"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened"
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Featuring:
Islamic State's money-makers take a hit
Hugh Naylor
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"Rise up together as one voice"
"Be careful where you stand"
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Hilly still says no to term ‘radical Islam’ - Fox News: “Democratic presidential front-runner Hilly Clinton declined Sunday to say that a ‘radical’ form of Islam is behind terror attacks connected to the Islamic State and other such attacks committed by fringe members of the Muslim religion. ‘I don't want to do that because, No. 1, it doesn't do justice to the vast numbers of Muslims in our own country and around the world who are peaceful people,’ she told ABC’s ‘This Week.’” -Fox News 
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WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE
WaPo: “Inside an old aircraft factory [in Nebraska], behind the glass windows of a pristine laboratory, the lost crew of the USS Oklahoma rests on special tables covered in black foam…They are the unidentified remains of hundreds of sailors and Marines who perished 74 years agoMonday, when Japan launched a surprise air attack on Hawaii and plunged the United States into World War II…Over the past six months, with a fresh mandate from the Defense Department, the bones were exhumed from a cemetery in Hawaii and most were brought to a new lab here, where scientists have begun the task. The goal is to send the men home… The Oklahoma’s loss of life at Pearl Harbor — a total of 429 sailors and Marines…Thus far, the DPAA has made seven identifications, a spokeswoman said last week. But officials are still reaching out to family members, and no identifications have been publicly announced.” -Fox News
WaPo: “Inside an old aircraft factory [in Nebraska], behind the glass windows of a pristine laboratory, the lost crew of the USS Oklahoma rests on special tables covered in black foam…They are the unidentified remains of hundreds of sailors and Marines who perished 74 years agoMonday, when Japan launched a surprise air attack on Hawaii and plunged the United States into World War II…Over the past six months, with a fresh mandate from the Defense Department, the bones were exhumed from a cemetery in Hawaii and most were brought to a new lab here, where scientists have begun the task. The goal is to send the men home… The Oklahoma’s loss of life at Pearl Harbor — a total of 429 sailors and Marines…Thus far, the DPAA has made seven identifications, a spokeswoman said last week. But officials are still reaching out to family members, and no identifications have been publicly announced.” -Fox News
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HATCH LAYS OUT PLAN ON nOBAMACARE REPEAL
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, gives Chris Stirewalt his first reaction to the successful gambit by Senate Republicans to advance a measure to repeal nObamaCare, a cause Hatch has championed since the law was passed. While nObama will surely veto the measure, Hatch says that there will be real repercussions – particularly if the GOP can pull off a presidential victory in 2016. Hatch, the longest-serving Senate Republican and chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, discusses where the road goes from here. WATCH HERE. -Fox News
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, gives Chris Stirewalt his first reaction to the successful gambit by Senate Republicans to advance a measure to repeal nObamaCare, a cause Hatch has championed since the law was passed. While nObama will surely veto the measure, Hatch says that there will be real repercussions – particularly if the GOP can pull off a presidential victory in 2016. Hatch, the longest-serving Senate Republican and chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, discusses where the road goes from here. WATCH HERE. -Fox News
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NOT THE KIND OF SUPER PAC ATTENTION HE WAS HOPING FOR
Pro-GOP group America Rising is having some fun with Colorado Sen.Michael Bennet who the group says posted unedited shots of himself campaigning in what seems to be an attempt to indirectly coordinate with outside groups making ads on his behalf. Bennet is a vulnerable incumbent Democrat, and has been vocal opponent of outside money in campaigns.
America Rising took him up on the offer to use the video to make an attack ad targeting the Bennet on his support for nObamaCare, which is blamed for huge insurance coverage disruptions in the state, and the president’s now infamous “if you like it, you can keep it” pledge.
“Sen. Bennet is apparently soliciting Super PAC assistance and America Rising is happy to help get the facts out about his record,” said America Rising Press Secretary Amelia Chassé said in a statement. “Sen. Bennet betrayed the people of Colorado when he repeated President nObama’s lie that Americans could keep their doctor under nObamacare.” -Fox News
Pro-GOP group America Rising is having some fun with Colorado Sen.Michael Bennet who the group says posted unedited shots of himself campaigning in what seems to be an attempt to indirectly coordinate with outside groups making ads on his behalf. Bennet is a vulnerable incumbent Democrat, and has been vocal opponent of outside money in campaigns.
America Rising took him up on the offer to use the video to make an attack ad targeting the Bennet on his support for nObamaCare, which is blamed for huge insurance coverage disruptions in the state, and the president’s now infamous “if you like it, you can keep it” pledge.
“Sen. Bennet is apparently soliciting Super PAC assistance and America Rising is happy to help get the facts out about his record,” said America Rising Press Secretary Amelia Chassé said in a statement. “Sen. Bennet betrayed the people of Colorado when he repeated President nObama’s lie that Americans could keep their doctor under nObamacare.” -Fox News
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Iran Lied About Its Nuclear Interests
{Trey Sanchez} ~ The Associated Press has learned that Iran has been lying about its past interest in manufacturing nuclear weapons... Conservative writer for The Washington Post Jennifer Rubin called the revelation, "another sign we've been had" by the nuclear deal the nObama administration struck with Iran. She pointed to the AP report, released while American attention was diverted to the terrorist attack in California, that explains how Iran has "consistently denied" any involvement in planning or in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. However, according to the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place [up to 2009]." "In other words," Rubin writes, "we know definitively that Iran lied about its prior efforts to build a nuclear weapon.".
Memo to our next president
{Jon Kyl and Joseph Lieberman} ~ Dear Mr./Madam President... It is January 2017: You have before you a critical opportunity — and an imperative — to renew America’s leadership role in world affairs. History has shown that when the president makes a case to the American people, they listen. You will hear that now is a moment of unprecedented division and partisan anger. You will hear that any major decision will be met with hostility from one — or more — political party. We’re here to tell you it isn’t so — or need not be so — at least not in the world of national security. It is not simply the outrage at terrorist attacks like those in Paris, the Sinai Peninsula, Beirut and elsewhere that binds us. Nor is it the increased assertiveness of Russia in Ukraine, or China in the South China Sea, that has united us behind a common cause. Liberals, moderates, conservatives, Republicans, Democrats and independents can come together and agree that America must lead — and truly lead — in the world. We know, because we have spent the last two years with just such a group. The American Internationalism Project, which we chair, brought together Washington think tank scholars across the political spectrum, current and former government officials, and many others, to rebuild a new consensus for American leadership in the world. It is a model for what can be done when we focus on our national interests, our global priorities and our shared morality. http://www.aei.org/publication/memo-to-our-next-president/?utm_source=paramount&utm_medium=email&utm_content=AEITODAY&utm_campaign=120815.
Judge Jeanine DESTROYS Geraldo on Radical Islam
Judge Jeanine Pirro isn't afraid to tell the truth about radical Islam. When liberal windbag Geraldo Rivera calls her on it, she let's him have it too. This is priceless!...
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nObama: Time to disarm Americans so they'll die faster
{Sher Zieve} ~ Until January 2009, we had never seen the likes of Barack Hussein nObama from anyone in leadership positions...let alone the president of the United States... I daresay, we have likely never seen anyone in the world like him. During his initial campaign for the presidency in 2008 he said he would "transform" the country from its very foundation. People who had graduated high school no later than the 1960s knew full well what that meant. After that time period the essential dumbing-down of America's student children began in earnest. nObama was not shy with his meaning that the USA had to be destroyed at its core and then rebuilt in what would become his and Islam's image. He is doing it and has almost finished his straightforward – if not perverse – mission. The following is a short and very partial list of those things for which nObama is the proudest..
New Bill Lets States Reject Muslim ‘Refugees’
{gopthedailydose.com} ~ Senator Ted Cruz, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2016, said on Tuesday that he introduced legislation to give governors the ability to opt out of refugee resettlement programs... He believes the federal government has not put priority into creating safety for the American people…so this new bill is necessary. Cruz said that if President Barack nObama wanted to send refugees to any state, his legislation would let its governor refuse to participate, “to conclude that the federal government has not done a sufficient job ensuring that the safety and security of the citizens of the state will be protected.” http://gopthedailydose.com/2015/12/08/new-bill-lets-states-reject-muslim-refugees/.
Agenda 2030’s Goal #12 Will Exterminate Six Billion People
{Dave Hodges} ~ Move over, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot, there is a new extermination king in town. It is called Agenda 2030... Following the planned economic collapse, Agenda 2030 will enforce the most brutal austerity programs ever conceived of or ever enforced. Just as it was in the Hunger Games movie, all food, water, and medicine will be rationed. Inhabitants will be forced to take the Mark of the Best, the dreaded but largely unknown RFID chip. We are already witnessing the birth of a cashless society. Soon, cash will be banned. Automation will bring promises of unlimited food production. The public will be sold on the widespread use of robots to achieve this goal. It will be a ruse. The goal is to replace human workers with robots. The globalists will horde the food in order to help wipe out the 'useless eaters' through starvation. Then the population will be forced into a devastating World War III. Subsequently, Ted Turner and the other globalists will be able to achieve their goals of reducing the world's population to a low of 500,000,000..
nObama’s Trumpophobes Attack
{constitutionrising.com} ~ As if the boobs running this pathetic terrorist empowering non-war on behalf of America’s anti-American non-president have any credibility... the Defense Department came out on Tuesday with a dismissal of what many view as a common sense review of the reckless, out of control, immigration policies of this foreigner-favoring rogue federal government. A good rule of thumb for many would be, if the military leadership which is allowing itself to be manipulated into a rubber stamp of anti-Americanism by the White House usurper, objects to a position, it’s probably one worthy of serious consideration. On Tuesday Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, who holds one of those familiar paid liar jobs that permeate the corrupt DC establishment, issued a statement regarding Donald Trump’s position on Islamic immigration into the United States. He said, “Anything that creates tensions and creates the notion that the United States is at odds with the Muslim faith and Islam would be counterproductive to our efforts right now, and totally contrary to our values.” Once again the Islamist-promoting administration is compelled to state American values for those who might be “getting it wrong.” http://constitutionrising.com/archives/23360#prettyPhoto.
Benghazi Cover Up May Include Panetta...
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Pentagon Offered ‘Forces that Could Move to Benghazi’ Immediately
{Adam Kredo} ~ Newly released emails show that a senior Defense Department official offered the State Department “forces that could move to Benghazi” immediately during the deadly 2012 attack there on the American consulate... Jeremy Bash, the former Pentagon chief of staff, offered to provide forces at 7:19 p.m. on the evening of the attack, “only hours after they had begun,” according to Judicial Watch, which disclosed the email on Tuesday. “We have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak,” Bash wrote. Portions of the email remain redacted by the nObama administration. “The nObama administration redacted the details of the military forces available, oddly citing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption that allows the withholding of ‘deliberative process’ information,” according to Judicial Watch..
Shoveling The nObamalizer – Speaking For ISIS
{constitutionrising.com} ~ The criminals squatting in the White House have long had an agenda which featured the imposition of creeping Islam and Sharia Law in America as one of the means through which they subvert the US Constitution and attack the United States... Importing a non-assimilating foreign occupying force is also a great way to create division and the disharmony necessary in the fomenting of chaos. The cold-blooded butchery of those different from them that is so idolized by large segments of the Muslim population can’t help but have a negative disunifying effect as well. In a press briefing one reporter asked a question regarding the comparison by Mike Huckabee of Donald Trump’s comments advocating for a suspension in Muslim immigration to FDR’s response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a comment Huckabee made on the 74th anniversary of the attack. Huckabee said that the characteristically pandering nObama statement much different from the appropriate response delivered by Roosevelt..
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Islamic State's money-makers take a hit
Hugh Naylor
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{jewishworldreview.com} ~ By most estimates, the Islamic State is the world's richest terrorist organization. But it appears to be wrestling with money problems that could affect its ability to wage war while trying to govern millions of people in its self-declared caliphate..
U.S.-backed forces in Iraq and Syria have retaken significant amounts of territory from the group, depriving it of traditional sources of income, analysts say. Towns and villages that the Islamic State had relied on for tax revenue have been captured by Arab and Kurdish opponents. And lucrative spoils of war, including oil fields, properties to confiscate and captives to ransom off, have become scarcer as the group struggles to seize new areas.
U.S.-backed forces in Iraq and Syria have retaken significant amounts of territory from the group, depriving it of traditional sources of income, analysts say. Towns and villages that the Islamic State had relied on for tax revenue have been captured by Arab and Kurdish opponents. And lucrative spoils of war, including oil fields, properties to confiscate and captives to ransom off, have become scarcer as the group struggles to seize new areas.
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"A problem they face is that much of their income over the last two years has been through conquest, confiscation and extortion, and those are all one-time things that aren't sustainable," said Quinn Mecham, an assistant professor of political science at Brigham Young University. "And now they're losing territory, and that makes it difficult to continue to extract revenues. The pressure is on."
"A problem they face is that much of their income over the last two years has been through conquest, confiscation and extortion, and those are all one-time things that aren't sustainable," said Quinn Mecham, an assistant professor of political science at Brigham Young University. "And now they're losing territory, and that makes it difficult to continue to extract revenues. The pressure is on."
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Information about the Islamic State's finances is murky. But the group's diverse sources of income, which include extortion and antiquities smuggling, have helped it weather more than a year of airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition, analyst say. The U.S. Treasury Department recently estimated that the militants could be earning $40 million a month from oil sales.
Information about the Islamic State's finances is murky. But the group's diverse sources of income, which include extortion and antiquities smuggling, have helped it weather more than a year of airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition, analyst say. The U.S. Treasury Department recently estimated that the militants could be earning $40 million a month from oil sales.
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Through a complex bureaucracy that uses the threat of violence, including floggings and beheadings, the Islamic State also raises cash by taxing and fining the roughly 6 million to 9 million people in parts of Iraq and Syria who live under its rule.
Through a complex bureaucracy that uses the threat of violence, including floggings and beheadings, the Islamic State also raises cash by taxing and fining the roughly 6 million to 9 million people in parts of Iraq and Syria who live under its rule.
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An Islamic State official purportedly told Arabic-language media in January that the group had a 2015 budget of $2 billion. Although likely an exaggerated figure, the group may have accumulated enough cash to run a large budget surplus, said Benjamin Bahney, a terrorism analyst at the Rand Corp.
An Islamic State official purportedly told Arabic-language media in January that the group had a 2015 budget of $2 billion. Although likely an exaggerated figure, the group may have accumulated enough cash to run a large budget surplus, said Benjamin Bahney, a terrorism analyst at the Rand Corp.
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But the Islamic State lost as much as a third of the territory it had controlled in Iraq, including the city of Tikrit and the Baiji oil refinery. Iraq's military and pro-government militias have captured those areas with the help of airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. In Syria, too, coalition air support has aided an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces in seizing from Islamic State militants key areas near the group's self-declared capital of Raqqa.
But the Islamic State lost as much as a third of the territory it had controlled in Iraq, including the city of Tikrit and the Baiji oil refinery. Iraq's military and pro-government militias have captured those areas with the help of airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. In Syria, too, coalition air support has aided an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces in seizing from Islamic State militants key areas near the group's self-declared capital of Raqqa.
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"As it loses control of cities and as its economy suffers because of the war, its tax revenues are reduced," said William McCants, an expert on the militant group at the Brookings Institution.
"As it loses control of cities and as its economy suffers because of the war, its tax revenues are reduced," said William McCants, an expert on the militant group at the Brookings Institution.
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The territorial setbacks also may have compelled the group to turn to terrorism abroad - including the recent attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead - as a way to apply new pressure on its enemies, analysts say. The group, they also say, appears to be shifting resources to reinforce affiliates in other areas of the world, including Libya, possibly to secure a safe haven in case it loses more territory in Syria and Iraq.
The territorial setbacks also may have compelled the group to turn to terrorism abroad - including the recent attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead - as a way to apply new pressure on its enemies, analysts say. The group, they also say, appears to be shifting resources to reinforce affiliates in other areas of the world, including Libya, possibly to secure a safe haven in case it loses more territory in Syria and Iraq.
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There are signs that the group might be tightening its budget. Fighters' salaries have been reduced recently, from roughly $400 a month to about $300, said Columb Strack, a Middle East analyst at Jane's Information Group. In addition to a tax system rooted in Islamic law, he said, the group appears to be imposing more fees on everything from farming to mobile phones.
There are signs that the group might be tightening its budget. Fighters' salaries have been reduced recently, from roughly $400 a month to about $300, said Columb Strack, a Middle East analyst at Jane's Information Group. In addition to a tax system rooted in Islamic law, he said, the group appears to be imposing more fees on everything from farming to mobile phones.
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Aid programs that benefit the needy in Islamic State areas appear to have been scaled back, causing poverty to deepen, Syrian activists and aid workers say. These areas, they say, are experiencing acute shortages of medicine for chronic diseases such as diabetes, as well as prolonged electricity cuts.
Aid programs that benefit the needy in Islamic State areas appear to have been scaled back, causing poverty to deepen, Syrian activists and aid workers say. These areas, they say, are experiencing acute shortages of medicine for chronic diseases such as diabetes, as well as prolonged electricity cuts.
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Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum who studies the Islamic State's finances, said the group took a big hit this summer when Iraq's government stopped paying civil servants living in areas the militants had captured, including the city of Mosul.
Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum who studies the Islamic State's finances, said the group took a big hit this summer when Iraq's government stopped paying civil servants living in areas the militants had captured, including the city of Mosul.
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For months, Iraqi authorities continued to pay the salaries, and the Islamic State taxed that income, earning the group a windfall that some estimates put at tens of millions of dollars a month.
For months, Iraqi authorities continued to pay the salaries, and the Islamic State taxed that income, earning the group a windfall that some estimates put at tens of millions of dollars a month.
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Without such easy money, the Islamic State has raised its fees, even on high school registration and textbooks, Tamimi said.
Without such easy money, the Islamic State has raised its fees, even on high school registration and textbooks, Tamimi said.
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"Now, evidence seems to point to hardship in Mosul, and the Islamic State has been resorting to measures to try to deal with the new reality of having to pay those working under its authority who no longer get salaries directly from the Iraqi government," he said.
"Now, evidence seems to point to hardship in Mosul, and the Islamic State has been resorting to measures to try to deal with the new reality of having to pay those working under its authority who no longer get salaries directly from the Iraqi government," he said.
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Few expect widespread dissent in Islamic State-controlled areas anytime soon, in large part because of fear of the group's notorious brutality. The threat of violence also prevents many people from fleeing, and war, anemic economies and sectarian-driven politics in neighboring areas prevents others from attempting to leave.
Few expect widespread dissent in Islamic State-controlled areas anytime soon, in large part because of fear of the group's notorious brutality. The threat of violence also prevents many people from fleeing, and war, anemic economies and sectarian-driven politics in neighboring areas prevents others from attempting to leave.
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Colin P. Clarke, a terrorism analyst at the Rand Corp. think tank, said he expects the group's finances to tighten as the airstrikes intensify. In recent weeks, the U.S.-led coalition has targeted tanker trucks, threatening the Islamic State's ability to transport the oil. British warplanes began bombing targets in Syria on Thursday, striking an Islamic State-controlled oil field in eastern Syria, the BBC reported.
Colin P. Clarke, a terrorism analyst at the Rand Corp. think tank, said he expects the group's finances to tighten as the airstrikes intensify. In recent weeks, the U.S.-led coalition has targeted tanker trucks, threatening the Islamic State's ability to transport the oil. British warplanes began bombing targets in Syria on Thursday, striking an Islamic State-controlled oil field in eastern Syria, the BBC reported.
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Russia, which does not coordinate with the coalition, also has stepped up air raids in the Islamic State's key oil-producing areas in eastern Syria.
Russia, which does not coordinate with the coalition, also has stepped up air raids in the Islamic State's key oil-producing areas in eastern Syria.
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The Islamic State imposes fees and taxes on refining, shipping and selling oil, which largely is consumed within territory held by the group, analysts say.
The Islamic State imposes fees and taxes on refining, shipping and selling oil, which largely is consumed within territory held by the group, analysts say.
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"There will be a lag in seeing the effects, but in order to keep operations going, the group will likely have to reduce payments and the number of people working for it," Clarke said.
"There will be a lag in seeing the effects, but in order to keep operations going, the group will likely have to reduce payments and the number of people working for it," Clarke said.
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That could affect thousands of people, causing local anger to soar and more discontent for the militant group to manage.
That could affect thousands of people, causing local anger to soar and more discontent for the militant group to manage.
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"It's running a caliphate, so it has salaries to pay and people to keep in jobs. They run bakeries and have to find ways to keep the lights on," he said. "It's a lot to manage."
"It's running a caliphate, so it has salaries to pay and people to keep in jobs. They run bakeries and have to find ways to keep the lights on," he said. "It's a lot to manage."
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