Yesterday the U.S. openly attacked Yemen by firing cruise missiles against old Yemeni radar stations. This, allegedly, in response to four missiles fired on two days against a U.S. destroyer at the Yemeni coast. The U.S. Navy said the missiles fell short. They were unable to reach the ship. No one but the navy, especially no one in Yemen, has seen or reported any such missile launches - short or long.
The U.S. is in alliance with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries in bombing Yemen for 18 month now. They totally blockade the coast of the country that depends on imports of food and medicines. The actively fighting countries are heavily supported by the U.S. military. This has been widely admitted by U.S. officials and in military reports. The U.S. government even feared of being held legally responsible for the carnage it causes.
But since the launch of the cruise missile U.S. media have totally forgotten all of this. Now the U.S. "has been attacked", without any recognizable reason, and is only "defending" itself. No legal consequences are to fear now. Anyone who believes that the U.S. is somehow responsible for the at least 10,000 dead and the many starving people in Yemen must somehow believe in a mysterious conspiracy.
Puppet Masters
As of now, Thailand has clearly and decisively performed its own "pivot" away from Washington and toward a diverse portfolio of alternative ties, including with Beijing and Moscow. Its military inventory has been incrementally transformed from housing aging American hardware to Russian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and even Swedish weapon systems. It also is increasingly cooperating closer with China regarding economics and regional security, a role the US has presumed a monopoly over for decades.
In fact, Thailand has diverged so much so that its political stability has now become the regular target of US efforts to undermine it. This includes through economic and sociopolitical attacks, as well as through covert means up to and including terrorism.
The key to Thailand's political stability, despite fierce infighting between rival special interests and political camps throughout the nation's ancient history, has been the nations much revered and unique monarchy. Knowing this and seeking to undermine stability in Thailand, and thus undermine yet another ally of Beijing and Moscow, the United States through its media has pursued a campaign of disinformation to attack and destroy the monarchy, hoping Thailand emerges exponentially weaker after the current head of state, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passes on from advanced age.
Zaydaan Nusayraat and to the right, his murderer Ahmad Al-‘Awda.
According to local sources, Colonel Zaidan Nesairat of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was tortured to death by another FSA faction, apparently as he was accused by FSA fellow militants of trying to negotiate with the Syrian government for reconciliation in Dara'a, Al Masdar reported.
Also, the group called 'Liwa Shuhada al Islam' confirmed in a statement that the group leader, nom de guerre Abu Jafar Al Hindi has been declared dead.
Although the statement has not specifically said how he died but reports suggest he drowned in a river near Darkoush, in terrorist held Idlib province.
A vehicle full of different types of rocket-propelled grenades and explosives was seized by the custom officers along a road from Lattakia to Hama province.
The customs department and the army declined to provide any further details.
On Thursday, the Syrian air force started a new round of attacks on the terrorist groups' supply routes in the Northern parts of Lattakia, inflicting major casualties on the militants.
© Josh Smith / Reuters
However, the Air Force has kept silent, refusing to publicly elaborate on either the outage or the possible impact it had.
When contacted by BuzzFeed News, military spokesman Major Malinda Singleton only said that "the investigation into the issue is ongoing."
The system failure dates back to September 9, but was only discovered nearly a month later from a contractor notice from the government.
The Air Force posted a bid on FedBizOpps, the government's primary tender market, on October 7, saying that "the SIPRNet system currently in operation at Creech AFB failed and critical services were impacted."
Comment: And now for something completely unrelated: Russia successfully tests radio-electronic weapon unmatched anywhere in the world
© Mike Blake / Reuter
Protesters walk in the streets downtown during another night of protests over the police shooting of Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. September 22, 2016.
Protesters walk in the streets downtown during another night of protests over the police shooting of Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. September 22, 2016.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch released a plan from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to further police accountability Thursday evening. Currently, the most accurate databases on police shootings are operated by news outlets and other private initiatives, such as the Washington Post's database and Fatal Encounters.
The DOJ has kept no comprehensive database or record of police shootings and only used voluntarily reported numbers provided by local law enforcement agencies. Only two states are required to report officer-involved deaths. The reports from these states have been found to be inaccurate, further frustrating activists.
"I can't believe two years into this crisis that we're still having conversations about data," Kanya Bennett, a lawyer in Washington for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the New York Times.
Bennett is not the only one who has expressed her frustration with the void of information. Last year, FBI Director James B. Comey called the lack of data "embarrassing" and said, "We can't have an informed discussion because we don't have data."
"People have data about who went to a movie last weekend, or how many books were sold," Comey said, "and I cannot tell you how many people were shot by police in the United States last month, last year, or anything about the demographic. And that's a very bad place to be."
Comment: The DOJ may have a hard time getting cooperation from local and state forces if the two states required to submit reports are doing a shoddy job.
RT:
Hundreds of police departments in two states were found to have broken laws mandating police reports for in-custody deaths. Registries required by California and Texas were missing a total of 660 deaths from 2005 to 2015.
They are the only two states that require law enforcement to report all in-custody deaths, but it seems enforcing the law is trickier than anyone imagined. Research from Texas State University in San Marco found that the two states did not report hundreds of deaths that involved officers during a 10-year period.
[...]
California's failure to report officer-involved deaths seems to have been a chronic problem in the state. Nicole Nishida, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, explained that her department's failure to file required forms from 2006 to 2011 could be chalked up to a "clerical error" that was related to the form.
Because the threat of perjury charges is so compelling . . . . riiiight.
"Secretary Clinton states that she does not recall being advised, cautioned, or warned, she does not recall that it was ever suggested to her, and she does not recall participating in any communication, conversation, or meeting in which it was discussed that her use of a clintonemail.com e-mail account to conduct official State Department business conflicted with or violated federal recordkeeping laws," lawyers for Clinton wrote.
Comment: Horsehockey! Is Killary setting up her team for the blame? They certainly knew what was going on.
Circa sources: Hillary violated federal records laws, and the FBI knows it
Accounts from witnesses suggested the efforts to keep Mrs. Clinton's government email communications on a device and server outside the reach of public records laws or congressional oversight were "systemic and intentional" and began as soon as Mrs. Clinton took office in 2009, one source told Circa.
For instance, the sources said agents secured testimony and documents suggesting that Mrs. Clinton's team:
- Was informed in 2009 that she had an obligation under the records law to forward any government-related records contained in private email to a new record preservation system known as SMART but chose not to do so because her office wanted to keep control over "sensitive" messages.
- Was specifically questioned by a technical worker who was involved with her private email server in the Clinton family home in New York whether the arrangement was appropriate for a government official under the federal records law. The worker was assured there were no problems.
- Wanted to keep her private Blackerry email service because of fears a government email address would be subject to public scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Was aware that government officers complying with FOIA requests did not have access to search Mrs. Clinton's private email for responsive records.
- Persisted in allowing her to use private email to conduct State Department business even after a cable was sent under her name in 2011 to all diplomats worldwide urging them to stop using private email because of foreign hacking fears.
- Allowed Clinton to keep using the private email system after after she personally received a 2011 presentation warning of dangers of the private email for government business.
- Failed to preserve private emails from Clinton that clearly involved significant government business, including discussions with Army Gen. David Petraues, the Benghazi tragedy, meeting requests with foreign leaders and the State Department's quadrennial policy and performance review.
- Had prior reason from earlier legal cases involving their conduct to know that emails covering government business were legally required to be preserved and turned over to their agency and the National Archives.
Clinton also said she could not recall ever being warned about any hacking or attempted hacking of her private account or server.
Clinton signed the legal filing Monday "under penalty of perjury." The submission was ordered by a federal judge in connection with a Freedom of Information Action lawsuit filed by the conservative group Judicial Watch.
Lawyers for the group asked for a live deposition where they could question Clinton in person, but U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan instead ordered Clinton to answer written questions.
© Insurance Journal
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) whistleblower program was created with the intention of allowing employees the right to report illegal or unsafe behavior in the workplace. They were the people Ponce de Leon needed the most after she was fired for allegedly telling superiors about some of the illegal transactions Wells Fargo employees were conducting.
She is far from the only former Wells Fargo employee who alleges that they were fired as retaliation against whistleblowing. In fact, OSHA has received 91 complaints of retaliation as a result of reporting wrongdoings since 2002, Reuters reported. Thirty-four of those complaints have not been resolved.
Comment: Since passage of the OSH Act in 1970, Congress has expanded OSHA's whistleblower authority to protect workers from retaliation under twenty-two federal laws. However, it seems OSHA can't even manage to protect its own whistleblowers.
© www.smallcellseverywhere.com
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and HM Revenue and Customs (HRMC) will be able to apply to the High Court for an order forcing the owner of an asset to explain how they obtained the funds to purchase it. If the owner fails to demonstrate how they acquired a property or a piece of jewelry, agencies will be able to seize it.
The law is designed to close a loophole which has left the authorities powerless to seize property from overseas criminals unless the individuals are first convicted in their country of origin. "This legislation will ensure the UK is taking a world-leading role in cracking down on corruption and send a clear message to criminals - we will take your liberty and your money," said Security Minister Ben Wallace, who announced the bill.
London's property market has allegedly become a safe haven for corrupt politicians, tax evaders and criminals to store the proceeds of international corruption. Even after hosting a summit on anti-corruption and money laundering earlier this year, the UK has continued to come under pressure. Huge amounts of corrupt wealth is laundered through the capital's banks, with the National Crime Agency believing up to £100 billion (US$122 billion) of tainted cash could be passing through the UK each year.
Comment: In 2013 the National Audit Office (NAO) concluded that the amount of proceeds of crime actually confiscated is "paltry", at 26 pence of every £100. As at September 2015, the total debt outstanding from confiscation orders was calculated at £1.61 billion, although this figure is problematic. Nearly a third of it represents interest and penalties for non-payment, and because of the complexities of the cases involved, confiscation orders may be made for assets that never actually existed. It is likely that the majority of the assets that do exist are beyond the reach of the authorities. There are very few incentives for criminals to either engage with the courts or to pay the money back, with many choosing to extend their prison sentences to avoid paying. Non-payment of a confiscation order should be a criminal offence to ensure offenders do not just see out a prison sentence to keep their ill-gotten gains.
© MaverickVoice.com
The polls register dead people...the democracy of a dying breed.
The polls register dead people...the democracy of a dying breed.
Yet as the election approaches, more and more cases of voter fraud are beginning to surface. In Colorado, multiple instances were found of dead people attempting to vote. Stunningly, "a woman named Sara Sosa who died in 2009 cast ballots in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013." In Virginia, it was found that nearly 20 voter applications were turned in under the names of dead people.
In Texas, authorities are investigating criminals who are using the technique of "vote harvesting" to illegally procure votes for their candidates. "Harvesting" is the practice of illegally obtaining the signatures of valid voters in order to vote in their name without their consent for the candidate(s) the criminal supports.
These are just some instances of voter fraud we know about. It would be silly to assume cases that have been discovered are the only cases of fraud. Indeed according to a Pew Research report from February 2012, one in eight voter registrations are "significantly inaccurate or no longer valid." Since there are 146 million Americans registered to vote, this translates to a stunning 18 million invalid voter registrations on the books. Further, "More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters, and approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state." Numbers of this scale obviously provide ripe opportunity for fraud.
Comment: Just more reasons why your vote is of negligible importance in the "grand scheme" of all things USA.
Comment: More background on U.S. meddling in Thailand: