News from The Associated Press

Dérégulation, #Lobbying et culture du secret : les dessous de l’accident dans l’usine texane d’Arkema
►https://multinationales.org/Deregulation-lobbying-et-culture-du-secret-les-dessous-de-l-acciden

Les autorités semblent avoir repris le contrôle de la situation dans l’usine d’Arkema au Texas qui menaçait d’exploser suite au passage de l’ouragan Harvey. Mais les événements survenus dans cette usine continuent à susciter beaucoup de questions, et de débats. Ils ont aussi été l’occasion de mettre en lumière le lobbying de l’industrie chimique pour échapper à toute régulation, et les échos très favorables qu’elle rencontre dans l’administration Trump. #Arkema, une entreprise française jusqu’ici relativement (...)

Actualités

/ #Chimie, #États-Unis, Arkema, A la une, Lobbying, #influence, #normes_et_régulations, #santé_environnement, #santé_et_sécurité_au_travail, (...)

#transparence
« ►http://multinationales.org/Explosion-programmee-d-une-usine-chimique-d-Arkema-au-Texas-comment »
« ►https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-arkema-epa/epa-any-toxic-materials-from-arkema-plant-fire-not-yet-a-concern-idUSKCN1BB »
« ►https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-fema-arkema/fema-plume-from-flood-hit-arkema-chemical-plant-incredibly-dangerous-idUSKC »
« ►http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HARVEY_CHEMICAL_PLANT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT »
« ►http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Arkema-backtracks-refuses-to-provide-public-12167110.php »
« ►https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000024130 »
« ►https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000024130&cycle=2016 »
« ►http://multinationales.org/Elections-americaines-l-argent-du-CAC-40-irrigue-toujours-les-candi »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-deregulation-guns-wall-st-climate.html »
« ►http://www.api.org »
« ►https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/ACC-Elects-New-Class-to-Board-of-Directors.html »
« ►https://apnews.com/27796dd13b9549b0ac76aded58a15122 »
« ►https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/02/houston-hurricane-harvey-pollution-petrochemical-plants »
« ►https://theintercept.com/2017/08/31/harvey-victims-face-toxic-pollution-as-hurricane-recovery-begins »
« ►http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/texas-republicans-helped-chemical-plant-exploded-lobby-against-safety-rules »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/business/trump-deregulation-teams-transportation-department.html »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/us/texas-chemical-plant-explosion-arkema.html »
►https://multinationales.org/IMG/pdf/lettre_arkema.pdf

Dérégulation, #Lobbying et culture du secret : les dessous de l’accident dans l’usine texane d’Arkema
►http://multinationales.org/Deregulation-lobbying-et-culture-du-secret-les-dessous-de-l-acciden

Les autorités semblent avoir repris le contrôle de la situation dans l’usine d’Arkema au Texas qui menaçait d’exploser suite au passage de l’ouragan Harvey. Mais les événements survenus dans cette usine continuent à susciter beaucoup de questions, et de débats. Ils ont aussi été l’occasion de mettre en lumière le lobbying de l’industrie chimique pour échapper à toute régulation, et les échos très favorables qu’elle rencontre dans l’administration Trump. #Arkema, une entreprise française jusqu’ici relativement (...)

Actualités

/ #Chimie, #États-Unis, Arkema, A la une, Lobbying, #influence, #normes_et_régulations, #santé_environnement, #santé_et_sécurité_au_travail, (...)

#transparence
« ►https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-arkema-epa/epa-any-toxic-materials-from-arkema-plant-fire-not-yet-a-concern-idUSKCN1BB »
« ►https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-fema-arkema/fema-plume-from-flood-hit-arkema-chemical-plant-incredibly-dangerous-idUSKC »
« ►http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HARVEY_CHEMICAL_PLANT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT »
« ►http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Arkema-backtracks-refuses-to-provide-public-12167110.php »
« ►https://multinationales.org/IMG/pdf/lettre_arkema.pdf »
« ►https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000024130 »
« ►https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000024130&cycle=2016 »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-deregulation-guns-wall-st-climate.html »
« ►http://www.api.org »
« ►https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/ACC-Elects-New-Class-to-Board-of-Directors.html »
« ►https://apnews.com/27796dd13b9549b0ac76aded58a15122 »
« ►https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/02/houston-hurricane-harvey-pollution-petrochemical-plants »
« ►https://theintercept.com/2017/08/31/harvey-victims-face-toxic-pollution-as-hurricane-recovery-begins »
« ►http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/texas-republicans-helped-chemical-plant-exploded-lobby-against-safety-rules »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/business/trump-deregulation-teams-transportation-department.html »
« ►https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/us/texas-chemical-plant-explosion-arkema.html »
►http://multinationales.org/IMG/pdf/lettre_arkema.pdf

GOVERNMENT: 7 KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT EAST CHINA KINDERGARTEN
News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_KINDERGARTEN_EXPLOSION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

An explosion struck the entrance to a kindergarten in eastern China on Thursday, police said. State media said there were casualties, and videos purportedly from the scene and posted on social media showed children and adults lying on the ground, some bleeding.

Police officials said they are investigating and had no word yet on injuries or deaths.

Police said the blast struck at 4:50 p.m. Thursday at the Chuangxin Kindergarten in the city of Fengxian in Jiangsu province.

NAVY SAYS IRANIAN BOATS HARASSED US SHIP IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ — News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_NAVY_IRAN

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSC5LP15Gk

Four Iranian small boats harassed a U.S. Navy warship near the Persian Gulf, but no missiles were fired, the chief of naval operations said Wednesday.
[…]
A U.S. defense official said the Iranian boats approached the Nitze at high speed on Wednesday, in an unsafe and unprofessional manner. The destroyer fired ten flares in the direction of the Iranian boats and sounded the ship’s whistle several times in an effort to warn the boats away, the official said. The Nitze also tried to communicate with the Iranians over the radio, and also changed course to avoid the vessels.

The official said two boats ignored the warnings and continued to speed toward the Nitze until they were within 300 yards of the U.S. ship.

The USS Nitze was in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz with the USS Mason, also a guided missile destroyer. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the incident publicly so spoke anonymously.

Jordanie : 12.000 réfugiés syriens bloqués dans le désert

Le Haut commissariat de l’ONU pour les réfugiés (HCR) et l’ONG Human Right Watch (HRW) ont appelé mardi la Jordanie à accueillir 12.000 réfugiés syriens actuellement bloqués dans le désert près de sa frontière.

▻http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/jordanie-12-000-refugies-syriens-bloques-dans-le-desert-08-12-2015-1988351_2

#Jordanie #asile #migrations #réfugiés #réfugiés_syriens

PUTIN PUTS CRIMEAN SITE UNDER FEDERAL CONTROL AFTER SCANDAL | News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_CRIMEAN_ARCHAEOLOGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Saturday placed a major archaeological site in Crimea, which he has hailed as the country’s most sacred spiritual symbol, under federal control following turmoil over the appointment of its director.

The Kremlin said that Putin ordered the area of the ancient Greek city of Chersonesus to be placed under federal oversight. The site is located just outside Sevastopol, the main port city in Crimea, the Black Sea Peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine last year.

Putin’s order followed the Sevastopol governor’s decision last month to appoint a Russian Orthodox priest as director of the Chersonesus museum, a move that has angered its keepers and fueled strong public criticism that the appointee lacked education and experience.

While presenting the new director to museum workers, the governor, Sergei Menyailo, reportedly sought to counter protests by saying that “religion has always dealt with science,” a comment that drew mockery on Russian social networks. Menyailo’s claim that he had received Moscow’s approval for the appointment was denied by officials in Moscow.

TOP RUSSIAN, US AND SAUDI DIPLOMATS TO MEET IN QATAR | News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_DIPLOMACY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Russia’s foreign minister has scheduled a trilateral meeting in Qatar with his U.S. and Saudi counterparts.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Sergey Lavrov will confer with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir during his two-day trip to Doha starting Sunday. Kerry earlier has said he plans to meet separately in Doha with Lavrov to discuss Syria, Iran and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

The ministry said that during his visit to Qatar, Lavrov will discuss the crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen, international efforts to combat the Islamic State group and Iran’s role in regional affairs after last month’s signing of Iran’s nuclear deal.

Despite Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine, President Barack Obama has thanked Moscow for helping reach the agreement.

News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_ROCKET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

A Russian rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned Saturday shortly after its launch - the latest mishap to hit Russia’s troubled space industry, whose Soviet-era glory has been tarnished by a series of launch failures.

The rocket, a Proton-M, was launched from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan. Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, said a problem involving steering engines occurred in the rocket’s third stage about eight minutes into its flight, 161 kilometers (97 miles) above the Earth. The agency said the rocket and Boeing-constructed satellite did not reach their planned orbit and almost all of the debris from the two burned up in the atmosphere.
[…]
The last failed launch of a Proton-M occurred exactly a year ago, also caused by a problem in the rocket’s third stage. Since then, there have been six successful flights.

News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_DEFENSE_SPENDING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The House defied a veto threat from President Barack Obama on Friday and approved a $612 billion defense policy bill that Democrats complain busts budget limits on military spending and makes it harder for the president to close the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

The vote was 269 to 151 for the legislation, a blueprint for next year’s spending on military and other national security programs.

While Republicans voted overwhelmingly for the bill, 41 Democrats disregarded Obama’s objections and joined the GOP lawmakers in passing it. Another 143 Democrats voted against it.
[…]
The White House has pushed back against a host of provisions in the bill, including one that would make it harder for Obama to close the military prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay by imposing stiffer requirements for transferring these individuals to other countries. On Ukraine, it calls for arming Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed separatists, a move the Obama administration has so far resisted.

The administration also opposes measures that aim to bypass the Iraqi government and give money directly to Iraqi Kurdish fighters. That has angered Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who threatened to attack U.S. interests if the provision passes.

Les dons émanant de pays non respectueux des droits humains, de « philanthropes » et d’oligarques font tache ?,
▻http://actu.orange.fr/une/les-dons-etrangers-a-la-fondation-clinton-exposent-hillary-aux-critiques

On élimine les pays mais on garde le reste,
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEM_2016_CLINTON_FOUNDATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

#foutage_de_gueule

Associated Press: US Thunderbolt II attack planes on training in Poland
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_POLAND_US_AIR_FORCE_

Poland’s armed forces say that four U.S. Thunderbolt II attack planes are training for the first time in Poland as part of a security reassurance mission.

U.S. land and air forces are training in eastern Europe as part of NATO’s Atlantic Resolve operation, which aims to confirm the alliance’s readiness to defend its members should their security be threatened by the conflict in Ukraine.

The spokesman for Polish Army command, Lt. Col. Artur Golawski, said Thursday that four Thunderbolt aircraft, capable of destroying tanks, are based in Powidz this week. The jets are training over southern Poland this week with Poland’s F-16 and Su-22 fighters, he said. U.S. C-130 Hercules transport planes are also taking part in the exercise.

The Thunderbolt planes fly to Germany in Friday.

http://theaviationist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/A-10-in-Poland.jpg

The Aviationist » U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes have arrived in Poland (24/03/15)
▻http://theaviationist.com/2015/03/24/a-10s-have-arrived-in-poland

Four U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft have arrived at Polish Powidz AB.
(…)
Notably, one of the Warthogs was piloted by a female pilot.

Cuban youth build secret computer network despite Wi-Fi ban
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_CUBA_SECRET_NETWORK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Cut off from the Internet, young Cubans have quietly linked thousands of computers into a hidden network that stretches miles across Havana, letting them chat with friends, play games and download hit movies in a mini-replica of the online world that most can’t access.

Home Internet connections are banned for all but a handful of Cubans, and the government charges nearly a quarter of a month’s salary for an hour online in government-run hotels and Internet centers. As a result, most people on the island live offline, complaining about their lack of access to information and contact with friends and family abroad.

A small minority have covertly engineered a partial solution by pooling funds to create a private network of more than 9,000 computers with small, inexpensive but powerful hidden Wi-Fi antennas and Ethernet cables strung over streets and rooftops spanning the entire city. Disconnected from the real Internet, the network is limited, local and built with equipment commercially available around the world, with no help from any outside government, organizers say.

#Cuba #Internet

Cuba : en attendant Internet
▻http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2015/01/27/cuba-attendant-internet-257338

http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/sites/news/files/styles/asset_img_full/public/assets/image/2015/01/cuba_internet_carte_telegeography.png

Les chiffres du Wefaq sur la participation aux élections (article de Reem Khalifa)

STLtoday.com — Associated Press — News
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_BAHRAIN_ELECTIONS?SITE=MOSTP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-

The country’s most organized and popular Shiite opposition group, al-Wefaq, blasted that figure Sunday, calling it “amusing, ridiculous” and lacking credibility.

The group alleged that turnout appeared closer to 30 percent, and that voter numbers were only that high because authorities pushed tens of thousands of members of the military and other civil servants to vote or risk retribution.

Car, parfois, les murs tombent...
#Smugglers, rainstorm combine to poke holes in border fence

A rainstorm knocked over part of the border fence in #Arizona this weekend, even as smugglers were cutting their way through another part of the fence less than a few miles away — leaving a hole big enough to drive a vehicle through, according to the Nogales International.

▻http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2014/07/28/6d8839ab72ce351d5b0f6a706700b9bd_s640x421.jpg?0cd6919c2290e9e418a47
▻http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/28/smugglers-rainstorm-combine-poke-holes-border-fenc

#USA #Etats-Unis #Mexique #barrière_frontalière #mur #trou #migration #frontière

La France condamne le bombardement de l’école des Nations unies, mais ne désigne pas les responsables de l’action.

DÉCLARATION DU PORTE-PAROLE ADJOINT
DU MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES
ET DU DÉVELOPPEMENT INTERNATIONAL
30 juillet 2014

GAZA


La France condamne le bombardement qui a frappé une école des Nations unies, dans le camp de Jabaliya dans la bande de Gaza, causant la mort d’au moins seize Palestiniens, qui s’ajoutent au bilan humain intolérable et sans cesse alourdi.

La France exige la mise en place d’un cessez-le-feu immédiat. Tous les efforts doivent converger vers cet objectif.

A noter : le communiqué ne signale pas qui est le responsable du bombardement

News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AP_ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it is ordering Palestinians living in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate the area “for their own safety.”

In a statement Saturday, the military said it would send messages to residents overnight to leave the area.

Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz, the chief military spokesman, said Israel planned to hit the area with heavy force in the next 24 hours as it steps up an offensive against Gaza militants.

Officials say the area has been used to fire rockets at Tel Aviv.

`SEXUAL HARASSMENT’ DROPPED FROM BOY’S RECORD
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KISSING_SUSPENSION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP) — Officials at a Colorado school where a 6-year-old boy was suspended for kissing a girl have dropped the term “sexual harassment” from the boy’s record, instead calling the behavior misconduct.

US-Iran secret talks — Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAN_SECRET_TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

j’aime bien ces histoires de diplomatie secrète, qui montrent que les discours publics ne sont là que pour amuser la galerie … et AP qui savait très tôt, et n’a rien dit faute de pouvoir « confirmer »

Israel would seek to retain control over about 40 percent of the West Bank
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-0

“Israel is using the issue of security to take land,” he said. “From the general discussions we had in the last couple of weeks, the Israelis have shown no intention to dismantle any settlement.” He said the current proposals indicated that Israel would seek to retain control over about 40 percent of the West Bank.

Sep 1, 4:44 AM EDT
CONSENSUS, THEN ABOUT-FACE FROM OBAMA ON SYRIA
BY JOSH LEDERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_SYRIA_DECISION?SITE=AP

Obama’s national security team was in agreement that while consulting with Congress was critical, there was no need for formal approval, officials said. Seeking a vote in Congress to authorize a strike wasn’t even an option on the table.

–—

All that changed Friday night, when Obama left the West Wing with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough. Under cloudy skies and temperatures nearing 90 degrees, the two walked on the White House grounds for the better part of an hour, and Obama confided in his adviser that he had changed his mind. He laid out an idea to ask Congress to approve a strike.

By 7 p.m., top aides including deputy national security advisers Ben Rhodes and Tony Blinken had been summoned to the Oval Office, where Obama shared the new plan. It was the right thing to do, the president said, and would make the U.S. stronger.

Aides went to work immediately, with some drafting an authorization that Congress could take up and others hashing out the timeline.

–—

But the next morning, there was pushback from some on the president’s team. The National Security Council convened Saturday to firm up the plan, with Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, national security adviser Susan Rice and others in attendance.

When Obama said he wanted to ask Congress for a vote, some of his advisers dissented. Officials wouldn’t say which participants argued against Obama’s proposal.

After a two-hour debate, Obama’s team agreed to support Obama’s decision, officials said. So Obama went upstairs and called the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to inform them of his about-face. He also notified French President Francois Hollande.

By mid-afternoon, Obama emerged in a steamy White House Rose Garden, surprising lawmakers, reporters and the public with news of his plan.

“I’m ready to act in the face of this outrage,” Obama said. “Today I’m asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation.”

Then Obama and Biden left the White House by motorcade to play a round of golf.