[Inst for the study of War] Key Takeaway: Russia will likely escalate militarily against Ukraine imminently. Russia is setting military conditions to prepare its forces for open conflict with Ukraine. Russia is already creating the pretext to escalate by circulating the false narrative that Ukraine and the West are preparing imminent attacks, including a chemical weapons attack, in Eastern Ukraine. Russia may fabricate evidence of a chemical weapons attack – or may itself conduct a chemical weapons attack -- near Russia-backed areas of Ukraine to create chaos, justify the overt involvement of the Russian Armed Forces, and set conditions for future military operations. NATO’s inaction following Russia’s escalation in the Sea of Azov is likely emboldening Putin to continue challenging the West in Ukraine. NATO must reassess the threat that Russia poses to European security and the rules-based international order and respond decisively to deter an increasingly likely Russian military escalation in Ukraine itself.
Russia is taking overt steps towards open conflict with Ukraine. Russia has been waging a covert war against Ukraine using proxy separatist forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014. The Russian military is now preparing its forces for direct military involvement. The Kremlin is reinforcing ground, naval, and air elements in its Southern Military District - the command likely responsible for managing its ongoing war in Ukraine. Moscow may calculate that the international community will not meaningfully respond if the visibility of its role in the war now increases.
Ground: Russia reportedly transferred an additional mechanized regiment to the 150th Motor Rifle Division (MRD) on December 2.[1] The 150th MRD is a uniquely tank-heavy unit subordinate to the 8th Combined-Arms Army located 20-30 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border. ISW previously assessed that the 150th MRD could support a ground advance by Russia along the northern coast of the Sea of Azov if the Kremlin launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine. The Kremlin has also increased the number of armored vehicles along the Russian-Ukrainian border. Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander General Viktor Muzhenko has publicly warned of a significant buildup of Russian T-62M Main Battle Tanks along the Russian-Ukrainian border that had occurred by October 2018. ISW had previously warned about this mobilization in September 2018.
Air: Russia is likely integrating additional airmobile units into existing units in the Southern Military District (SMD). SMD Commander Colonel General Aleksandr Dvornikov announced earlier this year that new airmobile units would begin training with naval infantry in the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla beginning in December 2018.[2] It is not yet clear if these units have begun their training missions.
Sea: Russia is also bolstering the capabilities of its Black Sea Fleet. Russia added a new corvette equipped with cruise missiles to the Black Sea Fleet on December 7.[3] Russia is expected to add four additional warships including patrol boats and minesweepers to the Black Sea Fleet by the start of 2019.[4] Russia also conducted naval and missile drills involving two submarines and Pantsir Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (SAMS) in the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula on December 5.
Posted by: 3dc ||
12/12/2018
14:47 ||
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Conservative MPs will vote tonight on whether to oust Theresa May as prime minister after at least 48 said they had no confidence in her https://t.co/VWsC1D59u3
[QuodVernum] The vast majority haven't been told the truth about life for ordinary citizens, in France. As a result, they don’t understand the significance of the violent ‘gilets jaunes’ protests across the country. Having lived in France for years, REX explains why these are the most important protests in France since 1968 - and likely a beacon for citizens all across Europe.
Hit the link for the whole piece. This short Rantburg post can't do it justice.
Forget what FakeNews is telling you. This is no ordinary manifestation.
This is a genuine uprising by millions of city and country folk, young and old, crossing different ethnic and cultural lines.
Macron’s diesel tax hike wasn’t the cause of the gilets jaunes movement. It was the spark detonating a bomb, that has been building for decades.
It is the first time since 1968, that France has seen such a genuine and uprising popular uprising, against the French state.
This protest is different. And it has very specific, historic reasons, as this article will reveal.
The Real France
Think you know the real France? Here are a few facts that may shock you:
• The French state has been bankrupt since 2004. A minister finally admitted it in 2013.
• French GDP hasn’t risen above 2% in 50 years. Yes - FIFTY. The average annual GDP growth rate between 1949-2018? 0.78%.
• In 2018, 14% of the population in France live below the poverty line (they earn less than 60% of the median income).
• Worse, more than 50% of French people have an annual income of less than €20,150 a year (about $1,900 US per month).
• The 'official' unemployment rate is 10% - about 3.5 million citizens (in reality, it's much higher).
• The youth unemployment rate is 22%. Yes, you did read that right.
• Astonishing but true: the French government employs 25% of the entire French workforce...and it's impossible to fire them.
• Because the citizens make such little money, they pay no tax. Less than 50% of French pay any income tax at all; only around 14% pay at the rate of 30%, and less than 1% pay at the rate of 45%.
• The government can't deliver services without taxes, so it borrows money. France's debt-GDP is now 100%.
Another revealing statistic: "structural unemployment" is now at 9 -10%. That statistic measures when it is impossible to find people who have the skills and qualifications, to fill available positions. Why? French kids aren't being educated to participate in the workforce. So even if France has a growth spurt (it won’t), they won’t have the labor to fill the new jobs.
So how did this epic disaster happen? And if blame is to be allocated, who bears the most of it?
In other words - why are millions of French citizens on the rampage, right now?
Because there’s a real France, that few ever see.
The France of the gilets jaunes. Or as we might label them, les deplorables.
And they are in a state of fury at a ruling class who not only let the population suffer, while enjoying a life of luxury and wealth, but who also blame ordinary people for their own suffering.
They are very turbulent times. If you ever wondered what it would be like during the French Revolution, then this is the moment.
It is now known that a group of French generals and admirals is against the treaty of Marrakesh and that it has been announced to the French President by communique. Original communique in French HERE
The translation follows below and leaves no ambiguity that the Yellow Vests can count on sympathy and understanding of the higher framework of the French Army:
Paris, December 7, 2018
Mr President,
You are about to sign the "Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration" on December 10 and 11, which establishes a genuine right to migration. It may impose itself on our national legislation through pre-existing treaties or the principle of common responsibility set out in this pact.
It seems to us that the only sovereignty that will remain with France will consist in freely setting the way in which the objectives of the pact will have to be implemented. You can not give up this new part of the national sovereignty without a public debate whereas 80% of the French population considers that it is necessary to stop or regulate the immigration drastically. By deciding alone to sign this pact, you would add an additional reason for revolt to the anger of an already battered people. You would be guilty of a denial of democracy or treason against the nation.
In addition, the finances of our country are drained and our debt is growing. You can not take the risk of an expensive call for air migration without first showing that you will not have to resort to more taxes to meet the objectives of the pact. On the other hand, you must be able, in terms of security, to curb the consequences linked to the arrival of extra-European populations. Finally, you can not ignore that the very essence of politics is to ensure security on the outside and harmony within. However, this harmony can only be achieved if we maintain a certain internal coherence of society, the only one capable of allowing us to do together what is becoming more and more problematic today.
Indeed, the French State is late in coming to realize the impossibility of integrating too many populations, in addition to totally different culture, which have regrouped over the last forty years in areas that no longer submit to the laws of the Republic.
You can not decide alone to erase our civilizational landmarks and deprive us of our carnal homeland.
We therefore ask you to defer the signing of this pact and call by referendum the French to vote on this document. You are accountable to the French of your actions. Your election is not a blank check.
We support the initiative of General MARTINEZ against the signature of this pact to be adopted by the Member States of the UN at the Intergovernmental Conference of Marrakesh.
#5
I went to the French language source & found the following comment "Généraux montez au créneau, le peuple est derrière vous!", my best translation: "Generals, go up on the battlements, the people are behind you."
#7
Interesting.
Last weekend, there were published photos of armored personnel carriers used against the demonstrators that had EU emblems painted on them.
?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/12/2018 19:37
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[NBC News] New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James says she plans to launch sweeping investigations into President Donald Trump, his family and "anyone" in his circle who may have violated the law once she settles into her new job next month. But Hillary and Obumble are ok to continue their scams.
"We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well," James, a Democrat, told NBC News in her first extensive interview since she was elected last month.
James outlined some of the probes she intends to pursue with regard to the president, his businesses and his family members. They include:
Any illegalities involving Trump's real estate holdings in New York, highlighting the October New York Times investigation into the president's finances.
The June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian official.
Examine government subsidies Trump received, which were also the subject of Times investigative work.
Whether he is in violation of the emoluments clause in the U.S. Constitution through his New York businesses.
Continue to probe the Trump Foundation.
"We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law," said James, who was endorsed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He made us look bad so we must destroy him and his family.
James campaigned on passing a bill to change New York's double jeopardy laws with an eye on possible pardons coming out of the White House. James told NBC News she wants to be able to pursue state charges against anyone the president were to pardon over federal charges or convictions and whose alleged crimes took place in the state. Under current New York law, she might not be unable to do that.
"I think within the first 100 days this bill will be passed," she said, adding, "It is a priority because I have concerns with respect to the possibility that this administration might pardon some individuals who might face some criminal charges, but I do not want them to be immune from state charges." Ya know, these political torpedoes have a tendency to circle back on ya. I can see this becoming a problem later for like minded people that are pardoned by a demoncrat.
She's also enlisting help from some prosecutorial heavy hitters, like former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, as a part of her transition to help her identify important hires for her office with an eye on bringing in experts for its Trump-related investigations.
New York is home to the president's namesake business, the Trump Organization, and it is where Trump's presidential campaign was headquartered and his reelection campaign as well. And it is where a number of key events under special counsel Robert Mueller's microscope, such as the controversial June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, took place. All of that falls within James' jurisdiction.
As a result, she is about to become one of the most recognizable ‐ and powerful ‐ state attorneys general in the country. And there it is. A pure power grab. Expect her to run for president later on this.
#1
Why is the blogger so hostile? What we are starting to get is better than before, and the best the president could negotiate given the disinterest and open hostility to the idea on the part of many of our Congresscritters. Not to mention that, as some here have pointed out in the past, the purpose is not to be impermeable, but to funnel illegal border crossers to defendable kill boxes. Let not the demand for the perfect be the enemy of the good.
#2
Mercer is the daughter of a South African Rabbi now living in Texas. She sees things through a slightly different lens. There is an underlying historical bitterness that would take a great deal of time to explain. Sort of like the game of Cricket. I understand it, but I don't at all enjoy it.
Perhaps a German analogy would help explain. She loves America, but has little use for Americans.
[Reuters Bus News] DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran needs some 500 planes and would likely back buying the Sukhoi Superjet 100 if Russia is willing to sell them to its airlines, Iranian news agencies reported the country’s top civil aviation official as saying on Wednesday.
Iran needs to upgrade its ageing passenger fleet and is seeking to avert U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
The U.S. Treasury has revoked licences for Boeing Co (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) to sell passenger jets to Iran after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in May and reimposed sanctions.
[FOX] A 4.4-magnitude earthquake was reported in Tennessee early Wednesday, officials said.
The quake hit about six miles north of Decatur around 4:15 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The shaking was felt by residents as far away as Atlanta -- about 149 miles south of the epicenter.
A 3.3 magnitude aftershock struck about 10 minutes later, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information reported.
Signs of major damage or injuries have yet to be reported.
The 4.4 was the second strongest quake on record to strike eastern Tennessee, according to the USGS. The strongest ever registered was a 4.7 magnitude near Maryville in 1973.
BLUF:
[ISW] Key Takeaway: Russia will likely escalate militarily against Ukraine imminently. Russia is setting military conditions to prepare its forces for open conflict with Ukraine. Russia is already creating the pretext to escalate by circulating the false narrative that Ukraine and the West are preparing imminent attacks, including a chemical weapons attack, in Eastern Ukraine. Russia may fabricate evidence of a chemical weapons attack ‐ or may itself conduct a chemical weapons attack -- near Russia-backed areas of Ukraine to create chaos, justify the overt involvement of the Russian Armed Forces, and set conditions for future military operations. NATO’s inaction following Russia’s escalation in the Sea of Azov is likely emboldening Putin to continue challenging the West in Ukraine. NATO must reassess the threat that Russia poses to European security and the rules-based international order and respond decisively to deter an increasingly likely Russian military escalation in Ukraine itself.
[Wash Times] Everywhere President Trump looks, there are Democrats targeting him, from New York to Washington to Maryland, in the positions of lawmakers, prosecutors, state attorneys general, opposition researchers, bureaucrats and activist defense lawyers.
They are aiming at Russia collusion, the Trump Organization, the Trump Foundation, a Trump hotel, Trump tax returns, Trump campaign finances and supposed money laundering.
"The relentless assaults on this president from every front were previously unimaginable and absolutely unprecedented," said Sidney Powell, a Texas appeals attorney whose book, "License to Lie," takes on Justice Department corruption. "The ’resistance’ has sunk to a new low which I hope they live to regret. They truly became ’creeps on a mission to destroy the President.’"
Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday, "It’s called Presidential Harassment!"
All the while, what conservatives consider the most hostile press toward a president in modern times has fed the Russia collusion flames with hundreds of stories ‐ some of them bogus. The right-leaning Media Research Center analyzed NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts and found that 90 percent of their Trump stories were negative.
#3
I suspect the left is filled with idiots that have been throwing gasoline on the bonfire without any thoughts to the repercussions to society, and a small handful of psychotics encouraging and hoping for the point of no return that are too stupid to realize the repercussions to their wimpy asses.
[FoxNews] Two groups of Central American migrants marched to the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana on Tuesday with a list of demands, with one group delivering an ultimatum to the Trump administration: either let them in the U.S. or pay them $50,000 each to go home, a report said.
Among other demands were that deportations be halted and that asylum seekers be processed faster and in greater numbers, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The first group of caravan members, that included about 100 migrants, arrived at the consulate around 11 a.m. Alfonso Guerreo Ulloa, an organizer from Honduras, said the $50,000 figure was chosen as a group.
“It may seem like a lot of money to you,” Ulloa told the paper. “But it is a small sum compared to everything the United States has stolen from Honduras.”
#5
it is a small sum compared to everything the United States has stolen from Honduras
I see it like this, Alf. We invested in your country to prevent it from becoming a communist hellhole. Now, if you locals had made the good choice to rub out the comsymps in your country in a timely fashion, nip it in the bud, if you will, then we would have probably only come for the cigars and rum.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 7:02
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#6
Give them each a bunch of bananas and a single .22 round.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/12/2018 7:18
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#7
How about we harvest your organs and sell them to the Chinese? How about for every illegal we find, we annex 1 sq mile of your home country, our choice as to which and we get ALL mineral and oil rights.
#8
^ I think making governments responsible for what their people do makes perfect sense. After all, third worlders keep hating Americans for stuff we never voted for our gummint to do.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 8:21
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#9
“It may seem like a lot of money to you,” Ulloa told the paper. “But it is a small sum compared to everything the United States has stolen from Honduras.”
Ah yes, the evil Gringo again. But, but, but why do they wish to come to Gringoland ?
#11
Considering it 'seemed like a lot of money' when an unfortunate 5th grader tried to extort my lunch money, yes 50 G does in fact sound a might steep.
[Jerusalem Post] Salvini arrived on Wednesday, and immediately helicoptered to the north to view the work the IDF was doing to uncover the tunnels.
"There is a clear threat from the north," he said. "I repeat my condition, those who want peace, need to support and defend Israel."
Salvini is the leader of the far-right Northern League Party, and know for a stridently anti-immigration policy. He is is the latest in a list of right-wing politicians to visit Israel, and whose visits have triggered criticism. Hungarian President Viktor Orban visited in July, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came in September.
Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg said of Salvini's visit that "it is unfortunate, but not surprising, to discover another one of the leaders who are warmly welcomed by the Israeli government."
Zandberg said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign policy "consistently and systematically strives to to lead Israel to alliances with the most dubious figures in world politics at the expense of liberal democracies. Instead of freedom, equality and rights, Netanyahu reaches out to fascist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic leaders."
She praise President Reuven Rivlin for not finding the time to meet Salvinii, saying this was "one ray of light." In a recent CNN interview on growing antisemitism in Europe, Rivlin said of support from Israel from the far-right that "you cannot say ’we admire Israel and want relations with your country, but we are neo-fascists.’"
[Guardian] Vladimir Putin’s old East German secret police identification card has reportedly been discovered in the Stasi archives.
The card for "Maj Vladimir Putin" was discovered among Soviet-era personnel files in Dresden, where Putin served as a KGB officer in the 1980s. It bore stamps and was validated through 1989, the German newspaper Bild reported, along with a photograph of the identification card.
The archive head told Bild that the card would have let Putin enter Stasi offices unhindered and made it easier to recruit agents, because he would not have had to mention his KGB affiliation. It was not clear whether the card indicated Putin worked directly for the Stasi.
The Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied that Putin was issued a Stasi identification. "At those times, the times of the USSR, the KGB and the Stasi were partner services, and so such an exchange of IDs should perhaps not be ruled out," Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said.
Some of the Russian leader’s most formative years, details of which remain secret, were spent in Dresden. Putin arrived in the German city in the mid-1980s on his first foreign posting with the KGB.
On the night of 5 December 1989, he phoned Russia for orders as a crowd prepared to storm the KGB residence. The Berlin Wall had fallen less than a month earlier.
#4
"that the card would have let Putin enter Stasi offices unhindered and made it easier to recruit agents, because he would not have had to mention his KGB affiliation"
LOL, a Russian recruiting agents could never work for the KGB in the first place.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/12/2018 6:18
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#9
The Stasi tried to recrruit eveybody, and succeeded well enough — to absolutely no one’s surprise afterward. And since the country was wholly owned subsidiary of the KGB, granting a piece of paper to the young Mr, Putin, emissary from Moscow, did no more than imorove daily efficiency, Procopius2k nailed it — Mr. Putin’s is merely a curiosity, not meaningful.
#11
"Mr. Putin’s is merely a curiosity, not meaningful."
That's correct. And he found out just how meaningful he was when he wanted Soviet troops to crush the protestors in Dresden in 1989. Nobody in Moscow picked up the phone.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/12/2018 10:36
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#12
East German Stasi tried to recruit Merkel as a spy
[AMN] BEIRUT, LEBANON (8:30 A.M.) ‐ The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense announced on Monday evening that the Russian military is sending two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers, an Antonov An-124 heavily military transport aircraft, and an Ilyushin IL-62 aircraft to Venezuela.
In addition to these five planes, the Russian military is sending up to 100 soldiers to the Latin American nation in a new show of support to Venezuela and their President Nicolas Maduro.
"The aircrew of the Russian Federation are welcome to this heroic land," the Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino tweeted on Monday.
"It is a new opportunity to strengthen our relations in the military field and continue walking a path of cooperation and sincere friendship. Peace is our objective," he continued.
According to Padrino, "nobody in the world should fear" this move by the Russian military, adding "we are builders of peace and not war."
The move by the Russian military comes just weeks after the Iranian Navy said that they are seeking a presence in the Atlantic, hinting that Venezuela might be their destination.
BTW, unless its a one way trip, they're going to need some support infrastructure if they want them back. Do you trust the quality of the fuel the locals will supply?
[AMN] BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:15 A.M.) ‐ The Iraqi Air Force launched several airstrikes over the southeastern countryside of the Deir Ezzor Governorate last night.
According to a military source, the Iraqi Air Force heavily targeted the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) positions at the town of Al-Sousah, which is located just west of Iraq’s Al-Anbar Governorate.
No further details have been released at this time.
Neither the Iraqi Ministry of Defense nor the U.S. Coalition has commented on these latest strikes.
The Iraqi Air Force has conducted airstrikes inside Syria in the past; they are often carried out when Baghdad has information regarding the whereabouts of some Daesh leaders or a command meeting.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
12/12/2018
02:38 ||
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[AMN] The United States has finalized the establishment of observation posts in northeast Syria and will be coordinating with Turkey its security efforts in the border region, Department of Defence spokesperson Col. Rob Manning said in a press release.
"At the direction of Secretary Mattis, the US established observation posts in the northeast Syria border region to address the security concerns of our NATO ally Turkey," the release said on Tuesday.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has earlier said Ankara expressed its concerns about US plans to establish several observation posts in Syria. Akar explained that it could lead to a perception that the United States is "somehow protecting terrorist YPG [Kurdish People’s Protection Units] members."
"We take Turkish security concerns seriously and we are committed to coordinating our efforts with Turkey to bring stability to northeastern Syria," Manning said in the release.
Last month, the Turkish Security Council said that the main threat to the political settlement in Syria is coming from the Kurdish-held territories in the northeast region of the country.
The council added that Ankara could use its right of self-defence and would not allow the YPG to change the demographic structure of northern Syria via forced migrations.
Turkey has been claiming that the YPG presence near its border hampers its national security. Earlier this year, it conducted an offensive against the Kurdish militia in Syria’s northern border city of Afrin.
Ankara is also currently engaged in an operation to eliminate Kurdish strongholds in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
12/12/2018
02:34 ||
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#1
Turks are almost as hypocritical as Iranians. Almost.
[AMN] BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:15 P.M.) ‐ A Syriac commander from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reportedly defected to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Aleppo this week.
According to a military communique from Aleppo, the commander Fadi Gabriel left the U.S.-backed group for the Syrian Arab Army after negotiating with the high command in Damascus.
No further details were released regarding this reported defection.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
12/12/2018
02:25 ||
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[Washington Examiner] Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who arranged the bureau's interview with then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017 ‐ the interview that ultimately led to Flynn's guilty plea on one count of making false statements ‐ suggested Flynn not have a lawyer present at the session, according to newly-filed court documents. In addition, FBI officials, along with the two agents who interviewed Flynn, decided specifically not to warn him that there would be penalties for making false statements because the agents wanted to ensure that Flynn was "relaxed" during the session.
The new information, drawn from McCabe's account of events plus the FBI agents' writeup of the interview ‐ the so-called 302 report ‐ is contained in a sentencing memo filed Tuesday by Flynn's defense team.
Citing McCabe's account, the sentencing memo says that shortly after noon on Jan. 24 ‐ the fourth day of the new Trump administration ‐ McCabe called Flynn on a secure phone in Flynn's West Wing office. The two men discussed business briefly and then McCabe said that he "felt that we needed to have two of our agents sit down" with Flynn to discuss Flynn's talks with Russian officials during the presidential transition.
McCabe, by his own account, urged Flynn to talk to the agents alone, without a lawyer present. "I explained that I thought the quickest way to get this done was to have a conversation between [Flynn] and the agents only," McCabe wrote. "I further stated that if LTG Flynn wished to include anyone else in the meeting, like the White House counsel for instance, that I would need to involve the Department of Justice. [Flynn] stated that this would not be necessary and agreed to meet with the agents without any additional participants."
Within two hours, the agents were in Flynn's office. According to the 302 report quoted in the Flynn sentencing document, the agents said Flynn was "relaxed and jocular" and offered the agents "a little tour" of his part of the White House.
"The agents did not provide Gen. Flynn with a warning of the penalties for making a false statement under 18 U.S.C. 1001 before, during, or after the interview," the Flynn memo says. According to the 302, before the interview, McCabe and other FBI officials "decided the agents would not warn Flynn that it was a crime to lie during an FBI interview because they wanted Flynn to be relaxed, and they were concerned that giving the warnings might adversely affect the rapport."
The agents had, of course, seen transcripts of Flynn's wiretapped conversations with Russian then-ambassador Sergey Kislyak. "Before the interview, FBI officials had also decided that if 'Flynn said he did not remember something they knew he said, they would use the exact words Flynn used ... to try to refresh his recollection. If Flynn still would not confirm what he said ... they would not confront him or talk him through it,'" the Flynn memo says, citing the FBI 302.
"One of the agents reported that Gen. Flynn was 'unguarded' during the interview and 'clearly saw the FBI agents as allies,'" the Flynn memo says, again citing the 302.
That is all the sentencing document contains about the interview itself. In a footnote, Flynn's lawyers noted that the government did not object to the quotations from the FBI 302 report.
In one striking detail, footnotes in the Flynn memo say the 302 report cited was dated Aug. 22, 2017 ‐ nearly seven months after the Flynn interview. It is not clear why the report would be written so long after the interview itself.
The brief excerpts from the 302 used in the Flynn defense memo will likely spur more requests from Congress to see the original FBI documents. Both House and Senate investigating committees have demanded that the Justice Department allow them to see the Flynn 302, but have so far been refused.
In the memo, Flynn's lawyers say that he made a "serious error in judgment" in the interview. Citing Flynn's distinguished 30-plus year record of service in the U.S. Army, they ask the judge to go along with special counsel Robert Mueller's recommendation that Flynn be spared any time in prison.
#5
In addition, FBI officials, along with the two agents who interviewed Flynn, decided specifically not to warn him that there would be penalties for making false statements because the agents wanted to ensure that Flynn was "relaxed" during the session.
#8
Flynn is probably used to working with honorable folks.
Possibly, however, by the same account he should be used to dealing with less than honorable people. The Intelligence game is rife with duplicitous and dishonorable people.
#13
McCabe likely engaged in a conspiracy to subvert Justice and abuse the authority of the intelligence agencies and the Justice department by going after and destroying political adversaries.
I don't think we have heard the end to this. Nowhere have I heard in what way Flynn lied to the Feebs.
Mueller is being sued by Corsi. A public trial and discovery would probably shine some light on this "special counsel."
BLUF:
[Hot Air] All Nadler hopes to do is to close the loophole presented by the current statute of limitations. If it’s true that sitting presidents can’t be indicted and it’s also true that the statute of limitations for the crime in question (five years) is already running, then Trump presumably can avoid prosecution entirely simply by getting reelected. So long as he’s in office through the end of 2021, the statute of limitations will expire with the DOJ never having had an opportunity to charge him. Nadler’s solution is simple: "Toll" (i.e. pause) the statute while the president is in office. Amend the law so that the statutes of limitation for crimes a president is accused of don’t begin to run until he’s left the job.
#4
1. Who needs no stinking Constitution. see - Ex Post Facto 2. Why start at the Orange Boy, why not extend it to cover his predecessors.
3. Teach us why we will get 'Presidents for Life' because no one is going to give up the power if it means being prosecuted afterward.
[Daily Caller] Former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote a letter asking for leniency for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s former security director who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contact with a reporter.
James Wolfe "lied to FBI agents in a December 2017 interview in connection with the FBI’s probe of leaks of information regarding the activities of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to various reporters," his lawyer wrote. "It is a decision, along with his breaking his marital vows and violating his former employer’s rules regarding contacts with the media, that he deeply regrets."
Clapper submitted a handwritten letter to the judge supporting Wolfe, saying "knowing Jim as I do, I know this whole experience ‐ and its exposure in the media ‐ has been very traumatic for him already. I would hope the court would consider his long and faithful service, as well as what he has endured so far ‐ in sentencing and would recommend minimal confinement."
Republican intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr and with Democratic ranking member Dianne Feinstein also wrote to "seek leniency in the sentencing of Mr. James Wolfe ... we do not seek to diminish the seriousness of the allegations against Jim, nor diminish the significance of misleading federal agents ... but we ask that the totality of his service and career be taken into consideration." We've simply got to speak up for our source Jim, what if he decides to start talking ?
#2
If it was up to me, I'd write back and say "We were going to draw and quarter him. If you'd be interested, you could take half his punishment and he'd only have to take the other half..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 6:30
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#3
Also, this guy was dropping classified stuff to his punch via pillow talk. Probably with ulterior motives. We aren't talking about putting lap dances on the company credit card.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 6:32
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#4
No comment from Select Committee on Intelligence, Ranking Member Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
[American Thinker] Has former CIA director John Brennan just made a very public threat against the physical well-being of the president of the United States? Director Brennan often comes across as an angry, ignorant man and may have just displayed proof of both of those character traits in a nasty public statement. Our former CIA director in response to a President Trump on December 10, 2018 said this:
John O. Brennan
@JohnBrennan
Dec 10
More John O. Brennan Retweeted Donald J. Trump
Whenever you send out such inane tweets, I take great solace in knowing that you realize how much trouble you are in & how impossible it will be for you to escape American justice. Mostly, I am relieved that you will never have the opportunity to run for public office again.
His statement, "you will never have the opportunity to run for public office again," should not be relegated to simple bluster from a blustery man, but investigated.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/12/2018 11:07
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#4
I think it would be a rare person to run for public office after serving in the highest office in the world. Even double so for a businessman who is slumming a bit in political office as he now has to dodge chimps throwing feces on a daily basis.
[American Thinker] Donald Trump will meet with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to discuss a spending bill to fund about 25% of the government through September 30, 2019.
Before the election in November, Trump had signed off on a spending package that funded the Pentagon and most other federal agencies. But spending for Homeland Security, Agriculture, and HUD is currently being funded by a continuing resolution that expires December 21. If no agreement is reached by then, there will be at least a partial government shutdown.
The biggest stumbling block is funding for Trump's border wall. Trump wants $5 billion to begin construction, while Democrats are willing to give him $1.3 billion for "border security," which would not include any funds for the president's "immoral" wall, according to Pelosi.
There are other issues as well. Reform of the SNAP program funded by the Agriculture Department and contained in a gigantic farm bill and a bid by Democrats to formally rebuke Saudi Arabia for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are also points of contention.
But it is funding for the wall that will be a major barrier to an agreement.
[Free Beacon] Washington Free Beacon senior writer Elizabeth Harrington on Tuesday said the idea of building a wall on the southern border is more popular with the American people than the media believe.
Harrington's comments came during a discussion on a contentious meeting between President Donald Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), in which border security was a central topic.
"I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck," Trump said. "The people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country, so I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I'm not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down, it didn't work ... I'm going to shut it down for border security."
Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Harrington if it was worth it for Republicans and Democrats to make border wall funding the central issue in the debate over avoiding a government shutdown.
"Yeah, because this is President Trump's signature issue and this might be his last chance with a Republican-led house to get it done, at least a big down payment on the wall, which he's been promising since he went down that escalator," said Harrington. "But yeah, I think it's really sad in a way that the mainstream media finds it so remarkable and wild to see our political leaders actually engaging in discussion over policy. They can't handle it over on the other networks. They're so taken aback. They're much more comfortable, I think, on their shallow palace intrigue stories."
"But here we have a straightforward debate, $5 billion, not that much for something that Chuck Schumer himself as voted for. I think President Trump is willing to have that fight. I think it's a much more popular issue with the American people than the media thinks," Harrington continued.
#1
I think the MSM hasn't got a clue what those outside their bubble think
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/12/2018 7:00
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I think that President Trump Needed to explain the wall as part of a system of surveillance, obstruction of illegals and threats to national security and US citizens. The wall is only part of the system.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/12/2018 15:46
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#3
The issue at its heart is national sovereignty. Ask the survivors of pre-Columbian America how that worked out for them, even though most are Dems now.
[Breitbart] Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage has said he doubts Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement will pass in the House of Commons, while a poll has revealed voters reject the deal two to one.
After the prime minister announced that the vote on the agreement would be postponed in the face of certain defeat she travelled to Europe on Tuesday in attempts to seek "assurances" over the Irish backstop which could lock Northern Ireland into regulatory alignment with the EU.
Mr Farage, who branded it the "worst deal in history," told Sky News’s Adam Boulton, "Now we see Mrs May charging all around Europe, I’m beginning to wonder why. Clearly, there’s going to be no significant concession of any kind at all I just don’t see how this deal gets passed."
Britain is a member of the WTO so we trade on those rules. There will be limited tariffs but theses extra taxes are far preferable to income taxes like the EUSSR tax called VAT, which on leaving can now be abolished.
Treason May's "agreement" was designed to be so bad voters could never agree to it, in the crazy hope we'd decide to keep being run by the EUSSR's politburo. Her whole "negotiating" point was to run out the clock. I just hope non-MSM sources have got the real facts across to most of the population in the way they did to ensure the Brexit vote (which was to leave the EUSSR's customs cartel etc)
Hence the downplaying of the french protests and ZERO mention of the WTO in the establishment MSM.
[BBC] The chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been granted bail by a Canadian court.
Meng Wanzhou was arrested on 1 December and could be extradited to the US to face fraud charges linked to the alleged violation of sanctions on Iran.
A judge in Vancouver set bail at C$10m (£6m; $7.4m). She will be under surveillance 24 hours a day and must wear an electronic ankle tag.
US President Donald Trump now says he is willing to intervene in the case.
Life of Huawei's high-flying heiress
What's going on with Huawei?
Ms Meng, 46, is the daughter of Huawei's founder and her detention has angered China and soured its relations with both Canada and the US.
This comes against the background of an increasingly acrimonious trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.
Ms Meng is accused in the US of using a Huawei subsidiary called Skycom to evade sanctions on Iran between 2009 and 2014.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 6:46
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#2
ChiComms have to have an exfil op ready to go. I'm gonna take the over though. They'll wait awhile to see what POTUS offers - maybe we drop the charges. I think the Over/Under is 14 days before she does a runner. I'm shocked the Canucks granted bail. I'd be looking for any recently opened bank accounts in Vanuatu.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
12/12/2018 6:58
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#3
She's already arranged passage for her family. Jimmy Hoffa will be found before Meng re-surfaces.
#4
She may have been on Xi's naughty list and, protestations aside, it suits the Party to have a high flying, multiple passport holding, foreign property owning princess get her wings clipped.
#5
Let's put it another way. The Chinese have very good intel, probably great intel in Canada, and they keep close tabs on top execs, especially ones with open international arrest warrants. The warrant was issued in August. Meng's travel to an extradition partner of the US was a clear risk. The Chinese may have known this would go down before she stepped on the plane to YVR and let it unfold.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) scored a big advance in the southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor last night after launching several attacks against 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) bandidosforces of Evil east of the Euphrates River.
According to reports from Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Democratic Forces managed to fracture the Islamic State’s lines at the town of Baghouz Tahtani, resulting in the capture of several points near the Iraqi border.
The reports said that the Syrian Democratic Forces entered Baghouz Tahtani and established a foothold in the eastern part of the town.
In addition to their advance at Baghouz Tahtani, the Syrian Democratic Forces were also able to capture new points inside the key town of Hajin.
The Syrian Democratic Forces are now in control of at least half of Hajin, leaving only the southern districts under ISIS’s occupation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
00:08 ||
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#1
If the SDF can clear the Euphrates River region from Deir Ezzor south to the Iraqi border, the game is up for ISIS in eastern Syria.
[ALMASDARNEWS] A large number of reinforcements from the Lebanese Army poured into the Nabatieh Governorate of southern Leb this afternoon.
According to a military source, the Lebanese Army deployed these reinforcements near the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... ’ "blue line" in the town of Mays al-Jabal.
The reinforcements were reportedly sent by the Lebanese Army in response to the large buildup of Israeli troops along the border of the Upper Galilee region.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is currently digging at several border-towns near the United Nations’ blue line; they have increased their presence in the area over the least 72 hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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#1
"US Committed to Supporting Lebanese Army",
19 October, 2018 Asharq Al-Awsat
The United States confirmed its commitment to supporting the Lebanese army, describing it as "the sole defender of Lebanon".
Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Vayl Oxford met on Tuesday with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun, to discuss both border and maritime security.
In a statement, The US Embassy in Lebanon said: "In partnership with the both Lebanese Army and the United Kingdom, the United States is proud to outfit and train Lebanese border units with state-of-art surveillance capabilities with which to defend Lebanon." The statement reiterated the US government adherence to the Lebanese-American partnership and support to the Lebanese Armed Forces in their capacity as the sole defender of Lebanon.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumed their assault on the town of Baghouz Tahtani, today, targeting the remaining areas controlled 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS).
According to reports from Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Democratic Forces were able to overpower the remaining Islamic State faceless myrmidons that were left in the town this afternoon.
With Baghouz Tahtani under their control, the Syrian Democratic Forces will now push their way to the nearby town of Baghouz Fouqani.
If they can capture Baghouz Fouqani, they will be able to secure the Iraqi border near the strategic city of Albukamal.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
00:07 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Salafist tough guys in northern Hama once again attempted to infiltrate the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) defenses near the Christian city of Mhardeh on Tuesday afternoon.
Led by Jaish al-Izza, the Salafist tough guys began their operation by moving towards Mhardeh from their positions inside the demilitarized zone.
The Syrian Arab Army spotted the Salafist tough guys before they could bypass posts; this would result in a fierce exchange of hostilities that would last for several minutes.
According to a military communique from Hama, the Syrian Army was able to beat back the hard boyz before they could reach their intended target.
Furthermore, the Syrian Army managed to kill at least two of the infiltrators, while wouding a couple others.
In response to this infiltration attempt, the Syrian Arab Army fired off several missiles and artillery shells towards the Jaish al-Izza stronghold of al-Latamnah.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
00:06 ||
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[All Africa] The Somali Lower House of Parliament has declared as invalid a motion seeking the impeachment of President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo.
The House Administrative Director, Mr Abdikarim Haji Abdi Buuh, on Tuesday issued the letter that could offer the besieged president a lifeline.
THRESHOLD
The letter, published by the mainstream and social media, is addressed to the Speaker of the Lower House, Mr Mohammed Mursal, and copied to his deputes, Mr Abdiweli Sheikh Ibrahim Mudey and Mahad Abdalla Awad.
It states that the motion submitted to the Speaker on December 9, by 92 politicians, did not meet signatories' threshold.
The document adds that some 14 MPs said to back it sent letters to Parliament's Administration Office, stating that their names were wrongly put in the list and that did not append their signatures.
"I have seen letters sent to the office by 14 MPs, stating they did not endorse the motion," reads the letter to the Speaker.
"They insist that their names and signatures were forged."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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[AnNahar] Suspected rebels attacked a police post in Indian-administered Kashmire Tuesday killing four officers, police said, two days after soldiers killed two teenage rebels in the restive territory.
In the latest incident of the region's bloodiest year since 2009, the assailants mounted a surprise attack in Zainpora village of southern Kashmire valley and stole four rifles.
They killed three coppers instantly and critically maimed another, police official Swayam Prakash Pani told AFP. The fourth died later at a military hospital.
"They (militants) fled the spot with four service rifles from the coppers," Pani said.
Militant group 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) grabbed credit.
Muhammad Hassan, calling himself the Pakistain-based group's front man, issued a statement to a local news agency saying its cadres killed three "Indian forces" and critically maimed several.
Officials say snuffies have snatched at least 270 weapons, most of them automatic assault rifles, from coppers during similar attacks since 2014. Around 70 have been taken since July 2016.
Kashmire-based rights monitors say more than 500 people have died this year from armed conflict in the disputed Himalayan territory claimed in full by both India and Pakistain, including some 150 civilians.
On Sunday Indian troops rubbed out a 14-year-old, the youngest-ever fighter killed in the insurgency, and two other snuffies including a 17-year-old in a shootout outside the city of Srinagar.
Several hard boy groups, including JeM, have for decades been fighting about 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory New Delhi controls, seeking independence for Kashmire or its merger with Pakistain.
According to a prominent monitoring group, the fighting has left more than 70,000 dead, mostly civilians, since 1989.
Kashmire has been divided between India and Pakistain since the Partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
[PRESSTV] Ukraine has terminated the friendship treaty with its most important neighbor, Russia. Ukrainian president Poroshenko insists that the move is a part of his strategy to pull Ukraine away from Russian influence. His critics argue that the president is harming people in pursuit of ratings ahead of the elections next year. Lena Savchuk reports from Kiev.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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[YES!] Callout culture. The quest for purity. Privilege theory taken to extremes. I’ve observed some of these questionable patterns in my activist communities over the past several years.
As an activist, I stand with others against white supremacy, anti-blackness, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, and imperialism. I am queer, trans, Chinese American, middle class, and able-bodied. This kind of shit is SO important, it has to be stated at the very beginning of the article.
Holding these identities scattered across the spectrum of privilege, I have done my best to find my place in the movement, while educating myself on social justice issues to the best of my ability. But after witnessing countless people be ruthlessly torn apart in community for their mistakes and missteps, I started to fear my own comrades.
As a cultural studies scholar, I am interested in how that culture‐as expressed through discourse and popular narratives‐does the work of power. Many disciplinary practices of the activist culture succeed in curbing oppressive behaviors. Callouts, for example, are necessary for identifying and addressing problematic behavior. But have they become the default response to fending off harm? Shutting down racist, sexist, and similar conversations protects vulnerable participants. But has it devolved into simply shutting down all dissenting ideas? When these tactics are liberally applied, without limit, inside marginalized groups, I believe they hold back movements by alienating both potential allies and their own members.
In response to the unrestrained use of callouts and unchecked self-righteousness by leftist activists, I spend enormous amounts of energy protecting my activist identity from attack. I self-police what I say when among other activists. If I’m not 100 percent sold on the reasons for a political protest, I keep those opinions to myself‐though I might show up anyway.
On social media, I’ve stopped commenting with thoughtful push back on popular social justice positions for fear of being called out. For example, even though some women at the 2017 women’s march reproduced the false and transmisogynistic idea that all women have vaginas, I still believe that the event was a critical win for the left and should not be written off so easily as it has been by some in my community. Yeah, those "pussy hats" you heard of? Turns out they were a hate crime all along. That's how fast this stuff changes.
Understand, even though I am using callouts as a prime example, I am not against them. Several times, I have been called out for ways I have carelessly exhibited ableism, transmisogyny, fatphobia, and xenophobia. I am able to rebound quickly when responding with openness to those situations. I am against a culture that encourages callouts conducted irresponsibly, ones that abandon the person being called out and ones done out of a desire to experience power by humiliating another community member. Sinner confessing his sins.
I am also concerned about who controls the language of social justice, as I see it wielded as a weapon against community members who don’t have access to this rapidly evolving lexicon. Terms like "oppression," "tone policing," "emotional labor," "diversity," and "allyship" are all used in specific ways to draw attention to the plight of minoritized people. Yet their meanings can also be manipulated to attack and exclude.
Furthermore, most social justice 101 articles I see online are prescriptive checklists. Although these can be useful resources for someone who has little familiarity with these issues, I worry that this model of education contributes to the false idea that we have only one way to think about, talk about, and ultimately, do activism. I think that movements are able to fully breathe only when there is a plurality of tactics, and to some extent, of ideologies.
I am not the first nor the last to point out that these movements for liberation and justice are exhibiting the same oppressive patterns that we are fighting against in larger society. Rather than wallowing in critique or walking away from this work, I choose a third option‐that we as a community slow down, acknowledge this pattern and develop an ethics of activism as a response.
If we as activists do not feel safe in our experimental microcosms of justice and liberation, what can we attempt to replicate across larger society? What they wish to replicate across larger society is an oppressive collectivist regime all over again but this time without the humanity.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
12/12/2018
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#1
As the old saying goes, "Now that cancer, world hunger and crime have been eliminated, we can now move on the really important things...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 6:26
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#2
As a cultural studies scholar,
Now there's an oxymoron .......... or just a moron.
#7
Seems these cultural warriors live in a world of dog whistles and hidden agendas. In previous times these were known as voices in their heads and it was a sign they needed help. Now they are used as footsoldiers by corrupt liberals. Very sad.
Cordwainer Smith (/ˈkɔːrdweɪnər/ KORD-way-nər)[1] was the pen-name used by American author Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966) for his science fiction works. Linebarger was a noted East Asia scholar and expert in psychological warfare. ("Cordwainer" is an archaic word for "a worker in cordwain or cordovan leather; a shoemaker",[2] and a "smith" is "one who works in iron or other metals; esp. a blacksmith or farrier":[2] two kinds of skilled workers with traditional materials.) Linebarger also employed the literary pseudonyms "Carmichael Smith" (for his political thriller Atomsk), "Anthony Bearden" (for his poetry) and "Felix C. Forrest" (for the novels Ria and Carola). He died of a heart attack in 1966 at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, at age 53.
Linebarger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father was Paul M. W. Linebarger, a lawyer and political activist with close ties to the leaders of the Chinese revolution of 1911. As a result of those connections, Linebarger's godfather was Sun Yat-sen, considered the father of Chinese nationalism.[3]
While Sun Yat-sen was struggling against contentious warlords in China, Linebarger's father moved his family between a variety of places in Asia, Europe, and the United States and sometimes sent his son to boarding schools for safety; Linebarger attended more than 30 schools. In 1919 at a boarding school in Hawaii he was blinded in his right eye; the vision in his remaining eye was impaired by infection.[3]
Linebarger was familiar with six languages by adulthood. At the age of 23, he received a PhD in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.[3]
From 1937 to 1946, Linebarger held a faculty appointment at Duke University, where he began producing highly regarded works on Far Eastern affairs.
While retaining his professorship at Duke after the beginning of World War II, Linebarger began serving as a second lieutenant of the United States Army, where he was involved in the creation of the Office of War Information and the Operation Planning and Intelligence Board. He also helped organize the Army's first psychological warfare section. In 1943, he was sent to China to coordinate military intelligence operations. When he later pursued his interest in China, Linebarger became a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek. By the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of major.
In 1947, Linebarger moved to the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, where he served as Professor of Asiatic Studies. He used his experiences in the war to write the book Psychological Warfare (1948), regarded by many in the field as a classic text.
He eventually rose to the rank of colonel in the reserves. He was recalled to advise the British forces in the Malayan Emergency and the U.S. Eighth Army in the Korean War. While he was known to call himself a "visitor to small wars", he refrained from becoming involved in the Vietnam War, but is known to have done work for the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1969 CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr. wrote that Linebarger was "perhaps the leader practitioner of 'black' and 'gray' propaganda in the Western world".[4][5] According to Joseph Burkholder Smith, a former CIA operative, he conducted classes in psychological warfare for CIA agents at his home in Washington under cover of his position at the School of Advanced International Studies.[3] He traveled extensively and became a member of the Foreign Policy Association, and was called upon to advise President John F. Kennedy.
Published non-fiction
1937, The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-Sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press
1938, Government in Republican China, London: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-88355-081-4
1941, The China of Chiang K'ai-shek: A Political Study, Boston: World Peace Foundation, ISBN 0-8371-6779-5
1948, Psychological Warfare, Washington: Infantry Journal Press; revised second edition, 1954, New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce (available online)
1951, Foreign milieux (HBM 200/1), Dept. of Defense, Research and Development Board
1951, Immediate improvement of theater-level psychological warfare in the Far East, Operations Research Office, Johns Hopkins University
1954, Far Eastern Government and Politics: China and Japan (with Djang Chu and Ardath W. Burks), Van Nostrand
1956, "Draft statement of a ten-year China and Indochina policy, 1956–1966", Foreign Policy Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania
1965, Essays on military psychological operations, Special Operations Research Office, American University
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) – Acting Kirkuk governor Rakan al-Jabouri has urged humanitarian organizations to help the repatriated people in the governorate to re-establish their homes demolished in the country’s fight against Islamic State.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, al-Jabouri was quoted by Baghdad Today news website as saying that 70 percent of the displaced people in Kirkuk have been repatriated so far, but their homes unfortunately had been demolished during the anti-IS war.
The governor, therefore, urged the humanitarian organizations to contribute to renovating the demolished homes as soon as possible to provide a shelter for the repatriated families.
Speaking further about widespread destruction in the governorate, al-Jabouri pointed out that 11 villages had been destroyed in Kirkuk from 2014 to 2017.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceded defeat on Tuesday for his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in key state elections held ahead of national polls next year.
"We accept the people’s mandate with humility. I thank the people of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for giving us the opportunity to serve these states. The BJP Governments in these states worked tirelessly for the welfare of the people," Modi said on Twitter.
Initial results Tuesday from elections earlier this month and in November showed the BJP losing power in the central state of Chhattisgarh and in Rajasthan in the west.
The chief ministers from both states, both from Modi’s BJP, conceded defeat, while in Madhya Pradesh the outcome was on a knife-edge.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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Day 1 reportage can be seen here. All three articles have the same photo of the miscreant.
[PJMedia] Strasbourg, the home of the European Parliament, is on lockdown and streets around the city center are blocked off as police hunt for a shooter who opened fire near the city's famed Christmas market, which began in 1570 and is the oldest known Christmas market in Europe.
French press are reporting four dead and eleven injured in the shooting.
Multiple news agencies are reporting that the shooting is now being considered a terrorist attack by French prosecutors.
French media is reporting that the shooter, identified as 29-year-old Cherif Chekkat, a French national of Moroccan descent, remains on the lam.
A statement by local French police says the shooter is from the notorious Neuhof neighborhood, a hub of Islamist radicalization and a known "no-go" zone.
It also states that he was categorized on their terror watch list as "fiche-S," meaning known to be a radicalized bad boy.
Media reports indicate that the suspect avoided police that were serving an arrest warrant on him this morning, and that grenades were found at his home.
The French Interior Ministry has directed residents to remain inside their homes and to not travel outdoors while the gunman is sought.
Since the terror attack on the Christmas market in Berlin two years ago that killed twelve people and injured another 56, European authorities have heightened security at Christmas markets and related events across the continent as I've reported here at PJ Media.
Four killed and a dozen injured in shooting at Christmas market
Terror suspect identified as Cherif C remains on the run
Police raided suspect's home on morning of the attack
Attacker armed with an automatic pistol and knife
Shots were reportedly exchanged in a street of the southern district of Neudorf after a manhunt involving police and soldiers but there was no confirmation he had been localised.
French authorities are treating the shooting as a terrorist act after identifying the gunman, named Cherif C, a radicalised 29-year old from the city on a “S” security and terror watch list, thanks to CCTV. Anti-terrorist prosecutors have opened an investigation.
Questions were being raised last night over how the assailant had managed to evade capture yesterday morning. Police were due to arrest him over a botched armed robbery but he had escaped and grenades were found at his home.
Hours later, shortly before 8pm, the assailant went on the rampage in Strasbourg’s city centre in the bustling rue des Ofrèvres armed with an automatic pistol and knife.
Police reported the attacker was shot and wounded by patrolling soliders before he fled the scene. According to France Info, the wounded suspect took a taxi driver hostage to escape soldiers. The driver reportedly escaped unharmed.
According to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, the suspect has an existing criminal record.
The mayor of Strasbourg , Roland Ries, said the gunman got inside a security zone to stage the attack.
At least two of the wounded last night were said to be in a critical condition. The gunman was wounded by soldiers on patrol as part of France’s Sentinelle anti-terror operation but managed to flee, said police. One of the soldiers was wounded in the hand in the exchange.
According to Strasbourg town hall, another operation is taking place at Place Broglie. "There is a strong suspicion that a second person" may be implicated in the shooting, police sources told Le Figaro.
The Daily Mail has lots of photos and videos. As of nearly 4:00 a.m. local time, everything is still on lockdown, with no one allowed to go home.
Six of the 12 people were seriously wounded in the attack, 'three of four' of whom may have life-threatening injuries, according to town mayor Roland Ries.
The shooting took place close to the historic Christmas market in Strasbourg's central square Place Kleber.
The alleged killer was identified following DNA tests and the examination of CCTV images.
He had been sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 following a knife attack on a 16-year-old, according to an investigating source.
He was still at large this morning, with 350 security personnel hunting him. Amid the confusion after the attack, earlier reports had talked of him being holed up and surrounded by police, but this was discounted.
Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries later confirmed that the gunman had ‘got away in a taxi'. He said a taxi driver was hijacked before midnight, and was forced to drive away at gunpoint. The driver was later found in an undisclosed part of the city, and was unharmed.
He said the market would not reopen on Wednesday and that city flags would be flown at half mast. It has not yet been decided whether schools will open in the city, large parts of which are still on police lockdown.
Two hundred and sixty police officers are currently patrolling in the vicinity of the market, which was also the subject of a December 2000 bomb plot by al-Qaeda.
The spokesman said online groups linked to Islamic State were ‘celebrating the attacks’, but no terrorist group had yet claimed responsibility.
He was on a ‘S’ for Security List, meaning he was a danger to national security, and is believed to have been ‘radicalised’, according to Interior Ministry sources.
‘He began shooting on Rue des Orfevres, close to a Christmas Market in the city at around 8pm,’ said a spokesman for the local police department.
The opening shots wounded a number of people, and there were fatalities. The shooter was quickly identified, and police gave chase.
‘He was wounded in a subsequent gunfight. Soldiers are involved in trying to bring him into custody.’
Le Figaro has reported that the suspect was due to be arrested on Tuesday morning for a previous robbery, but was not at home when police arrived to arrest him.
The French Interior Ministry has called on the public to remain indoors following the shooting.
Security officials have cordoned off the area and trams have now stopped running.
#1
Looks like he spends way too much time banging his head on the ground. I'll bet if they wanted they could take some fiber samples from that thing and see what jihad school mosque he belongs to.
Was he off his meds or just misunderstood the time?
#2
The West needs to treat a "prayer bump" as a bullseye and make any sniper who hits it rich.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/12/2018 7:15
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#3
"Allahu Akhbar" shouted.
Arabic for "Merry Christmas, Infidels"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/12/2018 7:35
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#4
The latest from the Telegraph:
The mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, said police had narrowly missed catching the suspect last night at around 10pm. "There was an exchange of fire. Police told me that they were waiting for him on a cycle path.
"And when he approached them in the dark, they shone a torch in his face, which blinded him, but he immediately opened fire. They riposted and it may have been at this time that he was wounded," he told France Info.
According to Der Spiegel, the assailant had been in prison in Germany until 2017 on a sentence for “serious” theft handed out by Singen district court in Bade-Wurtemberg next to the Alsace border, after which he was expelled to France.
According to Mr Heitz, Mr Chekatt has 27 previous convictions in Germany, Switzerland and France, and was placed on the terror watch-list while in prison in 2015 after he showed signs of radicalisation.
Four of the attacker's relatives were also detained by police on Wednesday.
Police were due to arrest him Tuesday morning for attempted murder after a botched armed robbery but he had escaped and a long rifle and stun grenade were found at his home.
Fears of terror strikes had waned in recent months. Instead, the country has been more concerned about an ongoing nationwide “yellow vest” revolt as protesters call for lower taxes and higher wages.
However, four “radicalised” men were arrested at the start of the revolt in early November and charged with plotting to carry out a terror attack during the first “yellow vest” protest. A hunting rifle was found and police said there was evidence they were trying to acquire a Kalashnikov.
[Telegraph] Police have foiled an alleged Christmas terror plot after swooping on a house in a quiet cul--de-sac in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Heavily armed officers from the police's elite counter-terrorism unit raided an address in the Arthur's Hill area of the city less than a mile from St James's Park football stadium and the Eldon Square shopping centre.
A 33-year-old man was tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! on suspicion on preparing acts of terror and was last night being questioned at a cop shoppe on West Yorkshire.
It is understood police decided to move in amid fears that a lone wolf kaboom was being plotted in the run up to Christmas.
Specialist forensic officers were last night continuing to carry out a fingertip search of the property.
More than 100 coppers were involved in the raid which saw a large area around the house cordoned off and neighbours evacuated from their homes.
A police front man said the operation had been the result of a pre-planned, intelligence led investigation and warned locals that armed officers were likely to remain at the scene for some time.
Locals expressed their shock at seeing coppers in military style uniforms descending on the normally quiet street shortly after 10am.
One man said: "They were dressed like soldiers and had guns - it is armed response. They told us to come up here and evacuated the street."
Another local added: "I was expecting the council to come and fix my bathroom - but it was the police with guns telling me to get out my house."
Neighbours described the man who was living at the address as an Asian man in his 30s, but said they knew little about him.
Chief Superintendent Neil Hutchinson said: "Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East, supported by Northumbria Police have this morning (TUES) arrested a man in the Arthur's Hill area of Newcastle on suspicion of terrorism offences.
"The 33-year-old has been taken to a cop shoppe in West Yorkshire for questioning.
"The arrest was intelligence led and pre-planned as part of an ongoing investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
[ToloNews] Some local officials from a few provinces in the south of Afghanistan have warned that Taliban ...Arabic for students... has gained access to more modern arms, which is a challenge for Afghan security and defense forces in fighting the group.
Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said modern weapons, from Afghanistan's neighboring countries, are being provided to the Taliban via intelligence networks, adding that Afghan cops have on occasion seized such arms.
"From our two neighboring countries, weapons and arms are being distributed to them (Taliban) via intelligence networks. These arms have been seized and not only been shown in Afghanistan, but also to the world," Yasin Khan said.
The Taliban’s recent attacks on security forces’ outposts in different parts of the country, especially in Farah province, have raised serious security concerns for the local officials of the provinces.
Farah local officials said in the last few days, they have witnessed fighting in parts of some districts of Farah and on the outskirts of Farah city ‐ the historic provincial capital.
"The bully boyz are trying to use Farah province as their center and by making footprints in Farah, influence other provinces," Dadullah Qane, a member of Farah provincial council said.
"Most Farah districts are insecure, because Farah is a big province, but the number of security forces stationed in the province is less," Mohammad Zahid, district governor for Gulistan district in Farah said.
"There are old weapons as well, but most of the new arms are Russian and the Taliban mainly holds such weapons," Nematullah, district governor for Bati Kot district in 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.. said.
Afghanistan Interior Ministry, in reaction to the Taliban’s recent offensives, said the war season in the country is coming to its end, adding that the Taliban’s recent attacks were the latest moves being made by the group.
Interior ministry front man Najib Danish said the Taliban have made their last moves to target Afghan forces and during the winter, the war will ease as the weather gets cold.
"We will start winter operations in the next few days which will be implemented in all Afghanistan. The operations plan has been prepared and will start about 10 days later," said Danish.
Reacting to officials' claim over weaponry support to the Taliban, by circles outside Afghanistan, the Taliban has said they seized the weapons from Afghan forces during attacks on security outposts.
A front man for the Taliban has said they do not receive weapons from outside Afghanistan borders.
[IsraelTimes] As with previous ones, army puts explosives in passage to ensure it can’t be used; UN peacekeepers confirm existence of first two tunnels
The Israel Defense Forces said it uncovered a Hezbollah cross-border attack tunnel that penetrated Israeli territory from southern Leb on Tuesday, the third passageway found since the military launched a digging operation on the border last week.
The army said it had drilled into the passage and planted explosives inside it to ensure it cannot be used.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Are these the tunnels that Hezballah labeled as bing "long abandoned" the other day, implying that they were somehow no longer able to be used? Those tunnels?
#3
Those tunnels, yes. The first one was abandoned after two Hezb gentlemen noticed the camera filming them and fled. The first article we had on the subject showed that video clip at the link.
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan armed forces separate attacks launched by ISIS Khurasan forces of Evil in two districts of eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... , the Afghan military said Tuesday.
According to a statement released by 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Military in the East, the ISIS forces of Evil launched attacks on army posts in Marwara and Watapur districts earlier today.
The statement further added that the Afghan forces effectively responded to the attack and forced ISIS forces of Evil to retreat.
According to 201st Silab Corps, the ISIS forces of Evil have also sustained casualties during the festivities but the exact number has not been ascertained so far.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslem and terrorist groups including ISIS loyalists have not commented regarding the festivities so far.
Kunar is among the relatively volatile provinces in East of Afghanistan where ISIS, Taliban ...Arabic for students... , and other groups are active in some of its districts and often carry out terrorist related activities.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[IsraelTimes] IDF sets up checkpoints around Ramallah, carries out raids in several locations; baby delivered after attack still in ’very serious’ condition.
At least three Paleostinians were reported shot and several more tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... amid intense festivities with Israeli troops overnight during a manhunt for suspects behind a Sunday shooting attack in the West Bank.
Troops also set up checkpoints around Ramallah and area villages, according to Paleostinian reports.
The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment on the reports, directing questions to the Border Police, who did not immediately respond.
Troops have been engaged in a manhunt since a drive-by terror attack on a bus stop near the settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah. Seven people waiting at the stop were maimed, including a pregnant woman who was rushed to a hospital at death's door. Doctors managed to deliver the baby but are fighting for his life.
Jerusalem Shaare Zedek medical center said Tuesday morning that the woman’s condition had improved and she had woken up, but the baby was still in "very serious" condition.
The IDF said troops carried out raids in a number of locations in the central West Bank.
"Among other things, they are carrying out additional checks at the entrances and exits of villages in the area," the army said.
In the town of Tubas, south of Nablus, Border Police troops fired at Paleostinian rioters during festivities that broke out during a raid, injuring at least three people, according to reports.
Low-level festivities and arrest raids were also reported in other Paleostinians towns and villages.
According to the IDF, soldiers arrested 19 suspects throughout the West Bank.
The army said it also seized thousands of shekels in the town of Idhna in the southern West Bank, which it said were going to be used to fund terrorist activities.
In Ramallah, the seat of the Paleostinian governor, soldiers set up checkpoints to limit movement in and out of the city and raided shops in the nearby suburb of Birzeit, confiscating footage from security cameras.
[AA.TR] The secretary general of the Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO) called for the international protection of Paleostine on Monday following fresh Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank.
Appealing to the international community, Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... urged swift action to hold Israel responsible for its "aggression on media and official Paleostinian institutions", which he added was supported by U.S. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s administration.
Israeli armed forces rounded up 16 Paleostinians yesterday in raids in Ramallah and al Bireh to the northeast in response to a shooting near the Ofra settlement in the central West Bank which injured six Israelis.
Israeli forces also stormed the headquarters of Paleostine's official Wafa news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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#1
Parasites like Saeb Erekat never seem to go away
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/12/2018 6:56
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[Ynet] Brazil's incoming foreign minister says Latin America's biggest country will pull out of a United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... accord aimed at ensuring safe, orderly and humane migration.
Ernesto Araujo says on his Twitter page that the country's new government will pull out of the accord "because immigration cannot be dealt with as a global issue, but according to each country's reality and illusory sovereignty."
[DAWN] At least four people were killed and another six injured after a jacket wallah targeted a convoy of security forces in Kabul early on Tuesday, officials said, in the latest bloody Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... -claimed attack in the Afghan capital.
The blast took place in Paghman district in western Kabul as the convoy was returning from an overnight operation, interior ministry front man Najib Danish told AFP.
"It is still not clear whether the attacker was on foot or driving a vehicle," the front man added.
Another security official requesting anonymity said the assailant had used a boom-mobile to target the convoy.
Attacks on Afghan forces by the Taliban and the Death EaterIslamic 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.... group have been inflicting record-high casualties on security personnel this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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[PULSE.NG] Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who are said to be best friends, took the money from tuition, fees and donations at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, south of Los Angeles.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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#1
These nuns must have had a good run of luck at Catholic bingo games and decided to hit Vegas.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Armed British police used a stun gun to restrain a man inside the grounds of parliament in Westminster on Tuesday, a Rooters photographer who witnessed the incident said.
"Stop. Get down," police shouted, the Rooters photographer said.
Rooters pictures showed armed police using a stun gun on the man on the cobbled forecourt inside the British parliament’s main Carriage Gates.
The man was later handcuffed as police pointed a gun at the man’s head. Police did not immediately comment.
In March 2017, Khalid Masood killed four people on nearby Westminster Bridge and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death near Carriage Gates before being rubbed out.
In August, a man was tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! after driving a car into pedestrians and cyclists before ramming into barriers outside the parliament building in what police said appeared to be a terrorism attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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#1
Put the phasers on stun!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/12/2018 11:24
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[IsraelTimes] In separate incidents, one near Hebron, the other in Jordan Valley, Paleostinians allegedly try to run over border guards.
Israeli border guards rubbed out a Paleostinian driver who they said tried to ram his car into them outside of Hebron on Tuesday morning.
In a separate incident, in the northern Jordan Valley, a Paleostinian man allegedly accelerated his car toward a group of Border Police officers. The troops fired warning shots into the air, and the suspect stopped and was jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! , police said.
The police said both cases were being investigated.
The Border Police officers in the town of Idhna, outside Hebron, were standing guard as members of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, which oversees day-to-day activities in the West Bank, were taking part in an effort to crack down on the illegal burning of garbage. According to police, the Paleostinian suspect drove through a checkpoint the border guards had set up, hit a security vehicle with his car and then "accelerated toward a Border Police officer."
The border guards shot up the vehicle, fatally wounding the suspect, who was identified by Paleostinian authorities as 27-year-old Omar Hassan al-Awawdeh. No Israeli troops were maimed.
In the village of al-Jiftlik in the northern Jordan Valley, the border guards were guarding Civil Administration troops who were knocking down illegally constructed buildings when the Paleostinian suspect drove toward them. Police said the suspect was a 30-year-old man from the village. He was handed over to the Shin Bet security service for further questioning.
There has been more and more of this kind of thing recently — the settlers are tired of all taking and no giving.
[IsraelTimes] Police suspect a Jewish hate crime against Paleostinians after dozens of vehicles were vandalized overnight in the northern West Bank town of Beitin.
Security footage from a residence, published by the Yesh Din group, shows three masked figures arriving and puncturing tires.
Stars of David are graffitied on vehicles, as well as messages saying "I can’t sleep when blood is spilled here" and "We don’t sleep when God’s name is being desecrated."
Those messages suggest it is a Dire Revenge operation for a terror attack near the nearby Ofra settlement in which seven Israelis were maimed, including a pregnant mother whose child was delivered by doctors. The infant is fighting for his life.
Police have opened an investigation but have so far made no arrests.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces found on Tuesday seven tunnels that were used by Islamic State militants in Nineveh province.
“Troops in the Nineveh Operations Command carried out a security campaign in Shaikh Ibrahim desert town in Nineveh, searching for remnants of Islamic State,” Ayn Al Iraq news website quoted Yahia Rasool, the spokesman for the Security Media Center, as saying.
The security forces, according to the spokesman, “found seven Islamic State tunnels and a locally-made explosive charge during their security campaign.”
Rasool further pointed out that security forces killed two Islamic State terrorists while planting bombs in Badush village in Mosul Old City.
“One of them was wearing an explosive belt when he was shot dead by the security forces,” the spokesman added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/12/2018
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[KhaamaPress] The deputy finance minister of the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... regime AbdulJalil Haqqani has been tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... by police forces, the Ministry of Interior said Monday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior (MoI), Abdul Jalil Haqqani, the former deputy finance of Taliban was arrested from Spin Boldak district of Kandahar yesterday.
The statement further added that Haqqani’s name was included in the sanctions list of the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... as well as the Interpol list.
According to the Ministry of Interior, Haqqani was arrestedas he was attempting to cross the border with fake passport and travel to Pakistain.
He was arrested after his biometric data was collected at the crossing point in Spin Boldak, MoI added in its statement.
The anti-government armed krazed killer groups including Talibs have not commented regarding the arrest of Abdul Jalil Haqqani sofar.
[AA.TR] U.S. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... said Tuesday that ISISfaceless myrmidons will be eliminated from the areas they control in Syria within a month.
"We've done a very, very major job on ISIS. There are very few of 'em left in that area of the world," Trump said, referring to ISIS. "Within another 30 days, there won't be any of them left."
Trump made the comments as he signed into law the Iraq and Syria Genocide Accountability Bill, which seeks to hold ISIS accountable for the crimes it committed against religious and ethnic communities in Iraq and Syria and provide assistance to the persecuted groups.
U.S.-backed forces are currently fighting ISIS in the last remaining pocket it controls in eastern Syri
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
It could be done in 1/300,000,000th of a second but too many eurines and beltway types would be traumatized...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2018 6:41
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[ToloNews] Security officials in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province said on Tuesday that finally, after three years of battles in Lashkargah's PD4, the area was taken by security forces.
According to military officials after one week of heavy operations, the area has been cleared of Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... murderous Moslems.
The officials said at present there is a clearance operation against Taliban forces of Evil continuing in Babaji village in Lashkargah's PD4.
The officials said the only challenge ahead of security forces involved with the operation is the existence of land mines in the Babaji area.
According to officials the Lashkargah's PD4 has been under Taliban control for the past three years.
"Yesterday, we took the area and brought heavy casualties on the enemy," said Abdullah, a border police soldier.
"During the operation, a large number of mines were discovered and defused, the situation is normal and people are traveling," said Mohammad Jan, another border police soldier.
Security officials in the province said the operation will continue until complete elimination of the Taliban from Babaji village.
"The area has been cleared of Taliban," said Hanifullah Shinwari, a military official.
"The mines in the way were cleared by ANA forces and now the PD4 area of Babaji has been cleared," said Barat Ali a commander of 3rd border police corps.
Babaji village in Lashkargah's PD4 is located 27km from the capital Lashkargah city and during the operation Taliban forces of Evil suffered heavy casualties.
Security officials did not discuss military or civilian casualties during the operation.
Michael Avenatti - Unemployed Lawyer of the year
[NY Post] Porn actress Stormy Daniels was ordered on Tuesday to pay nearly $300,000 in attorneys' fees to President Trump following the dismissal of a lawsuit she filed against him.
Daniels, who allegedly had a fling with Trump in 2006, was instructed to make the payments for filing a "meritless" defamation claim against the president, according to a court filing.
She had claimed the president smeared her on Twitter by calling her a liar.
US District Judge S. James Otero said the $292,052 in fees was a 25 percent reduction from the amount requested by Trump's team.
Otero noted that the case "should have been litigated much more efficiently."
Trump's lawyer Charles Harder declared victory in the case.
"The court's order, along with the court's prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels' defamation case against the President, together constitute a total victory for the President, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case," Harder said in a statement.
Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said he would appeal the ruling and pointed to a larger case of a non-disclosure agreement Daniels' signed about the affair. of course he did. Who's going to pay his fees? That's a lotta ...
Posted by: Frank G ||
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#3
Are we overlooking something here? She seems to remember everything about her clients. Perhaps she should have been the Director of the FBI, not Comey.
[DAWN] The suspected leader of a 'rickshaw gang' that targeted over 200 women was tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... in an injured condition along with a companion after exchanging fire with Ferozeabad police in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Senior Superintendent of Police East (SSP East) Azfar Mahesar said during a presser on Tuesday.
Cash, dozens of valuable women's handbags and jewelry worth hundreds of thousands were recovered from the duo.
On the special directives of the SSP East, Jamshed Town Superintendent of Police (SP) Shamyl Riaz had formed a team consisting of Ferozabad Station House Officer (SHO) Aurangzeb Khan Khattak and Ghulam Nabi Afridi.
The team had received information that three suspects were in the PECHS area of the city.
As soon as they saw the police, the suspects started firing. In the resulting shootout, the gang leader was injured, the official said.
Police subsequently surrounded the area, arresting the injured suspect and his lover companion.
The suspect revealed that for four and a half years, his four-member group had used to target women.
Apart from snatching valuables, the gang also used cutting tools to cut and take off women's bangles and jewelry.
During a subsequent police raid, over 70 valuable handbags snatched from women, hundreds of thousands of rupees in cash, as well as over 50 mobile phones and laptops were recovered from the accused.
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12/12/2018
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[DAWN] Armed Kashmiris fighting against Indian rule in Indian Kashmiree attacked a police post on Tuesday, killing three officers and injuring another, Indian police said.
The fighters opened gunfire at the post in the southern Shopian area, police said. Three coppers were killed on the spot and another was critically maimed in the attack.
The fighters took away four automatic rifles from the post, police said.
Reinforcements of counterinsurgency police and soldiers launched search operations in the area to go after the fighters.
No group immediately grabbed credit for the attack.
In August in the same area, four police officials were killed in an attack by Kashmiri fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] Iran has sentenced two human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... lawyers to six years in prison and a third to 13 years, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The Arman daily said Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi and Arash Keikhosravi were sentenced to five years in prison for taking part in an "illegal gathering" and one year for "propaganda" against the ruling system. It says they can appeal the verdict.
The two were tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in August when they took part in a protest outside parliament calling for free elections. They were released on bail last week.
Sholeh-Saadi, 64, a longtime critic of the political establishment, was barred from running for president in 2017.
Iran holds regular presidential and parliamentary elections, but a council of holy mans vets candidates. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final word on all major policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
But, but,....Khashoggi!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/12/2018 10:39
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Sources confirmed that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will attend the Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... peace talks in Sweden on Thursday.
Foreign ministers of a number of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen are also expected to arrive in Stockholm on Wednesday to press the two sides of the Yemeni conflict to make progress in the ongoing consultations and come up with results that will ensure the resumption of a new round of talks early next year.
The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... has in recent days brought Yemen's warring sides together in Sweden for peace talks, the first in two years.
During talks between the two Yemeni delegations on Tuesday, the United Nations proposed the withdrawal of their troops from the coastal city of Hodeidah and placing the status of the city under the control of a temporary entity, with Yemeni Foreign Minister Khalid al-Yamani confirming Monday that his country would not accept a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Hodeidah, unless the city is under the control of the legitimate government.
The two sides agreed earlier Tuesday to exchange some 15,000 prisoners, including a prisoner swap agreement reached at the start of the current peace talks in Sweden.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2018
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi army said on Tuesday that its jet fighters conducted several airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria’s Deir el-Zour province, killing 40 terrorists.
Iraqi F-16 jets carried out a successful airstrike that targeted a hideout of the Islamic State group in al-Susah city in Deir al-Zour, leaving 30 terrorists dead, Dijlah TV channel quoted the Joint Operations Command as saying in a statement.
Another air raid destroyed a hideout in the city, housing 14 Islamic State fighters, the statement said.
The operation resulted in the complete destruction of the Islamic State targets, the statement added.
[ToloNews] A convoy of Afghan forces was targeted by a suicide kaboom in Paghman district in the west of Kabul on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) confirmed.
The MoI front man Najib Danish said that at least four security force members and eight civilians including two women were were killed and six security force members and three civilians were maimed in the incident.
The kaboom occurred at around 9:20am Kabul time in Bala Chinar area in Paghman district when security forces were passing through the area and were targeted by a boom-mobilekaboom, Danish said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber... the Ministry of Public Health front man Wahid Majroh told TOLOnews that six people were killed and six other were maimed in the kaboom.
Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... has grabbed credit for the attack.
[IsraelTimes] The United States says it has added Pakistain to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, ramping up pressure over its treatment of minorities.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he has designated Pakistain among "countries of particular concern" in a congressionally mandated annual report, a year after the State Department put Pakistain on a watchlist without legal consequences.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The year 2018 is coming to an end. It is time to recall all that has happened as that would foreshadow all that is in the offing in 2019. It is not an easy task to make predictions, irrespective of the methods of analysis used, as incidents and developments in general are becoming quite unpredictable.
The year 2018 is wrapping up in a couple of weeks. This year was marked by several what can be labelled as ’mega-trends’, according to Russian schools of international relations.
One such trend is the reduced role and influence of international organizations. The processes of crisis settlement and negotiations are bypassing international institutions, whether it may concern the crises in Syria or North Korea.
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The hermeneutics of dichotomies and paradigms as archaized by gnomes.
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[AA.TR] A group of activists dubbed "Red Vests" are planning to take to the streets in the Netherlands next weekend in anti-government protests.
In a social media post, the group announced a demonstration in Utrecht city on Sunday demanding from Prime Minister Mark Rutte a welfare state.
They added they were different from Yellow Vest protesters, who had earlier held anti-government protests in the Netherlands.
The Yellow Vest protests started in La Belle France against fuel price hikes last month but spilled over to other European countries including Brussels and the Netherlands.
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Does the red mean they are radical leftists of some sort, or is it to indicate they are the native version, not merely copycats of the French petit bourgeois protesters?
[DAWN] The United States said on Tuesday it has added Pakistain to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, ramping up pressure over the treatment of minorities in the country.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had designated Pakistain among "countries of particular concern" in a congressionally mandated annual report, meaning the US government is obliged to exert pressure to end freedom violations.
Pompeo a year earlier had placed Pakistain on a special watch list ‐ a step short of the designation ‐ in what had been seen as a US tactic to press Islamabad into reforms.
"In far too many places across the globe, individuals continue to face harassment, arrests or even death for simply living their lives in accordance with their beliefs," Pompeo said in a statement.
"The United States will not stand by as spectators in the face of such oppression," he said.
Nine countries remained for another year on the list of Countries of Particular Concern ‐ China, Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... , Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, 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... , Sudan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. They are accused of having engaged in or tolerated "systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom".
The US removed one country from the list ‐ Uzbekistan ‐ but kept it on the watch list.
Pompeo also put on the watch list Russia, adding another item of contention to the relationship between the two powers.
Russia has increasingly drawn concern in the US over its treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses, the heterodox Christian group known for proselytization.
Also on the watch list was the Comoros, the Indian Ocean archipelago that is almost exclusively Sunni Moslem.
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One doesn’t know what to make of these so-called “far-right” European political parties. They all seem to love Israel, while being more or less blatantly Joo-hating at home.
[IsraelTimes] Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini says the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has treated Israel unfairly.
"The EU has in recent years been entirely unbalanced, it has condemned and sanctioned Israel left and right, for every step it took," he says at a presser in Jerusalem.
Salvini, the head of the far-right Lega party, does not explicitly endorse a two-state solution to the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict, telling news hounds that he supports any solution that "grew on the ground."
Despite previous comments in praise of the US moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Salvini stops short of promising a move for Italia.
"Currently I am very happy to be interior minister in our unity government, I am not foreign minister. I will deal with this issue if and when I will be foreign minister," he says.
[IsraelTimes] Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan meets Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini and tells him that a significant portion of the anti-Semitism in Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... is being caused by Moslem immigrants colonists.
"It should be acknowledged that a big part of the anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment in Europe is coming from the new Moslem communities around the continent, and this phenomenon should be fought against," Erdan says.
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.
New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James says she plans to launch sweeping investigations into President Donald Trump, his family and "anyone" in his circle who may have violated the law once she settles into her new job next month.
[Reuters Bus News] DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran needs some 500 planes and would likely back buying the Sukhoi Superjet 100 if Russia is willing to sell them to its airlines, Iranian news agencies reported the country’s top civil aviation official as saying on Wednesday.
[Wash Times] Everywhere President Trump looks, there are Democrats targeting him, from New York to Washington to Maryland, in the positions of lawmakers, prosecutors, state attorneys general, opposition researchers, bureaucrats and activist defense lawyers.
[Guardian] Vladimir Putin’s old East German secret police identification card has reportedly been discovered in the Stasi archives.
[Washington Examiner] Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who arranged the bureau's interview with then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017 ‐ the interview that ultimately led to Flynn's guilty plea on one count of making false statements ‐ suggested Flynn not have a lawyer present at the session, according to newly-filed court documents. In addition, FBI officials, along with the two agents who interviewed Flynn, decided specifically not to warn him that there would be penalties for making false statements because the agents wanted to ensure that Flynn was "relaxed" during the session.
[Daily Caller] Former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote a letter asking for leniency for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s former security director who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contact with a reporter.
Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger was an important member of the invisible community and went on to become a major sci-fi author too.
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[DAWN] Armed Kashmiris fighting against Indian rule in Indian 
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
North Korea
North Korea
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
