[Department of Justice] A 41-count second superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip, which charges thirteen MS-13 members with racketeering, seven murders, attempted murders, assaults, obstruction of justice, arson, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and related firearms and conspiracy charges. Four of those defendants were arrested earlier this morning and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
Goodness. It seems it's not just idle hands that are the Devil's workshop.
Additionally, during the execution of a search warrant at the home of MS-13 leaders ALEXI SAENZ, also known as "Blasty" and "Big Homie," and JAIRO SAENZ, also known as "Funny," this morning, investigators recovered an arsenal of weapons, including a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun, numerous rounds of ammunition, including additional 9mm, .38 caliber, .357 caliber, and other assorted rounds, machetes, a sword, a hatchet, and knives. Further, investigators recovered a quantity of marijuana packaged for resale, ledgers, and MS-13 paraphernalia.
[AL.com] A Birmingham teen has been indicted in the killing of an elderly Korean War veteran who was stabbed and then set on fire in his North Birmingham back yard.
A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Thomas Sims, now 19, with capital murder, according to records made public Wednesday. Sims, a neighbor of victim Gene Emory Dacus, has been jailed without bond since August 2016.
Court records show the 85-year-old Dacus, known by his neighbors as "Mr. Gene," was killed during the theft of his Dodge pickup truck, as well as his wallet. The case against Sims, who lived near the victim, was bound over to a grand jury after a preliminary hearing was held last October.
A judge ruled there was enough evidence to present the case for indictment consideration because Sims admitted to being present while Dacus was stabbed, admitted to burning Dacus and was seen by a witness driving Dacus' truck after the slaying. The grand jury issued the indictment Feb. 10.
Attorneys for the teen have argued for bond for their client, saying he has many family members in the area who are willing to help him, and that he has very little criminal history and would not pose a threat to the community. A judge denied that request for bond.
Birmingham police were called to Dacus' 33rd Avenue North home about 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, after receiving calls about a person on fire. When they arrived on the scene, they found him burned in the back of his home.
NASA is soliciting concepts for payloads that could fly on a mysterious satellite it is in discussions to inherit from another government agency.
NASA issued a request for information (RFI) Feb. 15 for a proposed spacecraft called the NASA Science/Technology Platform Satellite, or NSTP-Sat. The RFI was the first time NASA had publicly discussed such a mission.
The RFI, issued by NASA’s science mission directorate, solicits ideas for payloads, including remote sensing instruments and technology demonstrations, which could fly on the spacecraft. The RFI offered few details about the proposed mission, noting NSTP-Sat could fly "to low earth orbit, geostationary equatorial orbit, medium Earth orbit, Earth-Moon L1, or lunar orbit in the 2021 timeframe."
The RFI, which remains open until March 17, seeks ideas for how this spacecraft could be used to meet NASA’s science and technology development goals. The RFI states that NASA will use the responses to determine "whether there are science opportunities for new uses of this spacecraft" and "whether a solicitation for proposals is warranted to enable such opportunities."
The RFI offered few details about the spacecraft itself. "The NSTP-Sat is a spacecraft platform that has become available to NASA as excess Government property through an interagency agreement," it stated. It added the spacecraft was a "Boeing GEO spinner bus" that could launch on an EELV-class rocket or as a secondary payload on a Space Launch System mission.
NASA and other organizations involved with NSTP-Sat have been reticent to provide additional details about how NASA gained access to the satellite bus. Alan Zide, a program executive in NASA’s heliophysics division and the point of contact listed in the RFI, did not respond to email messages with questions about the satellite.
[Free Beacon] A judge in Multnomah County, Oregon is under investigation for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade federal authorities.
On Jan. 27, Mexican national Diddier Pacheco Salazar appeared before Judge Monica Herranz in a DUI case. After it came to Herranz's attention that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the hallway, she allegedly had Salazar leave her courtroom through her private entrance, Fox 12 Oregon reported Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Billy Williams raised the issue when ICE agents notified him of the incident.
"I felt that it was inappropriate and delegitimizes the work of ICE agents who are out there doing their jobs," Williams said.
"When you're talking about the judicial system, whether it's federal or by state, you have an expectation that people are going to abide by the law and not take steps based on their own motivations, their own politics, whatever the motivation was," Williams added. Judge Herranz is on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association (OHBA)
[Free Beacon] Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 22-year-old Daniela Vargas as she left a Wednesday press conference in Jackson, Mississippi where she revealed her fear of deportation.
"You know who we are, you know what we're here for," ICE agents reportedly told Vargas before arresting her.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy shielded Vargas from deportation for years after she came to the U.S. as a child from Argentina. Vargas' protection under the law expired before she spoke at the press conference, which was hosted by a group called the Immigrants Rights Alliance, according to The Clarion-Ledger.
The group sought to use the press conference as a way of spotlighting families impacted by deportation. Vargas' father and brother were detained in February by ICE, while Vargas hid in a closet. Agents had discovered her and handcuffed her, but quickly released her.
"Today, my father and brother await deportation while I continue to fight this battle as a DREAMer to help contribute to this country, which I feel is very much my country," Vargas said at the conference.
[AlAhram] Egypt's former strongman Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... is now able to walk free after the Court of Cassation acquitted him on Thursday in his retrial on charges of killing protesters during the 25 January Revolution, a case which has been dubbed "the trial of the century."
Today's verdict is final and cannot be appealed.
The 88-year-old ousted president has been confined to Maadi Military Hospital for treatment since 2012.
Here's betting that he makes a miraculous recovery...
In June 2012, Mubarak was sentenced by a criminal court to life in prison - 20 years in jail per Egyptian law - for his complicity in the murder of protestors during the 18-day January 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year autocratic rule.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... in January 2013, the Cassation Court overturned Mubarak's conviction and ordered a retrial. The Cassation Court also upheld the acquittal of other defendants in the same case, including Mubarak's last interior minister Habib El-Adly and four of his aides.
In November 2014, the criminal court retrying Mubarak acquitted the former president and all co-defendants of killing protesters, reasoning that the prosecution's initial decision on 23 March, 2011 to charge Mubarak lacked the legal basis to bring a criminal case against him.
On Thursday, Mubarak's defence lawyer Farid El-Deeb called on the court to acquit Mubarak, arguing that the criminal court acquitted El-Adly and his aides over the same charges leveled against Mubarak in 2014.
Since his downfall in 2011, the former President stood trial in a number of criminal cases on various charges, but received a final conviction only in one on corruption charges.
In January 2016, the Court of Cassation upheld a three-year prison sentence for Mubarak and his two sons for corruption in the case known as "the presidential palaces lawsuit," for using public funds -- appropriated for the maintenance of presidential palaces -- to upgrade his private property.
At the time of the verdict in the case, Mubarak's sons had already been behind bars for more than three years and, therefore, were eventually released.
The former autocrat ruled Egypt from 1981 until a popular uprising ousted him on 11 February, 2011.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/03/2017 00:00 ||
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The International Monetary Fund has postponed the second tranche of a loan worth $350 million to Tunisia because of a lack of progress in reforms covering public sector wage bill, the public finances and state banks.
As if Tunisia hasn't got enough problems...
The IMF urged the acceleration of reforms for Tunisia to be eligible to receive the second and third tranches of a loan that is key to completing the North African country’s 2017 budget.
Despite receiving a first tranche of the loan worth $320 million last June, Tunisia still struggles to implement reforms demanded by the IMF, notably cutting 10,000 public sector jobs and reforming three state-owned banks: Société Tunisienne de Banque (STB), Banque Nationale Agricole (BNA) and Banque de l’Habitat (BH)
The loan freeze by the IMF puts Tunisia on the brink of bankruptcy as other donors such as the African Development Bank, the EU, the US and the World Bank may follow suit by retreating from lending.
Last January, Tunisia announced a voluntary lay-off program to cut civil service jobs in a bid to narrow the budget deficit and reduce the public sector payroll. According to Tunisian Finance Minister Lamia Zribi “The wage bill in Tunisia rose to 14.4 percent so far and is among the highest in the world. We will cut it to 14 percent by the end of 2017 and about 12.5 percent in 2020.”
Since its 2011 uprising that led to deposing long-serving autocrat Ben Ali, Tunisia has struggled to enact economic reforms meant to curb public spending and help create jobs. Tunisia’s efforts were hindered by a slowdown in the tourism sector, a major source of income, following terrorist attacks in 2015.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
The "success story" nation of the "Arab Spring..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/03/2017 12:58 Comments ||
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Ukrainian officials said Thursday that the area around the Avdievka water filtration plant has been cleared of mines, according to Russian language news reports.
Until Thursday, the issue with restoring water service concerned the mortar delivered mines, shot there by Ukrainian and Russian backed rebel forces. The minefield was but one obstacle in getting the plant back on line.
The other issue has been the ongoing fighting between the two warring parties. They have been exchanging artillery fire since the beginning of the war 30 months ago, but only in the last 18 months contesting the area in Avdievka. It is unclear at the moment just how the issue will be resolved.
Earlier reports by Ukrainian media said that Avdievka and nearby towns were running a severe water shortage due to the plant shutdown. The water plant previously had been declared a gray zone by Ukrainian and Russian ceasefire observers, where neither side would be allowed to contest.
Last year Ukrainian forces moved their front line into the gray zone that included the water plant. A few stray artillery rounds had hit the plant, forcing the workers, most of them women, to stop work.
Recent attacks by Ukrainian forces coupled with counterattacks by rebel forces have shifted the fighting to the water plant, but it wasn't until an armed group belonging to the Ukrainian volunteer forces "Azov" moved a fire team including a mortar team into the plant itself -- after it was hit by artillery fire and abandoned -- that fighting ceased, and help in restoring the plant began.
The Ukrainian fire and mortar team abandoned the water plant a few days ago.
Meanwhile, elsewhere along the line of contact, fighting continued.
Ukrainian media reported that rebel mortar fire hit the southern Donetsk towns of Vodyanoye and Gnutovo, while 122mm rocket artillery rounds hit Vodyanoye, according to a news report in lb.ua.
Near Donetsk city, rebel 120mm and 82mm mortar fire hit Avdievka and Butovka mine.
A separate lb.ua news report said that rebel forces used tank gunfire on Ukrainian positions in Avdievka. The report said that the tank rounds destroyed several residential buildings, but did not elaborate on how many.
A news account published on the website of korrespondent.net said that armed men, presumably Russian backed separatists seized control of a football stadium on Thursday. The report notes that the seizure was likely part of the rebel nationalization of property in Donetsk and Lugansk in the wake of an economic blockade imposed by the Ukrainian government.
Rebel media reported that on the night of June 1st and June 2nd Ukrainian artillery hit targets in southern Donetsk as well as in and around Donetsk city. The night time attacks included Petrovskiy district of Donetsk city, where rebel media claimed residential buildings were damaged. Damage was reported in Trudovskoye. An early morning Ukrainian artillery attack which lasted three hours, struck rebel positions at Sahanka, Kominternovo and Novoazovskiy near the Sea of Azov coastal city of Mariupol.
Rebel media said that on Thursday artillery attacks were recorded in western areas of Donetsk and in Yasinovataya. Artillery attacks were also noted by rebel media at Dokuchaevsk.
In the website novorosinform.org, artillery fire and presumably direct fire exchanges were noted in Lugansk, at Pervomaisk and Stakhanov. Direct fire combat and mortar fire was reported in the same website at the Donetsk airport, Spartak, Peski and the Oktyabrskiy district of Donetsk. The report said that rebel forces returned mortar fire. Fighting was reported at the industrial area of Avdievka and in Yasinovataya, including the use of heavy artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2).
Text and video at CBS, of all places. This is why whacking Fredo in Malaysia was such a bad idea -- the ability to dodge sanctions just became much more difficult...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2017 00:00 ||
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This is not good news for North Korea, as you'll read:
The only North Korean arrested over the dramatic airport assassination of Kim Jong-Nam is to be deported, Malaysia said Thursday, as it announced the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme with Pyongyang.
Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said 47-year-old Ri Jong-Chol would be released and deported on Friday.
"He is a free man. His remand expires and there is insufficient evidence to charge him," Apandi said. "He has no proper [travel] documents so we will deport him."
Seven other North Koreans are wanted in connection with the killing, including a diplomat and an airline employee who are believed to be in Malaysia. Four others are thought to have fled to Pyongyang on the day of the murder.
Ri was arrested days after Kim suffered an agonising death when he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he waited to board a flight to Macau. CCTV footage shows two women approaching the heavyset 45-year-old and appearing to thrust a cloth in his face. Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later, without reaching hospital.
Swabs of the dead man's face revealed traces of the VX nerve agent, a synthetic chemical so deadly that it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction. Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, were charged with murder on Wednesday. If found guilty, they will could be hanged.
Both women say they thought they were taking part in a prank video but police have dismissed the claims.
South Korea has consistently pointed the finger of blame at North Korea, citing what they say was a standing order from Kim Jong-Un to kill his exiled half-brother. Pyongyang -- which has never acknowledged Kim's identity -- has denied the charge and disputes the autopsy, claiming Malaysia is in cahoots with its enemies.
In a press conference at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the North’s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ri Tong-Il, dismissed the use of a toxin and once again urged Malaysia to release Kim’s body to the North Korean authorities.
The two countries, which had enjoyed relatively warm relations, have been at diplomatic daggers drawn since the killing.
On Thursday Kuala Lumpur -- which had earlier recalled its ambassador -- said it was cancelling its visa-free travel deal with Pyongyang.
Visa-free? Yup, and it was one of the few countries in the world that allowed Nork citizens to travel like that. That's gone now.
The government was implementing the change on the grounds of national security, Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying.
The cancellation will take effect on March 6, after which North Koreans entering Malaysia will be required to obtain a visa, the report added.
And just try to get one...
"We are not looking for enemies but if they use Malaysia as a platform to carry out their agenda, they should not accuse Malaysia and tarnish our image on the international diplomatic front," Ahmad Zahid told a public event.
"We will act firmly to guarantee the safety of the people. Do not think you can use Malaysia to do what you want to do. Do not use Malaysia to carry out your illegal activities," he added.
Malaysia was one of only a tiny handful of countries around the world that had such a visa waiver scheme with North Korea.
A senior Malaysian official told AFP that the government was mulling further "downgrading diplomatic ties" with North Korea.
"Malaysia is considering shutting down its mission in Pyongyang," he said, as well as the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador following his "baseless allegations", a reference to accusations of bias in the murder probe.
Malaysia is also one of the few places where the Norks could do their business deals. That's about to disappear, and with it the ability to generate cash for the homeland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme
Seems to be catching on faster than the avian flu.
[NYDailyNews] “Municipal and state plans are the next to go down — that’s a pension tsunami that’s coming,” he said. “In many states, those defined benefit plans are seriously underfunded — and at the end of the day, math trumps the statutes.”
#1
The trucking industry — almost uniformly organized by Teamsters — has suffered enormous financial losses in its pension and welfare funds due to a crippling combination of deregulation and stock market crashes, Nyhan said.
With the exception of the above single sentence addressing a possible cause of this issue the entire story is about the effects. The easy answer for this omission of information is the reporter is either lazy or ignorant. A more plausible explanation is the greed, graft, and gross mismanagement angle doesn't fit into their narrative. The clue to this theory is in the subsequent solution line.
The prognosis is bleak minus some new legislative help.
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli company said Thursday it has started exporting gas from an offshore field to Jordan, marking the country’s first ever exports of natural gas.
The exports to Jordan began in January, Delek Drilling -- part of a consortium leading the development of Israel’s offshore gas reserves -- told AFP.
There was no formal announcement at the time but it is the first time Israel has ever exported natural gas, a company spokeswoman said.
Jordanian firms Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine signed a deal in 2014 to import 2 billion cubic metres (around 70 billion cubic feet) of gas from Israel’s Tamar field over 15 years. At the time reports said the deal was worth $771 million.
Jordan is one of only two Arab countries to have a peace deal with Israel but the 1994 agreement is unpopular among Jordanians -- almost half of whom are of Paleostinian origin.
Detractors of the gas deal, including Jordan’s main opposition Islamist party, reject any cooperation with a country they regard as an enemy.
So do without the NG...
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... the resource-poor Arab country has few alternatives to tackle shortages.
In September 2016, a larger deal worth an estimated $10 billion was signed to export gas from the Leviathan offshore field to Jordan.
In the face of protests, Jordanian Information Minister Mohammed Momani defended the deal, telling state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
it would cut $600 million a year from the state’s energy bill.
Deliveries from Leviathan are expected to begin in 2019.
[Mail] Despite being the granddaughter and daughter of two pro-life presidents, Barbara Pierce Bush expressed her support for the abortion-providing Planned Parenthood organization on Wednesday.
The former first daughter was the keynote speaker at the Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas' annual luncheon, held at Fort Worth's Omni Hotel.
In her speech, the 35-year-old said she was 'very proud to stand with Planned Parenthood' because of the services it provides to women.
'I am proud to stand with Planned Parenthood not only because women, regardless of where they are from, deserve to live dignified, healthy lives, [but] ... because it’s a really good investment.
'We know that when women are healthy, their families and their children are healthier too,' she wrote.
#5
When the parents are successful and famous, the urge in the offspring to claim fame in their own right is very strong. Often, their ambition to be famous isn't matched by their actual abilities, so they get a moment on the stage, get used, and are dismissed by public opinion. Witness Chelsea and her shallow skill set when examined carefully.
#10
"Sleep, child, and I'll sing you a ballad
Of how all my choices are valid,
And equally yummy
and healthy for Mummy!"
Planned Parenthood's chopped baby salad.
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.
[Department of Justice] A 41-count second superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip, which charges thirteen MS-13 members with racketeering, seven murders, attempted murders, assaults, obstruction of justice, arson, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and related firearms and conspiracy charges. Four of those defendants were arrested earlier this morning and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco at the federal courthouse in Central Islip. 
[Free Beacon] A judge in Multnomah County, Oregon is under investigation for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade federal authorities.
[Free Beacon] Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 22-year-old Daniela Vargas as she left a Wednesday press conference in Jackson, Mississippi where she revealed her fear of deportation.
[AlAhram] Egypt's former strongman 
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli company said Thursday it has started exporting gas from an offshore field to Jordan, marking the country’s first ever exports of natural gas.
[Mail] Despite being the granddaughter and daughter of two pro-life presidents, Barbara Pierce Bush expressed her support for the abortion-providing Planned Parenthood organization on Wednesday.
