French bank pays huge US fine for doing business in Cuba, Iran

Societe Generale has agreed to pay $1.34 billion to US federal and state authorities to settle a pending legal dispute over violations of US trade sanctions against Iran and other countries.

One of France’s largest banks has also pledged to pay $95 million to resolve another dispute over violations of anti-money laundering regulations.

“We acknowledge and regret the shortcomings that were identified in these settlements, and have cooperated with the US authorities to resolve these matters,” the group CEO Frederic Oudea said in a statement.

These resolutions, following on the heels of the resolution of other investigations earlier this year, allow the bank to close a chapter on our most important historical disputes.”

The bank, informally known as SocGen, reportedly violated the Trading with the Enemy Act by illegally transferring billions of dollars to partners registered or located in countries targeted by US embargos, including Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Libya.

The banking giant said the settlement wouldn’t have an extra impact on its results for the current financial year. SocGen had previously agreed to $1.3 billion (€1.14 billion) in the US and France to settle investigations over transactions with Libya, and over the suspected rigging of Libor, a benchmark rate tied to finance products and debts. Last year, the bank had paid €963 million ($1.1 billion) over another dispute with the Libyan Investment Authority.

According to the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, the latest fine imposed on SocGen is the second biggest financial penalty issued on a bank for breaching US sanctions. In 2015, French international banking group BNP Paribas agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle a probe on sanctions violations.

https://www.rt.com/business/444428-societe-generale-fine-us-sanctions/

‘Israeli sniper’ shoots AP cameraman in PRESS vest as he films border protest

An Associated Press (AP) cameraman has been injured by gunfire while filming a protest in the Gaza Strip, the agency said. He was apparently shot by an Israeli sniper despite wearing clothes identifying him as a media worker.

Rashed Rashid, 47 was injured in the leg on Monday while covering the weekly protest at the Israeli border wall, AP reported. He received multiple bone fractures above the ankle and will require surgery.

Witnesses say Rashid was standing on an elevated area some 600 meters from the fence, when the shooting happened. He was far from protesters and was wearing a blue helmet and brown protective vest with the word “PRESS” clearly written in white. He was also operating a live camera.

The shot appeared to have come from the Israeli side of the border. The Israeli military said they are investigating what happened.

Rashid was one of 25 people injured along the border on Monday, according to The Times of Israel. The Israeli military said about 800 Palestinians were “rioting,” throwing rocks and an explosive device, prompting deployment of tear gas and live fire from the IDF. Some 20 boats also tried to break through the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians have been holding protest along the border fence since March. The IDF is estimated to have injured over a 10,000 people and killed over a 1,000 over the months, saying the use of lethal force is justified and calling the protests a ploy by the militant group Hamas. The group regularly launches missile attacks towards Israel while Tel Aviv conducts airstrikes and occasionally deploys tanks in retaliation.

https://www.rt.com/news/444448-ap-cameraman-shot-sniper-gaza/

Caravan - San Francisco Judge Halts Trump Asylum Ban

A federal judge in San Francisco has determined that the White House Administration of President Donald Trump is not allowed to exclude immigrants illegally entering the United States from the southern border from applying for asylum.

It is a temporary decision of the judge. Presumably, he’ll decide in December whether his ruling will stand for long term. Given that there are thousands of asylum seekers currently amassing in Tijuana wanting to cross the border the ruling has immediate consequences.

Earlier this month, as the multiple caravans were on their way to the US, President signed a decree to discourage illegal immigration.

The decree would make it possible to automatically refuse asylum applications from people who had illegally crossed the border between Mexico and the US.

Migrants who wanted to enter from Mexico were therefore only allowed to apply for asylum at official border posts.

US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued the temporary restraining order after hearing arguments by several civil rights groups who claimed that the immigrants human rights were being violated.

Judge Tigar, in his ruling, said the current US legislation made it clear that any foreigner arriving in the US "whether or not at a designated port of arrival" could apply for asylum.

He furthermore stated that President Trump's unilateral proclamation of 9 November was an "extreme departure" from prior practice.

"Whatever the scope of the president's authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden."

The case was brought by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

http://www.thegoldwater.com/news/42833-Caravan-San-Francisco-Judge-Halts-Trump-Asylum-Ban

Full court order:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5194180-11-19-18-East-Bay-Sanctuary-Order.html

Cop Tasked With Helping Child Sex Crime Victims Arrested for Raping a Child Victim he was ‘Helping’

A detective assigned to the department's child sex crimes unit—whose job was to help child victims—has been arrested for allegedly raping one of those victims.

Los Angeles, CA — A disturbing case of police rape has surfaced out of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department this week as a detective assigned to handle victims of child molestation cases was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl. The girl was a victim in a case the officer was investigating and had already been raped by someone else.

Detective Neil Kimball, 45, was assigned to the Special Victims Bureau, a unit tasked with investigation cases of sex crimes against children. Kimball was arrested on Friday on suspicion of rape by force and “preventing or dissuading a witness or victim from testifying,” said Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Given the number of victims Kimball has had contact with in the past, this case has caused grave concern at the department. According to the LA Times, Kimball has investigated dozens of child molestation cases in the last 5 years as a member of the elite specialized unit.

“The investigation and arrest resulted from information provided to the department by a member of the public,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The department kept the arrest on Friday under wraps and made no mention of it until Monday.

Adding to the insidious nature of the case is the fact that this is not the first time Kimball has been accused of sexual misconduct on the job.

As the LA Times reports, Kimball was investigated previously, after a woman told the Sheriff’s Department in February 2009 that Kimball had grabbed her hand several months earlier and tried to make her touch his genitals, according to a memo from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Prosecutors ultimately declined to charge Kimball in the case.

The above allegations were made in 2009 and despite the evidence against him—although it didn’t lead to a conviction—Kimball was allowed to join the special victims unit to deal with child victims of sexual assault.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/lasd-child-victims-detective-arrested/

Report says Trump administration nixed LGBT policy for 4-H, resulting in Iowa leader’s ouster

The Des Moines Register reported Sunday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture forced 4-H to withdraw a controversial LGBT policy, resulting in the eventual firing of Iowa’s top leader in the youth organization.

What are the details?

In March, 4-H issued guidance — published under the logos for the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and 4-H National Headquarters — to serve as an outline for “4-H programs around the country on how to be inclusive for individuals of all gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, and sexes.”

The document explained different forms of sexual orientation, gender expression, sex, intersex, and gender identity. It went on to detail gender transition, so as to alleviate any confusion for the organization that teaches 5- to 18-year-olds.

Under the guidance, 4-H clubs are required to refer to transgender or intersex individuals in accordance with their gender identity and must allow access to restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and housing in accordance with an individual’s gender identity. Requiring transgender or intersex individuals to stay in single-occupancy housing is forbidden, but accommodations may be made at the individual’s request.

Athletic activities may be segregated on the basis of sex, but transgender or intersex individuals cannot be prohibited from competing in the gender category with which they identify.

According to the Register, Heidi Green, then-chief of staff for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, requested that the guidance be rescinded within days of its publication. A NIFA communications manager then swiftly requested that Iowa and New York’s 4-H organizations take down the LGBT guidance down from their websites.

Several 4-H programs in other states also became embroiled in political controversy over the guidance, including Idaho, Wisconsin, California, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, and Virginia.

So, why was someone fired over this?

Iowa’s 4-H director at the time of the release, John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas, fought to keep the guidance and criticized his bosses for bending to pressure.

“I guess I am not sure why we are valuing the propaganda machine of a recognized hate group over the existing rights of LGBTQ youth?” he said in an email to a superior, referring to the story that was first reported by right-leaning publication WorldNetDaily. “It feels wrong to me.”

Chaisson-Cardenas is an LGBT rights activist and was reportedly thrilled to have received the national guidance for inclusiveness. After making what he says were approved edits to the document to fit the language of his employer — Iowa State University Extension — he posted a similar version online, and added a link to it in a 4-H Focus newsletter in late March.

A few weeks later, Chaisson-Cardenas promoted the new guidance, which he called “policy,” on local talk radio, and ISU was inundated with emails expressing backlash over new direction.

The next month, new guidance was issued by Iowa State on LGBTQ inclusion for Iowa’s 4-H programs. John Lawrence, the vice president of ISU’s Extension and Outreach, gave Chaisson-Cárdenasa a letter of discipline that same day, the Register reported, “expressing disappointment in how the Iowa transgender guidance was approached and posted as 4-H ‘policy.'”

Chaisson-Cardenas was also given the opportunity to resign after he complained that the new guidance didn’t outline a plan for the use of sex-segregated facilities by transgender students, but he stayed on.

According to the Register, “he kept working, maintaining his stance that xenophobia is pervasive within 4-H and that an updated inclusion policy with specific protections for LGBT members was needed.”

In August, Chaisson-Cardenas was let go. Iowa State issued a statement explaining he was dismissed because of his “tendency to focus on individual tactical projects while neglecting the overall strategic direction of the Iowa 4-H program; concerns raised by peers, employees and partners about his management style; and a pattern of poor decision-making and judgment.”

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/11/20/report-says-trump-administration-nixed-lgbt-policy-for-4-h-resulting-in-iowa-leaders-ouster

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Brexit Group Publishes Full Brexit Antidote to Theresa May’s Betrayal Deal

Rebel backbench leader Jacob Rees-Mogg and resigned Brexit secretary David Davis presented a paper addressing the “imagined” problems and roadblocks to Brexit Tuesday morning, which they said gives “practical answers” on how to leave the European Union without surrendering sovereignty.

Speaking in Westminster on Tuesday, members of the European Research Group — the Conservative organisation of backbench Eurosceptic Members of Parliament — and of Global Britain presented ‘Fact — NOT Friction’.

The paper addresses many claims that have been made during the Brexit negotiation process and challenges the “imaginary and… exaggerated” problems associated with leaving the European Union completely, pointing to the trade the UK conducts with the rest of the world already, and how those well-developed practices could be applied to the EU without disruption.

Mr Davis addressed the concerns over the impact of so-called Just in Time business practices, which sees shipments of needed parts arrive when they are needed rather than being held in warehouses nearby for future use, stating during the press conference that worries were overblown as “a large amount… for our industries comes from outside the European Union now” without problems.

A fifth of components imported for the UK car building industry already come from outside of the European Union, according to the ERG paper, and arrive successfully on time and are subject to customs procedures “that do not cause problems supposed to be likely when applied to future imports from the EU”.

Commending the document, Davis continued: “This is an answer not just to the technical economic problems, but to the political problems, the answer to the Northern Irish issue… is similarly straightforward as you’ll see in respect to customs issues. This paper goes right to the heart of two of the largest problems the government imagines it sees in a deal with the European Union.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/20/jacob-rees-mogg-brexit-group-publishes-full-brexit-antidote-theresa-may-betrayal-deal/

Tijuana Police Arrest 34 Caravan Migrants for Drugs, Drunkenness

Local police officers in Tijuana arrested 34 caravan migrants for misdemeanor charges including drug possession and public drunkenness. They were turned over to Mexican immigration authorities.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2018/11/20/tijuana-police-arrest-34-caravan-migrants-for-drugs-drunkenness/

>>3971945

Facebook & Instagram down in major outage

Facebook and Instagram have been hit by major outages, with users reporting that the sites’ home pages showed a only a “service unavailable” message. Hours beforehand, Facebook’s Messenger app crashed around the world.

Outages were reported on Tuesday afternoon in Britain and continental Europe, and on Tuesday morning in North America. On downdetector.com, a site where users can report website outages, reports flowed in from as far as away Ethiopia, Australia, and the Philippines.

More

https://www.rt.com/news/444444-facebook-instagram-down-problems/

US promises to ‘disrupt’ oil shipments to Syria, sanctions Russian & Iranian companies

The US has introduced sanctions against what it called a network of petroleum shipments to Syria, including Russian and Iranian companies and individuals. Washington says it wants to disrupt shipments to Syrian-owned ports.

Six individuals have been sanctioned over oil shipments to Syria, the US Treasury Department has said. Three institutions have also been sanctioned.

In addition to the fresh measures, the US Coast Guard has issued an advisory warning of “significant sanctions risks” on petroleum shipments to Syria. The US has promised that it will “disrupt” any attempted shipments to government-owned ports in Syria.

The Treasury Department claims that the individuals and companies affected by the measures are involved in a “complex and malign scheme” to bolster the regime of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. It claims that oil is being imported into Syria from Iran in defiance of American sanctions. The Syrian government then allegedly transfers cash to Islamic militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, at Iran’s direction.

It claims that Russian companies act as middlemen, taking money from Iran to move the oil to Syria. In one case detailed in a Treasury Department press release, the Iranian central bank transferred money to an Iranian pharmaceutical company, hoping that its humanitarian name would throw US observers off the trail.

That money was then allegedly wired to a Russian bank, then to a Russian company that shipped the oil from Iran to Syria. Along the way, the Treasury Department claims that Russian ships would switch off their GPS tracking systems to conceal the origin of their cargo.

https://www.rt.com/usa/444472-us-sanctions-russian-iranian-firms-syria/

More than one-third of Swedish girls subjected to sex offences in 2017 – Official report

As we reported yesterday, the number of men committing sexual offences against women in Sweden has drastically increased.

The official statistics of the National Security Survey (NTU) from the Swedish Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) show a very worrying trend for Swedish girls and young women.

In 2006, 2.5 per cent of all women reported that men had commit sexual offences toward them.

But since 2013 there has been a large surge in the number of cases with now 10.7 per cent of women who say that men have commit a sexual offence against them.

After specifying the groups, a much more worrying statistic is revealed. Young women in the 16-24 age category have seen a massive increase in sexual harassment by men, the Brå report shows.

The number of sexual offences against this group has seen a surge from 7.1 percent in 2006 to 34.4 percent in 2017.

But the Swedes don’t seem to worry much about it.

“It is important to keep in mind that sexual offence is a broad crime category that encompasses a wide range of crimes. Everything from milder offences such as sexist comments, to very serious crimes such as rape,” Brå investigator Maria Söderström tells national broadcaster SVT.

A criminologist even sees it as a positive development:

“The more we talk about it and the more it is written, the greater the effects it gets. To be able to report, you must first understand that what you have been exposed to is a crime.

“The more knowledge you get about harassment, the higher the chance you can tell what you have been exposed to,” Rung tells to SVT.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/11/more-than-one-third-of-swedish-girls-subjected-to-sex-offences-in-2017-official-report/

British Military’s Troll Factory: ‘Good Guys’ To Tell You ‘Truth’

On November 14th, Wired published a story about the UK’s 77th Brigade, which deals with information warfare, written by Carl Miller.

According to him the people in the 77th brigade are soldiers, but they fight on the newest battleground – the cyber one. They edit videos, set up cameras, record sound, etc. They were drafted from all around the British military for their proficiency in graphic design, social media advertising, and data analytics.

Some have taken the army’s course in Defense Media Operations, and almost half were civilian reserves, with full time jobs in marketing or consumer research.

There were various offices with people busy with their respective tasks in each of them.

“One room was focused on understanding audiences: the makeup, demographics and habits of the people they wanted to reach. Another was more analytical, focusing on creating “attitude and sentiment awareness” from large sets of social media data. Another was full of officers producing video and audio content. Elsewhere, teams of intelligence specialists were closely analyzing how messages were being received and discussing how to make them more resonant.”

The soldier’s work in their own words focused on “key influencers”, “reach”, “traction”, similarly to digital marketing experts.

“If you track where UK manpower is deployed, you can take a good guess at where this kind of ‘influence’ activity happens,” an anonymous information warfare officer, not affiliated with the 77th said. “A document will come from the Ministry of Defense that will have broad guidance and themes to follow.” According to him each military campaign was also a marketing campaign too.

For example:

“Ever since NATO troops were deployed to the Baltics in 2017, Russian propaganda has been deployed too, alleging that NATO soldiers there are rapists, looters, little different from a hostile occupation. One of the goals of NATO information warfare was to counter this kind of threat: sharply rebutting damaging rumors and producing videos of NATO troops happily working with Baltic hosts.”

According to the anonymous source, information campaigns are called “white,” whereas “grey” and “black” are more covert. They deal with “counter-piracy, counter-insurgencies and counter-terrorism.” The messaging in them doesn’t and shouldn’t look like it came from the military and may frequently be a lie.

“I saw no evidence that the 77th do these kinds of operations themselves, but this more aggressive use of information is nothing new,” Miller wrote.

https://southfront.org/british-militarys-troll-factory-good-guys-to-tell-you-truth/

>>3972148

>>3971864 Caravan - San Francisco Judge Halts Trump Asylum Ban