Central Nebraska student arrested for alleged child exploitation scheme

Teacher arrested for child pornography

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A central Nebraska high school student, and a teacher at his school, were arrested Tuesday on charges related to child pornography.

These arrests resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Grand Island (Nebraska) Police Department.

Brian Mohr, 37, a teacher at Northwest High School in Grand Island, Nebraska, was taken into custody at his residence. A 17-year-old Northwest High School student was also taken into custody.

The arrests are in relation to a case in which it is alleged that the student obtained elicit images of other minors via a social media ruse, and then used some of those images to coerce them into performing sexual acts and to provide additional images. Those images were then allegedly shared with Mohr. Numerous images have been identified as students at the school where Mohr is employed.

The student suspect was arrested on charges of 1st degree sexual assault, human trafficking of a minor, unlawful intrusion, and multiple counts of distribution of child pornography. Mohr was arrested as a suspect in multiple counts of possession of child pornography. All the charges are classified as felonies.

This remains an ongoing investigation and is being worked with the full cooperation of the Northwest School District.

Members of the public who have information about this case are urged to contact local police at (308) 385-5400, or to call the local HSI office at (308) 385-1409.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2019, more than 3,500 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/central-nebraska-student-arrested-alleged-child-exploitation-scheme

Sealed Off and Forgotten: What You Should Know about Israel’s West Bank “Firing Zones”

Throughout the 1970s, the Israeli military declared roughly 18% of the West Bank as “firing zones,” effectively wresting control from the local Palestinian population.

A seemingly ordinary news story, published in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on January 7, shed light on a long-forgotten, yet crucial, subject: Israel’s so-called “firing zones” in the West Bank.

“Israel has impounded the only vehicle available to a medical team that provides assistance to 1,500 Palestinians living inside an Israeli military firing zone in the West Bank,” according to Haaretz

The Palestinian community that was denied its only access to medical services is Masafer Yatta, a tiny Palestinian village located in the South Hebron hills.

Masafer Yatta, which exists in complete and utter isolation from the rest of the occupied West Bank, is located in ‘Area C’, which constitutes the larger territorial chunk, about 60 percent of the West Bank. This means that the village, along with many Palestinian towns, villages and small, isolated communities, is under total Israeli military control.

Do not let the confusing logic of the Oslo Accords fool you; all Palestinians, in all parts of the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the besieged Gaza Strip, are under Israeli military control as well.

Unfortunately for Masafer Yatta, and those living in ‘Area C’, however, the degree of control is so suffocating that every aspect of Palestinian life – freedom of movement, education, access to clean water, and so on – is controlled by a complex system of Israeli military ordinances that have no regard whatsoever for the well-being of the beleaguered communities.

It is no surprise, then, that Masafer Yatta’s only vehicle, a desperate attempt at fashioning a mobile clinic, was confiscated in the past as well, and was only retrieved after the impoverished residents were forced to pay a fine to Israeli soldiers.

There is no military logic in the world that could rationally justify the barring of medical access to an isolated community, especially when an Occupying Power like Israel is legally obligated under the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure medical access to civilians living in an Occupied Territory.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/sealed-off-and-forgotten-israel-west-bank-firing-zones/264132/

Americans Beware! Russia Can Hack Your Brain, Make You Believe Joe Biden Unfit for Oval Office

I suppose it is necessary, considering the bleak and humorless times we live in, to immediately start by acknowledging that the headline is meant as satire, what Webster defines as a form of “ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.”

In other words, nyet, the Kremlin does not have a hotline to the American brain that can trigger card-carrying Democrats to enter a catatonic trance on Election Day and vote against Joe Biden, or any of the other flawless Democratic gems for that matter. By this time, especially following the release of the Mueller Report, you would think that conspiracy theories involving Russia and American democracy would have subsided; instead they’ve only escalated as the U.S. enters the hot end of the 2020 presidential election campaign.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:

“U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are assessing whether Russia is trying to undermine Joe Biden in its ongoing disinformation efforts with the former vice president still the front-runner in the race to challenge President Donald Trump, according to two officials familiar with the matter…

Part of the inquiry is to determine whether Russia is trying to weaken Biden by promoting controversy over his past involvement in U.S. policy toward Ukraine while his son worked for an energy company there.”

So how exactly does Russia, in a scene straight out of A Clockwork Orange, tap into the frontal lobe section of the U.S. electorate and cause them to lose all confidence in their political favorites?

“A signature trait of Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘is his ability to convince people of outright falsehoods,’ William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in a statement. ‘In America, [the Russians are] using social media and many other tools to inflame social divisions, promote conspiracy theories and sow distrust in our democracy and elections.’”

Yes, somehow those dastardly Russians have outsmarted the brightest and best-paid political strategists in Washington, D.C. by brandishing what amounts to some really persuasive memes over social media, and for just rubles on the dollar. The techies at Wired went so far as to call this epic assault on the fragile American cranium, “meme warfare to divide America.” By way of evidence, it cited a very creative meme that screamed, “F*CK THE ELECTIONS,” which was intended, as the ironclad argument goes, to cause a number of impressionable Americans to throw up their hands in a fit of collective exasperation and say, ‘Ok, that’s it. I’m staying at home on Election Day.’

Yes, it’s really that easy! Imagine all the money the Russians and their radical new political technologies could have saved guys like casino tycoon, Sheldon Adelson, who showered the Trump campaign with $100 million dollars.

Many of those divisive Russian messages wormed their way onto Facebook, purportedly, where God only knows how many voter brains’ turned to maggots and mush just staring at them. Yet one individual who actually recalls seeing one or two of these dangerous memes was Rob Goldman, former Vice President for Advertising on Facebook, who revealed via Twitter, another infected social media platform, some interesting information:

“Most of the coverage of Russian meddling involves their attempt to effect the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election. I have seen all of the Russian ads and I can say very definitively that swaying the election was NOT the main goal.”

Clearly, Goldman seems to have been under the sway of some folk Russian brainwashing technique, probably passed down from the time of Rasputin. In any case, Donald Trump himself took great satisfaction from that particular revelation, retweeting it to his millions of minions.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/01/15/americans-beware-russia-can-hack-your-brain-make-you-believe-biden-unfit-for-oval-office/

Sketchy Changes to IG FISA Report Cover-Up Major Discrepancy in First Version…

There was a major discrepancy in the Inspector General report on FISA abuse, that appears to have been overlooked and casts a considerable cloud upon the DOJ Office of Inspector General and Michael Horowitz.

In chapter ten of the report, on page #312 you will find the following information. The claim is that no-one in the FBI initiated any use of “Confidential Human Sources” into the campaign prior to opening the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/01/15/sketchy-changes-to-ig-fisa-report-cover-up-major-discrepancy-in-first-version/

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>>7822214

Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened.”(link)

Was the original IG report correct when it said twice that: “we determined that the Crossfire Hurricane team tasked several CHSs and UCEs during the 2016 presidential campaign, which resulted in multiple interactions with Carter Page and Papadopoulos, both before and after the time they were affiliated with the Trump campaign” ?

It seems unlikely a mistake of that importance, on a key and very specific issue, could be made twice in an heavily reviewed inspector general report. However, if the IG didn’t change the text then this statement would be a lie:

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‘An Impeachment That Will Last Forever’: Pelosi Announces Impeachment Managers

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving forward with the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump announcing Wednesday the House managers who will transmit the articles to the Senate in what she called “an impeachment that will last forever.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), Jason Crow (D-CO), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) will assume the managerial roles.

“The emphasis is on litigators, the emphasis is on comfort level in the court room, the emphasis is on making the strongest possible case to protect and defend our constitution, to seek the truth for the American people,” Pelosi said.

“I’m very proud and honored that these seven members, distinguished members, have accepted this serious responsibility, again, to protect and defend for the people defending our Democracy.

The House is also set to hold a vote later Wednesday on finalizing the transmission of the articles to the Senate for a full trial.

In anticipation of Pelosi’s move today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that the trial will likely begin next Tuesday in the Senate.

“The House is likely to finally send the articles over to us tomorrow and we’ll be able to…. in all likelihood go through some preliminary steps here this week which could well include the chief justice coming over and swearing in members of the Senate and some other kind of housekeeping measures,” Sen. McConnell said.

“We hope to be able to achieve that by consent which would set us up to begin the actual trial next Tuesday.”

https://saraacarter.com/an-impeachment-that-will-last-forever-pelosi-announces-impeachment-managers/

Co-opting Nationalism: The Case of Italy

Nationalism is dead. Its stinking corpse is laying in front of Palazzo Montecitorio, home to the Italian Parliament (its increasingly peripheral power centre). People start to notice it, people start to smell its awful stench. What is left of the brief Italian nationalist experience has finally shown its true, cowardly face, bowing to the international globalist elite and rejecting its truly revolutionary potential. This is the story of how Italian nationalism has been co-opted by the establishment to serve its wicked agenda.

In November 2019, the news that an 89-year old Italian Holocaust survivor was being put under police protection after she had received multiple death threats made international headlines. Liliana Segre, an Italian-Jewish activist who was nominated senator-for-life early last year for “social merits” (but really as a political move from the President to appease a certain part of the intelligentsia) was allegedly receiving two hundred hate messages per day (sic!). As a precaution, she was even assigned a security details consisting of two police officers. Predictably, indignation came loud and clear from mainstream media outlets and every major political figure, in a race to show empathy and support after such inexplicable attacks. Then, some days later the story was quietly retracted. Not only was the number of threats grossly exaggerated, there was also no reliable evidence that those (few) violent messages could be followed up by actual violence. So why would the media and the elites concoct such a masterful display of fake outrage and condemnation? Why would national news stations and talk shows spend hours (!) each day debating about something which clearly had no solid foundations to begin with? More crucially, what is the relationship between this now apparently irrelevant news and our initial diagnosis about the state of Italian nationalism?

In this brief essay, I will develop a nexus between the two, starting with a summary of Italian nationalist politics of the past two years. I will analyse the role Matteo Salvini’s League played in devising a nationalist discourse tailored on immigration and Italian identity, what has been said about it and what has been misunderstood. I will also take a look at the supposed “opposition” parties, comparing their ideological background and their social bases. I will argue that the rise of the League and its potential for the international anti-globalist movement has been just a façade, an elaborate project of controlled opposition put in place to mop up votes on the centre-right-to-far-right spectrum, thus crippling truer and more dangerous political movements. The aftermath of the Segre affair and Salvini’s flirting with the Zionist elites will be shown to be a clear testament to this.

https://thesaker.is/co-opting-nationalism-the-case-of-italy/

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>>7822251

why they agreed to form a government). Hence, unless a very serious crisis erupts or the two leaderships feel confident enough to challenge Salvini at the polls, we should expect this project to continue.

Now let us get back to the beginning. It appears now at first glance that nationalism (embodied by the first coalition government) is finally dead, killed by cunning politicians with the help of legal subterfuges. Once we give a closer look, however, we come to the conclusion that nationalism was never alive in the first place. That the League was not going to be the true catalyst of European nationalist forces (as pundits in The Guardian feared) was already quite clear. The first doubts surfaced when the League was one of the very first (and few) to join The Movement, the (neoconservative) nationalist international led by Steve Bannon. Right after the European elections of 2018, Bannon toured Europe to export the American (and Zionist) character of Trumpian nationalism to emerging European nationalist parties. Needless to say, the League was the most prominent members of this new group, with Bannon endorsing the Italian nationalist project and declaring Salvini a “world-class leader”. Other notable yet less known red flags include Salvini’s unwarranted remarks about Hezbollah during a visit to Jerusalem in late 2018, and his ground-breaking discovery of Israel being “a bastion of democracy in the Middle East” (source). Moreover, during a hostile televised debate with one of Italy’s most renowned globalist media outlet, while smearing Iran as a “global danger”, he made it perfectly clear that “neither I nor my government will engage with those who want to erase a state and a people with violence” (source). A few well-informed commentators have highlighted these contradictions, also drawing interesting parallels with the well-known brand of Trumpian nationalism and, crucially, Israeli nationalism [see an example here (Italian)].

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Furious Speech by Top German on Rampant Migrant Crime: 'You Allowed War Machines into Our Country!'

“I have only one urgent appeal: It is your task to protect the citizens in the best possible way. For God’s sake, you should finally start doing that.” – Martin Hess

Martin Hess is a former chief superintendent in the German police and a member of the Bundestag for the Alternative für Deutschland, (AFD).

In the following speech, Mr. Hess speaks in the Bundestag about the increasing danger in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Germany as a result of mass islamic migration into the country;

The Islamic terrorist threat is higher than ever. The rates of migrant and knife crime are rising steadily. Serious sexual offenses, such as gang rape, are on the rise. Women and children are being pushed on tracks in front of arriving trains.

In addition to that, hospitals, swimming pools, schools and unemployment centers can no longer function without security personnel. The attacks against police, the fire brigade and rescue workers are becoming more and more brutal. Petty criminals run entire city districts tyrannically, storming police stations and hospitals. The security authorities confirm and warn about the massive influx of new dangerous clans with war-experienced immigrants.”

The AfD is pretty much the only classical European party on the German political spectrum. They are family oriented, want secure borders, and believe in the preservation of the nation state of Germany, much as President Trump does of America.

Transcript in link

https://russia-insider.com/en/watch-furious-speech-top-german-rampant-migrant-crime-you-allowed-war-machines-our-country/ri28146

Majority of Babies Born in US in 2019 Were From Illegal Immigrants or Tourists, to Obtain Citizenship

Close to 400,000 anchor babies were born in the United States in 2019 as an executive order to end birthright citizenship gets kicked down the road for another year by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Analysis conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies revealed in 2018 that about 300,000 U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are born every year. These children, often referred to as “anchor babies,” immediately obtain American citizenship and anchor their illegal or foreign parents in the country.

https://www.amren.com/news/2020/01/nearly-400k-anchor-babies-born-in-2019-exceeding-u-s-births-in-48-states/

Here Is The Full Text Of The "Phase One" US-China Trade Deal

The full text of the 94-page US-China "Phase One" Trade deal is below, and here, courtesy of Bloomberg, are some of the top highlights:

Agriculture details:

China Purchases to Include Oilseeds, Meat, Cereals, Cotton

China to Buy Add'l $19.5B U.S. Agriculture Products in 2021

China to Buy Add'l $12.5B U.S. Agriculture Products in 2020

China to Approve Pending Applications for U.S. Bond Raters

As Bloomberg notes, China is committing to buying about $32 billion in additional U.S. farm products over the next two years, that's coming on top of levels seen in 2017 (pre-trade war). Specifically, China committed to importing at least $12.5 billion more agricultural goods this year than in 2017, rising to $19.5 billion next year. It's unclear just how this will happen without China's destroying existing supply chains. China will also “strive” to purchase an additional $5 billion a year in farm products.

Full deal text below (pdf link)

https://context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/e3ead96f-bf7e-4c25-be25-0f781f110ca6/note/4d250075-57c4-49f1-ae6b-634ac22376f2.pdf#page=1

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/here-full-text-phase-one-us-china-trade-deal

Americans Have Been Brainwashed To Accept War Without Question

As the United States seemed to teeter on the edge of yet another war, this time with Iran, the biggest concern was just how much support the government had for its mass-murdering schemes. But psychologists say that that is no mistake. As Americans, we have been conditioned for war all of our lives.

Americans have been programmed to accept the violence and domination with a belief that the mass murders are done for some kind of “good.” Propaganda has been widely used along with patriotic images to make even those who consider themselves peaceful cheer for death, violence, and destruction.

Americans are taught from a young age to accept their country’s militarism without question. This conditioning has numerous ingredients. Themes of nationalism and militarism are frequently injected into public life through the media and other institutions, for example, as is a sense of righteousness, a rarely challenged belief that the country is almost always a force for good. –Psychology Today

Fear is also a major element in conditioning minds for war. Americans of all ages are often reminded, by their government and the media, that perceived enemies pose a constant danger. The Soviet threat was used to justify military spending and adventurism around the globe for much of the later twentieth century, validating the warning given by President Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell speech of the growing influence of the “military-industrial complex.”

More recently, through constant reminders of the “war on terror,” Americans are effectively conditioned to see evildoers as always looming. There is little to no debate about whether slaughtering people and killing others thousands of miles away is right or wrong. Militarism and force through mass murder is always the conclusion drawn by most Americans.

Start thinking for yourself. Ask yourself one question: who owns you?

https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/americans-have-been-brainwashed-to-accept-war-without-question_01142020

Russian Government 101: How Did it Work and What’s About to Change?

The government of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had been in the role since 2012, submitted its resignation hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed sweeping changes to the Constitution that would redistribute the powers between the president and parliament.

In an abrupt move on Wednesday, Russia’s Prime Minister Medvedev announced that his entire government would resign.

Medvedev’s cabinet will continue to work in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Putin offered to name Medvedev as deputy chairman of the Security Council, an advisory body under the President in charge of strategic planning relating to national security affairs.

How does the Russian government work?

According to the current Constitution, adopted in 1993, the government exercises executive power; it drafts and implements the federal budget and carries out the national policy in the sphere of finance, foreign policy, education, healthcare, culture, science, and so on.

The government may submit its resignation to the President who also has the power to dissolve it. Another way to dissolve the government is for the Duma, the lower house of parliament, to pass a motion of no confidence, which can be vetoed by the President.

The President appoints the Prime Minister with the Duma’s consent; Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister twice, in 2012 and in 2018, after winning presidential elections.

The President also appoints the deputy heads of government (there are 10 of them in the current cabinet) and the federal ministers at the Prime Minister’s suggestion. It is in the President’s power to dismiss both the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers.

What is to change?

In a move that looks set to significantly boost the power of parliament, Vladimir Putin called for changes to the Constitution that would enable the Duma to select the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers instead of the President.

Having announced the redistribution of power, Putin has stressed that Russia still needs to remain a “strong presidential republic”. According to Russian law, Putin now has two weeks to appoint a new Prime Minister.

Lawmakers have already started drafting the legislation to put Putin’s proposals into practice.

https://sputniknews.com/russia/202001151078046470-russian-government-101-how-did-it-work-and-whats-about-to-change/

>>7822140

That was quick

IDF attacks targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire - report

Rocket alert sirens were activated in southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon as four rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

The IDF attacked targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, hours after four rockets were fired into Israeli territory from Gaza, according to Palestinian reports.

Initial reports suggested that Israeli Air Force jets were attacking Hamas targets in the northern Strip.

A group of incendiary balloons were also launched towards the southern city of Sderot from Gaza, a city spokesperson said on Wednesday evening. Israel Police bomb disposal experts were dispatched to the scene after reports of a suspicious object that was attached to several balloons that landed in one of the neighborhoods of Sderot.

Rocket alert sirens were activated in southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon as four rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

The sirens were heard in Nahal Oz, Saad and Kfar Aza.

The IDF reported that two of the rockets fell in open territory and two were intercepted by the Iron Dome.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said no injuries or damage were reported in the first such attack in three weeks.

There was no immediately claim of responsibility from the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which Israel keeps under blockade citing security concerns over its Islamist rulers Hamas.

Last month, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon as it hosted a rally with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting him to seek shelter briefly before returning to the venue. No one was hurt.

But simmering tensions have mostly remained calm since a two-day surge of violence in November between Israel and the armed Gaza-based faction Islamic Jihad that left 34 Palestinians dead and dozens of Israelis injured.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Rocket-alert-sirens-heard-in-southern-Israel-614253

Expect limited calm with Gaza in 2020: Israeli intel assessment

Hamas doesn't want to lose legitimacy as a resistance movement, but wants to ensure its survival

Israel should expect limited calm with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in 2020 as long as it serves the interests of the terrorist group, according to IDF intelligence estimates.

The Intelligence Directorate noted in its assessment that Hamas is wary of a fourth war with Israel and instead prefers to focus on the situation on the street in order to maintain its grip on the blockaded coastal enclave.

While the group is not interested in a full military confrontation against the IDF, Hamas will not hesitate to fire rockets at Israel during short rounds of violence lasting no more than several days, similar to the 12 rounds in 2019. On Wednesday four rockets were fired from Gaza towards communities in southern Israel. Two were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and the other two are believed to have landed in open territory causing no damage.

Hamas, which sees itself as a resistance movement, does not want to lose its legitimacy in the eyes of the public and the assessment stated that as long as the calm serves the group’s interest, especially when it will ensure its continued survival, Hamas will continue to negotiate with Israel.

While significant progress has been made towards reaching a long-term ceasefire arrangement, according to the assessment, in contrast to Israel, Hamas does not include the return the remains of IDF soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul and the two missing Israeli civilians, Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed as part of the arrangement.

Therefore it is estimated that the chances are poor for the Egyptian-brokered arrangement to succeed.

Nevertheless, in a speech at the IDC Herzliya in December, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said that he recognized a “unique opportunity” in Gaza and that one of the IDF’s roles is to ensure periods without war.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Expect-limited-calm-with-Gaza-in-2020-Israeli-intel-assessment-614244

Triad Claw - Humanity is Victim of Ancient Satanic Plot

Are all these prominent people spanning five centuries Crypto-Jews? If true, it casts history in a new light. The Illuminati – FDR, Hitler, Stalin & Churchill–are essentially crypto-Jews. So are Hillary & Trump. History could be re-written based on an analysis of the role played by these personages.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

– Aristotle

https://www.henrymakow.com/2020/01/Hand-Sign-Indicates-Massive-Satanic-Conspiracy.html

Virginia Governor to Declare State Emergency to Prevent Lawful Carry at 2A Rally

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here – this is the War Room!"

-Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964

"Citizens, you can't carry legal firearms here – this is a Second Amendment rally!"

-Commonwealth of Virginia, 2020

The laugh-out-loud absurdity of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove is now the cry-out-loud reality of Democrat-held Virginia.

Just days before a planned gun-rights protest in the state capitol, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam plans to declare an emergency later today banning all weapons, including firearms, from the Capitol Square. According to NBC4 in Washington, officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the governor is concerned about "credible threats of potential violence and extremism." However, the ominous-sounding report has the unnamed official admitting that "the state does not have intelligence that the groups are planning a specific act of violence." Still, "Northam has grown increasingly concerned about numerous ominous-sounding postings on social media from forces outside Virginia."

Cam Edwards at our sister site Bearing Arms writes that "buried at the bottom of a laundry list of rules for the House," is the new Rule 85. It reads in part:

The House Committee on Rules will establish, by majority vote, a formal policy on the ability of members, staff, guests, and visitors to bring firearms into the those [sic] areas under the legal authority of the House of Delegates including, but not limited to, the Capitol, the House Chamber, and the Pocahontas Building. The Committee may amend the policy, which may or may not include a blanket prohibition, from time to time as appropriate. Copies of the approved policy and any changes or amendments thereof will be provided to every member, full and part-time employee, page, and intern of the Virginia House of Delegates and be posted for the members of the public.

But Edwards – who will speak at Monday's rally – also notes that the "House of Delegates doesn’t control the entire state capitol complex, only the House itself, along with House office spaces," and that the Senate has issued no such new rule. That might explain Northam's plan to declare a state of emergency in order to assume wider powers and effectively shut down any carrying of firearms to a peaceful firearms protest.

The irony, it drips.

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/virginia-governor-to-declare-state-emergency-to-prevent-lawful-carry-at-2a-rally/

Rat bastard

ISIS Cells Inflict Heavy Losses On Syrian Army In New Deir Ezzor Ambush (Photos)

ISIS announced on January 15 that its fighters had ambushed a large convoy of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in a desert area to the south of Deir Ezzor’s city center.

In a statement released by the Amaq agency, the terrorist group claimed that fifteen Syrian service members, including high-ranking officers of the elite Republican Guard, were killed in the ambush.

“Islamic State fighters ambushed yesterday a force of the Republican Guard that was patrolling in the desert … When they entered the ambush, the fighters detonated explosive devices and targeted them with various types of weapons,” Amaq’s statement reads.

Photos released by Amaq revealed that the army also lost a BRDM-2 combat reconnaissance, patrol vehicle and a mini truck.

Pro-government activists acknowledged that nine personnel, including a senior officer, were killed in ISIS’ ambush. The casualties were identified as:

Brigadier Ali Fakhro;

Lieutenant Rami Zfor;

Warrant Officer Khaldon Zahr al-Din;

Corporal Mohammed al-Nish;

Private Ottoman al-N’asan;

Private Mohammed Ibrahim;

Private Mu’az Tyiaui;

Private Ward Qassim;

Private Hussein Ibrahim.

The ambush was likely carried out by ISIS remnants in the Homs desert, which lays between western Deir Ezzor and eastern Homs.

In the last few months, ISIS stepped up its attacks against government forces in Deir Ezzor and Homs. The terrorist group appears to be attempting to establish a foothold in the two governorates, which link Syria’s eastern and central regions.

https://southfront.org/isis-cells-inflict-heavy-losses-on-syrian-army-in-new-deir-ezzor-ambush-photos/

Peter Schiff: Americans Are In For A Rude Awakening

On Jan. 13, Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust with Bubba Horwitz to talk about the yuan, the dollar, the stock market and the US economy. Peter said the dollar is eventually going to collapse and it’s going to be a rude awakening for Americans.

The Chinese yuan has been gaining strength against the dollar in recent weeks, in part because of optimism that there will eventually be a resolution to the trade war. But the Chinese currency is still over 17% lower than it was when the US imposed its first tariffs. Does this mean the markets are cautiously positioning for a deal, or is there still skepticism about the phase 1 deal? Peter focused on the bigger picture.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/peter-schiff-americans-are-rude-awakening

Trump Administration Wants To Block More Sales To Huawei

As the U.S. and China prepare to sign a Phase 1 trade deal on Wednesday, Reuters is reporting that the Trump administration is nearing publication of a rule that would expand its ability to block shipments of foreign-made goods to Huawei and other blacklisted Chinese companies.

Under the current rule, the U.S. Commerce Department has placed Huawei on a trade blacklist due to national security threats. This allowed the Trump administration to limit sales of U.S. technology goods to the company but didn't block goods from foreign supply chains, which angered China hawks within the administration.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-administration-wants-block-more-sales-huawei