Tracker

Turkey's Erdogan Wins Another Term As President, Extending Rule Into 3rd Decade - ASSOCIATED PRESS ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities. A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO. With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The head of Turkey’s electoral board confirmed the victory, saying that even after accounting for outstanding votes, the result was another term for Erdogan.

Gotta give him credit....

The Taliban have declared war on Iran, Taliban leader Abdulhamid Khorasani announced. Looks like Russia may lose an important weapon source. The Taliban claim to have destroyed 18 Iranian border outposts so far. For those who are not aware of the history her, the CIA under the direction of the Reagan government, funded an unknown religious ascetic leader named Osama Bin Laden to organize resistance to the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. And the law of Unforeseen Consequences kicked in.

'Beyond hypocritical': Charlie Kirk’s recent Pastors Summit was funded by a 'registered sex offender' Right-wing host and Turning Point USA Chief Executive Officer Charlie Kirk' second-annual Pastors Summit, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was sponsored by "a registered sex offender," Rolling Stone reports. Rolling Stone notes Kirk has been outspoken amid conservative-led criticism of Target for selling transgender-inclusive youth apparel, alleging the corporation shows "support for grooming kids." The publication reports: Rolling Stone has learned that one of the TPUSA summit's corporate sponsors is a Christian fashion company that is led by a registered sex offender, Shawn Bergstrand, who served time in federal prison for attempted 'coercion and enticement' after trying to persuade 'a minor female” to 'engage in sexual activity.' CEO if Rightside Up — a "Christian 'lifestyle apparel' company" — Bergstrand is "a registered sex offender in North Dakota," after being "convicted in 2014 for attempted 'coercion and enticement.'" Per Rolling Stone, "a redacted indictment shows" the CEO "was originally charged with attempting to 'entice and coerce a minor female … to engage in prostitution and sexual activity,'" and "despite facing a maximum of 20 years in jail," he "received a sentence of one year in prison, and five years of supervised release."

New Anti-Israel Axis Pushes Netanyahu to ‘Brink’ of War Israel fears that a growing anti-Israel alliance in the Middle East is now strong enough to spark an outbreak of war in the region. Recent months have seen strengthening alliances and unprecedented coordination between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria while Benjamin Netanyahu’s chaotic right-wing coalition struggles to maintain its authority in Israel. The possibility of a localized war has been exacerbated by recent cross-border clashes between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian military groups in Gaza and in Lebanon as well as clashes with Hezbollah and Iranian proxies across multiple borders. Assaf Orion, a Brigadier-General in the IDF reserves, told The Daily Beast that “Israel is on the brink and facing the abyss.” The Israeli military believes that a surge in low-level attacks in response to Israel’s treatment of Muslims and their holy sites demonstrates increasing unity between a range of militant groups. Last month’s rocket attacks launched at Israel by Hamas from southern Lebanon reportedly took place while the commander of Iran’s Quds Force hosted senior officials from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah at Iran’s embassy in Beirut.n This axis of antagonists has rarely cooperated so directly in the past. Orion, who is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, said that Israel was now engulfed in an unprecedented and perilous situation and these confrontations could escalate into a conflict. “As more and more proxies have larger arsenals and communicate and coordinate more closely the chances are growing,” he told The Daily Beast. “There is a growing assessment that the theater was on the verge of a large-scale conflagration, including the possibility of its spillover into Israeli territory.” During the last few months Israel has been involved in several cross-border clashes with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Islamic Jihad in Gaza while also carrying out numerous strikes on Iranian militias in Syria. This month, Islamic Jihad in Gaza shot hundreds of rockets into Israel following the death of Islamic Jihad hunger striker Khader Adnan who was protesting his administrative detention, or detention without trial, in an Israeli jail. Israeli security forces expel worshippers from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on April 5, 2023, a move denounced as an "unprecedented crime" by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. That followed the launches from Lebanon in April, which appeared to be carried out with the support of Iran-backed Hezbollah. Those rockets were fired in response to the brutal invasion of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli security forces, during which worshippers were clubbed and beaten up. “It seems the appetite for low-level skirmishes and challenges is growing because in the last two months we also saw Hezbollah carry out an ED [explosive device] attack in Israel,” said Orion. Orion told the Daily Beast that Iran was carrying out low-level attacks through its proxies, Hezbollah in the north, Iranian militias based in Syria and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank by supplying them with weapons and funds. https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-anti-israel-axis-in-the-middle-east-pushes-benjamin-netanyahu-to-brink-of-war?ref=home?ref=home

Agreed- a small sample size but very encouraging. I think we have seen the last of Dakota North.

The Texas AG who is now impeached and awaiting trial had his office festooned with pictures of him with Trump. Perhaps they could share a cell to consummate their relationship.

Ronald Reagan was a mouthpiece for an economic theory that "a rising tide lifts all boats" AKA "trickle-down economics" wherein it is posited that if the rich get richer, everyone benefits. This has since been conclusively disproven in the US and Britain but it is still a concept that some cling to. This current economic crisis (yes, it is a crisis) shows that the wealthiest individuals and corporations have gotten obscenely wealthier and the other 80% have gotten poorer. The corporate shills cry that they provide jobs, so all is well, but the big corporations have been sending jobs offshore as quickly as they can and if consumers do not have the disposable funds to buy discretionary items, the big corporations will wither. A healthy middle class is essential for economic stability and social order.

Agree but would give homeboy Kornelson another shot.

That's gonna smart.

Well, the Bomber D did not look good on that drive and saved only by a fumbled catch. Saw nothing positive from Bennet but its only one game, Wade looked solid for the most part, but has big shoes to fill.

Or stuttering is a family trait.

That would be boaring.

Calling him "The Pig: seems disrespectful. How about "Sveinson"?

Murphy hasn't been targeted often but looked darned good on that one catch.

The buffering is increasing and increasingly annoying.

A Sterling play there.

Might be PI on that play.

He better not have any daughters.

Pigrome starting to impress me.

(Mild disagreement)

For those who do not want to ger too drunk but enjoy urinating.

We should be looking at individual performances rather than overall. With all the swapping out of players, its gonna be a mess and if we win, its a small bonus.

The whole Bomber d-line is mia