Month: May 2018

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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/20/2018: Evening Edition

1…………> Bamboo Houses: The Philippines

Meet the architect reviving a classic Filipino building aesthetic – and another whose ultra-modern design turns balconies into typhoon-ready rafts.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180517-the-bamboo-houses-of-the-philippines

 

 

 

2…………> “Obama Boys Evacuate Damascus”: Syria

 

“At dawn, six buses of IS fighters and their relatives left the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp and adjacent district of al-Tadamon,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, which is monitoring the Syrian conflict via a network of activists in the country.

Rahman said the vehicles headed east of Syria’s vast desert, where IS still holds some territory. The number of people that left the Damascus enclave is not clear.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that at least 250 pro-regime fighters and some 233 Islamic State militants aka “Obama Boys” had been killed during the month-long assault.

 
http://p.dw.com/p/2y21F
 
 

 

3…………> Magma Flow: Kilauea

Hawaii’s Kilauea lava sent hydrochloric acid and steam with glass particles into air reached the sea, injured a man on the third-floor balcony as
the volcano was spewing and exploding on Hawaii’s Big Island has become more hazardous, with rivers of molten rock flowing into the ocean and flying lava causing the first major injury.

Erupting for more than two weeks and having burned dozens of homes, forcing people to flee and shot up plumes of steam from its summit that led officials to distribute face masks to protect against ash particles.

Two fissures had merged, creating a wide flow moving at up to 900 feet per hour.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/hawaii-volcano-lava-reaches-sea/9782062

 

 

 

 

4………..> Call Me “Mr. Flexible”: President Trump 

 
 
“The two leaders will work closely and unwaveringly for the successful hosting of the North Korea-US summit set on June 12, including the upcoming South Korea-US summit,” a presidential spokesperson said that Mr. Trump remains confident his meeting with Kim Jong-un will go ahead in June after over 20 minutes conversation on the phone with South Korea’s President Moon, exchanging their views on North Korea’s recent reactions.

 

Further dampening the mood, a spokesman for North Korea’s Red Cross Society demanded that South Korea’s Government should send North Korean female restaurant workers back to their home “without delay” to show the will to improve the inter-Korean ties, the North’s Korea Central News agency said.

“It is also to pressure the Moon Government to agree to its demand so that South Korea can keep up the momentum for the North Korea-US summit meeting,” Mr. Lee said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-20/trump-speaks-with-moon-as-pair-work-on-us-north-korea-summit/9781154

 

 

 

5…………> Painted Slims: Mumbai

Indian artist Rouble Nagi, 38, started visiting slums in her hometown to give children art classes — but she soon realized she could give a lot more.

 
“When I go to these areas to teach art, I thought, if I’m not bringing art to their lives, then what am I doing?” she said after having a vision of transforming the city’s waterfront slums into giant works of art, the very slums of Mumbai that are home to millions of people, but regarded as eyesores in India’s glitziest city.

Now, with hundreds of volunteers, her foundation has been painting and beautifying slums all over the city, clean up mountains of rubbish scattered along the beachfront villages, and even planning to install toilets and run hygiene campaigns.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/the-artist-painting-mumbais-slums/9720894

 

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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/20/2018: Morning Edition

1…………> Breaking: Did FBI “Infiltrated” Trump’s Campaign?

President Trump has stated that he would demand the country’s Justice Department probe into the FBI/DOJ meddling in the 2016 US presidential election upon the request of “people within the Obama administration” by taking on Twitter to draw a line in the reported FBI/Department of Justice’s involvement in 2016 presidential election.

“I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for political purposes, ” the president wrote on Twitter.

Trump has specified that he would also like to investigate whether this alleged surveillance or infiltration into the elections was carried out by some people from the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama, after mocking “The failing” New York Times report concerning that alleged an Israeli-linked company manipulated the vote through social media, aiming to ensure Trump’s victory.

https://sputniknews.com/us/201805201064630922-trump-fbi-justice-department-surveillance/

 

 

 

2…………> Back To Uncle Adolf Cartoons: Suddeutsche Zeitung

 


A leading Islamic Merkeldom of Germany daily fired a cartoonist over anti-semitic views after he drew a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carrying a missile in his hand, dressed up as Israeli singer Netta Barzilai, who won this year’s Eurovision contest, with a speech bubble on top says, “Next year in Jerusalem.”

The cartoon by Dieter Hanitzsch led to an uproar on social media and other German media outlets after the 85-year-old cartoonist said he wanted to criticize Netanyahu’s exploitation of the Eurovision contest for his own purposes and accused him of abusing the singer’s victory.

“You can reprimand him, warn him, but firing is not a good way,” he said.

Hanitzsch had drawn cartoons criticizing and even insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but was defended on the basis of freedom of the press and expression, for his drawings published in the same newspaper.

“Zieg Merkel”? “Brownshirts” raising again?

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/german-cartoonist-sacked-after-netanyahu-drawing/1151404

 

 

3…………> No Trade War: China

With “minutes to midnight” the great US-China trade war appears to have been averted with the US deadline to impose tariffs on China set to expire on  Monday, after a deal has been struck with the Chinese agreeing to take measures to reduce its bilateral trade surplus, principally by buying more US goods.


“There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China,” a joint statement drawn up by both sides negotiators read.

“To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services. This will help support growth and employment in the United States”, the statement concluded.

The communique was light on detail, pointing more to a detente rather than a total end to hostilities, and done just before worlds market are about to open, preferably not on a large “downside gap”.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-20/china-agrees-to-substantially-reduce-trade-surplus-with-us/9777482

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-44190169

 

 

 

 

4………….> The Mug-Shot Shakedown: California

 

“This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation. Those who can’t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed to pay the price when they look for a job, housing, or try to build relationships with others,” “Anti-Trump”, “Sanctuary Cities Supporting” State Of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra warned in a statement, followed by the arrest of the four owners of a website which publishes photos of people taken soon after they have been arrested, have been arrested themselves.

 

The alleged owners of the mugshots.com website have been accused of extortion and a variety of other crimes.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44168094

 

 

 

 

5………….> “Welcome Aboard, Dear Girl”: Meghan Markle

“We love our Royal family”, “Everything is changeable”, two remarks related to the colorful wedding of Prince Harry and his beautiful American wife Meghan Markle.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/20/c_137193314.htm

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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/19/2018: Evening Edition

1…………> Global Warming: The Damage

 

“The Convention on Biological Diversity has very little leadership. There is no-one setting the bar, holding the standard of what a nation should do. So, science like this report holds nations to account and maybe embarrasses them to take some leadership because right now no nation is showing that leadership.

“When it comes to their natural heritage, we are running out of time; the extinction crisis is on. Thirty percent of species will go extinct in the next 50 years if we don’t safeguard nature properly,” said Prof. James Watson from the University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Millions of square miles of forests, parks, and conservation areas are under “intense human pressure” from mining, logging, and farming, with countries rich and poor, are quick to designate protected areas but fail to follow up with funding and enforcement.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44155592

 




2…………> Kingsmen Gang: Busted

 

A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, has convicted three leaders and members of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club (KMC) gang identified as David Pirk, 67, KMC National President, Andre Jenkins aka Little Bear, 39,  and Timothy Enix, aka Blaze, 58, KMC Nomad, on multiple charges for their roles in a major racketeering operation in furtherance of crime of violence, murder in aid of racketeering, possession and discharge of a firearm in a crime of violence, using and maintaining premises for drug dealing and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

 

“The defendants and their associates transformed the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club into a vicious gang that terrorized the Buffalo area, engaging in senseless murders, brutal violence, robberies, and drug trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “But after today’s verdict, the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club’s reign of terror is coming to an end.  The U.S. Department of Justice and our partners will aggressively pursue violent gangs wherever they are found and bring them to justice.”

“Motorcycle gangs have evolved over 70 years from bar-room brawlers to somewhat sophisticated criminals,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Loeffert. “The Kingsmen’s leadership not only voiced a desire to turn its club into a “one-percenter” gang, it acted on that desire when Paul Maue and DJ Szymanski were killed. Those murders told everyone that the Kingsmen do not want to be aligned with the vast majority of riders who are law-abiding citizens. With today’s verdicts, the repeated and regular acts of violence so inculcated into the culture of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club are over.”

 

Defendant David Pirk, wanted to establish the KMC as a one percent club, meaning that that 99 percent of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens with the remaining one percent engaged in certain activities such as drug and firearm trafficking, acts of violence, murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.

 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/kingsmen-motorcycle-club-gang-president-regional-president-and-member-convicted-federal-jury

 

 

 


3…………>  High Seas Competition: China Carriers

 

China’s second aircraft carrier left its dock at Dalian Shipyard in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, for its first sea trials, and joined other ships of PLA Navy for a show of force.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/20/c_137192419.htm

 



4………….> Cartel’s Banker: Rabobank

 

Rabobank National Association (Rabobank), a Roseville, California subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., was sentenced for impairing, impeding and obstructing its primary regulator, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC), by concealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) program and for obstructing the OCC’s examination of Rabobank. Rabobank was sentenced to a two-year term of probation, and ordered to pay the statutory maximum fine of $500,000. Additionally, as part of its guilty plea, Rabobank forfeited $368,701,259 to the United States as a result of allowing illicit funds to be processed through the bank. 

“Rabobank’s branches on the Mexican border processed hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious transactions likely tied to international narcotics trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Instead of filing reports that would have alerted law enforcement to the suspicious activity, as required by law, the bank looked the other way and then compounded its misconduct by conspiring to cover-up its failures and deceiving its regulator. Today’s sentence and the related forfeiture demonstrate that the Department of Justice will use all the tools at our disposal to combat drug trafficking and transnational crime—including prosecuting financial institutions that turn a blind eye to illicit proceeds moving through their customers’ accounts.” 

On Feb. 7, Rabobank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to corruptly obstruct an examination of a financial institution, admitting that between 2009 and 2012 it implemented policies and procedures that precluded and suppressed its investigations into potentially suspicious transactions near the U.S.-Mexico border, much of which was conducted by customers and through accounts that Rabobank had previously designated “High-Risk.” 

As a result of its failures, Rabobank admitted that certain customer accounts were involved in not less than $368,701,259 in suspicious transactions that were either unreported or untimely reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as required by the BSA. These transactions included high-volume cash deposits and withdrawals, check transactions, electronic transfers, and wire transfers that were consistent with illegal activity such as trade-based money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, structuring, and the black market peso exchange.

 

5………….> A Message Of Peace

Leave the madness behind and listen to the music of eternal peace, Christus Vincit circa 1982.

http://youtu.be/7cFgpvylbRU

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