Bad news for President Trump's tax law. Mnuchin must feel betrayed. Wall Street is calling him out.

May 22, 2018
By Josh Delk

Someone needs to complete and update this graph.

Leading investment banking group Goldman Sachs (click here) says the fiscal outlook for the U.S. "is not good," with new economic forecasts predicting massive increases to the federal deficit. 

"An expanding deficit and debt level is likely to put upward pressure on interest rates, expanding the deficit further," wrote the firm's chief economist, Jan Hatzius, on Sunday, according to CNBC.

The economist notes that the ballooning deficit could spike interest rates, which would expand the deficit, and he predicted lawmakers, as a result, "might hesitate" in approving a high-dollar stimulus package to help with a future economic recession....

Something else about Goldman-Sachs that may be somewhat obscure from view; it started a consumer credit arm called "Marcus." Interestingly, it caters to the less optimal borrowers.

Some in the financial sector are still shaking their heads in disillusion since trading and investment banking has been the 'gig' at Goldman. But, in taking a good look at their target consumer, it is more or less aligned with JP Morgan, except, Goldman is providing a platform for CREDIT SCORES traditionally less attractive.

I have to wonder if Goldman is developing a heart for the consumers the 2008 global financial collapse left behind. Is this financial company experiencing remorse or more like hope for revitalizing an economy for the underserved? I welcome financial institutions that demonstrate a conscience to bringing those left behind up to speed.

Maybe Henry Paulson finally figured out what the USA Treasury is really about.

September 26, 2017
By Frank Chaparro

...Its new lending platform, (click here) Marcus, which targets prime borrowers with credit scores above 660 is issuing out loans at a fast clip, according to a new report by CB Insights.

Marcus, launched in October 2016, is the firm's first consumer lending platform. It offers no-fee personal loans of up to $30,000 for two- to six-year periods....

...In the presentation, delivered at the Barclays Financial Services Conference earlier in September, the firm outlined how it will "prudently grow" its lending business. Marcus is part of a broader strategy shift by the investment bank, which is best known for trading and investment banking.

It has been expanding its retail footprint, launching GSBank.com in April 2016. GSBank.com offers customers a 1.20% interest rate on their deposits, which can be as low as $1, as well as 12 month- and 5 year-term CDs. The retail platform has $15 billion in deposits, according to the presentation.

ZTE is a Chinese corporation.

This website is listed under ZTEUSA. (click here)

They may or may not have unique products to the market, but, the stocks are listed as a Chinese company.

ZTE (click here)

China
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization of issuer)

It's executive offices are registered as New York City.

The Equitable Building (click here) is located on 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10005 at the corner of Pine Street and Broadway. 

The registered website is:

http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/investor_relations/.

Page 21 under the registration: 

ZTE Corporation, a company organized under the laws of China. The Registration Statement is being filed for the purpose of registering Five Million (5,000,000) ADSs under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”).

It is a multinational corporation. There is more to ZTE than meets the eye,

April 17, 2018

The U.S. government (click here) said Chinese telecommunications-gear maker ZTE (ZTCOY, -15.37%) violated the terms of a sanctions settlement and imposed a seven-year ban on purchases of crucial American technology needed to keep it competitive.

The Commerce Department determined ZTE, which was previously fined for shipping telecommunication equipment to Iran and North Korea, subsequently paid full bonuses to employees who engaged in the illegal conduct, failed to issue letters of reprimand and lied about the practices to U.S. authorities, the department said.

“Instead of reprimanding ZTE staff and senior management, ZTE rewarded them,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in the statement. “This egregious behavior cannot be ignored.”....

And, of course, the US government got a cut of the action. It would seem as though ZTE has very high hopes. (click here)

ZTE USA, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, is a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a global provider of mobile devices, telecommunication systems, and enterprise solutions. Operating since 1998, ZTE USA is dedicated to making cost-efficient, quality communication technology accessible to all. ZTE is ranked by independent industry analysts as the fourth-largest supplier of mobile devices in the U.S. overall, and second-largest supplier of prepaid devices. 

March 7, 2017

HONG KONG — As one of China’s (click here) few truly international technology companies, ZTE is often held up by Beijing as part of a new generation of firms that is able to compete beyond Chinese borders.

On Tuesday, the United States government made an example of ZTE in a different way.

As part of a settlement for breaking sanctions and selling electronics to Iran and North Korea, ZTE agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.19 billion in fines, the United States Department of Commerce said in an announcement. The penalty is the largest criminal fine in a United States sanctions case.

The action is the latest in a series of skirmishes between the United States and China over technology policy. It also offered a chance for President Trump’s young administration to make a statement about the seriousness of United States sanctions. In addition to ZTE, the Commerce Department is also investigating the company’s larger Chinese rival, Huawei, for violating United States sanctions....


Store Locator: (click here)

Amazing. It would seem as though there is a ZTE store in every neighborhood in the country. Why aren't these phones selling in China?

How far did the Iranians have to walk to find a phone store, West Africa?

This is the problem with countries that covet the USA for it's corporate profitability. This is the problem with Goldman Sachs coveting the USA for it's profitability. Enough!

The rest of the world needs to work on it's GHG emissions and securing their OWN middle class and phone companies.

It is called quality of life and every person in every country should be working to achieve it. This is a shame. It is really a shame. Wall Street needs to hang it's head in shame to look for cheap labor while the people live in substandard conditions.

I am kind of curious as to the design and technology of the phones and how much they may match USA technology produced by cheap Chinese labor? There probably aren't any patents filed to protect the rights of the ZTE phones.

I was impressed by the news conference with President Moon Jae-in and President Trump. We have a great alliance and it appears to be unchallenged. I appreciated President Trump giving every courtesy to President Moon Jae-in. That was a very friendly and thoughtful expression of our alliance.

It was more than obvious, there was a 2nd meeting with China that President Trump believed changed the tone by North Korea. That is both curious and worrisome. I think it is up to Kim Jong Un to validate or dismiss.

This news conference was very upbeat. It is very hopeful. President Moon Jae-in appears confident about his relationship with Kim Jong Un.

I look forward to more movement in reuniting the North and South, albeit an extended timeline.

May 22, 2018

US President Donald Trump (click here) has said there is a "substantial chance" a historic summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un next month may be delayed.

He was speaking as he received South Korea's President Moon Jae-in at the White House to discuss the summit.

Mr Moon is "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim", South Korean media report.

Last week the North said it might cancel if the US insisted on it giving up nuclear weapons unilaterally....

I don't think the Secretary of State is making in roads.

I know Trump wants to appear to be a tough guy, but, his methods are really not working. Iran is finished with negotiations. They aren't really interested in promoting more talks. So, the unilateral sanctions is simply putting the USA outside the sphere of influence.

The same seems true in regard to North Korea. Granted Russia and China came to the UN Security Council to join a singular voice to Kim Jung Un. That was an accomplishment and provided greater potential to promote peace in the Korean region.

President Moon Jae-in realized North Korea was making a new assessment of it's future considering the UN Security Council was united in demanding peace. In that was the real opportunity to end the old tensions and invited the North Korean athletes to participate in the Olympics as South Korean guests. That genuine expression of collective interest was welcome and a really great movement toward peace was taken seriously by the North.

I think it was wrong for the Trump administration to classify the talks with North Korea as a model to the initiative with Libya. Libya is not a good model. Libya ended in tragedy and not a success. It is the past policies of The West that produce concern by Kim Jung Un. He does not want a Libya like outcome for his people.

The initiative to peace for the Korean Peninsula and the region should not be squandered. I believe the UN Security Council did the right thing. The UN Security Council can ask President Moon Jae-in to speak and provide insight to the best direction for continued movement toward peace for the Korean people. He obviously has the trust of Kim Jung Un.

Achieving the peace in the two Koreas can include a safe path for the North Korean people as well as their current leader. Mistreating Kim Jong Un will not win the hearts of the North Korean people.

I believe the path forward for North and South Korea lies in the hands of their leaders and the common ground they stand on. This effort to end decades of very hostile tensions must not fail. The people of the Koreas have a right to their dream to end hatred and nurture improvements to potentially uniting families.

I believe the Koreas' peace will last. As trust builds and both Koreas find economic health by engaging each other, the potential to removing any nuclear threat from the region has great promise. I do believe North Korea will disarm, but, it won't happen through threats, but, trust.

I also believe the USA's nuclear capacity in the region is a real threat that will cause hesitation to any peace movement. The USA is an ally to South Korea, but, with real peace there won't be a need to bring nuclear weapons into the region. That is not a position of a whim, it is a position of peace with confidence in the future.

Libya never was never so stable as the Korean potential post nuclear weapon removal. One looks to Ukraine and it's peril after relinquishing of nuclear weapons. This is the reality the leaders of North Korea, Pakistan and Iran have as examples of very poor policy that destroyed countries and not stabilized them through peace.

I think the removal of any nuclear potential in the region where North Korea and South Korea seek peace and reunification is a reasonable demand. That would mean as North Korea is denuclearized, China, Russia and the USA have to provide assurances there will be no nuclear potential into the Korean peninsula.

That paradigm will be new to all countries involved, but, it would be a chance to test the strength of the hope for the peace process. In the case of South Korea, there has to be a corresponding participation of Japan. The USA cannot just park it's nuclear missiles offshore of Japan or other Pacific islands. It is unreasonable to ask a country to denuclearize while the five permanent members of the UN are static in the region. That paradigm encourages destabilization of governments.

I do not anticipate easy progress to these talks, but, they have to be conducted and resolves met to the satisfaction of all. It is hideous to think peace in this world is nothing more than ideology. I sincerely believe most if not all leaders in the world want a denuclearized world for their children. North Korea is the test.

There is a way forward and I trust President Moon Jae-in to make it so.

May 22, 2018

General Ismail Kowsari, (click here) Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Tharallah base, seen on Al-Alam TV on September 27, 2017. 

Iran has responded to US warnings of tighter sanctions by threatening to “punch Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth."

Mr Pompeo (click here) said Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not agree to make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear programme and pulling out of the Syrian civil war.

The threat comes two weeks after Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran despite appeals from other signatories including Britain, France and Germany.

The White House has warned it is ready to impose "the strongest sanctions in history", setting Washington and Tehran further on a course of confrontation.

But Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran, has poured scorn on the latest sanctions threat.

He said: ”The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them.

"Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles?

"History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is the top criminal with regard to missiles.”...

Being a woman is not a disability, but, returning to her sport, Sarena Williams should take her doctors advice.

Serena Williams experienced a pulmonary blood clot after giving birth. It happens sometimes. The practice in treating blood clots is usually an anticoagulant (blood thinner) is administered for the rest of a person's life. It really is up to Serena's physicians to inform authorities to her fitness to return to the sport she loves. If her doctors are in agreement about her health, she should not be handicapped by a length of time for her return.

Once her wellness and fitness is determined there can be an opinion included in any appeal as to the rigors of returning to her previous rank and tournament routine as opposed to repeated trials to achieve the same goal.

In recent tournaments, she had varied results. The WTA may want to review those tournaments to decide if the rigors of returning are unfairly leveraged. Her health, well being and continued success should be at the core of any decision of the WTA.

21 May 2018

...The WTA is considering a rule change (click here) to add protected seedings for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave but the earliest that could take effect is next year.

Several of Williams’ biggest rivals believe she deserves a seeding. “I would like to see that [rule] change,” Maria Sharapova said at the Italian Open last week. “It’s such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally. ... There’s just another whole dimension to the travel, to the experiences, to the emotions to the physicality of every single day.”

Williams returned to the tour briefly in March after a 14-month absence. She was not seeded at tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, and compiled two wins and two losses.

Williams has recounted the difficulties she faced in childbirth, and a pulmonary embolism made it hard for her to breathe shortly after her daughter was born. But after a period of training, coach Patrick Mouratoglou last week told the WTA tour website that “Serena will play the French Open to win it.”...              

Iran's President Rohani needs to meet with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanit.

The Taliban are using the Iranian border to strengthen and attack innocent Afghan districts. I would hope President Rohani would find a common and stabilized border with Afghanistan better policy than an unstable border potentially used for drug and arms smuggling.

I sincerely doubt the Iranian government wants to bring suffering to the people of Afghanistan by further violence by the Taliban.

May 21, 2018

Taliban fighters (click here) closed in on another district in Afghanistan on Sunday as officials sought to reassure an increasingly angry public that security would improve.

On Sunday, the insurgents were besieging the governor’s compound in Ajrestan district in Ghazni, south of the capital Kabul, although officials said reinforcements had arrived and were relieving police defending the town.

The fighting in Ghazni, which has long had a heavy Taliban presence, follows several days of fighting in Farah province, on the other side of Afghanistan on the border with Iran where the insurgents came close to overrunning the provincial capital.

General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan visited Farah on Saturday with the ministers of the interior and defense and the head of the NDS intelligence service.

“Farah did not fall and Farah will never fall,” he said, calling on the Taliban to accept President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace talks.

“We will stay with you until we bring this war to a peaceful conclusion,” he said.

He met local officials in the governor’s compound and heard a bitter litany of complaints about the failure of the government to protect the city and the province, where the Taliban control many areas....

Whenever Trump reaches a fever pitch, just tune into FOX News and find out what the mess is about.

Now, John Brennan is responsible for the loss of Crimea to Russia. Really? That is amazing. Supposedly, there was an FBI covert agent trying to find out if the Trump campaign was involved with foreign governments. Well, from the report in the Washington Post, it looks like the agent was right on. If the agent was talking to Papadopoulos, he or she was right on. I still come back to, other than FOX News trying to be relevant to the Mueller investigation, what is the issue?

Gossip to understand who this agent was? There is no reason to expose an FBI agent concerned for the country. Cheney did with Valerie Plame, because, the "W" White House was exposed by her husband, Joe Wilson (click here).

This is actually a mystery? Not. George Papadopoulos spoke with an Australian diplomate, Alexander Downer about issues involving foreign influence in the Trump campaign. Then the FBI, under Comey, began to wonder about Russia and it's influence. What is the issue?

...George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016...

There is no issue in regard to the FBI's investigation under Comey. If there was an agent assigned to the report from Australia, everyone was doing their job. Considering we know that Trump and Comey had serious discussions regarding Russian prostitutes I would say the FBI agent gathered whatever evidence was available to him/her and consolidated a report to the Director. What didn't show up in the report is what the Mueller investigation would disclose later, in that Trump's campaign had direct contact with Russian operatives. Comey didn't know that yet. It was exposed by the Mueller investigation from my understanding.

THERE IS NO THERE THERE, except for FOX and Trump attempting to drum up some kind of political drumbeat for their own purposes. While a paranoid president is worried about the facts, he does not have the right to expose an FBI agent.

May 18, 2018
By Robert Costa, Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Devlin Barrett

...In late summer, (click here) the professor met with Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis for coffee in Northern Virginia, offering to provide foreign-policy expertise to the Trump effort. In September, he reached out to George Papadopoulos, an unpaid foreign-policy adviser for the campaign, inviting him to London to work on a research paper.

Many questions about the informant’s role in the Russia investigation remain unanswered. It is unclear how he first became involved in the case, the extent of the information he provided and the actions he took to obtain intelligence for the FBI. It is also unknown whether his July 2016 interaction with Page was brokered by the FBI or another intelligence agency.

The FBI commonly uses sources and informants to gather evidence and its regulations allow for use of informants even before a formal investigation has been opened. In many law enforcement investigations, the use of sources and informants precedes more invasive techniques such as electronic surveillance....

John Brennan in Ukraine:

The Ukrainian upheaval which started with the Maidan was Feb 18, 2014 – Feb 23, 2014. John Brennan better have been on his way to Ukraine after the events of Ukraine. The USA, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine were bound by a treaty that prevented interference by any of the parties in internal affairs of Ukraine.

Brennan had limited options to his efforts to gather evidence about interference by Russia. He could not start any initiative without evidence that the treaty was violated by any party.

Crimea was going to fall to Russia's influence with a broken treaty. Putin was heavily involved in Crimea and often used the island as a political prop in a promise to his nationalist rant of the "Russian people."

So, John Brennan who is above reproach and an untarnished reputation, did his job. He went to Ukraine to learn what he could and understand if the treaty was violated or not. From that fact finding of John Brennan came the approach by President Obama and Chancellor Merkel to bring criticism of Russia for it's interference. What followed the interference by Russia, evidence the treaty was broken, were the sanctions. President Obama did his job. He was able to leverage sanctions for the illegal actions of Russia.

John Brennan did his job and he did it well. President Obama was right to carry out sanctions against Russia for a violated treaty that was to protect the lives of the people of Ukraine. 

April 16, 2014

...Ukraine (click here) is on the brink of civil war, Vladimir Putin has said, and he should know because the country is already in the midst of a covert intelligence war. Over the weekend, CIA director John Brennan travelled to Kiev, nobody knows exactly why, but some speculate that he intends to open US intelligence resources to Ukrainian leaders about real-time Russian military maneuvers. The US has, thus far, refrained from sharing such knowledge because Moscow is believed to have penetrated much of Ukraine’s communications systems – and Washington isn’t about to hand over its surveillance secrets to the Russians....

...So what kind of conversations did Brennan have during his visit? There’s no way of knowing for sure of course. But, according to my sources, and based on my experience of reporting on the Russian invasion of Georgia, the US-Ukraine information exchange would go a lot further than simply tracking numbers and motions of Russian tanks and soldiers. The operative term here is ‘non-lethal’ help – that remains Washington’s official position....

These deaths should have never occurred and would not have occurred if Russia had not broken the treaty by entering Crimea and annexing it. This is a violation of international agreements to protect smaller countries from those capable of large military operations. The sanctions are to bring an end to the violence and end the deaths taking place in Ukraine. Russia is the ONLY country actively involved in the civil war of Ukraine. Recently, NATO countries were able to help the current Ukraine government in providing military aid in the way of weapons. It is believed if there is a balance of power in the country, the civil war will be forced to abide by Minsk II (click here).

There is nothing inappropriate by the Obama intelligence agencies and Ukraine is finding stability as it can and the people are beginning to rebuild their country. They have great hope the country will someday be reunited in peace.

Ukraine death toll

Deaths by regions

Region	Casualties	Time period
Luhansk region	1,185 civilians and rebels killed	1 May 2014 – 15 February 2015
Donetsk region	4,572 civilians and rebels killed	6 April 2014 – 31 December 2017
Luhansk region	1,328 civilians and rebels killed	6 April 2014 – 31 December 2017

There were no political ambitions when the Russian investigation began.

December 31, 2017

Washington — An Australian diplomat's (click here) tip appears to have helped persuade the FBI to investigate Russian meddling in the U.S. election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016 that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the report said. Downer, a former foreign minister, is Australia's top diplomat in Britain....

So far the Mueller investigation has gone out of it's way to prevent conflict of interest. There have been at least two members of the Mueller team reassigned to different investigations because of an email exchange that supported Hillary Clinton. This is a non-issue.

This level of meddling in elections of The West is not new to the FBI. Just because this was occurring within an election does not mean there was no corruption. The FBI has offices in other countries, besides, the USA.

January 8, 2018
By Lucan Ahmad Way and Adam Case

Russian interference in the 2016 election (click here) has gotten an enormous amount of U.S. media attention. But Russia has been intervening in foreign elections for decades. Has it been effective?

We decided to find out. To assess the impact of Russian meddling, we put together and examined a data...

What doesn't make sense to me is why this is even a question with the president. If Donald Trump is actually interested in the best interest of the USA he would be applauding the FBI for it's ability to find facts that break USA laws. I don't say that naively. The FBI should be involved in securing the elections of this country. They should be involved at all levels.

The country is moving into a "fairness model" for elections by reassessing Gerrymandered districts in the US House. This is a citizens' movement that is finding interest by political parties. The fact political parties are involved is not corruption. The goals for citizens and organized political parties are the same; a return to fairness.

It is a known fact Russia was tampering with the 2016 elections. 

It is known.

It is known.

It is known.

What is the issue?

Sorry if retaking the voter integrity of the USA back from corruption doesn't fit the president's plans. It is time the American citizens have peace of mind when entering the voting booth to cast their ballot. This mess has been going on since "W" and his introduction of computer voting machines. Today, those programs have been proven to be a problem and they are grossly outdated.

What is the problem?

The thought would not be complete, unless, I find it odd Trump can't get along with Australian leadership. Australia is one of our most trusted allies. It stood with us in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is no reason for Donald Trump not to get along with the leaders of Australia.

Trump's methods of conducting business is to have flamboyant words said about him and the expression of loyalty. I am sorry, but, that is idiot stuff. There is no need for expressed loyalty between long standing allies. And to think other leaders have to flatter him in public in order to win his graces is horse hockey. It is complete nonsense and it is intended to humiliate the other leadership.

To take it one step further, Donald Trump's leadership model is to exert retribution if he doesn't get his way. Whether anyone wants to say it or not, that is coersion. It is a crime. People are being intimidated and humiliated to bring about results from the people of the USA. These practices need to end. Retribution against ANYONE is a crime. It is intended to obtain power and/or favors. It is outrageous it has gone on this long.

Leadership in the Oval Office and the president's cabinet does not come with training wheels. These practices are illegal.

...Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016 that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the report said. Downer, a former foreign minister, is Australia's top diplomat in Britain....

There it is. There was plenty of political content and it was all to benefit Trump. My guess is that George Papadopoulos got scared. Somewhere along the way, he realized there was a thumb on the scale of the 2016 elections to benefit Trump AND by that time the DNC was already realizing they were hacked. They didn't at the time until it was investigated. So, Mr. Papadopoulos simply realized he was in hot water and he wanted to find a way out. For all I know, he might have actually been scared for the country.

So, the writing was on the wall and there was no covert agenda by US Justice or the FBI. AG Lynch was following long established protocol when she spoke with James Comey about the issues with emails and the Anthony Weiner case. I might add, the DNC or Clinton camp never stated the investigation into a staffer's husband was politically motivated either.

What I found disheartening about Israel's reporting of the Gaza violence...

...was the fact Hamas activists, even though disarmed, were killed because of their identity. Hamas has proven itself to be a defender of the people of Gaza. They are considered terrorists. If they are unarmed, how are they, terrorists?

The label of Hamas should not give anyone the right to kill a person. Unarmed Palestinians protested on the Gaza border, that does not give Israel blanket permission to kill them because they are on some kind of "terrorist list."

May 18, 2018

PM Abbasi arrives in Istanbul.

Istanbul: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (click here) on Friday hosts Muslim leaders for an Istanbul summit to condemn Israel over the killing of Gaza protesters, seeking to bridge divisions with the Islamic world and issue a strong message.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has also landed in the Turkish capital to attend the extraordinary summit of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Foreign Minister Khurram Dastgir and other senior officials are accompanying the prime minister.

Pakistan has called for an independent and transparent investigation of violence in Gaza. While condemning the human rights violations by the occupying Israeli force, PM Abbasi is likely to reiterate support of the people and Government of Pakistan for the establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous state of Palestine....

It isn't as though there are no other places in the world with extremist tensions, but, every measure for the safety of citizens and government alike are taken. The severe consequences of the Palestinians along the Gaza border is raising tensions in other countries as well, yet Israel makes to measure of such issues when acting against the Palestinians at the border of Gaza.

Human rights demand unarmed people protesting should not be killed because of their identity or reputation. If their voices are heard and considered important, it can end decades of hate and violence.

Protests are a form of outreach; it should never be ignored for the hope it carries. They were unarmed. Israel has to realize such deaths will reverberate internationally. It is irresponsible for such killing to take place.

May 18, 2018

Demonstrators hurl stones towards Indian police, during a protest against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the US embassy move to Jerusalem, in Srinagar, May 18, 2018.

Indian occupied Kashmir (click here) came to a virtual standstill on Saturday as separatist groups called for a shutdown to protest a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Muslim-majority region gripped by deadly new tensions and clashes with rival Pakistan.

Shops shut and streets in the main city, Srinagar, were empty except for police and paramilitary patrols as authorities imposed maximum security for Modi’s one-day visit.

Authorities cut mobile internet services in the region and ordered a curfew in parts of Srinagar....

On May 21st...

Stanislav Petrov awarded World Citizen Award for averting a potential nuclear war in 1983 after correctly guessing Russian early warning system at fault.

November 29, 2017
By Rajan Pokhrel

Kathmandu: A Sherpa climber (click here) who holds the Guinness World Record in Mt Everest climbing for 13 years is all set to lose his title after the Supreme Court invalidated the claims he made to the government authorities while obtaining a summit certificate.

A joint bench of Justices Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Dambar Bahadur Shahi yesterday issued a verdict to quash the government’s decision, saying Pemba Dorje Sherpa of Rolwaling, Dolakha, failed to produce substantial proof to authenticate his claim of climbing the world’s highest peak in eight hours and 10 minutes on 21 May, 2004....

On May 21, 1832, (click here) a group of delegates supporting President Andrew Jackson met in Baltimore to conduct the first official convention of the Democratic Party, setting some trends that lasted more than a century....

1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St. Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of the Atlantic.

1932 First transatlantic solo flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart lands in Ireland.

Born in 1921 in Moscow, Russia, Andrei Sakharov, a nuclear physicist and Soviet dissident. He was renowned as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. He was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. He died of a heart attack on December 14, 1989 at the age of 68.

In 1944, actor Burgess Meredith, age 36 weds actress Paulette Goddard, age 33 at David O'Selznick's Beverly Hills home.

I am quite certain the Pakistani family did not expect their daughter to die of gun violence in the USA.

May 20, 2018

My sincerest sympathies (click here) to Sabika Sheikh's family and friends. I am sure she was marvelous. The void of her presence will always be there, it just is easier to bear with time. 

The United Nation's has a Small Arms Treaty. Those that signed it should recognize the danger of exporting guns to the USA and end that trade.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (click here) on Sunday condoled with the bereaved family of Sabika Sheikh, a student who died in the school fire incident in Texas USA on May 18.

The premier along with Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair visited the house of Sabika in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi and expressed his deep sorrow on the sad demise of the Pakistani student.

Abbasi called Sabika an intelligent student and said the whole nation is sad on her death. He prayed to God to give the family courage to bear the loss.

“Extremism was not an issue limited to a particular country or region,” the premier said, adding it is a global issue. He urged the international community to find out the real reasons behind the incident.

“We have to learn from each other’s experiences,” Abbasi stressed.

Sabika’s father said that Nawaz Sharif has specially sent the premier for condolence. We have a great respect for him and we are thankful to him. Uncle of Sabeeka Abdul Jalil Sheikh said that the family is thankful to the PM and the Governor of Sindh....

The Brits are looking for a Russian "sleeper cell" to bring to justice.

I doubt Americans want to live with this level of oppression. Maybe Trump really does have something to worry about in the methods of his beloved friend Vladimir Putin. Putin's methods are sometimes final. But, if Trump was this worried about trouble from Russia, why does he let them in the front door of the White House? They are probably living in the basement by now.

The Mueller investigation is vital to the USA's national security. I hope it is as thorough as it needs to be.

May 20, 2018
By Jim Edwards

Sergei Skripal left hospital (click here) last week after recovering from an assassination attempt.

One creepy prospect for the Skripals is that the would-be assassins may still be in the UK, as sleeper agents living undercover as normal people.

"An actual 'illegal' with an existing, years-long 'legend' would attract attention by going missing all of a sudden — i.e. friends, co-workers or neighbours might report a missing person to police," a Russia intelligence expert tells Business Insider.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal left hospital last week after recovering from an assassination attempt. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent at his home in Salisbury in March by Russian spies, British counter-terror authorities have said.

One creepy prospect for the Skripals is that the would-be assassins may still be in the UK, living undercover as normal people, Russian espionage experts say. It's easy to smuggle people out of Britain. For those of us not in the espionage business, it seems surprising that the attackers would stay in the country rather than escape immediately.

But Russia probably left its agents in place for an extended period after the attack.

Russia probably has more "sleeper" agents living as ordinary British people in the UK right now that during the Cold war, according to Victor Madeira, a senior fellow at The Institute for Statecraft, who testified to Parliament about Russian covert interference in Britain. Russia's "illegals" program places agents in Western countries where they live apparently normal lives for years, all the while quietly collecting influential contacts....