Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó Pulled Over – Detained by Police

Dramatic video as released on Sunday showing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó being pulled over and taken into custody.

The Juan Guaido twitter page posted this…

(translated)

#DENUNCIA We alert the world and the country that today #13Ene a SEBIN command intercepted the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly and we do @jguaido not know his whereabouts.

On Saturday the Brazilian government said they it recognized Venezuela’s Congressional leader, Juan Guaidó, who opposes President Nicolas Maduro, as the rightful president of Venezuela.

UPDATE– Juan Guaidó was briefly detained and then released by Maduro’s secret police.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/breaking-video-venezuelan-opposition-leader-juan-guaido-pulled-over-detained-by-police/

As FBI Ramped Up "Witch Hunt" When Trump Fired Comey, Strzok Admitted Collusion Investigation A Joke

A Friday report in the New York Times revealing that the FBI supercharged its Trump-Russia collusion investigation after President Trump fired FBI director James Comey appears to have backfired - especially when one reviews internal FBI communications from the time period in question.

The Daily Caller's Chuck Ross has made a brilliant observation, noting Peter Strzok - then the FBI's deputy chief of counterintelligence, admitted to his FBI lawyer mistress, Lisa Page, that there was no merit to the investigation.

Nine days after Comey was fired and the DOJ "sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia," Strzok texted Page on May 18, 2017: "You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there."

It is unclear from The Times report what information was used as a predicate to open the investigation. The article suggests that the FBI had long considered the move and that Comey’s firing and Trump’s subsequent comments marked a tipping point.

…

A source close to Strzok told The Daily Caller News Foundation on Jan. 26, 2018, shortly after the text was released, that the message reflected Strzok’s concern that the FBI would not find evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. -Daily Caller

The Times' explanation for the FBI's rationale that Trump may have been a Russian asset consists of Trump's call for Moscow to release Hillary Clinton's emails an election debate, and allegations contained within the unverified Steele Dossier. The Times was also quick to note that Trump may have "unwittingly fallen under Moscow's influence," to temper the accusation that he was an agent of a foreign power. In short, weak sauce.

It's no wonder Strzok was hesitant to join Mueller's team.

Interestingly, another series of Strzok-Page texts refers to "coordinating investigation" after Strzok apparently met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who both recommended Comey's firing, then authorized the special counsel probe.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-13/fbi-ramped-witch-hunt-when-trump-fired-comey-strzok-admitted-collusion

ISIS AIR FORCE

‘We struck thousands of targets’: IDF chief of staff on Israel’s ‘near-daily’ strikes in Syria

The outgoing IDF chief of staff has acknowledged that Israel has been bombing Syria on a “near-daily” basis for years, in a massive military campaign allegedly aimed at degrading Tehran’s supposed military buildup in the region.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rarely acknowledge striking specific targets in Syria but its outgoing chief of staff just openly confessed to running a large-scale bombing campaign in its neighbor’s territory. In 2018 alone, Israel dropped around 2,000 bombs on alleged Iran-linked targets, Gadi Eisenkot told the New York Times in his final interview as chief of staff of the IDF before he retires next week.

“We struck thousands of targets without claiming responsibility or asking for credit,” Eisenkot stated, confessing to carrying out strikes on a “near-daily” basis.

Later Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli air forces attacked a warehouse at Damascus airport late Friday, verifying the information issued by the Syrian military. Netanyahu said the IDF has “succeeded impressively in stopping Iran's military build up in Syria, and in this context, the IDF has attacked hundreds of times Iranian and Hezbollah targets.”

While the Syrian government repeatedly accuses the Jewish state of constantly violating its sovereignty and aiding the terrorists by their raids in the country’s airspace, Eisenkot claimed the Israeli actions are justified – and that, anyway, neither Damascus nor Tehran can do anything about it.

We have complete intelligence superiority in this area. We enjoy complete aerial superiority. We have strong deterrence and we have the justification to act.

Despite the Lieutenant General’s claim about a moral high ground in the battle against the perceived Iranian threat, the Israeli Air Force was caught in several reckless –and sometimes lethal– actions during their missions in Syria. On Christmas Day the Israeli jets used two civilian aircraft in flight as cover to engage targets in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said, noting that the IDF’s F-16s flew in as civilian jets were landing at Beirut and Damascus airports. The Israeli tactics resulted in the deaths of all 15 Russian crew on board and compelled Moscow to supply Syria with S-300 missile defense systems. Russian also warned that, in the event of any threat to its servicemen deployed in the country, it will jam radio and satellite signals from military aircraft approaching from the Mediterranean, which seemingly forced Israel to slightly adjust its bombing routine and routes.

https://www.rt.com/news/448685-israel-syria-strikes-eizenkot/

Polish mayor critical after knifeman stabs him IN THE HEART in bizarre on-stage attack (VIDEOS)

The mayor of Poland’s northern city of Gdansk is in critical condition after a brutal knife attack right in the middle of a charity concert. A man ran to the stage and stabbed the official, claiming revenge for an injustice.

The horrific incident took place at an annual charity event collecting money for Polish medical facilities. As the concert was nearing its end, the attacker rushed the stage and assaulted Mayor Pawel Adamowicz by stabbing him with a knife several times right in front of the crowd.

Videos posted on social media appear to show the moments after the shocking attack. Apparently, it all unfolded so quick most people did not even realize what was happening; many could be seen waving their hands and phones to music.

The assailant stayed on the stage and continued to walk around with his hands raised up. He also grabbed the microphone and claimed that he committed the attack because he had been previously “wrongly accused” and had served his time in jail.

The attacker was eventually overpowered by the guards and handed over to the police.

Adamowicz had to be resucitated at the scene, local media reported. Radio Gdansk cited its correspondent at the scene as saying the attacker had aimed for the heart and apparently pierced his victim's aorta. The official was taken to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. His condition remains critical.

The shocking attack, previously unheard-of in the European city, has drawn immediate condemnation, even from the mayor’s biggest political rivals. Acknowledging that they’ve had political differences with Adamowicz, President Andrzej Duda said that “today I am unconditionally with him and his loved ones, just as I hope all of us compatriots are. I pray for his return to health and full strength.”

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski called the attack “an act of inexplicable barbarity” as he commented on the mayor’s serious condition.

European Council President Donald Tusk, himself originally from Gdansk, tweeted: “Let’s all pray for Mayor Adamowicz. Pawel, we are with you.”

https://www.rt.com/news/448726-poland-mayor-stabbed-concert/

The Shutdown Is Providing Evidence Of Private Businesses Making Government Obsolete

The government shutdown is just providing more evidence that the government itself is unnecessary. Private companies in the Yellowstone area are voluntarily paying to keep the park clean without federal funding.

According to Reason, nearly three weeks into the government shutdown, some of America’s national parks are starting to get a bit rank. Access to the parks (which are supposedly “owned” by the people who think they are the government) is free since there are no employees to collect the typical $35-per-vehicle entrance fee. But that comes with the trade-off of there being no employees to empty trash bins or clean toilets either.

Meanwhile, without being forced by the government, private companies are voluntarily paying to keep Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming clean. National Public Radio reports, local businesses are chipping in to make sure the bathrooms get cleaned, the roads get plowed, and the tourists keep coming. Even in the middle of winter, the park gets an estimated 20,000 visitors per month—and those hardy folks want to rent snowmobiles, hire tour guides, and take sightseeing trips. The private-sector businesses that thrive on those tourist dollars have a pretty strong incentive to make sure Yellowstone remains accessible – much more incentive than the government has.

This is what voluntary interaction looks like. Not one single person is forcing these companies to pay for snow plowing, however, because it is in their best interests, they have decided to foot the bill. Xanterra Parks and Resorts, which runs the only hotels inside Yellowstone that remain open during the winter, is leading the effort to cover the $7,500 daily tab for keeping the roads plowed and the snowmobile trails groomed during the shutdown, NPR further reports. Thirteen other private businesses that offer tours of the park are also chipping in $300 a day to help cover that expense.

There’s also probably a useful lesson here about what the privatization of national parks would look like. Rather than the corporatized dystopia of environmentalist nightmares, removing the government from the equation would allow businesses that have a vested interest in maintaining and protecting America’s natural splendor to do exactly that—and would prevent the parks from being caught up in the unrelated drama of whatever nonsense is happening in Washington, D.C. –Reason

In all, it seems like a pretty straightforward lesson about how private businesses will respond to changing market conditions and incentives. Keeping the park accessible means those businesses can continue to profit off tourists, government shutdown or not. The market has responded and as government becomes more obsolete and people begin to realize they can live their lives without a master dictating their every move and stealing their money, there will be more and more stories such as this that come to light.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-shutdown-is-providing-evidence-of-private-businesses-making-government-obsolete_01102019

>>4741651

Says the socialist dictators sidekick!

Democrat Makes VIOLENT Threat If Trump Declares National Emergency

Democrats are fighting mad over the impasse between President Trump and Nancy Pelosi that has resulted in a government shutdown over funding of border security and one of them has once again suggested that violence is a legitimate solution to political differences.

This time it is Rep. Mike Levin of California’s 49th congressional district and the freshman exemplifies the new far-left radicalism that has gripped the party and their ANTIFA and socialist hate mobs that are clamoring for open revolution.

Levin took to Twitter to inveigh against Trump and call for fighting in the streets if he uses his presidential powers to declare a national emergency over the deteriorating situation at the border.

According to the 40-year-old environmental activist turned politician:

If @realDonaldTrump declares a “national emergency” to pay for his border wall, we’ll fight him in Congress, in the courts, and in the streets.

Levin’s incendiary tweet has since been deleted.

For the second time in just over a week, one of the House newbies has given a perfect example of how the Democrats no longer respect the process nor the rule of law.

It was only last weekend when the House of Pelosi found itself embroiled in the controversy that erupted when Rep. Rashida Tlaib promised a crowd of cheering supporters that the incoming Dems were going to impeach the “motherf*cker” Trump which is hardly the start that the new Speaker likely envisioned when she regained control of the mighty gavel.

Dems have repeatedly flirted with sanctioning violence due to rhetoric that triggered a psychopathic Bernie Sanders supporter’s failed attempt to massacre the entire GOP congressional baseball team in 2017, led to numerous death threats against Senator Rand Paul who was attacked from behind by his leftist neighbor and resulted in several high-profile Republicans being attacked in restaurants at the behest of Maxine Waters.

More troublesome is that the hate is only intensifying and sooner or later, this inducement to commit acts of violence is going to get people killed.

You won’t see this on CNN.

https://ilovemyfreedom.org/democrat-threatens-to-fight-trump-in-the-streets-if-he-declares-national-emergency/

>>4741687

Totally agree

>>4741714

>>4741696

Libtards

trannies

pedos

Zionist/Commie run

ABC’s Karl: Sources Close to Mueller Say His Report ‘Almost Certain to Be Anti-Climactic’

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl said his sources “interacting with” special counsel Robert Mueller’s team said Mueller’s forthcoming report was “almost certain to be anti-climactic.”

Partial transcript as follows:

KARL: What I am getting is that this is all building up to the Mueller report and raising expectations of a bombshell report. And there have been expectations that have been building, of course, for over a year on this. But people who are closest to what Mueller has been doing, interacting with the special counsel caution me that this report is almost certain to be anti-climactic. If you look at what the FBI was investigating in that New York Times report, you look at what they were investigating, Mueller did not go anywhere with that investigation. He has been writing his report in real time through these indictments and we have seen nothing from Mueller on the central question of, was there any coordination, collusion, with the Russians in the effort to meddle in the elections? Or was there even any knowledge on the part of the president or anybody in his campaign with what the Russians were doing, there’s been no indication of that …

STEPHANOPOULOS: They hadn’t laid that out yet in the indictments but how do things like the Trump Tower meeting with Russians, Don Jr., Paul Manafort, Paul Manafort giving polling data to Ukrainian oligarchs, the pursuit of a Trump Tower in Moscow. How does that fit into this theory?

KARL: What we’ve certainly seen over and over again is the people around the president, first of all, have been willing to lie to investigators, and had their own dealings with Russians, had their own agendas with Russians. And Manafort was trying to get paid for his work on behalf of Ukraine. Flynn had his own dealings. But it is not added up to anything of the central question, again, was there anybody – was the Trump campaign aware of or coordinating with the Russians in their effort to meddle with the election. So far there’s been nothing on that and I’m led to believe don’t expect there’s going to be any.

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/01/13/abcs-karl-sources-close-to-mueller-say-his-report-almost-certain-to-be-anti-climactic/

Gues what the weekend talking is?

Trump under fresh scrutiny over relationship with Putin

https://www.breitbart.com/news/trump-under-fresh-scrutiny-over-relationship-with-putin/

Kabul won’t let US use American bases against Iran: Diplomat

Afghanistan will not allow the United States to use its bases in the country to conduct any act of aggression against Iran, says a top Afghan diplomat.

“Relations with neighbors are of special significance to the Afghan government in Kabul. Therefore, we will never allow the US to use its military bases against our neighbors such as Iran and Pakistan,” said Abdul Rahim Sayed Jan, Afghan ambassador to Turkey.

“The presence of US bases in Afghanistan has always been a source of concern for our neighbors, although, in line with the Afghan government’s agreement with the US, Washington can never use these bases against our neighbors,” added the envoy in his address to a conference on Afghanistan in Turkish capital Ankara, Turkish daily Yeni Akit reported on Saturday.

The top diplomat also said he considered the Taliban militant group to be a paramilitary group formed by foreign countries in the Central Asian nation. Sayed Jan also ruled out any association between the militant outfit and Islam.

“We do not consider them to be an Islamic group,” he noted, saying many of the group’s members had been “brainwashed with wrongful ideology.”

Late last month, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country hosted a delegation from the Taliban to discuss possible ways to end hostilities in Afghanistan, which is still reeling from chaos 18 years after the US invasion.

“Since the Taliban are in control of more than 50 percent of Afghanistan, and given the insecurity, instability and other issues that the country is dealing with, they (the Taliban) were interested in talks with Iran,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said at the time.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/01/12/585574/Afghanistan-Iran-United-States-military-bases-Taliban

UK headmaster says deprived children ‘eating from school bins’

A headmaster in northwest England has revealed that children in her school are so food-deprived that they "eat from bins."

Siobhan Collingwood said a significant number of pupils in her school in Morecambe, Lancashire, were from families who rely on food banks and have no means of feeding their children.

“When children are food deprived it alters their behavior and they do become quite food obsessed, so we have some children who will be stealing fruit cores from the bins,” she said in an interview to the BBC.

The teacher said many children did not reveal to the school authorities that they were from poor families.

“We have children who have nothing in their lunch boxes and children who are just fixated upon food,” she said, adding that there were currently 35 children at her school who were definitely from families dependent on food banks.

The UK has seen a surge in the number of food banks over the past years, especially since the Conservative government introduced austerity measures in 2010 to cope with financial difficulties after recession.

A United Nations report issued in November said the UK government’s recurrent cuts to social care budget had left a fifth of the country’s population, around 14 million people, in poverty.

Morecambe told the BBC that in her school, parents had been “arriving at school literally bursting into tears telling me they have no means of feeding their children”.

“Families are coming in telling me they are routinely loaning food to each other, my day-to-day experience is telling me this is a growing problem,” she said.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/01/12/585600/UK-poverty-children-school-eating-bins

Tanks roll in to frozen hell: Germany and Austria call state of emergency as troops save residents from NECK-DEEP snow after 21 deaths in worst winter for more than 30 years

State of emergency has been declared in a fourth southern Bavarian district with army called in to help

Avalanche crashed through restaurant of the Hotel Säntis in Switzerland while guests were eating inside

A 1,000ft wall of snow reportedly hit the hotel, in Schwägalp, in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

The bitter weather sweeping Europe has killed at least 21 and forecasters have warned of more snow to come

‘Quantities of snow above 800m altitude happen once every 30 to 100 years,’ said an Austrian meteorologist

More

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6584305/Europe-blanketed-snow-following-deaths-21-people-winter-whiteout.html

S. Korea to Resume Oil Imports from Iran Soon

South Korea's oil buyers will resume oil imports from Iran in the coming weeks, a senior energy official announced.

The announcement came by Kim Jun, chief executive officer and president of South Korea's SK Innovation, owner of South Korea's biggest oil refiner SK energy.

Kim said that his country will restart importing Iran's crude in late January or early February.

In November, South Korea won a six-month waiver from sanctions, imposed by the United States, allowing to purchase a limited amount of Iranian oil.

"As South Korea received a waiver and has been in talks with Iran about the first import volume, it seems (Iran oil) could be brought in late in January or early February at the earliest,” Kim told said on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

South Korean and Japanese buyers were expected to restart Iranian oil imports early this year, industry sources said in November. South Korea can buy up to 200,000 barrels per day of Iran's oil, mostly condensate, an ultra-light form of crude oil under the waiver, the sources said.

South Korea was the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil and the largest importer of Iranian condensates before the US sanctions were re-imposed in November.

https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13971022000370

NY Demorat says he’s shutting down terrorism subcommittee to investigate President Trump

The next two years will be full of TDS-sponsored baloney that will go nowhere.

From NY Post: The newly minted chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee is closing a terrorism subcommittee to focus on a new panel to investigate President Trump’s ties with international leaders and helter-skelter foreign policy.

“We just thought, if we’re going to do something relevant in this era where Congress is going to reassert itself, where there are so many questionable activities of this Administration vis-à-vis foreign policy, that it made sense to have this,” Rep. Elliot Engel told the New Yorker magazine.

The Democratic lawmaker — who has represented parts of the Bronx and Westchester County for three decades — added that there “wasn’t a great clamor” from lawmakers to keep the terrorism panel, which was formed after the Sept. 11th attacks.

Instead, he said, his committee will focus on what Trump promised Russian President Vladimir Putin during their private meeting last year — and the president’s business ties to Russia and Middle East countries.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/ny-demorat-says-hes-shutting-down-terrorism-subcommittee-to-investigate-president-trump/

Israel An Ill Gotten Gain

The Trump-Russia Scam - How Obama Enabled The FBI To Spy On Trump

Despite the loss of major narratives, the war of the deep state against U.S. President Trump continues unabated. The main of tool in this war are allegations of relations between Trump and anything Russia. The war runs along several parallel paths.

The narrative war in the media is most visible one. When any of the fake stories about Trump and Russia gets debunked and disposed, new ones are created or others intensified.

In parallel to these propaganda efforts the deep state created an investigation that Trump has no way to escape from. Enabled by one of the Obama administrations last acts the investigation is using signal intelligence to entrap and flip the people surrounding Trump (see section three below). The big price will be Trump himself. Here we take a look at what transpired during the last weeks.

One major anti-Trump narrative was that 'Russian influence' helped to put him into office. This was based on the alleged nefarious influence a Russian clickbait company, the Internet Research Agency (IRA) in St. Peterburg, had on the U.S. electorate. That explanation never made sense. Little of the IRA activities had to do with the election. It used sockpuppets on Facebook and Twitter to attract people to websites filled with puppy pictures or similar nonsense. The IRA would then sell advertisement and promotions on these sites.

This was obvious for anyone following the factual content of the news instead of the 'opinions' a whole bunch of anti-Trump 'experts' and the media formed around them.

That the Mueller investigation finally indicted several of the IRA's officers over minor financial transactions was seen as a confirmation of the political aspects of the IRA activities. But nearly all the reporting left out that Mueller confirmed the commercial intent behind the IRA and its activities. There is nothing political in the accusations. Indeed point 95 of the Mueller indictment of the IRA says:

Defendants and their co-conspirators also used the accounts to receive money from real U.S. persons in exchange for posting promotions and advertisements on the ORGANIZATION-controlled social media pages. Defendants and their co-conspirators typically charged certain U.S. merchants and U.S. social media sites between 25 and 50 U.S. dollars per post for promotional content on their popular false U.S. persona accounts, including Being Patriotic, Defend the 2nd, and Blacktivist.

https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4380489-Justice-Department-s-Internet-Research-Agency

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/02/mueller-indictement-the-russian-influence-is-a-commercial-marketing-scheme.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/09/that-sophisticated-specific-russian-voter-targeting-effort-doesnt-seem-exist/?utm_term=.8d927f44dbc9

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/us/politics/manafort-trump-campaign-data-kilimnik.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/the-astonishing-tale-of-the-man-mueller-calls-person-a/562217/

https://www.thenation.com/article/manafort-no-smoking-gun-collusion/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/us/politics/fbi-trump-russia-inquiry.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-has-concealed-details-of-his-face-to-face-encounters-with-putin-from-senior-officials-in-administration/2019/01/12/65f6686c-1434-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html?utm_term=.d98cd66414ef

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/3/steele-dossier-was-hillary-clintons-insurance-poli/

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/01/the-trump-russia-scam-how-obama-enabled-the-fbi-to-spy-on-trump.html

Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's key accuser has met with New York City prosecutors as part of sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in which 1,000 priests sexually abused children

One of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's accusers, James Grein, gave testimony against him to the Manhattan ADA in December

Grein testified that McCarrick groomed and abused him starting when he was 11

The ADA is said to be investigating issues related to clergy abuse and its systematic cover up by church superiors

Grein is said to have met with the ADA prior to filing a compensation claim with the New York City archdiocese alleging that McCarrick abused him

Grein is said to have testified to Vatican investigators on December 27 as part of the Holy See's internal probe against McCarrick

That investigation has now finished and shifted to Rome, where a final verdict is expected within weeks, Vatican officials said

Pope Francis removed McCarrick as cardinal in July 2018

The key accuser in the sex abuse case against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has met with New York City prosecutors, evidence that the scandal that has convulsed the papacy is now part of the broader U.S. law enforcement investigation into sex abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church.

James Grein gave testimony last month to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Sara Sullivan, who is investigating a broad range of issues related to clergy abuse and the systematic cover-up by church superiors, Grein's attorney, Patrick Noaker, told The Associated Press.

The development is significant, given that the Vatican investigation against McCarrick has already created a credibility crisis for the Catholic hierarchy including Pope Francis, since it was apparently an open secret that McCarrick slept with adult seminarians. Grein's testimony, however, includes allegations that McCarrick, a former family friend, also groomed and abused him starting when he was 11.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6584827/McCarrick-accuser-cooperates-NYC-prosecutors-abuse.html

Bolton Had Pentagon Draw Up "Far-Reaching Military Options To Strike Iran"

The Wall Street Journal published an Iran bombshell Sunday morning, confirming the White House had the Pentagon prepare "military options" to strike Iran last year. The sudden request, seen as an unprecedented Iraq-style "shock and awe" attack on Iran, caught the Pentagon off guard, to the point that "State Dept. and Pentagon officials were rattled by the request" which officials further told the WSJ was "mind-boggling" and "cavalier" in terms of how brazen it was.

The request for military options came in early September after the United States accused Iran-backed militias in Iraq of firing three mortars at the US Embassy and diplomatic compound in Baghdad, and at a time that riots and political instability were spreading throughout some major cities in Iraq, especially in the south. It was also an opportunity for noted Iran hawk and national security advisor John Bolton to push for "far-reaching military options to strike Iran" — a regime change project he's pushed in public many years prior to taking his White House post last April.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-13/bolton-had-pentagon-draw-far-reaching-military-options-strike-iran

Fall From Grace: DNA Helix Discoverer, Nobel Prize Winner Stripped of Honors

Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson, who helped discover the stranded double-helix of DNA, has had several honorary titles stripped from him by the laboratory in which he worked after making non-scientific, racist assertions, including those detailed in a new documentary film.

Watson, who, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins in the 1950s, discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, received the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their ground-breaking research.

n a recent PBS film, "American Masters: Decoding Watson," Watson said that genes cause an intelligence difference between white and black people when using IQ tests.

The 90-year-old geneticist lost his job at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in New York, in 2007 (where Watson had been a director between 1968-1993) for expressing those views publicly that year.

At the time, Watson told a magazine that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" as "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — where all the testing says not really," cited by News.sky.com.

In the 2007 article Watson went on to avow that, while he wanted everyone to be equal in terms of intelligence, "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

An apology and retraction was issued by Watson that year following worldwide public outcry, although reports noted the scientists' statement rang false.

The 2019 PBS film reveals that Watson's views on intelligence and race have not changed.

"Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) unequivocally rejects the unsubstantiated and reckless personal opinions Dr. James D. Watson expressed on the subject of ethnicity and genetics during the PBS documentary "American Masters: Decoding Watson" that aired January 2, 2019," the laboratory wrote in statement released Friday, adding that the famous facility "condemns the misuse of science to justify prejudice."

https://sputniknews.com/science/201901131071443966-dna-nobel-prize-winner-stripped-of-honors/

Corps Hopes to Add South American Allies, Presence in Next Deployment

As U.S. Marines gear up for another deployment to Latin America this year, the message from past ventures remains consistent: Look to the United States for assistance and growth.

Roughly 300 Marines and sailors with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) rapid response team deployed to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, from June to November last year.

The group consisted of one third active-duty troops and two-thirds Reserve members, according to Col. Michael Oppenheim, who led the SPMAGTF-Southern Command on the 2018 deployment.

Oppenheim said the mission's objective, besides theater security and promoting interoperability during the hurricane season, was to demonstrate to South and Central American partners "that we are a partner of choice."

"And we hope to expand there," he told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.

"One of [Southern Command's] lines of effort is to reaffirm [that] the U.S. is a partner of choice – certainly we're referring to the National Security Strategy, [where] we identify external state actors" who may not share common values, Oppenheim said.

U.S. officials have expressed concern in recent months that growing influence from countries such as Russia and China in the southern hemisphere may sideline regional stability.

During the 2018 deployment, Oppenheim said, U.S. leaders did not broach that topic specifically because they were focused on building alliances.

But "at the operational and strategic level at the combatant command, they do talk about the[se] issues," he added.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/01/12/corps-hopes-add-south-american-allies-presence-next-deployment.html