Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flees to Lebanon to avoid ‘rigged Japanese justice system’

Lebanon’s state security directorate said Ghosn entered Beirut legally

His lawyer says he is ‘dumbfounded’ by his client’s departure and does not know how to contact him now

Carlos Ghosn, the fallen Nissan chief facing trial in Japan for financial crimes, has fled the country for Lebanon, marking a stunning twist in a saga that began with his shock arrest in Tokyo just over a year ago.

“I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied,” the former head of Nissan Motor and Renault SA said in a statement on Tuesday. “I have not fled justice – I have escaped injustice and political persecution,” he said.

Ghosn’s escape to Lebanon, where he has citizenship, puts him in a country with no extradition agreement with Japan.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3044030/ex-nissan-boss-carlos-ghosn-flees-lebanon-avoid-rigged-japanese

Iraqi Badr Corps Chief Who Led Today’s Raid on US Embassy in Baghdad — Was Once Invited to White House by BARACK OBAMA

Iraqi security forces failed to stop the siege of the US Embassy.

The Iraqi protesters were carrying Hezbollah flags.

The US ambassador and personnel were evacuated.

U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated from their embassy in #Baghdad for their safety, Iraqi officials said, as thousands of protesters denounce U.S. air strikes https://t.co/vLMPRnsRzX pic.twitter.com/ceKbSI0zGl

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 31, 2019

Several pro-Iranian faction leaders were leading the raids today in Baghdad.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, founder and leader of Kata’ib Hizballah.

This gentleman, leading the protests, is Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, founder and leader of Kata’ib Hizballah. pic.twitter.com/kGnpmrDtPB

— Mike (@Doranimated) December 31, 2019

Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, a pro-Iranian militia responsible for several US deaths during the Iraq War was outside the US embassy.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/iraqi-badr-corps-chief-who-led-todays-raid-on-us-embassy-in-baghdad-was-once-invited-to-white-house-by-barack-obama/

China's Huawei says 'survival is top priority' as US sanctions bite

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei said Tuesday that "survival" was its top priority after announcing 2019 sales were expected to fall short of projections as a result of US sanctions.

The global leader in telecom networking equipment has been effectively banned by the United States from working with American firms on the grounds that it poses a national security threat -– an accusation the Chinese company has consistently denied.

Chairman Eric Xu said Huawei's sales revenue for 2019 was likely to reach 850 billion yuan (US$121 billion) – up roughly 18 percent from the previous year.

Though he said "business remains solid", the figure was lower than a previous forecast of US$125 billion.

In a New Year's message to employees, Xu said the US government was in the midst of a "strategic and long-term" campaign against the company that would create a "challenging environment for Huawei to survive and thrive".

https://www.france24.com/en/20191231-china-s-huawei-says-survival-is-top-priority-as-us-sanctions-bite

Tehran’s failed attempts to launch pro-regime rallies

Iran, December 31, 2019—After Iran’s November uprising, which shook the ground beneath the feet of the ruling mullahs, the regime needed to put up a show of power and try to prove to the world, and to its own forces, that it still has a base of support in Iran.

The regime first tried to achieve this goal by launching pro-regime rallies in different cities. But the effort only resulted in further exposing the regime’s desperation and incapacity to keep its ranks together. The first such government-led show was on November 25, where the regime gathered a small crowd of its agents in Tehran to show their support for the regime.

The regime’s publications and broadcasting stations are renowned for amplifying numbers in favor of the regime when it suits them. Interestingly, in the case of the November 25 rally, they reported it as “tens of thousands” of people who have taken part in the event. This is while the regime has the habit of reporting regime events as “millions strong.”

Nonetheless, the regime tried to counter the continuing effects of the November uprisings in a supposed show of power in a rally planned for December 30. The mullahs had engaged in widespread publicity efforts, creating the impression that they would gather a very large crowd at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Square.

But what really took place was even more pitiful than the November 25 rally, which shows how much the regime has further fallen in the span of fewer than two months.

A small and pitiful gathering

https://english.mojahedin.org/i/iran-protests-regime-rally-tehran-20191231

>>7674232

ALL just hearsay and theory

Scientists Say Dark Matter Doesn't Exist

By Ker Than October 29, 2007

Two Canadian astronomers think there is a good reason dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to make up the bulk of matter in the universe, has never been directly detected: It doesn't exist.

Dark matter was invoked to explain how galaxies stick together. The visible matter alone in galaxies—stars, gas and dust—is nowhere near enough to hold them together, so scientists reasoned there must be something invisible that exerts gravity and is central to all galaxies.

Last August, an astronomer at the University of Arizona at Tucson and his colleagues reported that a collision between two huge clusters of galaxies 3 billion light-years away, known as the Bullet Cluster, had caused clouds of dark matter to separate from normal matter. Many scientists said the observations were proof of dark matter's existence and a serious blow for alternative explanations aiming to do away with dark matter with modified theories of gravity.

https://www.space.com/4554-scientists-dark-matter-exist.html

Germany shuts Philippsburg nuclear plant as it phases out atomic energy

Germany is shutting down one of its seven remaining nuclear power plants as part of a planned phase-out of atomic energy production by the end of 2022.

Utility company EnBW has said it will take the Philippsburg Nuclear Power Plant off the grid at 7pm (18:00 GMT) on Tuesday. The plant’s license to operate expires at midnight.

Under its “energy transition” plan, Germany aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources over the coming decades. Earlier this year, the government agreed to stop producing electricity from coal-fired plants by 2038 at the latest.

Proponents of nuclear power argue that shutting down the remaining reactors will endanger Germany’s energy security, making it more reliant on greenhouse-gas-producing coal and gas and on electricity imported from neighboring countries that still have atomic plants, AP said.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/477216-germany-shuts-nuclear-plant/

Chinese air defense system spotted inside Syria: report

BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:45 P.M.) – A Russian news channel published a video this week that showed the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces near Russian and Chinese air defense systems.

According to the Russian aviation publication, Avia.Pro, the Chinese JYL-1 radar system was spotted with the Syrian Arab Army in a video that was released by Russia’s Channel One News.

“Channel One published unique video frames from the northern part of Syria, on which experienced specialists noticed not only the Russian-made Pantsir-C1 air defense systems, but also the Chinese JYL-1 radar, which greatly expanded the capabilities of Syrian air defense systems,” Avia.Pro reported.

The publication said the Russian Pantsir-C1 air defense system has been integrated with the Chinese JYL-1 radar, which significantly increases the radius of detection of air targets, in particular, the effective range for detecting aerodynamic targets by up to 450 kilometers.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/chinese-air-defense-system-spotted-inside-syria-report/

100 US Marines Reportedly Being Sent To Baghdad To Fortify Embassy Defenses

Around 100 U.S. Marines are reportedly being sent to the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, to help with security as protestors attempted to break in Tuesday.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson tweeted about the decision to send Marines to help fortify defenses, citing a U.S. defense official. The news comes as some of the hundreds protesting against Americans airstrikes began to try and break into the embassy, which is the largest U.S. embassy in the world.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/31/us-marines-sent-baghdad-embassy-protests/

Spycraft Takes Ugly Turn With Facial Recognition Tech

Thanks to facial recognition at major travel points around the world, spies, aka ‘spooks’, can now use only a single identity in any given country. Once scanned under one identity, they are instantly identified if they show up with a different one. ⁃ TN Editor

U.S. spies are no longer being tailed by foreign governments in about 30 different countries because advances in facial recognition, biometrics and artificial intelligence have made it almost impossible for the agents to hide.

Whereas governments would once physically follow CIA officers, facial recognition at airports and general CCTV surveillance in those countries makes it far easier to track people.

It comes as U.S. intelligence agencies face a growing crisis in intelligence gathering, as developments in technology are making it increasingly more difficult to protect operatives and mask their digital footprints.

In one attempt to tackle the crisis, the CIA created a multi-million dollar program called the Station of the Future, intelligence officials revealed to Yahoo News.

The program, created over the past decade, was run out of a diplomatic facility in Latin America and involved a team of spies trying to build tools and test techniques that could help the industry battle the digital age.

https://www.technocracy.news/spycraft-takes-ugly-turn-with-facial-recognition-tech/

Lindsey Graham: Trump Has World on Notice, ‘There Will Be No Benghazis on His Watch’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Tuesday lauded President Donald Trump’s warning to Iran after a pro-Tehran mob attacked the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, denouncing a series of deadly American airstrikes against an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia group in Iraq and Syria.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the heavily fortified “Green Zone” near the compound in anger over Sunday’s strikes against the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, which had been blamed by the Pentagon for the death of a U.S. contractor in Kirkuk, Iraq, late last week.

Social media posts showed protesters breaking the embassy’s windows and setting fires outside its walls.

Hours later, President Trump warned Iran that the U.S. will hold it responsible for the attack.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/31/lindsey-graham-on-iraq-embassy-threats-there-will-be-no-benghazis-on-trumps-watch/

Yuma, Arizona, ends border state of emergency, credits Trump immigration policies

Border crossing attempts are down 71% since May

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls withdrew the city's state of emergency he issued in April following a surge in migrants attempting to enter the country at a port of entry near the Arizona town.

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls withdrew the city's state of emergency he issued in April following a surge in migrants attempting to enter the country at a port of entry near the Arizona town.

Ditch the fake news ==Click here to get news you can trust sent right to your inbox. It's free!

In a statement, the border city mayor credited the Trump administration' policies with reducing the flow of unlawful border crossings and asylum requests.

"I am grateful to be able to withdraw the Proclamation of Emergency due to the Trump Administration's policy changes that diminish the flow of the migrant family units to the Yuma area and prevent releases into the Yuma community. Today is a momentous day for the Yuma region as I was able to withdraw the Proclamation of Emergency alongside Acting Deputy Secretary Cuccinelli."

A 71% decline since May

https://www.theblaze.com/news/yuma_mayor_state_of_emergency

Russia warns Iran nuclear deal in danger of ‘falling apart'

Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is in danger of “falling apart" without the compliance of the United States and the European Union, Russia's foreign minister warned Monday after meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Moscow.

The 2015 deal between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. The U.S. Withdrew from the accord last year and imposed crippling economic sanctions that block Iran from selling crude oil abroad.

“Because of the destructive line that Washington keeps towing, this important achievement of international diplomacy… Is in danger of falling apart,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, adding that “colleagues from the European Union” were not fully complying with the agreement either. In response to the US sanctions, Iran has pressured the European signatories to find a way to limit the impact on the Iranian economy.

Tehran has slowly inched toward ceasing its own compliance with the terms of the deal. Last week, for example, the country began new operations at a heavy water nuclear reactor.

Iran's moves have been condemned by Western governments as unwelcome and escalating tensions in the region, while Russia and China have repeatedly blamed the US.

After meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday, Lavrov said Russia would demand full compliance from both the U.S. And the EU, in which case Iran would be able to return to fulfilling its obligations in accordance with the deal. Otherwise the agreement should be considered “no longer existing,” he said.

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/world/russia-warns-iran-nuclear-deal-in-danger-of—-falling-apart-.html

IRS put $112,805 lien on Hunter Biden for unpaid taxes in 2015

December 30, 2019

Imagine that. The IRS, as corrupt as they were under the Obama regime actually placed a lien on crackhead Hunter Biden for over $100,000 back in 2015. This was during the time Burisma was paying Biden $83,000 per month for doing and knowing basically nothing. So lets add tax cheat to the list of things Hunter Biden can be called. Deadbeat dad, brother’s widow dater, crackhead, stripper lover and so much more.

I’ll bet daddy Joey Biden will claim he didn’t know about this either.

The IRS placed a tax lien on Hunter Biden, and his ex-wife Kathleen Biden, for a whopping $112,805 in unpaid taxes, according to a report from the Daily Caller. Washington D.C. also placed a tax lien against Hunter Biden and his ex-wife for $48,929 in unpaid income taxes.

Both of the tax liens were filed to collect taxes dating back to 2015. Shortly before 2015, Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, for which is was paid more than $700,000.

In 2013, Biden began working for the board of BHR Partners, a Chinese private equity firm. According to the New York Times, in October 2017, Hunter Biden bought 10 percent of BHR Partners stock, investing approximately $420,000. According to George Mesires, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Hunter Biden has not been compensated for his position or received returns on his investment.

https://www.pacificpundit.com/2019/12/30/irs-played-112805-lien-on-hunter-biden-for-unpaid-taxes-in-2015/

‘This is your time’: Trump calls for Iraqis to rise up against Iran

President Donald Trump has called on ‘millions’ of people in Iraq to resist Iran, as the fallout over US airstrikes on an Iran-backed militia brings Washington and Tehran one step closer to proxy war.

“To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019

https://www.rt.com/news/477227-trump-iraq-iran-freedom/

Trying to restart this war …No doubt

Iran-Iraq War

The protracted war between these neighboring Middle Eastern countries resulted in at least half a million casualties and several billion dollars’ worth of damages, but no real gains by other side. Started by Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in September 1980, the war was marked by indiscriminate ballistic-missile attacks, extensive use of chemical weapons and attacks on third-country oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Although Iraq was forced on the strategic defensive, Iran was unable to reconstitute effective armored formations for its air force and could not penetrate Iraq’s borders deeply enough to achieve decisive results. The end came in July 1988 with the acceptance UN Resolution 598.

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-iraq-war