>>4595922

HANDOFF

Swedish hospital on lockdown after report of suspected Ebola case

A man is being treated in isolation in Sweden’s Uppsala University Hospital, after returning from a trip to Africa vomiting blood. Hospital authorities are concerned that the patient may have Ebola.

The man was transferred to an infection clinic in the Uppsala hospital on Friday, after checking himself into a hospital in nearby Enkoping several hours earlier. The hospital in Enkoping shut down its emergency room and monitored its staff after the patient displayed symptoms of Ebola.

Doctors in the Uppsala hospital are now awaiting test results to see if their worst suspicions are confirmed. For now though, they remain cautiously optimistic.

“Other diseases are quite possible,” said a statement from medical authorities there.

The man had returned from a trip to the east African country of Burundi several weeks ago. While Burundi is currently not a risk area for the disease, neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo has been grappling with an Ebola outbreak since last summer.

The vast majority of Ebola cases occur in Africa. An outbreak in west Africa between 2014 and 2016 killed an estimated 11,325 people, according to the World Health Organization. Only three confirmed cases were reported in Europe in that time. All three patients were hospitalized and none died.

The highly contagious Ebola virus causes a violent hemorrhagic fever, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, internal and external bleeding. The virus kills roughly half of those it infects, with better hospital care dramatically increasing patients’ chances of survival.

https://www.rt.com/news/448081-ebola-outbreak-sweden-hospital/

Democrats Refused To Listen To Border Security Briefing, So Trump Sent It To All Members Of Congress

https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/04/democrats-refused-to-listen-to-border-security-briefing-so-trump-sent-it-to-all-members-of-congress/

Two Russians killed in coalition’s airstrike in Syria

GROZNY, January 4. /TASS/. An international coalition’s airstrike targeting the militants of the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) has killed a resident of Chechnya’s Nadterechny District Khava Akhyadova, 35, and a four-year-old boy in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, Kheda Saratova from the civil society and human rights council under the Chechen president told TASS on Friday.

"Women and children die there," she said, naming Khava Akhyadova who "died today," leaving "five girls without parents." Saratova added that a four-year-old boy, a grandson of a woman from Dagestan, was also killed. According to the activists’ data, those killed by the airstrike were Russian nationals.

"The atmosphere is very strained there now, there is no humanitarian corridor, while those suffering are women and children who are used by bandits as human shield," Saratova’s aide Zalina Tatayeva told TASS. "Everyone is asking for a humanitarian corridor to be provided at least to women and children," she noted, adding that activists will be standing up for opening of humanitarian corridors and saving civilians.

http://tass.com/emergencies/1038969

Narco-Terrorist Threatens to Bomb Mexican Border State Police HQ

MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon – A narco-terrorist responsible for a grenade attack at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey threatened to blow up the headquarters of the state police agency currently cracking down on his operations.

The threats were delivered through a series of banners that gunmen with the Northeast Cartel faction of Los Zetas placed throughout Monterrey under orders of Hector Raul “El Tory” Luna Luna. El Tory demands law enforcement agencies in Nuevo Leon back off his criminal organization or they will go to war. The cartel boss claims the violence would start with an explosion at the building on “Gonzalitos,” a nickname for the headquarters of Nuevo Leon’s State Investigations Agency.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/01/04/exclusive-narco-terrorist-threatens-to-bomb-mexican-border-state-police-hq/

Departed Interior Sec. Zinke Under Investigation by DOJ

The Justice Department is looking into whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to investigators at the Department of Interior, The Washington Post reports. Anonymous sources tell the Post that investigators at the Interior's inspector general's office raised the issue with the DOJ after suspecting Zinke may have lied during questioning over his real estate deals in Montana and his review of a Native American casino project in Connecticut.

The Justice Department has not yet decided whether Zinke should face legal action, the Post reports. Zinke, who left the agency Wednesday following a series of high-profile scandals, denied the allegations to the Associated Press, blaming conservation groups for creating a "playbook" designed to use "frivolous allegations, sources, rumors, innuendo and false accusations" to boot him and other Cabinet members from office.

As reported by The Washington Post:

"Zinke, who submitted his resignation last month, had faced intense pressure to step down because of the probes into his conduct, though President Trump had soured on him for other reasons, too, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. In particular, this person said, Trump was upset Zinke would not challenge Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in last year's election and over how Zinke handled the administration's plan to expand offshore drilling.

Last January, Zinke flew to Florida and, without consulting the White House, announced in a news conference with then-Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that Interior would exempt the state from offshore drilling. The move raised ethics questions, along with an outcry from other governors whose coastal states were affected by the plan."

The Associated Press reported that Zinke blamed conservation groups such as Montana Conservation Votersand Western Values Project for making it "impossible for Zinke and other Trump Cabinet members to serve."

"A representative of Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund, Whitney Tawney, noted that the group had endorsed Zinke when he was a state lawmaker but expected more out of him in terms of protecting natural resources.

'The accusation that groups like Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund made his job impossible proves once again that he's continuing to point fingers at anyone he can instead of accepting responsibility for his own failures,' Tawney said."

#Zinke Leaves #Interior to His Pro-Polluter, Anti-Environment Deputy https://t.co/KRdLDQausl @Interior @greenpeaceusa @Earthjustice

— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) January 3, 2019

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/70111/departed-interior-sec-zinke-under-investigation-by.html

Canada charity used donations to fund Israel army bases

A Canadian charity has been investigated for using its donations to fund infrastructure projects on Israeli army and naval bases.

The Jewish National Fund of Canada – an affiliate of parent organisation Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael or the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) – used its donations to fund infrastructure projects on Israeli army, air and naval bases, in contravention of Canadian law.

The revelation came as JNF Canada was subjected to an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), a federal agency that administers tax laws for the Canadian government, after a Canadian researcher filed a complaint about the charity’s spending. According to local news site CBC:

While no law bars a Canadian citizen from writing a cheque directly to Israel’s Ministry of Defence, rules do ban tax-exempt charities from issuing tax receipts for such donations, and also ban donors from claiming tax deductions for them.

CBC further explains that: “In its guide for Canadian registered charities carrying out activities outside Canada, the CRA states plainly that ‘increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Canada’s armed forces is charitable, but supporting the armed forces of another country is not’.”

Though JNF Canada claims it stopped funding such projects in 2016, CBC points out that this would not stop the Canada Revenue Agency from taking action against the charity for funding projects in contravention of these clearly-stated guidelines.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190104-canada-charity-used-donations-to-fund-israel-army-bases/

Ex-Credit Suisse bankers arrested on US charges over $2bn fraud scheme

Three former bankers of the second-largest bank in Switzerland, Credit Suisse Group AG, were arrested in London over an alleged connection to a $2bn Mozambique fraud scheme, according to US justice authorities cited by media.

The three suspects – former managing directors Andrew Pears and Surjan Singh, as well as the vice president in the global financing unit, Detelina Subeva – were charged with conspiring to violate US anti-bribery law, money laundering, and securities fraud in an indictment issued in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Reuters reported.

The three men were released on bail after their arrest in the British capital on Thursday but may face extradition to the US.

The bank itself was spared of the charges and says it was kept in the dark by its own staff.

“The indictment alleges that the former employees worked to defeat the bank’s internal controls, acted out of a motive of personal profit, and sought to hide these activities from the bank,” Credit Suisse said in a statement.

The arrests of the three former Credit Suisse employees came less than a week after the former finance minister of Mozambique was arrested in South Africa as part of the same case. Manuel Chang is now fighting extradition to the US. A fifth suspect was also arrested earlier this week.

Between 2013 and 2016, Credit Suisse and other banks arranged $2 billion loans for Mozambique state-owned companies. The loans were initially aimed at maritime projects and coastline protection in one of the poorest countries in the world, but instead were plundered, with at least $200 million diverted for bribes and kickbacks. The companies created to operate planned maritime projects were a cover for the suspects to enrich themselves.

The loans were partly concealed from international donors and creditors, including the International Monetary Fund. After they were disclosed in 2016, international aid was withdrawn, sending the nation into crisis. The state-owned companies missed more than $700 million in loan payments after defaulting in 2016 and 2017, according to the indictment.

A similar case has recently been brought against Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs. In December, Malaysia filed criminal charges against the US bank and two of its key bankers over its role in the multi-billion dollar scandal with 1MDB state fund. Kuala Lumpur wants $7.5 billion in reparations from Goldman Sachs, which it claims covered up the looting of the fund.

https://www.rt.com/business/448075-credit-suisse-bankers-arrested/

Hungary Bans Gender Studies…Not An Academic Subject

We really are coming to a crossroads in higher ed. A few decades ago, the possibility that a whole department, based on an entire academic subject, would be tossed as “not useful knowledge” would be considered inconceivable.

But today, in the United States, this sort of thing is common. Shakespeare is being tossed in exchange for a lesbian author. Computer science departments are being shut down, leading to a shortage of computer scientists where the world really needs people who understand computers. Even mathematics is turning into a boiler room operation on many campuses, focusing on passing students over academics.

With all the academics being removed from campus, what to replace it with? Many campuses are throwing in ever more Education courses, knowing they are frauds any student can ace without effort. We know they are frauds because they’re not quite politically protected: we can inspect what goes on in their classes, and since their graduates often go off to teach, we can judge the quality of the coursework by the quality of the graduates, for the most part.

Another new branch of “academic” courses has been affecting our campuses, Gender Studies, and unlike Education, these courses are becoming mandatory. Now, the graduates of these fields aren’t nearly so vulnerable as in Education, and so it’s not so easy to criticize their uselessness by examining how they succeed in the (non-existent) job market. Across the country, these courses, despite their clear lack of educational value, are springing up, detracting from the education our students receive.

Well, across THIS country, yes, but it’s clear not every country is subjecting itself to this madness:

Hungary To Remove Gender Studies From Universities, Says Courses Based On 'Ideology Rather Than Science'

More:

http://professorconfess.blogspot.com/2018/12/hungary-bans-gender-studiesnot-academic.html

North Africa Situation Overview – Late 2018

By the end of the year, the situation has grown more tense. This is particularly true of Algeria which will undergo a change in supreme leadership. The current president is ill, his surrounding and political elites are in a state of uncertainty, the new configuration of alliances is difficult of predict. The situation is no less fluid in Tunisia due to the conflict among party blocs, and Libya where attempts to resolve the conflict have been failing irrespective which external actors are backing these efforts.

Algeria

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika could not receive Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman Al Saud due to a persistent cold, which was reported by Reuters citing the presidential chancellery. The Crown Prince came to Algeria from Mauritania and before that from Argentina, where he took part in G-20 summit. The president feels so poorly that he may not run in the next election. This led the government to start negotiations with a range of political actors from the structural opposition. The proposal to postpone elections until April 2019 so far has not been approved by Bouteflika’s entourage, though it was agreed upon by some of its members including a leading figure in the presidential alliance Amar Gul, and an opposition representative Abderazak Makri.

The presidential plan headed by the Said brothers and Abderagim Bouteflika waits for the doctors’ report, but it has been forced to approve consultations. President’s inner circle decided in favor of a fifth term and so far as not abandoned this option. But the president’s health has worsened so much that he can’t appear at the Constitutional Council in order to register his candidacy, as demanded by law. The situation is made more complicated by the absence of a successor from the ruling party. The National Liberation Front (NLF) General Secretary Jamel uld Abbas has been in retirement due to health problems. The acting NLF head is Muaz Bushareb, who in late October became the new chairman of the People’s National Assembly, the lower chamber of Algeria’s legislature.

The idea of establishing a vice-presidency was rejected since it would require changing the constitution, which took five years the last time it happened. Said Bouteflike has eliminated potential competitors for the post of presidency in the last three years, including the former PM Abdelmalek Sellal and the police head Abdelgani Hamel. Their dismissals were foreordained already in 2016 due to the president’s brothers suspecting them of leaking compromising photos demonstrating the president’s incapacity which were published on Twitter by the former French PM Manuel Valls. The current PM Akhmed Uakhya is also a suspect in that plot, though he’s retained his post due to his rejection of presidential ambitions.

https://southfront.org/north-africa-situation-overview-late-2018/

Trump’s Syria Withdrawal Enrages Pro-Israel Chickenhawks

The U.S. press, in its war against Trump, is pushing an illegal and unconstitutional invasion of Syria whose stated primary objective is to remove a terrorist organization which is already mostly gone – and a less frequently acknowledged goal of regime change for the legitimate government in Damascus and the expulsion of that government’s principal allies… there is no way to “win” and no exit strategy.

That anyone would regard Boot and Nuland as objective authorities on the Middle East given their ultimate and prevailing loyalty to Israel has to be wondered at…

By Philip Giraldi, reposted from Unz Review

President Donald Trump’s order to withdraw from Syria has been greeted, predictably, with an avalanche of condemnation culminating in last Thursday’s resignation by Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Mattis resignation letter focused on the betrayal of allies, though it was inevitably light on details, suggesting that the Marine Corps General was having some difficulty in discerning that American interests might be somewhat different than those of feckless and faux allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia that are adept at manipulating the levers of power in Washington and in the media. Mattis clearly appreciates that having allies is a force multiplier in wartime but fails to understand that it is a liability otherwise as the allies create an obligation to go to war on their behalf rather than in response to any actual national interest.

The media was quick to line up behind Mattis. On Friday, The New York Times featured a lead editorial entitled “Jim Mattis was right” while neocon twitter accounts blazed with indignation. Prominent chickenhawk mouthpieces David Frum and Bill Kristol, among many others, tweeted that the end is nigh.

During the day preceding Mattis’s dramatic announcement, the press went to war against the Administration over Syria and also regarding other reports that there would be troop reductions in Afghanistan. The following headline actually appeared on a Reuters online article the day after the announcement by the president: “In Syria retreat, Trump rebuffs top advisers and blindsides U.S. commanders.” It would be difficult to imagine stuffing more bullshit into one relatively short sentence. “Retreat,” “rebuffs” and “blindsides” are not words that are intended to convey any sort of even-handed assessment of what is occurring in U.S. policy towards the Middle East. They are instead meant to imply that “Hey, that moron in the White House has screwed up again!”

https://israelpalestinenews.org/syria-withdrawal-enrages-pro-israel-chickenhawks/

>>4596230

Texas jr. high teacher arrested for allegedly trying to traffic girl to multiple men in Morocco

A Texas junior high school teacher was arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to traffic a girl for sex to multiple men in Morocco.

Amber Michelle Parker, 37, was arrested on human trafficking charges after allegedly trying to “traffic a minor child to multiple male subjects online,” Freestone County Sheriff Jeremy Shipley said, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported Wednesday. The eighth-grade reading teacher reportedly posted pictures of the girl in lingerie and exposing her breasts on various social media sites to look for men interested in the minor.

The girl was also marketed as a virgin, according to KBTX.

“Family members got wind that Parker was going to try to lure this girl to Morocco,” McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said, according to the Tribune-Herald. “It is a dastardly story, and it is trafficking at its worst.”

Parker traveled to Morocco in mid-December and returned on New Year’s Day, the Tribune-Herald reported. The girl was not taken on the trip.

Mexia Junior High School in Mexia, Texas, placed Parker on administrative leave Wednesday afternoon once the school heard about the allegation and arrest, according to the Tribune-Herald.

“The district continues to monitor the situation and feels no students at Mexia Junior High were ever at risk,” Mexia Independent School District Superintendent Lyle DuBus said, the Tribune-Herald reported.

Parker is on bond for $25,000, according to KBTX.

The U.S. Department of State reported in 2014 between 600,000 and 800,000 adults and children were trafficked across international borders per year.

http://www.madnesshub.com/2019/01/texas-jr-high-teacher-arrested-for.html

Trump ignoring Tel Aviv’s demands about Syria: Israeli report

US President Donald Trump’s recent statements about Syria have alarmed Israeli officials and intelligence services, according to an Israeli report.

"It’s unfortunate that he isn’t paying attention to the evidence provided by the intelligence services," said an unnamed senior Israeli official speaking to the Israeli Ynet news website on Thursday.

"We are in a state of shock."

The statement was made in response to Trump’s earlier remarks, which some Israeli media outlets described as an American “policy change” on Syria.

“Iran is pulling people out of Syria, but they can frankly do whatever they want there,” said Trump.

Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria seems to contrast with the president's own policy statements made earlier this year.

Speaking to the Washington Post in November, Trump stressed that protecting Israel was a reason why US forces were deployed in the Middle East. “We have reached a point where we don’t have to stay in the Middle East," said Trump before adding that "one reason to stay is Israel.”

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/01/04/584859/Trump-Israel

Mark Zuckerberg halts his pre-planned sale of billions of dollars worth of Facebook shares as the stock price of the social networking site plummets

Mark Zuckerberg didn't sell a single share during the fourth quarter of 2018

He pledged to unload 35-75 million shares between September 2017 and March 2018 as part of a promise to give away most of his fortune during his lifetime

With three months to go, he's sold about 30.4m shares, worth about $5.6b

Facebook shares dipped by 20 percent amid a market slump, in general

The site's stock is down a total of 39 percent from its record high of $218.62

Its stock prices were at $132.80 at around 12.30pm Eastern on Thursday

Zuckerberg's net worth was down by $32.7b as of market close on Wednesday

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stopped selling shares of the company after a nosedive in stock prices in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Zuckerberg had sold $5.6 billion of his stake in the social networking site since Q4 of 2017, after a pledge to do so to fund his charitable endeavors.

But that stopped abruptly, with the technology entrepreneur not parting ways with a single share in the final months of the year, as shares dipped by 20 percent amid a market slump, in general, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Facebook shares have dropped a total of 39 percent to date from their record high of $218.62 on July 25, with stock prices at $132.80 at around 12.30pm Eastern on Thursday.

more

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6555063/Mark-Zuckerberg-halts-pre-planned-sale-billions-dollars-worth-Facebook-shares.html

>>4596577

SHILLBAKER WILL IGNORE ANYWAY