NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT WEDNESDAY 10/17/2018
(EDITING, UPDATES, ADDITIONS UNTIL 815 AM)
At the top of the news the latest on Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A "candid discussion" was reported in Saudi Arabia between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi officials including King Salman.
President Trump spoke by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He says both the king and crown prince have denied any involvement or knowledge of what happened to Kashoggi.
Trump told the Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was being treated as:
Trump told the Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was being treated as:
"guilty until proven innocent"
The President has said that 110 billion dollars in business and 500-thousand jobs are at stake in the US relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Turkish officials say their search of the Saudi consulate where Khashoggi disappeared after entering October 2nd revealed more evidence of his murder.
They say four of the 15 suspects involved are bodyguards for Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Turkish police have not yet had access to the Saudi consul's home and to vehicles they want to search as part of their investigation.
Turkish police have not yet had access to the Saudi consul's home and to vehicles they want to search as part of their investigation.
Jamal Khashoggi was a resident of the United States and wrote for "The Washington Post". A reporter for the "Post", David Ignatius, was interviewed by National Public Radio this morning.
Ignatius said that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has a nasty side to him and that US intelligence has discovered that Mohammed bin Salman wanted Saudi dissidents "brought home".
He also noted that President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have invested much in a close relationship with the Saudis as the US prepares for a:
"full tilt confrontation with Iran"
There is reaction to the Khashoggi matter from many quarters.
On his "Sic Semper Tyrannis" blog, former US military attache in Saudi Arabia retired Colonel Pat Lang shared his experience with how the Saudis mete out justice:
"....They chop heads off after Friday prayers outside the local mosque. They also do hands and feet. They stone to death women found guilty of adultery. They sew them in bags before the men throw handy five pound rocks at them. The government is deeply approving of this.."
Reacting to the Khashoggi matter on his radio show yesterday, "Mr. Brexit" and a friend of President Trump, Nigel Farage said:
"Could you imagine if this was a Russian embassy..there would be international uproar"
He noted the harsh reaction of the UK government to the Skripal Affair involving a chemical attack that was blamed on Russia with diplomatic expulsions and other sanctions. Farage also noted that Saudi Arabia exports a radical Wahabbi Muslim ideology and has built hundreds of mosques in Europe.
An error message appeared on You Tube for some time last evening for the video of Farage's radio show. You Tube reported a widespread outage for two hours.
Censorship of the internet last week was worse than you may have thought. Conservatives were targeted like "Right Wing News" and so on but also in the crosshairs of the social media companies like Facebook and Twitter were libertarian sites like "Free Thought Project" and "Police the Police"
With executives of social media companies going through grillings on Captiol Hill from both Republicans and Democrats it appears that their response is to take out accounts linked to forces that oppose both major parties and their supporters.
A deadly explosion in Crimea at a technical college. The Russian News Agency TASS reports at least 18 have died and at least 50 are injured in the Russian annexed territory after the blast. An unidentified device exploded and terrorism is one possible explanation, according to Russian officials.
The leader of Crimea, annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, Segei Aksyanov says there is a suspected attacker in the explosion who shot himself and was found dead in the school's library.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
Controversy in Portland, Oregon after last weekend's downtown street fight between the Antifa and Patriot Prayer Group.
Portland's Mayor Ted Wheeler called for restrictions on street protest by groups associated with "violence" Monday and proposed an ordinance to that end.
The American Civil Liberties Union came out in opposition and the leader of the Patriot Prayer Group, Joey Gibson, called on Left and Right to unite and gather signatures to remove Mayor Wheeler from office.
The Portland Police Bureau came out Tuesday after the mayor claimed the day before that the patriot group has brought a cache of weapons to a Portland rooftop for a protest last August. Police said they found three rifles in cases and that the firearms were unloaded.
Israel launched strikes on 20 targets in Gaza after a rocket hit a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva. Another rocket fell in the sea near the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Seven people were treated for shock.
Israel is also investigating why its rocket warning system wasn't activated when the rocket struck the house in Beersheva.
The Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff has cut short a trip to the United States.
Israel's security cabinet is set to meet in the coming hours.
In Syria, Turkish military forces and militia trained by Turkey are moving into Idlib province with a demilitarized zone set to come into force by this Saturday. The Al Qaeda forces backed by Saudi Arabia fighting the Syrian government are supposed to pull out but so far have refused to budge from their positions. Turkey and Russia are the guarantors of the demilitarized zone in the populated areas of the northern Syrian province.
The United States has conducted peace talks with the Taliban. The talks took place in Doha, Qatar, the captial of a Persian Gulf oil nation. Both sides are reported far apart with the US representative asking the Talbian for a six month cease fire starting this Saturday October 20th.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting the leaders of European Union nations today in Bruseels with mainstream media reports saying she is trying to get the EU to bend more her way on Brexit. Brexit's strongest supporters see her current position as a sell out to the EU that keeps the UK under the grip of bureaucrats in Brussels.
With executives of social media companies going through grillings on Captiol Hill from both Republicans and Democrats it appears that their response is to take out accounts linked to forces that oppose both major parties and their supporters.
A deadly explosion in Crimea at a technical college. The Russian News Agency TASS reports at least 18 have died and at least 50 are injured in the Russian annexed territory after the blast. An unidentified device exploded and terrorism is one possible explanation, according to Russian officials.
The leader of Crimea, annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, Segei Aksyanov says there is a suspected attacker in the explosion who shot himself and was found dead in the school's library.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
Controversy in Portland, Oregon after last weekend's downtown street fight between the Antifa and Patriot Prayer Group.
Portland's Mayor Ted Wheeler called for restrictions on street protest by groups associated with "violence" Monday and proposed an ordinance to that end.
The American Civil Liberties Union came out in opposition and the leader of the Patriot Prayer Group, Joey Gibson, called on Left and Right to unite and gather signatures to remove Mayor Wheeler from office.
The Portland Police Bureau came out Tuesday after the mayor claimed the day before that the patriot group has brought a cache of weapons to a Portland rooftop for a protest last August. Police said they found three rifles in cases and that the firearms were unloaded.
Israel launched strikes on 20 targets in Gaza after a rocket hit a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva. Another rocket fell in the sea near the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Seven people were treated for shock.
Israel is also investigating why its rocket warning system wasn't activated when the rocket struck the house in Beersheva.
The Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff has cut short a trip to the United States.
Israel's security cabinet is set to meet in the coming hours.
In Syria, Turkish military forces and militia trained by Turkey are moving into Idlib province with a demilitarized zone set to come into force by this Saturday. The Al Qaeda forces backed by Saudi Arabia fighting the Syrian government are supposed to pull out but so far have refused to budge from their positions. Turkey and Russia are the guarantors of the demilitarized zone in the populated areas of the northern Syrian province.
The United States has conducted peace talks with the Taliban. The talks took place in Doha, Qatar, the captial of a Persian Gulf oil nation. Both sides are reported far apart with the US representative asking the Talbian for a six month cease fire starting this Saturday October 20th.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting the leaders of European Union nations today in Bruseels with mainstream media reports saying she is trying to get the EU to bend more her way on Brexit. Brexit's strongest supporters see her current position as a sell out to the EU that keeps the UK under the grip of bureaucrats in Brussels.
Recreational use of marijuana is legal starting today in Canada. The first purchases were made at midnight in the easternmost province of Newfoundland (1030 PM Eastern US time)
While there are a few private shops selling cannabis products, government owned stores in the various Canadian provinces and territories will be the main distribution points for the moment.
Private shops are expected to be rolled out in the months ahead.
Cannabis products will include items like candy and soft drinks infused with marijuana for consumption.
Nevada brothel owner and reality TV star Dennis Hof has died at the age of 72. Hof was a Republican candidate for Nevada's State Assembly in next month's election.
He was found dead at his "Love Ranch" in Pahrump, Nevada and a friend tweeted that he died quietly in his sleep.
The Nye County sheriff's office is investigating his death.
When Hof won the GOP primary for the state assembly seat last June, the party refused to endorse him causing one Nye County commissioner to endorse independent candidate for governor Ryan Bundy.
Nevada brothel owner and reality TV star Dennis Hof has died at the age of 72. Hof was a Republican candidate for Nevada's State Assembly in next month's election.
He was found dead at his "Love Ranch" in Pahrump, Nevada and a friend tweeted that he died quietly in his sleep.
The Nye County sheriff's office is investigating his death.
When Hof won the GOP primary for the state assembly seat last June, the party refused to endorse him causing one Nye County commissioner to endorse independent candidate for governor Ryan Bundy.
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