[Mil.com] Former US Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, the officer who in 2013 was convicted of war crimes, said it was "impossible to find a job" at a Walmart or Target, despite being granted a full pardon by President Donald Trump last month.
Lorance was sentenced to 19 years in military prison after he was found guilty of second-degree murder by ordering his soldiers to shoot at three unarmed men on a motorcycle in Afghanistan in 2012. Two of the men were killed by machine-gun fire and the third was wounded.
Nine of Lorance's fellow soldiers testified against him in his trial, with some of them alleging that he tried to cover up what he did. Lorance has maintained his innocence and defended his actions as protecting fellow soldiers.
"I made the best decision I could make, given the conditions on the ground," Lorance said on "The Sean Hannity Show" after his pardon in November, adding, "I would make the same exact decision again today if I was faced with that decision."
Lorance had served six years of his sentence when Trump granted him clemency in November. Trump's executive order -- which also dismissed another war-crimes case before trial and reinstated the rank of a convicted Navy chief -- cited the "long history" of presidents who "have used their authority to offer second chances to deserving individuals."
#5
Not sure why "?" even comes into it. When a big corporate insurer finds out some small fry is employing a "controversial" person, they have unlimited leeway to cancel a policy. And ask anyone who has to explain to another insurer why they were cancelled by their last one to expand upon how that's a problem.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 15:46 Comments ||
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#6
MM, Surely, you can find somebody who understands - or pressure the bastards. I mean, this guy is important. IMO, he's the symbol of all the soldiers in modern time who were told "Go and win a war, but die rather than producing negative publicity."
#7
^I mean, it's not like he marched into a a village, rounded all the men and shot them or raped the women. All he did is miscalculate the threat level - and not by much. I'm sure if you take a good look at the WoT records, you'll find plenty of examples of USA soldiers who died because they were wrong in another direction.
IMO, at most, he should've gotten a year. Maybe a discharge. Not 19!
#8
I'd be top of the list hoping insurance companies might decide to be honest brokers. I would not even be in the back of the line to bet on it, though...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 16:14 Comments ||
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#9
Not a lawyer but guessing that such insurance co. behavior might be illegal in municipalities such as SF that have laws non-discriminatory treatment of people with criminal records.
[FOXNEWS] The Florida man who was found partially eaten by an alligator earlier this year died from a meth overdose ‐ not a gator attack, as was speculated, according to autopsy results.
Michael Ford, 45, was found dead in a canal near Fort Meade, a city in Polk County roughly 60 miles east of Tampa, on June 27. Someone had reported seeing a piece of the man's body in a nearby alligator's mouth and called authorities.
Pieces of Michael Ford's body had been found inside this alligator's stomach in June, according to officials.
Pieces of Michael Ford's body had been found inside this alligator's stomach in June, according to officials. (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
The Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said they were investigating Ford's death and on Wednesday, the county medical examiner's office confirmed he died of "methamphetamine intoxication," WTSP reported.
Ford's initial apparent cause of death was drowning, pending toxicology results, and Sherlocks said he had lacerations and other injuries on his body because of the alligator.
Michael Ford's body was found floating in a canal in Polk County in June, the sheriff's office said.
Michael Ford's body was found floating in a canal in Polk County in June, the sheriff's office said. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
After the man's body was discovered, the FWC trapped and killed the alligator. A necropsy found Ford's hand and foot inside of the reptile's stomach, but the medical examiner said it appears the alligator ‐ which reportedly weighed 450 pounds and was around 12 feet long ‐ attacked Ford after he died.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
I hope the alligator wasn't hurt by meth tainted meat.
[FoxNews] Sections of a park in Northern California are now closed off with warning signs posted after feral hogs invaded the area in recent months, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
The city of Lafayette said Tuesday in a news release the spike in the wild pig population in recent months has prompted the city to close some nature trails and post warning signs in order to protect residents from the "dangerous species" in the Burton Valley and Lafayette Community Park areas, located about 20 miles east of San Francisco.
[WattsUpWithThat] The sun is currently in the midst of a deep solar minimum and it is about to reach an historic milestone. So far this year the sun has been blank (i.e., no visible sunspots) for 266 days and, barring any major surprises, it’ll reach 269 days early next week which will be the quietest year in terms of sunspots since 1913 when the sun was spotless for 311 days. In fact, the current stretch of consecutive spotless days has reached 29 and for the year the sun has been blank 77% of the time. The current record-holder in the satellite era for spotless days in a given year is 2008 when the sun was blank for 268 days making the 2008-2009 solar minimum the deepest since 1913.
Solar minimum is a normal part of the 11-year sunspot cycle, but the last one and the current one have been far deeper than most. One of the consequences of a solar minimum is a reduction of solar storms and another is the intensification of cosmic rays. The just ended solar cycle 24 turned out to be one of the weakest in more than a century ‐ continuing a weakening trend that began in the 1980’s ‐ and, if the latest forecasts are correct, the next solar cycle will be the weakest in more than 200 years.
One of the natural impacts of decreasing solar activity is the weakening of the ambient solar wind and its magnetic field which, in turn, allows more and more cosmic rays to penetrate the solar system. Galactic cosmic rays are high-energy particles originating from outside the solar system that can impact the Earth’s atmosphere. Our first line of defense from cosmic rays comes from the sun as its magnetic field and the solar wind combine to create a ’shield’ that fends off cosmic rays attempting to enter the solar system. The shielding action of the sun is strongest during solar maximum and weakest during solar minimum with the weakening magnetic field and solar wind. The intensity of cosmic rays varies globally by about 15% over a solar cycle because of changes in the strength of the solar wind, which carries a weak magnetic field into the heliosphere, partially shielding Earth from low-energy galactic charged particles. Much more at the link.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/13/2019 09:50 ||
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#4
Several weeks ago, an article was posted here about a Russian scientist perfecting her model of solar output. The model fit known solar patterns over the last 400 years or more. One conclusion was the years 2030-2050 could be the coldest in 400 years.
Take that, Greta!
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2019 17:16 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan broached the idea of using a cruise ship to house up to 1,000 homeless people, suggesting a ship be brought to the Port of Oakland as the region deals with skyrocketing costs of living and a shortage of affordable housing.
Homelessness has spiked in Oakland, with a 47 percent jump in two years — one of the largest surges of any California city, according to a one-night street count released in July.
The count, which used federal guidelines, showed Oakland had 4,017 homeless people, up from 2,761 in 2017. The increase has put the city's per capita homeless rate higher than neighboring San Francisco and Berkeley.
#13
I read somewhere that Oakland has fascilites for container ships, not cruise ships, so this is ignorant nonsense.
Also ships are famously expensive to upkeep. What idiot thought this would be cheaper than refurbishing a dilapidated building or two should be tarred and feathered.
#14
What idiot thought this would be cheaper than refurbishing a dilapidated building or two should be tarred and feathered.
via LA Times:
With the costs of building housing on the rise, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin is recommending that some projects be reevaluated to see if their budgets can be cut to use less of the city’s $1.2-billion homeless housing bond.
In an audit that will be released Tuesday, Galperin found that more than 1,000 units of housing approved for funding through Proposition HHH could top $600,000 apiece.
#15
#13 The point is "out of sight, out of mind" + difficult to leave. As to upkeep, who told you it'll be high standard? Google imprisonment on hulks.
#18
Wouldn't a tent city out in the boondocks be cheaper and easier to maintain? Surround it by concertina wire. Sort the inmates according to their particular cases. Some will be mentally ill, others will be drug addicts or alcoholics and others will be lazy, no-good bums. Keep them incarcerated as long as the law allows and release them with a warning that repeated offenses will result in longer periods of incarceration. How could that be worse or more expensive than letting them die on the streets?
But, yes, I know that would make too much sense for a Democrat to understand.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/13/2019 12:56 Comments ||
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Bill Burr has the right idea about cruise ships
Posted by: Regular joe ||
12/13/2019 14:23 Comments ||
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#20
Fire on that cruise ship and the cities homeless problem is gone and the politicians problems have only just begun.
#23
Of course, the cruise guests would be entitled to vote multiple times, even tho their "address" was not in any voting district. With a carton of cigarettes or a gallon of tokay for each vote cast...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 15:50 Comments ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Police on Thursday recovered the hanging bodies of two women, whose families claimed they were killed for failing to pay an endless dowry demanded by their husbands.
The body of Hasina Akter Pakhi, 30, was recovered from the Dakshin Rajarampur village of the Senbug upazila in Noakhali and the body of Mukhtar Parvin, 19, was recovered from the Mongolpur village of Birol upazila in Dinajpur.
Hasina's brother Yunus said: "My sister was married to Anwar Hossain 12 years ago. Anwar used to beat her often for dowry. Recently my family bought him an auto-rickshaw as he was unemployed. Two days ago we gave him Tk20,000, yet he strangled my sister to death and hung her body from a beam of his house."
Senbug cop shoppe OC Mizanur Rahman said: "Anwar is nowhere to be found in the village since the incident. Hasina's body was sent to Noakhali General Hospital morgue for an appointment with Dr. Quincy. Necessary action will be taken after a case is filed regarding the matter.
Mukhtar's younger sister, Rumi Akhter, said: "My sister was married to Mainul Hasan in March 2018. He earlier took a total of Tk4 lakh. He recently demanded a further Tk2 lakh and killed her as we failed to pay. He often used to beat her and didn't let her contact us over the phone. He hung her body from a ceiling fan to make it look like suicide. I saw injury marks on her body while she was taken for his appointment with Doctor Quincy."
Birol Police station OC Sheikh Nasim Habib said necessary action will be taken after receiving the autopsy report.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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[MAIL] The pound has surged to its highest level against the euro in a decade as Britain prepares to finally 'get Brexit done'.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed victory in the general election last night and when the exit poll emerged, the pound rose about 2 per cent against the dollar to reach $1.3469 and was up 1.6 percent against the euro at €1.2054.
Sterling was at its highest against the euro since the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, and its highest in more than a year against the dollar.
At 7am, the pound was up 2.1 per cent against the dollar to 1.345 and up 1.29 per cent against the euro, nudging close to 12-month and 31-month highs respectively, having hit and remained at the highs from within the first hour of the exit poll's release.
The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher on the back of Johnson's victory.
The City reacted positively as the Conservatives romped home to the biggest majority since 1987 but warned clarity was now needed on the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
Bosses and trade bodies also called on the Government to end 'arbitrary negotiating deadlines'.
[THESUN.CO.UK] TRIUMPHANT Boris Johnson ...pro-Brexit British prime minister, succeeding no-Brexit Theresa May. BoJo is noted as much for his sparkling personality and his hair as for his Conservative policies.... said his stunning landslide win has given him a "powerful mandate to get Brexit done" as humiliated Jeremy Corbyn vowed to quit.
The Tory boss said work to finally get Britannia out of the EU would start later today, with the Tories on course for a majority of 86 and to take 46 per cent of the vote.
[IsraelTimes] Luciana Berger fails to win a UK Parliament seat in the heavily Jewish Finchley and Golders Green district, continuing a trend in which virtually all lawmakers who defected from the Labour Party failed to win seats in the British elections, according to UK media.
Berger, who left the Labour Party over issues related to anti-Semitism, loses to the sitting Conservative MP Mike Freer.
Freer wins with 24,162 votes with Berger taking 17,600, a rise of 25.3% for the Liberal Democrats.
In his victory speech, Freer pays tribute to his opponent and “the very difficult decision” she took to leave the Labour party and her safe seat.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh, sob. Maundering marm Jo Swinson chucked out.
Sweet...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 0:35 Comments ||
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#2
Now do what trump did, get the economy soaring and the people employed and prove that hostile opinions about the Conservative party are wrong.
#4
After the 2000 election Al Gore appeared at the Al Smith Dinner and he was pretty funny. His daughter wrote for Futurama and she wrote him some brilliant material and I couldn't help but think if he showed any of that likability on the campaign trail he would have won.
I think Boris' Love Actually Commercial was brilliant and showed a 'common' side of him that probably won over a ton of people. Just a theory.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Omsktransmash (part of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer within the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) has completed the delivery of upgraded T-80BVM tanks to Russian troops, the Rostec press office reported on Thursday.
“The upgrade allows enhancing the vehicle’s basic combat properties: its firepower, defense capability, mobility and crew’s control. The tanks are successfully undergoing all the trials: the gas turbine engine does not fail even in the most severe frost. It is not without reason that the T-80BVM has been dubbed ‘Arctic’ for its unique properties and the vehicle’s easy operation in low temperatures,” the press office quoted Omsktransmash CEO Igor Lobov as saying.
Before its delivery to the troops, each combat vehicle underwent a factory check of all its systems and the required trials at a testing range and its acceptance by the customer, Rostec noted.
At the first stage of the trials, the combat vehicle test-fires all its weapons. After that, it enters running tests on a track across rough terrain where steep slopes 3-7 meters high interchange with unpaved roads and rugged sections with a large number of turns, it said.
After that, Defense Ministry representatives accept combat vehicles. In the assembly workshop, specialists check the combat vehicle’s fire control system and loading mechanism, carry out necessary technical work and coating and supply it with spare parts, tools and other accessories, the Rostec press office informed.
Russia’s Northern Fleet reported in November that a tank battalion of its separate motorized infantry brigade had received a batch of 26 T-80BVM tanks.
The T-80BVM is an upgraded version of the T-80BM tank. It features an improved 125mm cannon and an enhanced 1,250 hp gas turbine engine. A multi-channel gunner sight, a mechanic-driver’s vision device and an armament stabilizer are also mounted on the upgraded tank. The combat vehicle is reinforced with slat armor and a modular active protection system.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
Talk about polishing a turd...
But for 3rd world countries fighting against other ex-Soviet gear, it is a good choice.
#3
The biggest problem for the Russian Military has been design standards operational procedures set by politicians.(Of course we have that problem in the US but to a lesser extent). The Russians designed their tanks to be overhauled and a depot level. For an example, if you wanted to do a major repair on the engine you had to pull the turret off at a traveling depot. They had some good engineers and techs, but they had trouble keeping them after the collapse of the economy.
[The Hill] The main indexes on Wall Street hit record highs on Thursday after the United States reached a "deal in principle" with China to resolve a trade war that has rattled markets for nearly for almost 18 months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 220.75 points, the S&P 500 26.94 points and Nasdaq Composite 63.27 points, Reuters reports.
According to the wire service, each of the indexes hit intraday records and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted record highs at the closing bell.
Earlier this week, both the Federal Reserve and Europe’s central bank kept interests steady.
The S&P's career day pushed its growth for the year up to 26 percent, much of which has come due to interest rate cuts by the Fed.
On the day, over and 8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, breaking the past 20-day average of 6.7 billion, Reuters says.
[Aljazeera] Turkey has reacted angrily at the US Senate move to unanimously pass on Thursday a resolution recognising as a "genocide" the mass killings of Armenians a century ago.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the vote a "political show" on social media, adding that "it is not legally binding and it has no validity whatsoever."
The historic move dealt another blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington, DC.
#2
Consider it nothing more than a strongly worded statement from the UN Security Council. Now you wouldn't have any 'in' with Eastern European energy companies or something soon around Cyprus?
[DAWN] A six-year-old boy, who was admitted to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) over three weeks ago after being brutally bitten by half-a-dozen dogs in Larkana, died on Wednesday.
The boy, Hasnain, could not receive critical treatment in Larkana or any other district nearest to his home town and was brought to Karachi at the NICH on Nov 16.
According to NICH doctors, Hasnain had been admitted for 27 days during which he was treated by a panel of experts and underwent multiple surgeries
While doctors did not confirm that he had contracted rabies, they said the boy had been fighting “massive infections” and suffered from necrotising fasciitis — a rare bacterial infection often called ‘flesh-eating bacteria’ which spreads quickly in the body and can cause death.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Three girls and one boy — all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — have been paralysed by poliovirus. With the new detections, the total number of polio cases in the country during the current year has reached 98.
Ironically, the total number of polio cases for KP has risen to 72, which is more than the total number of the cases reported from across Pakistan from Jan 1, 2016 to Dec 31, 2018.
According to a notification issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, four new polio cases have been confirmed from KP out of which three are from Lakki Marwat district and the fourth from Tank district. An official of the NIH laboratory said a three-month boy had been infected with the poliovirus.
“The child is a resident of Sarae Naurang tehsil/ Takhti Khel union council. He did not receive any dose of polio vaccine at all. The second victim is an 11-month-old girl from the same area who was a case of refusal against polio vaccine.
“The third victim is also an 11-month-old girl belonging to Lakki Marwat tehsil/ Deratang union council. Her parents claim she had received two doses of vaccine,” said the official.
A 12-month-old girl had also been paralysed by the virus of the crippling disease, he said. The child belongs to Tank tehsil/ Waraspoon union council.
[DAWN] MINGORA: Unidentified assailants rubbed out Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz local leader Feroz Shah Advocate here on Wednesday.
According to Kanju police, Mr Shah was going home after offering Maghrib prayers that unidentified button men who were waiting on him opened fire, leaving him critically injured. His personal guard was also injured in the attack. They both were rushed to the Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital where Shah succumbed to injuries.
The police filed a report of the incident and started searching for the culprits.
The dear departed was an active leader of the PML-N in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and was the candidate of National Assembly in the previous general elections. According to hospital sources, he received several bullets in his head.
[DAWN] Former Malir senior superintendent of police Rao Anwar claimed that United States' move to blacklist him for human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses was an attempt to "divert attention from the struggle for occupied Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... In a video that surfaced on social media on Wednesday, a day after the US announced its move, the former police official ‐ known infamously as an ’encounter specialist’ and accused of involvement in nearly 200 phoney encounters ‐ said: "I was an SSP of the police force and we fight against terrorists. There were nearly 400, 500 or 440 Death Eaters [who were killed]. There is not a single complaint against me that I killed anyone out of greed or in a fake encounter.
"Even today, two years after my removal, there has been no complaint."
Anwar demanded the US government to "apologise or prove" the charges against him. He added that he would file a case in Washington against the move through his lawyer and also write a letter to the US embassy.
"Name one suspect who said that I cooperated [...] or used to do mix-ups. Forget American, [authorities] can punish me in Pakistain."
[DAWN] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) Secretary Muhammad Umair Baloch for "professional misconduct and contempt".
The high court also suspended Baloch's licence "to practice before [IHC]" until the next hearing, which will be held on December 19.
Baloch was reported to have been forcing lawyers not to appear before judges as the high court's bar association was observing a strike against alleged offences against the legal fraternity in Lahore a day earlier.
On Wednesday, lawyers had staged a violent protest at the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Institute of Cardiology (PIC) apparently on a mission to avenge a group of lawyers, who had been beaten up at the PIC a few weeks ago, soon after some video clips went viral on social media showing some doctors making fun of the lawyers while recalling the incident.
The outraged attackers, mostly young faces dressed in black suits and sporting neckties, spared no one present on hospital premises, where several serious cardiac patients are under treatment at any given time. The situation worsened when a mob stormed into the emergency department, seemingly in search of some doctors. In view of the approaching danger, the doctors expeditiously departed at a goodly pace.
As the condition of some critical patients deteriorated in the absence of doctors, three PIC patients, including a girl and an elderly woman, passed away.
The court, in its notice today, noted that Baloch was "forcing the learned advocates to leave the court".
"He continued doing so when the court proceedings commenced. He was asked to refrain from disturbing the proceedings and undermining the decorum of the court," the notice read.
"In response, he came to the rostrum and in a tone unbecoming of an enrolled advocate, he stated that instead of stopping him, the judges should encourage the strike."
The court's notice further said that other IHC judges had also reported that Baloch "interfered with court proceedings".
"The aforementioned acts also amounted to depriving the litigants from the right of access to justice."
Baloch, while talking to a news hound, said that IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had told him not to observe a strike in the high court, to which the advocate responded: "When you (the judge) observed strikes and we used to be your followers, it was acceptable. Now it is not?"
[RT] India’s President Nath Kovind has signed a new hotly debated bill giving fast-track citizenship to non-Muslims. Earlier, the legislation sparked protests in some parts of India and drew condemnation from the US.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) grants citizenship to all members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities that came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014 fleeing from religious persecution.
But not Muslims, because Pakistan/Bangladesh were created just to give them a homeland, and Afghanistan is as close to 100% Muslim as to not matter — except for the single Jewish gentleman living in Kabul now that the other one went back Israel.
It also states that refugees from these six groups should not be treated as illegal immigrants and charges brought against them over such status should be dropped.
The act further states that any further refugees from these communities willing to acquire Indian citizenship will be required to live in the country for five years instead of 11 as it was earlier.
New Delhi says the CAB is necessary to protect persecuted minorities, but it angered Muslims in northeastern state of Assam. People started protesting earlier this week burning copies of the legislation and later turning to tires and cars. After the Wednesday night outburst, which happened in defiance of a curfew, the government in New Delhi sent troops from other parts of India. The troops restored order in the state capital, Guwahati, but protests continued on Thursday in other places.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sought to ease tensions by explaining that it does not infringe upon the rights of Muslims living in India in any way.
It wasn’t just some parts of Indian society that were apparently angered by the bill, though. An American state-run religious freedom watchdog promptly jumped in to label the legislation discriminatory and threaten New Delhi with sanctions. India was swift to strike back as it called the US position “guided only by its prejudices and biases” as well as lacking real knowledge of the situation on the ground.
[KhaamaPress] At last 391 Afghans and 1595 Pak nationals have received Indian citizenship during the last 3 years, Union Minister of States for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, told media on Wednesday.
Nityanand Rai has also said that 40 Afghans and 712 Pak refugees have been granted citizenship in 2019.
Rai noted that provision for capturing online citizenship data of migrants colonists from minority communities namely ‐ Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian ‐ hailing from Afghanistan, Pakistain and Bangladesh was introduced way back in 2018 and as per available data, 927 Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan and Pakistain have been granted Indian Citizenship since then.
This comes as that India has recently passed the citizenship law that offers fast-track citizenship to non-Moslems from neighbouring Moslem-majority countries which is a turning point in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to redefine the country as a Hindu homeland.
The move marks the first time that India being officially a secular state with a religiously diverse population, has set religious criteria for citizenship.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
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President Nath Kovind has signed a new hotly debated bill giving fast-track citizenship to non-Muslims.
Hopefully followed to logical completion (deportation of Muslims)?
#2
Nope. India has Muslim Government Ministers, Generals, Industrialists, Scientists,Supreme Court Judges etc. There are 200 million Muslims living in India.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/13/2019 5:18 Comments ||
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#3
I wasn't criticizing John. 20% of Israel's population are Muslims Arabs and we really, really enjoy having them.
#4
Muslims we can live with and entrust with positions of responsibility are usually the educated, progressive ones who break out the korans only on eid and are truly secular in their views. One of our greatest Presidents was a muslim. But he was a scientist first.
We have no problem with muslims who are secular. Or even with those who don't break the law to get here. In fact, many progressive muslims have lauded the gummint for the CAB. It's illegal muslims that will be deported. Of course, deportations will follow. Just yesterday, Tasleema Robiul a 35 year old bangladeshi illegal was ordered to be deported after a year in prison. She was caught ten years ago on illegal entry and had managed to drag out the case to live here.
It's the leftist 'diversity lovers' who are most butt-hurt about this as it gives them ammo to go after a Rightist govt, shouting 'hindu hindu hindu'. Their objective is to relegate hinduism to the sort of voiceless fringes of society that their western comrades have pushed christian conservatives to in the west.
The Left are taking their lessons in activism from the same pressure groups who support the global Left, and this is why they are so dangerous. What must be denied them are the universal human resource every globalist needs to cause 'revolution' in an otherwise stable society. Illegal immigrants.
The rightist gummint also believes an influx of ever-gratefuls will lock down chances of ensured votes their way in future generations, without endangering citizens with hordes of possible machete wielding Allan lovers.
Truth is, we aren't expecting any massive influx anyway. It's more symbolic, the legislation. As far as I'm concerned, let the muslim feel dis-empowered. Soon, we shall move for a uniform code whereby cult and communal laws will be rendered void and only the secular constitution will have primacy. They are simply going to chimp out then, the anti-national taqiyah lovers.
#5
Didn’t think you were grom. The MSM is portraying this law as something it is not. Mo Muslim is being stripped of citizenship. Muslims immigrants can become citizens just as before. I do think that by selecting non muslim illegal immigrants for special consideration, even though we all know they are the persecuted ones, this law violates article 14 of the Indian constitution and will be struck down
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/13/2019 6:57 Comments ||
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#6
BTW, the guy who signed this into law, Ram Nath Kovind is from the Dalit (formerly called untouchable) community. He was born in a mud hut, lost his mother in a fire that caught in the thatched roof of their hut. Walked miles barefoot to go to school. Didn’t keep him back. Became a lawyer arguing before the supreme court, a member of parliament, the governor of a state, now President of India.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/13/2019 7:02 Comments ||
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[BreakTheMatrix] The United States was warned Wednesday by the United Nations it cannot avoid compensating poorer nations hit by climate change, despite Donald Trump honoring his election promise of leaving the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Get rekt UN.
They’re going to say that to a man who used to work with the Teamsters and even more interesting people? How adorable.
Delegates and observers at the COP25 negotiations in Madrid told AFP that Washington seeks a change to the U.N. climate convention that could release it from punitive "loss and damage" funding for developing nations which is predicted to run into the billions of dollars.
Under the bedrock U.N. climate treaty, adopted in 1992, rich nations agreed to help developing countries prepare for unavoidable future climate impacts ‐ the twin pillars of "mitigation" and "adaptation".
But there was no provision for helping countries and small island states now calling for compensation.
A new mechanism was established in 2013, but with damage estimates climbing, there is no agreement on where the money might come from or even if it should be paid, although the U.S. is constantly the target of calls for financial reparations because it is rich, successful and a dominant world economic force. Which is the entire point of the Paris Agreement in the first place. It had nothing to do with climate, it was a straight-up globalist wealth transfer from us to hostile countries who hate us.
Deport the UN.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
12/13/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11136 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Have the UN Secretary impaled on the white house lawn. That should send the proper message.
#5
Under the bedrock U.N. climate treaty, adopted in 1992, rich nations agreed to help developing countries prepare for unavoidable future climate impacts ‐ the twin pillars of "mitigation" and "adaptation".
There's no problem in the world that can't be 'fixed' with tons of money from Uncle Sugar!
[Jpost] Jewish worshipers are able to pray on the Temple Mount with what appears to be the tacit consent of police forces at the site, The Jerusalem Post observed during a visit there on Thursday.
Despite the insistence by Israel Police that there has been no change in the decades-old policy, Jews now pray ‐ in full view of the police ‐ in an unobtrusive and inconspicuous manner.
A senior Wakf Department official said he was unaware of any change in the status quo on the Temple Mount, but warned that any change would lead to renewed protests and spark a strong response from Arabs and Moslems.
Continued on Page 49
#2
notwithstanding Rabbi Weber, the nominative view is that, for almost all prayers, the fact is that almost all Jews have been ritually contaminated by proximity to dead bodies and therefore are prohibited from praying in the location of the temple and since we don't know for sure where the temple was on the mount, no Jew should pray there
for some prayers, e.g., portions of the passover service which were communal and where the offerings were done outside the temple, the above restriction does not apply, however, secular courts have prohibited it on other basis
this was the basis of the Chief Rabbi's 1967 ruling after the 6 day war
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/13/2019 11:39 Comments ||
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[WashingtonExaminer] The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has ordained a transgender Latina, marking a first for the 4 million-member mainline Protestant denomination.
Nicole Garcia, 60, was installed earlier this month as the mission development pastor of Westview Lutheran Church in Boulder, Colorado, which describes itself as "an affirming, welcoming community."
"Nobody can question my faith, my devotion to Christ, my devotion to the church. That’s why I’m the pastor here," Garcia told NBC News. "Being trans is secondary."
Garcia, who is also a licensed professional counselor in the state of Colorado, was born into the Roman Catholic Church but left Christianity for more than 20 years because of confusion about sexuality and gender.
#2
As I sent off charitable contributions along with my Christmas cards yesterday, little did I know I'd be reading this and shaking my head, glad that I pulled the rip cord on the ELCA circus years ago.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 0:52 Comments ||
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#4
After all, there's all this stuff about trans-figuration, trans-substantiation and trans-scendance in their scripture...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 11:35 Comments ||
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#5
Tom Lehrer:
At the ecumenical council in Rome, known as Vatican II [they tried] to make the Church more commercial: introduce the vernacular into portions of the mass, replace latin, and widen somewhat the range of music permissible in the liturgy.
But if they really want to sell the product, in this secular age, they ought to redo some of the liturgical music in popular song forms. I have a modest example here. It's called "The Vatican Rag":
First you get down on your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!
Do whatever steps you want, if
You have cleared them with the pontiff.
Everybody say his own
Kyrie Eleison,
Doin' the VATICAN RAG!
Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There, the guy who's got religion'll
Tell you if your sin's original.
If it is, try playin' it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer,
Two, four, six, eight, Time to transubstantiate!
So get down upon your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!
Make a cross on your abdomen,
When in rome do like a roman,
Ave Maria,
Gee it's good to see ya,
Gettin' ecstatic an'
Sorta dramatic an'
Doin' the VATICAN RAG!
WIRED via Instapundit
This spring, a mysterious figure by the name of Quantum Bullshit Detector strolled onto the Twitter scene. Posting anonymously, they began to comment on purported breakthroughs in quantum computing‐claims that the technology will speed up artificial intelligence algorithms, manage financial risk at banks, and break all encryption. The account preferred to express its opinions with a single word: "Bullshit."
The provocations perplexed experts in the field. Because of the detector’s familiarity with jargon and the accounts it chose to follow, the person or persons behind the account seemed be part of the quantum community. Researchers were unaccustomed to such brazen trolling from someone in their own ranks. "So far it looks pretty well-calibrated, but [...] vigilante justice is a high-risk affair," physicist Scott Aaronson wrote on his blog a month after the detector’s debut. People discussed online whether to take the account’s opinions seriously.
"There is some confusion. Quantum Bullshit Detector cannot debate you. It can only detect quantum bullshit. This is why we are Quantum Bullshit Detector!" the account tweeted in response.
In the subsequent months, the account has called bullshit on statements in academic journals such as Nature and journalism publications such as Scientific American, Quanta, and yes, an article written by me in WIRED. Google’s so-called quantum supremacy demonstration? Bullshit. Andrew Yang’s tweet about Google’s quantum supremacy demonstration? Bullshit. Quantum computing pioneer Seth Lloyd accepting money from Jeffrey Epstein? Bullshit.
People now tag the detector, @BullshitQuantum, to request its take on specific articles, which the account obliges with an uncomplicated "Bullshit" or sometimes "Not bullshit." Not everyone celebrates the detector, with one physicist calling the detector "ignorant" and condemning its "lack of talent and bad taste" in response to a negative verdict on his own work. But some find that the account provides a public service in an emerging industry prone to hyperbole. "I think it does a good job of highlighting articles that are not well-written," says physicist Juani Bermejo-Vega of the University of Granada in Spain.
#1
Fine. Add CRISPR, Inhabitable planets that are light years away and considered inhabitible by very stretched inference only and of course gerbil worming and you are getting started.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 18:14 Comments ||
Top||
#1
After circling northern Canada for hundreds of years, the approximate location of the magnetic north pole started moving speedily towards Siberia at around the turn of the century.
#2
The idea that GPS depends upon magnetic pole information surprised me.
I'm not an expert but once your satellite is in orbit you don't adjust that orbit except by using a ton of fuel (or because you're adjusting altitude). I don't see how magnetic field is a factor at all.
#4
Celestial navigation will remain accurate nonetheless.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/13/2019 15:25 Comments ||
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#5
Re #4 - Except that, IIRC, the earth is slowly moving so that in a few thousand years or so, Polaris will no longer be the north star.
Of course, the whole "magnetic north moving" thing can be blamed on global warming. Which is all Trump's fault.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/13/2019 15:45 Comments ||
Top||
#6
...yeah, our pole star Polaris was not the Egyptian pole star when they made the pyramids. Let's just say we're good for our lifetime.
#7
Will Santa have to relocate? Whaddaout the Fortress of Solitude?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2019 17:19 Comments ||
Top||
#8
As we all know, magnets generate both an attractive and a repulsive force.
Rather than being attracted towards Siberia, I theorize that the movement of the pole is being driven by the ever-increasing concentrations of refrigerator magnets in the Southern United States, particularly in Texas.
[Mil.com] The Navy has authorized a range of new clothing items, including two-piece swimsuits for male and female sailors, special pins to designate survivors and next-of-kin of fallen troops, and a thermal neck scarf for cold weather.
In a Navy administrative message Monday, officials announced that sailors have the option of wearing two pieces for their semi-annual physical readiness test, or PRT. But don't show up in a bikini; Navy officials made clear that this regulation change is for sailors who want more coverage, not less.
Full torso coverage is still required for all swimsuits worn. The new guidance makes it possible for sailors to add a pair of swim shorts to a one-piece, or a rash-guard top to swim shorts based on preference or religious conviction. Also authorized is full-body swimwear, like the "burkini" wetsuit-style option popular with Muslim women.
Robert Carroll, the head of the Navy's Uniform Matters Office, told Military.com that the change is the result of feedback from the fleet, coupled with the fact that existing swimwear guidance was ambiguous.
#1
Splendid, now they can get back to some of that doody sailor business...navigation (AROUND other vessels) and making sure the Officer of the Deck is on speaking terms with former besty Officer of the Day.
[Babylon Bee] NEW YORK, NY‐At a special ceremony Thursday, Planned Parenthood posthumously awarded Herod the Great with its highest honor, the organization's coveted PPFA Margaret Sanger Award.
Planned Parenthood gives the award out to individuals who advance the pro-abortion agenda, and baby-murdering King Herod was the obvious choice.
"Herod fought bravely for women's rights by slaughtering all the male babies under two years old," said a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. "He was thousands of years ahead of his time, realizing the progressive value of destroying our kids the moment they become inconvenient millennia before it was popular. Yes, we do wish he had slaughtered the daughters too, but we're willing to overlook that as this brave women's rights warrior advanced the pro-abortion agenda significantly."
King Herod was not available to accept the award, as he is dead. But his ideological successor, Alyssa Milano, accepted it in his honor. "If Herod were here, I know exactly what he would say," Milano said in her acceptance speech. "He would remind us all that it was his kingdom, his choice." Ouch
The organization drew criticism for the selection, as other leftists pointed out that he did not have a uterus and as such should not have had an opinion on post-birth abortion.
[Breitbart] About 72,000 United States-born children delivered every year to foreign tourists, foreign visa workers, and foreign students are rewarded birthright American citizenship, a new study reveals.
Research by the Center for Immigration Studies finds that every year, 39,000 anchor babies are born to foreign students and foreign visa workers, as well as 33,000 anchor babies born to foreign tourists every year.
This indicates that about 72,000 anchor babies are born to foreigners who are legally temporarily in the U.S. These U.S.-born children ‐ in addition to the 300,000 anchor babies born to illegal aliens every year ‐ are immediately rewarded American citizenship simply because their foreign parents delivered them in the parameters of the nation’s borders.
To date, the U.S. Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled that the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens must be granted automatic American citizenship, and a number of legal scholars dispute the idea.
Many leading conservative scholars argue the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment does not provide mandatory birthright citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens or noncitizens, as these children are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction as that language was understood when the 14th Amendment was ratified.
For a year, President Trump has signaled that he has reviewed signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship, otherwise known as the "anchor baby policy," as the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are often referred to as "anchor babies."
Today, there are at least 4.5 million anchor babies in the U.S., exceeding the annual roughly four million American babies born every year and costing American taxpayers about $2.4 billion every year to subsidize hospital costs. Every year, about 300,000 anchor babies are born in the country, and as of June, there has been an average of about 124,000 anchor babies born this year.
#4
OK, the baby is a citizen. But unfortunately the baby can't live in the USA, he or she must live with parents, who are not entitled to live here. When the child reaches 18, we can rethink residency.
Posted by: James ||
12/13/2019 20:42 Comments ||
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Learn to CODE
[TheWrap] Prior to his departure, Brusk was the subject of a #ExposeCNN campaign. Steve Brusk, most recently the supervising producer of CNN Politics, left the company two weeks ago, TheWrap has learned. Brusk's resignation came about a month after he was the subject of a Project Veritas video released as part of its #ExposeCNN campaign.
CNN confirmed his departure to TheWrap on Thursday.
The #ExposeCNN operation relied on video footage taken by one person, Cary Poarch, who called himself a "CNN insider" at the propaganda's network's D.C. bureau. Which can't possibly be true as there were other videos like the one below But according to a CNN spin control spokesperson, Poarch wasn't a CNN employee and was instead a freelance satellite truck operator?
Also Read:
Network Staffers Unfazed by Project Veritas' 'Expose CNN' Campaign: We're All Drunk So Cares About This' Feeling up the intoxicated staff, not good. Some freelance editing included for clarity
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.
[FOXNEWS] The Florida man who was found partially eaten by an alligator earlier this year died from a meth overdose ‐ not a gator attack, as was speculated, according to autopsy results.
[FoxNews] Sections of a park in Northern California are now closed off with warning signs posted after feral hogs invaded the area in recent months, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
[Dhaka Tribune] Police on Thursday recovered the hanging bodies of two women, whose families claimed they were killed for failing to pay an endless dowry demanded by their husbands.
[MAIL] The pound has surged to its highest level against the euro in a decade as Britain prepares to finally 'get Brexit done'.
...pro-Brexit British prime minister, succeeding no-Brexit Theresa May. BoJo is noted as much for his sparkling personality and his hair as for his Conservative policies....
[The Hill] The main indexes on Wall Street hit record highs on Thursday after the United States reached a "deal in principle" with China to resolve a trade war that has rattled markets for nearly for almost 18 months.
[DAWN] A six-year-old boy, who was admitted to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) over three weeks ago after being brutally bitten by half-a-dozen dogs in Larkana, died on Wednesday.
[DAWN] Three girls and one boy — all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — have been paralysed by poliovirus. With the new detections, the total number of polio cases in the country during the current year has reached 98.
[DAWN] MINGORA: Unidentified assailants 
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
[DAWN] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) Secretary Muhammad Umair Baloch for "professional misconduct and contempt".
[Babylon Bee] NEW YORK, NY‐At a special ceremony Thursday, Planned Parenthood posthumously awarded Herod the Great with its highest honor, the organization's coveted PPFA Margaret Sanger Award.
[Breitbart] About 72,000 United States-born children delivered every year to foreign tourists, foreign visa workers, and foreign students are rewarded birthright American citizenship, a new study reveals.
Iceland population - 360,390
