July 1, 2015

Jailed American Executive Resigns From Toyota

The American public relations chief of Toyota Motor resigned on Wednesday, the automaker said, offering her notice from a Japanese jail after her arrest last month on suspicion of illegally bringing a restricted painkiller into the country.

Toyota “has accepted her resignation after considering the concerns and inconvenience that recent events have caused our stakeholders,” the company said in a statement.

The arrest of the executive, Julie Hamp, has been an embarrassment for the automaker, which had only recently promoted her as part of an effort to introduce more diversity into its executive suite. She was the highest-ranking woman at the company and one of the most senior executives who was not Japanese.

Julie Hamp, Toyota's global head of public relations, was accused of illegally bringing a restricted painkiller into Japan.Toyota Defends Diversity Hiring After American Is ArrestedJUNE 19, 2015
Didier Leroy, head of Toyota's European operations, has been named executive vice president, the highest rank to which a non-Japanese has risen in the carmaker's history.More Foreigners Move to Top Ranks at ToyotaMARCH 4, 2015
Ms. Hamp has been in custody since June 18 and has not been formally charged. The police say they found oxycodone, a powerful and potentially addictive painkiller, in a parcel she received from the United States. The tightly controlled prescription drug can be imported only with special permission, which the police said Ms. Hamp had not obtained. It is illegal to ship it by mail.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/business/international/jailed-american-executive-resigns-from-toyota.html

July 1, 2015

I created the Isis dildo flag at London Pride to start a dialogue, not get a laugh

I spent the morning of London’s Pride parade hand-stitching dildos onto a flag.

I’d been using the sex-toy motif in my work before I made a flag of Isis out of them and brought it to the march. Previously, I’ve attached dildos onto postcards from each country where homosexuality is still illegal to point out that the laws of these places regards its gay residents as mere sex objects.

The decision to make the flag was a simple one: a sense of outrage at Isis’s brutal advance across North Africa, Libya, Syria and Iraq. Medieval ideologies and barbarism were being spread and recorded through that most modern of expressions, social media, with that flag ever-present. It has become a potent symbol of brutality, fear and sexual oppression. If I wanted to try and stimulate a dialogue about the ridiculousness of this ideology, the flag was key.

It was important that I didn’t try to replicate the writing on the flag, because the words and their subject – Islam – are not the target. But if I showed as little respect to this flag as Isis shows to the religion and people they claim to represent so that when people saw it they would think, “dildos”? Would that be a crazy idea?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/30/isis-dildo-flag-london-pride-cnn

July 1, 2015

It's Official -- Bernie Sanders Has Overtaken Hillary Clinton In the Hearts and Minds of Democrats

According to PBS, Bernie Sanders is "gaining against Clinton in early polls." Salon's Bill Curry believes "Hillary Clinton is going lose," primarily because millions of voters longing for a truly progressive candidate will nominate Sanders. POLITICO explained recently that Early-state polls hint at a Bernie Sanders surge, a headline that was unthinkable only several months earlier. Yahoo's Meredith Shiner calls Sanders a "progressive social media star and pragmatic legislator" and states that "Sanders also has a much more substantial legislative history" than any GOP challenger. In Iowa, 1,100 people packed a gym to hear Bernie Sanders speak in May.

In contrast, Team Hillary had an intimate business roundtable discussion with five "ordinary" Iowans. The only problem was that according to The Washington Post, "All five were selected to attend her events." In fact, Clinton's "staged roundtables" were attended by a total of 13 Iowans, picked by either the campaign or the host.

Therefore, a paradigm shift has taken place. Many Iowans drove 50 miles to hear Sanders speak in Des Moines, primarily because Bernie Sanders has surpassed Clinton as the ideal choice for Democratic nominee. Regarding electability, Sanders has also surpassed Clinton as the realistic choice for Democratic nominee in the minds of many voters, because as one Salon piece illustrates, Hillary "just doesn't get it."

When it comes to everything from immigration to climate change and economic issues (most Americans side with Democrats, according to Pew research and other data) some writers believe that Democrats "can nominate a ham sandwich and win the presidency." Although once thought of as an impossibility, a closer look at the electoral map shows why Bernie Sanders could realistically defeat any GOP challenger. If voters around the country still care about middle class economics, the federal budget, trade and other hot button issues in 2016, Sanders has a legitimate chance to win. Also, since Sanders isn't tied to Obama fatigue like Hillary Clinton, it's quite possible the Vermont Senator re-energizes an America that just recently decided the Confederate flag doesn't represent its value system.

According to a POLITICO piece titled The 2016 Results We Can Already Predict, "Assuming the lean, likely, and safe Democratic states remain loyal to the party, the nominee need only win 23 of the 85 toss-up electoral votes." Therefore, there's no need to jettison cherished values for the sake of pragmatism; those days are over. Senator Bernie Sanders, known in Washington and throughout the nation as an advocate for middle class Americans, veterans, the environment, and other cherished causes can win crucial electoral votes just as easily as Hillary Clinton.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/its-official-bernie-sande_b_7660226.html

June 29, 2015

Saudi Officials Linked to Jihadist Group in WikiLeaks Cables

Source: Wall Street Journal

Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, had high-level contacts with America’s most deadly adversary in Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, according to purported Saudi diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

The documents, which couldn’t be independently verified, say the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan met in 2012 with Nasiruddin Haqqani, the chief fundraiser for the jihadist group who has been on a United Nations terrorism watch list since 2010.

In the meeting, Mr. Haqqani requested medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for his father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the terrorist organization, the diplomatic correspondence says. The documents indicate the elder Haqqani carries a Saudi passport.

The Saudi embassy in Islamabad wasn’t available to comment, and Afghan officials didn’t immediately respond to the allegations. Senior U.S. officials said they were reviewing the reports but they had no immediate comment. Earlier this month, Osama Nugali, a Saudi foreign ministry spokesman, said that many of the documents published by WikiLeaks “have been clearly fabricated.” But he also said that the documents “didn’t give any information other than that formerly announced by the ministry” on international or regional issues.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-officials-linked-to-jihadist-group-in-wikileaks-cables-1435529198

June 29, 2015

In Bernie Sanders, an unlikely — but real — threat to Hillary Clinton

At the first glimpse of the rumpled 73-year-old senator from Vermont, the standing-room-only crowd at a historic inn here Sunday morning erupted — leaping up, waving signs and breaking into chants of “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!”

The scene has become a familiar one as Bernie Sanders makes a most unexpected surge in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sanders — a self-described democratic socialist — has seen his crowds swell and is gaining ground in the polls on the formidable Democratic front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In New Hampshire, where Sanders was on yet another weekend swing, one survey last week showed him within 8 percentage points of Clinton.

Sanders’s emerging strength has exposed continued misgivings among the party’s progressive base about Clinton, whose team is treading carefully in its public statements. Supporters have acknowledged privately the potential for Sanders to damage her — perhaps winning an early state or two — even if he can’t win the nomination.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-bernie-sanders-an-unlikely--but-real--threat-to-hillary-clinton/2015/06/28/feb64a74-1daf-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html

June 20, 2015

Building muscles with bob

https://m.

June 20, 2015

Look who the Saudi Puppet government of Yemen brought to the peace talks.

A member of the delegation of the Yemeni government in exile Abdel Wahab al-Humayqani (second right) shakes hands with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as Yemeni Foreign Minister Riad Yassin (left) and the UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed look on, after a meeting in Geneva earlier this week.

US criticizes Yemen government for including al-Qaida financier in delegation to peace talks

The U.S. is criticizing Yemen's government for including an accused al-Qaida financier among its delegation to U.N.-brokered peace negotiations.

The State Department says American officials raised concerns with the U.N.

But it blames the government for Abdel-Wahab Humayqani's participation in talks in Geneva.

The U.S. added him to a terror blacklist in 2013 for financing Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and helping expand its foothold in Yemen. It said then he was "at the center of global support networks that fund and facilitate terrorism" and that he was establishing a political party as cover for AQAP.

http://www.startribune.com/us-blasts-yemen-for-terror-financier-s-role-in-peace-talks/308199721/

In his capacity as the head of a Yemen-based charity, Humayqani has used his status in the charitable community to fundraise and has provided some of that funding to AQAP and has facilitated financial transfers from AQAP supporters in Saudi Arabia to Yemen in support of AQAP operations. As of 2012, Humayqani was an important figure within AQAP and reportedly had a relationship with important AQAP leaders. Humayqani and others in March 2012 reportedly orchestrated an AQAP attack on a Yemeni Republican Guard base in al-Bayda' Governorate, Yemen. The attack employed multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and killed seven. He is suspected to have recruited individuals to AQAP who were involved in a plot to assassinate Yemeni officials.

Humayqani has provided financial support and other services to AQAP and acted for or on behalf of the group. He has represented AQAP in meetings with Yemeni officials to negotiate the release of Yemeni soldiers held by AQAP and worked with AQAP operatives to coordinate the movement of AQAP fighters within Yemen. Humayqani has directed a group of armed AQAP associates that intended to carry out attacks on Yemeni government facilities and institutions, including a Yemeni government building in al-Bayda Governorate. He has also recruited individuals in Sana, Yemen on behalf of AQAP in support of AQAP efforts in southern Yemen.

Along with the U.S. and UN designated cleric Shaykh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani, he has issued religious guidance in support of AQAP operations. Humayqani and AQAP leadership have planned to establish a new political party in Yemen, which AQAP planned to use as a cover for the recruitment and training of fighters and a means to attract broader support. AQAP leadership decided that Humayani would play a public role as a leader and spokesman for the new political party.

http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2249.aspx

Sitting there in Geneva with Ban Ki-Moon.

June 18, 2015

Islamic State car bombs kill or injure 50 in Yemeni capital

Source: Reuters

Car bombs killed or injured at least 50 people near mosques and the headquarters of Yemen's dominant Houthi group in Sanaa on Wednesday, in coordinated attacks claimed by Islamic State.

The four blasts rocked the capital as Saudi-led forces conducted more air strikes against Houthi military bases across Yemen and Houthi delegates attending peace talks in Switzerland reported the first tentative progress on the second day of a U.N.-sponsored push for a Ramadan truce.

A security official said at least 50 people were killed or wounded in the attacks on the Hashush mosque, the Kibsi mosque, the al-Qubah al-Khadra mosque and the political bureau of the Ansarullah movement of the Houthis, who belong to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam.

"The explosion was so loud I thought it was caused by an air strike," said a man in his 70s named Ali, who had just left a mosque when a bomb went off.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/17/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0OX0KQ20150617

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I was wondering how long it would take for the Saudi mercenary army to show up in Yemen. They've been getting an expensive lesson.

June 17, 2015

Two of the largest National Security breaches in American history tied to Privatization.

The "OPM" hack was actually a hack of USIS

USIS profile at wikipedia

http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2015/04/private-investigators-say-hacked-and-bankrupt-usis-didnt-shirk-security/110995/

Edward Snowden at the time he gathered evidence of widespread NSA spying was not a government employee. He was an employee of Booz allen Hamilton



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/booz-allen-hamilton-edward-snowden

Privatization and the hatred of civil service workers in favor of corporations, is at the root of these two massive national security debacles.

June 17, 2015

FDA: Trans Fats A ‘Threat To Public Health’ – Food Industry Must Phase Them Out

The Obama administration is ordering food companies to phase out the use of heart-clogging trans fats over the next three years, calling them a threat to public health.

The move will remove artificial trans fats from the food supply almost entirely. Consumers aren’t likely to notice much of a difference in their favorite foods, but the administration says the move will reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.

Scientists say there are no health benefits to the fats, which are used in processing food and in restaurants, usually to improve texture, shelf life or flavor. They can raise levels of “bad” cholesterol and lower “good” cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

The fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it more solid, which is why they are often called partially hydrogenated oils.

Once a staple of the American diet — think shortening and microwave popcorn — most artificial trans fats are already gone. The FDA says that between 2003 and 2012, consumer trans fat consumption decreased an estimated 78 percent as food companies have used other kinds of oils to replace them.

But some foods still have them, and the FDA says those trans fats remaining in the food supply are a threat to public health. Some of the foods that commonly contain trans fats are pie crusts, biscuits, microwave popcorn, coffee creamers, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, vegetable shortenings and stick margarines.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/06/16/fda-trans-fats-a-threat-to-public-health-food-industry-ordered-to-stop-using-them/