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REVEALED: Britain’s £1.1TRILLION liability in the EU and why we must get out NOW (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/747442/brexit-news-why-we-must-get-out-eu-brexit-liability-report-global-britain
“BRITAIN is exposed to an eye watering £1.1 trillion of liabilities while it is still in the European Union.
With concerns mounting over a new major financial crash in the eurozone, the revelations in a Global Britain report have highlighted why the UK Government needs to ensure a speedy Exit from the EU.
If there is a collapse in the eurozone Britain could be asked to help pick up a bill which in effect would double its national debt.
The stunning conclusions by the highly respected thinktank come just days after The Italian government authorised a £17 billion bailout for the country’s third-largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world.
This followed a failure by the bank to raise £4.26 billion on the international markets to stop it collapsing.
The development has flagged up fears of an Italian banking collapse with a collective unsecured debt of £256 billion leading to a crisis in the eurozone which could dwarf the economic world disaster in 2008…”
Don’t forget what is happening in Germany with their big banks, we have skated real close to the rim on major crashes ever since 2008 and the worlds economy has gotten worse and worse following every bailout. One of these days the bailout won’t work and the world will spend many decades digging out of the mess.
Donald Trump could start WORLD WAR THREE with ‘provocative nuclear tweets’, experts warn (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747500/Donald-Trump-nuclear-world-war-3-tweeting-North-Korea-provoke-Jeffrey-Lewis-experts
“DONALD Trump’s tweet calling on the US to bolster its military muscle could start an all-out nuclear war, terrified experts have warned.
The President-elect tweeted on December 22 that his country “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes”.
But Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear non-proliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said: “Imagine we’re in a crisis — if he recklessly Tweets, people could read these things in the worst possible light.
“The North Koreans have a plan to use nuclear weapons very early in a conflict. They’re not going to wait around. If they think we are going, they’re going to use nuclear weapons against South Korea and Japan.”
The concerned expert also claimed if Trump “says the wrong thing” and “gives the impression that we’re about to act” with nuclear weapons, North Korea could use that as “their signal that they have to go”….”
What a great expert… Finally someone admitted that they (i.e. North Korea) have to go. lol
Translation: I always gave the school yard bully my lunch money and managed to survive so we mustn’t stand up to the nations that are bullies because they might get mad.
What a wimp, and what an idiot. The policies he is advocating have been tried for the past 8 years and all they have done is give a green light to the wanna be world dominating dictators. Either he is unable to understand this or he is too scared to think.
Prevent anti-extremism strategy ‘absolutely fundamental to counter-terrorism’ (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/747339/Prevent-anti-extremism-strategy-fundamental-counter-terrorism
“THE Prevent anti-extremism strategy is “absolutely fundamental” to Britain’s counter-terrorism efforts, a police chief has said.
Simon Cole highlighted the role played by the scheme in helping to stop people travelling to fight in Syria and “stabilising” communities amid a heightened threat from the extreme far-right.
He argued that Prevent is often presented in “hysterical” terms, which contrasts with the reality of a process aimed at supporting often vulnerable individuals.
The latest figures show that in 2015/16 there were around 7,500 referrals to Prevent – a rate of 20 a day.
It has been credited with playing a role in disrupting more than 150 attempted journeys to the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and is also handling a growing number of cases linked to far-right extremism.
But it has repeatedly come under fire, with critics labelling it heavy-handed and “toxic”, and there have been calls for it to be independently reviewed.
Mr Cole, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Prevent, defended the programme in an interview with the Press Association.
He said: “Some of those that criticise, criticise perceptions of Prevent rather than what it is.
“Something that gets lost in the debate is that this is a voluntary scheme which takes place in the pre-criminal space.
“This is not about people who are suspected of terrorist offences. This is about people who professionals, friends, family, community members have concerns about and who need some help and support.”
Mr Cole, chief constable of Leicestershire Police, emphasised the importance of a combination of education and enforcement for policing issues.
“We try and divert, allow people the opportunity to help them make better decisions,” he said. “It’s absolutely fundamental.”
He said he believed it is “really likely” people have been deterred from going on to commit terrorist offences following interventions from Prevent.
“It’s really hard to empirically demonstrate that,” he said. “Certainly there are people who have intended to go and travel and fight, there are people who may have carried out right-wing acts of extremism.
“It has enabled us to try and help stabilise communities and stop people getting us into a cycle of aggravation.”
He acknowledged that some communities are “very suspicious” of Prevent and stressed the importance of being as transparent as possible about a programme which has drawn accusations of secrecy.
Summarising the typical process, he said: “There’s an assessment about an individual and a programme of support put round them.
“Sometimes that programme is nothing to do with extremism or radicalisation. It’s identifying that somebody might need job opportunities, educational opportunities, that their housing provision isn’t great.”
He said the assessment process following a referral is “very mature”, “thoughtful” and “well-motivated”.
Mr Cole added: “And that gets lost in all the noise. It’s a group of professionals trying to identify how somebody can be supported.
“It’s sometimes presented in quite hysterical terms as part of a sort of spying operation. Actually it isn’t that. It’s quite mundane almost.”
Elsewhere he:
• Warned that the internet enables young people to access information in an “uncontrolled” way, adding: “Lots of that’s good, but some of it is a threat”;
• Said Daesh – also known as Islamic State – has a “really sophisticated” communications operation;
• Estimated that just under 10% of referrals were from families and communities, saying: “We would like that to be more. It’s a big step to refer somebody you love into a formal process around safeguarding. We understand that, we have huge sympathy”;
• Described a new counter-terrorism duty imposed on state bodies last year as “sensible” – but it has proved to be “quite challenging in some environments where people see it as spying and intruding and preventing access to a space for thought”;
• Denied that a referral that goes nowhere should be seen as a failure, saying: “I’d be really worried if every single referral led to an action.”
Prevent was introduced following the 7/7 attacks in London as part of a wider counter-terrorism strategy known as Contest.
Last year the Prevent duty was introduced, requiring organisations such as schools and local authorities to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.”
Does this include anti extreme alt leftists like Obama and Merkel?
Voters in areas with high Muslim populations ‘MUST show passports’ amid voter fraud fears (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/747497/Voters-election-fraud-high-Muslim-populations-passports-election-fraud-Eric-Pickles
“VOTERS in towns and cities with a high Muslim population must show their passports or driving licenses in order to cast their ballots amid fears of election fraud, the Government has announced.
The scheme will be trailed in 18 areas identified as vulnerable with identification having to be produced by voters following fears of “endemic corruption”.
Some areas susceptible to rigging including Bradford and Birmingham and the pilots will take place during local elections in May 2018 before being used nationwide.
The plan comes after Sir Eric Pickles warned this year of electoral fraud being allowed to happen in Muslim communities due to “political correctness”.
He told the Telegraph: “We should never be frightened to look under the rock when what is crawling underneath threatens us all. It is time to take action to take on the electoral crooks and defend Britain’s free and fair elections.”
He added that he believes “electoral malpractice is far more common than just one isolated London borough thanks to the state’s collective state of denial”.
The scheme will be trialled in Blackburn, Darwen, Bradford, Bristol, Burnley, Calderdale, Coventry, Derby, Hyndburn, Kirklees, Luton, Oldham, Pendle, Peterborough, Slough, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, and Woking…”
how ’bout black people in Detroit and Baltimore?
That would be nice, voter ID won’t stop all vote fraud but it will reduce people voting more then once.
Unless the machines “jam” and the same ballot is counted six times.
They are having trouble making people believe that one.
Don’t forget that got the entire vote from those precincts thrown out.
They will probably be watching those precincts for that for a few elections.
Indonesia Court: Jakarta Governor Blasphemy Trial to Proceed (abcnews, Dec 27, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesia-court-jakarta-governor-blasphemy-trial-proceed-44408239
“An Indonesian court ruled Tuesday that the blasphemy trial of the minority Christian governor of the country’s capital will proceed.
Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning re-election. Ahok, 50, is seeking a second term as governor in elections due in February.
The blasphemy controversy erupted when a video circulated online in which Ahok lightheartedly said that people were being deceived if they believed his detractors who asserted that the Quran prohibits Muslims from having a non-Muslim leader.
The five-judge panel overruled defense arguments that the indictment submitted by prosecutors had inaccuracies and should be annulled.
Hearings will resume next Tuesday at the North Jakarta District Court, which will be moved to southern Jakarta after the Supreme Court approved the prosecutors’ request for a bigger courtroom…”
US Commander: Two More Years to Clear Daesh from Mosul, Raqqa (sputniknews, Dec 27, 2016)
https://sputniknews.com/military/201612271049020272-two-more-years-to-kill-daesh/
“It will take two more years of hard work to clear Daesh from its strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa and kill or capture those who attempt to escape into the desert between Syria and Iraq, the US commander in Iraq says.
Speaking with The Daily Beast in Baghdad, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said the ongoing campaign, though it is proceeding slowly, is unfolding about as well as can be expected…”
The only way to speed it up is pattern bombing the city and then go in George Patton style while the fires are still burning. This would cause a lot of causalities on both sides and more in the civilians in the cities.
Launch of Reactors at Russia’s 1st Floating Nuclear Power Plant Set for H1 2017 (sputniknews, Dec 27, 2016)
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201612271049022783-russia-floating-nuclear-power-plant/
“Rosatom state nuclear corporation said that launch of reactors at Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant is expected in the first half of 2017.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The launch of reactors at Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant is expected in the first half of 2017, the Rosatom state nuclear corporation said Tuesday.
The Akademik Lomonosov floating NPP, which will be deployed in Russia’s Chukotka region, is equipped with two modified KLT-40 propulsion reactors together providing up to 70 MW of electricity or 300 MW of heat. “The fueling and the physical launch of the floating NPP is planned for the first half of 2017,” Rosatom’s electric power generation arm, the Rosenergoatom Concern, said in a statement.”
China’s aircraft carrier prowling Pacific, sending a message
(CNN)China’s lone aircraft carrier is prowling the Pacific as the country seeks to assert its military might and build up its naval warfare capabilities.
The Liaoning carrier’s J-15 fighter jets practiced air confrontations and air refueling in the Yellow Sea late last week before the ship and its flotilla of escorting frigates and destroyers headed into the open Pacific beyond Taiwan and Okinawa.
On Monday it headed to the South China Sea — the site of regional tensions caused by China building fortifications on disputed islands.
It’s a move that hasn’t gone unnoticed by China’s Asian neighbors.
Taiwan sounded a note of alarm, with its defense minister emphasizing the need for vigilance.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/27/asia/china-aircraft-carrier-pacific/index.html
Outside of putting attack subs near them and flying fighter patrols over them we never did anything about the Russian ships that sailed close to the US so I doubt if we will say anything about the Chinese. Of course the Chinese will refuse to believe this.
China reveals plans for space domination in the 2020s – including a trip to MARS
The country has also vowed to land a space probe on the far side of the moon by 2020
http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/china-reveals-plans-space-domination-9521076
China has vowed to turn itself into a “space power” and announced two new missions in the next half-decade.
In a white paper outlining its space strategy, the country says it will aim to land a probe on the far side of the moon in 2018 and launch a second one to Mars in 2020 .
The white paper, titled China’s Space Activities in 2016″ explains that over the next five years, the country’s aim is: “to explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly.”
When you read the article you discover the person writing the headline either doesn’t know the difference between an unmanned probe or doesn’t care because the current headline is more spectacular. What they are talking about is sending an unmanned probe to Mars.
FYI: For those who say we (the US) can’t afford to put money into space research, every dollar we have spend on space research and space flight has been returned 1000 fold by taxes on new businesses caused by the technological spinoffs from the technology developed for space flight. The people who scream about spending the money on or the way they words it in space seem to think we shovel the money into a nose cone and launch it into space and get nothing back. In reality space and military research are the main caused for the modern high tech revolution.
While the other side manufactures fake news and discredits factual reporting, we should certainly pay our own PR team to publicize this little-known fact about the space program.
We just need someone at the very top who knows how to sell products…
The problem is that after LBJ we didn’t have someone with the space bug until W and he didn’t have it bad. Trump wants to revitalize NASA so he should know enough to publicize everything we have thanks to the space program.
We’ve got to do more selling. Of America to Americans. We’re not as plagued with self-hatred as the Euros, but colleges have been working overtime to catch up. v. Bernie Sanders followers
We shouldn’t have to, but that’s the only way to grab the attention-deficit, low-information voter.
{and ya work with what ya got}“Why We Fight, the 21st Century Challenge”
Suggestions for how to MAGA are welcome via PET’s transition website!
https://apply.ptt.gov/yourstory/
China jails nine over protests in ‘democracy’ village
BEIJING (Reuters) – A court in southern China has handed out jail terms of up to 10 years to nine people from a Chinese fishing village once seen as a cradle of grassroots democracy after finding them guilty of illegal protests and other charges.
Wukan, in Guangdong province, erupted in renewed protest in September. Unrest had rumbled on since June after the arrest of a popular leader who was finally jailed in October for corruption, charges widely disputed in Wukan.
The village received international attention when a 2011 uprising over land grabs forced authorities in Communist Party-ruled China to back down and grant local direct elections.
The Haifeng County court said in a statement late on Monday the nine had been jailed for crimes including illegal demonstrations, disturbing traffic and intentionally spreading false information.
The court did not specify sentences for individuals, but said the sentences ranged from two years to 10 years in jail.
An indictment from the same court earlier this month said their crimes occurred between June and September this year.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/china-jails-nine-over-protests-democracy-village-015112707.html
Saudi Royal Family Is Still Spending in an Age of Austerity
TANGIER, Morocco — Behind a tall perimeter wall, studded with surveillance cameras and guarded by Moroccan soldiers, a sprawling new palace for King Salman of Saudi Arabia rose on the Atlantic coast here last summer.
Even as the Saudi government canceled a quarter of a trillion dollars’ worth of projects back home as part of a fiscal austerity program, workers hustled to finish bright blue landing pads for helicopters at the vacation compound and to erect a tent the size of a circus big-top where the king could feast and entertain his enormous retinue.
The royal family’s fortune derives from the reserves of petroleum discovered during the reign of Salman’s father, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, more than 75 years ago. The sale of oil provides billions of dollars in annual allowances, public-sector sinecures and perks for royals, the wealthiest of whom own French chateaus and Saudi palaces, stash money in Swiss bank accounts, wear couture dresses under their abayas and frolic on some of the world’s biggest yachts out of sight of commoners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/world/middleeast/saudi-royal-family-money.html?_r=0
Saudi Royal Family Is Still Spending in an Age of Austerity
TANGIER, Morocco — Behind a tall perimeter wall, studded with surveillance cameras and guarded by Moroccan soldiers, a sprawling new palace for King Salman of Saudi Arabia rose on the Atlantic coast here last summer.
Even as the Saudi government canceled a quarter of a trillion dollars’ worth of projects back home as part of a fiscal austerity program, workers hustled to finish bright blue landing pads for helicopters at the vacation compound and to erect a tent the size of a circus big-top where the king could feast and entertain his enormous retinue.
The royal family’s fortune derives from the reserves of petroleum discovered during the reign of Salman’s father, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, more than 75 years ago. The sale of oil provides billions of dollars in annual allowances, public-sector sinecures and perks for royals, the wealthiest of whom own French chateaus and Saudi palaces, stash money in Swiss bank accounts, wear couture dresses under their abayas and frolic on some of the world’s biggest yachts out of sight of commoners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/world/middleeast/saudi-royal-family-money.html
Sorry about the double post, my back is hurting a lot more then usual today.
Defying U.N., Israel Prepares to Build More Settlements
JERUSALEM — Undeterred by a resounding defeat at the United Nations, Israel’s government said Monday that it would move ahead with thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem and warned nations against further action, declaring that Israel does not “turn the other cheek.”
Just a few days after the United Nations Security Council voted to condemn Israeli settlements, Jerusalem’s municipal government signaled that it would not back down: The city intends to approve 600 housing units in the predominantly Palestinian eastern section of town on Wednesday in what a top official called a first installment on 5,600 new homes.
The defiant posture reflected a bristling anger among Israel’s pro-settlement political leaders, who not only blamed the United States for failing to block the Council resolution, but also claimed to have secret intelligence showing that President Obama’s team had orchestrated it. American officials strongly denied the claim, but the sides seem poised for more weeks of conflict until Mr. Obama hands over the presidency to Donald J. Trump.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/26/world/middleeast/israel-settlements-un-security-council-benjamin-netanyahu-obama.html
Israel says ‘reducing’ ties with nations over UN vote
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s foreign ministry said Tuesday the country was “reducing” ties with nations that voted for last week’s UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to settlement building in Palestinian territory.
Refuting reports that ties had been suspended, foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that Israel was “temporarily reducing” visits and work with embassies.
“Until further notice, we’ll limit our contacts with the embassies here in Israel and refrain from visits of Israeli officials to those states, and of visits of officials from those states here,” he told AFP.
Israel has already called back its ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for consultations, and cancelled aid programmes with the African state.
On Tuesday, Israel informed Angola it would be freezing its aid programme there, Nahshon said.
Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, has asked officials to visit the countries that voted for the resolution as little as possible for now.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-says-reducing-ties-nations-over-un-vote-102205471.html
After weekend bloodbath, Chicago police chief makes surprising admission about city’s tough gun laws
The head of the Chicago Police Department is now admitting that more gun laws don’t necessarily result in less gun violence because criminals don’t “play by society’s rules.”
Chicago, a city run by Mayor Rahm Emanual, former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, reported double the number of killings throughout Christmas weekend this year than last year. At least 27 people were shot, 12 of them fatally, according to ABC News.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference on Monday that most of the shootings between Friday evening and Sunday evening were “targeted attacks” by gang members going after rival gang members who were gathered for Christmas and holiday parties. The Chicago Tribune reported 90 percent of those fatally shot were involved in gang activities, had criminal histories or were previously known to police.
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/12/26/after-weekend-bloodbath-chicago-police-chief-makes-surprising-admission-about-citys-tough-gun-laws/
He is admitting that gun control laws don’t work the way stated, they are about controlling the population of honest citizens not about reducing gun violence.
Romania’s president says he won’t name Muslim woman to be PM
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s president on Tuesday declined to nominate as prime minister an economist who could have become the country’s first female Muslim premier.
President Klaus Iohannis said he had “carefully weighed the arguments for and against” and decided not to nominate Sevil Shhaideh, 52, a relative political novice, to the post of prime minister. He called on the Social Democratic Party, which won the Dec. 11 elections to name another candidate.
Iohannis’ refusal prompted an angry response from the Social Democrats, which put her name forward last week.
Social Democrat chairman Liviu Dragnea said the party would consider impeaching Iohannis “if … we reach the conclusion it is good for the country.”
He said the party could not find a “constitutional reason or other reason … connected to possible risks” for refusing the party’s nomination. He said Iohannis “wants to start a political crisis.”
Dragnea is unable to become prime minister himself because he was convicted this year of election fraud.
Iohannis did not say why he would not name Shhaideh, criticized by some observers for lacking sufficient political experience. She briefly served as regional development minister in 2015.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d01dc66e34db4546b5d74384b2e17f3c/romanias-president-says-he-wont-name-muslim-woman-be-pm
euronews – Romania’s President rejects left’s nominee for prime minister
Saudi jailed for call to end male control over women
RIYADH: A Saudi man has been jailed for one year for calling for an end to the Muslim kingdom’s guardianship system that gives men wide controls over women, local media said Tuesday.
The man, who was also fined 30,000 riyals ($8,000) by a court in the eastern city of Dammam, was convicted of “inciting to end guardianship of women” in statements he posted on Twitter and in public posters, the Okaz daily said.
He was arrested while putting up posters in mosques in Al-Hasa district calling for an end to the globally unique system that subjects women in the ultra-conservative kingdom to male control.
During questioning, police found out that the man was also behind a wide online campaign to end the guardianship, the paper said.
The defendant admitted pinning up the posters in several mosques, saying he solely launched an “awareness campaign” after finding that some “female relatives were facing injustice at the hands of their families,” the daily said.
Thousands of Saudis signed in September a petition urging an end to the guardianship system following a Twitter campaign which the court claims was launched by the defendant.
Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive.
Under the guardianship system a male family member, normally the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.
Activists say that even female prisoners have to be received by the guardian upon their release, meaning that some have to languish in jail or a shelter beyond their sentences if the man does not want to accept them.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Dec-27/386835-saudi-jailed-for-call-to-end-male-control-over-women.ashx
Center for Security Policy
“What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
(Washington, DC): A new Center for Security Policy Occasional Paper authored by two intrepid and indefatigable researchers, Alan Jones and Mary Fanning, has brought to light a shocking fact: The family of Iraqi nuclear physicist Dr. Jafar Dhia Jafar, considered to be “the father of Iraq’s nuclear weapons program,” has been awarded a 35-year lease for cargo container operations at Port Canaveral, Florida.
According to Mr. Jones and Ms. Fanning’s paper, entitled “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” Secret Deal Allows Company Tied to Saddam’s Nuclear Bombmaker, Iran and U.A.E. to Manage Key Florida Port Facilities, Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew unilaterally approved the lease for Gulftainer – a Middle Eastern ports company owned by the Emir of Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraqi businessman Hamid Dhia Jafar – following two years of secret talks.
It is deeply concerning that Lew and the Obama administration decided to forego any national security threat analysis by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which certainly seems in order given the nature and implications of this deal. After all, a similarly fraught arrangement – a contract for Dubai Ports World to manage a number of U.S. ports a decade ago – was submitted for CFIUS approval, and ultimately aborted.
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2016/12/23/what-could-possibly-go-wrong/
Richard: Obama and company strike again, they are allowing our open enemies into sensitive places and in positions of power in those sensitive places. Once WWIII goes kinetic we are going to get hurt and hurt bad by the people Obama has allowed into our nation.
Trump appoints the right team to regain the Middle East
The Trump administration is dedicated to undoing the harm done by the Obama administration in the Iran Deal. To succeed, it needs the right team.
Relatively few people have heard of the Center for Security Policy. That’s about to change because it is playing a prominent, if not dominant role, in the Trump transition team in matters relating to Iran, Russia, China and Islam. Gone from the corridors of power is the Brookings Institution, who have a satellite office in Doha, Qatar along with their Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy, Martin Indyk. Soon, President Obama, the golfer, Secretary Kerry, the bicyclist and Secretary Clinton, the failure, will also be gone.
The CSP is a think tank created and led by Frank Gaffney, Jr. He formerly acted as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy during the Reagan Administration, following four years of service as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy. Previously, he was a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee under the chairmanship of the late Senator John Tower, and a national security legislative aide to the late Senator Henry M. Jackson.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/12/trump_appoints_the_right_team_to_regain_the_middle_east.html
CBC -Police in Quebec City fatally shoot man armed with machete
High-speed chase ends with fatal injuries to 39-year-old man, minor injuries to officer
Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating after a 39-year-old man was shot dead and a police officer was struck with a machete in Quebec City overnight.
According to the province’s independent investigations bureau (BEI), around 2:30 a.m. ET, police in Lévis initiated the chase and called Quebec City and Sûreté du Québec officers for assistance.
Police laid down a spike strip but it didn’t stop the car. During their pursuit of the car, a man threw an axe from the vehicle.
Officers then struck the car with their own cruiser in order to stop it. The man got out and struck an officer with a machete, police said. Her injuries were minor.
At least two officers then opened fire on the man. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
The BEI, which probes deaths or serious injuries involving police, has asked three members of the Montreal police force to assist with the investigation.
It will have nine of its own investigators looking into the incident starting later Tuesday morning.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-police-shooting-axe-machete-1.3913182
You can outlaw guns and discover that the criminals don’t obey the laws, you can outlaw knives and only criminals will have knives. In fact they will have more because all you need to make a knife is a barbecue pit or stove, some rebar or other long piece of steel a hammer and some hard surface to use as an anvil. A file is nice but you can use rough concrete to finish the edge on the crude blade. This is why the coming laws against swords and machetes will be as worthless as the victim disarmament laws misnamed gun control laws.
I had a boyfriend in the Sayeret Matkal. He showed me how a plastic credit card could be sharpened and weaponized to neutralize an enemy.
you can also use a toothbrush handle
Germany: All suspects in subway homeless attack have refugee status – Police confirm
In a statement to Ruptly, on Tuesday, Deputy Head of the Berlin Police Press Officer Thomas Neuendorf stated that the men who are suspected of setting fire to a homeless man on Christmas Eve have refugee status in Germany.
The men, all aged between 15 and 21 years old, were identified after CCTV footage was released of them entering a subway train following the attack. Six of the suspects turned themselves in and the seventh was arrested by plain clothes officers.
The 37 year old homeless man was unharmed when his clothes were set alight, as passers-by came to his aid.
SOT, Thomas Neuendorf, Deputy Head of the Berlin Police Press Officer (German): “The seven suspects are all young men between 15 and 21 years of age. Six of the suspects were born in Syria and one of the suspects was born in Libya. All of the suspects have refugee status here [in Germany].”
SOT, Thomas Neuendorf, Deputy Head of the Berlin Police Press Officer (German): “On the first day of the Christmas holidays, in the morning at around 02:00, we had an incident in the Schoenleinstrasse subway station. Seven people set fire to a homeless man who was sleeping on a bench. They set a piece of paper on fire and laid it onto the homeless man. Due to the intervention of a BVG [Berlin Transport Company] employee and of passers-by, who could rescue the man as soon as it happened, he was unharmed. We managed to have very good search photos from the surveillance cameras. These search photos shared with the public and they have apparently led to six of the suspects turning themselves to the police last night. One suspect was arrested by my colleagues in a police unit. All seven of the suspects are now with the Homicide Department, they are being questioned for facts [of the case], and will be assessed alongside the photos taken of the crime. And then finally, the state prosecution service or the judge will decide whether the suspects will remain in custody on remand or whether they will be released.”
“All of the suspects have refugee status here [in Germany].”
That had better change pretty damn fast.
The UN Declares War on Judeo-Christian Civilization
by Giulio Meotti
December 27, 2016 at 5:30 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9655/un-israel-war
2016 has been a sumptuous year for the anti-Semites at the United Nations. The UN Security Council just targeted the only democracy in the Middle East: the State of Israel. The outgoing Obama Administration reportedly orchestrated what even Haaretz called a “hit and run” campaign in UN to denigrate the Jewish State and leave it to a fate where only conflict and hate loom. This is a cultural genocide that is no less dangerous than terror attacks. It is based on anti-Semitic lies and creates the atmosphere not for achieving “peace”, as disingenuously claimed, but for perpetuating war.
UNSC Resolution 2334 is the culmination of a dizzyingly fruitful year for anti-Semites. Last November, committees of the UN General Assembly in a single day adopted 10 resolutions against Israel, the only open society in the Middle East. How many resolutions have been approved against Syria? One. How many against the rogue state of North Korea? One. How many against Russia when it annexed Crimea? One.
Hillel Neuer, of UN Watch, observed:
Not a single resolution was approved for those states which really abuse human rights, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Venezuela, China or Cuba, not to mention many virtual tyrannies throughout Africa. Only one resolution was approved for the “Palestinian refugee properties”, but not even a single mention for the property of the Iraqi Christians in Mosul.
euronews – Court rejects dropping of blasphemy charges against Jakarta governor
AFP
Iran’s Monstrous Record in 2016
by Majid Rafizadeh
December 27, 2016 at 4:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9621/iran-monstrous-record
In 2016, Iran reached an unprecedented level when it comes to breaking international laws. It expanded interventionist policies in the region; pursued revolutionary principles of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism; ignored several UN resolutions and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the P5+1 and Tehran, which Iran never signed; continued regional hegemonic ambitions, and abused human rights.
With billions of dollars of revenue pouring into the pockets of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran did not become a rational and moderate state. Iran instead became more empowered and emboldened to pursue its revolutionary ideals of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.
Iran was listed as the top state sponsor of terrorism — “providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world.”
When it comes to the JCPOA nuclear deal — which Iran never signed — Iranian leaders violated the deal three times.
The first violation was reported by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in July 2016. The agency stated that the Iranian government was pursuing a “clandestine” path to obtain illicit nuclear technology and equipment from German companies “at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Iran, but no action was taken.
According to the nuclear deal, Iran should request permission from a UN Security Council panel for “purchases of nuclear direct-use goods”, but Tehran did not. Another report by the Institute for Science and International Security drew attention to Iran’s violation as well:
The Wall is Coming
Since the election, there’s been speculation about whether or not Donald Trump will actually carry through on the biggest single promise of the campaign: To build a wall across the southern border of the United States (and to make Mexico pay for it). In his first interview after the election, Trump assured 60 Minutes that the wall would be built, though he conceded that he would be fine with “some fencing” in the appropriate areas.
Liberals blasted him, saying he was already doubling back on his tough campaign talk. His supporters, meanwhile, reacted in one of three ways: “We knew all along that was just talk,” “We would be fine with ‘some fencing’ too,” or “This guy is about to betray us on illegal immigration, big league.”
Whether you fall into Category 1 or 3 depends on how you viewed the wall talk all along. Did you see it as something that would become a physical reality if Trump became president? Or did you see it as a symbol of an administration that would actually enforce the laws of the United States? In other words, is the important part that we stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country, or is the wall a non-negotiable?
http://unfilteredpatriot.com/the-wall-is-coming/
Morocco: Islamic Education Textbook Describes Philosophy As ‘Perversion, Blasphemy’
Casablanca – The disparagement of philosophy in an Islamic education textbook has created controversy and prompted philosophy teachers in Morocco to organize sit-ins from December 21 to 23 in denunciation of the misinformation, which they considered “dangerous.”
The controversy around the issue of education has once again surfaced in Morocco as the Islamic education textbook, “Manar At-tarbia Al-Islamiya”, for first year baccalaureate students, qualifies philosophy as “perversion and blasphemy.”
A unit in this manual dedicated to philosophy and faith stated that philosophy is “a production of human thought that is contrary to Islam” and “the essence of degeneration.” The textbook continues in that specific chapter to define philosophy as “a subject of confusion and misguidance that is motivated by perversion and blasphemy.”
According to the French-language news source Yabiladi, Moroccan philosophy teachers have condemned what they regard as “insulting” and “dangerous” passages, which prove not only a lack of knowledge in connection to the subject and its practices, but also a complete disregard of the discipline.
According to the same source, teachers also stressed the importance of the subject in training students in critical thinking,and in facilitating access to social phenomena.
The concern that this attack on philosophy raises is that this exclusivist view on the discipline of philosophy continues to diffuse through the textbooks despite the efforts invested to restructure them in a way to banish thoughts of violence, racism and intolerance.
This specific manual was validated by the Higher Council of Muslim Scholars and reissued this academic year, following the instructions of the Moroccan monarch to enrich Islamic Education books with manifestations of values of respect and human rights in Islam.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/12/204518/morocco-islamic-education-textbook-describes-philosophy-as-perversion-blasphemy/
The United Nations Gets KRAUTHAMMERED: Trump Should ‘Turn It Into Condos’
Conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer launched a verbal assault against the United Nations on Fox News Monday evening.
Krauthammer claimed that the U.N. spends “more than half its time and energy and resources and bureaucracy trying to attack the only Jewish state on the planet, a tiny little spec, while genocide, mayhem, murder and terrorism is going on all over the world.”
“It’s an obsession that, to an outside observer, appears to be insane,” he continued. “Why are we doing this?”
The columnist argued the U.N. spends the other half of its resources “undermining the United States and democracy and our allies around the world.”
It is an organization that exacerbates tensions, it does not assuage them.”
Though “it was born in hope, at the end of the Second World War,” Krauthammer argued “it turned out to be a disaster.”
Finally, he noted that if the U.N. “headquarters were in Zimbabwe, the amount of weight and coverage it would get would be zero.”
“I think that’s good real estate in downtown New York City,” he joked. “And Trump ought to find a way to put his name on it and turn it into condos.”
http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/27/the-united-nations-gets-krauthammered-trump-should-turn-it-into-condos-video/
Russia calls U.S. move to better arm Syrian rebels a ‘hostile act’
Russia said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to ease restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian forces in Syria.
Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad and his forces retake territory lost to rebels, some of whom are supported by the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the policy change easing restrictions on weapons supplies had been set out in a new U.S. defence spending bill and that Moscow regarded the step as a hostile act.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who has been sharply critical of Russia’s intervention in Syria, signed the annual defence policy bill into law last week.
“Washington has placed its bets on supplying military aid to anti-government forces who don’t differ than much from blood thirsty head choppers. Now, the possibility of supplying them with weapons, including mobile anti-aircraft complexes, has been written into this new bill,” Zakharova said in a statement.
“In the administration of B. Obama they must understand that any weapons handed over will quickly end up in the hands of jihadists,” she added, saying that perhaps that was what the White House was counting on happening.
The U.S. decision was a direct threat to the Russian air force, to other Russian military personnel, and to Russia’s embassy in Damascus, said Zakharova.
“We therefore view the step as a hostile act.
Zakharova accused the Obama administration of trying to “put a mine” under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump by attempting to get it to continue what she called Washington’s “anti-Russian line.”
The Obama administration has in recent weeks expanded the list of Russians affected by U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
Trump, during his election campaign, said he was keen to try to improve relations with Moscow and spoke positively about President Vladimir Putin’s leadership skills.
A back-and-forth exchange between Trump and Putin over nuclear weapons last week tested the Republican’s promises to improve relations with Russia however.
The Obama administration and U.S. intelligence officials have accused Russia of trying to interfere with the U.S. election by hacking Democratic Party accounts.
“The current occupants of the White House imagined that they could pressure Russia,” said Zakharova. “Let’s hope that those who replace them will be wiser.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-russia-usa-idUKKBN14G0JY
US Gov’t Denies Providing Portable Air-Defense Systems to Syrian Opposition (sputniknews, Dec 27, 2016)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612281049050755-usa-denies-providing-syria-manpads/
“US Department of State spokesperson said that the United States has not been supplying the Syrian opposition with man-portable air-defense systems.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States has not been supplying the Syrian opposition with man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, and would be concerned about such weapons finding their way into the country, US Department of State spokesperson Mark Toner said in a briefing.
“Our position on MANPADS has not changed. We would have very deep concern about that kind of weaponry getting into Syria,” Toner told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re not providing any kind of MANPADS.” Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in phone talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that US arms deliveries to opposition armed groups in Syria could lead to new bloodshed in the war-torn country. Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, following the protests that had turned violent, as part of the so-called Arab Spring. On December 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the possibility of a meeting between the Syrian conflicting parties in Astana. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has said the Astana talks will be useful. He also intends to convene negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva on February 8.”
WaPo- Obama administration is close to announcing measures to punish Russia for election interference
The Obama administration is close to announcing a series of measures to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election, including economic sanctions and diplomatic censure, according to U.S. officials.
The administration is still finalizing the details, which are also expected to include covert action that likely will involve cyber operations, the officials said. An announcement on the public elements of the response could come as early as this week.
The sanctions part of the package culminates weeks of debate in the White House about how to revise an executive order from last year meant to give the president authority to respond to cyberattacks from overseas, but which did not originally cover efforts to influence the electoral system.
The Obama administration last year rolled the order out to great fanfare as a way to punish and deter foreign hackers who harm the United States’ economic or national security.
The threat to use it last year helped wring a pledge out of China’s president that his country would cease hacking U.S. companies’ secrets to benefit Chinese firms.
But officials this fall concluded that it could not, as written, be used to punish the most significant cyber-provocation in recent memory against the United States — Russia’s hacking of Democratic organizations, targeting of state election systems and meddling in the presidential election.
With the clock ticking, the White House is working on adapting the authority to punish the Russians, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. President Obama last week pledged there would be a response to Moscow’s interference in the U.S. elections.
One clear way to use the order against the Russian suspects would be to declare the electoral systems part of the “critical infrastructure” of the United States. Or it could be amended to clearly apply to the new threat — interfering in elections.
Administration officials would also like to make it difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to roll back any action they take.
“Part of the goal here is to make sure that we have as much of the record public or communicated to Congress in a form that would be difficult to simply walk back,” said one senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Obama issued the executive order in April 2015, creating the sanctions tool as a way to hold accountable people who harm computer systems related to critical functions such as electricity generation or transportation or who gain a competitive advantage through cybertheft of commercial secrets.
The order allows the government to freeze the assets in the United States of people overseas who have engaged in cyber acts that have threatened U.S. national security or financial stability. The sanctions would also block commercial transactions with the designated individuals and bar their entry into the country.
But just a year later, a Russian military spy agency would hack into the Democratic National Committee and steal a trove of emails that were released a few months later on WikiLeaks, U.S. officials said. Other releases followed, including the hacked emails of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.
“Fundamentally, it was a low-tech, high-impact event,” said Zachary Goldman, a sanctions and national security expert at New York University School of Law. And the 2015 executive order was not crafted to target hackers who steal emails and dump them on WikiLeaks or seek to disrupt an election. “It was an authority published at a particular time to address a particular set of problems,” he said.
So officials “need to engage in some legal acrobatics to fit the DNC hack into an existing authority, or they need to write a new authority,” Goldman said.
Administration officials would like Obama to use the power before leaving office to demonstrate its utility.
“When the president came into office, he didn’t have that many tools out there to use as a response” to malicious cyber-acts, said Ari Schwartz, a former senior director for cybersecurity on the National Security Council. “Having the sanctions tool is really a big one. It can make a very strong statement in a way that is less drastic than bombing a country and more impactful than sending out a cable from the State Department.”
The National Security Council concluded that it would not be able to use the authority against Russian hackers because their malicious activity did not clearly fit under its terms, which require harm to critical infrastructure or the theft of commercial secrets.
“You would (a) have to be able to say that the actual electoral infrastructure, such as state databases, was critical infrastructure, and (b) that what the Russians did actually harmed it,” said the administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Those are two high bars.”
Though Russian government hackers are believed to have penetrated at least one state voter-registration database, they did not tamper with the data, officials said.
Some analysts believe that state election systems would fit under “government facilities,” which is one of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors designated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Another option is to use the executive order against other Russian targets — say, hackers who stole commercial secrets — and then, in either a public message or a private one, make clear that the United States considers its electoral systems to be critical infrastructure.
The idea is to not only punish but also deter.
“As much as I am concerned about what happened to us in the election, I am also concerned about what will happen to us in the future,” a second official said. “I am firmly convinced that the Russians and others will say, ‘That worked pretty well in 2016, so let’s keep going.’ We have elections every two years in this country.”
Even the threat of sanctions can have deterrent value. Officials and experts point to the agreement Chinese President Xi Jinping reached with Obama last year that his country would stop commercial cyberspying. Xi came to the table following news reports last summer that the administration was preparing to sanction Chinese companies.
Complicating matters, the Trump transition team has not yet had extensive briefings with the White House on cyber issues, including the potential use of the cyber-sanctions order. The slow pace has caused consternation among officials, who fear that the administration’s accomplishments in cybersecurity could languish if the next administration fails to understand their value.
Sanctions are not a silver bullet. Obama noted that “we already have enormous numbers of sanctions against the Russians” for their activities in Ukraine. So it is questionable, some experts say, whether adding new ones would have a meaningful effect in changing the Kremlin’s behavior. But in combination with other measures, they could be effective.
Criminal indictments of Russians might become an option, officials said, but the FBI has so far not gathered enough evidence that could be introduced in a criminal case. At one point, federal prosecutors and FBI agents in San Francisco considered indicting Guccifer 2.0, a nickname for a person or people believed to be affiliated with the Russian influence operation and whose true identity was unknown.
Before the election, the administration used diplomatic channels to warn Russia. Obama spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Group of 20 summit in China in September. About a week before the election, the United States sent a “hotline”-style message to Moscow using a special channel for crisis communication created in 2013 as part of the State Department’s Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. As part of that message, the officials said, the administration asked Russia to stop targeting state voter registration and election systems. It was the first use of that system. The Russians, officials said, appeared to comply.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-white-house-is-scrambling-for-a-way-to-punish-russian-hackers-via-sanctions/2016/12/27/0eee2fdc-c58f-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html
CNN -McCain, Graham promise Russian sanctions (Full Interview)
They are trying to set their own foreign policy, the Constitution makes it clear that this is the exclusive responsiblity of the Executive branch.
MEMRI TV – Shiite Scholar: Once Democratic, now wants Dictator like Saddam Hussein
Obama’s Inexcusable Move on Israel is a National Shame
As of noon Friday, the latest word from inside the United Nations was that the proposed resolution would be tabled. After days of speculation, strong comments from President-elect Donald Trump, and uncertainty surrounding President Obama’s stance, the resolution condemning Israeli settlements was “indefinitely postponed,” according to diplomats.
But “indefinitely” turned out to be “until later in the day.”
Four Security Council members – New Zealand, Venezuela, Senegal, and Malaysia – pushed for a vote despite Egypt’s desire to postpone. When it came time for U.S. Ambassador Samantha Powers to vote, she abstained on behalf of the Obama administration. The resolution passed, drawing applause from the world governing body…but sharp condemnation from U.S. and Israeli leaders.
Ahead of the vote, Trump spoke out against the resolution.
“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations,” Trump said on Thursday. “This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”
Minutes after the vote on Friday, Trump made his displeasure known in an uncharacteristically terse tweet: “As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.”
http://www.fixthisnation.com/conservative-breaking-news/obamas-inexcusable-move-on-israel-is-a-national-shame/
If this move shows some of the World’s Jews that the left hates them and is simply paying lip service to helping them so they will vote for the left some good will come from this stain on the national honor of the United States. We can be thankful that the Dark Days of the Obama administration are almost over. What we need to pray for is that WWIII won’t go Kinetic and/or the worlds economy won’t collapse until PET has time to rebuilt (at least partially) the US military and repair some of the worst damage tot he US economy. I am afraid that neither one will wait but we can always hope and pray.
The other minorities that the left is currently pandering to should take warning from this action, they too will be thrown under the bus when it is expedient for the left to do so.
https://vladtepesblog.com/2016/12/24/bibi-netanyahu-christians-and-jews-must-stand-against-the-forces-of-intolerance-islam/comment-page-1/#comment-340580
Spain orders SNIPERS and armed police to guard public areas amid terror fears (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747747/Spain-armed-police-snipers-guard-public-spaces-terrorism-fears
“SNIPERS and armed police are patrolling public spaces in Spain amid increased fears of a Berlin-style terrorist attack.
Both the Cuervo Nacional de Policia – the national police – and the Civil Guard have launched a high profile, visible presence on the streets of the country, armed with sniper and assault rifles.
They will also operate increased surveillance work in order to prevent a repeat of ISIS inspired attacks witnessed in Nice and Berlin.
It is hoped police armed with heavy fire power will be able to combat the threat posed by jihadis with high calibre weapons.
The civil police forces have also been given orders to “neutralise” any assailant, rather than shoot to kill.
A police source told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo: “They have educated us, they have trained us in the belief that shooting is the last thing to do in a conflictive moment. To shoot, it has always been said, is a defence mechanism that can lead to problems of all kinds, because it can produce an error or, simply, because it always brings legal problems.”
After the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, security forces in Spain have been cautious of engaging in a shoot out in public places that could end up with either members of the public or a police officer being shot.
However the same authorities have also been concerned that recent terrorist attacks have usually seen the assailants armed with powerful assault rifles, such as Kalashnikov’s, and now forces have replaced the standard 9mm Parabellum with either 5.56mm or 7.62mm weapons to patrol public squares and airports.
Since June 2015 the Iberian country has been on a heightened level 4 alert, meaning “maximum reinforcement”.
Spain’s interior ministry has said that this will not be reduced over the Christmas period.”
Germany opens special migrant centre for GAY refugees in Cologne (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747730/Germany-Cologne-gay-refugees-migrant-centre
“COLOGNE is the first German city to set up shelters specifically for its gay and lesbian refugees.
The city, which saw a number of migrant sex attacks during last year’s New Year celebrations, has implemented plans to provide accommodation for its homosexual and transgender migrants.
The lesbian and gay association of North Rhine-Westphalia drew attention to the fact some refugees were suffering from physical attacks, intimation and threats from other refugees because of their sexuality.
Frank Bauer, who sits on the board of the association, said: “Regular asylum accommodation is often not a safe place for these people – especially if they live openly or are outed.”…”
that’s what’s called “pink-washing”
Note how they didn’t set up special centers for Christians and other non Moslems.
Merkel’s own party to bring in burka ban in courts as Chancellor struggles for popularity (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747647/Angela-Merkel-burka-ban-courts-Germany-Chancellor-popularity
“ANGELA MERKEL looks set to bring in a burka ban in a bid to save her chancellorship, doing a complete u-turn on her pro-migrant rhetoric.
Opponents of the German leader have accused her of having “blood on her hands” in the wake of the Berlin truck attack and it seems she is now willing to go back on previous statements in order to save face.
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is trying to get all burkas and hijabs banned for anyone appearing in court in Lower Saxony.
The party’s parliamentary commissioner, Björn Thümler, said: “Niqabs and Burkas do not belong in our courtrooms. Religious clothing is incompatible with the neutrality of the judiciary.
“A Niqab would be taboo for defendants, witnesses, and spectators.”
The ban would extend to officials, including magistrates, prosecutors, female clerks and lawyers none of whom would be allowed to wear veils or headscarves.
The proposed burka ban comes as Mrs Merkel’s open-door migration policy, which has seen more than one million refugees enter since the start of the crisis, came under renewed pressure…”
SIX camps spring up to replace the notorious Calais Jungle as migrants continue bid for UK (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747706/calais-jungle-refugee-migrant-camps-channel-britain
“SIX new migrant camps have emerged near Calais following the destruction of the notorious “jungle” holding centre.
The new sites are said to be scattered across countryside surrounding the French Channel port. Although they are much smaller than the “jungle”, reports say they are attracting dozens of newcomers each week.
The revelation is bound to reignite fears of migrants massing in a bid to cross the Channel into Britain. It also comes a week after the Daily Express revealed that up to 200 former “jungle” residents had returned to the site of the flattened camp.
Many of those at the new camps are children whose asylum claims were rejected by the Home Office earlier this month. They were taken to other locations but decided to head north again to escape grim living conditions in the outlying regions.
One so-called “secret” camp lies on the edge of a small French village called Norrent-Fontes, which is around 20 miles from Calais. Although the camp has been there for eight years, its size has grown steadily and about 130 refugees now live there.
We revealed last week how welfare workers believed the mostly male Jungle residents simply hid in the countryside after November’s operation to clear it….”
Turkey’s Erdogan says he has evidence US is SUPPORTING ISIS as Russia cosies up to America (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747678/Turkey-Tayyip-Erdogan-America-US-ISIS-Islamic-State-Syria-Aleppo-Obama
“ISLAMIC State militants are being supported by America and Turkey has photographic and video evidence, the country’s President Tayyip Erdogan claims.
In the wake of two members of the Turkish military being savagely burnt to death by ISIS jihadis, Erdogan has launched a stinging attack on the Obama government, accusing it of supporting the terror cell – just as Russia began cozying up to America over a Syria peace deal.
The 62-year-old, who recently survived a military coup, told a press conference in Ankara: “They (US) were accusing us of supporting Islamic State.
“Now they give support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG, PYD. It’s very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos.”
But it has emerged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has just discussed a peace plan for Syria with US Secretary of State John Kerry in a telephone call, a move which is likely to have angered the Turkish leader.
And now America has hit back, with the US State Department calling Erdogan’s comments “ludicrous”.
President Erdogan has not yet substantiated his claims of “evidence”, but it is understood to relate to alleged occasional American support for ISIS at times when a terrorist victory would be in the best interests of the Obama regime.
He accused America of supporting the Kurdish branches of ISIS, the YPG and PYD.
Turkey has rushed tanks and heavy weapons to its border and blamed the US-led coalition for inadequate air support after Erdogan’s forces encountered deadly resistence from ISIS militants – 14 Turkish troops were killed.
ISIS claims it has killed 70 Turkish soldiers during the conflict and just a few days ago the warped death cult released a video of two Turkish men being burned alive.
Turkey has entered into an arrangement with Russia and Iran whereby Erdogan’s forces will be awarded the strategic city of al-Bab should they wrestle it from ISIS’ clutches.
It is not the first time President Erdogan has publicly accused the US of collusion with murderous forces – the recent military coup in Turkey was blamed indirectly on America, which is offering safe haven to Fettulah Gulen, the 75-year-old Islamic Cleric the Turkish government believes orchestrated the military putsch.
America is refusing to extradite Gulen, who fled Turkey after accusing Erdogan of corruption.”
Priest kidnapped by ISIS pleads with Pope for release after threats to CRUCIFY him (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747645/priest-ISIS-pope-plead-video-kidnap-ransom-captive-terror-India
“A PRIEST being held hostage by ISIS has begged Pope Francis for his life in a harrowing new clip.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil was snatched by the bloodthristy group in March while he was working at an old people’s home, run by Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Aden, southern Yemen.
Twisted fighters posed as relatives visiting the elderly, but then slaughtered the occupants in a bloodbath, shooting dead residents and staff.
After murdering everyone at the home they abducted the priest.
The barbaric group Islamic State (ISIS) previously issued a multi-million pound ransom for the holy man’s release, petitioning the Indian government to cough up the seven figure sum.
Despite threats to crucify the man of the cloth on Good Friday, the jihadis have kept the priest alive but issued a new ultimatum on Boxing Day.
Speaking in a weak voice, the Catholic priest is filmed pleading with the pope for his life.
He said: “Dear Pope Francis, dear Holy Father, as a father please take care of my life.
“I am very much depressed. My health is deteriorating.
“If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously.
“I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value.
“I am from India and not considered. Dear people, I pray you all, ask you all, beg you all to do your might to help me to save my life.
“I need hospitalisation soon. Please come to my help quickly.”
He pointed to the recent case of a reporter, from France, who was abducted in the Middle East but released.
The Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been trying in vain to secure the release of the captive…”
If the ransom is paid there will be a lot more Priests kidnapped.
Archbishop warns EU to BLOCK migrants as Christians being PUSHED OUT by ‘Islamised’ Europe (express, Dec 27, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/747600/Islamisation-Europe-Christians-face-being-pushed-aside-Archbishop-Vienna
“THE Archbishop tipped to be the next Pope has warned that Christians face being pushed aside by a growing Islamisation of Europe and wants to put a stop to accepting new refugees.
According to 71-year-old Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, who is the Archbishop of Vienna, a whole rethinking of the refugee question is needed.
He spoke of an overburden on society.
Shoenborn said: “We have had to learn: This goes beyond our capacities and possibilities.”
While in the beginning Schoenborn also used the same infamous words as German Chancellor Angela Merkel “Wir schaffen das” (“We will manage it”) when talking about refugees, over time he felt overpowered by the “unbelievable number of refugees” like many others in society.
The Archbishop explained that like many others he was surprised by the large number of asylum seekers and he has now become “more cautious” about how he chooses his words.
Schoenborn called for a European-wide solution to the problem, due to its immense dimension.
He already sees a hope for some people to return to their native lands, especially for refugees who have fled Iraq.
The Austrian archbishop also said he sees a “great uncertainty” in the face of the recent terror attacks, adding that one just might have to live with the fact that life is now even more uncertain.
The Catholic Church in Austria has recently been hardening its stance against refugees and migrants.
Cardinal Schoenborn had earlier warned before that Muslims wanted to eradicate Christians and conquer Europe…”
This should have been done 5 or more years ago.
Obama’s Barbaric UN Resolution
Report: he’s cooking up another one.
December 27, 2016
P. David Hornik
UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was passed on Friday and focuses on Israeli settlement activity, is even worse than its critics—who include Democratic lawmakers and the staunchly left-wing Central Conference of American (Reform) Rabbis (here and here)—have made it out to be.
The resolution—whose passage was made possible by the U.S. abstention ordered by President Obama from Hawaii—is not just shameful, unfair, unbalanced, or destructive. It’s barbaric.
Only in one clause—which is in the preamble, which has less force than the body of the text—does the resolution explicitly call on Palestinians to do anything. The preamble calls on “the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to maintain effective operations aimed at confronting all those engaged in terror and dismantling terrorist capabilities.”
In contrast, five full clauses in the body of the text portray Israel as a rogue state engaged in endemic criminality.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265280/obamas-barbaric-un-resolution-p-david-hornik
Philly Inquirer Defends Call for Murdering White People
December 27, 2016
Daniel Greenfield
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s editorial staff should be ashamed. But it’s pretty much a given that they have no shame.
Here’s the story.
(block quote>George Ciccariello-Maher, a Drexel University associate prof of Global Studies took a break from stroking his mustache and appearing on prog TV to defend Venezuela to lay it all out on the line.
An admitted “actual communist,” the radical political theorist tweeted on Christmas Eve evening “All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide.”
Inga Saffron at the Inquirer takes on the task of defending Maher. Her whitewashing is predictable…
1. Maher was just being sarcastic. His critics just don’t get the joke
2. His critics just don’t understand the language of academic discourse. No seriously…
Drexel University’s White Christmas Genocide
Obama Wants to Run His Own DailyKos After Leaving Office
December 27, 2016
Daniel Greenfield
Obama has to figure out the great challenge of following in the footsteps of the Clintons. How to keep fundraising once you’re out of office. It’s either this or run Michelle for president while directing international donations to the Obama Foundation. And that didn’t work out so well for Hillary. So call this plan B.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/265273/obama-wants-run-his-own-dailykos-after-leaving-daniel-greenfield
CAIR’s Hooper: US Muslims’ ‘Mental Health Issues’ Cause Them to Fake Hate Crimes
Even fake hate crimes are caused by “Islamophobia.”
December 27, 2016
Robert Spencer
Here’s a new twist: the establishment propaganda media’s narrative that Muslims are always victims is breaking down with the continuing revelations that Muslims have faked “anti-Muslim hate crimes,” and so now ABC News has doubled down: Muslims are victims, you see, because they fake anti-Muslim hate crimes. They’re driven crazy by “Islamophobia,” doncha know.
“These false reports unfortunately give ammunition to the industry of Islamophobes who promote the demonization and dehumanization of Islamic Muslims,” says Hamas-linked CAIR’s Ibrahim “Honest Ibe” Hooper. “Islamic Muslims,” Ibe? Are there non-Islamic Muslims now? Anyway, note how deftly Hooper plays the victim card even in the process of being exposed for falsely playing the victim card: the fake hate crimes are not a challenge to the veracity or trustworthiness of Muslims; rather, they’re tools in the hands of the alleged “Islamophobes” who supposedly “promote the demonization and dehumanization of Islamic Muslims” — as if its demonizing and dehumanizing someone to ask him to be honest.
Hooper added that the Muslim community “is under great psychological stress and tension right now, and that that in itself can cause mental health issues that lead to these types of incidents.”
Why is the Muslim community, in Hooper’s view, “under great psychological stress and tension”? Because of all the hate crimes against Muslims, you see, which drive Muslims so crazy that they…fake hate crimes against Muslims.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265279/cairs-hooper-us-muslims-mental-health-issues-cause-robert-spencer
Obama’s War Against America
Only a counter campaign by his successor can stop it.
December 27, 2016
Caroline Glick
In 1989, following her tenure as President Ronald Reagan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick described how the Palestinians have used the UN to destroy Israel.
Following outgoing US President Barack Obama’s assault on Israel at the UN Security Council last Friday, longtime UN observer Claudia Rossett wrote an important article at PJMedia where she recalled Kirkpatrick’s words.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265278/obamas-war-against-america-caroline-glick
A tale of cowardice and radical leftist lunacy brought to you by the Clinton News Network…
The Middle East Problem
That is the problem, now we have to get the Propaganda Media to broadcast this fact several times a day.
Our PET would do well to organize a PR blitz. I’m going to suggest it to him. Why not?
How to Connect With the President-Elect’s Transition Team
https://greatagain.gov/how-to-connect-with-the-president-elects-transition-team-5d920a6ba3da#.amegkpc94
Israel will share ‘evidence’ of Obama-UN collusion with Trump, ambassador says
Israel’s ambassador the United States says his country will share evidence with President-elect Donald Trump that the Obama administration was behind a United Nations Security Council resolution that condemned Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territory, though the ambassador did not offer the evidence when pressed in a CNN interview.
“We will present this evidence to the new administration through the appropriate channels, and if they want to share it with the American people they are welcome to do it,” Ron Dermer told CNN on Monday.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/311836-israel-will-share-evidence-of-obama-un-collusion-with-trump-ambassador-says
Good move, Israel lets everyone know what is happening but keeps its hands semi clean in the mud slinging match and at the same time gives PET info that will help him against Obama’s new Propaganda machine.
Transcript claims to show US worked with Palestinians on UN resolution
An Egyptian paper published what it claims are the transcripts of meetings between top US and Palestinian officials that, if true, would corroborate Israeli accusations that the Obama administration was behind last week’s UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
At the same time, a report in an Israeli daily Tuesday night pointed to Britain helping draft the resolution and high drama in the hours leading up to the vote, as Jerusalem tried to convince New Zealand to bury the Security Council measure.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/transcript-claims-to-show-us-worked-with-palestinians-on-un-resolution/
I’m seeing too much of this stuff from Israeli sources. It’s awful. Sickening.
0’s gonna try to knock Israel out before Jan. 20.
Egyptian media: Kerry planned UN resolution with Palestinian leaders. End game to impose ‘solution’ on Israel?
http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/12/27/egyptian-media-kerry-planned-un-resolution-palestinian-leaders-end-game-impose-solution-israel/
This is just what I need when I have a bad headache.
OT
Careful – any regular usage of pain meds can set up a rebound effect. Even relatively mild OTCs.
I’ve had a headache too. My Russki yelled at me for eating next to nothing for the last five days. This Israel-thing feels like a close family member is seriously ill. It’ll be ok, but it’s distressing nonetheless.
Routine physical tomorrow, dread it like hell.
(Don’t believe in hell, wish I could.)
UN vote tops Wiesenthal list of top 10 antisemitic, anti-Israel cases in 2016
The US abstention from a recent vote against Israeli settlements at the UN Security Council topped the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s annual list released Tuesday of the 10 worst outbreaks of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel incidents.
The Jewish human rights organization ranked the Obama administration’s move as the top case, charging that it erased Jewish history.
“The most stunning 2016 UN attack on Israel was facilitated by President [Barack] Obama when the US abstained on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel for settlement construction. It reversed decades-long US policy of vetoing such diplomatic moves against the Jewish State,” wrote the center.
The organization added: “It also urges UN members ‘to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967,’ effectively endorsing BDS.”
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn along with former British politician Baroness Jenny Tonge ranked second.
According to the ranking, “antisemitism in the [Labour] party has greatly escalated. Corbyn, who previously called Hamas and Hezbollah his ‘friends,’ also promoted his strategy adviser Seumas Milne, a Hamas proponent.”
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/UN-vote-tops-Wiesenthal-top-10-lit-of-antisemitic-anti-Israel-cases-476646
The ‘occupied’ Western Wall
At the beginning of the last century, Jews had to collect the dung from the donkeys and horses that the Arabs intentionally left at the “occupied territory” of the Western Wall, among the Jews huddled against its stones. The Mughrabi Arabs who immigrated here from North Africa placed their homes and their toilets next to “the occupied territory of the Western Wall,” and sullied it with human feces and sewage more than once. In return for their willingness to correct their bad manners, the Jews had to bribe the heads of the Mughrabi quarter with large sums of money, and even then, it did not always help.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=18009