air campaigns in the Middle East. Since then the B-52H has taken the B-1B's place in that troubled region, meanwhile a handful of B-1Bs have prowled around eastern Asia for a year and half, most famously flying near constant "show of force" missions near North Korean borders.

Now a trio of B-2As and 200 airman to support them have arrived on Guam to augment, or even possibly relieve the B-1s deployed there. But the bat-winged bomber's presence there, or even a changing of the guard, isn't just about swapping one bomber out for another or adding more blunt firepower to the region. The B-2 brings highly unique capabilities to the theatre, ones that would be absolutely essential if the U.S. were to go after Kim Jong Un's regime, or even move to attack a far more limited target set in North Korea.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 08:31 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They've been there before. The burned out spot next to the runway where 'Spirit of Kansas' crashed and burned (they're all 'Spirit of' something) in 08 is all nicely grassed over.
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/11/2018 9:28 Comments || Top||

#2  So is the B-2's presence on the island a harbinger of large-scale destruction to come?

At least an indicator the new ordinance is ready.
Posted by: Oscar Jish7982 || 01/11/2018 17:20 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
K-12 in action
h/t Gates of Vienna
When all 164 of Washington D.C. Frank W. Ballou Senior High School’s graduating seniors last year applied for and were accepted to college, the whole community - students, teachers, administrators, parents, and education reformers - had reason to celebrate the achievements of these obviously hard-working graduates. With a graduating class the school system considered "academically disadvantaged," someone in the school district should have smelled a rat.

After all, 98 percent of Ballou’s 930 students were African-Americans, and two percent were Hispanic/Latino, according to data from the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) system. One hundred percent of them were considered "academically disadvantaged" by the system. Kids like this deserve the great opportunity that a high-quality, character-building education can help provide.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 05:38 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They'll get special treatment by college administrators going forward to ensure that their "success" is not detailed by something as rayiss as a lack of academic ability. Then they'll get jobs. Hooboy!
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/11/2018 7:38 Comments || Top||


Steven Pinker: Here's How Political Correctness Winds Up Creating Its Own Antagonists
h/t Instapundit
..."So here is a fact that is going to sound reasonably controversial but it is not and that is that capitalist societies are better than communist ones," Pinker states before an audience of Harvard students. He continues, "If you doubt it well then just ask yourself the question ’Would I rather live in South Korea or North Korea?’, ’Would I rather live in West Germany in the 1970s or East Germany...I submit that this is actually not a controversial statement but on university campuses, it is considered flamingly radical."

Pinker goes on to offer several more statements: That men and women differ in their tastes and interest. That different ethnic groups commit violent crime at different rates. Finally, that the majority of suicide-terror acts worldwide are committed by Muslim extremists. And this brings Pinker to his central point.

"Now if you’ve never heard these facts before and you stumble across them or someone mentions them, it is possible to come to some extreme conclusions," he says, adding, "That women are inferior, that African-Americans are naturally violent, that we all ought to be anarcho-capitalists and do away with all regulation and social safety nets."

...argument that efforts to make certain topics verboten wind up creating a kind of intellectual black market where the potential for reaching more extreme conclusions is heightened unnecessarily. Instead, Pinker suggests it would be better to be able to acknowledge these facts and then discuss them openly.
I still keep "The Language Instinct"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 04:59 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [18 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Now if you’ve never heard these facts before and you stumble across them or someone mentions them, it is possible to come to some extreme conclusions," he says

Alternatively, once the socialized metaphor is cataloged there is little reason for reasoning.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Michael Wolff did Trump a big favor
h/t Instapundit
[WashingtonPost] You wouldn’t know it from the media coverage, but President Trump is emerging from the furor over Michael Wolff’s "Fire and Fury" as the winner. For all the seemingly damaging headlines coming out of Stephen K. Bannon’s disclosures to Wolff, the book represents a political victory for Trump, one that could improve his party’s prospects heading into the midterm elections.
Because the accusations made in the book are so ridiculous that nobody but hard core libtards believe them?
...Despite the media circus surrounding the salacious but questionable allegations in Wolff’s book, most Trump supporters don’t care. Nor do they care much about the very public row between the president and Bannon. They care about what the president and his administration can do for them. They support Trump because he articulated and, increasingly, is enacting an agenda they believe will improve their lives and secure the future peace and prosperity of the country. It’s that simple.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 04:48 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hard core Progressives and hard core NeverTrumpers. For some the loathing is visceral, and no accusation too unbelievable.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 12:38 Comments || Top||

#2  It has never been clearer that one party stands for appearances and the other stands for accomplishments.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/11/2018 22:55 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Why there is no peace.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US Ambassador David Friedman for articulating the "unvarnished" truth on Wednesday when he tweeted that terrorism and the Palestinian reaction to it are the reasons there is no peace.

"An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards,"
Friedman wrote on his Twitter account in reaction to the murder of Raziel Shevach. "Look no further to why there is no peace."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 04:42 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because 'there will always be wars'?
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 5:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Golda Meir explained it best when she said:

"Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us"
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/11/2018 12:41 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Killing Trump Is Deep State's 'Plan C,' Warns Adviser Roger Stone
[American Thinker] It's a shocking claim made by a political insider: the Deep State is so opposed to draining the swamp that it will, if necessary, kill President Trump to prevent it.

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser and confidant, certainly knows his way around Washington, having worked as a senior campaign aide to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Senator Bob Dole as well as held many other political positions. This proximity to the Deep State is what makes his claim, expressed in a recent wide-ranging interview with The New American magazine's Alex Newman, that much more eyebrow-raising. Stone outlined three plans the Deep State has for eliminating the president, as Newman relates:
The Deep State's "Plan A," Stone said, is the imploding "investigation" into alleged "Russian collusion" by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. If and when that fails, which Stone suggested was likely, the establishment would move to "Plan B." In essence, that plot would involve trying to get a majority of Trump's [C]abinet to declare him unfit for office. This would allow Trump to be removed under the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment ‐ another scheme Stone said would probably flop. Last but not least, though, if all else fails, Stone warned of "Plan C": [k]illing the president.

Interesting here is that Newman's piece was published January 1, just before talk of President Trump's alleged mental instability became the month's big news story. In fact, released just four days later was journalist Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury, which makes the case that Trump is psychologically unfit to hold office. Note, too, that Wolff has boasted that his book will bring down the president.

This bold claim will more likely just bring up book sales. It's not only that Wolff has said he can't be sure everything in his book is true; that it contains factual errors; and that he is, as ex-Trump strategist Sebastian Gorka put it, "a partisan self-promoter with credibility issues[.]" It's that removing a president for inability to discharge his duties isn't easy.

Per the 25th Amendment's Section IV, Vice President Mike Pence would have to declare Trump unfit, 13 of the 24 Cabinet members would have to agree, and then two thirds of both houses of Congress would ultimately have to vote to uphold the decision. Unless Trump starts fainting right and left and throwing behind-the-scenes temper fits like Hillary Clinton, Stone is correct in saying this is unlikely.

This leaves the alleged "Plan C." But is such a Deep State course of action really in the cards? Calling Trump "a shock to the system," Stone explained his thinking to The New American: "It's easy to forget that the shocking upset that Donald Trump pulled off has never been forgotten or acknowledged by the globalist cabal that has really infected both of our major parties." And with the economy flourishing and public confidence up, "it's easy to misread the deep enmity and hatred that the globalists and the [i]nsiders have for this president, and to underestimate their resolve to remove him."

"If all else fails," writes Newman, "Stone believes [that] the Deep State would, in fact, attempt to murder the president."

Stone emphasized that if "Mueller should fail in his illegitimate coup d'état to take down the president," he thinks "you will see an uptick in the 'Trump-is-crazy' talk," reported Newman. Again, we've already witnessed this.


Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 03:33 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, I'm shocked! I'm shocked, I tell you!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Indications and warnings (I&W) anyone ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 5:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Funny, I always thought that was their Plan A and they just hadn't quite figured out how to do it yet.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 01/11/2018 10:57 Comments || Top||

#4  any of you ex military/ security specialists have a plan to help prevent this....
Posted by: 746 || 01/11/2018 13:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Guarantee if they try, it will be a very short but bloody civil war that they will lose. Any taking out of the President would have to hit his VP and cabinet too and that means a coup. The military is very funny about people trying that and the vast majority would roll over the plotters very quickly.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/11/2018 14:22 Comments || Top||

#6  I recommend the use of doubles wherever possible and staying away from NYC and Trump Towers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 14:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Plan B2: obstruction of justice.
Plan B3: go after Trump’s financial dealing
Plan B4: crash the market hard around August with a second leg down in October
Posted by: KBK || 01/11/2018 16:58 Comments || Top||

#8  Given JFK, is this so far-fetched?
Posted by: S. Chomoting5714 || 01/11/2018 23:03 Comments || Top||


Something is seriously wrong at ICE
[American Thinker] At first glance, it would seem that things at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are going swimmingly. ICE just raided ninety-eight 7-11 stores around the country and arrested a bunch of illegal aliens. ICE's arrests for the 2017 fiscal year are nearly 37% higher than the year before.

So what is there to complain about?

The actual number of yearly removals ICE is making in the interior of the country, not counting the border, is still a tiny figure: about 81,000 illegal aliens in the most recent fiscal year. Given that there are more than ten million illegal aliens in the country, removing even a fraction of them will take a long time.

The problem is that ICE doesn't have the manpower to deport millions of aliens. Donald Trump wants to expand their manpower, but so far Congress has not cooperated.

This is not ICE's fault.

What is ICE's fault, however, is how it uses the existing manpower it has. The raid on the ninety-eight 7-11 stores must have involved hundreds of ICE agents, but it netted only 21 illegal aliens. It's great that businesses like 7-11 are given notice that employing illegals is no longer acceptable, but raids like this show that ICE is using its limited manpower terribly inefficiently.

Part of the problem is the leadership. ICE is led by an Obama-era holdover named Thomas Homan. Incredibly, nearly a year after taking office, President Trump still had not appointed his own nominee to run the most important agency related to his most important campaign issue. He finally relented in November...deciding to nominate Homan, the acting director, to take the job on an official basis.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 03:26 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Homan seems OK and on the same page as Trump (and myself)
Posted by: Frank G || 01/11/2018 7:38 Comments || Top||

#2  because you are NOT an armchair strategist Frank G?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  The problem is that ICE doesn't have the manpower to deport millions of aliens.
So? They can deputize other branches of the national and local government. They only need the will to do it.
Posted by: magpie || 01/11/2018 16:39 Comments || Top||


Rep. Jordan says released Fusion testimony suggests the FBI was helping plant stories against Trump
[RS] Rep. Jim Jordan spoke with Martha McCallum last night about the newly released Fusion GPS testimony and suggested that it, paired with the recent news about the text messages between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, gives credence to the idea that FBI was planning to systematically plant stories to further their insurance policy, which was to keep Trump from getting elected.

Here’s a few excerpts from the article he’s referring to by John Solomon regarding the text messages:
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 03:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [18 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ala Pinker.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:40 Comments || Top||


Phony Hillary-Funded Russia Dossier Was Used to Obtain Trump FISA Warrant – More to be Revealed Soon
[Gateway Pundit] Sara Carter reported:
A large portion of the evidence presented in the salacious 35-page dossier put together by former British spy Christopher Steele, has either been proven wrong or remains unsubstantiated. However, the FBI gained approval nevertheless to surveil members of Trump’s campaign and "it’s outrageous and clearly should be thoroughly investigated," said a senior law enforcement source, with knowledge of the process.

Multiple sources told this reporter that the dossier was used along with other evidence to obtain the warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, known as FISC. The sources also stressed that there will be more information in the coming week regarding systemic "FISA abuse."

"(The dossier) certainly played a role in obtaining the warrant," added another senior U.S. official, with knowledge of the dossier. "Congress needs to look at the FBI officials who were handling this case and see what, if anything, was verified in the dossier. I think an important question is whether the FBI payed anything to the source for the dossier."
Fox News’ Sean Hannity also reported that three separate sources confirmed to him the Russia dossier was used to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on Trump’s camp.

Sara Carter link
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/11/2018 02:58 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the consequences?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:24 Comments || Top||


'Death Diaries' reveal lessons about prescription drug epidemic
Quick read

With the nation in the throes of a prescription drug and opioid epidemic, a doctor in San Diego is helping lead an effort to learn from overdose deaths to prevent future fatalities.

  • The "Death Diaries" project examines what drugs killed 254 people in 2013, what they were being prescribed, and by whom.
  • Dr. Roneet Lev found several troubling patterns, including doctor shoppers, people mixing drugs with other substances and physicians who don't seem to be paying attention to the prescription drug histories of their patients.
  • Hundreds of doctors got a surprise letter in the mail, informing them that one of their recent patients had died from a drug overdose. The letters are part of an experiment to see if doctors change their prescription practices.
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 02:47 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Obscure Vomiting Illness Linked to Long-Term Pot Use
[Scientific American] For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain.

“I’ve screamed out for death,” said Queen, 48, who lives in San Diego. “I’ve cried out for my mom who’s been dead for 20 years, mentally not realizing she can’t come to me.”

Queen lost a modeling job after being mistaken for an alcoholic. She racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and her nausea interrupted her sex life. Toward the end of her illness, Queen, who stands 5-foot-9, weighed in at a frail 109 pounds.

Throughout the nearly two decades of pain, vomiting and mental fog, she visited the hospital about three times a year, but doctors never got to the bottom of what was ailing her. By 2016, she thought she was dying, that she “must have some sort of cancer or something they can’t detect,” Queen said.

But she didn’t have cancer. She had an obscure syndrome called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition only recently acknowledged by the medical community. It affects a small population—namely, a subset of marijuana users who smoke multiple times a day for months, years or even decades.

There’s no hard data on the prevalence of the illness. But in California and Colorado, which have loosened marijuana laws in recent years, emergency physicians say they’re seeing it more often. One study in Colorado suggests there may be a link.
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 02:43 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...This comes under the heading of 'purely anecdotal', but I have known a handful of folks who become violently ill if they take even a puff. Wondering if it's not so much a syndrome as an allergy.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 01/11/2018 5:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I'd blame it on bowel obstruction from 'munchie packing'.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:30 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi prince who criticized arrest of relatives is axed
[IsraelTimes] Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed fired from Maritime Sports Foundation after saying detention of princes 'false' and 'illogical'

A Saudi prince who purportedly made an audio recording criticizing the government has been fired as head of the kingdom’s Maritime Sports Federation and replaced by a military officer, according to local press reports.

In the nearly six-minute-long audio that was posted online and published on Arabic media websites this week, Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed said the government’s publicly stated reasons for arresting 11 princes are "false" and "illogical."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:24 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Several killed in yesterday’s blast at Syrian weapons depot
[IsraelTimes] A blast rocked a Syrian weapons depot, killing several people and causing damage, a Syrian watchdog group said Wednesday, a day after Israeli jets reportedly struck an arsenal near Damascus.

Syrian army regulars and fighters belonging to pro-regime militias were killed or injured in the kaboom, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Wednesday.

The Britannia-based group did not say how many people had been killed or hurt in the blast, which occurred near the city of Slinfah.

The blast, whose cause remained unclear, could be heard around the whole region of Latakia in western Syria.

The area is considered the power base for Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
, and is home to a number of military installations. Russia also maintains a military presence in the area.

The reports come a day after the Syrian military said that Israel conducted Arclight airstrikes on a military base in the city of al-Qutayfah, outside Damascus, early Tuesday morning, reportedly on a weapons depot containing long-range missiles.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [18 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Iran arrests dozens for ‘terrorist’ acts linked to protests
[IsraelTimes] Intelligence Ministry says security forces confiscated arms and explosives from 'safe houses' kept by detainees

Iran says it has jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
dozens on suspicion of "terrorist activities" during a recent wave of protests.

The official IRNA news agency on Wednesday carried a statement from the Intelligence Ministry saying security forces confiscated arms and explosives from "safe houses" kept by the detainees. It says some detainees had filmed the protests.

Demonstrations broke out across Iran last month fueled by anger at the lackluster economy and official corruption. The protests spread to several towns and cities, with some demonstrators calling for the overthrow of the government.

Clashes broke out at some of the protests, and at least 21 people were killed.

Iran has accused the US, Israel and other foreign powers of inciting violence to try and overthrow the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

Various figures were released previously by official sources over the number arrested over the recent unrest which hit several dozen towns and cities, with reformist politician, Mahmoud Sadeghi, putting the total at 3,700 on Tuesday.

Human rights activists outside of Iran told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday they weren’t surprised by the figure as authorities also allegedly carried out so-called "preventative arrests" of students not involved in the protests. Some 4,000 arrests followed the 2009 protests.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Is there a blackout of news on msm regarding these protests?
Posted by: Menhadden Forkbeard5326 || 01/11/2018 15:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Is there a blackout? Pretty much, yes, because it would make President Obama’s phone’n’pen deal with Iran look incredibly stupid, or worse. But also at the Iran end, making it a lot harder to get any i formation about what is happening over there.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 19:06 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Foreigners among 21 militants killed in Farah airstrikes
[Khaama Press] At least twenty one snuffies including foreign nationals were killed in the latest Arclight airstrikes conducted in western Farah province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan in a statement said the new airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Khak-e-Safid district.

The statement further added that seven Pak nationals were among those killed and at least three vehicles and several weapons were also destroyed.

The anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Death Eaters have not commented regarding the report so far.

Farah is among the relatively restive provinces in West of Afghanistan where the anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban Death Eaters are actively operating in some of its districts.

A senior Taliban leader who was in charge of the Red Unit command of the group for western Farah province was killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the same district late last year.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the Taliban leader Daud Muzamil was initially injured in an airstrike conducted in Khak-e-Safid district and subsequently died of his wounds.

Gen. Waziri further added that Muzamil was in charge of the Red Unit command of the Taliban besides he was appointed as the military commission chief of the group for Farah.

He said at least eight people were killed in the airstrike and eight others including commander Muzamil were maimed.

According to Gen. Waziri, commander Muzamil died of the wounds he had sustained during the airstrike.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:


7 killed, 16 wounded in Quetta suicide attack
[Khaama Press] A suicide kaboom rocked Quetta city, the thriving provincial capital of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
province of Pakistain, late on Tuesday night.

According to the local officials, several people were killed or injured after a jacket wallah detonated his explosives close to the vehicle of the security forces.

The incident took place in the vicinity of Zarghoon Road close to the General Assembly of Balochistan, leaving seven people dead and sixteen others maimed.

Balochistan’s Inspector General of Police Moazam Jah Ansari told news hounds that eight coppers were also injured in the attack.

It is believed that the Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) group has grabbed credit behind the attack.

In the meantime, Ansari claimed that he could "tell in advance" that the suicide bomber must have come from across the Afghan border.

He said DNA tests showed suicide bombers involved in previous attacks in Quetta were foreign nationals too, according to the local media reports.

This comes as several people were killed or maimed in a similar incident in Quetta city late in December last year.

The Afghan and Pak officials often blame the attacks on the anti-government armed elements having safe havens on the two sides of the Durand Line.

The Afghan officials often blame the Haqqani terrorist network for the large scale attacks in Kabul and other parts of the Afghanistan, claiming that the network uses its safe havens in Pakistain for orchestrating such attacks. A claim which has often been endorsed by US officials as well.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel briefs: stones and molotovs thrown, funds and 11 terror suspects seized
Jerusalem bus driver lightly injured in stone-throwing incident

[IsraelTimes] A bus driver is lightly injured by stone-throwers as he drove along Jerusalem’s Uzi Narkiss Road near Pisgat Ze’ev, police say in a statement. The driver is treated for light injuries by paramedics at the scene. The statement says coppers are searching the area for the perpetrators.

IDF seizes terror funds in Hebron

During a security operation in Hebron,
...Hamas Central in the West Bank...
IDF and Shin Bet forces seized thousands of shekels in terror funds Tuesday night. Throughout the West Bank, 11 terror suspects were tossed in the clink
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!


Stones, Molotov cocktails thrown at border police in Issawiya

[Ynet] Vandals threw stones and Molotov cocktails at border police forces in the Arab east-Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. There were no casualties but several vehicles were damaged. The police reported that a suspect had been arrested for involvement in the incident.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  IDF seizes terror funds in Hebron

Now, that's gonna hurt.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:13 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Court: Trump pick Mick Mulvaney can remain as Acting Director of CFPB
[LegalInsurrection] Denies preliminary injunction to Leandra English, appointed by outgoing Director Richard Cordray.

Donald Trump secured a victory in the federal District Court in D.C., as a Judge just ruled that Mick Mulvaney can continue as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Court rejected the claims of Leandra English, appointed by Richard Cordray just as he was leaving CFPB, that she should remain as Acting Director pending nomination and confirmation of a replacement Director.

"This case concerns whether the President is authorized to name an acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") or whether his choice must yield to the ascension of the Deputy Director, who was installed in that office by the outgoing Director in the hours before he resigned. The CFPB is a government agency created after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act" or "Dodd-Frank"), Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). The CFPB's previous Director, Richard Cordray, resigned effective at midnight on the day after Thanksgiving: Friday, November 24, 2017. That same day, he named Plaintiff Leandra English the CFPB's Deputy Director, in an apparent attempt to select his successor. But the President, Defendant Donald John Trump, made his own appointment that day, announcing that Defendant John Michael Mulvaney, who serves as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB"), would also serve as acting Director of the CFPB upon Cordray's resignation.

English claims that, by operation of the Dodd-Frank Act, she‐and only she‐is now entitled to be the acting Director of the CFPB. She seeks a preliminary injunction that would restrain the President from appointing an acting Director other than her, require the President to withdraw Mulvaney's appointment, and prohibit Mulvaney from serving as acting Director."
Posted by: Frank G || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The unelected government resisting being controlled by the elected government. It's so bad in the swamp.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 01/11/2018 1:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Did somebody say Dodd-Fwank? How about just shutting the damn thing down?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 01/11/2018 10:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Judge should have said: "Dismissed With Prejudice."
Posted by: magpie || 01/11/2018 22:32 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
BIFF bombs kill soldier, injure civilians
[AFP] Islamist militants have killed a soldier and injured three civilians in bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday.

The soldier was fatally shot Tuesday while his unit was tracking Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen on a mountain trail near the town of Datu Unsay. Regional military spokesman Captain Arvin Encinas said, "The dead soldier was involved in a clearing operation (against the BIFF)."

A roadside bomb apparently intended for a military convoy in the neighboring town of Datu Hoffer injured three civilians instead, Encinas added. He said both military units were pursuing BIFF rebels who had clashed with security forces in the same region on Saturday, a gun battle that killed a soldier and five militants.

Encinas said some BIFF rebels had been trained in making improvised explosive devices by Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian killed in a police operation two years ago.

"These are students of Marwan. There's quite a few of them," Encinas said of the bomb makers, referring to Zulkifli's alias.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters


Home Front: Culture Wars
Robert de Niro calls President Trump 'the jerk-off-in-chief', 'the baby-in-chief' and a 'f***ing fool' in epic rant while giving award to Meryl Streep
[DailyMail] - De Niro was introducing Meryl Streep at awards show when he went off script

- He attacked the President, calling him a 'f***ing idiot' and a 'f***ing fool'

- Actor also branded Trump the 'baby-in-chief' and 'jerk-off-in-chief'

- De Niro has a long history of attacking Trump, threatening to punch him in the face during the campaign and calling him a 'blatant racist'

Mr. de Niro may be contacted through William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC.
You will not be surprised that one of the co-CEO's is Ari Emanuel

Mr. de Niro also is co-owner of the Tribeca Grill in NYC.
For reservations, call (212) 941-3900.


Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This yahoo is the projector-in-chief. Swearing in front of Ms. Streep...she did what?
Posted by: KBK || 01/11/2018 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Drunk tough guy has been.

Fitting. His stage debut was at age 10, when he played the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz.
Posted by: Woodrow || 01/11/2018 4:23 Comments || Top||

#3  I understand that in Middle Ages they wouldn't bury actors in regular cemeteries - because of their contemptible profession. How the hell actors became icons & culture heroes?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Is there a 25th Amendment for actors?
Posted by: Matt || 01/11/2018 8:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Has he made a decent movie since the 1970s? No -- they're all gangster parodies or mad grand dad stuff. An embarrassing dissolution of a once-promising career.
Posted by: regular joe || 01/11/2018 14:26 Comments || Top||

#6  Bobby is such a courageous has-been!
Posted by: Menhadden Forkbeard5326 || 01/11/2018 16:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Bobby has some Polanski like skeletons in his closet.
Posted by: charger || 01/11/2018 17:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Whats he said about Weinstein?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/11/2018 17:52 Comments || Top||

#9  The Apprentice was much better than anything Hollyweird have done recently. And now Trump is President.

They can't do anything but wail and knash their teeth.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 || 01/11/2018 20:53 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Baghdad Bomb & Bullet Bulletin: 6 innocent bystander casualties, lotsa ISIS kaboom caches liberated

Six civilians killed, injured in bomb blast in Baghdad

Bagdhad (Iraqinews.com) – Six people were killed and injured Wednesday in a bomb blast at al-Mada’n district in Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.

“An explosive charge went off near a line of supermarkets at al-Mada’n district in Baghdad, leaving a citizen dead and five others wounded,” a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Baghdad Today.

“Security forces rushed to the blast site and carried the dead body to the forensic medicine department, and the injured to hospital for treatment.”

Iraqi troops seize 25 bombs, 39 mortar shells left by Islamic State in Baghdad

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Security forces have seized a huge amount of explosive devices and mortar shells that were left by the defeated Islamic State group in different areas in Baghdad, a military command was quoted as saying Wednesday.

“Troops of the Baghdad Operations Command have found 25 bombs, a locally-made rocket and 39 mortar shells during military operations in the north, west and south of Baghdad,” the command said in a statement, quoted by Alghad Press.

“The explosive charges, left over by Islamic State, were detonated at the scene with no casualties reported,” the statement read.

“Our security forces will keep launching military operations on a daily basis to track down Islamic State cells and purge all Iraqi territories from their remnants,” the statement added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Number of U.S. troops in Iraq will be cut down gradually: ambassador
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The U.S. military presence in Iraq is limited to advisory duties and the number of troops will be cut down gradually, American ambassador to Iraq said Wednesday.

Alsumaria News quoted Douglas Silliman saying in a presser at the embassy in Baghdad that U.S. military presence has been decreased in Iraq, especially in Anbar province in coordination with Iraqi forces.

He noted that the next months will see U.S. troops reduced gradually without a replacement.

According to Silliman, the U.S. is currently focused on the training of Iraqi troops to maintain control over areas recaptured from Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
Lion of Islams, as well as humanitarian aid to refugees.

He put the total of U.S. expenditure on security at recaptured areas, including demining efforts, at USD112 million, besides other funds spent through the UNDP in Iraq.

The Pentagon said in November it maintains nearly 8000 troops in Iraq.

Iraqi officials have regularly said the U.S.-led coalition forces, which supported Iraqi operations against IS since 2014, had not been engaged in ground combat, and were rather providing air and artillery backup.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:


One civilian injured, booby-trapped house detonated in bomb blast, military operation in Diyala
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) ‐ One civilian was injured Wednesday in a kaboom in southeastern Muqdadiyah, Diyala, a well-placed provincial official was quoted as saying.

"An explosive charge went off while a vehicle was passing by Muqdadiyah district in Diyala, leaving the driver injured," Head of Muqdadiyah City Council Adnan al-Tamimi told Alghada Press.

"The injured was carried to hospital for treatment and a probe was launched into the incident," he added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase...
a military commander announced that a booby-trapped house and several hotbeds of Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
were destroyed Wednesday during a military operation at Hawi al-Azim area in northern Diyala.

Speaking to Alghad Press, Commander of Tigris Operations Lieutenant General Mazhar al-Ezzawi said, "Security forces detonated a booby-trapped house and destroyed several IS hotbeds during a military operation that started on Monday to cleanse the western parts of Hawi al-Azim area in northern Diyala from Islamic State remnants.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [21 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: Politix
Deep State – Shadow Government Revealed: Senior Executive Service
[Aim4Truth] Most people know that a new president gets to name over 4,000 political appointees when they are elected. This political cronyism is partisan politics and fills our bloated government with unqualified employees.

Some think that these are the people that comprise the Deep State.

But the Deep State is much deeper than that.

There is a much more sinister system in place that controls Washington D. C.’s bureaucracies through an actual, organized shadow government called the Deep State.

It is the heart of the swamp.

And in this American Intelligence Media citizen intelligence report, we are going to show you exactly who they are and how we can remove them.

The Washington D. C. Deep State is a group of 8,156 appointed mangers in 75 federal agencies that control the executive bureaucracy and tell new political appointees what they can and cannot do. Yes, that’s right, the Deep State is an official government program, well-organized, comprehensive, and "in charge."

OUT OF THE 8,156 MEMBERS WHO MAKE UP THIS DEEP STATE OF ENSCONCED BUREAUCRATS, OVER 7,000 WERE APPOINTED BY OBAMA.
Continues.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Congress could fix this....
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 2:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Congress could fix this

As your Al Smith was fond of saying "Let's look at the record".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Just when did tar and feathering go out of style?
Posted by: Woodrow || 01/11/2018 4:36 Comments || Top||

#4  It's going to be interesting when a critical mass of Americans figure out what elections are actually worth.
Posted by: charger || 01/11/2018 17:11 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi troops destroy four Islamic State armored vehicles, seize three others in Anbar
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) ‐ Iraqi troops destroyed on Wednesday four Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
armored vehicles and seized three others during a military operation in Anbar province, a military commander was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Alsumaria News, Commander of Anbar Operations Major General Mahmoud al-Falahi said, "A joint force from Anbar Operations Command, al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) and the Border Guards carried out a military operation in several desert areas in Anbar province on the Iraqi-Saudi borders."

"The military operation was backed by Iraqi warplanes and the U.S.-led international coalition," he said, adding that the troops destroyed four IS armored vehicles and seized three others during the campaign.

"In addition, four camps of Islamic State were completely destroyed in the military operation," Falahi pointed out, noting that the final tally of IS losses will be announced later as the military operation is still ongoing.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: Politix
Ethics board fines Cook County assessor $41,000 over political donations from lawyers
[ChicagoTribune] Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios is facing $41,000 in fines for failing to return campaign contributions from property tax appeals lawyers whose donations exceeded legal limits, according to a pair of new rulings by the county ethics board.

The rulings raise the level of scrutiny on campaign contributions given by appeals lawyers to Berrios, who doubles as chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party and depends heavily on their donations in raising political funds. The action also ignites another high-profile showdown with the county Board of Ethics, with which he previously clashed over nepotism issues.

At the center of the ethics board’s rulings is a 2016 county ordinance stating that donors who seek “official action” with the county may contribute no more than $750 in nonelection years. Attorneys for Berrios are seeking to overturn the rulings, arguing that the county limits are unconstitutional and that higher limits set by state law should apply, among other objections.

The fines add to the controversy surrounding Berrios, who is heading into a March primary as he bids for a third four-year term as assessor.

Berrios has been under fire for inaccurate assessments that favor the wealthy over the poor since the Tribune published “The Tax Divide,” an investigation launched in June and continued in December in collaboration with ProPublica Illinois. Federal court monitors also have criticized Berrios for being too slow to erase politics from hiring and other employment decisions as required under the anti-patronage Shakman decree.

In rulings released late Monday, the ethics board listed 30 examples of property tax attorneys or firms whose donations to Berrios’ main political fund in late 2016 or early 2017 exceeded the $750 limit. It fined Berrios and the Committee to Elect Joseph Berrios Cook County Assessor $1,000 for each violation, for a total of $30,000. The $1,000 fine per violation is the maximum allowed.

An additional $11,000 in fines were imposed on Berrios and his 31st Ward Democratic Organization, the source of his main power base.

The ethics board said the 41 donations to Berrios’ political funds exceeded the limit by a total of $62,250 — an excess of $52,200 for the assessor’s election fund and $10,050 for the 31st Ward fund.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cook County has an ethics board? With ethics?
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/11/2018 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  That is what you get for playing without paying the political bosses.
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 2:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Berrios is also the chair of the Cook County Democratic Party.
Posted by: Zenobia Hupoluque6543 || 01/11/2018 8:22 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
New Findings Reveal Taliban Collecting Tax in Ghazni
[ToloNews] An investigation by TOLOnews has found that the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
have been collecting taxes from the business community in Ghazni province over the past six months.

Reports indicate that Taliban officials even take tax from businessmen in the historic provincial capital.

Meanwhile a Taliban front man has said that the group successfully collected over three million AFs from Ghazni alone this year.

In addition local officials have said that the Taliban has nabbed
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
dozens of locals after they refused to pay tax to the bully boys.

Ahmad Farid Omari is a local businessmen in Ghazni who was forced by the Taliban to pay 200,000 Pak rupees in illegal tax.

Omari was initially asked for 400,000 Pak rupees in tax. But he managed to convince the Taliban to accept 200,000 rupees.

"Taliban operate just five kilometers from the city which belongs to the capital of Ghazni, Taliban told us to pay the money in that place and said we will receive a slip for the amount paid, but we did not go there to pay the money; Taliban’s men came in from the city who we did not recognize and we paid the money," said Omari.

The business community is outraged over the issue, saying they are paying tax both to government and the Taliban.

But the Taliban have said the group collected the tax to ensure security of trade convoys on the highway.

"No businessmen are left in Ghazni who have not paid the tax, even there are claims that members of the provincial council have also paid the money," said Hassan Reza Yusufi, secretary of Ghazni provincial council.

"The majority of members of Taliban’s Quetta Shura
...Taliban's command center, located in Quetta, that the Pak govt hasn't been able to find since its establishment in November, 2001. Honest...
(council) which is the biggest council in the Taliban leadership are from Ghazni," said Abdul Karim Mateen, governor of Ghazni province.

Local officials say that from the total of eighteen districts in Ghazni, Nawah, Zankhan, Gero, Ajristan, Gelan, Dahyak, Andar, Waeez and Khogyani are dealing with high security threats.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  How is "collecting taxes" functionally different from extortion?
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 2:16 Comments || Top||

#2  How is extortion fundamentally different from collecting taxes?
Posted by: gorb || 01/11/2018 21:56 Comments || Top||

#3  one is done by criminal organizations, while the other is done by government agencies... Hmm is there a difference between the two?
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/11/2018 22:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner call off divorce
[PageSix] Say it ain’t so, Huma.

Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her jailed sext-a-holic hubby, Anthony Weiner, have withdrawn their pending divorce case, The Post has learned.

Abedin was scheduled to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon for a compliance conference in their contested divorce. Instead, one of her attorneys submitted paperwork signed by both parties
OK, so we've heard from Hillary and Huma.
agreeing to end the case, a court source told The Post.

The judge announced from the bench that the case was "discontinued."

Abedin finally filed for the split last May just hours after Weiner pleaded guilty to sexting with a minor. She had stood by the much-mocked former congressman since 2011, when, a year into their marriage, he tearfully admitted tweeting out an underwear selfie.

The disgraced pol is serving nearly two years of hard time
I'm hoping this is subject to "review."
in a Massachusetts federal lockup.

Lawyers for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment.

The court source said the filing means that either the estranged couple will stay married or negotiate their split privately.
How, exactly, does that work in the place of a divorce? I thought there was some legal mumbo-jumbo that accompanied "discontinuances" of this nature.
They have a 6-year-old son.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's so romantic. A love story for the ages. Also spousal immunity.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/11/2018 0:05 Comments || Top||

#2  No one else would have them, anyway.
Posted by: KBK || 01/11/2018 0:14 Comments || Top||

#3  A well measured application of Clinton cash.
Posted by: Fairbanks || 01/11/2018 1:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Weiner's back in?
Posted by: gorb || 01/11/2018 1:13 Comments || Top||

#5  What does Anthony have on her? And isn't he afraid for his life?
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 2:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Lawyered up.
Posted by: Woodrow || 01/11/2018 4:11 Comments || Top||

#7  They're settling out-of-court. Still divorcing
Posted by: Frank G || 01/11/2018 7:13 Comments || Top||

#8  Married couples also have privilege when it comes to what was said between them. Handy if you are being investigated.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/11/2018 9:20 Comments || Top||

#9  Pending final events of all the classified info coming out, because a spouse cannot be compelled to testify.
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/11/2018 9:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Anthony, "I'm sticking it out a while longer".
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/11/2018 9:41 Comments || Top||

#11  If I was Anthony, I would be worried about Huma's Plan C. She knows people who know people.
Posted by: S. Chomoting5714 || 01/11/2018 23:05 Comments || Top||

#12  If I was Anthony, I would be worried about Huma's Plan C.

That and Hillary's Plan A.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/11/2018 23:56 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf bomb maker nabbed in Zamboanga
A suspected Abu Sayyaf bomb maker was nabbed in a raid on a pension house in Zamboanga City on Monday night. Benjar Idarus Engeng, alias Ben Akmad, a native of Isabela, Basilan, was arrested by operatives of the Zamboanga City police, regional police, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and 84th Special Action Company.
... as well as the cast from the Broadway production of Hamilton, for no apparent reason.
An IED was allegedly recovered from the suspect, Zamboanga City police chief Vince Neri Ignacio said, "The type of the IED shows the expertise of this person…he has a lot of experience.”

However, Engeng said he only had a replica of an IED. He said his companion, identified only as Amilhasan, made the IED to take its photo and send it to their contact in Bongao town in exchange for P30,000. He said, "There is no explosive chemical inside. I did not make it…I was only tasked to fix the wirings using glue. It will not explode."

Engeng also denied being an Abu Sayyaf militant. He said he is a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front based in Basilan.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)


India-Pakistan
Pakistanis protest as police search for girl's killer
[Al Jazeera] Scores of demonstrators continued to protest the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in the central Pak town of Kasur, while four security personnel who opened fire on an earlier demonstration were taken into custody.

Protesters blocked the main roads into the city, about 50km south of the eastern city of Lahore, using tractors and large cement blocks, and shouted slogans against the government on Thursday.

They called for "justice for Zainab", the name of the child whose body was found in a rubbish dump on Wednesday after being missing for four days. Closed-circuit television footage showed her being led down a street near her home by an unidentified man.

On Thursday, police told Al Jazeera they were still investigating leads, after interrogating 227 people in connection with the case.

The rape and murder of Zainab Ansari was the 12th such case in Kasur district in the last year, according to local media reports.

In the first half of 2017, at least 1,764 cases of child abuse were reported across Pakistain, according to the non-profit Sahil child protection organization. At least 65 percent of those occurred in Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

province, where Kasur is situated.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Zainab's father, Malik Amin Ansari, said he had seen many politicians visit him as the case of his child's murder became more prominent, but that not enough was being done to prevent such crimes from occurring.

"Children are not coming out of their homes, how do we go to work and protect our children on the streets to go to school? Swift justice has to prevail, this kind of act cannot be left unresolved. We need all our girls and all children safe," he said.

"Ministers and important people are coming, but nothing was done in the days Zainab was missing."

Posted by: Fred || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Terror Networks
Islamic State’s Baghdadi likely to be in Africa, experts say
(IraqiNews.com) Several experts in Islamist groups affairs have said the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
’s supreme leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart...
is likely to be in Africa, being the safest place at the meantime for the hard boy group, the Russian agency Sputnik reported.

Sameh Eid, an expert in Jihadist groups affairs in Egypt, said Baghdadi is likely to be in Africa, after the group members fled Iraq and Syria.

Africa, according to Eid, is the biggest battlefield that the group seeks entering in order to have access to Egypt. Regarding the access to Africa, he said that it just needs the help of intelligence to guarantee transferring him from one place to another in Africa, which is possible, especially in light of accusations among intelligence services over transferring the Death Eaters from Syria and Iraq.

Baghdad could make an audio or video recording, if alive, to show that the group still exists, Eid said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand......
Najeh Ibrahim, former leader with Jamaa al-Islamiya
...The Islamic Group. Sunni Islamist alignment in Lebanon. The group was founded in 1952 as the Leb branch of the Moslem Brüderbund. Its current leader is Faisal Mawlawi. The party has a military wing known as the al-Fajr Forces. Currently they have 1 seat in the Lebanese Parliament...
h, said Baghdadi is likely to me in other places like the Sahara desert, northern Chad or the borders between Algeria and Niger.

Speaking to Sputnik, Ibrahim said those place are considered as safe shelters due to suffering security failure in addition to being mountainous areas, where he can hide for long time. Members from these countries, which suffer poverty and conflicts, can be recruited.

Moreover, Nasser al-Hawari, Libyan expert, said the group seeks including the biggest number of terrorist cells in Libya, Chad, Niger and Sudan.

He added that tension at some African countries will help the group recruit more members, especially at countries that witness conflicts.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [21 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  May he be caught and drown in pig’s blood.
Posted by: Menhadden Forkbeard5326 || 01/11/2018 16:13 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ Perhaps during pigsbloodboarding?
Posted by: Thomoting and Tenille7703 || 01/11/2018 23:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Drone Attack on Russia Bases in Syria 'Came from Idlib'
[AnNahar] Drones that attacked Russian bases in Syria last week were sent from Idlib, a "de-escalation" zone controlled by anti-Damascus fighters, the Russian defence ministry's official newspaper said Wednesday.

Idlib province has been a source of tension between regime-backer Russia and rebel-supporter The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, with Ankara accusing the Syrian regime of stepping up its offensive on key rebel-held areas there.

"The drones were launched from the area of Muazzara in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation area controlled by so-called 'moderate opposition' units," defence ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda said.

The ministry has written to the chiefs of the Ottoman Turkish army and intelligence service to insist that Ankara fully implement a ceasefire in Idlib province, the paper added.

Idlib is one of four de-escalation zones in Syria covered by a deal meant to reduce violence that was struck last year by Turkey, Russia and government-backer Iran.

On Tuesday, Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors to Ankara, according to diplomatic sources, after saying the Syrian regime was targeting moderate opposition forces in Idlib near the Ottoman Turkish border.

Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this could torpedo talks aimed at ending the war.

Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
On Monday, Russia said death droids carrying explosives attacked Russian bases in Syria last weekend without causing any casualties or damage.

After two years of Russian military support for the regime of Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad, President Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
announced in mid-December the partial withdrawal of forces from the country, saying their task had been largely completed.

The size of the toal Russian deployment in Syria is not known but independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer told AFP that up to 10,000 troops and private contractors could have taken part in the conflict.

More than 330,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, which began in 2011 as the regime crushed anti-government protests. Millions have been displaced.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under:


International-UN-NGOs
EU, Norway to Convene Emergency Meeting of Donor Groups Providing Palestinians Financial Aid
If y’all want to make up that $300 million out of your own pockets, America won’t object.
[Haaretz] The conference, to be held on January 31, is being held against the backdrop of a U.S. threat to cut funding to the Paleostinians and a stalemate in Israeli-Paleostinian peace talks.

The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and Norway will be convening an emergency meeting of donor groups that provide funding for the Paleostinians.

The gathering is being held against the backdrop of the crisis in peace talks between Israel and the Paleostinians, the American threat to cut financial assistance to the Paleostinians and the stalled reconciliation process between Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
' Fatah faction and Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede,, which controls the Gazoo Strip. The gathering will also examine the humanitarian situation in Gazoo.

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai will be representing Israel at the conference, which will take place on January 31 at the initiative of Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

U.S. President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
has threatened to cut funding to the Paleostinians if they don’t return to the negotiating table. Among the possibilities is cutting U.S. funding to UNRWA, which is more than $300 million a year ‐ about a third of the agency’s budget.

A senior Israeli official has told Haaretz that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only supports a gradual cut. This comes in the context of Israeli security officials’ position that a collapse of humanitarian aid in Gazoo could worsen the security situation.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Target rich environment?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:15 Comments || Top||

#2  May should follow this lead...

She should know Danegeld is always a fail
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/11/2018 7:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe the UN can take a vote and force us to resume welfare payments to their terrorists.
Posted by: gorb || 01/11/2018 22:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe the ninth circuit court can rule on this and force us to resume welfare payments to the terrorists.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/11/2018 22:23 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
New head of Hamas terror operations in West Bank revealed
Scorecard! Getcher scorecard here! You can’t know the players without a scorecard!
(A photo of the gentlemen in question can be seen at the link.)
[Ynet] Maher Obeid replaces Saleh al-Arouri, who was made deputy Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", leader, as the head of Hamas's 'West Bank Headquarters,' responsible for establishing terror infrastructure and orchestrating attacks.

Saleh al-Arouri, who was appointed in October as the deputy Hamas leader, was replaced in his role as Hamas's "military commander in the West Bank" by Maher Obeid, sources in the Paleostinian security forces revealed to Ynet on Wednesday.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [18 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Africa North
Egyptian Christian clerics praise decision to allow worship at unlicensed churches pending formal recognition
[AlAhram] A number of Christian clergymen and political commentators have welcomed the latest decision by Egypt's Ministry of Housing to allow Christians to practice religious rites at unlicensed churches pending their formal recognition as places of worship.

A committee was formed in January 2017 by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail to review requests to formally recognise unlicensed churches.

The committee was formed in accordance with law no 80/2016, which eases restrictions on the building of churches.

The housing ministry's decision came upon a request from Archpriest Michael Antoun, the Coptic Orthodox Church’s representative in the committee, according to a statement by the ministry.

Archpriest Antoun said that the Church has presented requests to formally recognise 2,600 churches and affiliated buildings in all Egyptian governorates by the end of September 2017.

Antoun said that the 2016 law allows religious rites to be practiced at unlicensed churches pending the legalisation of their status.

Karim Kamal, a Coptic political researcher and president of Copts for the Nation, described the ministry's decision as a positive step towards implementing the 2016 law on building churches.

"The issue of unlicensed churches is not a problem from the state, governors, the ministry of interior or housing," says Kamal, arguing that this is evident from the efforts by the Armed Forces to restore churches that were torched in the wake of the 30 June revolution in 2013.

"The real problem lies in the ultra-conservative Islamists in some villages in rural and Upper Egyptian governorates, who fuel tensions over small unlicensed churches to pressure security officials into closing these churches to prevent sectarian strife," Kamal said.

Kamal also called on the state to enforce the rule of law and not to resort to mediating between parties to settle sectarian conflict.

Youssef Talaat, the legal representative of the Anglican Church in the committee, affirmed there are currently no Anglican churches that have been shuttered.

However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
he expressed support for the Coptic Orthodox Church, which he says is the most affected by the closure of churches. Coptic Orthodox Christians make up 90 percent of all Christians in the country.

Catholic Archpriest of Giza Antonios Aziz also praised the Ministry of Housing’s decision, saying that it prevents the recurrence of sectarian incidents over unlicensed churches.

The ministry’s decision comes one month after a mob of Moslems stormed a building in Giza’s Atfih over a rumour that the premises would soon be officially recognised as a church. A number of Christians were maimed in the incident.

In October 2016, four churches were closed in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate following sectarian festivities over the premises being used as Christian places of worship without a licence. Christian officials and clergymen protested the decision to close the churches.

Before the church building law was passed in 2016, Christians ‐ who make up an estimated 10 percent of the country's nearly 100 million people ‐ had long struggled to obtain permits to build churches, with the process at times taking years decades.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Trump: No immigration deal without the wall
[Axios]
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Washington Post suspends star reporter for 'inappropriate workplace conduct'
[FoxNews] The Washington Post suspended star reporter Joel Achenbach for 90 days without pay on Wednesday for “inappropriate workplace conduct” involving current and former female colleagues.

Achenbach’s suspension begins immediately and is the most severe punishment handed out to a member of the newsroom “in recent years for violations of its workplace or journalistic standards,” the paper announced.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The sexual revolution consumes it's children - only the French retain sanity.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Who?
Posted by: Raj || 01/11/2018 9:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Achenbach is actually a fairly good science writer and even has a sense of humor

An article he did on why the no fat diet of cows got them fat is here



he also writes on politics but not as well as on science
Posted by: lord garth || 01/11/2018 14:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Enjoyed the article Lord Garth. Sports and Science (not Global Warming "Science") are the only readable parts of WP these days.
Posted by: regular joe || 01/11/2018 14:22 Comments || Top||

#5  “in recent years for violations of its workplace or journalistic standards,” the paper announced.

What Journalistic standards are they referring to? I didn't know the Washington Post had any.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/11/2018 15:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Saw Tucker last night when he interviewed a Newsweek reporterette about the, now 95 y/o, Stan Lee "sexual harassment" charges brought by his nurses. Interview here.

Tucker's position was that 95 y/o peeples occasionally do strange things vis-a-vis accepted norms of behavior.

The reporterette refused to acknowledge any suggestion of mental impairment and kept charging after Lee and his "intentional" behavior, and how investigations are in order.

Guessing she doesn't get out much, but, she is a Gen-X-er. Maybe another Spawn of Gloria Allred?
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 15:56 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
15 ISIS and Taliban group members join peace in East of Afghanistan
[Khaama Press] At least fifteen bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems affiliated with the ISIS and Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
groups joined grinding of the peace processor in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, at least two local leaders of the bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems are also among those who reconciled with the government.

The Nangarhar governor’s front man Ataullah Khogyani told news hounds that the Taliban and ISIS groups joined grinding of the peace processor due to the efforts of the Afghan intelligence operatives.

Khogyani further added that a group of 8 ISIS bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems led by commander Abdul Manan and a group of 7 Taliban bandidos murderous Moslems led by commander Faridullah laid down their arms and joined grinding of the peace processor.

He said the bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems were previously conducting insurgency activities in Khogyani, Pacher Agam, and Chaparhar districts of Nangarhar.

According to Khogyani, the bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems have also handed over a rocket along with 15 different types of weapons to thhe security forces.

Khogyani said the reconciled bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems have promised that they will not join the bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems ranks again.

The provincial governor’s front man also added that 166 bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems including 44 ISIS bandidos murderous Moslems have so far joined grinding of the peace processor in Nangarhar due to the efforts of the intelligence operatives.

The Nangarhar governor’s office meanwhile says that around 861 bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems have joined grinding of the peace processor since the efforts were launched many years ago by Afghan intelligence to encourage the bandidos bandidos murderous Moslems to reconciliation process.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Southeast Asia
Bomb injures nine Thai rangers, three severely
[Bernama] Nine Thai army rangers were hurt, three of them severely injured, when a bomb exploded while they were traveling in a pickup truck in Pattani province.

Nongchik district police spokesman Akkarat Jiacharen said the incident occurred Wednesday morning while the rangers were heading to a primary school in Ban Saimo. They were on their way there to investigate an incident where two closed-circuit television cameras in front of the school were torched.

Akkarat said police think the 50kg bomb was planted on the road where the blast took place and activated using a walkie-talkie. The explosion caused a two-meter hole in the road, he said.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Africa North
200 Arrested, Dozens Hurt in Fresh Tunisia Unrest
[AnNahar] More than 200 people have been tossed in the slammer
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
and dozens hurt during festivities in several parts of Tunisia, the interior ministry said Wednesday, after a second night of unrest driven by anger over austerity measures.

The North African country has been hailed for its relatively smooth democratic transition since its 2011 uprising, but seven years after the revolution tensions over economic grievances are high.

Tunisia has seen rising anger over hikes in value-added tax and social contributions after a tough new budget was applied at the start of the year.

Interior ministry front man Khalifa Chibani told local radio that 49 coppers were maimed during festivities across the country and that 206 "troublemakers" were arrested overnight.

Properties were damaged, he said, including a branch of the Carrefour supermarket chain in the suburbs of Tunis that was looted.

A witness said youths threw stones at shop windows on Tuesday evening, taking advantage of the chaos to steal goods including electrical appliances. The police intervened, firing tear gas.

The army has been deployed around banks, post offices and other government buildings in the country's main cities, the defense ministry said.

- Stones, tear gas -
In Tebourba 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital Tunis, hundreds of young people erupted into the streets on Tuesday after the funeral of a man in his 40s who died in the unrest.

Police have insisted they did not kill the man. The results of an autopsy have not been made public.

Unrest was also reported in the working-class neighborhoods of Djebel Lahmer and Zahrouni on the outskirts of Tunis, the central cities of Gafsa and Kasserine, and the northern town of Jedaida.

But AFP correspondents said calm had returned to these areas on Wednesday morning.

In the central town of Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the protests that sparked the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, youths blocked roads and hurled stones, causing the police to retaliate with tear gas, an AFP news hound said.

A representative of Tunisia's Jewish community said two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the entrance to two Talmudic schools on the Mediterranean island of Djerba, but their interiors were not damaged.
Ynet adds:
At the time of the attack, violent festivities were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed by on January 1.

- Friday protest -
The recent unrest started with peaceful protests against the austerity measures last week, but escalated into festivities with police in the night of Monday to Tuesday.

Activists have called for a massive demonstration on Friday against the austerity measures, which are expected to increase the cost of living.

They have called for the revision of the legislation behind the VAT and social contribution hikes, as well as better welfare for struggling families.

"There are acts of looting and robbery but also a political message from a section of the population that has nothing to lose and feels ignored" seven years after a revolution demanding work and dignity, said political scientist Selim Kharrat.

He said that many public buildings have been targeted while the government has "taken a pretty strong stance against the protesters."

The powerful UGTT trade union said young unemployed Tunisians had legitimate demands but condemned the "violence and looting," calling for peaceful protests.

Tunisia's economy has struggled since the 2011 revolution, which was fueled by unemployment and graft.

Protests are common in the North African state in the month of January, when Tunisians mark the anniversary of the revolt that unseated dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:


-Short Attention Span Theater-
No More Blaming the Dog
[ArsTechnica] Scientists often hope to break ground with their research. But a group of Australian researchers would likely be happy with breaking wind.
The Fart Tracker
The team developed an ingestible electronic capsule to monitor gas levels in the human gut. When it’s paired with a pocket-sized receiver and a mobile phone app, the pill reports tail-wind conditions in real time as it passes from the stomach to the colon. The researchers, led by Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh of RMIT University and Peter Gibson of Monash University, reported their invention Monday in Nature Electronics.
Fart=Frequency Actuated Rectal Tremor
The authors are optimistic that the capsule’s gas readings can help clear the air over the inner workings of our intricate innards and the multitudes of microbes they contain. Such fume data could clarify the conditions of each section of the gut, what microbes are up to, and which foods may cause problems in the system. Until now, collecting such data has been a challenge. Methods to bottle it involved cumbersome and invasive tubing and inconvenient whole-body calorimetry. Popping the electronic pill is a breeze in comparison. And early human trials have already hinted that the pill can provide new information about intestinal wind patterns and gaseous turbulence from different foods.
The biggest producer of VOC's (Volatile Organic Chemicals) in the workplace are Human Bioefluent Emmisions, burps and farts.
"Our pilot trial illustrated the significant potential role for electronic-based gas-sensing capsules in understanding functional aspects of the intestine and its microbiota in health and in response to dietary changes," the researchers concluded.
Advance warning of a hazardous vapor release.
The authors are currently setting up a commercial company to further develop and test the capsules.

For their pilot study, the researchers beefed up a prototype they had previously tested in pigs. The capsule is 26mm in length, with a 9.8mm external diameter‐like a large vitamin. Its polymer shell surrounds sensors for temperature, CO2, H2, and O2, as well as a button-size silver oxide battery and a transmission system. One end of the capsule contains a gas-permeable membrane that allows for fast diffusion of gut gases.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Advance warning of a hazardous vapor release.

Allowing time for an orderly evacuation.
Posted by: Spasing Dingle4923 || 01/11/2018 2:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Natural Remedy for Gas...
Posted by: T. Panda2560 || 01/11/2018 2:26 Comments || Top||

#3  For emergency retrieval:

Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 8:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Best way to end a pointless meeting quickly though...
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/11/2018 9:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Often caused by an obscure syndrome called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:38 Comments || Top||

#6  "Don't drink the bong water"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/11/2018 18:21 Comments || Top||


Iraq
More Mosul Moslem Mayhem: 12 turbans permanently unwound

Twelve Islamic State militants killed as security troops repulse attack, south of Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Twelve Islamic State members were killed as security troops foiled an attack, south of Mosul, military source said on Wednesday.

“Troops managed to repulse an attack by Islamic State against villages of Imam Gharbi and Kan’ous, south of Qayyarah town, before the militants targeted security personnel,” the source told Baghdad Today website. “All the weapons in the militants’ possession were confiscated.”

“Security troops launched a wide-scale campaign after cordoning off the two villages in search for the militants,” he added.

Iraqi troops prepare to attack IS members hiding in village, south of Mosul: Officer

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi troops will invade a village in south of Mosul, into which tens of Islamic State militants infiltrated, an officer from the Joint Operations Command said.

Speaking to BasNews website, Col. Falah Aref announced preparations to invade hawija village, which links between Qayyarah and Hammam al-Alil towns, south of Mosul, in the wake of infiltration of IS members, who are hiding there.

“Joint troops of army and police as well as Rapid Response forces are getting ready to invade Hawija village, which has wide areas of forests, helping militants to hide there,” he added.

“The invasion, will be backed by Iraqi fighter jets, after evacuating the residents through safe passageways,” Aref said. “The presence of IS members in the village endangers security of the south of Mosul.”

Nineveh Operations Command denies releasing Islamic State mufti in Mosul

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh Operations Command has denied news circulated over releasing Islamic State mufti in Mosul in return for bribe.

“Newspapers and news agencies circulate every now and then fabricated news on sensitive cases in order to destabilize security,” the command said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Saudi Okaz newspaper, according to the statement, “published news on the release of Ezz Eddin Taha Ahmed, who was the IS leader (Wali) when Mosul was liberated.”

“We absolutely deny the release and urge the newspaper to stick to accuracy before publishing the news, in order not to be a source for circulating rumors that harms the Iraqi social security,” it added.

On Monday, the newspaper quoted Zuheir al-Jabouri, spokesperson of the mobilization forces in Nineveh, as confirming IS mufti’s release in return for US$7,000 as a bribe. He indicated similar cases of releasing the terrorists due to corruption.

The mufti, known as Abu Omar, was one of the militants who intimidated the residents. He was famous for stoning people to death.
The Daily Mail also carried that story, with pictures:
ISIS 'White Beard' executioner who was captured by Iraqi forces escaped within minutes after paying a $6,500 bribe

Abu Omer, notorious for stoning victims to death, was caught in Mosul, Iraq but then almost immediately freed after being tracked down when locals tipped off troops about his hideout
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


-War on Police-
What Happened to Crime in Camden?
Posted by: KBK || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Instead of many competing gangs there are now one boss?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:19 Comments || Top||

#2  So far the article discuss the murder rate. What are the statistics on other crime categories?
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/11/2018 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Mandatory gun possession?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/11/2018 12:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Millennial math...they stopped counting?
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:29 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
The Gods Smite Oprah With Mud Slides
Clearly, it is a sign that the gods favor Donald for 2020
[DailyMail] Oprah Winfrey's $50million home survived the damage and she was not home for the worst of it but she visited the site on Tuesday to share her shock and grief. Tennis star Jimmy Connors revealed to fans that he had to be airlifted out of his home to safety.
Seriously, though, more people were tragically affected by mud slides per this article after major down pours.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  To many weight loss laxatives will do just that.
Posted by: Woodrow || 01/11/2018 4:29 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
ISIS vs Hamas in Gaza
article explains the video earlier this week in which a Hamas guy was executed by an ISIS tribunal
[GatestoneInstitute] ISIS is making it clear that it now has its eyes set on the Gaza Strip. By calling on Palestinians to rebel against Hamas, ISIS is hoping to facilitate its mission of infiltrating the Gaza Strip. For the Egyptians, this means that one day
[assuming ISIS succeeds]
they will have to fight ISIS not only in the Sinai, but also inside the Gaza Strip. The biggest losers, once again: the Palestinians.

Posted by: lord garth || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Should I lay in popcorn & jalapeno jelly? Neh, I'll deter the jelly until Gaza is cleaned of the current infection.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/11/2018 4:17 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Wolff Book Inadvertently Conveniently Timed to Overshadow Clinton Rape Accuser's Tell-All Book
[Speisa] With Michael Wolff’s anti-Trump book consuming much of the mainstream media’s attention, many aren’t aware that former President Bill Clinton’s rape accuser published a book of her own this week, True Pundit reports.

Wolff’s book, titled, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," was released Friday and has been elevated to one of the top-selling items on Amazon.

Conversely, former Clinton victim Juanita Broaddrick released a book of her own last week, titled, "You’d Better Put Some Ice on That: How I Survived Being Raped by Bill Clinton."

As noted by Independent Journal Review, Broaddrick said the book title came from when she said Clinton raped her in a hotel room, he bit her lip so hard he made it bleed. She said Clinton told her to put some ice on it.

Her book details how she said was raped by Clinton at a motel in 1978 when he was the attorney general of Arkansas, and is available on Amazon.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Found here.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/11/2018 17:47 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Leb Army Dismantles Israeli Espionage Device in South
[AnNahar] An Israeli spy device was discovered on Wednesday in southern Leb, state-run National News Agency reported.

It said the "the Lebanese army's Engineering Regiment was dismantling an Israeli espionage device in the outskirts of Western Zawtar in the Nabtieh province."

Several similar devices were discovered in the South in recent years, some of them booby-trapped.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:


Turkey urges Russia, Iran to stop Syria offensive on Idlib
[IsraelTimes] Foreign minister calls on Assad allies to halt regime's deadly bombardment of rebel-held city.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
on Wednesday called on Russia and Iran, the two chief allies of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
’s regime in Syria, to halt an air offensive on the rebel-held Idlib province near the Ottoman Turkish border.

Ankara has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the Syrian conflict over the last months but has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified.

"Iran and Russia should fulfill their responsibility. If you are guarantors ‐ and you are ‐ they should stop the regime," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the official Anadolu news agency.

"This is not a simple air offensive. The regime is advancing inside Idlib. They have a different intention."

Cavusoglu emphasized that in efforts to bring peace to Syria, Russia and Iran were the "guarantors" of the regime side and Turkey of the opposition.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS) consisting mostly of former fighters from the al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Ankara has already summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors, in the biggest public flare-up of tensions with Moscow and Tehran in months.

It conveyed "uneasiness" to the Russian ambassador Tuesday, calling the strikes a "violation of the borders of the Idlib de-escalation zone" established by Turkey, Iran and Russia, according sources at the foreign ministry.

Cavusoglu said 95 percent of the violations in Idlib were carried out by the regime and the groups backing the regime.

President 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...
could speak by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
to discuss the situation, he added.

"We cannot remain indifferent. We have exerted so many efforts and we cannot waste them."

The escalation comes as Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30 bringing together all the main parties in the conflict.

A previous attempt in November to convene talks in Sochi failed due to disagreements between the prospective participants.

But in a major potential obstacle for Sochi, Turkey says it will oppose any talks involving the Syrian Kurdish militia the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror group.

Cavusoglu repeated Turkey’s red line over its presence in Sochi by saying that: "We have said we will not be in any environment... where the YPG is present."
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/11/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



Who's in the News
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Thu 2018-01-11
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Wed 2018-01-10
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Tue 2018-01-09
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Mon 2018-01-08
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Sun 2018-01-07
  SAS soldier cut head off jihadi with a SPADE after running out of ammo
Sat 2018-01-06
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Fri 2018-01-05
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Thu 2018-01-04
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Wed 2018-01-03
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Tue 2018-01-02
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Sun 2017-12-31
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Sat 2017-12-30
  IS says it was behind Saint Petersburg supermarket bombing
Fri 2017-12-29
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Thu 2017-12-28
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