Posted by: BIAD - 03-29-2018, 03:24 PM - Forum: Europe
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Quote:French police detain man who 'shouted Arabic insults' before 'driving at soldiers'
The incident comes days after a radical Islamist gunman fired at police officers before holding people hostage in a supermarket.
'French police have detained a man accused of trying to run over several soldiers who were jogging near an army base.
The National Police said an individual was taken into custody after an operation at a market square in Grenoble, following the attempted attack in the town of Varces-Allieres-et-Risset around nine miles (15km) away.
Colonel Benoit Brulot said the driver circled the military barracks shouting insults in Arabic at several groups of soldiers. He added that the man returned later and tried to hit four soldiers with his car before making a quick getaway.
The army spokesman confirmed that none of the soldiers, from the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, were injured. The failed attack comes as security services in the country are on high alert.
Last week an Islamist extremist shot at police returning from jogging in southern France, before taking hostages in a supermarket in Trebes. The hostage situation claimed four lives, including that of "hero" police officer Arnaud Beltrame.
It was the first militant attack since President Emmanuel Macron lifted a state of emergency. Mr Macron said on Wednesday that France was locked in a fight against "clandestine Islamic fundamentalism", as he paid tribute to Mr Beltrame, who took the place of a hostage in Friday's attack. Pierre-Yves Sarzaud of the army's public relations unit told BFM TV that Thursday morning's incident appeared to be deliberate.
He explained there was a gap of around 30 minutes between the insults and the driver returning to try and run over soldiers. A source close to the investigation said the driver's motivations remained unclear, but that the incident was being taken seriously.
If confirmed to be a deliberate act, it would not be the first time an assailant has used a vehicle to target members of the security forces in France...'
Well-well, they're at it again! Adults using kids for optics and kids using adults to get a day off school.
Quote:Despite media narrative, study says teenagers made up just 10 percent of March for Our Lives crowd.
'A university professor studying large-scale, Trump-era protests in Washington says the media is giving the wrong impression about who made up the crowd during last weekend’s anti-gun March for Our Lives demonstration.
“My research tells a different story about who participated in the March for Our Lives —and it is more complicated and less well-packaged for prime time,” University of Maryland sociology professor Dana R. Fisher wrote in a Wednesday story for the Washington Post.
Fisher’s study indicates that -- while news coverage focused on the teenagers marching for gun control in the wake of last month’s shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida -90 percent of the crowd was actually adults. She said the average age of adults in the crowd was just under 49.
“Contrary to what’s been reported in many media accounts, the D.C. March for Our Lives crowd was not primarily made up of teenagers,” Fisher wrote. “Only about 10 percent of the participants were under 18.”
Fisher said her team sampled 256 people who were randomly selected. Her research will become a book titled “American Resistance” and will be published after the midterm elections.
Fisher also expressed skepticism that all those who showed up to the march were there primarily because of their views on guns. Some, she said, came for entertainment.
“The March for Our Lives had the allure of a free concert -in fact, the event’s website maintained a list of performers but never listed the speakers," she said. "But it is one thing to turn out to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ariana Grande perform, and quite another to vote in the midterm election in November.”
The research follows an imaging company saying the turnout for the march was much less than claimed by its organizers. Organizers of the demonstration claimed Sunday that some 850,000 people attended the pro-gun control event.
But Virginia-based Digital Design & Imaging Service Inc., which uses aerial photos to calculate crowd sizes, reported the event’s peak crowd size was at 202,796 people...'
Here's one for Mr. & Mrs. Guohua... and by the way, hurry on back!
Quote:Arizona governor and Uber kept self-driving program secret, emails reveal.
'Arizona’s Republican governor repeatedly encouraged Uber’s controversial experiment with autonomous cars in the state, enabling a secret testing program for self-driving vehicles with limited oversight from experts, according to hundreds of emails obtained by the Guardian.
Governor Doug Ducey.
The previously unseen emails between Uber and the office of governor Doug Ducey reveal how Uber began quietly testing self-driving cars in Phoenix in August 2016 without informing the public.
On Monday, eight days after one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles killed a pedestrian in a Phoenix suburb, Ducey suspended the company’s right to operate autonomous cars on public roads in Arizona. It was a major about-face for the governor, who has spent years embracing the Silicon Valley startup.
Uber’s behind-the-scenes efforts to court Ducey, and the governor’s apparent willingness to satisfy the company, is made clear in the emails, which were sent between 2015 and 2007 and obtained by the Guardian through public records requests.
They reveal how Uber offered workspace for Ducey’s staff in San Francisco, praised the governor lavishly, and promised to bring money and jobs to his state. Ducey, meanwhile, helped Uber deal with other officials in Arizona, issued decrees that were friendly to the company, tweeted out an advert at the company’s request, and even seems to have been open to wearing an Uber T-shirt at an official event.
There is no way to know whether tougher regulations would have prevented the death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was struck by an Uber-owned Volvo while it was in self-driving mode on 19 March. Uber immediately suspended its self-driving vehicle testing in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
The first fatal crash involving a self-driving vehicle and a pedestrian in the US has sparked a national discussion about the safety of a technology, which tech companies claim will dramatically improve road safety.
However the correspondence between Ducey and Uber will now throw a spotlight on the Arizona governor’s office –and raise questions about his apparently laissez-faire approach to safety. While Arizona’s neighbour California has some of the toughest self-driving regulations in America, other states, such as Michigan and Florida, are at least as permissive as Arizona, with few restrictions and little oversight of highly automated vehicles.
‘A real thought leader’ Arizona was not always a friendly state for Uber. In April 2014, then-governor Jan Brewer vetoed legislation that would have exempted taxi-hailing companies from insurance regulations imposed on traditional taxis.
Uber and Lyft continued to operate in the state, however, risking fines for their drivers. In late 2014, Brewer was replaced by Ducey, a fellow Republican, and Uber almost immediately began its charm offensive.
A month after being sworn in, Ducey met with David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s former campaign manager, who had been hired by Uber as a senior vice-president, and another Uber executive named Justin Kintz.
The following week, Kintz wrote to Ducey: “I know [Plouffe] and [Uber founder] Travis [Kalanick] are as excited as I am to expand our footprint in Arizona, and we are encouraged that the state legislature is interested in codifying a permanent regulatory structure for ridesharing.”
One of Ducey’s first acts as governor was to instruct officials not to pursue ride-share drivers over taxi licensing rules. Uber seemed to have secured a political ally in Ducey who signed a bill legalizing ride-sharing at a high-profile ceremony in April 2015, flanked by Uber and Lyft drivers and executives.
In the run-up to the ceremony, Uber staff wrote to Ducey’s office with some questions. “Is the governor still interested in wearing an Uber shirt at the event? We’re looking into polo shirts, and it would be great to get his size,” wrote one. “Can we swap out the order and have the Uber driver [introduce the governor]?” wrote another. “I think this makes more sense since this is ultimately about them.”
While Ducey’s team agreed to Uber’s scheduling preference, photographs from the signing show him wearing a plain blue shirt. Nevertheless, Uber was pleased with Ducey’s performance.
Justin Kintz sent a gushing email to Ducey’s chief of staff calling the governor “a real thought leader on these innovation issues”. Uber also said it would send out an “all-rider, all-driver email thanking the [governor] and the state of AZ for their leadership.”...'
Wish I could read books that fast… Students at a local school were assigned to read two books, 'Titanic' & 'My Life' by Bill Clinton.
One student turned in the following book report, with the proposition that they were nearly identical stories! His cool professor gave him an A+ for this report. Titanic: cost - $29.99
Clinton: cost - $29.99 Titanic: Over 3 hours to read
Clinton: Over 3 hours to read Titanic: The story of Jack and Rose, their forbidden love, and subsequent catastrophe.
Clinton: The story of Bill and Monica, their forbidden love, and subsequent catastrophe. Titanic: Jack is a starving artist.
Clinton: Bill is a bullshit artist. Titanic: In one scene, Jack enjoys a good cigar.
Clinton: Ditto for Bill. Titanic: During the ordeal, Rose's dress gets ruined.
Clinton: Ditto for Monica. Titanic: Jack teaches Rose to spit.
Clinton: Let's not go there. Titanic: Rose gets to keep her jewellery
Clinton: Monica is forced to return her gifts. Titanic: Rose remembers Jack for the rest of her life.
Clinton: Clinton remembers Monica for the rest of his life. Titanic: Rose goes down on a vessel full of seamen.
Clinton: Monica...ooh, let's not go there, either. Titanic: Jack surrenders to an icy death.
Clinton: Bill goes home to Hilary - basically the same thing.
Quote:A purported pyramid-scheme operator who was run out of Arkansas when Bill Clinton was governor has reinvented himself as the head of an upstate group accused of being a “cult” – and his devotees have pumped thousands into Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s presidential run.
Executives and top associates of the Albany-based NXIVM group – along with their family members – donated $29,900 to Clinton’s presidential campaign, according to federal records.
On March 14 and April 13, records show, more than a dozen contributions poured into Clinton’s coffers from NXIVM, an executive and group-awareness training organization led by Brooklyn-born Keith Raniere, 47.
Most were from first-time political donors, each giving the $2,300 maximum.
The revelation comes on the heels of the arrest of Norman Hsu, who raised $1.5 million in campaign contributions for the Clintons and other Democrats, even though he was technically a fugitive from fraud charges in California.
Hsu jumped bail in early September but was nabbed and is currently locked up in California.
In his previous incarnation, the Svengali-like Raniere ran a $30 million multilevel marketing business that imploded after federal agencies and regulators in 23 states alleged it was an illegal pyramid scheme.
He has managed to attract famous names to NXIVM.
Three of the March and April Clinton pledges came from Raniere’s most high-profile followers: Seagram heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman, and Pamela Cafritz, daughter of D.C. A-listers Buffy and Bill Cafritz.
Cafritz shares a condo with Raniere.
The Bronfman sisters are also deeply involved with NXIVM and, according to a 2003 article in Forbes magazine, have loaned millions to the group and provided use of their jet.
Their father, Edgar Bronfman Sr., once took NXIVM classes but soon severed ties, telling Forbes, “It’s a cult.”
The Clinton campaign downplayed the significance of the NXIVM-related contributions.
“Over 100,000 people from across the country have contributed to Sen. Clinton’s campaign for change, and regardless of who supports her, she will always continue to stand up for what she feels is right,” said campaign spokesman Blake Zeff.
Hillary isn’t the only Clinton NXIVM officials are attracted to.
At least three of them – group President Nancy Salzman and the Bronfman sisters – are members of Bill’s charitable organization, the Clinton Global Initiative. Membership is by invitation only and requires at least a $15,000 donation per person for one year.
NXIVM spokesman Frank Roberts told The Post the organization doesn’t have a presidential candidate it is officially backing.
Last month, the Albany Times Union reported that NXIVM associates gave $31,600 to the state Republican Senate Campaign Committee and provided $34,763 worth of air transportation.
The recent campaign contributions led one close observer of NXIVM to speculate that the group is trying to curry favor for its effort to expand training centers upstate.
In the 1990s, several states investigated the Raniere-run Consumer Buyline Inc., a marketing firm in which members were paid commissions for recruiting new members.
A 1992 Arkansas lawsuit filed by Bill Clinton’s then-attorney general, Winston Bryant, charged Raniere, Cafritz and two others with fraud and business deception. Soon after, then-New York AG Robert Abrams sued CBI, branding it “illegal.”
Raniere didn’t admit wrongdoing, but agreed to pay hefty fines in both states.
After closing the Albany-based CBI, he became involved in a health-food and vitamin venture that led him to Salzman. Sharing a passion for motivational training, the pair launched NXIVM.
At NXIVM – according to court papers, cult watchdogs and relatives of members – Raniere has defrauded devotees, shattered families and drove at least one person to suicide.
After four months attending NXIVM’s expensive, “intensive” studies, Alaska resident Kristin Marie Snyder grew angry, depressed and irrational.
In winter 2003, she disappeared. Her family believes she drowned herself. Her body was not recovered. Snyder was last seen leaving a NXIVM course, and police released a note she left behind.
“I was brainwashed and my emotional center of the brain was killed/turned off,” Snyder scrawled in a spiral notebook. churt@nypost.com
Quote:HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Hours after charges were filed against Keith Raniere in Texas, federal agents here in the Capital Region were also busy searching the home of Raniere’s closest allies.
Neighbors say this is the home of Nancy Salzman. Salzman is said to be the co-founder of NXIVM and Raniere’s right-hand woman. On Tuesday, FBI agents hit this house and others in this neighborhood.
“20 years in the making, they need to leave.”
This was just one of many residents who live on Oregon Trail applauding the sight of federal agents in this Halfmoon neighborhood.
One resident didn’t want to show her face but she did, like many others who live here, share what she’s witnessed.
“We first hand witnessed the sleep deprivation of girls who looked emaciated and walked with Raniere. I actually shouted out my window for him to shut up. That we were families and we had young children. And they would walk 24 hours a day sometimes.”
She says starting on Monday, FBI agents visited several homes on Oregon Trail.
Neighbors claim the people who live in the homes are all members of Raniere’s alleged secret society group of sexual slaves with Raniere the ultimate master.
It’s unclear who owns the homes, but Raniere is said to have a few members with very deep pockets and a taste for revenge if anyone dares to leave the group.
The neighbor told us she had seen this happen to a dear friend.
“I do know at that time they ruined her financially. It makes me sad, especially that these women would fall prey to this.”
FBI agents remain here. It is unclear how long they’ll be here.
Raniere appeared in court Tuesday in Texas. He signed a waiver to be sent back to New York with U.S. Marshals at a later date.
You can watch a couple of videos by clicking on the title to the above article.
Here is a link to the DOJ paperwork on Keith Raniere: DOCS
It wouldn't surprise me if the Clintons don't have their dirty hands in this if we dig deep enough.
Here is another great article and video on this topic: LINKY
Not to add to Wallfire's woes and being WF was once a teacher...
Quote: Teacher who tried to build 'army of children' jailed.
'A "dangerous liar" who trained an "army of children" for terrorist attacks in London has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Umar Ahmed Haque, 25, planned to use guns and a car bomb to hit 30 targets including Big Ben in London. The religious teacher showed Islamic State propaganda to 16 children at the Ripple Road mosque in Barking, London, the Old Bailey heard. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said he was a "very real" threat.
He said the worst part was the deliberate and sustained grooming of children to join a "mini militia", unbeknownst to their parents who had paid for after-school classes at the mosque. One of the children told police: "Umar has been teaching us how to fight, do push-ups, given strength and within six years he was planning to do a big attack on London.
"He wants a group of 300 men. He's training us now so by the time I'm in Year 10 (aged 14-15) we will be physically strong enough to fight."
'Enjoys power' In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said Haque wanted to do "something big" and his ambition was "extreme and alarming". "Haque was a dangerous liar. He is intelligent, articulate and persuasive, with an easy smile," he said. "He is narcissistic and clearly enjoys the power he wields over others."
Addressing Haque, he said: "You have violated the Koran and Islam by your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people. It is hoped you will come to realise this." The trial heard how police and MI5 had been watching Haque since he attempted to travel to join IS in Syria in April 2016, but was stopped at Heathrow.
The teacher who groomed a terror 'death squad' In bugged conversations he talked about how he was inspired by the Westminster Bridge attack in March last year. "We are here to cause terror, my brother. We are a death squad sent by Allah and his messengers to avenge my Arab brothers' blood," he said.
His planned targets included the Queen's Guard, Transport for London, Shia Muslims, Westfield shopping centres, Parliament and Heathrow, the trial heard.
After the sentencing hearing, deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon, called Haque a "dangerous man" who was inspired by attacks in Europe and Westminster.
'Paralysed by fear' "When specially trained officers interviewed the children, they described being shown by Haque horrific videos of extreme terrorist violence including executions," he said.
"They told police how Haque made them roleplay terrorists and police officers, with the children acting as terrorists being made to stab the 'police officers' to death. "The children were paralysed by fear of Haque, who they understood to have connections to terrorists and who essentially told them that a violent fate would befall them if they told anyone what he was doing."
Haque was convicted earlier this month of two counts of preparing acts of terrorism and one count of collection of information useful to terrorism. He had already admitted one count of dissemination of terrorist publications and three counts of collection of information useful to terrorism.
Mamun Abid
Fundraiser Abuthaher Mamun, 19, was jailed for 12 years with a further year on extended licence for helping Haque research and finance the plans. Haque's confidant Muhammad Abid, 27, a qualified cupping therapist, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for failing to report the plot...'
It does look strange. Is this effect of some type of, I don't even know what to call it. Maybe an energetic force of some kind in our atmosphere, or something going on underground? CERN, HAARP?
I have seen articles lately about more solar energies hitting us recently. Could this be caused from that?
Quote:Food for thought. A bit of common sense goes a long way
Quote:
Quote:NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID.
1.LONG - TERMPARKING
Some people left their car in the long-term parking at the airport while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
2.GPS:
Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they
Knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents. Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3.CELL PHONES:
I never thought of this! This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says, "I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago." When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account. 4.PURSE IN THE GROCERYCART SCAM:
A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf/ Wait till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the store personnel. After returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security
To say that they had her wallet and that although there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and burglarized. The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall Security, they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to burglarize it. Moral lesson:
A. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.
B. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
C. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends" who text you. PLEASE PASS THIS ON Even if this does not pertain to you, please let your familyand friends know so they don't get caught in a scam
Quote:Wife --"Where the hell have you been? You said you'd be done with golf by noon."
Husband --"I'm so sorry Honey....but you probably don't want to hear the reason."
Wife --"I want the truth, and I want it NOW!"
Husband "Fine. We finished in under 4 hours; a quick beer in the Clubhouse. I hoppedinto the car, and would have been here by 12 noon but on the way home, I spotted agirl half our age struggling with a flat tire. I changed it in a jiffy, and next she's offering me money. Of course I refuse it, then she tells me she was headed to the bar at the Sheraton and begs me to stop by so she can buy me a beer. She's such a sweetie, I said yes. Before you know it, one beer turned into three or four, and I guess we were looking pretty good to each other. Then she tells me she has a room right there at the Sheraton, less than 50 steps from ourtable. She suggested we get some privacy while pulling me by the hand. Now I'm in her room...clothes are flying...the talking stopped…and we proceeded tohave sex in every way imaginable. It must have gone on for hours, because before I know it, the clock says 5:30. I jump up, throw my clothes on, run to the car, and here I am. There.You wanted the truth... You got it". Wife --"Bullshit! You played 36 holes, didn't you?"
