Turkey: adversary or ally of IS?

For Ankara, the Islamic State (IS) group is an officially-listed terrorist organisation which poses an immediate threat to Turkish territory. But for critics, Turkey directly encouraged the rise of the group in Syria and has even profited from its success.

The criticism against Turkey is now led by Russian President Vladimir Putin who has made a string of angry allegations about Ankara's alleged collusion with IS in the wake of the shooting-down of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border by Turkey on November 24.

Who is telling the truth?

Has Turkey ever backed IS

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/turkey-adversary-or-ally-of-is/article/451017

Obama warns Putin on intervening in Syria's civil war

Source: CNN

President Barack Obama warned his Russian counterpart Tuesday against intervening in Syria's civil war, suggesting that Vladimir Putin is aware of the dangers his country faces by entering the bloody conflict.

"I think Mr. Putin understands that ... with Afghanistan fresh in the memory, for him to simply get bogged down in an inconclusive and paralyzing civil conflict is not the outcome that he's looking for," Obama said at a news conference in Paris.

Obama said he does not disagree with Putin -- with whom he met on Monday -- on the necessity of a political resolution to Syria's conflict. But he said there remains discord over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who the United States insists must leave power as part of a political transition. But he said the reality on the ground in Syria could change Putin's calculus.

"I think it is possible over the next several months that we both see a shift in calculation in the Russians and a recognition that it's time to bring the civil war in Syria to a close," Obama said. "It's not going to be easy."


Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/01/politics/obama-paris-press-conference/

Black Friday breaks record with 185K gun background checks

Source: USA Today

More Americans had their backgrounds checked purchasing guns on Black Friday than any day in the on record, according to data released by the FBI this week.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed 185,345 requests on November 27, one of the largest retail sales days in the country.

"This was an approximate 5% increase over the 175,754 received on Black Friday 2014," wrote Stephen Fischer, the FBI's chief of multimedia productions. "The previous high for receipts were the 177,170 received on 12/21/2012."

Previous spikes for background checks, conducted before a gun buyer can obtain a firearm, occurred after prominent mass shootings, like in December 2012 in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/01/black-friday-breaks-record-185k-gun-background-checks/76624604/

UnitedHealth CEO regrets entering ObamaCare

Source: The Hill

The CEO of UnitedHealthCare on Tuesday said he regretted the decision to enter the ObamaCare marketplace last year, which the company says has resulted in millions of dollars in losses.

“It was for us a bad decision,” UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley said at an investor’s meeting in New York, according to Bloomberg Business.

UnitedHealth, the country’s largest insurer, announced last month that it would no longer advertise its ObamaCare plans over the next year and may pull out completely in 2016 — a move that sent shockwaves across the healthcare sector.

Hemsley’s remarks double down on his earlier warning that the ObamaCare exchanges remain weaker than expected after two years and that it will take far longer for insurers to profit from the millions of new enrollees.


Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/261617-unitedhealth-ceo-regrets-entering-obamacare-marketplace

KTVU anchor calls out racist who disapproves of his family

It's bizarre when someone calls me out with a sickening comment. But that's what happened. So now I'm calling him out.

On the "visitor posts" section of (my Facebook) page, someone posted the picture of me taking out my daughter's braids several years ago.

The caption said:"This was sent to me by a friend in another state! Love you Frank!!"

But right after that someone named Terrance J. posted this exact comment:

"F**king disgrace smh smh nasty ass crakka touching sister hair smh&quot smh means shake my head. SFGATE added the asterisks)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/KTVU-anchor-calls-out-racist-who-disapproves-of-6665369.php

Syria deal for rebels to leave last Homs district: governor

Source: AFP

A deal has been reached for the evacuation of Syrian opposition fighters from the last district under their control in the central city of Homs, the provincial governor told AFP Tuesday.

"All the rebels will leave Waer (district) within two months. A group of 200 to 300 armed men will leave in the first step, which will begin on Saturday," Talal Barazi said.

He said the first stage of the deal would last a week and would see "some heavy and medium weapons turned over to authorities."

Some families of rebels will also leave.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-deal-rebels-leave-last-homs-district-governor-131754086.html

Propaganda via the local news.

Cat slide

Are Turkey, Saudi Arabia Pressuring Jordan on a Terror Blacklist?

Jordan's task of overseeing the development of a list of organizations fighting in Syria that are actually terrorist groups is a job fraught with potential headaches for the kingdom. The assignment by the International Syria Support Group is part of efforts to launch negotiations between the Syrian regime and the so-called moderate opposition early next year. Announced by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Nov. 15, the move is also tied to Article 6 of the support group's Oct. 30 Vienna Communique, which states, "Daesh [Islamic State, IS], and other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, and further, as agreed by the participants, must be defeated."

The Jordan Times quoted Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani as saying, "Selecting Jordan for this task illustrates the international community's recognition of Jordan's capabilities and the efficiency of its military and security apparatuses." Mohammad Abu Rumman, an expert on Islamist groups, said, however, the assignment might put Amman in a bind, given its special relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, its intelligence contacts with the United States and Europe, and its particular knowledge of the groups in Syria, including their financers and other supporters. In addition to US financial and military assistance, it relies on grants from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.

Abu Rumman told Al-Monitor, "This is a complicated issue that could compromise Jordan since adding more groups to the list will provoke their backers and threaten the kingdom's stability." The support group has already agreed to include IS and Jabhat al-Nusra on the list. Among the groups that could possibly be added are Ahrar al-Sham, al-Sham Front and Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest).

"Some of these Islamist groups fall in a gray area. Some will argue that they are radical, while others will claim they are moderate," said Abu Rumman. This, he added, is part of the challenge facing Jordan. The survey group's designations could affect alliances among the anti-regime groups — for instance, Jaish al-Fatah's affiliation with the already designated Jabhat al-Nusra — and weaken the opposition on the ground, especially if foreign backers stop financing some of them, Abu Rumman noted.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/30/are-turkey-saudi-arabia-pressuring-jordan-on-a-terror-blacklist

Bombs Away! Russians Strike ISIS Oil but PBS Gets Blasted

Last Thursday evening, Nov. 19, the PBS NewsHour did a timely and important segment on how “the Islamic State militant group…one of the richest terrorist armies in history” makes its money. A key source of that money, they reported, is oil.

Economics Correspondent Paul Solman began the segment, setting the stage with what some presidential candidates are saying and pointing out that there is a debate over just how much money ISIS actually has. Then, at 2:22 minutes into the segment, Solman says, “But just yesterday [Wednesday] Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the joint task force, said the stepped-up offensive against ISIS’ main source of revenue is paying off. For the first time, the U.S. is attacking oil delivery trucks.” Then Col. Warren, in a film clip on screen, says: “We destroyed 116 tanker trucks, which we believe will reduce ISIL’s ability to transport its stolen oil products.”

That may be true, but the bombing camera video shown at the time, according to numerous online sources, came from Russian, not U.S., aircraft and drones attacking the oil facilities and trucks, and was released by the Russian Defense Ministry. The film also uses some Cyrillic-alphabet lettering along the edges.

The foul-up did not go unnoticed and rather quickly resulted in several online critiques and numerous emails to me and messages posted on the NewsHour’s own website. The critical reporting focused on stories and headlines such as, “PBS uses Russian footage to depict US airstrikes on ISIS oil fields,” from RT, a Russian-government supported global news operation. Indeed, RT reported that the use of Russian film was first taken note of by the Moon of Alabama website and picked up by others such as Sputnik, also supported by the Russian government, and Global Research, a Canadian-based site.


http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/blogs/ombudsman/2015/11/23/bombs-away-russians-strike-isis-oil-but-pbs-gets-blasted/