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Magyarország
(2017) A 80-as évek vonatkozó állambiztonsági iratai bizonyos esetekben választ adhatnak a 90-es évektől napjainkig játszódó folyamatok felszínen túlmutató előzményeire és hátterére. 1970 és 1989 között Nyugat-Európában több mint 9500 terrorcselekményt követtek el; Kelet-Európában ez a szám a 70-et sem érte el. A Marylandi Egyetem kutatói megpróbálják egy Globális Terrorizmus adatbázisban (GTD) összegyűjteni az elmúlt közel ötven év terrorcselekményeit. Magyarországon történt támadások közül egy szerepel az adatbázisban, az 1989. február 17-én este 18 óra után az Astoria és a Deák Ferenc tér között közlekedő metrószerelvényben csőbombával elkövetett robbantás, amely nem követelt sem halálos áldozatokat, sem személyi sérüléseket. A terrorcselekmény fogalma a magyar jogrendszerben az 1978. évi IV. törvényben, a Büntető Törvénykönyvben jelent meg először. Nem sokkal ezt követően a magyar állambiztonság “C-79” fedőnéven megnyitotta a Carlos hangzatos és találó “Világforradalom karja” nevű terror-szervezetére vonatkozó csoportdossziét. Majd 1979 második felében az állambiztonságért felelős belügyminiszter-helyettes nyugati sajtóhírekből azzal szembesült, hogy akik ellen harcol, azokat részben Magyarországon, magyar katonai laktanyákban képezték ki, hiszen Carlos a 70-es években a már említett adatbázis szerint sokszor palesztinokkal közösen hajtotta végre akcióit. Miután a 70-es évek végén elindult a magyar terrorelhárítás, az 1980-as évek közepén Nyugaton még nem igazán látták ennek az eredményességét. Ha belső okokat keresnénk, a téma iránt érdeklődő olvasók talán rögtön az 1975. szeptember 30-án Budapestről Libanon fővárosába, Bejrútba tartó, a Földközi-tenger felett rejtélyes módon, feltehetően rejtélyes szállítmánnyal és utasokkal eltűnt MALÉV 240-es járatára gondolnak. Általában véve a kábítószer-kereskedelem és a terrorizmus mögött államok állnak, nagyhatalmak, amelyek különböző közvetítő országok segítségével, valamint a részben az általuk is üzemeltetett szervezett bűnözői és terrorhálózattal burkolt formában támadják riválisaikat. 1987. október 19-én Varga, egy gyermeke tanulmányi előmenetelét féltő budapesti lakos panaszos levelet írt a belügyminiszternek, néhány nappal korábban pedig a honvédelmi miniszternek. Beadványának lényege, hogy a győri Béri Balogh Ádám katonai középiskolában tanuló fia osztályfőnöknője családlátogatás során olyan kérdéseket feszegetett, amelyek nem függtek össze a gyermek iskolai tevékenységével, de Vargát érzékenyen érinthették, ugyanis korábban tiltott határátlépés előkészítése, valamint folytatólagosan elkövetett izgatás és egyéb köztörvényes bűncselekmények miatt szabadságvesztésre ítélték. Először a kollégium igazgatóját kereste fel panaszával, de ott, úgy tűnik, nem vették eléggé komolyan, mert a felettes szervekhez fordult. Levelében utalt arra, hogy az iskola részéről az igazgató mellett Nagy rendőr százados, a Győr-Sopron megyei Hadkiegészítő és Területvédelmi Parancsnokság elhárító tisztje (Belügyminisztérium III/IV. Főcsoportfőnökség) foglalkozott ügyükkel, aki elmondta, problémájuk milyen parányi ahhoz képest, mint amit az arab terroristák okoznak Magyarországnak. Varga attól tartott, hogy az osztályfőnök és Nagy is provokálja őt. “Hiába tudjuk, hogy kémek és terroristák működnek nálunk – folytatta Nagy százados – hiába ismerjük hálózataikat, hiába buknak le általunk, hazaengedik őket. Az arab terroristák államközi szerződés alapján tartózkodnak hazánkban, itt készülhetnek fel terrorcselekményeikre, innen indulhatnak bevetésekre és ide is térhetnek vissza. Magyarországon vannak kiképző bázisaik is. Legutóbb például – folytatta Nagy százados – a Ferihegyi Repülőtér mellett tartottak lőkiképzést arab terroristák, de az is előfordult, hogy az egyik arab terrorista csoportot követte a magyar elhárítás, melynek során az arabok rálőttek a magyarokra. Az arab terroristák főnöke tiltakozott a magyar terrorista-ellenes csoport vezetőjénél, hogy nem ebben állapodtak meg kormányaink, s ha ez újra előfordul jelenteni fogja kormányának, aminek súlyos következményei lesznek, mert az arab bankok nem adnak több pénzt. Ugyanakkor – folytatta Nagy százados – fegyverekkel is ellátjuk őket, melyek között magyar gyártmányúak is vannak.” A vizsgálatot lefolytatók javasolták Nagy rendőr százados felelősségre vonását államtitoksértés miatt. Nagy 1989. április 20-án Szilágyi őrnagy, a Győri Katonai Kollégium igazgatója, dr. Takács rendőr alezredes, a Győr-Sopron megyei Rendőr-főkapitányság Vizsgálati Osztály vezetője és a velük utazó két másik polgári személy társaságában a lengyelországi Krakkótól északra egy közlekedési balesetben életét vesztette. A balesetet az eddig előkerült dokumentumok szerint nem a Szilágyi által vezetett Wartburg, hanem a velük szemben szabálytalanul érkező Mercedes típusú gépjármű vezetője okozta. A magyarországi rendszerváltást követően kirobbant délszláv fegyveres konfliktusban a szerbek háborús költségeik fedezésére Európa legnagyobb marihuána-termesztő gazdaságát hozták létre, amit szőlőültetvénynek álcáztak, és ahonnan maguk is bedobták saját termékeiket a drog-útvonalba. Mi több, megvámolták a területükön áthaladó, leginkább heroinban utazó török drogfutár kamionokat, amikről tehát kellő információkkal rendelkeztek. A megalakulása óta kábítószer ügyletekben igen aktív Hezbollah is előszeretettel kereskedik; például a Bekaa-völgyben és Szíriában előállított Captagonból bőven jut Szaúd-Arábiába és más Arab-öböl menti államokba is. A Captagont 1981-ben az Amerikai Egyesült Államok kábítószernek minősítette. (Forrás: Betekintő): https://tinyurl.com/y9rumdwz
2017. XII. 28. 2074/2017. (XII. 28.) Korm. határozat az Erdélyben megvalósuló programok és támogatások finanszírozása érdekében szükséges forrás biztosításáról. Cél/fejlesztés: civil és egyéb szervezetek támogatása; a támogatás célja: Erdélyben megvalósuló programok és támogatások; összege: 1 450 000 000 (Ft); kedvezményezett: Erdélyi Médiatér Egyesület. (Forrás: WoltersKluver): https://tinyurl.com/y98jtmgx
2017. XII. 26. Európa elfelejtette a Karácsonyt. A veszprémi egyházmegye is 150 évig muszlim megszállás alatt volt és az alatt az összes szerzetesház, templomok nagy része elpusztult és igen is aggódom Európa elkereszténytelenedése illetve iszlamizációja miatt.De itt Magyarországon, valami elkezdődött, ami reményteljes, mintha Istennek valamilyen célja, terve lenne velünk. Interjú Márfi, veszprémi érsekkel. (Forrás: PestiSrácok): https://tinyurl.com/ydewgd3c
2017. XII. 23. Bárdi történész a gyulafehérvári határozatokról. (Forrás: trianon100): https://tinyurl.com/y7j5xdsv
Lithuania
Dec 24, 2017 The $11 billion Ostrovets nuclear-power project, 30 miles from Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is fueling fears in the Baltic republic. Lithuanians say they don’t think Moscow would actually trigger a nuclear accident but they do worry about a panic-inducing warning of a leak - real or not. Some 75% of its capital region’s drinkable water comes from the Neris River that runs by the Ostrovets plant and through Vilnius. One-third of the country’s 2.9 million people live within a 100-kilometer radius that would be heavily affected by an incident, according to Lithuania. In recent years, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have distributed iodine tablets to residents within 100 kilometers of nuclear power plants, in line with International Atomic Energy Agency emergency guidelines. In April, lawmakers in Vilnius adopted a law against importing electricity from “unsafe” power plants and in June Lithuania’s parliament declared the Belarusian nuclear plant a national-security threat. (Source: TheWallStreetJournal)
Norway
21 Dec 2017 The Norwegian Home Guard base near Trondheim houses the Marine rotational force was the first stop on Gen. Neller's annual Christmas tour. On a brief visit to the 300-member unit ahead of Christmas, the commandant and the sergeant major of the Marine Corps both described the strategic role the small unit fills - and the fact that a peacetime mission can be preface to combat if circumstances change. The stop was a new one for the tour. The first Norway rotation, from 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, deployed in January was replaced by a new unit from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, in late August. The rotational unit is in Norway at the invitation of the Norwegian government, which maintains an economic relationship with Russia and shares a 120-mile border on its northeastern edge with the country. Neller emphasized to the Marines that they should remain ready to fight at all times, predicting a "big-ass fight" on the horizon. The United States' position that Russia presents a major threat was re-emphasized in the new National Security Strategy. (Source: MilitaryDailyNews): https://tinyurl.com/yd5jjnwo
Russia
December 26, 2017 Russia will get a country-wide biometric database for financial services starting next summer, the central bank said. The regulator said that data would only be stored with individuals’ consent. Legal changes needed for the system passed this month. State-owned Rostelecom PJSC has been selected to run the database, which will collect personal data including images of faces, voice samples and, eventually, irises and fingerprints. Moscow claims it has the largest centralized surveillance network in the world, and uses facial-recognition technology to help police the city. Sberbank PJSC, the state-owned lender that holds nearly half of retail deposits in Russia, last month acquired a 25% stake in VisionLabs as a first step toward building a biometric platform to identify people through face, voice and retina recognition technologies. (Source: Bloomberg): https://tinyurl.com/ybm5h2gu
Vatican
25 December 2017 Extremist topless activist Vinogradova from the feminist group Femen founded in Ukraine tried to snatch the statue of the baby Jesus from the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square but was stopped by police as she grabbed it. (Source: Yahoo)
China
December 28, 2017 China recently conducted two tests of a new missile known as the DF-17. China carried out the first flight-tests of a new kind of ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). The first test took place on November 1 and the second test took place on November 15. During the November 1 test flight, which took place from the Jiuquan Space Launcher Center in Inner Mongolia, the missile’s payload flew to a range of approximately 1,400 kilometers with the HGV flying at a depressed altitude of around 60 kilometers following the completion of the DF-17’s ballistic and reentry phases. HGVs begin flight after separating from their ballistic missile boosters, which follow a standard ballistic trajectory to give the payload vehicle sufficient altitude. The DF-17 is a medium-range system, with a range capability between 1,800 and 2,500 kilometers. The missile is expected to be capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads and may be capable of being configured to deliver a maneuverable reentry vehicle instead of an HGV. The missile successfully made impact at a site in Xinjiang Province, outside Qiemo, “within meters” of the intended target. The duration of the HGV’s flight was nearly 11 minutes during that test. The DF-17 is heavily based on the PLARF’s DF-16B short-range ballistic missile, which is already deployed. Hypersonic gliders, by virtue of their low-altitude flight, present challenges to existing radar sensor technology enabling missile defenses. By flying at a low altitude instead of reentering from a much higher apogee on a ballistic trajectory, adversary radars would detect HGVs with less time for an interception to take place before the payload can reach its target. (Source: TheDiplomat): https://tinyurl.com/y9ktwyqz
India
December 21, 2017 India got more mentions in the new National Security Strategy than Japan or South Korea - eight mentions of U.S. objectives in the “Indo-Pacific” and seven of India itself. However, India’s statement on the recently revived Quad - the quadrilateral dialogue among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States - showed a reluctance to link it too closely with regional security. Indian analysts still express misgivings about the utility and reliability of the U.S.-India partnership. Washington should pursue quieter, noncontroversial initiatives to ease Indian doubts over the United States’ commitment to the relationship and to bolster New Delhi’s capacity to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean region or IOR. In 2018, the United States should increase naval cooperation with India in the western IOR; co-develop financing tools to counter China’s One Belt, One Road initiative; and upgrade India’s maritime domain awareness capabilities. Washington has not yet internalized that India’s interests are greater in the western IOR than the eastern portion. Six to seven million Indian citizens live in the Middle East, a population that sends over $35 billion in remittances home every year. OPEC countries also account for 86 percent of the country’s crude oil imports, while its two largest export markets also lie in the west. The concentration of India’s trade and resource flows in the western IOR means India is less sensitive to disruptions to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea than are the United States and its East Asian allies. U.S. policymakers should begin attending to New Delhi’s core interests in the western IOR. New Delhi is sensitive to the advance of One Belt, One-Road-financed projects in its neighborhood as it fears smaller South Asian states falling into Chinese debt traps that may grant Beijing significant concessions, including potential military bases. A prime example of this trend is the recent Chinese acquisition of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. A partnership could be accomplished through a capital base expansion of the World Bank and direct financing for Indian-led connectivity initiatives like the India-Japan Asia-Africa Growth Corridor. Expanding such an initiative from a bilateral U.S.-Japan effort to a trilateral mechanism (perhaps through the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor) would be a prudent step. Each country brings a comparative advantage to the table. Japan possesses the capital surplus and large-scale project finance experience. The United States still wields considerable influence over the banking industry and experience coordinating multilateral financing. And for many countries that rim the Indian Ocean, India possesses the knowledge and history to navigate the socio-political terrain. In the meantime, the United States has an immediate interest in improving Indian capabilities vis-à-vis China; boosting maritime domain awareness represents a meaningful and inconspicuous way of doing so. Washington has a limited window in which to draw India into deeper cooperation before India’s 2019 national elections. (Source: DefenseOne): https://tinyurl.com/y7jvqv7e
Iran
30th December 2017 Protests in Iran have been ongoing for the past three days, with reports of dozens being arrested and images allegedly showing dozens of people wounded by police. Iranian regime officials warned people of “illegal gatherings”after the first two days of protests. Protests over unemployment and food prices quickly spiralled into widespread calls for the collapse of the ruling Islamic regime. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) has outright called for revolution. Washington listed the PMOI as a terrorist group right up until 2012. This weekend’s protests have been dragged into the spotlight after the US waded in and seemingly gave its backing to the demonstrators. (Source: TheDailyStar)
30 December 2017 Earlier Saturday, hard-liners rallied across the country to support Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and others. The rallies, scheduled weeks earlier, commemorated a mass 2009 pro-government rally challenging those who rejected the re-election of hard-line President Ahmadinejad amid fraud allegations. Iran’s economy has improved since the nuclear deal, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the end of some of the international sanctions that crippled its economy. Tehran now sells its oil on the global market and has signed deals for tens of billions of dollars of Western aircraft. That improvement has not reached the average Iranian, however. Unemployment remains high. Official inflation has crept up to 10 percent again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests. )Source: AP)
Israel
December 31, 2017 The Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co (EAPC) was a joint venture set up in 1968, when the two nations were friendly, to transport Iranian oil via Israel to the Mediterranean. Ties were cut after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. It also added a reverse-flow system so oil from the Black or Caspian Seas can be shipped from Eilat, Israel's southernmost city and port, to southern Asia and the Far East, and increased its storage capacity for traders in the region. Israel formed a new company with the same initials, the Europe Asia Pipeline Co, owned by the government. It will take over the original EAPC's responsibilities by September. The company's primary dealings, including the sources of oil and how it is used, are still under censorship. (Source: Yahoo)
28 December 2017 US, Israel sign secret pact to tackle Iran nuclear and missile threat on December 12, 2017. They agreed to set up joint teams to handle various aspects of the Iranian threat. One such joint team will deal with Iranian activity in Syria and Tehran’s support for the Hezbollah terror organization. Another joint team will deal with both diplomatic and intelligence activities designed to grapple with Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. A third joint team, it was reportedly agreed, would grapple with Iran’s ballistic missile program and its efforts to build accurate missile systems in Syria and Lebanon. A fourth team would oversee preparation for any escalation by Iran and/or Hezbollah. (Source: TheTimesofIsrael)
Japan
December 28, 2017 A Japanese researcher has developed - by accident - a new type of glass that can be repaired simply by pressing it back together after it cracks. Yanagisawa, a chemistry researcher at the University of Tokyo, was investigating adhesives that can be used on wet surfaces. The organic glass, made of a substance called polyether thioureas, is closer to acrylic than mineral glass, which is used for tableware and smartphone screens. Other scientists have demonstrated similar properties by using rubber or gel materials but Yanagisawa was the first to demonstrate the self-healing concept with glass. The secret lies in the thiourea, which uses hydrogen bonding to make the edges of the shattered glass self-adhesive, according to Yanagisawa's study. (Source: Yahoo)
Syria
2017. XII. 27. General Gerasimov the chief of the Russian General Staff has accused the United States of training former islamic state fighters in Syria to try to destabilize the country on a U.S. military base at Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq in the south of the country. There were also a large number of militants and former islamic state fighters at Shadadi, where he said there was also a U.S. base. (Source: Yahoo)
United States
12/30/2017 The US State Department has issued a formal condemnation of the Iranian government following two days of economic protests centering in a handful of cities, calling the regime "a rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos" while announcing support for protesters. The statement by spokesperson Nauert, further comes very close to calling for regime change in Iran when it asserts the following: On June 14, 2017, Secretary Tillerson testified to Congress that he supports "those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know." The Secretary today repeats his deep support for the Iranian people. The media is already promoting a regime change narrative. (Source: ZeroHedge)
December 26, 2017 Implanted medical devices using electricity to counteract pain signals the same way noise-canceling headphones work against sound. Combined with a national crackdown on narcotics and wanton pain pill prescriptions, the demands for implants are spurring. The market may double to $4 billion in 10 years, up from about $1.8 billion in the U.S. and $500 million in Europe today. At least 50 million adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain; a fraction of them would benefit from spinal-cord stimulation - about 3.6 million. They include people with nerve damage stemming from conditions like diabetic neuropathy and shingles, as well as surgeries. Studies show spinal-cord stimulators can reduce use of powerful pain drugs by 60 percent or more. For some chronic pain patients, the spinal cord runs too efficiently, speeding signs of distress. Stimulators send their own pulses of electrical activity to offset or interrupt the pain zinging along the nerve fibers. (Source: Bloomberg)
24th December 2017 Elizondo - former head of a secret L16million US government programme into extraterrestrial life - claims the existence of UFOs has now been proven 'beyond reasonable doubt'. (Source: TheSun)
December 23, 2017 Snowden in a video message unveiled a new phone app he helped create, called Haven, that aims to protect laptops from physical tampering. Snowden says it’s an open-source tool designed for human rights activists and other people at risk and it uses an Android phone’s sensors to detect changes in a room. (Source: AP)
December 22, 2017 There aren’t many who will pay higher taxes next year - about 8.5 million, compared to the some 143 million who will get lower taxes. The $50,000 to $75,000 range, will see an average tax change of $870; would see their tax rate fall to 13.5% from 14.8%. Millionaires on average will get an extra $69,660 boost. Those with less than $10,000 will get an extra $10 to play with. The percentage change also skews upward, with the best benefits accruing to the $500,000 to $1 million bracket. The $50,000-to-$75,000 bracket sees a 1.6% benefit (Source: MarketWatch): https://tinyurl.com/y76ablgw
December 22, 2017 At 5:27 p.m. PST, SpaceX's Falcon 9 successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying the Iridium-4 mission to orbit. This was the fourth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation. (Source: SpaceX): http://www.spacex.com/webcast
22 December, 2017 Trump signs tax cut bill and resolution to keep the government's lights on over Christmas. (Source: DailyMail): https://tinyurl.com/ybocp6pw
December 21, 2017 The wave of sexual misconduct allegations that toppled Hollywood power brokers, politicians, media icons. AP poll of U.S. editors and news directors: sexual misconduct allegations voted top news story. The No. 2 story was Trump's tumultuous first year as president. 3. Las Vegas mass shooting. 4. Hurricane onslaught. 5. North Korea. 6. Trump-Russia probe. 7. Obamacare. 8. Tax overhaul. 9. Worldwide terror attacks. 10. islamic state. (Source: Yahoo)
December 21, 2017. Schmidt shocked Silicon Valley with a surprise announcement that he’s stepping down as executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Schmidt is a known womanizer despite being married for 37 years. In 2012 they started living separate lives because she felt like “a piece of luggage” following him around the world. News outlets have been sniffing around Schmidt’s former flames looking for a Weinstein-like bombshell. They have had nothing. The techie’s entanglements were “consensual” and there are “no complaints” against the exec or “settlements” from the company. Schmidt has been linked to women including TV presenter Bohner, PR exec Simon, and Perry, who is chief of litigation and deputy general counsel to billionaire Perelman. Previously, Gawker reported that Google employees got irked in 2007 when Simon briefly got hired by Google’s Android team while she was in a relationship with Schmidt. Elsewhere, however, Schmidt’s reported dalliances appear to have been with non-Google employees. One source spotted Schmidt with glamorous Manhattan socialite Parker - ex-wife of Wall Street veteran Parker - last summer. (Source: TheNewYorkPost)
21/12/2017 The President has issued a new Executive Order on December 20, 2017 blocking the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption. (Source: USDepartmentoftheTresaury): https://tinyurl.com/ybyqa7yf
December 2017 National Security Strategy of the United States of America (Source: WhiteHouse): https://tinyurl.com/yaf7co8r
United Nations
December 25, 2017 The U.S. will cut its 2018 contributions to the United Nations by $285 million - nearly 25 percent - an announcement that comes days after more than 120 nations criticized the United States for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The president and Haley also threatened to cut off funding to any country that voted in favor of a draft resolution that asked the United States to reverse its Jerusalem decision. (Source: NewsWeek)
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