Saturday 13 January 2024

Compulsive Kleptomaniac with Million dollar salary cut from basketball team for shoplifting

 

NBA star Ryan Rollins 'is accused of stealing groceries, body wash and candles from the same Target store SEVEN times'... despite a fully guaranteed $1.7m salary with the Wizards this season

  • Ryan Rollins has been accused of stealing from a Target store multiple times
  • The 21-year-old guard was released by the Washington Wizards on Monday

Ryan Rollins, the guard who was released by the Washington Wizards on Monday, has been accused of stealing from a Target store on multiple occasions.

According to court documents filed in Alexandria General District Court in Virginia and seen by The Athletic, the 21-year-old is accused of seven counts of petit larceny.

It's alleged Rollins, whose $1.7million salary for this season was fully guaranteed by the Wizards, stole household items such as groceries, body wash and candles that were valued at less than $1,000.

Rollins allegedly committed the crimes between September 9 and November 9 last year, when he was still on the Wizards' roster, and stole from the same Target store each time.

A court hearing has been scheduled for early next month with Rollins yet to enter a plea. 

NBA star Ryan Rollins has been accused of stealing from a Target store on multiple occasions

NBA star Ryan Rollins has been accused of stealing from a Target store on multiple occasions

In Virginia, petit larceny of goods under the value of $1,000 from a business is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Rollins, previously of the Golden State Warriors, featured in 10 regular-season games for the Wizards before being released.

He averaged 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 6.6 minutes in 10 games for the Wizards this season. 

Rollins was part of the trade package that saw Chris Paul go to the Warriors in the summer.

The Wizards have already moved on from Rollins, signing guard Hamidou Diallo to a 10-day contract using the vacant roster spot.

It's alleged Rollins re valued at less than $1,000.

It's alleged Rollins stole a number of household items like groceries, body wash and candles

As well as receiving $1.7m guaranteed for this season, Rollins was also due to receive $600,000 guaranteed next year, too.

'We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan,' Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger said in a statement to The Athletic.

'We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions.

'We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of. 

'These are expectations, not aspirations. We're eager to move forward with our team as constituted and pursue excellence on and off the court.' 


Thursday 11 January 2024

Israel News: Al Jazeera 'journalists' in Gaza were terrorists: IDF presents evidence

 

Al Jazeera 'journalists' in Gaza were terrorists: IDF presents evidence


The IDF presented a copy of the document, in Arabic, which it said listed Hamza as a dual-hat terrorist-journalist for Islamic Jihad.


Wednesday 10 January 2024

China Military Purged: Filled Missiles with Water Instead of Fuel

China purges top army brass after US intel revealed they'd filled missiles with WATER instead of fuel and had a huge silo bunker fitted with the wrong lids (preventing launches) due to military corruption

  • The communist country's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday 
  • Many of these were from the Rocket Force - a key arm of the Chinese army overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles 
China's recent purge of several top Army officials came  they'd filled missiles with water instead of fuel, according to United States intelligence. 

The communist country's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment. 

Many of those removed were from the Rocket Force - a key arm of the Chinese army overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles. 

Now, American intelligence claims military corruption led to the mistakes, which also included fields of silos in Western China fitted with lids that stopped the missiles from launching. 

The purges are a setback for Xi who has pumped billions into buying and developing equipment as part of his modernizing efforts to build a 'world-class' military by 2050.

China's recent 'purge' of several top Army officials came after a mishap where they'd mistakenly filled missiles with water instead of fuel, according to United States intelligence. Pictured: Chinese ruler Xi Jingping

China's recent 'purge' of several top Army officials came after they'd filled missiles with water instead of fuel, according to United States intelligence. Pictured: Chinese ruler Xi Jingping

In accordance with those plans, Beijing's outsized defense budget has grown at a faster pace than the economy for some years. 

The recent downfall of generals and military equipment suppliers, however, has punctured some of this aura, and raised questions over whether there has been adequate oversight over the massive military investments as China vies with the United States.

Since Xi took power in 2012, he has embarked on a wide-ranging anti-corruption crackdown among Communist Party and government officials, with the army being one of its main targets.

The nine generals removed from the legislature hailed from several military divisions; three were former commanders or vice commanders of the Rocket Force; one a former Air Force chief and one a Navy commander responsible for the South China Sea. Four officers were responsible for equipment.

Wei Fenghe, a former defense minister who used to head the Rocket Force, has also vanished. 

When asked about his whereabouts, a defense ministry spokesman said in August that the military has zero tolerance for corruption.

His successor, Li Shangfu, was abruptly removed as defense minister in October without explanation after also disappearing for months before returning, only to be a victim of the purge himself. 

Shangfu had previously headed the equipment department. One of his then-deputies was removed from parliament on Friday.

Wei Fenghe, a former defense minister who used to head the Rocket Force, is one of the purged officials

Wei Fenghe, a former defense minister who used to head the Rocket Force, is one of the purged officials

Fenghe's successor, Li Shangfu, was abruptly removed as defense minister in October without explanation after also disappearing for months before returning, only to be a victim of the purge himself

Fenghe's successor, Li Shangfu, was abruptly removed as defense minister in October without explanation after also disappearing for months before returning, only to be a victim of the purge himself 

On the same day, Dong Jun, a Chinese ex-Navy chief, with a South China Sea background, was named Li's replacement as defense minister.

The corruption in the Chinese military is apparently rooted so deep that it will change Xi's plans to take major military action in the near future, Bloomberg reported

The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the longer run, analysts expect the chronic problem of corruption to persist in the Chinese military because some root causes - including low pay for officers and opacity in military expenditure - have not been addressed.

The communist country's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment.

The communist country's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment.

Xi's administration has struggled to sustain an economic rebound since rapidly dumping its onerous zero-Covid policy a year ago.

Record youth unemployment and a persistent debt crisis in the crucial property sector have also hemmed in China's growth.

Official figures released on Sunday showed a nationwide decline in factory activity deepened in December, the third straight month of contraction.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12941641/China-purges-army-brass-intel-revealed-theyd-filled-missiles-WATER-instead-fuel-huge-silo-bunker-wrong-lids-military-corruption.html


Monday 8 January 2024

Israel News: The faces of the girls still being held by Hamas

 

The faces of the girls STILL being held by Hamas as their families make a desperate plea for their release three months after they were captured

  • The conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its fourth month on January 7
  • Scores of hostages remain held in Gaza as negotiations fail to make progress 


Karina Ariev, 19
Karina Ariev, 19

Smiles to horror: The battered and bloody image of Karina Ariev, 19, in a Hamas video

Lili Albag, 18
Lili Albag, 18

Plan: Lili Albag, 18, wanted to travel the world before being taken on October 7

Watching the terrified faces of the four bloodstained teenage girls being paraded by Hamas gunmen was beyond their parents' worst nightmare.

The haunting images were taken just hours after they were kidnapped and Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa and Agam Berger appeared shadows of their former selves.

Three months have passed since that recording of them lined up against a wall in Gaza, their hands bound behind them – and still they are in captivity.


With negotiations stalling following the collapsed ceasefire, the parents of the youngest female hostages are today sharing the heart-wrenching pictures as they demand their immediate release.

They are appealing to mothers and fathers around the world to speak up as horrific new details emerge that some female captives have been raped at gunpoint or had limbs amputated.

'Imagine if it was your daughter, your little girl in their hands,' Daniela's mother Orly, 38, said. 'What would you imagine?'

Liri's father Eli, 54, said: 'Think for one day that you don't have connection with your daughter and you know they are in the hands of bad people. Then tell me what you would say after 90 days. This is killing us. Every minute is like an hour.'

The girls were snatched from Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, in the first hours of the Hamas attack on October 7 in which 1,200 died and scores of women were raped.

The first sign of life came when Hamas shared a short clip of them lined up in Gaza with other videos showing them bundled into trucks at gunpoint.

'We understood exactly what they did on October 7,' said Mrs Gilboa, whose daughter Daniela, 19, is a talented musician who dreamt of becoming a singer.

'If they are capable of this, what are they are doing for 90 days? I don't want to imagine what is going on.' When the last ceasefire broke down on November 30, Liri, 18, from Yahiv, central Israel, Karina, 19, from Jerusalem, Daniela, from Petah Tikva, central Israel, and Agam, 19, from Holon, central Israel, were left behind.

With tensions mounting after Israel assassinated a Hamas leader in Lebanon, there are fears they are being forgotten.

The parents are helping each other cope. 'We cry together a lot. We speak a lot, we understand each other,' said mother-of-four Shira Albag, 51, an account manager whose youngest daughter Liri planned to travel the world.

But horror stories have emerged from those who have been freed. Shlomi Berger's eldest daughter, Agam, is a gifted violinist who had a promising future. 'We heard about the sexual abuses,' the father-of-four, 52, said.

'As a father, I can't imagine these things. The family's torn apart.'

Karina's only sibling, Sasha, 24, spoke on behalf of their mother, Ira, 44, a medical secretary. 'It's misery, it's helpless,' she said. 'My mother's in a terrible situation, she doesn't know what to do.'

There was a sighting by Chen Goldstein-Almog, 49, who saw some of the girls in a flat in Gaza during her 51 days as a hostage.

Agam Berger, 19
Agam Berger, 19

Gifted: Agam Berger, 19, is shown bloodied in a video released by Hamas

Daniela Gilboa, 19
Daniela Gilboa, 19

Dreams: Daniela Gilboa, 19, hopes to become a singer

'Some of them are close in age to my daughters and I hugged them so hard,' she said. But the social worker shared harrowing details of other female captives.

'There were girls who spent 50 days and more alone,' she said. 'When they were sad, crying, their captors would stroke them and touch them. They described accounts of sexual abuse under gunpoint on a regular basis.

'Some of the girls were badly wounded and haven't been getting proper medical care. Gunshot wounds, even lost limbs. They said they can cope with the disability but not with the manner they were constantly violated.'

Of the four girls, Mrs Goldstein-Almog said: 'They are strong and haven't lost hope. But they were on the edge five weeks ago when we separated from them. They need to be released. They cannot be there for one more day.'


Pud says we are now at war and must give our support to the IDF to do it's job and prepare to take the fight into Gaza and not continue with our political squabbling.

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, Genesis 12:3

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