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US-backed forces allegedly enter Daesh’s new capital
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Page 6: Politix
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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Scholars claim to have found biblical Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia
[ALMASDARNEWS] The US-based Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) has announced that its scholars have allegedly pinpointed the location of a legendary Biblical relic known as the Ark of the Covenant.

According to the BASE archaeologists, the Ark, a chest said to contain the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, was first shipped out to Egypt and then taken to Æthiopia.

"As unusual as this may sound, the BASE team has uncovered compelling evidence that the Ark may well have been spirited up the Nile River to an eventual resting place in the remote highlands of ancient Kush‐modern-day Æthiopia," BASE said, noting that while their theory is not 100 percent foolproof, it has "strong potential."

The researchers claim that a sect of Jews driven by King Manasseh from Israel took the Ark with them and transported it to Egypt from where they eventually sailed up the Nile to Æthiopia.

BASE Sherlocks pursuing this lead eventually arrived at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in the city of Axum, whose priests claimed that the Ark was indeed contained within.

The Sherlocks however were refused access to the alleged relic, as apparently only a guardian monk keeping a lifelong vigil over the Ark can see it.

"At this juncture, we cannot say with certainty that it is, but neither can he say for certain that it isn’t," the Sherlocks said. "What we have concluded is that St. Mary’s of Zion church in Axum, Æthiopia, is the resting place either of an incredible replica of the biblical Ark of the Covenant, or, of the actual Ark of the Covenant itself."

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I can assure you it is not on this planet.
Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 || 12/04/2018 0:12 Comments || Top||

#2  That theory has been around since the 1980's that I can remember. It's not exactly new.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 12/04/2018 0:48 Comments || Top||

#3  "...We aren't allowed to see it, but we know it's there!!!"

Oy.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/04/2018 5:35 Comments || Top||

#4  There is some huge historical evidence to back this up. Graham Hancock covered it in his fantastic and well researched book, "The Sign and the Seal".

During Timkat (January 19th or thereabouts) the heavily shrouded Ark is taken out. Then there is Elephantine and Tana Kirko Island at the headwaters of the Nile (lake Tana).

The priest monks of Tana Kirkos still live on the island where the Ark of the covenant was kept for about 800 years. Levitical age blood sacrifices were performed until 338 A.D., the year the nation of Ethiopia converted to Christianity.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/04/2018 8:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Again.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/04/2018 9:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Top men are taking care of it. TOP MEN!
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 12/04/2018 9:41 Comments || Top||

#7  I won't believe it until Harrison Ford verifies.
Posted by: BA || 12/04/2018 9:42 Comments || Top||

#8  BA! It’s been a while!!
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/04/2018 10:50 Comments || Top||

#9  I still peruse the site almost daily, TW. Just not as many comments....
Posted by: BA || 12/04/2018 11:19 Comments || Top||

#10  :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/04/2018 11:36 Comments || Top||

#11  Actually Jeremiah took the Ark out of Jerusalem during one of the Babylonian sieges and took it to Egypt.

So some of this matches.

The Ethiopians have claimed for many years that they have the Ark.

There are the ruins of a Jewish TEMPLE on an island in the Nile. That is significant as the building could not be called a temple unless it housed the Ark.

Lots of interesting discussion
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 12/04/2018 15:40 Comments || Top||

#12  "The Quest" novel by Nelson DeMille was about an Ethiopian trip for the Holy Grail
Posted by: Frank G || 12/04/2018 15:48 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria's Buhari denies dying and being replaced by lookalike
[REUTERS] Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday denied claims that he had died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor, breaking his silence on a rumor that has circulated on social media for months.

Buhari, who is running for re-election in February, spent five months in Britannia last year being treated for an undisclosed illness. One theory widely aired on social media - and by some political opponents - was that he had been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan called Jubril.

No evidence has been presented, but videos making the claim have still been viewed thousands of times on YouTube and Facebook.

"It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong," Buhari told Nigerians in a town hall session in Poland, where he was attending a conference, when asked about Jubril.

"A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health," he said, adding that those who spread the rumor were "ignorant and irreligious".

The presidency circulated Buhari’s comments in an emailed statement entitled "It’s Real Me, President Buhari Responds to Cloning Allegation".

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can you identify yourself? "This is me." Well, you should know.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/04/2018 7:58 Comments || Top||

#2  'Weekend at Buhari's'
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/04/2018 13:42 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Qatar to Leave OPEC to Focus on Gas
Hat tip: gCaptain.
Qatar said on Monday it was quitting OPEC from January to focus on its gas ambitions, taking a swipe at the group's de facto leader Saudi Arabia and marring efforts to show unity before this week's meeting of exporters to tackle an oil price slide.

Doha, one of OPEC's smallest oil producers but the world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, is embroiled in a protracted diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states.

Qatar said its surprise decision was not driven by politics but in an apparent swipe at Riyadh, Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad al-Kaabi said: "We are not saying we are going to get out of the oil business but it is controlled by an organisation managed by a country." He did not name the nation. Al-Kaabi told a news conference that Doha's decision "was communicated to OPEC" but said Qatar would attend the group's meeting on Thursday and Friday in Vienna, and would abide by its commitments.

He said Doha would focus on its gas potential because it was not practical "to put efforts and resources and time in an organisation that we are a very small player in and I don't have a say in what happens."

Delegates at OPEC, which has 15 members including Qatar, sought to play down the impact. But losing a long-standing member undermines a bid to show a united front before a meeting that is expected to back a supply cut to shore up crude prices that have lost almost 30 percent since an October peak.

"They are not a big producer, but have played a big part in (OPEC's) history," one OPEC source said.

It highlights the growing dominance over policy making in the oil market of Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States, the world's top three oil producers which together account for more than a third of global output. Riyadh and Moscow have been increasingly deciding output policies together, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on OPEC to bring down prices. Benchmark Brent is trading at around $62 a barrel, down from more than $86 in October.

"It could signal a historic turning point of the organisation towards Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States," said Algeria's former energy minister and OPEC chairman, Chakib Khelil, commenting on Qatar's move.
"UNILATERAL DECISIONS"

He said Doha's exit would have a "psychological impact" because of the row with Riyadh and could prove "an example to be followed by other members in the wake of unilateral decisions of Saudi Arabia in the recent past."

Qatar, which Al-Kaabi said had been a member of OPEC for 57 years, has oil output of just 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared with Saudi Arabia's 11 million bpd.

But Doha is an influential player in the global LNG market with annual production of 77 million tonnes per year, based on its huge reserves of the fuel in the Gulf.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and fellow Arab states Bahrain and Egypt, have imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges and says the boycott aims to impinge on its sovereignty.

Al-Kaabi, who is heading Qatar's OPEC delegation, said the decision was part of a long-term strategy and the country's plans to develop its gas industry and increase LNG output to 110 million tonnes by 2024.

"A lot of people will politicise it," Al-Kaabi said. "I assure you this purely was a decision on what's right for Qatar long term. It's a strategy decision."

Qatar's influential former prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, said on Twitter that OPEC "is only used for purposes that hurt our national interests."

The exit is the latest example of Qatar charting a course away from its Gulf neighbours since the rift began last year. It comes before an annual summit of Gulf Arab states expected to grapple with the roughly 18-month standoff.

Once close partners with Saudi Arabia and the UAE on trade and security, Qatar has struck scores of new trade deals with countries further afield while investing heavily to scale up local food production and ramp up military power.

"There is a sentiment in Qatar that Saudi Arabia's dominance in the region and the region's many institutions has been counterproductive to Qatar," said Andreas Krieg, a political risk analyst at King's College London. "It is about Qatar breaking free as an independent market and state from external interference."

Oil surged about 5 percent on Monday after the United States and China agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war, but prices remain well off October's peak.

Asked if Qatar's withdrawal would complicate OPEC's decision on output this week, a non-Gulf OPEC source said: "Not really, even if it's a regrettable and sad decision from one of our member countries."

Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultancy Energy Aspects, said the move "doesn't affect OPEC's ability to influence as Qatar was a very small player."

Al-Kaabi said state oil company Qatar Petroleum planned to raise its production capability from 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day to 6.5 million barrels in the next decade.

Doha also plans to build the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East.

Qatar would still look to expand its oil investments abroad and would "make a big splash in the oil and gas business", he Al-Kaabi added.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/04/2018 13:24 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukraine calls up reservists amid tensions with Russia
[DAWN]
Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


NATO chief demands Russia release Ukrainian sailors, vessels
[ALMASDARNEWS] Secretary General of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
Jens Stoltenberg demanded that Russia release the detained Ukrainian sailors and ships it seized during the Kerch Strait incident, speaking in a presser in Brussels on Monday.

"Russia must release the Ukrainian sailors and ships, it must also allow freedom of navigation and unhindered access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian vessels, military as well as civilian, have the right to navigate through the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov," the NATO chief said.

Stoltenberg stated that since the "the illegal annexation of Crimea" NATO has provided political and practical support to Ukraine, highlighting the increase in the number of ships under NATO’s command in the Black Sea region.
Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Down Under
Ozzie Fisherman criticized by fellow anglers, animal activists over 1,400-pound marlin catch
[FOX] Angler Rob Crane reportedly snagged the giant fish north of Fraser Island, which died during the struggle.

"EPIC Fish caught off the top of Fraser Island just weight at our Urangan Marina Hervey Bay Qld - Black Marlin 1431lbs ( 649.87kgs )," a Facebook post with pictures of the enormous sea creature read.

Though the fishermen involved were truly pleased with the record catch, not everyone on social media was happy.

"Sorry but this is absolutely bull s--- just a f trophy such a disgrace sorry," Vicki Roberts wrote.

"Yeah that’s a big fish. Shame it’s now dead," Trevor Brown commented.

"I’m over this crap if ya can’t eat it let it go what a waste," Peter Forrest wrote on Facebook.

On man who claimed to be a fisherman called the catch "a waste of a beautiful old fish."
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 06:57 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The world is just chock full of idiots who should be grateful that Darwin doesn’t play as much of a role as he used to.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/04/2018 10:55 Comments || Top||

#2  They would have criticized him if he had just killed a minnow, but there is no glory in that kind of criticism.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/04/2018 16:12 Comments || Top||

#3  It's simple, my friends, to distinguish
'Tween good and malevolent kingfish:
One's feral and vicious
And eats fellow fishes,
The other is rich and speaks English.
Posted by: Solomon Johnson5149 || 12/04/2018 18:41 Comments || Top||

#4  not everyone on social(snowflake) media was happy

Posted by: 746 || 12/04/2018 18:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Peter Forrest sounds like a guygaypoorn name.

Now the old fish can be displayed and admired instead of being torn asunder by sharks and crabs.

I would think that there would be a taxidermist near a sports marina who could also harvest the meat.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/04/2018 19:34 Comments || Top||

#6  That giant marlin eats a lot of other little fish who can all swim safely now that the big monster has been removed from the food chain.
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/04/2018 23:45 Comments || Top||


Economy
Stocks Cheer U.S.- China Trade Deal, Market Poised For Strong End Of Year Rally
[ZACKS] Stocks soared on Monday after President Trump and President Xi came to a trade truce over the weekend which will benefit both countries.

As expected, stocks cheered the deal made at dinner on Saturday where they agreed there would be no new tariffs placed on either country for the next 90 days (that includes freezing the planned tariff increase from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods). In return, China has agreed to purchase a substantial amount of U.S. products, including agricultural goods.

Within those 90 days, both countries will continue their talks to work out the more difficult trade issues that have precluded an agreement prior to this.

If no agreement is reached within that time frame, the U.S. has threatened to raise those 10% tariffs to 25% as originally planned, and has threatened additional tariffs on another $267 billion worth of Chinese goods. China, of course, would retaliate as they have in the past.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 08:46 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  this article didn't age well
Posted by: lord garth || 12/04/2018 19:10 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't know why people even write them. Zacks never identifies their writers, I guess that helps. Most of their crap is bot produced anyway.
Posted by: Herb Bourbon6834 || 12/04/2018 22:17 Comments || Top||


Census confirms: 63 percent of ‘non-citizens’ on welfare, 4.6 million households
[WashingtonExaminer] A majority of "non-citizens," including those with legal green card rights, are tapping into welfare programs set up to help poor and ailing Americans, a Census Bureau finding that bolsters President Trump’s concern about immigrants colonists costing the nation.

In a new analysis of the latest numbers, from 2014, 63 percent of non-citizens are using a welfare program, and it grows to 70 percent for those here 10 years or more, confirming another concern that once immigrants colonists tap into welfare, they don’t get off it.

The Center for Immigration Studies said in its report that the numbers give support for Trump’s plan to cut non-citizens off welfare from the "public charge" if they want a green card that allows them to legally work in the United States.

"The Trump administration has proposed new ’public charge’ rules making it harder for prospective immigrants colonists to qualify for lawful permanent residence -- green cards -- if they use or are likely to use U.S. welfare programs," said CIS.

"Concern over immigrant welfare use is justified, as households headed by non-citizens use means-tested welfare at high rates. Non-citizens in the data include illegal immigrants colonists, long-term temporary visitors like guest workers, and permanent residents who have not naturalized. While barriers to welfare use exist for these groups, it has not prevented them from making extensive use of the welfare system, often receiving benefits on behalf of U.S.-born children," added the Washington-based immigration think tank.

The numbers are huge. The report said that there are 4,684,784 million non-citizen households receiving welfare.

And nearly all, 4,370,385, have at least one worker in the house.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Immigration is subsidised.

Why?
Because it pushes up the land prices/pushes down land affordability that the establishment loot over.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/04/2018 6:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Also keeps wages artificially low for unskilled and semi-skilled labor.

See also why the Chamber of Commerce loves open borders.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/04/2018 9:15 Comments || Top||


Europe
Ukraine sends troops to Russian border amid fears of an 'invasion'
[Telegraph] Ukraine has begun calling up reservists and deploying troops to the border to counter what it says is the growing threat of a Russian invasion.

President Petro Poroshenko, who last week declared martial law in 10 regions, announced the military moves on Monday in response to a "sharp increase in Russian forces along our borders and in occupied Crimea".

The day before, Mr Poroshenko claimed that Russia was trying to capture the major port city of Mariupol and create a land corridor to Crimea.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman yesterday called this statement "absolutely absurd" and accused Ukraine's leader of "provoking tensions" before the presidential election there in March.

The escalation stems from when Russian forces fired upon and seized three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to enter the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait on November 25.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 02:24 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Ukraine-Russia clash: Nato's dilemma in the Black Sea
[BBC] Does crisis beckon in the Black Sea? Could Russia and Nato even come to blows?

That - at least for now - is probably unlikely. But the recent seizure of two Ukrainian gunboats and a tug in the approaches to the Kerch Strait, by vessels of the Russian Border Guard, has inevitably brought security in the Black Sea to the forefront of Nato's agenda at their meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.

The Black Sea has long had strategic significance.

It was, after all, the theatre for a major conflict between the Western powers France and Great Britain and Imperial Russia in the mid-19th Century. During the Cold War, it was the Soviet Union's shortest route to Iran and the Middle East. Turkey - a Nato ally - stood astride the Black Sea's southern exit to the Mediterranean, facing Russia across the Black Sea to its the north.

For the Russians this was always seen as their "back yard". And the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union greatly complicated relationships.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 02:16 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There is no dilemma. This is none of our business. Stay out of it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/04/2018 12:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Ditto at #1, with emphasis and outside voice.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 14:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Remember the 4th Division? Remember that any naval units have to go through the Bosporus with Turkish permission? Besides >>> Agree with #1 and #2.
Posted by: magpie || 12/04/2018 18:16 Comments || Top||


German Foreign Minister Insists on Staying in Nord Stream 2 for Ukraine's Sake
[Sputnik] Germany has repeatedly defended its participation in the Russian-European gas pipeline project despite criticism coming from the US, its European allies and Ukraine. After the recent incident off the coast of Crimea, when the Russian border control confronted Ukrainian ships, some conservatives in Germany claim this stance should be revised.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has spoken out against the country’s withdrawal from the venture project of Russia’s Gazprom and several European energy giants Nord Stream 2. He rebuffed criticism from lawmakers calling on the German government to drop out of the project in order to punish Moscow for seizing three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait near Crimea late in November. Russia accused them of violating the Russian sea border and failing to react to legal demands to abandon dangerous manoeuvres.

The diplomat, representing the Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats’ coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD), argued that the pipeline would be built even if Berlin pulled out. At the same time, in the case of leaving the project, Germany would lose its leverage to influence Russia’s energy policy, including gas transit via Ukraine.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/04/2018 00:46 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Some leverage. Depending upon the Russians for your energy is a fool's game. But knock yourselves out; just don't call us when things go south.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/04/2018 14:21 Comments || Top||


French economy hit hard by ‘yellow vest’ protests: Minister
[PRESSTV] French finance minister says three weeks of "yellow vest" protests have strongly influenced the country’s economy, with trade in retailers, hotel chains, high-street stores, and restaurants significantly falling as a result of the unrest.

Bruno Le Maire made the remarks on Monday after a meeting with industry groups and business federations affected by the protest movement.

He further noted that sector revenues had been hit by between 15 and 50 percent.

Small retailers had seen a fall in revenue of between 20 and 40 percent, the hotel industry was seeing reservations down 15 to 25 percent, and restaurants, depending on their location, had seen takings collapse by between 20 and 50 percent, he noted.

"The impact is severe and ongoing," Le Maire said, emphasizing that it was nationwide, although Gay Paree, after riots and looting in some of its most upmarket districts on Saturday afternoon and evening, was particularly affected.

During Saturday's disturbances in Gay Paree, tourists were left shocked, with some saying they would cut short their visit.

The movement began on November 17 as a social-media-planned protest against fuel-tax rises but has since morphed into an uprising against the policies of President Emmanuel Macron.

The protests have taken on a name of its own: the "yellow vest" protests, a reference to the vests worn by people active in the transportation industry.

Three people have been killed in the protests since demonstrations started more than two weeks ago, police said.

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


French cops call for troops on the streets as rioters plan third weekend of violence after ‘worst Paris riots in 50 years’
[TheSun] The so-called 'Yellow Vest' fuel price protesters have attacked buildings and burned cars while insisting the violence was 'the start of a revolution'.

FRENCH cops have admitted they "can't cope" with the violent unrest in Gay Paree and are calling President Macron to send in the Army as rioters plan a third weekend of carnage.

Right-wing thugs and masked anarchists joined the "Yellow Vest" fuel price protesters last week - vandalising buildings such as the Arc de Triomphe and torching cars.

The anti-government rioters, who threw hammers and steel bolts at officers, said their movement was "the start of a revolution".

Yves Lefebvre, a member of the Unité SGP police union, told La Belle France Info radio that security forces at the weekend were exhausted by the worst riots in the city since 1968.

He said: "The (officers) don’t want to remain as the last rampart against insurrection. We can’t take it - I call on the president to face up to his responsibilities."

The "yellow vest" movement, named after the high-visibility jackets of lorry drivers, said that they would return to the capital next weekend.

And there have been calls online to block roads and oil refineries around the country while other demonstrators plan to march on the Élysée Palace.

Frederic Lagache, of the Alliance police union, called for a state of emergency to be called and for "army reinforcements" to guard national monuments.

The move would give more powers to the security forces, ranging from stop-and-searches to carrying out raids on the homes of suspected rioters.

French leader Emmanuel Macron summoned his senior ministers and policy chiefs to an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss how to deal with the carnage.

He said the mobile gendarmerie and CRS riot police had failed to stop the unrest as men, who police have branded "professional" rioters, aged in their thirties and forties hurled projectiles at them.

Mr Macron told Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, to "adapt the methods used for maintaining order" following concerns that cops had failed to contain the rampaging protesters.

After seeing the devastation for himself Macron then headed a crisis meeting over what is thought to be the worst rioting in La Belle France since the civil unrest in 1968.

There were more than 400 arrests and up to a 130 serious injuries - including 23 coppers.

Reports have indicated the CRS, the French riot police, used "grenades" to gain control of the Gay Pareeian streets and stop the protesters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Antifa


#2  Right-wing thugs and masked anarchists

A great example of media bias. The "right" wing are thugs, the left is not identified but presumably masked.
Posted by: AlanC || 12/04/2018 8:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Last I heard on the TV, there were 36,000 protesters. Doesn't sound like a fringe group to me.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/04/2018 15:05 Comments || Top||

#4  ...anyone outside in the circle of the elite ruling caste is a 'fringe' group.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/04/2018 15:51 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Michael Avenatti Rules Out Running For President In 2020
Did Joe Biden scare him out of the water?
[Zero Hedge] - Since sending out his first trial balloon announcing his intention to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president back in October, a lot has changed in the life of "creepy porn lawyer" Michael Avenatti.

And most of that change has been bad.

First, he was accused by his 24-year-old actress girlfriend of domestic abuse and was arrested by the LAPD. Then his firm was evicted from its office. And his star client, Stormy Daniels, distanced herself from him during an interview, where she also said he launched a 'legal defense fund' in her name without her permission.

And though the (formerly) wealthy California lawyer has never demonstrated a pragmatic view of reality, it seems he is preemptively giving up on his dream of challenging President Trump for the presidency in 2020. In a statement released Tuesday, Avenatti said that "after consulting with my family" he no longer intends to seek the 2020 nomination.
Posted by: Raj || 12/04/2018 13:41 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
BBA student held for child pornography remanded
[DAWN] A judicial magistrate has remanded a student in an alleged child pornography case.

The Federal Investigation Agency had tossed in the clink
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
a suspect for his alleged involvement in cyber stalking and spamming and started the paperwork but haven't done much else under Sections 21 (cyber stalking) and 22 (spamming) of the Pakistain Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

The investigating officer produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate (South) and requested for his remand for interrogation and investigation.

The IO submitted that a citizen on Nov 27 lodged a complaint, alleging that the suspect had taken some pictures of his 16-year-old son and shared with residents of the area. He said that the suspect was still blackmailing them.

It was further submitted during an inquiry that various pictures and videos related to child pornography were seized from the suspect, who is a final year BBA student.

During the initial probe, it transpired that the suspect had made pornographic photos and videos of 10 children, aged between 10 and 13 years, the IO said.

He had made several fake Facebook and Instagram accounts and created virtual WhatsApp groups through which he invited and added underage children, he added.

The IO further submitted that after creating pornographic videos involving minors, the suspect blackmailed the children and their families for money.

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Engaged couple murdered for 'honour' over accusation of taking pictures together
[DAWN] A girl was allegedly murdered in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
and her fiancé was rubbed out in Swat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, after accusing them of "meeting and taking selfies" last month, it emerged on Monday.

The 19-year old girl was allegedly poisoned by her father in Pirabad area of Orangi Town while her fiancé, who was also her maternal cousin, was rubbed out in Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
in the alleged incident of so-called honour killing, Karachi police said.

The dear departed girl’s mother lodged a complaint with the court which directed police to lodge a murder case, after which the victim’s father and grandfather were nabbed
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
, revealed Pirabad SHO Ayaz Brohi.

The arrested father, however, claimed that her daughter did away with himself by taking poisonous substance inside their home in Qasba Colony.

SHO Ayaz Brohi said the death of the girl occurred on November 7. "Next day, the father and other relatives buried her body by claiming that she had did away with himself. No autopsy was conducted," he said.

However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
the girl’s mother later filed an application before the district and session judge West who ordered the police to get the murder case registered on her complaint.

Pirabad police, in compliance with the court’s order, registered the murder case on November 24 and arrested the dear departed girl’s father, Abdul Raheem, and grand-father, Abdul Hakeem, who were later sent to the prison on judicial remand. The matter has now been handed over to the Sherlocks for further probe.

The complainant told police that several days prior to the incident, her sister had come from their native town in Swat along with her son Salman, who was the fiancé of the victim girl.

She stated that the couple met and took pictures, but later objections were raised by the girl’s relatives.

SHO Ayaz Brohi said that as per statement of the mother, her maternal nephew was rubbed out in Swat over so-called honour killing and later on her daughter was also murdered in Karachi.

The officer said that since the youth’s murder did not take place in Karachi, there were not in a position to comment on the murder allegation.

He said the police were waiting to exhume the body of the girl buried in a local graveyard in Karachi to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Agreed, people taking and (over)sharing selfies are annoying as hell, but this is a bit of overkill
Posted by: Harry Graviger4295 || 12/04/2018 13:21 Comments || Top||


3 suspects arrested for sexually assaulting teenage student in Muzaffarabad
[DAWN] Muzaffarabad police on Monday jugged
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
three members of a notorious group who had allegedly sexually assaulted a teenaged student more than a week ago.

The accused had also filmed the villainous act to blackmail the victim ‐ a 14-year old 9th-grade student at a private school, said Civil Secretariat SHO Rashid Habib Masoodi.

He said that the victim was standing along the riverbank close to his home on November 22 when the accused forcibly took him to an abandoned ice factory nearby, where two of them assaulted him turn by turn while the other two held him tightly and filmed the evil deed.

Later, the accused showed the clip to the victim and asked him to bring valuables from home or else they would show the clip to everyone.

The terror struck boy brought them a memory card from home, but eventually unfolded his ordeal to his father who instantly lodged an application with the police on Friday, demanding action against the accused.

SHO Masoodi said raids were conducted by a six-member police team at several places to apprehend the accused. Police succeeded in netting three of the accused on Monday, including the prime suspect.

Police said that other members of the roughish gang, against whom several cases had been registered in the past as well, were also being hunted.

Posted by: Fred || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Government
U.S. Supreme Court Turns Away Enviro Challenge to Trump's Border Wall
[Al-Rooters] The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a challenge by three conservation groups to the authority of President Donald Trump's administration to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a victory for Trump who has made the wall a centerpiece of his hardline immigration policies.

The justices' declined to hear the groups' appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California rejecting their claims that the administration had pursued border wall projects without complying with applicable environmental laws. The groups are the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Defenders of Wildlife.

Their lawsuits said construction operations would harm plants, rare wildlife habitats, threatened coastal birds like the snowy plover and California gnatcatcher, and other species such as fairy shrimp and the Quino checkerspot butterfly.

The three conservation groups sued last year in San Diego after the Department of Homeland Security authorized projects to replace existing border fencing at two sites in southern California, as well as the construction of prototype border walls.

The dispute centers on a 1996 law aimed at countering illegal immigration that gave the federal government the authority to build border barriers and preempt legal requirements such as environmental rules. That law also limited the kinds of legal challenges that could be mounted.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/04/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Must be one heck of a wall if birds can't fly over it and fish can't swim round it.
Posted by: Claper Whugum3950 || 12/04/2018 4:14 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm a little more concerned about my environment when SoCal is overwhelmed by Third World denizens.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/04/2018 15:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Speaking of the environment, I wonder how all the spotted owls fared in the latest California wildfires.

Idiots.
Posted by: Glesh B. Hayes2295 || 12/04/2018 17:02 Comments || Top||



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