monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

The Gulf States are a prime example of Western neo colonialism. In this respect America is only continuing the policies of Britain and France.

The oil wealth should belong to the people but instead it's in the hand of a tiny group of royals. They use this wealth to run the country without the need for any form of accountability. If you don't need to raise taxes you don't need a parliament or any form of legislature.

These royals then spend their wealth on Western weapons to keep the locals under control. It's bad enough in countries like Saudi Arabia where the rulers and population are mostly Sunni Muslims, but in somewhere like Bahrain where a tiny Sunni elite rules over a Shia population the cracks are showing.

This anti Democratic process naturally fuels resentment which is why we have a rise in extremists, because they're the only ones who have constantly stood up to Western Imperialism.

The enemy isn't Islam, it's rampant Capitalism and Neo Imperialism.

Twenty-one members of the Saudi military are being expelled from the US after a cadet carried out a mass shooting at a air base last month.

The servicemen are not accused of aiding the 21-year old Saudi Air Force lieutenant.

But US Attorney General William Barr said the cadets were found to have had jihadist material and indecent images of children in their possession.

Three sailors were killed and eight wounded in the 6 December attack.

Training for Saudi servicemen was put on hold in the US after the attack.

Mr Barr told a news conference on Monday that the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola had been an "act of terrorism".

He said he had asked Apple to unlock two iPhones that belonged to the gunman, who was killed by police in the attack. The gunman fired a bullet into one phone in an effort to destroy it, Mr Barr said, but FBI investigators were able to restore the device.

Israeli police have arrested a rabbi who is suspected of holding around 50 women and children in conditions of slavery.

The arrest follows a raid on a complex in Jerusalem, where the alleged victims are believed to have been kept isolated from their families.

The women had been punished in various ways and had money stolen from them, police said.

The suspect, in his 60s, has denied doing anything wrong.

Another sign of the Apocalypse.

I agree with Builder about something.

Egyptian-American Moustafa Kassem has died after more than six years in custody in Egypt, according to officials.

Egypt's attorney general said in a statement that the dual citizenship holder died in a hospital in Cairo on Monday, a day after being transferred there from prison. An autopsy was ordered to determine the cause of death.

According to Kassem's daughter, Dima, his health deteriorated after launching a hunger strike inside the prison to protest against his arrest during a 2013 crackdown by security forces against supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi after the army toppled him. Kassem had long insisted he was falsely charged and had no links to any opposition groups.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Dima alleged that her father had suffered from a case of intentional medical negligence, which led to his death. She also said that Kassem was first imprisoned for a period of five years without being formally charged.

Kassem had reportedly been on a liquid-only hunger strike since being convicted in September 2018 and four days ago ceased drinking fluids.

The United States confirmed his death and said it would continue to raise concerns over Egypt's human rights record, which rights groups have repeatedly criticised over the government's treatment of political detainees, dissidents, journalists and human rights defenders.

"I am deeply saddened to learn today the death of US citizen Moustafa Kassem who'd been imprisoned in Egypt," the US assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker, told a State Department briefing on Monday.

"His death in custody was needless, tragic and avoidable," Schenker said. "I will continue to raise our serious concerns over human rights and Americans detained in Egypt at every opportunity."

Commenting on the news, US Senator Chris Murphy said in a Twitter post that Kassem should have "never been detained".

"[Mike] Pompeo must remind Egypt that military aid is legally tied to releasing prisoners, including at least 6 US citizens," Murphy said, referring to the US secretary of state.

Egypt has long enjoyed military and economic aid from other countries, including the US.

Sahar Aziz, a professor at Rutgers University, said Kassem's death was "just another tragic" one among political prisoners in Egypt.

"The fact that a person would rather starve to death than stay in an Egyptian prison, speaks volumes of just how horrendous the conditions are in those prisons,” Aziz told Al Jazeera.

"I think the fact that he was an Egyptian American also speaks to [US President] Trump's dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims, and so one wonders if he had been of American or European decent, Trump and Bennett would be more aggressive," she added.

This seems to happen in every fundamentalist form of religion...So what's really happening here folks?

Russian spies hacked Ukrainian gas company at heart of Trump impeachment trial, company says

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
....and, if Republicans win in court and take back the House of Represenatives, your healthcare, that I have now brought to the best place in many years, will become the best ever, by far. I will always protect your Pre-Existing Conditions, the Dems will not!
5:39 AM - Jan 13, 2020

The existing power structures in Russia far more likely responsible than something random. Doing damage to any threat to Trump being the goal.

They'll look for anything that can be presented as damning evidence on the Bidens. Truthfulness won't matter of course but that's how it would be presented.

Anything that is faked or misrepresented might not be immediately evident (they'll have that expertise). The goal will be to present some negative story and then get it shoved into media coverage in the US to disrupt and to encourage possible Dem voters to becomes disillusioned and apathetic and then staying home rather than voting.