Grass needs trimming
Ahead of fresh protests, Venezuela's opposition urges military to rise up against President Maduro
Throngs of Venezuelans are expected to march Wednesday in anti-government protests as the oil-rich country's political opposition ramps up efforts to oust Nicolas Maduro, the country's authoritarian president. But this is more than a battle for control of the streets.
Opposition leaders are also urging Venezuela's powerful armed forces to withdraw their support for Maduro. And they are taking their campaign abroad by lobbying foreign governments to cut diplomatic and economic ties with Caracas.
On Tuesday, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence said that Washington would support any effort by the opposition to form a provisional government to replace Maduro. Addressing average Venezuelans, Pence added: "We stand with you and we will stay with you until democracy is restored."
Numerous Latin American nations as well as Canada have already downgraded diplomatic relations with Caracas. Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau called Maduro an "illegitimate dictator" who is responsible for "terrible repression."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela-protests-maduro-1.4988532
Malaysia’s next king: Islam’s defender, political tightrope walker (just ask Mahathir Mohamad)
Malaysia’s nine hereditary Malay rulers will elect their new king, or Yang di Pertuan Agong, tomorrow – just weeks after the previous king, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped down in an unexplained shock resignation following weeks of speculation. It was the first time a Malaysian head of state had abdicated. Experts and insiders believe the new agong will be the Pahang state ruler, Sultan Abdullah, but just why is the monarchy so important to Malaysia?
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2183308/malaysias-next-king-islams-defender-political-tightrope-walker
1.6 million Canadian banking records shared with IRS
The Canadian government has shared more than 1.6 million Canadian banking records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since the start of a controversial information-sharing agreement in 2014, CBC News has learned.
In 2016 and again in 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency provided the IRS with information on 600,000 Canadian bank accounts each year. That's a sharp increase from the 300,000 records shared in 2015 and the 150,000 records shared in 2014, the year the sharing began.
However, that doesn't necessarily correspond to the number of people affected. Some people may have more than one bank account, while some joint accounts could have more than one account holder — including people who don't hold U.S. citizenship.
Among the items of Canadian bank account information being shared with the U.S. are the names and addresses of account holders, account numbers, account balances or values, and information about certain payments such as interest, dividends, other income and proceeds of disposition.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tax-fatca-u-s-canada-1.4988135
Canberra seeking answers after Chinese-Australian writer goes missing in China
The Australian government said Wednesday it is seeking information about a Chinese-Australian writer who has been reported missing in China in what a friend suspects is part of a Chinese backlash against Canada's arrest of a top Chinese telecommunications executive.
Novelist and influential online commentator Yang Hengjun was a Chinese diplomat before he became an Australian citizen. Friends say he had been living in the United States with his wife and stepdaughter, and had returned to China late last week.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement it is "seeking information about an Australian citizen who has been reported missing in China. Owing to our privacy obligations, we will not provide further comment."
Australian consular assistance can include liaising with local authorities, including local police when an Australian has been reported missing.
Yang's friend Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, said he believes Yang is being detained in Beijing by the Ministry of State Security.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-us-abusing-extradition-system-huawei-1.4989196
Born on the Bayou (HD)
How many will disappear during his visit
Pope visits Panama for first World Youth Day in Central America
Jan. 23 (UPI) – Pope Francis is in Panama Wednesday for World Youth Day, where he will address a range of humanitarian issues like migration, corruption, violence and the role of women in society.
Panama has been preparing for the pope's visit for two years. The pontiff will visit for four days, highlighted by the Way of the Cross ceremony at Cinta Costera and a mass at the Metro Park in Panama City.
There are about 150,000 youth enrolled in World Youth Day, which is held every two or three years. This is the first time the event has been held in Central America.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/01/23/Pope-visits-Panama-for-first-World-Youth-Day-in-Central-America/8471548246022/
WhatsApp down: Messaging app suffers global outage
The popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp suffered a brief but global outage on Tuesday, according to its users. Only few details were immediately available.
The outage began just after 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday when users were unable to send or receive messages. Reports were coming in from all parts of the world, indicating that all or most users were affected.
It was not immediately known what caused Tuesday’s outage, but many users said the service was working again within 30 minutes. There was no immediate comment from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Messenger was founded by Jan Koum in 2009 and was later sold to Facebook. It has more than 1.2 billion users, making it the world’s most popular mobile messaging app.
https://bnonews.com/index.php/2019/01/whatsapp-suffers-global-outage/
Rush - Working Man
Helium 3 ,, wonder who has the mining rights
Moon mining: ESA sets up lunar project to secure oxygen & water by 2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) has its sights set on the moon, agreeing partnerships with several private companies to prepare a mission to mine the satellite for oxygen and water.
If successful, the operation to mine the moon's ore could be key in establishing a continuous manned presence on the moon, not to mention creating a fueling stopover point for long-distance missions to Mars.
https://www.rt.com/news/449493-european-space-agency-moon-mining/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Iran: Retirees protesting in Tehran, raising significant demands
Iran, Jan. 22, 2019 - Retirees rallied outside the Iranian regime’s Labor Ministry in Tehran on Tuesday, protesting the authorities’ refusal to reply to their demands. The protesters were chanting:
“Political prisoners must be released”
“Cannons, tanks, documentaries are no longer effective,” referring to the regime’s domestic crackdown and a so-called documentary aired by state TV of two activists supposedly “confessing to their crimes.” Iranians inside the country and abroad have condemned these broadcasts, accusing the regime of resorting to its known practice of obtaining “confessions” under duress.
Retirees in Iran have a long history of holding major rallies against the mullahs’ regime.
https://english.mojahedin.org/i/iran-retirees-protestd-tehran-012219
South Of The Border: 17 Murders In 28 Hours, 153 In January
Cartel violence has now registered at least 153 murders for the month of January alone. Tijuana finished 2018 with a record-breaking 2,508 homicides, which was later adjusted upward by the state attorney general’s office to 2,518.
The most recent wave began on Saturday night at 8:26 pm when police were called to colonia Francisco Villa where a citizen reported an abandoned truck, according to local reporting. Responding officers discovered four male homicide victims wrapped in bed sheets. They displayed signs of torture. The bodies were later handed over to forensic personnel of the state attorney general’s office.
An additional 10 bodies were discovered–including two separate double homicides. The first was recorded east of Tijuana where two unknown male gunshot victims were discovered. The second was registered in colonia El PĂpila, where two other male victims were found in the trunk of a burned vehicle.
The record-breaking cartel violence continues despite the federal government’s surge of military and federal police assets to the region at the end of 2018. The bloodshed is generally related to turf wars involving Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), aligned with El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, against the Sinaloa Cartel. In some areas, rival factions within the Sinaloa Cartel are fighting for control of the lucrative street-level markets and smuggling routes into the United States. Those involved in the killings are primarily low-level dealers, lookouts, customers, and enforcers. Many of the street-level dealers are targets of rip-crews looking for cash and drugs.
https://www.thelibertyeagle.com/south-of-the-border-17-murders-in-28-hours-153-in-january/
Julian Assange Moves to Force U.S. to Reveal Charges Against Him and Compel Ecuador to Prevent Extradition
Lawyers for Julian Assange have moved to force the Trump administration to reveal the charges against them and compel Ecuador, the nation that has granted him asylum, to prevent extradition to the United states.
According to a press release on Wednesday, the lawyers filed an urgent application to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), based in Washington D.C., to direct the Trump Administration to unseal the charges it has secretly filed against Assange.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/julian-assange-moves-to-force-u-s-to-reveal-charges-against-him-and-compel-ecuador-to-prevent-extradition/
Also 153 fish caught in the lake ,, you know the story