[Time] The U.S. Geological Survey took a break from giving serious updates about Hawaii's Kilauea volcanic eruption to confirm that no, you should not roast marshmallows over the scorching hot volcanic vents.
The USGS responded to one twitter user who asked, "Is it safe to roast marshmallows over volcanic vents? Assuming you had a long enough stick, that is? Or would the resulting marshmallows be poisonous?"
"Erm," the USGS replied. "We're going to have to say no, that's not safe. (Please don't try!)" Big government ruins all the fun....
Haven’t people died recently while taking selfies too close to flowing lava?
[All Africa] The British charity said people were falling ill from eating grass and weeds. A four-year civil war, poor harvests and rising food prices have been blamed for the widespread hunger in the world's youngest nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
North Korea again??? .... Oh, someplace else ... nevermind.
[All Africa] Former president Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case. Dumped in November 2017 when the Missus decided she wanted to be president, and opposed heer might against Crocodile Mnangawa Important safety tip: If your opponent goes by the name Crocodile andf your title is Shopper in Chief let him win.... snubbed parliament for the second time Monday, leaving politicians warning that they may be forced to sub-poena him.
MPs want the ousted veteran leader to testify in its probe into allegations that the country was robbed of $15 billion in diamond revenues.
The allegation was made by the now-94-year-old leader in 2016, pointing an accusatory finger at diamond companies including joint ventures between Chinese companies and the army, police and intelligence services.
He was first summoned to appear on the 9th of May but never turned up resulting in politicians re-scheduling the hearing to this Monday.
MPs had moved the new hearing to 2pm, reasoning that the earlier 9am schedule was too early for aged former Zanu PF leader.
Even so, Mugabe still failed to turn up and politicians admitted there was no explanation for the no-show.
"We were expecting former president Robert Mugabe to appear before us as a result of a letter that had been written to him," Temba Mliswa, mines committee chair and an independent member of parliament, told journalists Monday.
"He is not being prosecuted, it is only a matter of us hearing from him and him contributing whatever he has to us."
Mliswa said his committee decided to write to Mugabe again "because parliament writes thrice before they summon you".
This time the nonagenarian is expected to appear on the 11th of next month.
"In that (new) notification we will also state certain provisions of the standing orders rules which state parliament or a committee, by way of summons issued in terms of section 2, can order a person to attend before it," said Mliswa.
"When parliament writes to you we expect you to attend unless you then write the reasons why you cannot attend. He has not written to us."
The committee has offered to interview Mugabe at his residence, Mliswa added.
Asked what would happen should Mugabe ignore the committee yet again, Mliswa said, "... of course you know that, if he doesn't attend, he will be in contempt (of Parliament).
"Being in contempt ... there are many results. Let me remind you that the late Ray Bennett was sent to prison by parliament.
"Parliament has its own ways of doing things which are respected. So let's always be mindful of the powers that parliament has."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2018 00:00 ||
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[All Africa] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and the Government of Zim-bob-we, on Monday, signed an agreement for the deployment of observers for elections expected this July with Brussels indicating it would deploy teams countrywide.
EU head of mission in Harare, Ambassador Philippe Van Damme, signed on behalf of Brussels while Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Sibusiso Moyo, signed on behalf of the Zim-bob-wean government.
In a statement issued Monday, EU delegation public affairs officer Dorothe Grebe said the agreement was part of Brussels' preparations for the deployment of an election observer mission to Zim-bob-we.
"Today's signature by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Sibusiso Busi Moyo and EU Ambassador Philippe van Damme follows the invitation by the Government of Zim-bob-we on 2, March 2018 for the EU to deploy an Election Observation Mission for the upcoming harmonised elections," she said.
The development followed "an Exploratory Mission by the EU in March 2018, which sought to determine the advisability, feasibility and usefulness of sending EU election observers to Zim-bob-we".
This is the first time the EU will be sending an observer mission to Zim-bob-we and supporting the country's democratisation process since 2002.
Grebe said the EU mission would observe the run up to the elections, the Election Day and also monitor electoral complaints that may be lodged after the elections.
"The EU observers will be deployed nationwide," she explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The head of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s representation in Georgia, Janos Herman, said that the EU condemns the decision of Syria to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia and South Ossetia reported that Syria recognized the independence of the two republics. After that, Georgia began the procedure for severing diplomatic relations with Syria.
"The EU fully supports the territorial integrity and illusory sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, and therefore we condemn the decision of Syria that is contrary to international law," Herman told journalists after the meeting in the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
He added that the EU will continue to make efforts towards the peaceful settlement of conflicts.
Georgia on the night of August 8, 2008, fired South Ossetia from the Grad rocket launcher, Georgian troops attacked the republic and destroyed part of its capital, Tskhinvali. Russia, defending the inhabitants of South Ossetia, many of whom took Russian citizenship, introduced troops into the republic and after five days of fighting displaced the Georgian military from the region. Moscow on August 26, 2008 recognized the illusory sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2018 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has confirmed that top North Korean official Kim Yong Chol is heading to New York for talks on an upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... Trump tweeted early Tuesday: "We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you!"
South Korea’s Yonhap News said Tuesday it saw the name of Kim Yong Chol on the passengers’ list for a flight Tuesday from Beijing to Washington. They later reported that Kim changed his flight to go to New York on Wednesday.
Kim is a former military intelligence chief and now a vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party’s central committee tasked with inter-Korean relations.
[Ynet] The Trump administration says computer malware tied to the North Korean government has been targeting US infrastructure and aerospace, financial and media companies for at least nine years to steal information and remotely manipulate networks.
The US has accused North Korea of launching a slew of malicious cyber activity in recent years.
But this warning comes just as the Trump administration is trying to start denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.
The latest warning about malware, called Joanap and Brambul, was issued Tuesday as North Korea leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... dispatched one of his top advisers to New York.
The adviser, Kim Yong Chol, is thought to have been behind a 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment over a satirical film about a plot to assassinate the North Korean leader.
#1
yes they are, they hacked a friend of mine's company and tried to hold them ransom, his partner an ex spec ops security guy said no way and reversed the NK action, now they sell in addition to their regular service, anti hacking software developed form the NK hack. Lemons to Lemonade!
h/t Instapundit
[Bloomberg] The U.S. dethroned Hong Kong to retake first place among the world’s most competitive economies, thanks to faster economic growth and a supportive atmosphere for scientific and technological innovation, according to annual rankings by the Switzerland-based IMD World Competitiveness Center.
[NYPOST] Workers from more than 40 charity organizations exploited refugee children and women in West Africa by trading food for sex, according to a leaked report ‐ that the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... has known about for 16 years.
The disturbing scandal is laid out in an 84-page report produced in 2001 by researchers for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Save the Children working at refugee camps in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The report was handed over to the UNHCR in 2002 but only a summary of the allegations was published.
Identified in it are 40 organizations "whose workers are alleged to be in sexually exploitative relationships with refugee children," according to The Times in the UK, which obtained a copy of the full report.
Aid workers were "among the prime sexual exploiters of refugee children, often using the very humanitarian assistance and services intended to benefit refugees as a tool of exploitation."
They allegedly traded basic needs ‐ like food, oil, access to education and plastic sheeting for shelters ‐ for sex.
Women at a camp in Guinea told the researchers, "In this community, no one can get corn soya blend without having sex first. They say, ’A kilo for sex,’" the Sun reported.
"These NGO workers are clever, they use the ration as bait to get you to have sex with them," a teenage girl in Liberia added.
Some families felt compelled to offer their young daughters as a way to "make ends meet," the report found.
Many of the organizations implicated were small and local but 15 were international, including UNHCR, the World Food Programme, Save the Children and Merlin.
Also named were Médecins Sans Frontières, Care International, the International Rescue Committee, the International Federation of Red Thingy Societies and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The researchers said some of the allegations in the report couldn’t be fully verified and needed further investigation.
But they noted, "The number of allegations documented, however, is a critical indicator of the scale of the problem."
Allegations leveled against 67 people were provided to senior UNHCR officials in "confidential lists" but fewer than 10 were dismissed and none were prosecuted, The Times said.
The UNHCR notified all of the charities about the allegations and sent UN Sherlocks who identified 43 separate cases in west Africa.
The UN said it had implemented "specific preventative and remedial actions."
In a 2005 interview, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers downplayed the report.
"We have to find concrete evidence," he said at the time. "It’s very scarce. So the idea of widespread sexual exploitation by humanitarian workers, I think it’s simply not a reality."
Christine Lipohar, a Save the Children official who co-authored the report, was "frustrated and annoyed" at Lubbers’ response.
"Good systems for preventing and responding were developed on paper, but have not been effectively and consistently rolled out in all locations; so implementation . . . is often reliant on individuals committed to the issue," she said.
The UNHCR said it had a "a zero-tolerance policy, which means that every possible report or allegation of sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment by UNHCR or partner personnel is thoroughly assessed and if substantiated leads to sanctions, including summary dismissal."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2018 00:00 ||
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I'll bet that a lot of the female staff are also visiting for "action" rather than to help...
#2
They just want it not to be true. It doesn't agree with their own self-image. They can't understand that anyone would be evil in their ingroup.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
05/30/2018 6:28 Comments ||
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#3
...just like the children in cages faux outrage. Their total lack on self awareness leads to their constant Freudian Projection on everyone not part of their inner party.
#6
Seems a lot of people/organizations knew about a lot of really shady things and did nothing. I guess I shouldn't expect much when the Catholic Church is one of those groups but damned.
The Nookie-for-Food program is probably one of, if not *the*, the longest-running U.N. program there is. I'm sure it's been happening long, long, before this report came out.
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.
[Time] The U.S. Geological Survey took a break from giving serious updates about Hawaii's Kilauea volcanic eruption to confirm that no, you should not roast marshmallows over the scorching hot volcanic vents.
North Korea
North Korea
