Reader’s links for December 18 – 2016

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

67 Replies to “Reader’s links for December 18 – 2016”

  1. Suicide bomber kills at least 30 soldiers and injures 40 after sneaking into base (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/744789/Suicide-bomber-Aden-port-soldiers-Yemen-blast-kill-dead-Khor-Maksar-Islamic-State-ISIS

    “A SUICIDE bomber has killed at least 30 soldiers in Yemen just a week after a horrific attack by the Islamic State killed 50 troops nearby.

    The officials said the soldiers were queuing to collect salaries near a military base in the Khor Maksar district, Southern Yemeni port of Aden, when the attacker blew himself up.

    Officials said 40 other troops were wounded

    Al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited nearly two years of war in the impoverished country to carry out assassinations and bombings, mostly in lawless southern Yemeni areas nominally controlled by the government…”

  2. JIHADI JOHN TWO: Twisted British extremist BEHEADS terrified victim in new ISIS video (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/744788/JIHADI-JOHN-British-extremist-BEHEAD-new-ISIS-video-Anjem-Choudary-Mohamed-Reza-Haque

    “A TWISTED British jihadi has been described as “the new Jihadi John” after a video emerged of him brutally beheading a petrified victim.

    Mohammed Reza Haque, 36, is depicted in the video using a serrated hunting knife to cut off a prisoner’s head in the middle of a barren desert.

    The vile killer was likened to extremist Mohamed Emwazi – dubbed ‘Jihadi John’ – who beheaded five western hostages on video, after murdering his victim in an almost-identical fashion…”

  3. All MIGRANTS should take an ‘oath of allegiance’ to British values claims top Tory (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/744787/Sajid-Javid-migrants-public-servants-oath-alliegance-NHS-BBC-civil-servants-Louise-Casey

    “MIGRANTS as well as public sector workers from MPs to NHS employees may have to pledge allegiance to British values under new proposals.

    Sajid Javid said he was “drawn” to the idea that would see elected officials, civil servants, and council workers pledge their loyalty.

    The community secretary also proposed all migrants should swear an oath of allegiance – not just those seeking UK citizenship.

    The proposal comes after a report on social cohesion from integration tsar Dame Louise Casey which warned some sections of society did not accept British values like tolerance…”

    • Some valid stuff there but this is BS:

      “The neoconservatives and Likudniks who want the U.S. as Israel’s weapon to strong arm the Middle East to the Zionists’ benefit.”

      Israel has had no better friend than Trump in its history.

    • Viktor Orbán: It will not be his year, but it will be about him — the two are not the same. What is the logical response to the present situation? Every country will work to displace Soros’ influence. This can already be detected in Europe. They will investigate where the money is coming from, what kind of secret relationships there are behind the scenes, what interests the NGOs are representing. Next year will be about Soros and the powers represented by him; the removal of their influence and power will happen. In a sense the prediction of Politico is appropriate.

      This will be a revolt and there is a good chance that in the nations the left is refusing to leave power in plus the nations that refuse to change policies towards the invaders after the left is kicked out that the revolt will turn into a civil war as the people work to restore their freedom.

      Conservative revolutions seek to restore individual rights, Liberal revolutions seek to create new group rights and end up removing all individual rights.

    • Gábor F?rész: It is interesting that Trump is receiving the same treatment, like the Hungarian government. The same accusations, the same criticism.

      Viktor Orbán: There was the status quo, which started around the end of the eighties, and everybody thought that is impossible to change. It is believed to rest on such immovable pillars that democracy could be only liberal. Russia can only be an enemy; the international organizations are always right against nations; the market is always right against the state; and the politicians must listen to ideologies, and not the people. Now what is happening is these seemingly immovable pillars are cracking, barely holding up the structure. The elite who are standing on those pillars see Trump the same way that we do, but because USA is bigger than us, Trump us more dangerous for them. But viewed from where they are looking at the world, apart from the size of a lot of similarities.

    • Viktor Orbán: Yes it does! I believe the 2017 will be the year of revolt. Whether they can put down this rebellion or not; that’s another story. Next year there will be elections in Germany, France and Holland. Many things could happen. Looking at the basic issues, there are two insurrections happening the same time. The first one is the revolt of the middle class. This has economic roots. I think in the US we have seen the revolt of the middle class; that is why the Clinton Clan lost. The Brexit had the same reason. The latest analysis shows something similar is happening in France too: the lost, the left-behind, the vulnerable are looking for a way out, and that is turning into political votes. There is also a nationalistic revolt happening. The believers in the United States of Europe are secretly stealing the sovereignty of the nations — right now with under the pretense of refugee crisis — by slyly redirecting the authorities’ power against the nations. The nations are revolting against this. This is a real fight for one’s sovereignty. And all of this is surrounded by the intellectual fight against political correctness, isolation and stigmatization. This revolution started in 2016 but next year it will expand, so 2017 will be the year of revolts!

    • Be sure and read the entire interview, as Eeyore says it has gold in it. I have taken three small portions out and posted them, I could have taken a lot more out.

  4. China to return seized U.S. drone, says Washington ‘hyping up’ incident

    BEIJING/WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – China will return an underwater U.S. drone seized by a naval vessel this week in the South China Sea, both countries said on Saturday, but Beijing complained that Washington had been “hyping up” the incident.

    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to take an aggressive approach in dealing with China over its economic and military policies, jumped on the unusual drone seizure with a pair of provocative tweets, accusing Beijing of stealing the equipment.

    The drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), was taken on Thursday, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory. The Pentagon went public with its complaint after the action and said on Saturday it had secured a deal to get the drone back.

    “Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

    The drone, which the Pentagon said was operating lawfully was collecting data about the salinity, temperature and clarity of the water about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, off the Philippines.

    http://www.oann.com/chinas-navy-seizes-american-underwater-drone-in-south-china-sea/

  5. India appoints new army, air force and intelligence chiefs

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government has appointed new heads of its army and air force among a series of senior military and intelligence appointments, officials said, two weeks before its two most senior defence force chiefs are due to retire.

    Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat was named as the new chief of the army to succeed General Dalbir Singh Suhaag.

    Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, a fighter pilot, was chosen as the new chief of India’s air force to replace Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. The appointments were announced on Twitter by a defence ministry spokesman late on Saturday.

    The appointment of Rawat, a counterinsurgency specialist, raised eyebrows among opposition parties because he was given the job ahead of two more senior candidates.

    “Why has seniority not been respected in appointment of Army Chief,” Manish Tewari, a former government minister and leader of the opposition Congress party, said on Twitter.

    http://www.oann.com/india-appoints-new-army-air-force-and-intelligence-chiefs/

  6. This is an excellent analysis of what t he Trump voters are thinking, we have been ignored and betrayed by the self proclaimed elites in both parties for over 100 years. Both parties need to pay attention to the mood of the people and their legitimate grievances and ignore the professional agitators or both parties will end up on the ash heap of history.

    The reason Trump voters don’t want to hear your principled criticisms of Trump
    By J.E. Dyer

    onah Goldberg was bemused this week by all the blowback he keeps getting from Trump voters when he ventures a mild criticism of the president-elect.

    Goldberg’s experience seems pretty typical for right-wing Trump skeptics.

    From the Right, any time I say anything — and I mean anything — critical of Trump, I’m told it’s proof that I’m “bitter” or “biased” and that I can’t admit I was wrong about him, etc. I can go on TV and say that Trump has been brilliant at x and y but I’m still concerned about z, and all I’ll hear is the whistle of incoming ALL CAPS arrows: GET OVER IT! HE WON! GO AWAY NEVER TRUMPERS! HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPLOCK!!!111! Etc. …

    [Y]ou know what is alive and well? Always Trump. These are the folks who think Trump must be defended and celebrated no matter what he does or says. In fairness, some of these people are still auditioning for jobs in the administration and know they must follow the rhetorical principle of “not one step backward.” But others are just normal Americans who love Trump and think that I’m somehow duty-bound to say I love him too, no matter what he does. Well, I didn’t sign up for that either.

    Whenever I say this, someone shrieks at me about my “arrogance” or “hubris” — for reasons I truly cannot fathom.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/12/18/reason-trump-voters-dont-want-hear-principled-criticisms-trump/

    • Sanctimonious conservatives from the NR, the TWS, the WSJ and elsewhere – those who chose to remain lofty and detached judges – they’ve lost the deference to their wisdom they’ve always enjoyed.

      There’s also no question that many on our side get bent out of shape at the tiniest, maybe-sorta criticism. The pushback is extreme. “Worry-trolls” are bombarded by angry comments or censored outright by moderators.

      I get it, gotta cut our PET some slack – especially those of us who support him enthusiastically. We look to each other for reassurance. And we’re still very much besieged, just one thing after another.

      Maybe echo-chambers serve a purpose for some people. Such extremes give me a headache, though.

      • Principled criticism is allowed but the problem is they haven’t given him time enough to prove himself or do anything besides appoint people to his cabinet. Their principled criticism is sounding like people trying to force him into their idea of what conservatism is and into what their agenda is instead of the agenda that got PET elected. PET’s honeymoon lasted 5 minutes if that long, most President get several weeks to several months.

        They could at least wait until he is sworn in before they start criticizing him.

        • Maybe they’ve lost self-discipline altogether. Those who used to watch what they said when, and to whom, have become uninhibited online. It’s a phase that some will live to regret.

          • Agreed and their derangement over Trump winning the nomination has destroyed several of the pundits. For the most part they are the ones who are now criticizing PET and because of them and their continued never Trump attitude has to a large extent caused the reaction against all conservative who are criticizing PET.

            Although I still say there should have been a honeymoon period like that given to all other Presidents.

            • Absolutely, a honeymoon is necessary to let a new prez get the swing of things. Our guy didn’t even get a chance to catch his breath after a brutal campaign.

              This sustained level of stress isn’t good for anybody, let alone at 70-yr-old man. We need a healthy POTUS more than ever.

  7. Breaking with tradition that says outgoing Presidents remain silent for a minimum of 1 year after leaving office Obama is renting an 8 bedroom mansion in the DC Burbs and is setting up a Shadow Government the alt left is about to ratchet up their rhetoric and actions. They are trying to make it impossible for Donald Trump to govern the US, they will probably also foment riots and will when they think the time is right start a guerilla war against the US government and all who oppose them.

  8. Jordan attack: 7 killed, hostages and siege

    Four cars carrying gunmen attacked a police patrol south of Karak, Jordan on Sunday.

    According to Al Ghad newspaper, there were three armed men in one car, and four of the security forces personnel have been killed, and nine injured.

    Security sournces said a Canadian female tourist is among the dead in the attack.

    Jordanian government sent a special helicopter from Amman to the province of Karak, and have closed the city center amid sounds of shooting.

    Prime Minister Hani al Mulki told parliament “a number of security personnel” had been killed and that security forces were laying siege to the castle.

    The governor of Karak said that a terrorist group was behind the attack.

    Security sources said the attackers were being pursued in an area surrounding an ancient castle in the mountainous city where police sealed off the main roads and dispatched elite special forces to hunt the attackers.

    Sources close to Jourdanian officals have said that around 1:30 pm, during the police patrol within the Qatraneh center, they were told of the presence of a gas cylinder explosive inside the building.

    Upon the arrival of the security forces, the armed militants began to fire shots using rifles.

    http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/12/18/Gunmen-attack-a-police-patrol-in-Jordan.html

    Canadian tourist killed in shooting attacks in Jordan

    One attack took place at a Crusader castle popular with tourists

    Gunmen carried out a series of attacks in central Jordan on Sunday, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing four members of the Jordanian security forces and a woman visiting from Canada, officials said.

    The shootings were the latest in a series of attacks that have challenged the pro-Western kingdom’s claim to be an oasis of calm in a region threatened by Islamic extremists.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in and near the central town of Karak.

    The chain of events began when a police patrol received reports of a house fire in the town of Qatraneh in the Karak district, said a statement by Jordan’s Public Security Directorate.

    The officers responding to the call came under fire from inside the house, the statement said. Two policemen were wounded and the assailants fled in a car, it said.

    In another attack, gunmen fired on a security patrol in Karak, causing no injuries, the statement said.

    In a third incident, armed men opened fire on a police station in Karak Castle, a Crusader fort, wounding members of the security forces. The statement said five or six gunmen were believed to be inside the castle. Their fate was not immediately known, and it was not clear if the standoff was still going on at nightfall Sunday.

    In all, four members of the security forces and a female tourist from Canada were killed in the shootings, though it was not clear if all five were killed at the castle.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-tourist-killed-jordan-1.3902339

    • the guardian -‘Up to 14 tourists’ trapped in Jordanian castle with gunmen

      Gunmen reportedly killed seven, including Canadian tourist, before fleeing to Karak castle, where they may have hostages

      Unidentified gunmen have fled to a castle after reportedly killing seven people, including a Canadian citizen, and injuring nine more in attacks on several police patrols in the southern Jordanian city of Karak.

      According to Jordanian security officials, the people were killed during a series of drive-by shootings in the town and also reportedly around its Crusader-era castle.

      According to Reuters and local media quoting police and security sources, other tourists were believed to be trapped inside the castle with between four and six of the gunmen who took refuge there after the shootings.

      Amid reports that some local residents had entered the sprawling castle to help rescue those trapped inside, video posted on social media appeared to show several people one wearing a rucksack being escorted through a gate by security officials.

      According to al-Gahd news agency as many as 14 tourists were possibly trapped inside the castle, with some reports suggesting some may have been taken hostage, although none of that could immediately be confirmed.
      Karak map

      Jordanian police said the five dead included four police officers and a Canadian, who – according to unconfirmed reports – was a female tourist visiting the town, 80 miles (130km) south of Amman.

      An unconfirmed report on the Arab broadcaster al-Arabiya also suggested the gunmen in the castle may have taken hostages.

      Initial reports suggested that about 10 gunmen may have been involved in the attacks. Police said the attackers had been pursued into the castle, where some had taken cover after shooting at a nearby police station.

      According to the first reports gunmen in two different positions opened fire inside the town, one targeting a passing police patrol and another firing from close to or inside the castle.

      Video footage posted online by witnesses claiming to be in Karak showed people running in the street and police taking cover behind vehicles near a police station amid the sound of shooting.

      Karak, a mountainous city of some 170,000, is a popular tourist destination, with the ruins of its fortified town and castle sitting 900 metres above sea level.

      The Jordanian state news agency Petra said security forces were “handling the situation” amid reports on social media that the government had dispatched extra forces including helicopters to deal with it.

      While Jordan has been left relatively unscathed both by the aftermath of the Arab Spring and by the rise of Islamic State, a number of recent security incidents have raised concern about the kingdom.

      Hundreds of Jordanians have fought alongside Isis militants in Iraq and Syria and several thousand more support the extremist group in the kingdom.

      In November 2015, a Jordanian police captain opened fire in an international police training facility, killing two Americans and three others. The government portrayed the police captain as troubled. Others suggested the motivation was related to Isis.

      In the latest incident last month three US special forces soldiers, members of a training mission in Jordan, were killed after being shot at the gates of their base in the south of the country in an incident that has not fully been explained.

      Jordan is among a few Arab states that have taken part in a US-led air campaign against Isis militants holding territory in Syria. But many Jordanians oppose their country’s involvement, saying it has caused violent deaths of fellow Muslims and raised security threats inside Jordan.

      Officials worry about radical Islam’s growing profile in Jordan and support in impoverished areas for militant groups.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/18/canadian-tourist-five-killed-gunmen-jordan-karak

    • Jordan: Several killed in shootout in Karak, tourists held hostage

      Five people were killed and nine others injured after a gunman attacked a police patrol in the town of Karak in southern Jordan, on Sunday.

      Amongst those dead are police officers and a Canadian tourist. According to reports the gunman began shooting at the police patrol before entering Karak’s medieval castle. The situation is currently being handled by the security forces as it is on-going. Several tourists are reported to be trapped inside the city’s castle.

      • btw. our PM said something, or he just warned about a possibility of a backlash, which look this 1.0*10E-24 likely

    • Jordan declares end of castle siege, says four gunmen killed

      Jordanian security forces said they killed four “terrorist outlaws” after flushing them out of a castle in the southern city of Karak where they had holed up after a shoot-out that killed nine people.

      An official statement said the four assailants, who shot at police targets in the town before heading to the Crusader-era castle, carried automatic weapons. Large quantities of explosives, weapons and suicide belts were seized in a hideout, the statement said.

      It made no mention of their identity or whether they belonged to any militant group, raising speculation they could have been tribal outlaws with a vengeance against the state rather than Islamic State fighters, who control parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq.

      A Canadian woman, three other civilians and five police officers were among the nine killed during the exchange of gunfire between the assailants and security forces.

      At least 29 people were hospitalized, some with serious injuries.

      Earlier, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said a manhunt to “eliminate” the gunmen had entered its final phase.

      Jordan’s position made it vulnerable to spillover of violence, Momani said.

      “When we are in a region engulfed with fire from every side you expect that such events happen,” the official said.

      Witnesses said exchanges of fire continued for several hours between the gunmen and security forces. Police said earlier they had rescued 10 tourists and trapped inside the historic site when the gunmen went into the castle.

      A former government minister from Karak city, Sameeh Maaytah, said there were signs Islamist militants may have been behind the attack.

      “This was a group that was plotting certain operations inside Jordan,” Maaytah told pan-Arab news channel al-Hadath.

      Video footage on social media showed security forces taking groups of young Asian tourists up the castle’s steep steps to its main entrance as gunshots were heard overhead.

      The castle is one of Jordan’s most popular tourist attractions.

      Prime Minister Hani al Mulki told parliament “a number of security personnel” had been killed and that security forces were laying siege to the castle. The Canadian government confirmed one of its nationals had been killed.

      Police and witnesses said gunmen had earlier gone on a shooting spree aimed at officers patrolling the town before entering the castle, perched on top of a hill. They used one of the castle’s towers to fire at a nearby police station.

      Police said the gunmen had arrived from the desert town of Qatraneh nearly 30 km northeast of Karak city, a desert outpost known for smuggling, where many tribal residents are heavily armed and have long resisted state authority.

      They had fled to Karak after an exchange of fire with the police at a residential building, security forces said.

      Jordan is one of the few Arab states that have taken part in a U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State in Syria.

      But many Jordanians oppose their country’s involvement, saying it has led to the killing of fellow Muslims and raised security threats inside Jordan.

      Several incidents over the past year have jolted the Arab kingdom, which has been relatively unscathed by the uprisings, civil wars and Islamist militancy that have swept the Middle East since 2011.

      Last November three U.S. military trainers were shot dead when their car failed to stop at the gate of a military base and was fired on by a Jordanian army member in an incident which Washington did not rule out political motives.

      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jordan-security-shooting-idUSKBN1470GG

  9. Bulgaria: Villagers protest plans for refugee centre at site of ex-military barracks

    Around 50 people from the village of Lesovo gathered on Sunday to protest plans for a former Soviet military barracks to be turned into a refugee shelter.

    Protest organiser Kalioan Jeliazkov opposed entirely the prospect of refugees arriving in the town, not just being placed in the old barracks, saying, “We don’t want these people here.”

    SOT, Dimitar Bishev, Mayor of Lesovo (Bulgarian): Despite the cold weather, people came here to protest. All of them I spoke with are against building any kind of refugee center, platform or whatever they want to build.”

    SOT, Kalioan Jeliazkov, organiser of the protest (Bulgarian): “We don’t want these people here. No matter if it’s Lesovo, Boyanovo, Varna or Silistra – all those places are part of Bulgaria, part of our motherland.”

    • CNN Compares Trump Family to ‘Corrupt Regimes Around the World’

      Relying on an “expert” who turns out to be a former Obama aide, CNN compares the Trump family to “corrupt regimes around the world.”

    • the guardian -Leak reveals Rex Tillerson is director of Bahamas-based US-Russian oil company

      Documents from tax haven will raise more questions over suitability of Donald Trump’s pick for US secretary of state

      Rex Tillerson, the businessman nominated by Donald Trump to be the next US secretary of state, is the long-time director of a US-Russian oil firm based in the tax haven of the Bahamas, leaked documents show.

      Tillerson – the chief executive of ExxonMobil – has been a director of the oil company’s Russian subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas, since 1998. His name – RW Tillerson – appears next to other officers who are based at Houston, Texas; Moscow; and Sakhalin, in Russia’s far east.

      The leaked 2001 document comes from the corporate registry in the Bahamas. It was one of 1.3m files given to the Germany newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source. The registry is public but details of individual directors are typically incomplete or missing entirely.

      Though there is nothing untoward about this directorship, it has not been reported before and is likely to raise fresh questions over Tillerson’s relationship with Russia ahead of a potentially stormy confirmation hearing by the US senate foreign relations committee.

      ExxonMobil’s use of offshore regimes – while legal – may also jar with Trump’s avowal to put “America first”.

      Tillerson’s critics say he is too close to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and that his appointment could raise potential conflicts of interest.

      ExxonMobil is the world’s largest oil company and has for a long time been eyeing Russia’s vast oil and gas deposits. Tillerson currently has Exxon stock worth more than $200m.

      Tillerson – the chief executive of ExxonMobil – has been a director of the oil company’s Russian subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas, since 1998. His name – RW Tillerson – appears next to other officers who are based at Houston, Texas; Moscow; and Sakhalin, in Russia’s far east.

      The leaked 2001 document comes from the corporate registry in the Bahamas. It was one of 1.3m files given to the Germany newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source. The registry is public but details of individual directors are typically incomplete or missing entirely.

      Though there is nothing untoward about this directorship, it has not been reported before and is likely to raise fresh questions over Tillerson’s relationship with Russia ahead of a potentially stormy confirmation hearing by the US senate foreign relations committee.

      ExxonMobil’s use of offshore regimes – while legal – may also jar with Trump’s avowal to put “America first”.

      Tillerson’s critics say he is too close to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and that his appointment could raise potential conflicts of interest.

      ExxonMobil is the world’s largest oil company and has for a long time been eyeing Russia’s vast oil and gas deposits. Tillerson currently has Exxon stock worth more than $200m.

      The Senate foreign relations committee is currently split 10 to 9 between Republicans and Democrats. But several heavyweight Republicans, including John McCain, have raised doubts about Tillerson’s nomination and his lack of experience to be America’s top diplomat after four decades spent exclusively in the oil industry.

      Republican senator Marco Rubio – who sits on the committee – said on Tuesday that he had “serious concerns” about giving Tillerson the job. Rubio praised him as a “respected businessman” but said that the next secretary of state “must be someone who views the world with moral clarity [and who] has a clear sense of America’s interests”.

      Tillerson is likely to get rid of his Exxon stock if the narrowly Republican-majority Senate confirms his appointment.

      Controversy over his links with Russia comes at a time when the topic is politically red hot, after the CIA said earlier this month that Kremlin hackers had stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee and top Democrats in order to help Trump. The president-elect has dismissed the CIA’s assessment, calling it “ridiculous”. The Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, says Putin targeted her for reasons of personal revenge.

      As well as on oil and gas, the Obama administration has imposed personal sanctions on Putin’s friends, including Sechin. Sechin has said that one of his ambitions is to “ride the roads in the United States on motorcycles with Tillerson”. Currently, Sechin is forbidden from entering the country.

      This new revelation about Tillerson’s directorship sheds light on the use by multinational companies of contrived offshore structures, now under scrutiny following April’s massive Panama Papers leak.

      Exxon Neftegas’s most important oil and gas project is Sakhalin-1. It is located in the sub-Arctic, off the frozen and difficult-to-access north-east coast of Russia’s Sakhalin island. This is 10,700km (6,650 miles) away from the subsidiary’s official business home in Nassau, the semi-tropical capital of the Bahamas. The Bahamas is notorious for secrecy and has a corporate tax rate of zero.

      The documents from the Bahamas corporate registry were shared by Süddeutsche Zeitung with the Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington DC. They show that Exxon registered at least 67 companies in the secretive tax haven, covering operations in countries from Russia to Venezuela to Azerbaijan.

      Exxon Neftegas features in about 25 leaked offshore documents. The oil firm was incorporated in 1998 by a law firm in Nassau, Higgs & Johnson. Another veteran law firm, Lobosky Management Ltd, subsequently took over as registered agent. The company secretary, Sophia Kishinevsky, signed the paperwork and made annual filings.

      Exxon said it had no comment on whether Tillerson should now divest his Exxon holdings and resign from his positions with all Exxon entities. It said the oil firm had incorporated some of its affiliates in the Bahamas because of “simplicity and predictability”.

      “It is not done to reduce tax in the country where the company operates,” Exxon said. “Incorporation of a company in the Bahamas does not decrease ExxonMobil’s tax liability in the country where the entity generates its income.”

      The firm was one of the largest taxpayers in the world, with an effective global tax rate in 2015 of 34%, it said. Its effective tax rate over the past three years – 2013, 2014, 2015 – was 43%, it added. This compared favourably with other Fortune 100 companies, which “have substantially lower effective tax rates than ExxonMobil”.

      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/18/leak-rex-tillerson-director-bahamas-based-us-russian-oil-company?CMP=twt_gu

      • Rex Tillerson has quite a cozy relationship with the Islamic supremacist nation of Qatar

        The media have struggled to present a clear picture of what you’re getting with Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson. He’s been a company man for ExxonMobil all of his working life and, with a few exceptions, his views on foreign policy are largely a mystery.

        However, we’ve found that there’s plenty of evidence to ascertain that the ExxonMobil CEO has a particular affinity for the Islamic totalitarian nation of Qatar.

        Tillerson has met with the Qatari head of state countless times within the past couple of years, both inside and outside the Qatar capital of Doha. He usually meets behind closed doors with the leader of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. On U.S. Election Day, Tillerson was in Doha to discussing bilateral cooperation between Exxon and Qatar with Al-Thani. The two also met for business in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Before that, they got together during Tillerson’s February trip to Doha. And, rounding out the recent list of visits, they met in Houston in February 2015.

        And Tillerson is much more than a mere business partner to Qatar. He often vociferously compliments the country as a whole, burying its long record of human rights travesties along the way.

        In 2009, Tillerson spoke at the Seventh Doha Conference on Natural Gas. “It is evident why Qatar is an example to the world,” Tillerson said at the conference, per ArabianOilandGas.com.

        “We must learn from Qatar’s vision and its policies,” he added.

        A year later, at another Qatar conference, Tillerson praised “Qatar’s visionary leadership” in the natural gas sector.

        At 2011’s World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Tillerson personally commended “the leadership of His Highness.”

        The reality in Qatar is far different from what Tillerson presents. “His Highness” presides over a country that is the chief promoter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

        While there is widespread suspicion that elements within Qatar’s government are funding ISIS, the oil-rich regime has overtly provided arms and aid to other Islamic terror groups, such as the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group in Syria, and Hamas, a Palestinian terror group that rules Gaza. The latter takes in more money from Qatar than any other country.

        The Qatari ruling family controls the Al Jazeera news giant, which, before 9/11, was actively commending al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. After the attacks, The New York Times reported on the Al Jazeera studio in Doha: “The channel’s graphics assign him [Bin Laden] a lead role: There is bin Laden seated on a mat, his submachine gun on his lap; there is bin Laden on horseback in Afghanistan, the brave knight of the Arab world. A huge, glamorous poster of bin Laden’s silhouette hangs in the background of the main studio set.”

        Today, Al Jazeera is the world’s chief media promoter of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that dozens of U.S. legislators think should be declared a terrorist organization. In 2013, the media outlet faced mass resignations after journalists complained about their pro-Brotherhood biases

        And back home, Qatar has an atrocious human rights record.

        Freedom House, a “watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world,” consistently classifies Qatar as a “Not Free” country that is an abuser of civil liberties and political rights.

        The Economist’s democracy Index classifies Qatar as an “Authoritarian Regime.” Its 2010 index ranked Qatar as less free than countries such as Cuba, China, and Angola.

        Migrant workers consist of around 90 percent of the Persian Gulf state’s workforce, and they are employed under slave-like conditions, according to human rights groups. Conditions are so bad for Nepalese migrant workers tasked with building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, that one dies from work-related injuries every two days.

        Rex Tillerson’s Qatar is not the real Qatar. One is left to speculate: How many other dictatorial countries has he provided cover for in order to curry favor with their leaders?

        https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/12/rex-tillerson-has-quite-a-cozy-relationship-with-the-islamic-supremacist-nation-of-qatar

      • Tillerson was head of a major oil company (which is one reason the left hates him) of course he has business ties to all oil producing nations on earth. The left is attacking him because he doesn’t donate large sums of money to them and is willing to work with Donald Trump.

        This is just the beginning of the hit jobs on PET and all of his choices for high position.

    • GOP rep: CIA director leaked Russian hacking information to press

      Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is accusing CIA Director John Brennan of leaking Russian hacking information to the press and is calling for an investigation into “the hit job” that King says Brennan is conducting against President-elect Donald Trump.

      “That’s what infuriates me about this, Martha, is that we have John Brennan, supposedly John Brennan, leaking to The Washington Post, to a biased newspaper like The New York Times, findings and conclusion that is he’s not telling the intelligence committee,” King told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

      King said while he is “willing to accept” that the Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee, it is “uncertain” whether or not the Russians were responsible for the hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails.

      “It seems like to me — there should be an investigation what the Russians did but also an investigation of John Brennan and the hit job he seems to be orchestrating against the president-elect,” he said.

      The Washington Post reported earlier this month on a secret CIA assessment that found Russia had meddled in the U.S. election in an effort to help Trump win.

      http://thehill.com/homenews/310945-king-john-brennan-leaked-information-to-the-press

      CIA Director is Orchestrating Hit Job Against Trump: Peter King

      • the same –

        Kellyanne Conway: CIA Would Rather Leak Documents to Media Than Come Forward and Testify

  10. zero hedge – Syrian “Rebels” Attack, Burn Aleppo Evacuation Buses

    While the UN condemns Syrian and Russian “atrocities” in the battle over East Aleppo, which as noted previously was a key victory for the Assad regime in the past week, one which will end the stalemate and sway the balance of power in the ongoing war between regime forces and US-coalition armed rebels, little attention had been paid to the subversive tactics employed by such “moderate rebels” as the al Qaeda linked al-Nusra front.

    That may change after five buses en route to evacuate the sick and injured from two government-held villages in Syria’s Idlib province were attacked and burned by rebels.

    Five buses were attacked and burned by “armed terrorists” while en route to militant-held villages after an evacuation deal was struck between the Syrian government and rebels, Syrian state television has reported. According to Reuters, the deal was reached earlier on Sunday, citing al-Ikhbariya TV news. It will see the remaining militants and their families evacuated from east Aleppo in return for the evacuation of people in militant-held villages in Idlib province, al-Foua and Kafraya.

    Syrian state television has reported that five buses were attacked and burned by “armed terrorists” while en route to al-Foua and Kefraya. However, most of them, as well as Red Crescent vehicles, reached the entrance to the villages, the report said.

    Despite delays caused by disagreements over the new evacuation plan, convoys were said to be traveling to both eastern Aleppo and the government-held villages in Idlib province on Sunday. However, UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six buses were attacked and torched on the way to Foah and Kefraya.

    It had reported earlier that the “moderate rebel” group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, was preventing buses entering the villages.

    As a reminder, earlier in the year, Jabhat Al-Nusra, rebranded itself Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, a cosmetic change which was apparently sufficient to convince the US government to brand them “moderates” and send them arms and equipment, equipment which today may have been used against innocent Syrian citizens.

    Syrian state media said “armed terrorists” attacked five buses, burned and destroyed them.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-18/syrian-rebels-attack-burn-aleppo-evacuation-buses

    euronews -Evacuation buses burned out near Aleppo

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0f0PAkZcDk

  11. Podesta: ‘Something is deeply broken at the FBI’

    A top aide to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said Thursday the FBI’s response to Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election shows the agency is “deeply broken.”

    “The more we learn about the Russian plot to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and elect Donald Trump, and the failure of the FBI to adequately respond, the more shocking it gets,” John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign manager, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Thursday.

    Podesta said the FBI’s focus on Clinton using a private email server as secretary of State shows its misplaced priorities before and after Election Day.

    “As the former chair of the Clinton campaign and a direct target of Russian hacking, I understand just how serious this is. So I was surprised to read in the New York Times that when the FBI discovered the Russian attack in September 2015, it failed to send even a single agent to warn senior Democratic National Committee [DNC] officials,” he wrote.

    http://patriotsandpolitics.com/podesta-something-is-deeply-broken-at-the-fbi/

    Richard: One of the people who helped politicize the Federal; Justice system and the Federal Intelligence system has the gall to complain that something is broken in one of the systems he helped brake. This statement has and will continue to piss off the current members and retired FBI agents and will continue to stir up the alt left’s professional agitators.

    As I have said many times to understand what is happening look at the pattern of the actions, using this rule the only logical answer is that the left is trying to start a civil war and have been for the past 8 years.

    • Stopped clock gets it right.
      Both the FBI and the CIA do indeed have some compromised agents. Podesta would be in jail if they didn’t.

  12. Vandals On the Island of Crete Set Church on Fire, Write “Allah is Great”
    http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/12/18/vandals-on-the-island-of-crete-set-church-on-fire-write-allah-is-great/

    According to e-mesara.gr news website, unknown perpetrators set fire to the Church of Archangel Michael in Lagolio, burning holy icons and part of the chancel.
    A passerby saw the fire and notified local residents who ran to put out the fire before it spread. The perpetrators had also written “Allah is great” in Arabic on the walls.

    (Migrants have also broken the shop windows and stole money and goods from stores and restaurants on Lesbos, but I haven’t yet found news in English)

  13. UNHCR: Programmes for direct cash-aid to the displaced reaches record $430m in 2016

    This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

    2016 has been a record year for UNHCR’s cash-based aid programme for refugees and other displaced people, with an expected $430 million in cash going directly to people in need by year’s end – signalling an important shift in how the world’s refugee situations are increasingly being managed.

    Traditionally, aid has been largely delivered through in-kind support. But with some 80 per cent of the world’s displaced people living in cities, and often with either only limited or no access to legal employment, cash aid is now a critical tool across all sectors – from health and food, to shelter and meeting basic needs. UNHCR is working with other agencies and the private sector to streamline aid with tangible benefits for refugees and for our donors.

    For the individual refugee, it also empowers them by giving them the choice over how to meet their most immediate needs. Freed from having to queue or travel to receive one-size-fits-all aid, people can buy their own food, fuel, clothes, medicine or pay the rent based on their personal priorities. In this way, refugees contribute directly to local economies and foster positive relations with host communities.

    Spearheaded in the Middle East

    UNHCR has spearheaded the new emphasis on cash in its Middle East operations. Cash programming expanded in response to the Iraqi refugee crisis in 2007 and scaled up to new levels in response to the recent Syria crisis. Some 1.8 million people in the region received up to $355 million in cash-based aid in 2016.

    In Jordan, where we have been giving cash to high vulnerability Syrian refugees in urban areas since 2012, studies show cash is the preferred means of assistance. Vulnerable families are often headed by women alone who can face cultural, legal and childcare obstacles finding work. Cash aid is helping prevent thousands of refugees facing severe hardship and resorting to desperate survival strategies – such as pulling children out of school, child labour and begging, survival sex, early marriage or returning to war zones.

    The Jordan programme, which provides cash mainly through the use of iris scans at ATMs linked to UNHCR’s pioneering biometric registration system, has recently been expanded. It now includes extra support for refugees to get health care, buy fuel and clothes for winter (including for refugees in camps), and one-off emergency support.

    Recent developments

    We have been expanding our use of cash through the region in 2016.

    Last month in Turkey, for example, UNHCR expanded its new cash distribution system to help more than half a million refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas in keeping warm this winter. Debit cards are being provided to 108,000 refugee families, including 96,000 Syrian households, through UNHCR’s financial services provider – Turkey’s Postal and Telegraph Corporation (PTT). Eligible families can receive the cards, linked to their identity numbers, at any PTT Office countrywide and use them at any shop which is part of the MasterCard circuit network. The $27 million winter programme in Turkey is operating in 50 out of 81 provinces from November to January. UNHCR cash programme for Turkey includes a personalized SMS system, an interactive webpage which provides real-time verification of eligibility by applicants, call-centre support and leaflets in several languages.

    New efficiencies

    Our new partnerships with cash-based aid are yielding efficiency dividends and improving services to refugees.

    In Lebanon, we are part of a new partnership forged between three UN agencies and six NGOs giving refugees aid through the first-of-its-kind common card. Launched earlier this month in Beirut, the common card simplifies aid delivery to vulnerable refugees from various agencies. Instead of having to report to various distribution points, refugees can now get help through one e-card and buy food, fuel or clothes, pay their rent and funnel cash back into the local economy. The system has one joint assessment, one bank agreement, one distribution, one call centre and other common elements.

    The efficiency gains of this new approach between UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and a consortium of six NGOs has led to unprecedented reductions in costs. For example, in Lebanon, thanks to the common systems in place, the costs in some areas have been halved or brought to zero.

    Cash programming from various agencies in Lebanon serves over 900,000 beneficiaries. UNHCR is already helping 150,000 vulnerable people (30,000 families) through monthly cash-based assistance year-round, and in November started assisting 840,000 refugees in need with seasonal winter aid to help them stay warm and dry throughout March next year.

    Beyond the Middle East

    While two-thirds of UNHCR’s cash-based assistance in 2016 was spent in the Middle East region, we are also expanding our programmes in Africa, Asia and Europe, in line with commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit in May.

    Cash has been a part of our aid to refugees since the 1980s, but we have massively scaled up in recent years. This year we have pursued cash-based help programmes in 60 countries worldwide – a doubling of the number of operations over the past four years.

    Our new Policy on Cash-Based Interventions launched in October commits UNHCR to doubling the proportion of cash in its total direct assistance to refugees by the end of 2020. To deliver on this, we are building a growing team of experts in delivering cash programmes. Next year, we are significantly expanding our team of cash experts worldwide. This year we have been training staff to assess the feasibility of cash-based programmes, integrating these findings into our programme and contingency planning across the globe.

    UNHCR’s largest cash-based programmes in 2016 were in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, Egypt, Kenya, Turkey and Yemen.

    In 2017, at least 11 countries – Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, Uganda, Afghanistan and Iran – will receive dedicated technical support to expand cash-based programmes for the most vulnerable refugees.

    UNHCR is grateful to its many donors who support our cash-based aid either directly or indirectly. These include: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and United States.

    http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2016/12/5853b3ed4/unhcr-programmes-direct-cash-aid-displaced-reaches-record-430m-2016.html

    ===============================================
    UNHCR to double funds for cash-based assistance to refugees by 2020

    http://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2016/10/581712154/unhcr-double-funds-cash-based-assistance-refugees-2020.html

    • Now gravy rolls directly off this gravy-train.
      No need to fake receipts for grain, soap, blankets. Simple electronic transfers. Can pay people-smugglers and NGOs without middlemen, too.

  14. Russia: 3 militants killed in counter-terror operation led by Kadyrov

    Three militants were killed in the second part of a counter-terror operation on the outskirts of Grozny, in Chechnya, Sunday.

  15. MIGRANT CIVIL WAR : Afghan and African migrants brawl it out with bats and any other weapons they can find in South Tyrol,Italy
    I don’t know when this happened, but it deserves being seen because it’s so ironic: diversity just cannot stand diversity. They brawl with different groups everywhere.

  16. ‘Give us more money or we will kill you’ Migrants kidnap refugee centre workers in Italy (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/744373/Italy-migrant-crisis-refugees-threaten-aid-workers-Potenza-italy

    “THREE African migrants ended up in jail after threatening to kill refugee centre workers unless they handed over more cash and improved the quality of food they served.

    The men, one from Nigera and two from Gambia, sparked outage when they turned against the voluntary helpers.

    The shocking incident erupted in at a refugee centre in the southern Italian town of Potenza.

    According to local reports the men were given food, clothes and their daily allowance of £3.30 but became angry and shouted: “If you don’t give us more money and better food, we will kill you”.

    The migrants kidnapped the two aid workers, threatened to cut their throats and tried to spark a riot in the shelter facility which is run by a co-operative.

    Police were called and the three men were detained and spent three days in jail before being freed without further action…”

  17. ‘Multiculturalism is DEAD’ LBC host savages liberals as real RACISTS who failed Britain (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/744884/LBC-host-liberals-real-RACISTS-UK-Multiculturalism

    “LBC host Maajid Nawaz declared multiculturalism a failed policy that has transformed Britain into an unfair, segregated country

    Maajid Nawaz said liberals and left-wing activists were the major force behind the failure of Britain’s communities.

    He said multiculturalism had created a hostile country where anyone who spoke out against segregated communities was immediately labelled an “Islamophobic bigot”.

    The LBC host told his audience that it was ridiculous to be called a racist for wanting to celebrate shared values with people in your country.

    Mr Nawaz also lamented how this environment only “shut down debate” that in the end made the problem worse…”

  18. ‘OUTRAGEOUS!’ Germany’s fury as teachers ‘banned from even MENTIONING Christmas in class’ (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/744911/Recep-Erdogan-Germany-Merkel-teachers-banned-Christmas-Istanbul-school

    “GERMAN politicians have reacted with open fury after teachers at a school for expat children in Turkey were reportedly banned from even mentioning Christmas in the classroom.

    Berlin expressed complete dismay at the draconian ruling apparently made by officials in Istanbul, saying it was an example of how the country is turning into an ”Islamic dictatorship” under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    In an internal email, sent out by school management and reported by German media, teachers were allegedly ordered not to put up Christmas decorations in classrooms or teach their pupils anything about the festive season.

    The instructions were reportedly so severe that teachers are banned from mentioning the topic of Christmas altogether. According to Deutsche Welle, the email told teachers there must be “no sharing of Christmas traditions and Christian festivals in lessons, Christmas must not be treated as a subject and you must not sing Christmas songs”.

    School leaders have strongly denied the claims, which have received widespread attention in Germany, saying they are “not a reflection of the reality”.

    The reported decision, by management at the Istanbul Lisesi school, has sparked particular outrage because the institution receives funding from Angela Merkel’s government.

    And it has reignited the debate about Mr Erdogan’s increasingly hard line on religion, with Turkey rapidly abandoning its secular traditions in favour of more Islamist governance…”

  19. EXCLUSIVE: Fury as Islamist hate preacher Anjem Choudary bills YOU for £100k legal defence (express, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/744914/Anjem-Choudary-outrage-taxpayer-foots-law-bill-hate-preacher-extremism

    “CONVICTED hate preacher Anjem Choudary was handed almost £100,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid to fight his latest court battle.

    Choudary, who inspired terrorists to commit atrocities in the UK and abroad spent £97,616 of public money in his failed bid to stay out of jail.

    But the true figure will be far higher as officials have yet to receive the Islamist’s lawyers’ final bill.

    The firebrand cleric was hauled into court after being caught drumming up support for Islamic State.

    His followers have been linked to attacks including the murder of Lee Rigby in Greenwich, London, in 2013 and the 7/7 bombings where 56 people died.

    Figures obtained by the Daily Express show the staggering sum the 49-year-old received on top of all the state benefits he claimed.

    Earlier this year a judge criticised convicted Choudary who had urged followers to “take Jihadi Seeker’s Allowance”…”

  20. Croatia: 42 Migrants Hospitalized After Found Packed in Van (abcnews, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/croatia-42-migrants-hospitalized-found-packed-van-44264458

    “Forty-two migrants were hospitalized after police in Croatia found a van crammed with 67 people, including children, traveling through the country, authorities said Sunday.

    The occupants were suffering from carbon-monoxide poisoning and some were unconscious, doctors said. They were treated in local hospitals and are now out of danger, the country’s health minister said.

    “It is a serious medical condition and it is good that they were found,” minister Milan Kujundzic said in comments carried by the Hina news agency. “Most will be released but three or four will remain hospitalized for observation.”

    Kujundzic said two children aged 10 and 12 were among the migrants found in the van. The migrants were cold and hungry, with some saying they hadn’t eaten for five days, he said.

    Police said they stopped the van with British plates on Saturday evening, near the town of Novska, by the border with Bosnia. Some of the migrants were packed in the van’s cargo compartment, police said.

    Two Bulgarian citizens are under criminal investigation for smuggling the migrants, the police statement said. It said the van was headed west, toward the capital Zagreb and on toward western Europe.

    Thousands of migrants are stranded in neighboring Serbia looking for ways to reach EU countries Croatia or Hungary. Many turn to people smugglers to take them illegally across the borders.

    EU nations have sought to curb the influx after more than 1 million came to Europe in 2015.”

  21. Not So Happy New Year: The Conflicts That Could Lead to WWIII in 2017 (sputniknews, Dec 18, 2016)
    https://sputniknews.com/military/201612181048713870-hot-spots-escalation-dangers-2017/

    “President-elect Trump will have a lot on his plate in dealing with foreign policy hotspots when he steps into the Oval Office. Last week, the Council on Foreign Relations listed a possible NATO-Russia war, a Korean peninsula standoff and terrorism as the main ‘high impact’ threats to the US. But there are other dangers. Sputnik takes a closer look…”

      • The worlds conflicts were not caused by Obama (with the exception of making Syria much worse) but the way his blundering has allowed many quarrels to fester and grow to the potential of a major war is the biggest part of his legacy. The fact that the propaganda media ignores his blunders and in my opinion his deliberate actions that caused a lot of the problems doesn’t mean future historians will ignore his true legacy.

    • There are a lot more potential flash points for WWIII to go kinetic then those listed in the article.

      China and India
      China and Japan
      China and Taiwan
      China and the Philippines.
      India and Pakistan
      Iran and just about everyone
      Civil war in the US and all European nations

      These are the extra flash points I can think of without research, the whole list is much longer! Obama’s abdication of leadership created a vacuum that no one has filled although Putin has tried to in the Middle East and has grabbed several prime chunks of real estate in the process.

  22. Saudi Arabia lobbies US over 9/11 law (france24, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20161218-saudi-arabia-lobbies-us-over-911-law

    “Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has been lobbying US legislators to change a law allowing victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks to sue the kingdom, he said on Sunday.

    Adel al-Jubeir told reporters he has just returned from an extended stay in the United States, which was partly “to try to persuade them that there needs to be an amendment of the law”, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).

    The US Congress voted overwhelmingly in September to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the JASTA.

    Fifteen of the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks were Saudi. But Riyadh denies any ties to the plotters who killed nearly 3,000 people.

    JASTA allows attack survivors and relatives of terrorism victims to pursue cases against foreign governments in US federal court, and to demand compensation if those governments are proven to bear some responsibility for attacks on US soil.

    “We believe the law, that curtails sovereign immunities, represents a grave danger to the international system,” Jubeir said at a joint press conference with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry.

    In opposing the law, Obama said it would harm US interests by opening up the United States to private lawsuits over its military missions abroad.

    Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies have also expressed concern about erosion of sovereign immunity, a principle sacrosanct in international relations.

    But the potential implications go far beyond the Gulf.

    Some British, French and Dutch lawmakers have threatened retaliatory legislation to allow their courts to pursue US officials, threatening a global legal domino effect.

    “The United States is, by eroding this principle, opening the door for other countries to take similar steps and then before you know it international order becomes governed by the law of the jungle,” Jubeir said.

    He added that the US itself would suffer most from the erosion of sovereign immunity.

    “The question now becomes how do you go about amending the law”, he said.

    Kerry, whose visit was focused on the war in Yemen, at the press conference reiterated his government’s concern over JASTA.”

    • Saudi Arabia, U.S. play down reports of curbs on military support (reuters, Dec 18, 2016)
      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudiarabia-yemen-idUSKBN1470LB

      “Saudi Arabia and the United States on Sunday played down media reports that Washington had decided to limit military support, including planned arms sales to the kingdom, over its war in Yemen.

      Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Riyadh had not been officially informed of such decisions, which he described as contradicting the reality, while visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested the issue related more to a long procurement process than restrictions on military support.

      U.S. officials have said Washington decided to curb backing for Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen, including halting the supply of some precision-guided munitions, because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties.

      Yemen’s 20-month-old war has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Arabian peninsula.

      Jubeir, speaking in Arabic, told a joint news conference with Kerry: “This news that has been leaked contradicts reality. The reality is that converting regular bombs to smart bombs would be welcome because smart bombs are more accurate.

      “The kingdom has received nothing official from the American government in this regard,” he said in answer to a question on reported delays of U.S. weapons supplies.

      Kerry appeared to play down the reports of delays to weapons supplies, suggesting procurement was often a slow process, and adding he had worked hard to move sales “forward”….”

      • Jubeir: Iran’s meddling in region must be stopped (saudigazette, Dec 19, 2016)
        http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/jubeir-irans-meddling-in-region-must-be-stopped/

        “Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry that any agreement in Yemen must be based on the Gulf initiative and the decision of the United Nations.

        Jubeir added that Saudi Arabia calls for the world to take tough action to stop Iran’s interventions in the region.

        Kerry said that the world must end the war in Yemen in a way that will protect the security of Saudi Arabia, urging all Yemeni parties to return to the negotiating table.

        Kerry stressed that, like Saudi Arabia, his country rejects Iranian interference in Yemen.

        Jubeir denied media reports that the United States had decided to limit military support to the Kingdom.

        “The kingdom has received nothing official from the American government in this regard,” he said in answer to a question on reported delays of U.S. weapons supplies.

        “In turbulent times, it’s good to have solid friends,” Kerry told journalists.

        “That’s why the United States’ partnership with Saudi Arabia is rightly so valuable.”

        Kerry said he hoped to have parties involved “within two weeks” to agree to terms earlier set out by the UN.

        On his last visit to the kingdom as secretary, Kerry said the United States will work with Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to achieve a new pause in the fighting, which would be the eighth ceasefire attempt since hostilities escalated early last year.

        The group of four nations, formed previously to focus on Yemen, “hopes that within two weeks it might be possible to achieve” a pause in fighting, Kerry told reporters.”

  23. Amnesty urges Algeria to adopt law on right to asylum (ahram, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/253341/World/Region/Amnesty-urges-Algeria-to-adopt-law-on-right-to-asy.aspx

    “Amnesty International Sunday urged Algeria to adopt a law on the right to asylum and to open an investigation into the deportation of sub-Saharan migrants from the country this month.

    “The authorities should decriminalise irregular immigration, adopt a law on (the right to) asylum and fight racism against sub-Saharans in the country,” the group’s Algeria office said in a statement in French.

    A draft law on the right to asylum has been in the works for five years, Amnesty said.

    The statement comes after Algeria on Saturday defended its treatment of a group of around 260 Malian migrants rounded up and deported to their country at the start of December, dismissing charges of brutality.

    Amnesty called on Algiers “to open up a prompt and impartial inquiry into the cases of arbitrary expulsions and allegations of mistreatment”.

    Algerian law criminalises irregular migration into the country and stipulates jail time for anyone who aids a migrant who entered Algeria illegally.

    This means migrants are “extremely vulnerable” and “prevents them from reporting abuse for fear of being pursued, jailed or deported”, Amnesty said.

    Algeria has expelled thousands of African migrants since the descent into chaos over the past five years of Libya, a focal point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

    The migrants are generally arrested in cities of northern Algeria bordering the sea and bused to a reception centre in the south before being deported.”

  24. BREITBART – EURONEWS – EU-Backed News Channel Accused of ‘Pandering’ to Oppressive Regimes

    Euronews, a rolling news channel partly funded by the European Union, has been accused of broadcasting “sponsored” propaganda for oppressive regimes.

    Journalists at the channel, which receives a third of its funding from the EU, have backed a no-confidence motion against their management, accusing the station of “flagrant violation of journalistic ethics”.

    The Sunday Telegraph reports that states such as Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have paid the news channel to send teams to produce short profiles of their countries that are notably free from any criticism of the governments.

    Some journalists have even accused the channel of failing to criticise the Turkish government after the failed coup there this year.

    Workers staged a one-day strike after passing the no-confidence motion, in the same week it emerged U.S. broadcaster NBC was in negotiation to buy a stake of up to 30 per cent in the channel.

    The network broadcasts in 13 languages including Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian, and has faced increasing questions over its independence and reliability.

    A report by the European Parliament last year said there were “growing concerns about the independence – or alleged lack thereof – of Euronews” in its reporting of Russian intervention in Ukraine.

    It has also been criticised for teaming up with the oppressive government of the Republic of Congo to launch Africanews, a pan-African news service.

    The European Commission, which last year gave the channel €24.7 million of EU taxpayer money, distanced itself from the network, with spokeswoman Nathalie Vandystadt saying: “The Commission has no relation with those programmes.”

    “The (Commission’s) contract with Euronews protects the channel’s independence and editorial freedom, and as such it is totally unfounded and unfair to state that the EU funding qualifies as ‘propaganda’,” she added.

    Breitbart reported in May how the channel was accused of publishing a misleading headline that turned a Palestinian terrorist into a victim.

    The terrorist drove a car into three soldiers in the West Bank, but the channel’s headline read: “Israeli troops shoot dead driver of rammed car”.

    Following complaints, the channel amended the headline to read “Israeli troops shoot dead driver who rammed car into soldiers”, although still neglected to call the driver a terrorist.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/12/18/eu-backed-news-channel-accused-pandering-oppressive-regimes/

  25. Kurds in Germany: Fear is in the air (DW, Dec 18, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/kurds-in-germany-fear-is-in-the-air/a-36818325

    “Following the attempted coup in July, the tense situation in Turkey has been mirrored within Germany. The Kurdish community here is growing increasingly afraid.

    Ali Toprak doesn’t know where to begin. The chair of Germany’s Kurdish community advocacy group, the KGD, is shocked – and disappointed, not just in politicians, but in the German media, too.

    “I’ve been on the ZDF [German state] television board since July,” he says. “I get to represent the migrant population. Whenever I bring up subjects like this, there’s embarrassed silence on the German side.”

    With “subjects like this,” Toprak is referring to the rift in Germany’s Turkish community. Toprak is afraid. In the interview with DW he speaks of a “witch hunt,” and grows agitated. “Does someone in this country have to get killed by Erdogan supporters before German politicians will finally acknowledge the seriousness of the situation?” he asks.

    Divided community

    Around three million people in Germany, most of them Sunnis, Alevis and Kurds, have Turkish origins. They constitute by far the largest group with a migrant background.

    Gokay Sofuoglu is the federal chair of the Turkish community in Germany. His organization aspires to represent the whole of the community, but at the moment this is very difficult. Terrorist attacks by the Kurdish PKK, crackdowns since the failed coup: Turkey’s domestic political climate is charged with fear and hate. Will its internal conflict spill over into Germany?

    Sofuoglu chooses his words carefully. “Turkish domestic politics are very present in Germany,” he says diplomatically. This has been made very apparent in recent years, he continues, with big demonstrations by, variously, opponents of the ruling AKP, AKP supporters, and Kurds.

    Spying imams?

    Ankara keeps adding fuel to the fire, exacerbating the rift in the community. The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) is Germany’s biggest mosque association, bringing together more than 970 mosque communities. DITIB is headquartered in Cologne, but it is closely linked to Diyanet, the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs in Ankara – and DITIB imams are Turkish state officials.

    Recent revelations suggest that DITIB imams have been reporting on the activities of people in Turkey who are alleged to have taken part in the attempted coup. Has Ankara sent imams sent to Germany to spy on their own people? These are serious accusations. The DITIB issued a written statement in response.

    The corrupt behavior of individuals should not impact on imams’ religious, social and peacemaking activities, the national executive committee said: “Imams are our partners. They support us. However, anyone who becomes involved in activities outside his actual remit is not acting in our name.”

    No longer safe in Germany

    The DITIB debate shows how closely connected German and Turkish domestic politics currently are. After the failed coup in mid-July, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, repeatedly called on his people to denounce critics, both at home and abroad.

    Ali Toprak believes that DITIB’s behavior is poisoning the atmosphere in Germany’s Turkish community. He is afraid of Erdogan supporters in Germany. “It cannot be that people who enjoy democracy should live here in a free society while at the same time supporting a dictatorship in another country. How long are we going to accept this contradiction?” he asks. For the first time, says Toprak, “I no longer feel safe in my German homeland.””