President Donald Trump’s interview with the New York Times on Wednesday has stirred speculation he may consider firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller for investigating Trump’s business dealings as part of the Russia probe.
But Trump can’t fire Mueller directly, according to the law that authorizes Mueller’s probe. If he tried, he could set off a chain-reaction that would throw the Justice Department into upheaval.
Only the person acting as attorney general, currently Rod Rosenstein on matters related to the probe, can fire Mueller, and he’s said he won’t do it without "good cause." So Trump would first have to purge the upper ranks of the Justice Department until he finds someone willing to follow his orders and dismiss the special counsel.
He’d almost certainly begin by dismissing Rosenstein, whose political loyalties Trump questioned in the Times interview on Wednesday in which he also warned Mueller against broadening his investigation. Such a scenario would parallel President Richard Nixon’s 1973 "Saturday Night Massacre," when Nixon forced out the top two officials in the Justice Department in order to oust the Watergate special counsel.
"I don’t think that’s politically survivable, and it’s not clear how much collateral damage he has to do to in order to put himself into a position to have somebody fire Mueller," said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island. More at the site.
#2
If Mueller is gambling the nation on the idea he can go on fishing expeditions to bring down the constitutionally elected President, then the man has to go. Let the fireworks begin. Senators conspired to bring down Caesar too. All perished in the aftermath.
#7
Trump should actually double down and initiate the appointment of more Special Counsels to investigate Lynch, Clinton, Comey, Obama, Holder, Koskinen etc. for Fast and Furious, IRSgate, EmailGate, potential obstruction of justice, collusion with Iran&Russia ...
All of these cases involve allegations of systematic misconduct committed by groups entrenched within executive bureaucracies, so the appointment of an independent unbiased investigator would be warranted and necessary.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant. No one could reasonably object to more transparency.
Also all secret stipulations of the Iran deal should be declassified and published.
[New York Post] A day after it was disclosed that he had brain cancer, Sen. John McCain was back in action on Thursday -- slamming the Trump administration for axing a covert CIA operation that armed moderate Syrian rebels.
"If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin. Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted," the Arizona senator, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said in a blistering statement.
The administration has yet to articulate its vision for Syria beyond the defeat of [ISIS], let alone a comprehensive approach to the Middle East," he said, adding that Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad had to go.
"A key pillar of American strategy must be the removal of Assad from power as part of an end to the brutal conflict in Syria, which has fueled [ISIS’] growth through its cruelty, extended malign Iranian influence, and undermined broader regional stability," he said.
McCain also rebuked President Trump’s leadership in the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/21/2017 11:50
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#7
na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey goodbye
Say hello to Murtha John, when you get to where you're going.
Posted by: Blinky Smiter of the Weak7910 ||
07/21/2017 13:36
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#8
He makes it tough to be sympathetic. Doesn't the Senate have some rule that could be used to declare him unfit for further service?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/21/2017 15:52
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#9
If you get shot down and you think your country is not worth dieing for you might as well surrender to the NVA. If you need to keep the establisment in power you might as well open the borders. If the American people would rather see Zero as Prez than you then just give the Americans hell. Hell, might as well join ISIS.
[Aljazeera] Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has issued a decree amending some provisions of a law on "combating terrorism", the state news agency reported.
The decree issued on Thursday included definitions for the terms "terrorist", "crime", "terrorist acts", "terrorist entities", "the freezing of funds" and the "financing of terrorism", according to the Qatar News Agency.
It also identifies procedures related to some "terrorist activities".
The decree stated that individuals and entities accused of "terrorist" activities have the right to challenge charges lodged against them before the court.
The amendment is effective immediately upon its publication in the government newsletter, the report said.
The order follows an agreement between Qatar and the United States that seeks to curb "terrorism financing," and which was signed during a visit to Doha by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Qatar was the first state in the Gulf region to sign an agreement with the US on combating "terrorism".
Tillerson had praised Qatar for signing the deal, and for committing to the effort "to track down and disable terror financing".
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates accuse Doha of funding what they call "terrorism" - allegations Qatar strongly denies.
[Guardian] The greatest impact individuals can have in fighting climate change is to have one fewer child, according to a new study that identifies the most effective ways people can cut their carbon emissions.
The next best actions are selling your car, avoiding long flights, and eating a vegetarian diet. These reduce emissions many times more than common green activities, such as recycling, using low energy light bulbs or drying washing on a line. However, the high impact actions are rarely mentioned in government advice and school textbooks, researchers found.
Carbon emissions must fall to two tonnes of CO2 per person by 2050 to avoid severe global warming, but in the US and Australia emissions are currently 16 tonnes per person and in the UK seven tonnes. "That’s obviously a really big change and we wanted to show that individuals have an opportunity to be a part of that," said Kimberly Nicholas, at Lund University in Sweden and one of the research team.
The new study, published in Environmental Research Letters, sets out the impact of different actions on a comparable basis. By far the biggest ultimate impact is having one fewer child, which the researchers calculated equated to a reduction of 58 tonnes of CO2 for each year of a parent’s life.
#3
he next best actions are selling your car, avoiding long flights, and eating a vegetarian diet.
Let see, 20 minutes to work by car vs three some hours to work by bus, yea right.
Long flight, get there in matter of hours, instead of days, not to mention everybody flying actually generate less CO2 than if all those passengers drove.
Eating a vegetarian diet, now it is clear that the autors have no clue what they are talking about. Just about every vegetarians I know makes all kind of rude noises, generating more methane, CO2 and aromas in the process.
The researchers must have degrees in French poetry or something, not real science degrees.
#4
The next best actions are selling your car, avoiding long flights, and eating a vegetarian diet.
Let me guess. The author lives in a crowded city with lots within walking distance and has no comprehension of farming or food distribution. It just magically appears on local store shelves. Like turn on that switchy thingy and light appears.
#12
Given that Britain's Princess Katherine just commented she is considering having a third, joining Ivanka Trump and any number of younger Hollywood actresses, I have to imagine in general the trend will soon be in the opposite direction, except among the SJW class. And as society would benefit from having fewer humourless scolds, I have no quarrel with either choice.
#14
Good to know g(r)om, didn't like the taste of vegetarians.
Was living at a place where the person cooking did one of those Folger Switches on me. Instead of chicken lo mein I was served that textured/flavored tofu. Person had been touting this stuff for a week and had a smirk when setting so I was clued in, especially after looking at it. Person was lucky, because if I had bitten into 'meat' with the texture of a turned grape I would have wretched right there on the serving dish. Seriously, cottage cheese would have been a more convincing 'meat'.
[Free Beacon] Inmates in a Tennessee county can get time off their sentences for having a vasectomy or birth control implant, a policy that the American Civil Liberties Union calls "unconstitutional."
General Sessions Judge Sam Benningfield signed a standing order in May to give prisoners in the White County, Tenn. jail 30 days credit on their sentence if they undergo one of the procedures, NewsChannel 5 reports.
Women who participate are given Nexplanon birth control implant in their arm, which prevents pregnancy for up to four years. Men are given a vasectomy, also free, by the Tennessee Department of Health.
Judge Benningfield told NewsChannel 5 that the program was meant to encourage prisoners not to be "burdened with children" so they can "take personal responsibility."
"I hope to encourage them to take personal responsibility and give them a chance, when they do get out, to not to be burdened with children. This gives them a chance to get on their feet and make something of themselves," he said.
"I understand it won't be entirely successful but if you reach two or three people, maybe that's two or three kids not being born under the influence of drugs. I see it as a win-win," he said.
Inmates could also get two days off their sentence for completing a Neonatal Syndrome Education Program, which aims to educate would-be parents about the dangers of having children while on drugs.
#7
Birth control for women on meth/opiates...that are at risk for having Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) babies is a big deal.
The only way to deal with the drugs is to cut the cheap Mexican meth off at the border with the wall and to imprison a bunch of doctors that sell drugs legally via over-prescription.
This is the near enemy to our society that is always over looked. This is THE clear and present danger.
[Free Beacon] President Donald Trump "has confidence" in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the White House said Thursday, one day after Trump suggested that he should have picked someone else to lead the Department of Justice.
#1
Notice how the 'confidence in Sessions' issue has consumed the media for the past few days, nearly drowning out the congressional Obamacare cock-up ?
#2
I don't know what kind of deals were made prior to Sessions' confirmation hearings; maybe he agreed to recuse himself in order to get confirmed but it is turning out to be a bad deal. The fake Russian collusion investigation could have been dispatched with at the outset and much of this current mess could have been avoided. BTW, I haven't heard much of the Clinton Foundation or the many Hillary and Obama investigations that should be being done. It's as if the Deep State doesn't want anything to get done in Washington (sarc).
[Free Beacon] The FBI has turned over 7,000 new documents from former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner's laptop to the State Department.
The disclosure is part of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch's lawsuit in relation to the Hillary Clinton private email investigation, Fox News reported Thursday.
Judicial Watch and State Department representatives appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday over the group's Freedom of Information Act suit seeking Clinton emails from her tenure at the State Department.
It emerged during the hearing that the 7,000 new documents were turned over. The trove is expected to contain some emails sent by Weiner's estranged wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News after the hearing that they expect to begin receiving those documents in three months, once the State Department determines whether the Weiner documents are government or personal records.
#1
Just now? Gee, what transpired between the time it was discovered there was a trove of inappropriately copied documents on Carlos Danger's computer and just now? Something in the latter half of last year, some event in November. I can almost recall what it was...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/21/2017 6:50
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#2
7000 of 650,000 documents on Weiner's pron computer. I thought Comey had agents look at these one weekend and found there was nothing to see (sarc). Maybe there were classified documents on the computer.
#3
There are cloud encircled Himalayan towers of evidence and dozens of potential co-conspirators which clearly point to the inappropriate conduct and potential criminal activity of the Clinton's. With the exception of Judicial Watch and a few other NGO truth seekers, nothing is done by anyone, nor will anything likely ever be done.
President Trump and Mueller's so-called Russian investigation on the other hand.
Can there be any doubt, the 'Deep State' truly does take care of it's own.
[Free Beacon] The State Department is facing harsh criticism for claiming in an official report that Israel is to blame for terrorism attacks committed by Palestinians and accusing the Jewish state of being largely responsible for an impasse in peace negotiations, according to a leading member of Congress who is calling on the State Department to correct its "inaccurate and harmful" characterization of Israel.
The State Department, in its latest annual report on the global terrorism situation, blames Israeli security policies for stalling the peace process and claims that Palestinians rarely incite terror attacks.
The claims are coming under fierce criticism from pro-Israel advocates and have prompted one leading member of Congress to formally call on the Trump administration to amend the report to more accurately reflect the situation.
Rep. Peter Roskam (R. Ill.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, criticized the latest report in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and called on the administration to immediately amend it to portray Palestinian terror attacks as a primary reason for the impasse in peace talks.
The State Department's current characterization, Roskam claims, is harmful to Israel and likely to impede efforts by the Trump administration to renew peace talks.
#2
At least State is undergoing restructuring and rightsizing under the leadership of T-Rex. At last they are feeling the pain that they deliberately and with malice inflicted on America for decades.
#3
Hand it to State -- they stay loyal to their Arab masters.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/21/2017 7:33
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#4
Where on Earth do you go to find these kinds of morons? Where did they find that many of them, and why would they want to concentrate them all in one place and give them power of life and death and hellish disruption over the lives of Americans and other people who need and deserve their help?
#9
Didn't we have an article here about all the empty offices at State that won't be refilled? There will be names attached to the writing of this thing, and then there will be decisions made by the parties involved, after which there will be more empty offices, making each iteration easier,
[American Thinker] What do you get when you put one American on a British cruise ship with over 4,000 citizens of the U.K.? Answer: a lot of questions about Donald Trump.
The population worldwide has gone bananas ‐ "ba-nah-nahs," as the Brits would say ‐ over The Donald. From the Thames to Timbuktu, it seems folks are either mad at the president of the United States or mad for him. On this "matter," very few straddle the fence. And as for the fence, itself ‐ the one proposed along the southern border of the United States ‐ it, too, is hardly a neutral subject.
Let's just say that rarely could the reaction to either Donald Trump's persona or his proposals be characterized as nonchalant. Regardless of how apolitical his armchair critics may profess to be, or how remote from America's unique political system they reside, all creatures great and small appear to have an opinion about the current occupant of the White House.
It is irrelevant how I happened to be the lone Yank on a British cruise ship during a fortnight that ironically included the Fourth of July. In spite of my apparent telltale American accent ‐ or perhaps because of it ‐ I was generally chatted up as a sort of floating curiosity.
Before the voyage, I had harbored the faux hope that I wouldn't be spotted as a colonist, at least not immediately. Yet as soon as I opened my mouth, I was repeatedly asked what part of America I came from and what I thought of Donald Trump.
Keep in mind that the British press is as liberal as our own. On the day I flew home from Southampton, London's Sunday newspapers were bristling with criticism concerning President Trump's "defense of Western civilization speech" in Poland. Commentators huffed that he had cast a pall over the G-20 conference by failing to fall in lockstep with other world leaders. One editorial writer opined that Trump's "sacking" of the FBI chief was further proof of the dictatorship America had suddenly ‐ shockingly ‐ become.
But as is the case here at home, it became quickly apparent to me that the citizens of the United Kingdom are very much divided over the direction in which their own country is going. Still, several of those I talked with seemed visibly surprised by my defense of our sitting president. After all, educated women were assumed to have constituted the bulk of Hillary's support.
#1
I had the good fortune of traveling internationally a half dozen times in 2016 to the Far East, Mid East, Greek Isles, eastern and western Europe. I would typically pick up any English language newspaper to see what the locals had to say. Without fail, I observed 2-3 articles negative toward Trump and 1 article favorable or neutral to Felonia von Pantsuit. The poisoning of "all things Trump" was truly an international effort...I can't imagine what was being reported in the many native languages I encountered. Between the English written newspapers and CNN International blasting in every hotel common area there was a heavy dose of left wing kool aid directed at least toward the business traveler. I suspect more money and effort was spent swaying the "internationals" perspective than was spent on convincing actual Wisconsin and Michigan voter to "Be with Her".
#2
I remember similar conversations during the O.J. Simpson trial, only it wasn't just Brits, and it wasn't just in English. All the European television stations reported daily on developments for the duration of the thing, and everyone who spoke to me about it had opinions -- and were universally shocked that I neither knew nor cared.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump’s legal team is evaluating potential conflicts of interest among members of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team, three people with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The revelations come as Mueller’s investigation appears likely to probe some of the Trump family’s business ties.
Attorney Jay Sekulow, a member of the president’s external legal team, told The Associated Press that the lawyers "will consistently evaluate the issue of conflicts and raise them in the appropriate venue."
Two people with knowledge of that process say those efforts include probing the political affiliations of Mueller’s investigators and their past work history. Trump himself has publicly challenged Mueller, declaring this week that the former FBI director would be crossing a line if he investigated the president’s personal business ties.
Mueller and congressional committees are investigating whether the president’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election. While Trump has assailed the probes as a partisan "witch hunt," the investigations have increasingly ensnared his family and close advisers, including son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.
As the investigations intensify, Trump’s legal team is also undergoing a shakeup. New York-based attorney Marc Kasowitz, whose unconventional style has irked some White House aides, is seen as a diminishing presence in the operation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
#2
But far more — 73 percent — say they’re concerned that the Russia probes have caused Congress to lose focus on the issues important to them. That figure encompasses 81 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 68 percent of Democrats. Here.
At some point, these investigations may bring pressure on CongressCritters up for re-election to make them disappear.
[Powerline] I’ve been critical of President Trump today. But few days go by without me being happy he defeated Hillary Clinton.
Here’s a reminder of why. Yesterday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced that his agency will "reinterpret" the ultra-instrusive Obama housing rule known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). The rule was designed by the Obama administration to seize federal control over local zoning for the purpose of creating neighborhoods that comply with the left’s race-based vision of where people should live. We discussed it here, among other places.
Secretary Carson didn’t say exactly how he plans to "reinterpret" AFFH. However, he told the Washington Examiner that he doesn’t believe in the "manipulation" associated with the rule or with the burdens it imposes on local communities. As a candidate for president, he called it "a doomed-to-fail attempt to "legislate racial equality."
#4
A majority in Congress and they won't repeal the rule, even in face of its abuse by those in power. The Trunks were never the party of 'smaller government', just ineffectual and incompetent.
Secretary Carson is giving everyone fair warning that the rule will be changed, allowing local communities to prepare to resist attempts at continued enforcement by HUD's very deep state. And Dr. Carson's successes running HUD will bolster future runs for office -- I think the Senate rather than the presidency, as he's shown he hasn't the temperament for a modern presidential campaign -- or subsequent assignments heading other departments.
[Daily Caller] A petition from Change.org wants the Chick-fil-A restaurant at Youngstown State University (YSU) shut down, claiming that all that "homophobic" chicken just "adds to the negative experience of LGBT students."
As Campus Reform reports, the petition has support among faculty, with one professor calling the fast-food establishment "fried food for homophobes."
"I am a professor at YSU. I have not set foot up there since they became Chick-fil-A. A long time ago it used to be a respectable place where you could take an invited speaker out to lunch and even have table service. We now have no such place and I will not support Fried Food for Homophobes, which is what I think of Chick-fil-A," said Heather Lorimer, an associate professor in genetics at YSU.
"Chick-fil-a is well known for its CEO’s bigotry," Lorimer told Campus Reform. "Since it has been Chick-fil-A I have not set a foot in it."
The petition strongly objects to Chick-fil-A being "the only place to get food in the evenings" on campus and won’t accept any apologies from the restaurant for past statements because the it "still donating money to anti-LGBT organizations."
#2
While SJWs boycott Chick-Fil-A, Mrs. JohnQC and I have a couple of gay friends who will not stop going to CFA as they say CFA has the best chicken; they don't buy into the made-up B.S.
#5
So if a Pro-traditional family automatically equals anti-gay, then the equation must be true in reverse and by virtue of being homosexuals they are actively against normal, heterosexual people and their unions. That clears up a lot.
#6
I still remember the ill-fated Chick-fil-A boycott. Attacking Chick-fil-A in Georgia, not a very prudent undertaking. The stores were packed with people for days. Telling someone they had a very ugly hunting dog would have produced a kinder response.
#8
This is a little off-topic but...The neighbors behind us have chickens. It is O.K. to have a limited number of chickens but no roosters. Well, the neighbor got a rooster in the bunch of chickens and it crows early every morning. The neighbors became fond of the rooster's early morning rooster crowing. Animal Control began asking questions about the "chickens." The neighbors in the neighborhood all agreed they were going to tell Animal Control the "rooster" sounds were actually a transsexual chicken and not to worry.
#10
The neighbors in the neighborhood all agreed they were going to tell Animal Control the "rooster" sounds were actually a transsexual chicken and not to worry.
#14
Really? You would take invited speakers to fast food? And Chick-fil-a is the only show in town, so now you can't take your invited speaker to lunch?
Oh, and you have not been in a Chick-fil-a since it has been a Chick-fil-a?
[LI] Congressional Republicans are currently engaged in an embarrassing struggle to revamp Obamacare. When revamping didn’t work, they turned to repeal, only for members of their own caucus to balk.
We’ve explored the procedural issues with repealing Obamacare, but there’s still another reason we’re likely stuck with the bones of government-run health insurance for the foreseeable future -- much of the public wants it this way.
Omnibus spending and Obamacare were once repulsive enough to birth the Tea Party movement, but in the years since Obamacare has taken root, voters have warmed to the idea of some form of state-sponsored health insurance.
Historically, the solution to bad, or poorly conceived government programs is not eradicating the problematic program, but more government intervention. And it looks like Obamacare will be no different.
A poll released by Pew last month shows a frightening uptick in the number of Americans who believe it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Even among those who self-identify as conservative, a mere 9% believe the federal government should get out of the health insurance business.
Skipping the Pew research bit and moving to the bottom line:
So long as the voting public believes government-run health insurance is the best rememdy, eradicating Obamacare will be a next to impossible task.
#1
The Republicans can win by causing a plausible plan even if they do not have the votes to push it through. If it succeeds in passing, that will be great. If it fails to pass, and it has at least 45 Republicans supporting it, all but a handful of Democrats must vote no. Obamacare and medicaid will be in tatters by the November 2018, and those voting no will be held responsible for that disaster.
What would be plausible?
1 eliminate the fine or tax for not joining an Obama plan.
2 allow insurance cos. to sell their old plans
3 eliminate punitive damages for medical claims.
4 let the states make their own decisions about medicaid.
The Democrats will be destroyed in 2018 if they fight lockstep for the decaying Obamacare.
Posted by: Daniel ||
07/21/2017 3:05
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#2
20 Trillion dollars in debt. Whether you like it not, you are just playing musical chairs, till the day of due comes. Then it and a hellva lot will disappear. That day of due is coming a lot faster the more economic albatrosses you tie on to the system.
So, the question is why keep you clowns in office. You have no real intentions of saving it. The others will put the system in a much faster financial path to complete collapse. Get it over with quicker and start the rebuilding soon?
#4
The music hasn't stopped in Zim-Bob-We. It's my grandchildren I fear for.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/21/2017 12:46
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#5
The problem is that the insurance companies have invested money in Obamacare going forward. They will not permit anyone getting in the way of their income.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/21/2017 18:51
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[Ynet] Officials say that Ottoman Turkish security forces have used an armed drone to locate and kill six Kurdish holy warriors who allegedly were responsible for kidnapping and killing a school teacher in southeast The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... The governor's office for Tunceli province said Thursday the six were killed in an operation near the town of Nazimiye. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said through Twitter: "our heroes have avenged our martyred teacher."
Teacher Necmettin Yilmaz was kidnapped and shot by suspected rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on June 16 while traveling from Tunceli to his hometown in northern Turkey. His body was discovered last week.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/21/2017
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[VDH] Putin will do anything to advance Russia’s interests because his country is in terrible shape.
About a year ago, Donald Trump Jr. met with a mysterious Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Trump Jr. was purportedly eager to receive information that could damage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Veselnitskaya denies that she was working for the Kremlin to lobby for favorable Russian treatment. But in the past, Veselnitskaya has been connected with a number of Russian-related lobbying groups.
Trump Jr., for his part, proved naïve and foolish to gobble such possible setup bait. The Russians proved eager to confuse, confound, and embarrass everyone involved in the 2016 election.
This latest Trump family imbroglio piggybacks on six months of Russian collusion charges. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned less than a month into his job after being less than candid about his contacts with the Russians. Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s erstwhile campaign manager, had some questionable Russian business interests and resigned well before the election.
All these stories were luridly headlined in the press.
#1
Trump Jr. was purportedly eager to receive information that could damage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
It's called opposition research. Everyone running for office uses opposition research on their opponent if they can.
BTW, the Pubs obtained a fake dossier that attempted to damage Trump in the primaries. According to Forbes, the dossier was put together by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele who is now the head of a private for-hire intelligence company, Orbis. The dossier was then used by Democratic adversaries of then-candidate Trump against him in the main election. The fake dossier PDF file alleges that high Kremlin officials colluded with Trump, offered him multi-billion dollar bribes, and accumulated compromising evidence of Trump’s sexual escapades in Russia. The U.S. intelligence community has said the dossier is a fake report.
So when no dirt can be found on a candidate, the dirt is then made up? Can this BS special counsel investigation not be dumped since it was based on a lie? Comey leaked information to his law-school buddy with the hope of being able to set up a Special Counsel headed by his buddy Mueller. Can this faux claim against Donald Jr. not be dropped as the original claim was false. Moreover, the Special Counsel is suspect since it is loaded with Hillary's cronies and supporters? There is are huge conflicts of interest.
#2
Unfortunatly, those deep state rascals can't be driven out. They are much like Richard Gere in "Officer and a Gentleman" shouting "...I've got no place else to go!!!"
[FoxNews] Authorities in Florida say that a group of teenagers recorded the drowning of a disabled man last week ‐ and did nothing to help as they made fun of his struggles.
Jamel Dunn, 32, of Cocoa, drowned in a retention pond July 9. His body was recovered July 14, two days after his fiancee reported him missing. Late last week, a friend of Dunn's family came across the video on social media and forwarded it to authorities in Brevard County.
In the video, which was published by the Florida Today newspaper Thursday, the teens can be heard laughing at Dunn as he splashes futilely in the water and screams for help.
"Get out the water, you gonna die," yells one, while another yells, "ain't nobody fixing to help you, you dumb (expletive)." As Dunn disappears under the water, one of the teens says, "Oh, he just died."
Investigators say none of the teens ‐ all between 14 and 16 years old ‐ called 911 to report Dunn's drowning or tried to help the man.
"They just laughed the whole time," Cocoa Police Department spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez told Florida Today. "He was just screaming ... for someone to help him."
Police said the teens were identified and questioned by detectives, but it's unlikely they will face charges, since they were not directly involved in Dunn's death.
The Brevard County State Attorney's Office called the video a "tragedy" and said the teens had "no moral justification" for not attempting to help Dunn.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance ||
07/21/2017
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#2
You get what you tolerate. They never got around to install 'morality' after ripping Christianity out of the schools. And, no, Marxism isn't a substitute.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... turbans launched a coordinated attack on the security posts in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province of Afghanistan, carrying out at least two boom-mobileings using the Humvee armored vehicles.
According to the local government officials, the attack was launched earlier today in Gereshk district and a standoff is underway between the turbans and the security forces.
The provincial government media office in a statement confirmed the launch of the attack and said two Humvee armored vehicles packed with explosives were detonated as the turbans launched the attack.
The statement further added that the bombings have not incurred any major loss or destruction to the security posts and the security troops are prepared and are responding to the attack.
At least two army soldiers and three coppers sustained injuries in the attack and the Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Devices were destroyed before they reach the security posts, the provincial government added, the statement added.
The provincial government also said that the Afghan forces are currently engaged in shootout with the Taliban turbans in Adam Khan, Parcha, and Pashak areas, receiving air support as they continue to suppress the murderous Moslems.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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[HINDUSTANTIMES] Security agencies have prepared a list of 149 foreign Lions of Islam active in Kashmire ahead of a major counter-insurgency offensive to be executed in the coming days.
The list, obtained by the Hindustan Times, has been jointly compiled by intelligence agencies, security forces and state police. Sources say the list is based on technical surveillance and human intelligence. Security experts, however, believe that it may not be an exhaustive list as the numbers may vary.
According to the list, most of the foreign Lions of Islam are listed as residents of either Pakistain or Pakistain-Indian Kashmiree (PoK). Security agencies have not been able to determine place of origin of some of the Lions of Islam in the list, while some have "resident of PoK/Pakistain" written against their names.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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[IsraelTimes] No Israelis injured in attempted attack near Arab village of Teqoa, in central West Bank
A Paleostinian man attempted to stab a group of soldiers outside the Arab village of Teqoa in the central West Bank on Thursday, the army said.
The assailant was rubbed out by the troops on the scene, according to the military. None of the soldiers were maimed.
The IDF said the attempted stabbing occurred at a checkpoint the army had set up near the entrance to the Paleostinian village of Teqoa.
"In response to the immediate threat, forces fired shots towards the assailant," the army said in a statement.
The Paleostinian assailant was later identified by Arabic media as 26-year-old Muhammad Hussein Ahmad Tnouh.
The nearby Jewish settlement of Tekoa alerted its residents to the attack, telling them to keep away from the area and off the road until further notice as a riot had broken out. Approximately half an hour later, residents were sent an all-clear message telling them the roadway was open.
Tekoa’s security department also called for contractors to remove their Paleostinian workers from the settlement immediately.
In a WhatsApp message group for residents of Tekoa, one person recalled that Tnouh had worked in the settlement from approximately 2010 to 2015.
According to the resident, Tnouh was caught sneaking into Jerusalem without a permit and was thus barred from working inside Israel. He is also newly divorced, and his daughter died recently. The settler said he believed the 26-year-old was most likely acting out of "desperation" than a desire to kill soldiers.
Throughout the past two years of regular terror attacks, the Shin Bet security service and the IDF have noted that many Paleostinian assailants seem to be carrying out attacks because of personal and mental issues, rather than ideology. Officials believe in many case the attackers are trying to commit "suicide by solider."
...and also earning a final payout from the PA for their families to remember them by.
[Ynet] Some 200 Paleostinians gathered at the scene of an attempted stabbing near Tuqu' on Thursday and began throwing stones at IDF forces. The troops responded with gas.
[DAWN] At least two Afghan coppers were killed and three others injured after the Talibs ambushed a police convoy, said Afghan officials.
Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... front man Qari Yusuf claimed that 36 coppers were killed in Thursday's attack, in the country's volatile Kandahar province, but bully boyz routinely exaggerate their gains and casualties among government forces.
Police front man Zia Durrani says the attack triggered a protracted firefight that lasted nine hours.
Durrani claimed after the firefight was over, bodies of several Taliban fighters still lay by the roadside at the site of the attack at Shah Wali Kot, located about 80 kilometers from the city of Kandahar, the capital of a southern province by the same name.
Kandahar is strategically important because it borders Pakistain and was the spiritual heartland of the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[NATIONALREVIEW] Progressives have a problem: They ladle unto every decision, even the most mundane and trifling one, an unattractive glop of gooey political significance. They can’t resist warning the rest of us that we’re abetting the destruction of the planet every time we, say, tuck into a Quarter Pounder.
Josh Barro is a recovering ex-Republican who is now a member of a niche political group: the non-crazy Democrats. He coined a cute phrase — “the hamburger problem” — to describe the relentless politicization of everything by progressives and Democrats. He writes, “Democrats’ problem isn’t that they’re on the wrong side of policy issues. It’s that they’re too ready to bother too many ordinary people about too many of their personal choices, all the way down to the hamburgers they eat.”
He cites nonstop Democratic hectoring on, inter alia, the team name of the Washington Redskins, the way men sit on subway trains, and even some Americans’ choice not to abide by China’s one-child standard as the reasons why the party is today as electorally wobbly as Rocky Balboa in the 15th round.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
Josh Barro is a recovering ex-Republican who is now a member of a niche political group: the non-crazy Democrats.
Impossible, I don't believe there is such a group.
#2
Had a Wendy's double last night. The staff is always astonished anyone would not want cheese (I like cheese, I don't like the extra fat)
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/21/2017 7:42
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#3
Yet the GOP’s success puzzles him still, because so many core Democratic cultural ideals (notably, gay marriage and marijuana decriminalization) poll more and more strongly.
Fake Polls. Goes with Fake News(c).
If you look at each of the items, what can be implied is individual freedom to choose (not necessarily to impose). The Donks believe in the Plantation system in which the master up in the big house, tells everyone what they will do.
[NYPOST] The B.O. regime was poised to send armed federal agents to polling places, deploy the military and launch full-scale counter-propaganda measures in case hackers disrupted the vote on Election Day, according to a report.
The 15-page playbook, produced in October, outlined the "enhanced measures" the government was prepared to take in the event of a "significant incident," Time magazine reported Thursday, citing a copy of the document.
"In almost all potential cases of malicious cyber activity impacting election infrastructure, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, to include their law enforcement agencies, will have primary jurisdiction to respond," it says.
The playbook coordinated the responsibilities of the different government agencies -- Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department and FBI -- and dictated how they would "activate enhanced procedures and allocate the resources described in their enhanced coordination procedures to coordinate incident response activities."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
Couldn't they just call Tech Support?
Posted by: Betty Darling of the Lichtensteiners8403 ||
07/21/2017 1:56
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#2
Other "enhanced measures" included a media backed, Russian conspiracy disinformation campaign.
#3
The B.O. regime was poised to send armed federal agents to polling places, deploy the military and launch full-scale counter-propaganda measures in case hackers disrupted the vote on Election Day, according to a report....Or was it to insure the Hillary-rigged election went on without interference? Obama was and still is a very dangerous guy to the U.S.A.
One reason the Dems are so deranged about Trump's win is that they all believed their fake polls which said Hilda would win by a wide margin. When it didn't happen they went nuts and went to Plan B; the fake Russian collusion scheme to try to take down Trump. They won't be satisfied until they do. They are trying to nullify an election.
#5
...The more I see things like this, the more I'm convinced that the most recent season of 'House of Cards' was scrapped and then refilmed after the election.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/21/2017 8:33
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send armed federal agents to polling places, deploy the military
My Poli Sci degree didn't include that in my copy of the USConstitution. What did I miss?
The progressive left (evil to their core) long to have their own replay of October 1917 in Russia. That's the real "Russian collusion" scandal.
#8
You just don't deploy the military. It takes time, planning, logistics. And sufficient manpower to cover it all within reasonable distance. Hardly going to be a secret. Somebody's pipe dream.
#10
Consider part of the motivation for the never-ending Russia tampering with the elections meme being pushed by the MSM, Progs and the WaPo an NYSlimes. If you lay enough pipe about there being some truth behind the "tampering", even if you don't topple Trump, just damage his ability to get things done, you create a narrative in the minds of many that we need to prevent this "something Russian" threat to our elections. Voila, rather than the tamper proof, easily verified paper ballot and voter roles, you get electronic voting, monitored and eventually managed by the federal government. Stalin smiles, because once they count the votes, it will be federal, union, overwhelmingly democrat employees "counting" the votes! Think long game. Clinton/Gore massively enhanced the immigration influx of unskilled, non European legal immigrants and started the whole "diversity" meme. How did that work out for us so far? Same tactic here, long game, not the current reactive crisis de jour by conservatives who can't see the end state the progs have in mind.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least six rockets landed near the residence of Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf ...Afghan Salafist warlord, owned by Saudi Arabia. He was the guy who invited al-Qaeda to come into Afghanistan and make themselves at home... , the former Afghan politician and one of the prominent political and Jihadi leaders of the country.
Sources close to Sayyaf said the incident took place earlier today in Paghman district after six rockets fired from unknown location landed in the vicinity close to Sayyaf’s house.
The sources further added that the attack has not incurred any casualties or damages to any property.
No group or individual has so far grabbed credit behind the attack.
This comes as Sayyaf’s residence came under a similar attack late in May last year without incurring casualties.
Several rockets were also fired on the residence of Sayyaf earlier in May last year but the attack did not result into any casualties.
Sayyaf is one of the most influential jihadi leaders and has been harshly criticizing the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group for their insurgency activities.
He has been harshly criticizing the Talibs group and dismiss their so called jihad as a move against th principles of Islam.
Sayyaf reaffirmed his hard stance against the Death Eater groups last month last month during a gathering on the eve of Mujahideen’s victory and called on Death Eater groups last month to end slavery for the outsiders.
He insisted that the Death Eater and terrorist groups fighting in the country should not brand their insurgency as Jihad, insisting that killing of children, women, destroying houses and committing other horrific crimes are not a holy war.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Car bombs, artillery guns, machine-gun manned pickup trucks and Inghimasi fighters (elite infiltration unit) were all deployed by 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.... on Thursday in yet another assault on the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in eastern Homs.
Attacking the newly liberated hill of Mashirfah, ISIS turbans managed to kill a couple SAA soldiers and seized some armaments before withdrawing to their initial positions.
Photos released by Amaq Agency on Thursday showed a jacket wallah blowing himself up amid the onslaught on the imperative hilltop that overlooks many key neighboring sites
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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[DAWN] Unidentified holy warriors reportedly opened fire and killed a former commander of a banned hard boy organization in 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... 's Kharan district on Thursday evening, DawnNews reported.
According to the police, gunnies sprayed bullets at the vehicle of Ahmed Nawaz Sasoli in Kharan bazaar area, killing the former hard boy commander and his colleague.
Sasoli had reportedly announced to part ways with the hard boy organization and surrendered before the security forces a few days ago, it has been learnt.
He had previously been involved in attacks on security forces, police and civilians. "However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... he had now vowed to lead a peaceful life," police said.
The police claim that the assailants sped away on their cycle of violence after the attack.
In a separate incident in Quetta, two people were bumped off in Nawan Killi area.
According to the police, two men were sitting outside their house in Nawan Killi when they were shot at by unidentified gunnies. The attackers escaped unhurt from the spot.
The relatives and rustics protested against the killings and placed the bodies outside commissioner's office to mount pressure on the law enforcement agencies to arrest the killers.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... officers from the district administration and frontier corps negotiated with protesters and they peacefully dispersed.
The motive behind the incident could not be immediately ascertained, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) The pro-government Shi’ite militias of al-Hashd al-Shaabi has thwarted an attack by the Islamic State south of Shirqat town, Salahuddin governorate.
“Troops of the 99th brigade spotted IS elements south of Shirqat town where they confronted and forced them to escape,” al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said in a statement on Thursday.
Last week, PMUs killed three IS fighters in strikes that targeted a rest house belonging to IS in Ishaqi region, south of Salahuddin.
IS still holds a few areas in each of Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk.
The eastern coast of Shirqat, which lies on the west bank of the Tigris river in Salahuddin province, is still under the IS control, while the western coast of the city was liberated few months ago.
In September, Iraqi army said its forces recaptured the town, located south of Mosul, after being surrounded for months by Iraqi troops and the Shia-led paramilitary troops.
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, has been actively engaged in the government’s campaign against the Islamic State that ran since mid-October, and contributed to the campaign by regaining control over IS holdouts near the Syrian borders.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/21/2017
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban ...Arabic for students... gunnies suffered casualties in an Arclight airstrike conducted by the US forces 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, the local officials said Thursday.
The Arclight airstrike was carried out late on Wednesday night using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, drone, in Lalpur district.
The provincial government media office in a statement confirmed the Arclight airstrike on the Taliban murderous Moslems.
The statement further added that five Taliban gunnies were killed and another krazed killer was maimed in the Arclight airstrike.
A foreign krazed killer fighting for the Taliban gunnies was also among those killed, the statement said, adding that the security forces and local residents did not suffer any casualties in the Arclight airstrike.
The anti-government armed krazed killer groups including the Taliban gunnies have not commented regarding the report so far.
Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in eastern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed krazed killer groups have recently increased their insurgency activities in some parts of the province during the recent years.
This comes as an anti-ISIS operation is underway in Nangarhar to eliminate the presence of ISIS affiliates in this province.
The US forces based in Afghanistan are also providing support to the Afghan forces during the operations, mainly involving Arclight airstrikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
The anti-ISIS action caught mostly Taliban? Was the dead foreigner ISIS, or is this group merely a target of opportunity? A lovely thought, either way.
[DAWN] Prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against a suspected representative of 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.... (IS) group in Germany and four fellow suspects who are accused of running a recruitment network.
Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that the suspected ringleader, a 33-year-old Iraqi citizen, identified as Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A,
...known as "the preacher without a face" because of a series of internet videos in which he appeared clothed in black with his back to the camera, he and his henchmen were arrested last November ...
who goes by the alias Abu Walaa was indicted on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, terror financing and public incitement to commit crimes.
He and the other four are suspected of recruiting young Moslems in Germany and raising funds to send them to Syria and Iraq to join IS. Abu Walaa was the imam at a radical mosque in the northern city of Hildesheim
...a charming, small city fifty kilometers from Hannover with a radical Muslim problem...
and also organised "Islam seminars" at mosques elsewhere in Germany.
This article starring:
Hildesheim
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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[Aviation Week] In the search for the root cause of a recent spike in hypoxialike cockpit incidents that leave student pilots disoriented and short of breath, the U.S. Navy is beginning to look more closely at the quality of the air that comes off the McDonnel Douglas T-45 Goshawk’s engine and feeds into the oxygen generator system. Fleets across the Navy and U.S. Air Force have been plagued by a sharp increase in these so-called physiological episodes in recent months, where pilots experience ...
Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Eight children and women were killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb explode don their way out of Islamic State strongholds southwest of Kirkuk, a security source was quoted saying.
Baghdad Today quoted the source saying that two children and a woman were killed, while two women and three children were wounded when a bomb planted on their way out of al-Murra al-Kobra village went off. They were escaping the Islamic State bastion in the town of Hawija, the source said.
Kurdish Peshmerga troops were trying to reach the victims, said the source.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Bodies of two journalists who were killed in an Islamic State attack against south of Mosul were found, Salahuddin Operations Command said.
In a brief statement on Thursday, Lt.Gen. Juma Anad said “security troops have found bodies of Houna Salahuddin channel’s correspondent Harb Hazzaa, and photojournalist, Sou’dad al-Tikriti.”
“The bodies will be transferred to Tikrit to be transferred to their families,” he added.
The two Iraqi journalists were killed earlier this month as IS militants attacked Imam Gharbi village in Qayyarah, south of Mosul. Iraqi forces were able to retake the village, which was re-invaded by the militants, just before the governmnet declared victory in Mosul on July 10.
The Federation of Arab Journalists said in a statement last week that 47 Iraqi journalists were killed, while 55 others were wounded while covering and accompanying security troops during battles in Mosul.
The first Iraqi slain journalist in 2017 was Abdul Qader al-Qaisi, who was kidnapped and then found by security forces in January. His body was dumped on the road between Kirkuk and Baghdad. Another journalist Afrah Shawqi was abducted for nine days and then released.
A report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in December seven reporters were killed in Iraq in 2016, out of a total of 57 who were killed in conflict areas across the world. Syria came on top of the death tally with 19 victims. The total for 2016 was, however, a drop from the 101 death count of 2015.
In October, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Iraq was the world’s top country in terms of impunity regarding journalists’ killing, attributing the fact to the involvement of extremist militias in the murders.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/21/2017
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[DAWN] A Saudi prince was tossed in the calaboose Book 'im, Mahmoud! on Thursday on Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... 's order, a state-run broadcaster reported, as outrage grew on social media over videos appearing to show him abusing members of the public.
Salman issued a warrant for "the immediate arrest ... and imprisonment" of Prince Saud, a descendant of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's founder, along with a group of men who appeared in the videos uploaded to YouTube, al-Ikhbariya television reported.
A video circulating on social media showed police escorting the young prince -- one of the thousands of members of the royal family -- out of a house in handcuffs.
The arrest came after the prince, whose face can clearly be seen in some of the videos shared via Twitter Wednesday, unleashed a wave of verbal and physical abuse on Saudis and foreigners.
In a video, a man moaning and clutching his head is led out of a house with an automatic rifle pointed at his back.
Another clip, viewed more than 760,000 times, also shows 18 bottles of whisky displayed on a table and a wad of cash. The sale and consumption of alcohol in Saudi Arabia is forbidden.
Video clips also show a man sitting in a car, bleeding and being cursed at for parking in front of a house and, what appears to be the prince punching and slapping a man who is sitting on a chair.
The prince also pummels a man cowering in a chair who waits for him to pause and insists, "Honest to God, I didn't do anything. I swear to God." The videos have sparked anger on social media, with users identifying as Saudi citizens calling for the prince to be put on trial.
"No matter who you are -- prince, minister, citizen -- no one is above the law," read one tweet.
The victims in the videos will be called to testify in court, according to a royal decree carried by al-Ikhbariya. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest rates of execution and widely imposes harsh sentences for criminal offences.
In a highly unusual case, the kingdom last year executed a prince convicted of murder.
They have a substantial surfeit of princelings, and expenses considerably exceed income. Darwin is going to feast until balance is achieved, the alternative being tumbrels depositing their loads at the foot of the Saudi version of Madame de la Guillotine.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
I would think, the king, his sons and his grandchildren would be in the royal line, cut off being the great-grand children whose sole support would be their parents or themselves. Exceptions is whomever becomes king at which point the royal line starts over from there. Rest of family would just have to earn their way.
#3
I would think, the king, his sons and his grandchildren would be in the royal line, cut off being the great-grand children whose sole support would be their parents or themselves.
For quite some time the various brothers of the king passed the succession from one to the next, as I recall. Salman is, I think, the first in a while to bring his son into the immediate succession, and also the first to make sure that son has the work experience to be more or less prepared for the job at a fairly young age instead of being slotted in where his interrests and schooling met the needs of the kingdom.
Sicily doesn't have a migrant problem, it processes them with stunning efficiency. It's the rest of Italy that has the problem, and possibly soon the rest of Europe
[DAWN] A man accused of the gang rape and murder of a girl in northern India has been killed in police custody, an official said Thursday, sparking angry riots in the usually tranquil Himalayan region.
Hundreds of protesters furious over the police handling of the case chanted "we want justice" in the popular tourist hill resort of Shimla, with businesses remaining closed in some parts of Himachal Pradesh state.
There have been vigils and strikes across the region since the 16-year-old victim was found naked and mutilated in a forest, with many accusing police of bungling the investigation.
Tensions escalated further after a suspect held for the gruesome crime was killed in his cell by another inmate during a scuffle.
The head of the suspect, Nepalese national Suraj Singh, was struck against a wall, and he "was taken to hospital where he was declared dead," said Z.H. Zaidi, the police inspector general.
News of his death triggered fury, with rioters torching a cop shoppe and vehicles.
The brutality of the crime shocked residents in Himachal Pradesh, a Himalayan state with some of India's lowest rates of sexual violence, and prompted calls for a swift investigation.
An autopsy confirmed the girl was gang raped and strangled. She sustained severe injuries in the assault, including a broken leg.
Six men were enjugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! but those calling for swift justice accused police of bungling the case, saying the main culprits were still on the lam.
"The main accused is roaming free. How can anyone die in police custody?" one protester in Shimla told Indian broadcaster NDTV on Thursday.
India has a gruesome record on rape. Nearly 40,000 rape cases are reported every year but the real number is thought to be much higher, with victims wary of how their complaints will be handled.
Nearly 2,200 rapes were registered in 2015 in the Indian capital New Delhi -- an average of six per day. Himachal Pradesh recorded 244 rapes that same year, among the lowest rates in India.
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[TAMPABAY] Mayoral candidate Paul Congemi has made national news for a racial tirade at Tuesday’s mayoral forum when he told supporters of International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement-affiliated candidate Jesse Nevel to "go back to Africa."
In the midst of a question about opportunities for youth in the city, Congemi veered off topic in a bizarre way:
"Mr. Nevel, you and your people, you talk about reparations. The reparations that you talk about, Mr. Nevel, your people already got your reparations," Congemi said. "Your reparations came in the form of a man named Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... The large contingent of Nevel’s supporters erupted in disbelief and outrage. "Get out of here!" a woman shouted repeatedly.
Congemi didn't stop there: "My advice to you, my advice to you, if you don’t like it here in America, planes leave every hour. Go back to Africa, go back to Africa."
His comments were directed at Nevel, who is white. He is the national chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, a group that organizes white support for black-led community social justice. It is an organization that works with the main Uhuru organization, which has many African-American members, including founder and activist Omali Yeshitela.
As his comments reverberated around the internet on Wednesday, Congemi, who usually favors handwritten letters, emailed the following statement to the Tampa Bay Times.
"I must comment on the remarks I said last night ... Yes: I did tell those people to go back to Africa," Congemi wrote. "My remark was meant for the group Mr. Nevel represents. Not all African Americans. Just those that Nevel represents."
After Congemi’s outburst, Nevel dismissed him as a "non-factor." Former Mayor Rick Baker later rebuked Congemi. Mayor Rick Kriseman didn't say anything at the forum. On Wednesday, the mayor said he regretted not confronting Congemi for his "bigoted rhetoric."
Nevel plans to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday to criticize Kriseman for remaining silent at the forum.
Congemi wasn’t done with his attacks. He also assailed Kriseman for his support of the LGBT community.
"I will never endorse sin," Congemi said.
This is the 60-year-old Congemi’s third run for mayor. His previous runs netted a few hundred votes. Over the years, he has referred to himself as a retired builder; a homeless advocate; a singer-songwriter; the founder of his own political party with 105,000 members; and, most recently, as a "constellation."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
IMO, Congemi doesn't expect to win, he's looking for a soapbox for his ideas. His ideas are not exactly a winning message as evidenced by the results from the previous attempts to run for mayor.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan government has included the sexual abuse of children ’Bacha Baazi’ crime in its revised penal code. That is, diddling boys...
The Minister of Justice Abdul Basir Anwar informed regarding the inclusion of the crime in the penal code during a presser in Kabul today.
He said the sexual abuse of children ’Bach Baazi’ is one of the main crimes included in the revised version of the penal code.
Anwar further added that the revised law has been registered after it was passed by the cabinet of ministers and signed by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. during the period of around nine months.
The minister of justice also added that reviewing the judicial and criminal code and laws was one of the main commitments made by the government of national unity in London summit on Afghanistan.
The Afghan government for the first time finalized a law to criminalize the bullying and sexual abuse of children ’Bacha Baazi’ late in February this year.
This comes as numerous reports emerged during the recent years regarding the worsening situation of the children subjected to abuse and bullying.
The issue attracted attention of the global human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activists as there are concerns regarding the health and mental condition of the victims of the stigma.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission also expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s regarding the mental situation of the victims, saying the majority of the children kept as slave are repeatedly raped.
On the other hand, the international human rights activists are saying that in majority of cases the victims become perpetrators which help the stigma to further continue after they become adults and keep other children as their slaves.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
Well now, that's going to bugger their Thursday nights.
#5
I truly hope that's a photoshop of some sort, Skidmark. Otherwise the level of inbreeding required to get that level of goat dysfunction is terrifying.
[Al Jazeera] Covered with a painful rash, Nessrine Hamad, six, has tears in her eyes.
"She has been like that for three days," her mother, Kawzhar Youssif Hamad, tells Al Jazeera. "It is because of the dirty water. Most of the children here have sores on their skin."
Dozens of families accused of having relatives in 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.... of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIS, also known as ISIS) have been forcibly displaced to Shahama camp by the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), under the control of the Iraqi army. The camp, located north of Tikrit, has been described by Human Rights Watch as akin to an "open-air prison".
Civilians detained at Shahama are prevented from coming and going freely. They are only allowed to leave via ambulance for medical emergencies, and even then, several told Al Jazeera that they were rejected by the main hospital in Tikrit after staff discovered they had come from Shahama.
Raad Kamil Hachim, 43, who hails from Iraq's Baiji district, said his wife was pregnant and close to giving birth. She lay on the ground in the shadow of their tent, moaning in pain.
"We receive no medication," Hachim's wife told Al Jazeera. "They tried to ban me at the [hospital] reception, and I had to beg them to let me in. The doctors wouldn't cooperate, either."
As Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulates his army for defeating ISIS in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... violations committed during the military campaign continue to raise concerns.
The publication in May of disturbing images and video footage from photojournalist Ali Arkady led to fresh allegations of war crimes, including cases of torture and arbitrary executions, against Iraqi security forces.
In the final phase of the battle against ISIS in Mosul, numerous cases of torture and executions of men and boys fleeing Mosul were reported. And last week, videos surfaced that allegedly showed Iraqi soldiers beating suspected ISIS members and throwing them off a cliff.
In Salah al-Din governorate, south of Mosul, a decree passed in August 2016 ordered the expulsion of any civilians with familial ties or other alleged affiliations to ISIS - a kind of "guilt by association".
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Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Around six Islamic State militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, which is still held by the militant group.
In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar.”
“Based on information from the Nineveh Operations Command, Iraqi jets launched airstrikes, destroying weapon stash and burning huge amounts of arms and explosives that were inside it in the military district in the town,” the statement added.
“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.
Last week, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah said the fourth phase of liberation will be launched soon to free Tal Afar and other regions to complete the liberation of the whole province.
A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar and the town is currently run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.
Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014, while Hawija has been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A few dozen Islamic State militants are targeting Iraqi forces with suicide attacks in western Mosul’s Old City area even after the government officially declared victory over the militant group earlier this month, a newspaper reports.
London-based AlQuds Alarabi said Thursday that the sounds of explosions and fire exchanges were still being heard at the streets and alleyways of the medieval district that witnessed the declaration of the group’s rule in 2014.
It quoted a lieutenant in the Iraqi Federal Police, who asked not to be named, saying that the group has retuned back to action in the Old City, fighting government troops with suicide bombings in defense of its last pockets. He said the situation prompted field leaders to ask the government for reinforcements.
“There are nearly 150 suicide fighters, including women, who are still trapped in the alleyways of the Old City, with no other option but to die,” said the officer. “Those had sneaked in from the Tigris River, and have launched quick and organized attacks against the Iraqi army and police troops”.
According to the police source, eliminating those last few fighters was “a matter of time”, adding that they have become under a full siege, denied supplies, and are told through loudspeakers to choose between surrendering or dying.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Seven Islamic State members, including the so-called “emir of communications”, were killed in an air strike that targeted positions held by the group on the outskirts of Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.
A local source told Alsumaria that fighter jets bombed a two-floor building on the outskirts of Tal Afar. The building was completely collapsed, said the source.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the IS used the building as a key position for the terror group’s communications in Tal Afar.
Islamic State still holds Tal Afar, one of the remaining key strongholds inside the Nineveh province.
Earlier today, around six IS militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town.
In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar”.
“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.
A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar, and that the town was later run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.
Baaj (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State suicide bomber killed three Iraqi army soldiers at an area recaptured weeks ago by paramilitary forces west of Mosul, a police officer was quoted saying Thursday.
Cap. Younis Aref, from Nineveh police department, told BasNews that the suicide bomber drove a booby-trapped car into a checkpoint run by the Iraqi army in al-Baaj region, near the borders with Syria, killing three soldiers.
Baaj and neighbouring Qairawan were both recaptured from IS militants by Popular Mobilization Forces in June. The militias claimed control over the borderline and said they effectively trapped IS inside Mosul.
Islamic State members have reportedly carried out intermittent attacks against security forces over the past few days even after the Iraqi government declared victory over the group in Mosul earlier this month.
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JEDDAH: The behavior of Houthi militias has exacerbated the spread of cholera in Yemen, according to Yemeni officials.
The daily death toll announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) is constantly increasing.
According to the latest statistics, 1,817 people have died of cholera in less than three months.
There have been 363,000 cases of the disease reported in 21 of the 22 Yemeni governorates since April 27.
Socotra, a Yemeni island in the Arabian Sea, has so far been free of cholera.
Officials in the internationally recognized government have warned of the consequences of Houthi militias looting and stealing drugs that treat the disease. They have urged the international community to act immediately to stop this.
Yemen’s Minister of Local Administration Abdel-Raqib Fath, who is also head of the Higher Relief Committee, denounced the Houthis for trading the drugs and selling them on the black market in the provinces of Hodeidah, Hajah, Ibb and Dhamar.
He said the silence of UN organizations is putting Yemeni lives in even greater danger.
He labeled these actions by the Houthis “terrorist and totally inconsistent with all humanitarian principles and laws.”
Yemen’s permanent representative to the UN, Khalid Al-Yamani, said the situation in areas under Houthi control is becoming increasingly complicated due to the massive cholera outbreak.
He added that the Houthis had refused to cooperate with the international community and to assist intensive efforts by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief), the WHO, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Program.
Yemeni media sources and eyewitnesses said supervisors appointed by the Houthis were selling the free cholera drugs and treatments to commercial pharmacies in Sanaa, Dhamar, Ibb and Hodeidah.
The sources said the Houthis were using many militiamen to loot the drugs provided by the WHO, then sell them on the black market at very high prices to increase their revenues.
The sources added that the Houthis had also confiscated drugs that treat heart disease, kidney disease and cancer.
The WHO recently announced the arrival of 67 tons of medicine in Sanaa to treat cholera patients free of charge.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, deputy prime minister and defense minister, ordered a donation of $66.7 million to treat the cholera epidemic in various parts of Yemen. The donation was made in response to requests by the WHO and UNICEF.
Prince Mohammed has also sent 550 tons of medicines and supplies to help detect and treat cholera.
The legitimate Yemeni government thanked him for helping to relieve Yemeni suffering.
“Our brothers in the Saudi Kingdom have always been known for their humanitarian attitudes and leadership,” the Yemeni prime minister said.
The minister of social affairs and labor praised the role of KSRelief in providing medicines and medical supplies to fight cholera.
She said the Kingdom had become a role model in humanitarian work in the Arab world via KSRelief’s generous support, especially in Yemen.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Urban warfare continues to rage through a handful of suburbs across the predominately Arab city of Raqqa with the most intense clashing currently being observed in the contested Old City and Nazal Shahada neighborhoods.
With ISIS and the Kurdish-led ’Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) fighting over control of the large Euphrates River city, the Kurds not only received new armored vehicles from America but also captured a large batch of armaments from 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.... today.
Neither side gained any substantial ground on Thursday, however.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had a cup of coffee. Even instant would do... ISIS claims 70 US Arclight airstrikes have struck Raqqa over the past 48 hours while a total of 400 shells have been launched by the SDF and US Marines upon ISIS-held residential areas.
Graphic footage showing collateral damage done by the US-led coalition was released by Amaq Agency today, claiming 8 civilians to be killed and 42 more injured on Tuesday alone.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Thursday afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) most elite assault troops scored another major advance en route to 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 desert stronghold of al-Suknah.
Securing around a dozen of minor wells in the process, the Tiger Forces brushed aside all ISIS resistance on two axes of the oil-rich region, advancing five kilometers southeast and five kilometers southwest of their earlier forward positions.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... the SAA ‐ heavily assisted by Syrian and Russian jets ‐ destroyed a number of jihadist bases and outposts at Maadan, al-Rabiyah, Rasm Ghanem and Jableh. According to a military source debriefing al-Masdar News, these air raids took out five ISIS technicals on Thursday.
In the coming weeks, the SAA hopes to complete pincer movements that ultimately look to envelop and liberate the ISIS-held junction town of al-Suknah, thereby establishing a launching pad for an eastern thrust to relieve besieged Deir Ezzor.
[ARA News] The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced on Thursday the death of 15 of its members in recent clashes with Islamic State’s (ISIS) extremists in northern Syria.
The YPG is a leading member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“During the recent military operations against Daesh [ISIS] terrorists, fifteen of our bravest fighters have lost their lives,” the YPG leadership said in a statement on Thursday.
The Kurdish leadership identified the fighters who were killed in clashes in Raqqa city.
“They have sacrificed their lives for the sake of liberating Raqqa from the terrorists,” it said.
Supported by the US-led coalition, the YPG and other factions of the SDF are currently locked in fierce clashes with ISIS militants in Raqqa–the de facto capital of the radical group in northeastern Syria.
The YPG is also fighting against Turkey-backed Islamist groups in northwestern Syria, mainly in the Afrin district of Aleppo province.
[AlManar] Syria’s government forces have retaken over 40 oil rigs from ISIL terrorists in the country’s northern Raqqa province since the beginning of offensive to liberate the Takfiris’ stronghold, a representative of the Syrian oil industry said Thursday.
“Since the beginning of July, over 40 oil pumping stations have been retaken under the control of the Syrian government, all of them have been destroyed by the retreating ISIL terrorists,” Ali Ibrahim, the petroleum engineer in charge for the restoration of oil production facilities in Raqqa province, told reporters.
Since the beginning of the Syrian government forces’ offensive in early July on Raqqa, the militants have been expelled from the main oil producing areas of the province, the engineer added.
“After clearing of the ways to the oil fields off mines, the pumps will be demounted and taken to the city of Hama for reconstruction. The majority of the oil ‘spots’ will resume operation by the end of July,” Ibrahim explained.
ISIL terrorists dismantled a lot of oil rigs in Raqqa province. Particularly, around 50 facilities have been destroyed in the area of Tabqah oil field.
[ARA News] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday continued their operations against ISIS headquarters in the city of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria.
At least 23 ISIS militants were killed by SDF fire, including a jihadist leader.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces hit ISIS strongholds in the northwestern part of Raqqa city. The heavy artillery bombardment caused massive destruction to an ISIS security centre in the area,” SDF officer Habun Osman told ARA News.
“At least 23 terrorists were killed in the shelling, among them was the head of ISIS security in the area,” the Kurdish officer said.
In the meantime, clashes broke out in the al-Kournish district south of the city after SDF fighters infiltrated into a major ISIS camp.
“The clashes are still ongoing in al-Kournish, particularly in the Shehada square,” Osman reported.
SDF sources reported the death of two of their fighters and the injury of four others in Thursday’s clashes.
This comes after the SDF launched a major operation to liberate the city of Raqqa from ISIS radicals.
Raqqa has been known as a de facto capital for the ISIS self-proclaimed Caliphate since the summer of 2014.
On June 6, the Syrian Democratic Forces announced the official start of the battle for Raqqa city.
On Friday, July 14, Army General Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that the battle for Raqqa will take months.
“A large city, an indigenous force, a well-prepared enemy. We would expect they [ISIS] are going to fight harder, and more aggressively than they are and a large part of that is going to be exploited again. So I think it is going to be a challenging fight and it will take months,” he stated.
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[IsraelTimes] Five battalions of IDF soldiers and over 3,000 cops will be on hand to grapple with violence over increased security measures at holy site
Israel’s security authorities were set to flood the streets of Jerusalem on Friday with policeman and soldiers in an attempt to quell expected violence at protests over increased security measures at the Temple Mount compound in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The contentions site has reemerged as a flashpoint in recent days, with Moslem protesters holding at-times violent demonstrations outside of the Old City in protest of Israel’s placement of metal detectors at the gates to the Temple Mount, following a terror attack last week in which three Arab Israelis rubbed out two coppers guarding one of the entrances to the site.
Over 3,000 coppers will be deployed "in and around the area of the Old City, Temple Mount and nearby neighborhoods," police front man Micky Rosenfeld said. Police are also said to be planning to limit the number of Moslem worshipers allowed to enter the Temple Mount area and blocking entry to the capital from other areas of the country ahead of Friday prayers.
In addition to the heavily bolstered police presence, the army announced that five battalions would be made available to deal with violence in an around the capital.
The IDF also cancelled all leave over the weekend, keeping all units at full strength in anticipation of violence.
Clashes erupted Thursday between Paleostinians protesters and police in Jerusalem’s Old City after thousands of Moslem worshipers gathered around the contested Temple Mount holy site for evening prayers.
Paleostinians threw rocks and glass bottles at the officers outside the Old City’s Lion Gate following evening prayers. Police responded with tear gas and riot dispersal methods, police said. Over 40 Paleostinians and five Israeli officers were reported injured.
Friday prayers on the Moslem holy day are the busiest time in the week at the Temple Mount, with tens of thousands expected to arrive at the compound.
The Paleostinian terror group Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, called for mass protests on Friday against the stepped up security measures, which Israel said were necessary in light of last Friday’s terror attack there.
Israel initially closed the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Moslems as the Noble Sanctuary, as it searched for further weapons. The compound, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, was reopened Sunday with metal detectors installed, a step Paleostinians protested as a change to the longstanding status quo. Israel denied this, and noted that those enter the Western Wall plaza below have long been required to pass through metal detectors. The Temple Mount is the holiest place to Jews as the site of the biblical temples.
The increased security measures were taken after police said the three attackers who emerged armed from the compound and shot at police on Friday had stashed their weapons on the holy site.
On Thursday, police released video footage showing how the killers and an accomplice got the guns into the Temple Mount compound.
Video can be seen at the link.
On Thursday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with ministers and security chiefs to discuss whether to remove the new metal detectors and to consider other possible steps that might avert violence Friday.
Jerusalem’s police chief Yoram Halevi expressed confidence Thursday that his forces could deal with any protests Friday, and was not urging the removal of the metal detectors, according to a Channel 2 TV report.
#4
What exactly is the problem here? Is it because electromagnetism is un-Islamic? Or because metal detectors violate the section of the Hamas constitution that says the right to murder Juice shall not be infringed?
[Al Jazeera] Activists say 28 Syrian government soldiers have been killed in a firefight after a military unit was ambushed near the capital, Damascus.
The ambush on Thursday followed days of intense fighting as opposition-held suburbs of Damascus have come under a government offensive.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the soldiers and allied fighters were ambushed in the village of Rihan, east of Damascus.
Anas al-Dimashqi, an opposition activist based in the area, and the SOHR said the ambush killed at least 28 troops and pro-government fighters.
Syrian government forces and their allies have been trying to storm the eastern suburbs of Damascus, known as Eastern Ghouta, but have struggled to penetrate opposition defences.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the ongoing conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
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[Al Jazeera] Kuwait is closing the Iranian cultural mission and related offices in the Gulf Arab state and expelling a number of Iranian diplomats stationed in the country, according to the official news agency, KUNA.
KUNA said on Thursday the move is related to the case of a "terrorist" cell broken up in 2015 that authorities allege had contacts with Iran and Hezbollah.
The KUNA report said Alireza Enayati, Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, had been notified of the decision.
A senior Kuwaiti official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , told AFP news agency about 15 Iranian diplomats were expelled.
He declined to comment on whether Enayati was among them. A Rooters report said he was among those who were ordered expelled.
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#1
The pushback against Iran, Hezb, Assad, and Shia militancy in general, is welcome
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2017 11:26
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[PJMedia]. Yesterday, Turkish state media outlet Anadolu Agency published details on the location of U.S. special operations forces operating in Syria, complete with maps and troop concentrations, prompting outrage from the Pentagon.
But early today, a newspaper owned by a loyalist of Turkish President Recep Erdogan threatened to reveal more details, provoking an escalating confrontation between the U.S. and our NATO ally.
The threats were published in today's edition of Takvim, owned by businessman Ahmet Calik (a close friend of Erdogan). The CEO of the company that owns the paper is none other than Erdogan's son-in-law.
Bloomberg Politics reported:
Turkey’s state-run news agency published U.S. base locations in northern Syria, a move that threatens to deepen distrust between the two allies by exposing American soldiers on the front lines of the fight against Islamic State.
In reports published in both Turkish and English on Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency provided detailed information about 10 U.S. bases in northern Syria, including troop counts and a map of the U.S. force presence in the Turkish version. The reports said that the military outposts are "usually hidden for security reasons, making it hard to be detected." It said they were located "in the terrorist PKK/PYD-held Syrian territories," a reference to Kurdish groups that Turkey’s government considers terrorist organizations.
Despite a tight military alliance dating back to the Cold War, Turkey and the U.S. have been at odds for years now over the U.S. backing of Kurdish fighters in Syria who are affiliated with separatist movements inside Turkey. The Turkish government probably leaked U.S. troop locations to Anadolu as retaliation, according to Aaron Stein, a fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
"The U.S. takes force protection seriously, obviously," Stein said by email on Wednesday. "The Turkish government knows this, and still decided to leak the locations of U.S. bases in Syria. Hard not to see this as a F-you."
The Pentagon responded by saying that the move put U.S. troops in danger and jeopardized the coalition mission against ISIS:
The publication by Turkey's state-run news agency of the locations of what appeared to be U.S. military posts in Syria puts American forces in danger, and the United States has complained to Turkey, a NATO ally, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Anadolu news agency published a report on Tuesday naming the location of 10 U.S. military posts in northern Syria, in some cases detailing the number of U.S and French troops present.
"The release of sensitive military information exposes Coalition forces to unnecessary risk and has the potential to disrupt ongoing operations to defeat ISIS," said Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon, using an acronym for Islamic State.
"While we cannot independently verify the sources that contributed to this story, we would be very concerned if officials from a NATO ally would purposefully endanger our forces by releasing sensitive information," Pahon said.
Erdogan and other top Turkish authorities have become vocally belligerent towards their fellow NATO allies in recent months, even threatening "holy wars" in Europe:
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
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#1
It's time to kick a Turkey out of NATO, and embargo them. They want hostile? I say let them find out what hostile is from President Trump: Start arming and training Kurdish separatist in Turkey.
#2
Unfortunately, Mattis is old school. Got to protect our 'allies'. Just like the old school generals and admirals who said both Subic and Clarke were absolutely vital to our 'national interests' and uncompromisable in retaining. Things change. Adapt.
#4
Stop sharing info with the Turks and kick 'em out. In addition recognize Kurdistan as an independent nation that includes a good chunk of Turkish territory.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The United States Department of States released its latest reports regarding on terrorism for 2016 providing an overall report regarding the terrorism related upheavals during the year.
The new report by the State Department further strengthens the claims made by the Afghan officials regarding the presence of the safe havens of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... and Haqqani terrorist network inside the Pak territory.
"Afghanistan, in particular, continued to experience aggressive and coordinated attacks by the Afghan Taliban, including the affiliated Haqqani Network (HQN) and other holy warrior and terrorist groups," the report stated.
The Department of State also added that a number of these attacks were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistain.
"Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) retained full responsibility for security in Afghanistan, and prevented the Taliban from capturing a bustling provincial capital in 2016, although it suffered an unprecedented number of casualties in an intense fighting season," the report said, adding that the ANDSF and Coalition Forces, in partnership, took aggressive action against terrorist elements across Afghanistan. A peace agreement between Hizb-e Islami Gulbuddin and the Afghan government in September was the first signed by an holy warrior group since the 2001 fall of the Taliban.
According to the State Department, the Pak military and security forces undertook operations against groups that conducted attacks within Pakistain such as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistain. Pakistain did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or Haqqani terrorist network, or substantially limit their ability to threaten U.S. interests in Afghanistan, although Pakistain supported efforts to bring both groups into an Afghan-led grinding of the peace processor.
The State Department also added that Pakistain did not take sufficient action against other externally focused groups, such as Lashkar e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... (JeM) in 2016, which continued to operate, train, organize, and fundraise in Pakistain.
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Pining for the fjords [FastCompany] The Monty Python reunion in London began on July 1, and after a 10-day break, picks up again tonight at the O2 Arena for the final five nights that will see Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin on the same stage together, doing silly things one more time. Of course, it’s not all silliness–the first five-night run of the performance raised more than £20,000 for five different charities chosen by the Python members, by giving those charities the opportunity to auction off the right to perform in a sketch alongside the cast. Video of the klassik Monty Python routine at the link
#1
A 50 foot fiberglass parrot in the park? In another parrot story, A foul-mouthed parrot to testify in Michigan murder trial? The parrot witnessed the murder of a man and is talking. "Don’t (expletive) shoot me,” the foul-mouthed parrot reportedly squawked on a video. The accused murderer, the man's wife, probably thinks this foul-mouthed parrot is bigger than 50 ft. tall.
[ALMASDARNEWS] In a remarkable turn of events, hundreds of Islamist fighters are being transferred from northern Aleppo to Hatay (Iskenderun) province where they are meeting up with allied Ottoman Turkish troops as we speak.
This combined fighting force, once known as the Euphrates Shield, is now waiting for permission from Ankara to launch a major cross-border military intervention which ultimately looks to defeat or weaken Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Over the past 24 hours alone, HTS has expelled Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... from a handful of towns across rural Idlib. The al-Qaeda affiliated HTS has also purged several Ottoman Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) groups in Maarat al-Numan and Saraqib, vowing to arrest anyone collaborating with the Euphrates Shield forces.
Since a coalition of jihadist groups merged into what is now known as HTS barely six months ago, the group has gradually become the largest rebel fighting force in all of Syria, thereby dethroning Ahrar al-Sham from this long-standing position.
The Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces are frequently rumoured to be planning offensives striking into Syria; however, the only major military campaign launched by Ankara remains the Euphrates Shield operation that saw ISIS expelled from its last stretch of border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... in 2016 and subsequently, the establishment of the so-called Jarabulus pocket in northern Aleppo where Ottoman Turkish troops and allied proxies remain deployed.
The photo above shows a Ahrar al-Sham fighter standing at a Ottoman Turkish military checkpoint near the border with Idlib. Turkmen fighters of the FSA are also being deployed to this area.
[AAWSAT] Beirut- The fighting that took place Tuesday between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, which includes factions like Fath al-Sham (former Nusra Front) from one hand and Ahrar al-Sham, on the other hand, has reached a new level in the long-standing tense relationship between the opposing factions.
It was clear, according to experts and analysts who have been following the developments there, that it is a make or break battle between the two factions and might turn the eyes to Idlib in the coming period, especially if the Free Syrian Army (FSA) decided to join Ahrar al-Sham in an attempt to expel the Nusra Front from the governorate.
Field sources reported that Tahrir al-Sham took control of Ahrar al-Sham’s checkpoint along Hawarin-Kafr Nabal road, the town of Hazarin and another checkpoint at the Western entrance of the town of Kafruma in Southern Idlib.
The sources said that Ahrar al-Sham dispatched more forces and equipment to the town of Hazarin in Idlib’s countryside to attack the positions of Tahrir al-Sham.
Also, Tahrir al-Sham sent a large volume of military hardware to the villages of Jabal al-Zaweiyeh.
Based on the field reports Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have engaged in heavy fighting in the villages of Jabal al-Zawiyeh up to the village of Haas.
The reports added that the two warring groups have gone on full alert in Bab al-Hawa passageway and Northern Idlib.
Sources close to the opposing groups disclosed that Tahrir al-Sham Commander Abu Mohammad al-Joulani was preparing for a vast war against Ahrar al-Sham, adding that al-Joulani intended to impose control over large territories that were under Ahrar al-Sham to lay siege on Saraqeb in the east, Dana and Sarmada in the northeast and Bab al-Hawa near the Turkish border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighter from the two sides were engaged in clashes across the province in northwest Syria that killed 11 fighters and three civilians in the last 24 hours.
“These are the most violent and widespread clashes that have taken place between Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham,” Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said.
“The clashes are ongoing across all of the provinces, with territory changing hands… It’s an existential battle,” he added.
The two groups have clashed before, despite having previously formed the backbone of the alliance that captured most of Idlib in early 2015.
The latest conflict arisen partly out of a dispute over Ahrar al-Sham’s desire to fly the flag of the Syrian uprising in Idlib city, the Observatory said.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Harakat Noor al-Din al-Zenki Islamist faction, one of biggest FSA-linked groups within the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) coalition, has announced their defection from the jihadist conglomerate in favor of joining Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... In an official statement, the Islamist group rationalized their decision, claiming that it was unsatisfied with the HTS coalition’s aggression towards Ahrar al-Sham and the outright refusal of HTS commanders to seek common ground with Ahrar al-Sham.
The statement went on to add that despite joining ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, the Islamist group intended to stay clear of any and all infighting between Ahrar al-Sham and HTS, clarifying that the point of their existence was not to fight other rebel factions, but only the Syrian government and the forces allied to it.
In July of 2016, Noor al-Din al-Zenki became well known, even in the Western mainstream media, when some of its top members beheaded a twelve year old Paleostinian child on camera with a hunting knife. The child was falsely accused of being a member of an ethnic Paleostinian pro-government faction fighting in the city.
At that time, the group was openly vetted by the United States and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... under the assumption that it was a "moderate" opposition faction. Its military support from the US included the provision of American-built TOW anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems.
In January 2017, Noor al-Din al-Zenki merged into the then newly-formed HTS conglomerate, effectively aligning itself with hard-line jihadists.
As of now, the Islamist group is leaving HTS to join ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, a rebel coalition which Turkey continues to support with weapons and money.
[AnNahar] Jihadists from a coalition led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate fired on protesters in northwestern Idlib province on Thursday, a day after killing a demonstrator in the area, a monitor said.
The incident comes as the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance fights pitched battles across opposition-held Idlib province with the Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... rebel faction. The festivities have killed more than 40 people since they erupted this week, including 27 of the combatants and 11 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
Another four of those killed have yet to be identified as fighters or civilians.
Among the casualties was media activist Musaab al-Ezzo, killed in the town of Saraqeb on Wednesday when HTS fighters opened fire on a demonstration against their presence.
The monitor said fresh demonstrations were staged in the town despite Ezzo's death, with the jihadists again opening fire, causing an unspecified number of injuries. The monitor's head Rami Abdel Rahman said demonstrators shouted slogans including "Saraqeb is free, free, Jolani out," a reference to Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of the leading component of HTS, the Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... Front.
Fateh al-Sham was previously known as 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, but changed its name after announcing it was shedding its status as al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham were once close allies, forming the backbone of the Army of Conquest alliance that seized most of Idlib province from government control in 2015. But tensions have been rising between the two groups, and the Observatory described the latest festivities as the most widespread and serious violence between the factions so far.
An AFP correspondent in the province said both sides had set up multiple checkpoints inside and around bustling provincial capital Idlib city. He said the city streets were deserted, with residents staying indoors for fear of festivities.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
get your scorecard here
you can't tell what is going on without one
even with one
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/21/2017 9:32
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Gee I thought reading about the Ottoman Empire was as close as I'd get.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Amaq Agency published its fourth video from Marawi on Thursday, exactly two months after the ISIS-linked Maute and Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... groups launched a large-scale insurgency to the surprise of many analysts. This battle represent the first attempt at a land-grab by 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.... in Southeast Asia and has consequently been heavily contested by the Philippine Army which enjoys the backing of both the US and Russia.
The footage showed armed jihadist murderous Moslems ‐ many of whom originate from neighboring countries ‐ opening fire on positions held by the Philippine Army in downtown Marawi:
Although the footage hints to the contrary, Lieutenant General Jo-Ar Herrera insists ISIS’ fighting force in the city has dwindled to just 80 bad boys, most of whom have established last-ditch sniper nests. The remaining murderous Moslems are bogged down in some 500 buildings stretching across four neighborhoods of central Marawi, the military source added.
An estimated 420 murderous Moslems have been killed or captured over the past 60 days including many influential members of the Maute family’s inner circle. If this official estimation is accurate, the Philippine Army outnumbers the Islamic State at least 50-to-1.
Since day one of the battle for Lanao’s predominately Moslem picturesque provincial capital, high-ranking Philippine commanders have notably downplayed the situation as a minor conflict, establishing several deadlines for the city’s full liberation which have since long passed.
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[NYTIMES] The police were searching on Thursday for six African teenagers who were reported missing from an international robotics competition in Washington. Two of them were said to have been seen crossing into Canada, law enforcement officials said.
Police officials here confirmed that two members of the robotics team from Burundi, Don Ingabire, 16, and Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, were seen entering Canada, but their destination and current location remained unknown.
It was unclear where the remaining team members were. They were identified as Aristide Irambona, 18; Nice Munezero, 17; Kevin Sabumukiza, 17; and Richard Irakoze, 18.
The six teenagers were last seen in Washington on Tuesday night near the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, where the robotics competition took place. The team’s mentor, Canesius Bindaba, reported their disappearance after he returned to the dormitories where they were staying, assuming the teenagers had taken a different shuttle bus after the closing ceremony.
It appears the students left of their own accord, event officials said in a statement. Their dorm keys were left in their mentor’s bag and they took their clothes from their rooms. No foul play is suspected, said Aquita Brown, a spokeswoman for the Police Department.
Continue reading the main story
Joe Sestak, a former Pennsylvania congressman and retired Navy admiral who is president of First Global, the nonprofit group that organized the competition, made the initial call to the police shortly after midnight, officials said. The authorities began sharing photographs and descriptions of the teenagers on missing persons fliers on Wednesday.
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So they got that cloaking thing to work after all, eh?
[IsraelTimes] In landmark ruling, judge says Ramallah must pay damages for the harm caused to 51 plaintiffs between 1990 and 2003
The Paleostinian Authority systematically tortured dozens of suspected collaborators with Israel between 1990 and 2003, and must compensate them for the physical and mental harm it caused them, a Jerusalem court ruled this week.
In the landmark case, which was released for publication on Wednesday, the Jerusalem District Court reviewed the files of 51 Paleostinians who alleged they had been nabbed Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! on suspicion of providing Israeli authorities with information and assistance.
The plaintiffs testified that they were incarcerated in various facilities for different periods of time -- some were held for years -- and suffered brutal torture at the hands of their Sherlocks, who sought to extract information and confessions from them.
Plaintiffs said interrogators beat them, put out cigarettes on their bodies, pulled out their teeth, forced them into painful positions for lengthy periods of time and withheld food and drink. Several said their genitals were abused, leaving them sterile and impotent.
In some cases prisoners were locked inside hot metal containers on hot days, or were alternately doused with searing and freezing water. Others recounted being forced to drink out of toilet bowls or sit on broken bottles. Some were made to witness the executions of other suspected collaborators. Prisoners were often denied medical attention.
The PA, while acknowledging the imprisonment of some of the plaintiffs, denied that any torture took place.
The court, in an 1,800-page ruling following 90 court sessions and years of deliberations, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, with judge Moshe Drori saying the testimonies and evidence proved the allegations beyond any reasonable doubt.
"During the day they’d tie you up to the wall until dark. At night they’d take you for questioning," one plaintiff, whose identity was not disclosed, told Channel 2 news. "When you go in you don’t see the interrogator because you have a sack on your head. They had one room... where they put a sack on your head that was [soaked] in sewage... you can’t see where the beatings are coming from."
Three plaintiffs interviewed anonymously told Channel 2 they were never presented with evidence or proof, only told repeatedly to confess -- which many did, to make the suffering stop. It often did not.
Barak Kedem, the lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, hailed the court’s decision, saying his clients had been subjected to "unimaginable torture" by the PA.
"It’s as though someone there read Dante’s ’Inferno’ and tried to emulate it," he said, referring to the medieval Italian poet’s work detailing sinners’ tormented journey through the nine circles of hell. "After 14 years (of deliberations)... the court has brought justice."
The court will next look into each of the 51 cases and determine the damages that each of the plaintiffs will be awarded for their suffering -- a process that could take several more years.
The three men interviewed by Channel 2 said they now live in Israel, penniless and without family or any sense of belonging.
"I was arrested at the age 18 or 19," one said. "I haven’t lived life since. I don’t want money. I want to be [treated as] a human being, that’s all."
[DAWN] Pakistain Army's Operation Khyber-4, launched under Operaion Raddul Fasaad (RuF) in the Rajgal Valley area of Khyber Agency ... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... , is progressing as planned, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Thursday.
According to the ISPR, the operation has been yielding steady results: 13 forces of Evil have been eliminated so far while six others have been debilitated.
Army troops, including personnel from the Special Services Group, have "cleared 90 square kilometres of area while advancing from multiple directions," an ISPR release said.
The army's bomb defusal teams have also successfully neutralised a number of improvised bombs (IEDs) that forces of Evil had hidden underground, while "terrorist hideouts have been destroyed in targeted strikes by Pakistain Air Force, Army Aviation and Artillery," the ISPR said.
"During exchange of fire a soldier, Sepoy Abdul Jabbar, laid down his life for the motherland," the ISPR release said.
The army had also informed Afghan forces ahead of the launch of Khyber-4 operation in Rajgal, which the Afghan army would be able to support on their side of the border if they wished.
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#1
Catching up to the lead car operation fast and furious!
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Pak military officials reacted regarding the remarks of the Afghan defense officials regarding the latest operation launched in Khyber Agency ... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... , close to the Durand Line, saying such remarks are unwarranted.
The Afghan defense officials had earlier said the terrorist centers are located in the key cities of Pakistain and not in the tribal regions of Khyber Agency.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... a Pak military front man has said "Afghan Ministry of Defence’s response to Operation Khyber IV is unwarranted and runs counter to Pakistain Army’s efforts for better Pak-Afghan coordination and cooperation."
The ministry of defense front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri said Monday that the main centers and sanctuaries of the terrorist groups are located in the key cities of Pakistain and not in the tribal regions close to the Durand Line as he was responding the launch of the new operations by the Mighty Pak Army in Khyber Agency.
The Afghan officials have long been insisting that the leadership councils of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are based in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , Quetta, and other parts of Pakistain from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.
This comes as the US Department of Defense in its report said last month that "Afghan oriented hard boy groups, including the Taliban and Haqqani Network, retain freedom of action inside Pak territory and benefit from support from elements of the Pak Government."
The report further added "Although Pak military operations have disrupted some hard boy sanctuaries, certain murderous Moslem groups--such as the Taliban and the Haqqani Network--were able to relocate and continue to operate in and from Pakistain. The United States continues to convey to Pakistain at all levels the importance of taking action against all terrorist and murderous Moslem groups."
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[CANADAFREEPRESS] A Florida judge has sentenced a "black bloc" Inauguration Day rioter to four months in prison and two years of supervised probation for breaking business windows and throwing bricks, rocks and other projectiles at uniformed law enforcement officers.
Thirty-one-year-old Dane Powell of Tampa, Florida, pled guilty to throwing a "brick, large rock or piece of concrete" at uniformed law enforcement officers during post-inaugural riots in which hundreds of protesters--dressed in black--looted and fought with the police in the streets of Washington, D.C. Powell admitted to "being part of a group of rioters who moved approximately 16 blocks over a period of more than 30 minutes." Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff played a 10-minute video compilation of Powell breaking store windows and assaulting the police. Kerkhoff called Powell "a coward" and argued he went to Washington, D.C., during the inauguration with the express purpose of rioting. Kerkhoff described Powell as "among the most violent" of the 234 individuals enjugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... following the Inauguration Day riots. Powell had been seen the day before the inauguration in Logan Circle carrying gas masks, a hammer, and the same black flag he was identified with on the day of the riots.
On Inauguration Day, the anti-Trump tantrums in sections of Northwest Washington, D.C., included the damage of private property: burning a limousine and vandalizing a Starbucks and a Bank of America.
Capital Research Center’s own Dangerous Documentaries, in its film "America Under Siege: Civil War 2017" exposed the disruption and chaos that anarchist and socialist groups such as #J20 and others with ties to Hillary Clinton ... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, sometimes described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as a crook... ’s campaign and the Democratic Party had planned before the inauguration. Plans included blockading roads and public transit and preventing people from attending the inauguration.
The "black bloc" method refers to the practice of donning masks and black clothing to make it more difficult for police to identify individuals as rioters destroy property en masse. The tactic originated with West German squatters in the late 1970s and 1980s and became most noticeable in the U.S. during the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle.
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#3
the practice of donning masks and black clothing to make it more difficult for police to identify individuals as rioters
I saw some video from Portland (I think. there were so many riots) that showed riot cops carrying what appeared to be paintball guns. Have not seen any mention of this anywhere, although it seems like a good idea for tagging the perps.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... in his latest remarks has said the new political coalitions or fronts are formed mainly to seek share in the power.
Hekmatyar made the remarks during a meeting with a group of the youths of the country in his residence.
He said the politicians should admit their failures and respond to the demands of the people rather blaming each.
According to Hezb-e-Islami leader, the political coalitions should not be formed to counter each other and stand against each other but must have specific perspectives and slogans which should not reflect their personal interests.
Hekmatyar further added that Hezb-e-Islami will support any movement or coalition that is formed for bring peace and stability, end the violence and conflict, and ensure the Islamic values are protected.
He once again called on the politicians for unity and ending the differences in a bid to take the county out of a deadlock.
The Hezb-e-Islami leader also insisted that only Afghans can resolve the differences and issues among each other and there should be no expectations from the outsiders and neighbors to assist in this regard.
Hekmatyar also called on the youths of the country to step efforts for bring peace and stability and unity in the country.
The leader of Hezb-e-Islami was apparently gesturing towards the new political coalition among Gen. Adbul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... , the first vice president, Ata Mohammad Noor, the provincial governor of Balkh and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... party, and Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the second deputy chief executive and leader of Wahdat-e-Islami party.
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[SUNSTAR.PH] GOVERNMENT security forces have tossed in the clink Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! the henchman of top leader of the Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... Group (ASG) in an east coast village of Zamboanga City, the police reported on Wednesday, July 19. Chief Inspector Elmer Solon, Police Station 4 chief, identified the arrested ASG henchman as Albarin Arabin, whose real identity is Ustadz Namir alias Abu Amama. Solon said that Arabin is a sub-leader of top ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon, who has pledged allegiance to 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.... for Iraq and Syria (Isis). Solon said Arabin was arrested on Monday, July 17, in the village of Taluksangay, 19 kilometers east of the city. He said Arabin has standing warrant of arrest for six counts of kidnapping with serious illegal detention for his involvement in the kidnapping of workers in 2001 at Golden Harvest Plantation in the village of Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... . He said the arrest of Arabin came after they received report about the presence of two unidentified persons in Taluksangay claiming to be Malaysian preachers. He said Arabin and his lover companion, Abdulwajid Ibno, turned out to be Filipinos who have worked for several years in Malaysia. Ibno was placed under investigation to ascertain whether he is also a member of the ASG, according to Solon.
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[IsraelTimes] Protesting installment of metal detectors at Temple Mount, demonstrators hurl stones at Jewish house of worship, decry ’terror state’ Israel
A group of Ottoman Turkish ultra-nationalists on Thursday protested outside one of the most significant synagogues in Istanbul to denounce Israel’s security measures at the Temple Mount following a deadly attack last Friday that left two Israeli coppers dead, the Dogan news agency said.
The group from the Alperen Hearths, a far-right ultranationalist and Islamist youth group, said in a statement read outside the Neve Salom synagogue in central Istanbul that Israel was a "terror state" seeking to block freedom for worship to Moslems.
"If you prevent our freedom of worship there then we will prevent your freedom of worship here," said the statement, read by the group’s local chairman Kursat Mican.
The Foundation of the Ottoman Turkish Chief Rabbinate -- which looks after the country’s small Jewish community mainly concentrated in Istanbul -- angrily criticized the protest.
"We condemn the provocative action outside the Neve Salom synagogue tonight. We expect that the relevant authorities will take the necessary measures," it said in a statement.
According to Dogan, some protesters kicked the doors of the synagogue and threw stones. They later dispersed.
The synagogue usually has a heavy police guard. It was targeted by deadly attacks in 1986 by Paleostinian forces of Evil and again in 2003, which was attributed to Islamists.
While nationalists protest occasionally outside Israel’s diplomatic missions in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , a demonstration outside a synagogue is unusual.
Tensions were high in Jerusalem on Thursday, following days of festivities between police and Moslem worshipers protesting the metal detectors.
President Reuven Rivlin spoke by phone to Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Thursday in a bid to help calm tensions surrounding the Temple Mount despite objections from the Israeli Foreign Ministry to involving Ankara in the dispute.
The call, reportedly at Erdogan’s request, came following nearly a week of unrest in Jerusalem in the wake of a deadly terror attack last Friday by three Arab Israeli assailants who emerged from the Temple Mount and fatally shot two Israeli coppers.
Police footage released Thursday showed how the weapons were smuggled onto the site with the assistance of a fourth, as-yet-unidentified man.
In the phone call, the president told Erdogan that Israel expected Turkey to condemn the terror attack, just as Israel condemns terror attacks in Turkey, "with the understanding that terror was terror wherever it took place; in Jerusalem, in Istanbul, or in Gay Paree," according to a press statement issued by his office.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch cautiously raised his hat over the edge of the horse trough on the end of a stick...... The Ottoman Turkish leader urged Israel to remove the metal detectors as soon as possible.
"Within the framework of freedom of religion and worship there can be no impediment for Moslems" entering the holy site, the Anadolu news agency quoted Erdogan as telling Rivlin.
"Given the importance that Haram al-Sharif carries for the whole Islamic world, the metal detectors put in place by Israel should be removed in the shortest possible time and an end put to the tension," Erdogan added.
Erdogan expressed "sadness" in the call to Rivlin over the "casualties in the incident."
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[FoxNews] The motto of the state of Maine is Dirigo – Latin for ‘I lead'. Bellwether wants to know who's leading the fight to protect little girls in Maine from genital mutilation.
A Republican-sponsored bill to outlaw the barbaric procedure is being opposed by Democrats, who say they fear it will offend the cultural sensitivity of the approximately 10,000 Somalis living in the state. But there's an uglier, more malevolent reason lurking behind the scenes.
Female genital mutilation – in which a young girl's clitoris is cut out and her vagina stitched closed – is commonly practiced in Somalia, where it is estimated 90 percent of the female population has undergone the ritual. The intention is to ensure that girls remain chaste until they are married, and that they derive no pleasure from sexual activity.
With the arrival over the past several years of thousands of Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Maine, the tradition of FGM also crossed the ocean. So-called "cutters", who are usually female midwives, often perform the procedure without anesthesia and with dirty razor blades. Some victims suffer from urinary tract problems as a result.
"I had never heard of it, when someone first brought to my attention that it could be happening here," says state Rep. Heather Sirocki, a Republican. "I said, ‘You're kidding me, right?'" Once she was convinced it was no joke, Sirocki introduced legislation to ban genital mutilation in Maine. Such was her initial naïveté, she thought the bill would pass unanimously.
Then came an avalanche of criticism from progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and immigrant aid organizations, who argue that it is not the state's role to interfere with cultural traditions that run counter to American values.
"I believe they are more afraid of offending someone than they are in protecting little girls," says Sirocki. "We believe the immigrant population is vulnerable. I want to get this done this year." That's because Sirocki is a four-term member of the House, and by Maine law, cannot run again for re-election next year.
No one in the legislature is openly defending FGM – that might turn off even the most liberal Mainers. Democrats contend that child protection laws already on the books are sufficient, and that singling out genital mutilation would be disrespectful of the Somalis' cultural inheritance. Sirocki says she was stunned by that argument.
She was in for an even bigger shock when a Democrat, who supports the bill, approached her. As Sirocki tells it, "She said to me, ‘Heather, you know how when a member of our party submits a bill, Republicans kill it simply because a Democrat submitted it? That's what's happening here.'"
Then it got even worse. By Sirocki's account, Democratic Rep. Barbara Cardone of Bangor, who opposes the bill, said she would wait until next year, when Sirocki was out of office, then submit the bill in her own name, so that Democrats would get credit for protecting children.
When I asked Cardone about that meeting, she told me: "I don't know that it will be the same bill. I will propose a criminal bill. And it's so I can say that I'm going to address this. I'm not doing it because I want a Democratic victory."
"I don't know if they're telling the truth," Sirocki said of the opposition party. "They're not known for that."
Sirocki says what she learned about FGM as she prepared the bill exposed her to things she'd just as soon not know. "I'm trying to stay focused on the law making it illegal. When you actually think about what's happening to these girls, it's just so horrible."
Equally horrible is blocking a common-sense law when it might save young girls from lifelong disfigurement for political reasons.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A joint security force detonated a booby-trapped vehicle and arrested its driver at a checkpoint west of Baghdad, a security source was quoted saying.
A security source told Baghdad Today that a security force, backed by the pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces, seized a booby-trapped vehicle at the Soqour (Falcons) checkpoint between Baghdad and Anbar, and arrested its driver.
No casualties resulted from the explosion, according to the source.
[ChicagoTribune] Cook County judges will soon be explicitly required to set affordable bond amounts for defendants who do not pose a danger to the public. Like Inner-City Gangbangers that don't frequent the North Shore or trendy suburbs where the judges live
Beginning Sept. 18, judges will be prohibited from setting a higher bond than felony defendants can afford to pay. The same rule will apply to misdemeanor cases starting in January.
Critics have said the current setup unfairly punishes people who pose no risk of violence but languish in Cook County Jail because they cannot afford bail sometimes of only a few hundred dollars.
State law already requires judges to consider a defendant's financial circumstances before setting bond. The law says the bond cannot be "oppressive," but critics say judges often flout that requirement.
Late last year, on the heels of similar lawsuits in eight other states, advocates filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that criminal court judges routinely set cash bail at unaffordable levels, depriving arrestees of their constitutional right to pretrial liberty. What about the liberties of the average folks in the communities where these miscreants operate?
Under the new Cook County policy, defendants will be interviewed about their financial resources before a bond hearing. That information will be provided to judges, who then will be required to set a bond that the defendant "has the present ability to pay," according to the policy. And like they're going to correctly tell you their financial status
"I think people who are arrested will be given the full recognition that they are presumed innocent," Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who signed the order outlining the new policy, told the Tribune in a telephone interview. "Even when we see them shoot or stab someone, they're INNOCENT I tell ya"
Defendants who are currently in jail because they cannot afford to post bond can have a judge reconsider their bail after the new policy takes effect, Evans said. "And they'll vote for me in the next election"
Judges will then be required to deny bail altogether or set a new bond in an amount the defendant can afford.
Advocates of bond reform, including Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, applauded the decision. They all live in the suburbs, too
"There is often no clear relationship between the posting of a cash bond and securing the safety of the community or the appearance of a defendant," Foxx said in a statement Monday. "As a result, far too many people have been detained pre-trial because they are poor and unable to post even minimal amounts for bond."
Since taking office late last year, Foxx has taken several steps toward reforming bail. In March she announced that prosecutors would no longer oppose the release of some detainees held on nonviolent offenses who were stuck in jail because they could not pay up to $1,000 cash on their bonds. In June her office announced that prosecutors would recommend recognizance bonds for some defendants.
Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Sheriff Tom Dart said it remains to be seen if the policy will affect the Cook County Jail population, given that judges already were supposed to consider a defendant's financial situation when setting bond. Where's the graft in that?
As many as about 400 detainees remain in jail on any given day because they are unable to pay bonds of up to $1,000 cash, Smith said. Probably should have been actually doing something productive rather than whatever they did, then
It costs about $160 per day -- or nearly $60,000 per year -- to house one person at the jail, Smith said. If the detainee has medical or mental health needs, that cost can soar higher. They could take lessons from Sherriff Joe, but they probably won't
Activists will continue to keep a close eye on judges to make sure they comply with the law, said Sharlyn Grace, co-founder of the Chicago Community Bond Fund, See - 'Community Organizer'
which helps detainees post bail from jail.
"It is as effective as it is followed by judges," Grace said. "And if we continue to collect donations and grant money"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/21/2017
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#1
Because they feel Detroit's hot breath on the back of their neck in the race for USA Murder Capital race?
#6
The experience in California while in a senior criminal justice policy position showed me the utter waste of prison expenses. The sunk costs of the brick and mortar facility taper over time until they are building maintenance for any industrial complex. The security costs are significant for equipment, commo, and electronics. The feeding and medical costs are similar to any residential military facility. But the real cost is personnel, enormous costs for correctional officers whose salary, medical, and pension personnel-year are calculated for rank and file at $160k/annum. But, the darling part, is the undercover support for no new prison construction. Why? Because then they have the crowding issues, can put multiple inmates in cells or dorms, and have enormous OVERTIME expenses, which are then computed by the state personnel system to define the "high one" year of service to compute the retirement pension. The Oakland bus drivers used the same system gaming techniques to get last year overtime, resulting in bus drivers with 100k pensions. Its a scam folks, and Chicago is at the zenith of that kind of thinking!!!!
#7
Overcrowding? Back in them old days, it wasn't a problem when they shuffled off to their final judgement. Only a rich nation can afford to warehouse so much sociopathic population to signal its virtue while its productive citizenry are expected to suck it up with a revolving door of incarceration which means to bear the rape, assault, robbery and death. Who really suffers cruel and unusual punishment?
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] David Blackmon probably won't go down in history as a criminal criminal mastermind, at least judging by the ridiculous reason for his arrest.
The 32-year-old "self-proclaimed drug pusher" stunned police in Florida when he called 911 to report his cocaine had been stolen, along with some cash.
He told Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office that "someone had entered his car while it was parked and stole $50 and about a quarter ounce of cocaine".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
The Darwin Award is for those who take themselves out of the gene pool through their own stupidity. What kind of award does this guy get?
[LIFE SITE] SEATTLE, Washington, July 19, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Ed Murray, Seattle's homosexual mayor who is "married" to another man and politically backed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, abused his foster son, according to a child-welfare investigator.
At least four men have come forward to accuse Murray of rape.
Delvonn Heckard says Murray "raped and molested" him as a teenager. Lloyd Anderson made a similar accusation against Murray in 2007. Jeff Simpson has repeatedly stated that Murray anally raped him for three years while he was Murray's foster son in the 1980s, starting when he was 13.
Both Heckard and Simpson said Murray gave them money for sex. Simpson added that Murray gave him drugs for sex, too.
[CTV News] A Toronto man who spent $550 building a set of stairs in his community park says he has no regrets, despite the city’s insistence that he should have waited for a $65,000 city project to handle the problem. The city is now threatening to tear down the stairs because they were not built to regulation standards.
#6
Building codes set minimum safety standards and, if a municipality adopts a building code, the code is required to be followed.
I would be surprised if Toronto did not adopt the "edicts" of the International Code Council and, looking at the pix, I can assure you that the stairs and handrails do not meet ICC minimum safety requirements.
$65k is crazy stupid for this small project but, that aside, the stairs must not present injury suit potential for the municipality.
I can assure you that Mr. Trump's skating rink met code.
#8
I learned by accident my city's building codes mandate single family housing have a 2-car garage, even though most of the single family lots in town are rather small. Up until this was enacted the vast majority of homes in town have 1 car garages or none at all. This results in (1) giant structures on small lots looking weird and (2) jacking up the minimum expense of all new housing from this point onward.
Habitat for Humanity tangled with the city on this issue. Their standards of construction mandate a 1-car (NOT a 2-car) garage, since HFH regards 2-car garage as luxuries (I agree on this). City and HFH negotiated a forbearance on enforcement of the building code to allow HFH to carry out their plans.
There is more than a little bit of rent-seeking in the establishment of building codes. It is not just about "quality", but more importantly about "cronies".
#9
My city's regulation standards also dictate I can't pitch my own tent in my own yard, nor can I sleep in it. This of course is widely violated during summer months when kids out of school are entertained at home.
#10
Unless you live in some kind of strangely empowered municipality, due notice is given regarding the adoption or changing of building (including mechanical, plumbing and electrical) and Property Maintenance codes.
Tents are not buildings and, therefore, probably found in your property maintenance / code compliance division. If you check into it, you will probably find your municipal board found or got wind of some bozo living in, on a permanent basis, an effing tent. Where was this person cooking? Crapping? If you want to live, actually live, in a tent, move to the sticks. Anyway, the board had a meeting, undoubtedly announced to the public, and voted a "No livin' in tents, Festus" ordinance. From that time forth, until it is repealed, it lives on and gives your municipal officials a way to get rid of encampments, both actual and potential.
A code official enforcing the code preventing your kids and/or you spending the night "roughing it" would, after getting a "Joe, come into my office. Someone complained about some sort of tent thing?" from his boss, would be contacting you with a "Sorry, I screwed up." call. Btw, small kids playing in a tent without a barrier (fence) could wind up long gone before someone got around to checking on them.
The single/double-stall garage thing is, of course, about property values, but should be able to be applied with some flexibility for small lots. Guess the city fathers didn't take that into consideration. As an aside, my municipality had to write an ordinance allowing one of the more affluent areas of town up to 4-stalls. And, I often get calls from residents inquiring as to why the hell their townhome development was allowed to be constructed with single-stall garages (40 years ago) as the newer owners have multiple vehicles. Like the townhome had 2-stall garages when it was shown to the buyer and, somehow, one of the stalls was stolen after closing. And, of course, we have an ordinance backing up the development rule against parking on the grass.
If you don't like an ordinance, replace the people who made it with people who will change it. It's pretty simple, if you think about it. Think "Representative Government."
#11
Much earlier in my Gubbamint Engineer career, I also worked on City Buildings (Resident Engineer on the 911 Center construction, libraries, etc.). So I saw how Building Codes mandated certain features. ADA started up and mandated more. There have always been idiots, vandals, malicious and litigious dicks.. Public structures and buildings cost what they do because of design to meet all of the above. It has to meet codes, AND be virtually indestructible by your fellow citizens, who will try their best to prove you wrong. Assholes and lawyers. What he constructed is fine in someone's back yard. It is also a lawyer's dream in public land. It doesn't meet code (from the pics), the landing at the bottom is stupid, and the handrail will be gone in a couple weeks. Good luck
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2017 21:13
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The head of Sabratha’s central security department has been assassinated by unidentified gunmen in front of the local civil registry office.
Sabratha’s municipal council said yesterday that Sami Al-Gharabli died in a hail of bullets on Monday. It gave no further details.
Gharabli had been prominent in the operation to oust the so-called Islamic State terrorists from the town. He also reportedly played a key role in combatting fuel smugglers and migrant traffickers.
Last February, US airstrikes destroyed an IS compound in Sabratha. Among the dead were two kidnapped Serbian diplomats held there since the previous November.
The man said to have been behind the kidnapping, a prominent IS supporter named Abdullah Al-Dabashi, was killed when local activists stormed his house as part the drive to rid the town of the terrorists.
Karma
[Earthquake.USGS.gov] A powerful earthquake has struck off the Turkish coast, triggering a tsunami in the Mediterranean and Aegean and killing at least two.
Beachfront hotels full of British holidaymakers were flooded in the coastal city of Marmaris, while the effects of the 6.7 magnitude quake were also felt on islands such as Crete and Rhodes.
Two people have died on the party island of Kos, while dozens are injured as rescue crews work through the night to dig people out from under the rubble of buildings.
Eyewitnesses posted videos of staff and patients at Bodrum State Hospital cowering for cover, while the devastation caused a large electrical fire to break out in the city after a power pylon came crashing to the ground.
Tourists were forced to flee their rooms and gather anxiously in the street, and now face a sleepless night by the roadside or on beaches after they were evacuated from hotels. another tourism "bonus!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2017
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#1
It does say not to put frozen ones in the deep fryer!
[ALMASDARNEWS] At approximately 10:40 P.M. (Damascus Time), the Syrian Elite Republican Guard, alongside Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces (NDF), began their long-awaited Qalamoun Mountains offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate of western Syria.
Backed by heavy Arclight airstrikes from their air force, the Syrian Arab Army and their allies stormed the large hilltop of Tal Burkan near the Faleeta Barrens; this resulted in a fierce battle with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham snuffies positioned there.
Unable to hold their own at Tal Burkan, the snuffies from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham were forced to concede the hilltop to the Syrian Elite Republican Guard and their allies.
Not long after taking control of Tal Burkan, the Syrian Arab Army and Hezbollah forces began their assault on the nearby hilltops, inflicting heavy damage on the jihadist defenses.
The operation that was launched tonight is the third and final phase of the western Qalamoun offensive; its success will guarantee the security of the Syrian-Lebanese border.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Minutes ago, the Lebanese Army kicked off the long-awaited Qalamoun offensive to liberate the last pockets under Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s control in the ’Arsal Barrens.
Using heavy artillery, the Lebanese Army pounded Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s positions along the Syrian border, striking the aforementioned bully boy group’s defenses at several points in the entire municipality.
Following the shelling by the Lebanese Army, the Syrian Air Force launched at least four Arclight airstrikes above the ’Arsal Municipality, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy defenses.
According to local reports, the Lebanese Army is now preparing to storm the area, as their counterparts from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah mount an attack in the Faleeta Barrens across the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAILYSIGNAL] As the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity convenes its first meeting on Wednesday, the issue of voter fraud in American elections has become even more contentious and hyperbolic.
One of the left’s main arguments against reform is that voter fraud simply does not occur. How liberals arrive at this conclusion, we cannot say.
Time and again, studies and analyses point to one incontrovertible conclusion: that voter fraud is a real and pressing issue that deserves serious solutions, and The Heritage Foundation has the evidence to prove it.
On Thursday, The Heritage Foundation is releasing a new edition of its voter fraud database. Featuring well over 100 new cases, the database documents 1,071 instances of voter fraud spanning 47 states, including 938 criminal convictions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2017
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#1
Time and again, studies and analyses point to one incontrovertible conclusion: that voter fraud is a real and pressing issue that deserves serious solutions
Apparently we aren't considering the other obvious conclusion that most voter fraud favors liberals?
[Al Jazeera] Riot police have taken up position as Moroccans prepare to ignore a city ban on marching in the northern city of al-Hoceima against government neglect.
Organisers were hoping for a million-man march on Thursday, which was expected to get under way at 13:00 GMT.
Al-Hoceima, located on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains adjoining the Mediterranean coast, is the capital of al-Hoceima province. Residents there have long complained of neglect and marginalisation.
Local authorities this week barred the march, but organisers responded with fresh calls for mass participation and solidarity marches across the country.
Hours before kick off, activists said on Facebook that police had blocked protesters from entering the city, citing "high orders".
Most shops in the city were closed and there were reports of slow internet connection.
Omar Radi, an activist and investigative journalist, said the Place des Martyrs, or place of the deaders, was full of anti-riot police.
"The police deployment in this place shows that maybe the demonstration can be prevented," he told Al Jazeera from al-Hoceima.
He said foreign protesters from the Netherlands, La Belle France, Germany and Spain were expected to join the rally.
The daily Akhbar Al Yaoum newspaper headlined its front page with "Al-Hoceima ... day of anger and fear".
Posted by: Fred ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Guardian] The greatest impact individuals can have in fighting climate change is to have one fewer child, according to a new study that identifies the most effective ways people can cut their carbon emissions.
[Free Beacon] Inmates in a Tennessee county can get time off their sentences for having a vasectomy or birth control implant, a policy that the American Civil Liberties Union calls "unconstitutional."
[Free Beacon] The FBI has turned over 7,000 new documents from former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner's laptop to the State Department.
[Free Beacon] The State Department is facing harsh criticism for claiming in an official report that Israel is to blame for terrorism attacks committed by Palestinians and accusing the Jewish state of being largely responsible for an impasse in peace negotiations, according to a leading member of Congress who is calling on the State Department to correct its "inaccurate and harmful" characterization of Israel.
[Powerline] I’ve been critical of President Trump today. But few days go by without me being happy he defeated Hillary Clinton.
[Daily Caller] A petition from Change.org wants the Chick-fil-A restaurant at Youngstown State University (YSU) shut down, claiming that all that "homophobic" chicken just "adds to the negative experience of LGBT students."
[NATIONALREVIEW] Progressives have a problem: They ladle unto every decision, even the most mundane and trifling one, an unattractive glop of gooey political significance. They can’t resist warning the rest of us that we’re abetting the destruction of the planet every time we, say, tuck into a Quarter Pounder. 
[NYPOST] The 
Afghan Salafist warlord, owned by Saudi Arabia. He was the guy who invited al-Qaeda to come into Afghanistan and make themselves at home...
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The 
[TAMPABAY] Mayoral candidate Paul Congemi has made national news for a racial tirade at Tuesday’s mayoral forum when he told supporters of International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement-affiliated candidate Jesse Nevel to "go back to Africa."
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan government has included the sexual abuse of children ’Bacha Baazi’ crime in its revised penal code.
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
[Al Jazeera] Covered with a painful rash, Nessrine Hamad, six, has tears in her eyes. 
As Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulates his army for defeating 
[ALMASDARNEWS] Urban warfare continues to rage through a handful of suburbs across the predominately Arab city of Raqqa with the most intense clashing currently being observed in the contested Old City and Nazal Shahada neighborhoods.
[FastCompany] The Monty Python reunion in London began on July 1, and after a 10-day break, picks up again tonight at the O2 Arena for the final five nights that will see Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin on the same stage together, doing silly things one more time. Of course, it’s not all silliness–the first five-night run of the performance raised more than £20,000 for five different charities chosen by the Python members, by giving those charities the opportunity to auction off the right to perform in a sketch alongside the cast.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Amaq Agency published its fourth video from Marawi on Thursday, exactly two months after the ISIS-linked Maute and 
[NYTIMES] The police were searching on Thursday for six African teenagers who were reported missing from an international robotics competition in Washington. Two of them were said to have been seen crossing into Canada, law enforcement officials said.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Pak military officials reacted regarding the remarks of the Afghan defense officials regarding the latest operation launched in 
[CANADAFREEPRESS] A Florida judge has sentenced a "black bloc" Inauguration Day rioter to four months in prison and two years of supervised probation for breaking business windows and throwing bricks, rocks and other projectiles at uniformed law enforcement officers.
Hillary Clinton
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
[ChicagoTribune] Cook County judges will soon be explicitly required to set affordable bond amounts for defendants who do not pose a danger to the public.
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] David Blackmon probably won't go down in history as a criminal 
