Council of Worlds at WAR re Announcement Delays

[Nancy Lieder]

Note the location of “Planet 9” and the inbound path for Nibiru provided by the Zetas in 1997. Nibiru arrived, right on schedule in 2003, and right where predicted a full 7 years earlier. Where the Zetas provided the location of the gravity draw represented by the Sun’s dark unlit binary and the inbound Nibiru in 1983, when the IRAS team lofted its infra-red balloon in search of the inbound Nibiru, this location was not provided to the public. All articles in print at that time only referring to the location as the “western edge of the constellation Orion”, quite vague, and the “western edge” is vast. Yet the Zetas pinpointed the location as being just outside the lower bow of Orion. Such is the accuracy of ZetaTalk. How would the public eventually become “aware of the history and accuracy of ZetaTalk predictions” as predicted by the Zetas on April 16, 2016? ? It would seem this is already in process.

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SOZT March 19, 2016

So what happened to the announcement? Obama lacked the courage. As a result of this colossal failure,  having to disband the Jade Helm structure, the US military reacted. Obama is no longer running the country. Chief of Staff General Dunford is. Ben Fulford has for months been referring to Obama as the US “spokesperson”. Is this true, and how does this work? In that the Middle East, under the direction and press from Israel, Turkey, the Jewish bankers of the Federal Reserve, and the Saudis were supporting ISIS and this threatened to create a force that would not only invade Europe but also create an endless terrorism threat to the US, the military did indeed effect a silent coup. Russia needed to enter the fray, and Dunford, but not Obama, agreed. This will never be admitted, publicly, nor do the parties want this.
EOZT

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SOZT October 1, 2015
The three major social media outlets in use around the globe all had significant, and simultaneous outages between September 20-24, 2015. Skype had complaints from the UK, Australia, and Japan. Twitter received reports from the US, Australia, and Singapore. FaceBook had the loudest howls, primarily from the US and Europe. Notably these downtimes, some lasting for hours or even days, got no attention in the major media, and there was no real explanation for the outages.  Every Skype user has an account and a password, as do their contacts. Every Skype user can broadcast messages to their contacts, even if these contacts are not presently online. Every twitter use likewise has an account and a password, and by sending a tweet passes information along to subscribers, who can retweet the info in the future. FaceBook users likewise have an account and a password, with many friends who pick up info from each other and pass it along on their FaceBook accounts.  In all of this, the networks themselves are AWARE of the accounts and passwords, and could do a broadcast to all in the event of an announcement. Check your user agreements. This is legal!
EOZT

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SOZT April 25, 2015
When we announced that the Council of Worlds would be going to war with the elite over their blockage of the announcement, the tools available to the Council were not immediately apparent. Early in the campaign the Sony hack showed one such mechanism, whereby an anonymous hacker revealed embarrassing information about Sony executives. Similarly exposing pedophile activities by Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton and blatant lies by self-promoting media talking heads such as Brian Williams and Bill O’Reilly required nothing more than encouraging contactees to step forward.  In many, many cases a financial loss sufficient to trigger a clash among the elite is a result of an electronic delay during trades. 
EOZT

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SOZT July 4, 2015
What is the message here? As with other failed launches, this most recent failure is a definitive message from the Council of Worlds. Space X has had success in resupplying the ISS, though has flounded on landing on a floating ocean platform.  Resupply of the ISS is OK, reuse of their launch equipment so as to help the elite escape, not OK. The message now is that the elite should not expect to get into space at all. No escape. The message here is to take all hope away from such plans among the elite. They are to remain on Earth with the common man. We expect the battle to shift from attempts to block the announcement, or deny its meaning, to attempts to enslave the common man in some way. That is another fight, on another day.
EOZT

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SOZT November 1, 2014
The elite – the wealthy and politically powerful in the world – have continued in their attempts to thwart the announcement by Obama and his partners admitting that Nibiru, aka Planet X exists. We have long stated that the announcement date was set by Obama and Xi at their June 7-8, 2013 meeting in Santa Monica. The flustered slip given by the French Foreign Minister on May 13, 2014 re “500 days
http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/17ma2014.htm
until climate chaos” was in reference to this, as the date set was to be 500 days from the 2013 meeting, ie October 20, 2014.
EOZT

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SOZT November 8, 2014
Relying solely on Russia or China to proceed would get the truth out BUT since the block had always been on the US end, via Reagan’s national security directive, without a confirmation from Obama this is awkward and subject to being countered. If true, where is the confirmation from Obama? It would be packaged as some odd communist attack against Obama going into the elections, to make him seem weak, almost comical. So where is this going now? For us to comment would be to empower the enemy, which of course we will not do. Your curiosity is not as important as having the announcement succeed.
EOZT

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SOZT December 10, 2014
We have stated that the public will see only the flash and parry of swords from a distance during the Council of Worlds war with the cover-up crowd. Meanwhile, periodic tests of the Emergency Broadcast System in the US are done, to see if the channels are open. As of this writing, they are not yet open. The war is still on, full press. Meanwhile, during the flash and parry of swords, one can see resistance, pleading, panic, and capitulation.
EOZT

[Stanislav]

Donald Trump claims Ted Cruz 'stole' Iowa caucuses and calls for new election

The businessman, who came in second in Iowa, tweets that Cruz committed fraud by telling voters that Ben Carson was quitting the race

Donald Trump has claimed Ted Cruz committed “fraud” in his successful campaign to win the Republican Iowa caucuses on Monday, and has called for a new election.

The businessman, who came in second in Iowa, tweeted:

Earlier, Trump accused Cruz of “stealing” the election in the key state, the first to vote in this stage of the 2016 presidential election.

He accused the Cruz campaign of telling Iowa voters that fellow candidate Ben Carson was quitting the race so he could steal Carson’s votes.

“During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz,” Trump wrote. “Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a VOTER VIOLATION certificate to thousands of voters.

“The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter (grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz. Fraud.”

He added that “Cruz strongly told thousands of caucusgoers (voters) that Trump was strongly in favor of Obamacare and ‘choice’ – a total lie!”

Cruz had issued an apology of sorts to the Carson campaign for spreading the rumor on election night that Carson was dropping out of the race, which Cruz characterized as an honest “mistake”:

“Last night when our political team saw the CNN post saying that Dr Carson was not carrying on to New Hampshire and South Carolina, our campaign updated grassroots leaders just as we would with any breaking news story,” Cruz said in a statement on Tuesday.

“That’s fair game. What the team then should have done was send around the follow-up statement from the Carson campaign clarifying that he was indeed staying in the race when that came out.”

In addition, the Texas senator and his presidential campaign were formally denounced by top state officials for sending mailers to Iowa voters accusing them of a “voting violation” – in an apparent effort to scare voters to the polls.

The mailers included a voting score and included the phrase “official public record”. They referred to the recipients by name, and also their neighbors, as part of a broader attempt to shame them for not having participated in prior elections.

Some campaign observers criticized Trump for decrying what was simply politics as usual. Stuart Stevens, a former strategist for 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney, wrote:

To beat John McCain in South Carolina in 2000, the George W Bush campaign used a Bible professor to spread a rumor that “McCain chose to sire children without marriage”. Lee Atwater helped George HW Bush beat Michael Dukakis in 1988 by cutting a racist commercial tying Dukakis to a rape and stabbing by convicted murderer Willie Horton while on furlough. theguardian.com

Bernie Sanders wants raw vote count released after tight finish in Iowa caucuses
Dramatic clash with Hillary Clinton for Democratic presidential nomination is sign public want change, says leftwing senator

‘I know there are some precincts that have still not reported. I can only hope the count will be honest,’ said Bernie Sanders. Photograph: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Bernie Sanders has called on the Democratic party to release a raw vote count in Iowa after a nail-biting finish left lingering doubts over the first, much tighter-than-expected, clash with Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination.

Speaking to reporters on a chartered plane flying from Des Moines to their next showdown in New Hampshire, the leftwing senator said his performance in the Iowa caucus was a signal that the American people were hungry for more radical change than that offered by establishment candidates.

“Tonight is a wonderful start to the national campaign,” Sanders said in a packed gangway on the late-night flight heading east to beat an incoming snowstorm. “Tonight shows the American people that this is a campaign that can win.”

He threw little light on an unfolding controversy over certain Iowa precincts that did not have enough Democratic party volunteers to report delegate totals for each candidate but did call on officials to take the unusual step of revealing underlying voter totals. Delegates are awarded in the Iowa Democratic contest on a precinct-by-precinct basis, irrespective of the state-wide vote for each candidate.

“I honestly don’t know what happened. I know there are some precincts that have still not reported. I can only hope and expect that the count will be honest,” he said. “I have no idea. Did we win the popular vote? I don’t know, but as much information as possible should be made available.”

Sanders’ campaign director, Jeff Weaver, told reporters he did not “anticipate we are going to contest” specific results but hoped there would be an investigation into what happened.

He also claimed the tight result, in a state where Sanders had once trailed by Clinton in polling by 50 percentage points, was a sign of a dramatic surge of popularity for his agenda to reduce income inequality and “seize back democracy from the billionaire class”.

“People said we had an inferior ground game, that we didn’t have as good an understanding of the state,” said Weaver. “I think we certainly demonstrated that we had at least as good a ground game and I would argue that we had a better one because we started out [as underdogs].”

Dozens of young staffers were in a jubilant mood on the two-hour flight, cheering as Sanders boarded the plane in a party atmosphere that belied the ongoing uncertainty over the exact result.

The candidate’s wife, Jane Sanders, described to reporters the “rollercoaster” of watching results pour in for him while waiting in their hotel room.

“We are in this for the long haul,” said the senator. “We are going to win states all over the country. We have confronted one of the very difficult issues that we face. What has always bothered me is people who say, ‘I like you, Bernie. I want to vote for you, but I just don’t think you can win.’ Today we took a giant step to overcome that kind of doubt in many voters.”

Sanders also claimed that the momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire – where he enjoys a 20-point poll lead – was vindication of his campaign’s core message.

Sanders said: “The message we have brought forth – that there is something profoundly wrong with our great country where so many people are working longer hours for low wages while almost all the new income and wealth is going to the top 1% – resonated not only in Iowa, but is going to resonate in New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and all across this country.

Upsets, ties and dropouts: the Iowa caucuses in two minutes - video report
“I want to thank the people of Iowa for giving us this opportunity to have a kickstart as we begin the campaign to take us to states throughout the country,” he added. “When we began this, it is fair to say we were considered to be a fringe campaign. I would hope that most people no longer believe that.”

With half of the results in across the rural midwest state, Clinton appeared to be easing to victory, three points up on the Vermont senator, whose relatively ramshackle campaign seemed to be no match for her mighty political machine.

But as the night wore on, Clinton’s lead shrank to two and then one point, until she was locked in a virtual tie with the 74-year-old. Appearing on-stage in Des Moines before the final tally arrived, Clinton hailed “a contest of ideas” and appeared battle-ready for the fight of her political life.

She congratulated her opponent, saying: “I am excited about really getting into the debate with Sen Sanders about the best way forward to fight for us in America.” Source: theguardian.com

Donald Trump's plane makes emergency landing
Private 757 reports engine trouble before landing safely in Nashville en route to Little Rock, Arkansas

Donald Trump's plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday because of engine trouble.
The Boeing 757 was on its way from Mr Trump's home base of New York to Little Rock, Arkansas, where the property mogul and Republican presidential candidate was due to address a rally.
The private jet landed safely at 4:40 pm after reporting engine problems, according to the Federal Aviation Authority, which said it would investigate the incident.
Mr Trump travelled the rest of the way in a charter aircraft, a campaign spokeswoman said.

Mr Trump eventually arrived an hour and a half late in Little Rock where was addressed more than 11,500 people.
He said it was "rough" getting there but insisted there was "no way" he would return to New York instead of continuing on to Little Rock.
"I love Arkansas," he said.
The technical trouble came two days after Mr Trump stumbled under his first test, losing to Ted Cruz in the Iowa caucuses.
On Wednesday he accused the Texas senator of stealing the win. Source: telegraph.co.uk

[Scott]

Sumner Redstone resigns as CBS executive chairman (2/3/16)

Sumner Redstone has resigned as executive chairman of CBS Corp (CBS.N), the television and radio company said on Wednesday, amid heightened questions about the 92-year-old billionaire's physical and mental health.

Shares of CBS were up 4.6 percent in after-hours market trading, while those of Viacom Inc (VIAB.O), where Redstone is also chairman, rose 7.9 percent.

Viacom's board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, a company spokesman said, and may follow suit in replacing Redstone as chairman, CNBC reported.

CBS said Redstone would be replaced by Leslie Moonves, its president and chief executive since 2006.

...Redstone controls about 80 percent of the voting shares in Viacom and CBS through a holding company.

CBS said that, before electing Moonves, its board offered the position of non-executive chair to Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone, but that she had declined.

Shari Redstone confirmed she declined the offer and congratulated Moonves on his new role.

"It is my firm belief that whoever may succeed my father as Chair at each company should be someone who is not a Trustee of my father’s trust or otherwise intertwined in Redstone family matters, but rather a leader with an independent voice," she said in an emailed statement. "I was honored to nominate Les as the CBS Chair and am delighted to congratulate him on his new position."

...Redstone's resignation as executive chairman was effective Feb. 2, CBS said. He will remain as chairman emeritus.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cbs-corp-moves-chairman-idUSKCN0V...

Oct. 1, 2012 file photo, Sumner Redstone, left, and Leslie Moonves

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/11aee0f1e2af427ca2a36590a0cfbe90/sum...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://gazette.com/defense-department-researchers-push-plan-aimed-a...

Defense Department researchers push plan aimed at avoiding worldwide GPS meltdown

January 31, 2016 Updated: January 31, 2016 at 2:40 pm

The Defense Department's top researchers want ground-based miniature atomic clocks to avert a global catastrophe if the orbiting timepieces that make up the Colorado Springs-based Global Positioning System stop ticking.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced a crash program to invent miniature advanced atomic clocks that reflects growing worries about the vulnerability of Air Force Space Command's GPS satellites.

"Among their myriad potential advantages, better clocks could reduce one of the more worrisome modern-day national security vulnerabilities: a deep and growing dependence on the Global Positioning System," DARPA said in a news release.

Military and civilian uses of GPS have expanded greatly since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when the classified system was revealed to the world. The space-based timing signals broadcast by the 32 satellites operated by airmen at Schriever Air Force Base are used to control the globe's financial transactions, telephone networks and the Internet in the civilian world. For the military, GPS puts bombs on target, keeps troops from getting lost and controls the growing fleet of combat drones.

In Colorado Springs, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Wes Clark oversaw development of the program in the 1970s. The use of GPS in everyday life makes it an attractive target for those who want to attack America, he said.

"Can you imagine our society today without GPS?" Clark asked. "It would pretty much be a global catastrophe."

Over the past year, the military has shown increasing concern about the wartime vulnerability of satellites, especially GPS. In November, Space Command boss Gen. John Hyten outlined plans to deal with attacks on satellite capabilities during an interview with The Gazette.

"I never want conflict to extend into space," Hyten said. "But we have to be able to defend ourselves."

The Army last month ran training exercises at Fort Carson that simulated how attacks on satellites would impact troops on the ground. The Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center at Schriever is running a series of war games to show how attacks would impact military and intelligence-gathering spacecraft.

"Within 30 seconds of a GPS shutdown, a GPS receiver would only be able to specify that it was somewhere within an area the size of Washington, D.C.," DARPA said on its website. "An hour of GPS shutdown would expand the area of uncertainty to more than the size of Montana."

A partial defense against the loss of GPS would be small, highly accurate clocks that could keep time and allow navigation computers to keep running. The clocks envisioned by DARPA, accurate to within trillionths of a second, also would fill in for GPS signals that time telephone networks, banking systems and computer transactions.

The clocks would have to be small enough to fit on military craft and be used on the battlefield. But small and atomic clock are words not normally used together.

Schriever is home to three "rubidium fountain" clocks that are accurate within a few trillionths of a second. They are used to set the time for smaller atomic clocks on the Air Force's GPS satellites.

"Those are some of the best-performing clocks in the world, but they fill a room," said Robert Lutwak, who is leading DARPA's atomic clock program. DARPA wants a clock the size of a cellphone that runs on a small battery.

Atomic clocks work by measuring the oscillations of atoms. Those oscillations can be changed by factors including gravity and temperature. That means they don't work outside a laboratory-like environment or in the controlled world of space.

"We like to think atoms are all perfect," said Lutwak, who holds a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is credited with creating the world's best "chip-scale" atomic clock, a breakthrough that still lacks the accuracy needed for GPS failure.

DARPA says its $50 million clock program will have to overcome huge hurdles.

"Success will require record-breaking advances that counter accuracy-eroding processes in current atomic clocks, among them variations in atomic frequencies that result from temperature fluctuations and subtle frequency differences that can occur if the power shuts down and then starts up again," DARPA said.

[Scott]

Banks reach $154.3 million settlement on "dark pool" fraud (1/31/16)

Two major global banks, Barclays and Credit Suisse, are paying a combined $154.3 million to settle government investigations that they misled clients about being able to safely trade on their "dark pool" financial exchanges, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General's office said Sunday.

The banks left their customers on these private exchanges vulnerable to "predatory, high-frequency traders" that could intercept and profit off their financial transactions, despite assurances by Barclays and Credit Suisse to the contrary, according to a statement the New York Attorney General.

"These cases mark the first major victory in the fight to combat fraud in dark pool trading," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the statement. "We will continue to take the fight to those who aim to rig the system and those who look the other way."

...Dark pools are private exchanges for trading stocks and bonds. Unlike traditional markets with public prices, trades on dark pools are generally confidential, a benefit for companies engaging in large transactions.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f6279c3eaa8f454da18207f9c8601a0a/ban...

Barclays, Credit Suisse to strike record deals with SEC, NY over dark pools (1/31/16)

...The lawsuit came after the furor over Michael Lewis's book "Flash Boys," which charged the stock market was rigged in favor of high-frequency traders.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-new-york-darkpools-idUSKCN0V90UE

[Scott]

HSBC Online Banking Services Shut Down Following DDoS Attacks (1/29/16)

HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, was targeted by distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), causing its personal banking website and mobile services in the UK to shut down.

According to reports, the attacks began Friday morning, which prevented customers from accessing online banking services for several hours.

On HSBC’s UK Help Twitter account, the bank said it had “successfully defended” its systems, and was working with law enforcement authorities to “pursue the criminals responsible” for the attacks.

However, nearly six hours after first announcing the disruptions, the bank said its online and mobile banking services were still recovering...

An HSBC spokesman told BBC News that customer transactions were not affected during the incident.

The attack couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the final Friday of the month is payday for many workers. More importantly, though, Sunday marks the last day before the annual Jan. 31 tax payment deadline in the UK.

Late payments are subject to a three percent interest charge from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Experts state the date and time of when these attacks were carried out are significant.

“We believe that an actor of unknown motivation chose this time to conduct a DoS attack against HSBC because a DoS attack performed at a time of peak traffic levels would need potentially much less strength to cause a disruption than if it were conducted at a time of lower traffic volume,” said security firm iSight Partners.

The cyber attack comes less than a month after the bank suffered a systems failure, which left customers without access to its online banking site and mobile app for nearly two days.

HSBC urged customers to visit their local branch for urgent transactions during this time.

http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/latest-security-news/hsbc...

[Scott]

Goldman Sachs executive takes ‘personal leave’ amid Malaysian fund corruption probes (1/30/16)

Tim Leissner, chairman of Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia’s operations, has taken a “personal leave” amidst corruption scandals associated with Malaysia’s state-owned 1MDB fund, with which Goldman worked closely.

President of Goldman’s Singapore operations since 2006 and chairman of its Southeast Asia operations since 2014, Leissner oversaw the bank’s operations in Malaysia, where it became the top international bank with a 20.3 percent market share since 2010.

Leissner was seen as a “key player” in cultivating the bank’s very profitable relationships with Kuala’ Lumpur’s banking and government elite, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Financial Times reports.

Goldman worked on Malaysian mergers and acquisitions worth a total of $18.8 billion over the last five years, but it is the bank’s involvement with the state-owned investment and development company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), that has attracted scrutiny.

A number of investigations into 1MDB’s activities are being carried out in various countries, prompted by claims of corruption involving Razak, who chairs 1MDB.

Switzerland’s chief prosecutor, Attorney General Michael Lauber, said in a statement on Friday that he has asked for Malaysia’s help in investigating possible violations of Swiss law by 1MDB, Reuters reported. The suspected misappropriations reportedly amount to $4 billion and concern “bribery of foreign officials, misconduct in public office, money laundering and criminal mismanagement.”

It was discovered this week that Leissner has moved from Singapore to his Los Angeles home, calling it a “personal leave,” Bloomberg reports.

Goldman orchestrated the $6.5 billion sale of three 1MDB bonds in 2012 and 2013, from which the bank earned $593 million in fees and expenses. The deal has raised questions, as such fees in Malaysia are usually much lower.

It has since emerged that Razak received a $681 million “donation” to his personal bank account, which his opponents say is linked to the deal.

The results of an investigation into the matter by Malaysian Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was appointed by Razak in 2015, were published this week, but found no wrongdoing.

The probe found that the money had come from a Saudi Arabian royal family and that $620 million was returned within the following five months. There was no indication in the report as to what happened to the unaccounted for $61 million.

State agencies in Hong Kong and the United States are also investigating other deals involving 1MDB.

https://www.rt.com/business/330665-goldman-leissner-malaysia-corrup...

[Scott]

US Justice Dept hits 80 Swiss banks with penalties (1/29/16)

Eighty Swiss banks have agreed to pay the US fines totaling $1.36 billion in order to avoid court prosecution, according to the US Justice Department.

After the investigation has been completed all the banks are required to cooperate in related criminal or civil proceedings, said the department.

The US Justice Department began its Swiss Bank Program in 2013. It provided a way for Swiss banks to admit tax-related criminal offenses in connection with the US.

Under the program, the banks were obliged to disclose cross-border activities and provide detailed information on accounts in which US taxpayers have interests. The financial institutions under investigation also had to close accounts of US tax evaders.

The banks have managed to avoid a trial, with those already facing criminal charges excluded from the program.

The US started its tax avoidance push in 2009 after UBS Group confirmed it held accounts of Americans evading tax. The US government managed to recover $13 billion in unreported wealth.

https://www.rt.com/business/330584-us-fines-swiss-banks/

[SongStar101]

Japan's economy minister resigns over bribery allegations

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/28/japans-economy-ministe...

Japan’s economy minister, Akira Amari, is to resign over allegations that he took bribes, dealing a blow to the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and his attempts to revive the country’s faltering economy.

Amari, a central figure in Abe’s economic programme, known was Abenomics, acknowledged receiving money from an unnamed construction company executive. But he denied taking bribes, claiming he had instructed his aides to record the envelopes of cash as a political donation.

Amari, 66, said he was resigning to prevent the allegations from distracting attention from the Abe administration’s attempts to pull Japan out of chronic deflation.

“Japan is finally emerging from deflation ... we need to pass legislation through parliament for steps to beat deflation and create a strong economy as soon as possible,” Amari told a packed news conference.

Wiping away tears as he announced his decision to quit, he added: “Anything that hampers this must be eliminated, and I’m no exception. I, therefore, would like to resign as minister to take responsibility” for what he claimed his aides had done.

Doubts over Amari’s future grew after Shukan Bunshun, a weekly magazine, alleged that he and his aides had accepted at least 12 million yen (£70,500, or $100,800USD) in cash from the construction company executive.

In return, the magazine claimed, Amari’s office helped the firm receive government compensation arising from disputes over land ownership and waste removal at a building site.

Amari said the construction firm executive had visited him at the cabinet office with “gifts”, but denied that he had pocketed any cash, and had instead instructed his aide to record them as political donations.

The magazine later alleged Amari had twice pocketed envelopes containing 500,000 yen (£2,930) in cash, a claim he denied. “Putting money in my suit pocket in front of a visitor ... would be lacking dignity as a human being,” he said.

About three million yen (£105,000) of the cash had been spent by a secretary for “private use”. Two of his aides have since resigned, Amari said, adding that as their supervisor he felt obliged to take responsibility for their actions.

His resignation is expected to frustrate Abe’s attempts to steer the world’s third biggest economy out of deflation, amid signs that its recovery is petering out.

Last November, Japan entered its fourth technical recession in five years. Exporters are concerned about a strong yen, and Tokyo stocks have been battered by uncertainty over the Chinese economy.

Amari was a key architect of Abe’s economic policy and last year led Japan in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.

Abe is understood to have urged his ally to stay in his post; hours before his press conference, Amari himself told parliament he would “do my utmost” to continue as economy minister.

“I will explain this situation to the Japanese people in a way that leaves no doubt,” he said. “I will continue to give my all to fulfil the responsibilities that I currently have.”

It wasn’t clear why Amari then decided to resign, but some observers have pointed to the possibility that other damaging revelations have yet to be published.

[SongStar101]

Motion filed to block State from delaying release of Clinton emails

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/266904-state-dept-meets...

The journalist who forced the State Department to release thousands of Hillary Clinton’s emails is opposing the government’s efforts to delay the final release by one month, warning the extension would cause "irrevocable harm."

On Monday, lawyers for Vice News reporter Jason Leopold filed a motion seeking to block the department from extending the amount of time that it has to release emails from the former secretary of State's personal server. 

The Obama administration “has failed to show good cause for the requested extension, that it is necessary or that the interests of justice will be served by granting it,” Leopold’s lawyers wrote in the 13-page filing.

The government’s excuse for not being able to release the final batch of emails this month “is woefully vague,” the lawyers said.

The State Department on Friday requested that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia delay by one month the deadline for it to release the last batch of Clinton’s work-related emails. The department claimed that an internal oversight caused it to overlook 7,200 pages of emails, and that the massive snowstorm hitting the East Coast would make it hard for employees to finish the review in time. 

The department insisted it would release some emails by the original deadline of Jan. 29, but asked to have until Feb. 29 to release the final batch of 55,000 pages of emails. That new schedule would delay the final release until after the first four presidential nominating contests. Clinton is currently the front-runner for the Democratic nominating contest.

Republicans lambasted the request on Friday. Critics called it a blatant ploy for the Obama administration to help Clinton ahead of the primary votes. 

In the filing on Monday, Leopold’s lawyers, Ryan James and Jeffrey Light, wondered whether the final tranche of emails contained “the most controversial records.”

Delaying release of the emails beyond the first four primary states would cause “irrevocable harm” to journalists and voters, they added.

“[I]f the Court allows State to delay release of thousands of pages of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s official work emails, a substantial portion of the electorate will be forced to vote without the benefit of important information to which it is entitled about the performance of one of the candidates for U.S. President while serving as Secretary of State,” the lawyers wrote.

Leopold’s lawsuit against the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act caused a judge last year to set a timetable for the department to release Clinton’s work-related emails to the public.

[Scott]

Unexplained outage of WhatsApp may indicate social media preparations by announcement team

WhatsApp suffers brief outage globally (1/26/16)

Facebook-owned smartphone messaging service WhatsApp temporarily crashed in an array of countries from the US to India, potentially affecting hundreds of millions of users.

Reports of people having trouble with WhatsApp in countries including Japan, India, Malaysia, Colombia and the United States hit the internet about 0200 GMT Tuesday.

The outage appeared to be resolved in most locations in an hour or so, according to Downdetector.com, which calls itself "the weatherman for the digital world."

Comments posted by users indicated they were having intermittent difficulties with WhatsApp during the problem period.

Facebook did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

The disruption came on the heels of media reports that Facebook is working behind the scenes to integrate WhatsApp more snugly into the world's leading social network by providing the ability to share information between the services.

California-based Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in late 2014 and the messaging service has grown to nearly a billion users.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/WhatsApp-suffers-...

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-whatsapp-stumbles-briefly.html