Time to Indict Hussein and Holder for Fast & Furious. Maybe some extradition to Mexico to stand trial for all the deaths those guns caused
>I don't see why it's any less credible than any other news source cited
How new are you?
Real Raw news is such shite it has a square on the Bingo cards.
Where are the good shills? The Weekend Crew? Friday night and it's a RRN slide? Honestly?
IMO Raises Concern About Shadow Tanker Fleet
By Alaric Nightingale and Thomas Gualtieri Bloomberg March 31, 2023
A United Nations agency that oversees shipping raised concerns about the shadow fleet that has emerged to transport oil amid sanctions, and called for more steps to boost safety.
A committee of the International Maritime Organization also raised concerns about the safety of ship-to-ship transfers — whereby tankers offload oil from one ship to another at sea.
‘Shadow’ Tanker Fleet Raises Risk of Accidents
In the most concrete step, it said states that become aware of ships going dark — or turning off their transponders — should be subject to more inspections.
Russia’s invasion of its neighbor — and subsequent sanctions by Western governments — have dramatically altered trade routes for oil. While more Russian crude has flowed to Asia, the shipping has also become murkier. Traders are increasingly transferring oil among a shadow fleet of aging tankers in international waters off Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa.
https://gcaptain.com/imo-raises-concern-about-shadow-tanker-fleet/
In the most concrete step…
Trade War: EU Unveils New China Countermeasure Toolkit
John Konrad March 28, 2023
The European Union has agreed on a new defense mechanism, allowing retaliation against countries employing economic blackmail or punitive trade measures, such as China’s blockade of Lithuanian imports due to the Baltic nation’s ties with Taiwan.
Member states can ask the European Commission to investigate any case of coercion and, if a country is found guilty, the Commission can work out a list of countermeasures. These could include increasing customs duties, canceling import or export licenses, and limiting services and public procurement. Unless a majority of the 27 member states oppose it, the countermeasures will be implemented after the legislation is passed in about six months.
“Overnight, we made huge strides in shaping this new instrument to become an effective deterrent and a powerful tool against coercion,” Bernd Lange, Chair of the Committee on International Trade, said after the talks. “With a broad list of countermeasures, a framework for obtaining reparation for injury, clear timelines and Parliament’s close involvement throughout the process, we are close to finalizing a deal that will equip the European Union to defend itself when faced with economic blackmail.”
The anti-coercion tool is the latest unilateral action taken by Brussels after labeling China a systemic rival in 2019. Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis highlighted its importance for deterring economic bullying and safeguarding EU interests in an unstable world. The political agreement is still pending final approval in the upcoming weeks.
Growing disillusionment with the World Trade Organization’s dispute process, partly due to the US’s reluctance to participate fully, has led the EU to seek alternative solutions. The anti-coercion instrument aims to discourage nations from targeting the EU and its member states with economic coercion in the form of trade or investment measures.
In late 2021, China initiated an informal embargo on all imports from Lithuania and EU imports containing Lithuanian components after Vilnius allowed Taiwan to establish a representative office. The EU lodged a complaint with the WTO, and the case is ongoing.
The commission also reported several instances of economic coercion against EU members each year. In response, the EU introduced a mechanism to penalize companies receiving foreign subsidies that distort the internal market and another measure to promote openness in other countries’ public procurement markets. The EU has also proposed a ban on products manufactured using forced labor.
https://gcaptain.com/trade-war-eu-unveils-new-china-countermeasure-toolkit/
CDC team falls sick probing Ohio train derailment
By Bernd Debusmann Jr BBC News, Washington March 31, 2023
Authorities say seven US health investigators fell ill while probing the impact of the 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the investigator's symptoms included nausea and headaches.
Locals in East Palestine have reported similar illnesses.
The train was carrying vinyl chloride and other potentially hazardous substances.
The CDC investigators formed part of a team that was conducting house-to-house interviews in the area of the derailment last month, according to authorities. They immediately reported their symptoms to federal authorities after they fell ill.
"Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon," the CDC said in a statement. "Everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects."
In the wake of the derailment, state and federal officials repeatedly sought to reassure East Palestine residents that local air and water supplies were safe. Residents, however, reported headaches, nausea, burning eyes and sore throats, sparking fears that their long-term health could be impacted.
Environmental officials have said that nearly 45,000 animals died as a result of the toxic train crash, although all were aquatic species.
One of the chemicals that the train was carrying, vinyl chloride, is a colourless, hazardous gas that is primarily used to make PVC plastic. It is also a known carcinogen and acute exposure is linked to dizziness, drowsiness and headaches. Prolonged exposure can cause liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer.
On Thursday, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company that operated the train - Norfolk Southern - over environmental damage caused by the derailment.
The justice department said it plans to hold the company responsible for "unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup," the lawsuit states.
Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking fines and a judgement that will hold the firm accountable for future costs associated with the environmental response to the derailment.
A separate lawsuit, filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last month, is seeking to recoup the state's costs and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries out long-term environmental monitoring.
Norfolk Southern has repeatedly apologised for the crash and has so far pledged $27.9m (£22.6m) to the community.
"I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities," CEO Alan Shaw told a Senate committee earlier this month. "I am determined to make this right."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65141709
Ah, the "before times"
Top Navy Admiral Says No To Icebreakers
John Konrad March 31, 2023
by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) As tensions rise in the Arctic with Russia and China expanding their presence, Congresswoman Betty McCollum – ranking member of the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee – confronted Navy Chief Of Naval Operation Mike Gilday in a heated hearing on Wednesday, asking hard questions on the United States’ preparedness in this strategic region. Surprisingly, Gilday sidestepped responsibility for icebreakers, passing the buck to the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Amidst growing global competition, this evasion raises critical questions about the U.S. military’s commitment to safeguarding national security and economic interests in the Arctic.
“China has participated in 33 Arctic operations in the last two decades. They engage in all major Arctic institutions and continue to expand their icebreaker fleet, which now includes two medium icebreakers, and they are currently developing heavy icebreakers,” Betty McCollum said while questioning Gilday and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. She highlighted that “Russia alone has 40 icebreakers, including two nuclear-powered ones.”
Russia’s vast icebreaker fleet stands in stark contrast to United States which has only one operational heavy icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star. The Polar Star has faced raging fire, breakdowns, failed inspections, and numerous mechanical issues in recent years due to its age and condition, as it was commissioned in 1976. Despite these issues, the U.S. Coast Guard has been able to maintain the Polar Star in service with herculean repair efforts, and its sister ship, the USCGC Polar Sea, has been inactive since 2010 due to engine failure and is currently awaiting a decision on whether to refurbish or decommission it leaving the nation without reliable icebreaking service.
McCollum further inquired about the Navy’s actions to counter Russia and China’s activities in the region and questioned why the Navy had not allocated any funds in the new budget for icebreakers. She also expressed concern about the US Navy’s presence in Arctic waters and the capabilities of America’s aging fleet of Merchant Marine ships to sail in the Arctic. By stressing these crucial factors, McCollum highlights the pressing need for a renewed focus on the United States Arctic preparedness and resources.
Del Toro said the Department of Defense has “significantly increased the amount of operations we’ve conducted in the Arctic to just this past two years” but passed the icebreaker and Merchant Marine questions to Gilday who ignored the latter and passed the buck on the former.
“Ma’am on icebreakers, there is no requirement for the Navy to have icebreakers we never have had that requirement,” said Gilday “So that requirement is with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and hence they need to fund icebreakers.”
McCollum responded “That’s not a good answer admiral, that you don’t have a requirement because you make requests for lots of things (outside official requirements).”
Navy Shrugs Off More than Icebreakers
Neither Gilday or Del Torro mentioned their responsibility to oversee this program or the multitude of failures that resulted in the firesale. And this in not the first time these leaders have misled congress about working ship programs. The US Navy has received congressional criticisms for neglecting its working ships, its oilers, its sealift ships, amphibious troopships and the lack of fireboats in its fleet. In a letter to Congress last year, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro responded to an inquiry regarding the absence of fireboats in San Diego Harbor, which houses hundreds of billions of dollars in warships and naval infrastructure.
The inquiry followed a fire on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard (BHR) in 2020, where no fireboats were available. Del Toro’s report claims that waterborne firefighting capability was provided by Navy tugboats during the BHR incident, but commercial mariners argue this statement is false, as civilian tugboats were used much later in the fire. The CNO said Navy does not intend to request or pursue dedicated fireboats at this time, despite their importance in protecting ships and harbors worldwide.
This week’s “no requirement” comment is just the latest in a pattern of shrugging off responsibility to much smaller and poorly funded organizations like the US Coast Guard and US Merchant Marine but, of all the ships the navy no longer protects or builds, icebreakers might be the most important today.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/top-navy-admiral-says-no-icebreakers/
Not a single American shipyard in on this stuff
Canada’s Davie Eyes Arctic Shipbuilding Expansion with Helsinki Shipyard
Mike Schuler March 27, 2023
Québec-based Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (Davie) has announced exercising its exclusive option to purchase the assets of Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard Oy (HSO), marking a step towards creating a leading international hub for Arctic shipbuilding.
Established in 1825, Davie is a leading Canadian shipbuilder and maintainer of specialized, mission-critical vessels, including icebreakers, warships, and ferries, catering to both the government and commercial sectors. As Canada’s largest and highest-capacity shipbuilder, Davie is an integral partner in the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
Helsinki Shipyard Oy, based in Finland, has a long-standing history of expertise in constructing specialized vessels particularly suited for navigating demanding Arctic conditions, including icebreakers, research vessels, and passenger ships.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/canadas-davie-eyes-arctic-shipbuilding-expansion-with-helsinki-shipyard/
Asia, Middle East Refining Fueling Booming Tanker Demand
By Chunzi Xu and Alex Longley Bloomberg March 31, 2023
The center of gravity in the global oil-refining complex is shifting sharply eastward — and that’s spurring a boom in the business of building ships to haul fuel around the globe.
As many as 38 mid-range tankers have been ordered this year, marking one of the busiest quarters since 2013, according to ship broker Braemar. The number of ships assigned international serial numbers — another gauge of orders — is at 28 this year, closing in on the total of 31 for all of 2022, according to ship broker Simpson Spence Young.
Inefficient refineries in the US and Europe shut down after the Covid-19 pandemic crushed demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, while new complexes are being built in Asia and the Middle East. The subsequent rebound in demand has fuel buyers looking to those new producers for supplies, drawing larger amounts of product onto the water.
The trend has ratcheted up the rates the existing fleet can charge, making shipping more profitable and accelerating the construction of new vessels.
“The main, structural shift in the refinery landscape that will support refined-product shipping demand in the medium- and long-term is the geographical dislocation between new refineries and major consumers,” said Alexandra Alatari, senior analyst at Braemar.
The total amount of fuel that can be found at sea is currently more than 200 million barrels, up from 177 million two years ago, according to data from Kpler Inc. The figures include cargoes in transit, being moved from ship to ship, floating in storage or simply stuck in congestion.
Already, buyers on the US East Coast are taking more fuel shipments from the Middle East and Asia as exports from Europe dry up. Australia, which saw some domestic refineries close, is drawing more cargoes from north and southeast Asia, and India is exporting more products to Latin America. In the years ahead, US Gulf Coast refineries are poised to ship more to West Africa and Europe, said John Auers, managing director of refined fuels analytics at consultancy RBN Energy.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has bolstered the phenomenon, sending shipping rates surging in recent months as sanctions further reshuffle global trade flows. Tankers in the Atlantic are earning about $40,000 a day, the highest for this time of year since at least 2013. Products are spending more time on vessels for longer-haul routes, while also waiting around to transfer onto other ships and in floating storage.
The increased ship orders are defying rising price tags. The cost for new builds has climbed to around $45 million per vessel, up 14% from a year earlier and the highest since 2008, data from ship brokers show.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/asia-middle-east-refining-fueling-booming-tanker-demand/
For the Keks
Australian man arrested over AK-47-shaped bong
By Tom Housden BBC News, Sydney March 30 2023
Australian police have charged a man who was seen allegedly carrying what seemed to be an AK-47 assault rifle – but which turned out to have a rather different purpose.
Officers rushed into action after a flurry of emergency calls from north-west Sydney on Wednesday evening.
A helicopter joined the search before CCTV led police to a parked car.
A "gun" was recovered, but police soon realised it was in fact a bong - a device used to smoke marijuana.
A 50-year-old man was later arrested in connection with the incident, police said.
"A search of [a] vehicle by police allegedly located an imitation AK-47 assault rifle. With the assistance of Polair [helicopter], officers found a man in nearby grassland," a New South Wales Police statement said.
The man was later charged with possession of an unauthorised firearm and intimidation.
He has been remanded in custody and his case will be heard in April.
Police will allege in court that the seized item was a bong, a water-filled filtration device used to smoke marijuana and other herbal substances, local media reported.
NSW drugs laws state that it is an offence to "sell, supply or display for sale a bong… or the component parts, whether or not [it] is intended to be used to administer a prohibited drug".
Designed as a cheap and reliable weapon for the Soviet army by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s, some 100 million actual AK-47s are estimated to have been manufactured over seven decades.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65120330
Google faces new multi-billion advertising lawsuit
By Chris Vallance Technology reporter 31 March 2023
A lawsuit has been filed against Google to seek £3.4bn ($4.2bn) in compensation for publishers for lost revenue.
The claim, by ex-Guardian technology editor Charles Arthur, alleges Google unlawfully used a dominant position in online adverts in a way that reduced what publishers could make from them.
Google said it would fight the "speculative and opportunistic" action vigorously.
It is the second such lawsuit, after a similar case was launched in November.
That was brought by former Ofcom director Claudio Pollack, who is looking for up to £13.6bn in damages from the tech giant.
The cases concern advertising technology - adtech - that decides in a fraction of a second which online adverts consumers will see, how much they will cost, and how much publishers will earn.
Online display advertising is the main source of income for many websites.
Google faces €25bn legal action in UK and the EU
The UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is also investigating Google's dominance in advertising technology.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, Mr Arthur claims that because of Google's abuse of its position, the prices of adtech services were inflated, and ad sales revenues of publishers were unlawfully reduced.
"The CMA is currently investigating Google's anti-competitive conduct in adtech, but they don't have the power to make Google compensate those who have lost out. We can only right that wrong through the courts, which is why I am bringing this claim," he wrote.
Collective claims
Both legal claims ask the court - the Competition Appeal Tribunal - to certify their claims as "opt-out", meaning every relevant publisher would be automatically included in the case unless they choose otherwise.
These are collective claims, often referred to as a class action in the United States, which only became possible in the UK in 2015. Because they are brought on behalf of a whole group or class, the damages can be very large.
Unless Mr Arthur and Mr Pollack agree to collaborate, the tribunal will have to decide which one should lead the collective claim
Many competitors
Google told the BBC its advertising tools, "and those of our many adtech competitors, help millions of websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers".
Although the CMA found that Google owned the largest provider in three key areas of adtech, the firm maintains it has many competitors. It also says its adtech fees are lower than, or match, industry averages.
But in a case launched in January, the US Justice department accused Google of being an "industry behemoth" that had "corrupted legitimate competition in the adtech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers".
On Tuesday, Google asked a court to dismiss the case - arguing that the US government had overstated its hold on the market.
In 2021 the French competition regulator, Autorité de la concurrence, fined Google €220m for favouring its own services in the online advertising sector.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65115231
Breakaway Barges on Ohio River’s Portland Canal
Mike Schuler March 29, 2023
Some tense moments on the Portland Canal yesterday morning as a vessel towing 11 barges collided with a stationary structure near the McAlpine Lock and Dam in Louisville, Kentucky.
The impact caused 10 of the 11 barges to break free, with three of them coming to rest against the lower McAlpine Dam structure. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the event.
In addition to carrying cargoes of soy and corn, one of the partially submerged barges is carrying approximately 1,400 metric tons of methanol in one its three independent cargo holds, posing a potential environmental risk.
The Portland Canal is a narrow, man-made waterway located in Louisville, Kentucky, that connects the Ohio River’s main channel to the McAlpine Locks and Dam, facilitating the passage of commercial and recreational vessels around the Falls of the Ohio River.
So far, authorities have confirmed that there is no evidence of a tank breach or leaks, and both air and water monitoring resources are in place to ensure safety.
The top priority for all parties involved remains the safety of the public and first responders. Thankfully, there has been no impact on Louisville Water’s water intake or quality. The river waterway remains open, with local vessel traffic services facilitating navigation.
A Unified Command has been established to coordinate the response, led by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley and the Louisville Metro Government Emergency Management Agency. The Kentucky Environment and Energy Cabinet is closely monitoring water quality, while CTEH oversees air quality assessments.
https://gcaptain.com/breakaway-barges-on-ohio-rivers-portland-canal/
Remember Kiddies, methanol with the "m" is also known as wood alcohol and is poisonous
US Marine’s adoption of Afghan war orphan voided
The rare ruling is the latest twist in an ongoing legal battle between Afghan and US couples for three-year-old girl.
31 March 2023
In a highly unusual ruling, a state court judge in Virginia has voided a United States Marine’s adoption of an Afghan war orphan more than a year after he took the three-year-old girl away from the Afghan couple raising her.
But the girl’s future remains uncertain. For now, she will stay with Marine Major Joshua Mast and his wife, Stephanie, under a temporary custody order they obtained before the adoption. The Masts will have to re-prove to the court that they should be granted a permanent adoption.
Despite the uncertainty, Thursday’s ruling was a welcome move for the Afghan couple, who had been identified by the Afghan government as the child’s relatives in February 2020 and had raised her for 18 months.
The Masts quickly left the court after the hearing, flanked by their attorneys. The parties are forbidden from commenting by a gag order.
The ongoing dispute raised alarms at the highest levels of government – from the White House to the Taliban – after an Associated Press news agency investigation in October revealed how Mast became determined to rescue the baby and bring her home as an act of Christian faith.
But until now, the adoption order has remained in place.
“There’s never, ever been a case like this,” Judge Claude V Worrell Jr said on Thursday.
The girl, who will turn four this summer, was an infant when she was found injured in the rubble after a US-Afghan military raid in a rural part of the country in September 2019.
She spent more than five months in a US military hospital before the Afghan government and the International Committee of the Red Cross determined she had living relatives and united her with them.
Unbeknown to them, Mast learned about the baby while she was hospitalised and decided that he and his wife should be her parents.
The Masts previously told Virginia Circuit Court Judge Richard Moore that she was the daughter of transient “terrorists” who died in the fight and thus a stateless orphan.
Mast claimed that the Afghan government was prepared to waive jurisdiction over her, though it never did. Moore granted him the adoption.
The Masts first contacted the couple in Afghanistan and offered to help with the girl’s medical treatment. After the US military withdrew from Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban in 2021, the Masts helped the couple evacuate to the US.
Once they arrived, Mast used the adoption order to take the child and the Afghan couple have not seen her since.
The Masts claim in court filings that they legally adopted the child and that the Afghan couple’s accusations that they kidnapped her are “outrageous” and “unmerited”. They have repeatedly declined to comment to the AP.
Judge Worrell, who took over the case after Judge Moore retired in November, said the Afghan couple “were the de facto parents when they arrived in the US” and their due process was violated.
Worrell also said from the bench that the Masts knew things that they never told the court, particularly about what was happening in Afghanistan at the same time the judge in Virginia was granting the adoption.
He said he was not sure it was intentional but “the fact of the matter is that the court did not have all the information known to [the Masts] at the time the order was entered”.
The ruling is one more twist in what is already a standout case.
“Once an adoption is final, it is extremely difficult and rare for it to be overturned,” a lawyer in Virginia, Stanton Phillips, said.
“This is really, really unusual,” adoption lawyer Barbara Jones said. “You just don’t hear about this happening.”
A US Defense Department spokesperson told the AP on Thursday the department was aware of the ruling and referred the news agency to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.
Another hearing is scheduled for June.
Source: The Associated Press
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/31/us-marines-adoption-of-afghan-war-orphan-voided
South Africa #10 >>18619446
Zimbabweans outraged by Al Jazeera exposé on gold smuggling elite
An Al Jazeera investigation exposed several individuals linked to the government who are involved in gold smuggling.
By Chris Muronzi 30 Mar 2023
Harare, Zimbabwe – Revelations of gold smuggling by individuals affiliated with Zimbabwean government officials and the ruling party in an Al Jazeera documentary have triggered outrage in the country.
The four-part documentary titled The Gold Mafia was filmed by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), based on dozens of undercover operations spanning three continents and thousands of documents.
It exposed how huge amounts of gold are clandestinely smuggled every month from Zimbabwe, Africa’s sixth-largest gold producer, to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, aiding money laundering through an intricate web of shell companies, fake invoices and paid-off officials.
Uebert Angel, presidential envoy and ambassador-at-large to Europe and the Americas since March 2021, was secretly filmed bragging that he could move $1.2bn easily, due to his diplomatic immunity.
Other individuals filmed or named in the documentary as being part of smuggling rings include Zimbabwe Miners Federation President Henrietta Rushwaya – believed to be the niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa – and Kamlesh Pattni, a businessman previously involved in a gold smuggling scandal in Kenya.
Pattni, who “knighted” Robert Mugabe as King of Kings in March 2012, handing over a black gown and gold crown to the late leader, still has strong connections to the ruling party.
In October 2020, Rushwaya was arrested at the Harare airport for attempting to smuggle gold to Dubai. Her case is still in court but the National Prosecuting Authority has said there is not enough evidence for a conviction.
Chris Mutsvangwa, spokesman for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), blamed the West for attempting to foment public anger through the documentary.
“The country’s detractors, who coalesced aroundGeorge Soros and his Open Society Institute of Southern Africaare clearly miffed and terribly disappointed that Zimbabwe has reverted to and resurrected gold as the reference anchor of the US Dollar,” said Mutsvangwa in a statement.
“Countries under sanctions have to find ways of circumventing the sanctions,” government spokesman Nick Mangwana said in a tweet, drawing widespread criticism from users. “This may mean having to procure supplies through third parties or sell in grey market.”
More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/30/zimbabweans-outraged-by-al-jazeera-expose-of-gold-smuggling-elite