BLUF: [RT] Details of Jones’ arrest have not been public, but according to the News & Observer, the judge was taken in custody after a "SWAT-team-like raid" on his Wayne County home. Jones’ defense has been saying that he had never been told by the FBI officer that his request could result in a search warrant.
"The jury’s verdict affirms a bedrock principle of the rule of law," John Bruce, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a statement afterward. "No person holding a position of public trust in our legal system is permitted to subvert that system for his own personal objectives."
Sentencing in Jones’ case has been set for January 23.
On the charge of bribery, Jones faces no more than 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The charge of gratuities carries a possible term of not more than two years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The charge of attempting to corruptly influence an official proceeding could land Jones in jail for as many as 20 years behind bars and require him to pay up to $250,000.
#1
"No person holding a position of public trust in our legal system is permitted to subvert that system for his own personal objectives."
Senior U.S. State Department employees offering special, overseas assignments to FBI agents to alter classified document markings...... please disregard.
#8
Obama's Executive Branch going after the Judicial Branch. Will be more difficult and could have an adverse effect on the Executive Branch than when he sacked the military but the regime is up to trying stuff like this.
An Army reservist is in a new battle. He’s struggling to pay his medical bills after he had a heart attack during a fitness test.
"I’ve been through a lot," Shane Morgan said. "This past year has been as difficult, as challenging as my deployment to Afghanistan."
Morgan is an Army veteran, a captain who served in Afghanistan and a current active reserve member. But lately, Shane and his wife Jaime have fighting to get health benefits from the Army.
It all began when Shane took a required Army physical fitness test last November.
"As we were doing the push-ups I got 15 in, and I noticed that it was a lot harder for me to do push-ups than it has ever been," Shane said.
"So he hooked me up to the EKG and said ’I’m 99.9 percent certain you’re having a heart attack.'"
One artery was completely blocked, but there was another problem, the Army determined the heart attack did not happen in the line of duty, so its been withholding medical payments.
"You have a heart attack during a forced, a mandated PT test and then you tell him it’s his fault that he could have had it at home, but he didn’t have it at home he had it, while he was doing push-ups," Jaime said.
The Army cited an earlier blood test.
"My cholesterol was 214," Shane said. "However on the day that I had my heart attack the hospital did a lipid panel and my total cholesterol was down to 185."
With bills piling up, the Morgan’s credit rating suffered, but the Army has just reopened the case. A front man told WBZ: "The physical and financial well-being of our soldiers and their families is a top concern for Army and Army Reserve leaders at all levels."
"I am cautiously optimistic," Shane said.
"Persistence has paid off definitely," said Jaime.
There is no timetable on when the case will be resolved.
#2
Was he doing the PT test during a sanctioned event, like his semi-annual required test, in uniform, with graders? If the answer is yes, it's line-of-duty, period. Who the cluster did the LOD investigation? What more is behind it (and not being said)?
Saudi social media users interpret the rare execution of an Al Saud prince as a sign of equality under Islamic law, approval likely to reassure Riyadh's absolute rulers as large spending cuts test the kingdom's welfare-based social contract.
Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was found guilty of shooting dead another Saudi national during a brawl and was executed after a royal order by King Salman, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.
Members of the ruling family, estimated to number several thousand, have only rarely been executed. A prince who assassinated his uncle, King Faisal, was beheaded in 1975 and a princess was shot dead for adultery two years later.
In 2004, a young prince who had gunned down an acquaintance was pardoned by the victim's father at the last minute, after arriving at Riyadh's execution square.
News of the execution, which comes as the government is asking Saudis to accept unprecedented austerity, was welcomed by Saudis online, including royal family members who said King Salman had been "decisive" and "fair".Khalid al-Saud, an academic and royal family member, wrote on a Twitter account: "This is the law of God Almighty, and this is the approach of our blessed nation."
"A just ruler of the Islamic nation rules by the legitimacy of Islam," tweeted Saudi journalist Nasser bin Fareon.
Social media users shared a clip of a previous speech by King Salman to Saudi officials telling citizens they should not fear suing royal family members if they had suffered injustice.
Mohammed al-Masloukhi, the imam of the Safa mosque in Riyadh, said the family of the victim had declined to accept hundreds of millions of riyals in "blood money".
"God does not differentiate between a merchant and a poor man, nor between a prince and a citizen," he tweeted.
But a Saudi university student from Jeddah, who spoke on condition he be identified only as Bahah, said the ruling was a reaction to people's frustration with apparent impunity enjoyed by royals.
"It had to happen. It's impossible to continue forgiving members of the royal family who commit crimes," he said by telephone. "There are political consequences for not prosecuting members of the family, (because) the victims can be members of big tribes. There has to be answers."
Saudi officials say the judicial system is impartial.
Prominent commentator Jamal Khashoggi told Reuters Saudis were receptive to the decision. "It's a sign of respect to the sharia (Islamic law). People like that," he said.
While a culture of public respect for government endures in Saudi Arabia, it is one of the most active Arab societies online, and digital platforms are seen as a useful forum where official accountability can be assessed.
Al Saud members receive monthly stipends, and top princes command great wealth and political power - although only a few in the family hold nationally important government posts - at a time when ordinary Saudis face financial cutbacks. In a country where citizens have no vote, the government is planning educational and social reforms, apparently aiming to shore up public support and political stability.
Saudi Arabia executed at least 151 people in 2015, the most since 1995, according to Amnesty, making it the third most prolific executioner after China and Iran.
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10/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Probably, he - or somebody in his immediate family - pissed off a more important prince.
[Dhaka Tribune] In an exclusive interview with the Bangla Tribune, the ruling party's general secretary talks about the upcoming Awami League council, his performance as the party's general secretary, his party's future direction, and his own goal
Awami League General Secretary and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam thinks that it is the right time to join politics for someone coming from the third generation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s family and there is a probability of happening so.
He said: "Third generation of Bangabandhu’s family can certainly join politics. A new leader means new thoughts and creations, new strategies and promises."
Syed Ashraf made the comment Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Bangla Tribune at his government residence at Bailey Road in Dhaka. Asraf was elected AL’s Joint General Secretary in 2002 and General Secretary twice in 2009 and 2012. During the reign of army-backed caretaker government, he led the movement to free the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. from jail when a faction of the party challenged detained Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. Former President Zillur Rahman and Syed Ashraf at that time saved AL from being divided. Prior to that, during 1996-2001 AL reign, he was the state Minister for Aviation and Tourism. He is the son of Bangladesh’s first Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[PANAMPOST] According to Manager of the Unified Federation of Oil Workers of Venezuela José Bodas, 2,000 people have been fired from the government-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) despite being under contract.
Venezuelan workers are continually intimidated and unfairly dismissed for political reasons, local news outlets have reported. Employers create fear and demand loyalty to "Chavismo" if they want to maintain their positions.
"The suspension of labor contracts is the subterfuge used by the ruling party in the oil industry to intimidate contracted staff in order to prevent the exercise of its constitutional and democratic right: the recall referendum," Bodas said.
The union leader also said that the company violates the Organic Labor Law requiring employers to hire them as permanent workers after a year of service. The government requires political loyalty, and if not, they terminate contracts.
"There are 26,000 workers hired for limited times with the promise that they will be incorporated into the permanent payroll if they are loyal to the government," he said.
PDVSA encourages outsourcing by contractors by lengthening worker contracts. This is prohibited by law because it is a practice with which employers commit occupational fraud.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
With a possible 3rd term, look for this movie to show in the northern hemisphere soon. It is said to be a long, punishing movie to watch and endure.
[LATINO.FOXNEWS] Diphtheria, an extremely contagious disease that has been mostly eradicated worldwide through vaccination, has reappeared in Venezuela.
So far it has killed four children.
More than 20 cases have been reported in just one month, including those four fatalities in the southern state of Bolivar.
In the crisis-stricken South American nation, many of the children don't have access to the DPT vaccine that prevents the centuries-old disease. Caused by the Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacterium, the disease becomes serious if the bacterial toxin enters the bloodstream and spreads through the respiratory tract. It leads to heart failure and neurological illnesses.
Even with treatment, death occurs in between 5 and 10 percent of those affected.
This week the sense of urgency went up a few notches when a possible case of diphtheria was reported in Caracas’ Military Hospital, considered the country’s best.
Uncertainty has become commonplace in Venezuelan epidemiology.
The reappearance of diphtheria, a disease not seen here in more than 20 years, is the worst symptom yet of the country’s broken health system.
Venezuela used to be Latin America's richest country, but it is now falling apart as a plunge in the price of oil caps off years of economic mismanagement. Local production of almost everything has stalled, and there is little money to import medicine.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2016 00:00 ||
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A U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area. The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said.
The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move "illegal" and "provocative," saying that two Chinese warships had warned the U.S. destroyer to leave.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors, the officials said. The destroyer sailed within waters claimed by China, close to but not within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the islands, the officials said.
The Pentagon said the Decatur "conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident." One official said the ship, which sailed near Triton and Woody Islands, was shadowed by three Chinese vessels and that all interactions were safe.
The White House confirmed the Reuters report.
"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.
It was the fourth challenge that the United States has made to what it considers overreaching maritime claims by China in the South China Sea in the past year, and the first since May.
China's Defense Ministry said it had declared its "baseline" for the Paracel Islands in 1996, something the United States knew. Despite that, the Chinese government said, the United States had sent a ship into Chinese "territorial waters."
A statement from China's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. ship did not ask for permission to enter Chinese territorial waters, and had broken both Chinese and international law. The ministry accused the United States of deliberately creating tensions.
China has a runway on Woody Island, the site of the largest Chinese presence on the Paracels, and has placed surface-to-air missiles there, according to U.S. officials.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[Jpost] Moreover, only eighteen percent—19% from the West Bank and 16% from Gazoo--said they would support a bi-national state for both Arabs and Jews.
And so they will get what the majority prefer, a continuation of the status quo.
More Paleostinians prefer the establishment of a Jordanian-Paleostinian confederation than a traditional two-state or one-state solution, a new public opinion poll has found.
An-Najah National University in Nablus randomly surveyed 1362 Paleostinians from the West Bank and Gazoo Strip between October 13-15 on a variety of issues relevant to Paleostinian politics and society.
Forty-six percent of Paleostinians surveyed ‐ 52% from the West Bank and 36% from the Gazoo Strip ‐ said they would support the establishment of a Paleostinian-Jordanian confederation on the basis of two states with strong institutional relations.
In contrast, 36% of Paleostinians ‐ 40% from the West Bank and 29.4% from Gazoo ‐ said they would support the establishment of a Paleostinian state on the 1967 borders. Only 22% of Paleostinians ‐ 24% from the West Bank and 18% from Gazoo ‐ said they would back the creation of a Paleostinian state on 1967 borders with some land swaps.
Moreover, only 18% of respondents ‐ 19% from the West Bank and 16% from Gazoo ‐ said they would support a bi-national state for both Arabs and Jews.
Despite a plurality of Paleostinians supporting a Jordanian-Paleostinian confederation, Grant Rumley, a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies remains skeptical of its feasibility.
"Similar to the idea of a binational state, the Jordanian option too is not entirely feasible. Still, I think [the results of the poll] show the public disillusionment with the PLO and its platform of negotiations," Rumley wrote in an email to The Jerusalem Post, adding, "With the grinding of the peace processor in its current state, many Paleostinians view Oslo as a failure, and as such look at other options (such as a binational state or a Jordanian state) as favorable. So long as the status quo continues, I’d expect support for these other options to rise."
Jordan made a historic decision in 1988 known as Fakk al-Irtibat, the disengagement from the West Bank, and officially announced that it no longer considered the West Bank as part of the Hashemite Kingdom.
Something about Black September and kicking out rude Palestinian houseguests, as I recall...
Since then, Jordan and King Abdullah, the Jordanian monarch, have consistently supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict.
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... some Jordanians including a former prime minister have voiced support for a Jordanian-Paleostinian confederation following the establishment of a Paleostinian state.
Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... holds that Jordan is a close ally of the Paleostinian leadership and has said that the Jordanians and Paleostinians are "one people living in two states," but Abbas has made no indication that he supports a confederation since assuming the presidency in 2005.
#1
One day the World will wake up and discover that "Palestinian Nation" have ceased to exist. And then the World will say "Ah these Jews, we always knew what they're like."
#2
Nablus U mightnnot be allowed to ask the question but a lot of paleos would rather Israel occupy and administer the west bank than have the PA do it
Posted by: lord garth ||
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....see "What have the Romans ever done for us".
[IsraelTimes] Last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities seeks to impose Moslem religious law on country’s religious minorities
Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.
Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam.
But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities.
According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.
The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad as all eyes were on the north of the country, where forces involved in Iraq’s biggest military operation in years are battling the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and moving to retake the city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... "A law was passed today and article 14 of that law bans the import, production and sale of all kinds of alcohol," Yonadam Kanna, a veteran Christian MP, told AFP on Saturday.
"Every violation of this law incurs a fine of 10 million to 25 million dinars (roughly $8,000 to $20,000)," he said.
Kanna vowed to appeal the law in a federal court.
Alcohol is rarely offered in restaurants and hotels in Iraq, but consumption is relatively widespread, especially in Baghdad where scores of small shops selling alcoholic beverages can be found.
Iraq also has companies producing various types of alcohol, such as Farida beer or Asriya arak (a regional anise-flavored spirit).
Kanna was furious after the vote, issued a statement and went on television to argue against the new law.
More drugs
"This article of the law goes against the constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of minorities," he said.
Article 2 of the constitution says it "guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice" such as Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans.
Ammar Toma, an MP who voted in support of the ban, argued that it was the constitution that made it illegal to sell, produce or import alcoholic drinks.
"The constitution says you cannot approve a law that goes against Islam," he told AFP, referring to an article stating that "no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established."
Kanna and Toma also differed on the impact of a ban.
"This law will put people out of jobs, drug consumption will rise, the economy will be affected," said Toma, a Shiite politician from the Fadhila party.
Observers say drug abuse has been on the rise in Iraq recently, especially in the southern city of Basra, where trafficking with neighboring Iran is soaring and where alcohol is only found on the black market.
Toma rejected Kanna’s assessment and said "the effects of alcohol on society are great, and include deprivation, terrorism and social problems."
"As for the people who will lose their jobs, new jobs can be found for them," he said without elaborating.
Reopen the ISIS captagon factories!
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/23/2016 00:09 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
