Hawaii judge rules Trump’s travel ban too strict, cannot ban grandparents and other family members

Posted July 14, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: "Muslim ban", Executive order, U.S. courts
Tags: , ,

Hawaii judge rules Trump’s travel ban too strict, cannot ban grandparents and other family members, Washinton Examiner, Josh Siegel, July 14, 2017

Watson says his ruling is null if the government files an emergency appeal. The government had not issued a response as of publication.

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A federal judge in Hawaii ruled Thursday night that part of the Trump administration’s travel ban is too broad, meaning that it cannot block grandparents and other relatives of people in the U.S. as intended.

The ruling by Hawaii District Court Judge Derrick Watson prevents the government from enforcing two parts of the travel ban.

The federal government cannot use the executive order to “exclude grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States,” Watson wrote.

Watson also ruled that a refugee who has “assurance from a United States refugee resettlement agency” that they will be provided placement services cannot be blocked from travel.

Watson says his ruling is null if the government files an emergency appeal. The government had not issued a response as of publication.

The Supreme Court last month allowed the Trump administration’s ban on foreign nationals from six Muslim-majority countries to go forward in a limited scope. It said the administration could not apply the temporary ban to these travelers if they have a “bona fide relationship with the U.S.”

The Trump administration defined “bona fide relationship” to mean close family members only: parents, spouses, siblings, children, and engaged partners. It would block entry of grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins from the six countries.

Hawaii had argued this interpretation of “bona fide relationship” was too narrow.

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Intelligence Report Warns of Growing Missile Threats

Posted July 13, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Chinese missiles, Iranian missiles, Missile threats increasing, North Korean missiles, Russian missiles
Tags: , , , ,

Intelligence Report Warns of Growing Missile Threats, Washington Free Beacon, , July 13, 2017

China’s CSS-5 Mod 5 MRBMsdf

The United States faces a growing threat of ballistic and cruise missiles from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, according to a military intelligence report.

“Ballistic and cruise missiles present a significant threat to U.S. and allied forces overseas, and to the United States and its territories,” states the latest report by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in Ohio.

The report warns that both China and Russia are expanding their force of strategic nuclear missiles with new multi-warhead weapons.

North Korea now has three intercontinental-range missiles and is moving ahead with a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The report was published days before North Korea on July 4 conducted the first flight test of the new Hwasong-14 missile, described in the report as a new road-mobile ICBM first unveiled in October 2015.

In addition to that missile, North Korea also has another road-mobile ICBM called Hwasong-13, also known as the KN-08, and the Taepo Dong-2.

“Any of these systems could be exported to other countries in the future,” the report said.

Iran appears to be on a path to developing long-range missiles as part of what the report said was “Tehran’s desire to have a strategic counter to the United States.”

Multiple test firings of Iran’s Simorgh space launch vehicle are viewed as a test bed for developing long-range missiles.

“In 2015, Iran publicized the launch of the Emad-1, which officials claim is Iran’s first long-range missile that is guided throughout flight and capable of hitting its targets with high-precision,” the report said.

“Iranian officials have also announced plans for an Emad-2 with greater precision as well as a new Sejjil which can also be guided all the way to the target.”

The proliferation of missile systems and technology has resulted in over 20 nations having ballistic missiles that the report said “likely will be a threat in future conflicts involving U.S. forces.”

In the past 30 years, missiles were used in several wars, including the Iran-Iraq war, the Afghan civil war, the war in Yemen, the 1991 and 2003 Persian Gulf conflicts, Russian military actions in Chechnya and Georgia, and most recently in the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

The NASIC missile threat report is published periodically and is the first report since 2013.

For the first time, the center reveals new details about China’s force of “close-range” missiles that could be used in an attack on Taiwan.

The report also warns that new “hypersonic” missiles are being developed that have characteristics of both ballistic and cruise missiles. Ballistic missiles travel in space on a trajectory to their targets while cruise missiles often fly close to land or sea.

Russia’s SS-27 ICBM

Hypersonic missiles are maneuvering weapons launched atop ballistic missiles that glide to their targets. They are being developed by China and Russia as both strategic nuclear and conventional weapons capable of passing through U.S. missile defenses, often at speeds of up to 7,500 miles per hour.

“Overall, the threats posed by ballistic missile delivery systems are likely to continue to increase and grow more complex,” the report said.

“Adversary ballistic missile systems are becoming more mobile, survivable, reliable, and accurate while also achieving longer ranges. Hypersonic glide vehicles delivered by ballistic missile boosters are an emerging threat that will pose new challenges to missile defense systems.”

China’s missile forces are expanding in both numbers and types.

“China continues to have the most active and diverse ballistic missile development program in the world,” the report said. “It is developing and testing offensive missiles, forming additional missile units, qualitatively upgrading missile systems, and developing methods to counter ballistic missile defenses.”

Beijing’s nuclear missile forces are expanding with multiple-warhead systems that will expand China’s warhead stockpile in the coming years.

On China’s close-range missiles, which can be used in artillery salvos during a conflict with Taiwan or against ships in the South China Sea from newly militarized islands, the report identified 19 different missiles with ranges of between 24 miles to 173 miles.

Russia, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, and India also have close-range missiles some of which are precision guided.

To defeat increasingly effective missile defenses, short-range missile manufacturers are working on countermeasures, such as maneuverable reentry vehicles called MaRVs.

New missiles with ranges of between 620 miles and 3,400 miles are in development by China, North Korea, Iran, India, and Pakistan, and many will be armed with nuclear or other unconventional warheads.

“All of these countries except Iran have tested nuclear weapons,” the report said.

Iran has promised to give up developing nuclear weapons for the next 10 years under the deal reached in 2016. Critics note that the continued development of Iran’s long-range missiles is an indication Tehran plans to break out of the treaty in the future.

The report for the first time mentions Russia’s new hypersonic missile called the “object 4202” that will be used to penetrate missile defenses. Several other new long-range missiles, including a heavy ICBM called the Sarmat, are being deployed or are in development.

China also is building a new DF-41 road-mobile ICBM that will carry multiple warheads.

“The number of warheads on Chinese ICBMs capable of threatening the United States is expected to grow to well over 100 in the next five years,” the report said.

For submarine-launched missiles, the report identified Russia’s submarine forces as “substantial” and undergoing modernization. New long-range submarine nuclear missiles include the SS-N-32 Bulava, along with upgraded SS-N-23s.

The intelligence report for the first time confirms that China’s new CSS-N-14 submarine-launched missile is deployed on four missile submarines.

“This missile will, for the first time, allow Chinese SSBNs to target portions of the United States from operating areas located near the Chinese coast,” the report said.

Cruise missile threats, those that are guided by satellite navigation, also are increasing.

“The cruise missile threat to U.S. forces is increasing in the number of countries possessing [land attack cruise missiles], the number of LACMs, and the number of LACMs possessing advanced capabilities,” the report said.

China has a new DH-10 long-range cruise missile and Iran has developed a Soumar cruise missile, based on Russia’s AS-15 air launched cruise missile.

Russia’s Club-K cruise missile is dubbed the “container launcher” weapon that is fired from what appears as a standard shipping container, making it easy to hide and fire from cargo ships, trains, or commercial trucks.

“The majority of LACMs will still be subsonic, but supersonic and hypersonic missile will be deployed in the future,” the report said.

Missile weapons are sought by many nations because they can be used effectively against adversaries with formidable air defenses that make using aircraft impractical or too costly, the report concludes.

“In addition, missiles can be used as a deterrent or an instrument of coercion…. Even limited use of these weapons could have devastating consequences if armed with chemical, biological, or nuclear warheads.”

Rick Fisher, a military affairs analyst with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said the report for the first time details China’s growing arsenal of very accurate close-range missiles.

Fisher said China is a world leader in developing new, longer range and precision guided artillery rockets like the 124-mile-range CSS-X-16, and the new 174-mile range CSS-14 Mod-X-2. A third is the 161-miles range CSS-9 Mod-X-2.

“NASIC, however, does not mention that these new systems have the potential to carry five to eight missiles per launcher, so they could rapidly increase the number of missile targeting Taiwan into the multiple thousands, when considering potential reloads,” he said.

As a result of the close-range missile threat from China, the United States should speed up development of energy weapon defenses, like rail-guns and lasers that can defeat large numbers of the close-range missiles, he said.

Fisher also notes that the report understates China’s potential warhead expansion.

“If China modifies all of its DF-5 to the 10 warhead DF-5C standard, as it has started to modify the older single-warhead DF-5A with the three-to-five warhead DF-5B warhead bus, this type of ICBM alone could account for over 200 warheads,” he said.

“Then to this you add the road and rail mobile 10 warhead DF-41, with at least two units of six missiles accounting for 120 warheads. Many times 100 Chinese warheads is much more than ‘well over.'”

U.S. warhead cuts under the Obama administration should be reconsidered, he said.

“China’s potential to approach at least 1,000 warheads over the next decade, plus Russia’s missiles, means the United States must prepare to exceed existing limitations on deployed weapons or face the possibility of coordinated nuclear blackmail from China and Russia,” Fisher said.

Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon nuclear missile expert with the National Institute for Public Policy, said the report reveals that Russia’s 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missile, capable of being fired from the ground, ships, or submarines, has a range of 1,553 miles.

“This is obviously the INF Treaty violation,” he said of the 1987 U.S.-Russian accord banning all ground launched cruise missiles with range of between 620 and 3,420 miles.

The U.S. government has accused Russia of violating the INF treaty but has not provided details of the cruise missile Moscow has deployed in violation of the accord.

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The Left Media’s Extraordinary Popular Delusion

Posted July 13, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: 2016 elections and Russia, Great Trump - Russia conspiracy, Media and Hillary Clinton, Media and Obama, Media and Trump, Media hysteria
Tags: , , , , ,

The Left Media’s Extraordinary Popular Delusion, American Thinker, Patricia McCarthy, July 13, 2017

…and the madness of their crowd. “Collective obsessional behavior” is defined as a “condition in which a large group of people exhibit similar physical or emotional symptoms, such as anxiety or extreme excitement. Also called epidemic hysteria.”

There is no longer any doubt that the American left, especially those who dominate our media and academia, are indeed suffering from the above disorder.  Since their candidate lost the election that they were so terribly confident she would win in a landslide, they have descended deeper and deeper into psychosis.  The Clinton campaign came up with their Trump-colluded-with-Russia meme about twenty-four hours after the election results were verified. It was nonsense then as it is today, but the left’s mental distress has become so grievous that they no longer can be called rational or even sane. After eight months of wild speculation and various investigations, absolutely nothing has been unearthed that indicates in any way that the Trump campaign, least of all Trump himself, colluded with Russia to affect the outcome of the election. The media’s obsession with somehow proving such collusion has rendered them disordered and incoherent.  The media spend their days and nights ignoring the many news stories the public should be learning about: North Korea’s nuclear program, compliments of Bill Clinton, ISIS, Iran’s nuclear program compliments of Obama, the determination of some states and cities to protect illegal immigrant criminals rather than their own citizens, the domestic terrorism of groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, etc. Eight years of Obama gave rise to much of these plagues upon our nation and now Trump must deal with the consequences of Obama’s radicalism, economic destruction and importation of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants and the systemic meltdown of the national media, both print and electronic.

Most, if not all, of the media hysteria about a Trump/Russia collusion is the result of countless illegal leaks to said media in which unnamed sources are the order of the day. No longer do the NYT or the WaPo fact-check their sources or adhere to even minimal journalistic ethics. Like too many airhead celebrities who think people care what they think about anything, mainstream journalists are of one mind:  get rid of Trump by any means, the ends will be justifiable. So what if good people are maligned, their careers ruined, their jobs lost? So what if the stories they print are mere speculation meant to fuel a few days of scandal. One day, they hope. something will stick. They are counting on Robert Mueller to make their day. Why else would he hire a host of far-left attorneys, known Hillary supporters, to “investigate”?  No one yet knows if Mueller is a decent man who reveres the Constitution or if he’s a partisan political hatchetman sent to do the left’s bidding. He was chosen because he’s Comey’s best pal, which does not bode well for a fair outcome. It would be enormously reassuring if he was actually investigating the many known crimes of the Clintons, their foundation, the DNC, and the Clinton campaign’s dirty tricks, but that is, as every conservative knows, highly unlikely.  It is more probable that he and his pals are the fix the left hopes will lead to Trump’s removal from office.

That the left is suffering from a psychic break is clearer than ever these past few days. Three unnamed sources leaked to the NYT that Donald Trump Jr. had a twenty-minute meeting with a Russian woman who wanted to talk about adoptions and the Magnitsky Act. Trump had agreed to the meeting because he was told the person had incriminating evidence of Hillary’s dealings with Russia. She did not. The meeting was over. Sounds like a setup, perhaps by part of the deep state determined to destroy Trump or maybe by an Obama/Clinton team of subversives. There is abundant evidence that Natalia Veselnitskaya is anti-Trump.

The media has responded as though proof of Trump committing an ISIS-like murder just fell into their laps. The leftist media and their willing guests are falling all over themselves to be on camera calling for prosecution and, of course, impeachment. They are now exhibiting signs of a full-fledged psychosis, a “severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with reality.” Tim Kaine, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, called the meeting “treason.” Adam Schiff, ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, embarrasses himself on an almost daily basis droning on and on as though Trump is some sort of Benedict Arnold or Aldrich Ames. A paragon of intelligence he is not. Does anyone believe that if Kaine or Schiff were offered incriminating evidence of Trump wrongdoing, they would not trample over their own children to take that meeting? The same is true of every anchor on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, NYT, WaPo, LAT, and every other leftist outlet in the country. Fox News has fallen hard for the story as well. Epidemic hysteria and psychosis is what they spew day after day. Now these organizations have just become thoroughly and consistently boring. We are tuning them out and turning them off. Check CNN’s ratings: #13 in prime time!

The Clintons were the most corrupt people to ever reach the White House and managed to remain there for eight years.  Hillary was the most incompetent and corrupt person to ever be Secretary of State (John Kerry being a close second). Obama was the most anti-American, anti-Constitution president to ever hold the office.  While in power, these people intervened in the elections of other nations, illegally took millions of dollars from nefarious people and countries, lied and cheated.  “No one colluded with Russia more than Obama.” Had the mainstream media for one moment reported on these people’s many, many crimes against this nation,  perhaps they would have some credibility.  But they did not, so they have none. To this day, they purposefully refuse to report news unfavorable to the left, like Comey leaking classified memos. To this day, Susan Rice has not testified about her unmasking of private citizens for political purposes. Nor has Ben Rhodes, Obama’s master of sleaze and trickery. HRC was never put under oath when interviewed by the FBI about her illegal server. The last eight and a half years have proven to the American people that the Democrat left and the media are two parts of the same criminal enterprise that feed each other’s addiction to power. While their mass hysteria is infuriating, it proves their absolute lust for political dominance over any concern for people. They have become self-important, hate-filled snobs deluded by illusions of their own grandeur.

“We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first.”  — Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, 1841.

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Hatem Bazian: Terrorist Professor Hamas Promoter

Posted July 13, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Academia and freedom of speech, Academia and Islamists, Academia and Israel, Academia and the left, Antisemitism in academia, Antisemitism in America
Tags: , , , , ,

Hatem Bazian: Terrorist Professor Hamas Promoter, Front Page Magazine, July 13, 2017

Is Hatem Bazian the most dangerous professor in the USA? Nablus-born Bazian, is notorious for calling for intifada [violent uprising] in the United States.

He is the founder of the radical organizations Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). He is a serial pusher of conspiracies, and has a “project” to re-write history. More worryingly, he is largely responsible for the wave of anti-Semitic incitement across North American campuses.

For more info about Bazian, go to this link at the indispensable Canary Mission website. The Canary Mission database was created to document people and groups that are promoting hatred of the U.S., Israel and the Jewish people, particularly on college campuses in North America. You can also learn more about Bazian, SJP and AMP at their comprehensive profile pages at the Freedom Center’s Discover the Networks resource site.

 

 

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Former Ukrainian PM predicts ‘imminent’ regime change in Kiev

Posted July 13, 2017 by Peter Hofman
Categories: Uncategorized

Published time: 13 Jul, 2017 06:25

Source: Former Ukrainian PM predicts ‘imminent’ regime change in Kiev — RT News

Former Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov, © Maksim Blinov / Sputnik

The rule of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is on the brink of collapse, former PM Nikolai Azarov says, noting a growing dissatisfaction with Poroshenko among the Ukrainian elite and his cabinet’s failure to improve the economy.

“Everything is heading in the direction that the regime of Petro Poroshenko is nearing its end, changes are likely to happen soon,” Azarov, now living in exile in Russia, said in an interview to Russian Izvestia on Thursday.

READ MORE: Violent riots just a ‘natural event’ under Ukraine’s new regime – ex-PM to RT

Azarov cited, among the reasons, persistent calls by several major factions of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) to introduce a provision in Ukrainian law that would allow Poroshenko to be impeached. The bill was initially proposed by former PM Yulia Timoshenko’s party and backed by at least three other groups of lawmakers. The latest party to join in the demands is the Radical Party faction chaired by Oleg Lyashko, a populist politician with strong support among Ukrainian nationalists.

Read more

Ukraine's former prime minister Mykola Azarov © Maxim Zmeyev

Ex-Ukraine PM launches ‘salvation committee’ to win power in Kiev, end civil war

At present, there is no applicable law in Ukraine regulating impeachment proceedings.

In addition to the brewing discontent among his former allies, Poroshenko faces popular disapproval, Azarov said, adding that the economic situation in the country is taking a toll on ordinary Ukrainians.
Azarov fled to Russia in the aftermath of the Western-backed coup in Ukraine that ousted the democratically elected government of President Viktor Yanukovich amid a wave of violent protests, spearheaded by Ukrainian nationalists. The events sparked popular unrest in eastern Ukraine that resulted in an ongoing military standoff between the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and the authorities in Kiev.

Azarov also said that though he would like to return to Ukraine, it is not a viable option at the moment, as his home country has been overrun by “terror, clampdown on dissidents, reprisals against opposition.”

“It is not possible to do it legally at the moment,” he said.
The former PM added that no political ambitions are attached to his desire to return to his home country.

“I don’t think about any posts, I think about the restoration of a constitutional order in Ukraine and that it will be possible to return without fear of the political persecution that is now underway against my friends and colleagues,” he told Izvestia.

While in self-imposed exile, Azarov founded the Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine, and last December won a lawsuit in a Moscow court which recognized the February 2014 events in Ukraine as a coup d’état.

READ MORE: Moscow court recognizes 2014 turmoil in Ukraine as coup d’état

Azarov said he is planning to take the legal action further to the international level. He also does not rule out joining forces with Yanukovich in what he says is bringing the truth about the coup to the international community.

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Iran Regime President: The Government Builds the Missiles

Posted July 13, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Iran - Iraq war, Iran - Syria war, Iran scam, Iranian missiles, Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Khamenei, Rouhani
Tags: , , , , , ,

Iran Regime President: The Government Builds the Missiles, Iran News Update, July 13, 2017

Rouhani’s statements defending JCPOA once again exposed more than ever the depth of divisions among the regime’s various bands.

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INU – At a ceremony entitled Healthy Life Festival on 11 July 2017, the Iranian regime’s president Hassan Rouhani said: “…The strategic weapons built by the 11th (i.e. Rouhani’s) government, make up 80% of the total weapons built in the previous governments.”

In his preliminary speech, in an attempted to take missile claims and the claims about military presence in the countries of the region out of the hands of the Khamenei Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and in order to advance his own demands, he made significant confession saying that despite the sanctions, his government has given the Iraqi government and the Syrian regime all the money and weapons they needed.

He also noted the IRGC’s missile attack on Syria and said: “We hear that a missile fired from our land and targeted a center, a terrorist center. It is true that those who fired the missile tried hard and sacrificed but who built the missile? The defense Ministry builds these missiles.”

Rouhani’s statements defending JCPOA once again exposed more than ever the depth of divisions among the regime’s various bands.

While attacking Khamenei’s band in this regard, Rouhani said: “If the foreign minister were supposed to go out of the field with a few cursing and (insulting) slogans, the JCPOA would not be realized. Well, some people insulted the foreign minister, on their site, in their newspaper, on the anniversary of the revolution on February 11, on the streets of Tehran; well, one should not be excluded from the service field for the slogans of a few individuals.”

Rouhani also referred to the rival band as “a minority that monopolized everything” and added: “We should not be afraid of those who unfortunately have the big loudspeakers unjustly at their disposal…”

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Report: Iran Building Long-Range Ballistic Missiles in Syria

Posted July 12, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Iran and North Korea, Iran and Syria, Iranian missiles, Syrian missile factory
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Report: Iran Building Long-Range Ballistic Missiles in Syria, Washinton Free Beacon,  , July 12, 2017

A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016. AFP / TASNIM NEWS / Mahmood Hosseini (Photo credit should read MAHMOOD HOSSEINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran is said to be building new long-range ballistic missiles at a Syrian weapons factory identified by the United States as developing non-conventional weaponry, according to regional reports alleging that Russia and North Korea are aiding in the endeavor.

The Syrian opposition news website Zamanalwsl.net recently published multiple reports and pictures of a weapons factory in Syria that it claims is under direct control of Iran.

The reports appear to confirm other recent news articles indicating that Iran has begun manufacturing advanced missile technology in Syria with permission from embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

The reports claim that Iran is constructing long-range ballistic missiles in a factory operating under the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, which the United States had identified as the key government agency behind the country’s contested non-conventional weapons work, including chemical weapons.

Assad is reported to have visited the Iranian factory recently, where he met with Iranian and Syrian weapons experts, according to a translation of the articles conducted by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.

“The facility is producing long-range missiles as well as M600 ballistic missiles, which are a Syrian version of the Iranian Fateh 110 missile,” according to MEMRI’s readout of the report. “This facility has a branch in western Hama province for producing chemicals, and that that there is a Russian military base in the region, where North Korean officers once served.”

The facility is said to be shrouded in secrecy, despite evidence that agents from Russia, North Korea, and Iran are freely moving around the site.

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Apologists Gear Up for Rasmieh Odeh’s Last Hurrah

Posted July 12, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, Citizenship fraud, Rasmieh Odeh
Tags: , , ,

Apologists Gear Up for Rasmieh Odeh’s Last Hurrah, Investigative Project on Terrorism, July 12, 2017

Her followers appear to have no second thoughts about whether their hero is an honest person, let alone an unrepentant killer. While it’s one last hurrah for Odeh, the Aug. 12 event offers yet another example proving that, for Israel haters, facts really aren’t important.

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Palestinian terrorist Rasmieh Odeh likely will be deported shortly after a federal judge formally sentences her next month for naturalization fraud. Her supporters are planning one final bash in her honor featuring radical political activist Angela Davis.

A promotion for the Aug. 12 event in Chicago notes it costs $5 – $6.17 with service fees – and promises “a night of music, poetry, and struggle.”

Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner

Odeh pleaded guilty in April, admitting that she failed to disclose her arrest, conviction and 10 years spent in an Israeli prison after being convicted in connection to two 1969 Jerusalem bombings. One bombing targeted a grocery store, killing college students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner.

Her plea agreement with federal prosecutors calls for no additional jail time, but it includes a stipulationstripping Odeh of her American citizenship and says “she will not be allowed to remain in the United States” and can never return.

Her supporter blindly accept Odeh’s claim that her Israeli conviction resulted from weeks of vicious torture, even though the only evidence to support this claim is Odeh’s word. A Red Cross monitor declared her Israeli trial fair, and her father was in contact with U.S. diplomats at the time and reported no such abuse.

Further, her sworn plea agreement included language that renders the torture claims moot:

“At the time she made the false statements, [Odeh] knew the statements were false,” the plea agreement says. She “also admits that all of these false statements were material … She made the false statements intentionally and not as a result of any mistake, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or any other psychological issue or condition or for any innocent reason, and not withstanding any other statement or testimony Defendant Odeh may have made at any other time regarding those answers.”

Nevertheless, Odeh stood by her story days later, calling the government’s case “a phony immigration charge” and blasting “the racist nature of the justice system in this country.”

Her followers appear to have no second thoughts about whether their hero is an honest person, let alone an unrepentant killer. While it’s one last hurrah for Odeh, the Aug. 12 event offers yet another example proving that, for Israel haters, facts really aren’t important.

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OPINION: Is the US Secretary of State on Qatar’s side?

Posted July 12, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Arab nations, Qatar, Qatar and Israel's enemies, Qatar and terrorism funding, Secretary of State Tillerson
Tags: , , , ,

OPINION: Is the US Secretary of State on Qatar’s side? Al Arabiya, Abdulrahman al-Rashed, July 12, 2017

(Al Arabiya is a Saudi site, but I too have occasionally wondered whose side Secretary Tillerson is on. — DM)

Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson following a joint news conference in Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY – RTX3B2A2

The four boycotting countries are not the only ones that want to deter Qatar as most of the region’s countries and other countries support this goal and believe Doha is responsible for chaos, extremism and terrorism. The US secretary of state can save Qatar from itself before it suffers the consequences of its malicious actions.

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet the angry foreign ministers of the four countries which boycotted Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, in Jeddah on Wednesday. He will be confronting governments that made up their minds as they believe Doha is behind the dangerous unrest. We do not expect these countries to retreat after they made promises and took public measures to hold Doha’s authorities accountable by boycotting them.

Statements and hints made by Tillerson at the press conference in Doha do not reflect optimism as he rather simplified the problem by summing up the solution with signing an agreement in which Doha’s government pledges to fight terrorism. What an accomplishment!

Manipulation

The Qataris tried to manipulate him by confusing the real reasons behind the dispute and protesting over formal points such as revealing the secrets of their commitments in the Riyadh agreement and its annexes. They were embarrassed after they were leaked to CNN because this exposed that everything Qatar said in the international media contradicted its secret commitments. Qatar is of course to blame because it’s the one which began this war of leaks when it revealed the secrets of the four governments’ message pertaining to the Kuwaiti mediation that included 13 demands. Qatar revealed these secrets out of its desire to embarrass these four governments.

What makes Jeddah’s meeting difficult today is that Tillerson seemed inclined to Qatar. What increased suspicions is how he rushed to concluding that Qatar’s demands are reasonable before he even listened to the other involved parties. This raised eyebrows! The secretary of state can be inclined to the Qatari position, if he wants to, but he must realize that this complicates the problem, which is already complicated, and prolongs the crisis. The four boycotting countries have been harmed on the financial, political, media and security levels due to Qatar’s activities and practices, and they have made up their minds especially after recent developments that they think directly target their regimes.

Tillerson cannot impose a reconciliation. However he can narrow distances among the different parties as they are all his allies instead of being biased to one party against another, especially that Qatar is the one which made pledges several times but violated them.

Refusing to change

Tensions will rise as long as Doha’s authorities refuse to change. We know how Doha thinks and deceives others and we’re aware that it does not intend to change amid ordinary circumstances. The four boycotting countries will not back down because they believe they’re defending their existence in a region dominated by chaos, and it does not make sense to fight Iran while letting Qatar’s government threatens their existence and backstabs them. The crisis has clear goals which are deterring Qatar and eliminating its project of change. These four countries will jeopardize their existence and stability if they do not meet these goals. Egypt is launching the biggest war against terrorism in its modern history and it views Qatar as an efficient party which through its secret funding and propaganda via its media channels justifies these terrorist groups’ actions and incites people to rebel against the regime. Saudi Arabia is confronting similar threats and Qatar’s involvement has been proven. The UAE shares the same stance and it addressed this at early stages when it adopted policies that have zero tolerance with extremist groups and their ideology. Bahrain suffered more and it was all due to Qatar. How can Tillerson convince the four countries which are fighting survival wars to reconcile with the responsible party? How long will intentions be tested after Qatar failed so many times?

The four boycotting countries are not the only ones that want to deter Qatar as most of the region’s countries and other countries support this goal and believe Doha is responsible for chaos, extremism and terrorism. The US secretary of state can save Qatar from itself before it suffers the consequences of its malicious actions.

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The G20 Hangover The Humbug From Hamburg

Posted July 12, 2017 by danmillerinpanama
Categories: Climate change, G20, Humor
Tags: , ,

The G20 Hangover The Humbug From Hamburg, Power Line, Steven Hayward, July 12, 2017

Does any sentient human being actually read the complete communiques that these splashy G20 summits produce every year? I doubt it. Still, it is kind of fun to take in two paragraphs about global warming climate change that appear in the most recent declaration from the meeting in Hamburg last week.  Note the difference between these two paragraphs:

We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The United States of America announced it will immediately cease the implementation of its current nationally-determined contribution and affirms its strong commitment to an approach that lowers emissions while supporting economic growth and improving energy security needs. The United States of America states it will endeavour to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and help deploy renewable and other clean energy sources, given the importance of energy access and security in their nationally- determined contributions.

The Leaders of the other G20 members state that the Paris Agreement is irreversible. We reiterate the importance of fulfilling the UNFCCC commitment by developed countries in providing means of implementation including financial resources to assist developing countries with respect to both mitigation and adaptation actions in line with Paris outcomes and note the OECD’s report “Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth”. We reaffirm our strong commitment to the Paris Agreement, moving swiftly towards its full implementation in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances and, to this end, we agree to the G20 Hamburg Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth as set out in the Annex. (Emphasis added.)

That first paragraph is what you get when you have State Department leadership that is actually on the side of the United States, and follows the direction of the president. You can tell that we wrote the first paragraph, and the Euroweenies wrote the second one.

However, The Australian newspaper (behind a paywall alas) has uncovered the true G20 communique, and has published it as follows:

“We, the leaders of the G20 (and thousands of hangers-on), met in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7-8, at cost to taxpayers of hundreds of millions of euros.

“We remain amazed and grateful that the world’s media continues to cover this luxurious circus, unrivalled in production of inanities, year after year. We, as the world’s premier body for economic discussion, are proud of our record in lifting waffle to levels of sophistication unimaginable in an earlier era.

“The media and the political class can achieve more together than by acting alone.

“We once again met at a time of profound change amid sustained continuity. We are determined to calibrate and co-ordinate our policy frameworks to foster economic growth that is confident, strong and nice. Growth has been too wonky and lopsided, with an insufficient level of sharing.

“We undertake to consult often, widely and effectively, via landline and mobile telephone, Facebook messenger, WeChat (in China), including through use of GIFs where appropriate.

“We have come together as one to make totally unverifiable undertakings in support of three appealing nouns that we agreed at last year’s Hangzhou summit in China: resilience, sustainability, and fun. In the interests of avoiding international awkwardness we have resolved never to raise, discuss or even allude to the rationale for, or outcome of, the British general election earlier this year in front of the British Prime Minister Theresa May.

“We acknowledge that Ivanka is amazing. She is so amazing. She is absolutely terrific. We also fully support the aspirations of women and girls and applaud in particular Saudi Arabia’s undertaking to make women’s issues the centrepiece of its summit in 2020.

“We condemn actions by North Korea that risk impairing global harmony. Sad!

“We have secured the services of distinguished diplomat Hans Blix, who will spearhead a cross-country delegation charged with conveying our sentiments to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. We indicate in the strongest terms our determination to defend western, eastern, southern and northern values.

“We extend an invitation to South Australia’s Premier Jay Weatherill, and his 17 media advisers, to update the G20 on the success of his government’s bold climate saving initiatives at the 2018 summit in Buenos Aires, where, inspired by practice at APEC, we will dress up as lithium batteries for an official photograph to signal our support.

“We acknowledge differences of opinion among members on the efficacy of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and now strenuously undertake to limit global temperature increase to no more than 2.16 degrees Celsius by 2104…

“As part of our new Partnership with Africa we urge Africa to consider new ways to be less poor as part of our global efforts to reduce terrorism and the flow of refugees into G20 countries.

“We also welcome establishment of the Kleptomania Mitigation Taskforce, which will examine innovative ways to curb inappropriate use of foreign aid, to be spearheaded by Rwanda and Congo as part of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

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