Thousands of Iraq, Afghan War Vets Sickened After Working at ‘Burn Pits’

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Thousands of U.S. military personnel who served on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan recall the dense black smoke from burn pits where everything from IEDs to human waste was incinerated.

Now many have died, and more are gravely ill. Those battling a grim menu of cancers, as well as their loved ones and advocates, trace their condition to breathing in the toxic fumes they say could be the most recent wars’ version of Agent Orange or Gulf War Illness.

“The clouds of smoke would just hang throughout the base,” Army Sgt. Daniel Diaz, who was stationed at Joint Base Balad, in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle from 2004-2005, told FoxNews.com. “No one ever gave it any thought. You are just so focused on the mission at hand. In my mind, I was just getting ready for the fight.”

Diaz returned from duty in 2008. A year later, he started developing health problems including cancer, chronic fatigue and weakness, neuropathy and hypothyroidism. Nearly every base he was stationed at during his four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan had burn pits nearby – and pungent smoke everywhere . . .

During the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the burn pit method was adopted originally as a temporary measure to get rid of waste and garbage generated on bases. Everything was incinerated in the pits, say soldiers, including plastics, batteries, appliances, medicine, dead animals and even human waste. The items were often set ablaze with jet fuel as the accelerant. (Read more from “Thousands of Iraq, Afghan War Vets Sickened After Working at ‘Burn Pits'” HERE)

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Chinese Scientists Genetically Modify Human Embryos—Again

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Just one year after scientists in China made history by modifying the DNA of human embryos, a second team of Chinese researchers has done it again. Using CRISPR/Cas9, the researchers introduced HIV-resistance into the embryos, showcasing the tremendous potential for gene-editing.

In that earlier work, the Chinese scientists modified a gene responsible for a fatal blood disorder, but the embryos were quickly destroyed after the experiment. It was a watershed moment in biotechnology, showcasing the tremendous potential of CRISPR—a powerful gene editing tool—to alter our offspring at the genetic level. Should this technology ever reach the clinical stage, it could be used to eliminate all sorts of genetic diseases, but it could also be used to introduce entirely new capacities.

Now, as reported in Nature News, a research team led by Yong Fan at Guangzhou Medical University has used CRISPR to introduce a beneficial mutation that cripples an immune-cell gene called CCR5. Some humans naturally have this built-in immunity to HIV, making it impossible for the virus to infiltrate human immune cells.

For the study, the researchers collected 213 fertilized human eggs, donated by 87 patients. All of the embryos were unsuitable for in vitro fertilization because they contained an extra set of chromosomes. The researchers destroyed the embryos after three days. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Genetically Modify Human Embryos—Again” HERE)

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Palestinian Authority Calls Netanyahu “The Partner for Peace”, Calls for Increased Cooperation With Israel

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave a rare interview on Thursday for Israeli television in which he stated he views Prime Minister Netanyahu as a “the partner for peace” and is ready to meet with the Prime Minister and renew peace talks. He also as spoke of efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to deter terror attacks and violence perpetuated by Palestinian youth and called for an end to violence.

The interview aired on Thursday evening, Abbas speaking at length on coordination between Israel and the PA to hinder attacks by Palestinian youth on Israelis. He stated “Our security forces go into the schools to search pupils’ bags and see if they have knives. You don’t know this… In one school, we found 70 boys and girls who were carrying knives. We took the knives and spoke to them and said ‘This is a mistake. We do not want you to kill and be killed. We want you to live, and for the other side to live as well.’”

He spoke of the chaos and reality of the Palestinian Authority on the “brink of collapse” calling that responsibility be given to him to deal with the situation, and for Israel to assist. He stated “Give me responsibility for the Palestinian territories, and test me… if Israel has specific intelligence information, give it to me and I’ll handle it.” He stated that he is not given intelligence information and asked, “So what am I doing here? Where is the security cooperation? You want me to be your employee, your agent. I don’t accept this, I want to do it myself.”

Abbas called Netanyahu “the partner for peace” stating that he wants to see peace in his lifetime and that “I still extend a hand to Netanyahu because I believe in peace. I believe that the people of Israel want peace and that the Palestinian people want peace.” He added that “If he [Netanyahu] gives me responsibility and tells me that he believes in two-state solution and we sit around the table to talk about the two-state solution, this will give my people hope, and nobody dares to go and stab or shoot or do anything here or there.” (Read more from “Palestinian Authority Calls Netanyahu “The Partner for Peace”, Calls for Increased Cooperation With Israel” HERE)

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Right on Time: U.S. Navy Seizes HUGE Shipment of Iranian Weapons En Route to Terrorists

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As one might expect, the fanatical Islamic regime of Iran is dedicated to advancing Shariah doctrine through violence. The Iranian government has been instrumental in providing material support for terrorist operations around the globe and as President Obama crusaded tirelessly to offer them economic relief to bolster their economy, the zealots in Tehran simultaneously pledged to continue to mount militant efforts against the West and Israel.

The Iranians might be fanatics but it seems that they are not liars. The U.S. Navy, in late March, seized a shipment of Iranian weapons that were en route to Yemen to likely aid in terrorist efforts.

On March 28th, the Navy encountered an Iranian ship carrying a massive shipment of weapons including AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. The Pentagon revealed the discovery on Monday.

The shipment was the third such shipment discovered in recent weeks and the Pentagon believes the weapons were heading to Yemen to aid Houthi rebels in a war against a Saudi-led coalition that is backed by the United States. Then Houthi rebels, like Iran, are Shia.

For years, Obama worked behind the scenes to try and secure a deal with Iran that gave the despotic state sponsor of terrorism a hefty payday in exchange for meaningless promises. The U.S. was instrumental in lifting economic sanctions that had long hindered the regime, a move that infused Iran with roughly $150 billion. The U.S. also sweetened the pot with an additional $1.7 billion in taxpayer dollars for reparations when the U.S. did not follow-through on an agreement after Islamic revolutionaries took-over the government in the 1970s. State officials have claimed that they intend to pay more to Iran over the coming years. (Read more from “Right on Time: U.S. Navy Seizes HUGE Shipment of Iranian Weapons En Route to Terrorists” HERE)

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‘Suspicious’ Activity at North Korea Nuclear Complex

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Recent satellite images of North Korea’s main nuclear complex show suspicious activity that could be linked to re-processing plutonium for additional nuclear bombs, a US think tank said on Tuesday.

Analysis of the images focused on exhaust plumes from a steam plant used to heat a radiochemical laboratory facility at the Yongbyon complex.

The facility is used for processing plutonium from a five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon into weapons-grade fissile material.

Whether the exhaust plumes mean “re-processing additional plutonium is under way or will be in the near future remains unclear”, analysts at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University concluded.

However, they noted a recent statement by US National Intelligence Director James Clapper that North Korea could be ready to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the nearby reactor’s spent fuel rods in a matter of weeks. (Read more from “‘Suspicious’ Activity at North Korea Nuclear Complex” HERE)

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Germany Said to Spy on Israeli Prime Minister’s Office

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Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has been spying on Israel in recent years, specifically the Prime Minister’s Office, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported Saturday.

The report noted that other targets of the BND included the US State Department, the British Defense Ministry, NASA, the US Air Force, and the interior ministries of Austria and Belgium.

There were no further details on the alleged information collected from Israel, or when the reported espionage took place.

In October the German government was put on the defensive after reports surfaced that the BND spied on the United States and other allies.

Der Spiegel, public broadcaster rbb-Inforadio and the Sueddeutsche daily reported then that until the fall of 2013 the BND’s selectors included targets belonging to the United States and other European countries. (Read more from “Germany Said to Spy on Israeli Prime Minister’s Office” HERE)

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Turkey: Gulen ‘Islamic Cult’ May Be Coming to U.S. Military Bases

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Charter schools that may soon be operating on military bases in the United States are linked to what the Turkish government describes as an Islamic cult run by Fethullah Gulen, a powerful cleric living in Pennsylvania.

The allegations come from lawyer Robert R. Amsterdam, founder of international law firm Amsterdam and Partners LLP, writing at The Hill.

As Amsterdam forthrightly discloses early in the piece, his firm has been “engaged by the Republic of Turkey – a key NATO ally in a hotbed region – to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the operations and geopolitical influence of the Gülen organization, which is behind the Coral Academy of Science and over 140 other public charter schools scattered across 26 American states.”

This is a reference to the Muslim cleric Gulen, whom Amsterdam describes as “a reclusive but influential Imam living under self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania to avoid criminal prosecution in his native Turkey.” Gulen is a powerful and determined opponent of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Coral Academy of Science in Las Vegas is negotiating with the United States Air Force to open a charter school at Nellis Air Force Base this fall. Amsterdam says his firm’s investigation revealed that the Gulen organization “uses charter schools and affiliated businesses in the U.S. to misappropriate and launder state and federal education dollars, which the organization then uses for its own benefit to develop political power in this country and globally.” (Read more from “Turkey: Gulen ‘Islamic Cult’ May Be Coming to U.S. Military Bases” HERE)

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Horrendous Killing of Falsely Accused Afghan Woman Filmed, While Pakistan Keeps Capital Blasphemy Laws in Place [+video]

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By Michael W. Chapman. As the police stood by and watched, a 27-year-old Muslim woman was brutally murdered by a mob in Kabul, Afghanistan after she was falsely accused of burning a Quran by an Islamic cleric.

The young Muslim woman, Farkhunda Malikzada, was viciously beaten, stoned, deliberately run over by a car, thrown into a dry river bed, crushed with larger stones, and then set on fire.

It was later determined by the Afghanistan Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs that Farkhunda Malikzada had not burned a Quran.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT:

Although the murder of Farkhunda occurred in March 2015, the New York Times in recent months was able to collect cell-phone videos and pictures of the lynching from sources in Afghanistan and online, and compiled a lengthy video of the horrific crime, which it published at nytimes.com on Dec. 26, 2015. (Read more from “Horrendous Killing of Falsely Accused Afghan Woman Filmed, While Pakistan Keeps Capital Blasphemy Laws in Place” HERE)

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Pakistan Pledges Not to Amend Law That Imposes Death Penalty for Blasphemy

By Patrick Goodenough. Muslim radicals ended a four-day sit-in in a high-security “red zone” near Pakistan’s federal parliament, claiming victory after the government late Wednesday gave assurances it will not seek to amend the country’s notorious blasphemy laws or show leniency to anyone convicted under them.

The government’s pledge to the protesters came just days after a deadly Easter Sunday bombing in Pakistan’s second-biggest city underlined anew the threats faced by minority Christians both from terrorists and from Islamist extremists like those at the sit-in in the capital.

The protesters, estimated at 25,000-strong at the peak of their demonstration, are supporters of a police officer executed a month ago for the 2011 murder of a provincial governor he was paid to protect. Bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri became a hero to many fundamentalist Muslims after killing Punjab governor Salman Taseer, whom he had accused of blasphemy.

During the sit-in some protesters, members of radical Sunni groups known for their zeal for Mohammed and the Qur’an, clashed with police and set fire to buses and bus shelters.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had ordered that the protest be brought to an end, peacefully, by Wednesday. Pakistani media reported that protest leaders declared victory after talks with government officials netted them several of their listed demands. (Read more from “Pakistan Pledges Not to Amend Law That Imposes Death Penalty for Blasphemy” HERE)

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At Least 50 ISIS Supporters Are Working as Baggage Handlers, Cleaners and Catering Staff at Brussels Airport

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Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.

In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.

The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.

The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked as cleaners at the airport.

‘Some people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as “false tourists”. We reported their presence but we do not know if anything was done with that information,’ the airport police wrote in their letter. (Read more from “At Least FIFTY ISIS Supporters Are Working as Baggage Handlers, Cleaners and Catering Staff at Brussels Airport” HERE)

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At Least FIFTY ISIS Supporters Are Working as Baggage Handlers, Cleaners and Catering Staff at Brussels Airport

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Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.

In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.

The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.

The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked as cleaners at the airport.

‘Some people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as “false tourists”. We reported their presence but we do not know if anything was done with that information,’ the airport police wrote in their letter. (Read more from “At Least FIFTY ISIS Supporters Are Working as Baggage Handlers, Cleaners and Catering Staff at Brussels Airport” HERE)

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