U.S. Intelligence Chief to Step Down

WASHINGTON – The U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, announced on Thursday that he will leave the post on Jan. 20, 2017, when President Barack Obama hands over the White House to Donald Trump.

“I submitted my letter of resignation last night, which felt pretty good,” the 75-year-old Clapper said during an appearance before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence.

“I got 64 days left and I think I’d have a hard time with my wife anything past that,” he said.

The retired Air Force lieutenant general signaled some time ago that he was ready to leave the government.

Clapper initially stepped away from public life in 1995, but returned to the national security sector following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Obama named him to the post of director of national intelligence in 2010.

As Washington’s spy chief, Clapper had to respond to questions and concerns about the extent of the U.S. intelligence community’s surveillance of private individuals and the issue brought him into conflict with some in Congress.

“During Director Clapper’s tenure, senior intelligence officials engaged in a deception spree regarding mass surveillance. Top officials, officials who reported to Director Clapper, repeatedly misled the American people and even lied to them,” Sen. Ron Wyden said Thursday in a statement.

In March 2013, during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Wyden asked Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper the following question:

“Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

Clapper, who was under oath, responded “No, sir.”

“It does not?” the Oregon Democrat asked again.

“Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly,” the director said.

Three months later, whistleblower Edward Snowden provided documents showing that the U.S. National Security Agency had collected the telephone records of tens of millions of U.S. residents.

Additional revelations detailed NSA programs to collect individuals’ Web-browsing histories, chat logs, e-mail usage and physical locations.

Mexico Urges Mexicans in U.S. to Avoid Confrontation

MEXICO CITY – Mexicans living in the United States should avoid “conflict situations,” Mexico’s government said Wednesday in a statement about dealing with the possible effects of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The triumph of the Republican real estate mogul, who launched his campaign with a speech denouncing Mexican immigrants as criminals and “rapists,” presents Mexico with a set of potentially major challenges.

In recommendations released by the Foreign Relations Secretariat, Mexican communities in the U.S. are urged “to reinforce dialogue with state and local authorities, on the understanding that local policies determine, to a great degree, the daily lives of Mexicans” north of the border.

Expats are likewise encouraged to strengthen ties with U.S. civil rights organizations.

Mexico’s government also appealed to Mexican communities in the U.S. “to avoid all situations of conflict and not to engage in actions that could lead to administrative or criminal sanctions.”

Since defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton last Tuesday, Trump has retreated from his campaign promise to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., suggesting instead that he will expel around 3 million people.

Trump also indicated some flexibility about the exact nature of the wall he vows to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The secretariat announced measures to improve communication with Mexicans in the U.S., including the creation of a 24-hour, toll-free telephone hotline to request information or report incidents.

Another response will be to expand the presence of mobile consulates in the U.S. to offer “comprehensive protection and documentation services to a larger number of people in their communities.”

The secretariat said that the embassy and consulates will make it easier to obtain identification documents, such as passports and birth certificates, for the U.S.-born offspring of Mexican citizens.

Two Brits arrested for blowing up ATM's

Published: 11 Nov 2016 14:52 GMT+01:00

Spanish police swooped in on a pair suspected of blowing up more than a dozen cash machines on the Costa del Sol.

The two unnamed men were arrested during a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday at a residence in Calahonda, a resort between Marbella and Fuengirola that is popular with British expats.

 Officers from the National Police in Malaga suspect the two men of carrying out robberies at 13 different ATMs in towns across the Costa del Sol during the summer.

The thieves blew up the ATMs using explosives or acetylene gas before making off with large amounts of cash.

Officers discovered hand grenades at the property as well as gas cylinders, electrical cables and other equipment used to carry out the raids.

They also found cannabis and cocaine at the property.

Young Sunni run over by tank ?

Iraqi army crimes
عاجل من #الموصل
الحشد #الشيعي #الارهابي يسحل طفل عراقي سني ويضعه تحت الدبابه ويقتله عار على من يسكت على هذا #الارهاب pic.twitter.com/3tz8bElwOo

— #IRAQ شمرية العراق (@moonnor27) November 11, 2016

Sunni Soldier beat and killed

Shia Militias crimes
مليشات الشيعه تضرب بوحشيه لغايه القتل جندي عراقي سني من العشائر السنيه التي تقاتل ضد #داعش
غدرهم حتى مع من ضد #داعش pic.twitter.com/WIO9rWX64o

— #IRAQ شمرية العراق (@moonnor27) November 13, 2016

Men Brutally Attack Old White Guy For Voting Trump

Iran -protest

The demonstrators in #Khorramabad chanted,"Incompetent mayor,shame on you,shame on you" & "Murderer of Forouzan,Resign!" #Iran #AP #ZEID #AF pic.twitter.com/TV0sFyoZ2h

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) November 9, 2016