The current armory, completed in 1958, has housed Engineer, Air Defense, Combat Service Support, and Infantry units.

September 20, 2016
By Jason Meisner

Sitting in a car outside the Joliet Armory last year, (click here) then-National Guard specialistHasan Edmonds stroked his chin and calmly sipped a soda as he described how a terror plot on the base would be most effective if higher-ranking soldiers were killed first.

"The first person to take the reins is going to be the first sergeant," Edmonds said to his cousin, Jonas, and another man as the three staked out the armory in March 2015. "And then if he steps off, it's gonna be the company commander. That's the head. Kill the head, body follows...See the stripes, take the shot."

Edmonds went on to describe in a matter-of-fact tone the layout of the building and where soldiers would be lining up for drills. He assured his accomplices that none of the victims would be armed and most would have their cell phones off, so warnings of the attack would be slow to spread. He even suggested a gunman position himself near a particular exit to ambush fleeing soldiers....

There was a 48 hour ceasefire. Where do these attacks fall, within or outside of the ceasefire?

18 September 2016

The US and Russia (click here) agreed to extend the cessation of hostilities in Syria for another 48 hours. So far both parties are content with the implementation of the temporary ceasefire which has been in force since Monday....

...The Russian Foreign Ministry meanwhile noted that the during the phonecall, Lavrov stressed that the US should stick to its promise on the urgent dissociation of the US-backed rebels in Syria from Al-Nusra Front terrorists and “those groups who have basically merged with this branch of Al-Qaeda.”

The Russian General Staff on Wednesday also called for the extension of the ceasefire while outlining violations of it.

"In accordance with the Russian-US agreements, the existing 48-hour ceasefire is expiring today at 7pm [Moscow time – 16:00 GMT]. We note that recently the cessation of hostilities was observed in full. As of this morning the overall number of violations by the militants has reached 60,” Russian General Staff official Viktor Poznikhir said on Wednesday.

He added that Russia understands the necessity of the full implementation of the agreements reached, and that it is “in favor of extending the ceasefire across Syria for another 48 hours.”...

Reuters / Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Damaged Red Cross (click here) and Red Crescent medical supplies lie inside a warehouse after an airstrike on the rebel-held Urm al-Kubra town, western Aleppo city, Syria September 20, 2016.

This is a no brainer. This is rebel held land. There was a ceasefire. It was over and the attack came to end the aid moving into rebel held territory.

I want to know one thing.

Just one thing.

When is the USA going to withdraw from backing rebels so the civil war ENDS

Even after the attack on the UN convoy, there were diplomats scrambling to extend the ceasefire. There was no agreement on the ceasefire at the time of the attack. 

The ceasefire didn't accomplish anything, except, to tell either the Syrian government or Daesh or other groups where the warehouse is. The ceasefire set up a target (the warehouse) that could be destroyed when the ceasefire ended.

The USA needs to leave Syria. 

NOW!

Tell John McCain to go home!

September 15, 2015
By Bassem Mroue and Jamey Keaton

Beirut (AP) — The United Nations (click here) faces "a problem" in shipping humanitarian aid into Syria, the U.N. envoy for the war-torn country said Thursday, pinning the blame on the lack of authorization from Bashar Assad's government that has even disappointed Russia, the Syrian president's key backer.

Staffan de Mistura said a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire deal agreed on last week has largely reduced the violence since it came into effect on Monday, but the humanitarian aid flow that was expected to follow has not materialized.

De Mistura said 40 aid trucks are ready to move and that the U.N. would prioritize delivery to the embattled, rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo.

However, the Syrian government has not provided needed "facilitation letters," or permits, to allow for the start of the convoys, de Mistura said. He said the government had agreed on Sept. 6 — before the cease-fire deal was inked — to allow aid into five areas, but the authorizations still haven't come....

The problem in Syria is the proxy war no one discusses. One government is better than anarchy and civil war.

The politics of The West is completely wrong. Stop making Syria a political discussion. It is not solving the problems.

September 10, 2016
By Olga Razumovskaya

MOSCOW—Russia on Thursday (click here) said it is airlifting military cargo and humanitarian aid to Syria, amid U.S. concern that Moscow is stepping up its military support of the Middle East nation’s embattled president.

“The planes the Russian Federation is sending to Syria are carrying military items, in accordance with the contracts we have, and humanitarian aid,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a televised news conference. “Depending on what cargo the plane is carrying, we request the proper clearance, in full accordance with international law.”

U.S. military officials have expressed concern in recent days that Russia is building up its forces in Syria and possibly taking a more active role in propping up President Bashar al-Assad against rebel forces.

Russia has denied its forces are participating directly in military operations on Syrian territory.

Responding to a question about whether Russian forces were engaged in combat, Mr. Lavrov said: “There are Russian servicemen in Syria, they have been there for many years.”...

The United Nations with a balanced committee needs to conduct an independent investigation.

September 20, 2016

The US has said it holds Russia (click here) responsible for a deadly attack on an aid convoy near the Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday.

The White House has called it an "enormous humanitarian tragedy".

Meanwhile, US officials have told the BBC that two Russian war planes were responsible for the attack.

Russia strongly denies involvement of its own or Syrian planes, and says the incident was caused by fire on the ground and not by an air strike.

"There are no craters and the exterior of the vehicles do not have the kind of damage consistent with blasts caused by bombs dropped from the air," a statement from the defence ministry said.

And the country's foreign ministry spokeswoman said the US government had "no facts" to support its claim, adding: "We have nothing to do with this situation."...

This is the real ground game for the Republicans, isn't it?

It doesn't matter the candidate, it is the Supreme Court Republicans are voting for this November. It doesn't matter if the nuclear war games are on and the USA enters an ill conceived war in the Middle East again, just so long as the Republicans own the Supreme Court.

September 19, 2016
By Noah Feldman

If Hillary Clinton wins in November, (click here) will the lame-duck Republican Senate confirm Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court? Last week, Clinton said she would look for diversity and wouldn’t feel bound to renominate Garland, which in theory should give Republican senators more reason to confirm Garland, before Clinton can nominate a more liberal candidate.

Yet a careful analysis of Republican senators’ incentives in the case of a Democratic win in November points the other way. If Republicans lose the presidency, the party will enter an intense period of self-reflection and disarray. And if they also lose the Senate, the disarray will be greater still.

Under those conditions, it seems most likely that Republican senators wouldn’t want the final act of their majority session to be acquiescence to the judicial candidate nominated by President Barack Obama. Instead, looking to future primary challenges, they’ll have reason to reject Garland by denying him a vote -- even if that may lead to a more liberal Supreme Court in the long run....

The election has dynamics most didn't expect with the polls of "likely voters."

Hillary Clinton needs to have a good debate. In 2008, the first debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney saw significant movement of polls after the first debate. Hillary Clinton needs to have a good debate.

It is stated in the New York Post that African American voters have moved by up to 20 percentage points to the Donald Trump column. No other poll is reporting that.

If the black vote is coming into view as one that can change the electoral map there are several interesting issues to consider. If Donald Trump registers a movement of African American voters the Republicans reason for voter ID and erasing voting rolls changes. It may be in a Republican interest to defeat voter IDs and enforce the current voter rolls.

The battleground states have entered the race as decisive voters. The Dems know where their weak spots are and need to reinforce their ground game in those areas. 

This could be an interesting vote in November and perhaps all the gaming that occurred in Republican politics before will disappear. 

NBC News/Survey Monkey is the only poll showing one third Hispanics voting for Donald Trump. The other polls show Donald Trump well below the average GOP interest in those voters.

September 18, 2016

By Mary Kay Linge

...But now, (click here)) less than a week before the crucial first debate of this presidential race — and as a terrorism bombing investigation continues in New York and New Jersey — a viable route has emerged for the Republican nominee, according to the latest NPR Battleground Map.

About a dozen battleground states have gotten closer with some key ones showing Trump leading for the first time. Hillary Clinton retains the advantage, but it's a far more precarious lead for the Democrat than at any time in this presidential race.

Trump's movement comes as many pollsters have switched to "likely voter" models, which try to predict the electorate based on factors like enthusiasm and past voting records. That alone may be responsible for most of the tightening, but it also follows a less-disastrous month of campaigning for Trump than the stretch immediately following the party conventions, which saw his fight with the Khan family, whose son, a Muslim American, was an Army captain killed in Iraq. Trump also began running his first major round of campaign ads in key states in recent weeks....