Pentagon likely to announce US has 2,000 troops in Syria, not 500 - officials

 News Updates from CLG
26 November 2017

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Previous edition: New 'Black Death' plague strain can kill in three hours as lethal disease goes 'airborne'

 

Pentagon likely to announce US has 2,000 troops in Syria, not 500 - officials --Military set to acknowledge accounting system has underreported presence | 24 Nov 2017 | The Pentagon is likely to announce in the coming days that there are about 2,000 US troops in Syria, rather than the 500 the military has said are in the war-torn country. Two US officials detailed the new figure on Friday, as the military acknowledges that an accounting system has underreported the size of forces on the ground. The US military has publicly said it has about 500 troops in Syria, mostly supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces group of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting fomenting Islamic State in the north of the country.

 

No more 'fighting ISIS?' US to stay in Syria to prevent 'win' for Assad and Iran - report | 23 Nov 2017 | The US plans to keep its troops in Syria long after the defeat of ISIS -- the goal used to justify their illegal presence in the first place -- because the Syrian government and its ally Iran would "win" if they were withdrawn, the Washington Post reported. The Trump administration is "expanding its goals" in Syria to include a "potentially open-ended commitment" to support the Kurd-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing several anonymous US officials. The change comes as the defeat of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS [but still I-CIA-SIS]) terrorist group in Syria seems imminent.

 

Secret US-backed deal allowed hundreds of ISIS fighters, with tonnes of weapons and ammunition, to escape Raqqa | 13 Nov 2017 | The BBC has uncovered details of a secret deal that let hundreds of ISIS [I-CIA-SIS] fighters and their families escape from Raqqa, under the gaze of the US and British-led coalition and Kurdish-led forces who control the city. A convoy included some of ISIS's most notorious members and -- despite reassurances -- dozens of foreign fighters. Some of those have spread out across Syria, even making it as far as Turkey...When lorry driver Abu Fawzi and his fellow drivers assembled their convoy early on 12 October, they realised they had been lied to. Instead, it would take three days of hard driving, carrying a deadly cargo - hundreds of ISIS fighters, their families and tonnes of weapons and ammunition. The deal to let ISIS fighters escape from Raqqa had been arranged by local officials. It enabled many hundreds of ISIS fighters to escape from the city. At the time, neither the US and British-led coalition, nor the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it backs, wanted to admit their part. Great pains were taken to hide it from the world.

 

Erdogan accuses US of financing ISIS, breaking promises in Syria | 18 Nov 2017 | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Washington of betraying Ankara and providing "a lot of dollars" to the Islamic State terrorists. The allegation comes just days after the US acknowledged that it allowed hundreds of armed ISIS militants to escape the besieged Syrian city of Raqqa. "That's the headline. But what did you do?You paid a lot of dollars to [ISIS]," Erdogan said, as cited by AFP. Last December, the Turkish president caused quite a stir in the media, claiming that Turkey had "confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos," of the US supporting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL [but still I-CIA-SIS]) and Kurdish militias, outlawed as terrorists in Turkey. Erdogan's comments come just days after the BBC revealed on Monday that the US-backed SDF allowed hundreds of ISIS militants to escape Raqqa with the silent approval of their coalition allies that preferred not to intervene.

 

Top general says he would resist 'illegal' nuclear order from Trump | 18 Nov 2017 | The top U.S. nuclear commander said Saturday he would push back against President Trump if he ordered a nuclear launch the general believed to be "illegal," saying he would look to find another solution. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday that he has given a lot of thought to what he would say if a president ordered a strike he considered unlawful. Hyten was responding to a question about testimony by former STRATCOM commander retired Gen. Robert Kehler before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week. Kehler said that nuclear operators would refuse to implement an unlawful order.

 

'Explosion' heard near missing Argentine submarine's last known location | 23 Nov 2017 | A noise detected near the last known location of a missing Argentine submarine on the day it vanished was consistent with an explosion, the Argentine navy said Thursday. "An anomalous, singular, short, violent and non-nuclear event, consistent with an explosion, was registered," navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told a news conference in Buenos Aires. Teams from a dozen nations have been searching by air and sea for the ARA San Juan, which has 44 crew aboard and was last contacted off the coast of Argentina on November 15.

 

'Google's plan to isolate Russian media is an act of information warfare' | 21 Nov 2017 | Google’s announcement that it is working to reduce the presence of Russian media in its news feeds has been slammed by lawmakers and political commentators as an act of aggression which will have a global impact on the freedom of speech and thought. "This is an open form of information warfare waged right now -- a bombardment, a direct aggression" against the Russian news outlets, Andrey Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, told RT. The lawmaker explained that tweaking search results for the news category would cut off the global readership that remains interested in the Russian position on global events, calling it a "powerful blow" to the freedom of speech.

 

Militants Kill 305 at Sufi Mosque in Egypt's Deadliest Terrorist Attack | 24 Nov 2017 | Militants detonated a bomb inside a crowded mosque in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday and then sprayed gunfire on panicked worshipers as they fled, killing at least 305 people and wounding at least 128 others. Officials called it the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt's modern history. The scale and ruthlessness of the assault, in an area racked by an Islamist insurgency, sent shock waves across the nation -- not just for the number of deaths but also for the choice of target...Between 25 and 30 militants carried out the attack, the statement said. They barged in carrying automatic weapons and the Islamic State flag.

 

German police detain suspected ISIS members in anti-terror raids | 21 Nov 2017 | Six suspected ISIS members have been detained by German authorities in anti-terror raids across the country. Refugees reportedly tipped off investigators about the men, who are suspected of planning to carry out an attack. Police in four German states carried out early-morning anti-terror raids on Tuesday, detaining several suspected members of the militant "Islamic State" (IS) group. Six Syrian men aged between 20 and 28-years-old were taken into custody, prosecutors in Frankfurt said in a statement.

 

Suspects detained in German Christmas market terror plot | 21 Nov 2017 | A possible terror plot on a Christmas market in Germany was uncovered Tuesday after six Syrian nationals were detained in raids by police, a German intelligence official told CNN. The men were detained following large-scale raids in four cities involving approximately 500 officers on Tuesday morning led by the Hessian State Criminal Police and the Attorney General of Frankfurt, a joint statement by the two agencies said. The men were targets of an investigation "into suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization and for preparation of terror attack," the statement said. According to police, the six Syrian nationals had applied for asylum and are suspected of being ISIS members.

 

Unintended Holistic Doctor Deaths Near 80: Founder of 'Unlocking Autism' found dead in canal, ruled days later as accident | 21 Nov 2017 | (Lincoln City, OR) Update: Jeana's body was found found Friday night. By Wednesday, police ruled it was an accident. Well-known autism advocate, Jeana Beck aka Gina Smith, was found dead last weekend on or around November 17th. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the founder of "Unlocking Autism." Police say she went outside to smoke but never came back. The next night,police found her deceased in a canal behind the Rodeway Inn where [Jeana and her autistic son, Jacob, 23] were staying. Police said almost immediately they do not suspect foul play, which many experts have found absurd. [See: Unintended Holistic Doctor Death Series: Now Over 70 Almost 80.]

 

Madagascar plague death toll hits 195 as outbreak reaches 'crisis' point | 23 Nov 2017 | The death toll from plague in Madagascar has risen to 195 as experts warn the outbreak of the disease has reached crisis point. A total of 2,267 people have now been infected by the illness since the outbreak began in August, according to the World Health Organisation - a jump of three per cent in recent days. The current spread of the disease is unusual in that most of those affected have had the pneumonic form of plague, which affects the lungs and can kill within 24 hours. It can be transmitted through the air via coughing and sneezing and so spreads easily.

 

Black Death-infected hospital patients escape: Plague now spreading out of control --There are rumours among the population the outbreak is a government plot. | 18 Nov 2017 | Patients infected with the Black Death plague ravaging Madagascar are escaping from hospital in a city of nearly nine million people, it has emerged. They risk infecting others as they flee back home – despite being riddled with the dangerous contagion. A doctor at a plague hospital in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo revealed the horrifying development yesterday. This comes as fears grow that the outbreak could go global - leading to millions dying. The Central Anti-Plague Hospital Ambohimindra is one of six hospitals that treat plague in the city with a population of 8.6m.

 

FBI processes record 200,000+ gun background checks on Black Friday | 25 Nov 2017 | Buying a gun in the United States could hardly be described as difficult, and bargain hunting weapons enthusiasts were out in force on Black Friday with the FBI receiving over 200,000 requests for background checks in a single day. That figure smashes the previous two years, both also record showings for checks in a single day, as trigger-happy Americans flocked to pick up their bargain basement weapon of choice, USA Today reports. 

 

3,810 U.S. areas with lead poisoning double Flint's, Reuters finds | 14 Nov 2017 | Since last year, Reuters has obtained neighborhood-level blood lead testing results for 34 states and the District of Columbia. In all, Reuters has identified 3,810 neighborhood areas with recently recorded childhood lead poisoning rates at least double those found across Flint, Michigan, during the peak of that city's water contamination crisis in 2014 and 2015. Some 1,300 of these hotspots had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher than Flint's. 

 

12 of 14 nursing home deaths after Irma ruled homicides | 24 Nov 2017 | Authorities say the deaths of 12 of the 14 Florida nursing home patients who died after Hurricane Irma have been ruled homicides. The Sun Sentinel reports that autopsy results from the Broward County medical examiner's office were released Wednesday. No arrests have been made.

 

Trump renews call for border wall after patrol officer dies in Texas | 19 Nov 2017 | President Trump on Sunday reiterated his calls to build a wall along the country's southern border after a U.S. Border Patrol agent died from injuries he sustained on patrol in Texas. "Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt," Trump tweeted. "We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!"

 

Veteran presenter Charlie Rose sacked by CBS over 'intolerable behaviour' | 21 Nov 2017 | Veteran television presenter Charlie Rose has been fired by CBS following allegations of sexual harassment. The journalist and anchor had hosted his interview-based Charlie Rose show since 1991, winning [accolades] for his work and becoming one of the most recognisable interviewers on US television. In a statement sent to CBS News staff by network president David Rhodes, and seen by Sky News, the company said Rose's employment was terminated following the revelation "of extremely disturbing and intolerable behaviour said to have revolved around his PBS program."

 

Church of Sweden to stop referring to God as 'he' or 'Lord' --Head of largest Swedish Christian church says God is beyond human gender determination | 24 Nov 2017 | The Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to the supreme deity, refraining from using terms such as "Lord" and "he" in favour of the less specific "God." The move is one of several taken by the national Evangelical Lutheran church in updating a 31-year-old handbook setting out how services should be conducted in terms of language, liturgy, hymns and other aspects...The change was met with criticism, however. Christer Pahlmblad, an associate theology professor at Sweden's Lund University, told the Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper in Denmark that the move was "undermining the doctrine of the Trinity and the community with the other Christian churches".

 

Do not refer to female pupils as 'girls' or 'ladies' because it 'reminds them of their gender', headteachers told | 21 Nov 2017 | Teachers should not refer to pupils as "girls" or "ladies" because it means they are "constantly reminded of their gender", the Government’s former mental health tsar has said. Natasha Devon told headteachers of the country's leading girls' schools that they should be using gender-neutral language when they address their students, and added that the same applied for boys. Speaking at the Girls' School Association's annual conference in Manchester, she said that she would "never walk into a room in an-all girls' school and say girls or ladies" because it was "patronising".

 

University of Pennsylvania to pay students to take gender-altering hormones | 17 Nov 2017 | The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is offering to pay its own students to take gender changing hormones. Those who qualify will "take part in a confidential and affirming research study on the cognitive and behavioral effects of hormone therapy." "We're seeking individuals anywhere on the female-to-male (FTM) spectrum," a poster advertising the study states, before mentioning that "participants will be compensated for their time." "Are you transmasculine or a trans man, and do NOT take hormones?" the poster's headline reads.

 

'Significant climate anomalies' make October the fourth warmest on record as NOAA says we are headed for the planet's third warmest year | 24 Nov 2017 | October 2017 tied with 2003 as the fourth hottest October on record, NOAA records have revealed. The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces, from NOAA records which date back 138 years to 1880, also revealed that (so far) 2017 has been the third warmest year on record. According to the NOAA, nine of the 10 warmest January-October global land and ocean temperatures occurred since 2005.

 

Bear necessities? Furry family at US mall | 24 Nov 2017 | Three bears have been filmed by a sheriff's deputy at a shopping mall in California. (Video)

 

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CLG News Editor-in-Chief: Lori Price. Copyright © 2017, Citizens for Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.