NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT MONDAY 2/24/2020 POLITICAL COMMENT DESTROYING BERNIE SANDERS

With the United States on the verge of signing a peace agreement with the Taliban of Afghanistan, perhaps this Saturday, to bring an end to a conflict that began in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks questions about other overtures to extremist groups being raised.

But they're being raised by Russia's Foreign Minister wondering asking why the United States would talk to the terrorist movement that inspired the 9/11 attacks.

 During a visit to Tadjikistan Monday Sergei Lavrov said it would be unacceptable for the US to be talking to Al Qaeda movement groups Jabhat al Nusra and Hayat Tahrir al Sham as suggested by US Representative for Syria James Jeffrey and other top officials.....TASS NEWS STORY

In Canada new protests and blockades emerging after police moved in to stop the blockade of a key rail line in Ontario today.    Ontario Provincial Police made ten arrests when they moved in to stop the Mohawk blockade in solidarity with a western Canadian "First Nation" group opposing the building of a natural gas pipeline on land considered sacred.....CBC NEWS STORY

Movie mogul and longtime Democrat Party donor Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape and sexual assault charges in New York today.   The jury did not convict Weinstein of the most serious charge against him but he could face from five to 25 years in prison based on his convictions.

He was ordered jailed upon his conviction and was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.  His legal team appealing including an appeal to get him out of jail pending sentencing citing medical issues.

Weinstein is facing sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.   He will be sentenced in New York on March 11th.

Some 30 people hurt when a car drove into the crowd at a carnival parade in Volkmarsen, Germany.  Police say the act was deliberate but are not talking about a motive.   Authorities in Germany and Europe sometimes go mum when an attacker claims an Islam related motive.

More than 800 cases of the coronavirus are reported in South Korea with the center of the outbreak in the country the city of Daegu........YONHAP NEWS AGENCY SOUTH KOREA   US Forces Korea says that a family member in the US military stationed there is among those infected......YONHAP NEWS AGENCY SOUTH KOREA

The story of coronavirus in Iran today mixed up between information and perhaps misinformation from outside forces hostile to the Iranian government.  While an Iranian parliamentarian claimed 50 dead in the holy city of Qom today, an official spokesman for the Health Ministry says that 12 are dead and 61 infected in Iran.....REUTERS NEWS STORY

From Italy the fifth coronavirus death reported with some 219 infected.   The latest victims are people who were in their 80's.   More from Italy's ANSA News Agency.....LINK

A bus from Italy isolated by French authorities today in Lyon over concerns that someone who is ill on the bus might have the coronavirus.  BFM-TV reports that the driver was taken to the hospital and passengers were allowed to leave the bus this afternoon.    The driver tested for coronavirus and the results negative.

Protesters maintaining their blockade on a key rail link in Ontario, Canada this morning following a warning by police to leave by midnight Sunday.

The Mohawk community protest in solidarity with another "First Nations" group in western Canada opposing the building of a natural gas pipeline on sacred land.

CBC News in Canada reports......LINK

The extradition hearing for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in London today with a lawyer for the United States arguing that disclosure of spy activities of the United States justfies his extradition, ignoring violations of human rights uncovered in secret documents revealed by Wikileaks and any notion of "freedom of the press".    More from Wikileaks Twitter....LINK

The controversy over Assange and the tactics used against him by authorities again in the spotlight with ABC News in Australia presenting alleged spy footage of Assange when he was inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London meeting with his lawyers.....VIDEO LINK

A barrage of rockets fired into southern Israel at mid day today local time as the latest flareup with extremist groups in Gaza continues..........HAARETZ NEWS UPDATE     Israel staged an attack on Syria last night said to be targeting members of the Islamic Jihad group involved in yesterday's missile barrages on southern Israel.

POLITICAL NEWS ANALYSIS COMMENTARY-DESTROYING BERNIE SANDERS AT TOP OF AGENDA FOR MEDIA-POLITICAL FORCES THIS WEEK

The week ahead should see sparks and fireworks as Democratic Party insiders and friendly forces in major media outlets that support the Democrats and even some that don't focus their attack on Bernie Sanders following his resounding victory in the Nevada Caucus Saturday.

Why only 72 percent of the vote has been counted up to this point should again be raising questions as to what is going on with the vote count?  And to update that a 100 percent count finally emerged later today with Sanders at 46.8 percent, Joe Biden at 20.2 percent,  Pete Buttigieg at 14.3 percent and Elizabeth Warren at 9.7 percent to name the top four finishers.

Perhaps the remaining votes will be manipulated to lower Sanders delegate count to deny him a majority and control of Nevada's delegation to the Democratic National Convention.     Nine of the 36 delegates already "superdelegates" assumed to be supporters of the Establishment but Sanders margin of victory as it stands now with 28 percent of the vote still out appears to give him 19 or 20 of the 27 other delegates.    That math would give Sanders most of the delegates unless it can be altered.

(THE REAL CLEAR POLITICS ESTIMATION OF NEVADA DELEGATES WITH SUPERDELEGATES FACTORED IN SHOWS 24 FOR SANDERS, 9 FOR BIDEN AND 3 FOR BUTTIGIEG.)

A former Democrat presidential candidate and activist-author Marianne Williamson out with her endorsement of Sanders.

Her endorsement stands out as a description of politics in this country in general both Republican and Democrat apart from the personality of Donald J. Trump and says in part:

"corporate elites and their errand boys in government"

Yes folks like Nancy and Chuck for the Dems and Mitch and Kevin for the Republicans, yes indeed.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON SANDERS ENDORSEMENT TWITTER

That's the way it really is Monday February 24th, 2020.