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Russia sends 47th humanitarian aid convoy to Donbass, as well as New Year's presents for children and the elderly


Sputnik
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 21:11 UTC
russia aid donbass
© Sputnik/ Sergei Pivovarov
The Russian Emergencies Ministry has sent its 47th humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine's southeastern regions, the ministry's press service informs.

"At 04:00 Moscow time [01:00 GMT], over 100 vehicles left the Donskoy rescue center of the Emergencies Ministry in the [Russian] Rostov region in the direction of the Russia-Ukraine border," a ministry spokesperson said early on Thursday.

The convoy is carrying over 1,100 tonnes (metric tons) of aid, as well as New Year presents for children and the elderly. The convoy vehicles will split into two groups at the border with Ukraine - one will go to Donetsk, while the other one will go to Lugansk.

Ukraine's southeast has been severely affected by Kiev's special military operation, launched in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.

Donbass residents have also been affected by an economic blockade, imposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in November 2014.

Overall, Russia has delivered more than 56,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine's southeast since August 2014.

Comment: The rest of the world may have forgotten, but Russia hasn't. The citizens of the Donbass region are still in need of humanitarian aid due to the efforts by the US-controlled Kiev government to destroy the pro-Russian region.

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Attention

Unbelievable! Poll finds 30% of GOP voters want to bomb Aladdin, 25% support Muslim internment camps

Jana Kasperkevic
The Guardian
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 20:24 UTC
Donald Trump
Almost one-third of Republican primary voters would support bombing the fictional kingdom of Agrabah, according to a report released by Public Policy Polling on Friday.

More than 530 Republican primary voters were polled this week on their support for Republican candidates and foreign policy issues including banning Muslims from entering the US, Japanese internment camps from the second world war and bombing Agrabah, the kingdom from Disney's animated classic, Aladdin.

In its poll, Public Policy Polling asked the 532 Republicans: "Would you support or oppose bombing Agrabah?" While 57% of responders said they were not sure, 30% said they supported bombing it. Only 13% opposed it.

Comment: The lunatics have spoken, and their numbers are growing along with their depravity. Also see:
People, we are really screwed. Yeah, I wish I had more of an answer other than just trying to wake people up and make them aware. In previous years, the problem was that there were still way too many people unwilling to rock the boat. And way too many people who were so stressed on 911 that they easily converted to the neocon explanation that day. Now, we see that the programming is almost complete. The number of people who have been able to resist Transmarginal Inhibition breakdown that is being applied to the masses of humanity on a daily basis is getting smaller and smaller and those who have been broken and converted is getting larger and more vocal. It's almost all over but the crying.

Knowledge and Freedom: Antidote to the rising fascism


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Christmas Tree

After 20-hour-long standoff with an empty house, cops vent their frustration on a single mother's home and Christmas tree

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:35 UTC
cops demolish christmas tree
On Tuesday, Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves and his heroic team of militarized storm troopers descended on the home of a single mom and her five kids. Upon removing the mother and her five children from the house, police entered into a 20-hour-long standoff — with the empty house.

According to Sheriff Groves, police were looking for Doug Alexius, a suspect wanted on a misdemeanor count of assaulting a law enforcement officer and another drug-related charge. Upon entering the home, the team used a 'hi-tech' and expensive infrared camera that showed them Alexius was hiding in the attic. Incorrectly believing Alexius was in the attic, they backed out and a 20-hour long standoff ensued.

"Time is on our side," the sheriff said during their heated standoff with an empty house. "We have the luxury of being able to rotate officers out. At some point, he's going to have to come out of there."

After not breaking things or killing anyone for 19 hours, the officers became restless, said to hell with the Sheriff's strategy of waiting for him to come out, and proceeded to storm the home.

A SWAT truck with a battering ram attached was used to poke holes and tear apart the house in an attempt to drive the nonexistent suspect out. As deputies became unable to find him, they began taking their frustration out on couches, beds, lamps, clothing, toys, and even the family's Christmas tree was ripped through a window and smashed to bits.

Comment: What was the point in destroying the rest of the house when the only place they needed to investigate was the attic? How is it that this sheriff can claim that his officers acted in the best possible manner when to add insult to injury they unnecessarily destroyed the family's Christmas tree? What infuriating incompetence!

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Eye 1

A secret catalogue of government gear for spying on your cellphone


The Intercept
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 18:15 UTC
Surveillance Catalog
© The InterceptSurveillance Catalog
The Intercept has obtained a secret, internal U.S. government catalogue of dozens of cellphone surveillance devices used by the military and by intelligence agencies. The document, thick with previously undisclosed information, also offers rare insight into the spying capabilities of federal law enforcement and local police inside the United States.

The catalogue includes details on the Stingray, a well-known brand of surveillance gear, as well as Boeing "dirt boxes" and dozens of more obscure devices that can be mounted on vehicles, drones, and piloted aircraft. Some are designed to be used at static locations, while others can be discreetly carried by an individual. They have names like Cyberhawk, Yellowstone, Blackfin, Maximus, Cyclone, and Spartacus. Within the catalogue, the NSA is listed as the vendor of one device, while another was developed for use by the CIA, and another was developed for a special forces requirement. Nearly a third of the entries focus on equipment that seems to have never been described in public before.
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Sheriff

Off-duty NYC cop verbally and physically assaults lesbian couple for no reason, then lies to get them arrested

Travis Gettys
Raw Story
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:31 UTC
Stephanie Dorceant
Stephanie Dorceant (YouTube)
A Brooklyn woman said a New York City police officer hurled homophobic slurs before attacking her and falsely arresting her.

Stephanie Dorceant and her ex-girlfriend filed a federal lawsuit Monday, two weeks after the 29-year-old was cleared of all charges in the case, reported the Huffington Post.

Dorceant and her then-girlfriend were walking back to their apartment in the Flatbush neighborhood when an off-duty officer, Salvator Aquino, bumped her from behind.

She asked Aquino, who was not in uniform, whether he was "alright" — but her suit accuses him of responding with an obscenity and homophobic slur.

"Mind your own business you f*cking dyke," the officer allegedly told her.

Dorceant said Aquino then punched her in the face several times, choked her and continued to use anti-LGBT slur.
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Eye 1

Two dead children found stuffed in plastic containers in commercial storage unit, connected to ongoing investigation of child abuse and torture

Lauren Walker
Newsweek
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:08 UTC
Redding commercial storage facility
© Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight/APA commercial storage unit facility is shown on December 15, where two children were found dead in Redding, California.
A California coroner's office completed the autopsies of two dead children found in a Northern California storage unit in a case that has required the coordination of law enforcement agencies across three counties, the Salinas Police Department said in a press conference on Thursday. Authorities are now confident that the bodies are 3-year-old Delylah Tara and 6-year-old Shaun Tara, and that the children died from ongoing abuse.

The case began on December 11 when the Plumas County Sheriff's Office received a call requesting that they check on the welfare of a 9-year-old girl in the town of Quincy. When police arrived at the apartment, they discovered a severely injured 9-year-old girl laying on the floor of a locked car parked outside. The girl weighed around 40 pounds, had multiple fractures in her fingers and shoulder, had a dislocated jaw and, according to The Plumas County News , had open sores and was infested with lice.

Authorities also discovered two 12-year-old twins, who police said were "not in the same condition" as the girl, and placed them in foster care. Plumas police arrested Tammy Joy Huntsman, 39, and her companion Gonzalo Curiel, 17, who they say were both abusing the child, and charged them with felony child abuse, torture and mayhem. Their bail is set at $1 million.
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Eye 1

California community theater actor convicted of killing and dismembering neighbor, then killing another in an attempt to cover up the crime

Victoria Cavaliere
Reuters
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 15:58 UTC
Daniel Wozniak
© JOSHUA SUDOCKDaniel Wozniak sits in court during a September hearing at the Orange County Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
A California community theater actor was found guilty on Wednesday of killing his neighbor in a plot to drain his bank account, then slaying the man's friend to try and cover up the crime, according to court records and media reports.

The Orange County jury that convicted Daniel Wozniak, 31, will now decide whether he should face the death penalty for the murders, court records show.

Wozniak had sought to steal thousands of dollars from his neighbor, Army veteran Samuel Herr, 26, when he lured him from his Costa Mesa home in 2010 and fatally shot him, cutting off his head and arm and dumping the body parts in a Long Beach park, the Orange County Register reported.

Hours after Wozniak killed Herr, he performed in a musical and a local community theater, the newspaper said.

In an attempt to cover up the murder, prosecutors said Wozniak shot and killed Herr's friend, Juri Kibuishi, 23, hoping police would believe the Army veteran had acted in a jealous rage and then fled, the Register said.

During the trial, prosecutors said Wozniak was deeply in debt and trying to fund his wedding when he targeted Herr, who had $62,000 saved up from his service in Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Wozniak, who was represented by public defenders, had unsuccessfully sought to get the possibility of a death sentence taken off the table.

The penalty phase is set to begin Jan. 4, court documents said.
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Robot

John McAfee warns of war involving cyberattacks by ISIS that's "more devastating than any nuclear war"


RT
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 17:01 UTC
John McAfee
© Jorge Dan Lopez / ReutersJohn McAfee
Every presidential contender says they want to destroy Islamic State, but John McAfee is the only one predicting a war involving cyberattacks, not conventional weapons. "We have to prepare ourselves" for an enemy that is "far more clever," McAfee told RT.

Not many people know John McAfee is running for president, but possibly even fewer understand the scope of the war against Islamic State (IS, formely ISIS/ISIL) the way he does.

When asked if Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's strategy against IS was reasonable, McAfee answered, "No, absolutely not." That's an answer most other rivals would agree with, but to McAfee, it's not about where and how to use the military. To defeat ISIS, America must face its own "cyber illiteracy" and other faults before engaging in what he purports to be the next World War - a cyber war.

"They are far more clever in cyber sciences than we ever gave them credit for," McAfee said of IS in an interview with RT. The candidate who created his own political brand, the Cyber Party, went on to describe the terrorist group's Amaq news application for smartphones.

"It's basically the ISIS propaganda application which runs on Android machines. We managed to get a copy of that application. It was very difficult, because ISIS distributes the app secretly through email attachments and message attachments asking their followers to pass it on in a like manner."
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People

If Germany makes right decisions the spring of 2016 will see housing boom for refugees


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:46 UTC
Housing refugees Germany
© AP Photo / Sebastian Kahnert
The issue of whether or not to provide thousands of refugees with permanent accommodation is almost sure to come to the fore in Germany in 2016; if the answer is yes, a construction boom may follow, according to the German news network Deutsche Welle.

The coming year will see up to 400,000 refugees look for free accommodation in Germany, where the authorities will certainly have tougher times ahead trying to resolve the issue, according to the German news network Deutsche Welle.

DW quoted expert Matthias Günther from the Hanover-based Eduard Pestel Institut as saying that at least 770,000 economy-class apartments related to the economy-class segment are slated to be constructed in major German cities before the end of 2020, a task that Deutsche Welle said is unlikely to be implemented.

Comment: Good idea - get those people out of the 'camps' as soon as possible.

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Info

Trump responds to Putin's compliment: 'Great honor'


RT
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 13:59 UTC
Republican U.S. presidential candidate businessman Donald Trump
© Mike Blake / Reuters
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump responded to Vladimir Putin's comment, in which the Russian president called Trump "the absolute front-runner," stating that it was a "great honor" to receive praise from a "highly respected" leader like Putin.

"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

Putin praised Donald Trump on Thursday for wanting deeper ties with Russia and described him as the "absolute front-runner in the presidential race."

"He is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that... He is the absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it," Putin said during his traditional end-of-year Q&A session with journalists.
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