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Judge restores Obama-era drilling ban in Arctic

Sudhin Thanawala
ABC News
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 09:57 UTC
Arctic Refuge
A federal judge has thrown out President Donald Trump's executive order that overturned the bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean that comprised a key part of Obama's environmental legacy

President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a U.S. judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump's executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama's environmental legacy.

Presidents have the power under a federal law to remove certain lands from development but cannot revoke those removals, Gleason said.
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Stock Down

Boeing's woes deepen: Lawsuit filed over Ethiopian crash while orders for aircraft waver in Asia


Crain's Chicago Business
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 20:45 UTC
Boeing crash
Boeing Co. was sued on behalf of a passenger killed in this month's 737 Max plane crash in Ethiopia and orders for the troubled aircraft wavered in Asia, deepening the planemaker's legal and financial woes.

Chicago-based Boeing is under intense scrutiny after two crashes since October killed 346 people. As the company finalizes a software upgrade for the grounded 737 Max, it's fighting to hang onto some customers whose confidence in the best-selling jet has been shaken. Boeing is also facing a criminal probe into how the plane was originally approved to fly.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the estate of Ethiopian Airlines passenger Jackson Musoni of Rwanda, claims the 737 Max 8 isn't safely designed. The complaint follows earlier suits against the company over an October crash in Indonesia involving the same model. A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment on Thursday's complaint in a federal court in Chicago.

"The subject accident occurred because, among other things, Boeing defectively designed a new flight control system for the Boeing 737 Max 8 that automatically and erroneously pushes the aircraft's nose down, and because Boeing failed to warn of the defect," according to the complaint.

Comment: Apparently both US and EU regulators have known for at least two years that the MAX aircraft had issues, yet certified it as safe. RT reports:
US and EU regulators had at least two years prior warning of irregularities with aircraft nose-angle control in the Boeing 737 MAX fleet, especially in the conditions which led to both recent air disasters, new documents show.

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation and Space Agency (EASA) both certified the aircraft as "safe," anticipating that additional procedures and training would prepare pilots for the "unusual" situations in which they would need to manually control the plane's nose angle.

However, the published flight manual did not reference these "unusual" situations, according to a copy from American Airlines seen by Reuters, with tragic consequences and an overall death toll of 346 lives.

When the Boeing 737 MAX achieves speeds greater than 230 knots (265mph or 425kph), with its flaps retracted, pilots would potentially have to intervene using a wheel on the center console as opposed to an electric thumb switch to which they might be accustomed. The perceived rarity of such occurrences ultimately led to a lapse in safety protocols and training.

According to preliminary findings by Indonesian investigators, in the Lion Air disaster in October, pilots encountered almost the exact set of "unusual" circumstances described in the EASA document.

After faulty readings from specific sensors regarding the plane's pitch, the pilots were forced to counter the aircraft's automated anti-stall system (MCAS), which essentially forces the plane into a nosedive to keep the engines running, but they received a warning too late to save the lives of everyone on board.

Meanwhile, officials investigating the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash have reportedly reached the same conclusion in their preliminary findings based on data retrieved from the plane's black box recorder.
See also:

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Snakes in Suits

'I've been a bad boy' Zuckerberg wants government internet regulation, says Facebook has 'too much power over free speech'


RT
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 11:40 UTC
Mark Zuckerberg
© Reuters / Adnan Abidi; Global Look Press / Panoramic
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has asked governments and regulators to tighten the screws on digital companies such as his own, and slap them with sanctions if they refuse to abide by rules on privacy, political or harmful content.

Facebook has been under immense pressure from US lawmakers to crack down on supposedly Russia-linked political ads and bots they accused of sowing discord in the run-up to the 2016 election, as well as combating hate speech and protecting the personal data of its millions of users from being harvested by third parties such as the infamous Cambridge Analytica research firm.

Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of the scandal-ridden company, has embarked on a mission to repair its image, recently unveiling his "privacy-focused" vision. On Saturday, he took the damage control one step further, telling the government he's been a bad boy and needs to be regulated.

Governments taking up a more active role in policing the internet is a good thing, Zuckerberg wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Post. Government control would actually somehow create more freedom, he argues, by setting up an internet-sized safe space.

"I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators. By updating the rules for the Internet, we can preserve what's best about it - the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things - while also protecting society from broader harms," Zuckerberg wrote.

Comment: See also:

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Pirates

At summit Trump called on Kim to hand over nukes to US, on a piece of paper

Lesley Wroughton
Reuters
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 10:15 UTC
Kim Jong Un walks with U.S. President Donald Trump
© Reuters / KCNA
On the day that their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, U.S. President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to the document seen by Reuters.

Trump gave Kim both Korean and English-language versions of the U.S. position at Hanoi's Metropole hotel on Feb. 28, according to a source familiar with the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first time that Trump himself had explicitly defined what he meant by denuclearization directly to Kim, the source said.

A lunch between the two leaders was canceled the same day. While neither side has presented a complete account of why the summit collapsed, the document may help explain it.

Comment: For more insight on what really went on at the summit, check out: How Trump sabotaged the North Korea summit to appease the hawks and lied about Kim's terms

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Wags the Iran Riot Dog, Kim Talks Korean Peace

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Megaphone

Maria Butina rejects offer to stay in US, seeks speedy deportation back to Russia

Betsy Woodruff
Daily Beast
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 15:45 UTC
Maria butina
© ETUncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Maria Butina says she does not fear torture or persecution in Russia, even though she made a deal to cooperate with the FBI.
Maria Butina has waived her right to try to stay in the United States after serving her sentence, according to new court filings.

In the filing, released on Friday, Butina asked for a judicial order of removal, which would keep her and the government from having to go through the process Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) typically uses to deport immigrants. In short, the filing expedites her deportation from the country. In the filing, Butina - a Russian national who pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count - said she does not expect to face persecution or torture in Russia.

Justice Department lawyers have signed on to the filings, and a senior ICE official signed off on the move as well, which means the judge overseeing Butina's case is likely to green-light her speedy deportation. If that happens, Butina will be unlikely to face an extended stay in an ICE detention center.

Comment: With Assange stuck in the Ecuadorean embassy and Snowden enjoying asylum in Russia, both fearing unjust reprisal from Western powers, and Chelsea Manning finding herself detained for a second time by the US, is it any wonder that Butina, who has already suffered mistreatment and injustice by US authorities, sees Russia as a much safer bet?

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Bad Guys

Leaving Syria in 2020? Pentagon to put withdrawal "on pause" when number falls to 1,000


Sputnik
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 17:16 UTC
US army middle east
© CC0
Staff Sgt. Jacob Connor / 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)Middle East
Earlier, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford denied reports that close to 1,000 of the estimated 2,000 US troops in Syria would stay in the war-torn country despite President Trump's withdrawal promises.

The withdrawal of the US military contingent in Syria will be put on pause after troop numbers are halved by early May, The New York Times has reported, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to the officials, the pause will be followed by an assessment of 'conditions on the ground', with further withdrawals occurring every six months or so until numbers fall to the 400 troop limit approved by Trump in February. This, NYT noted, means Trump may not get his 400 troop cap until fall 2020.

Comment: So once again Trump's claims for withdrawal are contradicted by other powers in the US; although considering the endless 'coalition' airstrikes and other nefarious activity in the region, few believed it would actually happen: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: World in Chaos: Anti-Russia Hysteria, Israel Murders Palestinians, US Leaving Syria?

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Star of David

Palestinian dies from head wound at Gaza Border on one year anniversary of Great Return March protest


Sputnik
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 00:36 UTC
IDF snipers Gaza
© Jack Guez / Agence France-Presse
Israeli snipers on an earth barrier along the border with the Gaza strip.
A Palestinian man died from a head wound received during border clashes on Friday between residents of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military, Palestinian media reported citing the PA Health Ministry.

According to Safa Palestinian Press Agency, the man, 20 received a shrapnel wound in eastern Gaza during protests. He was transferred to a hospital, but doctors failed to save his life.

During Friday's rallies, 10 Palestinians received bullet wounds from Israeli forces, the media outlet claimed, while Israeli officials have yet to comment on the situation at the border.
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Arrow Up

Stephen Cohen: Determining the real costs of Russiagate

Stephen Cohen
RT
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 17:09 UTC
Russia/US flags
© globalresearch
Its perpetrators, not Putin or Trump, "attacked American democracy." The very few of us who publicly challenged and deplored Russiagate allegations against candidate and then President Donald Trump from the time they first began to appear in mid-2016 should not gloat or rejoice over the US Attorney General's summary of Robert S. Mueller's key finding:
"The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election."
(On the other hand, those of us repeatedly slurred as Trump and/or Putin "apologists" might feel some vindication.)

But what about the legions of high-ranking intelligence officials, politicians, editorial writers, television producers, and other opinion-makers, and their eager media outlets that perpetuated, inflated, and prolonged this unprecedented political scandal in American history - those who did not stop short of accusing the president of the United States of being a Kremlin "agent," "asset," "puppet," "Manchurian candidate," and who characterized his conduct and policies as "treasonous"? (These and other examples are cited in my book War with Russia? From Putin and Ukraine to Trump and Russiagate, and in a recent piece by Paul Starobin in City Journal.) Will they now apologize, as decency requires, or, more importantly, explain their motives so that we might understand and avoid another such national trauma?
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Star of David

Netanyahu's campaign ad lecturing Obama drives a wedge Pelosi denies exists

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
ObamaNeti
© Screenshot
The famous Obama lecture by Netanyahu in 2011, now in Netanyahu ad, March 2019.
Oh nostalgia! You've surely heard about Benjamin Netanyahu's latest ad that shows him lecturing Barack Obama in the White House eight years ago and says it's a sign of Netanyahu's strength.

The ad features the encounter between Obama and the Prime Minister in May 2011 right after Obama dared to suggest that the '67 lines were the basis for negotiation. Netanyahu trashes Palestinians in the ad, which is an excerpt of the PBS documentary, Netanyahu at War:
PBS Voiceover: "This time Netanyahu would lecture Obama, taking a hard line on the peace process."

Netanyahu to Obama: "It's not going to happen. Everybody knows it's not going to happen. And I think it's time to tell the Palestinians, it's not going to happen."

Ben Rhodes: "I've never a foreign leader seen a speak to the president like that and certainly not in public. I've certainly never seen it in the Oval Office."

Netanyahu: "Israel obviously can't be expected to negotiate with a government that is backed by the Palestinian version of al Qaeda.

Peter Baker, New York Times: "You're watching the president there, his face in his hand, and you can tell it's not going over well. It's his house and to be lectured in his office rankles."

Netanyahu to Obama: "You cannot go back to the 1967 lines. Because these lines are indefensible."

Dennis Ross: Bill Daley is standing next to me and he's going, "Outrageous. Outrageous."
The ad ends with a campaign message: "Netanyahu, Right. Strong."

Comment: See also:

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Question

A hidden 40th candidate? What does Vladimir Putin have to do with the Ukrainian presidential election?


RT
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 10:13 UTC
Kiev ballots
© Workers check ballots for presidential election at a printing plant in Kiev, REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Workers check ballots for presidential election at a printing plant in Kiev
Ukrainians will choose from 39 candidates this Sunday, but one name has received a huge amount of attention despite not being on the ballot - Vladimir Putin. The contenders seem to be unable to stop talking about him.

Of course, the leader of Ukraine's powerful neighbor is not unworthy of the voters' attention. But some candidates may have gone too far shaping their campaigns around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For instance, Petro Poroshenko, the incumbent Ukrainian president struggling to stay in office, states in non-ambiguous terms that he is running against Putin. "Who is my opponent? I don't hesitate to say this openly, since others are afraid to do it. It's Putin."

The message was also given a prominent place during a big event in which the Ukrainian president announced his candidacy in January. Displays showed banners featuring him and his Russian counterpart with the slogan: "Either Poroshenko, or Putin." Some observers, including Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, snickered, asking if Putin was aware he was running.

Comment: See also:

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