"Pentagon sees space as next frontier" by Christopher Rowland Globe Staff August 18, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s quest to create a Space Force to stand equally with the Air Force, Army, and Navy is overshadowing a significant shift already well underway in the US military toward the development of new orbiting defenses and futuristic weaponry.
Related: Spy Satellite Shit and Rods From God
And that was ten years ago.
Also see: Sunday Globe Special: Super Bowl to Go Nuclear?
That was 2 1/2 years ago, and "Space warfare with Russia and China? Pentagon urged to prepare for it." Can't say you were not warned.
Yup, under Obama, just like the $1 trillion nuclear upgrade over 30 years.
Yes, world, never you mind the hypocrisy of the AmeriKan Empire. Do as we say, not as we do, or you know.....
That was 2 1/2 years ago, and "Space warfare with Russia and China? Pentagon urged to prepare for it." Can't say you were not warned.
Yup, under Obama, just like the $1 trillion nuclear upgrade over 30 years.
Yes, world, never you mind the hypocrisy of the AmeriKan Empire. Do as we say, not as we do, or you know.....
The United States is perched on the threshold of a new era in space militarization, with rising threats from global rivals and fresh impetus from a new administration that is eager to engage in a high-tech arms race. Advances in technology and lower barriers to deploying satellites are enabling Pentagon planners to think big.
Yes, the Globe makes it sound like such a wonderful thing. On the threshold of a new era (puke). A new HIGH TECH ARMS RACE!
Oh, the war profiteers, nay, defense contractors, are going to love it!
Space hawks in the Department of Defense and Congress, for instance, are pushing for a laser or particle-beam weapon to be deployed in Earth’s orbit within a decade, regardless of whether Trump’s dream of a Space Force comes to fruition. If such a weapon system made it over the inevitable political and financial hurdles, it would mark a partial return to the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, which has been largely on ice since the early 1990s.
Call it “Son of Star Wars.”
Ah, f*** this.
The other day I said I was hoping this was all just red meat and I'd take the loss if we had no more wars. Well, forget that. I don't want this. Pouring billions and trillions more into the war machine so we can provoke some other nation that is just trying to get buy without offending asshole AmeriKa.
Oh, that's right, I forget. The Globe isn't an enemy. They are our friends.
The hell they are.
The most immediate goals are to better leverage space as a critical front in the defense of the United States against long-range ballistic missiles from North Korea and Iran and a newly emerging threat: super-fast Chinese and Russian hypersonic missiles. That means building better eyes and ears in orbit with a new array of satellites, a “sensor layer’’ that could cost tens of billions of dollars.
Oh, so it is all about the global surveillance grid.
This new tech race involves existing branches of the armed services, especially the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency, which is responsible for antimissile installations in California and Alaska. There is only lukewarm support in the Pentagon to create a new branch, a Space Force to take over this new military frontier, and considerable skepticism in Congress about hugely costly systems that remain unproven.
But they will get their money anyway.
Lawmakers remain in the dark about the Trump administration’s overall missile defense strategy, as they continue to wait for a report called the Missile Defense Review that was supposed to be completed at the end of 2017.
They are in the dark, huh?
Space-based weapons “would elicit a guaranteed response from Russia, China, and other countries that would further escalate the overall expenditures that would have to be made,’’ said Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat. “We need the report first; otherwise instead of spending smart, we’re going to spend crazy.’’
How about not spending at all and turning back from endless wars, endless enemies, and all the rest?
Adam Routh, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank, said the Space Force idea is getting all the media attention, but lots of space-related work is going on already, much of it classified.
“Space is one of the areas,’’ he said, “where the general public is most ignorant.’’
What agenda-pu$hing $tink tank is that?
The Globe really makes you think!
As for the general public, thanks to ma$$ media, they are generally ignorant about most everything.
The latest proposals are giving arms control advocates the jitters, but military officials and hawks in Congress say an array of new global threats demands urgency.
Uh-oh, URGENCY!
That is when you want to HIT the BRAKES!!!
“In the United States, we’ve been on holiday for 25 years’’ while Russia and China have forged ahead on advanced weapons, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin said at a Washington conference soon after his Senate confirmation this year. “We kind of went to sleep.’’
OMFG!
So we just $nored those trillions away all these years, fighting self-created flunky terrorists and invading countries via lies in order to control their resources and politics. Had the eye totally off the ball, and yet terrorists are everywhere in the paper! Never-ending war on terror, you know!
And now you know they are getting ready for the big show!
Both Russia and China claim to have developed prototypes of super-fast hypersonic missiles that go much faster than the speed of sound and are extremely difficult to defend against.
Really?
That's the first I've seen about it in my pre$$, and runs contrary to what Trump said the other day when he signed the defense bill, and the Globe was worried about a measly $92 million for a parade?
Good God, mountains out of molehills while they put a blanket over the mountains!
Russia, which says it can put a conventional or nuclear warhead on its hypersonic missiles, has released dramatic videos of a prototype. The video showed an animation of the missile skirting ground-based radar, which is still the backbone of US defenses.
So we are going to GO INTO SPACE because we have LOST own the GROUND, huh?
I was told by the media and others that the Russians were bluffing, even though their electronic warfare capabilities have shut down U.S. communications in the mediterranean and Black Sea.
Of course, Russians never bluff, not those chess players.
The Pentagon wants to accelerate a program to build its own hypersonic missiles, fitted with conventional warheads. The most promising version of this technology features a rocket that boosts the warhead into near space, then allows it to break loose and surf the top of the atmosphere, achieving speeds as fast as 5 miles a second on the way back to Earth.
The United States has lagged on hypersonic missiles because of the constraints forced by 17 years of the war on terrorism and seven years of strict Department of Defense budget caps, said Thomas Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. Karako noted that the Pentagon’s most recent national defense strategy shifted the focus to global competition with Russia and China.
Oh, look, another neo-con globali$t $tink tank!
Yeah, after wasting time fighting self-created enemies and people that can't fight back, etc, etc, etc, now the wars will turn to Russia and China, people who can.
“Are we serious about prosecuting that goal? If we are, then we have to take this mission much more seriously,’’ he said.
Congress is attempting to jump-start new programs with a few billion dollars, a fraction of what will be needed over the long term. Big defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Waltham-based Raytheon, and Boeing are bidding to design next-generation weapons. The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin $1 billion to build a hypersonic missile prototype last year.
With co$t overruns already plugged in.
Griffin, a veteran of Reagan’s SDI team as well as a former NASA administrator, is one of the premier voices in Trump’s Pentagon for deploying weapons of much greater technological sophistication.
“In the area of hypersonics, to pick one, both China and Russia are ahead of where our current state of practice is,’’ Griffin said this year. “We’re playing catchup ball.’’
It's not a f***ing game, and this means pouring more billions down that rathole of a war machine that already cannot account for over $21 TRILLION dollars and counting.
A quest by North Korea and Iran for nuclear ballistic missiles is another key driver for a stronger US presence in space.
You read that and you wonder what planet the reporter is on.
Last I knew there were talks going with North Korea, and even if we haven't gotten anything like the pre$$ says (war dead remains and the destruction of some facilities, etc, don't matter, and the Koreans are unreasonable for wanting an actual end to the technical state of war after 65 years), citing them as a threat certainly undermines the goal of peace (as if I believed it were when it comes to this government and its mouthpiece media). As for Iran, they don't even have a bomb and are certifiably not working on one.
You guys are a$$holes, hey!
The United States wants to deploy a more extensive array of satellites in orbit, carrying infrared trackers and other types of sensors, to target enemy ballistic missiles. Looking at missiles from the side, against the cool backdrop of space, makes them easier to spot than looking up at them with radar from Earth.
Ah, a preemptive strike capability!
To shoot down those missiles once they have been targeted, new kinetic interceptors are being developed, including new systems by Raytheon. Killing a missile with another missile has proved extremely difficult. Failures have received heavy attention. Some of the latest defensive weapons will be able to launch multiple projectiles that can maneuver — working like high-tech buckshot at the edges of space — to increase the odds of hitting an enemy missile.
Now he sanitizes the missile defense "successes," but hey, overstating the capability of the missile defense system is a tradition dating back to the 1991 Gulf War.
Yeah, LYING is NOW a TRADITION!!!!!!!
Griffin is among those advocating that the United States build interceptors in space or a space-based laser or particle beam system to shoot down enemy missiles — whether they are fired by Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran.
I think they have more to worry about us attacking them.
“By the latter part of the next decade I want a device that can go in space and protect us against enemy strategic missiles,’’ Griffin said in congressional testimony earlier this year. “These things are within our grasp if we focus our efforts.’’
Overruns!
The US Air Force also has an experimental unmanned spacecraft, not much bigger than a U-Haul truck, called the X-37B, built by Boeing. It looks like a miniature space shuttle. It has performed a few secret missions to space. Experts have speculated that it is being used to test the latest satellite-based sensors and tracking systems. More conspiracy-minded people have speculated that the X-37B could be used to destroy or spy on enemy satellites.
OMFG! Yeah, "conspiracy-minded people" might think it's going to be used as an offensive weapon of a aggression, and of course, the United States government would never do that!
They would also never spy on foreign leaders like Merkel or the woman in Brazil (how quickly Edward Snowden's revelations have been forgotten by the pre$$).
It makes you wonder if this guy fell to his knees as his sources dropped their trousers.
Space X, the commercial rocket company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched the X-37B on a secret mission last year. Experts say it’s an example of how an increase in commercial rockets and the potential for smaller, lighter, cheaper satellites will help fuel a new military space race.
Just what we need, what with all the problems down here with health, infrastructure, and all the other ills we have.
Related: Musky $mell
This boondoggle might just save Tesla, though!
Even so, costs could be high. A space-based defensive system with interceptors aimed at, say, the Korean peninsula might cost $25 billion, while a system to cover all global missile threats would cost up to $200 billion, according to a 2011 government-sponsored analysis.
And then there would be the operating costs year after year after year.
The United States put most development of space weapons on the shelf when it pulled the plug on the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1993 and refocused attention on ground-based missile defense.
The latest developments are causing discomfort, if not outright alarm, among arms control advocates, who say they make the world a more dangerous place.
Actually, they are causing me anger, so much so that I lit into orbit this morning reading this sh**.
Blinding enemy satellites and deploying systems that make it easier to shoot down nuclear missiles erodes the doctrine of nuclear deterrence. In theory, it upsets the balance of “mutually assured destruction’’ that supposedly keeps any side from launching its missiles.
Oh, so the U.S. COULD LAUNCH a FIRST STRIKE and then NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RETALIATION, 'eh?
I GOT YA!
Hypersonic missiles, whether they are armed with nuclear or conventional weapons, are similarly destabilizing, critics say.
Because they go so fast, they greatly compress the time that commanders have to make decisions in a crisis. That could increase the chance of someone hastily launching nuclear weapons. Independent experts have confirmed the risk.
“Hypersonic missiles create new challenges to global security,’’ said a 2017 report by the Rand Corporation, a global nonprofit policy think tank, explaining they “encourage hair-trigger tactics that would increase crisis instability.’’
Why are all these doubts and concerns being brought up now as I approach the end of the article? You are pooping on the party!
Calls for a space-based laser or particle beam in space, meanwhile, are generating similar worries. Arms control advocates warn that a return to the futuristic concept would destabilize the delicate balance of global nuclear deterrence. The result would be a new arms race with unpredictable outcomes.
“Continuing the norm of not weaponizing space is a tremendous benefit to us,’’ said Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association, a Washington nonprofit.
So from which globali$ts did they get their funding?
Reif also expressed concern about attempting to match Russia and China on hypersonic missiles.
“Everybody is taking for granted that just because the Russians and Chinese are rushing headlong forward to develop hypersonic weapons, that we need to do so as well,’’ he said.
“There’s virtually no discussion about these stability concerns, at least not in public in the Defense Department.’’
Because at the very least there is a pile of money to be had!
--more--"
Related: TSA says air marshals don’t follow ‘ordinary’ travelers
It was the body odor that alerted them (and that plane dropped right off the radar, didn't it? That ridiculous event, if it even happened the way it is being reported, served its agenda-pushing purposes. Got armed guards in the ground crew sections now with tougher vetting in place).
Time to come back down to earth and go to the casino!
"With new casino, a big bet on Springfield" by Mark Arsenault Globe Staff August 18, 2018
SPRINGFIELD — It looks like no casino you’ve ever seen, as un-Vegas as Springfield itself. And that is exactly the idea.
Seven years after Massachusetts legalized casino gambling, touching off a fierce competition among companies to stake their claim, MGM Springfield is set to open on Friday, marking the first time patrons can legally wager on table games such as blackjack and craps within Massachusetts.
The casino will have 2,550 slot machines, 120 table games, and 23 poker tables, giving it a moderately-sized gambling portfolio, with about half as many slots as the gargantuan Foxwoods resort.
MGM’s gambling floor is surrounded by restaurants, bars, shops, a bowling alley, cinema, event space, and a 250-room hotel. The resort will employ nearly 3,000 people, about 35 percent of whom live in Springfield, according to casino officials.
With the $2.5 billion Wynn Resorts casino in Everett not scheduled to open until next June, MGM Springfield will have a head start on establishing a customer base in Massachusetts, and provide a first look at the impact of a full-fledged casino on the area.
Built in the city’s downtown just off Interstate 91, the casino is a high-stakes project for the Las Vegas company, which invested some $960 million into a development unlike any it has ever built.
For the long-depressed city known as the capital of Western Massachusetts, the casino opening has been anticipated for years as a new dawn, bringing money and energy to a chronically ailing downtown.
“It’s going to bring very large numbers of people on a daily basis and that’s going to contribute to the overall atmosphere,” said Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s chief development officer. Combined with the recent renovations to the city’s Union Station transit hub and a recent surge of construction of market-rate housing, “the ingredients are there for a long-term” economic revival, he said.
“You are starting to see these pieces come together,” he said.
Yeah, the money-laundering outfits for the Jewi$h mafia are going to save us.
That's where Trump comes in. He's been immersed in it his whole life. He knows the game.
Yeah, the money-laundering outfits for the Jewi$h mafia are going to save us.
That's where Trump comes in. He's been immersed in it his whole life. He knows the game.
What makes MGM Springfield’s design unusual for the gambling industry is how the development blends into the existing streetscape of the city’s South End. The casino used some existing downtown facades with new construction built inside and behind them. It doesn’t try to soar or gleam; it tries to fit in.
The complex also has a dozen entrances, according to MGM, breaking from the traditional casino model that funnels patrons through the gambling floor to reach the hotel and amenities.
Instead, the gambling floor is in the middle of the resort, surrounded by a ring of restaurants and shops. Diners could reach a restaurant, for instance, either from the casino floor or directly from the restaurant’s on-street entrance.
“It will be unique and we think it will be meaningful in how the resort interacts with Main Street,” said Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts.
You can go on the tour. I never intend to set foot in the offensive place.
You can go on the tour. I never intend to set foot in the offensive place.
A recent tour of the casino showed how designers went to great lengths to connect the décor of the project to Springfield and the region. It’s got an eclectic feel, unusual for the casino industry which often shoots for glitz and can tack toward tacky. MGM Springfield is full of old furniture and reclaimed pieces of bric-a-brac, many bought at the famous antiques fair in nearby Brimfield. A large 19th-century chandelier over the elevator vestibule came to Springfield from New York after MGM chief executive Jim Murren spotted it in an antique store, according to the company.
The lobby is packed with walls of books. Yes, books. Classics, books by local authors, even random school yearbooks. If you graduated from Agawam High School in 1969, your yearbook is here, full of handwritten notes and signatures from class members.
The resort also features scores of antique globes and countless old trophies from forgotten golf tournaments and other competitions. In one hotel suite, a tabletop of trophies includes the first-place prize handed out at a 1959 fishing derby in Point Judith, R.I.
The hotel occupies five stories above the casino. No two hotel rooms are identical. Rooms combine a lot of dark colors and neutrals, exposed concrete ceilings, brass lamps and Edison bulbs, leather, and natural woods.
Some suites have live-edge dining tables made from a tree that had stood on nearby Bliss Street. Decorative oddities, from small animal skulls to big brass keys, sit under glass domes. The feel is a little like a wizard’s workshop, and whether you like that sort of thing or not, it’s unusual and fresh for the casino industry.
The resort has a number of homages to Springfield native Theodor Geisel, the famed children’s author known as Dr. Seuss. Pillows and carpets feature quotes from Emily Dickinson, the 19th-century Amherst poet who published work in the Springfield Republican newspaper.
Shouldn't that be removed over his virulent racism?
Shouldn't that be removed over his virulent racism?
If the resort defies casino tradition in many ways, the gambling floor looks, well, like a piece of Las Vegas. It’s still an odd sight to see rows of flashing slot machines in Massachusetts, even though the Plainridge Park Casino, the Plainville slot parlor, has been open since 2015.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission controls one more casino license that is designated for Southeastern Massachusetts. That license has not been awarded, largely due to legal uncertainty over the Mashpee Wampanoag’s plans for a tribal casino in Taunton.
While casino supporters have looked to the gambling industry as an economic spark, Les Bernal, the national director of the anti-casino group Stop Predatory Gambling, predicted that MGM and “other predatory gambling operators” will ultimately be shut down.
“Make a place in your heart for the hundreds of thousands of people from all of our communities who will suffer life-changing financial losses to regional casinos like MGM,” Bernal said in a statement. “Then go out and help build a society focused on improving the lives of all people with compassion and fairness.”
It seems fitting that the state’s first resort casino would be in western Massachusetts. In the early days of the competition to enter the Massachusetts casino market, most of the action centered on the Springfield area. Casino executives were convinced, erroneously as it turned out, that Suffolk Downs and partner Caesars Entertainment had the Greater Boston license locked up. With the Southeastern license on hold, that left the west.
Mohegan Sun planted its flag in Palmer. Hard Rock International tried Holyoke, then West Springfield. Even MGM miscalculated at first, flirting with Brimfield before moving on.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno changed the landscape by publicly signaling that the city would welcome casino proposals. Springfield quickly became ground zero for the industry’s rush to get into Western Massachusetts. Ameristar Casinos made a Springfield pitch, Penn National Gaming proposed a casino resort in the city’s North End, and MGM pitched its gambling and entertainment complex in the city’s South End.
Sarno decided the city would hold its own competition and would send one proposal to the state Gaming Commission. Ameristar dropped out when it became clear city officials preferred a downtown location. MGM won the local contest, and Penn went on to open Plainridge.
Springfield’s competitors were struck down by voters. Palmer residents defeated the Mohegan Sun proposal in a surprising result, and West Springfield voters nixed a Hard Rock plan.
That left MGM the last proposal standing. It received its casino license in 2014.
“It’s been a long six years,” Kennedy said.....
Try twelve. That's how long I've been blogging.
Try twelve. That's how long I've been blogging.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"More than 2 million Muslims to join annual hajj pilgrimage" by Omar Akour Associated Press August 18, 2018
I'm sorry. Maybe there was once a time when I cared what the Jewi$h War Pre$$ had to say about Islamic customs or ceremonies. That day is no longer. If I want to red about it, I'll go somewhere else. I don't need the Jewi$h version.
Of course, they want to keep religion front and center for the obvious reasons. You take that away, and what are the chosen people?
I'm sorry. Maybe there was once a time when I cared what the Jewi$h War Pre$$ had to say about Islamic customs or ceremonies. That day is no longer. If I want to red about it, I'll go somewhere else. I don't need the Jewi$h version.
Of course, they want to keep religion front and center for the obvious reasons. You take that away, and what are the chosen people?
MECCA — Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning Sunday, as over 2 million Muslim faithful are ready to take part in the ultraconservative kingdom.
How are things going in Yemen, btw?
How are things going in Yemen, btw?
The pilgrimage represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life. In recent weeks, the faithful have arrived in Mecca from across the world, all chanting, “Here I am, God, answering your call.’’
The hajj offers pilgrims an opportunity to feel closer to God amid the Muslim world’s many challenges, including the threat of extremists in the Mideast after the Islamic State was beaten back in Iraq and Syria and the plight of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority.
What about Gaza? Been protests going for months, and people are still being killed. Not a concern amongst those pilgrims?
What about Gaza? Been protests going for months, and people are still being killed. Not a concern amongst those pilgrims?
Major General Mansour al-Turki, the spokesman of the Saudi Interior Ministry, told journalists Saturday that over 2 million Muslims from abroad and inside the kingdom would be taking part in this year’s hajj.
Men attending the hajj dress in only terrycloth, seamless white garments meant to represent unity among Muslims and equality before God. Women wear loose clothing, cover their hair and forgo makeup and nail polish to achieve a state of humility and spiritual purity.
Since arriving, many have circled the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca — Islam’s holiest site. The Kaaba represents the metaphorical house of God and the oneness of God in Islam. Observant Muslims around the world face toward the Kaaba during their five daily prayers.
Muslims believe the hajj retraces the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as those of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail — Abraham and Ishmael in the Bible.
After prayers in Mecca, pilgrims will head to an area called Mount Arafat on Monday, where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon. From there, pilgrims will head to an area called Muzdalifa, picking up pebbles along the way for a symbolic stoning of the devil and a casting away of sins that takes place in the Mina valley for three days.
At the hajj’s end, male pilgrims will shave their hair and women will cut a lock of hair in a sign of renewal for completing the pilgrimage. Around the world, Muslims will mark the end of hajj with a celebration called Eid al-Adha. The holiday, remembering Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, sees Muslims slaughter sheep and cattle, distributing the meat to the poor.
While a holy, once-in-a-lifetime experience for pilgrims, the hajj is by no means an easy journey. The temperature in Mecca and Mina will be around 107 degrees. Pilgrims walk 3 to 9 miles a day. Long lines and even longer waits can strain even the most patient as they weave through the throngs of people.
For Saudi Arabia, the hajj is the biggest logistical challenge the kingdom faces. Its ruling Al Saud family stakes its legitimacy in part on its management of the holiest sites in Islam.....
This from one of the most brutal governments on the face of the planet, the funders of terrorism, the third part of the axis of USrael, etc, etc, etc., but they got oil.
Yeah, everybody loves them and legitimizes them, yup.
This from one of the most brutal governments on the face of the planet, the funders of terrorism, the third part of the axis of USrael, etc, etc, etc., but they got oil.
Yeah, everybody loves them and legitimizes them, yup.
--more--"
What I notice is unless its Judaism, the pre$$ always makes the other religions sound a little nutty.
What I notice is unless its Judaism, the pre$$ always makes the other religions sound a little nutty.
And they are going to be best friends forever!
"Thousands of stranded people were waiting for rescue Saturday, and officials pleaded for more help as relentless monsoon floods battered the south Indian state of Kerala, where more than 300 have died in a little over a week. Heavy rains began hitting parts of the state again Saturday, slowing attempts to deploy rescuers and get relief supplies to isolated areas, many of which have seen no help for days. Sections of Kerala are partly submerged and accessible only by helicopters and boats."
From my Slow Saturday World lead to a buried brief, wow. The coverage evaporated even more quickly than Laos. Instead I get loads of slop from the New York Times.
From my Slow Saturday World lead to a buried brief, wow. The coverage evaporated even more quickly than Laos. Instead I get loads of slop from the New York Times.
"The United States said it was deeply concerned over Vietnam’s conviction of an antigovernment activist last week, calling the trend of harsh sentences of government critics troubling. The State Department urged the communist government to release political prisoners and allow all people to speak and assemble freely without fear of retribution. Le Dinh Luong was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the government."
We are going to need them against China, so knock it off. Cut your CIA guys loose.
We are going to need them against China, so knock it off. Cut your CIA guys loose.
"The leader of the Taliban said Saturday there will be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the foreign ‘‘occupation’’ continues, adding that the 17-year war can be brought to an end only through direct talks with the United States. Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah said the group remains committed to ‘‘Islamic goals,’’ the sovereignty of Afghanistan, and ending the war. But the recent assault by the Taliban on the southeastern city of Ghazni, which killed at least 120 people, has dimmed hopes for a breakthrough."
That is making the assumption we had any.
I take peace talk in a war paper with a grain of salt.
That is making the assumption we had any.
I take peace talk in a war paper with a grain of salt.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"Italy’s leader demands safe roads, as bridge toll rises to 43" by Frances D’Emilio Associated Press August 18, 2018
GENOA, Italy — Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella inspected what’s left of the Morandi Bridge, which broke apart in a fierce rainstorm, sending a long stretch of roadbed crashing 150 feet into a dry river bed near several apartment buildings. Those buildings have been evacuated and local authorities have said they will have to be demolished.
Some say it was a lightning strikes from a violent cloudburst that knock down the bridge and destabilized a populist government that is not very popular in certain quarters. Sure looks suspicious, even if it wasn't sabotage or a weather weapon.
Some say it was a lightning strikes from a violent cloudburst that knock down the bridge and destabilized a populist government that is not very popular in certain quarters. Sure looks suspicious, even if it wasn't sabotage or a weather weapon.
Mattarella didn’t speak at the funeral, held on a national day of mourning, but after the ceremony ended, he told reporters the bridge collapse ‘‘is an unacceptable tragedy.’’
He called the funeral ‘‘a moment of grief, shared grief, by all of Italy.’’
He demanded that ‘‘responsibility be ascertained with rigor’’ for the collapse of the bridge, which linked two major highways, one leading to Milan and the other toward France.
Prosecutors say they are focusing their investigation on possible design flaws or inadequate maintenance of the highway bridge, which was completed in 1967.
‘‘I, too, have traveled over this bridge many times, even recently,’’ said Mattarella, demanding that authorities commit to carrying out their ‘‘duty to guarantee the safety of our roads.’’
The mood at the state funeral was subdued, although families voiced frustration and anger that public infrastructure isn’t safe in Italy.....
Isn't Italy like third on defense spending percentage in Europe regarding NATO?
Seems to be an epidemic in western countries that fight Wars for the Jews.
Isn't Italy like third on defense spending percentage in Europe regarding NATO?
Seems to be an epidemic in western countries that fight Wars for the Jews.
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"GOP fund-raiser investigated over influence-selling scheme" by Carol D. Leonnig Washington Post August 18, 2018
WASHINGTON —The Justice Department is investigating whether longtime Republican fund-raiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence with the Trump administration by offering to deliver US government actions for foreign officials in exchange for tens of millions of dollars, according to three people familiar with the inquiry.
As part of the investigation, prosecutors are scrutinizing a plan that Broidy allegedly developed to try to persuade the Trump government to extradite a Chinese dissident back to his home country, a move sought by President Xi Jinping of China, according to two of the people.
They also are investigating claims that Broidy sought $75 million from a Malaysian business official if the Justice Department ended its investigation of a development fund run by the Malaysian government.
The Malaysian probe has examined the role of the former prime minister in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the fund.
For a minute there I thought he was lobbying on behalf of Israel, but I suppose they don't need that with the family in the White House.
For a minute there I thought he was lobbying on behalf of Israel, but I suppose they don't need that with the family in the White House.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. Christopher Clark, an attorney for Broidy, said: ‘‘Elliott Broidy has never agreed to work for, been retained by nor been compensated by any foreign government for any interaction with the United States government, ever. Any implication to the contrary is a lie.’’
That wouldn't be a first for the U.S. government and Department of JU$TU$, and personal vendettas are not out of their realm, either.
That wouldn't be a first for the U.S. government and Department of JU$TU$, and personal vendettas are not out of their realm, either.
Broidy’s alleged activities were detailed in news reports earlier this year that cited hacked e-mails. The Los Angeles-based venture capitalist, who served as top fund-raiser for the Republican Party and President Trump, has said that allegations against him are an effort by his enemies to smear him.
Hacked e-mails? Whose? By whom? WTF?
For the record, I think the entire ruling cla$$ and its pre$$titutes are scum. I'm not on one side or the other. I just wish they would all vanish from the face of the earth.
Hacked e-mails? Whose? By whom? WTF?
For the record, I think the entire ruling cla$$ and its pre$$titutes are scum. I'm not on one side or the other. I just wish they would all vanish from the face of the earth.
In recent weeks, prosecutors with the Justice Department’s public integrity section — which examines possible political and government corruption — have sought documents related to Broidy’s business dealings.
The Justice Department's public integrity section?!
HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW!!
The Justice Department's public integrity section?!
HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW-HAW!!
That has to be a joke given all we have found out regarding the spying and attempted infiltration of the Trump campaign as well as their covering for the criminal Clinton.
Among the information sought by investigators is details about Broidy’s work on behalf of and interactions with the Chinese and Malaysian officials, according to two people familiar with the document requests.
Among the information sought by investigators is details about Broidy’s work on behalf of and interactions with the Chinese and Malaysian officials, according to two people familiar with the document requests.
As part of their efforts, prosecutors have subpoenaed casino magnate Steve Wynn, the former RNC finance chairman and longtime Trump friend, for copies of records and communications related to Broidy.
OMG, Steve Wynn was mixed up in this!
Did he give as much as Adelson?
OMG, Steve Wynn was mixed up in this!
Did he give as much as Adelson?
An attorney for Wynn, Reid Weingarten, declined to comment, saying only that Wynn is cooperating with the Justice Department.
‘‘Steve Wynn is completely cooperating with the investigation and he certainly has no reason to believe that anyone acted improperly in anything he knew about or was involved in,’’ Weingarten said in a statement.
Wynn was tapped by Trump to serve as the RNC’s lead fund-raiser after the election. Earlier this year, he stepped down from that post and from his executive role at his resort company after reports of sexual misconduct. Wynn has denied the allegations of inappropriate behavior.
The public-integrity probe is the latest legal challenge for Broidy, who helped corral big donors to support Trump’s presidential campaign, throwing a lavish fund-raiser for the then-nominee at his Los Angeles-area home during the 2016 campaign. After the election, he was appointed to serve as a national deputy chairman for the RNC.
That's where the print ended and where the web version continued.
That's where the print ended and where the web version continued.
Broidy sought to parlay his party role and connections to the White House and on Capitol Hill in pitches to foreign governments, according to a person with direct knowledge of his activities.
In April, he resigned from his RNC position in the wake of a report that he had paid a former Playboy model $1.6 million in exchange for her silence about a sexual affair. Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen — another RNC fund-raiser — helped arrange the settlement, Broidy acknowledged.
Do they just make this stuff up?
Why are the paragons of leader$hip lascivious scum?
Do they just make this stuff up?
Why are the paragons of leader$hip lascivious scum?
Cohen is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan who are examining whether he fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in loans and whether his efforts to squash negative stories about Trump during the campaign violated election law.
Broidy’s business dealings captured the attention of investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller III, who asked at least one witness about Broidy’s activities, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It IS a FISHING EXPEDITION!
HOLY $HIT!
It IS a FISHING EXPEDITION!
HOLY $HIT!
Broidy’s attempts to solve high-level headaches for the Chinese and Malaysian governments were first reported this spring by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which cited in part a cache of hacked e-mails.
Broidy has said the documents were stolen by enemies seeking to ruin his reputation.
‘‘This whole narrative is a fabrication driven by hackers who want to undermine me,’’ Broidy said in a statement to the Times.....
Lot of that going around.
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What this looks like is the Department of Justice is still in the hands of the Deep State traitors. That is not to say the fund-raiser isn't scum. He probably is.
WhereTF is Jeff Sessions anyway?
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What this looks like is the Department of Justice is still in the hands of the Deep State traitors. That is not to say the fund-raiser isn't scum. He probably is.
WhereTF is Jeff Sessions anyway?
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"Authorities are expected to file formal charges Monday against a Colorado oil and gas worker who authorities said killed his wife and daughters, and dumped their bodies on the property of Anadarko Petroleum, his employer. Christopher Watts, 33, of Frederick, was arrested after reporting them missing. The victims were identified as Shanann Watts, 34; Bella Watts, 4; and Celeste Watts, 3. Tests are planned to determine how they died (AP)."
"Martha Bishara, an 87-year-old grandmother who emigrated to the United States from Syria decades ago, often cuts dandelion greens near her house. But a recent forage for the greens left her injured after a police used a Taser on her when she would not drop the knife. Police Chief Josh Etheridge, one of three officers who confronted Bishara, said the action was needed to protect officers responding to a 911 call (New York Times)."
Isn't that violence against women?
"A California woman had to drive herself to the hospital and give birth without her husband after he was detained by immigration agents. Maria del Carmen Venegas said she and her husband, Joel Arrona Lara, were driving Wednesday when they stopped for gas in San Bernardino. When agents asked for identification, she was able to provide hers but her husband had left his at home (AP)."
Isn't that violence against women?
"A California woman had to drive herself to the hospital and give birth without her husband after he was detained by immigration agents. Maria del Carmen Venegas said she and her husband, Joel Arrona Lara, were driving Wednesday when they stopped for gas in San Bernardino. When agents asked for identification, she was able to provide hers but her husband had left his at home (AP)."
Yeah, I was wondering where the immigrants were today. They appear in the paper every day.
So how is that firefight going?
"The Satanic Temple placed a statue of a goat-headed creature called Baphomet at the Arkansas State Capitol during a rally to call for the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from Capitol grounds. About 150 Satanists, atheists, and Christians said the monument violates freedom of religion (AP)."
You guys can go to hell, where you can say hello to all the priests and bishops.
The problem is, it is closet satanists that populate the ruling cla$$.
You guys can go to hell, where you can say hello to all the priests and bishops.
The problem is, it is closet satanists that populate the ruling cla$$.
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"Counterprotesters meet Boston Free Speech rally group at City Hall" by Jeremy C. Fox, John Hilliard and Cristela Guerra Globe Correspondents and Globe Staff August 18, 2018
About 30 right-wing activists who had planned a “free speech” rally on Boston’s City Hall Plaza faced off Saturday with about 300 counterprotesters in a war of words that became the latest in the nation’s growing list of vitriolic public political confrontations.
Yup, somebody is trying to stir things up, and it is the same forces playing both sides against the middle.
Not falling for it anymore, so.....
Yup, somebody is trying to stir things up, and it is the same forces playing both sides against the middle.
Not falling for it anymore, so.....
As the rallies ranged from Beacon Hill to the Bunker Hill Monument, participants traded taunts and accusations, but no violence was reported.
Thank God for small favors.
Thank God for small favors.
One counterprotester was led away in handcuffs by Boston police. A department spokesman said no arrests were made but one man was briefly detained as part of an unspecified investigation.
Counterprotesters began rallying outside the State House about 10 a.m., with the goal of disrupting the noontime rally planned by the coalition that organized another “free speech” rally last year that drew an estimated 40,000 counterprotesters.
Members of Stand Against Hate—Boston, the Democratic Socialists of America, Black Lives Matter Boston, and other groups said the right-wing rally was intended to give voice to neo-Nazis.
“They seem to think if they just don’t use swastikas that we won’t notice what they actually believe in,” said Peter Berard, an organizer of the counterprotest. “What we’re trying to do today is we’re trying to show that Boston is no place for their hate.”
As they spew it.
As they spew it.
Police officers monitored the counterprotest and helped organizers guide marchers to City Hall Plaza, where they encountered rallygoers carrying US flags and an anti-Marxist banner. Officers then circled the right-wing activists, using their bodies and bicycles to create a barricade as chanting counterprotesters surrounded them.
This looks like a COMPLETELY STAGED EVENT, folks! Like SO MUCH of what I read. Staged and scripted propaganda so it can then be pushed in the paper!
This looks like a COMPLETELY STAGED EVENT, folks! Like SO MUCH of what I read. Staged and scripted propaganda so it can then be pushed in the paper!
Neither group had city permits for their demonstrations. An organizer of the “free speech” rally said the group had tried to obtain one but to no avail. Berard said his group didn’t need one.
Yeah, the authority and mouthpiece media supported antifa thugs don't need no stinking' permit!
Yeah, the authority and mouthpiece media supported antifa thugs don't need no stinking' permit!
The right-wing rally was intended to be a protest against “far-left violence,” according to Boston Free Speech, the group organizing it.
Brandon Navom, an organizer of last year’s Boston Free Speech Rally, said it was an “absolute lie” that the rallies have racist ties.
Navom sued Mayor Martin J. Walsh for slander last October after Walsh said speakers at the earlier rally included “white supremacists,” “hate group members,” and “neo-Nazis.”
On Saturday, Navom said counterprotesters were trying to block rallygoers from speaking freely.
“We’re trying to have a civil discourse,” he said. “It’s these people who are trying to shut us down.”
But they believe in free speech!
But they believe in free speech!
Rally participant John Camden said news reports that described last year’s violent, racist rally in Charlottesville, Va., as a white supremacist event made him “sick” because only some participants were neo-Nazis.
“Like President Trump says, there were good people on both sides,” said Camden, who wore a T-shirt that read “American Guard New Hampshire.” The Anti-Defamation League has described the American Guard as a white supremacist group.
Camden also has a tattoo on his neck that appears to be a “Wolfsangel,” an ancient runic symbol the ADL describes as “a symbol of choice for neo-Nazis in Europe and the United States.”
The next thing you know they will be complaining about a number!
The next thing you know they will be complaining about a number!
Camden said he was a former white supremacist but changed his stance about two years ago because he concluded that it was a “fallacy” to focus on race, seeing common cause with conservatives regardless of skin color or sexual orientation.
Counterprotesters chanted the names of people killed in confrontations with right-wing extremists, including Heather Heyer the counterprotester killed in Charlottesville, and Rick Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche who were fatally stabbed when they intervened as a man yelled anti-Muslim slurs at two teenage girls.
Martin Henson, of Black Lives Matter Boston, told the crowd that bigotry can wear a familiar face.
“Sometimes the far-right looks like the people next door,” Henson said.
Counterprotesters tied many of the issues they discussed to President Trump’s rhetoric.
“I just find Trump’s actions reprehensible,” said Elena Garofoli, of Roslindale.
Counterprotesters also chanted at police, “Cops and Klan go hand in hand.”
After they got such a nice escort?
What assholes!!
After they got such a nice escort?
What assholes!!
One counterprotester berated a Boston Herald reporter for interviewing Camden.
“There aren’t two sides here,” the man yelled at the reporter. “They’re Nazis.”
Yeah, just keep throwing out the buzzword labels to shut any discussion. Gotcha!
Yeah, just keep throwing out the buzzword labels to shut any discussion. Gotcha!
After more than an hour of shouting, “free speech” rally participants left Government Center surrounded by police and reconvened at the Bunker Hill Monument.
That is because their lives were threatened.
That is because their lives were threatened.
Sadie Jordan, of Boston, tried to shout down speakers at the monument. Jordan wanted to challenge them for encouraging white nationalists to spread their beliefs, she said.
“I want them to know they are not going to scare me,” she said.
And you had nine people behind you for very one of them if you needed help.
And you had nine people behind you for very one of them if you needed help.
Melanie Miller, who was vacationing from Pennsylvania with her family, said they were following the Freedom Trail when they heard a loud voice from the monument.
“I think it’s an interesting display of free speech, and I appreciate that,” she said. “I don’t appreciate that it’s a historical site in Boston that many people would be coming to with their children and their families.”
The simple answer is vacation somewhere else, anywhere else, rather than Bo$ton.
The simple answer is vacation somewhere else, anywhere else, rather than Bo$ton.
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Look at all the controlled opposition idiots.
So how much did they pay you to show up?
Of course, the Globe spots them right away, and I don't want to hear it anymore because they don't listen.
Longtime Suffolk district attorney Dan Conley endorses candidate Greg Henning
Because he won't prosecute antifas?
Because he won't prosecute antifas?
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Of course, they do have $35 million in tax loot for John Henry's minor league ball team.
How does that bite you?
Was it a blue bike?
"A letter from George Washington will be read at the nation’s oldest synagogue to celebrate freedom of religion. The annual reading is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the 255-year-old Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. Touro Synagogue holds an important place in the history of the nation’s commitment to religious liberty. In 1790, Washington visited Touro, then sent its congregants a letter saying the government of the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” The synagogue, dedicated in 1763, is a national historic site that draws tens of thousands of visitors annually."
I'm wondering if Washington knew this:
I'm wondering if Washington knew this:
FLASHBACK:
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday Globe Insults: Jews Were Tory Traitors
And the Zionist AmeriKan MSM is PROUD of the fact -- and you should be, too, AmeriKan!
"The synagogue.... served as a hospital for British soldiers during the Revolutionary War"
Also see:
Here is the SCRUBBED and DISTORTED HISTORY as presented by the Zionist liars that infest AmeriKa's newspapers.
"Historic synagogue opening center" by Eric Tucker, Associated Press | August 2, 2009
NEWPORT, R.I. - The Touro Synagogue.... the oldest existing Jewish house of worship in the United States.
The visitors center details the history of the synagogue, which was dedicated in 1763, but has a broader focus on Colonial Jewish history and culture and the principles that guided the nation’s founding, said David Kleiman, center curator.
Hence, SLAVERY and OPPRESSION, AGGRESSIVE WARS and MASS-MURDER!
“There’s a placement in history of the role that this building has played and, more importantly, the role as a living symbol of the concept of religious freedom, separation of church and state,’’ Kleiman said. “The building and its history are the embodiment of that concept in America.’’
Yeah, it wasn't the FOUNDING FATHERS who were CHRISTIAN and knew the danger of Jews.
"To William Short, August 4, 1820
There are, I acknowledge, passages not free from objection, which we may, with probability, ascribe to Jesus himself; but claiming indulgence from the circumstances under which he acted. His object was the reformation of some articles in the religion of the Jews, as taught by Moses. That sect had presented for the object of their worship, a being of terrific character, cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust. Jesus, taking for his type the best qualities of the human head and heart, wisdom, justice, goodness, and adding to them power, ascribed all of these, but in infinite perfection, to the Supreme Being, and formed him really worthy of their adoration. Moses had either not believed in a future state of existence, or had not thought it essential to be explicitly taught to his people. Jesus inculcated that doctrine with emphasis and precision. Moses had bound the Jews to many idle ceremonies, mummeries and observances, of no effect towards producing the social utilities which constitute the essence of virtue; Jesus exposed their futility and insignificance. The one instilled into his people the most anti-social spirit towards other nations; the other preached philanthropy and universal charity and benevolence.--MORE--"
Hey, my Zionist-dominated curriculum at my state schools never told me that!
Touro Synagogue, designated a National Historic Site in 1946, maintains an active Orthodox Jewish congregation.... Visitors to the center, which is separated from the synagogue by a park, can scroll through hundreds of images and biographies of early-American Jews. Panels detail the origin of the synagogue, its architect, and its founding members. Costumed actors play out scenes of Colonial life in eight video vignettes projected onto glass.
The center’s timeline starts before Rhode Island even had a Jewish community. The first Jewish community in America is generally traced to 1654, when Jews from Recife, Brazil, arrived in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam - today New York City.
Like I give a s***.
In 1658, 15 families of Sephardic Jews traveled to Newport, a bustling waterfront hub in Rhode Island, a colony founded by Roger Williams on the principle of religious freedom.
So THAT is why the HISTORY BOOKS LOVE WILLIAMS -- as opposed to all the Puritanical Puritans of Massachusetts, as related by my Zionist-sponsored history books.
The synagogue was dedicated Dec. 2, 1763, during Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. It served as a hospital for British soldiers during the Revolutionary War and later as a meeting place for the state Legislature and Supreme Court. In August 1790, George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson paid a good-will visit to Rhode Island after it became the last of the 13 original colonies to ratify the Constitution.
That as before Jefferson wised up.
The letter is “one of the great documents in American history,’’said John Loeb, a philanthropist who largely funded the center and was ambassador to Denmark in the Reagan administration.....
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More Jewish pride:
"Jewish venture program to launch in Boston
An organization that attempts to promote innovative and entrepreneurial programs to strengthen the Jewish community is coming to Boston.
PresenTense, a relatively new but buzz-rich organization headquartered in Israel, has been chosen by Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the establishment coalition of Jewish organizational life in Boston, to oversee a new fellowship that will launch in January aimed at helping Jewish young adults with innovative ideas figure out how they might translate those ideas into action. CJP will finance the program, and PresenTense will run it.
Imagine the reaction if you substitued WHITE for JEWISH!
I talked with Karyn Cohen Leviton, director of strategy implementation at CJP, who said the program is still taking shape, but it will involve 10 to 15 part-time (evenings and weekends) fellows in their 20s and 30s who will be chosen for the strength of their ideas for new Jewish social ventures (i.e. programs intended to strengthen the Jewish community in some way).
Yeah, and if that were for WHITES or ANY OTHER GROUP, the JEWS HOLLER RACISM!!!!
They will be offered training on business basics as well as access to potential donors and investors. The fellows will also be offered mentors with experience in launching ventures and will be invited to do something called “board-hopping,’’ which apparently involves observing the boards of venture capital firms and small businesses.
I keep telling you, it ALL COMES BACK to the JEW!!!!
The idea is that some of the fellows will then launch organizations based on some brilliant idea that will address a challenge facing the Jewish community. I asked Cohen Leviton whether there are already too many organizations in the Jewish world- a frequent critique of Jewish communal life in the United States - and she said, “It’s a market economy- some of these [new] ideas could be so good that they should be promoted, and an old one should go away.’’
PresenTense was founded three years ago with a magazine, and it runs a summer institute in Jerusalem for “social innovators’’ - people seeking to launch programs that will improve the world.
So what, DROPPING WMDs on PALESTINIANS was IMPROVING the WORLD, hanh?
I e-mailed Ariel Beery, codirector of the PresenTense Group, in Israelto ask him to explain what the organization is and what it’s doing in Boston. He said that PresenTense “set out to build the Jewish community’s next generation of pioneers, to solve social problems, and inspire the Jewish people,’’ and that, “In order for us to fulfill our mission to grow pioneers, we have recognized that we need to work with the community to build new infrastructure for the Jewish people to address social problems and inspire innovation - and we can’t think of a better place to start our state-side fellowships than Boston.’’
Your MISSION, huh?
"The machine’s purpose is to eventually cull the herd, to slaughter 5/6 of the world’s population (“the useless eaters”) and to enslave the rest under a Talmudic empire"
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Didn't I say they are at the BOTTOM of every agenda-pushing looting, 'er, issue?
Truly, I am sick of the Zionist superiority complex: Rosenberg
Related:
That enough on your plate?
Sorry to turn my back on you, but Globe has literally become a cartoon.
UPDATE: New England stakes its claim in New Space
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Sorry to turn my back on you, but Globe has literally become a cartoon.
UPDATE: New England stakes its claim in New Space
