Monday, July 31, 2017
Sanctions...
Germany threatened to retaliate against the United States if new sanctions on Russia end up penalizing German firms.
The Senate bill, approved by a margin of 98-2, includes new sanctions against Russia and Iran. Crucially, it foresees punitive measures against entities that provide material support to Russia in building energy export pipelines.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman described the Senate bill, which must be approved to become law, as "a peculiar move".
He said it was "strange" that sanctions intended to punish Russia for alleged interference in the US elections could also trigger penalties against European companies.
The sharp response from Berlin comes at a time of deep strains in the transatlantic relationship due to shifts in US policy and a more confrontational rhetoric towards Europe under Trump.
Ironically, the part of the Senate bill that targets Russia was introduced by some of the president's top critics, including Republican hawk John McCain.
Give the Senate a vacation for three years till the next election. Just a thought.
Scar-M-Ucci
"In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45," Scaramucci's tweet said.
After several political commentators and news websites speculated that Scaramucci may have been threatening Priebus,
Tweeted again: "Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks."
White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said he will never trust a reporter again after a New Yorker reporter wrote a story detailing Scaramucci's profanity-laden phone call to him Wednesday night.
White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said he will never trust a reporter again after a New Yorker reporter wrote a story detailing Scaramucci's profanity-laden phone call to him Wednesday night.
Scaramucci calls Ryan Lizza, unsolicited, to demand the name of one of his sources.
Without asking to speak off the record or on background, launches into his tirade.
Blames Lizza for writing about the phone call.
Disco...
A disagreement in a German discotheque turned deadly after the disco operator's son-in-law left the club, returned with an assault rifle and started shooting, law enforcement officials said.
A security guard was killed and four other people were wounded, three of them seriously, during the rampage that started at the Grey club discotheque in the southwestern town of Konstanz. The suspect was fatally shot by a police officer.
Officials investigating the early-morning shooting identified the suspect as a 34-year-old who came to Germany from Iraq in 1991 as a child. They said they had no details of the dispute, but ruled out a terrorist motive.
Police said the man was the son-in-law of the club's operator and had a criminal record that included assault and drug-related convictions. The suspect was not named in keeping with German privacy laws.
The dpa news agency cited police weapons expert Andreas Stenger as saying the weapon used was an M16 assault rifle of the kind used by U.S. armed forces. Other law enforcement officials said the gunman opened fire just inside the club's entrance, killing a security employee.
You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Together...*
Federal authorities announced the arrest and indictment of Mo Yun, accused in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from two U.S. seed corn companies. Yun, 42, is the sister of Mo Hailong who previously was arrested and charged in the alleged conspiracy, and she is the spouse of Dr. Shao Genhuo, who authorities say is the founder and current chairman of a Chinese conglomerate that has a seed corn subsidiary company.
Mo Yun, Mo Hailong and others are alleged to have conspired to steal valuable inbred corn seed from production fields in Iowa and Illinois. After allegedly stealing the “inbred” or “parent” line of seed which constitutes valuable intellectual property of a seed producer the conspirators attempted to covertly transfer the inbred corn seed to China, federal officials said. Some dug-up the seed out of the ground.
Thomas Metz, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha division. “Identifying and deterring those focused on stealing trade secrets, propriety and confidential information or national security information is the number two priority for the FBI second only to terrorism.”
So if you see something, say something.
Sitting...*
Sitting too much can take a serious toll on your health, even raise your risk of early death. But if you're stuck in your chair at a desk job all day, a new study suggests you can reverse the damage.
Most of the people studied were over 45 and from the U.S., Western Europe and Australia. The scientists divided up data, those who were in motion less than five minutes a day to those who were able to fit in 60 to 75 minutes of physical activity per day.
Their activities included brisk walking (at about a 3.5 mph pace) or cycling for pleasure (at almost a 10 mph pace).
The increased risk of death linked with sitting for eight hours a day was eliminated for people who were physically active for at least one hour a day.
What's more, the eight-hour-a-day sitters who exercised had a significantly lower risk of death compared to people who sat for fewer hours a day but weren't active, the authors found.
The researchers say what they found was a simple recipe for better health. "Our message is a positive one: it is possible to reduce - or even eliminate - these risks if we are active enough, even without having to take up sports or go to the gym," the study's lead researcher, Ulf Ekelund, of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, said in a statement.
What is killing you? Just a thought.
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