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Libya's Tripoli govt sacks Hassi
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
EEOC worker pilfered $60k in taxpayer funds for Louis Vuitton, Disneyland
[Wash Examiner] A federal employee used $60,000 in taxpayer funds to buy Armani, Louis Vuitton, and a Disneyland vacation for her personal use, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission is supposed to be an advocate for victims of workplace employment discrimination, but the documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that at least one of its employees had been living quite well using money that was supposed to fund the agency's programs.

The Philadelphia EEOC office began buying American Express gift cards and paying contractors with them, apparently so the contractors couldn't run up limitless bills. That action was taken following a 2012 incident in which a contractor used a commission credit card to run up a huge bill of unauthorized charges.

The commission redacted the employee's name from the inspector general's report released to the Examiner, saying the FOIA "exempts public identification of individuals currently employed in the federal government which could conceivably subject them to harassment or annoyance."

Commission spokesman Joseph J. Olivares said the employee was terminated. He would not say how many months she was on paid leave, or why the agency was protecting someone who stole from it by withholding her name.

The U.S. Attorney's office did not respond to a question about why the Department of Justice declined to prosecute the woman.
"Why the agency was protecting someone...." Wait, wait! Let me guess.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 10:24 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The commission redacted the employee's name from the inspector general's report released to the Examiner, saying the FOIA "exempts public identification of individuals currently employed in the federal government which could conceivably subject them to harassment or annoyance."

Since they have been terminated, it seems a follow-up FOIA request ought to resolve the issue.
Posted by: gorb || 04/01/2015 11:36 Comments || Top||

#2  [T]he FOIA "exempts public identification of individuals currently employed in the federal government which could conceivably subject them to harassment or annoyance."

It sounds like they were sub sequentially hired at another agency. Meaning the "termination" was more an administrative one, i.e., it wasn't classified as "for cause."
Posted by: Pappy || 04/01/2015 11:58 Comments || Top||

#3  probably rehired for Mooch's Travel Office and Future Home Furnishings Division
Posted by: Frank G || 04/01/2015 15:55 Comments || Top||


16 Wounded Warrior custom bicycles stolen.


I have absolutely no problem with this being declared a 'capital offense'... public castration followed by breaking on the wheel.

*Updated
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 08:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'd support public castration followed by breaking on the wheel for the thieves.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 04/01/2015 9:02 Comments || Top||

#2  they've crowd-funded over $23K in replacement $ donations as of this AM. San Diego supports our vets

except the POS scum that stole the bikes. Probably from L.A.
Posted by: Frank G || 04/01/2015 15:57 Comments || Top||


Grooms face terror charges over wedding bombsex in Karachi
[DAWN] KARACHI: Two newly-wed brothers in Pakistain could be facing long prison sentences after police incarcerated
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
them on terrorism charges for letting off firecrackers during their joint wedding ceremony.

It is a longstanding, if dangerous, custom at Pak weddings to set off fireworks and fire weapons in the air in celebration, but police in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
said this time the happy couples went too far.

Police officer Abbas Golarchi, who booked the grooms along with three other people, told AFP on Tuesday they were charged under the explosives provisions of anti-terrorism legislation.

"Very powerful crackers were being used during the marriage ceremony creating fear among the neighbourhood, a densely populated area of the city, "Abbas Golarchi said.

Golarchi said the charges are non-bailable and the five arrested are in police custody awaiting a remand hearing expected on Wednesday.

If found guilty they could face long prison sentences or even the death sentence, though this is unlikely as no-one was harmed during the joint wedding celebration.
Posted by: Fred || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  When I was in Libya I couldn't tell a firefight from a wedding with all of the fireworks, gun sex, and noise.

About the only think they wouldn't use at a Libyan wedding was an Abram's tank
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/01/2015 0:55 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Updated list of 66 excuses for the 18-26 year 'pause' in global warming
[The Hockey Schtick]

1) Low solar activity
2) Oceans ate the global warming [debunked] [debunked] [debunked]
3) Chinese coal use [debunked]
4) Montreal Protocol
5) What 'pause'? [debunked] [debunked] [debunked] [debunked]
6) Volcanic aerosols [debunked]
And 60 more at the link.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 08:35 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  #67 - "Do you want the grant money or not?"

#68 - "Shut up."

#69 - "The Koch Brothers have bribed Gaia to stop warming."
Posted by: Matt || 04/01/2015 9:15 Comments || Top||

#2  "We're leaving Detroit. We're moving to Chicago."
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/01/2015 9:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Sorry mods, ^ was suppose to be in 'Fleeing violence in Yemen, refugees arrive in Somalia'.

Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/01/2015 10:24 Comments || Top||

#4  They forgot:

"We haven't bludgeoned the data enough yet! Give us a few years ok?"
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/01/2015 10:47 Comments || Top||

#5  They don't need an excuse. It is a religion. Belief is enough. Now convert or they take away all of your goods and rights instead of just most of them.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/01/2015 13:59 Comments || Top||


Oceans Rising AND Land Rising, too!
Yet there are even longer-term impacts that most people might not notice. For instance, if you live in Canada, the northern U.S. or parts of Europe, the earth beneath your feet is rising. The reason is, more or less, because of the weather.

Not weather like yesterday's rain, or last week's wind. This phenomenon was caused by snows that piled up to create great ice sheets that covered the land in the last Ice Age. OK, it was a lot of snow, over a long period of time, so it's probably better described as climate than just weather.
I thought warmer was climate and cooler was weather.
I'm in the Global Cooling camp, myself. North America is tilting upward because of the weight of all that snow in northern Canada. New Orleans is gonna be 11 feet above where she sits now in only 32,000 years. Fix that problem and it'll be Global Stable for the next 72,000 years. At that point the continent will start sinking again because of the additional weight caused by overpopulation. We should probably start planning right now for the sake of our remote descendants. Of course, that'll take quite a bit of money...
The Earth's surface rises about 1 millimeter a month in Canada and about the same amount over the course of a year in the U.S., she said. For a place like Canada's Hudson Bay, the changes would be apparent over a person's lifetime, she said.
That's a long time to stand in one place...
"If you have a dock that you built, the ocean appears to be going down," Damiani said.
Up down, up down, warmer, cooler. I'm so confused. Ya suppose it might all average out?
When researchers calculate the rise of the world's oceans because of the current melting of glaciers and ice sheets, they need to keep the rebound rates in mind, according to a December 2012 NOAA report.
But when the glaciers melt, then the land will rise, compensating for the loss of seashore, right?
The motion is tracked using global positioning satellites and is used in making sure maps stay accurate, Damiani said.
This is the same GPS used to show that sea levels vary by as much as 150 feet, due to local variations in gravity, right?
Posted by: Bobby || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm in the Global Cooling camp, myself. North America is tilting upward because of the weight of all that snow in northern Canada.

I dunno, I was thinking it was the huge mass of Chinese on the other side of the planet who were throwing the planet axis off kilter. Dynamics problem, not a GW or climate change problem.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/01/2015 6:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Given that the entire universe is expanding, it is only natural that the land and the oceans would both be rising. It's SCIENCE, bitches.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/01/2015 12:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Also if the floating arctic ice all melts, sea level will FALL.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/01/2015 12:30 Comments || Top||

#4  More taxes will solve everything.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/01/2015 12:34 Comments || Top||

#5  "If you have a dock that you built, the ocean appears to be going down," that is assuming you check at the same time everyday (adjusted by the almanic for high and low tide) and the water shows no waves so you can get an accurate measurement to the MM and your dock was built on cement connected to mainland so the pilings don't settle in the mud or sand.

They used mm a month instead of 12mm a year or 120 mm every decade because it defies the obvious visual non-instrument checks people are more likely to do.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/01/2015 14:28 Comments || Top||

#6  I think we can fix it if we all just up and down at the exact same time.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/01/2015 16:20 Comments || Top||

#7  I think we can fix it if we all jump up and down at the exact same time.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/01/2015 16:37 Comments || Top||

#8  And here I thought the North American continent was sinking under the weight of all those National Geographic issues piled up in basements and attics.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/01/2015 17:58 Comments || Top||

#9  Well if we all wait another 46,000 years the land will sink again and the sea levels will drop when the new ice age hits.

Global warming, is there nothing it can't do?
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/01/2015 18:57 Comments || Top||

#10  still waiting for Guam to tip ovah!
Posted by: Frank G || 04/01/2015 21:02 Comments || Top||

#11  Test
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 23:43 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Son of South African president wants foreigners out of the country
[Nuus24] Durban - President Jacob Zuma's son, Baby Zuma Edward, has come out in full support of King Goodwill Zwelithini's controversial call to deport foreigners from South Africa.

"We need to be aware that as a country we are sitting on a ticking time bomb of them [foreigners] taking over the country.

"The reason why I am saying that is because some of the foreigners are working for private security companies where they have been employed for cheap labour. These companies are running away from complying with South African labour laws," said the president's eldest son.

'Foreigners need to leave the country'
Translation: Whites must leave.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 10:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The reason why I am saying that is because some of the foreigners are working for private security companies where they have been employed for cheap labour."

Doesn't sound racial so much as companies are hiring security guards but won't pay first world prices and don't want the locals. Who would that leave? Some other African nation? Pakistani?
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/01/2015 14:19 Comments || Top||

#2  No, this is NOT about the whites. This is the Zulus going after the Congolese, Rwandans, Ethiopians, etc, who have set up businesses etc in this area and become more successful than the locals who are frequently on the dole.

This is tribal, not racial.
Posted by: OldSpook || 04/01/2015 15:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Plus he knows if the whites leave completely, SA will become third world in a heartbeat -- then he would lose his local businesses to loot.
Posted by: OldSpook || 04/01/2015 15:40 Comments || Top||

#4  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_9

District 9 was a tongue-in-cheek movie about African illegals in South Africa. Americans think in monolithic terms about blacks and whites. Africans (and Europeans, for that matter) do not. Nationality and ethnicity are fairly important there, and many can distinguish nationality or ethnicity from facial features alone.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/01/2015 17:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Don't leave out the Indians in that count.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/01/2015 17:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Not to mention the nigerians in the S. African oilfield.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/01/2015 19:46 Comments || Top||

#7  South Africa doesn't have much in the way of oil fields.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/01/2015 21:28 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
14 evicted Hindu families get back land
[Dhaka Tribune] Local administration and police yesterday reinstated 14 Hindu families on their land at Chandantola village of Taltoli upazila and started construction of houses.

A temporary police camp was also set up in the area to ensure security of the families, evicted by influential quarters over the last two years.

The families returned to the village around 11am amid presence of Deputy Commissioner Mir Jahurul Islam, Superintendent of Police Saiful Islam, Additional District Magistrate Habibur Rahman, Union Gay Pareehad Chairman Nazir Hossain Patwary and representatives of civil society and rights bodies.

At a views-exchange meeting organised by Community Police, local Awami League leaders demanded punishment of Jubo League
... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League...
leader Zakir Hossain, his brother Abdus Salam who with the help of BNP leader Abdur Rashid for evicting the Hindu families.

Three families left the village and started living in Barguna town early 2013 in the face of torture by the three leaders and their cohorts, locals say. Two more families had to leave the area early last year while the nine other families on March 13 this year.

Each family was given Tk6,000, two bundles of corrugated iron sheets, 30kg rice, grocery items and food grains. Moreover, the district administration has started installing deep tube-well while the public health engineering department constructing hygienic sanitary latrines.
Posted by: Fred || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
British City Loses Mobile Phone Signal During Military Exercise
[Breitbart London] Naval exercises in the Plymouth Sound have been blamed for a mobile phone black spot in the PL1 and PL2 postcodes on Friday, after the Royal Navy claimed it was testing new "communication equipment", most likely electronic counter measures.

After a number of complaints to mobile network operators were made by local residents, Ofcom, the government body responsible for parcelling up bandwidths and licencing them to users has stepped in to investigate the outage. As one of the largest users of radio and data bandwidth in the country, the Ministry of Defence is a key working partner of Ofcom and this unannounced interference could indicate the usage of radio equipment not authorised for use in the United Kingdom.

The Plymouth Herald reports the experiences of local residents, including one local business owner who telephoned 'EE' customer service to complain and was told the outage was down to "war games". The unnamed man told the paper: "At first I didn't believe them," he said. "It is just about the best excuse I've heard in 30 years of working in the city.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/01/2015 02:55 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An Argentine is less than a man without his Galaxy.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/01/2015 7:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Will the British Navy be able to resist the annexing of England to the Caliphate after Arabs are 35% of the population in England ?
I suggest that the British sell their Navy to the Iranians and use the money to buy some good old Scotch whiskey while they are still allowed to drink alcohol.
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 04/01/2015 14:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Pfft.

Datz nuthin. Every time Ronnie visited Rancho Del Cielo to pump farwood, our garage door stopped working. And he was over in the next county.
Posted by: Anice Nim || 04/01/2015 15:27 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Gunfire exchanges intensifies near Donetsk, Mariupol


For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Rebel and Ukrainian artillery and ground forces exchanged artillery and small arms fire in several key regions in southeastern Ukraine including in Shirokino, each accusing the other of violating the ceasefire, according to English and Russian language rebel and Ukrainian news reports.

According to rebel news accounts over the past few days Ukrainian units have occupied western sectors of Shirokino, which is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, and have pressed small arms attacks, supported by 120mm mortars and tanks. Most of the Ukrainian units occupying are members of the Azov volunteer battalion, which are under orders to integrate with the Ukrainian regular army, or to leave the Mariupol defense zone.

Rebel media continuously claims that despite "provocations", in their words, by the Ukrainians in the form of artillery and small arms fire, their units have not responded. In the previous ceasefire agreement, at least in the early going, rebels claimed the same thing only later to respond to artillery strikes against their troops whenever they claimed the Ukrainian fired on them.

According to data supplied by Ukrainian member of Verkhovna Rada, Dmitri Tymchuk, rebel in Shirokino are currently rotating forces in Shirokino, and that a company tactical group has been moved into the area, including three tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), probably BMP-2s, and about 80 armed effectives.

Rotating forces is a tactic used by both sides to ensure fresh forces are available to the fighting and that forces which are relieved by rotating get rest. Since it is still very cold in southeastern Ukraine, the weather can have an impact of the effectiveness of units in combat.

One civilian was killed and another wounded near Shirokino on Monday after a Ukrainian antitank rocket hit a small pickup truck. Both sides make lavish use of civilian marked transportation. According to rebel media representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were escorted into the area to take photos of the incident.

A Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman identified as Anatoly Stelmakh said that rebel 120mm mortars hit Ukrainian positions at Lebedinskoye, near Mariupol, Sunday evening.

Stelmakh also said that rebel RPGs was fired at Lebedinskoye from Shirokino twice on Sunday as well.

Artillery at Donetsk city

Rebel media claim that Ukrainian artillery units have been hitting their positions at Donetsk Airport and at Spartak, while Tymchuk said that rebel units have fired on Ukrainian positions at Peski and Opytne.

According to Tymchuk, the rebels have moved 12 mortar tubes, essentially a battalion strength element consisting of 120mm and 82mm mortars into Donetsk into the Petrovsky and Kuibyshevskiy districts.

Tymchuk claims that rebel ground units are trying to pressure Ukrainian forces out of the positions at Peski.

Northern Donetsk

Rebel media claims that Ukrainian artillery continues to hit Gorlovka, this time using the 220mm Urugan multiple rocket launcher, although they have not reported details concerning casualties and damage.

Tymchuk said that the rebels have moved up forces to an area southwest of Gorlovka, including four tanks, two trucks, two BMP-2s, and one BTR-70 armored personnel carrier.

Tymchuk also said that rebel forces have been probing Ukrainian positions near Troiskoye, which is near the "neck" of the old Debaltsevo salient.

Rebel forces often use probes using a combination of regular infantry and special forces to test their enemy's strength, by what is called recon by fire, according to videos this writer has watched. Some of the special forces use AK-74s with suppressors to fire into the direction of their enemy to find out what kind of response they get.

Those groups often probe silently, without using radio or telephonic communications, relying on pre planned medium artillery fire to cover their withdrawal.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
Posted by: badanov || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Russian soldiers give up pretending they are not fighting in Ukraine and admit all
Posted by: anon1 || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Smoking gun for anyone not believing this was a Russian invasion (assuming the source is credible)
Posted by: OldSpook || 04/01/2015 13:07 Comments || Top||


2 bombing attacks in 2 days damage Ukrainian rolling stock


For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.

An explosion at a Kharkov railyard Tuesday damaged two tanker cars, according to Russian language news accounts.

According to data supplied by regnum.ru, the explosion was the second in two days directed against fuel tank cars bound for Ukrainian military forces fighting against Russian backed rebels in southeastern Ukraine.

Monday's attack hit two tanker cars as well, which contained fuel bound for Ukrainian military forces in southeastern Ukraine.

Tuesday's attack hit two empty tanker cars.

No one was reported hurt in either incident.

Ukrainian regional prosecutors in the past have fingered Russian supported guerrillas for previous bombing in and around Kharkov, many of them directed against facilities or organizations used to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russian backed rebels.

Kharkov has a large number of armed guerrilla groups in the region, according to local prosecutors.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
Posted by: badanov || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Guerrillas, AKA FSB agents and some Spetnaz. Conveniently located near the border.
Posted by: OldSpook || 04/01/2015 15:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Dunno. If Russian FSB agents are doing the actual planning and execution of bombing attacks, they sure do suck at it.

If you believe the Ukrainian SBU (and who doesn't :OP), Russian backed guerrillas in the Kharkov oblast have so much explosives, they don't know what to do with it all.
Posted by: badanov || 04/01/2015 16:46 Comments || Top||


Ukrainian MoD investigates Kolomoisky backed Aidar Battalion


Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is planning to send troops to the Luhansk region, in the country’s east, to investigate the crimes of the Aidar volunteer battalion, the ministry’s press service said on Tuesday.

The investigation comes following repeated requests of the Luhansk Region’s governor, Gennady Moskal, submitted earlier to the Defense Ministry and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko.
"In case these suspicions are confirmed, those guilty will be held responsible," the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Moskal presented new facts into the unlawful behavior of the Aidar volunteer battalion members.

The incidents include an attack on a citizen of Lisichansk, a related shooting in the street and a shootout with fighters of a Ternopol battalion in the city, some 90 kilometers from Luhansk.

Such a behavior of the Aidar battalion members in the Luhansk region discredits the Ukrainian troops taking part in the special operation in the country’s east, the governor said.

In early March, the Defense Ministry announced it was disbanding the notorious Aidar battalion said to be out of control and replacing it with regular forces unit under army orders.

Moskal said in his statement that a part of Aidar had long ago defected from the battalion and was engaged in looting, robbery, racketeering, auto theft and other crimes in regions controlled by the Ukrainian side.

An attempt had been prevented to take an arsenal of weapons from the area of combat operations in Donbass to Kiev. The arms were meant for "destabilizing the situation" in the capital, Moskal said.
Posted by: badanov || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
Cablevision to make $1 offer for New York Daily News
[REUTERS] U.S. cable T.V. operator Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) is planning to make an offer for the New York Daily News as early as this week, valuing the troubled tabloid at just $1,
...or about half the current value of the Greek economy...
according to a person familiar with the matter.

The offer would come one month after New York media and real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman said he was considering selling the newspaper and had hired Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) to assist with the process. It underscores the declining readership and plunging advertising revenue that have plagued the tabloid for years.

Cablevision's $1 bid takes into account the New York Daily News' reported $30 million annual loss and $150 million investment in a printing press, and declining circulation that relies heavily on newsstand sales rather than on subscriptions, the source said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In other words, they can't cook the corporate books or cover to keep Bernie floating unlike the NYT and WP.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/01/2015 10:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Throw in Detroit and you got a deal.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/01/2015 10:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe they should have tried reporting the news.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/01/2015 13:42 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll see your dollar and raise you...
Posted by: Bubba Hatfield9936 || 04/01/2015 13:57 Comments || Top||

#5  If I get the business, we'll change the name to "The Burg Daily Times and Picayune" and feature JosephMendiola under the Op-Ed section.
Posted by: Bubba Hatfield9936 || 04/01/2015 14:02 Comments || Top||


Europe
French officials cast doubt on purported video of Germanwings flight's final moments
Two European newspapers are standing by their reports that a cellphone video showing what happened inside a Germanwings plane during the final seconds of ill-fated Flight 9525 was found among the wreckage, even as French officials cast doubt on its authenticity.

The Paris Match and Bild newspapers claim to have jointly obtained the footage, which was reportedly discovered at the crash site. Paris Match said the 14-second video captures the chaos of the plane's final moments:

The scene was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them. One can hear cries of "My God" in several languages. Metallic banging can also be heard more than three times, perhaps of the pilot trying to open the cockpit door with a heavy object. Towards the end, after a heavy shake, stronger than the others, the screaming intensifies. Then nothing.


But a French police official told NBC News that the claims are not true.

"The video claim by Paris Match is false. It is a fake," the official said. "There is no such video."

Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Menichini, a spokesman for the French Gendarmerie, told CNN that Paris Match and Bild were "completely wrong" and called their reports "unwarranted."

Menichini said cellphones have been collected from the site but that they "hadn't been exploited yet."

French prosecutor Brice Robin said that he did not know of any cellphone video collected at the crash site.

"All are for now being kept at Seynes-les-Alpes," Robin told Reuters. "If people at the site have picked up mobile phones, I am not aware of it."

Neither paper published the video, but editors who viewed the footage did not back down from their initial reports.

"I'm convinced this is real," RĂŠgis Le Sommier, deputy editor of Paris Match, said on NBC's "Today" show. "We've checked and investigated, and were pretty positive about our source, which is close to the investigation team. So there is no doubt what we saw were the final seconds of what happened on board of Airbus 320 of Germanwings."

Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Bild Online, told CNN the video "was shown to us by a reporter who is known for his great sources."

If genuine, the footage would appear to confirm a previously published account given to Bild by an investigator who described hearing loud metallic noises and passengers' screams on a cockpit voice recording recovered last week.

According to that report, part of which appears below, passengers could be heard running through the aisles as the captain tried to break down the cockpit door with a crowbar:

10:35 a.m. The captain asks for the crowbar hidden in the back of the plane. Louder bangs can be heard hitting the door, followed by metallic sounds. The captain tries to bend the door with the crowbar.

10:37 a.m. A second alarm is set off, audible and visual: "TERRAIN, PULL UP." Still no reaction from Lubitz. The captain yells: "Open this f... door!"

10:38 a.m. Despite the deafening noises, Lubitz's breathing can cleary [sic] be heard through an oxygen mask he put on. He is breathing normally. The plane is at 13000 feet (4000 meters).

10:40 a.m. A violent sound can be heard outside. At the same time, inside, screaming. The Airbus hits the mountain with its right wing. No other sound, save for the alarms and the screaming passengers.


Investigators believe that Andreas Lubitz, the 27-year-old co-pilot, locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately slammed the plane into the French Alps on March 24, killing all 150 people on board.

Earlier Tuesday, Germanwings' parent company, Lufthansa, said Lubitz informed the airline in 2009 that he had previously suffered from severe depression.

On Monday, German prosecutors said Lubitz was diagnosed as suicidal "several years ago," but that doctors had recently found no sign that he intended to hurt himself or others and declared him fit to fly.
Posted by: gorb || 04/01/2015 11:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Looks like it actually may be genuine.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/01/2015 17:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I didn't catch al of it, but CNN AM SEGMENT > GERMANWINGS CEO visited the crash site and refused? to answer angry or highly tensive questions from nearby News Reporters or Family Members, IIRC mainly as per how can Germanwings allow a troubled or depressed Co-Pilot Lubitz to fly???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/01/2015 22:21 Comments || Top||


Greece looks to Russia as deal with Europe stumbles
[BUSINESS-STANDARD] With the prospect of a default looming in Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is preparing to meet next week with President Vladimir V Putin of Russia as a European deal to give more aid to Athens falters.
The New York Daily News is more likely to pay off than Greece...
The timing has raised questions of whether the visit is an ordinary component of the new Greek government's multipronged foreign policy, or a pivot toward Russia for financial aid in the event that Greece's talks with European officials collapse.

Negotiations between the struggling Greek government and its creditors stumbled anew on Monday after European leaders said that a reform plan submitted over the weekend to unlock a fresh lifeline of euro 7.2 billion, or about $7.8 billion, fell short. Greece has warned that it may run out of money soon after Tsipras meets with Putin on April 8.
Posted by: Fred || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is only the beginning for Putin.When O turns his back on Israel they will do the same. The Saudi, Jordon then the others follow. Iran will be Putin's problem child in the area.
Posted by: Dale || 04/01/2015 7:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Russia looking for a warm water port on the Med.

Wonder what the Ottoman think about it.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/01/2015 8:05 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought Putin was starting to hurt for cash now that oil prices dropped on him. I'd talk to the Chinese if I were Greece.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/01/2015 14:22 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkish Court Acquits All 236 Suspects in Coup Plot Retrial
[AnNahar] A Turkish court on Tuesday acquitted more than 200 army officers accused of plotting a coup against the Islamic-rooted government in 2003.
A fascinating development. No doubt real anti-government plotting will commence shortly -- the duty is clear.
A total of 236 suspects in the so-called Sledgehammer (Balyoz) case were retried by an Istanbul court after The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's top court last year quashed their original convictions.

All were acquitted, the private NTV television reported.

In 2012, hundreds of officers were convicted when a court ruled that an army exercise in 2003 codenamed "Sledgehammer" was an undercover coup plot against then prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
's government.

But last year, the court ordered their release after the constitutional court ruled that the original trial was flawed.

Turkey's once-powerful army, which considers itself the self-appointed guardian of secular rule, has staged three coups since 1960 and forced out an Islamic government in 1997.

As prime minister, Erdogan worked to curb the military's influence through a series of trials which were criticized by rights groups which questioned their impartiality.

But Erdogan, now president, has since sought to mend fences with the army after his government was implicated in a vast corruption scandal -- which he blamed on his ally-turned-opponent Fethullah Gulen.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/01/2015 10:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Turkish PM Davutoglu suggests 'pro-freedom' presidential system
[Hurriyet Daily News] Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has described his presidential system as "pro-freedom, human-focused and based on the separation of powers," while refuting claims that a change to the system would bolster one-man rule under Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey.
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....

"We will introduce through the new constitution a new understanding of governance based on productive power sharing, and a separation [of powers]. We will introduce the presidential system with the right perspective," Davutoglu told his parliamentary group March 31, a day after Erdogan said he was satisfied with the drafted part of a Justice and Development Party (AKP) election manifesto about the adoption of the presidential system.
"Really. That's all we want." Then his lips fell off.
Erdogan has made no secret about his desire for a presidential system that would leave him almost unfettered to run the country as he pleases.

Davutoglu outlined more details on the shape of the presidential system the AKP will announce in its election manifesto, underlining the system as "human-focused and pro-freedom." He also stressed the new administrative system would bring about effective power sharing, with a mechanism controlling the separation of power. "We will discuss it. But this system must function on a solid foundation," he said.

The prime minister also refuted opposition claims that the presidential system would create authoritarian rule in the country. "Those who make it a personal issue are the opposition. If they have their own proposals, they should reveal them," he said.

The current parliamentary system was ruined because of consecutive coups d'état and has become a complicated system, Davutoglu said, stating that those who are against the presidential system today did not attempt to protect the parliamentary system in the past.

"We are preparing a contract for 2023. As the 1923 contract built the republic, the 2023 contract will lay the foundations of a new Turkey as a rising global power," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/01/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2015-04-01
  Libya's Tripoli govt sacks Hassi
Tue 2015-03-31
  A deputy, a relative, an ideologue: key Houthi leaders reportedly killed
Mon 2015-03-30
  One Dead, Two Injured in Shooting at Gate of NSA HQ
Sun 2015-03-29
  Joe Biden demanded Porosheno sack Kolomoisky
Sat 2015-03-28
  Nigeria Recaptures Gwoza from Boko Haram
Fri 2015-03-27
  Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships
Thu 2015-03-26
  Yemen's Houthis take over state institutions in Aden
Wed 2015-03-25
  Unknown plane fires 3 rockets at Hadi's palace in Aden
Tue 2015-03-24
  White House: Israel's '50-year occupation' must end now
Mon 2015-03-23
  Yemeni president declares Aden provisional capital
Sun 2015-03-22
  US evacuates troops from south Yemen base
Sat 2015-03-21
  Westgate mastermind confirmed dead in Somalia airstrike
Fri 2015-03-20
  46 killed, 100 injured in suicide attacks on 2 Yemen mosques
Thu 2015-03-19
  117 BIFF millitants, six soldiers killed so far
Wed 2015-03-18
  19 Killed in Attack at Tunisia Museum; 2 Gunmen Dead After Firefight

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