sniper baker!
Commerce Department blacklists five Chinese tech groups due to national security concerns
The Commerce Department added five Chinese technology groups to its “entity” list on Friday, effectively blacklisting the organizations from buying components from U.S. companies unless they get a waiver.
The five entities added were high-performance computing group Sugon, the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology, semiconductor company Higon, Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit and Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics Technology.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security wrote in its notice of the additions to the list that “these five entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”
The bureau noted that Sugon and the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology are leaders of China’s development of high-performance computing, with both also involved in modernizing China’s military.
According to The New York Times, Sugon’s inclusion on the list is especially crippling to China due to its computers being used by China’s State Grid, which runs the electric grid, and to run China Mobile, the largest telecommunications group service provider. Sugon relies on computer chips made by Intel and AMD, both U.S. companies.
The decision to add these groups to the entity list comes a month after the Commerce Department took the same step with Chinese telecommunications group Huawei, though it later backtracked and put a 90-day extension on the group being added to the list to allow U.S. companies to prepare.
In response, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry announced in May that the agency is working to create an “unreliable entity list” of foreign companies and individuals that “seriously damage” Chinese enterprises.
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/449777-commerce-department-blacklists-five-chinese-tech-groups-due-to-national
Unfolding quite well for a Friday…
Troops in Iraq see spike in ‘indirect fire’ attacks — Iran gets blamed
As tensions with Iran mount, U.S. officials say they have noticed a spike in the amount of mortar and rocket fire hitting targets in Iraq.
No one has come forward to take claim, but experts contacted by Military Times say there is an ongoing effort by Iran and its proxy militias in Iraq to make things more difficult for the U.S. across the region.
Indirect fire and rocket attacks over the last two months have come close to hitting U.S. military bases and American interests in Iraq from Basra to Mosul.
U.S. military officials with Operation Inherent Resolve, or OIR, told Military Times that the recent spate of “indirect fire" attacks reflected an “increase” in the number of incidents. Military officials did not provide details on the number and nature of attacks.
“However, we are in close and continuing contact with Iraqi officials, who are investigating them,” OIR said in a statement. “The ISF [Iraqi security forces] take the security of these facilities seriously and are doing a commendable job of providing for the security of our forces and this mission.”
On May 19, a Katyusha rocket landed less than a mile from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and on Wednesday a rocket attack in Basra forced 40 workers with Exxon Mobil Corp. to evacuate an oil-drilling site. The BBC reported that in mid-June multiple rocket attacks hit a base housing American troops just north of Baghdad — there were no reported U.S. casualties.
Iran is also believed to be behind a number of other attacks in the region over the last couple of months.
https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2019/06/21/troops-in-iraq-see-spike-in-indirect-fire-attacks-iran-gets-blamed/
Wondering if Iran is really just code for the obuma gang… (kerry, difi, chucky & such)
A cleaning crew in South Africa discovered the abandoned body of a fetus Friday clogging the toilet of a plane.
Passengers were boarding an early morning flight from King Shaka International Airport in Durban to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg when the cleaning crew discovered the fetus, according to The South African.
The discovery caused passengers to be removed from the plane.
“FlySafair regrets to confirm a tragic finding aboard one of our aircraft this morning…Upon final preparations of the waste management system for the departure of flight, our technical crew discovered what appeared to be an abandoned foetus within the system,” FlySafair said in a statement.
The publication confirmed that police are investigating the incident.
“We will be doing everything within our power to aid authorities in the necessary investigations and thank our loyal customers for their patience with the resultant delay,” said Kirby Gordon, Head of Sales and Distribution at FlySafair.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/21/fetus-shoved-plane-toilet/
wtf… some sick sob needs to be gotten.
More Than 600 U.S. Companies Sign Letter In Support Of Trump’s Tariffs
Over 600 companies based in the U.S. signed a letter Friday in support of the tariffs President Donald Trump slapped on China, citing a boost in American jobs and lower costs for their businesses.
The letter, shared first with the Daily Caller before the hearing, will be submitted during testimony Friday before the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The USTR has been having hearings all week regarding proposed tariffs on approximately $300 billion worth of Chinese products.
It is the intention of Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), Chief Economist, Jeff Ferry to present the letter Friday morning during his testimony to the USTR. This letter pushes back on the letter last week that asks Trump to stop the tariffs on China. Those signers were mostly big-box retailers who manufacture their products in China.
This all comes as President Donald Trump said that he is considering slapping China with more tariffs if Chinese President Xi Jinping does not meet with him during the G-20 summit in late June. Since, the warning, the two have agreed to meet. However, Trump said if Xi does not attend the event, he will immediately impose new tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports, including a number of consumer products.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/21/over-600-us-companies-support-trumps-tariffs/
Great point! Could have had caused the passenger to freak. Still with my limited miscarriage knowledge I find this very tragic and disturbing.
Navy prosecutors REFUSE to drop murder charges against Navy SEAL at war crimes trial
Navy prosecutors have refused to drop the charges against a SEAL despite another man confessing to killing the young ISIS fighter he is accused of murdering.
Edward Gallagher is on trial for murder and attempted murder at the Navy Base in San Diego, California.
The most serious accusation against him is that he murdered a wounded, teenage ISIS fighter in Mosul in 2017 by stabbing him twice in the neck.
On Thursday, SEAL medic Corey Scott shockingly testified that he was the one who killed the boy and not Gallagher.
Despite his claim, the prosecution - which had called him as a witness and offered him immunity to testify against Gallagher but had never heard him take credit for the killing - has said it plans to carry on with its case.
Prosecutors have now warned Scott that he may face perjury charges, something his deal with them did not cover.
On Friday, more SEALs were due to testify along with DNA experts.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7168647/Navy-prosecutors-wont-drop-charges-against-SEAL-war-crimes-trial-despite-man-confessing.html