Troops surround Baghdad ‘Green Zone’ as embattled Prime Minister Maliki appears to cling to power

• 19 hours ago August 11, 2014 5:58PM

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Security talks to focus on Iraq crisis

US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki not to cause trouble as Washington threw its weight behind President Fuad Masum.

“We stand absolutely squarely behind President Masum (who) has the responsibility for upholding the constitution of Iraq,” he said during his visit to Sydney this week.
“Our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters.”
his comments come after DefenceMinister David Johnston has not ruled out Australia backing up the US in Iraq, warning the situation with ISIL could turn “very nasty” quickly.
“We’re not ruling out providing some backup assistance to the Americans if they go in and deal kinetically with this terrorist organisation,” he told ABC Radio today.
“This ISIL Islamist state terrorist organisation is to be extremely feared and to be taken with great seriousness.
“Who knows what the future holds with these people.

Touch down ... US Secretary of State John Kerry and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop arrive at Sydney International Airport today. Picture: Peter Parks/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

“We are we are ready to assist in whatever way we can should we be asked to assist by the Americans and the Iraqi government.”
The Minister said the situation could turn “very, very nasty” in a “very short space of time”.
“I think anything’s to be expected.
“I don’t believe right minded countries can just sit back and watch atrocities unfold on their nightly television without taking some action.”
Crews are starting to pre-position ready to “slot in” and drop supplies over Mount Sinjar, he said.
Australia is “very good at the art of doing humanitarian drops,” Senator Johnston added, citing the experience of missions over East Timor in the late 1990’s.
The Minister said the potential for airlifts is “still in a planning phase”, with talks being held with the US.
TROOPS SEAL OFF BAGHDAD’S GREEN ZONE
Troops loyal to controversial Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki have sealed off Baghdad’s “Green Zone” as he appeared on national television to denounce his political opponents.
Embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a surprise speech at midnight Iraq time (7am AEST), resisted calls for his resignation and accused the country’s new president of violating the constitution, plunging the government into a political crisis at a time it is battling advances by Islamic State militants.
Al-Maliki is seeking a controversial third-term as prime minister, but the latest crisis has prompted even his closest allies to call for his resignation.
A parliament session scheduled for today to discuss the election and who might lead the next Iraqi government was postponed until August 19.
In the nationally televised speech, al-Maliki declared he will file a legal complaint against the new president, Fouad Massoum, for committing “a clear constitutional violation.”

Presidential power ... New Iraqi President Fouad Massoum, right, meets with Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations envoy to Iraq, at the Presidential Office in Baghdad last month. Source: AP Source: AP

In the hour before his speech, special forces units loyal to his political party reportedly took up positions in key Baghdad locations — including bridges and the international airport.
Al-Maliki, whose Shiite-dominated bloc won the most seats in April elections, accused Massoum - an ethnic Kurd - of neglecting to name a prime minister from the country’s largest parliamentary faction.
President Masum theoretically had 15 days after his July 24 election to pick a prime minister.
Al-Maliki’s Shiite coalition won April polls comfortably but his standing has been undermined by a devastating jihadist offensive launched on June 9 that overran large swathes of Iraq.
Al-Maliki has accused the president of violating the constitution “for the sake of political goals.”
The Prime Minister himself has been repeatedly accused of serving only the interests of his on Shiite faction and actively suppressing the voices and interests of other Iraqi ethnic and religious groups.
The United States has repeatedly pressed for his resignation to allow for the formation of a strong “unity” government to lead the fight against Islamic State advances.

There isn't an actual coup, Baghdad is calm. Maliki has raised the stakes through his statement, it's the Iraqi form of poker (or chicken)
— Sajad Jiyad سجاد (@SajadJiyad) August 10, 2014

POLITICAL TURMOIL
Al-Maliki, speaking on Iraqi TV for the first time since US forces launched air strikes and humanitarian airdrops in Iraq last week, said the security situation will only worsen as a result of Massoum’s actions.
As his forces took position around Iraq’s capital, he accused his political opponents of being the ones conducting a coup.

Popular front ... Iraqis chant pro-government slogans and wave national flags, to show support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. Source: AP Source: AP

“This attitude represents a coup on the constitution and the political process in a country that is governed by a democratic and federal system,” al-Maliki said. “The deliberate violation of the constitution by the president will have grave consequences on the unity, the sovereignty, and the independence of Iraq and the entry of the political process into a dark tunnel.
The political infighting could hamper efforts to stem advances by Sunni militants who have seized a large swath of northern and western Iraq in recent weeks.

Yes Maliki got the votes, but he is not supported by parliament. Not perfect but that's how it works. He can't just hold on & threaten all
— Sajad Jiyad سجاد (@SajadJiyad) August 10, 2014

Shiite power base ... Iraqis chant pro-government slogans and wave national flags, to show support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, during a demonstration in Baghdad yesterday. Source: AP Source: AP

LOSS OF SUPPORT
President Barack Obama warned Americans on Saturday that the new campaign to bring security in Iraq requires military and political changes and “is going to be a long-term project.”
Obama said Iraqi security forces need to revamp to effectively mount an offensive, which requires a government in Baghdad that the Iraqi military and people have confidence in. Obama said Iraq needs a prime minister — an indication that suggests he’s written off the legitimacy of the incumbent, al-Maliki.
Critics say the Shiite leader contributed to the crisis by monopolising power and pursuing a sectarian agenda that alienated the country’s Sunni and Kurdish minorities.
Just hours after al-Maliki’s speech, the US State Department said it “fully supports” the new Iraqi president.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement the US supports the process to select a prime minister “by building a national consensus and governing in an inclusive manner.” She said the US rejects any effort to use coercion or manipulation in the process of choosing a new Iraqi leader.

Fully support President of #Iraq Fuad Masum as guarantor of the Constitution and a PM nominee who can build a national consensus.
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) August 10, 2014

MILITARY ADVANCES
The US air strikes have reinvigorated Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State militants in northern and western Iraq. Kurdish forces retook two towns from the Sunni militants yesterday, achieving one of their first victories after weeks of retreating, a senior Kurdish military official said.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were able to push the militants of the Islamic State group out of the villages of Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 45 kilometres from the Kurdish capital of Irbil, Brigadier Gen. Shirko Fatih said.
The United States launched a fourth round of air strikes Sunday against militant vehicles and mortars firing on Irbil as part of efforts to blunt the militants’ advance and protect American personnel in and around the Kurdish capital.
US warplanes and drones have also attacked militants firing on minority Yazidis around Sinjar, which is in the far west of the country near the Syrian border.
In the Kurdish capital yesterday, the president of the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, said American military support has been effective thus far, but, he added, Peshmerga soldiers require more firepower to defeat the militants.
“We are not asking our friends to send their sons to fight on our behalf,” Barzani told The Associated Press in a brief interview. “What we are asking our friends is to provide us support and to cooperate with us in providing us with heavy weapons that we are able to fight this terrorist group.”

Revitalised defence ... Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position on the front line in Makhmur, some 50 km south of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Source: AP Source: AFP

INTERNATIONAL BACKING
Barzani met yesterday with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who travelled to Baghdad and Irbil pledging France’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid. Fabius also met with al-Maliki and called on Iraqi leaders to unite in the face of the escalating crisis.
“The marching order is solidarity,” Fabius said. He called on Iraqis to form a “government of broad unity so that all Iraqis feel represented and together lead the battle against terrorism.”
A week ago, Al-Maliki ordered the Iraqi air force to support Kurdish forces against the militants, in a rare instance of cooperation between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government, which have for years been locked in disputes over oil and territory.

Great escape ... A Yazidi man carries his sick wife as displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community cross the Syria-Iraq border at Feeshkhabour border point, in northern Iraq, yesterday. Source: AP Source: AP

REFUGEES ESCAPE
Meanwhile, thousands of Yazidi refugees fleeing the militants continued to pour across the border from Syria into Iraq after a weeklong journey through blazing hot mountains. Followers of an ancient religion with links to Zoroastrianism, the Yazidis said the militants had given them the choice of converting to Islam or dying.
As they crossed the border, many Yazidis said they had lost sisters, daughters, young children and elderly parents during the trip. They said militants sprayed gunfire at fleeing crowds, sometimes splitting up families by taking the women and killing the men.

Video from U.S. military airdrop of food, water Aug. 9 for thousands of Iraqi citizens threatened by ISIL in Iraq: http://t.co/vfdPNemugh
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 11, 2014

It was not clear how many Yazidis were missing. In the span of 30 minutes, about a dozen displaced Yazidis approached one journalist, pleading for assistance to find their loved ones.
British officials estimated Saturday that 50,000 to 150,000 people could be trapped on Sinjar Mountain, where they fled to escape the Islamic extremists, only to become stranded there with few supplies.
Britain said its air force has already dropped water containers and solar lanterns over the mountains.
During his Sunday blessing at the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed outrage at the violence aimed at religious minorities in Iraq and called on the world “to stop these crimes.”
He cited “the thousands of people, including Christians, who have been brutally forced from their homes, children who have died from thirst during the escape and women who have been seized.”
He also spoke of “the destruction of religious, historic and cultural treasures.”
In a statement issued Sunday, the European Union said it was “appalled by the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation, with hundreds of thousands civilians, mainly from minorities, fleeing the areas of conflict.”
Some of the militants’ acts “may constitute crimes against humanity and must be investigated swiftly, so that the perpetrators are held accountable,” the EU said.

#Iraq: Once pro-Maliki @StateofLaw now describing his latest moves as a "military coup" https://t.co/s2lWH39yVP
— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) August 10, 2014

#BreakingNews Eyewitnesses: More army enforcements and hundreds of soldiers are now being deployed across all of #Baghdad. #Iraq #ISIS
— Rami (@RamiAlLolah) August 10, 2014

Scary reports from Baghdad. Special Forces out in force, Green Zone shut down. Heavy military presence outside Presidential palace & ISCI HQ
— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) August 10, 2014

BREAKING: Possible Military Coup Rocks Iraq

by Thomas Ferdousi • August 10, 2014

Iraq’s parliament just chose a new President who refused to rename Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki to a third term. Maliki declared the move unconstitutional and his own State of Law Party pulled support from him. Now his forces are seizing government buildings in Iraq, have closed the airport, and are surrounding the Green Zone.
His speech refusing to step down occurred at midnight and was followed by the military action.

ائتلاف دولة القانون يواصل مشاورات مكثفة مع كل الأطراف السياسية والمرجعية لتخليص البلاد من المأزق الدستوري ومن انقلاب المالكي العسكري
— State of Law (@StateofLaw) August 10, 2014

State of Law coalition continue intensive consultations with all political parties and the reference to rid the country of the constitutional impasse and al-Maliki’s military coup.

حياة القيادات السياسية في البلاد في خطر ونناشد الشعب العراقي عدم الإصغاء الى من يتشبث بالمنصب — State of Law (@StateofLaw) August 10, 2014

The lives of political leaders in the country is in danger and we appeal to the Iraqi people not to listen to cling to the job

Rumour mill is spinning wildly in baghdad. people are saying that there was just an explosion in president’s compound
— Zaid Al-Ali (@zalali) August 10, 2014

Scary reports from Baghdad. Special Forces out in force, Green Zone shut down. Heavy military presence outside Presidential palace & ISCI HQ
— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) August 10, 2014

UPDATE: Maliki calls for the arrest of the President of Iraq, a Kurd. This will lead to Kurdish indpendence.

#BreakingNews #Maliki: Fuad Masum, will be tried on charges of conspiring against the Constitution..! #Iraq #ISIS
— Rami (@RamiAlLolah) August 10, 2014

The One Question About Ebola That Nobody Can Seem To Answer

(by Michael Snyder, The American Dream) -- How in the world is it possible that more than 170 health workers have been infected by the Ebola virus?  That is the one question about Ebola that nobody can seem to answer.  The World Health Organization is reporting this as a fact, but no explanation is given as to why this is happening.  We are just assured that Ebola “is not airborne” and that getting infected “requires close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person”.  If this is true, then how have more than 170 health workers caught the disease?  These workers are dressed head to toe in suits that are specifically designed to prevent the spread of the virus.  So how is this happening?  I could understand a handful of “mistakes” by health workers, but this is unlike anything that we have ever seen in the history of infectious diseases.  These health workers take extraordinary precautions to keep from getting the virus.  If it is spreading so easily to them, what chance is the general population going to have?
Overall, more than 1,700 people have been officially infected and more than 900 people have officially died so far.  But an official from Samaritan’s Purse says that the real numbers are probably far, far higher…

Ken Isaacs, the vice president of Program and Government Relations for Samaritan’s Purse, painted an even bleaker picture. According to the World Health Organization, West Africa has counted 1,711 diagnoses and 932 deaths, already, which could represent only a small fraction of the true number. “We believe that these numbers represent just 25 to 50 percent of what is happening,” said Isaacs.

In a six-hour meeting with the president of Liberia last week, Isaacs said workers from Samaritan’s Purse and SIM watched as the “somber” officials explained the gravity of the situation in their countries, where hundreds lie dead in the streets. “It has an atmosphere of apocalypse,” Isaacs said of the Liberia Ministry of Health’s status updates. “Bodies lying in the street…gangs threatening to burn down hospitals. I believe this disease has the potential to be a national security risk for many nations. Our response has been a failure.” Isaacs says that the epidemic is inciting panic worldwide that, in his opinion, may soon be warranted. “We have to fight it now here or we’re going to have to fight it somewhere else.”

In an official statement released on Monday, the World Health Organization even admitted that some potential Ebola patients “are being turned away”…

The recent surge in the number of cases has stretched all capacities to the breaking point. Supplies of personal protective equipment and disinfectants are inadequate. The outbreak continues to outstrip diagnostic capacity, delaying the confirmation or exclusion of cases and impeding contact tracing.

Some treatment facilities are overflowing; all beds are occupied and patients are being turned away.

Like I have said before, this has the potential to become the greatest health crisis that any of us have ever seen.
Up until this point, the outbreak has been primarily limited to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
But now it is starting to pop up in more countries around Africa.

For example, the number of confirmed cases in Nigeria has reached ten…

Nigeria on Monday confirmed a new case of Ebola in the financial capital Lagos, bringing the total number of people in the country with the virus to 10.

Health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said the latest confirmed case was a female nurse who came into contact with a Liberian-American man, Patrick Sawyer, who died of Ebola in a Lagos hospital on July 25.

In addition to Sawyer, another nurse who had contact with him died last week, while seven other people have been confirmed to have the virus in the city, he added.

And it looks like we may now have our first case of Ebola in Rwanda…

Rwanda’s health officials have placed a man suspected of suffering from Ebola in isolation at King Faisal Hospital Kigali. A statement by the Ministry of Health released on Sunday indicates that the patient had been tested with results still expected. Samples from the suspected case have been sent for testing to an international accredited laboratory, and results will be available in 48 hours, the statement said. The suspected case is a European medical student, according to the statement. It is the first suspected Ebola case in Rwanda since the outbreak of the virus in West Africa. The government urged the public to remain calm and vigilant, as the ministry is closely monitoring the situation.

All the preventive measures needed in line with national standards are already in place, including surveillance systems and emergency management systems, it assured, adding “Health workers have been trained across the country and are vigilant.” This will enable timely detection, notification and appropriate management of any suspected cases to safeguard Rwandans, the statement concluded.

Over in Ghana, a man that just died is being tested for the Ebola virus…

Ghana may be recording its first case of Ebola if tests on the blood samples of a Burkinabe man suspected to have died of Ebola proves positive. The man who was rushed to the Bawku Presby Hospital in the Upper East Region from Burkina Faso, died on arrival. The Medical Director at the Hospital, Dr Joseph Yaw Manu, who confirmed the incident to Citi News, said they sent the blood samples for testing because the man was brought in showing symptoms of Ebola. In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Manu said the patient was bleeding from his nostrils which raised their suspicion he may have died of the Ebola disease. Dr. Manu said they are awaiting the results from the blood sample test to verify the cause of death. He gave the assurance that the hospital is prepared to battle the disease. This is the fourth suspected case of Ebola reported in Ghana; two in Kumasi, one in Accra and now the Upper East Region.

Lastly, the little nation of Benin is now reporting two potential cases of Ebola…

Benin has reported two cases of the deadly Ebola virus in the west African country. Health Ministry official Aboubacar Moufiliatou said that a man suspected to have contracted the virus had died. “Fortunately, blood samples have been taken from the deceased patient to examine if his death was linked with Ebola,” Moufililatou told the state television Thursday night. He said another man has been quarantined after showing symptoms of the deadly virus after returning from the Nigerian city of Lagos. “Blood tests from the suspected case will be conducted in laboratories approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) to confirm or deny the infection,” he said. The WHO has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an “international public health emergency” as the virus reportedly continues to spread through the region in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. According to the latest WHO report, Ebola has killed 932 people in West Africa. The Ebola virus, a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals and also spreads through contact with the body fluids of an infected person or someone who has died of the disease. Medical doctors say common symptoms of Ebola include high fever and headaches, followed by bleeding from openings in the body. If the cases turn out to be Ebola, this would be the fifth country in Africa where the virus has spread.

We are quickly getting to the point where it will become impossible to contain this virus.
And if it spreads to the United States, we are going to be in a massive amount of trouble.  The truth is that we are not prepared for an Ebola pandemic, and such a crisis would create a massive wave of panic and fear all over this country.
Unfortunately, despite the risks, we continue to bring people back to this countrybefore we know that it is safe to do so…

Health officials in North Carolina said on Sunday they will require missionaries and others coming home after working with people infected with Ebola in Africa to be placed in quarantine.

The quarantine is set to last for three weeks from the last exposure to someone infected in the West African Ebola outbreak, which is centred in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the officials said.

Missionaries from the North Carolina-based Christian aid groups SIM USA and Samaritan’s Purse have been working to help combat the world’s worst outbreak of the disease. Two of the relief workers, Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, contracted the disease and are being cared for at Emory University hospital in Georgia.

Why couldn’t those individuals just be quarantined over there an extra three weeks in a safe area and then come home?
All it takes is one sick person.  Once the disease gets here and starts spreading, there isn’t much that we can do about it.  There is no cure for Ebola, and according to the New York Times it is going to be quite a while before one is potentially available…

The drugs that could potentially treat those already infected and the vaccines to protect healthy people from infection are all in the earliest stages of testing. And even if they do pass muster in clinical trials, they cannot be produced in large quantities quickly enough to stem the widening epidemic anytime soon.

And the CDC agrees with this assessment…

“We do not know how to treat Ebola or vaccinate against it — and it will be a long time before we do.”

Those are very sobering words.
For now, our health officials are telling us that we have very little to be concerned about.
But they can’t even tell us why more than 170 health workers have caught the virus.
So let’s hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.

ISIS Swallowing Iraq: 'They're Beheading Children'

By Chris Mitchell

CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

Monday, August 11, 2014

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ERBIL, Kurdistan -- Islamic terrorists in Iraq are beheading children and burying people alive, and it won't stop there. They have a message for America: "We're coming for you."

Over the past week, the army of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), also known as IS (Islamic State), swallowed up swaths of Iraq like a pervading darkness.

In just one day, tens of thousands of Christians fled from towns like Qaraqosh and Bartilla, about 25 miles away. Most came to the town of Erbil with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

"America is at a crossroad," says Retired Gen. Paul Vallely, who has more than 15 years of experiencce in special operations and other military ops. He shared his insight on the chaos in Iraq and how it will impact America, on The 700 Club, August 11.

"They take everything from the house, from the store, everything," one refugee told CBN News. "They hate Christian especially. We don't know why."

The choice was leave or die.

"They say if anyone don't [sic] become like Muslim, we['re] going to kill them, each one, from baby to women to old man," he said. "We don't have anything here," one woman told CBN News.

"They bombed the churches and already took our houses," she continued. "We have nothing here. No money. No ID. No travel documents."

Dr. Sarah Ahmed, with the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, called the attacks "a genocide."

"What's happening now to the Christians, to the Yazidis, to the minorities is -- in the last couple of days mostly to the Christians -- is a genocide," she told CBN News. "What's happening is what happened 200 years ago to the Jews [sic]."

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion with ties to Zoroastrianism.

Dr. Ahmed relayed stories she'd heard of the barbarism of ISIS.

"That ISIS was shooting the kids and people, and they were laying them on the ground and they bring tractors that they walk [drive] over them in front of their families," she said. "They take women out of their houses so if a family had three daughters, they would take one."

In the wake of the ISIS advance, thousands of ethnic Yazidis escaped to a mountain outside the town of Sinjar. Some Christians found shelter at a Catholic compound in Erbil. These families fled a few weeks ago when ISIS ethnically cleansed the city of Mosul. The Islamists gave an ultimatum to the Christians there.

"They gave us four choices," one refugee told CBN News. "Either convert to Islam or paying tax [jizya, the Islamic tax on non-Muslims] or leaving the city or the sword."

"They are using the sword to cut off hand[s] and also beheading other[s] so I don't think this is the behavior of human beings, but wild animals do that," he concluded.

ISIS looted their properties and left them destitute. One woman told CBN News they took her dentures, wedding ring, and documents.

"They took everything," she said. "We asked them please give us something to show that we owned our car, our home. They said, 'Here, you have nothing.'"

In searching the home of one Christian in Mosul, ISIS found two New Testaments, one with a camouflaged cover and the other with a picture of an American flag inside. The terrorists accused him of being a missionary and a spy.

ISIS put his name on a list. When he told CBN News his story, he asked us to hide his identity.

"They say, 'Hey, hey, stop. You are a Christian," he recalled. "You are a Christian, get back!' The terrorists told me, 'We could kill you.'"

Sometimes the pressure is overwhelming.

"Jesus save me," he said, weeping. "Forgive them. Forgive them because they didn't know what they want, what they ask."

Even though these Christians are the indigenous people of the region, many simply want to leave. They're pleading for the United States, United Nations and Pope Francis to come to their aid.

"We are asking the responsible states of the international community to come and look and see how all the people are living here," one woman said.

Robin Williams Commits Suicide

Robin Williams

Commits Suicide

8/11/2014 3:58 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

breaking news

Robin Williams has committed suicide.

The Oscar-winning actor/comedian killed himself in Tiburon, in Northern California.   His people tell us he's been recently battling severe depression.

According to the Marin County Sheriff's Office ... authorities found Williams' body inside his home.  They say he was found unresponsive.

He was unconscious and not breathing and the coroner suspects suicide due to asphyxia.

Williams was last seen alive at his house at 10 PM Sunday night.

Robin went back to rehab last month to focus on his sobriety.  We're told alcohol was an issue.

Williams struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse in the early '80s but was sober for 20 years ... with the exception of a stint in rehab in 2006.


One of Robin's last public appearances was at the San Francisco Zoo in June ... when the zoo named one of their howler monkeys "Robin" in his honor.

Robin's wife, Susan Schneider, says, "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings.  I am utterly heartbroken."

Robin's last tweet was on July 31 ... wishing his daughter Zelda Rae a happy 25th birthday. He posted a #tbt instagram pic of himself holding her as a child.  Zelda did not respond.

Williams was 63.

Obama's Iraq narratives contradicted by the Pentagon, intelligence community, and Obama

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Aug 11, 2014

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Flailing for any excuse to get himself off the hook, our teenage President tried blaming the intelligence community for under-selling the menace of ISIS to him. Nope, says the Pentagon – we knew how dangerous they were, and warned the President early and often.
“>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h551Qnk1XqM&w=480&h=270]

Well, says Obama, it’s no big deal that I pulled all the American troops out of Iraq, because we can take care of ISIS with airstrikes. Nope, says the Pentagon – airstrikes have “slowed” the terror state’s “operational tempo and temporarily disrupted their advances toward the province of Erbil,” but they’re not going to weaken ISIS’ grip on territory they’ve already seized. (“How temporarily do you think the advance of the head-choppers has been disrupted?” everyone in Erbil asks nervously…)
At least we’ve saved those thousands of Yazidis stranded on the side of a mountain, and teetering on the verge of genocide, right? Nope, they’re still there. Evacuation is proceeding very slowly, and they’re not getting all of the relief supplies we’ve sent them. According to some accounts, supplies have actually been lost because they were dropped without parachutes, or dropped into areas where the Yazidis could not safely recover them.
As for Obama’s astounding claim today that he really wanted to keep troops in Iraq – a statement I think history will judge to be a low point for the American presidency, an utterly pathetic attempt to evade responsibility that drew barks of astonished laughter from even Obama-supporting media figures – nobody does a better job of demolishing that claim than Barack Obama himself, captured in a devastating video montage from the Washington Free Beacon:
“>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX1gdpEFAzg&w=420&h=236]
Another fun little bit of Memory Hole-worthy history is that Obama sent the Liar of Benghazi, Susan Rice, to Congress to request the repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, just three weeks ago. That’s hardly the act of a President who understands the deadly threat posed by the Islamic State.
The White House says it has all the authority it needs to bomb ISIS thanks to the War Powers Act… but operations launched under that Act are limited to no more than 60 days. Nobody, but nobody, thinks the ISIS problem will be resolved within sixty days. That means citing the War Powers Act is a charade, a lie. When it comes to Obama statements on Iraq, the truth is in shorter supply than Christians in Mosul.
: Obama’s Iraq narratives contradicted by the Pentagon, intelligence community, and Obama

Rape Jihad In America Now….. MUSLIM, SOMALI ROVING GANGS IN MINN, COLO, OHIO, TENN.

If it’s already in many States, what will happen as it spreads throughout America, and they are not stopped?…   who will stop them?

Rape Jihad In America Now.

Here’s a few posts about Rape Jihad in Denmark and Norway.  Now, the attacks have moved to the United States.

from sheikyermami:

Rape jihad in Denmark: More than half of all convicted rapists have…
Iraqis, Iranians, Turks and Somalis dramatically overrepresented…Oslo, Norway: 69 percent increase in rapes (76 rapes in 91 days).
Share of non-Westerners among ‘attack-rapists’: 100 percent.
Stavanger, Norway: Nine out of ten rapists are ‘men from minority g…
Norway: Muslim rapist tells victim that in Islam, women have no rights
Increase in rapes in Stockholm

RAPE JIHAD by BareNakedIslam

“I can tell you this is one of the most horrific sexual assaults I’ve seen in my career as a police officer,” said Lt. Howard Black with the Colorado Springs Police.

We’ve already seen gangs of Somali Muslim paedophile sex traffickers arrested in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Other states are also reeling from rising crime rates directly related to the  flood of Muslim invaders,  facilitated by Barack Hussein Obama and U.S. taxpayer dollars.

KKTV  The victim of the vicious sexual assault said that the Iraqi MUSLIM attackers were unhappy with the way they were treated in the United States. Five Iraqi nationals were arrested in connection with the case. Two are charged with the crime while all five are charged as accessories with the crime. Some of the victim’s injuries were described by police as being “rarely seen.”
According to police, the victim reported overhearing a scuffle involving several people at about 1:30 a.m. at the Wildridge Apartments on July 21. She works the night shift and was out checking her mailbox at the time. She decided to stand between the two groups of men in an attempt to calm them down. Following the fight, the victim told police she was invited inside an apartment by one of the men. There, she met three other men who were about 20 years old.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim described a conversation with the men that centered on how unhappy they were with the treatment they received in the United States. The men also spoke about “the Untied States oppressing them and calling them terrorists.”
The victim told police the men reminded her of her own son and she wanted to help calm them down. She also sympathized because she had been in the military and previously lived in foreign countries. During their conversation, the victim was given what she believed was lemonade. Police say she has no recollection of what happened after that.
All of the suspects obtained a lawful permanent resident status within the past five years.
A spokesperson from the District Attorney’s office told 11 News Tuesday if the men are convicted they will serve their time here and then be deported. If they’re found not guilty they will likely still be sent back to Iraq.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAXIxF1RHNk
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MINNESOTASTAN: Sheriff reports to Congress on the violent crime wave by Somali MUSLIM Gangs that is endangering Americans

From BNI:

The sheriff of Hennepin County, Minn., told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on Wednesday about the danger of Somali MUSLIM gangs in his jurisdiction. And we can thank Barack Hussein Obama for having imported hundreds of thousands of Somali MUSLIM lowlifes, totally funded by U.S. taxpayers.

CNS NEWS (H/T Wyatt)  Rich Stanek represented the National Sheriffs’ Association at the hearing on “America’s Evolving Gang Threat.” He also serves on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inter-agency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group and is president of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association.

Stanek said Minnesota is a “designated U.S. Refugee Resettlement Area,” with a Somali population ranging from 80,000 to 125,000 in the state. As a result, Stanek said, while the African population in the U.S. as a whole is about four percent, 18 percent of the Minnesota population is African because of the large Somali MUSLIM presence.

“Somali MUSLIM gangs are unique in that they are not necessarily based on the narcotics trade as are other traditional gangs,” Stanek said, adding that “turf” is also not a motivating factor in Somali MUSLIM gang criminal activities.

“MUSLIM Gang members will often congregate in certain areas, but commit their criminal acts elsewhere,” Stanek said. “Criminal acts are often done in a wide geographic area that stretches outside of the Twin Cities seven county metro area. “Their mobility has made them difficult to track,” Stanek said.

Stanek listed five “typical crimes” committed by Somali MUSLIM gang members, including credit card fraud, cell phone and gun store burglaries, and sex trafficking, witness intimidation, with some of the criminal activity tied to international terrorism, Stanek said.

“In 2007, the local Somali MUSLIM community started to report that some of the youth in the area had essentially disappeared without warning,” Stanek said. “It was later learned that 20 young men had left Minneapolis to travel to Somalia to receive training and fight as members of al- Shabaab,  the Arabian peninsula arm of al-Qaeda..

“One individual had moved to Minneapolis as a teenager in 1993,” Stanek said. Following a shoplifting arrest, he fell into the violent street gang called the ‘Somali Hot Boyz.’ After a short period of time, he emerged as a recruiter for al-Shabaab, which eventually led him to leave Minneapolis for the Horn of Africa in 2008. “Later, it was learned this individual was killed in fighting between al-Shabaab and Somali MUSLIM government forces,” Stanek said.

According to the Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Refugee and Resettlement, refugee programs and resettlement sites exist in 49 states and the District of Columbia and are operated through partnerships between the federal government and faith-based and other non-governmental refugee support organizations in those states and the District.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing with statistics on the gang threat in the United States. “According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment there are approximately 1.4 million gang members belonging to more than 33,000 gangs in the United States,” Sensenbrenner said. “It has been reported that the number of gang members in the U.S. has increased by 40 percent since 2009.” (About the same time Barack Hussein Obama became president)

Developing: Evidence Barack Hussein Obama paved the way for the rise of ISIS in Iraq

Worse than Al Qaeda ISIS pledges to raise flag of Allah in White House: http://youtu.be/lQ8CMrd3908 via @YouTube

(by Amy Elizabeth, GOP The Daily Dose) -- The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – which currently controls large swathes of both Iraq and Syria – was established as a renegade militant group out of al-Qaeda in Iraq. It emerged from the turmoil engulfing the country after the 2003 U.S. invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.

The group came to prominence after the Syrian uprising, attracting foreign fighters and capturing strategic areas in the war-torn country, and became notorious for executing opponents – often through beheadings and crucifixions.

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Their main aim is to spread across large areas of Syria and Iraq and impose a harsh interpretation of Sharia Law whilst creating a single Islamic state. The ISIS force consists of about 12,000 fighters, some hailing from Europe, Pakistan and Chechnya.

ISIS is led by Iraqi-born Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as ‘the invisible jihadist’. The U.S. has placed a $10m bounty on his head, although his elusiveness – demonstrated by the fact that only two known photos of him exist – makes his involvement in the group unclear. The U.S. is now fighting the same terrorists in Iraq that it armed and trained to overthrow Assad in Syria…the same terrorists who now threaten to raise the black flag of the Islamic State over the White House.

Iran’s human rights chief: We are proud of stoning

Robert Spencer Aug 8, 2014 at 12:33pm Iran, Sharia 29 Comments

And really, who wouldn’t be? “Iran: We are proud of ‘stoning’, regime’s human rights chief declares,” National Council of Resistance of Iran, August 6, 2014 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Head of the Human Rights Council of the Iranian regime’s Judiciary said on August 5: “We are proud of our judicial system and we do not feel uncomfortable with Law of Retribution and even stoning.”
Human rights organizations have increasingly condemned the Iranian regime for practices such as executions, stoning, limb amputations, eye gouging and flogging.
Larijani has continuously rejected international criticism and censure by the United Nations.
In the past he has described stoning and amputations under the regime’s Law of Retribution as ‘beautiful’ and had called the medieval punishments a ‘service to humanity’ and said the increased execution rate was a positive marker of the regime’s achievement.
He told the Wall Street Journal in 2011: “Stoning means you should do a number of acts by throwing a limited number of stones in a special way. In the eyes of some people, stoning is a lesser punishment than execution because there is a chance you should survive.”

UN Threatens Israel… Official Responds, “See if I Care!”

UN Threatens Israel… Official Responds, “See if I Care!”

August 7, 2014

Hamas, an officially known and recognized terrorist group, has been ceaselessly attacking Israel, indiscriminately launching rockets into civilian areas, while themselves hiding their rockets and supplies amongst Palestinian civilian areas.
There are numerous accounts of Hamas launching rockets from residential areas, schools, playgrounds, and hospitals.  Of course, when Israel responds and fires back, innocent Palestinians are caught in the cross fire.  This has resulted in international condemnation against Israel for killing innocents, but surprisingly not against Hamas for hiding amongst innocents.  Israel is undeterred in their actions against Hamas though.
The United Nations knows full well what Hamas is doing.  They are aware that Hamas has hidden stashes of rockets in UN schools.  They even returned some rockets they found in a school, back to Hamas!

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Yet, the UN blames Israel almost entirely for the recent conflict, and decided to open an official inquiry into whether Israel has committed war crimes, prompting a blistering response from Israel’s Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni. ( H/T WZ)
The tweet was written in Hebrew, and has been loosely translated into English.
“I have [four] words to say about the decision of the UN human rights council – see if I care!
We will keep on making decisions for the safety of Israeli citizens according to our moral compass, the IDF will fight the terror and keep on doing the most to avoid harming innocents, and you [written plural] will keep on encourage the terror – because that is exactly what your decision is doing.”
Good for the Israeli Justice Minister.  Israel is within their rights to defend themselves against the terrorist attacks by Hamas.  Hamas is a group dedicated to the global jihad, which aims to impose their radical Islamic tyranny across the globe, and they have sworn to kill or subjugate every Jew and Christian that stands in their way.
The UN is making a wrong move here, looking into charging Israel with war crimes.  Of course the deaths of civilians are horrific, and steps must be taken to minimize those.  Israel has taken those kinds of steps, above and beyond what any other country would do in a war, yet they are still blamed for all of the atrocities that occur.
The UN needs to reexamine the situation, and place the blame for the death of innocents where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of Hamas.
In the meantime, if the UN continues to single out Israel, then that is just the latest in a number of reasons why the United States should reevaluate their membership in the UN.  It is time for the US to defund the UN, withdraw their membership, and kick the UN off of our shores, back to Europe, where their anti-Semitic attitude is for some reason still acceptable.

Devastated' track promoter issues statement on Stewart/Ward incident

Jay Pennell

FOX Sports

AUG 11, 2014 1:13p ET

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Jared Wickerham / Getty Images North America

Canandaigua Motorsports Park was the site of an incident in which Tony Stewart struck and killed 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. during a sprint car race on Saturday night.

The promoter of Canandaigua Motorsports Park, the track at which 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. lost his life Saturday night, has issued a statement concerning the incident on the track's Facebook page.
On Saturday night, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart struck and killed Ward, after the local racer climbed from his car and approached Stewart's vehicle on the track.Ward was pronounced dead on arrival at the local hospital.
Stewart did not participate in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, and does not face charges at this time. However, Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Phillip C. Povero has stated "all options remain open" in the case.
In his statement, track promoter Jeremie Corcoran extended his condolences to the Ward family, thanked his track medical staff and addressed some of the "hateful comments" found on the track's Facebook page Sunday morning.
"I am extremely devastated from the tragic incident that occurred at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Saturday night as I know are many, many, others.
"First and foremost I offer my sincerest and deepest condolences to the Ward family. Kevin Ward Jr. was a spirited competitor and loved by so many. This is a tremendous loss to this family and the racing family as well. I have spoken to the family and they spent prayer time at the track Sunday in the early morning hours. Godspeed #13!
"To all the fans that witnessed this incident I have you in my thoughts. This has been difficult to process and it surely is not what you come to the races for. I do ask that you hold on to your integrity and have compassion for everyone that was involved in this. I understand that we all can have opinions and have the right to express them, I just ask that you think about all the lives that have been affected over this before you speak out. So many people are affected. So many are hurting. No one deserves more pain or blame. We need unity to support all that are hurting and the sport of racing we care so much about. That is the only way for us to heal and move forward.
"To all my staff that responded to this terrible tragedy I thank you for your professionalism and dedication. Our Medical Staff did everything they could and I know you are all hurting. All the Safety and Track Officials that scrambled to secure the track and keep everyone focused and calm I thank you. To all my friends that have called/texted me I thank you for your encouragement and support.
"I have made the decision to cancel our upcoming "Whacko Wednesday" event on Wednesday August 13th at Canandaigua Motorsports Park to give my family, staff, fans, and racing teams time to grieve and process all that has occurred. I will let everyone know about next weekend as soon as I can.
"Lastly, I had to have our Facebook Page taken down early Sunday morning due to insensitive and hateful comments. I plead with you to be respectful so we can keep this page active for you to keep informed."
Sincerely,
Jeremie Corcoran and Family.

Stabbed In The Back: Hillary Clinton Just Threw Obama Under The Bus Big Time

Although she served as its secretary of state, likely 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton has...

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B. Christopher Agee — August 11, 2014

Although she served as its secretary of state, likely 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton has some tough words for how the Obama administration dropped the ball in handling a brewing crisis in Iraq and surrounding regions.
The uprising of Islamic militants in recent months has led to countless deaths of Kurds and other minorities in Iraq and Syria, a problem Clinton said was exacerbated by the U.S. government’s failure to act on behalf of Syrian rebels.

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“The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad – there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle – the failure to do that left a big vacuum,” she said, “which the jihadists have now filled.”
She addressed the issue during a comprehensive interview with The Atlantic, maintaining that she favored a more active role during her years at the State Department. Clinton also criticized Obama’s trite rhetoric regarding his administration’s foreign policy ideals.

“Great nations need organizing principles,” she maintained, “and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.”

Looking to the future, she noted that if the current trajectory continues, the Islamic terrorism destroying Iraq and Syria will likely spread to other regions – including America.
“One of the reasons why I worry about what’s happening in the Middle East right now is because of the breakout capacity of jihadist groups that can affect Europe, can affect the United States,” she said. “Jihadist groups are governing territory. They will never stay there, though. They are driven to expand.”
A common goal among these radicals is the destruction of the West, she explained.

“How do we try to contain that?” Clinton asked. “I’m thinking a lot about containment, deterrence, and defeat.”

Her firm stance extended to the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinian terrorists in neighboring Gaza. She expressed support for the Jewish nation’s retaliation to relentless missile attacks from the Hamas-sponsored militants in recent weeks.
“Israel was attacked by rockets from Gaza,” she said. “Israel has a right to defend itself. The steps Hamas has taken to embed rockets and command-and-control facilities and tunnel entrances in civilian areas, this makes a response by Israel difficult.”
Clinton lamented the fact that, with violence affecting numerous regions of the world, so many are focused on the perceived overreaction of Israeli forces to the threat posed by Palestinian aggressors.

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“There are a number of factors going into it,” she said. “You can’t ever discount anti-Semitism, especially with what’s going on in Europe today. There are more demonstrations against Israel by an exponential amount than there are against Russia seizing part of Ukraine and shooting down a civilian airliner. So there’s something else at work here than what you see on TV.”
As with her comments regarding Iraq, Clinton’s response to the Israeli crisis stands in contrast to the stated position of the Obama administration. Interviewer Jeffrey Goldberg noted that insiders have already predicted Clinton will embark on “a more forceful attempt to highlight her differences with the (unpopular) president she ran against, and then went on to serve.”
Following his interview with the early Democrat favorite to replace Obama, he said that he “got the sense that this effort is already underway.”
Among other foreign policy issues covered in the interview was Iran’s insistence that it has a right to pursue nuclear enrichment that could ultimately result in weapons of mass destruction.
“I’ve always been in the camp that held that they did not have a right to enrichment,” she asserted. “Contrary to their claim, there is no such thing as a right to enrich. This is absolutely unfounded.”

Robin Williams Commits Suicide

Robin Williams

Commits Suicide

20 minutes ago BY TMZ STAFF

breaking news

Robin Williams has committed suicide.

The comedian killed himself in Tiburon, in Northern California.

According to the Marin County Sheriff's Office ... authorities found William's body inside his home.  They say he was found unresponsive.

He was unconscious and not breathing and the coroner suspects suicide due to asphyxia.

Williams was last seen alive at his house at 10 PM Sunday night.

Robin went back to rehab last month to focus on his sobriety.  We're told alcohol was an issue.

Williams struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse in the early '80s but was sober for 20 years.

Robin's wife, Susan Schneider, says, "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings.  I am utterly heartbroken."

Williams was 63.

Iraqi Militants Execute 500: Some Buried Alive Evidence emerges jihadists have been burying women and children alive as Kurdish troops retake two towns following US airstrikes.

Iraqi Militants Execute 500: Some Buried Alive

Evidence emerges jihadists have been burying women and children alive as Kurdish troops retake two towns following US airstrikes.

6:06pm UK, Sunday 10 August 2014

Video: Iraqi Civilians Killed By Militants

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Iraq militants have executed at least 500 Yazidi people, dumping their victims in mass graves across the north of the country, an official has said.

There is "striking evidence" that Islamic State fighters, formerly known as ISIS, have buried some of their victims, including women and children, alive as they continue their bloody advance across Iraq, according to the human rights minister.
The militants have driven as many as 150,000 Yazidis from their homes into the Sinjar mountains, where they are cut off from food and water and struggling to survive. Hundreds are already reported to have died.

Yazidis flee as the jihadists carve a bloody trail through northern Iraq

The jihadists have also kidnapped 300 women as slaves.
Human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said: "We have striking evidence obtained from Yazidis fleeing Sinjar and some who escaped death, and also crime scene images that show indisputably that the gangs of the Islamic States have executed at least 500 Yazidis after seizing Sinjar.
"Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive in scattered mass graves in and around Sinjar."

Thousands are hiding in the Sinjar mountains but face starvation

Officials earlier said at least 20,000 of those trapped in the mountains had managed to escape into Syria and been escorted by Kurdish fighters back into Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has appealed to the international community for weapons to help them  fight the extremists.

Humanitarian aid drops from the back of an RAF plane

On Sunday, officials said Kurdish troops have retaken Makhmur and Gwer, the first cities in northern Iraq since US airstrikes targeted militant artillery and equipment.
An RAF plane made the first British aid drop across northern Iraq on Sunday morning, delivering reusable filtration containers, tents and solar lights which can also recharge mobile phones.
It comes after the US launched a fresh round of strikes in an attempt to stop the jihadists' advance across the country, following a warning from Barack Obama that he was ready for a protracted campaign.

Aid parcels are loaded on to the plane

The militants have been sweeping through northern Iraq, beheading and crucifying captives who refuse to be converted to Islam.
During a press conference on Saturday, Mr Obama accepted there would be no quick fix for the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country and vowed to continue strikes for weeks or months if necessary.

Kurdish fighters try to protect the Yazidis

The President, who has ruled out sending in ground troops, and David Cameron discussed the commitment to providing humanitarian relief during a telephone conversation on Saturday.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also announced on Saturday that there would be "a continuing drumbeat of airdrop operations" around the Sinjar mountains.
The Government has pledged an emergency £8m aid package to help refugees in Iraq.
The strikes mark the first American offensive in Iraq since Washington pulled out its forces in 2011 after nearly a decade of brutal war.
The EU has said the violence in the north of Iraq could constitute "crimes against humanity".
Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement: "We are appalled by the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation with hundreds of thousands of civilians, mainly from minorities, fleeing the areas of conflict as a result of persecution and violation of basic human rights."

• Video: Iraqi Christians On Fears Back Home

  

  Sky's Joanna Simpson talks to Iraqi Christians living in the UK about their fears for the future of their country.

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