© REUTERS/Dado RuvicA flag on the play.
Police said on Saturday they had discovered a
hidden weapons cache and a home-made Islamic State flag in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, and are investigating a possible connection to Islamist militants.
The cache of four pistols, including an air gun modified to shoot live ammunition, two Scorpion sub-machine guns, ammunition and variety of knives, was found in perfect condition and buried on wasteland on Thursday, Spain's Interior Ministry said.
Spanish police have detained 15 people with suspected links to Islamic State militants so far this year and 102 people on the same charges last year after police stepped up security measures following attacks in Paris.
Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other north African enclave, have been a focus of Spanish anti-militant investigations.
© ABC“Scandal” protagonist Olivia Pope beats a man to death in a scene from the ABC show.
For nearly two decades, we've been told that this is the Golden Age of Television: the smartest, deepest storytelling, the most nuanced and morally complex characters, are found here.
Perhaps it's time for a reconsideration.
Thursday night, on ABC's "Scandal," Olivia Pope, the protagonist — long established in the show's vernacular as a "white hat," or good guy — beat a wheelchair-bound stroke victim to death by pulping his face with an aluminum chair.
It was a lengthy scene, and even for a Shonda Rhimes soap that bills itself weekly on "OMG twists" — gruesome scenes of torture and dismemberment, politically expedient murders and illegitimate war, rape, kidnapping, blackmail, and one interminable scene where an imprisoned terrorist chewed through her own wrist to escape — this one was morally and artistically bankrupt.
RTSun, 10 Apr 2016 09:10 UTC
© Amit Dave / Reuters
At least 102 people have died and more than 200 were injured after celebratory firecrackers reportedly caused a massive blast and fire at a Hindu temple located in a coastal town near Kollam in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Comment: An eyewitness
reported feeling tremors from the massive explosion a kilometre away.
(Roadmap to Apartheid. Ind. documentary, Ana Noguiera and Eron Davidson. 2012.)It is curious that the more Israel denies apartheid, and the more other states, such as Canada, "condemn" the BDS movement, the more awareness of the true situation of the Palestinians increases in the general population.
Fear of BDSThe Israelis know full well the impact that the label "apartheid" and its associated boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement had on South Africa. Their denials only reinforce the significance of these events and labels. One prime example derives from former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren in his book Ally (Random House, 2015), an account of his life leading up to but mostly concerning his role as ambassador.
At one point he is discussing all the difficult questions he receives concerning Israeli/Palestinian relations. He answers "All questions remained kosher but two." Kosher indicates that something is legitimate or admissible for Jewish concerns. One of the questions that is not kosher is "Isn't Israel an apartheid state just like South Africa?" His red-herring counter argument is that because the Knesset has Arab members as do the armed forces, then how does that "remotely resemble an apartheid state?" That line of argument is disingenuous and would be similar to saying there is no racism in the U.S. because their president is black and so are many of their military - it is simply an invalid argument.
Comment: In fact, BDS is such a concern for Israel that they are marshaling all their forces and influence in order to stem the tide of awareness that is now growing:
RTSat, 09 Apr 2016 00:59 UTC
© Rintesh Roy / YouTube
Children under the age of six living near a former battery plant in Vernon, California have high levels of lead in their blood, a new study finds. Governor Jerry Brown has pledged $176 million in aid,
but the affected families aren't holding their breath.The Department of Toxic Substances Control requested that the children in the area around the Exide Technologies plant be tested. The California State Department of Public Health followed up on the request and found that
children less than six years old living near the plant were likely to have more lead in their blood than children from nearby Los Angeles County, City News Service
reported.
The study also found that the age of the homes the children lived in was a contributing factor, as lead levels in paint were not regulated until 1978.
Mac Slavo
SHTFplanFri, 08 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
Yet another public water supply has been found tainted with toxic lead from corrosive pipes.
It is no surprise to watch crumbling rust belt cities under siege by corrosive, tainted and dangerous lead pipes, though it is tragic.
Cincinnati, like
Flint, has a major lead issue in its public water supply.
Cassius Kamarampi writes:
Cincinnati city officials
sent out letters to 16,000 residents this week, informing them that much of the city's water transporting pipes are still made of lead.
The message is kind of contradictory, admitting the pipes are problematic, while assuring residents that it's safe because they have a "successful lead corrosion control program."
According to Cincinnati.com:
City leaders here in Cincinnati don't want citizens to panic. Greater Cincinnati Water Works closely monitors its water and has never had a lead violation, according to officials. Cincinnati has had a successful lead corrosion control program that has protected customers for years.
But the pipes' mere existence can cause a threat, officials confirm.
[...]
The elected bureaucrats of Flint, Michigan hesitated to inform residents about contaminated water for as long as they possibly could; knowing how officials can be, is this a sign that Cincinnati water is already dangerous?
Jennifer Scholtes, Heather Caygle
PoliticoFri, 08 Apr 2016 03:50 UTC
© www.cnn.com...two hours later, a couple rows over, they really won't be smiling...
Bomb blasts in Brussels two weeks ago have caused U.S. security officials to do a reassessment back home, meaning
summer travelers will likely see a bigger police presence and more random searches before flying this year. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told reporters Friday that the agency has significantly stepped up its visible presence after the Brussels blasts, just one
effort to deter would-be copy cats from targeting U.S. airports and train stations. "Visibility is a deterrent factor and it's a disruptive factor too," he said.
Neffenger happened to be on a plane pulling up to a gate at the Brussels airport right as the bombs went off. The TSA chief was safe but had to sit on the plane for more than two hours while officials processed the chaos and tragedy inside the building.
For U.S. passengers, security in the aftermath of the attacks doesn't just mean more officers patrolling baggage claim. It will also mean
more random bag checks, particularly for bigger luggage, and additional inspections of cars and taxis coming into the airport. Combine the random checks with what's expected to be
longer security lines, and passengers could be staring down a frustrating summer travel experience.
Comment: What a fun way to start that summer vacation! What's included in the price of your ticket, you ask? Pokes, prods, snoops, x-rays, pat ups, pat downs, smiles for the surveillance cameras, detectors, vehicle checks, questions, sniff tests (by dogs so far), bag checks, shoe checks, ID checks, monitors and observances, health screens, facial recognition, security guards, no-fly lists, barricades, seat belts, undercover flight marshals...and much, much more! They just have to think it up. They promise to by summer. BTW, how many terrorists have they caught, not including false flag perps?
© AP Photo/ Luca Bruno
About 200 flights were canceled and postponed on Saturday in Italy over a 4-hour strike of air traffic controllers.
Several Italian air traffic control unions, including UNICA, ANPCAT and Fata Cisal, announced the strike on Friday, adding that
the action was planned to protest a number of terms of the collective agreement, in particular those related to the retirement age.
According to the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAV), some 50 percent of the trade unions' members joined the strike, that lasted from 9:00 GMT to 13:00 GMT. However, according to the current Italian legislation, mandatory minimum services on the part of air traffic controllers was secured.
RTSat, 09 Apr 2016 15:39 UTC
© REUTERS/ Pascal Rossignol
Tear gas was deployed against a massive rally in Paris denouncing recently proposed labor reform. Two RT crews got caught in the turbulence.
Protests have recently swept the whole France with Saturday rally in Rennes also taking a violent turn.
Comment: Slowly but surely the wealth and means of the working class is being eroded, until there is nothing left.
RTSat, 09 Apr 2016 14:07 UTC
© ReutersWayne Allen Huntsman and the fire he started.
A man who filmed himself in front of what turned out to be a month-long wildfire in California received a $60 million fine and a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to arson.
"I plead guilty because I did it," Wayne Allen Huntsman told the court Friday with three counts of felony arson brought against him for what became known as the "King Fire" in September 2014.
Although initially Huntsman denied the charges, he told the court he was remorseful for what he had done, breaking down in tears a number of times during his court appearance.
"I have cried many nights for the victims and their losses," the 39-year-old said.
Comment: An eyewitness reported feeling tremors from the massive explosion a kilometre away.