The governor said he is “going to continue to promote Michigan as a welcoming place for immigrants” and that allowing them into the state is “something that ties right into my theme in terms of growing Michigan.”"
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Gov downplays push to make cops immigration enforcers
Gov downplays push to make cops immigration enforcers:
"On Thursday, Snyder reinforced his commitment to welcoming immigrants and refugees to Michigan.
The governor said he is “going to continue to promote Michigan as a welcoming place for immigrants” and that allowing them into the state is “something that ties right into my theme in terms of growing Michigan.”"
The governor said he is “going to continue to promote Michigan as a welcoming place for immigrants” and that allowing them into the state is “something that ties right into my theme in terms of growing Michigan.”"
History for January 31
History for January 31 - On-This-Day.com:
Franz Schubert 1797, Zane Grey 1872, Jackie Robinson 1919
Norman Mailer 1929 - Author, Ernie Banks 1931 - Baseball player, Suzanne Pleshette 1937
1606 - Guy Fawkes was executed after being convicted for his role in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I.
1865 - In America, General Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.
1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It was ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
1893 - The trademark "Coca-Cola" was first registered in the United States Patent Office.
1945 - Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S. soldier since the U.S. Civil War to be executed for desertion.
1950 - U.S. President Truman announced that he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
1958 - Explorer I was put into orbit around the earth. It was the first U.S. earth satellite.
1990 - McDonald's Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow, Russia.
Monday, January 30, 2017
What does the Bible really say about taking in Syrian refugees? | Herman Cain
What does the Bible really say about taking in Syrian refugees? | Herman Cain:
"What the left wants to do in the case of the Syrian refugees is use the power of the state to force an entire nation to welcome people into their midst without any effort to ensure that members of ISIS with evil intentions were filtered out. That's not compassion. That's national suicide. And if you think God wants nations to commit suicide, just skim through the Old Testament and consider the many instructions He gave to Israelite kings to attack foreign armies - even killing and plundering those they conquered. When it came to warfare, God instructed the kings of Israel to be pretty ruthless in dealing with their enemies.
The Syrian refugee situation is a tricky conundrum because there surely are many among the group who have no evil intentions and genuninely need help. America should want to help. But there are ways to do that without risking our own security. It would make more sense for them to be resettled in majority Muslim countries anyway, and we can do a lot of things to support that process.
But the responsibility of government is to protect its people from harm, and the government is well aware of the fact that previous terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by people who slipped in as refugees or asylum-seekers. Knowing full well that this one of the enemy's tactics, and doing absolutely nothing to prevent them from succeeding at it, is not "Christian compassion." It's a dereliction of duty."
"What the left wants to do in the case of the Syrian refugees is use the power of the state to force an entire nation to welcome people into their midst without any effort to ensure that members of ISIS with evil intentions were filtered out. That's not compassion. That's national suicide. And if you think God wants nations to commit suicide, just skim through the Old Testament and consider the many instructions He gave to Israelite kings to attack foreign armies - even killing and plundering those they conquered. When it came to warfare, God instructed the kings of Israel to be pretty ruthless in dealing with their enemies.
But the responsibility of government is to protect its people from harm, and the government is well aware of the fact that previous terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by people who slipped in as refugees or asylum-seekers. Knowing full well that this one of the enemy's tactics, and doing absolutely nothing to prevent them from succeeding at it, is not "Christian compassion." It's a dereliction of duty."
DC Women’s March Leader Angry That U.S. Hasn’t Adopted Sharia Law – Eagle Rising
DC Women’s March Leader Angry That U.S. Hasn’t Adopted Sharia Law – Eagle Rising:
"So, what is it that we have here? Nothing but a bunch of out of control, lawless murderers, whores, hypocrites and feminists that want to lay the guilt of their choices onto the innocent in the womb, in which they themselves are guilty (1 John 3:1).
To take it a step further, look who is the leader of the DC Women’s March. It’s none other than Linda Sarsour. Sarsour is a Palestinian-American activist and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York."
To take it a step further, look who is the leader of the DC Women’s March. It’s none other than Linda Sarsour. Sarsour is a Palestinian-American activist and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York."
Trump Takes the First Step in Restoring the US Military
Trump Takes the First Step in Restoring the US Military:
"The order, titled “Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces,” has not yet been officially posted to the White House website. But a draft of the order, accompanied by news reports, gives us enough details to be able to assess it.
The order directs Secretary of Defense James Mattis to conduct a 30-day review of the readiness of the armed forces to assess their ability to conduct the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS, and other forms of radical Islamic terrorism, as well as near peer competitors and regional adversaries."
The order directs Secretary of Defense James Mattis to conduct a 30-day review of the readiness of the armed forces to assess their ability to conduct the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS, and other forms of radical Islamic terrorism, as well as near peer competitors and regional adversaries."
The media war against Donald Trump
The media war against Donald Trump | MelaniePhillips.com
"At the end of Donald Trump’s first week in office, any hope that the tumult he had provoked would settle down has been dashed.
The new President shocked his opponents to the core once again by breaking with all known political convention and proceeding instantly to set in train what he had promised the American people he would do.
From the moment he got his feet under the Oval Office desk, he produced a stream of executive orders: building the wall on the Mexican border, penalising sanctuary cities, clearing the way for the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines and more.
The result was apoplexy on the left and an escalating war with the media.
There are legitimate concerns to be had about Donald Trump’s character.
However, the sustained and bilious bias and mendacity of the media coverage designed to paint him as an unhinged monster is absolutely shocking.
On Thursday, the Washington Post published a story about the first interview with the new President on ABC TV.
This story said the interview “revealed a man who is obsessed with his own popularity and eager to provide evidence of his likability, even if that information doesn’t match reality”.
The Washington Post story dwelt upon quotes from Trump boasting about the size of his standing ovations at the CIA; claimed that he was “preoccupied with two variables that are gumming up his claim of being widely beloved: losing the popular vote to Clinton and hosting an inauguration crowd that was smaller than in previous years”; quoted him boasting he could have won more of the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud; and said he kept claiming the crowd at the inauguration was “massive”, and that unlike his interviewer David Muir he was anxious to drag the conversation back to the size of that crowd.
The clips from the interview video that accompanied this story were cut accordingly to match this account.
If you read only that, you’d be pretty alarmed that someone with a serious psychological disorder was now the leader of the free world.
But the full transcript of this ABC interview, also published in the Washington Post, paints a very different picture indeed.
Most of it was about substantive issues, such as the Mexico wall, illegal immigrants, ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, voter fraud.
Only a small part of the interview concerned Trump’s popularity.
It was Muir who brought up the subject, referring to the crowd size at the inauguration and asking Trump when his popularity would “matter just a little less”...
Read on!!
"At the end of Donald Trump’s first week in office, any hope that the tumult he had provoked would settle down has been dashed.
The new President shocked his opponents to the core once again by breaking with all known political convention and proceeding instantly to set in train what he had promised the American people he would do.
From the moment he got his feet under the Oval Office desk, he produced a stream of executive orders: building the wall on the Mexican border, penalising sanctuary cities, clearing the way for the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines and more.The result was apoplexy on the left and an escalating war with the media.
There are legitimate concerns to be had about Donald Trump’s character.
However, the sustained and bilious bias and mendacity of the media coverage designed to paint him as an unhinged monster is absolutely shocking.
On Thursday, the Washington Post published a story about the first interview with the new President on ABC TV.
This story said the interview “revealed a man who is obsessed with his own popularity and eager to provide evidence of his likability, even if that information doesn’t match reality”.
The Washington Post story dwelt upon quotes from Trump boasting about the size of his standing ovations at the CIA; claimed that he was “preoccupied with two variables that are gumming up his claim of being widely beloved: losing the popular vote to Clinton and hosting an inauguration crowd that was smaller than in previous years”; quoted him boasting he could have won more of the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud; and said he kept claiming the crowd at the inauguration was “massive”, and that unlike his interviewer David Muir he was anxious to drag the conversation back to the size of that crowd.
The clips from the interview video that accompanied this story were cut accordingly to match this account.
If you read only that, you’d be pretty alarmed that someone with a serious psychological disorder was now the leader of the free world.
But the full transcript of this ABC interview, also published in the Washington Post, paints a very different picture indeed.
Most of it was about substantive issues, such as the Mexico wall, illegal immigrants, ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, voter fraud.
Only a small part of the interview concerned Trump’s popularity.
It was Muir who brought up the subject, referring to the crowd size at the inauguration and asking Trump when his popularity would “matter just a little less”...
Read on!!
China wins gold at Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships
China wins gold at Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships | SummitDaily.com: "Sweden wins Silver, Mongolia-Erdene wins Bronze amidst highly-skilled field
BRECKENRIDGE — Team China won gold in the 27th annual International Snow Sculpture Championships with “Mermaid,” a piece that depicted an underwater scene highlighted by a swimming mermaid.
Jenn Cram, judge coordinator and director of public programs and engagement for Breckenridge Creative Arts commented on behalf of the judging panel:
“This sculpture pushed the boundaries of the medium with its illusion of movement and delicate form; some of the features could have been made of paper.
Team China seemingly freed the mermaid and sea creatures from the block of snow, creating a sculpture that is visually appealing from 360 degrees.”
Along with 15 other teams, Chinese sculptors worked with only hand tools for 65 hours across five days to create a temporary outdoor art gallery.
Sculptures will remain on display at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge until Sunday, Feb. 5 (weather permitting).
Visit SculptSnow.com for detailed event information."
BRECKENRIDGE — Team China won gold in the 27th annual International Snow Sculpture Championships with “Mermaid,” a piece that depicted an underwater scene highlighted by a swimming mermaid.
Jenn Cram, judge coordinator and director of public programs and engagement for Breckenridge Creative Arts commented on behalf of the judging panel:
“This sculpture pushed the boundaries of the medium with its illusion of movement and delicate form; some of the features could have been made of paper.
Team China seemingly freed the mermaid and sea creatures from the block of snow, creating a sculpture that is visually appealing from 360 degrees.”
Along with 15 other teams, Chinese sculptors worked with only hand tools for 65 hours across five days to create a temporary outdoor art gallery.
Sculptures will remain on display at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge until Sunday, Feb. 5 (weather permitting).
Visit SculptSnow.com for detailed event information."
Trump Signs New Executive Order, Proves Libs Wrong About Him | The Federalist Papers
Trump Signs New Executive Order, Proves Libs Wrong About Him | The Federalist Papers:
"Despite receiving immense backlash from the left regarding his Executive Order temporarily banning the entry of Muslim immigrants/refugees from certain Middle Eastern countries, President Trump has proven that he is a President of all Americans.
While the left would have you believe that this is the most “Islamophobic” document on the planet, the EO Donald Trump signed is actually the most pro-LGBT, pro-minority action to come out of the government in a long time."
While the left would have you believe that this is the most “Islamophobic” document on the planet, the EO Donald Trump signed is actually the most pro-LGBT, pro-minority action to come out of the government in a long time."
What's the real deal on this 'Muslim ban'?
What's the real deal on this 'Muslim ban'? | Washington Examiner:
"What does this executive order do?
1) Places a 90 day moratorium on entry to the U.S. from the seven countries named in a 2015 law aimed at requiring stricter vetting for people entering from Iran or countries overrun by jihadist violence.
2) Suspends admission of refugees from any country for 120 days in order to conduct a review of the program.
3) Suspends admissions of refugees from Syria indefinitely.
4) Caps the number of refugees this year at 50,000
How does President Trump have the authority to do this?
Here's the wording:
(f)Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
The Trump administration didn't come up with these seven countries. Iraq, Iran, Sudan, and Syria were listed in a 2015 and 2016 law
(The "Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015" and its 2016 update adding Libya, Somalia, and Yemen).
That Obama-era law (passed with overwhelming Democratic support) added extra scrutiny to anyone travelling into the U.S. from those countries.
These countries are either in near anarchy or have radical Islamic government. The argument is that we cannot trust these governments to provide the information needed to vet potential entrants.
That's a matter of taste.
The motivation for the ruling was clearly Islamic terrorism, and the first generation of this idea was Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the country.
Every country listed in that 2015/2016 law is a Muslim-majority country.
But the order will stop immigrants from every religion.
Anybody of any religion coming from these seven countries is barred for 90 days. Any refugee coming from anywhere — so this could be Buddhists, Jews, Atheists — are barred.
Syrian refugees of any religion are barred indefinitely.
The largest Muslim countries — such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia — are not covered in the 90-day ban.
No, a judge in Brooklyn on Saturday night put a halt to one aspect of the enforcement of the EO: Federal officials stopping people who were getting off of planes today, and in at least one case, reportedly being sent back to Syria.
Deporting these people has been stayed, but going forward, no judge has blocked the enforcement of the EO in terms of denying Visas to people who want to come here.
Yes, President Obama barred Iraqi refugees for six months in 2011."
"What does this executive order do?
- The Executive Order has four main policies
1) Places a 90 day moratorium on entry to the U.S. from the seven countries named in a 2015 law aimed at requiring stricter vetting for people entering from Iran or countries overrun by jihadist violence.
2) Suspends admission of refugees from any country for 120 days in order to conduct a review of the program.
3) Suspends admissions of refugees from Syria indefinitely.
4) Caps the number of refugees this year at 50,000
How does President Trump have the authority to do this?
- Federal law, specifically the Immigration and Nationalization Act, gives the President pretty broad authority to block classes of immigrants from specific countries.
Here's the wording:
(f)Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
- Why those seven countries?
The Trump administration didn't come up with these seven countries. Iraq, Iran, Sudan, and Syria were listed in a 2015 and 2016 law
(The "Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015" and its 2016 update adding Libya, Somalia, and Yemen).
That Obama-era law (passed with overwhelming Democratic support) added extra scrutiny to anyone travelling into the U.S. from those countries.
These countries are either in near anarchy or have radical Islamic government. The argument is that we cannot trust these governments to provide the information needed to vet potential entrants.
- Is it really a "Muslim Ban"?
That's a matter of taste.
The motivation for the ruling was clearly Islamic terrorism, and the first generation of this idea was Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the country.
Every country listed in that 2015/2016 law is a Muslim-majority country.
But the order will stop immigrants from every religion.
Anybody of any religion coming from these seven countries is barred for 90 days. Any refugee coming from anywhere — so this could be Buddhists, Jews, Atheists — are barred.
Syrian refugees of any religion are barred indefinitely.
The largest Muslim countries — such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia — are not covered in the 90-day ban.
- Did a judge just strike down the order?
No, a judge in Brooklyn on Saturday night put a halt to one aspect of the enforcement of the EO: Federal officials stopping people who were getting off of planes today, and in at least one case, reportedly being sent back to Syria.
Deporting these people has been stayed, but going forward, no judge has blocked the enforcement of the EO in terms of denying Visas to people who want to come here.
- Has anything like this ever happened before?
Yes, President Obama barred Iraqi refugees for six months in 2011."
FLASHBACK: Watch Dems Cheer President Clinton’s Plan to Deport Illegals
FLASHBACK: Watch Dems Cheer President Clinton’s Plan to Deport Illegals [Video] » ConservativeVideos.com:
Democrats have likely forgotten that they cheered and gave President Bill Clinton a STANDING OVATION for his idea to build a wall and deport criminal illegals.
Democrats have likely forgotten that they cheered and gave President Bill Clinton a STANDING OVATION for his idea to build a wall and deport criminal illegals.
Donald Trump’s Refugee Executive Order: No Muslim Ban -- Separating Fact from Hysteria | National Review
Donald Trump’s Refugee Executive Order: No Muslim Ban -- Separating Fact from Hysteria | National Review:
"Religious considerations are by law part of refugee policy. And it is entirely reasonable to give preference (though not exclusivity) to members of minority religions.
Finally, you can read the entire executive order from start to finish, reread it, then read it again, and you will not find a Muslim ban. It’s not there. Nowhere. At its most draconian, it temporarily halts entry from jihadist regions. In other words, Trump’s executive order is a dramatic climb-down from his worst campaign rhetoric."
Finally, you can read the entire executive order from start to finish, reread it, then read it again, and you will not find a Muslim ban. It’s not there. Nowhere. At its most draconian, it temporarily halts entry from jihadist regions. In other words, Trump’s executive order is a dramatic climb-down from his worst campaign rhetoric."
Crimes against Humanity: "Normal" Treatment of Middle Eastern Women
Crimes against Humanity: "Normal" Treatment of Middle Eastern Women
- Mullahs seem to prefer protecting inhuman laws to protecting humans.
- Most full coverings for women are black, which absorbs heat, and are made not of cotton but of non-porous cloth - in the scorching heat.
- In a province of Indonesia, Aceh, a woman, accused of being intimate with her boyfriend is caned, in front of a jeering crowd. Later, a photograph of the screaming woman is published as a token of pride for the men who had just exacted this "justice" -- on her; no consequence for the boyfriend. It was a lesson to remind women to submit to their place in society.
- Turkey last year presented a bill for tackling its widespread child-marriage issue: the Turkish government introduced a bill that pardons a rapist if he marries his victim. The victim is not consulted.
All forms of exploiting women are presented as divine law, sharia, in which women have no say, which they are unable to use in their own defence, and which they are forced to accept as their fate.
- These are countries where men are not only permitted, but invited, to consider woman a pet -- to be killed, burned with acid, benzene or a weapon of choice supposedly to preserve a family's "honour".
- These laws, put in place by the governments and the clergy, provide a safe escape for criminals, such as those who kill their women and claim it is in the name of "honour".
- The deeper horror is that all these abuses -- child marriage, confinement, FGM, rape, torture, and legal discrimination -- have accomplices. These enablers are often well-meaning people from the West, "multiculturalists" who are reluctant to pass judgement on other people's customs no matter how brutal they might be.
- Sadly, they are unable to see that they are actually part of the huge jihadi radicalization machine working under the very nose of even governments in the West.
- As the British in India effectively got rid the people of the cultural practice of suttee, in which Hindu widows were required to throw themselves on their husband's funeral pyre, if people would really like to do "good", they will please help to stop similar crushing practices.
Fake news: CNN omits refugee's Trump praise
Fake news: CNN omits refugee's Trump praise - The American MirrorThe American Mirror:
"Refugees say the darndest things.
"Refugees say the darndest things.
The mainstream media had their Donald Trump victim in the flesh when Hameed Khalid Darweesh was detained at JFK airport in New York on Saturday.
Darweesh was held after President Trump issued an executive order curtailing the acceptance of refugees from Syria and other jihadi-infected areas.
He appeared before cameras outside the airport after his release.
After he heaped praise on America, a reporter shouted, “What do you think of Donald Trump?”
“I like him,” Darweesh responded, as a look of shock came over the faces of Congressmembers Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nadler, before adding, “but I don’t know, this is a policy, I don’t know, he’s a president and I’m a normal person.”
Nadler chuckled while Velazquez just stared at the ground.
But here’s a portion CNN’s website story, which left out Darweesh’s narrative-busting praise for Trump:
According to court papers, both Darweesh and Alshawi were legally allowed to come into the US but were detained in accordance with Trump’s order.
Darweesh, who worked as an interpreter for the US during the Iraq War, was released from detention early Saturday afternoon.
“America is the land of freedom,” he told reporters at the airport shortly after his release. “America is the greatest nation.”
A source with knowledge of the case confirmed Darweesh will be allowed into the US due to provisions in Trump’s order that allow the State and Homeland Security departments to admit individuals into the US on a case-by-case base for certain reasons, including when the person is already in transit and it would cause undue hardship and would not pose a threat to the security of the US.
The suit said Darweesh held a special immigrant visa, which he was granted the day of Trump’s inauguration on January 20, due to his work for the US government from 2003 to 2013.
Why would CNN quote Darweesh’s praise for America, but not Trump?
You know why…
You know why…
Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis
Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis:"It is becoming clear that not only do many scientists dispute the asserted global warming crisis, but these skeptical scientists may indeed form a scientific consensus.
Don’t look now, but maybe a scientific consensus exists concerning global warming after all.
Only 36 percent of geoscientists and engineers believe that humans are creating a global warming crisis, according to a survey reported in the peer-reviewed Organization Studies.
By contrast, a strong majority of the 1,077 respondents believe that nature is the primary cause of recent global warming and/or that future global warming will not be a very serious problem..."
Why Do Democrats Fear Trump’s Probe of “Fake” Voter Fraud? - Deroy Murdock
Why Do Democrats Fear Trump’s Probe of “Fake” Voter Fraud? - Deroy Murdock:
"This impending probe follows Trump’s private remarks to congressional leaders Monday night that some 3 to 5 million illegal ballots cost him the popular vote last November 8.
Democrats, in response, are foaming at their mouths, although one wonders if they have any foam left. How odd. They should welcome this examination. If voter fraud really is a fevered, baseless, Right-wing fantasy, as they reliably insist, this investigation will vindicate them and make Trump look like a cranky, paranoid conspiracist. Liberals should smile and egg Trump on."
"This impending probe follows Trump’s private remarks to congressional leaders Monday night that some 3 to 5 million illegal ballots cost him the popular vote last November 8.
The Final Obama Scandal
The Final Obama Scandal | The Weekly Standard:
"Less than 24 hours before the official end of the Obama presidency, while White House staffers were pulling pictures off the walls and cleaning out their desks, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) posted without fanfare another installment of the documents captured in Osama bin Laden’s compound during the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The press statement that accompanied the release made an unexpected declaration:
This batch of newly released documents would be the last one.
"Closing the Book on Bin Laden: Intelligence Community Releases the Final Abbottabad Documents," the statement was headlined.
According to a tally on the ODNI website, this last batch of 49 documents brings the total number released to 571.
For analysts who have paid attention to the Abbottabad documents, the numbers immediately caused alarm.
For years, the Obama administration told the American people that the haul from the bin Laden compound was massive and important.
In an interview on Meet the Press just days after the raid, Barack Obama's national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, said the material could fill "a small college library."
A senior military intelligence official who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on May 7, 2011, said: "As a result of the raid, we've acquired the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever."
Sources who have described the cache to THE WEEKLY STANDARD over the years have claimed that the number of captured documents, including even extraneous materials and duplicates, totals more than 1 million.
Can it really be the case that this release "closes the book"?
The short answer: No, it can't.
"[Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper and the old administration may want this to be closed, but it's far from closed," says Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
"Now the truth will begin to come out. It's just the beginning."
The documents have been at the center of an intense, five-year political battle between Republicans on Capitol Hill and the Obama administration, and an equally pitched bureaucratic battle between the Central Intelligence Agency and ODNI on one side, and U.S. military intelligence agencies on the other..."
"Less than 24 hours before the official end of the Obama presidency, while White House staffers were pulling pictures off the walls and cleaning out their desks, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) posted without fanfare another installment of the documents captured in Osama bin Laden’s compound during the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The press statement that accompanied the release made an unexpected declaration:
This batch of newly released documents would be the last one.
"Closing the Book on Bin Laden: Intelligence Community Releases the Final Abbottabad Documents," the statement was headlined.
According to a tally on the ODNI website, this last batch of 49 documents brings the total number released to 571.
For analysts who have paid attention to the Abbottabad documents, the numbers immediately caused alarm.
In an interview on Meet the Press just days after the raid, Barack Obama's national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, said the material could fill "a small college library."
A senior military intelligence official who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on May 7, 2011, said: "As a result of the raid, we've acquired the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever."
Sources who have described the cache to THE WEEKLY STANDARD over the years have claimed that the number of captured documents, including even extraneous materials and duplicates, totals more than 1 million.
Can it really be the case that this release "closes the book"?
The short answer: No, it can't.
"[Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper and the old administration may want this to be closed, but it's far from closed," says Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
"Now the truth will begin to come out. It's just the beginning."
The documents have been at the center of an intense, five-year political battle between Republicans on Capitol Hill and the Obama administration, and an equally pitched bureaucratic battle between the Central Intelligence Agency and ODNI on one side, and U.S. military intelligence agencies on the other..."
History for January 30
History for January 30 - On-This-Day.com:
Anton Chekhov 1860, Franklin D. Roosevelt (U.S.) 1882, Gene Hackman 1931
Louis Rukeyser 1933, Dick Cheney 1941 - U.S. Vice President for George W. Bush, Phil Collins 1951 - Singer, drummer (Genesis)
1862 - The U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, the "Monitor", was launched.
1933 - "The Lone Ranger" was heard on radio for the first time. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955.
1933 - Adolf Hitler was named the German Chancellor.
1948 - Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.
1962 - Two members of the "Flying Wallendas" high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, MI.
1968 - The Tet Offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.
1979 - The civilian government of Iran announced it had decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to return. He had been living in exile in France.
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