Malaysian General Election PRU/GE 14 Lesson 10 - Know who your enemy is at the Ballot Box

Below are the enemies of Peace , Progress , racial equality ,  Religious freedom  and  corrupted  to the core
Below are the enemies of Peace, Progress, racial equality, Religious freedom and corrupted to the core in their morals

Avoid voting for these parties at the ballot box in Malaysian General election PRU 14/ GE 14 at all cost as they will destroy Malaysia and we will end up with living standards of a fifth world African Country like Zimbabwe where a loaf of bread cost 10 Billion Zimbabwe dollars

SINGAPORE: Changi Airport Terminal 2 Departure Hall Caught Fire! ByHazPosted on May 16, 2017

At 5.43pm today, the Singapore Police Force was alerted that a fire broke out the terminal. Those who were occupying the area were advised to avoid and evacuate from the area.

According to the Singapore Police Force facebook, they and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) are currently managing the situation of the airport. A tweet was also made at 6.45pm stating that the terminal was under control and that the cause of the fire has been identified. Unfortunately, flights that were operated from and to Terminal 2 were affected by the incident.

According to another Facebook user, the fire occurred at Gate F, and that his sister-in-law was at the boarding gate, prepared for a flight when suddenly they were informed to move to another gate.

Updates regarding the news will be edited when possible. As of now, it is known and realised the the SCDF and the Police Force are handling the situation rather calmly.

MICROSOFT SPILLS THE BEANS: HERE’S WHY U.S. GOVERNMENT IS TO BLAME FOR “WANNACRY” CYBER ATTACKS

When you login on Monday for work, and your computer happens to be running on older versions Microsoft’s Windows such as Windows XP, chances are you could be staring at a screen screaming “pay me money to get your data back”. Call it blackmail, extortion or anything you like, but there’s no way you can get back your data without paying the ransom.

Many workers, particularly in Asia, had logged off Friday before the malicious software, stolen from the United States government, began proliferating and attacking around the world. The Friday’s cyber attack hit roughly 200,000 computers in at least 150 countries (according to Europol) around the globe. And the spread could be just the beginning.

Virus or Worm - Ransomware Lock Computer Data

The virus, equipped with “a worm functionality” – called “WannaCry 2.0” – has already locked up computers in car factories, hospitals, shops and schools in several countries, including China and Russia. The virus encrypts a computer’s files and then demands a ransom – US$300 in Bitcoin – to recover their data, with no guarantee the computer would be released unharmed.

So far, nobody knows precisely who was behind the attack. Among the organizations hit were FedEx in the United States, the Spanish telecom giant Telefónica, the French automaker Renault, Nissan’s UK car plant, universities in China, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn federal railway system. The most disruptive attacks infected Britain’s National Health Service.

Virus or Worm - Ransomware WannaCryptor 2 Red Screen On Windows XP

Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan had taken the heaviest casualties. Also known as “WannaCryptor 2.0” or simply “WCry 2.0”, the virus hits Russian Interior Ministry, Russian Railways and mobile service provider Megafon. In actuality, this is the second attempt at cyber-extortion. An earlier version, named WeCry, was discovered back in February this year.

The cyber attack was so disastrous that Microsoft has taken the rare step of issuing a fix for versions of Windows it had previously “retired” – the Windows XP, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2003. Support for Windows XP ended in 2014, 12 years after the software was introduced. But an estimated 7% of the world’s PCs still run on XP – that’s about 70,000,000 machines.

Bill Gates Launching Microsoft Windows XP - Countdown

Microsoft, however, wasn’t impressed with the latest attack. And they’re blaming the U.S. government for stockpiling cyber weapons. How come? WannaCry uses vulnerability in old versions of Windows that was originally discovered and exploited by the U.S. National Security Agency as an offensive cyber-weapon. Everything remains secretive until hackers hacked the NSA.

A hacker group – known as Shadow Brokers – obtained an arsenal of cyber warfare tools in April from the NSA, of which the U.S. agency called “Eternal Blue”. But it wasn’t Shadow Brokers who were directly involved in the ransomware strike. Instead, some opportunist developers, who could be hackers themselves, spotted the leaks and added them to their own software and released them.

Cyber Attack - US National Security Agency NSA

Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote on Sunday – “This attack provides yet another example of why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem. We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks, and now this vulnerability stolen from the NSA has affected customers around the world.”

The Shadow Brokers (TSB) is a hacker group who first appeared in the summer of 2016. They published several leaks containing some of the National Security Agency (NSA)'s hacking tools, including several zero-day exploits.

A 22-year-old British researcher who uses the Twitter name MalwareTech has been credited with “accidentally” helping to halt the spread of the assault. He noticed a bug in the virus – one of the web domains used by the attackers hadn’t been registered. So he registered the site, took control of the domain for US$10.69 and started seeing connections diverted from infected victims.

Cyber Hackers in Hoodie - 2

Unfortunately, the outbreak being stopped is only temporarily. The attackers will likely modify their code to remove the somewhat silly error or mistake, and restart their ransomware campaign. Already, new variants of the rapidly replicating worm were discovered on Sunday which did not include the so-called kill switch. An estimated US$30,000 in ransom has been paid by victims.

– http://www.financetwitter.com

The Ikan Bakar and Simpan Udang Party is all gone and will not win anything in GE-14 Selangor

‘CHRISTIAN HYPOCRITE’? DISAPPOINTED BY ACCUSATIONS, HANNAH YEOH LODGES POLICE REPORT OVER VIRAL FB POST

SUBANG JAYA – Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh today lodged a police report regarding a Facebook post titled “Hannah Yeoh Contoh Hipokrasi Terbesar DAP” that appeared on an individual’s account, Kamarul Yusoff.

“The Facebook statement has become viral and shared by more than 252 people. The statement also has appeared in 10 news portals and has been manipulated. It contains malice content against me and DAP.

“The Facebook content which states that DAP actively mixes elements of religion and politics, especially Christianity, is false. My book, titled ‘Becoming Hannah’, is my personal biography and does not concern the elements mentioned. It does not reflect DAP’s principles and struggles directly or indirectly.

“Therefore, those individuals who have alleged that DAP’s struggles is based on some contents of my book is baseless and irresponsible,” she said in the report lodged at IPD Subang Jaya here.

Speaking to reporters later, she expressed disappointment that such statements had been made.

“This book records my personal journey as a young Malaysian discovering my love and responsibility for my country and struggles of running a political campaign.


Hannah Yeoh
hannahyeoh.blogspot.com
Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan is the current Speaker and a member of the Selangor State Assembly from the Democratic Action Party. 
Born: January 9, 1979 (age 38), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Spouse: Ramanchandran Muniandy (m. 2008)
Education: University of Tasmania (1998–2001)
Party: Democratic Action Party
Children: Shay Adora Ram

“This book also documents my marriage and new role as a wife and mother. This is why it is called ‘Becoming Hannah’ and not ‘Becoming DAP’ or ‘Becoming a Christian,” the mother of two said.

Gobind Singh Deo will handle the legal aspects arising from the incident.

– http://www.thesundaily.my

Mahathir using Art of War by ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu - to lull the enemy into false sense of victory

MALAYS THE BIGGEST LOSER DUE TO PAS: PAKATAN & PAS WILL LOSE. BN WILL WIN – DR M

KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused PAS today of intentionally facilitating a Barisan Nasional (BN) victory in the next general election by refusing to ally with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), a “Malay-Muslim party”.

The PPBM chairman and former prime minister said whether or not PAS would work with Umno in the 14th general election, the Islamist party’s participation in the polls would reduce support for Pakatan Harapan — the federal Opposition pact comprising PPBM, DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara — and PAS itself.

“Pakatan Harapan and PAS will lose and Barisan Nasional will win.

“This is PAS’ true struggle. It’s not for race and religion; it’s aimed at weakening the Malays,” Dr Mahathir said on his blog.

Dr Mahathir claimed that since PAS’ inception, the party has weakened Malay politics, noting that PAS’ predecessor — the Pan Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP) — was formed by Umno “ulama” who left the Malay nationalist party when Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, only appointed a few of them in the federal legislative council and state councils.

“In the 1959 general elections, the first after Merdeka, PMIP manipulated Islam thoroughly. Umno members were made infidels supposedly for working with MCA and MIC infidels,” he said. “But PAS only won 13 Parliament seats in 1959 out of the 104 it contested.”

The former Umno president pointed out that PAS won the most number of federal seats in its history — 27 — when it worked with the DAP and PKR in the then-Barisan Alternatif in 1999.



“In 2004, when the DAP was not part of Barisan Alternatif, PAS only won seven seats.

“Then in 2008 and 2013, when [Barisan] Alternatif became Pakatan Rakyat and the DAP returned, PAS improved its performance. In 2008, PAS won 23 seats and in 2013, 21 seats,” said Dr Mahathir.

The elder statesman accused PAS members of holding an oath of loyalty to their party and leaders to the point that they were willing to “put Islam and the Al-Quran behind”.

“Now PAS is contesting supposedly to fight Umno, but it’s actually to give victory to Umno,” said Dr Mahathir.

– Malay Mail

Oil Is Now At The Mercy Of Money Markets

By David Yager - May 15, 2017, 2:20 PM CDT
 Oil Rig

For an industry suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) almost 2.5 years after the oil price collapse, May 4 was a very long day. Having traded within one dollar of its 2017 high at US$53.40 on April 11, May 4 saw WTI close at US$45.52, 5 percent lower than the day before. Except for a 20-day slump in March when North American crude was on the wrong side of US$50 for the first time since last year’s OPEC supply cut decision, oil prices had seemingly stabilized at a new level. A recovery was underway. You probably read it here. To watch crude lose 15 percent of value in three weeks was, at minimum, unsettling.

The anxiety disorder PTSD implies the trauma has ended. It clearly has not. As managers, workers and investors try to ascertain their future amid oil price volatility, there are only two options; understand it or live with it. The following article will prove the former difficult if not impossible. The latter is, as the old saying goes, “no way to run a railroad”.

Here’s an example of the effects of oil price volatility. After reasonable success raising equity in late 2016 and early 2017, capital markets for public oil service companies contracted in March after WTI slumped. Source Energy Services Ltd. downsized its Initial Public Offering by $75 million and closed a $175 million IPO April 13. STEP Energy Services Ltd. withdrew its planned Initial IPO in March then resuscitated it in April when prices recovered. It closed May 2 but only raised $100 million, half of what was originally planned. Both were done at lower share prices than previously contemplated.


Exploration and production companies and workers in every sector are subjected to the same gyrations in inventor enthusiasm and future prospects as commodity prices whipsaw.

The main-stream media blamed the dramatic price slump on the usual suspects; a rising U.S. rig count, increasing U.S. production, bloated inventories, increased output from Libya (at least temporarily), China, Iraq and flat U.S. gasoline consumption. Supply and demand. Market forces. What most people assume drives commodity prices.

Prior to the price rout, OPEC et al’s 1.8 million b/d cuts from last November were enjoying high levels of compliance. Signals from OPEC and Russia being telegraphed for the upcoming May 25 meeting suggested restrictions would continue for the rest of the year. By May 8 consideration was being given to extending the cuts into 2018. While U.S. production had indeed risen by 600,000 b/d since the November OPEC agreement, this was a fraction of the oil withdrawn from the market.

Meanwhile, inventories were declining, though not much. Oil stored in tankers, hard to track, declined significantly. In the U.S. inventories have been rising but actually reported modest declines prior to May 4. The International Energy Agency (IEA) in mid-April indicated Q1 reductions in OECD inventories with more to come in Q2. There were no material changes in global physical oil markets prior to May 4. On May 10 the EIA indicated U.S. inventories declined again which helped WTI regain a couple of bucks. But on May 12 Baker Hughes reported the U.S. rig count rose again which, as usual, created pressure on crude prices. Some news bullish, other news bearish. But certainly nothing that would cause a 15 percent decrease in WTI with one-third occurring in a single day.

However, financial markets are different. The U.S. dollar has been very strong for the past two years. The chart below indicates the value of the U.S. dollar versus a basket of major currencies. As the U.S. dollar rises the general trend in commodity prices denominated in U.S. dollars is downwards because they cost more when purchased with other currencies.

U.S. DOLLAR VERUS OTHER MAJOR CURRENCIES

The United States Dollar Index or DXY measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of other currencies including EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD, CHF and SEK. Source: TradingEconomic.com

The Canadian dollar has been clobbered relative to the U.S. dollar since the oil price collapse in November of 2014, in part because it is considered a “petro-currency”. That month it closed at US$0.88 but it has been trending downwards ever since, currently trading below US$0.73, a 17 percent decline. This has offset the strength of the American dollar somewhat for domestic producers, although transportation issues still result in lower prices for certain Canadian grades.

A greater problem appears to be a broader commodity correction that occurred at the same time as the drop in the price of oil. On May 4 Bloomberg wrote, “Within minutes of U.S. crude oil futures tumbling through US$45 a barrel, signs of a broader risk-off swing started to emerge in markets, exacerbating what was already brewing as a worrying week for commodities. Oil’s retreat to a level not seen since OPEC forged its landmark agreement to cut output last November stoked declines from iron ore to industrial metals and losses that many commentators had been putting down to individual supply and demand factors”.
Related: Asia’s LNG “Buyers Club” Is Shaking Up The Market

In simple English, declines were caused by money markets, not oil markets. Following are charts for the past three months for three metals – iron ore, copper and platinum – followed by crude oil. Note the similarity of the price trends for the past three weeks. Either rising oil output from the Permian Basin affects everything for global commodities markets or there are other forces at play.

IRON ORE 62.49 USD -1.39 (-2.22 percent) Official Close 5/5/201



(Click to enlarge)

COPPER 5,571.07 USD 5.11 (0.99 percent) Official Close 5/5/2017



(Click to enlarge)

PLATINUM 914.00 USD 9.50 (1.05 percent) Official Close 5/5/2017



..


OIL (WTI) 46.47 USD 0.98 (2.15 percent) Official Close 5/5/2017



.

On a percentage basis, the declines in iron ore, copper and platinum since mid-April are similar to oil. On May 3, when WTI closed under US$48, a Bloomberg article titled “Trump’s Commodities Rally Is Almost Gone” wrote, “Commodities are sinking to a five-month low, almost erasing the rally that followed Donald Trump’s surprise election win. The selloff has been led by industrial metals and oil, sectors that fueled raw-materials gains earlier this year on the view that faster global growth would boost demand”. Part of the problem, again, was China. “Metals used in construction and heavy manufacturing were hit after data released over the weekend suggested slowing growth in China and figures Monday showing U.S. auto sales last month fell short of analysts’ estimates”.

More reports support the conclusion that much of oil’s selloff was technical, not market-driven. SCS OTC Corp., a New Jersey-based commodities specialist, wrote in oilprice.com on May 5, “We’re viewing this week’s flat price damage as a function of bullish frustrations and momentum chasing rather than new bearish fundamental revelations. In short, we think the market became impatient with a lack of visible inventory draws four months into OPEC cuts and that Chinese macro concerns, a modest (and possibly transient) uptick in Libyan production and an unimpressive EIA report lead to length liquidation, self-reinforced stop losses and momentum from robots smelling blood in the water”.

What this says is while the usual market factors surrounding OPEC and inventories may affect sentiment, the other factors are the longs (bulls) went short (bears, resulting on “length liquidation”) and commodity trading algorithms kicked in as prices fell (“self-reinforced stop losses” and “robots smelling blood in the water”).

When it became clear earlier bullish bets on oil post-OPEC were about to cost speculators a lot of money, traders and their machines took over and engineered bearish positions to mitigate losses.

The Financial Post wrote the same thing the same day. The article read, “The drop introduced a new level of uncertainty into the oil market, perplexing those who track the price of oil. Tudor (Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co., an energy investment bank) analysts said in Friday research note that part of steep drop in prices could be attributed to trading algorithms in the market, which can lead to widespread sell-offs once prices reach a specific threshold”.

Anish Kapadia, a senior research analyst at Tudor in London, said, “There’s nothing concrete that I think explains the move. All of these algos are similar to each other and they all respond to the same triggers”.

Not surprisingly, trading volumes in oil futures and options on May 4 were at near record levels. This is the commodity equivalent of what stock markets call high frequency trading.

PTSD sufferers in the battered upstream oil and gas industry will take little comfort to learn their economic future is in the hands of software written by programmers and traders who have never set foot on a drilling rig or production operation, nor put on a pair of coveralls or a hard hat.

What is most remarkable about the oil price meltdown was some of the other very positive oil news making headlines at the same time. But this was delivered by people, not computers.

GMP First Energy’s oil analyst Martin King told a Calgary business audience May 2 that oil could reach US$75 a barrel in two years. King was quoted in the Calgary Herald as saying, “The U.S. cannot drown the world in oil – it’s fundamentally impossible. We think the data in the coming weeks and months should begin to put more of a positive spin on the resetting of the global oil market to more reasonable levels, but it will take some time”.

While U.S. shale production is indeed rising and affecting investor sentiment, King says the “law of diminishing returns” will rule the day as the number of prospects that work at today’s prices declines. However, he admitted short term challenges remain even if he believed they were unlikely to happen in only two days.

An article on Oilprice.com May 5 titled “$44 Trillion Needed To Keep Up With World’s Energy Demands” was quite bullish. In it, Chevron CEO John Watson was quoted May 1 as saying, “Shale can help. Certainly, between now and the end of the decade it will be a big contributor to meeting that millions-barrels-of-oil-demand growth that’s out there. But ultimately oil fields decline, and we’re going to need all sources of supply, including the shales, but also deepwater and other sources around the world”.
.

The article reported that the IEA in its 2016 Oil Market Report forecast rising consumption because half a billion people in places like sub Sharan Africa still don’t even have electricity. The IEA estimated US$26 trillion of the US$44 trillion must be invested in oil, natural gas and (yes) coal to meet these requirements by 2040. The IEA again cited reservoir decline rates noting that producers must continue to reinvest just to stay in business. The IEA said global declines are “equivalent to losing the current output of Iraq from the global balance every two years”.

Some good news for Canada seldom mentioned is natural gas. In April the price gas in Alberta on the NGX exchange averaged Cdn$2.58 per gigajoule (GJ), almost double the average of only Cdn$1.31 in April of 2016. In May of last year gas fetched only Cdn$1.14 because of the Fort McMurray fires. For June and July it was only Cdn$1.42 and Cdn$2.03 respectively. For the first four months of 2017 the average price was 48 percent higher than the for the same period in 2016, Cdn$2.70 compared to Cdn$1.82. This has added a lot of extra cash and has nothing to do with the price or oil.

However, that oil has declined partly because of technical trading reasons and should rise in the future when demand clearly exceeds supply doesn’t change anything for those trying to forge a corporate or personal path forward in post-collapse world of oil. Any risk premium that once supported prices because of potential supply disruptions from the more volatile parts of the world is gone because of current high inventories. This makes petroleum just another commodity, subject to the same market vagaries as other commodities like iron ore, copper and platinum.

Only when it is proven that OPEC’s production cuts and greatly reduced global reinvestment are shrinking inventories will the bulls fully reclaim the markets from the bears. So do up your seat belt. With commodity speculators and algorithms in charge, volatility is assured.

By David Yager for Oilprice.com

Breaking of family tradition loosens Umno’s grip on Johor

Tsk Tsk Tsk very piety full to see BN-UMNO limping and unwanted in their Birth place. I never will wish for my Enemy to be in this situation as it is degrading and humiliating to BN-UMNO-MIC-MCA-GERAKAN-PPP

Many party members are leaving the party for Bersatu out of nostalgia for the Umno of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, an era that saw the transformation of the country’s economy and the creation of a class of Malay technocrats. – The Malaysian Insight pic, May 15, 2017.

UNTIL a year ago, Shukur Mohamad was in line to carry on the family business.

His grandfather Aziz worked with Umno founder Onn Jaafar in the 1940s; his father Mohamad is the party deputy permanent chairman, Johor state assembly speaker and a six-term MP; and his brother Maulizan is an assemblyman. ‎ 

But a year ago, Shukur left Umno to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Others have followed the same path from the ruling party to Bersatu and their actions are making Umno uneasy. 

More than in any other state, Umno membership in Johor is a family tradition. It is a big reason the party is embedded and invincible in the southernmost state. Until now. 

Everywhere in Johor, people like Shukur are breaking a sacred tradition for what they see to be a better cause and a better party. 

“Umno is like an old man that has diabetes, high blood pressure, gout and all these diseases. It’s time to retire that party and choose a new one,” said the 46-year-old from Batu Pahat. 

Breaking rank

Like Umno’s first and fourth presidents, Onn Jaafar and Hussein Onn, Umno was born in Johor. The state’s Malays have always had a deep fondness for the party. 

No other Malay party, be it Semangat 46 or PAS, has been able to appeal thus to the Johor Malay political mind. The first PAS candidate to win a seat in Johor in 2004 only did so by a fluke.

PAS candidate Dr Mohd Ramli Md Kari won the Senggarang state seat uncontested on nomination day of the 2004 general election after the Barisan Nasional candidate Shamsiah Rasidah Ibrahim was disqualified on a technicality.

Johor Malays have consistently voted for Umno even through its crises that spawned splinter parties, such as during the 1990 Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah-Dr Mahathir Mohamad feud and the 1998 Reformasi period, said DAP strategist Liew Chin Thong. 

Bersatu has changed that, he said. 

“For the first time in history, Johor’s elite and opinion-makers are split politically,” Liew said, adding that this schism has broken Umno’s grip on Johor Malays. 

This does not mean all is smooth sailing for Bersatu. Outsider PAS has indicated it will also contest seats in Johor even if it means creating three-cornered battles. PAS is not in opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan.

Bersatu leader Mazlan Bujang said almost 70% of the Tebrau division’s 26 new branches are led by former Umno division strongmen.

Before he joined Bersatu, Mazlan was the number two in the Tebrau Umno division. His brother Maulizan, is the current Tebrau Umno division chief and the assemblyman for Tiram.

Other Bersatu divisions that are led by ex-Umno division leaders include Johor Baru, Pulai, Gelang Patah, Pontian, Mersing, Labis, Kluang dan Kulai.

Shukur Mohamad says Umno is like an old man riddled with diseases and should retire from politics. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, May 15, 2017.

Cause and defect

Mazlan’s reasons for leaving Umno are similar to those of Shukur – a nostalgic fondness for the Umno of Dr Mahathir, an era that saw the transformation of the country’s economy  and the creation of a class of Malay technocrats.

So when Dr Mahathir quit Umno over allegations of grand corruption and fraud in the party under president Najib Razak, Mazlan, Shukur and others like them followed suit.

“Almost everything – education, healthcare – was free during Dr Mahathir’s time. I come from a poor family and back then, Umno was about helping the poor. Now the party oppresses the poor through things like the GST (goods and services tax),” said Mazlan.

Predictably, their decision to join Bersatu has disappointed their card-carrying Umno member families.

“My father was disappointed that I was leaving the family’s political struggle. And people were saying how could the son of the Umno deputy chairman, six-term MP and Johor speaker join the opposition?” said Shukur.

Mazlan’s brother and mother were equally crestfallen.

“My mother could not accept it at first. But I explained to her how Umno no longer helped poor people like us. She gradually came to terms with my decision,” said Mazlan.

Maulizan is also reconciled to Mazlan’s choice but hopes his brother will change his mind.

“It’s his choice. I hope that one day he will reconsider as I think he made the decision when he was angry at some Umno leaders,” Maulizan told The Malaysian Insight.

Keeping mum

To keep the peace at home, politics is a taboo topic when the renegades meet their family members.

“I still meet up with my brothers and we talk about all family matters, except politics,” said Mazlan.

But a serious concern Shukur and Mazlan share is how they would cope when the bruising campaign for the 14th general election begins

The real test will come when Shukur and Mazlan campaign for Bersatu against their closest relatives for Umno for the same constituencies.

Shukur’s stepmother is Parit Raja assemblyman Azizah Zakaria while Mazlan’s chosen constituency is Tebrau, where Maulizan is chief.

Half of the more than 2,000 members of Bersatu Tebrau are defectors from Umno Tebrau.

“I don’t attack him personally. In fact, I freely admit that my brother is one the rare, hardworking assemblymen.

“My campaign is against the policies of Umno,” said Mazlan, adding that his public addresses usually touch on corruption, good governance and the economy.

With GE14 shaping up to be a no-holds battle for the Malay vote, it is hard to believe that Shukur, Mazlan and other former Umno politicians will emerge from the scuffle with their familial bonds intact. – May 15, 2017.

Nobody trust or wants Najib and his goons in Selangor anymore

UMNO only dared to have the 71st Anniversary in Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and dared not have the event in Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor as the Selangorians will chase these fools away. BN is a goner in Selangor and they will be lucky if they win 1 Federal parliament seat and 5 State assembly seats in PRU – GE 14. For me I doubt they will win any and will end up with a duck which is zero.

Support for Najib in Selangor plunges, survey reveals

Prime Minister and Umno Najib Razak and wife, Rosmah Mansor, at the party’s 71st anniversary celebrations last week. Support for Najib has dropped by nearly 8% in Selangor. – EPA pic, May 16, 2017.

SUPPORT for Najib Razak has plunged from 27% to 19% in just six months, according to a survey of voters in Selangor, who were disappointed with the prime minister’s performance and governance.

Among the other reasons cited for Najib’s drop in popularity were the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) in 2015, which is still a concern, rise in the cost of living and lack of good governance, the survey showed.

The survey, which was conducted by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) in March this year, polled 2,208 respondents.

The survey also found that only 25% of respondents supported Umno and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, compared with 69% who pledged their support for Pakatan Harapan.

IDE, which is led by former director of Universiti Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel) Dr Redzuan Othman, conducts voter surveys every six months to detect sentiments, issues and attitude towards state governments and political parties in the country.

The survey was conducted before PAS announced it is breaking off all ties with PKR, casting uncertainty over the Islamist party’s future in the state government.

A source at IDE said the results of the polls clearly showed an overwhelming support for PH in Selangor, the state with the largest economy in Malaysia in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) with RM240 billion.

“The results of the survey should be a warning to any political party not to be associated with that party (Umno), because it will destroy the image of your party,” Redzuan told The Malaysian Insight.

PAS’ powerful Syura Council ratified the party’s decision to end ties with PKR last week.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, at a ceramah in Selangor on Sunday night, urged the PAS excos in Selangor to quit the state government.

The three had earlier said they will not resign as they wanted to be the check and balance against DAP. PKR, meanwhile, said it will meet today to decide the fate of the three PAS excos. – May 16, 2017.

PAS is cancer to Pakatan Harapan - Leave them to BN-UMNO or the 80% of Voters will punish PH at the ballot box

Despite snub, PH still open to seat talks with PAS

Saifuddin Abdullah (second from right) at the Pakatan Harapan press conference in Petaling Jaya today. The coalition has not shut the door on PAS despite the latter’s decision to contest in more than 100 parliamentary seats at the next elections. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, May 16, 2017.

PAKATAN Harapan is still open to seat negotiations with PAS in the next general election despite being continually shunned by the Islamist party.

“We are open to talks with all opposition parties, including PAS, that is, if PAS still considers itself an opposition party,” said PH secretariat chief Saifuddin Abdullah.

Saifuddin’s statement comes as PH reels from PAS’ decision to end ties with coalition partner PKR, threatening the stability of the Selangor government of which PAS is a part.

PAS is also insistent on building a third opposition coalition to contest about 100 parliamentary seats in GE14, making it a rival to PH and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

PH leaders such as Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that PAS’ decision to form a third bloc is essentially a leg up for Barisan Nasional, whose chairman is Prime Minister Najib Razak.

History shows that BN always benefits in a contest against multiple opposition parties due to the votes for the latter two being split.

PAS was a partner to PKR and DAP in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which disbanded in August 2015 after PAS and DAP had a falling-out.

PH component parties PKR and Bersatu have been in unofficial talks with PAS to avoid multi-candidate contests. However, PAS’ decision to sever ties with PKR and not to have any dealings with Bersatu have made the likelihood of positive results emerging from these talks doubful.

At today’s press conference, Saifuddin said the PH coalition was in talks with all opposition parties, not just PAS. These other parties include those in Sabah and Sarawak, and outfits such as Parti Socialis Malaysia in the peninsula

“PH still maintains the big picture (to avoid multi-cornered fights) and this includes all opposition parties. We are talking to them behind closed doors.

“We are still open to talks with PAS if it still considers itself an opposition party,” he said. – May 16, 2017.

Scorpion On Plane Delays Flight For Hours For Second Time In A Month. Yes, It Is United Again

An Ecuador-bound United Airlines flight was delayed for over three hours after a scorpion was seen crawling from a customer's clothing, media reports said today.

Flight 1035 was set to fly from Houston in the US to Quito, Ecuador last night. The plane had left the gate at George Bush Intercontinental Airport when the arachnid appeared.

Scorpion - Animal
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pedipalps and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic
Scientific name: Scorpiones , Class: Arachnida , Order: Scorpiones; C. L. Koch, 1837
Phylum: Arthropoda , Higher classification: Dromopoda

The scorpion was seen crawling away from a passenger's clothes, the Fox 13 Now reported.

One of the passengers on board flight tweeted, "The captain of my flight just told us it's a scorpion on the plane???!!!!! Good job United!"



According to the United Airlines, the scorpion "emerged from a customer's clothing." How the scorpion got there in the first place is unclear. The traveler was not stung, as was earlier reported by another passenger.

The plane returned to the gate and paramedics examined the customer - who declined medical treatment - and determined that the unnamed passenger had not been stung.

The airline removed passengers out of precaution and they were ushered onto a new aircraft, it said.

The United Airlines has recently been the focus of the national media's attention. Last month, a passenger was videoed being dragged off a plane. Earlier this week, owners of giant rabbit threatened to sue the airline over its death.

This is the airline's second scorpion-related incident in less than a month. The station reported that in a separate incident April 14, a passenger was reportedly stung by a scorpion on a plane out of Houston.

Bombay Sapphire Gin Recalled Nationwide Over Wrong Alcohol Content

Only Fools will return the 1.14-litre bottles of Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin.

TORONTO — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is issuing a nationwide recall warning for 1.14-litre bottles of Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin.

At least five provincial liquor control agencies previously recalled the bottles of gin because they contain more alcohol than the amount stated on the label.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario was the first to remove the affected product from all of its stores.

The Crown corporation says the recall was initiated after an investigation by its quality assurance team found the gin's alcohol content was 77 per cent, instead of the 40 per cent declared on the label.

In a statement, the CFIA says the recalled gin should be thrown out or returned to the store where it was purchased.

The agency says it is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products.

It says there have been no reported illnesses associated with the gin.

In early March, an Ontario-made brand of vodka was pulled from shelves because one batch contained double the stated amount of alcohol.

The batch of Georgian Bay vodka was not properly diluted prior to bottling, resulting in 654 bottles containing 81 per cent alcohol instead of the 40 per cent stated on the label.

Joke of the Day May 16,2017 - Who Finished Over 9 Lakh Litres Of Seized Alcohol In Bihar? Police Say Rats Did

It takes all of Rats to drink 900,000 liters of Alcohol and must be the rats with 2 legs

At a recent meeting of the state police, it was said that some of the seized bottles had been destroyed, and what was left was finished off in the stores by liquor-loving rats.

Rodents are believed to have finished off more than 9 lakh litres of alcohol which the police had seized from people flouting prohibition laws in the state.

The issue came up after the media reported that the seized bottles of liquor were missing from police station ‘malkhanas’ (stores).

At a recent meeting of the state police, it was said that some of the seized bottles had been destroyed, and what was left was finished off in the stores by liquor-loving rats.



“We have asked the Patna zonal IG to inquire into the matter. Based on his findings, the state police headquarters will initiate further action,” Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) SK Singhal told on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the police arrested the president of the Bihar Police Men’s Association, Nirmal Singh, and a member of the association, Shamsher Singh, for consuming liquor. The two will be in judicial custody till May 18.

The Nitish Kumar government clamped total prohibition on Bihar last April. To enforce the liquor ban, a special drive has been launched by the police and the excise department across the state.

This Poor Man Made Umpteen Sacrifices For His Daughters, His Inspiring Tale Is Breaking The Internet

He worked as a cleaner but never told his daughters what his job was. The reason why he hid his job from his daughters was his ''unconditional'' love for them.

Idris – the poor man in question - made several sacrifices and faced many hardship because he wanted his daughters to 'live with dignity'. 

The inspiring tale of Idris, which has now become a rage on the Internet, has touched a chord with thousands of nettizens ever since it was first posted by a multimedia journalist GMB Akash on his Facebook page, according to NDTV.

In the post, Idris reveals how he used to conceal from his daughters the fact that he did menial job of cleaning.

Whenever confronted by his daughters, he used to tell them that he was labourer. Not only this, to make them believe what he said, Idris used to bath in public toilet before going home in the evening.
  
Days after days, months after months, he made attempts to hide the truth from his daughters, and saved every single penny he could towards their education.
 
I wanted them to stand with dignity in front of people. I never wanted anyone to look down at them like everyone looked down at me. People always humiliated me," he was quoted as saying in the Facebook post.

However, one day he allowed his daughters to know what was a closely-guarded secret - his real job. 

Idris further explains how he cursed himself after badly failing to arrange money for his daughter's admission into the college. It was then that his co-workers approached him and handed him their one-day income. 

And, when he refused to take their money, they said, ''We will starve today if needed but our daughter has to go to college,'' Idris recalls in the post.

"That day I didn't take shower. That day I went home like a cleaner," he adds in the post.

Incredibly, his hard work paid off. His daughter will hopefully pass out from the university soon. She and her other sisters have also taken up part time jobs so that their father doesn't need to work anymore.

While Idris made several sacrifices, his elder daughter too didn't forget to repay his father's friends who had come to their rescue when they needed most.

In the post, Idris explains how she often takes him to his work place and offers food to his co-workers.

Idris concludes by saying, "Now-a-days I don't feel I am a poor man. Whoever has such children, how can he be poor," he adds.

Here's is exactly what the journalist wrote in his Facebook post.

I never told my children what my job was. I never wanted them to feel ashamed because of me. When my youngest daughter asked me what I did, I used to tell her hesitantly that I was a labourer. Before I went back home every day, I used to take bath in public toilets so they did not get any hint of the work I was doing. I wanted to send my daughters to school, to educate them. I wanted them to stand in front of people with dignity. I never wanted anyone to look down upon them like how everyone did to me. People always humiliated me. I invested every penny of my earnings for my daughters’ education. I never bought a new shirt, instead used the money for buying books for them. Respect, which is all I wanted them to earn for me. I was a cleaner. The day before the last date of my daughter’s college admission, I could not manage to get her admission fees. I could not work that day. I was sitting beside the rubbish, trying hard to hide my tears. All my coworkers were looking at me but no one came to speak to me. I had failed and felt heartbroken. I had no idea how to face my daughter who would ask me about the admission fees once I got back home. I am born poor. I believed nothing good can happen to a poor person. After work all the cleaners came to me, sat beside and asked if I considered them as brothers. Before I could answer, they handed me their one day's income. When I tried to refuse everyone; they confronted by saying, ‘We will starve today if needed but our daughter has to go to college.’ I couldn't reply them. That day I did not take a shower, I went back to my house like a cleaner. My daughter is going to finish her University very soon. Three of them do not let me go to work anymore. She has a part time job and three of them do tuition. But often she takes me to my working place. Feed all my coworkers along with me. They laugh and ask her why she feeds them so often. My daughter told them, ‘All of you starved for me that day so I can become what I am today, pray for me that I can feed you all, every day.' Now a days I don't feel like I am a poor man. Whoever has such children, how can he be poor! - Idris

Unapologetic Indian Restaurant In South Africa Charges Upto Rs. 190 And It Is Not For Their Food

A South African Indian-origin owner of a fast food store in Durban is at the centre of a controversy for charging people 20 rand to use the toilets on the premises.

Charging R20 (Rs 95) was the only way to keep away the hordes of people visiting the beachfront who abused the facilities that his staff maintained for the free use of his customers who bought food at his premises, the owner of Jolly Grubber, Junaid Moola, said in a statement.

A customer, Reza Khan, posted on Facebook a receipt they were given for R40 after they were initially stopped from using the toilet before they paid.

“My cousin asked if we could not buy cool drinks instead, but we were told cool drinks don’t qualify,” Khan posted.

“In my entire existence on this earth, this is the most expensive p*** I’ve ever taken,” Khan said.

 

The restaurant has a sign at the entrance to the premises: “Toilets are for use of Jolly Grubber customers only. Buying just drinks will not qualify you to use these facilities. Therefore, it is unlawful, dishonest, theft, haraam to use this facility without permission.”

Jolly Grubber  

2.7

10 Google reviews

Hamburger Restaurant

Address: 79 Dr Pixley Kaseme St, Durban Central, Durban, 4001, South Africa

Phone: +27 31 337 9583

Hours: Open today · 9AM–11PM

“Service charge of R20 per person payable at the counter. This is not a public toilet.”

 

“This is not a question about humanity, compassion nor religion, there are free public facilities just a stone’s throw away,: said the restaurant, which also maintains a Namaaz room for Muslim patrons to perform their prayers free of charge.

A municipal working in the department licensing public restaurants, who asked not to be identified, said while a R20 charge did appear to be “a bit exorbitant”, the restaurant was well within its rights to charge a fee for the use of its facilities without contravening its licensing conditions, which only required that any restaurant ensure that it has toilet facilities available for its customers.

Was Done With Him: Preet Bharara On Not Returning Donald Trump's Call

India-born former top federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, who received a phone call from US President Donald Trump just two days before he was fired, said he "was done with" the American leader and did him a favour by not returning his call.

"I was doing everyone a favour by not returning the call. I was doing the President a favour by not returning the call," Manhattan's former prosecutor said during a conversation last week with New York University's School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison in New York.

Two days before he was fired, Mr Bharara had got a phone call from Trump's office asking him to call the President back.

The 48-year-old did not return the call. Asked if he had considered returning that call, Mr Bharara said there are lots of regulations regarding how contacts should be made between the White House and the Justice Department.

"This is a man who campaigned day after day after day on the argument that (former President) Bill Clinton met with the sitting Attorney General during the pendency of an investigation," Mr Bharara said, referring to the controversial meeting in Phoenix between Clinton and Loretta Lynch.

Trump had repeatedly said during the campaign trail that he did not believe that talks about investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server had not come up during that meeting between her husband and Lynch and that the two had just talked about their grandchildren and other frivolous things.

Mr Bharara said any interaction between him and Trump could have raised doubts in people's minds over any future investigation his office would have undertaken.

"Who on earth was going to believe that the President of the US in a remarkable and unprecedented fashion is cultivating a relationship with the US Attorney in Manhattan, whose jurisdiction includes various things, only to shoot the breeze! Who is going to believe that," he said.

Referring to him being unceremoniously fired, Mr Bharara recalled the meeting held with much "fanfare" between him and then president-elect Trump in Trump Towers in Manhattan shortly after the presidential elections. He said Trump had then explicitly asked him to stay on for another term. Mr Bharara also stressed the independence of the US Attorney's Offices.

"My job was not to serve the president, whether that's Barack Obama or Donald Trump or anyone else. It was to serve the public, and to serve the interests of justice," he added.

Very Proud Of My Indian Heritage, Says Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara

IANS, 15 May, 2017

Very Proud Of My Indian Heritage, Says Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara
India-born former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Preet Bharara said he is very proud of his Indian heritage which made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people. 

Mr Bharara, who was fired by President Donald Trump as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York after he refused to quit, is now a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University's School of Law where he continues working on issues like criminal and social justice, honest government, national security, and corporate accountability.

"I am an American, I happen to be an Indian-American. I am very proud of my background, my roots and my heritage. I am a huge Springsteen fan... but I also listen to Bhangra music, which is a kind of Punjabi music," Mr Bharara said during a conversation last week with New York University's School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison in New York.

Asked about his heritage and background has shaped his personal and professional life, Mr Bharara said he comes from a multi-cultural background and his children know about their "Indian heritage and also about being American".

Mr Bharara said people would ask him whether his being of Indian heritage and member of a minority group made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people.



"I say I suppose it does. But what has mattered more to how I think about things is not the fact that I am an Indian-American but that I am an immigrant," he said adding that he and his family are grateful to what America has given them.

He recalled how his father came to the US with nothing but 40 years later his son became the chief federal law enforcement officer in the financial capital of world.


"The first Indian-American US attorney appointed by the first African-American President. That is not a small thing in the minds of some people... So I began to appreciate that," he said. 

Only in India - Pathankot Martyr Kulwant Singh's Brother And His Wife Thrashed On Road, Now In Hospital

Question why took up the offer for a holiday package to Indonesia and when want to go to France and also spending 20 days of the holiday package and coming back and demanding money back. Case of dissatisfied customers?

Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 May, 2017

A Pathankot martyr's brother and his wife were thrashed in Punjab's Gurdaspur over a row with a travel agent. They are both in hospital after the assault.

 Hawaldar Kulwant Singh was killed in the Pathankot terror attack in January last year. His younger brother Hardip Singh and his wife Kulwinder Kaur, say the police, were beaten up on Saturday. In CCTV footage that is in circulation on social media, Kulwinder Kaur is dragged by her hair, kicked and beaten.

 The police say Hardip Singh had gone to recover money from the agent when he and his wife were attacked.

 Hardip Singh gave Rs. 8 lakh to travel agent Gurnam Singh for his ticket to France. What he got, instead, was a trip to Indonesia on a tourist visa.

 After spending 20 days in Indonesia, Hardip Singh reportedly came back and demanded his money back.

 When the complaint went to the local Panchayat or village council, the travel agent allegedly agreed to returned three lakhs from the eight lakhs he was paid.

 None of the money came, so Hardip Singh and his wife decided to go to the police. They were on their way when they were attacked, allegedly by the travel agent and his family members.

 A case has been registered against 11 people but the attackers are missing, say the police.

 Kulwant Singh was among the seven security personnel who lost their lives when four terrorists sneaked in from across the border and attacked the Pathankot air base on January 1 last year.

POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK

I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus! I checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,'regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.
This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.
If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN.
It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.
COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.
REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

WOW Shocking !!!! Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador

By Greg Miller and Greg Jaffe May 15 at 7:45 PM 

Trump revealed highly classified intel in Oval Office meeting with Russians
During a May 10 meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, Trump began describing details about an Islamic State terror threat, according to current and former U.S. officials. (Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/The Washington Post)

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

Washington reacts to Trump’s disclosure of classified information
The White House and lawmakers reacted May 15 to Washington Post revelations that President Trump disclosed classified information during a meeting with Russian officials. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

[Lawmakers express shock and concern about Trump disclosure of classified information]

The revelation comes as the president faces rising legal and political pressure on multiple Russia-related fronts. Last week, he fired FBI Director James B. Comey in the midst of a bureau investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump’s subsequent admission that his decision was driven by “this Russia thing” was seen by critics as attempted obstruction of justice.

One day after dismissing Comey, Trump welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — a key figure in earlier Russia controversies — into the Oval Office. It was during that meeting, officials said, that Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft.


For almost anyone in government, discussing such matters with an adversary would be illegal. As president, Trump has broad authority to declassify government secrets, making it unlikely that his disclosures broke the law.

White House officials involved in the meeting said Trump discussed only shared concerns about terrorism.

“The president and the foreign minister reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations to include threats to aviation,” said H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, who participated in the meeting. “At no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed, and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly.”

McMaster reiterated his statement in a subsequent appearance at the White House on Monday and described the Washington Post story as “false,” but did not take any questions.

McMaster: Trump 'did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known'
National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster spoke at the White House on May 15 and denied recent reporting that President Trump revealed classified information in a meeting with Russian officials. (Reuters)

In their statements, White House officials emphasized that Trump had not discussed specific intelligence sources and methods, rather than addressing whether he had disclosed information drawn from sensitive sources.

The CIA declined to comment, and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment.

But officials expressed concern about Trump’s handling of sensitive information as well as his grasp of the potential consequences. Exposure of an intelligence stream that has provided critical insight into the Islamic State, they said, could hinder the United States’ and its allies’ ability to detect future threats.

[On Russia, Trump and his top national security aides seem to be at odds]

“It is all kind of shocking,” said a former senior U.S. official who is close to current administration officials. “Trump seems to be very reckless and doesn’t grasp the gravity of the things he’s dealing with, especially when it comes to intelligence and national security. And it’s all clouded because of this problem he has with Russia.”

In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,” the president said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States learned only through the espionage capabilities of a key partner. He did not reveal the specific intelligence-gathering method, but he described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat.

 Play Video 3:02
What Trump’s classified revelations to Russian officials mean for allies
Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller explains what President Trump’s potential disclosures to Russian officials means going forward. (The Washington Post)
The Post is withholding most plot details, including the name of the city, at the urging of officials who warned that revealing them would jeopardize important intelligence capabilities.

“Everyone knows this stream is very sensitive, and the idea of sharing it at this level of granularity with the Russians is troubling,” said a former senior U.S. counterterrorism official who also worked closely with members of the Trump national security team. He and others spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject.

The identification of the location was seen as particularly problematic, officials said, because Russia could use that detail to help identify the U.S. ally or intelligence capability involved. Officials said the capability could be useful for other purposes, possibly providing intelligence on Russia’s presence in Syria. Moscow would be keenly interested in identifying that source and perhaps disrupting it.

[Political chaos in Washington is a return on investment in Moscow]

Russia and the United States both regard the Islamic State as an enemy and share limited information about terrorist threats. But the two nations have competing agendas in Syria, where Moscow has deployed military assets and personnel to support President Bashar al-Assad.

“Russia could identify our sources or techniques,” the senior U.S. official said.

A former intelligence official who handled high-level intelligence on Russia said that given the clues Trump provided, “I don’t think that it would be that hard [for Russian spy services] to figure this out.”

At a more fundamental level, the information wasn’t the United States’ to provide to others. Under the rules of espionage, governments — and even individual agencies — are given significant control over whether and how the information they gather is disseminated, even after it has been shared. Violating that practice undercuts trust considered essential to sharing secrets.

The officials declined to identify the ally but said it has previously voiced frustration with Washington’s inability to safeguard sensitive information related to Iraq and Syria.

“If that partner learned we’d given this to Russia without their knowledge or asking first, that is a blow to that relationship,” the U.S. official said.

Trump also described measures the United States has taken or is contemplating to counter the threat, including military operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as other steps to tighten security, officials said.

The officials would not discuss details of those measures, but the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed that it is considering banning laptops and other large electronic devices from carry-on bags on flights between Europe and the United States. The United States and Britain imposed a similar ban in March affecting travelers passing through airports in 10 Muslim-majority countries.

Trump cast the countermeasures in wistful terms. “Can you believe the world we live in today?” he said, according to one official. “Isn’t it crazy?”

Lavrov and Kislyak were also accompanied by aides.

A Russian photographer took photos of part of the session that were released by the Russian state-owned Tass news agency. No U.S. news organization was allowed to attend any part of the meeting.

Team Trump’s ties to Russian interests VIEW GRAPHIC 
Senior White House officials appeared to recognize quickly that Trump had overstepped and moved to contain the potential fallout. Thomas P. Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, placed calls to the directors of the CIA and the NSA, the services most directly involved in the intelligence-sharing arrangement with the partner.

One of Bossert’s subordinates also called for the problematic portion of Trump’s discussion to be stricken from internal memos and for the full transcript to be limited to a small circle of recipients, efforts to prevent sensitive details from being disseminated further or leaked.


White House officials defended Trump. “This story is false,” said Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser for strategy. “The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced.”

But officials could not explain why staff members nevertheless felt it necessary to alert the CIA and the NSA.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said he would rather comment on the revelations in the Post story after “I know a little bit more about it,” but added: “Obviously, they are in a downward spiral right now and have got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening. And the shame of it is, there’s a really good national security team in place.”

Corker also said, “The chaos that is being created by the lack of discipline is creating an environment that I think makes — it creates a worrisome environment.”

Trump has repeatedly gone off-script in his dealings with high-ranking foreign officials, most notably in his contentious introductory conversation with the Australian prime minister earlier this year. He has also faced criticism for seemingly lax attention to security at his Florida retreat, Mar-a-Lago, where he appeared to field preliminary reports of a North Korea missile launch in full view of casual diners.

U.S. officials said that the National Security Council continues to prepare multi-page briefings for Trump to guide him through conversations with foreign leaders, but that he has insisted that the guidance be distilled to a single page of bullet points — and often ignores those.

“He seems to get in the room or on the phone and just goes with it, and that has big downsides,” the second former official said. “Does he understand what’s classified and what’s not? That’s what worries me.”

Lavrov’s reaction to the Trump disclosures was muted, officials said, calling for the United States to work more closely with Moscow on fighting terrorism.

Kislyak has figured prominently in damaging stories about the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign just 24 days into the job over his contacts with Kislyak and his misleading statements about them. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to recuse himself from matters related to the FBI’s Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had met and spoke with Kislyak, despite denying any contact with Russian officials during his confirmation hearing.

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“I’m sure Kislyak was able to fire off a good cable back to the Kremlin with all the details” he gleaned from Trump, said the former U.S. official who handled intelligence on Russia.

The White House readout of the meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak made no mention of the discussion of a terrorist threat.

“Trump emphasized the need to work together to end the conflict in Syria,” the summary said. The president also “raised Ukraine” and “emphasized his desire to build a better relationship between the United States and Russia.”

Julie Tate and Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.