[HotAir] More than 250 people have been charged thus far as a result of the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill. Most are facing multiple, serious felony charges that could result in lengthy jail terms. More are expected to be arrested as the investigation continues. One thing that most of the suspects have in common is a serious problem when it comes to attempting to mount a legal defense. There are literally hundreds of videos that have been gleaned from social media providing damning evidence of their actions on that day. Defense attorneys representing many of the rioters have come up with one tactic to try to clear their clients of wrongdoing. They’re blaming former President Trump, saying that he was the one who "summoned" them to the White House and "instructed" them to shut down the count of the electors. Unfortunately for them, judges don’t seem to be buying that defense so far. (News Agency that Dare Not be Named)
The "Trump-made-me-do-it" defense is already looking like a longshot.
Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s instructions on Jan. 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer.
"This purported defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. "And that is not how we operate here."
I would first note that there’s something rather strange about a group of people so dedicated and loyal to Donald Trump that they would travel across the country to attend his rally outside the White House, now turning around and trying to throw him under the bus. People so dedicated to the idea of "stopping the steal" that they were willing to risk injury or death (in at least one case) to defend the President are now casting the blame on him in an effort to avoid jail time.
How many of them were actually Antifa/BLM Black Bloc agitators, and how many others were undercover government agents provocateur? Especially given that almost no one in the crowd joined in the festivities, even of the several hundred who walked over to see what was going on at the Capitol Building..
Heck, even the QAnon Shaman
... who mostly did his thing to acclaim at Antifa protests, and who was described by prosecutors back home as mentally unbalanced...
is getting in on the act. According to the linked report, Jacob Chansley’s attorney submitted an annotated transcript of the speech Trump gave that day, with highlighted passages purportedly showing how the President "instructed" them to stop the electoral college count.
”I heard his voice beamed directly to the new filling in my left bicuspid, yr honormensity,” he added.
#6
How many of them were actually Antifa/BLM Black Bloc agitators, and how many others were undercover government agents provocateur?
Those in power seem to be eagerly and assiduously trying to avoid the answer to this question--As much as SCOTUS is avoiding the issue of fraud in the 2020 election.
#7
I would first note that there’s something rather strange about a group of people so dedicated and loyal to Donald Trump that they would travel across the country to attend his rally outside the White House, now turning around and trying to throw him under the bus.
Hold on, did someone at Hot Air catch scent of the trail?
People so dedicated to the idea of "stopping the steal" that they were willing to risk injury or death (in at least one case) to defend the President are now casting the blame on him in an effort to avoid jail time.
Ah, nope, just sniffing butts again.
Heck, even the QAnon Shaman
is getting in on the act.
[ToloNews] Data collected by TOLOnews shows that 270 civilians and security force members were killed and 173 more were maimed in various security incidents across the country in February.
The findings show that 166 security incidents, including magnetic IED blasts, roadside kaboom blasts, assassinations and Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... offensives, occurred in Afghanistan in February.
The data shows that the February casualties are slightly less than what was reported by TOLOnews in January.
This comes as the fate of the grinding of the peace processor is uncertain and concerns over the coming spring "fighting season" are elevated.
TOLOnews' data was confirmed by independent sources to prepare this report.
In January, TOLOnews findings indicated that 271 people were killed and 347 others were maimed in the country in January.
According to the findings, most of the security incidents were due to magnetic IED blasts and assassinations in big cities, including Kabul, Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , Kandahar and Faryab.
Despite a decrease in magnetic IED blasts and assassinations in the last two weeks, reports indicate that the fighting might increase with the arrival of the spring season.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his heavily sweating face ... Afghan Republic negotiator Nader Nadery says that 1,523 civilians, including civil society activists, have been killed in the country following the Doha agreement.
[ToloNews] Afghan and Ottoman Turkish officials at a ceremony in Kabul marked 100 year anniversary of Afghanistan-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... relations, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar said he hopes Turkey will continue its support for Afghan peace efforts so that a regional consensus is formed around the process.
Atmar said that Turkey has had a key role in counterterrorism and peace efforts in Afghanistan post-2001.
"Turkey can play a key role in bringing political consensus over Afghanistan," Atmar said.
In response to a question about his possible removal from the ministry, Atmar said the government is acting based on a political agreement.
"We are serving in the government based on an important political agreement and for the government’s agenda which is establishing peace in the country," he said. "If there is any doubt in this case, we will be informed first."
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke... the Ottoman Turkish ambassador in Kabul, Oguzhan Ertugrul, said he hopes the ongoing violence ends in Afghanistan and that his country will continue its cooperation with Afghanistan after a peace deal.
"Developments in Afghanistan are closely related to security and stability in our region. We’re closely following the situation in friendly and brotherly Afghanistan. We wish success for the grinding of the peace processor that aims to end the conflict which has been ongoing for more than 40 years in this country," the Ottoman Turkish envoy said.
Today marks the centennial anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Afghanistan. Ankara Government was officially recognized today by Afghanistan through the Treaty of Alliance signed on March 1, 1921.
Turkey hosts over 200,000 Afghan refugees and thousands of Afghan students.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2021 00:00 ||
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[KhaamaPress] The US government spent more than $2.4 billion on capital assets that were unused or abandoned, were not used for their intended purposes, had deteriorated, or were destroyed, a US watchdog says in a new report released on Feb. 24.
US watchdog in its report says, United States has spent more than 2.4 billion on unused or abandoned capital assets.
US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported that of nearly $7.8 billion in capital assets $2.4 billion is wasted and had not been used for intended purposes, the assets remained unused, abandoned, or were destroyed.
According to SIGAR more than $1.2 billion out of the $7.2 billion in assets were used as intended, and $343.2 million out of the $7.8 billion were maintained in good shape.
“If the United States is going to pay for reconstruction or development in Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world, first make certain the recipient wants it, needs it, and can sustain it. Secondly, make certain before you spend the money there is proper oversight to prevent this type of waste.”
— Special Inspector General John F. Sopko
SIGAR stratified sample of 60 assets, costing $792.1 million from loss of all funded capital assets evaluated in its prior reports for a follow-up assessment to collect more recent data about assets’ use and condition.
SIGAR found that 37 of the 60 capital assets inspected were being used as intended, including several that were previously unused or abandoned.
The US watchdog’s findings indicated that 37 of the 60 capital assets are used as intended, Ten of which were used but not as intended, nine were unused or abandoned and three are still under construction.
An additional 50 capital assets had deteriorated or continued to deteriorate since their last assessment, SIGAR reported.
91 percent of total costs of all 60 assets in the sample went towards assets that were not used abandoned, deteriorated, or destroyed.
The defects were found in the assets and major infrastructural damages were also reported, around 213 sites had issues like structural damage to exterior war, siding, roofs, window and door damages, missing hardware, damaged lights and other electrical issues, defected wiring increased risk of electrocution and fire, broken and missing appliances, lack of heavy machinery, water damage (mildew or mold), broken and leaky pipes, damaged bathroom fixtures and many blocked drains.
Based on prior reports and the 60 follow-up inspections, SIGAR identified the five most common reasons why capital assets were generally not used.
The most common reason found after 60 follow-up inspections was that money spent on capital assets was wasted and that afghan beneficiary lacked the resources or capabilities they needed to operate and maintain these assets.
Special Inspector General John F. Sopko said in the report that "SIGAR’s work reveals a pattern of US agencies pouring too much money, too quickly, into a country too small to absorb it."
"The fact that so many capital assets wound up not used, deteriorated, or abandoned should have been a major cause of concern for the agencies financing these projects.
"The lesson of all of this is two-fold. If the United States is going to pay for reconstruction or development in Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world, first make certain the recipient wants it, needs it, and can sustain it. Secondly, make certain before you spend the money there is proper oversight to prevent this type of waste," he added.
#1
Honestly, It's a drop in the bucket, and we should have left 3 yeras ago, thrown the keys on the counter , opened the door, gotten on a plane, pissed out the window, and left.
#US President Joe Biden's administration announces its so-called new approach to #SaudiArabia, calling it a “recalibration” in order to make the bilateral relationship more sustainable.https://t.co/fT55jUp4eJ
Posted by: Fred ||
03/02/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm surprised this guy even knows where Soddy Abracadabra is on the map, maybe he thinks its Cleveland. This BS has been ongoing since 2001, and the establishment of staging areas for the invasion of Iraq under Bush league.
Now we have Dementia Joke at the stern tiller, trying to navigate Middle Eastern Politics, with a compass he may have hune from a bar of Ivory soap, when in even the best of time Mohammadan geopolitics is of unfathomable illogical scope.
Go ahead recalibrate, you and your advisors will fail, this is an Alt-alt-world and you're not equipped to handle it.
#9
This, like veiled insults towards Israel, are the marks of ValJar’s return. Unless the Kalorama Bunker Complex has a SCIF with high volume comms now that she is back, good surveillance will eventually find her frequently in the EOB.
— Alghadeer English (@alghadeertv_eng) March 1, 2021
#Armenia’s PM #Pashinyan says he will be ready to hold snap parliamentary elections if the opposition agrees to certain conditions, according to the Interfax news agency.https://t.co/1p5rG6ZNLI
Portland #antifa activist Laura Jedeed pretended to be a Republican and attended @CPAC, where she spoke to people to gather material. Jedeed has gained a large far-left following on Twitter for her propaganda work on the Portland antifa riots last year. #CPAC2021pic.twitter.com/XsuNfG7Vw8
[PJ] New evidence linking Turkish president Erdogan to Islamic terrorists has just emerged.
Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, a longtime friend and colleague of Erdogan, who was recently elected chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s provincial organization in Istanbul, has deep links to a Turkish terrorist group responsible for the 2003 attacks that killed 58 people in Istanbul.
Based on court documents published today, March 1, 2021, Kabaktepe "was monitored by police intelligence over his alleged links to the Muslim Youth Organization (Musluman Genclik Örgutu), a group that functioned as a breeding ground for armed jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda." A wiretap that monitored Kabaktepe’s communications as far back as 2011 was submitted to court as evidence that he "was linked to the Muslim Youth terror group."
The Muslim Youth Organization first emerged around 1985 and was led by a "radical" named Tahir Gul. Its primary goal is "to set up a religious shariah state and dismantle the secular and democratic structure of the country’s governance."
More telling of its intentions and motives, three of the Muslim Youth Organization’s members were not only arrested in connection with a 2003 al-Qaeda terror attack in Istanbul—where 58 people were killed during the bombings of two synagogues, the British Consulate General, and an HSBC bank—but they had met with then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and "were part of the five-member secret Shura Council (consultative body) that was involved in every step of the planning of the attacks. They were in the senior leadership of al-Qaeda’s Turkish network and were sending candidates for arms and explosives training in Afghanistan."
Although Kabaktepe ran this very same Muslim Youth Organization/jihadi breeding ground, "Kabaktepe appears to have escaped the long arm of the criminal justice system and law enforcement"—and has now been rewarded as chairman of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party’s provincial organization in Istanbul—"thanks to the political cover provided by Erdogan," his longtime sponsor (pictures of them together go back to the early 1990s).
[DailyTimes.pk] The Istanbul—Islamabad freight train will resume operations from this week after a gap of nine years, connecting the three countries of Pakistain, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... and Iran, a bigwig has confirmed.
Since the train will complete the one-side trip in 12 days, it is expected to reach the Islamabad dryport on March 16. "Pakistain Railways also plans to resume this train operation from 19th, as it is currently booking cargo for Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Turkey," the official added.
According to the Pakistain Railways, the first train from Islamabad to Istanbul was inaugurated on August 14, 2009.
So far eight trains have been dispatched from Pakistain to Turkey, with the last leaving the Lahore dryport on November 5, 2011, Dawn news reported.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2021 00:43 ||
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#Iran says the United States should lift sanctions first if it wants to hold talks with Tehran to salvage the 2015 nuclear #deal with world powers that former President Donald Trump abandoned.https://t.co/FzYs7T7OKVpic.twitter.com/oSlb1LnDdz
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
