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Bolívia
2017. VIII. 22. Amerikai ügynökökkel, vélhetőleg a CIA embereivel tarthatta a kapcsolatot Rózsa-Flores Santa Cruz-ban, derül ki a Túlélve Bolíviát című dokumentumfilmből, amely Tóásó öt év és tíz hónapig tartó bebörtönzéséről, valamint a latin-amerikai országból való kiszabadulásáról szól. Rózsa-Florest arra kérték az amerikaiak, hogy a baloldali kormány drogszállítmányait figyelje, amerikai titkosszolgálati értesülések szerint ugyanis a bolíviai hadsereg katonai gépeken csempészte a kokaint Venezuelába, ahonnan a kábítószert az amerikai piacokra terítették. Az amerikaiak cserben hagyták Eduardót – az ügynökök néhány nappal a Las Americas Hotelben történt rajtaütés előtt eltűntek a latin-amerikai országból. Mint ismeretes, 2009 áprilisában a Santa Cruz-i szállodában a bolíviai kommandósok lelőtték Rózsa-Florest, a szovátai Magyarosit és az ír Dwyert; Tóásót és Tadicot pedig letartóztatták terrorizmus vádjával. A magyar férfi öt év és tíz hónap után, vádalkuval szabadult, majd – miután a hatóságok nem adták vissza útlevelét – a Baptista Szeretetszolgálat segítségével jött el az országból. (Forrás: mno)
United States
August 31, 2017 The remnants of Hurricane Harvey carried its wrath up the Mississippi Delta today, but not before hammering the Gulf Coast with more punishing cloudbursts and growing threats that included reports of “pops” and “chemical reactions” at a crippled chemical plant which makes organic peroxides for use in items such as counter tops and pipes, and the collapse of the drinking water system in a Texas city. Authorities warned of the danger posed by the plant in Crosby, located 30 miles northeast of Houston, and the French company operating the facility said explosions were possible. All employees had left the site, the chemical plant, which today sat under about 6 feet of water following Harvey’s relentless rains. In Crosby, the Arkema the company's chemical plant’s operators, citing local officials, initially said two blasts rocked the facility after it was rendered powerless by floodwaters and black smoke coming from the plant. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office reported “a series of chemical reactions” and “intermittent smoke” at the facility; a county official said there weren’t “massive explosions.” Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had called the potential for a chemical plume “incredibly dangerous” at a briefing today morning. Authorities yesterday set up an evacuation zone in a 1.5-mile radius from the plant. Fire or explosion will release a variety of chemicals, including carbon dioxide, as well as flammable vapors including methane or acetone. (Source: TheWashingtonPost): https://tinyurl.com/y7uex7j2
30 Aug, 2017 White House ‘coup’ underway, Trump ‘under house arrest’. Now with no Bannon and with no Gorka, just where is the President getting information that can tie him, connect him to his own base? - said Bolton, who people thought was under consideration for National Security Advisor, for Secretary of State who can’t even have access to the President right now. Kelly had taken his [Trump’s] phone, so he wouldn’t be getting messages on his phone. (Source: Breitbart)
August 30, 2017 Houston curfew follows many in big cities facing disaster or unrest. The following curfews were some of the largest or most significant in the country’s history: 1992: Riots in Los Angeles 1965: Watts riots in Los Angeles 1967: Police raid in Detroit 1968: Democratic National Convention in Chicago 2005: Hurricane Katrina 2013: Lockdown in Boston (Source: TheNewYorkTimes): http://tinyurl.com/ycfwyvtn
Aug 30, 2017 The nation's largest oil refinery shuts down as Hurricane Harvey floods Texas. Oil and gas prices are expected to spike over the next week or more as about 10 refineries representing more than 15 percent of the nation's refining capacity are shut down in the wake of Hurricane Harvey along the Texas Gulf Coast, including the nation's largest, the Saudi-owned Motiva plant in Port Arthur. Some 15 refineries were going off line from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Port Arthur, Texas. Taken together, the closures represent about 25% of U.S. refining capacity. The gas prices would increase 15 cents to 25 cents per gallon nationwide. The nationwide average as of today morning was $2.40 a gallon, up from $2.34 a week ago. Refinery outages include facilities run by Exxon Mobil, Citgo, Petrobras, Flint Hills, Magellan, Buckeye, Shell, Phillips 66 and Valero Energy. Americans are using about 9.7 million barrels per day of gasoline, while refineries are pumping out fewer than 8 million. The refinery outages and the closure of several key ports have disrupted the supply of fresh fuel to Texas Gulf Coast stations and other regions, but gasoline inventory on hand is nearly 230 million barrels. (Source: USAToday): http://tinyurl.com/yax7ygol
Aug 30, 2017 The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a far-left outfit that labels mainstream conservative organizations "hate groups" and whose "hate map" inspired a terrorist attack in 2012, has released a map of every Confederate monument in America. But the map does not just include statues: it also lists towns, cities, counties, and even middle schools that bear the names of Confederate generals. "More than 1,500 Confederate monuments stand in communities like Charlottesville with the potential to unleash more turmoil and bloodshed," the SPLC posted with the map (emphasis added). "It's time to take them down" (emphasis original). (Source: PJMedia): http://tinyurl.com/ybxpcsgj
30 August, 2017 The rescues had lifted more than 13,000 people out of the floodwaters in the Houston area and surrounding cities and counties. Televangelist Osteen opened his Houston megachurch, a 16,000-seat former arena, after critics blasted him on social media for not acting to help families displaced by the storm. Harvey will spend much of today dropping rain on Louisiana before moving on to Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri, which could also see flooding. More than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters. In an apparent response to scattered reports of looting, the mayor also imposed a curfew. A pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston and a levee in a suburban subdivision began overflowing yesterday, adding to the rising floodwaters. (Source: AP): http://tinyurl.com/y8tjy679
Aug 29, 2017 About the state of the Trump administration (Source: AMediumCorporation): https://tinyurl.com/y7godjr5
Aug 29, 2017 Why didn’t the US shoot down that North Korean missile? The military’s record of hitting intermediate-range missiles is less than perfect. That makes the decision to attempt an intercept much harder. The United States has 33 Aegis warships (three more are slated to arrive next year) that can launch an interceptor to hit a mid- or intermediate-range missile like the Hwasong-12 that North Korea sent over Hokkaido. Sixteen of those warships are currently in the Pacific. Anti-missile interceptors like the ones on U.S. warships are designed to hit enemy missiles as they reach peak altitude - in the case of the Hwasong-12, that’s above 3,500 kilometers. The United States has demonstrated that it can intercept mid-range and slightly higher intermediate-range missile. But the test record includes embarrassing and recent failures. Between January 2002 and August 14 of this year, the Defense Department attempted 37 intercepts of a mid-range missile and hit the target 29 times with an SM-3. in February, MDA showed that their newest version of the standard missile, the SM-3 IIA, could hit a mid-range missile. But a second test in June was a failure. The Navy later attributed that to human error. But 50 percent is not a good record for the most advanced intermediate-range interceptor in the U.S. arsenal. Shooting down an enemy missile aimed at U.S. territory may be good defense, but shooting down a missile test aimed at the sea would be an act of war. Or so argued North Korea. Every time a missile heads toward Japan, Guam, or anywhere else, military leaders will have to decide whether attempting to shoot down North Korean missiles is worth the costs of possibly missing - or starting a war. (Source: DefenseOne): http://tinyurl.com/y8cq6haw
29 August, 2017 Harvey increased slightly in strength as it drifted back over the warm Gulf. up to 51 more centimeters of rain could fall. The Houston metro area covers about 10,000 square miles, an area slightly bigger than New Jersey. It’s crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles to the southeast from downtown. The storm is generating an amount of rain that would normally be seen only once in more than 1,000 years. Floodwater would spill around a pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston. At the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, the Army Corps started releasing water today because water levels were climbing at a rate of more than 15 centimeters per hour. The move was supposed to help shield the business district from floodwaters, but it also risked flooding thousands more homes in nearby subdivisions. A mandatory evacuation was ordered for the low-lying Houston suburb of Dickinson, home to 20,000. By night, 7,000 people have arrived at the shelter set up inside the George R. Brown Convention Center - which originally had an estimated capacity of 5,000. In the Cypress Forest Estates neighborhood in northern Harris County, people called for help from inside homes as water from a nearby creek rose to their eaves. A steady procession of rescue boats floated into the area. The flooding will get worse in the days ahead and the floodwaters will be slow to recede once Harvey finally moves on. President Trump’s administration assured Congress that the $3 billion balance in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund was enough to handle immediate needs, such as debris removal and temporary shelter for displaced residents. (Source: AP)
29 August, 2017 Harvey brings death, destruction to Houston as flood waters rise. It has already dumped more rain in the past few days than some affected areas normally see in a year. At least eight people have already been killed in Texas and tens of thousands driven from their homes. The storm was the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in more than 50 years when it hit land on August 25 near Corpus Christi, 354 km southwest of Houston. The slow-moving storm will continue to dump rain over the next few days in an area hit by "unprecedented" flooding in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Among the most recent fatalities from the storm was a family that included two adults and four children who were believed to have drowned after the van they were in was swept away by floodwaters in Houston. Both of Houston's major airports were shut, along with most major highways, rail lines and a hospital, where patients were evacuated over the weekend. The Brazos River was forecast to crest at a record high in the next two days about 50 kms southwest of Houston, forcing the mandatory evacuation of about 50,000 people in Fort Bend County. The United States' second-largest refinery, in Baytown, was shut down, and the largest refinery, in Port Arthur, was expected to make a final decision on shutdown today. (Source: Reuters)
28 August, 2017 Dr. Gorka, who since January has served as deputy assistant to President Trump, resigned from the White House administration on August 25 evening. A full copy of his resignation letter: Dear Mr. President, It has been my high honor to serve in the White House as one of your Deputy Assistants and Strategists. In the last thirty years our great nation, and especially our political, media, and educational elites, have strayed so far from the principles of our Republic’s Founding that we faced a grim and godless future. Your victory last November was truly a “Hail Mary pass” on the way to re-stablishing America upon the eternal values enshrined in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. It is, therefore, all the more difficult for me to tender my resignation with this letter. Your presidency will prove to be one of the most significant events in modern American politics. November the 8th was the result of decades during which the political and media elites felt that they knew better than the people who elect them into office. They do not, and the MAGA platform allowed their voices finally to be heard. Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will “Make America Great Again,” have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week. The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of “radical Islam” or “radical Islamic terrorism” proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost. Just as worrying, when discussing our future actions in the region, the speech listed operational objectives without ever defining the strategic victory conditions we are fighting for. This omission should seriously disturb any national security professional, and any American who is unsatisfied with the last 16 years of disastrous policy decisions which have led to thousands of Americans killed and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent in ways that have not brought security or victory. America is an incredibly resilient nation, the greatest on God’s Earth. If it were not so, we could not have survived through the unbelievably divisive years of the Obama Administration, nor witness your message to roundly defeat a candidate who significantly outspent you and had the Fakenews Industrial Complex 100% on her side. Nevertheless, given recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House. As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House. Millions of Americans believe in the vision of Making America Great Again. They will help eventually rebalance this unfortunate temporary reality. Despite the historically unprecedented and scandalous treatment you have received at the hands of those within the Establishment and mainstream media who perennially see America as the problem and who wish to re-engineer our nation in their own ideological image, I know you will stay the course for the sake of all America’s citizens. When we first met in your offices in New York, in the Summer of 2015, it was instantly clear that you love the Republic and will never give up once you have committed yourself to victory. When it comes to our vital National Security interests, your leadership guarantees that radical Islamic terrorism will be obliterated, that the threat of a nuclear Iran will be neutralized, and that the hegemonic ambitions of Communist China will be robustly countered. I and like-minded compatriots will be working on the outside to support you and your official team as we return America to its rightful and glorious place as the shining “city upon a hill.” God Bless America. In Gratitude, Gorka (Source: Breitbart)
August 28, 2017 "We've already arrested a handful of looters. We've made it real clear to our community we're going to do whatever it takes to protect their homes and their businesses," Houston Police Chief Acevedo told. (Source: abc13)
Aug 28, 2017 A pipeline ruptured on the northeast side of La Porte in the petrochemical district about 20 miles east of downtown Houston. Shortly after 7 p.m. that the incident was resolved. The chemical that leaked just north of the interchange between Texas 225 and Texas 146 was anhydrous hydrogen chloride, a corrosive poison gas which presents symptoms of eye, throat, and nasal irritation, that can cause serious or permanent injury. The colorless gas with a sharp, pungent odor is non-flammable substance, part of the manufacturing process for rubber, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and in gasoline refining and metals processing. A hazmat team has cleared the scene and is headed home. (Source: Chron)
August 28, 2017 Oldest white supremacist site shut down after complaint. Black, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who has operated stormfront.org since 1995, said he didn't receive any warning before Network Solutions blocked the use of the stormfront.org name in August 25. (Source: AP)
August 28, 2017 This disaster’s going to be a landmark event. Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm which weakened Saturday to a tropical storm, has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties. It was blamed for at least two deaths. As the water rose, the National Weather Service issued another ominous forecast: Before the storm that arrived Friday as a Category 4 hurricane is gone, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could get as much as 1.3 meters of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas. Some areas have already received about half that amount. Since Thursday, South Houston recorded nearly 63 centimeters. Up to 1,200 people had to be rescued in Galveston County alone. Houston Mayor Turner said authorities had received more than 2,000 calls for help, with more coming in. The deteriorating situation was bound to provoke questions about the conflicting advice given by the governor and Houston leaders before the hurricane. Gov. Abbott urged people to flee from Harvey’s path, but the Houston Democrat mayor issued no evacuation orders and told everyone to stay home citing the risks of sending the city’s 2.3 million inhabitants onto the highways. Yesterday, it was virtually stationary about 40 kilometers northwest of Victoria, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph (72.42 kph). /Source: AP/
August 28, 2017 Houston hunkers down for Harvey, braces for long storm ahead. /Gulf Coast Weather Videos/ - (Source: /Houston/ Chron): http://tinyurl.com/y76xnbwx
Sunday, August 27, 2017 Harvey spins deeper inland; full scope of damage is unknown. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore about 48 kilometers northeast of Corpus Christi as a mammoth Category 4 storm with 209 kph winds. Harvey weakened to a tropical storm by midday Saturday. At 10 p.m., its maximum sustained winds had fallen to about 64 kph. But the storm was moving at just 1.6 kph as it dumped torrential rain over an area that included Houston. Trump on Friday signed a federal disaster declaration for coastal counties. The turbulent weather extended into southern Louisiana. The last Category 4 storm to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Charley in August 2004 in Florida. (Source: AP)
August 27, 2017 Fire ants formed a protective island in the high water. One danger evacuees and first responders are dealing with along with the flooding in Houston is fire ants. They can exist in colonies of up to 250,000 workers and will sting intruders repeatedly. (Source: CBSLocal): http://tinyurl.com/ybp4opou
Aug 27, 2017 Selected peak wind gusts in miles per hour earlier in the event: ... Texas... Port Aransas 132 Copano Village 125 Lamar 110 ... (Source: The Weather Prediction Center): http://tinyurl.com/yab69dbj
27 Aug, 2017 The US Senate Intelligence Committee published its annual intelligence spending bill this week - and nested in the bill is a provision which would declare WikiLeaks to be a “non-state hostile intelligence service” whatever that means. If WikiLeaks was to be formally classified as an entity hostile to the US, would American citizens be allowed to donate to the website? Would journalists be forbidden to use materials published by WikiLeaks in their reporting? If WikiLeaks can be declared a hostile entity for publishing inconvenient truths about the US government, then there’s no reason why any other organization or media outlet couldn’t also be branded a hostile entity, too. No one is challenging the authenticity of the information or documents released by WikiLeaks. (Source: RT)
August 25, 2017 The San Francisco-based company Neuralink Corp., the startup co-founded by billionaire Musk, has taken steps to sell as much as $100 million in stock to fund the development of technology that connects human brains with computers. Musk, 46, is the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and has several other pet projects, including a venture to bore tunnels for roads or tube-based transportation systems known as the hyperloop, and another project for the responsible development of artificial intelligence. (Source: Bloomberg)
August 25, 2017 What still unites us? Atheism and agnosticism are growing rapidly, especially among the young. Traditional morality, grounded in Christianity, is being discarded. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Four-in-10 children are born out of wedlock. Unrestricted abortion and same-sex marriage – once regarded as marks of decadence and decline – are now seen as human rights and the hallmarks of social progress. Tens of millions of us do not speak English. Where most of our music used to be classic, popular, country and western, and jazz, much of it now contains rutting lyrics that used to be unprintable. (Source: wnd)
Aug 23, 2017 Royal Dutch Shell and Anadarko Petroleum announced production shut-ins affecting five Gulf of Mexico oil platforms ahead of slow-moving Tropical Depression Harvey storm expected to lash the Texas coast with heavy winds and rain later this week. Texas Governor Abbott declared a state of disaster for 30 counties ahead of the storm. Between 25 cm to 38 cm of rain are exepcted from the central Texas Coast to southwest Louisiana. (Source: CNBC)
August 23, 2017 Trump said that he doubts the U.S. can reach a deal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, probably terminating NAFTA at some point. Trump's comments appeared to hit the Mexican peso. The three nations started formal negotiations to tweak the trade agreement which went into effect in 1994 this month. Mexican and Canadian officials have cast NAFTA as a success. The countries are two of the three largest trading partners with the United States. (Source: CNBC)
August 22, 2017 President Trump cleared the way for the deployment up to 3900 more US troops to Afghanistan in his first formal address to the nation as commander-in-chief. "We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists." In 2010, the United States had upwards of 100,000 US military personnel deployed to Afghanistan. Today that figure is around 8,400 US troops and the situation is as deadly as ever. More than 2,500 Afghan police and troops have been killed already this year. One of the main voices arguing for withdrawal, Trump's nationalistic chief strategist Bannon, was removed from his post. His strategy did however win over national security-focused Republicans with whom he has had strained relations, such as influential Senator McCain. (Source: Yahoo)
August 21, 2017 Buried deep beneath the Montana soil in America’s northwest are 150 giant Minuteman III nuclear missiles with some 450 “super nukes” in stockpile - locked, loaded and ready to go. They are 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and can reach any target on the planet in half an hour. They stand ready to be deployed at any moment of the day, on the order of US President Trump, who this month promised North Korea a “fire and fury like the world has never seen”. (Source: NewsAU): http://tinyurl.com/yckploer
Globalization
August 25, 2017 Facebook publishes torture used to extort ransom. People smugglers and slave trading gangs are using Facebook to broadcast the abuse and torture of migrants to extort ransom money from their families. The United Nations migration agency condemned the technology giant and publisher as irresponsible for allowing it to be used by smugglers “to advertise their services, entice vulnerable people on the move and then exploit them and their families”. (Source: (Source: TheTimes)
22nd August 2017 Did you know that Google has been recording you without your knowledge? Google has effectively turned millions of its users' smartphones into listening devices that can capture intimate conversations - even when they aren't in the room If you run Android software on your smartphone. Once Google is done recording, it uploads the audio files to its computer servers - often dubbed "the cloud". These files are accessible from absolutely anywhere in the world - as long as you have an internet connection. That means any device that is signed into your personal Gmail or Google account can access the library of your deepest, darkest secrets. Recordings last around 10-20 seconds on average, and a text version of the conversation is saved. How to find out exactly what Google knows about you? This includes Maps searches and YouTube videos you've watched. Click on "Activity Controls "on the left-hand side of the page. Under "Web and App Activity", click "Manage Activity". If Google's keeping tabs on you, there should be a stream of web pages and map searches that show up in chronological order. You can randomly delete searches, or select all the searches to make them disappear. How can I listen back to the audio Google has recorded from my phone? Google is giving you full access to your audio. First, you'll need to be signed into your Gmail or Google account. Type "history.google.com/history" into your web browser. You'll be taken to a hub which contains your entire digital footprint. (Source: TheSun)
Space
August 29th, 2017 A 4.4 kilometers in diameter large rock will fly past Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of 7 million kilometers. Asteroid 3122 Florence, named after modern nursing founder Nightingale, is the largest object to make a close-encounter since NASA began tracking near-Earth objects (NEO) in the 1990s. (Source: SpaceFightInsider): http://tinyurl.com/ybzu6kk6
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