Reader’s links for Aug. 9, 2017

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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

79 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 9, 2017”

  1. Amber Rudd backs MORE stop and search checks to combat rising acid, gun and knife crimes (express, Aug 9, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/838707/amber-rudd-violent-crime-theresa-may-cressida-dick-met-police-sadiq-khan-john-sutherland

    “STOP and search checks are a “vital tool” to combat soaring levels of knife, gun and corrosive substance crime, Amber Rudd declared.

    Backing calls from police chiefs, the Home Secretary admitted the surge in violent crime was alarming and officers should be confident they can use the powers with her “full support”.

    Ms Rudd told The Times: “We must not lose sight of the fact that in some areas there are signs of a genuine rise in gun and knife crime. That is not something I will shy away from.”

    She added: “In London, the proportion of stops that result in an arrest has doubled since 2009-10. Police are targeting the right suspects better than ever before.

    “I want to be crystal clear — we have given the police the powers they need and officers who use stop and search appropriately, with reasonable grounds and in a targeted and intelligence-led way, will always have my full support.

    “This includes using stop and search to confront the use of acid as an appalling weapon of violence. The power is a vital tool to keep the public safe and officers who use it correctly should have the full support of the public and commanding officers.”

    The Office for National Statistics reported that England and Wales saw “small but genuine” increases in murder and other violent crimes in 2016, including 13-14 per cent increases in gun and knife crime…”

  2. Armed police arrest 26-year-old man on suspicion of terrorism offences in London (express, Aug 9, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/838744/terrorism-offences-arrest-london-police-custody-prison

    “A 26-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, Metropolitan Police said.

    Firearms officers arrested the man in north-west London at around 7.30pm on Tuesday.

    A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the arrest was “a precautionary measure”.

    The man was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism.

    He remains in custody at a south London police station…”

  3. Car Rams Into Group Of Soldiers In Paris; Six Injured In “Deliberate Act Of Terrorism”

    In the latest car-ramming terrorist attack in France, at least six French soldiers were injured, three of them seriously, after being rammed by what was described as a black BMW in a Paris suburb, French Armed forces confirmed, adding that the police were searching for the driver in what prosecutors are treating as the latest act of terrorism.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-08-09/car-rams-group-soldiers-paris-six-injured-deliberate-act-terrorism

  5. “Alison Saunders said more evidence about a man’s past to be given at trial
    This could include controlling behaviour in relationships and social media posts
    Saunders has previously slammed victim blaming culture in rape cases
    Men accused of rape will have more of their relationship history put under the microscope during trials in a bid to increase convictions rates.

    Alison Saunders, Britain’s top prosecutor, has told lawyers to focus on a man’s behaviour in the run up to the alleged sex attack rather than just the immediate moments before.

    She said that a man’s social media posts and behaviour in other relationship could be put before jurors in court.

    The move comes in the wake of a series of high profile court cases in which the alleged sex attackers have been cleared after the woman’s sexual history has hailed before the courts.

    Footballer Ched Evans was last year cleared of the rape of a teenager at a retrial after the judge controversially allowed evidence about the woman’s sexual history to be heard.””
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4774240/Alison-Saunders-says-alleged-rapists-s-past-trial.html

    An accused person of an alleged crime, now has their life rifled through.

    The Inverse Fair Law.

  6. America no longer sees Kim Jong Un as a joke

    WASHINGTON Commentators laughed last year when a photograph emerged of Kim Jong Un standing next to an orb, which a North Korean newspaper stated was a miniaturized nuclear weapon. “That’s a weird looking disco ball,” joked one intelligence contractor on Twitter.

    Not many are laughing anymore.

    On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that a U.S. intelligence assessment concluded North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead, a disclosure that rapidly intensified an already tense standoff with the rogue nation. Soon after the report, President Donald Trump warned Kim against making further threats, saying North Korea “will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen.”

    Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article166137207.html#storylink=cpy

  7. China urges calm over North Korea

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China urged calm on Wednesday after North Korea said it was considering plans for a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and President Donald Trump told the North that any threat to the United States would be met with “fire and fury”.

    China calls on all parties to avoid any words or actions that might escalate the situation and make even greater efforts to resolve the issue via talks, the ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters.

    North Korea says seriously considering plan to strike Guam: KCNA

    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Wednesday it is “carefully examining” plans for a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump told the North that any threat to the United States would be met with “fire and fury”.

    North Korea has made no secret of plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile able to strike the United States and has ignored international calls to halt its nuclear and missile programs.

    The strike plan would be put into practice at any moment once leader Kim Jong Un makes a decision, a spokesman for the Korean People’s Army (KPA) said in a statement carried by the North’s state-run KCNA news agency.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-idUSKBN1AO2L9

    Russia downplays North Korea’s saber-rattling, tells US to be ‘prudent’

    Russia’s top diplomat downplayed North Korea’s nuclear saber-rattling following a diplomatic summit Tuesday, and said the United States has to take “prudent” steps to deescalate the crisis.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that North Korea always complains about sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. The regime threatened a “physical” response to the new sanctions and warned South Korea it has the ability turn “Seoul into a sea of flame,” but Lavrov betrayed little alarm.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/russia-downplays-north-koreas-saber-rattling-tells-us-to-be-prudent/article/2630940

    • Message to Russia, China and North Korea: Donald Trump isn’t Obama, Clinton, Bush or JFK, he isn’t going to be bluffed by empty ships. We in the US aren’t going to let a little two bit dictator blackmail us, if you want us to chill then You take Kim out and remove his ICBMs and the nuclear warheads as well as all of the equipment to build both. You won’t do this will you? You want to see the US diminished so you can take over as the most powerful nations on earth and make all of the other nations your colonies.

      You have pushed and the previous administrations have stepped back until there is no more room to step back, we are going to defend our allies and ourselves and you had better watch out because the Patriots are in charge in the US and your lap dogs are incapable of doing more then yapping noisily</ and try to bite our ankles.

        • Combat boots will hold them off.

          OT I may not be up on the blog a lot for two to three weeks, I am helping a friend and his son clean some trash off the sons land and then will help the son put new shingles on his roof. .Repairing storm damage, the Insurance will pay for the material.

          No I am not going to work too hard.

          Yes I am a little old to get up on a roof but it is a fairly flat roof.

          He doesn’t have the money to hire anyone to put the shingles on and his father and I have put shingles on roofs before.

  8. Korea are locked in extraordinary standoff as US president boasts his nuclear arsenal is ‘more powerful than ever’ and puts on show of strength from US air base which Jong-un is preparing to bomb

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4773702/US-offers-sneak-peak-Trump-s-fire-fury.html#ixzz4pGLuIJts
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    The world is holding its breath today amid fears the crisis over North Korea could spiral in to global war after Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un made unprecedented threats to trade devastating missile strikes.

    President Trump tweeted that the US’s nuclear arsenal is ‘far stronger and more powerful than ever before’, adding: ‘There will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!’

    His remarks came after Pyongyang’s volatile dictator warned he was ‘carefully examining’ plans to make ‘an enveloping fire’ around the US island of Guam, which is home to about 163,000 people and a sprawling American military base.

    President Trump earlier made an apocalyptic warning that North Korea faces ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ over its nuclear program.

    America then released images of supersonic bombers flying over the Korean peninsula while American airmen in Guam have said they are ready to ‘fight tonight’. The North said the training mission ‘proves that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs’.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4773702/US-offers-sneak-peak-Trump-s-fire-fury.html#ixzz4pGM5C6fu
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    • I don’t think any of the reporters have ever heard of the carrot and stick approach, Tillerson has the carrot and Trump has the stick, Kim has to decide which he will respond to.

      • I worry about the cash Iran can give their partner in hell.

        North Korea’s ICBM Test is a Win for Iran

        North Korea’s recent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile is a game changer. It holds the potential for North Korea to transfer this dangerous technology to another rogue regime, its longtime ally Iran.

        For years, experts have suspected North Korea as being the key supporter behind Iran’s missile and nuclear programs. Today, many of the missiles Iran would use to target American forces in the Middle East are copies of North Korean designs.

        North Korean engineers are in Iran helping to improve its missiles to carry nuclear warheads, according to a report released last month by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the same opposition movement that exposed Tehran’s secret nuclear facilities at Natanz and Arak in 2002.
        Iran is using North Korean blueprints to build as many as thirteen secret underground missile launch facilities and North Korean experts are assisting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ efforts to develop nuclear warheads and guidance systems.

        This would enable Iran to launch nuclear weapons at the large U.S. bases in the Middle East that restrain Iran’s expansionist ambitions.

        The missile tested by North Korea in July demonstrated an ability that could put American cities as far as Chicago within its nuclear crosshairs. With North Korea outpacing our own expert expectations, Iran will likely not be far behind.

        http://nationalinterest.org/feature/north-koreas-icbm-test-win-iran-21728?page=show

        • Ok, this is from the rubbish bin, Debka. But there’s a valid point:
          North Korea at nuclear threshold. What about Iran?

          […blah, blah] But while all eyes were fixed on the burly dictator in Pyongyang, hardly anyone noticed that North Korea and Iran this week signed a series of new military accords which are no less dangerous to world peace.

          Parliament Speaker Kim Yong Nam, who is rated No. 2 in the Kim regime, ended a 10-day visit to Tehran on Monday, Aug. 7 by inking the new agreements. His official errand in Tehran was to represent Pyongyang at the swearing-in ceremony of President Hassan Rouhani and inaugurate the new North Korean embassy building in the Iranian capital. But he came with a large delegation of North Korean military officers who spent hours in conference with the heads of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as the leaders of the powerful Revolutionary Guards.

          The precise details of Pyongyang’s continued contribution to the upgrade of Iran’s technology in those areas under close wraps. But for Kim, the important thing is Iran’s multibillion dollar investment in the partnership in return in return for allowing Iranian engineers and scientists to work alongside North Korean experts in the two fields.

          The irony is that, while the Security Council unanimouslyy approved tough economic sanctions estimated to cost North Korea an estimated $1bn in state revenue – for which President Trump praised the world powers – Kim has managed to lay his hands on enough cash from Tehran to keep his nuclear and missile programs moving apace.  Some of that cash comes from the sanction relief the Americans and Europeans granted Iran for signing its 2015 nuclear deal.

          http://debka.com/article/26175/North-Korea-at-nuclear-threshold-What-about-Iran-

          • Sanctions against NorK: rah! rah!
            With the other hand, pouring money into Iran. Which is busy buying lots & lots of stuff. Including all the major defense manufacturers.

            That can more than offset the miserable revenues NorK is now losing.
            ==> The sanctions are FALSE win – FAKE News – coming from our side…
            “Our” side? – the side that keeps Iran in business?

      • This is from April, the Begin-Sadat Center:
        The Korean Peninsula Is Waiting for Trump

        The North Korean nuclear and missile crisis is posing a challenge to the new US admin, especially in the wake of the recent American missile strike in Syria. President Trump will need to consider not only the current North Korean crisis and the immediate military or diplomatic options available for confronting it, but also his long-term goals in the region. Diplomatic, economic, and military options will all have consequences.

        https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/korean-peninsula-waiting-trump/

        • Yes Iran is a problem, a much larger problem the KIm, remember the retired General (I forget which one) who said that what North Korean has Iran has and what Iran has North Korea has. Once we hit North Korea (and we need to hit them hard and take over the entire North letting the South reunify their nation) Iran is probably going to make a real big move unless Putin agrees to set on them and keeps the agreement. Another danger is the semi Chinese client state Pakistan. India is moving troops into position to oppose China and they have to watch Pakistan. This is a big dangerous flash point because all it takes in one misstep to start a big war between three nuclear powers. If India thinks a nuke is fired at them they will probably flush their launchers on the use them or lose them theory. If Pakistan thinks a nuke is fired at them the same thing applies, use them or lose them.

          China and to a lesser extent Putin are playing a very dangerous game for very high stakes. As I type this on Fox there was a repeat show with a retired Army Colonel on who said that China is going to stop Kim. I think the man is engaging in wishful thinking, for one thing he is saying that the Korean missiles are liquid fuel but the last two were solid fuel missiles. He also said that they were 1970s tech and couldn’t hit Guam but many of the 1970s ICBMs were very accurate. I still think we are going to have to attack North Korea and that South Korea and Japan know this.

  9. Note how they are placing President Trump first as if he is the major threat rather then Kim and his nuclear threats and blackmail.

  10. Paris attack: Man shot in hunt for BMW driver who mowed down six French soldiers

    French police hunting the driver of a car that rammed into soldiers near their barracks outside Paris have been involved in a motorway shootout, it was reported today.

    Police were scrambling to track down the vehicle, which took off after the incident described by local mayor Patrick Balkany as “without a doubt a deliberate act”.

    French TV later reported that a shootout had taken place on a motorway in northern France and a suspect was arrested.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/09/french-soldiers-hit-vehicle-paris/

  11. Venezuela’s new assembly declares itself all-powerful

    CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The new constitutional assembly assumed even more power in Venezuela by declaring itself as the superior body to all other governmental institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress.

    That decree came Tuesday just hours after the assembly delegates took control of a legislative chamber and put up pictures of the late President Hugo Chavez, who installed Venezuela’s socialist system.

    Delcy Rodriguez, the head of the ruling socialist party and leader of the body, said the unanimously approved decree prohibits lawmakers in congress from taking any action that would interfere with laws passed by the newly installed constitutional assembly.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_VENEZUELA_POLITICAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-08-09-05-39-40

  12. Venezuela Assembly’s ‘Truth Commission’ Is Ready to Hound Opponents

    A Venezuelan assembly rewriting the nation’s constitution is intensifying a campaign of persecution that already has sent opposition politicians into hiding, exile and prison.

    President Nicolas Maduro said the constituent assembly, which on Tuesday declared itself the nation’s supreme political authority, will strip legal immunity from the national assembly that has opposed him. Members of the so-called constituyente plan to establish a truth commission that will function more as a tribunal than a venue that offers amnesty in return for healing testimony.

    “The truth commission can try anyone,” Maduro, 54, said this week.

    The government, isolated and under threat of U.S. economic sanctions, has quickly deployed the constituent assembly against the last strongholds of dissent in public institutions and to weaken the opposition-led congress. The Justice and Truth Commission may become its main tool. In countries such as South Africa and Rwanda, such panels have allowed perpetrators of violence to confess their crimes in return for amnesty. The idea was to establish a baseline of truth and extinguish deadly political passions. In Venezuela, forgiveness so far is not on offer.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/venezuela-assembly-s-truth-commission-ready-to-hound-opponents

  13. Residents talk of exodus from this cash-starved Venezuelan port
    Business owner still open, only to help feed families, but expects to close soon

    Even in his worst nightmares, Armando Rojas, a longtime business owner in the beach town of Puerto Cabello, never expected to see such scenes of economic struggle in Venezuela.

    Against the backdrop of both political and economic turmoil that has worsened in recent months, the former playing out mostly in Caracas, Rojas has seen how hard times are affecting people in the once-bustling seaport, about 200 kilometres west of the capital.

    “I never imagined it could ever get to this point,” says the businessman, now in his early 60s and with 15 years of success in his line of work. “It’s a disaster what they’ve done to our country,” referring to backers of a president who critics say is hurting business with his policies.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela-puerto-cabello-seaport-economic-struggles-1.4238246

  14. South Korea introduces world’s first ‘robot tax’

    South Korea has introduced what is being called the world’s first tax on robots amid fears that machines will replace human workers, leading to mass unemployment.

    The country will limit tax incentives for investments in automated machines as part of a newly proposed revision of its tax laws.

    It is hoped the policy will make up for lost income taxes as workers are gradually replaced by machines, as well as filling welfare coffers ahead of an expected rise in unemployment, according to the Korea Times.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/08/09/south-korea-introduces-worlds-first-robot-tax/

  15. Philippines’ Duterte announces ‘dead or alive’ bounties

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday announced “dead-or-alive” bounties worth $40,000 each for policemen he accused of helping an accused narco-politician, and said he prefered they be killed.

    The call for police officers to kill their colleagues is the latest inflammatory comment by Duterte in his controversial drug war, which has claimed thousands of lives, and comes shortly after a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

    Duterte made the offer during a speech at national police headquarters, offering two million pesos ($40,000) for an unspecified number of officers who allegedly helped a mayor killed in an anti-drug operation on July 30.

    “Each of those policemen carry on their heads now, I am announcing, two million per head and you are free to go on leave (to pursue them),” Duterte told the officers in the audience.

    “I’ll cut short my speech so that you will have a chance for a crack at the two million for those idiots.”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4774642/Philippines-Duterte-announces-dead-alive-bounties.html

  16. N. Korea is Developing Mini-Nuclear Warheads for Missiles

    U.S. officials are warning the international community that North Korea has successfully developed a miniature-nuclear warhead for it’s intercontinental ballistic missiles.

    The new data comes from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which completed an assessment of North Korea’s weapons capabilities.

    The report also says Pyongyang could possess up to 60 nuclear weapons, although the number could be much lower.

    This week the Japanese Defense Ministry also concluded there was evidence North Korea has created smaller nuclear weapons.

    Communist leader Kim Jon Un continues to push ICBM testing, but officials still believe the regime has yet to master re-entry developments as well as target accuracy.

    http://www.oann.com/n-korea-is-developing-mini-nuclear-warheads-for-missiles/

  17. ‘Daesh looted $835m from Iraqi banks’ (memo, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170809-daesh-looted-835m-from-iraqi-banks/

    “The Iraqi Central Bank revealed on Tuesday that Daesh has looted around $835 million from the government and private sector banking systems, Anadolu has reported. More than 120 branches of state and private banks have been seized by the extremist group in the Nineveh, Saladin, Diyala and Anbar provinces since 15 June 2014.

    In addition to the looted money, said the Central Bank, Daesh has been making up to $2million per day through its illegal sale of oil. According to Anadolu, this is the first time that Iraq has revealed the amount of money seized and collected by Daesh.

    In 2014, Daesh occupied many cities and areas in western and northern Iraq, including the second largest city of Mosul. Only last month, though, the Iraqi government announced that Mosul had been retaken after a long battle backed by the US and Kurdish militants.”

  18. Algeria conducts 22 security drills in a year (memo, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170809-algeria-conducts-22-security-drills-in-a-year/

    “The Algerian army conducted 22 drills using live fire in different parts of the country between August 2016 and July this year, Anadolu reported on Tuesday. The drills are to prepare the country for expected security threats.

    According to local officials, this intensification of military activity was based upon “security and intelligence” information about security threats. They noted that the intelligence covered “internal and external terrorist” attacks. The drills, explained officials, send a message that the Algerian army is “always ready” to face any threat…”

  19. Algerian Imams take to streets in protest at ‘aggression’ against them (memo, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170809-algerian-imams-take-to-streets-in-protest-at-aggression-against-them/

    “Imams in Algeria’s Skikda Province took to the streets on Tuesday in protest at the increasing acts of aggression committed against them while leading prayers and preaching in their mosques, local media reported. A protest led by the head of the National Committee for Imams, Shaikh Jaloul Hjeemi, was held in front of the Islamic Cultural Centre in the centre of the province.

    This came a day after a meeting held to discuss the issue of public aggression against Imams. The scholars called on the Algerian authorities and President to intervene urgently. The Imams called for new laws to protect them and stop such attacks.

    According to Hjeemi, the rise in attacks is a “strange” and “embarrassing” issue. He insisted that this is not part of Algerian culture.

    In recent weeks, Imams in Skikda and Wahran provinces have been attacked. The attacks were carried out within and outside mosques by “Shia, Ahmadists and defectors of the Sunni Muslims,” added Hjeemi. He stressed that the Imam, who has until very recently always been a well-respected person in the local community, must be protected.”

  20. 4 troops shot dead in Egypt’s Sinai (memo, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170809-4-troops-shot-dead-in-egypts-sinai/

    “A military officer and three policemen were gunned down in Egypt’s rSinai Peninsula on Wednesday, according to a local security source.

    Gunmen stopped a private car in the North Sinai city of Beer al-Abd and opened fire on its occupants, killing them on the spot, the source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorised to speak to media.

    No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and Egyptian authorities have yet to comment…”

  21. Kuwait stops issuing visas for Sierra Leone maids (memo, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170809-kuwait-stops-issuing-visas-for-sierra-leone-maids/

    “Kuwait has stopped issuing visas to domestic helpers from Sierra Leone amid allegations of abuse by their employers, according to a news release Tuesday.

    The move, in response to a request from the Sierra Leone government, is aimed at ending years of debate regarding allegations of abuse of Sierra Leoneans recruited and sent to Kuwait.

    “Following concerns raised by the government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation over the issuance of entry visas under Article 20 (of the Domestic Labour Law of Kuwait) to Sierra Leone nationals to work as house maids in the state of Kuwait, which has led to an influx of our nationals into Kuwait, creating serious problems and embarrassment to the government, the state of Kuwait through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior has taken a decision to stop the issuance of entry visas to Sierra Leoneans,” said Sierra Leone’s foreign affairs ministry.

    Dozens of Sierra Leonean maids are trapped in Kuwait in a government detention camp awaiting repatriation after alleging they have been abused by their employers. Their passports have also been confiscated…”

  22. The Obama unmaskers: One answer to Andrew McCarthy’s question why Trump doesn’t just expose them
    By J.E. Dyer August 9, 2017

    Andrew McCarthy asked a good question last Thursday: why Trump hasn’t publicized the results of the probe of “unmaskings” requested by Obama officials.

    McCarthy points out that Trump has the ultimate authority to do just that:

    I’ve watched the story closely but I haven’t written about it for a while because I can’t get past a nagging question: Why must we speculate about whether the Obama administration abusively exploited its foreign-intelligence-collection powers in order to spy on Donald Trump’s political campaign? After all, Trump is president now. If he was victimized, he’s in a position to tell us all about it.

    The president is in charge of the executive branch, including its intelligence agencies. He has the authority to decide what intelligence information, and intelligence abuses, can be declassified and made public.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/08/09/obama-unmaskers-one-answer-andrew-mccarthys-question-trump-doesnt-just-expose/

  23. Grassley seeks immigration files for Pakistani suspects in House IT probe
    By LU Staff August 9, 2017

    Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has requested copies of immigration files for the six Pakistani suspects in the House IT scandal, who allegedly stole equipment from Congress and accessed computers without permission.

    Grassley is seeking more information on Imran Awan, his wife, his two brothers, two of his close friends in connection to the scandal. Capitol police have accused Awan and his associates of violating congressional security policies and stealing equipment from Congress. Awan is from Pakistan and was arrested by the FBI in July as he boarded a flight to the country.

    In an August 4 letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, Grassley wrote:

    In light of the alleged illegal activity, the committee seeks to better understand Awan and his associates’ immigration histories. Therefore, please provide the Alien File for the individuals listed below. Please also include any temporary files, working files, and all documents and items contained in them that were generated by DHS or in its possession about each individual listed below, whether currently in written or electronic form, including criminal history and immigration summaries, detainers, or requests for notification, if applicable.

    The letter was made public by the committee Monday.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/08/09/grassley-seeking-immigration-files-pakistani-suspects-house-probe/

  24. Italy: Local residents protest opening of refugee centre in town near French border
    Residents of the northern Italian town of Ventimiglia marched towards the town hall on Wednesday, in protest to the reported opening of a new refugee shelter in the area.

    A delegation of members from the Committee of the Marina San Giuseppe District was seen marching in relative silence with a banner toward the Piazza delle Liberta.

    On arrival, a few protesters entered the town hall building to hand City Mayor Enrico Ioculano a list of collected signatures, which were voicing their opposition to the opening of another migrant centre in the city.

    • Italy: Local residents respond to opening of new refugee centre near French border

      Local residents shared their opinions following the opening of a new refugee centre in the northern Italian town of Ventimiglia on Wednesday. A group of protesters had demonstrated against the event outside the town hall earlier in the day.

      One resident was in opposition to the decision: “We can’t take it anymore; the city is invaded, we have no more freedom to go around living in our town” he said, adding “our constitution talks about the people’s sovereignty. Where is this sovereignty, where is it?”

    • Italy: Ventimiglia mayor shouted down by protesters against new refugee centre

      Scores of people gathered outside the town hall of Ventimiglia, Wednesday, to protest against the opening of a new refugee centre for unaccompanied minors in the city. They confronted the mayor of the north-western Italian city, Enrico Ioculano, and voiced their concerns about the construction and the following opening of the shelter.

      As Ioculano told the frustrated demonstrators that the local administration “cannot issue ordinances with no [inaudible] reason” against the construction of the refufee centre, one demonstrator responded with: “If you build up a wall, we will destroy it.”

      When a protester asked the mayor why the taxpayers whether Ventimiglia must financially support the minors that will enter the centre, given the fact that “142 thousand euros have been allocated to minors,” another one shoute, “Minors must remain wherever they land.”

      Ioculano told the angry crowd that, although he agrees with their stance, “there is a legal obligation that requires local authorities – and this applies to the whole of Italy – that, wherever is denoted as having minors present, that municipality must bear the costs.”

    • ======================================================

      Milan – Aug 2017- Stazione Centrale

  26. The Statue of Submission

    “FILED Attorney General Jeff Sessions Complaint: Statue of Liberty in a HIJAB” We The People Rising – July 27, 2018
    See comment – The Reason why Lou Correa continues to refuse to remove the painting of the Statue of Liberty wearing a hijab.
    3 pic links
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX8LOrj3_ss

    “A painting of Lady Liberty in hijab hangs in congressman’s office. Despite protests, he says it’ll stay.”
    By Samantha Schmidt – August 8, 2017

  28. EU Commissioners spent half a million on travel in two months

    Chartered plane rides make up a large chunk of the costs.

    A visit to Baku, Azerbaijan costing €75,000 was the most expensive trip made by a European commissioner in the first two months of 2016, according to travel expenses scrutinized by Belgian magazine Knack and published Wednesday.

    In those two months, commissioners spent close to €500,000 on 261 official trips, Knack’s analysis shows. The costs of accommodation and transport were generally modest: The most expensive overnight stay, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, cost €629.

    Costs rose when commissioners used chartered planes — as happened when foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini made the €75,000 trip to Baku. The Commission said such “air taxis” can be used if no commercial flights are available that fit a commissioner’s schedule.

    Other expensive trips include European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s two-day visit to Rome in February 2016, which cost €27,000, and a trip to a series of countries, including Somalia and Turkey, by Christos Stylianides, the commissioner for humanitarian aid, for a total of €11,000.

    These are the first expenses of this kind and scale to be made public and the Commission tried to stop them being disclosed. The documents on travel expenses were requested by Spanish transparency NGO Access Info, but the NGO spent three years tussling with the European Commission over which and how many documents it could look at. It is still pushing to get reports for other time periods.

    “We just ask basic information about how the Commission is using public funds. Any taxpayer has the right to know how his money is spent,” Helen Darbishire, director of Access Info Europe, told Knack.

    According to the Commission, making public the travel expenses for the rest of 2016 would create an “excessive administrative burden” and the EU institution is already “one of the most controlled organizations in the world,” having to submit its spending to the European Parliament and European Court of Auditors.

    Günther Oettinger, now the budget commissioner, was last year criticized for taking a private plane to Budapest at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The plane was owned by Klaus Mangold, a pro-Russia German businessman and lobbyist.

    Commission deputy spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said Wednesday that the Juncker trip to Rome involved an air-taxi as the Commission president travelled with nine other people and no commercial flights were suitable.

    http://www.politico.eu/article/commissioners-spent-half-a-million-on-travel-in-two-months/

    European commission spending thousands on ‘air taxis’ for top officials

    the guardian –EU’s executive releases two months of travel costs for 2016, revealing use of chartered planes for Brussels’ 28 commissioners

    Jean-Claude Juncker and his top officials are spending tens of thousands of euros on chartering private planes, according to documents detailing the European commission’s travel expenses.

    After three years of battling with transparency campaigners fighting for full disclosure, the EU’s executive has released two months of travel costs for 2016, revealing regular use of chartered planes to transport Brussels’ 28 commissioners.

    The most expensive mission for which details have been released was in the name of Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs. It cost €77,118 for her and aides to travel by “air taxi” to summits in Azerbaijan and Armenia between 29 February and 2 March 2016.

    A two-day visit by Juncker, the European commission president, with a delegation of eight people to see Italy’s political leaders in Rome in February 2016 cost €27,000, again due to the chartering of a private plane.

    Mina Andreeva, a commission spokeswoman, said the use of air taxis was only allowed where commercial flights were either not available or their flight plans did not fit in with a commissioner’s agenda. Security concerns would also allow the chartering of a private plane under commission rules.

    She said of Juncker’s trip that there had been “no available commercial plane to fit the president’s agenda” in Italy, where he met the Italian president and prime minister, among other dignitaries.

    The spokeswoman added that the EU’s total spending on such administrative costs was publicly available and that the organisation led the way in being transparent in their work. The commission was not able to provide details of how many planes are chartered by Brussels every year, although she insisted the number was limited.

    The commission was embarrassed earlier this year, however, when a plane was chartered to take officials to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, to mark its time holding the rolling presidency of the European council, only for the plane’s crew to delay the flight due to a need for them to take a break due to working time restrictions.

    Helen Darbishire, founder and director of Access Info Europe, which sought the travel costs, said she was disappointed that three years after seeking disclosure by the commission, the number of travel reports was so limited.

    She said: “Initially [the commission] only released the general totals. Later we received data in which the names of the European commissioners and the travel dates were blacked out. By then, requesting each commissioner’s data separately, we could obtain more information. For example, at the end of 2016 we received the cost notes of six commissioners from a two-month period in 2015.”

    In 2017, Access Info Europe launched a public campaign calling on European citizens to request the commission’s travel expenses via an online form. That resulted in the release of documents for January and February 2016.

    According to the commission, disclosing the travel expenses for the other 10 months of 2016 would create an “excessive administrative burden”.

    Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Andreeva, the commission spokeswoman, added: “I think we do publish information on expenses whenever we are asked to provide information … I think it is not possible on a case-by-case basis to publish all expenses of people travelling.”

    According to documents relating to the two months in 2016, total travel and accommodation costs for visits by commissioners to European parliament sessions in Strasbourg, the World Economic Forum in Davos and official missions to countries came to €492.249, an average of €8,790 a month per commissioner.

    They stayed abroad 467 times in the period, amounting to eight nights per person per month. The most travelled was the German commissioner for the budget, Günther Oettinger. During 13 missions to six European countries, he spent 35 nights abroad in the two-month period.

    An analysis of the 261 missions showed that the European commission was generally careful in its spending, with hotel costs regularly coming to less than €200 a night. The most expensive overnight stay was in Addis Ababa and cost €629.

    Darbishire said she was raising the disclosure issue with the European ombudsman for good administration. “We hope the ombudsman will launch a debate about what expenses the European commission should make public,” she told the Belgian magazine Knack, with whom her NGO worked on the project.

    “Not only in response to specific applications, but on their own initiative. Because that is normal in modern democracy.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/09/european-commission-criticised-over-limited-expenses-disclosure

  29. Eighteen people found guilty over Newcastle sex grooming network (theguardian ,Aug 9, 2017)
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/09/newcastle-sex-grooming-network-operation-shelter

    “Seventeen men and one woman have been found guilty of involvement in a sex grooming network in Newcastle that plied vulnerable women and girls with drink and drugs before assaulting them.

    In a series of four trials at Newcastle crown court, juries found the men guilty of a catalogue of nearly 100 offences – including rape, human trafficking, conspiracy to incite prostitution and drug supply – between 2011 and 2014.

    The men befriended more than 20 victims and invited them to “sessions” at properties, mostly in the west end of the city. The girls were lured by the offer of alcohol and drugs, in particular mephedrone (“Mkat”) and cannabis, and were expected to offer sexual services in return for the substances.

    The victims, all females between the ages of 13 and 25, were targeted because they were vulnerable and because they were “less likely to complain because of their circumstances”, the prosecution argued. The court heard accounts of young women who were drugged before waking up to find themselves undressed, having been sexually assaulted.

    The men – some of whom were related or friends since childhood – were convicted in four interlinked trials that have run over more than two years. The trials were the result of police investigation Operation Shelter, which fell under the umbrella of Operation Sanctuary – Northumbria police’s probe into the sexual exploitation of children and adults with vulnerabilities. Police identified as many as 108 potential victims in Operation Shelter.

    Operation Shelter has clear similarities to grooming scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale, which featured gangs of British Asian men abusing white girls. The men in operation Shelter are from a wider range of backgrounds, including Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish.

    The trials, the first of which finished in October 2015, could not be reported until all were concluded for fear that they would be prejudiced.

    During the trials, the court also heard how Northumbria police paid a convicted child rapist – referred to as XY – £9,680 over 21 months to find out about the times and whereabouts of parties where girls were being plied with drugs and alcohol, to gather evidence for their investigation.

    The jury did not hear evidence from the informant, a British-Asian man in his 30s with links to the defendants, and a judge described him as “inherently unreliable”.

    In the final trial, which concluded on Wednesday, Habibur Rahim, 34, was found guilty of rape, the trafficking of seven victims, conspiracy to incite prostitution against seven victims, as well as drugs offences.

    Abdul Sabe, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit sexual assault against two victims, trafficking for the purpose of sexual assault against four victims, and conspiracy to incite prostitution against four victims, as well as drugs offences

    Badrul Hussain, 37, was found guilty of providing premises for the supply of cocaine, mephedrone and cannabis. Mohibur Rahman, 44, pleaded guilty conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain, three counts of providing mephedrone, and two counts of providing premises for the supply of mephedrone.

    In the final trial, Newcastle crown court heard how girls came to trust the defendants, particularly Habibur Rahim – known as Sham – who introduced them to other men in the group.

    The court heard that on April 2014, an 18-year-old victim fell asleep while intoxicated by mephedrone, a drug also known on the street as Mcat. She awoke to her find herself on a bed with her trousers down, Rahim next to her and a wardrobe against the door. She said Rahim told her: “We just done it.” He was convicted of rape.

    The court heard that Rahim attempted to persuade victims to have sex with his friends, with one complainant saying she did it “out of loyalty to him”. Rahim argued that all of the witnesses testifying against him were liars, that the police were racist and that he was a victim.

    Giving evidence, an off-duty probation officer described how she was on a night out in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, when she saw Abdul Sabe, 40, ushering a group of young girls into the back of a black 4×4. She called the police as she knew Sabe to be on the sex offenders register.

    Following the report, police visited Sabe and Rahim at Sabe’s flat in Walker, Newcastle. The pair were given warnings for cannabis possession and an entry was put on the police log to say “nothing untoward” had happened.

    On another occasion, 7 February 2011, police arrived to speak to Sabe while he was drinking with young girls at the derelict Ship in the Hole pub in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

    One girl, then 19, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the gang, told the court that police attended whilst she and two other girls were in Rahim’s car with another, unknown man. The victim told how she and the other girls had been drinking cans of lager and smoking cannabis when the police arrived. She said everyone in the car was searched but Rahim was then allowed to drive away.

    The court was told how on one occasion a father was called to collect his daughter from a house on Northcote Street, where a number of the crimes were committed, at 12.15am on 27 March 2014. He described how he saw her coming towards him barefoot carrying a glass of orange liquid, “clothing in disarray, highly intoxicated”.

    He said her condition worsened and she could not stand. “Her head was flopping and she was unable to control her movements. She was in no fit state to look after herself or control herself.”

    The jury was told that the men had no respect for their victims and that they chose them because they were “easy targets”. The court heard that in April 2014, Badrul Hussain – who was found guilty of providing premises for drug supply – was caught traveling on public transport without a ticket. The female ticket inspector claimed that he shouted at her: “All white women are only good for one thing. For men like me to fuck and use like trash. That’s all women like you are worth.”

    The allegations against the men in Operation Shelter came to light in December 2013 following two separate allegations made near the same time – one of a serious sexual assault made to police by a young women and the other by a child speaking to a social worker. The first charges were brought in February 2015.

    After media coverage of arrests made as part of the investigation, two more complainants attended Byker police station on 17 February 2014 to report crimes.

    A woman, Carolann Gallon, 23, also pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The majority of those convicted in the trials are due to be sentenced on 4 September this year.

    Although many of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain, there is no suggestion that any of the victims were sex workers.

    Like other prominent child sex grooming cases, Shelter involves the “boyfriend model” of sexual exploitation, where a vulnerable person is encouraged to believe they are in a loving relationship with their abuser.

    In a parliamentary report published in November 2014 into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, MPs said they had reached “the alarming conclusion” that Rotherham was not an outlier and that there was a widespread problem of organised child sexual exploitation in England.

    A spokesperson for Pace, Parents against child sexual exploitation, said: “Sadly we know that child sexual exploitation has been widespread throughout the country and it can affect any child or family. It is good that the perpetrators have finally been brought to justice. There has been immense trauma inflicted on those young people and their families. There will be lessons to be learned.”

    A serious case review into Operation Shelter was commissioned by Newcastle safeguarding children’s board and Newcastle safeguarding adult’s board in May 2015. It will be authored by retired barrister David Spicer and is expected to report in December this year.”

  30. BBC – Operation Shelter: Police paid £10,000 to child rapist –

    A police force paid a child rapist more than £10,000 for help during an investigation, it has emerged.

    The conviction of a Tyneside grooming gang is the culmination of Operation Shelter – itself part of Operation Sanctuary, a long-running Northumbria Police investigation into the abuse of vulnerable girls and young women.

    It has now emerged that during the course of the inquiry the force paid the convicted rapist – known as XY as he cannot be named for legal reasons – to act as an informant.

    XY fell out with his police handler, making a series of damning allegations, including claims he had been told to plant drugs and take vulnerable girls to parties.

    This led to a challenge to the court process, with the defence arguing his allegations fatally undermined the police case.

    • DAILY MAIL – ‘All white women are good for one thing’: Chilling outburst of member of 18-strong Asian sex gang – including a white woman – who groomed vulnerable girls as young as 13 with M-Cat before raping them

      A total of 17 men and a woman have been convicted of sex and drugs offences
      They plied vulnerable young girls with drink and drugs at sex ‘sessions’ in city
      A total of 461 people were arrested and police say there were 278 victims
      Police say they have ‘thrown the kitchen sink’ at bringing the gang to justice
      Convicted rapist informant was paid £10,000 by police to spy on the sex gang

      Shocking details of a large-scale Asian sex gang who spent four years plying vulnerable young girls with drink and drugs at ‘sex parties’ in Newcastle can be revealed for the first time today.

      Sex gang police defend decision to pay £10,000 to undercover informer who was convicted rapist – who judge found was ‘unreliable and dishonest’

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4775164/Police-paid-child-rapist-10k-spy-sex-parties.html

  31. FULL Jordan B Peterson interview with the google employee (51 mins!)
    2017/08/08: James Damore and his Google Memo on Diversity (complete)

    Jordan B Peterson

  35. You will spit out your covfefe at this one mate. A feminazi cafe in Melbourne charges male customers 18% more than wonmen one week a month and seats females as a priority.

    HER MAN TAX CAFE, HOW HANDSOME. AND A REQUEST FOR BEARING.

    Suit Yourself

  36. AUSTRALIA – ‘They’re a significant drain on the public purse’: Pauline Hanson claims Muslim migrants rely on welfare handouts – and claims the government are too scared to do anything about it

    Pauline Hanson has unleashed on the Australian Islamic population in the Senate

    Hanson said the ‘gutless’ Labor Party has ‘sold its soul for the Muslim vote’

    One Nation leader labelled Australian Muslims as a ‘significant drain’ on welfare

    Pauline Hanson has unleashed on the Australian Islamic population, claiming the ‘gutless’ Labor Party have ‘sold their soul for the Muslim vote’ and the government have been hiding information on their impact.

    Speaking to the Senate on Wednesday afternoon, Hanson accused the government of ‘hiding evidence of high unemployment and high dependence on social welfare’ to protect the Islamic community.

    ‘I am well known for speaking up about immigration but what isn’t well known is that I’m not anti-migrant,’ Hanson said to audible laughs.

    ‘I support immigration when it is in the best interests of Australia, but we have made a mistake in accepting high levels of migrants from countries where democracy is unknown, and people who follow Islam and its political ideology.’

    Hanson says statistics of the problems with Islamic immigration are unknown and unpublished because political parties ‘don’t want to upset the Muslim vote.’

    Hanson says One Nation has sourced ‘reliable’ information on Islamic migrants, saying ‘unemployment rates among Australian Muslims is more than double the average rate, and more than 50% higher than the nearest other major religious group.’

    She also says the unemployment rate among Muslim women is higher than the rate of Muslim men.

    Hanson claims this means a greater allocation of taxpayer money is paying off ‘disability pensions, carer pensions, carer allowances and other forms of income support.

    She described Australians Muslims as ‘a significant drain on the public purse because of her claims on their reliance on welfare.

    Hanson also accused the Labor Party of being ‘in the hands of the Muslim voter’ and described their ‘dependence’ on the Muslim population as ‘frightening.’

    ‘Labor has made a conscience decision to sell its soul to keeping the Muslim vote,’ she said.

    ‘Every comment by Labor is now made with reference to keeping the Muslim vote. Labor cannot speak out in opposition or act in government on issues effecting Australian Muslims because it fears losing seats in Parliament.’

    Hanson said Muslims oppose the idea of same-sex marriage because ‘the notion of sexual orientation is against the fundamental teachings of Islam.’

    The One Nation leader says Muslims are ‘underrepresented’ in the defence forces, instead ‘preferring to fight for ISIL in Syria and Iraq.’

    ‘It’s a disgrace that more Australian Muslims have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq than have joined the Australian defence forces to defend Australia.’

    She accused Australian Muslims of refusing to integrate with Australian culture, and only leave the areas they live in to access social services.

    Hanson says there is ‘no evidence anywhere in the world’ that problems caused by Muslim immigration will change over time.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4773908/Pauline-Hanson-claims-Muslim-migrants-rely-welfare.html

  37. Dozens Dead as Smugglers Push Over 120 African Migrants Overboard Off Yemen (sputniknews, Aug 9, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/201708091056331150-smugglers-african-migrants-yemen/

    “Dozens of migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia drowned off the coast of Yemen after a smuggler had pushed over 120 migrants out from a boat, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Wednesday.

    MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Shortly after the incident, IOM staff discovered graves of 29 migrants on a beach in Shabwa during their routine patrol, the press release added.

    “Early this morning (09/08), a human smuggler, in charge of the boat, forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the pitching sea as they approached the coast of Shabwa, a Yemeni Governorate along the Arabian Sea. The migrants had been hoping to reach countries in the Gulf via war-torn Yemen,” the press release read.

    “The dead had been buried rapidly by those who survived the smuggler’s deadly actions. IOM is working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure appropriate care for the deceased migrants’ remains,” according to the press release…”

  38. North Korea Promises Guam Strike Plan for August (sputniknews, Aug 10, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708101056334278-north-korea-promises-guam-strike/

    “North Korean state-run media said Thursday that by mid-August Pyongyang will have a plan to launch four intermediate-range missiles at the US territory of Guam. The plan will then go for approval to leader Kim Jong-un.

    The report, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) cited General Kim Rak-gyom, who commands the Korean People’s Army’s Strategic Force. “The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA [Korean People’s Army] will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan,” he said, according to the statement.

    “They will fly 3,356.7 km (2,085.8 miles) for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam.”

    This development is only the latest in an increasingly heated war of words between Pyongyang and Washington…”

  41. Why Women Are Using Birthing Hotels In Canada

    Some parents-to-be from other countries are travelling to Canada to give birth, therefore guaranteeing citizenship for their children. It’s seen as a kind of insurance policy — a way to give their kids more options when they are older.

    […]Birth tourism is legal, and despite common misconceptions, simply being a parent of a child born here is not enough to land a permanent resident visa for a prolonged length of time. Women here on visitor visas must go home with their children and apply to come back later, usually when their children are adults and can sponsor them. In the majority of cases, a Canadian passport is less a backdoor entrance into a Canada than an insurance policy for parents hoping to give their children better options.

    But birthing hotels are unregulated and can go untracked. In some cities, the number of maternal hospital beds being taken up by non-residents is increasing, and, in some cases, they have become a flashpoint for people’s insecurity and xenophobia

    […]Maternity hotels dot Canada’s major cities and, in some areas, are growing in number: In July 2016, health ministry investigators in B.C. counted 26 in the province—a threefold increase since 2009. While no such data has been made public for Ontario, Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto also reported an increase in foreign births in 2015, receiving women from China, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 2013, Montreal authorities said women from Haiti and French-speaking northern African countries “frequently” arrived to give birth in Canada.[…]

    http://www.chatelaine.com/living/birthing-hotels-canada/

    • Clever, plus affluent.
      – Wouldn’t it be nice if they were also patriotic and devoted their lives and fortunes to fixing their own hellholes?

      – Maybe they are. And they might just care about their kids, if they should require a safe harbor. I’d be a hypocrite to deny what I take for granted. I can have both Israel and Spain on top of my USA birthright.

      – The Eurocrats have zero stake in the future. Anywhere. May as well burn the kitty on air-taxi convenience.

  42. Let’s make everybody subject to search at any time because we have a problem with a specific segment of our citizenry. Yeah, that will do it…

    • Babs-

      The Israeli kids – Soldiers, excuse me! – they’re thrilled when they get your pizza-/-icecream care-packages! You can’t imagine how excited they get – like little kids at camp even on the front line. And the people delivering the goodies take considerable risk to bring them your treats.

      Momma knows about morale, eh? Mega-mitzvah.