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Joel
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Trump's First Military Action Obliterated 30 Innocent Civilians

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Yemen has told the U.S. it must suspend Special Ops missions after civilians died in a raid

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Yemen Withdraws Permission for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions

WASHINGTON — Angry at the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first commando raid authorized by President Trump, Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terrorist groups in the country, according to American officials.

Grisly photographs of children apparently killed in the crossfire of a 50-minute firefight during the raid caused outrage in Yemen. A member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, Chief Petty Officer William Owens, was also killed in the operation.

While the White House continues to insist that the attack was a “success” — a characterization it repeated on Tuesday — the suspension of commando operations is a setback for Mr. Trump, who has made it clear he plans to take a far more aggressive approach against Islamic militants.

It also calls into question whether the Pentagon will receive permission from the president for far more autonomy in selecting and executing its counterterrorism missions in Yemen, which it sought, unsuccessfully, from President Barack Obama in the last months of his term.

Mr. Obama deferred the decision to Mr. Trump, who appeared inclined to grant it: His approval of the Jan. 29 raid came over a dinner four nights earlier with his top national security aides, rather than in the kind of rigorous review in the Situation Room that became fairly routine under President George W. Bush and Mr. Obama.

The raid, in which just about everything went wrong, was an early test of Mr. Trump’s national security decision-making — and his willingness to rely on the assurances of his military advisers. His aides say that even though the decision was made over a dinner, it had been fully vetted, and had the requisite legal approvals.

Mr. Trump will soon have to make a decision about the more general request by the Pentagon to allow more of such operations in Yemen without detailed, and often time-consuming, White House review. It is unclear whether Mr. Trump will allow that, or how the series of mishaps that marked his first approval of such an operation may have altered his thinking about the human and political risks of similar operations.

The Pentagon has said that the main objective of the raid was to recover laptop computers, cellphones and other information that could help fill gaps in its understanding of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose leaders have tried to carry out at least three attacks on the United States. But it is unclear whether the information the commandos recovered will prove valuable.

The White House continued its defense of the raid on Tuesday, making no reference to the Yemeni reaction.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, denied reports that the purpose of the attack was to capture or kill any specific Qaeda leader. “The raid that was conducted in Yemen was an intelligence-gathering raid,” he said. “That’s what it was. It was highly successful. It achieved the purpose it was going to get, save the loss of life that we suffered and the injuries that occurred.”

Neither the White House nor the Yemenis have publicly announced the suspension. Pentagon spokesmen declined to comment, but other military and civilian officials confirmed that Yemen’s reaction had been strong.

It was unclear if Yemen’s decision to halt the ground attacks was also influenced by Mr. Trump’s inclusion of the country on his list of nations from which he wants to temporarily suspend all immigration, an executive order that is now being challenged in the federal courts.

According to American civilian and military officials, the Yemeni ban on operations does not extend to military drone attacks, and does not affect the handful of American military advisers who are providing intelligence support to the Yemenis and forces from the United Arab Emirates.

In 2014, Yemen’s government temporarily halted those drones from flying because of botched operations that also killed civilians. But later they quietly resumed, and in recent years they have been increasing in frequency, a sign of the fact that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is considered one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups.

The raid stirred immediate outrage among Yemeni government officials, some of whom accused the Trump administration of not fully consulting with them before the mission. Within 24 hours of the assault on a cluster of houses in a tiny village in mountainous central Yemen, the country’s foreign minister, Abdul Malik Al Mekhlafi, condemned the raid in a post on his official Twitter account as “extrajudicial killings.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera this week, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, said that President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi raised concerns about the raid in a meeting with the American ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh on Feb. 2.

“Yemen’s government is a key partner in the war against terrorism,” Mr. Mubarak said in the interview, adding that Yemen’s cooperation should not come “at the expense of the Yemeni citizens and the country’s sovereignty.”

The Pentagon has acknowledged that the raid killed several civilians, including children, and is investigating. The dead include, by the account of relatives, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Qaeda leader who was killed in a targeted drone strike in 2011.

In a sign of the contentiousness that public disclosures of the raid have caused, Pentagon officials on Tuesday provided lawmakers on Capitol Hill with a classified briefing on the mission. One participant in that meeting said military officials told them “they got what they wanted,” without offering details. But Senator John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said afterward that the raid was a failure.

American counterterrorism officials have expressed growing fears about their lack of understanding of Qaeda operations in Yemen since the United States was forced to withdraw the last 125 Special Operations advisers from the country in March 2015 after Houthi rebels ousted the government of President Hadi, the Americans’ main counterterrorism partner.

The Pentagon has tried to start rebuilding its counterterrorism operations in Yemen since then. Last May, American Special Operations forces helped Yemeni and Emirati troops evict Qaeda fighters from the port city of Al Mukalla.

Al Qaeda had used Al Mukalla as a base as the militants stormed through southern Yemen, capitalizing on the power vacuum caused by the country’s 14-month civil war and seizing territory, weapons and money.

The deadly raid last month, launched from an amphibious assault ship off the Yemeni coast, was the first known American-led ground mission in Yemen since December 2014, when members of SEAL Team 6 stormed a village in southern Yemen in an effort to free an American photojournalist held hostage by Al Qaeda. But the raid ended with the kidnappers killing the journalist and a South African held with him.

The United States conducted 38 drone strikes in Yemen last year, up from 23 in 2014, and has already carried out five strikes so far this year, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal.

In response to the raid, Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen urged followers last weekend to attack the United States and its allies in the country.

Qasim al-Raymi, the leader of the Qaeda offshoot, likened his fighters to extremists battling American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a speech translated by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist activities and messaging.

Specialists in Yemeni culture and politics have cautioned that Al Qaeda would seize on the raid to whip up anti-American feelings and attract more followers.

“The use of U.S. soldiers, high civilian casualties and disregard for local tribal and political dynamics,” the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report released last Thursday, “plays into AQAP’s narrative of defending Muslims against the West and could increase anti-U.S. sentiment and with it AQAP’s pool of recruits.”

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DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary; Bill to End Education Dept Introduced
(CNSNews.com) -- On the day that Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the Secretary of Education, House Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a short bill to abolish the Department of Education, which was established under the Carter administration in 1980. 

Massie's legislation, HR 899, simply states, "The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018."

In a Feb. 7 statement, Massie said, “Neither Congress nor the President, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn."

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In Norway, everyone's tax info is just a click away
Oslo (AFP) - How much does my neighbour, my colleague, the leader of my country or his wife earn? In Norway, a champion of transparency, that information is available to all, just a few clicks away.

The fact that a billionaire could take over the White House without providing his tax returns, or that a French presidential election frontrunner could be rocked by revelations that he paid his family handsome sums for suspected phoney work, are inconceivable scenarios in this Scandinavian country.

"In Norway there's a culture of openness on these issues, which makes it unlikely to get elected without being transparent about your tax situation and earnings," the head of the Norwegian Tax Administration, Hans Christian Holte, told AFP.

Each year, the tax agency publishes key information on all taxpayers -- including earnings, wealth, and tax payments -- on its website.

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Teachers wearing body cameras to film unruly pupils | News | The Times & The Sunday Times
Teachers in schools are using police-style body cameras to record misbehaving pupils.

The cameras are used in at least two comprehensive schools in England, one of which has a history of pupils with behavioural problems, and have been approved by local education authorities, The Times understands.

Teachers turn on the cameras during incidents in the classroom to tackle “constant low-level disruption”, the cameras’ manufacturer said. They give verbal notice before starting to record, according to Tom Ellis, a lecturer at Portsmouth University.

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Japanese nuclear plant just recorded an astronomical radiation level. Should we be worried? - The Washington Post
TOKYO — The utility company that operated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan — the one that went into triple meltdown after the enormous 2011 earthquake and tsunami — has released some jaw-dropping figures.

The radiation level in the containment vessel of reactor 2 has reached as high as 530 sieverts per hour, Tokyo Electric Power Co. — or Tepco, as it’s known — said last week. This far exceeds the previous high of 73 sieverts per hour recorded at the reactor following the March 2011 disaster.

That was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the one at Chernobyl, in Ukraine, in 1986. Almost 16,000 people were killed along Japan’s northeastern coast in the tsunami, and 160,000 more lost their homes and livelihoods. The cleanup is taking much longer than expected.

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Secaucus transgender boy returns to Scouting
MAPLEWOOD — In a moment of historic significance, Joe Maldonado put on a Cub Scout uniform on Tuesday night as he became a member of Pack 20 in Essex County while his mother held back tears — one week after the Boy Scouts of America changed its national policy to allow transgender children to be scouts.

Scouting's decision to change its longtime policy came about a month after The Record reported that Joe had been thrown out of a Cub Scout pack in Secaucus last year because he was born a girl. The decision was at least in part a response to the national debate generated by that story.

“This is fun; I'm so proud," Joe, 9, said during the meeting. He said that the best part of the night was that "I am accepted, and I'm actually in Boy Scouts."

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Thousands of Dead Bees Wash Ashore on Naples Beach | NBC 6 South Florida
Thousands of dead and dying bees are washing up on a popular beach in Naples.

Beach goers had to watch where they stepped Tuesday after some people say they have been stung just along the shoreline, according to NBC affiliate WBBH-TV.

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Was Buffalo mom jailed over homeschooling decision? - Story
Harris says she filed documents at Buffalo City Hall, following all the steps, informing the district of her intent to homeschool her children. According to documents she provided to 7 Eyewitness News, they're dated December 7th and the district says it received her paperwork.
 
"I spoke directly to the homeschool coordinator and she told me from this point on my children were officially un-enrolled from school."
 
Things took a turn when she says a week later, Child Protective Services called, wondering why her kids weren't in school.
 
"I told them that my kids were homeschooled now and that I could furnish the documents if they need to see them."
 
Thinking everything was fine, Harris says she went on with her homeschooling, but then, less than a month later she says she was confronted by CPS workers and police. According to Harris, they told her they had a court order to take her children and when she told them no, she was arrested for obstruction.
 
She says she hasn't seen her kids in three weeks, and they've been in a foster institution.
 
The Buffalo Public School District says it cannot comment on this case due to Federal Laws but says in order for a parent to file for homeschooling, they must have full custody of the children.

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Army Preps for Urban Warfare in MegaCities: "Mass Migration, Disaster and Inner-City Turmoil"
There will be war in the streets of America. Things have been engineered that way.

The scenarios are many, the issues are complex. The current anger from the left, who are violently protesting against President Trump, is just one aspect of it.

But the Pentagon and the U.S. national security structure is increasingly looking towards the shifting demographics around the globe – people have moved from rural areas, and shifted into cities. Where ever conflict stirs, there will be a need for military and SWAT response to the call. Entire cities will be locked down; door to door sweeps will often have violent ends.

Baghdad could be brought home to the streets of America, and the military already knows it.

The powers that be are deeply concerned about the unfolding situations with migrants, illegal immigrants, potential terrorists, political factions, violent protests, arson and riots.

Increasingly, they are training for and expecting a homegrown conflict that will call for them to restore order in a major cities – and even hunt down suspects block to block, like in the Boston Marathon bombing incident, while making some significant infringement of our civil liberties.

During the past several years, there have been reports about unannounced urban warfare drills in major U.S. cities, sometimes in coordination with major events; there have also been military training scenarios that have maintained a consistent theme of civil unrest, economic breakdown and widespread riots.

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Trump questions lawmakers' efforts to curb asset seizures by police | Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was "no reason" to curb law enforcement agencies that seize cash, vehicles and other assets of people suspected of crimes, a practice that some lawmakers and activists have criticized for denying legal rights.

The issue of civil asset forfeiture, created to disrupt the activities of organized crime groups, arose when sheriffs from around the United States told Trump at a White House meeting that they were under pressure to ease the practice.

"I'd like to look into that," Trump said. "There's no reason for that."

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The Left Hates You. Act Accordingly. - Kurt Schlichter
They hate you, because by defying them you have prevented them from living up to the dictates of their false religion. Our rebelliousness has denied them the state of grace they seek, exercising their divine right to dictate every aspect of our puny lives. Their sick faith gives meaning to these secular weirdos, giving them something that fills their empty lives with a messianic fervor to go out and conquer and convert the heathens.

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Being a former citizen of South Carolina, I know that Graham is no conservative and is likely a closet homosexual.

Saudi Arabia Bribing Vets to Lobby Against 9/11 Bill » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
Saudi Arabia has hired a public relations firm to recruit veterans to lobby against a bill that allows families of 9/11 victims to sue the country for its role in financing the attack.

The Saudi Arabian government is pampering veterans with luxury trips to Washington, DC to lobby in favor of an amendment that would gut an already signed law granting families of 9/11 victims the ability to sue the kingdom.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), overwhelmingly passed by Congress over President Obama’s veto in September, 2016, gave families of terrorist attack victims the ability to file civil suits against a foreign government if that government financed those attacks.

Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have introduced an amendment that would gut the law, deeming a foreign government liable for terrorist attacks only if “they knowingly engage with a terrorist organization directly or indirectly, including financing.”

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Cellphone Surveillance Gear Floods U.S. Cities - CityLab
Major cities throughout the U.S. have spent millions on mobile surveillance tools—but there are still few rules about what happens to the information they capture.

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Drudge: ‘Republican party should be sued for fraud’ » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
Media mogul Matt Drudge called for obstructionist Republicans to be “sued for fraud” Wednesday over their refusal to address Obamacare and tax cuts that would financially affect millions of Americans.

The proprietor of the popular news aggregator DrudgeReport.com said Wednesday Republicans were focusing on everything but the issues that affect everyday Americans.

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China 'has prepared for a pre-emptive strike against US' | Daily Mail Online
An investigation of satellite imagery compares China's missile testing grounds and US military bases
The images show that the test areas have been designed to look like the military bases, according to the report 
Earlier this week, a highly accurate Chinese ballistic missile capable of threatening US and Japan bases in Asia made its latest appearance 
The medium-range DF-16 featured in a video posted last week

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The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity : 'The Media Coverage on Syria is the Biggest Media Lie of our Time' -- Interview with Flemish Priest in Syria
Interviewer: You are very critical of the media coverage on Syria. What is bothering you?

Father Daniel: “The idea that a popular uprising took place against President Assad is completely false. I’ve been in Qara since 2010 and I have seen with my own eyes how agitators from outside Syria organized protests against the government and recruited young people. That was filmed and aired by Al Jazeera to give the impression that a rebellion was taking place. Murders were committed by foreign terrorists, against the Sunni and Christian communities, in an effort to sow religious and ethnic discord among the Syrian people. While in my experience, the Syrian people were actually very united.

Before the war, this was a harmonious country: a secular state in which different religious communities lived side by side peacefully. There was hardly any poverty, education was free, and health care was good. It was only not possible to freely express your political views. But most people did not care about that.”


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Wikipedia bans ‘unreliable’ Daily Mail as source — RT Viral
Wikipedia has prohibited the use of the Daily Mail for citations on the open-source encyclopedia, describing the publication as “generally unreliable.”
The website carried out a survey among its editors, all of whom are volunteers, seeking their opinions on the prohibition of the Daily Mail as a source on the site, which many editors apparently welcomed.

“The paper is trash, pure and simple,” wrote editor Hillbillyholiday, who initiated the Daily Mail ban in January. Another editor, JRPG, branded it a “mouthpiece for Paul Dacre,” a reference to the newspaper’s editor.

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Mississippi considers firing squad as method of execution - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi lawmakers are advancing a proposal to add firing squad, electrocution and gas chamber as execution methods in case a court blocks the use of lethal injection drugs.

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Police strike leaves 90 dead, Brazilian city in chaos | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 90 people are reported dead in a wave of violence in the Brazilian city of Vitoria after the police force there went on strike.

The number of registered murders had risen to 90 since military police stopped patrols on Saturday, Globo reported, citing figures received from a police union.

The mood in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo remained tense Wednesday as armed forces continued patrolling the streets for the fifth straight day.

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Former Donald Trump Agent Ari Emanuel Setting up PAC for New Era | Variety
WME-IMG is forming a national political action committee and planning on increasing its contact with office holders from both political parties, the agency’s co-CEOs told employees in an internal memo.

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RAF heroes ward off two Russian bombers flying near UK airspace just one DAY after Vladimir Putin told pilots to ‘prepare for war’
RAF top guns scrambled to intercept two nuclear-capable Russian bombers as they flew menacingly towards Britain this morning.

Vladimir Putin’s Blackjack bombers flew within Britain’s “area of interest” but did not enter UK airspace.

The show of sabre-rattling comes just one day after Vlad ordered his air force to be ready for a “time of war”.

The planes are believed to have flown down the coast of Norway before passing the west coast of Ireland

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Record Number Renounce U.S. Citizenship in 2016 | Best Countries | US News
A record number of individuals renounced their U.S. citizenship or chose to expatriate in 2016, according to data published by the Internal Revenue Service today.

The government agency, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, publishes the names of those individuals in a list each quarter, in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. Before 2011, less than 1,000 individuals chose to expatriate each year, according to the lists published on the Federal Register. More than 2,300 expatriated in the last quarter of 2016 alone, and this year's total of 5,411 individuals is 26 percent more than last year's 4,279.

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Universal basic income 'useless', says Finland's biggest union | The Independent
Finland’s basic income experiment is unworkable, uneconomical and ultimately useless. Plus, it will only encourage some people to work less.

That’s not the view of a hard core Thatcherite, but of the country’s biggest trade union. The labour group says the results of the two-year pilot program will fail to sway its opposition to a welfare-policy idea that’s gaining traction among those looking for an alternative in the post-industrial age.

“We think it takes social policy in the wrong direction,” said Ilkka Kaukoranta, chief economist of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), which has nearly 1 million members.

Since January, a group of unemployed Finns aged between 25 and 58 have been receiving a stipend of €560 (£477) per month. The amount isn’t means-tested and is paid regardless of whether the recipient finds a job, starts a business or returns to school.

Popular in the 1960s, the idea of a guaranteed minimum income for everyone is gaining more proponents again amid resurgent populism. French Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon has made it a policy platform in his presidential campaign.

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