[NYPOST] Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.
Police recorded 338 homicides as of Tuesday, following a week of relentless gunfire that saw eight people shot ‐ three of them fatally ‐ in one day and nine others ‐ one fatally ‐ another day. That total is up from 309 in 2018 and four shy of the 342 killings tallied in 2017 and 2015, the year when the city’s homicide rate suddenly spiked.
With just over 600,000 residents, Baltimore’s homicide rate would reach approximately 57 per 100,000 residents if the corpse count reaches 342. That would eclipse the rate of 1993, when the city had a record 353 killings but was also much more populous.
By contrast, New York City, with more than 8 million residents, had 306 homicides through Dec. 15.
Police yellow tape and makeshift memorials with flowers, stuffed animals and balloons have become common in some neighborhoods of this deeply segregated city. Memorials can be found within blocks of each other at the same time.
"It’s a major concern for me, not just as a hopeful man but as a citizen of Baltimore who grew up in inner-city Baltimore," said Carmichael "Stokey" Cannady, a reformed drug pusher turned community activist who wants to be mayor. "I remember when a person had a conflict and would have a fight at best, now these young kids, at the age of 13, 14 years old, are finding handguns in their possession and they use them as toys ... The whole system needs to be revamped."
This is the fifth year in a row this Mid-Atlantic community dubbed "Charm City" has reported more than 300 killings. Before 2015, that number had generally been on the decline, but the trend reversed after civil unrest followed the death in police custody of a young black man, Freddie Gray.
Reasons for the upward trend vary and are subject to interpretation. ... and reinterpretation...
Many accuse police of taking a hands-off approach to crime-fighting since six of their own were charged in connection with Gray’s death. Ask yourself: You're a Bawlmer city cop, like the one I saw Monday: a young fellow, it doesn't matter what color, doing a police job in a grimy city that's competing with Detroit for the title of scuzziest place to live in the country. One day you call the paddy wagon and load it up with a professional drug dealer. The arrest makes the papers when the drug dealer manages to kill himself flopping around in the wagon. You, the driver, and every other cop in sight get arrested and prejudged by a crusading nitwit politician (who's still in office, by the way!) States Attorney. Your case gets laughed out of court, but only after you've been placed on admin leave, have to go to trial, suffer investigation and vilification. Even crummy attorneys don't come cheap. The people you were trying to serve and protect are busy hollering for your scalp and burning down the CVS. The city administration did not stand by you. Have another donut.
Others attribute it to the apparent free flow of illegal guns, Why is the city getting the illegal weaponry and not the surrounding counties, where the murder rate is almost negligible?
the effects of a punishing opioid epidemic, I think the money's still in marijuana and crack cocaine, "opioid" also includes stuff like heroin and morphine. I do know that in a city that's 63 percent black, blacks are way over-represented among the drug (any flavor) deaths.
social inequalities Blacks run the city, folks.
and a lack of decent jobs for many in disenfranchised neighborhoods. "We are hiring" signs are all over the place.
Some say political incompetence at City Hall also contributed. The last mayor resigned over corruption.
#5
these young kids, at the age of 13, 14 years old, are finding handguns in their possession and they use them as toys ... The whole system needs to be revamped."
It's as if the entire subculture bears NO responsibility for the lack of fathers in homes, tribal grievances, and feral youts?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/26/2019 6:24 Comments ||
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#6
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Gunslinger verwandelt.
("As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”)
#7
#5 Yes, No fathers and mothers as well. The family is their gang. Mostly M13 and Crisps but I understand Bloods also. When you introduce Crisps in Maryland juvenile justice campus you have constant fighting with the M13 gang members. When they leave detention camps back to the Baltimore gang. No intention of doing anything else in their lives. These officers are so restricted and these kids know it.
[G&G] Chef Meherwan Irani’s expertise with Indian spices extends past the masala-tinged fish and cumin-and-chile-seasoned lamb burgers he serves at his restaurants around Asheville, Atlanta, and now Charlotte, where the four-time James Beard Award nominee is opening a third iteration of Botiwalla at the new Optimist Hall. This wintertime treat mingles his Spicewalla chai tea blend with rum and North Carolina amaro.
INGREDIENTS
YIELD: 1 COCKTAIL
4 oz. equal parts brewed masala chai tea (such as Spicewalla Chai Masala) and hot milk
1½ oz. Amrut Old Port rum
1 barspoon Eda Rhyne Appalachian Fernet
½ oz. honey
PREPARATION
Brew black chai tea to listed specifications and add hot milk. Preheat a mug with hot water. Discard water and pour in milky chai tea. Stir in remaining ingredients. Top with grated nutmeg.
#4
Most liberals don't want children anyway - too much work. Too much distraction from the endless quest for self-fulfillment (self-indulgence). Now they've a noble sounding reason.
[ToloNews] The Afghan Ambassador to the United States Roya Rahmani has appointed Mir Haris Ansari, the son-in-law of Shad Mohammad Sargand
...according to his Ohio University faculty page, Professor Sargand is a civil engineer with considerable expertise in road construction and materials, and has been active in lending his expertise and promoting civil engineering education in his native land...
, as a senior adviser to President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money... on infrastructure as an embassy employee, according to documents seen by TOLOnews.
Documents seen by TOLOnews reveal that Ansari was sent to the embassy under the pretext of assessing the crack in the wall of the Afghan embassy in Washington DC, which is estimated to cost nearly $2 million.
But how is Ansari, who is a diplomat, able to fix a technical issue such as a crack in the wall?
Could it be that Mr. Ansari is a student of his father-in-law, and therefore knows more than a bit about construction and building materials? Or that he can pick his father-in-law’s brains as needed?
According to sources, the daughter of Shad Mohammad Sargand, who is the wife of Ansari, lives in the United States and Mr. Sargand sent his son-in-law to Washington under the same pretext.
Ansari at the same time was given the task of assessing the crack on the wall of the Afghan embassy.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... other documents show that Ansari was appointed as the third secretary of the Afghan embassy in Egypt in June of the current year, but sources have told TOLOnews that he (Ansari) never worked at that post.
"Those colleagues who have been sent to the embassies in accordance with the previous decisions will be asked to return to their duties," said Geran Hewad, front man for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"If someone is hired or appointed to a post based on the ties he has, I think it is a clear violation of the law and against the sprit of the Constitution," said Irfanullan Iran, a member of parliament.
Also in the past, TOLOnews obtained documents which revealed that Sargand appointed a woman as his secretary whose educational documents weren’t complete.
But, Amrullah Saleh, President Ghani’s first running mate in the election, has praised Sargand as an educated cadre.
"He (Sargand) is the only Afghan who has obtained two Ph.D. degrees in road and pipeline construction. He has rendered great sacrifice, he has left his comfortable life in the US and has come to Afghanistan where we spent hundreds of millions of dollars annually on importing pipes from abroad. He has come and said that he will start pipeline construction in Afghanistan with a small investment," said Saleh.
On November 26, TOLOnews obtained a similar document showing that Sargand also received a salary from the US’s Ohio University‐while serving as adviser‐over the past two years.
Sargand, who was a professor at the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University in the US state of Ohio, established a relationship between the school and the Afghan government over years, which-- according to documents‐earned the school approximately $10 million worth of construction contracts to complete projects for Afghanistan.
But a document obtained by TOLOnews shows that the university won a contract from Afghanistan’s Public Works (now merged with the Transportation Ministry) for a project worth $1.8 million, and-- documents show-- Sargand earned $75,000 dollars per year, for two years, as the contract was implemented, all while serving as Ghani’s adviser.
Neither Sargand nor the Afghan embassy in Washington were available for comment.
[TheGuardian] Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said that one of his allies had been forcibly conscripted and sent to serve at a remote Arctic base, in a move his supporters said amounted to kidnapping.
Ruslan Shaveddinov, a project manager at Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, went missing Monday after police broke into his Moscow flat and his phone's SIM card was disabled.
He resurfaced Tuesday at a secret air defence base on the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Navalny said.
Separating the Barents and Kara seas, the Novaya Zemlya islands were used by the Soviet Union to conduct nuclear tests.
"He has been unlawfully deprived of freedom," said Navalny, president Vladimir Putin's top opponent, in a blog post, calling the 23-year-old a "political prisoner".
More Boo Hoo Hoo over at the Guardian. I wish we could pack off people like this to Siachen.
BEIJING (AP) ‐ China’s imports of soybeans surged in November following the announcement of an interim trade deal with the United States.
Imports rose 53.7% over a year earlier to 5.4 million tons, according to customs data.
Imports of U.S. soybeans more than doubled from the previous month to 2.6 million tons, according to AWeb.com, a news website that serves the Chinese farming industry.
China cut off purchases of American soybeans, the country’s biggest import from the United States, after President Donald Trump raised import duties on Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus.
The two governments announced an interim "Phase 1" agreement in October but have yet to release details. U.S. officials say it might be signed as early as January.
U.S. officials said as part of that deal, Beijing will buy more American farm exports. Chinese officials have yet to confirm the possible scale of purchases.
Chinese government spokespeople said in September importers were placing orders for American soybeans but no details of purchases have been announced.
Chinese buyers use soybeans as animal feed and to crush for cooking oil.
Beijing bought more Brazilian soybeans, but no other supplier could fully replace the large scale of American supplies. That added to the strain on Chinese pig farmers who are struggling with an outbreak of African swine fever that has devastated herds.
#2
...Watch the video sometime - it captures the exact moment when Ceaucescu realized that he was in very, very deep sh!t.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/26/2019 3:53 Comments ||
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#3
The Palace that Ceausescu built for himself before the collapse was, at the time, the biggest palace in the world. It is now used as Presidential residence, Parliament, Govt. Office and a conference center.
The biggest palace in the world today is Erdogan's in Turkey.
I recently read a book on this (by Andrei Codescu). The 1989 Revolution in Romania is considered one of the best examples of a preference cascade.
Ceausescu was 're elected' in late November 89 with the usual 99+% of the vote.
There were some demonstrations in some towns the first week of Dec. On Dec 21, Ceausescu presided over a rally. People were supposed to cheer in unison, and one cheer was 'Ura Partidul'. The phrase means 'long live the party' if the accent is on the first syllable of 'Ura'. But as the cheering went on, some in the crowd put the accent on the end of the word 'Ura' which means 'Hated' so the phrase means 'Hated is the party'. This caught on with almost everyone in the crowd using that accenting. By Dec 24, 1989, Ceausescu had been arrested and removed from office.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/26/2019 8:07 Comments ||
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#4
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man and woman.
[Telegraph] Republican senator has said she is "disturbed" by her own party's handling of Donald Trump's impeachment.
The intervention by Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska, appeared to be the first crack in the monolithic opposition to impeachment that Republican senators have so far displayed.
Mr Trump faces a trial in the Senate in the new year on two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Both charges stem from his alleged attempts to coerce the Ukrainian government into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.
The jury will consist of 53 Republican senators, including Ms Murkowski, and 47 Democrat senators. A two-thirds majority is required to convict the president.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has indicated there will be "total co-ordination" between his group and the White House.
But Ms Murkowski told Alaskan television: "In fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed. To me, it means that we have to take that step back from being hand-in-glove with the defence." Her words are not really as ambiguous as she tries to make them seem.
She added: "I heard what leader McConnell said. I happened to think that has further confused the process."
Ms Murkowski, one of the most moderate Republican senators, remains undecided on how she will vote at the end of the trial.
She said: "For me to prejudge and say there's nothing there or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, that's wrong, in my view, that's wrong."
Following her comments Mr Trump launched a barrage of criticism of Democrats on Twitter.
The president was said by White House officials to be "agitated" that the impeachment process had been delayed over Christmas.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat speaker of the House of Representatives, delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate over the festive period.
Mr Trump said the ongoing crisis was "Bad for USA!"
He added: "Despite all of the great success that our Country has had over the last 3 years, it makes it much more difficult to deal with foreign leaders (and others) when I am having to constantly defend myself against the Do Nothing Democrats & their bogus Impeachment Scam."
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have suggested a small number of Democrats could ultimately vote to acquit the president.
That would allow them to present the verdicts as not just an acquittal, but a bipartisan "exoneration" of the president.
Can anybody explain ? Should we be as wary of some Republicans as of dems ? RINO factor ? Self-righteous 'we are not them' syndrome ? Will the Senate really shut down the impeachment fiasco or not. How many RINOs are there in the senate ? Does anybody really know ?
#1
Lots of RINOs but none as dumb as Murkowski. Pierre Delecto is treacherous but not, I hope, that stupid. Murkowski needs to be primaried hard in the next election.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/26/2019 14:22 Comments ||
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#2
She'll be up again for reelection in 2022. Guessing she is banking on people having short memories.
#3
I love how she tries to give off the vibe that she knows absolutely nothing about the impeachment process to date and must wait for it to arrive in the Senate for her to solemnly judge, and not word one on the whole fuckin' process to date being a partisan shitshow.
Could be worse - could be Susan Collins & Mittens too...
#5
Trump just endorsed Collins. Don't think he'd do that if she was wobbly on impeachment but then, he wouldn't ask for a quid pro quo now, would he? As for Pierre, he is a wild card but hopefully not that stupid.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/26/2019 19:11 Comments ||
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#6
You really have to step back and see how stupid they all look.
[DAWN] Four police officials, dismissed from services in connection with Farishta abduction, rape and murder case, have been reinstated.
The officials were reinstated after they filed an appeal against their dismissal, senior coppers told Dawn, adding that the four police officials are a former Shahzad Town SHO, an investigating officer in the case a head constable (moharrar) and a constable.
All the four officials have now been posted at Police Logistic Division at Police Lines Headquarters, they said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... had ordered registration of a case against the police officials and departmental proceedings and judicial inquiry against them.
In the light of two inquiry reports, Deputy Inspector General (operations) Waqaruddin Syed removed them from service in June.
At that time DIG operations Waqaruddin Syed confirmed to Dawn that the four police officials had been removed from service in the light of the reports.
The four police officials faced charges of delaying registration of the case, besides being charged with humiliating the farther of the girl by forcing him to clean the cop shoppe.
A case was also registered against the SHO and IO under PPC 166, they said, adding the case was in the court.
When DIG Operations Waqaruddin Syed was asked whether the dismissed officials had been reinstated, he replied with ’no’. But the very next moment he said: "I have no knowledge about it."
The DIG Operation further said: "I have to check it as they have been excluded from our strength (Operation Division)," but did not reply till the filing of this report.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2019 00:59 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[IndiaToday] Two military-grade aircraft launching gears weighing almost 11 kg, shipped from the US, mysteriously landed in "empty" containers at Mundra port in Gujarat on December 20. The investigating agencies are clueless about how these came to India.
Authorities recovered the containers on December 20 during an investigation.
These military-grade aircraft launching gears are used when flying a fighter aircraft from an aircraft carrier.
Sources said prima facie it appears that it is an attempt to smuggle military-grade aircraft launching gears in India or a matter of corporate espionage.
Security sources said the military-grade aircraft launching gears found at the Mundra port are manufactured by only two corporate giants, Boeing (based in the US) and Airbus (headquartered in Europe).
The shipment came from the US, sources said.
Sources stated that earlier there have been a few cases where Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and a few corporate companies ordered spare parts and even machines from the US and these went missing and were never traced.
"These two military-grade aircraft launching gears were shipped from New York port on November 8. The consignment was booked by US-based company DHL Global Forwarding and was meant for Royal Saudi Land Forces," said a senior officer in Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
IANS has reviewed the copy of the shipment ordered from the US.
The aircraft launching gear was shipped for an address: Prince Sultan Road, HWY 156 Jizan Saudi Arabia.
The Kyoto Express ship, owned by a carrier owned by Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft, was carrying the consignment.
The consignment was not offloaded at Jeddah port and came to Mundra in Gujarat, and surprisingly, the two containers were marked empty, sources said.
The vessel had docked at five ports, including Pakistan's Karachi, and came to Mundra port and dropped hundreds of empty containers. While checking all the empty containers, which were being shifted to the yard, the customs officials found these containers "tagged empty" but contained aircraft launching gears.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/26/2019 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11127 views]
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#1
Are they sure it ain't bungee rope or something ?
The customs officials should be hauled up for their inability to keep this discrete. I'm sure the stupid bastards called a press conference the first chance they got. Anything to add some color to their uneventful lives.
This statement by a commish is a doozy :
Sanjay Agarwal, principal commissioner of customs for Mundra port, said, “Before reaching to any conclusion I would not like to reach to any conclusion whether it's a mischief or something else due to sensitivities involved.”
[OpIndia] Several parts of the country experienced violent protests in the aftermath of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act that intends to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, following the violence, numerous reports have trickled down hinting that these protests which were touted as “a spontaneous outburst of anger against the government” were in reality meticulously planned riots.
In the wake of the violence that rocked the town of Firozabad, it came to the notice of the local administration that there were stones and bricks placed on the roofs of the houses in the areas that witnessed violence. The drone camera employed by the law enforcement to keep surveillance about the law and order situation in the city had captured images of the houses where stones were kept on the terrace.
According to DM Chandravijay Singh and SSP Sachindra Patel, drones were flown over the city for two days-Sunday and Monday to keep a tab on houses in Nalband square, Urvashi Tiraha, Mohalla Rajputana, Naini Glass and Jatavpuri, areas where stone-pelting and cases of arson were reported on Friday.
The officials claim about 57 houses have been marked in the area on whose roofs stones and bricks were found in the drone captured images. A notice has been issued to the landlords of these houses, asking them to remove the stones failing which further action will be taken against them.
On Friday, December 20, after the Namaz prayers concluded, violence broke out in certain parts of the city in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Four people died in the violence that erupted in the city, while more than 50 policemen were left injured. A dozen government and private vehicles were set ablaze by the protesters. A police post in the Nalband area was also set on fire.
During the protest, the police were also pelted with stones. Police retaliated and opened fire, killing four people. A case has been registered against 29 identified miscreants and 2500 unidentified miscreants.
Yesterday, CCTV videos released from Mangalore showed that the anti-CAA hoodlums meticulously adjusted the cameras to prevent the cameras from capturing their illegal activities. The presence of an auto carrying sacks full of stones indicated that the riots were meticulously pre-planned.
[DailyPioneer] Days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath vowed to avenge the destruction of public property during anti-Citizenship Act protests in Uttar Pradesh, the State Government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe cases of rioting registered in Kanpur, while the Rampur district administration served notices on 28 people to pay up `14 lakh for damages.
Additional SP (Crime) Rajesh Yadav will head the SIT which will also consist of Circle Officer (Anwarganj), Station House Officer (Kakadevi), SHO (Barra), a police Sub-Inspector and a prosecution officer.
More than 300 people have been served recovery notices across UP for damaging public property. The Lucknow district administration has served notices to 100 people till now. In Meerut, 141 people have been blamed for damages. In Sambhal notices were issued to 26 whereas in Nehtaur town of Bijnor, notices issued to 43 rioters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/26/2019 00:00 ||
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[11135 views]
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#1
The Firozabad Police has now released the pictures of a hundred more rioters who indulged in violence in the city on the 20th of December. In the posters released on social media, the Firozabad Police appealed to the citizenry to identify the rioters and help the Police nab them.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/26/2019 6:18 Comments ||
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#2
SHO of Mantola police station Jeetendra Kumar told media today that the police had received intelligence inputs about the presence of some people involved in Firozabad violence in Agra city. As it would have been difficult to obtain information about such people from civilians directly, it was decided to go undercover and track them down, he said. As part of the plan, sub-inspector Sunil Tomar of Mantola police station took the disguise of a vendor selling banana and roamed across the city. Intelligence reports had suggested that the perpetrators were hiding in the Mantola area in Agra.
The plan was to move around the city and locate the perpetrators. Sub Inspector Sunil Tomar shaved his moustache and arranged a fruit vendor’s cart. He loaded the cart with bananas and roamed in the Mantola area, looking for clues. Tomar said his disguise was so good that even the policemen patrolling the area could not identify him when they faced him. The SHO said that the plan worked and the rioters were arrested by the police.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/26/2019 6:21 Comments ||
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#1
This is excellent. While the state gummint is fixated on weed, illegals and hi-cap rifle magazines, some oil and / or mining companies are mapping the state to be totally strip mined. Which they totally deserve.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/26/2019 11:22 Comments ||
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#2
I remember when these things were considered to be swamp gas.
[Jerusalem Post] Researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (NIBN) in cooperation with the National Institute for Biotechnology and the United States National Institute (NIH) of Health have made a breakthrough in dissecting the pathology of the Lupus disease - creating pathways to pave the direction towards an eventual cure to the autoimmune disease.
Professor Varda Shoshan-Barmatz of the Department of Life Sciences and the founding Director of the NIBN in collaboration with Dr. Jay Chung of the NIH have successfully shown through clinical trials that the mitochondrial protein VDAC1 is "critical" for the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). mtDNA is linked to the composition of Lupus in patients, in addition, the newly found discovery has shown results in NIBN patients to successfully relieve symptoms of the disease.
"Our breakthrough is identifying a new pathway for the exit of mitochondrial DNA that we can either trigger under controlled conditions or inhibit using our novel molecule that we specifically developed to prevent the formation of this pathway," said Shoshan-Barmatz in a statement. "Since the results thus far with lupus have been so promising, we believe that the molecule will be beneficial with regards to other diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis - as our preliminary results already support."
"When VDAC1 is over-expressed, as found in several diseases, a large pore composed of several VDAC1 units is formed, allowing the release of pro-cell death factors and mtDNA," a statement from NIBN read.
Shoshan-Barmatz, in order to combat this effect, created a molecule that hinders and restrains cell decomposition which then revitalizes mitochondrial functions within several other diseases including Lupus.
"That novel molecule prevents the formation of the large pore caused by VDAC1 over expression and thereby prevents the exit of these factors from the mitochondria. Without the release of these factors, cell death in diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, or mtDNA release like in Lupus is avoided," NIBN said.
[France24] At least 35 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Indonesia, officials said in a new toll Thursday, making it one of the most deadly bus accidents in recent years.
A rescue team in Indonesia's island of Sumatra on Thursday continued the search for a third day to find more bodies after seven new victims were found in a river late on Wednesday.
According to a passenger manifest, the regional bus left Bengkulu province for Pagar Alam with 27 on board but some survivors told police there were around 50 people inside when the accident happened on Monday just before midnight.
Spokesman for a local rescue team in South Sumatra Taufan, who only goes by one name like many Indonesians, said Thursday that of the 35 people killed, 16 were male and 19 female.
"The rescue team is searching the river 6 kilometres towards the north using rafting," Taufan told AFP on Thursday.
The team has evacuated at least 13 survivors and the search is still ongoing to find more bodies over fears that some might have been carried away in the river.
At least eight of the passengers killed were children, local police chief Dolly Gumara said Wednesday.
Traffic accidents are common in the Southeast Asian archipelago, where vehicles are often old and poorly maintained and road rules regularly flouted.
In September, at least 21 people died when a bus plunged into a ravine in West Java's Sukabumi region.
Several months earlier, 12 people were killed and dozens more injured when a passenger tried to wrest control of a bus steering wheel following an argument with the driver on the same toll road in West Java as Thursday's accident. The bus smashed into two cars, causing a truck to roll.
#1
Ah, an old-fashioned bus plunge. The New York Times used to love these. They'd use them to fill in empty space on pages.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
12/26/2019 8:13 Comments ||
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#2
Given the left's love of mass transit, you'd think the leftist media would buried faster than the name / identity / political affiliation of a minority mass shooter.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/26/2019 8:26 Comments ||
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#3
Anyone heard shouting Allahu akbar on the way down? It could be a clue.
[Washington Examiner] New numbers reported by three Iranian interior ministry officials paint a picture of the magnitude of last month's fuel hike protests in the country.
Close to 1,500 protesters are said to have been murdered in what marks the bloodiest political shakedown since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Mounting economic despair and a surprise November fuel price hike, which increased gas prices by as much as 200%, led Iranians to demonstrate, with early death estimates far lower than what was reported on Monday.
In response to the economy and the new fuel tax, protesters filed onto the streets in more than 100 cities and towns. They burned images of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and called for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former shah of Iran.
The Department of State told Reuters that they estimated hundreds had died during the protests but included that the number could be over 1,000.
On the second day of protests, Khamenei reportedly met with President Hassan Rouhani and other leaders to discuss the protests. According to one source, Khamenei told them: "The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order."
Another source who was present at the meeting said Khamenei issued a declaration of force against the protesters. "He was very firm and said those rioters should be crushed," said the source.
#1
Meanwhile, the Virginia government continues its program of disarming its peaceful citizens of their Constitutional right to bear arms. Gee, wonder why?
[JPost] - Jonathan Karten, 23, a senior at Columbia University, who served in the IDF with the rank of Sergeant, on Tuesday filed the first legal action since President Trump’s December 11 executive order applying Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish Americans.
Karten asserts that the university is in violation of Title VI for discrimination against Jews.
Thus mused the custodes municipal:
"If only some vessel, or crucible,
To hold what he just did
Beside us existed!"
"Yes... green!" "Multi-purpose!" "Re-usable!"
#4
While sunning his anus, sang Marcus
To Moonbeam, "Some sea-creature's carcass?"
"Yes, what a ridiculous
Concept! And spicules?"
"Muh trigger!" "How utterly artless."
Seriously, just when I'd gotten over my suspicion that P2k might be VDH...
Also, watched Don't Be a Menace in South Central while Drinking Your Gin and Juice in the Hood.
-takes breath-
There's a bit where two guys literally standing right next to each other communicate with each other through their phones. That used to be a punchline, now its all the time.
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.
[NYPOST] Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.
"It’s a major concern for me, not just as a hopeful man but as a citizen of Baltimore who grew up in inner-city Baltimore," said Carmichael "Stokey" Cannady, a reformed 
Ask yourself: You're a Bawlmer city cop, like the one I saw Monday: a young fellow, it doesn't matter what color, doing a police job in a grimy city that's competing with Detroit for the title of scuzziest place to live in the country. One day you call the paddy wagon and load it up with a professional drug dealer. The arrest makes the papers when the drug dealer manages to kill himself flopping around in the wagon. You, the driver, and every other cop in sight get arrested and prejudged by a crusading nitwit politician (who's still in office, by the way!) States Attorney. Your case gets laughed out of court, but only after you've been placed on admin leave, have to go to trial, suffer investigation and vilification. Even crummy attorneys don't come cheap. The people you were trying to serve and protect are busy hollering for your scalp and burning down the CVS. The city administration did not stand by you. Have another donut.
[G&G] Chef Meherwan Irani’s expertise with Indian spices extends past the masala-tinged fish and cumin-and-chile-seasoned lamb burgers he serves at his restaurants around Asheville, Atlanta, and now Charlotte, where the four-time James Beard Award nominee is opening a third iteration of Botiwalla at the new Optimist Hall. This wintertime treat mingles his Spicewalla chai tea blend with rum and North Carolina amaro. 
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...
[TheGuardian] Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said that one of his allies had been forcibly conscripted and sent to serve at a remote Arctic base, in a move his supporters said amounted to kidnapping.
BEIJING (AP) ‐ China’s imports of soybeans surged in November following the announcement of an interim trade deal with the United States.
...aka 
Re-sized foto that goes with John's #2. 
[France24] At least 35 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Indonesia, officials said in a new toll Thursday, making it one of the most deadly bus accidents in recent years.
