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Germany arrests Iran ‘spy’ on bomb plot charges
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 19:19 Glenmore [4] 
4 21:25 trailing wife [7] 
16 18:59 Betty Hatfield5124 [4] 
7 18:44 Capsu78 [6] 
4 10:40 NoMoreBS [1] 
5 13:44 charger [5] 
9 12:55 Zenobia Floger6220 [8] 
3 10:41 Bright Pebbles [2] 
4 13:31 Abu Uluque [4] 
5 18:27 Airandee [] 
21 20:33 Procopius2k [6] 
1 05:50 Beldar Glomomble9352 [2] 
7 14:58 DarthVader [4] 
1 08:29 M. Murcek [2] 
4 13:40 Skidmark [4] 
4 18:53 Capsu78 [6] 
2 10:46 Skidmark [4] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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3 11:54 Rambler in Virginia []
6 12:54 M. Murcek [2]
1 11:01 Skidmark [7]
Page 6: Politix
9 20:20 Besoeker [7]
7 15:15 gorb [7]
16 21:18 3dc [3]
13 18:27 Capsu78 [7]
26 18:55 Regular joe [5]
1 22:36 Alaska Paul [7]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
After Blowing Off Subpoena, FBI Lawyer Lisa Page Will Testify to Congress Friday
[Townhall] After defying a congressional subpoena and refusing to show up for closed door testimony Wednesday, FBI lawyer Lisa Page will testify to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Friday.

The move comes after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Speaker Paul Ryan threatened to hold her in contempt.

"Late last night through her attorney, Lisa Page did agree to appear for a private interview on Friday voluntarily," Goodlatte said during an interview Thursday morning with Fox Business.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 15:35 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Only after federal marshals had to go by her house three times before they could issue the summons.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/12/2018 16:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Lisa, who released a professional glam shot yesterday that upgraded her appearance from Mr Ed to hot "plain", won't have the benefit of FBI crap weasels blocking for her as she is no longer employed, correct?
Posted by: Capsu78 || 07/12/2018 18:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Now that she's had the chance to hear Sztrok's testimony so she can avoid contradictions.
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/12/2018 19:19 Comments || Top||


Disruptive passenger forced to reimburse Delta $9,118. for emergency landing
[ABC] Delta Air Lines passenger Bolutife Olorunda was screaming and acting erratically recently on a flight, at which point he was approached by a flight attendant, according to court documents.

Olorunda verbally threatened the flight attendant by saying: "Don't touch me and if you touch me again you will regret it."

Among the 178 people onboard the Boeing 737 aircraft on May 30 were two federal air marshals, according to the complaint. One air marshal protected the cockpit while the other sat next to Olorunda to keep him calm. The captain declared an emergency and diverted the flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Olorunda was arrested.

Diversions are often costly to airlines. The additional fuel, rebooking of passengers, fees at the airport and swapping of crews can cause that price to reach in the thousands. Delta Air Lines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As part of the guilty plea reached with the U.S. attorney's office in Oklahoma, Olorunda has been ordered to pay Delta Air Lines $9,118 for the cost of the emergency landing, according to court documents. An attorney listed for Olorunda did not respond to a message left at his office by ABC News.

The Washington state man is also facing up to six months in prison, a fine up to $5,000 and additional penalties from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 15:24 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At least he's not going to be investigated by Mueller.

Yet.
Posted by: Bobby || 07/12/2018 17:21 Comments || Top||

#2  he's from Washngton State, wanna bet he's another unhinged Libtard
Posted by: 746 || 07/12/2018 18:32 Comments || Top||

#3 
Posted by: Frank G || 07/12/2018 19:55 Comments || Top||

#4  Bolutife Olorunda

Immigrant from Nigeria, or someplace like that? His parents live in Indiana, I believe.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/12/2018 21:25 Comments || Top||


Lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels says she was arrested
Washington (AFP via TOI) - Adult film star Stormy Daniels, locked in a court battle with President Donald Trump over their alleged affair, was arrested Wednesday while performing at a strip club in what her lawyer described as a "politically motivated" setup.

Daniels was arrested at a club in Columbus, Ohio while performing an act she has done at nearly 100 strip clubs across America, Michael Avenatti wrote on Twitter.

He said Daniels was arrested for allegedly allowing a customer to touch her in a non-sexual way while on stage.

"This was a setup & politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges," Avenatti wrote.

"They are devoting law enforcement resources to sting operations for this? There has to be higher priorities!!!," he added.

Avenatti said in a later tweet that he expects Daniels to be released on bail "shortly" and charged with a misdemeanor for "touching."

"We will vehemently contest all charges," he wrote.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 03:14 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Apparently Stormy Daniels is short of money to pay her Lawyer. And her Lawyer HAS to be paid "something:. He seems not to be a very good Lawyer or he would've advised his client against "performing" at her trade...while in a Nationally publicized case where her every move will be easily watched and public relations are of paramount importance.

My prognosis for Stomy is: She's rather stupid and her Lawyer isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer either.
Posted by: Beldar Glomomble9352 || 07/12/2018 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  I think she's rather lucky nobody on "resistance" side decided that finding her "mysteriously dead" could harm Trump.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/12/2018 5:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Ohio has been cracking down on strip clubs for the last few years. Stormy's just an idiot.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 07/12/2018 7:03 Comments || Top||

#4  ...I suspect because of the raging harpies rather than the evangelicals.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 7:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Usually "no touching" rules are to prevent prostitution. A little late for Daniels AND Avenatti
Posted by: Frank G || 07/12/2018 8:26 Comments || Top||

#6  I had read this article posted on Drudge:

https://www.10tv.com/article/police-stormy-daniels-grabbed-backside-undercover-columbus-officer#

At least some of the patron - performer contact occurred when the performer "... held the face of the female officer between her breasts." And other things. I wasn't there, so can't verify. I am too cheap to cough up the door charge, never mind the $thousands for personal, private meetings with her. This is no doubt a strong contributor to my bad luck. Or something.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 07/12/2018 8:55 Comments || Top||

#7  ...that's why we have the internet Mike. Considerate it 'safe sex'. There is not contact or exchange of precious bodily fluids.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 9:15 Comments || Top||

#8  There are still viruses to pick up on some of those sex sites....
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/12/2018 9:47 Comments || Top||

#9  Assault on a gendarme in Banyuls!
An actress addressing her spaniels:
"A starlet, my pretties,
May grab with her titties
Whomever she wants, per Ms. Daniels!"
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 07/12/2018 12:55 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Stormy Daniels Arrested in Ohio. Avenatti Says Political Desperation. Officers Say Because She Grabbed Female Officer by the Face (with her breasts ....)
Pictures, or it never happened!
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels was arrested in Columbus.
Her clothes could not be immediately found.
That's according to her attorney Michael Avenatti who tweeted the news early Thursday morning.
Knowing Mr. Avenatti, that's probably the only part of what he says about this that you can trust.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was performing at Sirens Adult Entertainment Club on Cleveland Avenue in north Columbus. According to an arrest report, Daniels began dancing around 11:30 Wednesday night. During her performance, officers in the club said they witnessed Daniels using her bare breasts to smack patrons. The officers also said they observed Daniels fondling the breasts of female patrons.
Observed? Perhaps the officers were lashed to a pole?
The report states that when the officers approached the stage, Daniels held the face of the female officer between her breasts.
Officer Mary Praither may have taken one for the city, but she is never going to hear the end of that.
It also says she did the same to a male officer. The report goes on to say Daniels fondled the buttocks and breasts of another officer. At that point, court documents state that a fourth officer exited the club to request assistance to make an arrest.
Because his priapism was getting in the way and would have made the whole thing awkward.
Daniels was arrested by Columbus Police and charged with three counts of "Illegally Operating Sexually Oriented Business - Employee Knowingly Touch Any Patron," according to online court records. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin Municipal Court on Friday morning.
Bill Clinton has offered to defend her based on the definition of the word "Patron".
Police brought Daniels to the Jackson Pike Correctional Facility around 4:30 Thursday morning.
Her clothes were brough in around 5:30.
10TV's Angela An spoke with Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, by phone on Thursday morning. He says her arrest is politically motivated.
Apparently politics isn't the same as it used to be.
"I have reason to believe it was politically motivated. There's no question these officers were undercover at that strip club. They knew my client would be performing there and I find this to be a complete waste of resources," Avenatti said. He tweeted Thursday morning that his client would be canceling her scheduled appearance.
I wonder how many other performers grab patrons' faces with their breasts. Of couse, there aren't many performers built like Stormy . . . .
Back in 2007, Ohio lawmakers passed the Community Defense Act. The law restricts the hours that sexually oriented businesses can operate. It also states that a patron cannot touch a nude or semi-nude dancer in a club anywhere on the premises or in the parking lot. When asked if he knew about the law, Avenatti said, "I'm aware of the law. I think it's a ridiculous use of resources."
Actually, the officers presence in this situation gives law enforcement a lot of leverage.
Daniels was released on a $6,000 bond on Thursday morning.
$6,000 and maybe grabbing the rest of the guys' faces with her breasts maybe?
Posted by: gorb || 07/12/2018 10:05 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surprising.
This area of Ohio isn’t exactly conservative Meaning I doubt they were out to get her, more like she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Additionally, it’s my understanding that most of the strip clubs know who the UC cops are.
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/12/2018 11:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Didn't SCOTUS rule a long time ago that nude dancing, panhandling and flag burning are all free speech?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 11:46 Comments || Top||

#3  In Ohio you can’t touch the merchandise.
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/12/2018 11:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, Columbus definitely ain't no conservative hotbed.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 11:48 Comments || Top||

#5  In Ohio you should not want to touch the merchandise, nor be touched by it.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 11:49 Comments || Top||

#6  I went to CWRU in Cleveland, a wide-open if rather lefty town. Ohio is the land of angry redhead bearded guy who said on video that the people killed in the Twin Towers "had it coming." Guvvener Kay-Sick. Need I say more?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 12:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Charges against her dropped according to Drudge.
Posted by: Warthog || 07/12/2018 13:25 Comments || Top||

#8  Daniels held the face of the female officer between her breasts.

Trying to smother the officer?
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/12/2018 13:34 Comments || Top||

#9  Trying to smother the officer?

Solid Silicon wouldn't be flexible enough to do that, Skidmark.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/12/2018 14:29 Comments || Top||

#10  M. Murcek- small world. I went to Case Tech
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/12/2018 14:42 Comments || Top||

#11  Charges against her dropped according to Drudge.

Wow. She didn't just get sprung?
Posted by: gorb || 07/12/2018 15:13 Comments || Top||

#12  A shorter headline would be "Aging Attention Whore Whores for Attention". But I suppose people might think it was about John McCain.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/12/2018 15:17 Comments || Top||

#13  She didn't just get sprung?

The local DA probably knew the judge would ask for a reenactment of the 'crime'.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 15:58 Comments || Top||

#14  She should come forward and make a clean breast of things.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/12/2018 17:22 Comments || Top||

#15  I guess the body cam footage got blurred when she leaned in.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 07/12/2018 18:35 Comments || Top||

#16  In Ohio you can’t touch the merchandise.

In this case it seems the merchandise was doing the touching.
Posted by: Betty Hatfield5124 || 07/12/2018 18:59 Comments || Top||


USAF Flight Engineer Mazzolini and 'Old DOC' (tissue alert)
[YuoTube]

Featuring Rosie the Riveter, Connie Palacioz.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  America has problems, but I'll bet on this sort of spirit every time.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 8:29 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Zimbabwe Launches Space Agency
[All Africa] Zim-bob-we on Tuesday launched its space agency to advance the country's research and innovation.

Launching the institution, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the Zim-bob-we National GeoSpatial and Space Agency (Zingsa) is expected to advance the country's interests in geospatial science, earth observation and satellite communication systems.

"This initiative is expected to enhance Zim-bob-we's capabilities in global policy discourses on generation, access, use and regulation of the application of space technologies and innovations for sustainable development," Mnangagwa said.

He said the space agency will go a long way towards building technical expertise and institutional capacities in various sectors of the economy including agriculture, minerals mapping and quantification, life sciences, wildlife management and tourism, renewable energy, weather and climate services.

Tapping into global technological advancements would also aid the country's industrial agenda as the country strives to attain a middle income economy by 2030, Mnangagwa said.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Amon Murwira said establishment of Zingsa would take a phased approach.

"We know exactly what we are doing, we know exactly where we are going, we know that it will be a phased approach and we know that it will be successful," he said.

Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We know exactly what we are doing,"

That's some funny shit right there...
Posted by: Raj || 07/12/2018 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  He said the Chinese space agency will go a long way towards building technical expertise....... agriculture, minerals mapping and quantification, life sciences, wildlife management and tourism, renewable energy.....

"Minerals" as in diamonds, gold, etc. "Wildlife Management" game farms. All dividend to the gov't please. That would be all dividends please.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 8:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Farmin' be hard on the Moon.

And yeah, this is all sock puppetry for China.
Posted by: charger || 07/12/2018 13:55 Comments || Top||

#4  tl;dr: some guy in Zimbob installed Google Earth.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/12/2018 16:24 Comments || Top||

#5  The SS Inflation is schedule to raise quickly from Zimbabwe
Posted by: Airandee || 07/12/2018 18:27 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
POTUS rips Soetoro, says he would have stopped Russia's annexation of Crimea
[Washington Examiner] President Trump said Thursday that he would not have allowed Russia's military intervention in Ukraine that allowed it to annex Crimea in 2014, and blamed former President Barack Obama for allowing it to happen.

"Long before I got here, President Obama allowed that to happen," Trump told reporters in Belgium just days before he's set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "That was on his watch, not on my watch."

"That was on Barack Obama's watch, that was not on Trump's watch," he added.
See graphic for primary target audience of Pres. Trump's statement
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 08:39 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hat tip to the Bolton-Pompeo-Mattis Foreign Policy Institute.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Putin's Puppet(tm)?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 9:20 Comments || Top||

#3  How is the question. I don't know if there were enough things we could bring pressure on the Russians with at that time to bring about a diplomatic solution.

The Baltic states are easier. Put US troops on the ground.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/12/2018 9:45 Comments || Top||

#4  The Baltic states are indefensible. I have no idea why they're in NATO.

All I can think is a jumping off point closer to Moscow, for Operation Barbarossa Part 2: Only We Bring Winter Coats This Time.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 07/12/2018 10:58 Comments || Top||

#5  The Baltic states are indefensible.

No more than Finland is indefensible. The difference is that the Finns choose to have a credible armed force. Whereas the Balts don't have a single tank or interceptor among them. They are relying exclusively on the kindness of strangers. They will resist to the last dead American.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/12/2018 12:01 Comments || Top||

#6  They do have APCs.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 16:02 Comments || Top||

#7  Talinn also has a NATO regional campus flyint the NATO flag that would be politically bad optics that the Russians AND NATO members would have to deal with/exploit in any "redistricting" Vlad might want to pursue.
A stop sign anyway.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 07/12/2018 18:44 Comments || Top||


Russian Special Forces Just Practiced Invading an Island Near Finland
[Defense One] A group of Russian special operations forces parachuted onto the island of Gogland in a Russian-controlled portion of the Gulf of Finland. They hid their parachutes, journeyed deep into the interior, and destroyed a series of mock communications stations, radars and ASM batteries. They then prepped a landing site for a helicopter escape ‐ despite the fact that the island already has a helipad.

The troops jumped from a Mi-8AMTSH helicopter at an altitude of 2,500 meters, and used satellite navigation equipment to guide them to their landing site, notes a July 10 press release on the drill from the Russian Ministry of Defense. The soldiers that took part in the exercise had "not less than a hundred jumps with parachutes of various types," it said.

Aki Heikkinen, who curates Russianmilitarywatch.com, pointed out that Gogland, seized by Russia in 1944, is just 24 miles from the Finnish city of Kotka.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They hid their parachutes, journeyed deep into the interior, and destroyed a series of mock communications stations, radars and ASM batteries. They then prepped a landing site for a helicopter escape

A small island assault exercise doesn't mean prep for engaging Finland, as the article suggests. I would look for a more troubled region near the same latitude.

Posted by: Skidmark || 07/12/2018 10:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Don’t our SF do the same thing routinely?
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/12/2018 11:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Volodya to brass, over stroganoff:
"You've garrisoned Gogland?" Matovnikov:
"One man singlehanded
Can kill all I've landed.
We've got to get ready for Badanov!"
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 07/12/2018 14:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Well done series on Netflix called "Occupied" is a pretty realistic story of possible Russian expansionist behavior in Scadinavia...Subtitled, but very high quality STs.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 07/12/2018 18:53 Comments || Top||


Europe
Trump to NATO allies: Raise military spending to 4 percent of GDP
[Al Jazeera] US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
has told NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
countries to increase their defence spending to four percent of their gross domestic product, higher than the group's goal of two percent, a White House official said on Wednesday.

The official said the president's remarks were not a formal proposal but came as he was urging leaders of the 29-member military alliance to increase their outlays on defence.

The US president has been openly critical of his NATO allies since becoming president in January 2017. Ahead of the summit being held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, Trump sent out a tweet about the funding of NATO.

Trump has repeatedly said the US was bearing an unfair burden because it spends many times more of its GDP on defence than other NATO countries.

Speaking at the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said that members states had agreed to spend more on defence in the coming years.

"All allies are increasing defence spending. This year at least eight of the NATO countries have committed to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence and a majority of our allies have plans to do so by 2024," Stoltenberg said during a presser in Brussels.

"For a quarter of a century many countries have been cutting billions from their defence budgets. Now they are adding billions," he added.

Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And cut back on the Wine and cheese a bit, or on the schnitzel if you live on the there side of the Border.

Oh and keep up the good work with the Muzzies and the Welfare payments...you are a spiritually superior people and we are inspired ( but not stupid). Anyway, keep up the spiritual inspiring example for the world. Earn the name EUroweenie and wear it with Pride.
Posted by: Beldar Glomomble9352 || 07/12/2018 5:32 Comments || Top||

#2  The Art of the Deal
Posted by: Whans Angaviling9293 || 07/12/2018 5:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Not going to happen.

It's an extension of the Swamp(tm), till the 20 trillion dollar debt comes due.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 7:13 Comments || Top||

#4  But then how will they be able to support their Arab populations?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 07/12/2018 13:31 Comments || Top||


Germans want US troops withdrawal, poll finds
[PRESSTV] Germans want the withdrawal of American troops from their country, a new poll says, amid US 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 threats to discontinue military support for the Western military alliance of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
A YouGov poll for the German news agency DPA found that more Germans would welcome the withdrawal of the 35,000-strong American force than would oppose it, British online newspaper The Independent reported Wednesday.

Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie was cracking himself up, but nobody else seemed to be getting the non-stop jokes...
42 percent said they supported withdrawal while just 37 percent wanted the soldiers to stay, with 21 percent undecided.

The finding comes on the first day of a NATO summit, during which the US president is expected to press Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
to increase military spending if it wants to continue to receive American military support.

US troops have been stationed in Germany since the Second World War.

There are nearly 36 US military bases in Germany, a significant reduction from over 200 that were located there until the end of the Cold War.

Last month, US daily The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was analyzing the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany, amid growing tensions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems ..
, according to people familiar with the work.

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
the US ambassador to NATO said earlier this month that no discussions were underway regarding withdrawal of US troops in Germany.

"There is nothing being said at all about the troop alignment in Germany or anything that would change" the basing arrangements there, Kay Bailey Hutchison told news hounds in a briefing on July 5. "I’ve heard nothing on that score."

This comes as Trump has been pushing other countries with the NATO, including Germany, to contribute more to their military spending.

Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thunderous applause. Outstanding.

Let us withdraw our troops at once and leave Germany alone. After all, they don't need us.

Moreover there will be fewer wars in the Mideast because the globalists in the US government won't be able to stage from Germany. It's win-win.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 07/12/2018 4:33 Comments || Top||

#2  I think we can be of help here.
Posted by: Whans Angaviling9293 || 07/12/2018 5:37 Comments || Top||

#3  35,000 troops is not a large number. Simply pass out 35,000 broomsticks to the local Germans mowing their lawns and load it all up and fly them home.

Tell Merkel she can take Russian language lessons and tell Brussels to tell the Russians they can have all the Chocolate they can carry. And don't forget the Wine and Cheese.
Posted by: Beldar Glomomble9352 || 07/12/2018 5:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Time for "no fault" divorce?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/12/2018 6:01 Comments || Top||

#5  But no alimony!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/12/2018 6:02 Comments || Top||

#6  And all the rest of Europe decides that they have a border with Germany that could use a few US "sightseers".
Posted by: AlanC || 07/12/2018 7:53 Comments || Top||

#7  Poland is nicer and nearer Russia.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/12/2018 9:25 Comments || Top||

#8  ...given the state of German military readiness, one could see a future headline "Poland invades liberates Germany" to preclude being outflanked by the Muslim invasion?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 9:34 Comments || Top||

#9  Sold. Just move the troops east into Poland and the Baltic states where they are welcomed.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/12/2018 9:52 Comments || Top||

#10  IIRC Germany pays a lot to have US troops in Germany. They include it as part of their nato tithe.
I doubt the Russian response to US troops in Poland would be worth the effort. It’s an idea worth investigating.
Germany knows that now Poland is aligned with the west they have breathing room, troops or no troops.
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/12/2018 11:17 Comments || Top||

#11  Germany understands that US troops in Poland protect them almost as well from the Russians as US troops in Germany.

Also the Germans would like to remove the every present reminder of their Nazi past.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 07/12/2018 11:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Germany has to stop being socialist before we forget about German national socialism
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/12/2018 11:59 Comments || Top||

#13  "Which" Germans? After you count the votes of the Easterners pining for the "Good Olde Tyme" of the Cold War when they were apparatchiks and times were good better than their neighbors in the Warsaw Pact.
Posted by: magpie || 07/12/2018 12:46 Comments || Top||

#14  BP might have a point. Maybe we need to think about whether we really want the Germans to arm themselves.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 07/12/2018 13:35 Comments || Top||

#15  Does European Conservative have the day off?
Posted by: Bobby || 07/12/2018 15:47 Comments || Top||

#16  I've heard so much BS about NATO in the last days that I don't really feel like commenting.
Posted by: European Conservative || 07/12/2018 17:28 Comments || Top||

#17  Building something like Ramstein Air Base in Poland would cost many $ billion. Building something like Landstuhl Medical Center would have a similar cost.

and there are over a dozen other smaller US facilities in Germany
Posted by: lord garth || 07/12/2018 18:20 Comments || Top||

#18  The airbase and medical center are sunk costs. Shut it down and break them up as we leave. The Krauts cannot be trusted with them.
Posted by: Regular joe || 07/12/2018 18:52 Comments || Top||

#19  New Landstuhl medical center will cost at least 170 million euros. U.S. only pays 40 million euros, the rest is paid by Germany.
Posted by: European Conservative || 07/12/2018 18:59 Comments || Top||

#20  Iran PressTV puts the strongest anti-American spin on the thing possible. From The Local - Germany last week:

White House has no plans to pull US troops out of Germany

"There is nothing being said at all about the troop alignment in Germany or anything that would change the 32,000 troop force that we have in Germany," said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.


And from the same source yesterday, about the poll:

The survey, carried out for DPA and published on Wednesday, showed that 42 percent of Germans would be happy if the US pulled its troops out of the Bundesrepublik. At the same time 37 percent said they want the US soldiers to stay, while 21 percent gave no answer.

In particular, voters for the far-left Die Linke and far-right Alternative for Germany wanted an end to US army bases, with 67 percent and 55 percent, respectively, saying the Amis should go. On the other hand, only 35 percent of voters for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) support this.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/12/2018 20:04 Comments || Top||

#21  Costs? We're 20 Trillion dollars in debt. It ain't getting smaller. NATO and the rest of the world had better seek another sucker when the proverbial **** hits the fan.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 20:33 Comments || Top||


NATO accuses Russia of destabilizing eastern Ukraine
[PRESSTV] NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
has once again accused Russia of what it sees as destabilizing eastern Ukraine as members of the Western military alliance gather for a summit in Brussels.

NATO leaders issued a declaration at the summit in the Belgian capital on Wednesday, whereby they expressed concern about reduced security at NATO borders as a result of what they said were Russia’s activities, including its "destabilization of eastern Ukraine."

Russia and the West have been at odds over Ukraine since a political crisis erupted in the country in late 2014. The West is also angry at what it claims to be Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a former Ukrainian territory on the Black Sea and dominated by ethnic Russians which joined the Russian Federation after a referendum four years ago.

NATO members said in the statement that they would remain committed to the security of Ukraine as well as members of the alliance who may be affected by Russia’s increased military activities along its western borders.

In a clear response to US 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 repeated calls for increased contribution of NATO members to the finances of the organization, the statement said that NATO members would remain committed to pledges for increased military spending.

"We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to all aspects of the Defense Investment Pledge agreed at the 2014 Wales Summit, and to submit credible national plans on its implementation, including the spending guidelines for 2024, planned capabilities, and contributions," read the NATO statement.

It said all NATO members were committed to increasing military spending to reach the 2-percent portion of their overall national income.

Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "NATO members said in the statement that they would remain committed to the security of Ukraine as well as members of the alliance who may be affected by Russia’s increased military activities along its western borders."

I will just bet they will. One word: Chihuahua. The Ukrainians can rely on the Vicious protection of the armed and mighty Chihuahuas.
Ever had your shoes untied by a barking and snapping angry Chihuahua? And I hope ( for your sake) that you never do.
Posted by: Beldar Glomomble9352 || 07/12/2018 5:50 Comments || Top||


Belgium: Protesters rally against NATO’s ‘militarism’ as summit continues
[PRESSTV] Protesters erupted into the streets of Brussels on Wednesday as the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
summit continued in the Belgian capital.

Demonstrators can be seen chanting slogans and holding banners. One of the them, Joselyne de Markten, explained her reasons for being at the rally.

"We are protesting the growing militarism of the EU and the NATO member states' role in fueling conflict and oppression against the world, around the world," she said.

Chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO summit is set to discuss the most urgent issues for its members concerning international security and military affairs.

Transatlantic trade agreements as well as the US withdrawal from both the global climate pact and Iran nuclear deal are on the summit’s agenda, as are defense spending contributions.
Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We are protesting the growing militarism of the EU and the NATO member states' role in fueling conflict and oppression against the world, around the world," she said.

Kinda missing the entire point about NATO, cookie?
Posted by: Raj || 07/12/2018 0:09 Comments || Top||

#2  All several dozen of them.

Via Drudge:
Anti-Trump Protest at NATO Draws Only a Couple Dozen
Posted by: Whans Angaviling9293 || 07/12/2018 5:43 Comments || Top||

#3  We are from the EU and we are only here to help. Said the man in the patent leather boots and the pink uniform with the gold epaulettes.

And this was echoed by the Belgium lady in the leotard and the pink knitted cap/.
Posted by: Beldar Glomomble9352 || 07/12/2018 5:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Lets get out and bring back every gram of steel we have put over there. We can use it to build new ships for the navy while passing on buying imported steel. The shipping back of all the materiel can be jobs for Americans.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 10:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Were there more reporters than demonstrators? Or did the All-Europe Rail Passes let them assemble a "authentic spontaneous[sic] crowd" properly?
Posted by: magpie || 07/12/2018 12:48 Comments || Top||

#6  возможно, им понравится говорить по-русски
(Maybe they will enjoy speaking Russian)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/12/2018 14:38 Comments || Top||

#7  How many of them are funded by Russia and how many are just idiots lead by the funded ones?
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/12/2018 14:58 Comments || Top||


American tourist allegedly tries to take 'souvenir' WWI artillery shell on plane
[FOX] An American tourist caused a portion of the Vienna Airport in Austria to shut down after she allegedly tried to take an unexploded World War II artillery shell through customs, reports said.

Austrian customs officials called in the bomb disposal unit to remove the shell after the 24-year-old tourist asked if she could take the "souvenir" on her flight, Deutsche Welle reported.

The incident caused a portion of the arrivals and luggage section of the airport to close for 15 minutes, according to the outlet.

The woman said she found the military ordnance while hiking, and even cleaned it off at her hotel room so it wouldn’t get her clothes in her luggage dirty, the outlet reported, citing the Krone newspaper.

The tourist, who was not identified, was fined nearly $5,000 and reported to prosecutors for negligent endangerment, Deutsche Welle reported.

Despite the potentially hazardous situation, police told the outlet passengers were never in any danger.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  She did ASK if she could take it on the plane. Would it have been discovered otherwise?
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/12/2018 9:40 Comments || Top||

#2  An American tourist

That explains a lot.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/12/2018 10:46 Comments || Top||


Greece asked for Russian diplomats’ expulsion
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Greece had informed Russia on July 6 that it planned to expel Russian diplomats from the country for illegal activities connected to rallies against a deal with Macedonia, a Greek diplomatic source told Rooters on Wednesday.

"We had issued warnings to Russian authorities for some time over (the actions of) these specific 4 diplomats and civilians, and on Friday it was officially raised, giving them a reasonable period of a few days to leave the country," the source told Rooters.

The allegations concerned involvement in rallies against a deal with Macedonia and attempts to offer money to state officials, the source said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Turkey arrests televangelist Adnan Oktar on multiple charges
[Al Jazeera] A notorious televangelist has been locked away
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
by Ottoman Turkish police from his home on dozens of charges that include fraud, sexual assault, and military espionage.

Adnan Oktar was arrested in Istanbul by the city's police financial crimes unit after an operation that had spread over five provinces, Anadolu Agency reported.

According to Ottoman Turkish daily Hurriyet, security forces seized an arms cache, body armours and armoured vehicles at the televangelist's residence. Oktar was caught as he was trying to run away, the daily added.

A total of 235 arrest warrants were issued in a major crackdown on his supporters, with 79 arrested so far in raids supported by helicopters.

The detention warrant accuses Oktar and his followers of dozens of charges, including money laundering, forming a criminal organization, sexual abuse of children, torture, illegal recording of personal data, and political and military espionage.

Oktar is the host of talk show programmes on his television channel, A9, where he mixes discussion of Islam and dancing with women he calls "kittens".
Posted by: Fred || 07/12/2018 00:16 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Not a 'Gulenist'? Shocking!
Posted by: Raj || 07/12/2018 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Only the Sultan is allowed a harem.
Posted by: Whans Angaviling9293 || 07/12/2018 5:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Just because Erdogan is dodgy AF doesn't mean others aren't.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/12/2018 10:41 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Parkland Survivors Sue Broward Law Enforcement Officials; Allege Incompetence, Poor Training and Cowardice
[ZeroHedge] Incompetence, Poor Training and Cowardice? Cops? Not possible!
That was the non-response to troubled and misbehaving known wolf Nikolas Cruz shooting up his old high school on Valentines Day, 2018.
Posted by: Iblis || 07/12/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Doesn't sound like difficult points to prove, just a matter of how well Scott Israel & co. are indemnified against 'official acts'.
Posted by: Raj || 07/12/2018 0:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Why does it feel like this was 5 years ago?

The caterwauling about it seems endless.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/12/2018 7:56 Comments || Top||

#3  It's the creepy school district superintendent and the school board members who back him up who need sued into oblivion.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/12/2018 10:02 Comments || Top||

#4  This may set the precedence for the Las Vegas massacre lawsuits.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/12/2018 13:40 Comments || Top||


Government
NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers formally retired on May 4, 2018. Guess what happened on May 23rd, 2018 ?
[NYT - 29 June 2018] WASHINGTON ‐ The National Security Agency has purged hundreds of millions of records logging phone calls and texts that it had gathered from American telecommunications companies since 2015, the agency has disclosed. It had realized that its database was contaminated with some files the agency had no authority to receive.

The agency began destroying the records on May 23, it said in a statement. Officials had discovered "technical irregularities" this year in its collection from phone companies of so-called call record details, or metadata showing who called or texted whom and when, but not what they said.

The agency had collected the data from a system it created under the USA Freedom Act. Congress enacted that law in 2015 to end and replace a once-secret program that had systematically collected Americans’ domestic calling records in bulk. The National Security Agency uses the data to analyze social links between people in a hunt for hidden associates of known terrorism suspects.

The program traces back to a component of the once-secret Stellarwind surveillance program that the Bush administration put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The data collection eventually came to be justified under disputed interpretation of a law known as Section 215 of the Patriot Act and was exposed in 2013 in the leaks by Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor.

The disclosure caused an uproar, and Congress eventually enacted the Freedom Act to end and replace the program. Under the new system, the bulk data about Americans’ phone calls and texts has instead remained in the hands of telecoms, and the National Security Agency may collect only specific sets of records from it: the phone logs of a surveillance target and of everyone that person has contacted. A judge must also agree that there is reason to suspect the target has links to terrorism.

Under the Freedom Act, the agency took in 151 million call-detail records in 2016 and 534 million such records in 2017, according to government reports.
Emphasis added.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 07:09 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Probably all a simple coincidence, but as you may recall, Candidate Trump removed his campaign team from Trump Towers the day after his meeting with Admiral Rogers.

NSA Head Meets With Trump Team But Doesn't Give Obama A Heads Up.
NPR November 22, 20165:09 AM ET
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Are they hinting the NSA was spying on Team Trump from the start and purged incriminating records to protect their swamp?

The records requesting which numbers they asked for should still be about.

Congress should look at those.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/12/2018 9:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Are they hinting the NSA was spying on Team Trump from the start and purged incriminating records to protect their swamp?

My guess is the NSA collection effort would implicate the UK's GCHQ and possibly Christopher Steele.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/12/2018 9:40 Comments || Top||

#4  All that proof of the era of Hildabeest and Champ’s criminal behavior just went poof
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/12/2018 10:40 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Woman Cries Rape After Man Refuses To Drive Her Home
h/t Instapundit
An upstate New York woman has been charged with false reporting of a crime after police say she claimed she was raped. In reality, she was angry at the man because he wouldn’t give her a ride home.

Jessica Gallagher, 27, met a man on a dating app and told police that he abducted, blindfolded, and raped her. Police say she later admitted that she made up the false rape claim because the man refused to drive her home.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/12/2018 06:23 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is the woman going to be prosecuted?
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/12/2018 7:53 Comments || Top||

#2  She should go to jail for the same time he would have been if convicted of rape.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/12/2018 9:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Is the woman going to be prosecuted?

Of course not. Haven't you understood its all about projection? Male privilege is projection of actual female privilege. No responsibility because of Excuse 1, Excuse 2 or Excuse 3.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/12/2018 9:26 Comments || Top||

#4  Dating app. First mistake.
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/12/2018 9:41 Comments || Top||

#5  #2 She should go to jail for the same time he would have been if convicted of rape.

And to the same men's prison to which he would have been sent.
Posted by: charger || 07/12/2018 13:44 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2018-07-12
  Germany arrests Iran ‘spy’ on bomb plot charges
Wed 2018-07-11
  Gazan kites burn 150 acres in Israel’s south
Tue 2018-07-10
   All the boys and their coach are out of the Tham Luang cave. Navy Seals and the doctor still yet to exit.-Twitter news from Sydney
Mon 2018-07-09
  1 US soldier killed, 2 wounded in apparent insider attack in Afghanistan
Sun 2018-07-08
  Live updates: Thailand cave rescue: navy Seals confirm four boys have been rescued – live
Sat 2018-07-07
  Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif sentenced to 10 years in jail
Fri 2018-07-06
  600 airstrikes by Russian, Syrian jets against Daraa: Observatory
Thu 2018-07-05
  Scott Pruitt driven to resign effective July 6
Wed 2018-07-04
  Happy 4th of July! Rare US independence declaration found in UK archive
Tue 2018-07-03
  An Iranian diplomat was arrested in a plot to blow up a massive 'freedom' event attended by Rudy Giuliani
Mon 2018-07-02
  Cleveland FBI says it thwarted downtown Fourth of July terrorist attack
Sun 2018-07-01
  Islamist militants attack African military base in Mali, at least six dead
Sat 2018-06-30
  South Korea to tighten asylum laws as hundreds of Yemenis arrive
Fri 2018-06-29
  Haftar's forces say they have captured Libyan city of Derna
Thu 2018-06-28
  MD Sheriff: 'Multiple Fatalities' in Annapolis Newsroom Shooting


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