The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
Israel wants seat at table
as powers seek end to Syria war
by David Wainer
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Friday Top Headlines
A photo essay of Americans helping each other — this is who we really are. (The Daily Signal)
U.S. adds 156,000 jobs in August; unemployment 4.4%. (MarketWatch)
So Comey decided not to prosecute liar-Hillary months before he told us. (Hot Air)
Judge orders feds to release details of liar-Clinton email probe after FBI refused request. (The Washington Times)
There is new fundraising fodder at the Southern Poverty Law Center — 1,503 “Confederate place names” now being targeted. (CNS News)
More than 70% of voters want lower taxes … no shocker here! (The Washington Free Beacon)
Trump rolls back liar-nObama’s costly and onerous diversity regulations. (The Washington Free Beacon)
Settled science? Yet another comprehensive study casting doubt on conventional wisdom about fat and carbs. (PBS)
Cornell encourages students to report peers for “negative reactions” to LGBT “Safe Place” project. (Washington Examiner)
Fraternity and sorority retreat canceled after banana peel found in tree — seriously, this happened. (Campus Reform)
Illinois’ Republican governor wins a choice program for poor students. (Paywall — The Wall Street Journal)
Policy: Trump’s reversal of liar-nObama pay gap rule is good news for women, minorities. (The Daily Signal
Policy: The cost of inaction on tax reform. (American Action Forum] ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/5106
https://patriotpost.us/articles/5106
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US orders Russia to close three diplomatic
offices after Putin orders cuts to American staff
by Joel Gehrke and Melissa Quinn
{washingtonexaminer.com} ~The State Department has ordered Russia to close three of its U.S. facilities by Saturday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the U.S. to reduce its diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 employees... The Trump administration said the decision was made "in the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians," and gave the Kremlin until Sept. 2 to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and consular annex in New York City. With this action, both countries will remain with three consulates each," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. "While there will continue to be a disparity in the number of diplomatic and consular annexes, we have chosen to allow the Russian government to maintain some of its annexes in an effort to arrest the downward spiral of our relationship."... http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/us-orders-russia-to-close-three-diplomatic-offices-after-putin-orders-cuts-to-american-staff/article/2633084?utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Breaking%20News&utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Breaking%20News%20-%2008/31/17&utm_medium=email
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Mainstream media attack President Trump for visiting Texas
http://video.foxnews.com/v/5557020064001
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MSNBC vs. Ted Cruz: How Can You Support Harvey Relief When You Opposed Sandy Relief?
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Grades Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Harvey
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White House Daily Briefing: Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders (08-25-2017)
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I Think Congressional Republicans Are
Setting Up President Trump to Fail on the Border Wall
by Erick Erickson
{theresurgent.com} ~ News reports suggest that as Texas is grappling with Hurricane Harvey’s flooding, Republicans in Washington intend to cut upwards of a billion dollars from disaster relief funding and FEMA in order to pay for President Trump’s border wall... That sounds like political suicide given press coverage of Texas and congressional Republicans are not suicidal, they are survivalists. In fact, they are rather Lord of the Flies. Look at it this way. Republicans in Congress do not do anything that risks them looking bad on camera. They do their best to play to the press as Republicans in Washington are far more interested in being liked by the media than by their constituents. It is one of several reasons they had no interest in actually repealing Obamacare. Now they’re faced with a natural disaster of Biblical proportions and their response is to cut funding for disaster? That makes no sense... http://theresurgent.com/i-think-congressional-republicans-are-setting-up-president-trump-to-fail-on-the-border-wall/.
Judge Orders FBI To Make
Details Of liar-Clinton Email Probe Public
by Jack Crowe
{dailycaller.com} ~ A federal judge ordered the FBI Thursday to publicly release previously unseen documents related to the investigation into former Secretary of State liar-Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server... U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the FBI to produce uncensored court documents describing the grand jury subpoenas issued to force liar-Clinton’s internet service providers to turn over information related to her private server use, according to a statement released by Cause of Action Institute. The ruling was made in response to a motion filed in June as part of a suit brought by Cause of Action Institute and Judicial Watch. The organizations claim the Department of State violated the Federal Records Act by failing to maintain records related to liar-Clinton’s handling of classified information... http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/31/judge-orders-fbi-to-make-details-of-clinton-email-probe-public/?utm_medium=email.
Judicial Watch – New Emails Show
Huma Abedin Key In Pay For Play, Influence Peddling
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ Bill Marshall, one of Judicial Watch’s senior investigators, with years of experience in both the public and private sectors sat down with Carter Clews for a discussion that included Huma Abedin and her role in the liar-Clinton Crime Syndicate... including its government wing, the US State Department. Marshall has reviewed approximately 25,000 pages of Abedin’s emails in twenty different productions from the State Department, emails that were from her non-State Department account, a liar-Hillary Clinton account. Marshall repeats the characterization we’ve heard used before that Abedin is much more than just an aide to liar-Clinton, she’s a daughter of sorts, “who caters to her every whim.” He says the latest production of emails, which they plan to release this week, “suggests that Huma was almost feeding information to liar-Hillary to repeat, to parrot and it will be obvious to the readers when they see what we’ll be releasing.”... http://rickwells.us/judicial-watch-new-emails-show-huma-abedin-key-pay-play-influence-peddling/
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Israel wants seat at table
as powers seek end to Syria war
by David Wainer
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ As world powers seek an endgame to Syria's six-year war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a seat at the table.
Israel says Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah are working to entrench themselves militarily in neighboring Syria, where they're backing Syrian government troops, and it's rattled that a recent truce deal brokered by Russia and the U.S. doesn't block that.
Israel's fear that Tehran is establishing launchpads in Syria for future attacks against the Jewish state dominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talks Wednesday with President Vladimir Putin in Russia.
The strengthening of Iran's position in Syria represents a threat to Israel, the Middle East and the whole world, Netanyahu said after the three-hour meeting, and said he had made very clear to Putin that Israel considered this unacceptable.
Past such discussions with Putin had advanced Israel's security interests, Netanyahu said in comments posted to YouTube, adding, "I think I can say the same thing about this one."
Complicated alliances in the Syrian war make Netanyahu's mission a tough one. Israel could escalate the pinpoint strikes against Iran and Hezbollah it has already carried out during the war if it isn't satisfied that Putin and President Donald Trump are taking its security concerns into account. Moshe Ya'alon, who served as Israel's defense minister during part of the war, said Israel may be forced to act militarily if Iran isn't expelled.
"We had the expectation that a deal between Trump and Putin would deal with the Iranian threat on our border," Ya'alon said in an interview in Tel Aviv. "It's clear that if there is no solution, in the end we might have to take action ourselves."
Netanyahu set off for Russia with Mossad spy chief Yossi Cohen and internal security head Meir Ben-Shabbat after an Israeli delegation came back from Washington this month with no announcement of progress on Israel's demands. Russia, whose military intervention turned the tide in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad, may not support the demand for a complete Iranian withdrawal: Iran is one of the co-sponsors of Moscow's peace efforts in Syria, and Russia is unlikely to antagonize it.
Israel -- which waged the loudest campaign against the Iran nuclear deal -- accuses the Shiite-led Islamic Republic of building military bases in Syria and carving out a land corridor to transfer arms and fighters from Tehran to Beirut. It also says Iran is building precise-munition factories in Lebanon, Hezbollah's base.
"There should be no arrangement that allows Iran and its proxies to base themselves militarily in Syria," said Chagai Tzuriel, director-general of Israel's Intelligence Ministry. "An Iranian military presence in Syria will be a constant source of friction and tension not only with Israel, but with the Sunni majority in Syria, with the Sunni countries in the region, and with Sunni minorities outside the region."
Russia probably will try to find some kind of compromise, analysts said.
"The dominant view is that Iran is still a partner in Syria and now is not the time to sow tensions," said Alexander Shumilin, head of the Middle East Conflict Analysis Center at the government-run Institute for U.S. and Canada in Moscow. What it might do is "let Iran strengthen its positions in western Syria," further from Israel, he said.
Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to Moscow and now a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, expects Netanyahu and Putin "will try to find a solution in which the Iranians can stay in Syria under Russian control," with no military units and no military bases.
Israel never accepted Iran's assertion that its nuclear program -- temporarily curbed under the nuclear pact -- has no military component. It also has clashed over the decades with Hezbollah, which has significantly expanded its military arsenal since its last war with Israel 11 years ago.
While Israel has largely stayed out of the Syrian fighting, Netanyahu recently said the Israeli military struck Hezbollah in Syria dozens of times. Ya'alon hinted Israel also has targeted Iranian operatives, noting that when Iran tried to orchestrate terrorist attacks in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, "all those operatives are no longer alive."
Russia won't brush off Israeli concerns because it wants to prevent a direct Israeli-Iranian confrontation that would deepen the region's chaos, said Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting research fellow at the Chatham House research center in London.
"Unlike with the nuclear project, Israel actually has the capability to kill Iranian operatives in both Syria and Lebanon with quite some ease," Mekelberg said. "The fear then becomes that both sides miscalculate to the point of direct confrontation between Iran and Israel. This is a very delicate, explosive situation."
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ As world powers seek an endgame to Syria's six-year war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a seat at the table.
Israel says Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah are working to entrench themselves militarily in neighboring Syria, where they're backing Syrian government troops, and it's rattled that a recent truce deal brokered by Russia and the U.S. doesn't block that.
Israel's fear that Tehran is establishing launchpads in Syria for future attacks against the Jewish state dominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talks Wednesday with President Vladimir Putin in Russia.
The strengthening of Iran's position in Syria represents a threat to Israel, the Middle East and the whole world, Netanyahu said after the three-hour meeting, and said he had made very clear to Putin that Israel considered this unacceptable.
Past such discussions with Putin had advanced Israel's security interests, Netanyahu said in comments posted to YouTube, adding, "I think I can say the same thing about this one."
Complicated alliances in the Syrian war make Netanyahu's mission a tough one. Israel could escalate the pinpoint strikes against Iran and Hezbollah it has already carried out during the war if it isn't satisfied that Putin and President Donald Trump are taking its security concerns into account. Moshe Ya'alon, who served as Israel's defense minister during part of the war, said Israel may be forced to act militarily if Iran isn't expelled.
"We had the expectation that a deal between Trump and Putin would deal with the Iranian threat on our border," Ya'alon said in an interview in Tel Aviv. "It's clear that if there is no solution, in the end we might have to take action ourselves."
Netanyahu set off for Russia with Mossad spy chief Yossi Cohen and internal security head Meir Ben-Shabbat after an Israeli delegation came back from Washington this month with no announcement of progress on Israel's demands. Russia, whose military intervention turned the tide in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad, may not support the demand for a complete Iranian withdrawal: Iran is one of the co-sponsors of Moscow's peace efforts in Syria, and Russia is unlikely to antagonize it.
Israel -- which waged the loudest campaign against the Iran nuclear deal -- accuses the Shiite-led Islamic Republic of building military bases in Syria and carving out a land corridor to transfer arms and fighters from Tehran to Beirut. It also says Iran is building precise-munition factories in Lebanon, Hezbollah's base.
"There should be no arrangement that allows Iran and its proxies to base themselves militarily in Syria," said Chagai Tzuriel, director-general of Israel's Intelligence Ministry. "An Iranian military presence in Syria will be a constant source of friction and tension not only with Israel, but with the Sunni majority in Syria, with the Sunni countries in the region, and with Sunni minorities outside the region."
Russia probably will try to find some kind of compromise, analysts said.
"The dominant view is that Iran is still a partner in Syria and now is not the time to sow tensions," said Alexander Shumilin, head of the Middle East Conflict Analysis Center at the government-run Institute for U.S. and Canada in Moscow. What it might do is "let Iran strengthen its positions in western Syria," further from Israel, he said.
Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to Moscow and now a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, expects Netanyahu and Putin "will try to find a solution in which the Iranians can stay in Syria under Russian control," with no military units and no military bases.
Israel never accepted Iran's assertion that its nuclear program -- temporarily curbed under the nuclear pact -- has no military component. It also has clashed over the decades with Hezbollah, which has significantly expanded its military arsenal since its last war with Israel 11 years ago.
While Israel has largely stayed out of the Syrian fighting, Netanyahu recently said the Israeli military struck Hezbollah in Syria dozens of times. Ya'alon hinted Israel also has targeted Iranian operatives, noting that when Iran tried to orchestrate terrorist attacks in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, "all those operatives are no longer alive."
Russia won't brush off Israeli concerns because it wants to prevent a direct Israeli-Iranian confrontation that would deepen the region's chaos, said Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting research fellow at the Chatham House research center in London.
"Unlike with the nuclear project, Israel actually has the capability to kill Iranian operatives in both Syria and Lebanon with quite some ease," Mekelberg said. "The fear then becomes that both sides miscalculate to the point of direct confrontation between Iran and Israel. This is a very delicate, explosive situation."
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