Saturday, May 13, 2017

Slow Saturday Special: One Nation, One World

They combined both into one page today(sigh). Had to go across town to get it, too.

"US to sell $2 billion worth of weapons to United Arab Emirates" by Missy Ryan Washington Post  May 12, 2017

The United States plans to sell the United Arab Emirates $2 billion worth of Patriot missiles in an arms deal announced days before President Trump begins a tour of Middle Eastern nations.

The weapons include 60 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missiles and 100 Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical missiles, along with supporting equipment and services from US government personnel and contractors, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on its website.

Congress was notified of the sale this week.

The United Arab Emirates, one of the closest US allies in the Middle East, has voiced alarm at what it sees as a rise in Iranian support for militant groups across the region, including in Yemen.

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"Bomb attack on Pakistani lawmaker’s convoy kills 25" by Salman Masood New York Times   May 12, 2017

ISLAMABAD — At least 25 people were killed and 30 others were wounded when the convoy of a senior Pakistani politician was hit by a bomb in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, officials said.

The politician, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, the deputy chairman of the Senate, survived with minor injuries. But his driver and an aide were killed in the explosion in Mastung, a remote district in Baluchistan province. Haideri told Reuters soon after the explosion that he believed he was the target of the attack.

Police officials said it was not immediately clear whether the blast was the work of a suicide bomber or the result of a timed device planted by the road.

Through its Syria-based Amaq news agency, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. But Pakistani officials have generally been skeptical, saying that local militant cells who swear allegiance to the Islamic State but have little or no operational link to the main group have been behind most of the attacks.

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The timing is rather interesting, see as it comes one day after I was told the Trump administration was looking to apply pressure to Pakistan in the fight against the Taliban.

"Ebola outbreak declared in Congo, with at least 3 dead" New York Times  May 12, 2017

NAIROBI — An Ebola outbreak has been declared in northern Democratic Republic of Congo and has killed at least three people in the past three weeks, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The affected zone is in a forested area of Lower Uele province, and it is close to the border with the Central African Republic, the WHO said.

The outbreak is not linked to previous Ebola flare-ups in Congo, nor the one that tore through West Africa in 2014, killing more than 11,000 people, said Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman. There had been a number of Ebola outbreaks in the Lower Uele region since 2000, he added. Congo has had eight outbreaks of Ebola since 1976, according to the WHO.

The virus circulates in bats and sometimes causes outbreaks in primates. Scientists believe that humans usually contract it directly from bat guano, from eating bats, or from eating primates that have died of Ebola.

Ebola can persist for months in certain body tissues that are relatively protected from the immune system, including the eyes and the testes, and little is known about the long-term effects of the virus.

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Related:

"Police departments receive a lot of odd calls, but even for veteran officers a potbellied pig wandering downtown is pretty unusual. Yet that’s what happened in Melrose on Wednesday...."

Looks like another pandemic $care is taking wing.

Back to the front page:

Trump warns Comey on Twitter not to leak to press

Trump once again drew parallels to Nixon, and the lack of a denial fueled a frenzy of interest in Congress and the media about what secret taping system Trump may be deploying. Other presidents have also been known to record conversations at the White House, and Trump himself has had a history of recording conversations. 

They aren't going to get into any of that, nor the Obama White House spying on the campaign and transition team, and Trump is already being accused of obstructing justice as they search for the ever elusive pink unicorn.

Related: Trump Picks Up Copy of The New York Times

He should have grabbed a Washington Post -- as we see a Clinton crony in the mix for the FBI job.

Maybe they can order in some pizzas, although I shudder to think of the toppings. Might be pooh-pooh from a psyop patsy or something much more sinister. You will have to decide for yourself.

Mourners gather to remember slain South Boston doctors

"Many questions remain, but it appears that they lost their lives to a system that gave the benefit of the doubt...."

Time to SEAL the coffin shut as we move to a Code Napoleon.

UPDATE: 

"Officials stress that the goal of the forum is to keep people safe and be prepared to respond to environmental disasters, such as oil spills. “Look at the sea ice melting,” said Admiral Paul Zukunft, commandant of the US Coast Guard.  “That’s a whole new ocean that people and ships are going to be moving through. The traffic will affect nations close by. We don’t want the Arctic to turn into a war zone, so it’s time to look for new opportunities to work together.” The United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Russia are members of the Arctic Coast Guard Forum...."

It's a “big deal,” but I don't see how you work with that last one.

NEXT DAY UPDATES:

"The lure of a potentially huge market for clean energy and other technologies that would help mitigate climate change was a driving force, analysts said. Many corporations, even some previously vilified for their environmental footprint, were eager to jump on the bandwagon, promoting climate-friendly business practices...."

Should tell you all you need to know about "climate change," global warming, and the agenda to foi$t a carbon tax up your a$$.

"A bombing killed at least 20 people Saturday during an auction at a vegetable market in a mostly Shi’ite town in northwestern Pakistan, ending a lull in militant violence there, officials said. At least 43 people were wounded in the morning bombing in Parachinar, capital of the Kurram tribal region, which borders Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman, Muhammad Khurasani, said a suicide bomber had carried out the attack, but a Kurram official, Nasrullah Khan, said the bomb appeared to have been planted in a crate. Parachinar has been a center of resistance to the Taliban. Parachinar has been a center of resistance to the Taliban, specifically the Haqqani network, which is one of the movement’s most violent factions, and it had been the site of bombings in the past. But there had been none since December 2015."

Also see:

"Mounting scientific evidence is raising questions about whether vaccinating people that early may actually be undermining the effectiveness of the nation’s massive flu vaccination program. Studies from the US and Europe have detected a steady decline in vaccine protection in the months after vaccination. More research is needed to confirm the findings, but...."

Not with alleged global warming. That's $ettled, and only conspiracists would raise questions about the safety and effectiveness of the ever-increasing list of injections you need.