Detective Chase McKeown and Officer Nicole McKeown gave chase after the masked gunman tried to rob a Raising Cane's restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky
Justin Carter, 30, appeared in court Monday charged with first-degree robbery, receiving a stolen firearm and possessing a handgun as a convicted felon
The couple say they were just doing their jobs and their 'training kicked in' when they saw the robbery in progress and decided to step in and tackle the robber
[Army Times] Nestled in a quiet Virginia county called Fauquier is an isolated farmhouse that’s been in use since 1803, including as a dairy. Originally referred to as "Vint Hill," FOIA records from NSA show that it had several owners before it was purchased by the Army in 1942.
Situated in convenient proximity to the Signal Intelligence Service headquarters in Arlington, but still located far enough from the city to remain secretive, Vint Hill proved the perfect place for the Army to house a spy base: Monitoring Station No. 1.
The geography was the key. Evidently, its "location and quiet electromagnetic geology" made it a prime spot for intercepting radio signals abroad, reported Smithsonian Magazine. And during World War II, soldiers stationed there did just that.
"Private Leonard A. Mudloff intercepted a message from the Japanese ambassador to Germany in 1943 that described German fortifications, troop strength and contingency plans in western France," the Fauquier Times wrote. "Once decoded, that information aided the Allies in planning the successful D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944."
According to the documents released by the NSA, the station was a crucial intelligence-gathering mechanism throughout World War II and beyond. Additional Army resources classified Vint Hill Farms Station at one point as one of the largest intercept facilities in the world.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/19/2020 15:04
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#3
To qoute AoS: "And on the lighter side, the you-couldn't-make-up-that-name-if-you-wanted-to Reality Winner, the NSA apparatchik imprisoned for leaking state secrets to the press is, get this, angling for the President to commute her sentence. To that I say learn to code, make license plates and scissoring."
[Wash Examiner] Longtime Massachusetts state Rep. David Nangle, who sits on both the ethics and rules committees, has been arrested for corruption.
The Democratic lawmaker was arrested by the FBI and IRS on Tuesday and charged with bank fraud, lying to a bank, falsifying tax returns, and wire fraud. He stands accused of using his campaign's bank account to fund his expensive gambling habit, according to ABC News.
The 28-count indictment alleges Nangle "was heavily in debt, had poor credit and had regular cash flow problems as a result of extensive gambling at various casinos in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, among others ‐ placing thousands of bets on internet gambling sites."
As the debt accumulated, even as Nangle earned about $100,000 in recent years, prosecutors said he began to use campaign funds to close out his personal debt instead of for legitimate purposes and used "the Nangle Committee bank account as his own personal checking account to pay for various personal expenses and to withdraw cash."
As a member of the state legislature, Nangle sits on the House Committee on Ethics, the House Committee on Rules, and the Joint Committee on Rules.
FBI agent Joseph Bonavolonta said Nangle, who has served as a state lawmaker since 1999, used the funds not just for gambling, but for a variety of illicit purposes.
"Time after time, he allegedly used campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, spending thousands of dollars on golf club fees, gas, gift cards, hotels, restaurants, flowers and rental cars for trips to casinos, some of which he had already been reimbursed for by taxpayers," Bonavolonta said.
The indictment also alleges Nangle convinced a part-time state employee to help him file fraudulent taxes, and when the employee declined to submit them, Nangle pushed the send button and said he would "take the blame if anything happens."
Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said the reason Nangle was charged in federal rather than state court was because it is more of a deterrent for others.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/19/2020
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#1
I thought this was generally accepted behavior for dems. There must be something else.
#2
"Gentlemen, we've got to protect our phony baloney jobs!"
I'm getting a feeling that mid-level management in the FBI is realizing it needs to take the lead in protecting the agency and their jobs. That and I suspect they believe the 'Bearded Spock' promotion opportunity is going to open up when the upper echelons get cleaned out. See - raid on Biden offices.
#3
My only surprise is in the length of time from the last bust (I think it was Sal DiMasi, former House speaker, currently on early release due to terminal cancer) to this bust. Sal's bust was nine years ago.
The indictment also alleges Nangle convinced a part-time state employee to help him file fraudulent taxes, and when the employee declined to submit them, Nangle pushed the send button and said he would "take the blame if anything happens."
The employee's got a number of outs; probably doesn't need any of them as it's 100% she already struck a deal.
Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said the reason Nangle was charged in federal rather than state court was because it is more of a deterrent for others.
Also, because he's likely to get a friendly jury if they were state charges. Cooking a Federal tax return removed that possibility from happening.
[Smok'n Gun] FEBRUARY 18--An Iowa man held a female acquaintance captive and forced her to watch "Roots" so that she "could better understand her racism," according to a criminal complaint. I frequently watch 'Wheel of Fortune' to learn more about LGBT word identification aptitude and spelling proficiency.
Investigators allege that Robert Lee Noye, 52, yesterday forced Jill Shelton, 37, to sit with him and watch the program about slavery. Shelton allegedly was held against her will inside a small Cedar Rapids home (seen below) she has shared with Noye.
Shelton told police that when she tried to move, Noye "threatened her to remain seated and watch the movie with him" or else he would "kill her and spread her body parts across I-380 on the way to Chicago," the complaint charges.
Noye, pictured at right, was arrested for felony harassment and false imprisonment, a misdemeanor. He was booked into the Linn County jail and released from custody last night. A judge has ordered Noye to have no contact with Shelton.
Court records show that Noye and Shelton have been involved in a tumultuous relationship spanning nearly two decades, with both parties filing for multiple restraining orders against the other person.
The criminal complaint does not reveal whether Shelton was allegedly forced to watch the original nine-hour "Roots" miniseries or subsequent remakes based on Alex Haley’s novel.
The criminal complaint does not reveal whether Shelton was allegedly forced to watch the original nine-hour "Roots" miniseries or subsequent remakes based on Alex Haley’s novel.
#13
Remember the Billy Wilder movie One, Two, Three(1961) where: "... After Otto is forced to listen endlessly to the song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" during interrogation, he cracks and signs a confession that he is an American spy."
That kind of torture?
[Arutz Sheva] Over one hundred people have died from COVID-19, the new coronavirus, since Tuesday - almost all of them in China, and the vast majority of them in the country's Hubei province.
Official statistics show a drop in the speed at which new patients are being infected with the virus, a sign that the lockdowns China has imposed on Wuhan and several other cities are beginning to work.
At the same time, China refused requests from the World Health Organization (WHO) representatives to entier Hubei.
In addition, the Chinese government has decided to tighten the lockdown, and police officers dressed in protective gear are now walking from house to house checking residents' temperatures. Anyone who is suspected of having contracted the coronavirus is transferred to one of the large isolation centers set up in halls and other public buildings.
The Chinese authorities have warned that those who refuse to cooperate - either refusing the inspections or refusing to move to an isolation center if asked to do so - will be severely punished.
In addition, the government is following pharmacy purchases, and anyone who purchases medication for fever or cough needs to present identification and his details are transferred to the authorities, which come to his home to investigate whether he needs to be transferred to an isolation center.
[American Thinker] - The inevitable cratering of Joe Biden’s campaign, accelerated by the impeachment fiasco orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi and the inexorable rise of Bernie Sanders, has caused the Ruling Class to turn their lonely eyes to a hoped-for savior, Michael Bloomberg. But along with Bloomberg comes his de facto business partner and long-time close ally: China, a nation determined to destabilize American security, prosperity and freedom while growing more tyrannical and secretive internally and more dangerous than ever externally as it faces a potential economic and societal cataclysm. Some stuff about Bloomberg's personal & Bloomberg's News advocacy for Xi's regime
...As Josh Rogin of the Washington Post points out, among the ways Michael Bloomberg and his company Bloomberg LP make a considerable amount of money in China is not only through the extraordinarily profitable licensing of its financial software but via its massive Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index. Bloomberg LP is helping finance Chinese companies by sending billions of U.S. investor dollars into the Chinese bond market.
In 2019, the index began a 20-month plan to support 364 Chinese firms by directing an estimated $150 Billion into their bond offerings, including 159 controlled directly by the Chinese government. Bloomberg, along with other Wall Street firms, is effectively supporting the Chinese government’s human rights abuses, their resistance to Donald Trump’s efforts to rein in Chinese trade exploitation and espionage, all the while exposing American investors to increased risk in a nation that habitually obfuscates its economic statistics and manipulates its currency. It explains why he's willing to spend half a billion of his own money on the elections - he'll be repaid by/through the Chinese (if he wins)
[al fin next level] Europe decided to gamble it all on the China trade. Europe’s demographic crash means that local markets can no longer provide for economic growth. Immigration from Africa and the middle east is leading to higher crime rates and greater demand on social welfare services. And now exports to China are lagging. The spectre of recession hangs over the continent.
#3
The Chinese are about to lose $120 billion dollars worth of business and yet they say the contagion is under control?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/19/2020 12:49
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Trump's trade war was already causing business to flee China. With the virus it's much worse. China is getting completely hosed right now and it is glorious.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/19/2020 14:30
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#5
Trump's trade war was already causing business to flee China. With the virus it's much worse. China is getting completely hosed right now and it is glorious.
Agreed - he can also pile on in subtle and effective ways since it'll all be attributed / blamed on the virus in any event. Clean hit.
The Intercept Voices via Instapundit
I AM ONE of the many women Mike Bloomberg’s company tried to silence through nondisclosure agreements. The funny thing is, I never even worked for Bloomberg.
But my story shows the lengths that the Bloomberg machine will go to in order to avoid offending Beijing. Bloomberg’s company, Bloomberg LP, is so dependent on the vast China market for its business that its lawyers threatened to devastate my family financially if I didn’t sign an NDA silencing me about how Bloomberg News killed a story critical of Chinese Communist Party leaders. It was only when I hired Edward Snowden’s lawyers in Hong Kong that Bloomberg LP eventually called off their hounds after many attempts to intimidate me.
h/t Instapundit
[Philadelphia Inquirer] - Testing of throat swabs from two people with no symptoms of coronavirus illness revealed that they were nonetheless infected with the virus, according to a report from Germany published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The finding, though previously suspected, would make the job of containing the virus significantly more difficult. It's called asymptomatic carrier - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptomatic_carrier
#4
Beware of wiccans who frequent chinese markets for supplies.
Self-imposed three month ban on those places for me. As for the local restaurants I go a) alone and b) at off-peak hours, mainly because I don't like a crowd when chowing down.
Crowds you say? Me as well, but it's certainly NOT limited to 'chowing down.' The household six sez it's because I don't like womens. Not true! I provide both genders equal billing. I've been that way for over 60 years, possibly longer. Are there any other questions ?
[France24] A French ski resort has angered ecologists by using helicopters to transfer snow to its lower slopes after a mild winter left them devoid of the white stuff.
"Using helicopters to bring snow to ski resorts is not an option," said the Minister of Ecological Transition Élisabeth Borne on Sunday.
"It’s a question of putting a quick stop to it. It’s not possible to repeat such a highly polluting operation," one of Borne’s advisers told AFP.
Officials at the Luchon-Superbagnères ski resort in the Pyrenees made the decision on Friday to transport the snow from higher up the mountains to the lower slopes used by beginners and ski schools.
It took two and a half hours to transport some 50 tonnes of snow at a cost of between €5,000 to €6,000, said Hervé Pouanu, the director of the local council in France's southwest.
Pounau said the resort expected to recoup at least ten times the cost of the operation from the business that would have been lost from the lack of snow.
Pounau acknowledged the operation was not "very eco-friendly" but explained that it was an "exceptional move".
"We have no intention of doing it again. We didn’t have a choice this time," said Pounau, adding that the operation would enable between 50 and 80 people ‐ resort and hotel staff ‐ to work through the holidays.
For the moment, about 40% of the ski area is open.
[Aljazeera] The United States is the world's most complicit country in helping individuals hide money from the rule of law, according to a new report from the Tax Justice Network (TJN). The network's findings come as Angola accuses Africa's wealthiest woman of siphoning public funds and moving the money offshore with the help of western consulting firms. The scandal has become known as the "Luanda Leaks".
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola's former president, is worth an estimated $2bn, according to Forbes magazine. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) claims dos Santos used an "army" of Western advisors to "hide assets from tax authorities".
"Isabel dos Santos, too, took advantage of a US secrecy jurisdiction. The Luanda Leaks documents show that dos Santos used a Delaware company to buy property in Portugal. Delaware is one of the easiest places to create a low-taxed, secretive company," said Fergus Shiel, Luanda Leaks project manager at the ICIJ.
Africa's first female billionaire is accused of using international tax havens to move and store her assets. In a televised interview, dos Santos told Al Jazeera the allegations levied against her are untrue.
#3
So, let's review - an Angolan broad is accused of buying property in Portugal via a Delaware company, and the big problem (natch) is … one of the world's freest and open financial marketplaces.
Uncle Sugar, the guilty party once again and forevermore.
Who writes crap like this? Morons and propagandists, that's who.
[Politico] LONDON ‐ The U.K. government will not create a visa route for low-skilled migrants and temporary workers in its post-Brexit immigration system, which will give "top priority" to those with the highest skills, including scientists, engineers and academics.
A policy paper published Tuesday evening outlines plans for a new points-based system after EU freedom of movement ends in December. The report said employers "will need to adjust" to not being able to recruit unskilled workers from Europe.
"We need to shift the focus of our economy away from a reliance on cheap labour from Europe and instead concentrate on investment in technology and automation. Employers will need to adjust," the paper said.
"It is important that employers move away from a reliance on the U.K.’s immigration system as an alternative to investment in staff retention, productivity and wider investment in technology and automation."
Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the employers’ group CBI, said firms in the care, construction, hospitality, food and drink sectors could be most affected.
"In some sectors firms will be left wondering how they will recruit the people needed to run their businesses," she said. "Firms know that hiring from overseas and investing in the skills of their workforce and new technologies is not an ’either or’ choice ‐ both are needed to drive the economy forward."
#4
"In some sectors firms will be left wondering how they will recruit the people needed to run their businesses,"
Um, by paying them more money? Here's the Peter Principle on full display, putting the world-class obtuse into positions they shouldn't be near, never mind in.
#7
Sounds a bit radical to me. The UK does need relatively unskilled workers, too. Unemployment seems to be quite low (4.5% in London), so those jobs won't be filled by locals easily.
Automation won't work in care, construction, hospitality and food sectors.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
02/19/2020 16:45
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#8
Maybe companies need to stop concentrating in London and go to where the workers are. Crazy idea, I know.
But to all too many, London *is* the UK. Including most Londoners.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/19/2020 18:10
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[American Thinker] Victor Davis Hanson is the perfect person to refute the arrogance of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who denigrated the "gray matter" needed by farmers in now infamous remarks to a group of elitists at Aspen. Hanson is not only a brilliant historian of ancient Greece and a political commentator with few if any peers, but also a fifth-generation farmer.
He understands the skills and brainpower needed to be an academic or other elite member of the analytical class, and he understands the skill sets and brainpower needed to be a successful farmer today. In his mind, there is no contest.
This is absolutely must-see TV. I almost stood up and cheered when I saw it.
#1
They don't know where the food comes from or the electricity, it's all magic to them. However, the urbanites seem intent on allowing these fans of Soviet Central Planning loose on the the rest of us.
#2
Mikey is showing us the unbelievable shallowness of our oligarchs. They're actually not very smart.
Ruthless, sure. Determined.
But their brilliance appears to consist in an unusual ability to cut corners -- to manipulate markets and twist government policies to their advantage.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
02/19/2020 11:48
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#4
A lot of people really don't understand where food comes from. When I lived in south Alabama a man was seeking approval to open a dairy farm just outside town. A woman at the meeting was very much against it. When asked where was going to get milk she said, "I'll get it where everyone else does, at the grocery store".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/19/2020 12:10
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#5
Brilliant the way Tucker Carlson compares Bloomberg's philosophy to Robert Mugabe's.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/19/2020 13:15
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#6
Farm equipment today has more in common with the Space Shuttle than the draft horse. Same with manufacturing and the water wheel.
[Right Scoop] Trump has just announced that he commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat:
Trump says he served eight years in jail and had a long time to go, suggesting his sentence went too far. He added the prosecution was by Comey, Fitzpatrick, "the same group." Trump says that even though Blagojevich was on the Apprentice, he doesn’t know him that well.
Earlier today, Trump pardoned the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal who built one of the most successful NFL teams in the game’s history.
DeBartolo, who owned the San Francisco 49ers during their 1980s-1990s dynasty, was involved in one of the biggest owners’ scandals in the sport’s history. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony when he paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in exchange for a riverboat gambling license.
The White House announced the surprise decision to reporters on Tuesday, with NFL greats Jerry Rice, Jim Brown, Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley in attendance.
“You know what, we all make mistakes and today the president cleared that mistake from him,” said Haley, an NFL Hall of Fame defensive end who played on two of DeBartolo’s Super Bowl winning teams.
Trump has no fear. Most presidents save their pardons until it won’t have a negative impact on them electorally speaking.
[IsraelTimes] Fishing zone extended back to 15 miles, 2,000 additional travel permits to be offered to Paleostinian businessmen in the Strip, despite ongoing balloon-borne explosive attacks.
Israel on Tuesday announced it planned to extend Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s fishing zone back to 15 nautical miles and increase the number of travel permits from the Strip to 2,000, following three days of relative calm in the coastal enclave, Israel’s military liaison to the Paleostinians said.
Continued on Page 49
[AnNahar] Ottoman Turkish authorities ordered the arrest of hundreds of new suspects in connection with the network blamed for the failed 2016 coup, the official Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.
Tens of thousands have been arrested over the past three years in a bid to eradicate the movement led by US-based Moslem preacher Fethullah Gülen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost... , though he denies responsibility for the coup attempt.
His movement, based around a huge network of schools, had supporters across Ottoman Turkish society, from the army to the judiciary to the government.
In the latest spate of investigations, the Ankara prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for 467 people in 67 cities as part of a probe into alleged rigging of police exams by Gulenists ...the Turkish version of the Boogie Man, who set fire to the Turkish Reichsstag... , Anadolu reported.
Prosecutors in the western city of Izmir ordered the arrest of 157 members of the navy and air force across 43 cities, also over links to the Gulen movement.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... an investigation into Gulenist infiltration of the judiciary led to warrants for 71 suspects in 15 cities, Anadolu added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/19/2020
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#1
There are still independent 'Pak Turk' schools in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa donating considerable amounts to Imran Khan's TTP. Some were felicitated by the PML(N) govt and most were turned over to Erdoggy's Maarif organization, but the ones that could arrange bribes still run as independent NGOs.
[AnNahar] A Ottoman Turkish court acquitted leading civil society figures, including rights defender Osman Kavala, on Tuesday in a highly controversial trial over the anti-government "Gezi Park" protests of 2013.
The judge said there was "not enough concrete evidence" that Kavala and the other 15 defendants sought to overthrow the government.
Kavala, who spent more than 800 days in pre-trial detention and faced a life sentence if convicted, became a symbol of what critics say is a crackdown on The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/19/2020
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#5
The Japanese were way ahead on HD TV and the industry demanded we subsidize a catch up program. Then digital happened and all the Japanese advances in analog HD disappeared in the winds of new technology. The government should never bet on a winner, see all the 'green' waste of the first Obama years.
[ToloNews] The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Tuesday said that at least 136 non-combatants were killed in the country as a result of war or other kinds of violence in the past one month.
The human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... commission blamed the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... for 50 percent of the fatalities and said that the Afghan government forces also caused 25 percent of the casualties.
According to the the human rights commission, 69 non-combatants were killed by Taliban attacks, 36 non-combatants were killed during attacks by the Afghan government forces and their foreign counterparts, and another 31 non-combatants were killed in other violence-related incidents.
"The 136 people that we have recorded in the past one month--this figure might be very small and there might be more casualties," said Mohammad Naeem Nazari, the deputy head of the human rights commission.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?... residents in the Maidan Wardak province also raised deep concerns over what they described as the rising number of civilian casualties in the country.
"This is not only an issue in Wardak, we had similar incidents in Nimroz, Kunduz and Paktia provinces too," said Akhtar Mohammad Tahiri, the head of the Maidan Wardak provincial council.
Residents also blasted the warring factions for not addressing the issue of civilian casualties.
"Today, in this so-called democracy, there are four governments in the country: the government of the foreigners, the government of the Taliban and another government that is called the National Unity Government, it is also combined of two governments," said Sayed Rahim Sattar, the head of Maidan Wardak's tribal council.
"Those who say that we are targeted by mistake, at least they should compensate the victims based on their legal and judicial system," said Abdul Baqi Mateen, a resident in Maidan Wardak. "Give us money"
The Taliban have rejected the human rights commission’s statement about the casualties.
[Rudaw] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) Death Eaters killed one Iraqi soldier and injured at least three more in a Sunday attack on an Iraqi army checkpoint near the Diyala province town of Jalawla, known in Kurdish as Gulala.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell confirmed the attack on Sunday night, announcing a search for its perpetrators.
"Security forces are conducting a search operation looking for terrorist elements, which attacked [Iraqi Army] Brigade 20 in the Khanaqin district of Diyala province, killing a fighter", read a Media Cell tweet.
The attack occurred at 9:50 pm, said Halo Mohammed, Rudaw’s news hound in Garmiyan.
Lieutenant colonel Ahmed Mustafa, a Peshmerga commander, confirmed the attack to Rudaw on Monday.
"The confrontation between ISISDeath Eaters and the Iraqi Army continued for half an hour. Those injured and killed [Iraqi Army soldiers] have been evacuated to Khanaqin’s hospital," Lt. Col. Mustafah said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Iraqi forces made use of flares in a bid to locate the attack’s site of origin, the commander further added.
Khanaqin and Gulala are among territories disputed between the Iraqi federal government and Kurdistan Regional Government. A security vacuum has emerged in the areas contended by Erbil and Baghdad.
ISIS has found a safe haven for its activities in these areas since the Peshmerga withdrew on October 16, 2017 due to an Iraqi Army offensive, and the breakdown of Iraqi Army-Peshmerga coordination and cooperation.
In recent months, ISIS has launched a series of attacks against the Peshmerga, Iraqi Army, and Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in the province.
Last week, three people were killed and seven others were maimed after ISIS attacked a village in southwestern Khanaqin.
These areas have also seen a recent rise in kidnappings by ISIS, with the group collecting ransom money to fund their activities.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/19/2020
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[ToloNews] A group of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... residents on Tuesday claimed that "at least eleven non-combatants were killed" in a dronezap in Kashk-e-Kohna district in the western province on Monday evening.
Massouda Karokhi, an MP from Herat, also confirmed the incident and the casualties.
According to the residents, "eight children" were among those killed in the "drone attack."
The residents on Tuesday took the bodies in front of the Herat governor’s office.
This comes as the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission in a report issued on January 27 said that 485 non-combatants were killed, and 265 others were maimed, in pro-government forces Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in the past 12 months.
French President Macron says he will curb the practice of foreign countries sending Muslim clerics and teachers to France to crack down on what he called the risk of “separatism.”https://t.co/KSjFZqd6hx
[rbc.ru] Russia closes its borders to citizens of China. Entrance to Russia will be banned on February 20 for all visitors from China: tourists, students, entrepreneurs
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree that prohibits Chinese citizens from entering Russia. This was reported to reporters in the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus.
A travel ban to Russia is imposed for Chinese citizens visiting the country for both tourism and business, educational and private purposes. The border for them will be closed from February 20. The decision was made "in order to ensure the security of the state, protect public health and the non-proliferation of new coronavirus infection."
Also, the Russian authorities temporarily suspend the processing of documents for Chinese citizens to enter Russia, including accepting documents for a visa, issuing invitations to enter, permits to attract foreign workers. Acceptance of any documents stops on February 19.
“The restriction will not affect transit passengers,” the Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova specified in the secretariat.
In 2019, 2.3 million citizens of the People's Republic of China arrived in Russia, it follows from the statistics of the FSB Border Service on the indicator “entry of foreign citizens into the Russian Federation”. Of these, 1.5 million Chinese arrived for tourism purposes, 321 thousand - for business.
Russia has previously restricted air traffic to China. Moscow allowed only Aeroflot and four Chinese airlines to fly to China and back. All passengers from China pass through Sheremetyevo terminal F. Since February 14, a temporary ban on charter flights to China has entered into force. Until February 14, charter flights were carried out for the return of Russians in the PRC.
[RADIOSHABELLE] US military has destroyed al-Shabaab ...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... base following an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in southern Somalia, US said.
In a statement, U.S. Africa Command said in coordination with the Somali government, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab compound in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, Feb. 17.
"We’re working with our partners to adversely impact al-Shabaab’s operations and ability to attack our Somali and East African partners," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Miguel Castellanos, deputy director of operations, U.S. Africa Command. "It is important to counter this al-Qaeda-aligned group’s ability and intent to plan and carry out attacks in Somalia and more broadly. This precision strike does just that."
The mission said Initial assessments conclude one al-Shabaab facility was destroyed as a result of the airstrike.
"We currently assess no civilians were maimed or killed as a result of this airstrike," Africom said.
It emphasized that Somalia remains key to the security environment of East Africa, and its long-term stability is important to advancing U.S. interests in the region.
"We will continue to work together on our support of the Federal Government of Somalia in its effort to bring improved governance, development, and stability to the Somali people," it assured.
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/19/2020 13:46
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#4
It emphasized that Somalia remains key to the security environment of East Africa, and its long-term stability is important to advancing U.S. interests in the region.
What interests? We don't have any interests there.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/19/2020 15:10
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[WashingtonPost] The USS Arizona burned around him in Pearl Harbor. A fellow sailor defied orders to save his life.
Donald Stratton stood on the deck of the USS Arizona as a Japanese bomb decimated part of the battleship, stationed in Pearl Harbor off the coast of Honolulu. The ground trembled beneath his feet as explosions rang out and a fireball ripped through him, setting his T-shirt ablaze and destroying part of his ear, he wrote in his memoir, "All the Gallant Men."
Cont- "The six of us went hand over hand across the line and above the inflamed water," Stratton wrote. "My body was burned, my hands were raw, and I was focused on survival. I never thought about not making it."
Lou Conter and Ken Potts, both 98, are now the only living survivors of the Arizona, where 1,177 sailors and Marines were killed ‐ roughly half of the total death toll ‐ and 335 escaped in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The loss of one of the few remaining people with memories of what happened on that ship heralds the time when a monumental part of the infamous attack will be lost to history.
#3
RIP, indeed. Pure selfishness follows. A few years ago (around the time I lost a parent, which would place the date near the 75th anniversary, and explain why I was so dopey), I walked into the local drugstore to see, of all things, a guy wearing a white Arizona survivor jacket, looking a little "lost in thought," positioned as if he were waiting while someone shopped. Squeamish about intruding, I grabbed my stuff and hurried back up, intending to accost him on the way out. Only... he's gone. Pretty quick for a old guy. And I'm still kicking myself.
Keep an eye on those old folks, kids -- they'll sneak off on you "without so much as a 'by your leave,'" as my dad would say. Why'm I typing this? Because I think this was probably the guy I saw. Looked a little taller, but you know how that works.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 ||
02/19/2020 20:05
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[Task & Purpose] The Army is almost doubling its purchase of new bolt-action Precision Sniper Rifles as its primary anti-personnel sniper system of choice, according to budget documents.
The Army wants to purchase 536 Precision Sniper Rifles (PSR) for a total of $10.13 million, according to the service's fiscal year 2019 budget request, an increase over the 357 systems that the service initially purchased for $5.74 million in fiscal year
The Army's PSR, which the documents indicate will be produced by Barrett Firearms, will eventually become the "primary anti-personnel sniper weapons system" for all of the service's sniper teams, replacing the M107 sniper rifle and offering "improved accuracy in a lighter weight package."
The PSR "provides increased probability of hit over the current M2010 [Enhanced Sniper Rifle] configuration at distances up to twelve-hundred (1200) meters and increases range out to fifteen-hundred (1500), which enhances the sniper role in supporting combat operations and improves sniper survivability," according to Army budget documents.
The system also includes a sound suppressor and direct view optics with fire control capabilities which "allows snipers, when supplemented with a clip-on image intensifier or thermal sensor system, to effectively engage enemy snipers, as well as crew served and indirect fire weapons virtually undetected in any light condition," according to Army budget documents.
#1
The AEWE2020 features some interesting upgradation and technical advancement in intermediate range combat and crew-served systems to America's warfighting capabilities. I think they'll share what they can with us in March with the final report, thanks to their newfound candor. Let's hope the politicians can okay the budgets though. There are more people who'd rather spend on an F35 type thingy.
[FoxNews] A program funded by 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is paying the salaries of lawyers who are farmed out to liberal state attorney general offices to pursue climate-based litigation -- a compact critics say amounts to Bloomberg buying state law enforcement employees to advance his preferred political agenda.
The arrangement, which currently pays the salaries of Special Assistant Attorneys General (SAAGs) in 10 Democratic AG offices, is drawing new scrutiny now that Bloomberg is running for president. The New York University School of Law's State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, which was started in 2017 with $5.6 million from Bloomberg's nonprofit, hires mid-career lawyers as "research fellows" before providing them to state AGs where they assist in pursuing "progressive" policy goals through the courts.
#4
Except most state AG are directly elected. May sail in CA and similar already friendly venues, but other states may see a turn over they become too public about their business.
The part that got my post in the hole was a reference to Ms. Healy's, um, preferred gender association. She's also a spiteful witch and an awfully poor sport. One of my clients was refereeing a charity basketball game with Healy as one of the players. He ejected her from the game about ten minutes in after two quick technical fouls (she was yelling at him for a foul committed on her teammate and not her.
[RADIOSHABELLE] Somali military in Mogadishu has on Tuesday sentenced two al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... operatives to 8-year in jail after they were found of being Shabaab and taking part in the group’s work.
In a statement, the military court said the prosecutors accused Abdikadir Sufi Munye and Saed Omar Abdullahi of senior administrators of al-Shabaab.
Abdikadir was said to be head of Shabaab in Mareeray village on the outskirts of Afgoye town while Saed was head of finance in the village.
Abdikadir better known by his nom de guerre Amir-Gabow was arrested on the 3rd of October last year in Dharkaynley district of Mogadishu following a public tip-off.
The convict was nabbed 29th of September last year in Hamar-jajab district during operation by the security forces.
According to the prosecution, the two were kept in remand in November until the investigation into their case is being concluded.
The statement noted that the hearing case of their trial begun 21st last month.
Two were found guilty of being al-shabaab administrators and we’re sentenced to eight years, according to the chairperson of the court, Hassan Ali Nur.
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[KhaamaPress] A series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and raid by Afghan Special Forces ...established in 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional infantry kandak (battalion) from each of the regional ANA corps, giving them special training and equipment, and reorganizing based on the U.S. Army Rangers. Each battalion is assigned to one of the six regional corps. The commandos comprise 7% of the Afghan National Security Forces but conduct 70% to 80% of the fighting... left six ISIS Khurasan Death Eaters dead in eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense in a statement said an airstrike killed four ISIS Khurasan Death Eaters in Suki district of Kunar province.
The statement further added that the Afghan Special Forces killed an ISIS Khurasan holy warrior and destroyed a weapons cache during a raid in Tarang district of the Kunar.
Another airstrike in Tarang district killed an ISIS Khurasan holy warrior, the Ministry of Defense added in its statement.
The anti-government armed Death Eaters including ISIS loyalists have not commented regarding the operations so far.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their offensive in western Aleppo on Tuesday in a big to capture the remaining areas under jihadist control in the area.
According to a field report from the Aleppo Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army is pressing westward along the Atarib Road, as they try to capture one of the last remaining Death Eater strongholds in this region.
The report said the Syrian Arab Army is approaching Atarib from its western axis after they launched a new attack from the nearby Regiment 46 Base in western Aleppo.
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[SummitNews] Under new rules set to take effect in April.
"Currently, staff can refuse to treat non-critical patients who are verbally aggressive or physically violent towards them," reports Sky News. "But these protections will extend to any harassment, bullying or discrimination, including homophobic, sexist or racist remarks."
What is determined to be "racist" or "homophobic" is anyone's guess, since many elderly patients will be totally unfamiliar with modern politically correct speech codes and could be deemed to have behaved in a racist or homophobic way even if they didn't maliciously intend to.
Important to emphasize that these changes are coming in under a supposedly "conservative" government. Don't get sick in the UK if you've ever posted "Grooming gang" statistics.
#3
If your medical staff doesn't like you for any reason, you could be accused of "harassment, bullying or discrimination, including homophobic, sexist or racist remarks." That's the danger of not having a 1st amendment or ignoring the one you have.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation evacuates all fuel tankers in the port of Tripoli after attacks by Eastern Libyan forces on Tuesday, in a new escalation in the battle for control of Tripoli.https://t.co/TNrgpGLlGk
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan pushes idea of an “associate” EU citizenship for Britons after Brexit, as he visits Brussels to see officials including the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.https://t.co/FE0APJ4x4Y
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02/19/2020 8:54
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#3
Sure thing, Chaka Khan - wait until the EU makes you clowns file 'Associate Citizenship' tax returns; let's see what you say after scratching a four figure check or two to Brussels for estimated tax payments.
[Dhaka Tribune] The Supreme Court has dropped the appeal filed by war criminal Abdus Subhan challenging his death penalty from its record after his death.
On Tuesday, the apex court declared the appeal abated after Attorney General Mahbubey Alam along with defence lawyers Advocate Joynal Abedin and Advocate Shishir Monir informed the four-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, about the death of Abdus Subhan.
Shishir Monir told the Dhaka Tribune that the order of the Supreme Court denotes that the appeal has no effectiveness at present.
On February 14, war crimes convict Abdus Subhan died of old age complications at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
The former politician from Pabna was admitted to the hospital from Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj on January 24.
On February 18, 2015, the now defunct International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 2 sentenced Subhan to death for crimes against humanity he had committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
On March 18, 2015, Subhan filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging his death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... Law enforcers arrested Subhan on September 20, 2012. The ICT 1 indicted him on December 31, 2013. The case was later shifted to ICT 2 for quick disposal.
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[PRINTFRIENDLY] Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn) ...Junior senator for life from Connecticutt, foreign policy mastermind, a fast friend and a sympathetic ear to mullahs, ayatollahs, and similar riff-raff. The boilerplate on his website sez he has has dedicated his career to public service as an advocate for Connecticut families. Senator Murphy has been a strong voice in the Senate fighting for job creation, affordable health care, education, sensible gun laws, and a forward-looking foreign policy... (D-Conn.) admitted Tuesday morning that he and several other Democrats did indeed hold a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the Munich Security Conference last week, arguing that it would be dangerous NOT to meet clandestinely with Iranian officials.
The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway broke the story about the Dems’ rogue meeting with foreign adversaries in an exclusive on Monday.
When asked to respond to the report during a press conference in Ethiopia on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed hope that the Democrats were supporting “America’s foreign policy and not their own.”
“I have seen that piece about some senators meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif,” Pompeo began.
This guy is designated by the United States of America. He’s the foreign minister for a country that shot down a commercial airliner and has yet to turn over the black boxes. This is the foreign minister of a country that killed an American on December 27. And it’s the foreign minister of a country who is the largest world sponsor of terror and the world’s largest sponsor of anti-Semitism… If they met, I don’t know what they said. I hope they were reinforcing America’s foreign policy and not their own.
Murphy defended the meeting in a post at Medium.com and on Twitter: “I met w the Iranian Foriegn(sic) Minister in Munich,” Murphy wrote on Twitter. “It’s dangerous not to talk to adversaries, esp amidst a cycle of escalation.”
Charger posted the Federalist’s piece on the subject, commenting, “Sounds like an attempt at collaboration with Iran while failing to go through channels. Well, he's a member of the Inner Party, so whatever.”
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[Express] Coronavirus cruise ship horror as UK abandons Britons to their fate - 'We are forgotten' apparently 450+ infected on this ship out of 3k passengers
what is amazing (and good) is that no one has died and as far as I can tell no one seems to be in critical condition - perhaps a less lethal strain of the virus on that ship
Posted by: lord garth ||
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#1
My understanding is that this version of the corona virus is 5 x as contagious to East Asians as it is to Caucasians.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is being mocked online by Lebanese people, after calling for a boycott of American goods and products despite members of his organization owning American clothes and products.https://t.co/H1m1lQZDBT
The Lebanese city of Tripoli holds a “day of rage” in response to the reported shooting of a protester by guards of a member of parliament, who died Monday night.https://t.co/AjD1Y6YksRpic.twitter.com/o47P45M4jd
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ten people were killed late Monday in an attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... region of Beni, where a notorious militia has killed hundreds since October, a local official and a military officer said.
"Eight civilians, an intelligence agent and a soldier" were killed in the attack on the village of Manzahalo, local leader John Kambale told AFP on Tuesday. The toll was confirmed by a military officer, who blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia.
[DEFENSENEWS] Israel has announced a new multiyear plan to restructure its armed forces to face existing and potential future adversaries for decades.
The plan, called "Tnufa" in Hebrew and "Momentum" in English, has been a priority for Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of the General Staff, over the last year. The plan envisions fighting a multi-front war and harnessing the latest technologies to bring the most effective firepower from the largest number of different units to the forefront of the battlefield.
Momentum also seeks to shorten the time of a conflict while achieving more success on the battlefield and lessening the impact of war on civilians. Forces will be streamlined with the goal of a "swift and massive use of force against enemy systems," the IDF said during a briefing about the plan.
The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University had noted in the summer of 2019 that political upheaval in Israel may "delay and limit the plan’s launch." The country currently lacks a government after two elections failed to bring a majority for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
But concerns about the need to confront a complex Iranian adversary drove the plan through bureaucratic hurdles toward a January announcement that Defense Minister Naftali Bennett had approved it. It was officially rolled out in a briefing on Feb. 13.
IDF front man Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the military built Momentum based on the last plan, called Gideon, which was announced in 2015. Having shrunk some land forces units and made them more efficient, the idea now is to address new challenges in the strategic and tactical environment. Israel wants to "extend drastically the gap in capabilities between us and our adversaries in the framework of available resources," the IDF said. The emphasis is on being "multidimensional" and "multi-force," combining all arms of the naval, land, air, cyber and intelligence forces.
"We face various terror armies," Conricus said, including organizations that combine both holy warrior and holy warrior qualities, behaving like armies. This includes both Paleostinian-based Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... as well as Leb-based Hezbollah. The challenge in battling such organizations is that it’s difficult to determine who is a combatant because members assimilate into urban environments and civilian areas.
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[DAWN] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Tuesday advised the government to consider "exposure to soybean dust (aeroallergens)" as a cause of breathing difficulties being faced by residents of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Keamari area.
So far, 14 people from different areas of Keamari have died and over 400 have been taken to different hospitals for treatment reportedly after inhaling toxic gas. Residents have complained of experiencing breathing difficulties, "burning sensation in the nose", watery eyes and itching in the throat.
ICCBS is an advanced research centre at the University of Karachi. The Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research and Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry are part of the research centre.
A letter sent today to Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani by Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, the director of ICCBS, said that the lab had examined blood and urine samples of people "exposed to toxic aerosols" as well as soybean dust samples collected from the port area. Dr Choudhary said that while the ICCBS was still "extensively engaged in deciphering the cause of this toxic exposure", the findings so far suggest that the symptoms being experienced by Keamari residents are a result of "overexposure to soybean dust".
Posted by: Fred ||
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[NYPOST] The man who allegedly slit a French tourist’s throat last week has been arrested, the NYPD announced Monday.
Khalief Young, 28, was busted by an officer who spotted him on the street around 3:50 p.m. Monday, police sources told The Post.
He was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree, police said.
Young is accused of slashing 27-year-old Gabriel Bascou in the neck on Valentine’s Day just as he and his girlfriend were walking out of an IHOP around 11 a.m. on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard near West 132nd Street.
Bascou was caught on video bleeding on a sidewalk as passersby rushed to help him.
He’s been recovering at Harlem Hospital.
Young lives approximately two blocks from the pancake restaurant and has randomly attacked at least two others in the past, police sources said.
And according to the article, he has a habit of suddenly attacking others.
[FOXNEWS] President Trump issued a spree of clemency decisions Tuesday for high-profile figures -- most notably commuting the sentence of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Y'gotta pay to play! Blagojevich Who was tried and eventually convicted on federal corruption charges that he tried to sell or trade Obama's old U.S. Senate seat. , who was convicted for attempting to sell Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... 's vacant Senate seat when he was elected president.
Trump confirmed to news hounds that he's granted clemency for the ex-governor, calling his sentence "ridiculous."
"He’ll be able to go back home with his family after serving eight years in jail," Trump said.
Trump also said he's granted clemency to financier Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty for violating U.S. securities laws.
Further, Trump confirmed he has pardoned former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was sentenced on tax fraud charges in 2010. It comes on the same day the White House announced Trump was granting a full pardon to former the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who was convicted of failing to report a bribe to the former governor of Louisiana when he pleaded guilty in 1998.
Blagojevich was convicted in 2010 on corruption charges and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, a sentence he has been serving at a federal prison in Littleton, Colo. Trump was considering a commutation for Blagojevich last year, but plans were put on hold amid worries over pushback.
"Many people disagreed with the sentence," Trump told news hounds on Tuesday, before turning to two individuals he's bashed during his time in office. "He's a Democrat, he's not a Republican It was a prosecution by the same people, [James] Comey, [Patrick Fitzgerald], the same group."
#4
..well, please tell that to all those who want to repeal the direct election of Senators. I'm looking at you Bill Whittle. Senators are suppose to represent the states. As such they should be selected by an electoral college with each sub-district, county or parish, getting one electoral vote each. Population concentrations are represented in the House not the Senate.
#8
This was not so much about Blago being one of 7 successive Illinois governors being corrupt and thus sentenced to prison, but more to do about Obama popping off the other day trying to grab credit for Trump's economic success, who had allowed Blago to rot in prison as President.
#10
Paperclip? Hmmm... I don't see Blago as another Werner von Braun.
Perhaps gathering info on Comey and perhaps Patrick Fitzgerald as well? What info could he get from Blago, Kerik, et al that Barr doesn't already have?
Major General Al-Mabrouk Al-Ghazwi, Commander of the Western Operations room: Our air defense shot down a Turkish enemy UAV , above Ain Zara, after it took off from the occupied Matiga airbase, on a mission against our forces, #Tripoli. #Libya.#LNApic.twitter.com/6pNsIvYRZs
#5
Isn't Russia bombing those Turk forces in Syria?
I asked Lieutenant Minderbinder about this and he said they are doing it on our behalf. He assures me it's all part of the Syndicate and says not to worry.
[THEGUARDIAN] From the bunkers of south Beirut to the battlefields of northern Syria and the combustible streets of Iraq, the loss of Suleimani and his entourage has derailed much of Iran’s momentum in the region and exposed to rare vulnerability the opaque Quds Force it has used to project its influence over two decades.
The liquidation has also shone a light on the complicated relationship between the Iranian leadership and the Iraqi government, senior members of which have scrambled ever since to resurrect Suleimani’s core regional projects located as far away as the Lebanese capital and Damascus. The reckoning started as soon as the dead were buried.
As well as soul searching about how best to regroup, there have been recriminations about how Suleimani and his entourage were able to be killed in the first place.
Continued on Page 49
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[BREITBART] Damn! And I have to wash my hair that night!
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Like the first one? Ever?
I should like to point Marvel toward Plato's Symposium: a big hit for some 2500 years now. And Alcibiades was an actual guy that led actual armies into actual battles too.
#9
Mercifully, the gay thing's one of many common vices to which I seem to have been born completely immune. Downside is, you can guess my second biggest vice (and deduce the procrastination) from a block away. *torpid sigh*
Don't have the context to know, but might Marvel maybe mean the very, very first? Cue lava fountains and meteors blazing through thin atmosphere of early Earth, eons of imperceptiby gradual cooling, and finally...
In the humid primordial ooze,
A... something... was having a snooze.
"Whoops! Sorry there, buddy...
The fog... it wuz muddy..."
And lo, down the ages
Compounded the wages
Of sodomite sin,
For THEY DID IT AGAIN,
Did Spartans and sages,
Fey knights and their pages,
Mad Muslims in rages,
Big apes in small cages,
Yats, overpacked rats
("Give a pass to the cats!"),
And, pace you ageists,
Small Asians, for wages.
Some do it for fun
("I was born this way, hon!");
A few chase your kiddies,
But some, only titties,
And maybe a shlong
If it helps them belong.
Unaltered pic-a-nic, so help me.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 ||
02/19/2020 13:35
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#10
Has Salami, really?
Suppose I need to just get ready to find out one of the nine realms is the Star Wars universe, and lady Thor along with gay Spiderman travel there to clear up latest flopogy. Parker and Jar-Jar fall in love, and we find out Gungans are hermaphrodites when their child is born.
#11
And lo, all this gayness
Was horribly heinous,
Enraging the hater,
And, sure, their creator,
Who nipped in the bud
What occurred in the mud,
But whose creatures continue to cruise.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 ||
02/19/2020 13:39
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#12
The fact that they are advertising this says a lot.
[REALCLEARINVESTIGATIONS] FBI agents last month raided the home of the CEO of a bankrupt hospital chain and one of its hospitals in Pennsylvania in new signs of trouble for a company central to accusations of influence-peddling by James Biden, brother of former Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant... The federal investigation was disclosed in documents filed this month by the acting U.S. trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case of Florida-based Americore Holdings, which is in the business of acquiring and managing rural hospitals.
The filing in Kentucky by the federal trustee, Paul A. Randolph, seeks the appointment of a trustee specifically to oversee the bankruptcy case, or otherwise the dismissal of the firm’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors. It said the company's CEO, Grant White, had "grossly mismanaged" his business; "has not operated the hospitals in a manner that is consistent with public safety"; and "improperly siphoned money from the Debtors for his personal benefit."
The firm declared bankruptcy in December. On Jan. 29, the court documents say, the FBI raided White’s home at a location unspecified and, the next day, one of its hospitals, Ellwood City Medical Center in Pennsylvania. A week later a Kentucky court granted a motion to remove White as CEO.
White did not respond to requests for comment and efforts to reach his company by phone were unsuccessful.
Courtesy of Woodrow, a photograph of an Americore business card that James Biden reportedly handed out listing him as a "principal" in the company:
#GNA ambassador to Malta AlAmin to Al-Sarraj: Your decisions are always late and your foreign minister is a "fool" I invite revolutionaries To move and lock the gas off Traitorous #Itlay and move on @GhassanSalame in his office and kick him out#Libya
The Middle East is a top priority for Pope Francis, says top #Vatican diplomat Yoannis Lahzi Gaid of Egypt in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya English.https://t.co/2Rmty5FdwG
#4
Bert the Gigolo's continuing mission to gain more territory, even if it's just empty land; and to get muzz to reduce numbers of coptic christians maybe ? More like a corporate war I think.
Today at 5AM russian troops attacked Ukrainian strongholds in the #Zolote area, a heavy battle is underway using all types of weapons, including 152-mm heavy artillery. At one strong point there is a close battle with a russian assault group. Our artillery firing back.
Abu Amsha, the commander of the Sliman Shah Division,a Turkish backed terrorist faction, mourns the death of Abu Muhammad al-Amda, a commander in the force from western Qalamoon who was killed in #Libya on Feb 15 with 2 other fighters. By the hand of the Libyan National Army #LNAhttps://t.co/kIBDyLeU90
[KhaamaPress] Following the announcement of the final election results by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) that announced Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money... the winner of the 2019 election with the 50.64% votes, Abdullah Abdullah ...the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against both Karzai and Ghani. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun. He also held the meaningless salaried sop position as CEO of Afghanistan, while Ghani was president... appeared in a presser with his allies claiming victory.
Abdullah Abdullah appeared in a presser late on Tuesday evening claiming victory and said he will establish an inclusive government, earlier his supporters called to announce a parallel government if the election results are announced considering fraudulent votes.
Abdullah asked his supporters to stand against injustice and fraudulent votes.
"The Stability and Insurgence is the winner of the 2019 election and we announce our victory", Abdullah said.
"The fraudsters are the rogues of history and we establish an inclusive government, long live Afghanistan!", said Abdullah in a presser addressing the nation and his supporters.
Abdullah accused the electoral commissioners of the national treason. More from Khaama Press:
The Taliban group strongly reacted to re-election of Ashraf Ghani as the President of Afghanistan, calling the election process as ‘fake and unlawful’.
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The Trump administration moves to tighten financial restrictions on Venezuela, blacklisting a subsidiary of Russian oil firm Rosneft, which US officials have said provides a lifeline to President Nicolas Maduro’s government.https://t.co/JksjMJ8Knt
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.
[Army Times] Nestled in a quiet Virginia county called Fauquier is an isolated farmhouse that’s been in use since 1803, including as a dairy. Originally referred to as "Vint Hill," FOIA records from NSA show that it had several owners before it was purchased by the Army in 1942.
[Wash Examiner] Longtime Massachusetts state Rep. David Nangle, who sits on both the ethics and rules committees, has been arrested for corruption.
[Smok'n Gun] FEBRUARY 18--An Iowa man held a female acquaintance captive and forced her to watch "Roots" so that she "could better understand her racism," according to a criminal complaint.
[Arutz Sheva] Over one hundred people have died from COVID-19, the new coronavirus, since Tuesday - almost all of them in China, and the vast majority of them in the country's Hubei province.
[al fin next level] Europe decided to gamble it all on the China trade. Europe’s demographic crash means that local markets can no longer provide for economic growth. Immigration from Africa and the middle east is leading to higher crime rates and greater demand on social welfare services. And now exports to China are lagging. The spectre of recession hangs over the continent.
[France24] A French ski resort has angered ecologists by using helicopters to transfer snow to its lower slopes after a mild winter left them devoid of the white stuff. 
[Aljazeera] The United States is the world's most complicit country in helping individuals hide money from the rule of law, according to a new report from the Tax Justice Network (TJN). The network's findings come as Angola accuses Africa's wealthiest woman of siphoning public funds and moving the money offshore with the help of western consulting firms. The scandal has become known as the "Luanda Leaks".
[Politico] LONDON ‐ The U.K. government will not create a visa route for low-skilled migrants and temporary workers in its post-Brexit immigration system, which will give "top priority" to those with the highest skills, including scientists, engineers and academics.
[American Thinker] Victor Davis Hanson is the perfect person to refute the arrogance of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who denigrated the "gray matter" needed by farmers in now infamous remarks to a group of elitists at Aspen. Hanson is not only a brilliant historian of ancient Greece and a political commentator with few if any peers, but also a fifth-generation farmer.
[Right Scoop] Trump has just announced that he commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat:
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...
[rbc.ru] Russia closes its borders to citizens of China. Entrance to Russia will be banned on February 20 for all visitors from China: tourists, students, entrepreneurs
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their offensive in western Aleppo on Tuesday in a big to capture the remaining areas under jihadist control in the area.
[SummitNews] Under new rules set to take effect in April.
...Junior senator for life from Connecticutt, foreign policy mastermind, a fast friend and a sympathetic ear to mullahs, ayatollahs, and similar riff-raff. The boilerplate on his website sez he has 
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
[DAWN] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Tuesday advised the government to consider "exposure to soybean dust (aeroallergens)" as a cause of breathing difficulties being faced by residents of 
[NYPOST] The man who allegedly slit a French tourist’s throat last week has been arrested, the NYPD announced Monday.
...Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call 
I take it none of this was necessary ? 
...the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against both Karzai and Ghani. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun. He also held the meaningless salaried sop position as CEO of Afghanistan, while Ghani was president...
