JP Morgan creates first US bank-backed crypto-currency

US investment bank JP Morgan has created a crypto-currency to help settle payments between clients in its wholesale payments business.

JPM Coin is the first digital currency to be backed by a major US bank.

The crypto-currency, which runs on blockchain technology, has been used successfully to move money between the bank and a client account.

JP Morgan says it sees potential in using digital coins to reduce risk and enable instant transfers.

Although JP Morgan's chief executive Jamie Dimon has publicly criticised Bitcoin - the first crypto-currency in existence - on several occasions, the bank says it has always "believed in the potential of blockchain technology".

"We are supportive of crypto-currencies as long as they are properly controlled and regulated," Umar Farooq, JP Morgan's head of Digital Treasury Services and Blockchain, wrote in an online Q&A page.

How do crypto-currencies work?

Virtual currencies can be used to pay for things in the real world, such as a hotel room, food or even a house.

Digital tokens are held in online wallets, and can be sent anonymously between users.

For this reason, crypto-currencies are attractive to people who want to make illegal purchases on the Dark Web - a part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47240760

Combat Footage: Houthis Capture 20 Positions Near Saudi Arabia’s Jizan

The Houthis’ media wing released a 21-minute video showing the group’s fighters storming coalition positions in the area of Harad. At least three vehicles, which were destroyed or damaged by the Houthis, can be seen in the video.

“No matter how many forces or vehicles you will have, we, with God’s will, will destroy them,” a field commander of the Houthis says in the video.

In the last few weeks, the Houthis stepped up their attacks along the border with Saudi Arabia. In some cases, the Yemeni fighters even advanced deep inside the kingdom’s territory, especially in Najran and Jizan.

https://southfront.org/combat-footage-houthis-capture-20-positions-near-saudi-arabias-jizan/

In Video: Ansar Allah Blowing Up Saudi Vehicles In Yemen’s Narjan Province

Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) released a video of the recent attack on Saudi-led forces in the Yemeni province of Narjan. The video shows multiple destructions of Saudi vehicles in the area

https://southfront.org/in-video-ansar-allah-blowing-up-saudi-vehicles-in-yemens-narjan-province/

Military Situation In Yemen On February 14, 2019 (Map Update)

8 fishermen were killed, 5 others were wounded and 2 are still missing after Saudi airstrikes in the area of Bodhi Island;

3 members of the UAE-backed Security Belt force were killed in an IED explosion in the Al-Mahfad area, Abyan province;

Ansar Allah repelled an attack by Saudi-led forces in the area of Aseer;

Firefights were reported in the Kilo 16 area in al-Hudaydah;

2 Saudi airstrikes hit the al-Qafla district, Amran province;

1 Saudi airstrike hit the Rabwa district, Amran province.

https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-february-14-2019-map-update/

GOP/Dem Deal to Spark ‘Largest Surge’ of Young Border Crossers ‘Country Has Ever Seen’

A Republican-Democrat spending bill being offered to President Trump will spark the “largest surge” of young border crossers that “the country has ever seen,” immigration experts warn.

Pro-American immigration reformers and experts across the board are denouncing the spending package as a scheme to increase the illegal alien population, to provide a de facto amnesty to illegal aliens already living in the United States, and to expand the Catch and Release of border crossers.

The deal includes:

$1.3 billion for 55 miles of steel bollard fencing

An expansion of Catch and Release

A potential doubling of the annual low-skilled foreign workers imported to the U.S.

Less detention space for border crossers

An amnesty pipeline for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and their relatives

Stipulations requiring local officials to approve all wall construction

Chokeholds on immigration enforcement at the border and in the interior

Federation for American Immigration Reform President Dan Stein specifically called out the de facto amnesty included in the spending deal that would provide all illegal aliens with close relations to newly resettled UACs be shielded from deportation.

“In simple English, every new unaccompanied minor who arrives at our border will trigger an amnesty for multiple adult illegal aliens who are already in the country,” Stein said of the provision. “The illegal aliens who will be eligible for protection from removal include not just actual sponsors, but those who might be potential sponsors and every member of their households.”

“If this bill is enacted, expect the largest surge of unaccompanied minors this country has ever seen,” Stein said, urging Trump to veto the deal.

Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) sent out alerts to its activist members asking them to call the White House and demand the president veto the spending deal, instead supporting a Continuing Resolution that would keep funding levels at the same rate.

“It is outrageous and completely unacceptable for any member of Congress to vote on, or for the President to sign, any bill crafted in secret and unread by most lawmakers and laymen alike,” ALIPAC President William Gheen said in a statement.

Officials with NumbersUSA, which fights on behalf of American workers in the immigration debate, said Trump was not given the full text of the spending deal that included the UAC de facto amnesty provision or the language that allows Homeland Security officials to double the number of H-2B foreign workers imported to the country every year to take U.S. blue collar jobs.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/14/experts-gop-dem-deal-to-spark-largest-surge-of-young-border-crossers-country-has-ever-seen/

State Dept Evacuates 'Non-Emergency' Staffers From Haiti Amid Violent Protests

The US State Department said it had ordered the withdrawal of "non-emergency" diplomatic personnel and their family members from Haiti amid violent unrest in the Caribbean nation.

"There are currently widespread, violent, and unpredictable demonstrations in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti. Due to these demonstrations, on February 14, 2019, the Department of State ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members", the State Department said in a statement.

It also advised US nationals not to travel to the country due to crime and unrest there, saying that the US government’s ability to provide emergency services to US nationals in Haiti was limited.

The statement mentioned frequent cases of protests, tire burning, road blockages and violent crime in Haiti. It noted that local police and medics lacked resources to effectively address the situation.

Moreover, travelers are sometimes targeted right after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport, according to the State Department.

The US diplomats, who are currently in Haiti, were warned against walking outside, using public transportation, driving outside Port-au-Prince at night, visiting public and commercial organizations and going to certain parts of the city without special security measures.

Haiti has been hit by a fresh wave of violent protests for over a week with at least reportedly 7 demonstrators killed. Protesters are calling on President Jovenel Moise to step down over allegations of misuse of billions of dollars in funds intended for social development programs.

Back in summer, the nation was rocked by strong protests against the announced reduction of fuel subsidies and the increase in fuel prices as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to cope with inflation and budget deficit.

The violent protests prompted the resignation of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant. In September, the upper house of the Haitian parliament approved the political program of the newly-appointed government led by Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant.

https://sputniknews.com/latam/201902151072440544-usa-state-department-haiti-staff-evacuation/

>>5181944

Seems that bill makes a burning turd look good! What say you?

>>5181988

We'll see tomorrow?

Or months from now?

It’s Even Worse Than Ilhan Omar Said: AIPAC Is the Tip of the Israel Lobby Iceberg

As an AIPAC insider once said: “A lobby thrives in the dark.” It’s time to turn on the light, it goes way beyond AIPAC

Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has come under fire for a Twitter exchange in which she implied that AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is the reason that so many Congressional representatives support Israel over American interests and principles. First, journalist Glenn Greenwald (who is Jewish but has also been accused of being “antisemitic”) tweeted:

The musical notes at the end of her tweet were because she was referring to a song by Puff Daddy, “It’s All About the Benjamins” (“Benjamins” being a colloquial term for money, referring to the image of Benjamin Franklin on $100 bills).

Among those who immediately called her tweet “antisemitic” was the fervently pro-Israel opinion editor for the Jewish Forward, Batya Ungar-Sargon, who posted a sarcastic tweet saying she’d “like to know” who Omar “thinks is paying [sic] American politicians to be pro-Israel….”

https://www.mintpressnews.com/its-even-worse-than-llhan-omar-said-aipac-and-the-israel-lobby-in-full/255112/

>>5182276

>>5182398

They already looked like death warmed up!