My feelings grow worse each passing day.
- So we now know that a warrant to spy on the Trump team was issued based on media reports.The same media reporting based on information provided by an opposition research firm being paid by the DNC & Hillary Clinton. Congratulations Democrats,you now own the police-state. #MemoDay
- Hillary Clinton is a forest fire who burns down everything she touches. You can now add the FBI and the DOJ to that list. What a disgrace. #MemoDay
That last one really sums it up.
NPR notes:
The document alleges that the FBI and Justice Department relied on the unverified Russia dossiercompiled by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, to obtain court approval for surveillance on former Trump campaign foreign policy aide Carter Page.
Steele was commissioned by the political research firm Fusion GPS, which was hired by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
The memo says the FBI did not inform the court that the DNC and Clinton campaign were paying for the dossier. It also alleges that Steele bore deep animosity toward Donald Trump, didn't want him to be elected and was leaking information to the media that was then used to support the surveillance application before the court.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, February 2, 2018. Bears belong in Iraq, US troops do not and
look at how the US Defense Dept tries to pretend like 8 civilians killed
didn't happen.
There's been a British death in Iraq. The UK Ministry announces.
There's been a British death in Iraq. The UK Ministry announces.
It is with regret that the MOD
must announce the death of Captain Dean Sprouting of the Adjutant
General’s Corps at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on 31st January 2018.
He was serving with Black Watch,
3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. The incident is currently
under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not the result of
enemy activity.
CAPTAIN DEAN SPROUTING
Captain Dean Sprouting joined the
Army in 1989. On the successful completion of his basic training he
joined the Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) before transferring to the Adjutant
General’s Corps (AGC), Staff and Personnel Support (SPS) Branch in
1991. During his twenty-nine years of service, Captain Sprouting had
served in a number of operational theatres including Northern
Yugoslavia, Cyprus and Kosovo.
In 2011 he was awarded the Long
Service and Good Conduct Medal. Having been awarded his Late Entry
Commission, Captain Sprouting joined the Regimental Administration
Office of 3 SCOTS, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland in late
2017 from Headquarters 51st Infantry Brigade and deployed to Iraq on 4
Jan 18 for Op SHADER 6.
Captain Sprouting, of Denny,
Stirlingshire, was a hugely experienced and respected man. In addition
to his operational tours he had served in Sudan, Angola and Germany, and
he had accumulated a huge amount of professional knowledge as a
result. As the Detachment Commander of a small human resources team
Captain Sprouting was responsible for looking after the administrative
support required to maintain 300 British Service Personnel on
operations.
BREAK A British soldier - Captain Dean Sprouting of the Adjutant General’s Corps - has died at a military base in Anbar province, Iraq. Death is under investigation but was not the result of enemy activity, @DefenceHQ has announced
The Iraq War continues.
In part because so much stupidity parades around masked as 'analysis.' Take Peter Van Buren's ridiculous offering on the upcoming elections:
What stands out now is the conspicuous absence of American influence. The two main election candidates are current Prime Minister Abadi, and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Both come from the same Shi'ite Dawa party, and both have close ties to Iran. The names should be familiar. Maliki was the Great American Hope in 2006, and again in 2010, to unite Iraq across Sunni-Shi'ite-Kurdish lines as the bulk of American occupation forces withdrew. Abadi was the Great American Hope in 2014 to do the same as American troops flowed back to Iraq to fight Islamic State.
Saying that in the first year of the war, okay?
In the second, naive?
One month away from the 15th anniversary of the ongoing Iraq War?
Pure stupidity.
The US government's goal has not been unity among Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds.
The US government has repeatedly looked the other way as Iraqi civilians have been under attack and the reason being that this was about oil and control, Peter.
Were you the dumbest member of the US State Dept, Van Buren, or just the most dishonest?
Where has the diplomatic 'surge' been in the last 15 years?
No where.
It has existed.
Because it's of no concern to the US government.
Nouri al-Maliki was tolerated as he persecuted the Sunnis because he was going to give the US government the control it wanted.
Only when he drove Iraq to the brink did he get uninstalled by the US and replaced with Hayder al-Abadi.
The Iraq War continues, in part, because liars keep pretending that there's some grand desire to help the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people don't matter at all to the US government. They never have.
It's why the targeting of Iraq's LGBT could take place. It's why women's rights could be demolished. It's why Hayder's 'disappearing' of Sunnis is overlooked currently.
The US government is fully aware of what takes place in Iraq -- it just doesn't give a s**t.
None of the governments creating the Iraq War did.
My Latest:
Australia bombed and invaded Iraq in 2003, helping unleash the chaos and conflict there today.
It now aims to profit on the bloodshed by flooding region with more weapons.
Australia wants to become a world's top 10 arms exporter.
I think we're all tired of pretending this 'humanitarian intervention' to 'save' Iraq was about anything besides greed and control.
I was 11 when the American occupation of Iraq began and it’s never stopped hurting.
The Iraq War is illegal and it is ongoing.
Gordon Block (WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES) reports, "Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s headquarters will be deploying to Iraq at a 'critical time' for the country’s future, according to the division’s commander."
US troops do not belong in Iraq. Many things do belong -- Iraqis, for example, even bears.
Pedestrians in Basra, Iraq, got quite a shock this morning
A bear escaped from an animal shop and roamed the streets of Basra, Iraq. It was safely captured and returned. abcn.ws/2FCjm7G
Bear shocks pedestrians in Iraq
This grizzly bear was found in Basra Iraq
But US troops do not belong in Iraq.
Today the US Defense Dept announced:
Strikes in Iraq
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Feb. 1, Jan. 31, Jan. 30, Jan. 29, Jan. 28 and Jan. 26, 2018.
So no strikes in Iraq in the last week --
Wait.
What's missing?
January 27th.
Hmm.
Why is that?
From January 27's "It's not 'friendly fire':"
BREAKING: US-led coalition helicopter has killed at least 7 members of #Iraq's armed forces and wounded another 11 after striking a convoy that had just arrested a high-ranking Da'ish commander during a early morning raid in Al-Baghdadi, western Anbar province.
More 'help' from the US, apparently.
AFP states at least 8 people were killed including one woman and, "The friendly fire incident drew swift criticism of the US military presence in Iraq from pro-Iranian figures in Baghdad."
So they offer a list of days with no strikes and ignore January 27th when we all know one strike took place and we all know civilians died.
You can't tell the truth and continue the illegal war.
The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley and DISSIDENT VOICE -- updated:
They need to grow up
9 hours ago
Curiosity
11 hours ago
Beyond the pretty face
11 hours ago
Excellent point
11 hours ago
Toss her overboard
11 hours ago
