Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 30 Sep 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Hiliter

Georgia ballots rejected by machines were later altered by election workers to count

John Solomon, Daniel Payne
Just the News
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 11:21 UTC
Election ballot guy
© AP/Carlos Osorio
Ballot issues
Records obtained by Just the News provide unprecedented glimpse into human adjudication of thousands of ballots, where marks for candidates like Trump were sometimes removed so ballots could count for Biden.

A day after the November election, as Donald Trump and other Republican candidates clung to evaporating leads in Georgia, vote counters in Atlanta were confronted by a paper ballot known only by its anonymizing number 5150-232-18.

A Dominion Voting machine had rejected the ballot on election night because the voter had filled in boxes for both Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, an error known as an "overvote." The machine determined neither candidate should get a tally, and the ballot was referred for human review.

The image of the ballot, obtained by Just the News, shows the voter messily scribbled a large blob in the box to select Trump as president while also putting a thinner check mark next to Biden's name.

At 6:10 p.m. ET on Nov. 4, 24 hours after the ballot was first scanned and rejected by Machine 5150, a panel of humans decided the vote should be awarded to Biden, with the notation "mark removed for Donald J. Trump." You can see that ballot here: 05150_00232_000018_0.pdf

Scores of additional ballots that same day had checks manually removed next to Trump's name as well as many other candidates up and down the ticket — Libertarians, Democrats and write-ins alike — and the votes awarded instead to other candidates.
      Read More...
Airplane

US military relocated 40 Daesh terrorists from prisons to base in NE Syria


Sputnik
Fri, 06 Aug 2021 23:41 UTC
US military
© AP/Baderkhan Ahmad
US Military in Syria
The US military has transported 40 Daesh terrorists from prisons to its base in the northeastern province of Al-Hasakah, Syrian state media reported.

According to the SANA news agency, the terrorists were sent from the prisons of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the US base in the city of Ash Shaddadi. Sources told SANA that the list of the evacuated terrorists included a Daesh spy commander and an explosive-making expert. The United States is reportedly going to use the militants for their own purposes in the region.

US forces have frequently been reported transferring militants to their non-authorised Al-Tanf military base in Homs Governorate. In January, SANA reported that the base, located on the Syrian-Jordanian border, serves as "a sanctuary for the terrorists in the region", where they are supplied with weapons.

This also comes amid earlier reports by Syrian state media of American forces being spotted, on multiple occasions, transporting weaponry and logistics gear from Iraq to Syria and smuggling Syrian oil and wheat, as US-backed rebels remain in control of parts of northeastern Syria, rich in oil and natural gas.
      Read More...
Megaphone

Kim Jong Un's sister blasts S. Korea for military exercises with US


Associated Press
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 20:08 UTC
Kim Yo Jong
© Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP
Kim Yo Jong
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ripped South Korea for proceeding with military exercises with the United States that she said are an invasion rehearsal and warned Tuesday that the North will work faster to strengthen its preemptive strike capabilities.

Kim Yo Jong's statement came after South Korean media reported that the allied militaries will begin four days of preliminary training on Tuesday before holding computer-simulated drills on Aug. 16-26.

Kim said she was given authority to release the statement, implying the message came directly from her brother.

Hours after her comments were published on state media, South Korea's defense and unification ministries said North Korean officials hadn't responded to their calls Tuesday afternoon over inter-Korean hotlines, which had been disconnected for a year before North Korea agreed to reopen them in late July. The Koreas then described the move as a conciliatory gesture.
      Read More...
Footprints

Taliban storm Afghanistan's Farah city near Iranian border


aa.com.tr
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 00:00 UTC
taliban fighter
© screenshot
The Taliban on Tuesday entered Farah city in western Afghanistan, making it the ninth provincial center to be partly or fully captured by the insurgents.

Acknowledging coordinated Taliban assaults on the city which serves as the capital of Farah province, local police spokesman Farooq Khalid told Anadolu Agency that intense clashes between government forces and the Taliban fighters were underway. He claimed that over 80 advancing Taliban insurgents were killed by security forces.

The Taliban, however, claimed to have reached the city center. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed tweeted:
"Two checkpoints were captured near the intelligence and police command center a moment ago, and the 'Mujahideen' launched their attacks on the intelligence and police command center. The battle continues and the 'Mujahideen' advance."
In a major push to repel advancing Taliban from urban centers, the Afghan forces claimed to kill 361 insurgents in air and ground offensives in the past 24 hours.

The Defense Ministry said the operations were conducted in the Nangarhar, Kunar, Logar, Paktia, Paktika, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Sar-e Pol, Helmand, Kunduz, and Baghlan provinces.

Farah became the ninth provincial capital after Qala-e-Nau, Lashkargah, Zaranj, Sheberghan, Kunduz, Taluqan, Aybak, and Sar-e-Pul to have been at least partly overrun by the Taliban.

Comment: See also:



      Read More...
Chess

Thousands of Russian, Uzbek & Tajik troops rehearse turning back enemy offensive on Afghan border amid fears of Taliban incursions


RT
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 20:04 UTC
russian tank
Large-scale wargames have been held in Tajikistan, bringing together soldiers from three former Soviet republics to practice targeting enemy combatants and securing the border with neighboring Afghanistan, as the US withdraws.

On Tuesday, the commander of Russia's Central Military District, which helped to organize the drills, told TASS that the battle simulations were an important part of "protecting our countries from military aggression" in an increasingly unstable part of the world.

"We are completing joint exercises of the armed forces of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation," he said, adding that "for the first time, the use of multiple service branches with massive aviation, reconnaissance and artillery support is being conducted, based on the experience we have gained from the conflict in Syria."
      Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

US has NO mandate in Syria & America's interpretation of international law is 'ridiculous,' says Russian ambassador

Jonny Tickle
RT
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 09:27 UTC
US soldier Syria
© AFP / Delil SOULEIMAN
FILE PHOTO. A US soldier in the Syrian village of al-Hashisha on the outskirts of Tal Abyad town.
Washington has no legal mandate to keep its armed forces in Syria, and the presence of American soldiers in the country contradicts the 2015 UN Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire and a political settlement.

That's according to the Russian embassy in Washington, which responded to a tweet by Wayne Marotto, the official military spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the American campaign in the Middle East to defeat ISIS.

Writing on social media, Marotto said that the US has a "clear mandate under international law" to keep boots on the ground in Syria.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Light Saber

Twitter suspends Rep, Marjorie Taylor Greene for saying COVID-19 vaccines are 'failing'

Nihal Krishan
Washington Examiner
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 17:17 UTC
marjorie taylor greene
© CNN
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been suspended from Twitter for a week for spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, marking the latest battle between Big Tech platforms and politicians over public health related censorship.

Twitter has a five strike policy on COVID-19 misinformation, and Greene is on her fourth strike, which results in a seven-day account lock. The Georgia Republican frequently tweets controversial and misleading anecdotes regarding the coronavirus and vaccines.

"These vaccines are failing & do not reduce the spread of the virus & neither do masks," Greene said in a tweet on Monday night.
      Read More...
Star of David

IDF restricts activation of reservists to COVID-vaccinated or recovered only

Emanuel Fabian
Times of Israel
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 16:56 UTC
IDF israel reservists training
© IDF Spokesperson Unit
Reservist soldiers take part in an IDF drill on March 21, 2017.
Amid surge in coronavirus cases in the military, reserve troops must present Green Pass when arriving for operational activity or training

The Israel Defense Forces will only bring in reserve duty troops who are vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, according to updated guidelines published by the military on Saturday.

The move comes amid a sharp rise in cases among soldiers and employees of the IDF. As of Sunday morning, 637 people in the military, including conscripted soldiers, officers, NCOs and civilian employees, were infected with COVID-19, the IDF said.

That number has nearly doubled since last week when there were just 364 active coronavirus cases in the military.

Comment: With one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, Israel has (unwittingly?) served as one of Big Pharma's test labs, not only for the jab itself, but for testing the imposition of social restrictions. It's not going well. The IDF may yet find itself short-staffed. What a pity . . . . .

      Read More...
Ice Cube

DeSantis suggests freezing pay of school officials who mandate masks for students

Tim Pearce
The Daily Wire
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 00:01 UTC
ron desantis
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' office suggested withholding the paychecks of school administrators that force students to wear masks Monday.

The Republican governor's office said that the State Board of Education had the authority to withhold the paychecks of any school administrators that choose to buck DeSantis' order against school mask mandates. Doing so could avoid harsher financial penalties for those schools, such as stripping entire districts of state funding.

"With respect to enforcing any financial consequences for noncompliance of state law regarding these rules and ultimately the rights of parents to make decisions about their children's education and health care decisions, it would be the goal of the State Board of Education to narrowly tailor any financial consequences to the offense committed," the governor's office told CBSMiami. "For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law."

Comment: DeSantis means business!

See also:

      Read More...
Magnify

US military 'makes history' with landing of modern military aircraft on civilian road on US soil

Justine Lofton
Michigan Live
Fri, 06 Aug 2021 12:18 UTC
US jet highway
Aircraft from the US Air Force and Michigan Air National Guard trained on a highway near Alpena, Michigan, on August 5, marking the first time modern military aircraft had intentionally landed on a civilian road on US soil.

Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two C-146 Wolfhounds took part in the training exercise, which involved the aircraft taking off and landing from the closed stretch of highway.

In this footage, Lt Col Brian Wyrzykowski, the commander of the exercise, said it "represents a new capability...for the United States military. Our adversaries have advanced weapon systems and advanced technology that they can immediately put our forces and our bases and our personnel at risk...we need to be able to operate from austere, unpredictable locations."

Comment: Rather strange claims considering an American highway is not exactly comparable to an 'austere and unpredictable' location, nor how this ability is any match for advanced weapon systems.

MLive reported on August 2nd with more details on the preparations building up to the event:
Crews from several military units will land six aircraft on M-32 near Alpena on Thursday, Aug. 5, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs (DMVA). The highway will be closed for the exercise from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from east of Herron Road to west of King Settlement Road; traffic will be detoured on M-65, Werth Road, US-23 and Ripley Street.

"This is believed to be the first time in history that modern Air Force aircraft have intentionally landed on a civilian roadway on U.S. soil," U.S. Air Force Col. James Rossi, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center commander, said in a statement. "Our efforts are focused on our ability to train the warfighter in any environment across the continuum so our nation can compete, deter, and win today and tomorrow."

The exercise is part of the annual Northern Strike war-readiness training event happening through Aug. 14 at the National All Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), which encompasses the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.

Units participating in the highway landing are the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the Air Force's 355th Wing from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and the Air Force Special Operations Command from Duke Field in Florida. They will land four A-10 aircraft and two C-146 aircraft on M-32 near the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.

The exercise is meant to "demonstrate how active duty and reserve-component units can integrate to project combat airpower in austere environments," according to the release.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft is specifically designed to operate in this kind of location and the ability has already been demonstrated, the release said. In June 2018, A-10s from the Michigan Air National Guard conducted highway landings in Estonia as part of the multinational exercise Saber Strike.


So the only novelty here is that it landed on a US, civilian highway?


Civilians should not gather near the closed roadway and should avoid the landing zones.

Northern Strike is an annual training exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard since 2012. This year, there are about 5,100 participants from three U.S. Army components, U.S. Air Force active duty and guard, U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy components, plus units from the United Kingdom, Latvia and Liberia.

The yearly training exercise simulates "a realistic wartime environment" and focuses on expeditionary skills, command and control, sustainment and joint-integrated fires, according to the DMVA. The program includes exercises that require units from different military branches, and even different countries, to work together in complex, time-sensitive scenarios.
One wonders just why this ability and its demonstration was suddenly deemed necessary?

See also:

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts