March 3, 2017- Surge in human cases of deadly bird flu is prompting alarm
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Headline: IDF strikes Hamas in Gaza after terrorists’ gunfire and rocket attacks
Israel strikes Hamas positions in Gaza after terrorists shot at an IDF unit operating on the border fence with Gaza, damaging an army vehicle. Palestinian terrorists fired at an IDF unit operating on the border fence with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. No Israelis were harmed in the attack, but an IDF tractor was hit. This attack comes just hours after Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket from Gaza at Israel’s civilian population. The rocket exploded in an open space, causing no casualties or damage. It was the second rocket attack from Gaza this week and the fifth attack in the past month. In total, terrorists fired nine rockets at Israel over this time period. In response, Israel’s Air Force (IAF) and an IDF tank bombed two Hamas positions in Gaza.
March 2, 2017
https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-hits-back-palestinian-terrorists-gaza/
Headline: UN chief urged to add IDF to blacklist
A network of humanitarian organizations urged the United Nations to add the IDF to the blacklist of countries and armed groups responsible for grave violations against children. Formed in 2001, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict released its annual report ahead of the release of the United Nations’ annual report on children and armed conflict. The United Nations’ report, which contains the blacklist, is usually released in May or June. Watchlist recommended that 11 parties be added to the blacklist, and that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres collect further information on several others, including on the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine and the armed wing of Hamas, Izzadin Kassam, to determine whether or not they should be included in next year’s report. The network’s explanation focused on the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, fought between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, stating that “attacks in Gaza have not ceased.” The IDF was kept off the list in 2015 after lobbying by the US and Israel. The section on Israeli offenses is nine pages long, while the sections on PFLP and Izzadin Kassam are one and three paragraphs long, respectively. According to Watchlist, it has recommended listing the IDF since 2005 for “killing and maiming children and attacking schools and hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank.”
March 2, 2017
Headline: Is the ‘Rising Tide’ of American Anti-Semitism Only a Surge in Incident Reporting?
Headline: Jewish cemetery vandalized in Rochester, NY
Headline: Arrest made in national threats to Jewish community centers
Dozens of bomb threats have been called into Jewish institutions since early January, and scores of headstones at two Jewish cemeteries—one near St. Louis, the other in Philadelphia— were desecrated in February. But is there actually a rising tide of anti-Semitism in America? Despite the threats and attacks, positive feelings between different American religious groups are on the rise, as measured in mid-to-late January by the well-respected and non-partisan Pew Foundation. Additionally, far more damaging anti-Semitic incidents took place throughout the preceding decade and a half than the ones garnering attention in recent weeks. During the past two months, there have been nearly 100 documented acts of anti-Semitism across North America, including at least 90 bomb threats—mostly at Jewish community centers (JCCs)—and the two cemetery attacks. Running parallel to these anti-Jewish hate crimes has been a groundswell of anger directed at President Donald Trump for allegedly failing to swiftly or sufficiently denounce anti-Semitism. Some critics have labeled the president an anti-Semite and claimed he is responsible for unleashing a wave of religious hatred.
March 3, 2017
Headline: Abbas to visit Moscow in May
Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas will reportedly visit Moscow in May, the Ma’an news agency reported Thursday, citing the PA’s envoy to Russia Abd al-Hafith Nawfal said on Wednesday. Nawfal was quoted as having said that Abbas would discuss the Israel-Arab peace process with Russian officials, as well as the United States’ stance on the conflict. Russia has expressed an interest in mediating Israel-Palestinian Authority peace talks which have been frozen for more than two years. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said several months ago that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive the talks. Several days later, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Putin held a telephone conversation in which they discussed the peace process, among other things, though a Kremlin spokesman later clarified there was “nothing concrete” yet on a meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu. Most recently, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said his country is waiting for Israeli and Palestinian Arab proposals on holding a direct meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu.
March 3, 2017
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/226042
Headline: Chief Rabbi Sets Value for Biblical Half-Shekel, Paving the Way for the Temple’s Comeback
In another essential step forward towards practically bringing the Third Temple, the Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel has set the current value of the Biblical half shekel every Jewish male was required to give to the Temple. This mitzvah (Torah commandment), performed in a merely symbolic manner for 2,000 years, is making a rapid comeback in many ways. Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef issued a letter on Wednesday in response to inquiries from the public as to what sum to give to charity as a gesture symbolizing the Biblical commandment. In the days of the Temple, every male in Israel was obligated to donate a half-shekel of silver in the beginning of the month of Adar, which began on Wednesday. Based on the present market value of silver, Rabbi Yosef set the value of the Biblical half shekel at 23 NIS, or $6.23. The rabbi addressed the modern tradition of giving charity in place of this donation, which in Biblical times was used to pay for the operating expenses of the Temple. “Wise men throughout the generations have been accustomed to commemorate this mitzvah,” Rabbi Yosef wrote in the letter. “But it is important to say that the money is a donation and not an atonement. Similarly, when giving the money, it is important to emphasize that it is in memory of the mitzvah, and not the actual mitzvah. As such, the giving of this money in our times is not a requirement or a mitzvah.”
March 2, 2017
Lebanon
Headline: Hizballah lists targeted Israeli “nuclear sites”
Hizballah’s latest round of threats against Israel reached a new peak Thursday, March 2, with the release of a videotape claiming to expose nine locations allegedly tied to the production and assembly of Israel’s nuclear weapons, debkafile reports. The Lebanese Shiite terror organization said it possessed precise missiles for wiping out Israel’s nuclear infrastructure and attached addresses to all its targets. Five locations topped the list, starting with the nuclear reactors at Dimona in southern Israel and Nahal Soreq on the Mediterranean coast. “Revealed” next are three secret locations for the production, assembly and storage of nuclear missiles and warheads. Kfar Zacharia near Beit Shemesh in the Jerusalem Hills, defined as the main depot for the Jericho Series I, II and III, of three-stage ballistic missiles, which can reach ranges of up to 6,000km. Two others were a factory in Beer Yaakov near the central Israeli town of Ramleh, the alleged production site for nuclear warheads; and the “Galilee Wing-20” plant at the Tefen Industrial Park, 17km from the town of Carmiel, a facility where the Rafael Advanced Defense System Authority was said to mount nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles and prepare them for launching. The video stresses that Hizballah now possesses precise missiles able to pinpoint and destroy every single facility. Just two weeks ago, Nasrallah “advised” Israel in an aggressive speech, to dismantle its large ammonia tank in Haifa and the nuclear reactor in Dimona before they were hit by Hizballah rockets and caused massive casualties. He and his associates have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that their Lebanese terrorist group has acquired weapons capable of deterring Israel as well as the capability to catch Israeli intelligence unawares by “surprises.”
March 3, 2017
http://debka.com/article/25951/Hizballah-lists-targeted-Israeli-%E2%80%9Cnuclear-sites%E2%80%9D
Saudi Arabia
Headline: Yemen: US air strikes ‘target al-Qaeda’ for second consecutive day
Headline: Saudi Arabia: Houthis using children in armed conflict
US air strikes have hit suspected al-Qaeda targets in Yemen for a second consecutive day, according to Yemeni security sources and local residents. Local residents, quoted by AFP news agency, said military forces believed to be US descended on Wadi Yashbum village early on Friday, backed by drones and Apache helicopters, and fought al-Qaeda militants for nearly an hour. They said there were a number of casualties, including children. The home of al-Qaeda provincial commander Saad Atef was among three houses hit by air strikes, tribal sources said. The Pentagon has not yet confirmed the latest strikes, but it did say it had carried out more than 20 strikes on Thursday in three separate areas: Shabwa, Abyan and Baida.
March 3, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39152073
Egypt
Headline: Former Egyptian President Mubarak acquitted of killing 239 protesters
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, originally sentenced to life in prison for murdering 239 demonstrators who protested against his rule, was declared innocent by Egypt’s highest court. Egypt’s supreme court, the Court of Cassation, found former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, innocent of charges for the killing of 239 protesters during an 18-day revolt that ousted him from power in early 2011. “The court has found the defendant innocent,” said Judge Ahmed Abdel Qawi on Thursday. Mubarak was originally sentenced in 2012 to life in prison for conspiracy to murder 239 demonstrators who had revolted against his rule. His conviction was overturned by an appeals court in 2013 that led to his retrial in which a Cairo court dropped charges against Mubarak and his senior officials. The prosecution filed an appeal leading to Thursday’s ruling by Egypt’s Court of Cassation.
March 2, 2017
https://worldisraelnews.com/former-egyptian-president-mubarak-acquitted-killing-239-protesters/
Headline: Syria rebels urge Trump to correct Obama’s “catastrophic mistakes”
Headline: Syrian opposition accepts UN principles at end of peace talks
The lead Syrian opposition negotiator at peace talks in Geneva said he hoped U.S. President Donald Trump would correct the “catastrophic” errors of his predecessor Barack Obama to become a reliable partner against “devilish” Iran. The U.N.-led negotiations edged forwards on Wednesday, for the first time in six days, as both sides saw hope of shaping the agenda to their liking, but with indirect talks wrapping up this weekend there is little prospect of any real breakthrough. “The people in Syria paid a high price because of the catastrophic mistakes made by the Obama administration,” Nasr al-Hariri told reporters in a briefing after meeting U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura. “Obama lied and he didn’t keep any of the promises he made for the Syrian people. He drew red lines that he erased himself, he kept silent on crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad.” Trump has said his priority is to fight Islamic State, which has left Russia in the diplomatic driving seat and put Russia, Turkey and Iran in charge of overseeing a shaky ceasefire. He has also made it clear he wants to rein in Tehran’s regional ambitions. Trump’s administration has so far done little to suggest it is willing to engage in finding a political solution for Syria. “Their policy is still unknown,” said a Western diplomat at the talks. “They are almost not here.”
March 3, 2017
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un-idUSKBN1691RM?il=0
Headline: Russia says Syrian government has recaptured Palmyra (Homs province)
Headline: Heavy clashes between ISIS and Syrian Army continue at Palmyra airbase
Russia on Thursday said President Bashar al-Assad‘s Syrian Arab Army has retaken the ancient city of Palmyra from the Islamic State with the help of the Russian Air Force. Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told Putin that Assad’s regime freed the historic city from Islamic State control. Syrian Army specialists are working to remove mines from the city and Assad’s regime is fortifying defenses around Palmyra to prevent a counterattack by the Islamic State, officials said. “The flag of the Islamic State terrorist group has been removed from the city of Palmyra,” Andrey Krasov, deputy head of the Russian Duma’s defense commitee, said Thursday. “It should be viewed as a joint success of the Russian Air Force and the Syrian military. Shortly, the whole territory of Syria will be liberated from the terrorists.”
March 3, 2017
Headline: Fighting in Syria’s Manbij (Aleppo province) Persists Amid FSA Attacks
Headline: Turkey to hit Syrian Kurd fighters if they do not leave Manbij
Armed clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces show no signs of abating in and near the northern Syrian city of Manbij, Hidar Menbic, commander of the Manbij Military Council, told Sputnik Turkey. In an interview with Sputnik Turkey, Hidar Menbic, commander of the Manbij Military Council, pointed to the increasing intensity of armed clashes between Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in and near the northern Syrian city of Manbij. Earlier this week, the Manbij Military Council, which is part of the SDF, captured a FSA tank on the outskirts of the city, media reports said. With armed clashed between the FSA and SDF on the increase, the civilian population has reportedly begun to flee the area and American soldiers and armored vehicles have been deployed to the north and west of Manbij. He confirmed that the US servicemen have been deployed to Manbij in a bid to prevent clashes between the warring sides. Menbic added that thus far, the US military had used arms against neither FSA forces nor Turkey.
March 3, 2017
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703031051242119-syria-manbij-clashes-free-syrian-army/
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1062456/middle-east
Headline: Syria Situation Report Feb. 24- March 2, 2017
http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/MArch%202EDITS%20COT.pdf
Headline: Red Cross says seven treated for exposure to toxic agents near Mosul
Five children and two women are receiving treatment for exposure to chemical agents near the Iraqi city of Mosul, where Islamic State is fighting U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday. The ICRC “condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons during fighting around the Iraqi city of Mosul”, it said in a statement. The agency’s statement did not say which side used the chemical agents that caused blisters, redness in the eyes, irritation, vomiting, and coughing. The United States has warned that Islamic State could use weapons containing sulfur mustard agents to repel the offensive on the northern Iraqi city. ICRC medical teams were supporting local medical teams treating the seven patients, who were admitted over the past two days to Rozhawa hospital in Erbil, east of Mosul, the organization said. The Islamic State used chemical weapons at least 52 times in Iraq and Syria and at least 19 times in the areas around Mosul between 2014 and November 2016, according to data collected by IHS Markit. The ICRC had reinforced 13 medical centers in areas surrounding Mosul, some with capacity to treat gas attacks victims, ahead of the offensive that started in October.
March 3, 2017
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-chemicalweapons-idUSKBN16A1EZ
Headline: PMU threatens to break all Peshmerga sieges on Yazidi people
The predominately Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) has announced that they will conduct operations against the Peshmerga and ISIS who are besieging the Yazidi people in Iraq’s Sinjar region. This follows on from this morning’s events where clashes between the Rojava Peshmerga who are loyal to Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Masou Barzni, and the Yazidi Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), who are trained by the Turkey based Kurdistan Workers Party and oppose Barzani’s relations with Turkish President Erdogan. The ensuing fight left at least four Peshmerga fighters taken prisoner by the Yazidi Units while one YBS fighter has been killed and three injured in clashes, Kom News reported. The PMU highlighted on their Twitter that the Peshmerga attack on the Yazidis was unprovoked, and will pay a heavy price for betraying them. The militia that has been one of the most effective fighting forces in fighting ISIS, then announced their consideration of new operations to dismantle all Peshmerga and ISIS siege on the Yazidi people. This is the first time in which Barzani’s forces has been directly threatened by the PMU.
March 3, 2017
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-pmu-threatens-break-peshmerga-sieges-yazidi-people/
Turkey
Headline: Turkey says Berlin working against bid to boost Erdogan powers
Headline: ‘Learn to behave’: Ankara outraged over Germany’s cancelation of Turk rallies
Turkey on Friday accused Germany of working for a “No” vote ahead of an April referendum on whether to boost President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers in an executive presidency. “They don’t want Turkey to campaign here, they are working for a ‘No’. They want to get in the way of a strong Turkey,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara after German local authorities blocked rallies where Turkish ministers were due to speak. The Turkish public will vote on April 16 on whether to create a system which Ankara says will be like that of France and the United States and ensure political stability. However, critics say the system will weaken parliament further and lead to one-man rule. Tensions have increased in recent days between Turkey and Berlin after Ankara’s provisional detention of a German journalist on terrorism-related charges on Monday.
March 3, 2017
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1062586/world
https://www.rt.com/news/379328-turkey-germany-rallies-scandal/
Iran
Headline: Arab Nations Face Stark Choice: Israel or Iran
Two very different dialogue proposals are on the table for the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, one from a historic enemy, Israel, proposed in conjunction with a crucial partner, the United States. The other is from a historic rival, Iran, which shares the same neighborhood and faith. The choice the Arab countries ultimately make could determine the future peace and prosperity of the region. On February 15, President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and during a press conference, both leaders hinted at an approaching Arab-Israeli cooperation. A few days later, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated Iran’s previously proposed regional platform for dialogue between the Islamic Republic and its Persian Gulf neighbors during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. The U.S.-Israel proposal encompasses almost all Arab States, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and possibly Lebanon and Tunisia. This proposal’s principal objective is a wider Arab-Israeli peace agreement and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the key selling point behind this initiative is mutual concerns regarding Iran, and the proposal has a goal to present a unified front against the Islamic Republic. The primary goal of Iran’s proposal is to decrease tensions and increase cooperation between neighbors. “The forum can promote understanding under a broad spectrum of issues, including confidence and security building measures, and combating terrorism, extremism, and sectarianism,” Zarif said. “It could also encourage practical cooperation in areas ranging from the protection of the environment to join investments and tourism. Such a forum could eventually develop into a more formal non-aggression and security cooperation arrangements.” This proposal is not new. Zarif put it forward shortly after finalizing the nuclear deal in an article on Al-Monitor titled “Choose your neighbors before your house,” and traveled to Qatar and Kuwait shortly afterward.
March 3, 2017
http://www.newsweek.com/arab-nations-face-stark-choice-israel-or-iran-562214
Afghanistan
Headline: Airstrike Kills Key Afghan Taliban Commander
Headline: Another northern Afghan district falls to the Taliban
Senior Taliban officials say a suspected American drone strike has killed a key Taliban commander who told captured U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl “Don’t come back to Afghanistan” moments before releasing him to the U.S. military in a prisoner swap three years ago. The U.S. military, however, told VOA Friday, “Neither U.S. forces Afghanistan nor Resolute Support conducted any strikes in Pakistan or in border areas of Afghanistan on Thursday.” Taliban sources confirmed Friday that slain Qari Abdullah Mairaj was among two men hit by what the Taliban believes were U.S. missiles the previous day in the southeastern Afghan province of Khost, bordering Pakistan. The insurgent group agreed to free Bergdahl after nearly five years in captivity in exchange for five Taliban members from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
March 3, 2017
http://www.voanews.com/a/airstrike-kills-key-afghan-taliban-commander-/3748123.html
Ethiopia
Headline: Ethiopia: Despite Nationwide State of Emergency, Several Border Incursions Leave More Than 100 Dead in East and South East Ethiopia
Despite a six month nationwide state of emergency declared in Oct. 2016 and was hoped to restore a military style law and order throughout the country, weeks-long cross border incursions by armed militiamen into many localities in eastern and southern part of Oromia, (bordering the Ethiopian Somali regional state, in east and south east Ethiopia) have left more than 100 people dead and the destruction of unknown amount of properties, a local resident said in a phone interview with Addis Standard. According to Abdurrahman Dubaa, a resident of Chinaksan town in east Hararghe, some 630km east of the capital Addis Abeba, many of the militiamen conducting cross border raids in various localities, including Chinaksan, Babile, Gursum and several other villages, are members of the Liyu Police, a special paramilitary force set up by the Somali regional state with the help of the federal government to counter rebel groups operating in the restive Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia, and are stationed in and around Ethiopia’s Somali regional state.
March 3, 2017
http://allafrica.com/stories/201703030803.html
Libya
Headline: East Libyan forces clash with rivals near oil ports
East Libyan forces said they carried out air strikes and clashed with rival factions on Friday close to major oil terminals as they sought to fend off the latest challenge to their control of the ports. The strikes were carried out south of the coastal town of Nawfiliya in response to an attack by the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB), according to spokesmen for the eastern air force and for the local Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG). A military spokesman said the attack had been repelled. Nawfiliya is about 50 km (30 miles) west of the oil port Es Sider and 75 km (50 miles) west of another terminal, Ras Lanuf. An oil official at Ras Lanuf said the port was under PFG authority but that there was fighting close to Es Sider. A second port source said operations at the ports had not been affected. Es Sider and Ras Lanuf are among four ports that the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) took control of in September.
March 3, 2017
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/East-Libyan-forces-clash-with-rivals-near-oil-ports-483148
Tunisia
Headline: Berlin truck attack prompts accord between Germany, Tunisia
Tunisia agreed Friday to speed its acceptance of 1,500 citizens whose asylum applications were rejected by Germany, accepting a 250-million-euro ($264 million) loan to help develop rural regions and create jobs for young people. The agreement between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi comes in the wake of the fatal attack in Berlin carried out by a Tunisian who drove a truck into a Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring dozens of others. Anis Amri’s asylum request was rejected, but Germany has said Tunisian bureaucratic delays meant he hadn’t yet been expelled. Amri, who was later shot dead in Italy, had pledged fealty to the Islamic State group. Merkel said she and Essebsi agreed Friday that the identities of some 1,500 Tunisian asylum-seekers rejected by Germany would be resolved by Tunisia within 30 days. Germany will help Tunisia set up a registration system, and identity papers are expected to be issued within a week. The two leaders did not specify whether the accord would only deal with people believed to be illegal migrants or also those suspected of radicalization. But Merkel evoked the chaos in neighboring Libya and said Germany would contribute to a system of surveillance on the 500-kilometer (300-mile) border Tunisia and Libya share.
March 3, 2017
Algeria & Morocco
Headline: Western Sahara: An Isolated Algeria Could Spark a War with Morocco
While Morocco has made all the right moves to avoid a military clash with the Polisario militia near the Mauritanian borders, it fell short of communicating to the UN the true nature of the conflict and magnitude of the Algerian military’s role in perpetuating the hostilities in the Western Sahara. The fragility of peace in North West Africa is probably the worst it has been since Morocco and Algeria tried to patch-up their differences in 1989. While all indications corroborate that neither Rabat nor Algiers aims for an armed conflict, a future, albeit unlikely, rekindling of hostilities in the Western Sahara will certainly turn into an open war between Morocco and Algeria. Diplomats and military analysts consider the recent events in the Guerguerat region ,the “no man’s land” of the Western Sahara, as the biggest threat to the UN brokered peace agreement of 1991. As Mauritania keeps it distance from Morocco and ignore the deteriorating security situation on its Northern borders and the Polisario continues to wrestle with a restless civilian population in its refugee camps in Algeria, the fear of an unintended resumption of fighting is present and real.
March 2, 2017
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/209907/western-sahara-isolated-algeria-spark-war-morocco/
Headline: Republican officials take aim at progressive protests
Headline: Barack Obama’s close confidante Valerie Jarrett has moved into his new DC home, which is now the nerve center for their plan to mastermind the insurgency against President Trump
Earlier this week, Donald Trump rolled out an interesting new conspiracy theory: the progressive protests that have unfolded in the wake of his election, the Republican president said, are his predecessor’s fault. “I think that President Obama is behind it,” Trump told Fox News. On Tuesday, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders fielded some questions from reporters, one of whom asked if Trump has any “tangible evidence” to back up his conspiracy theory. Sanders said she’d let the president comment “stand for itself.” Pressed further, Sanders added, “Look, I think the bottom line here is that we’ve all condemned the protests. I think that that’s the bigger story here.” It was a curious choice of words. Americans have gathered to express political dissent and White House officials want everyone to know they’ve “condemned the protests”? Why exactly would they do that? Worse, away from the DC Beltway, Republican policymakers aren’t just condemning protests; they’re exploring deliberate steps to try and block them from happening. The New York Times reported today: In a season rife with demonstrations over immigration, pipelines, abortion, women’s rights and more, Republican legislators in at least 16 states have filed bills intended to make protests more orderly or to toughen penalties against ones that go awry. Republicans in two other states, Massachusetts and North Carolina, have said they will file protest-related bills. Those numbers include only bills whose sponsors have specifically linked them to protests, said Jonathan Griffin, a policy analyst who tracks the measures at the National Conference of State Legislatures…. [I]nterviews and news reports suggest that some of the measures are either backed by supporters of President Trump or are responses to demonstrations against him and his policies.
March 2, 2017
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republican-officials-take-aim-progressive-protests
Headline: Suicide Bombers Destroy Fuel Tankers in Nigeria
Three suicide bombers set ablaze three fuel tankers in the center of Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri before dawn Friday, officials said, just days before a planned visit by the U.N. Security Council. The attack, outside a gas station opposite the northeastern headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria, killed the three bombers, said Abdulkadir Ibrahim, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency. Officials blamed Boko Haram insurgents who many times have attacked Maiduguri, the birthplace of Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremist group. Ibrahim said fires caused by the explosions were under control. One bomber exploded beside a stationary tanker loaded with fuel, killing the two accomplices and setting ablaze two other tankers, Ibrahim said. “We are lucky. Today could have been another sad day for us in Maiduguri,” police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters at the scene. Chukwu said he and others assumed the attackers’ intended destination was just down the road — a depot storing fuel that has been targeted many times in the past. The attack comes just days before the U.N. Security Council is expected in Maiduguri as part of a four-nation tour of countries in the Lake Chad Basin devastated by the seven-year Boko Haram uprising that has killed more than 20,000.
March 3, 2017
http://www.voanews.com/a/suicide-bombers-fuel-tankers-nigeria/3748045.html
Headline: EU parliament calls to end visa-free travel for US citizens
Headline: The pope will meet all EU leaders ahead of Rome summit
In what has been called a “visa war,” the European Union’s parliament on Thursday called on the bloc to force American tourists visiting Europe to first obtain visas because the U.S. excludes five EU countries from its no-visa policy. The Wall Street Journal reported that the request is unlikely to change policy, but reflects “hostility among some European politicians to the Trump administration.” The report said Parliament’s vote came six weeks into Trump’s presidency and after the legislature publically slammed Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. U.S. citizens can travel to all EU countries without visas but the U.S. hasn’t granted visa-free travel to citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. The legislature urged the European Commission to act within two months. The Commission was legally bound to propose by last April that visas be reintroduced for U.S. citizens for 12 months but the 28-nation bloc’s member countries preferred to take no action.
March 2, 2017
http://www.thelocal.it/20170303/the-pope-will-meet-all-eu-leaders-ahead-of-rome-summit
Headline: Protests mount in China against South Korea’s missile system
Headline: South Korea Impeachment Intensifies Divide Over THAAD
Headline: South Korean Stocks Fall on Fears of Chinese Tourism Ban
Beijing’s escalating condemnation of South Korea over a U.S. anti-missile system has triggered protests against a popular retail giant and a reported ban on Chinese tour groups visiting the country, apparent signs that Beijing plans to make Seoul pay an economic price over a move that China says threatens its security. Protests have sprung up in the last few days against Lotte Mart, a South Korean hypermarket chain that sells food, clothing, toys and electronics. Its parent company, Lotte Group, agreed Monday to provide a golf course to the government to site the system. The protests outside Lotte stores and boycotts of its products follow weeks of condemnation of the South Korean government and warnings against Lotte’s move by government officials and state media. Seoul and Washington say the system is needed to defend against North Korea’s missile threat and is not targeted at any other regional states. China says the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, threatens its security because its radars are capable of peering deep into the country’s north and parts of Russia, allowing Washington and Seoul to monitor flights and missile launches. Asked about the protests, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Friday: “There are absolutely no anti-THAAD campaigns in China, still less violent campaigns.” He added that Beijing hoped Seoul “can heed the voice of the people and take effective measures to avoid further damage to the China-South Korea relationship.”
March 3, 2017
http://www.voanews.com/a/south-korea-impeachment-thaad/3748027.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/south-korean-stocks-chinese-anger-thaad/3748022.html
Headline: Insurgents continue attacks in southern Thailand
Two paramilitary volunteers were wounded Friday by gunmen in southern Thailand, as continuing violence in the region threatens to undermine what the Thai government says is the possibility of a small breakthrough in efforts to bring peace to the region. The two volunteers in Narathiwat province were shot as they parked their motorcycles by the roadside, said police Capt. Wongduen Kamsri. The shooting came a day came after attacks elsewhere in the province killed three soldiers and five civilians, including an 8-year-old boy. The soldiers were shot in the evening at a busy market, while the boy, his parents and an aunt were killed as they were driving to school. About 7,000 people have been killed since a Muslim separatist insurgency flared in 2004 in Buddhist-dominated Thailand’s three Muslim-majority provinces in its far south.
March 3, 2017
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/insurgents-continue-attacks-southern-thailand-45882415
Headline: Military Draft Enacted Amid Russian Aggression, Security Fears
Sweden’s defense minister announced Thursday the country would reintroduce mandatory military service next year as regional security fears were compounded by a shortage of soldiers. The northern European nation has remained largely neutral throughout the last two centuries of international affairs, but Russia’s 2014 annexation of the former Ukrainian territory of Crimea and substantial, parallel military escalations between Moscow and NATO have sparked serious concerns over Sweden’s defense capabilities should conflict break out. The country’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told local media that recent developments in Europe’s geopolitical climate meant Stockholm could no longer rely on volunteers to man its armed forces. Sweden, which had male-only conscription until 2010, was set to begin recruiting 4,000 men and women out of about 13,000 candidates born in 1999 and 2000 as of the beginning of next year. The goal was to develop “full and practiced war units” capable of bolstering the existing volunteer system via the program that would cost an estimated $66 million. The number of compulsory troops would increase should the security situation continue to deteriorate in the region, according to Swedish broadcaster STV News. “The government wants a more stable staff supply system and to boost its military capability because the security situation has changed,” Hultqvist told Sweden’s TT news agency Thursday. A defense ministry spokesperson added that “Russian military activity is one of the reasons,” according to BBC News.
March 2, 2017
Headline: The “Sinister” Side Of Central Bank-Issued Digital Currency
Some things are moving faster than others. Representatives of more than 90 central banks met in June 2016 at an event organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The three-day Conference on ‘Policy Challenges for the Financial Sector’ included discussion on distributed ledger technologies in banking. This month the Bank of International Settlements observed that distributed ledger technology in banking has a long way to go. Others believe that they shouldn’t bother. Meanwhile, there is rapid movement taking place on another front. It’s coming and it’s coming fast. Central banks around the world are either exploring or taking the first steps towards establishing digital versions of national (or “fiat”) currencies. Central bank-issued digital currency is under consideration in Canada, China, Sweden and the United Kindgom. India withdrew 86 per cent of all cash as legal tender in November 2016. 1.27 billion people were given four hours notice. Last month, we saw early signs from the European Central Bank that it is considering the feasibility of “digital-based money.” Commercial banks are taking the first steps to issue their own crypto-currencies, such as Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. International organisations lead the chorus of support for related initiatives toward the digitization of cash. Alongside the International Monetary Fund and World Bank is the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, while the United Nations Capital Development Fund hosts the Better Than Cash Alliance. Organizations dedicated to advancing the technology and its adoption are emerging. They include E-Currency, the sole purpose of which is to promote “central bank-governed digital fiat currency.”
March 2, 2017
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-02/sinister-side-central-bank-issued-digital-currency
Headline: These Economies Are Getting More Miserable This Year
If 2016 was the year of political shocks, this year could be when we find how they’ll impact the global economy. Bloomberg’s Misery Index, which combines countries’ 2017 inflation and unemployment outlooks, aims to show us just that. For the third year in a row, Venezuela’s economic and political problems make it the most miserable in the ranking. The least miserable country is once again Thailand — in large part due to its unique way of calculating employment — and the rest of the ladder features noteworthy moves by the U.K., Poland and Mexico, to name a few.
March 2, 2017
Headline: Surge in human cases of deadly bird flu is prompting alarm
A surge in human infections of a deadly bird flu in China is prompting increasing concern among health officials around the world. While the human risk of these outbreaks is low at the moment, experts are calling for constant monitoring because of the large increase in cases this season, and because there are worrisome changes in the virus. U.S. officials say of all emerging influenza viruses, this particular virus poses the greatest risk of a pandemic threat if it evolves to spread readily from human to human, according to a report released Friday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials are developing a vaccine that would target a newly evolving version of the virus. China is experiencing its largest outbreak of the H7N9 bird flu strain, with at least 460 infections reported since October. About a third of people diagnosed with H7N9 have died of their infections, according to the World Health Organization. Human infections with this type of bird flu were first reported in China in March 2013, and since then, there have been yearly epidemics of human infections. But this winter, the number of cases is greater than any of the previous four seasons. This year’s infections account for more than a third of the 1,258 H7N9 cases that have been reported since 2013. Most human infections involve exposure to live poultry or contaminated environments, especially markets where live birds have been sold. During the previous four waves of H7N9, 88 percent of patients developed pneumonia, 68 percent were admitted to an intensive care unit and 41 percent died, according to a report from the CDC.
March 3, 2017
Headline: Jiminy Cricket! Disney Goes Gay
The folks who gave us Mickey Mouse and Goofy have decided it’s time for your children to enjoy same-sex romance while they slurp down their Fruit Loops. Disney just broadcast their very first gay cartoon kiss. The smooch happened during the second season of “Star vs The Forces of Evil,” a cartoon broadcast on Disney XD. An audience scene shows two guys kissing and a later scene show two ladies sharing an intimate moment. Disney is earning accolades for diversity and inclusivity among the LGBTQIA crowd. There’s also word the upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast will include a gay storyline – between LeFou and Gaston. And what better place to discuss human sexuality with your four-year-old than a wholesome Disney movie? It’s unfortunate – that we live in a society where kids can no longer be kids – but that’s the world in which we live. But these days everything is about the LGBTQIA agenda. And when it comes to the entertainment industry, nothing is sacred in its quest to indoctrinate American children. Not even Disney. So, don’t be too surprised if the next Disney animated classic documents Tinker Bell’s torrid lesbian affair with Snow White while a gender questioning Peter Pan crushes on Pinocchio who just got out of a long-term relationship with one of the seven gender-fluid dwarfs. Jiminy Cricket, America!
March 1, 2017
All earthquakes are instantly posted to the ETRM Facebook page- you do not need to sign up; click the photo below to see the earthquake album
~click the photo to see ALL the maps of the large earthquakes for the current year~
Headline: What’s shaking? 
List & map of USGS Earthquakes~Click the shaking house~
