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Magyarország
2017. XII. 10. Zugló polgármestere, Karácsony, a Párbeszédes miniszterelnök-jelöltségére utalva arról beszél, „alapvetően az az érzésem, hogy a f.szért hagytam magam rábeszélni erre a miniszterelnök-jelöltségre, mert sokkal jobb lett volna, ha el sem kezdem.” A baloldalon a kérdés azért okozott izgalmakat, mert Karácsony korábban az Együtt nevű párttal állt szövetségben, és minden jel szerint szövetségesének háta mögött egyezkedett saját személyéről. Karácsony most egy másik párt, az MSZP miniszterelnök-jelöltje lehet; Molnár, az MSZP elnöke Karácsonyt ajánlotta első embernek. Karácsony korábban még gyűlölte a szocialistákat. Az Együtt hamarosan új miniszterelnök-jelöltet nevez meg. Hangfelvételen Karácsony keresetlenül azt fogalmazza meg, a Párbeszéd miniszterelnök-jelöltsége nem hiányzott neki. 'Annyi hatása volt, a PM felment 0 százalékról 1-re, ennyit tudtunk elérni ezzel. Sokkal beljebb nem vagyunk. Ráadásul nekem van egy főállásom, ami önmagában egy kib.szott politikai stressz, hogy lesz Zuglónak költségvetése, meg ilyen apróságok. Van nekem ilyen szempontból dolgom, így tudom is magam áltatni azzal, hogy én teszek az ügyért, vagy valamit csinálok' – fogalmaz egy zárt ülésen Karácsony. (Forrás: Híradó)
2017. XII. 7. Pécsett, az Uránvárosban felállított Mindenki karácsonyfáján Hoppál kulturális államtitkár és pécsi országgyűlési képviselő karácsonyfa díszeken díszeleg, amint éppen avat, szalagot átvág, kórusfesztiválon van, mind - mindannyiszor boldog népek gyűrűjében. /fotók/ (Forrás: átlátszó): https://tinyurl.com/ydxohlo4
2017. XII. 7. A Jobbik megszűnése senkinek sem szolgálná a politikai érdekeit. (Legkevésbé a Fideszét.) Az Állami Számvevőszék tegnap közölte: a Jobbik 331 millió 660 ezer forint nem pénzbeli vagyoni hozzájárulást fogadott el jogi személyektől (értsd plakáthelyeket kapott), amit be kell fizetnie a költségvetésnek, „emellett a párt központi költségvetésből juttatott támogatását a Magyar Államkincstár az ÁSZ által megállapított összeggel csökkenti.” Magyarán a Jobbikot 662 millió forint befizetésére kötelezték. Két eljárás fut egymás mellett a Jobbik ellen, szorosan véve azért, mert az országot idén vizuális terrortámadás érte, a Jobbik Mészárossal és Orbán Viktor sötét tónusú képmásaival riogatott, a kormány pedig Sorossal és Brüsszellel. A Fideszes plakáttenger mögött állami pénz áll, a Jobbik poszterei pedig Simicska cégeinek kihasználatlan plakáthelyein jelentek meg. A Fidesznek a legkevésbé sem tetszett, hogy köztéri riválist kapott, jogalkotási módszerrel elérte, hogy a köztereken csak kormányzati plakátok maradjanak. Viszont egészen példátlan ügyről van szó, az ÁSZ korábban sosem állt bele pártfinanszírozási ügyekbe, a fő vonalakat mindig rendben találta a pártok gazdálkodásában. (Forrás: Válasz)
Germany
December 3, 2017 Germany wants to support rejected asylum-seekers who voluntarily move back to their home countries with a one-time payment of 3,000 euros. The Interior Ministry says those who qualify can apply by a Feb. 28 deadline and they would get the money once they return home. Migrants who agree to go back even before their asylum request is rejected have already been offered 1,200 euros per adult and 600 euros per child under a different program for almost a year. They are now eligible to apply for both programs. But the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported today that 8,639 migrants participated in the returnee program between February and October, even though there are about 115,000 rejected asylum-seekers in Germany - many of whom can't be deported for humanitarian reasons. (Source: FoxNews)
China
Dec 10, 2017 China celebrates Xi with fervor not seen since Mao. Communist Party deploys dancers, ‘camelback publicists’ to spread leader’s message. After the party revised its charter in October to crown Xi as its greatest living theorist, an army of Marxist propagandists has gone to unusual lengths to spread their leader’s philosophy. Some rode camels across arid steppes to deliver lectures on Mr. Xi’s political manifesto. Others braved South China Sea waves to take his congress report to island outposts and fishing trawlers, or turned to communications satellites to beam the highlights. Train passengers have taken part in quiz games on Mr. Xi’s policies. Subway staff in the northeastern city of Tianjin treated commuters to congress-related songs and tongue twisters. Pop idols and technology have been tapped to reach younger Chinese. In late November, film-industry regulators gathered some 120 movie stars and directors to discuss how to inject “core socialist values” into filmmaking. A smartphone quiz centered on Mr. Xi’s report has been attempted more than 2 million times since its October launch. From the party’s perspective, a strong leadership figure helps refocus people’s loyalty and emotions. (Source: TheWallStreetJournal)
Iraq
9 December 2017 Iraq said that its war on the islamic state group is over after more than three years of combat operations drove the extremists from all of the territory they once held. Prime Minister Abadi announced Iraqi forces were in full control of the country’s border with Syria, and his spokesman said the development marked the end of the military fight against is. “All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs and our forces completely control the international Iraqi-Syrian border,” Lt. Gen. Allah said in a statement released shortly after Abadi’s remarks. The U.S.-led coalition congratulated Iraq on the “significant victory”. In November, Iraqi forces retook the last town held by is - Rawah, near the border with Syria. Iraq now faces the daunting challenge of reconstruction. The fighting caused massive devastation in many areas, and some 3 million Iraqis are still displaced. (Source: AP)
Israel
10 December 2017 1917 was the Balfour Declaration establishing Israel for the nations, 2017 was Trump’s declaration. Trump's Jerusalem declaration sparks talk of 3rd Temple. (Source: WND)
South Korea
3 December 2017 The five-day Vigilant Ace drill - involving some 230 aircraft including F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters - begins tomorrow. It will be just five days after the North test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of hitting the US mainland. (Source: DailyMail)
Turkey
December 10, 2017 "Palestine is an innocent victim... As for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!" Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Sivas. "We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children." Erdogan earlier described the status of Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a "red line" for Muslims. Netanyahu was quick to counter the assault when he spoke later during a press conference alongside French President Macron. "I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people," he said. "That is not the man who is going to lecture us. "Erdogan has used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group. (Source: Yahoo)
United States
December 10, 2017 President Trump spends at least four hours a day watching television. He sometimes spends as many as eight hours watching television. Trump begins each day around 5:30 a.m. by turning on CNN before quickly flipping to Fox News's "Fox & Friends." He occasionally watches MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” because it works him up. Trump’s favorite programs include "Fox & Friends" as well as Fox News primetime shows from Hannity, Ingraham and Pirro. Trump sometimes “hate-watches” CNN host Lemon. The only people allowed to touch the remote control for the White House television are Trump and White House technical support staffers. Trump also had a 60-inch flat screen TV installed in his private White House dining room. (Source: TheHill)
December 7, 2017 Active-duty military personnel number slightly more than 1.3 million in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, and hundreds of thousands more civilian personnel fall under Defense departments. That number does not include Reserve and National Guard formations that might be active at any particular time. Troop numbers in Syria are about four times higher than reported by the Pentagon, with 2,000 present in the country. There are 5,200 in Iraq, up from about 5,000 reported earlier. 44,000 ‘unknown’ military personnel stationed around the world. The use of contractors in place of regular troops also complicates the issue. The United States maintains 23,659 contractors in Afghanistan and 4,609 in Iraq. (Source: Stripes)
7 December 2017 State Department warns Americans they are in danger from terror attacks worldwide following Trump's Jerusalem decision. The last time the @statedept issued a "Worldwide Caution" because of a US policy decision was March 2003 at the start of the Iraq war. (Source: DailyMail)
December 6, 2017 President Trump announced he's recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, and starting the process of moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. "Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital; this is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do,' Trump said. Jews see the West Wall as their holiest site as this is all that remains of the Jewish temple after its destruction by the Romans; Christians see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as their holiest site because it was where Christ rose from the dead; and Muslims see the Dome of the Rock as their holiest site because the Prophet Muhammad began his journey to heaven there. By the 1800s Jerusalem had a population of just 8,000 people and was a backwater in the Ottoman Empire but that was to change rapidly as colonial powers fought over the Middle East, Christian revivalists moved into the city and Zionism became a significant political movement among the world's Jews. The U.N. plan which set up separate Jewish and Israeli states in what had been British-controlled Palestine in 1947 said Jerusalem was to be a 'separated body' administered by the United Nations. The State of Israel was declared in 1948 and over the next year recognized by countries including the U.S. - but crucially on the basis of the U.N. plan, meaning Jerusalem could not be the capital. Conflict which rolled into 1949 ended in an armistice which left Israel controlling the west of the city and Jordan the east, and Israel's president called the city Israel's 'eternal capital'. The situation was upended in 1967 when the Six Day War's spectacular victories gave Israel control of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Tel Aviv is the undoubted economic capital of Israel but the country's parliament and president are in Jerusalem and diplomats have to go there to be officially recognized and for many meetings with the country's government. A handful of smaller countries have from time to time recognized Jerusalem as capital and even had embassies there, but no major country has until now made that declaration. Currently the city is roughly two-thirds Jewish and one third Muslim, and the historic Christian community makes up just two per cent of the population. Trump's speech declaring Jerusalem Israel's capital: (Source: DailyMail): https://tinyurl.com/y7latka6
Earth
8 December 2017 The Earth's natural vibration peaks at several frequencies between 2.9 and 4.5 millihertz. These vibrations can't be heard by people, because they are approximately 10,000 times smaller than the lower hearing threshold of the human ear (20 hertz). The hum is present across the entire globe. (Source: Mirror): https://tinyurl.com/y95ub295
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