Friday, October 16, 2015

'How to stab a Jew': Israel at UN condemns Palestinian president for inciting violence



A Palestinian disguised as a photojournalist stabbed an Israeli soldier in Hebron Friday, the same day Palestinians torched a site honored by the Jewish community as the tomb of the biblical figure Joseph.
The latest round of violence and bloodshed came as the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the fighting. Speaking before the meeting, new Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon displayed a Palestinian diagram meant to incite violence, entitled: "How to stab a Jew."
He blamed the Palestinian government and media for provoking attacks among children and teenagers. “You can see with this picture what incitement looks like,” he added.
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, blamed what he called Israeli "terror" through its occupation of East Jerusalem. He said such actions "will not break the will of our people."
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power condemned the deadly attacks, urging world leaders to tone down harsh rhetoric, or "any actions that can feed the violence."
Friday’s stabbing occurred on the sidelines of fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian stone-throwers. A Palestinian man wearing a T-shirt with the word "press" in large letters stabbed and wounded the Israeli soldier before troops shot and killed the attacker.
At one point, shouts were heard, followed by several gunshots. Troops rushed to the scene of the stabbing, near a military jeep, and administered aid to the injured soldier who was eventually taken away by ambulance. The attacker lay on the ground, clutching a knife in his right hand.
The incident heightened concerns among journalists about their safety. The Foreign Press Association for Israel and the Palestinian territories said it "marks a worrying development" that demands all media operate with greater caution.
"We utterly deplore this violation of press privilege and call on local Palestinian media organizations to immediately verify all media credentials," the FPA said in a statement.
The attacker's name has not been released, but local journalists said they did not know him.
In Nablus, another West Bank city, Palestinians firebombed the tomb, an attack condemned as "irresponsible" by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Flames blackened exterior walls of the small stone structure, a scene of Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the past.
Confrontations also erupted in the biblical town of Bethlehem and the Israel-Gaza border.
In Gaza, hundreds approached a border crossing with Israel, throwing stones and drawing Israeli fire that killed one Palestinian and wounded two, health officials said. In Bethlehem, dozens of Palestinians hurled stones and firebombs at Israeli troops who responded with tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and live rounds.
In the past month, eight Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. During the same period, 34 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire -- 15 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the others in clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli troops.
Many of the Palestinian assailants are from east Jerusalem, the sector of the city captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians as a future capital. The recent attacks have largely been carried out by individuals with no ties to militant groups. The violence comes at a time when a possible partition of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean into two states -- Palestine alongside Israel -- is fading fast.
In response to the stabbings, Israel has taken unprecedented measures, including setting up checkpoints in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem this week despite Israel's long-standing assertion that the city is united.
In one area, men passing through a checkpoint Friday said they lined up and ordered by troops to lift their hands and shirts to show they were unarmed before being allowed to pass.
Israel also imposed restrictions on Muslim worship at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site in Jerusalem's walled Old City. Men under 40 were barred from the shrine, and hundreds of young worshippers spread out prayer mats on streets leading to the Old City.
The Muslim-run shrine, also revered by Jews as the holiest site of their religion, has been at the root of recent tensions. Palestinian and Muslim leaders have alleged Israel is attempting to change long-standing arrangements that bar Jews from praying on the hilltop compound, a claim denied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, several senior members of Netanyahu's coalition have called for Jewish prayer rights at the site, once home to biblical Jewish Temples.
The widespread perception among Palestinians that Al-Aqsa is under threat from Israel has fomented tensions and violence.
Abbas has tried to lower the temperature, telling his security commanders that armed attacks on Israelis counter Palestinian interests. However, he has also told his security forces not to stop Palestinian stone-throwers heading to confrontations with Israeli troops.
Abbas on Friday condemned the Nablus arson as "irresponsible," ordered an investigation into who was behind it and said repairs would begin immediately, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Dore Gold, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said the site was targeted "just because it is a place in which Jews pray." Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said the attack violates freedom of worship and that the military will "bring the perpetrators of this despicable act to justice."
For centuries, the site has been identified with the biblical Joseph but some Palestinians say it was a sheikh's grave or used as a mosque. The tomb has become a popular prayer site in recent years among some sects of religious Jews.
The site is located in an area under Palestinian self-rule and visits by Jews are coordinated between Palestinian security forces and Israeli troops.

Hillary Cartoon


Fact Check: Obama claims Afghan combat mission over – despite airstrikes, special ops

Report: US believed Afghan hospital was Taliban base

President Obama may be stretching when he assures the American public that combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year.

The president repeated the claim Thursday as he announced 5,500 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2016. "Last December, more than 13 years after our nation was attacked by Al Qaeda on 9/11, America’s combat mission in Afghanistan came to responsible end," Obama said from the White House, flanked by Vice President Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joe Dunford and Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

But this year alone, the U.S. military has carried out more than 328 airstrikes, dropping 629 bombs since January, according to U.S. Air Force Central Command. That amounts to roughly one U.S. airstrike a day since the president announced that combat operations had ended during his State of the Union address in January. So far this year, 25 U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

During his January address, Obama said U.S. troops have moved to a “support role.” He said, “Together with our allies, we will complete our mission there by the end of this year, and America's longest war will finally be over."

Obama backed off his pledge Thursday to end the war by the end of the year, but maintained that the combat mission is over and said the mission of those staying behind will not change. The remaining U.S. forces will be based at three air bases in Bagram, Kandahar and Jalalabad, and will only be authorized to train Afghans and hunt Al Qaeda.

"Our forces engage in two missions -- training Afghan forces and supporting counterterror operations against remnants of Al Qaeda," the president said at the White House.

Carter told reporters the same from the Pentagon: "The combat mission has ended and our mission now, on a day-to-day basis, is train, advise and assist and counterterrorism and only to undertake other kinds of operations, either to protect our own forces or in an extremist situation."

The administration argues that despite sustained airstrikes, that mission nevertheless counts as “counterterrorism” and not “combat.” A Fox News reporter asked Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Thursday to clarify Carter's remarks that "combat" is over and the "counterterror" mission remains.

"I think we've talked about it a lot,” Cook said. “It’s clear when we're talking about the counterterror mission – the target is remnants of Al Qaeda."

Yet these restrictions may also be a misrepresentation of the reality on the ground in Afghanistan.

For example, the actions of U.S. Special Operations forces on the ground in Kunduz show U.S. troops are doing more than "training Afghan forces" or targeting Al Qaeda. A U.S. Special Forces team called in the airstrike on Oct. 3 that hit a Kunduz hospital run by Doctors Without Borders. The hospital had been suspected of having a Taliban presence; the head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. John Campbell told reporters it was the Afghans who requested the airstrike. The U.S. has since called the strike a mistake.

Separately, a press release from U.S. Forces-Afghanistan revealed that beginning Oct. 7, the U.S. military “conducted 63 precision strikes while Afghan forces engaged in several battles on the ground against al-Qaeda networks at two related sites.” A large cache of weapons was seized by 200 U.S. and Afghan ground forces.

The two training sites were located in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the same area where Usama bin Laden set up training camps in the 1990s. According to the statement, one of the camps was 30 square miles, half the size of Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent.

Money Men: Carson, Bush, Cruz lead latest round in GOP cash race


Ben Carson, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz appear to be leading the money race in the Republican presidential primary, according to third-quarter numbers released by the campaigns ahead of Thursday's filing deadline. 
Carson far out-raised his GOP rivals in the last quarter, bringing in more than $20 million, thanks to a surge of support in the polls and accompanying rush of small-dollar donations.
While the retired neurosurgeon's numbers previously had been reported, Bush only released his fundraising details Thursday afternoon. Though there was speculation as to whether the one-time front-runner would be able to sustain the fundraising pace as his poll numbers have slipped, the former Florida governor's campaign says he raised nearly $13.4 million in the latest period, outpacing his second-quarter haul.
Cruz, a Texas senator, followed with $12.2 million raised.
Billionaire Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner raised $3.9 million during the last quarter, but is not actively fundraising and is instead spending his own cash on the campaign trail. 
The totals suggest Bush and Cruz, among others, have the financial backing to sustain an aggressive campaign, for now, even as Trump and Carson lead the polls. Bush reported having $10.3 million in the bank at the end of September, while Cruz reported $13.5 million on hand. While Florida Sen. Marco Rubio did not raise as much in the third quarter, he also reported a sizable, $11 million war chest.
But Carson's numbers are especially impressive in that he more than doubled the $8 million he made in the last quarter, raising $12 million in the month of September alone.
"He is converting the populist appeal of his message into support and campaign dollars, which will allow him to continue to wage a viable campaign -- but whether this allows him to broaden his base of support remains to be seen, especially given the competition he faces from other non-traditional and conservative candidates," said Tony Corrado, professor of government and a campaign finance observer at Colby College in Maine.
Carson had $11.5 million cash on hand in the third quarter, cementing his status as a top-tier GOP candidate, second only to Trump in recent surveys.
The Federal Election Commission filing deadline is Thursday, though many of the campaigns decided to report their contributions to the press beforehand. The third quarter covers the period of June 30 through Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that he has spent "very little" on his campaign so far. "I've spent zero on advertising. Every [network] they have covered me a lot. It's almost like if I put ads on top of the program it would be too much, it would be too much Trump. I've spent the least money and have the best poll numbers."
The Democrats brought in a far greater take than the Republican candidates, in part because there are fewer of them vying for the party's donor base. According to front-runner Hillary Clinton's campaign, she raised $28 million during the third quarter and had $32 million on hand. Her main opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, raised $26 million and had $25 million in cash on hand.
Carson apparently is spending the money at a quick pace, as he tries to sustain his momentum. According to his campaign, he spent $14 million from July to September.
"We will be able to fully fund our most expansive get-out-the-vote program, and our most expansive advertising program and our most expansive social media program in Iowa through the caucuses," Doug Watts, his spokesman, told the Des Moines Register Thursday.
Other candidates are pulling in substantial figures as well.
Republican Carly Fiorina has benefited from a boost after solid performances in the first two primary debates. According to her campaign, she raised $6.8 million in the third quarter and had $5.8 million on hand, compared with the $1.7 million she took in during the second quarter from April to June. She joined the race officially in May.
Rubio, according to his campaign, raised $6 million in the third quarter -- compared with $8 million in the second quarter -- and has about $11 million on hand. Political observers say he is competing for the same establishment donors as Bush, but could benefit from a shot in the arm by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who recent reports indicate has been warming to the Florida senator. Adelson spent a total of $92 million on political candidates and causes in 2012.
The figures being reported by the campaigns this month pertain to campaign accounts, and not the super PACs backing them, which are pouring in millions more on top of what the campaigns are spending.
Analysts say the ability to raise money through a large donor base, particularly from small donors, signals the long-term health of a campaign over all -- perhaps with the exception of self-funder Trump.
In this arena, Carson appears to be ahead too, receiving more than 600,000 donations from more than 350,000 donors, his campaign reported to the press at the end of September. Meanwhile, Cruz's campaign said he had a total of 120,000 donors through the third quarter. Still, none of this compares to Sanders, who says he has had 1 million donors since the start of his campaign in late May. Clinton's people say 93 percent of her donations were $100 or less.
Other Republican candidates are pulling in less money.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich raised $4.4 million, spent $1.71, million and finished the quarter with $2.66 million on hand, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised $4 million in the last quarter, spent nearly $3 million, and has about $1.4 million on hand.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul raised $2.5 million, a decline from the $6.9 million raised in the second quarter, and had some $2 million in cash on hand.
The Paul campaign sent out a memo Thursday defending its status in the race, saying some "are pushing a false narrative that Senator Rand Paul (SRP) is on the ropes."
The campaign maintained that Paul "has the best organization in America."
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal reported raising $1.16 million in the third quarter. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore reported raising $62,000. Other Republican candidates have not yet announced their fundraising totals.

Source: FBI probe of Clinton email focused on ‘gross negligence’ provision


Three months after Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email address and server while secretary of state was referred to the FBI, an intelligence source familiar with the investigation tells Fox News that the team is now focused on whether there were violations of an Espionage Act subsection pertaining to "gross negligence" in the safekeeping of national defense information.
Under 18 USC 793 subsection F, the information does not have to be classified to count as a violation. The intelligence source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the ongoing probe, said the subsection requires the "lawful possession" of national defense information by a security clearance holder who "through gross negligence," such as the use of an unsecure computer network, permits the material to be removed or abstracted from its proper, secure location.
Subsection F also requires the clearance holder "to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer. "A failure to do so "shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
The source said investigators are also focused on possible obstruction of justice. "If someone knows there is an ongoing investigation and takes action to impede an investigation, for example destruction of documents or threatening of witnesses, that could be a separate charge but still remain under a single case," the source said. Currently, the ongoing investigation is led by the Washington Field Office of the FBI.
A former FBI agent, who is not involved in the case, said the inconsistent release of emails, with new documents coming to light from outside accounts, such as that of adviser Sidney Blumenthal, could constitute obstruction. In addition, Clinton’s March statement that there was no classified material on her private server has proven false, after more than 400 emails containing classified information were documented.
Clinton and her team maintain the use of a private account was allowed, and the intelligence was not classified at the time, but later upgraded. The latter claim is disputed by the intelligence community Inspector General, who represents the agencies involved, which concluded the information was classified from the start.
One of Clinton's primary defenses is that the emails containing classified information, did not carry classification markings, but a leading national security defense attorney says that is no excuse under the law.
“The fact that something's not marked or that the person may not know that it was classified would not be relevant at all in a prosecution under the Espionage Act,” defense attorney Edward MacMahon Jr. recently told Fox.
It is not known what relevant evidence, if any, has been uncovered by the FBI, or whether any charges will ultimately be brought, but Director James Comey told reporters in Washington D.C. on Oct. 1, "If you know my folks... they don't give a rip about politics."
On Thursday, a group of national security whistleblowers held a news conference in Washington at the National Press Club to highlight what they characterized as a double standard in these types of cases.
NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake was indicted in 2010 under the Espionage Act for sharing unclassified material with a Baltimore Sun reporter. Drake, who also went to Congress with his concerns about the NSA, said his goal was to expose government misconduct.
"This is the secretary of state, one of the most targeted individuals by other intelligence entities and agencies in the world using a private server to traffic highly sensitive information and no doubt including classified information and no doubt including info about sources and methods,"Drake said at Thursday’s event.
He added the whistleblowers’ treatment shows there is a law for the average citizen, and apparently a different set of rules for the powerful.
"But hey, I'm secretary of state,” Drake said in a sarcastic tone. ”Even Obama gave her cover."
The charges against Drake were eventually dropped. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor, but in the process lost his ability to work in national security and depleted his life savings to mount a defense.
Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling also went to Congress with his complaints, but was sentenced in May to three-and-a-half years in prison for violating the Espionage Act by giving classified information to a New York Times reporter. Sterling, who is appealing the case, was also convicted on obstruction of justice charges because a single email was missing from his account, even though the government could not show he was responsible for that.
Clinton has acknowledged deleting some 30,000 emails she considered personal.
In 2015, former CIA Director General David Petraeus pled guilty to a misdemeanor admitting he mishandled classified materials by sharing notebooks with his former mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell.
He also was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. Sterling’s supporters said he shared far less classified information with the New York Times.
“Powerful and politically connected individuals accused of the same and much worse conduct receive, at most, a slap on the wrist. Like General David Petraeus who gave away more secret information, classified at a much higher level, to his mistress and received a sweetheart plea deal for a minor misdemeanor,”Jesselyn Radack, a whistleblower and former ethics adviser to the Department of Justice, said Thursday.
“Or Hillary Clinton - she got a primetime TV apologist political spin interview from President Obama himself,” Radack added.

Trump Says He’ll Boycott Debate To Protect Viewers From Greedy Network – Update


2nd UPDATE with Trump’s Fox News interview: Donald Trump says he’s threatening to boycott CNBC’s upcoming GOP debate for viewers’ sake, after learning CNBC wanted the debate to run longer than two hours and exclude candidates’ opening and closing statements. “The same thing is happening as happened with CNN,” He told Greta Van Susteren on her Fox News Channel show this evening. “They sold the commercials so much, and for so much money. It was going to be $4,000 for a 30-second commercial, and then it ended up being $200,000 and $250,000 for a 30-second commercial. And the same thing is happening now with CNBC. And what they’re trying to do, they’ve sold out all their commercials and they want to increase [the debate] by an hour.” Watch the interview above. Trump noted that this week’s Dem debate on CNN was only two hours long (actually about 2 1/2) and yet “pretty boring.” Neither he nor Van Susteren mentioned that debate included just five candidates, while CNN’s main GOP debate packed 11 onstage taking questions
“I think it’s unfair to the viewers because it’s too much to watch. They’re doing it because they want to make more money,” Trump said of CNBC. “It’s unfair to the viewers. I don’t care. I could stand for five hours; I could stand for 10 hours.”
UPDATE with details: GOP candidates just seized control of televised debates for the rest of the election cycle –  just as if they were stars of a TV show that became an overnight hit, averaging 24 million viewers on a ratings-starved network. Oh, wait….
Image (1) cnbclogo__140408154923.jpg for post 711477
Donald Trump and Ben Carson’s campaigns have sent a letter to CNBC (read it below) saying they will not participate in the network’s October 28 GOP debate unless CNBC promises the debate will run just two hours in length, including commercial breaks. The network also must agree to include opening and closing statements by all candidates onstage — which, in a GOP debate, could mean nearly a dozen statements at each end of the event.
“Mr. Trump and Dr. Carson do agree to a 120-minute debate that includes commercial breaks and opening and closing statements,” the candidates’ reps said in a letter to CNBC Washington bureau chief Matthew Cuddy. “Mr. Trump and Dr. Carson do not, and will not, agree to appear at a debate that is more than 120 minutes long including commercial breaks.

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