1. #2101
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Quote Originally Posted by SalesServiceGuy View Post
    ... just as I thought Slimslob made up a false claim that Nancy Pelosi carries a concealed weapon.
    You are full of it.. in no way did I confirm that for you.
    Stop your liberal bullshit.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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    IT Manager 10,000+ Posts bsm2's Avatar
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    It is time to end America's longest war': Biden announces full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

  3. #2103
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Quote Originally Posted by Phil B. View Post
    You are full of it.. in no way did I confirm that for you.
    Stop your liberal bullshit.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
    ... the message was not for you.

  4. #2104
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Quote Originally Posted by bsm2 View Post
    It is time to end America's longest war': Biden announces full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

    .... 20 years at war, no end in sight! President Biden made the wise decision to refocus those military resources on the four axis of evil in the world. Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Time to bring the troops home!

  5. #2105
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Quote Originally Posted by SalesServiceGuy View Post
    .... 20 years at war, no end in sight! President Biden made the wise decision to refocus those military resources on the four axis of evil in the world. Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Time to bring the troops home!
    I said this month ago that if Biden was elected that ISIS would come back. It's true.
    I


    Islamic State is back and this time the west is ill-prepared to take it on Hassan Hassan

    Over the last two months, Islamic State has carried out a series of large-scale and coordinated attacks in parts of Syria and Iraq. The spike in attacks has renewed fears about the group’s resurgence, a year after the collapse of its physical caliphate in eastern Syria and only six months after the killing of its former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The heightened activity is especially worrying because the conditions that have made it possible appear set to worsen in the coming months.


    Isis has never ceased attacks in the two countries since the loss of its territories, but the recent operations are particularly bad news. Aside from the attacks, for example, reports from the ground consistently suggest that the group has had greater visibility and mobility this year in villages and suburbs across Iraq and Syria.

    The way in which some of the attacks were conducted also indicates that the group has access to information about troop movements and individuals it seeks to target. Such trends are usually early signs that the group has established roots, carved out space for itself and built the infrastructure necessary to launch attacks.


    This recovery is recent, and follows at least a year of weakness in both countries, due to the loss of Isis centres in Mosul and Raqqa and the intense military campaigns against it. This weakness reached its lowest point with the killing of Baghdadi in October. The group seemed unable to carry out revenge attacks for the killing of its self-proclaimed caliph, or to exploit significant openings such as the US announcement that it was withdrawing its troops from Syria, which was followed by Turkey’s invasion of parts of the north.


    Warnings that such events would open the door for the group to re-emerge did not transpire. Several months later, though, the group rebuilt its capabilities and became more active – the most active since the collapse of its caliphate. This time lag between decreased pressure and the ability to rebound matters because it reveals precisely how Isis could be put back in its box.


    It took Isis some time to regenerate because the sustained military pressure against it had prevented it from quickly seizing clear openings such as the chaos that followed the American withdrawal – which was later reversed – and the Turkish invasion. The pressure had been building steadily against Isis since the recapture of Mosul in 2017 and Raqqa in 2018, and the US-led forces largely focused on clearing operations in abandoned villages, mountains and deserts to ensure a more enduring defeat of the organisation. It would have been hard to contain the organisation had it been “ready” to attack when such opportunities presented themselves in October.

    The steady pressure was disrupted by a chain of events in both countries, paving the way for Isis to return. The initial US withdrawal from Syria caused its allies on the ground, the Kurdish-dominated forces, to seek the help of Russia and the regime in Damascus to prevent Turkey from taking over. Even after the US reversed its decision to withdraw, part of the third of Syria previously controlled by the international coalition became shared with the Russians. The damage was already done, as the international mandate against Isis shrank in both territory and influence.


    In Iraq, too, mass protests in Iraq in October triggered several events and raised the political temperature in the country. The protests in central and southern Iraq forced the government to resign and led to political stagnation that lasted until two weeks ago, when political parties agreed on a new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi.


    The protests, which sometimes included an anti-Iran tone, also added to the tensions between the US and Shia forces in the country. Attacks and counter-attacks, by the US and Iranian proxies, ultimately led to the killing of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and the prominent Shia militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.


    Despite what seemed like a perfect storm, Isis could not expand its influence until recently. The earliest notable attack happened on 9 April, between the group and Syrian regime forces near Palmyra in the Syrian desert. The attack appeared sophisticated, as the group ambushed regime forces and clashed with them for several hours. Later that month, Isis conducted several attacks in Kirkuk, Diyala and Salah ad-Din. Such attacks included the attempted storming of the counter-terrorism and intelligence directorate in Kirkuk, and several coordinated attacks in Salah ad-Din. The attacks were among the most sophisticated in years.


    Isis clearly benefited from the security vacuum and decreased pressure in both countries. As Isis establishes a foothold, it soon becomes hard to weaken it without deeper international engagement. Renewed tactical operations might force it underground but it will not dismantle its networks, because that process requires a patient counter-terrorism strategy that seemed to exist a year ago.


    The recovery of Isis is still new and fragile, and so could be easily reversed if the pressure is restored. However, the problem is that the current trends seem more favourable to Isis than to local forces. Tensions between the US and Iraqi forces also make it harder for the two partners to work in harmony as they did during the fight against Isis in places like Mosul. The US has already withdrawn from several tactical bases in western and central Iraq, in the very areas in which it recently carried out attacks.


    In other words, the chances for further Isis recovery are increasing as the odds decrease for a tougher crackdown led by the US. This pattern is what makes the current phase particularly dangerous. If the pattern continues in the coming months, Isis is likely to become a far greater threat that will be much harder to contain than it is now.


    Hassan Hassan is the director of the non-state actors and geopolitics programme at the Center for Global Policy thinktank, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror




  6. #2106
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyCarpenter View Post
    I said this month ago that if Biden was elected that ISIS would come back. It's true.
    I


    Islamic State is back and this time the west is ill-prepared to take it on Hassan Hassan


    There is no mention by the Biden Administration that they are giving up the fight on ISIS. ISIS will always have the ability to reconstitute itself because its followers are oppressed Muslim people. America can not solve all of the problems in the world. America does have the ability to shoot a missile down anyone's throat at any point in time on short notice, anywhere in the world to remind terrorists they could soon meet Allah!

    Old news!

    Islamic State is back and this time the west is ill-prepared to take it on | Hassan Hassan

    The Guardian · by Hassan Hassan · May 24, 2020

  7. #2107
    IT Manager 10,000+ Posts bsm2's Avatar
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Biden Administration to Impose Tough Sanctions on Russia

  8. #2108
    IT Manager 10,000+ Posts bsm2's Avatar
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    America's race to zero emissions
    Advances mean all new US vehicles can be electric by 2035, study finds
    Cost of batteries to fall and recharge points to increase
    Rapid electrification could save drivers $2.7tn by 2050

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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    US expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking
    By ERIC TUCKER and AAMER MADHANI
    22 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced the U.S. is expelling 10 Russian diplomats and imposing sanctions against dozens of companies and people, holding the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year’s presidential election and the cyber hacking of federal agencies.

    The sweeping measures are meant to punish Russia for actions that U.S. officials say cut to the core of American democracy and to deter future acts by imposing economic costs on Moscow, including by targeting its ability to borrow money.

    Foreshadowed for weeks by administration officials, the actions are certain to exacerbate tensions with Moscow, which promised retaliation

    Sanctions against six Russian companies that support the country’s cyber efforts represent the first retaliatory measures against the Kremlin for the hack familiarly known as the SolarWinds breach. The U.S. on Thursday also explicitly linked the hack to a Russian intelligence agency called the SVR. Though such intelligence-gathering operations are not uncommon, officials said they were determined to act because of the operation’s broad scope and the high cost of the intrusion on private companies.

    The U.S. also announced sanctions on 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere in last year’s presidential election, including by spreading disinformation. U.S. intelligence officials alleged in a declassified report last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president, though there’s no evidence Russia or anyone else changed votes or manipulated the outcome.

    The actions signal a harder line against Putin, whom Trump was reluctant to criticize even as his administration pursued sanctions against Moscow. They are the administration’s second major foreign policy move in two days, following the announcement of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. Until now, President Joe Biden has focused on the coronavirus pandemic and economy in his first months in office.

    The 10 diplomats being expelled include representatives of Russian intelligence services, the Biden administration said. They were selected on the basis “that they were acting in a manner inconsistent with their status in the United States,” a senior official said.

    Other measures are expected as well, though the administration is not likely to announce them. Officials have been advising that their response to Russia would be in ways both seen and unseen.

    MORE STORIES:
    – Top associate of Navalny convicted of trespassing in Russia
    – Ukraine seeks stronger Western backing amid Russian buildup
    – Months after hack, US poised to announce sanctions on Russia
    “These actions are intended to hold Russia to account for its reckless actions. We will act firmly in response to Russian actions that cause harm to us or our allies and partners,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

    But, he added, “Where possible, the United States will also seek opportunities for cooperation with Russia, with the goal of building a more stable and predictable relationship consistent with U.S. interests.”

    The White House also said Biden was using diplomatic, military and intelligence channels to respond to reports that Russia encouraged the Taliban to attack U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan, based on the “best assessments” of the intelligence community.

    Reports of alleged “bounties” surfaced last year, with the Trump administration coming under fire for not raising the issue directly with Russia. The White House did not publicly confirm those reports. “The safety and well-being of U.S. military personnel, and that of our allies and partners, is an absolute priority of the United States,” the White House said Thursday.

    Among the individual companies sanctioned were websites that U.S. officials say operate as fronts for Russian intelligence agencies and spread disinformation, including articles alleging widespread voter fraud in 2020. The individuals who were targeted include Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant who worked with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and who was indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

    Also on the list was the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff, Alexei Gromov, several individuals linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close ties to Russia’s president, nicknamed “Putin’s chef” for serving Kremlin functions, and a number of front companies that U.S. Treasury says help Prigozhin evade sanctions imposed earlier.

    After the sanctions were announced, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that “such aggressive behavior will undoubtedly trigger a resolute retaliation.”

    “Washington should realize that it will have to pay a price for the degradation of the bilateral ties,” Zakharova said, adding that “the responsibility for that will fully lie with the United States.”

    She said the ministry has summoned the U.S. ambassador for a “hard conversation,” but wouldn’t immediately say what action Russia will take.

    President Biden informed Putin that the sanctions were coming earlier this week. Biden administration officials have made clear in their contacts with the Russia side that they are hoping to avoid a “downward spiral” in the relationship, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity following the sanctions announcement.

    The two leaders had a second tense call this week in which Biden told Putin to “de-escalate tensions” following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border, and said the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian intrusions and election interference.

    In a television interview last month, Biden replied “I do” when asked if he thought Putin was a “killer.” He said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin were done. Putin later recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.

    Full Coverage: Russia
    It is unclear whether the new U.S. actions will result in changed behavior, especially since past measures by the U.S. have failed to bring an end to Russian hacking. The Obama administration expelled diplomats in 2016 in response to interference in that year’s presidential election. And though Trump was often reluctant to criticize Putin, his administration also expelled diplomats in 2018 for Russia’s alleged poisoning of an ex-intelligence officer in Britain.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    U.S. officials are still grappling with the aftereffects of the SolarWinds intrusion, which affected agencies including the Treasury, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security departments, and are still assessing what information may have been stolen. The breach exposed vulnerabilities in the private supply chain as well as weaknesses in the federal government’s own cyber defence

  10. #2110
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    Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

    Day by day more info is leaked out about Jan 6th, and it's not good.


    Police Told to Hold Back on Capitol Riot Response, Report Finds - The New York Times


    who gave that order?




    The New York Times



    @nytimes



    Breaking News: The Capitol Police were told not to use their most aggressive tactics ahead of the Jan. 6 riot despite warnings of violence in which "Congress itself is the target," according to a new report by an internal investigator.


    https://twitter.com/i/status/1346939609037615104

    Capital Police open the doors for the protestors:

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1347596278583197698

    The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which “Congress itself is the target.” But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agency’s internal investigator.
    In a 104-page document, the inspector general, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the way the Capitol Police prepared for and responded to the mob violence on Jan. 6. The report was reviewed by The New York Times and will be the subject of a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.
    Mr. Bolton found that the agency’s leaders failed to adequately prepare despite explicit warnings that pro-Trump extremists posed a threat to law enforcement and civilians and that the police used defective protective equipment. He also found that the leaders ordered their Civil Disturbance Unit to refrain from using its most powerful crowd-control tools — like stun grenades — to put down the onslaught.
    The report offers the most devastating account to date of the lapses and miscalculations around the most violent attack on the Capitol in two centuries.







    jesúsf.

    @Jesusf_Malaka




    Little by little the real truth finally rises; The New York Times has finally confirmed what many political observers had been saying about the Capitol riots: It was pre-planned, the Capitol Police knew it was coming, and authorities effectively gave a ‘STAND DOWN ORDER’.



    A couple of months ago the mainstream media thought the idea that the Capitol Police let protestors into the Capitol Building was a “conspiracy theory” but now they’re reporting it as truth 3 months too late.

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