₦airaland Forum

MIKOLOWISKA:
you de mind d dullards

A bad guy will always get guns. Exhibit A : Fulani Herdsmen


Why not harm the goood guys too

aston406:
What happens when the teachers then become the shooters?

Arming the teacher will not motivate the teacher to shoot the student. Truth be told.

Btw it worked in Israel

A day after Yobe State authorities said some schoolgirls reported missing after a Boko Haram attack had been rescued by Nigerian soldiers, the Defence Headquarters has told PREMIUM TIMES it has no such information.

“We cannot confirm” the statement by Yobe State that some of the girls have been rescued, Defence spokesperson, John Agim, told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning.
Suspected Boko Haram operatives on Monday evening stormed the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Bursari Local Government Area, Yobe State, a state government-owned school.


The insurgents reportedly carted away foodstuff and other valuables before kidnapping some of the girls at the school, according to witnesses.
Mr. Agim, a brigadier-general, said he could not give further details about the military’s intervention in the matter.


The comment, the first from the Nigerian military since the attack, comes as Nigerians and the international community press for more details of the incident.
Already, there are conflicting figures from the Yobe state government and the police about the number of girls that have not been found.
While the police told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday afternoon that only 30 out of the total 906 students at the school could not be located, Yobe government said 50 girls were still missing as at the same time.



Yobe State said in another statement Wednesday night that some girls were rescued and were with the Nigerian Army. Tje statement did not give any figure.
“The Yobe State Government hereby informs the public that some of the girls at Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) whose school was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists last Monday have been rescued by gallant officers and men of the Nigerian Army from the terrorists who abducted them,” Abdullahi Bego, a Yobe government spokesperson, said in the statement.
“The rescued girls are now in the custody of the Nigerian Army,” he added.
But nearly 24 hours later, neither the military, which the state government said was in charge of the girls, nor the police could confirm that the girls were actually rescued from Boko Haram.
PREMIUM TIMES reached Yobe police commissioner, Sunmonu Abdulmaliki, but an aide who answered his phone said the police had no information about the rescue.


“There’s nothing we can confirm,” the aide said. He said the police would be working with a team of three ministers that President Muhammadu Buhari sent on Wednesday day to travel to Yobe.
“We hope that after the visit by the delegation, the picture would be clearer,” he added.
Mr. Bego did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments on why the military and the police could not corroborate his statement that some girls were rescued.

Some military sources who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday afternoon said some of the girls who were said to have been rescued could be those who fled the attack into nearby bushes.


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/259528-yobe-school-attack-cant-confirm-rescue-missing-schoolgirls-nigerian-military.html/amp?__twitter_impression=true

MyPWisINCORRECT:
Chai

The scene from Black Panther don Ginger the haramites

CHIBOK 2.0

Fears grew in northeast Nigeria on Wednesday about the fate of potentially scores of girls who have not been seen since a Boko Haram attack on their school two days ago.

Militants stormed the Government Girls Science Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe state, on Monday evening. Locals initially said the girls and their teachers fled the attack.

The jihadists gained worldwide notoriety in April 2014 when they abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok, in neighbouring Borno state. A total of 112 are still being held.

Monday's incident sparked fears of a repeat and on Wednesday morning some 50 parents and guardians gathered at the school demanding information.

"Our girls have been missing for two days and we don't know their whereabouts," Abubakar Shehu, whose niece is among those missing, told AFP.

"Although we were told they had run to some villages, we have been to all these villages mentioned without any luck. We are beginning to harbour fears the worst might have happened.

"We have the fear that we are dealing with another Chibok scenario."

According to school staff, there were 710 students at the state-run boarding school, which caters for girls aged 11 and above.

Inuwa Mohammed, whose 16-year-old daughter, Falmata, is also missing, said it was a confused picture and that parents had been frantically searching surrounding villages.

"Nobody is telling us anything officially," he said. "We still don't know how many of our daughters were recovered and how many are still missing.

"We have been hearing many numbers, between 67 and 94."

Police in the state, which is one of three in the northeast Nigeria worst-affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, said they have no reports of abductions following the attack.

Yobe's education commissioner, Mohammed Lamin, said the school had been shut and a roll call of all the girls who have returned was being conducted.

"It is only after the head-count that we will be able to say whether any girls were taken," he said.

Some of the girls had fled to villages up to 30 kilometres (nearly 20 miles) away through the remote bushland, he added.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5417183/amp/Scores-girls-missing-new-Boko-Haram-school-attack.html?__twitter_impression=true

President Trump may have alienated some Africans with his “shithole countries” remark but Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni isn’t one of them.

“America has got one of the best presidents ever,” Museveni said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t know whether he was misquoted or whatever. But he talks to Africans frankly. In the world, you cannot survive if you are weak.”

Museveni’s comments came just weeks after comments Trump made about Haiti and other African countries surfaced in the press.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump reportedly asked, although he denied using that language. (RELATED: Cory Booker Had ‘Tears Of Rage’ When He Heard ‘Shithole’ Comment [VIDEO])

The comments sparked a backlash both domestically and abroad. A group of African ambassadors called Trump’s comments “outrageous, racist and xenophobic” and demanded an apology.

Museveni, however, remains a huge Trump fan.

Tags: Donald Trump, shithole, Uganda, Yoweri Museveni



http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/23/ugandan-president-trump-shithole-africa-haiti/

BREAKING: HUNDREDS of Twitter Employees Paid to View "Everything You Post Online" Including Private "Sex Messages"


https://mobile.twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/952933848840630273/video/1

https:///73Ub3LjjU2?amp=1

OLAADEGBU:
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla/Getty

HE"s a stable genius

NOETHNICITY:
Pakistan’s central bank has announced that it will be officially replacing the US dollar with the Chinese yuan in trade with Beijing, shortly after Washington accused Islamabad of harboring terrorists.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a statement published on Wednesday that all arrangements for using the Chinese currency for bilateral trade and investment between the two countries had been put in place.
“The SBP, in the capacity of the policy maker of financial and currency markets, has taken comprehensive policy-related measures to ensure that imports, exports, and financing transactions can be denominated in yuan,” the bank’s statement read.
The development came after US President Donald Trump claimed in a tweet that Pakistan was sheltering terrorists from Afghanistan.
“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Trump tweeted on Monday.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley later confirmed at a press conference that the White House would withhold $255 million in assistance to Pakistan.
Washington has long accused Islamabad of allowing the Haqqani network — which is an affiliate of the Taliban militant group — to operate relatively freely in Pakistan’s porous border regions to carry out operations in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies the accusation, saying Washington is overlooking Pakistan’s sacrifices in its fight against terrorism.
China, which accounts for around 28 percent of Pakistan’s imports, has backed Islamabad’s counter-terrorism track record, saying the country “made great efforts and sacrifices for combating terrorism” and has urged the international community to “fully recognize this.”
Pakistan is home to one of Beijing’s central infrastructure projects, a near-$60-billion collection of land and sea projects known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/01/04/547815/Pakistan-dollar-China-yuan-bilateral-trade

they will come back just wait

It is called "the Book Of Lies!!!"

bqlekan:
Effects of global warming, Yet we keep ignoring the signs here.
To think some set of people still believe global warming is a conspiracy theory is quite appalling. God help us

Effects of which global warming?

The rescued #ChibokGirl is 14 years old and was kidnapped 4 Years ago that means she was kidnapped at age 10, we were told the girls were writing WAEC, writing WAEC at 10? I don't think they analyzed this one well.

You wouldn't know it from watching or reading the mainstream media, but President Trump's approval rating as he nears the end of his first year in office is virtually tied with that of former president Barack Obama's at the same time in his first term.

On Dec. 29, 2009, 46% of voters approved of the job Obama was doing, while 53% disapproved. For Trump the numbers are 45-53, according to the Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll.

But again, don't look for that story in the MSM. CNN on Friday went with "Trump tweet suggests climate change could be good," and "17 strangest lines from Trump's visit to a fire station." The Washington Post topped its website with "White House pursues internal changes amid worries about a difficult year ahead," while the New York Times hyped a story headline, "Trump Veers Away From 70 Years of U.S. Foreign Policy."


As he often does, Trump sidestepped the media to point out the news.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
While the Fake News loves to talk about my so-called low approval rating, @foxandfriends just showed that my rating on Dec. 28, 2017, was approximately the same as President Obama on Dec. 28, 2009, which was 47%...and this despite massive negative Trump coverage & Russia hoax!


The MSM media, of course, made efforts to disparage the poll.

"The Rasmussen poll is somewhat of an outlier, though," Politico reported. "Of the 12 polls that go into the RealClearPolitics polling average of the president’s approval rating, the 46 percent in Rasmussen’s poll was the highest score Trump earned, 3 points better than his next best score.

"Overall, the RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump with a 39.3 percent approval rating and a 56.2 disapproval rating, historically poor numbers for a president at this point in his first term. Obama, in late December of his first year in office, had an average approval rating of 49.9 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, and a disapproval rating of 44.5 percent."



"TRUMP APPROVAL RATING SAME AS OBAMA AFTER FIRST YEAR, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO ONE POLL," yelled the headline.

Said the Washington Post: "Trump celebrates tying Obama’s approval rating in Trump’s friendliest poll."

You will note, though, that this data includes only polls from Rasmussen Reports. That’s … important.

Why? Because Rasmussen Reports includes only likely voters in its polling, a group that tends to skew more heavily Republican, since Republicans tend to vote more regularly. Rasmussen’s results, therefore, are generally more friendly to Republican candidates — and Republican presidents.

Another metric to use when considering a poll number over time is an average of polls on that subject. When we say “another metric,” you should go ahead and read that as “a better metric,” since poll averages smooth out outlier polls that show unusually high support or opposition to a candidate. If we look at the RealClearPolitics average of Trump approval polls vs. Obama’s, we see a different picture. Trump is about 10 points behind where Obama was at this point in his first year.

If only the MSM would put this kind of effort into getting to the bottom of all the Hillary Clinton and Democratic scandals, right?


https://www.dailywire.com/news/25203/president-trumps-ratings-end-his-first-year-tie-joseph-curl?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=051717-news&utm_campaign=dwtwitter

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has admitted that he and some other people he did not name can no longer be laughing with President Muhammadu Buhari as they were doing when they were in opposition.

He said in those days, he and others would be laughing and rolling on the floor of Buhari’s living room.

The governor who apparently was talking about the funny aspect of the President spoke in a documentary, “Buhari: Beyond the Iron and Steel” put together by the President’s media team.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, made excerpts of the interviews in the documentary, meant to show the other side of Buhari, available on his Facebook page on Sunday.

“When we were in the opposition, you needed to see how we rolled on the floor in his (Buhari’s) living room, as we laughed. Of course, we can’t do that again now,” Adesina quoted El-Rufai as saying in the documentary.


Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was also quoted as confirming that Buhari cracks jokes and still keeps a straight face.

“He gives you things to do and leaves you strictly to do those things. No interference at all, once he has confidence in you… And he cracks those jokes, and manages to still keep a straight face,” Osinbajo said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Matters, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said she wished Nigerians know Buhari’s “softer side.”

“How I wish Nigerians know his softer and accommodating side. Very jocular. But it is our duty to tell them,” she said.

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunke Amosun, who is an ally of the President described him as a “reformed democrat.”

“I wish I had his patience. He would listen to everybody and then take a decision. He is a reformed democrat,” the governor said.

On his part, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said, “He gave me some priority projects: Mokwa/Jebba road, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, and Second Niger Bridge… He never appends his signature to anything, unless you’ve explained, and he understands it.”


The documentary is billed to be aired on the Nigerian Television Authority on Sunday and Monday at 8pm and on Channels Television on Monday.


http://punchng.com/we-can-no-longer-laugh-with-buhari-like-we-did-in-opposition-el-rufai/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

ISIS has been defeated on the ground in Iraq, according to Iraqi and U.S.. military officials. After years of barbarism and slaughter of Christians in the region, their reign of terror and genocide is over and a new hope resides in the streets.

In Baghdad Iraqi Christians are proudly displaying a 30-foot tall Christmas tree and passers by have been taking photos and selfies in front of it all weekend long.

Iraqi Christians have raised a 30-ft. tall Christmas tree in Baghdad to celebrate both the holiday and the expulsion of ISIS extremists by Iraq Security Forces.


Today, while Christians throughout the region enter the holiday generally apprehensive about their place in a turbulent Middle East, the diverse Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac communities in northern Iraq have something special to celebrate.

Christmas trees have appeared in market places and Santa Claus has been sighted on the streets of Mosul.

“It might seem strange to hear that a female Santa Claus has appeared in this city,” said seventeen-year old Ghenwa Ghassan. “But I wanted to give the people here a simple gift — to bring Christmas to a place where it had been banished.”

Dressed as Santa, Ghassan distributed toys and school supplies to Christian and Muslim children in the rubble strewn streets of Old Mosul.

After three years of domination by ISIS, which included killing, abduction, and banishment of Christians from Mosul and the surrounding area, the return of Christmas marks a moment of hope that more people may be able to return along with the holiday.

“The young people spent the night decorating our town with lights just like we used to before ISIS came,” said Bernadette Al-Maslob, a fifty-nine year old archaeologist, in Karamlesh, eighteen miles southeast of Mosul.


https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2017/12/25/after-isis-defeat-christians-in-iraq-put-up-a-christmas-tree-for-all-to-see-in-baghdad-n2426637

mynd44 where are u are ?

Maiduguri – Nigerian troops on Monday repelled an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents at a security check point few kilometres away from Maiduguri.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 5: 30 PM, at Moloi area, on outskirts of Maiduguri.



The insurgents were said to have torched some houses and vandalized vehicles on Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu Road.


An eye witness, Aji Maina, said that the insurgents attacked and shot sporadically, a situation which made the villagers to scamper for safety and fled their homes.

Maina said that the residents of Moloi and adjourning villages had to run into Polo and other areas of Maiduguri for safety.

He, however, said that soldiers deployed to the area engaged the insurgents and repelled the attack.


“The insurgents attacked the ED security section, torched houses and motorists caught in the cross fire.

“At present, no one can ascertain the extent of damages or casualties in the attack.

“Many people fled their homes and scampered for safety into Maiduguri,” he said.

However, that security had been beefed up in the metropolis to thwart any breach of peace while people were going about their normal activities.


The Police and military authorities are yet to comment on the incident. (NAN)

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/houses-torched-vehicles-vandalized-insurgents-attack-maiduguri/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

President Trump's first year in office had its stumbles, but it also had a number of successes that had the White House and congressional Republicans crowing at the end of the year.

While Trump has seen his approval ratings fall, he's also gone a long way toward meeting a number of his campaign promises, including a pledge to reduce taxes.

The tax-cut bill approved by Congress days before Christmas was sweeping in scope and a major victory for a White House that hopes to build on it in Trump's second year in office.

Here's a look at Trump's biggest accomplishments of the year.



1. The tax-cut bill

Trump capped off 2017 with his first major legislative victory - the passage of the Republicans' tax-cut bill, which slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and reduces individual rates as well as implements some key breaks.

It's the biggest tax legislation to be approved by Congress since 1986, and would be significant if that's all it did.

The fact that it also eliminated ObamaCare's mandate that individuals buy insurance and opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling - something several GOP administrations had tried but failed to do - makes it truly historic.



2. Neil Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court

Trump's biggest early victory came when the Senate, in April, confirmed Neil Gorsuch to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

Gorsuch's appointment marked the end of a bitter struggle between Democrats and Republicans over the vacant seat. It was also a victory for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who for nearly a year blocked former President Obama's pick to replace Scalia from getting even a hearing to sit on the court.

The move also came as Trump aims to reshape the federal judiciary with a host of other conservative nominations. The Senate confirmed 12 of Trump's federal appeals court judges in 2017, a record for a president's first year in office.

3. Roll-back of regulations

Trump signed an executive order cutting regulations for small businesses and moved forward with plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan, one of Obama's signature acts as president. Trump has also overseen moves to expand oil drilling in the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico and granted a permit to the Keystone XL pipeline previously rejected by Obama.

Trump vowed to reduce regulations he argued were strangling the economy, and he's taken important strides to do so in the wake of opposition from congressional Democrats, who argue the president's actions on climate are hurting America's standing in the world. Local governments led by Democrats have acted to reverse Trump's efforts on the Paris climate accords.

4. The travel ban

Trump ran on a platform of tougher immigration enforcement, both to protect American jobs and national security. A week into his presidency, he took one of his most controversial steps, banning most travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States.

The move triggered protests across the country and court fights, but, by the end of the year, a version of Trump's ban was left standing.

Trump also has taken steps to increase border security and has seen a drop in arrests on the border, a possible sign of reduced entries.

He stepped up raids on immigrants in the country illegally and oversaw a surge in arrests across the country. The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the agency plans to take an even more aggressive approach next year.

Trump hasn't been able to make progress on building a wall on the Mexican border, however.

5. Declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel

In a radical departure from decades of foreign policy, Trump announced that the U.S. would formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving its embassy to the contested holy city. The move signified one of Trump's boldest statements to the international community, and, specifically, the United Nations, which he has frequently criticized.

6. Withdrawal from Paris climate deal

Trump followed through on one of his major campaign promises when he announced in June that the U.S. would leave the Paris climate deal reached under Obama. While there have since been conflicting reports on the administration's current stance on the agreement, the move fulfilled Trump's pledge to tackle one of Obama's signature achievements and take a tougher stance against the international community.

7. Pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Trump began his presidency by carrying out another key promise, withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal with Asia he had called a "potential disaster for our country." He has said his administration will secure new trade deals with America's Asian allies, though firm details have yet to emerge.

Meanwhile, the administration is at work trying to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. A new round of negotiations are slated to be held in January, and it's possible Trump could decide to pull the U.S. from that deal as well.

8. Roll-back of some of Obama's Cuba policies

Trump followed up on his pledge to roll back Obama's opening up of relations with Cuba, tightening travel and commercial ties with the communist island. He also placed new financial restrictions on Havana, amid concerns over a series of bizarre "sonic attacks" targeting U.S. diplomats in the country.

While the moves were seen as a clear crackdown by Trump on rapprochement with Cuba, much of Obama's policies toward Havana essentially remain intact.

9. Moving to repeal Obama's net neutrality rules

In another blow to regulations enacted under Obama, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal its landmark net neutrality rules this month. The move drew ire from Democrats, consumer groups and tech companies, but was seen as a major win for advocates of less government oversight.

10. Fighting - and further degrading - ISIS

Largely following Obama's strategy, Trump dealt major blows to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, forcing the terrorist group to retreat from its two self-declared capitals: Mosul and Raqqa, located in Iraq and Syria, respectively. Trump also expanded the military's authority to carry out air strikes in the Middle East, a factor some experts credit for his administration's progress against terrorism in the region.


http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/366429-trumps-top-10-accomplishments-of-2017?amp&__twitter_impression=true


Mynd44

Study: Network News Coverage of Trump 91% Negative Over Past Three Months

Craig Bannister By Craig Bannister | December 12, 2017 | 3:10 PM EST

The network news media’s overwhelmingly negative coverage of President Donald Trump shows no signs of letting up, a new study by the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters division revealss.

For the September-November 2017 period, 91% of the Trump coverage was overtly negative, the NewsBusters’ analysis shows:

“The media have approached the Trump presidency with unrelenting hostility. Our latest numbers show that coverage of Trump on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts in September, October and November was more than 90 percent negative (our methodology counts only explicitly evaluative statements from reporters or non-partisan sources).”
By month, negative statements outnumbered positive ones:


In all, coverage of Trump was 91% negative during the past three months, unchanged from NewsBusters’ study of Trump coverage in June, July and August.


https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/study-media-coverage-trump-91-negative-over-past-three-months-0

Calling it “a big step in the right direction,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Sunday night announced a historic reduction in the U.N. biennial operating budget.


Haley said the plan calls for a $285 million cut for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

“The inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations are well known,” Haley said. “We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked.

She added, “This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable U.N. – is a big step in the right direction.”


The U.N. budget now covers a two-year period, beginning in January of an even-numbered year

Continue Reading Below


The United States was seeking a $250 million cut to the U.N. budget for 2018-19, on top of $200 million in savings already proposed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Agence France-Presse reported two weeks ago.

Guterres has proposed capping the U.N. biennial budget at $5.4 billion, shaving off $200 million from the 2016-17 budget.

The U.S. pays about 22 percent of the U.N.’s budget, or roughly $3.3 billion, and fully 28 percent of its peacekeeping effort.

The U.N.'s operating budget is separate from its peacekeeping budget, which was cut by $600 million this year, under pressure from President Donald Trump, AFP reported.

Trump last week threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor of a draft U.N. resolution calling for the U.S. to withdraw its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The final tally was 128-9, with 35 nations abstaining, including five members of the European Union.





http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/12/25/haley-announces-285m-cut-in-2018-19-un-operating-budget.amp.html

Jerusalem



Guatemala is to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, President Jimmy Morales said Sunday, becoming the first leader to back US President Donald Trump’s controversial change of stance on the holy city.



After speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Morales wrote to Guatemalans on his Facebook page that “one of the most important topics was the return of Guatemala’s

embassy to Jerusalem,” from Tel Aviv, where it is currently located.

“For this reason I am informing you that I have given instructions to the foreign ministry that it start the necessary respective coordination to make this happen,” Morales wrote.


https://punchng.com/breaking-guatemala-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem/

On 22 December 2017, news outlet Politico reported on the existence of a former covert Drug Enforcement Agency operation named Project Cassandra aimed at disrupting a Hezbollah-run cocaine and weapon smuggling operation:

The campaign, dubbed Project Cassandra, was launched in 2008 after the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed evidence that Hezbollah had transformed itself from a Middle East-focused military and political organization into an international crime syndicate that some investigators believed was collecting $1 billion a year from drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities.
The more than 14,000-word investigation is based on interviews with dozens of participants, some on-record and some anonymous, as well as “a review of government documents and court records.” It details a complex criminal network run by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite Muslim political party, which has an armed wing of the same name and receives state-level support from Iran.

According to Politico, the DEA uncovered a massive global criminal enterprise aimed at funding Hezbollah’s operations:

Agents working out of a top-secret DEA facility in Chantilly, Virginia, used wiretaps, undercover operations and informants to map Hezbollah’s illicit networks, with the help of 30 U.S. and foreign security agencies.

They followed cocaine shipments, some from Latin America to West Africa and on to Europe and the Middle East, and others through Venezuela and Mexico to the United States. They tracked the river of dirty cash as it was laundered by, among other tactics, buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa. And with the help of some key cooperating witnesses, the agents traced the conspiracy, they believed, to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.
The story’s most politically charged claim is that President Obama “let Hezbollah off the hook” in an effort to secure a nuclear deal with Iran. It suggests that the Obama Justice Department did not act decisively on the information obtained by the DEA operation, including failing to push for the extradition of Lebanese arms dealer Ali Fayad and the refusing to prosecute the alleged lynchpin of the criminal operation, Abdallah Safieddine:

Former Obama administration officials declined to comment on individual cases, but noted that the State Department condemned the Czech decision not to hand over Fayad. Several of them, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were guided by broader policy objectives, including de-escalating the conflict with Iran, curbing its nuclear weapons program and freeing at least four American prisoners held by Tehran, and that some law enforcement efforts were undoubtedly constrained by those concerns.
Kevin Lewis, an Obama spokesperson and former Department of Justice official, pushed back against that narrative:

There has been a consistent pattern of actions taken against Hezbollah, both through tough sanctions and law enforcement actions before and after the Iran deal.
While there may have been other factors leading to the lack of energetic support for Project Cassandra, Politico concluded by stating that many former Cassandra agents agree that the main factor was related to the Iranian Nuclear deal:

Turf battles, especially the institutional conflict between law enforcement and intelligence agencies, contributed to the demise of Project Cassandra, [former head of DEA Special Operations Derek] Maltz said. But many Project Cassandra agents insist the main reason was a political choice to prioritize the Iranian nuclear agreement over efforts to crack down on Hezbollah.




https://www.snopes.com/2017/12/22/politico-obama-administration-stalled-hezbollah-investigation/

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Lucasbalo

If the White House payroll is a leading indicator of the president’s commitment to shrink government then voters have a reason to cheer. Projected four-year savings on the White House payroll could top $22 million. Savings come from President Trump’s refusal to take a salary as well as big reductions in other areas including the absence of czars, expensive “fellowships,” and spending on FLOTUS staff.



On Friday, the Trump administration released their annual report to Congress on White House Office Personnel. It includes the name, status, salary and position title of all 377 White House employees. (Search the recent Trump administration payroll data – and last two-years of the Obama administration – posted at OpenTheBooks.com.)

Here are some key findings:

There are 110 fewer employees on White House staff under Trump than under Obama at this point in their respective presidencies.
$5.1 million in payroll savings vs. the Obama FY2015 payroll. In 2017, the Trump payroll amounts to $35.8 million for 377 employees, while the Obama payroll amounted to $40.9 million for 476 employees (FY2015).
Nineteen fewer staffers are dedicated to The First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS). Currently, there are five staffers dedicated to Melania Trump vs. 24 staffers who served Michelle Obama (FY2009).
Counts of the “Assistants to the President” – the most trusted advisors to the president – are the same (22) in both first-year Trump and Obama administrations. In the Trump White House, Steven Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Omarosa Manigault, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and 17 others make salaries of $179,700. In Obama’s first-year, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel and twenty others held the title with top pay of $172,000.
The highest compensated White House Trump staffer? Mark House, Senior Policy Advisor, has a salary of $187,500. Mr. House is “on detail” from a federal agency which allows him to exceed the top pay-grade of $179,700. In Obama’s Administration (2009), David Marcozzi earned $193,000 “on detail” from Health and Human Services.
Our review of the Trump White House payroll confirms five staffers dedicated to First Lady Melania Trump. Highly criticized for her twenty-four assistants, advisors, schedulers, directors, deputies, advance aides, associates, social and press secretaries and other helpers, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s staff was only slightly larger than Laura Bush’s staff of eighteen.

These five White House employees serving First Lady Melania Trump include:

Lindsay Reynolds, Chief of Staff to the First Lady ($179,700);
Stephanie Grisham, Director of Communications for the First Lady ($115,000);
Anna Niceta, Social Secretary ($115,000)
Timothy Tripepi, Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations for the First Lady ($115,000);
Mary-Kathryn Fisher, Deputy Director of Advance for the First Lady ($77,000).
Starting in 2009, President Obama came under fire for hiring special initiative czars. We found no evidence of “czars” on Trump’s payroll. Examples of these White House czars included Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner ($172,000), Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois ($98,000), White House Director of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrion Jr ($158,500), and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle ($158,500).

Starting in 2015, President Obama instituted a new fellowship – a White House Leadership Development program. In the initial class of sixteen candidates, at least one was placed on detail (from IRS) at the White House – Elaine Ho – at a salary of $158,700. Ho’s assignment? Working with the Office of the First Lady to implement her “Let Girls Learn” initiative. Two “Directors” were also on payroll: Pamela Coleman ($120,000) and Katherine Pielemeier ($60,876). We found no evidence that Trump continued these programs.

Two key advisors to the president, Gary Cohn and Christopher Liddell, serve with reduced salaries of only $30,000 – the lowest salaries of all staff. Cohn is the former President of Goldman Sachs and current Director of the White House National Economic Council. Liddell is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the White House and a former Microsoft Chief Financial Officer.



While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to forego his paycheck. However, Article II of the United States Constitution mandates a presidential salary. In the first quarter, President Trump donated his pay to the Dept. of Interior for construction and repair needs at military cemeteries.

Refusing a salary for work in government is commendable and the Trump family is leading by example. Ivanka Trump (First Daughter and Presidential Advisor) and Son-in-Law Jared Kushner (Senior Advisor) both refused a salary.

At the nation’s founding, Ben Franklin said, “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” Although the White House personnel budget is an infinitesimal part of the $3.9 trillion federal budget, it could be a leading indicator of Trump’s commitment to cut waste, fraud and taxpayer abuse.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2017/07/02/trumps-leaner-white-house-payroll-projected-to-save-taxpayers-22-million/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

BeeBeeOoh:
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/12/24/trump-never-said-nigerians-live-in-huts-says-white-house/

Lucasbalo


Another fake news

I no tell you.

Lucasbalo:
Tell me the city, county and state you live in US to know that. With all your trump a*s licking, you ain't getting a visa from trump yet. Idol worshipper.

The news is fake man. Ver fke news

Lucasbalo:
Salam is just like Obixcel, Stanech and so many brainstems parading nairaland looking for fame . What will make a guy in Nigeria worship a Klan sympathizer that thinks of Bkacks and other minorities as subhuman if not mental retardation. Omarossa who happens to be the closest Black to Trump admitted that Trump was racial which is code word for racist in America but you get the fooools here who never step their feet on American soil telling us they know Trampy more than us. I have known of his bigotry and racism not to talk of his lies and misorgyn for over three decades. You wonder why over 90% of African Americans voted against the useless pig last November. His days at 1600 Pennysvalnia Ave are numbered.

Abbey Lucas again..

The story is false. Fake news!