Warrior King of Jordan wants to wage 'WWIII' on Islamic State

© Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Jordan's King Abdullah.

King Abdullah of Jordan has called the battle against the Islamic State "World War 3" in what is a "generational fight" to overcome these "outlaws of Islam." Speaking to , he implored all religions to come together, adding "this is our war."

He made a point of referring to the fight against the Islamic State as a "third World War" and called upon all nations to come together to help counter the threat posed by the militant group since they conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria last year.

"So this is our war. And we have a moral responsibility to reach out to those Muslims, to protect them, and to stop them before they reach our border," King Abdullah said, speaking to .

The king did not advocate bombarding ISIS positions with nuclear missiles or thousands of tanks, but is advocating a united front, which would bring "Muslims, Christians and other religions together." He stressed that the ideological element of the conflict will be the hardest element to solve. The US and its allies have ample ammunition to pound Islamic State forces for decades to come.

The Jordanian king has an ax to grind with the Islamic State. He watched his country mourn the horrific death of captured pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh, who was burnt alive by the Islamic State. However, rather than intimidating a nation of around 6.5 million, the actions undertaken by the group, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL, have had the opposite effect, the King believes.

The monarch mentioned that throughout his country's history, Jordan has always "punched way above our weight," while the barbaric nature of the Islamic State has "motivated Jordanians to sort of rally around the flag and the gloves have come off."

King Abdullah, dubbed the "warrior king" after 35 years of military service, pledged that the country would start playing a larger role in the US-led military collation. He even cut his visit to the US short in the wake of the pilot's death and tried to rally a nation by appearing in military fatigues and black gloves in an Instagram photo, taken nine months ago.

There have even been rumors that the king, a trained helicopter pilot, has taken part in air strikes against the Islamic State.

The photo of the king amassed over 31,000 likes on Facebook. At a rally in the Jordanian capital, Amman, saw thousands take to the streets, shouting We are all Mouath...we are all Jordan," as well as "Death to Daesh" - an derogatory Arabic acronym for the terror group.

From being an ally of the US fight against Islamic State with reservations six months ago, where according to a poll last September by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, only 62% of Jordanians consider ISIS to be a terrorist organization, Jordan has now become among the most eager members of the anti-ISIS alliance.

The country's interior minister, Hussein al-Majali, has said that Jordan will "wipe [ISIS] out completely." According to the Pentagon, Jordan dropped 72 bombs in the first wave of its revenge. Getting new ammunition should not be a problem. King Abdullah has managed to negotiate for Washington to commit to an increase in security aid from $660 million to $1 billion for 2015-2017.

Despite being a key US ally in the Middle East, Jordan has not always been as ready to follow Washington's lead. In September, Amman was concerned at US plans to arm and train more fighters of the Free Syrian Army, a supposedly moderate militant force fighting against the Syrian government.

A report in the , a US conservative news website stated a senior Jordanian security official as saying that Amman views the Syrian rebel group in its current state as ideologically close to extremists like the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front and the IS itself.

Jordan has its own pressing claims regarding the Islamic State. Not only does the country share a border with both nations, it is also seeing a large number of disgruntled jihadists trying to return home, Reuters reports.

Those who do return are often picked up at the border and sent for military trial. One source who is familiar with the policy of Jordan's intelligence services, said: "We turned a blind eye to you going, but if you return, we will catch you and lock you up," the source said, speaking about the case of a 23-year-old man who was trying to leave Syria, the news agency added.

Around 2,000-2,500 Jordanians are known to have joined and are fighting for the Islamic State, The reported in February. This is the third largest foreign Arab contingent after Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Many Jordanians seeing joining the Islamic State as a chance to move out of poverty.

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Family pit bull severely mauls woman in Pinole, California

A family pet

A Pinole woman was being treated for life-threatening injuries Sunday after she was attacked and mauled by the family's pet pit bull, investigators said.

The 40-year-old resident was attacked inside the home on Silverado Drive, in the Pinole Valley area shortly before 10 a.m. and bitten on her legs, arms and face. Pinole police were able to secure the animal in the back yard before Pinole Fire Department paramedics administered "advanced life support" treatment.

The woman's wounds were so severe that she had to be flown by helicopter to the trauma center at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, said Steve Akre, the Pinole Fire battalion chief. He said there was a male resident inside the home at the time of the attack, but he was not injured.

"It's a tragedy for all involved," said Akre, who did not know what prompted the attack. "Our understanding is that the dog was a family pet that lived at the home with the victim."

The woman, whose name was not released, was being treated at John Muir on Sunday night for lacerations to her face, both arms and both legs, Akre said.

The dog was brought to Contra Costa County Animal Services.

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Madagascar flooding update: 19 dead and 37,000 displaced

Floods in Madagascar

The flood situation in Madagascar is worsening. The latest report from Madagascar's disaster management agency, the Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes (BNGRC) said that further assessments of the flood disaster that struck on 26 February show that 19 people have been killed, 36,956 have been displaced and over 60,000 affected by the disaster.

517 houses have been destroyed and 1,698 damaged in the floods. BNGRC also report that the floods have damaged 6,339 hectares of rice fields.

Three regions of the country have been affected. Over 2,000 people have been displaced in Alaotra Mangoro region. The worst affected region is Analamanga where 18 of the deaths occurred, many of them around the country's capital, Antananarivo. The remaining fatality occurred in Vakinankaratra region.

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High Alerts

BNGRC issued a list of around 20 districts or communities still on high alert as of 01 March 2015.

Antananarivo Renivohitra, Masindray, Ambohimanambola, Alasora, Ankaraobato, Tanjombato, Soavina, Anosizato-Andrefana, Andranonahoatra, Bemasoandro, Ambohidrapeto, Ankadimanga, Ampitatafika, Fenoarivo, Itaosy, Ambohitrimanjaka, Antehiroka, Talatamaty, Sabotsy Namehana and Ankadikely Ilafy.

River Levels

However, there is hope for some relief ahead, as levels of the Ikopa and Sisaony rivers are expected to fall in the next 24 hours so long as there is no further heavy rainfall.

More Rain

Yesterday did see some heavy rain fall in northern parts of the country. Antalaha in the Sava Region saw 53 mm of rain in 24 hours to 01 March 2015, according to WMO.

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Shellfish population dying in New Zealand harbour

© Thinkstock

The volume of pipis on Mair Bank has slumped from 10,000 tonnes to less than 100 tonnes.

A massive pipi bed in Whangarei harbour is dying and there are fears the change could destabilise the harbour - and Marsden Point itself, reports.

The volume of pipis on Mair Bank has slumped from 10,000 tonnes to less than 100 tonnes, sparking fears the massive sandbank, which protects the harbour entrance, will disappear.

The sandbank, shaped similar to a shark's tooth, lies just off Marsden Point. Locals previously waded out at low tide to scoop up the daily limit of 150 of the shellfish in a couple of minutes. But no more.

NIWA fisheries scientist, James Williams, said the decline had been drastic. Over the last four to five years the pipi population has collapsed.

He said the bank had been eroding from the south and gaining height; coinciding with an apparent absence of juvenile pipi.

"There was a huge biomass there of pipi, everywhere pretty much on the bank and sub-tidally of about 10,000 tonnes and that's been reduced to less than 100 tonnes from the 2014 survey," he said.

"So, less than one per cent of what there was in 2005."

Dr Williams said pollution had not been a problem. Regular testing shows the water quality is very good, despite the presence of the oil refinery and the timber port next door.

Mair Bank was closed to pipi pickers last year but Dr Williams said the volume of shellfish being taken, including a commercial catch, was miniscule compared to the vast quantity available.

He said it might be worth testing the water to rule out pollution by terpenes -- compounds found in pine logs. Dr Williams said it was not known what impact the compounds might have on pipi, but they could act as pesticides on some species.

However, Northport chief executive Jon Moore said run-off from the port's log storage area drained to a big settlement pond.

"It can pump to the harbour if it reaches a high level, so if you have a storm event, obviously the last thing you want is all of that overflowing so there's a pipeline back to the harbour," he said.

"It pumps on those high rain events, but at that point when you've got a heavy rainfall, most of the water that's coming through there is pretty damn clean anyway."

Radio NZ reports the refinery and Northport are worried the loss of millions of shellfish could destabilise Mair Bank.

The New Zealand Refining Company's environmental manager, Riann Elliot, said if the bank goes, there would be knock-on effects for the harbour and the foreshore.

He said the channel was "self-dredging".

"There's no maintenance dredging required here - that could be jeopardised, so the entry to the harbour could be jeopardised."

"Erosion along the foreshore along Marsden Point could change drastically. We've currently got a bit of an erosion problem and there's evidence to suggest that could accelerate."

New Zealand Refining chief executive Sjoerd Post said any increase in erosion had to be a concern for the refinery.

"Our site is very close to the sea perimeter, so the pipis dying out may cause instability in the bank which may lead to bigger consequences for us," said Mr Post.

"But first and foremost, we are really concerned around the fact that sort of an entire species seems to be dying out all of a sudden."

Mr Post said it was , Patu Harakeke, who first raised the alarm about the Mair Bank pipi beds.

New Zealand Refining and Northport back their call for urgent research into the problem.

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U.S. State Dept. admits Russia had nothing to gain from Nemtsov killing

Perhaps believing by virtue of having admitted the murder of Russian opposition member Boris Nemtsov in Russia's capital of Moscow Friday evening in no way served the Russian government's best interests, the US State Department believes it can deflect guilt from being shifted towards its direction.

Indeed, the US State Department through its Voice of America media network - chaired by the US Secretary of State himself - would state in an online article titled, "Could Nemtsov Threaten Putin in Death as in Life?," that (emphasis added):

With the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, gunned down on a Moscow street, the fiercest critic of President Vladimir Putin has been removed from the political stage. But it remains to be seen whether, in death as in life, Nemtsov will remain a threat to Putin's rule.

Already, city authorities have approved a mass march for up to 50,000 people in central Moscow on Sunday. The march, expected to be far larger than the scheduled protest rally it replaces, will provide a powerful platform for Kremlin critics who suspect a government hand in Nemtsov's death.

Even officials in Putin's government seem to sense the danger that the former first deputy prime minister's martyrdom might pose, hinting darkly that Friday night's drive-by shooting may have been an deliberate "provocation" ahead of the planned weekend rally.

While this logic has clearly not escaped the US State Department's media network, it stops short of clearly implicating the Russian opposition and its foreign backers (the US State Department itself) as the chief suspects in Nemtsov's murder - though the article clearly states only the opposition (and in turn, their foreign sponsors) stood to benefit from his death.

The diminutive and previously ineffective protests carried out by the opposition will now be "far larger" and serve as a "powerful platform for Kremlin critics," a reality that simply would not have existed had Nemtsov not been murdered.

One must also factor in the United States' various proxy conflicts it is waging against Russia, and seemingly losing - including in Syria and Ukraine. The opportunity to spread chaos in the streets of Moscow would not only benefit the US and its agenda beyond its borders, but is in fact America's stated foreign policy.

Despite attempts to frame it otherwise, even the US State Department cannot escape the fact that Russia lacked any motivation at all to murder a fading opposition leader, let alone incriminatingly murder him practically on the doorstep of the Kremlin itself. Whoever killed Nemtsov meant for the uninformed general public to think it was the Kremlin, however.

Ironically, the US State Department's media article in Voice of America, echos facts pointed out in the direct aftermath of the murder by many independent analysts. In the previously published article, "Russia: US-Backed Opposition Leader Gunned Down in Moscow: Martyrdom on demand: if not of use alive, perhaps of use dead?," for example, it was stated explicitly that:

Regarding Nemtsov's murder, any good investigator would be tasked with the question, "to whose benefit?" Surely it would benefit the Kremlin to rid themselves of an opponents, but not in this manner. In fact, the only party that stood to benefit from his high-profile execution in the streets of Moscow were his own compatriots and his foreign backers who faced the prospect of yet another failed protest. Sympathy, they hope, will spur Russians who are on the fence politically to take to the streets, joining others who may have previously avoided protests because of Russia's economic strength before US sanctions sank in.

The US State Department's concession not only raises considerable doubt over the involvement of the Kremlin in Nemtsov's death, but also shifts suspicion primarily onto his own opposition movement and the extensive foreign interests backing it. Of course, the US State Department will never publish an article pointing out the obvious fact that it itself stood the most to gain from Nemtsov's murder, but this recent concession all but states this obvious reality, nonetheless.

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Gardasil vaccine: Spain joins growing list of countries to file criminal complaints

Health Impact News Editor Comments

Spain now joins a growing list of countries where criminal lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers of the HPV vaccine, which includes France, India, Japan, and many more.

In the United States, however, you cannot sue the manufacturers of vaccines, as they are protected from civil criminal prosecution. As a result, marketing efforts to increase the sale and distribution of the HPV vaccine are increasing. (See: Merck aims to boost HPV vaccination rates amid lagging numbers)

Gardasil: Criminal complaint filed in Spain

By Norma Erickson

SaneVax, Inc.

June 19 2014, Logroño, Spain: Attorney Don Manuel Sáez Ochoa filed a criminal complaint against Merck-Sanofi Pasteur Laboratories, Spanish National Health authorities, and the regional health authorities of the La Rioja province on behalf of Zuriñe Jiménez Guereño and her mother Doña Maria del Carmen Jiménez Guereño for injuries and disabilities suffered by Zuriñe after the administration of Gardasil.

The complaint states that Merck Laboratories failed to use an inert placebo during clinical trials, thereby manipulating data and marketing Gardasil under false pretences. Despite complaints of several young women with similar new medical conditions after Gardasil injections, the Spanish health authorities ignored calls for a moratorium on the use of Gardasil until the safety issues were resolved.

Both regional and national health authorities made no attempt to verify the accuracy of the safety data Merck submitted to gain approval for the widespread administration of Gardasil as a cancer preventative; nor did they make any attempt to inform the public that an already proven safe and effective means of controlling cervical cancer was already in existence.

The complaint goes on to say both national and local health authorities had adequate knowledge regarding the potential harmful effects of Gardasil and chose to recommend administration of the HPV vaccine anyway. The complaint alleges this showed an absolute disregard for the health and well-being of young Spanish girls.

According to the complaint, the attitude of the Merck pharmaceutical company and Spanish health authorities (both national and regional) before, during and after the administration of Gardasil shows they care nothing about the risk to which medical consumers expose themselves whenever Gardasil is used.

The complaint states, prior to administration, no one was concerned about possible adverse reactions to the vaccine. When adverse reactions did occur, those who experienced them were treated with contempt leaving them in a state of helplessness. There was allegedly not one single official inquiry about the girls' post-Gardasil conditions even though they were healthy prior to being injected with Gardasil.

An outcry from the public calling for a moratorium on the use of Gardasil until safety issues were resolved was ignored by Spanish health authorities. Injections of Gardasil continued despite the damage left behind.

According to Attorney Don Manuel Sáez Ochoa,

(claiming) a possible exemption arguing that they did not know at the time of processing, the dangers of the vaccine (Gardasil) is laughable......Frankly this attitude seems clearly malicious and constitutes the offense of injury as per Artile 149.1 of the Criminal Code that states: To cause another, by any means or process, the loss or worthlessness of an organ or principal member, or a sense, impotence, sterility, severe deformity, or severe somatic or mental illness, shall be punished with imprisonment of six to twelve years.

Charges contained in the official criminal complaint

Merck-Sanofi Pasteur, Spain's National and Regional (La Rioja) health authorities are charged with the following:

• fraudulent marketing and/or administration of an inadequately tested vaccine;


• failure to inform the public about the potential risks of using Gardasil;


• clear infringement of the right to informed consent;


• ignoring new medical conditions in those who used Gardasil despite the similarity of their symptoms and the relatively short period of time between vaccine administration and the onset of symptoms;


• ignoring established and new scientific evidence illustrating the potential harmful effects of Gardasil ingredients and manufacturing methods;


• callous disregard for those suffering new medical conditions post-Gardasil;


• failure to inform the public that HPV infections are simply one of the risk factors involved in the development of cervical cancer;


• failure to inform the public that 90% of all HPV infections clear on their own without medical intervention;


• failure to inform the publlic about alternative methods of controlling cervical cancer; and


• criminal liability for the injuries resulting from the administration of Gardasil

Even if one assumes that Merck-Sanofi Pasteur and all of the government health officials were not aware of the potential risks and lack of proven benefit of Gardasil, there has been plenty of scientific and medical evidence provided since 2007 when the vaccine was approved for use in Spain.

Given their expertise, all of these people were aware of the fact that there are several methods to control cervical cancer that have already been proven safe and effective.

Zuriñe was a healthy, athletic and academically gifted girl until she received the recommended three doses of Gardasil via an immunization program at her school when she was 13 years old. Three weeks later, she was admitted to the emergency room of her local hospital suffering from a multitude of symptoms including dizziness, fatigue and convulsions.

After receiving no answers from her doctors, the conversations began to include hints of conversion disorder. Her parents decided to take her to a private specialist.

According to this specialist, Dr. Mark Mazzuca:

Zuriñe suffers severe cell disease, oxidative stress linked to a demineralization of her body. To put it graphically, she is an 18 year old girl locked in a cell body of a person over sixty years old. Zuriñe also suffers from hard infield Ortostátiaco Postural Syndrome polyneuropathy revealing a central character. It also presents as liver and bladder inflammation.

Five years after her last Gardasil shot, Zuriñe's life bears little resemblance to anything she once considered normal. In and out of hospitals dealing with 'mysterious' new medical conditions every day. No one knows how much of her normal life she will be able to regain.

Thousands of young women around the world are finding themselves in the same position as Zuriñe. They have gone from being happy, active, and healthy to facing a multitude of autoimmune problems and neurological disorders. For them, the 'possible' adverse effects of Gardasil have become an all too harsh and brutal reality.

It is time for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions. Criminal prosecution is quite possibly the only way to accomplish that goal.

Perhaps six to twelve years in prison would remind those responsible what it means to conduct yourself in an ethical manner. Perhaps they would remember that their first duty is to maintain the public health, not destroy it.

On July 30, the Judge decided to open criminal proceedings and investigation of the facts. The first criminal case in Spain regarding Gardasil injuries and potential criminal liability begins.

Read the complaint in English here.

Read the complaint in Spanish here.

Read the full article here.

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Getting bored yet? 'Jihadi John' known to MI5 since 2008 - they 'let him escape'

© Reuters/SITE Intel Group

Mohammed Enwazi, the Islamic State terrorist known as "Jihadi John," was identified by British intelligence but allowed to escape to Syria. It was also revealed that he had links to the failed 21/7 attacks in London, the reports.

The British intelligence service MI5 had been keeping track of Emwazi since 2008, three years after the attempt by a group of western militants on July 21, 2005 to carry out terrorist attacks on British soil, the report revealed.

Emwazi was a "person of interest" for MI5 as he was a member of a London based jihadi cell that had been set up to recruit militants. Security services were aware that Emwazi had a telephone conversation with Hussein Osman on the day of the 21/7 planned attacks, who was later jailed for life for planting a bomb in a London underground station.

The planned assaults came just two weeks after the worst terrorist attacks to have hit the UK, when 52 people were killed on July 7, 2005.

Despite clearly being on the radar of the British intelligence services, Emwazi, who was born in Kuwait and travelled to the UK as a child with his family was able to avoid detection and eventually escape to Syria in 2013.

"Given the numbers who appear to have 'slipped through the net', it is legitimate to ask, how many more people must die before we start to look more closely at the strategy of our intelligence services?" said the former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, writing in the on Friday.

Emwazi, who was a computer programming graduate of the University of Westminster and lived in Queen's Park, West London, is thought to have killed American journalist James Foley. The killing was shown in a video released last August.

He is further believed to have featured in the videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter.

It has also emerged that the Kuwaiti-born terrorist said that he was feeling the pressure of being under constant surveillance from British authorities. In a series of emails to the newspaper in December 2010 and 2011, he said how the pressure of being watched was getting to him.

"I'll take as many pills as I can so that I will sleep for ever," he said in an email to the newspapers Security Editor Robert Verkaik, adding that he felt, "like a dead man walking."

He also claimed he was a victim of police brutality in his correspondence with the journalist, saying he was interrogated by an officer, who threw him against a wall, grabbed his beard and throttled him, the reported. Subsequently, he made a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about his ordeal.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has called for an urgent review into whether the UK government's decision to relax counter-terrorism laws had played a role in allowing Emwazi to be able to escape detection and eventually flee to travel to Syria and join the so-called Islamic State extremists (formerly ISIS/ISIL).

"We need to know whether Theresa May's decision to ignore all our warnings and weaken counter-terror powers has made it easier to organise and recruit for Isil.

"Suggestions of possible links between those carrying out atrocities on behalf of ISIL, and those behind the 21/7 planned attack on London, are very concerning," Cooper said, the reported.

While the man known as Jihadi John continues to be a part of Islamic State, it has also emerged that his family members in Kuwait have come under surveillance from the local authorities.

"Security agencies have taken the necessary measures to monitor them round the clock," the newspaper said, citing an "informed source," which was reported by AFP.

The newspaper, which also cited security sources mentioned that Emwazi's father, Jassem Abdulkareem, who is also a British citizen, is currently in Kuwait and is expected to be questioned by the authorities concerning his son.

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