Forces of Decency Punishing Daesh

Daesh Cowards Dressing as Women to Escape Justice

Iraqi special forces battling to clear Islamic State from eastern Mosul have killed nearly 1,000 militants but fighting has slowed as troops face a mobile enemy hidden among thousands of civilians in the city, a top commander said.

Six weeks into a major offensive, Iraqi forces have captured nearly half of eastern Mosul, moving from district to district against jihadist snipers, suicide attackers and car bombs.

Elite Iraqi troops, known as the "Golden Division", are the only brigades to have entered Mosul from the east, with Iraqi army, federal police and Kurdish Peshmerga units surrounding the city to the north and south. Shi'ite militias are trying to complete the encirclement from the west.

The U.S.-trained Counter Terrorism Service unit breached Islamic State's defenses at the end of October, but has been slowed by the militants' mobile tactics and concern over civilian casualties preventing the use of tanks and heavy armor.

Major General Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, one of the commanders of the special forces, said troops had adapted their tactics, surrounding one district at a time to cut off the militants' supplies and protect civilians.

"Progress was faster at the start. The reason is we were operating before in areas without residents," Asadi told Reuters in Bartella, on Mosul's outskirts.

"We have arrived in populated districts. So how do we protect civilians? We have sealed off district after district."

He said around 990 militants had been killed in fighting in the east so far. He would not say how many casualties there were among government special forces.

"We have made changes to plans, partly due to the changing nature of the enemy ... Daesh (Islamic State) is not based in one location, but moving from here to there," he said.

"Tanks don't work here, artillery is not effective. Planes from the coalition force and the air force are restricted because of the civilians."

THOUSANDS DISPLACED

The Iraqi government has asked civilians in Mosul to stay at home during the offensive, as humanitarian organizations say they cannot cope with an influx of hundred of thousands of people displaced from the city.

More than one million people are believed to remain in the city, the largest in northern Iraq.

Defeating Islamic State in Mosul, Islamic State's last major bastion in Iraq, is seen as vital to destroying the "caliphate" declared by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from the pulpit of Mosul's Grand Mosque in July 2014.

But commanders have said the battle could take months. Dozens of districts must be taken in the east before attacking forces reach the Tigris River which splits Mosul into east and west. U.S. air strikes have taken out four of the five river bridges used by the militants.

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Major General Najm al-Jubbouri, one of the army's top commanders, told Reuters that the western part of the city could be the more dangerous.

To the south, Iraqi army brigades are now advancing slowly on the remaining Islamic State-held villages before reaching the city limits. To the west, the mostly Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias known as Popular Mobilisation have cut off the highway to Syria, but they have yet to close in on the city.

"The force left in front of us is small, unable to stop our advance. Their spirit is broken," Asadi said.

"We have killed more than 992 fighters on our front plus more wounded ... Their supplies and communications to the outside world are cut. They stage fewer suicide bombings."

Iraqi military estimates initially put the number of insurgents in Mosul at 5,000 to 6,000, facing a 100,000-strong coalition force. But Asadi said the figure for the Islamic State presence may have been too high.

Iraqi authorities have not released estimates of civilian casualties but the United Nations says growing numbers of injured, both civilians and military, are overwhelming aid groups.

By Patrick Markey and Ulf Laessing | BARTELLA, IRAQ

Trump Name Removed From Trump NYC Buildings

"Having the Trump Name on the Buildings is  Embarrassing" Says Realtor

Trump real estate holders have banded together to remove the President-elect's name from their buildings.

According to the New York Times, residents at 140, 160, and 180 Riverside Boulevard received an email today from Mary Pawlisa, a senior regional manager for Equity Residential, the group that owns the building. It said: "This week, the Trump Place building names will change to the street addresses — 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard. The purpose of this change is to assume a neutral building identity that appeals to all current and future residents."

This email appears to be the direct result of an online petition titled "Dump the TRUMP Name," which received hundreds of tenant signatures in October.

Last month, Trump press secretary Hope Hicks told the Times that Trump had not heard of the petition and that it seemed like "an inappropriate thing to do."

"If the name comes off, the building will lose tremendous value," she said.

In reality, the Trump name has been discredited.

 Linda Gottlieb, the resident who started the petition feels like the tenants won. "We used the power of protest to say that we don't have to accept the spread of the man's influence into our very homes," she told the Times. "To me, it feels like a cleansing of the place where I live."

by SAM DANGREMOND and CAROLINE HALLEMANN
 NOV 15, 2016

Kate Bush - Them Heavy people & Moving

This is Kate Bush's incredible tribute to the philosopher George Gurdjief...mfbsr

Simone Simmons and the Definitive Biography of Princess Di

I've considered Simone Simmons to be a very special friend for close to twenty years. More importantly, of course, is her friendship with Princess Di. Paul Burell, the man who Princess Diana called called 'my rock' and 'the only man I can trust' said that not only was Simone Simmons Di's spiritual advisor, "she was her closest friend in the world." She has appeared on all of the cable talk shows, and on a recent trip to America, (she resides in London) she graciously answered questions informing the media's still deep interest in the Late Princess. Simone is also an indefatigable defender of the Middle Easts only Democracy, Israel. She has been a hero of mine for a long time. I said to her once, "Simone, it is such an honor to know you." She replied, "Michael, it's an honor to know YOU." And I believed that she meant it. That's the kind of person she is, she treated me, a humble man, the same way she treated Sir Lawrence Olivier, the same way she treated Diana. The book is fascinating, you feel like you know the "People's Princess" after reading Simone's intimate biography. Frankly, I wasn't a Di "fan". I was a Simone Simmons fan, so I read her book and BECAME a fan of the incredible human being that was Princess Diana. Michael F. Blackburn, Sr. During the last five years of her life, Princess Diana had one friend and confidante who was special to her. She was not part of Diana's social circle; she was not a family friend. That woman was Simone Simmons, a healer, who devoted herself to the troubled Princess. Simone formed a unique bond with Diana. They met almost everyday and spent hours on the telephone. Diana opened her heart and mind to Simone, who always told the Princess the unvarnished truth. No subject was taboo, and the two women discussed everything and anything, sharing laughter and tears over cups of chamomile tea. Since Diana appreciated and trusted her friend's candor, Simone got to know the Princess in a way no one else has ever done. With Simone, Diana felt confident enough to express her true self. In 1997, Diana told her friend she wanted her to write a book which revealed the truth about her, to "tell it like it is." This is that book. It is truly the last word. With her extraordinary insight into Diana's life, Simone captures the soul of the Princess and creates an intimate and rich portrait of one of the great icons of the 20th Century. In these pages, Simone describes how it really was: who among the royals was good to Diana and who was hateful; her need to be in love and to have an affair; her only fling--with John F. Kennedy, Jr.--at the Carlisle hotel; her real relationship with Paul Burrell; why she inflicted self-harm; how she wanted to move to New York or Los Angeles; how Mother Teresa hurt her; why her relationship with Dodi never would have ended in marriage; and her enduring love for Prince Charles. Though Diana was extremely insecure, with Simone's help and work she became strong and learned that she could heal others around her. DIANA--THE LAST WORD is the fascinating story of how she reached that point. It finally settles the unanswered questions of Diana's life and addresses the many revelations that have materialized since her death. During the last five years of her life, Princess Diana had one friend and confidante who was special to her. She was not part of Diana's social circle; she was not a family friend. That woman was Simone Simmons, a healer, who devoted herself to the troubled Princess. Simone formed a unique bond with Diana. They met almost everyday and spent hours on the telephone. Diana opened her heart and mind to Simone, who always told the Princess the unvarnished truth. No subject was taboo, and the two women discussed everything and anything, sharing laughter and tears over cups of chamomile tea. Since Diana appreciated and trusted her friend's candor, Simone got to know the Princess in a way no one else has ever done. With Simone, Diana felt confident enough to express her true self. In 1997, Diana told her friend she wanted her to write a book which revealed the truth about her, to "tell it like it is." This is that book. It is truly the last word. With her extraordinary insight into Diana's life, Simone captures the soul of the Princess and creates an intimate and rich portrait of one of the great icons of the 20th Century. In these pages, Simone describes how it really was: who among the royals was good to Diana and who was hateful; her need to be in love and to have an affair; her only fling--with John F. Kennedy, Jr.--at the Carlisle hotel; her real relationship with Paul Burrell; why she inflicted self-harm; how she wanted to move to New York or Los Angeles; how Mother Teresa hurt her; why her relationship with Dodi never would have ended in marriage; and her enduring love for Prince Charles. Though Diana was extremely insecure, with Simone's help and work she became strong and learned that she could heal others around her. DIANA--THE LAST WORD is the fascinating story of how she reached that point. It finally settles the unanswered questions of Diana's life and addresses the many revelations that have materialized since her death.