Tourist Brutally Assaults 10-Year-Old Thai Boy Over RM1.25 Fee!!

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Authorities and locals in Phuket, Thailand are on the lookout for a Caucasian tourist who savagely beat a 10-year-old boy because he took issue with a 10 baht fee to use a private toilet in the red light district of Bangla Road which equals to RM1.25.

The incident took place at about 3.50 am on May 3 as seen on the CCTV footage. A man clad in a blue t-shirt was reportedly accompanied by two women with blonde hair.

The boy who was identified as Abdull Seesa, works as an attendant at the private toilet for extra pocket money by charging 10 baht per customer.



The man is seen conversing with Abdull in the video but quickly becomes visibly aggressive when he heard of the 10 baht charge.

When Abdull looks at his phone, the angered man approaches from behind to snatch his phone and slaps the boy in the head. In fear, Abdull retreats but the man continues to yell at and push him, landing a punch at the 10-year-old. Another man steps in and attempt to stop the man who eventually runs away.

MUST READ  [GRAPHIC CONTENT!] Thailand Student Shares Her Horrifying Tattoo Removal Experience On Social Media!!!


Now, Abdull’s father Tohee Seesa, has posted on his Facebook profile offering a 5,000 baht (RM627) for any information leading to the capture of the tourist who remains unidentified, the nationality was also not determined, but he was described as being in his “30s or 40s” and spoke English.

Tohee Seesa added in his post,

“What kind of man does this to a ten-year-old boy? We want to catch him!

“He would not pay 10 baht to use the toilet and attacked my son, people have to pay to use the toilet because we need to keep it clean and fix it.

“We will reward anybody who can catch the man so police can punish him.”

Here is the video of the CCTV footage,

Young Malaysians Encountered Eerie Ghost In The Middle Of The Road In Kuala Lumpur!!

This is not a joke! There’s obviously something semi-transparent sitting on the road!

On 6th of May, a Malaysian named Aswan Yap posted a terrifying video showing something in human-shaped strangely sitting on the road in the middle of the night. As Aswan shared his story with the specific location of where he met the “ghost”, his post immediately went viral- more than 70k of views, and netizens were actively discussing it on the social media site! However, Aswan confidently said that this is not a joke and he highly doubts the white semi-transparent image is a cat, trash or whatever on the road.



According to Aswan’s post, the incident happened around 10 pm at the specific location on the street between Taman Tasik Perdana and Bukit Tunku. They claim that the dashboard flashed the warning signs at the same time when the car stopped in front of the “ghost”. The friends who were sitting in the car had tried to comfort each other even they all witnessed the creepy moment! The semi-transparent “ghost” appeared more obvious when the driver was reversing their car to find another way to get out of the place.


After watching the video, netizens commented that the “ghost” might be a stray cat or dog, a pedestrian or someone is pretending to lie on the floor to make them stops their car and rob them. However, Aswan has denied all possibilities given by the netizens. He even shared the exact location for the netizens with Google Maps in his post.

“If you honestly think that’s a cat/trash/whatever on the road, then I really hope you don’t have a driver’s license… if your eyesight is so bad, you really shouldn’t be behind the wheel.” – Aswan Yap, Facebook





There are residents commented that rumours of a ghost appearing on the road has been spread since 10 years ago, but there are residents saying that it was pretended by robbers. Once you are slowing down your car, the robbers who hide in the bushes will take action to rob.

Man Gets ‘Fried’ Climbing An Electrical Pole To Show His ‘Power’!!

Anyone fancy orang bakar (grilled human) reference to our all time favorite ikan bakar (grilled fish)?

The pole in the video looks like a standard utility pole, which is used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities. However, this man clad in black shorts and a red t-shirt was seen climbing the pole in the city and waving his shirt around as though he is taunting someone.



I don’t know anyone in their right mind who would climb an electrical pole, you know you’re going to get an electric shock once you touch something wrong.

Unless you are needed to be there, no one should be even near the wire and the transformer, but this brave yet stupid man climbed it like he was hiking Mount Everest and got to the highest point of the mountain!



Right at the end of the video, the man got electrocuted as sparks were seen and he fell off the pole. No news was reported on this incident, but all we can say was “you asked for it”.




I’m sure many of you are waiting to watch the video, here it is!

The post was rather viral with over 53k views and several netizens were poking fun at the man saying things like,


“Wow, already became KFC!”

Shell Petrol Station In Salak South Scams Customers By Raising Petrol Price To RM4.09 Per Litre!!!

A Facebook user shared her experience of a Shell petrol station in Salak South scamming her and few others by raising the petrol price by double the original amount per liter.

Martina Abu Hanifa was on her way to work when she noticed that she was almost out of petrol, she then stopped by a petrol station that was on the way to her workplace. As per normal, she paid RM15 to the Bangladeshi worker at the counter, but when she started pumping the petrol, she noticed that only 3.67 liters was pumped into her tank but the total amount charged was RM15.

She figured this must be an error, she walked over to the counter and noticed another individual was already furiously complaining about something. When she confronted the worker, he can only answer that the price has been raised, and he asked her to double check the pump.

When she went to her car to check she was shocked to see the amount was written 409.0 sen/liter.


“Eh, how much is one liter now? It can’t be 4.09, right?”

The Bangladeshi worker only answered,

“I don’t know miss, the petrol price raised today, the government raised it and they did the settings to the machine.”

When asked to contact the boss, the worker refused to do so, only saying that the boss has returned home and he can’t do anything about it.

At this point, another man who pumped 20 liters of petrol and got charged RM130 on his credit card confronted the worker and demanded to talk to the boss.


The Bangladeshi worker finally gave in and contacted the boss, but the boss had the guts to hang up during mid-call.

Blood boiling in Martina, she wanted to smash the glass window separating the worker and the others outside apparently to ‘teach’ him a lesson. She quickly called her colleague to help her to call any nearby police station to bring some authorities over.


Right when she finished her conversation with her colleague, she saw the worker paying the man back his money, the man said,

“Return her money to her too (referring to Martina), she needs to go to work.”

Luckily for Martina, she is the type to double check the meter when pumping petrol if not, she would just go on her way without knowing the truth.

From ASPAN ALIAS Blog - No more pest-like leaders please, enough is enough

No more pest-like leaders please, enough is enough
I earnestly believe that the PPBM is making inroads in most of the Umno stronghold and the chance for the newly minted party to succeed is looming. However the success is very conditional. If Umno knows how to arrest the advancement of this party as the alternative to Umno, the party will find its chances to be vulnerable.

If Umno maintains the current crop of ruling leaders the advancement of the party chaired by Dr Mahathir will progress unhindered. Hence the survival of Umno is dependent on how the party manages its own presence in the current political ambience. Right now Umno is at its lowest ebb that the party will parish if nothing is done to arrest the problems and glitches of this ruling party.

Umno can circumvent the progression and encroachment to the nerves of the Malays and Malaysians in total by getting their scandalous leaders out of our politics absolutely. If Najib instantaneously resigns together with his mediocratic colleagues and foot-soldiers both in the Cabinet and the highest governing body of the party (Supreme Council), Umno will regain the confidence of the voting public and the new PPBM with crash before taking off.

For the Malays once they join Umno they will remain Umno at heart albeit the massive migration of its members to other legally existed parties in the country. Most of them left Umno because the party was hijacked by unscrupulous, deceitful, dodgy, corrupt, and devious leaders with many other dirty and murky superlatives labeled on them by the people. Their dispositions and presence are no longer exciting and worthwhile to claim trust and faith from ordinary Malaysians. The watchful Malaysians are looking at them with misgivings and unredeemable cynicism.

The crooked and kinked image of the Umno ruling leaders is at its pinnacle and there is no other way to retrieve the previous clean and mighty image of the first three PMs of this country other than to move out from the soiled perception by the people. Umno must come out clear from the grimy atmosphere to more satisfactory environment.

The people want different atmosphere absolutely and the only way is to move on to this new environment. However as long as the current leaders are still hanging around on power there won’t be any change of the situation. Malaysians of all races would be perpetually in the environment of improbability and uncertainty. This feeling of inconceivability would certainly be followed by perennial split among the ordinary people like we have to-date. We are splitting in every turf and arena. The fragmentations have been so serious along racial and religious lines as well as inter and intra-parties in political fraternity and we are now lowly perceived by international community who recognize us as a hub of corrupt and fraudulent goings-on nation.

As a result Malaysians are now active in soul-searching and introspection and it was lot easier to believe that the current ruling elites will be sidelined via dumping the ruling party to ashes in the coming General Election than to self-coaxing and made-believe that the ruling party is still raptly formidable. There are limits to patience and endurance as such that the people have to chuck away the party just to do away with the obstinate and their adamantly stubborn and desolate leaders.

Hence the future of Umno and other ruling parties within the BN coalition is fully the responsibility of the current leader Najib. It’s conclusive that Umno will have reasonable chances of surviving without him but if he chooses to bring along the party falling together with him he can fix himself tight to the premiership.

BUT for certain majority of Malaysians do not want a pest-like leader who is backed by loafers to rule them any longer. Enough is enough.

From AnotherBrickInWall Blog - UMNO's 71st anniversary immediate dilemma

Tonight UMNO will begin it's 71st anniversary.

It's inception in 1946 is synonymous with the struggle for independence and the formation of the new nation of Malaya in 1957 which then enlarged to include Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (before it was sacked out in 1965) become Malaysia in 1963.

UMNO formed the first coalition called Perikatan and later it was enlarged into Barisan Nasional. Since independence, the coalitions led by UMNO have been ruling the country and majority of the states in Malaysia.

It holds two third majority but has since relinquish that dominance in the 2008 general election. It is believed that BN will never ever get that two third dominance. Not only that, the general election this time around will  be more challenging than the previous one.

The sacked UMNO leaders and an influential former Prime Minister was joined the opposition with an resolved to topple Prime Minister, Dato Najib.

Since they failed to topple him from his position in UMNO and in Parliament, they had no choice but to topple UMNO and BN government while in bed with sworn enemy DAP and other opposition parties - old and newly formed.

It is not usual to celebrate 71st anniversary in a big. So the celebration has relevance in preparing for the general election.

The preparation this time around is a tricky bit with the challenges of securing young and Chinese voters.

Then there is also the challenge of appeasing the different expectation of urban and rural voters. And the complain on the public wallet due to rising prices that was blamed on GST and government across the board austerity drive.

There are various challenges with the changing political terrain. But we are not about to raise anything major but something small which can greatly affect UMNO's performance in the next election.

It is about a state assemblyman representing a rural constituency in a state in Semananjong with significant number of seats in Parliament. It is not his real name but lets just refer him as Hamdan.

Hamdan is a local lad, well liked by his kampong kins and constituents. He shows concern for them and is earnest in his community work. In Malaysian politics, the constituents welfare is more important in winning and retaining seats than being participants in debate on policy and annual budget.

Hamdan's problem is he is too vocal and critical.

Naturally, it annoys the Minister-Member of Parliament, the state Menteri Besar and even the UMNO Division Head. The way our third world politics and cultural make-up, that is no way to behave to your superior.

Face means everything in our society. Hamdan could have applied his political skill in expressing his concerns through the "proper channel". Most UMNO politicians are apt at pulling hair out of flour without splattering four all over the place.

But he did not.

Apparently, he became so due to instigation by one leader. The irony is the instigator is close to the MB. What made him fell to the instigation makes one wonders. The instigator has a Keling instigator in his payroll too. Now, who instigated who.  

Maybe Hamdan is concerned for his subjects. His superior reacted by applying pressure on him and denying him allocations. The compulsory allocation is likely there for his constituents but the process could be slow and additional request would not be entertained.

Comment

The danger zone are at middle class income voters and new aspirants youth graduates and college leavers. Don't just sit around and shaking hand. 1MDB and corruption are just news or daily news like Gotham city. But the dwellers keep on asking where's the job and money.

In the normal circumstances, Hamdan's days are considered numbered.

However, he is quite popular that he could survive on his own. He is related to a famous nationally reknown religious teacher but a member of PAS. It makes him influential because PAS members liked and voted him.

Despite being denied allocation, Hamdan gets help elsewhere.

But now that there is a plan to replace him with the UMNO Division head, popular request could demand he still run. He has no plans to leave the party.

Party loyalty is everything in UMNO but the decision of the leaders have to be strictly obeyed. That is the glue that keeps the party alive for 71 years.  

Words are an opposing party are courting him. His name is being bandied about to jump over either on the day of nomination or upon winning on UMNO ticket. If he is not selected to defend the same seat, he could jump earlier and run on the opposition party ticket. [This plan was discussed here]

He is expected to win the seat again. Whether there is any truth that he is crossing over, it has to be ascertain. If he is hurt, he could do so out of anger.

Nevertheless, he can still be persuaded. His love for the party is still there.

But the odds is against him. He could be removed and the white areas has already turned grey and it is likely to be deep grey.

It is a normal story in politics and the power game. Party discipline will usually take precedent over other factor.

However, this time around UMNO needs every seat that it can hold on to. It is a tight race and it is not just winnable candidate that is needed but a must win candidate. Only candidates wanted by voters should be put up.

It is a non-issue in normal circumstances. But this time around, the answer is clear. Hamdan is the sort of candidates UMNO need to offer to the voters. Internal politics should take a back seat under current citcumstances.

It is a dilemma and an immediate one. It is not just UMNO but other parties too have such situation. Politics involve people and people have feelings, emotions and preferences.

However, can this be an exception where UMNO and its  leaders and members could be mature enough after 71 years of age to put party and people interest above personal interest?

Think about it and happy 71st anniversary.

Malaysia always in the News for Wrong Reasons

by Dato Dennis Ignatius

 BFF Najib and Erdogan - Malaysia’s disgraceful disregard for human rights

The  UMNO-led BN government seems to have a penchant for putting Malaysia in the international spotlight for all the wrong reasons. This time Malaysia is being widely criticised for the way it colluded with Turkey to detain and deport suspected opponents of the Erodogan regime.

Last week, three long-time Turkish residents of Malaysia – school principal Turgay Karaman, businessman Ihsan Aslan and academic Ismet Ozcelik – were surreptitiously detained and hastily bundled out of the country before their families could even mount a legal challenge.

The whole manner in which the Malaysian authorities handled the matter – the secretive way they were detained, the constantly changing reasons for their detention, the speed at which they were deported, the presence of Turkish agents – was deeply troubling.

Colluding with the Erdogan regime

It is now clear that their arrest and deportation was in response to pressure from the Turkish government.

Image result for Malaysia detains Turks
Since the unsuccessful coup in Turkey last year, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been on a witch hunt against anyone remotely connected with his political nemesis, the US-based cleric Fethullah Gueln. Thousands of military personnel, teachers, civil servants, judges, reporters and others have been summarily detained or dismissed. Turkish agents have also targeted Turkish nationals living abroad, many on spurious grounds.

While many countries have expressed alarm at Turkey’s slide towards authoritarianism, Malaysia apparently has no compunction collaborating with the regime.

The Home Ministry’s insistence that it acted on its own to deport the aforementioned Turks because they were “members of an organization deemed illegal in their country” is disingenuous to say the least.

 Long history of dubious extraditions

This is, of course, not the first time that Malaysia has engaged in dubious extraditions.

In 2004, Libyan national Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq and his then pregnant wife, Fatima Bouchar, were arrested in Kuala Lumpur, detained for 13 days and then transferred to CIA facilities in Thailand under the now infamous rendition programme. In Thailand Abu Abdullah was tortured before being sent back to Libya where he spent years in prison.

Cynically, while Malaysia was publicly critical of the US war on terrorism, it was quietly cooperating with the CIA in extrajudicial renditions.

In 2012, a Saudi journalist, Hamza Kashgari, accused of insulting the Prophet, was detained while on transit to New Zealand. Despite not having a formal extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia and notwithstanding a high court injunction against his extradition, he was sent back to Saudi Arabia.

Since 2011, Malaysian Police have also been quietly working with Chinese authorities to round up and deport Muslim Uighur refugees fleeing the on-going crackdown in Xinjiang province. Many of these refugees had registered with UNCHR and were awaiting for their claims to be reviewed when they were deported.

It is more than likely that many others may have also been clandestinely detained and dispatched to uncertain fates in unknown destinations.

Transparent rather than secretive

Image result for Malaysia's Human Rights AbusesMalaysia’s  IGP Khalid Ashburn and his henchmen of the Royal Malaysian Police in Service of UMNO
No one is, of course, suggesting that suspected terrorists should not be deported or extradited. Malaysia has an obligation to cooperate with other countries in the apprehension of terrorists and criminals. What is important, however, is for the process to be open and transparent rather than secretive and ad hoc. And, of course, the decisions of the government should always be subject to judicial review.

In April this year, for example, an Iranian national accused of involvement in the 2012 bombing in Thailand was extradited after his case was heard by the Federal Court. Surely that is the way a civilized country does things.

A dumping ground for terrorists

Interestingly, while we oblige Turkey by doing their dirty work for them, they repay the favour by quietly facilitating the passage to Malaysia of known terrorists, as was reported recently. We have apparently become the dumping ground for terrorists that Turkey apprehends. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Hadi, Najib and Zakir Naik - The Three Stooges of Islamic Extremism

In the meantime, while the government deports Turks whose only crime may be their dislike of Erdogan, it opens its arms wide to people like Zakir Naik, an extremist preacher blacklisted by several countries for spreading hatred, funding terrorism and money laundering. India has now requested for an Interpol red corner notice against Zakir, which, if granted, would make him an international fugitive in the fullest sense of the word. Let’s see how quickly the authorities will act to deport him and even strip him of his undeserved PR status, if he is still in the country.

God have only one question for you and please answer honestly - Do you exist and you have a few billions year to answer and did not

Who has the right to say to be in heaven ?


Is heaven really exsit ?

Pope Francis assures atheists: You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven

Nonsense books talk about it.

Silly people believe it.

But no one goes there and return with the true story.

Pope Francis assure atheists to be in heaven.

What a big joke.

He is trying to get more members in the heaven thus he can again rule the heaven.

Aljazeera interviews Wan Azizah on opposition’s prospects, cooperation with Mahathir

What do you think of the new Pakatan, which includes Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia?

Is Mahathir a changed man now who believes now believes in democracy, the rule of law, and human rights? Or is he solely interested in removing Najib?

Wan Azizah says she is prepared to stand in as interim leader for the jailed Anwar Ibrahim if Pakatan wins power – provided she has the confidence of the majority of MPs. But she thinks Anwar would make a better.

Azizah is put in a bit of a tight spot when she is asked to state her stand on RUU355, etc.

From OutSyed The Box - What The Retards Have Been Doing Behind Your Back - Anti Ahok retard in hot sex chat scandal

Facial recognition confirms naked woman in sex chat with Indon Islamic leader

Read here confused Indon Judges cited FPI leader Rizieq Shihab as Koranic authority in shocking guilty verdict for Ahok

Read more here - FPI leader Rizieq, Firza no-show for police questioning on sexting scandal

Habib Rizieq Reaction This Time Know Firza Husein So Suspect

Indon police say activist was naked woman in sex chats with FPI leader Rizieq Shihab

Interpol To Help Exterdite FPI Leader Rizieq Shihab

JAKARTA: Indon National Police said facial recognition analysis confirmed
naked woman in sex chats with Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab

Indonesia Automatic Fingerprints Identification System (Inafis) division
used several methods, including biometrics, to check

also used bio-finder method

automatic algorithm system shows all pictures match

screenshots of steamy WhatsApp chats between Rizieq . . uploaded to Internet

reportedly having a relationship with the married man

Rizieq ignored several police summons for questioning
was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

police will coordinate with Interpol and immigration in handling the case

National Police said Rizieq should respect legal process and come back to Indon

warrant issued following his failure to show up twice in pornography case

Rizieq departed for Saudi on April 27 and had not returned to Indonesia

We want him to fulfil his obligation and comply with law," said National Police

The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

My comments : Let me ask you a question folks, do you think any of this guy's supporters will be affected by this sex chat scandal in Indonesia?

Let me give you a quick answer : NO.

He will most likely become even more popular.

As I have told you before these religious folks have no morals or ethics.

No sense of shame, no embarrasment.

Telling lies is their stock-in-trade. Just listen to them when they open their nouth.

By the way, "my imaginary, pet flying unicorn is better than your imaginary, pet flying unicorn" season is coming by again.

Piety Ali Baba as more and more of his merry thieves are named

We Name More Of The Recipients Of Najib's Stolen Public Money....

17 May 2017

One person who features more than once as a lucky recipient of SRC’s stolen funds (thanks to payments from PM Najib Razak) is the property developer Lim Soon Peng.  Together with his son he runs Titijaya Land Berhad, which boasts a number of residential developments.

In July of 2014 Lim received RM91,470 from Najib’s account and then in the following February a hefty RM238,914 – all from the funds stolen from SRC International and initially borrowed from the KWAP public sevants’ pension fund.  So, was Najib buying properties from Mr Lim and if so was he buying them at the market rate?

Or were they up to something else entirely?  Given this was public money, the public have a right to know.  Public servants are often turned out of their accommodation upon retirement and there are very many who would therefore appreciate a roof over their heads from this money saved towards the old age of civil servants, if properties have indeed been bought.

Meanwhile, the recipient list, which includes luxury furnishing shops, diamond sellers and credit card repayments, has long-since undermined Najib’s claim back in 2015 that none of the money was spent on personal uses. It also undermines likely confidence in the present claims of his underlings that the till now unreported cheques, which he presented to UMNO members from the same pot of money, was spent on ‘public’ uses.

Najib’s professional helpers

So, who else was getting gravy from the dish?  Several names spring out, many of which seem linked to election expenses – consultants and companies engaged in the provision of gifts to hand round voters:

“Enjoy this trinket. You might as well, since you paid for it out of your own old age pension”

Rita Sim

Najib might have told his grateful electors.

One of these well-paid consultants appears to have been one Rita Sim, the Founder and Director of an outfit called the Centre For Strategic Engagement (CENSE).

Rita and her two female partners appear to have netted a cool million at the start of September 2014 for their work in a direct payment from Najib – RM500,000 on September 1st made out to the Centre and then RM500,000 on September 3rd made out to CENSE Media.

Then the following year there was another tasty payment for a further RM300,000 dated 9th February.

So, what do these three ladies do for people and in particular for Najib, the public has a right to ask?

In her profile, Ms Sim who points out she was named in 2011 as “Woman Super Achiever at the 2nd CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Marketing and Branding” lists her areas of expertise on the CENSE website as:

The Centre for Strategic Engagement (CENSE) is a private consulting firm established in 2010. We specialise in public policy research with special interest in media, policy & political communications. Our clientele includes Members of Parliament, Ministers, policy-makers and multinationals operating in the region.

The firm says it specialises in:

Branding and marketing, nonpartisan research, analysis, engagement and advisory services. Bespoke strategic planning and implementation (media, business, politics)

To add to a panoply of expertise Sim also currently specialises in Corporate Social Responsibility projects.

The Cense Package:

Market Intelligence
Surveys and Polls
Political Sentiment Analysis
Political risk assessment
Critical-gap analysis
Bespoke socio-political impact studies
Up-to-date policy and legislative reports
Crisis Management
Backbencher engagement
Internal and external stakeholder engagement
Political and Media Toolkit
Individual coaching for political and media engagement
Media monitoring, analysis and strategic consultancy
Scoping Studies

For the moment Malaysians can only guess what ‘scoping’ or ‘polling’ Ms Sim and her fellow experts were up to on behalf of Najib. However, a clear picture has emerged in one respect, which is that the present Prime Minister appears to have an inexhaustible and extremely expensive media monitoring and manipulation habit.

There appears no end to the numbers of people he is prepared to hire, both publicly and privately, to survey opinion and try to influence it also.  However, as today’s news has shown, it seems he is not happy with what his experts are telling him, because it now appears that a mass exercise is underway to add tens of thousands of new mysterious voters to the electoral lists in opposition constituencies, whilst at the same time making it almost impossible for opposition parties to register voters of their own.

What possible strategic exercise could that be related to, voters might be wondering?

Conference at Le Meridien Hotel.. funded by SRC Money from Najib?

From Steadyaku47 Blog - Citizen Nades : Cakap Bukan Serupa Bikin...

Finally, a truthful advertisement. Must forward to many politicians and ask them to take advantage of the offer.

No automatic alt text available.

steadyaku47 comment : Aisehman....this Citizen Nades cakap bukan serupa bikin lah! I have checked with my politician friends about the above offer posted by Citizen Nades in his FB and they are all in the dark about it....so on Citizen Nades behalf and at great expense and effort, I have done the necessary and forwarded the above "cannot say no" offer to the following with the following proviso...first come first serve lest those in the opposition too are keen on those "cannot say no" discounts! 

MINISTERS

Najib Abdul Razak – Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister
Johari Abdul Ghani – Finance Minister II
Liow Tiong Lai – Transport Minister
Nazri Abdul Aziz – Tourism and Culture Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein – Defence Minister
Mustapa Mohamed – International Trade and Industries Minister
Ong Ka Chuan – International Trade and Industry Minister II
Maximus Johnity Ongkili – Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister
Mah Siew Keong – Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister
Ahmad Shabery Cheek – Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister
Ismail Sabri Yaakob – Rural and Regional Development Minister
Anifah Aman – Foreign Minister
Wilfred Madius Tangau – Science, Technology and Innovation Minister
Rohani Abdul Karim – Women and Family Development Minister
Fadillah Yusof – Works Minister
Richard Riot Anak Jaem – Human Resources Minister
Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor – Federal Territories Minister
Idris Jusoh - Higher Education Minister
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar – Youth and Sports Minister
Noh Omar – Housing and Local Government Minister
Hamzah Zainudin – Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister
Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar – Natural Resources and Environment Minister
Mahdzir Khalid – Education Minister
Dr S Subramaniam – Health Minister
Mohd Salleh Said Keruak – Communications and Multimedia Minister
Abdul Rahman Dahlan – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Azalina Othman Said – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Nancy Shukri – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Wee Ka Siong – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Shahidan Kassim – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Paul Low Seng Kuan – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Joseph Entulu Anak Belaun – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Joseph Kurup – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Jamil Khir Baharom – Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
DEPUTY MINISTERS
Othman Aziz – Deputy Finance Minister
Lee Chee Leong – Deputy Finance Minister
Nur Jazlan Mohamed – Deputy Home Minister
Masir Anak Kujat – Deputy Home Minister
Ermieyati Samsudin – Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister
Johari Baharum – Deputy Defence Minister
Ahmad Maslan – Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister
Chua Tee Yong – Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister
James Dawos Mamit – Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister
Nasrun Mansur – Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister
Tajuddin Abdul Rahman – Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister
Alexander Nanta Linggi – Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister
Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub – Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister
Reezal Merican Naina Merican – Deputy Foreign Minister
Azizah Panglima Mohd Dun – Deputy Women and Family Development Minister
Chew Mei Fun – Deputy Women and Family Development Minister
Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah – Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister
Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin – Deputy Works Minister
Ismail Abd Muttalib – Deputy Human resources Minister
Loga Bala Mohan Jaganathan – Deputy Federal Territories Minister
Mary Yap Kain Ching – Deputy Higher Education Minister
M Saravanan – Deputy Youth and Sports Minister
Halimah Mohd Sadique – Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister
Henry Sum Agong – Deputy Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister
Hamim Samuri – Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister
P Kamalanathan – Deputy Education Minister
Chong Sin Woon – Deputy Education Minister
Jailani Johari – Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister
Hilmi Yahaya – Deputy Health Minister
Ab Aziz Kaprawi – Deputy Transport Minister
Razali Ibrahim – Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki – Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's D1epartment
SK Devamany – Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department

You also cheated when you were the EC Chief so a Pot calling a Kettle black and only this time the master have changed

‘CLEARLY HE IS THE MOST UNPROFESSIONAL EC CHIEF IN HISTORY’: FORMER EC CHIEF FLAYS SUCCESSOR ABDUL RASHID AS NAJIB PILES PRESSURE AHEAD OF ‘MOST DIRTY ELECTION EVER’ GE14

Former Election Commission (EC) chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman has warned current EC chief Mohd Hashim Abdullah not to allow the commission to become a BN lackey.

Abdul Rashid, who is now one of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s vice- president, said this in a joint-statement with PKR political bureau member R Sivarasa, Parti Amanah Negara information chief Khalid Abdul Samad and DAP’s Seputeh vice-chairperson Teresa Kok.

“We are aware the pressure EC is facing from the ruling coalition to ensure BN is returned to power during the 14th general election.

“But the EC, as a body responsible for a democratic election process, should and cannot be a BN lackey by violating the federal constitution which requires the commission to have the public’s trust,” they said.

The former EC chief and three MPs also were critical of Mohd Hashim for snubbing the opposition.

“All our written communication to him have been ignored.

“Clearly, he is being the most unprofessional election chairperson in the history of the EC and indirectly degrades the EC’s position as an independent and fair commission to a mere agency that complies to the prime minister’s directives.

“The EC chairperson refusing to engaged stakeholders, namely the opposition political parties, has reduced the EC’s credibility to its worst in the history of democratic elections in this country,” they said.



They also requested that Mohd Hashim meet a team led by Abdul Rashid to iron out several election issues, including the refusal of the EC to provide the supplementary electoral roll to political parties.

“This was done without consultation with political parties and we consider this as a violation of democratic rights which is a clear display of ill intent,” they said.

– M’kini

Venezuelan media reports Trinidad oil spill has reached Margarita Island

Oil slicked pelican. Photo: Venezuelan social media sources

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Venezuelan media and social networks have reported that oil from the April 23 Petrotrin oil spill in Trinidad has slicked beaches as far away as Margarita Island, where several beaches had to be closed.

At first Petrotrin claimed that 20 barrels of oil (3,179.75 litres) reached the sea but that was later revised to 300 barrels (47,696.2 litres).

Spanish online newspaper El Diario reported that the spill is now the subject of an investigation by the Venezuelan Public Prosecutor’s office.

El Diario stated that 61 Venezuelan NGOs are demanding compensation from the

A video released by Conbive Civil Association for the Conservation of Venezuelan Biodiversity showed volunteers cleaning what is claimed to be oil from the Nordiqui beach in Los Roques islands, normally home to surfers and kiteboarders.

Photo: Venezuelan social media
Los Roques is a national park. It is where Venezuela’s most beautiful beaches are and an important area for both biodiversity and tourism.

The oil at Los Roques could be from the April 23 Petrotrin oil spill but it could also come from a tanker discharging its bilges or the oil terminal at Puerto La Cruz.

The only way to ascertain is through testing. All crude oil has signature chemical compositions.

Trinidad and Tobago energy expert Dr James Lee Young was asked for his opinion on oil from the Petrotrin April 23 oil spill reaching Margarita and Los Roques.

“The oil that was spilled was RMG 380 centistokes Fuel Oil which is a black, viscous bunker oil used for ships and does look very similar to what is being washed up in Venezuela.

"The problem I have is that the reported 300 bbls is actually not a lot of oil and after so long at sea should have been dispersed or washed ashore in Guiria. For this oil to now have made it out the Grand Boca and to have hit Margarita Island and now Los Roques means that there is probably a lot more than 300 bbls floating around out there.

"There were reports that Tank 70 had over 12,000 bbls of oil in it when it leaked but that the majority was recovered.

"Either 1) the estimate of 300 bbls is a gross underestimate or 2) the oil being washed up in these islands in from a different source or 3) these islands are really unlucky and have been hit by a very small spill that has not dispersed. Until samples of the spill are taken and tested it is all a guess,” Young said.

What's the difference between Singapore and Malaysia?

Hahn Kim, lives in Singapore (1900-present)
Answered Mar 16

Singapore is heavily regulated, Malaysia is regulated.

Singaporeans tends to think they are superior than Malaysians, Malaysian tends to think the SGD is superior to ringgit.

Singapore is a chemist mixing pot, Malaysia is a mixing pot,you never know what you can find.

Singaporeans tend to speak English, Malaysians tend to speak whichever language to whom they are speaking with.

Singapore government is very very money minded, Malaysian government finds it hard to mind their money.

Singapore food tend to gravitate towards healthy eating, Malaysian food tend to gravitate being delicious at low cost.

Singapore is small,congested and populated with tons of foreign talents, Malaysia is big, spacious and populated by tons of people.

Singapore has a history of being a dick to its neighbour and citizens,always telling them what to do,think and say. Malaysia has a history of being a dick by doing nothing when it counts.

Singaporean girls tends to think their love is worth their weight in gold, Malaysian ladies are worth more than gold.

Singapore has a lame dick PM who thinks he is the king of clowns, Malaysia has a lame dick PM who has proven he is a clown.

One thing is know Singapore and Malaysia has, both their PM have wives who make them look like a wuss.

What if Indonesia joined Malaysia? trouble I guess as the Indonesians will drive the Malays into the sea

Cody Byrne, lives in Southeast Asia (2011-present)
Answered May 7

Despite linguistic links, Indonesia and Malaysia are completely incompatible.

Firstly, Malaysia is somehow most Western yet more Islamic. 

Despite low level and allegedly high level corruption, Malaysian institutions do not run on graft like they do in Thailand or Indonesia. I know a lot of Malaysian’s will think this untrue but I assure you that there are differing levels of corruption in the world and Malaysia is at the lower end of the spectrum. Indonesian society at large did not adopt as much of it’s colonizers ‘DNA’ as Malaysia did from the British. Once you get outside of the large cities and provincial posts, Indonesian life is some of the most ‘traditional’ in the world. Malaysia has all but lost this. With exception to some pockets, Malaysia is also far more religious than Indonesia with faith occupying a very large part of every day life for Malays. For most Indonesians it is a more casual faith. The headscarf is far less common and it’s not illegal for Muslims to drink.

The second is the Bumiputra question. 

Malaysia and Indonesia had very different paths to their own nationalism. Indonesia rose under a trans-Ethnic form. Many Indonesian heroes were Balinese or Betawi as well as Sundanese and Javanese. They seem themselves as co-inhabitants largely and defnitely differentiate themselves from the Chinese and other non-Indonesian minorities. Malay nationalism rose under putting all of those of a similar ethnicity in peninsular Malaysia under the ‘Orang Melayu’ flag. Peninsular Malaysia never had the same diversity or density as Indonesia so integrating all people under one banner was ppossibly more practical. So, if Malaysia and Indonesia united they would either have to drastically redefine Bumiputera criteria or eliminate Lit all together.

Thirdly, economics. Indonesia is vastly undeveloped and much poorer than Malaysia. 

What incentive would Malaysia get from creating a union? Considering that both countries have stagnated recently in comparison to the rest of SE Asia, Malaysia would be crazy to consider this.

Lastly, politics. 

Malaysia is a Monarchy and Indonesia is a proud Republic. Once again, Malaysia does not have the incentive to join with Indonesia but would it be ready to drop it’s sultanate? Because Indonesia would definitely not adopt monarchism.

So, despite cultural links there are some major theological, racial and political differences between the two that could not be reconciled. But the largest barrier would be the fact that Malaysia would gain very little and Indonesia’s vast population would swallow Malaysia with little thought.

An Indo-Malay trade union would work very well though. Between the two countries they could very easily create cartels (and thus higher prices) on certain exports which they dominate like Palm Oil.

Comment

I agree that you definitely see a stark contrast between modern urban life to very traditional rural in here. But Dutch colonial influence certainly do affect the things that you consider tradional here. Particularly in Java which was the heart of the colony. The fact that Indonesia's population didnt get overwhelmed by foreign culture probably helps that image. Cities in NEI have large proportion of Chinese and Europeans, with European usually consisting 10% of the major city and Chinese 25–40%. The Europeans are mostly mixed and adopted Indo lifestyle. Natives lived in kampungs at the outskirt of the cities. They also mingle with each other more in comparison to Malaya (mostly due to difference in racial policy and the tendency of British to exclude themself from the inferior Asians and its culture), so the colonial port culture is more complicated in comparison to Malaya's mainly Westernized Chinese (Banana) ports.

Also it helps that the later Dutch dont really categorize their population based on religion and extreme segregation policy, which was only common during the VoC period (and doesnt root too much in the society of colonial Batavia). Because the current Malaysian government have the British to thanks for their bumiputra stuff and religious policy to “protect” the Malays. That became the source of their nationalism, while the Chinese and Indians who include Singapore have taken over their number. And that cant work in Indonesian society which have developed its own ideologies from its own experience. It mostly have to unite the archipelago which mostly have little in common apart from being opressed by the Dutch. While its population are classed in accordance to their background, they were never actually excluded from each other. People of various religion and ethnicities lived next to each other (even in back then riche-noveau European Menteng/Darmo district) and many goes to the same school or hospitals. Dictators such as sukarno and suharto have to be mostly secular, in order to keep sensitive ethnic and religious issues from becoming too big. Jakarta even have Christian governor under Suharto.

Newly freed Chelsea Manning: 'I'm figuring things out'

By: Jim Suhr, The Associated Press, May 17, 2017 (Photo Credit: Army via AP)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pvt. Chelsea Manning, the Army soldier who was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison for giving classified materials to WikiLeaks, said Wednesday that she's excited about what lies ahead, just hours after she walked free after serving seven years behind bars.

"I'm figuring things out right now — which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me," 29-year-old Manning said in an emailed statement hours after being released from a lockup at Kansas' Fort Leavenworth.

News Wrap: Chelsea Manning released from prison 

Manning later took to social networking, posting photos of her lunch — "So, (I'm) already enjoying my first hot, greasy pizza," she declared of the slice of pepperoni — and her feet in tennis shoes, captioning that her "First steps of freedom!!"

Read Here - Chelsea Manning to return to active duty after prison release

Manning's immediate plans, including living arrangements, remained unclear. Manning tweeted after then-President Barack Obama granted her clemency in January that she planned to move to Maryland, where she has an aunt. Manning originally comes from Crescent, Oklahoma.

"After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived," Manning said in Wednesday's statement. "I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past."

Manning, who is transgender and was known as Bradley Manning before she transitioned in prison, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud. She was acquitted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy.

Manning, a former intelligence analyst in Iraq, has acknowledged leaking the materials, which included battlefield video. She said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military's disregard of the effects of war on civilians and that she released information that she didn't believe would harm the U.S.


Army Times
Chelsea Manning to return to active duty after prison release

Critics said the leaks laid bare some of the nation's most-sensitive secrets and endangered information sources, prompting the State Department to help some of those people move to protect their safety. Several ambassadors were recalled, expelled or reassigned because of embarrassing disclosures.

Manning, who was arrested in 2010, filed a transgender rights lawsuit in prison and attempted suicide twice last year, according to her lawyers.

"We can all finally truly celebrate the strength and heroism she has shown in surviving and sharing her truth and life with all of us," Chase Strangio, Manning's attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in Wednesday's statement that included Manning's post-release comments.

"Through extended periods of solitary confinement and up against the government's insistence on denying her medical care and existence as a woman, Chelsea has emerged with grace, resilience, and an inspiring amount of love for others," Strangio added. "I am humbled to fight alongside such a fierce advocate for justice."

Obama's decision to commute Manning's sentence to about seven years, including the time she spent locked up before being convicted, drew strong criticism from members of Congress and others, with Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan calling the move "just outrageous."

In a statement last week — her first public comments since Obama intervened — Manning thanked that former president and said that letters of support from veterans and fellow transgender people inspired her "to work toward making life better for others."

"For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," she said. "I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world. Freedom used to be something that I dreamed of but never allowed myself to fully imagine."

Her attorneys have said Manning was subjected to violence in prison and argued the military mistreated her by requiring her to serve her sentence in an all-male prison, restricting her physical and mental health care and not allowing her to keep a feminine haircut.

The Department of Defense has repeatedly declined to discuss Manning's treatment in prison.

The Army said Tuesday that Manning would remain on active duty in a special, unpaid status that will legally entitle her to military medical care, along with commissary privileges. An Army spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson, said Manning will be on "excess leave" — meaning she is considered to be off-duty — while her court-martial conviction is under appellate review. Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said this means Manning can wear her preferred civilian clothing, including women's attire, while on excess leave.

The Army said Wednesday that Manning remains subject to the military's criminal code until her discharge from the Army, and that her "excess leave" status will be lifted if she's prosecuted for any violations.

Department of Defense and Army policy also restricts political activities by all members of the armed forces, including Manning, until their service time is completed. Army regulations require that any book or other publishable writings by Manning involving military matters, national security issues or subjects of significant concern to the Defense Department Manning must "consult with" a military public affairs office.

Pulse Films announced Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival in France that Manning would be the focus of a documentary titled "XY Chelsea" and that she had granted filmmakers "unprecedented access." It was not immediately clear how that would be affected by the Defense Department and Army restrictions.

The Army said that while Manning is being assigned to Oklahoma's Fort Sill, she doesn't need to report for duty there, meaning she has discretion about where she lives.

Associated Press reporters Robert Burns and Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

US to provide Afghanistan with 159 Black Hawks to help break 'stalemate'

By: Shawn Snow and Mackenzie Wolf, May 17, 2017

As part of Afghanistan’s four-year road map to double its 17,000-strong special forces unit and bolster the Afghan Air Force, the U.S. will provide Afghanistan with 159 refurbished UH-60A Black Hawks to replace its aging fleet of Russian Mi-17 transport helicopters, according to Afghan and U.S. defense officials.  

Ahmad Shah Katawazai, defense liaison and security expert at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C., told Military Times that the addition of Black Hawks to the Afghan fleet is vital for giving the security forces leverage needed to end the stalemate.

“We are in the midst of an insurgency where the enemy is getting tacit support from neighboring countries. Our security forces are under immense pressure as they are fighting each day, on several fronts, with more than 20 terrorist organizations.”

The development comes after Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, testified before the Senate Armed Forces Committee in February that more U.S. troops were needed to help break the "stalemate" against terrorists groups fighting there.

Afghan Air Force
The Afghan Air Force, formerly the Afghan National Army Air Corps, is a branch of the military of Afghanistan that is responsible for air defense and air warfare. Wikipedia
Role: Aerial warfare
Attack: Mi-35, A-29
Founded: August 22, 1924
Attack aircrafts: Mil Mi-24, Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano
Transports: Cessna 208 Caravan, Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Trainers: Cessna 182 Skylane, Cessna 208 Caravan, Aero L-39 Albatros

Military Times

Thousands more troops are needed in Afghanistan, top commander tells Congress
However, the 159 Black Hawks nearly doubles the Afghan Air Force's current fleet of 78 Mi-17s, calling into question whether Afghanistan has the capability to maintain such a large fleet of U.S.-made helicopters.  And not everyone agrees that the UH-60 is a good fit for Afghanistan.

“Given that it takes substantial U.S. support to maintain the airframes that the Afghan Air Force has already, it doesn't seem feasible that they would be able to support that many Black Hawks without a significant contribution from NATO,” Dr. Matthew Archibald, an independent researcher and consultant on South Asian issues, told Military Times.  

Afghanistan has had considerable problems with maintaining its current fleet of aircraft. The 2016 Mi-17 crash that injured top Afghan military officials and killed Afghan Army Commander Gen. Muhayuddin Ghori was determined to be caused by a mechanical failure resulting from lack of maintenance.

Helicopter Crash Lands Carrying Top General - due to rotor failure

According to latest estimates from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction , roughly 18 of Afghanistan’s Russian Mi-17s are unusable, two of the four C-130s are undergoing serious repair and one MD-530 crashed as a result of mechanical failure. Though the report acknowledges that most of the issues with the Mi-17 stem from their overuse, as Afghanistan heavily relies on the lumbering helicopter for troop transport, air assault operations and, at times, for offensive ground air support.

The replacement of the Mi-17 with the UH-60 has the potential to degrade Afghanistan’s total lift capacity and offensive firing capabilities, according to Archibald. “The Black Hawk doesn't bring nearly the amount of close air support capability that the Mi-17 does,” he said. In 2016, the Mi-17 fired its rocket pods over   600 times  in support of ground operations in Afghanistan, a similar rate to its primary ground attack platform the MD-530.

U.S. defense officials push back on that claim. Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said that although 63 Mi-17s were equipped with the ability to fire rockets, not all of them are actually armed and “very few of these aircraft have been outfitted with rockets because their primary role is to perform lift, air assaults and medevac missions rather than aerial fires missions."

Stump also said some of the Black Hawks will be equipped with rocket pods and additional offensive aerial platforms are being added to Afghanistan’s air force, which will make up for any loss in offensive capabilities with the switch. Afghanistan is also set to receive an additional armed 30 MD-530 Cayuse Warrior ground attack helicopters, six more A-29 fixed wing close attack aircraft, and five armed AC-208 fixed wing aircraft, he said.

Afghan Air Force MD-530

Afghan Air Force Newest Weapon Against Terrorists MD-530F Close Air Attack Helicopter

American security detail watches while an Afghan MD-530 Cayuse Warrior takes off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Sept. 27, 2015.
Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Sandra Welch/Air Force

UH-60 Black Hawk Facts

As for a loss in total lift capacity, the Black Hawks are receiving a new engine designed to handle Afghanistan’s punishing terrain “and will be able to perform almost all of the same missions that the current Mi-17 fleet has been conducting in terms of number of people and cargo typically carried,” Stump said.

And then there's the question of timing and whether it will take too long to train pilots and deliver the helicopters in time to make a difference on the ground.  

U.S. defense officials say it will only take 12 weeks to train Afghan pilots on the Black Hawk. For new pilots, training could take nine to 13 months depending on the English proficiency of the student. But according to a recent SIGAR report on Afghanistan, there are 68 Mi-17 pilots and 35 of them are instructor pilots, meaning Afghanistan could have to send almost hundred new pilots through entry-level training, taking up to a year to complete.  

Also, the $814 million procured this year to bolster Afghanistan’s air force only includes funds for 53 of the 159 Black Hawks this year, a defense official told Military Times. Each year, the Defense Department will have to request funding for the other UH-60s. Defense officials expect to deliver 30 helicopters a year. The first delivery is expected in about 21 months.

The nearly two-year time frame before the first UH-60's arrive may not be realistic or beneficial to Afghanistan, according to Franz-Stefan Gaddy, a senior fellow at the East-West Institute. "The Afghan military just does not have the luxury to wait a couple of years for the Black Hawks to arrive...these aircraft will certainly not be available by the time the AAF [Afghan Air Force] needs to retire its Mi-17 fleet next year," he said.

The procurement process to get the first batch of A-29 Super Tucanos took almost half a decade, and the entire fleet is still not operational, Gady explained. "From a tactical and operational perspective, acquiring the Black Hawk would be a bad decision for the Afghan military."

Training is expected to begin almost immediately according to an Afghan defense official. Four UH-60s slated for training purposes are expected to arrive in Afghanistan later this fall, the official told Military Times, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plan is still in initial stages. Officials at the Pentagon would not confirm the time or place of the training because the issues were still “pre-decisional.”

President Donald Trump is headed to the NATO summit in Brussels this week where the war in Afghanistan will be high on the agenda. Nicholson submitted his recommendation in April calling for an additional 3,000 to 5,000 more U.S. troops to assist with the "train and advise" mission called Operation Resolute Support. NATO allies are also considering a a troop increase in the war-torn country.

Shawn Snow is a Military Times staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief. On Twitter:@SnowSox184. Mackenzie Wolf is a Military Times editorial intern. On Twitter: @Coffeeshopjihad.

Exclusive - Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians - sources

By Ned Parker, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters.

FILE PHOTO: - U.S. President Donald Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and then National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia"s President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. on January 28, 2017.

The previously undisclosed interactions form part of the record now being reviewed by FBI and congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Six of the previously undisclosed contacts described to Reuters were phone calls between Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and Trump advisers, including Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, three current and former officials said.

Conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated after the Nov. 8 vote as the two discussed establishing a back channel for communication between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy, which both sides considered hostile to improved relations, four current U.S. officials said.

In January, the Trump White House initially denied any contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. The White House and advisers to the campaign have since confirmed four meetings between Kislyak and Trump advisers during that time.

The people who described the contacts to Reuters said they had seen no evidence of wrongdoing or collusion between the campaign and Russia in the communications reviewed so far. But the disclosure could increase the pressure on Trump and his aides to provide the FBI and Congress with a full account of interactions with Russian officials and others with links to the Kremlin during and immediately after the 2016 election.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Flynn's lawyer declined to comment. In Moscow, a Russian foreign ministry official declined to comment on the contacts and referred Reuters to the Trump administration.

Separately, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington said: “We do not comment on our daily contacts with the local interlocutors.”

The 18 calls and electronic messages took place between April and November 2016 as hackers engaged in what U.S. intelligence concluded in January was part of a Kremlin campaign to discredit the vote and influence the outcome of the election in favour of Trump over his Democratic challenger, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Those discussions focused on mending U.S.-Russian economic relations strained by sanctions imposed on Moscow, cooperating in fighting Islamic State in Syria and containing a more assertive China, the sources said.

Members of the Senate and House intelligence committees have gone to the CIA and the National Security Agency to review transcripts and other documents related to contacts between Trump campaign advisers and associates and Russian officials and others with links to Putin, people with knowledge of those investigations told Reuters.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it had appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential campaign and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Mueller will now take charge of the FBI investigation that began last July. Trump and his aides have repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia.

'IT'S RARE'

In addition to the six phone calls involving Kislyak, the communications described to Reuters involved another 12 calls, emails or text messages between Russian officials or people considered to be close to Putin and Trump campaign advisers.

One of those contacts was by Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch and politician, according to one person with detailed knowledge of the exchange and two others familiar with the issue.

It was not clear with whom Medvedchuk was in contact within the Trump campaign but the themes included U.S.-Russia cooperation, the sources said. Putin is godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter.

Medvedchuk denied having any contact with anyone in the Trump campaign.

"I am not acquainted with any of Donald Trump's close associates, therefore no such conversation could have taken place," he said in an email to Reuters.

In the conversations during the campaign, Russian officials emphasized a pragmatic, business-style approach and stressed to Trump associates that they could make deals by focusing on common economic and other interests and leaving contentious issues aside, the sources said.

Veterans of previous election campaigns said some contact with foreign officials during a campaign was not unusual, but the number of interactions between Trump aides and Russian officials and others with links to Putin was exceptional.

“It’s rare to have that many phone calls to foreign officials, especially to a country we consider an adversary or a hostile power,” Richard Armitage, a Republican and former deputy secretary of state, told Reuters.

FLYNN FIRED

Beyond Medvedchuk and Kislyak, the identities of the other Putin-linked participants in the contacts remain classified and the names of Trump advisers other than Flynn have been “masked” in intelligence reports on the contacts because of legal protections on their privacy as American citizens. However, officials can request that they be revealed for intelligence purposes.

U.S. and allied intelligence and law enforcement agencies routinely monitor communications and movements of Russian officials.

After Vice President Mike Pence and others had denied in January that Trump campaign representatives had any contact with Russian officials, the White House later confirmed that Kislyak had met twice with then-Senator Jeff Sessions, who later became attorney general.

Kislyak also attended an event in April where Trump said he would seek better relations with Russia. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also attended that event in Washington. In addition, Kislyak met with two other Trump campaign advisers in July on the sidelines of the Republican convention.

Trump fired Flynn in February after it became clear that he had falsely characterized the nature of phone conversations with Kislyak in late December - after the Nov. 8 election and just after the Obama administration announced new sanctions on Russia. Flynn offered to testify to Congress in return for immunity from prosecution but his offer was turned down by the House intelligence committee.

(Additional reporting by John Walcott in Washington, Natalia Zinets and Alessandra Prentice in Kiev and Christian Lowe in Moscow; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ross Colvin)

© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved

Stop Blaming the NSA for the Ransomware Attack

This April 12, 2016 file photo shows the Microsoft logo in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, France. The cyberextortion attack hitting dozens of countries was a “perfect storm” of sorts.

BY PATRICK TUCKER

An inside look at how the intelligence community deals with the exploitable software bugs it finds.

Friday’s global ransomware attack has reignited the debate about how the U.S. intelligence community conceals or reveals knowledge about critical software bugs. As confirmed by a former NSA official, WannaCry exploited a vulnerability stockpiled by the agency and exposed in last year’s Shadow Brokers dump. But how much blame should the NSA bear for WannaCry’s rampage across 200,000-plus computers in 130 countries?

On the one hand, the intelligence community really does keep a trove of zero-day bugs. Spies need them to intercept communications — and much more, according to Michael Daniel, an Obama-era White House cybersecurity coordinator.

“Disclosing a vulnerability can mean that the U.S. forgoes an opportunity to collect crucial intelligence that could thwart a terrorist attack, stop the theft of our nation’s intellectual property, or even discover more dangerous vulnerabilities that are being used by hackers or other adversaries to exploit our networks. So automatic disclosure is not always the right policy choice,” said Daniel in an email to Defense One.

Yet the notion that the NSA simply hoards every bug it discovers is false. Since July 2011, Daniels said, representatives from various agencies and departments have periodically assembled to discuss newly discovered bugs and vulnerabilities. They vote on each one: reveal or conceal?

When the vote is to conceal, the decision will be revisited in three months to a year, depending on the bug’s attributes and, Daniels said, a wide range of surrounding factors. How dangerous could it be if a criminal gang or adversary began using it? Would the intelligence community be able to detect its use? How badly do spies need the intelligence that the bug might yield? Can they get it another way? Could they use the bug for a short period of time and then disclose it? Can it be patched?

Former NSA officials have praised the process.

“You’ve heard my deputy director say that in excess of 80-something percent of the vulnerabilities are actually disclosed — responsibly disclosed — to the vendors so that they can then actually patch and remediate for that,” Curtis Dukes, the NSA’s former deputy national manager for national security systems, said at an American Enterprise Institute event in October. “So I do believe it’s a thoughtful process that we have here in the U.S.”

Dukes said that the impetus to conceal an exploit vanishes when it is used by a criminal gang, adversarial nation, or some other malefactor.

“We may choose to restrict a vulnerability for offensive purposes,” like breaking into an adversary’s network, he said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not also constantly looking for signs whether or not another nation-state or criminal network has actually found that same vulnerability and now are using it. As soon as we see any indications of that, then that decision immediately flips, and we move to disseminate and remediate.”

The NSA has made no comment on the bug that enabled WannaCry. But Microsoft issued a patch on March 14, even before the Shadow Brokers dump, which suggests either that the IC disclosed the bug or at least did not succeed in keeping it a secret.

The problem is that many institutions didn’t install the patch, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote on Sunday in a blog post: “While [the patch] protected newer Windows systems and computers that had enabled Windows Update to apply this latest update, many computers remained unpatched globally. As a result, hospitals, businesses, governments, and computers at homes were affected.”

What conclusion can we draw from the WannaCry episode? For one, the NSA process for disclosing zero-days is not broken. But the decision to disclose a vulnerability is only as good as the intelligence about what different gangs or adversaries are up to. And the situation may improve, with more intelligence, better reporting from the field, and better reporting from vendors to the public.

Daniels offered a few more ways to improve the system: “In the future, I think we need to arrive at some metrics for measuring how severe and exploitable a particular vulnerability is. For example, some zero-days may require you to have physical access to a system to exploit it. That’s obviously a very different threat than one that can be exploited remotely. I think we need to have a more standardized way to assess zero-day vulnerability severity.”

Patrick Tucker is technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? (Current, 2014). Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years

Cannot live on air only , need money to eat also

ONCE & FOR ALL, AZMIN MUST CUT OUT THE PUS THAT PAS HAS BECOME: PAS TELLS ALL 13 REPS TO QUIT STATE GOVT IF AZMIN SACKS EXCOS – REPORT

The Selangor PAS leadership decided that all its 13 assemblymen would quit the state government if the Mentri Besar caves in to pressure from his Pakatan Harapan partners to isolate PAS. The threat, if carried out, will rock the Selangor government because it will leave the Pakatan side on the edge with only 29 assemblymen in the 56-seat state assembly. Pakatan will be only one seat away from crumbling with 14 assemblymen from DAP, 13 from PKR and two from Amanah.


The PAS decision was made at a late night meeting on Tuesday chaired by the newly appointed Selangor party chief and Sabak assemblyman Sallehen Mukhyi. Sallehen has been tasked with conveying the decision to the party’s central committee that is scheduled to meet today. The Tuesday meeting was attended by all Selangor PAS division leaders who were updated by Sallehen about the political crisis that has engulfed the state government following the Syura Council’s decision to terminate ties with PKR. Sallehen also briefed them about his meeting with Azmin during which the Mentri Besar asked the three PAS state exco members to resign. The three are Datuk Iskandar Samad, Datuk Ahmad Yunus Hairi and Zaidy Abdul Talib.


A PAS insider said the meeting did not discuss what the party would do if it exits the state government. “There are many options but it is up to the people to interpret,” said the insider. If the PAS threat materialises, the new state Opposition will comprise 13 from PAS, 11 from Umno and two Independents. There is speculation that former Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is positioning himself to make a return and he is said to be eyeing some crossovers from the other side to make up the numbers. Ironically, the PKR political bureau was also meeting on the other side of town at the same time on Tuesday.


That meeting, chaired by its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, decided to order all its political appointees in Kelantan to step down with immediate effect. On calls for PAS to be axed from the Selangor government, she said it would be decided together with Azmin who is on a working trip to Brussels. The pressure on Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president, to act against PAS is growing with several DAP leaders urging him to drop PAS from his administration. There is also pressure from within PKR which is convening its national congress this weekend. The PAS Syura Council statement criticising PKR for not supporting the PAS Islamic agenda has also riled PKR members.

According to Kelantan deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, PKR has about 100 political appointees holding posts as municipal councillors, constituency coordinators, penghulu and GLC board members. Guchil assemblyman Mohd Roslan Puteh is the lone PKR elected representative in Kelantan. Mohd Amar said the Kelantan government would not force the PKR appointees to resign and that it was up to them to decide.

The PKR move is seen as forcing the hand of PAS in Selangor. However, PAS has refused to budge from the Selangor government on the grounds that it is there based on the mandate won in the 2013 general election. This the second time that Selangor is battling a political crisis from within. The state government was shaken to the core two years ago when DAP and PKR ganged up to oust Khalid as Mentri Besar. His exit almost resulted in a constitutional crisis as the DAP-led camp in Pakatan and the palace engaged in a tug-of-war over who should be the next mentri besar. – ANN