Turkey officials order re-run of Istanbul election, voiding win for Erdogan opposition

"We are thirsty for justice," opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu says

DICTATOR ERDOGAN FAILS TO WIN RIGGED ELECTION DEMANDS DO OVER 

Borzou DaragahiIstanbul @borzou
10 hours ago


Getty

Turkish authorities on Monday ordered a redo of an election won by an opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political party, snatching away a major victory from the country’s opposition.

Under heavy pressure by Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) Turkey’s High Election Commission (YSK), which is described as packed with the president’s loyalists, cancelled the results of 31 March Istanbul mayoral elections narrowly won by Ekrem Imamoglu, a rising star in the Turkish opposition.

The news was reported by Turkey's state-run Anatolia News Agency. It sent the Turkish lira, already battered by inflation and high borrowing costs, tumbling. 

Mr Imamoglu appearing before a crowd of supporters struck a defiant tone.

"We won this election by the hard work of millions of people; they attempted to steal our rightfully won elections," he said. "We are thirsty for justice. The decision-makers in this country may be in a state unawareness, error or even treason, but we will never give up."
As shock and anger over the news spread, supporters of Mr Imamoglu began banging pots and pans in a cacophony of peaceful protest throughout the city.

"One of the worst days for Turkey’s beleaguered democracy," wrote Asli Adintasbas, a journalist and commentator.

Mr Imamoglu was handed the mandate to govern last month, lifting the spirits of Erdogan’s opponents, despite vague and unsubstantiated accusations of cheating and election fraud by the AKP and its loyalists.

Mr Imamoglu’s victory marked the first time in 25 years that Istanbul, a city of 16 million that is Turkey's economic powerhouse, fell out of the hands of Mr Erdogan’s political party. The AKP also lost control of the capital, Ankara, for the first time in 25 years but with a much larger margin. 

The YSK overturned the election results on a technicality, arguing that some of those who served on election boards in the city were not civil servants. Mr Imamoglu mocked the ruling. "With the same election rules, a president has been elected, a referendum has been held, so there is also uncertainty over the Constitution and the President's position," he said.

Mr Imamoglu's opponent, Binali Yilidrim, said he would wait for the final election commission ruling to emerge before weighing in.

 Istanbul is a major source of patronage cash, with real-estate deals used to seal ties between the AKP and developers who are the pillar of the party. Municipal election losses enraged AKP supporters, causing division within the party's ranks. 

While new elections -- said to scheduled for either 23 June or 7 July -- could bring Istanbul back under the control of the AKP, it also carries political risk, should the party lose by even a larger margin. Already the party's handling of the election loss had made it look petty and power hungry, while cementing the unflappable Mr Imamoglu's stature as a national political phenomenon.

"The AKP has single-handedly created a hero of the people as the economy crashes around them," wrote commentator and frequent AKP critic Can Okar. "This is how the end begins."

AND PREDICTABLY THE DICTATOR OF TURKEY SAYS

Erdogan backs re-run of Istanbul vote after 'organized corruption'

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the decision to re-run Istanbul's mayoral election was an important step toward strengthening democracy, describing the March vote as marred by "organized corruption" and illegality.

NANAIMO BYELECTION
May 6, 2019

Greens claim historic 2nd federal seat with upset byelection win in Nanaimo-Ladysmith

By Richard Zussman and Simon Little Global NewsUpdated: May 6, 2019 11:07 pm

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is about to get some company in Ottawa.

The Green Party’s Paul Manly has won the Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection, breaking through to win the party`s second seat in the House of Commons.

Manly becomes the second-ever federal Green Party candidate in Canada`s history to win an election, taking home more than 37 per cent of the vote.

WATCH: One-on-one interview with MP-Elect Paul Manly of the Green Party

Blair Wilson and Bruce Hyer both served as Green MPs but jumped to the party after winning elections for other parties.

Manly told cheering supporters that Monday’s win was the result of a positive campaign based on ideas.

“How we can change the economy that we are working in to protect the environment that we need for our health, for our children, for our grandchildren. How we can do a better job of taking care of people, those that are less fortunate,” he said.

“I’ve been working with people who have suffered, who have been homeless not of their own fault at all because of the way the economy has moved in this community. With the housing boom, stagnant wages. We know we can do better,” he said.

Manly maintained a double digit lead throughout the evening, and was on track to beat the second place finisher by close to 15 per cent.




Green Party Canada
✔@CanadianGreens
Greens across the country right now. We did it! #NanaimoLadysmith #cdnpoli #GreenWave #GreensWin
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10:59 PM - May 6, 2019
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Manly was the only byelection candidate who ran in the 2015 general election in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

In the that federal general election, the Greens finished fourth with 19.2 per cent, the strongest finish from a fourth place candidate in Canada.

The result is a serious blow to the NDP, who many pundits had favoured to win the byelection.

With nearly all the votes counted, the party looked likely to finish a disappointing third place, with about 23.5 per cent of the vote.




Richard Zussman
✔@richardzussman

.@ChiefBobbyc opens speech congratulating @paulmanly. Says NDP has the ‘clear foresight for what this country needs’ #CDNpoli
1
11:04 PM - May 6, 2019

Under leader Jagmeet Singh the party has now lost two held ridings: Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Outremont, former leader Thomas Mulcair’s seat that fell in February.

WATCH: Paul Manly on what changes he wants to see, now the he is an MP-elect

The loss stalls the third party at 40 seats across the country and loosens the stranglehold the party has on Vancouver Island. The Greens now hold two seats on the Island, compared to the five held by the NDP.

Chamberlin, a well known First Nations leader, is expected to run for the party again in October`s general election.

READ MORE: Voters head to polls for byelection in Nanaimo, an important indicator ahead of federal vote

Conservative candidate John Hirst did well in the north part of the riding, and while he earned more than 24 per cent of the vote — an improvement on the Conservatives’ 23.4 per cent in 2015 — he could not gather enough support in the rest of riding for a win.

Hirst, a father of six-month-old and two-year-old children, was taking his first crack at electoral politics and wants to consult with his family before committing to a run in the fall.

Liberal candidate Michelle Corfield finished fourth, a significant drop for the party that finished second in the riding four years ago. The Liberals tallied less than 11 per cent of the vote, less than half the 23.5 per cent they managed in 2015.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was required to call the byelection after Sheila Malcolmson resigned the seat in January. Malcolmson stepped down after she won the provincial byelecton in January.

Nanaimo voters will return to the ballot box in just five months, for the Oct. 21 general election.


© 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

XI'S CULTURAL REVOLUTION 

China's social media 'army' of trolls wages war on Uighurs.

The Diba Central Army, a Chinese patriotic group, has been bombarding the Facebook pages of two pro-Uighur groups with an array of verbal grenades and offensive images.

Full story: http://u.afp.com/JY8L

AFP factfile on a 2018 report by Amnesty International on the "massive crackdown" of one million Muslims in China's western Xinjiang region

Grenfell Tower inquiry 'failing to deliver' as survivors and bereaved families 'lose faith', lawyers warn

Law firms accuse probe of showing 'complete disregard' for victims and their relatives and warn that, without urgent action, it will be 'shrouded in secrecy'

May BulmanSocial Affairs Correspondent @maybulman

The Independent

Lawyers representing those who survived the disaster and relatives of the deceased accused the probe of showing 'complete disregard' for their clients ( PA )

The Grenfell Tower inquiry is “failing to deliver” on promises it made to traumatised survivors and the families of victims, who have “lost faith” in the process, lawyers have warned.

Law firms representing those who survived the disaster and relatives of the deceased accused the probe of showing “complete disregard” for their clients and warned that, without urgent action, it would be “shrouded in secrecy”.

Despite assurances that chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick was expecting to deliver his interim report on the inquiry’s first phase by spring, the Grenfell community still does not have a date for its release.

And while Sir Martin initially said he was aiming for the second part of the inquiry to start at the end of 2019, it will now be early 2020 before hearings resume.

The inquiry team has been aiming to produce the report, based on the first phase of the inquiry, before 14 June – the second anniversary of the fire.

Millionaire ‘filmed friends laughing as they burned Grenfell effigy’

40,000 people still living in deadly Grenfell-style tower blocks

Grenfell Tower ‘was ticking time bomb after fire inspector cuts’

But less than a quarter of the 200,000 documents relevant to this phase, which will examine the wider issues surrounding the fire, have been disclosed.

The delays will exacerbate concerns about delays to any charges being brought, as the Metropolitan Police have said they must take the final report of the public inquiry into account before submitting a file to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Isabel Bathurst, who is representing a number of victims’ families for Slater and Gordon, one of the firms in the group of 11, said: “The families have lost faith in the inquiry and believe the process shows no humanity or fundamental interest in what they are fighting for.

“They collectively feel it is failing to deliver on its intended purpose and those in charge do not comprehend the extent of the trauma the victims and the victims’ families are still suffering every day.

“They deserve answers and to simply move the goal posts of when these will be provided is not acceptable.

“It is of their view that this inquiry has complete disregard for their voices and a total lack of respect for their loved ones who lost their lives, and therefore, their ability to fight for justice themselves.

“Unless these concerns are taken seriously now, there is a real belief that it will still be shrouded in secrecy by the time we reach the second anniversary –a situation we are not willing to accept.”
Watch more

Grenfell Tower fire charges ‘unlikely before 2021’

The group of lawyers, which represents more than 90 core participants, has written to the inquiry pushing for the chair to make urgent fire safety recommendations for residents across the country.

A spokesperson for the inquiry said teams were in regular contact with families, with monthly public updates, drop-ins and written and face-to-face contact with groups and legal representatives.

“We recognise that publication of the phase one report is important for the bereaved, survivors and residents and all core participants,” she said.

“The drafting of the report is a very substantial exercise in which accuracy and thoroughness is key. The inquiry will update all core participants on the timing of publication of the phase one report in due course.”

Maria Chiejina, the sister of 60-year-old Vincent Chiejina, who died on the 17th floor of the tower, said the probe had “not delivered what an inquiry should deliver” and that the process “needs to be human”.

Grenfell United, a campaigning group representing survivors and the bereaved, added: “It’s May and we still don’t know what the schedule for the inquiry is for this year, never mind what the new venue will be or when to expect the phase one report.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began
Show all 18





“As we get closer to the second anniversary with no useful information people are increasingly frustrated and anxious. They need to put survivors and bereaved back at the heart of this process.”

Deborah Coles, the executive director of the charity Inquest, which has been supporting Grenfell families, said: “Getting to the truth of what happened is of benefit to us all.

“However, a lack of transparency and clear timeframes from the inquiry are causing unnecessary anxiety and anguish among bereaved families and survivors.”

Additional reporting by PA

Huge 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea earthquake: 7.2 magnitude quake hits country

Quake strikes eastern edge of mountainous country
8 hours ago 

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake was reported by USGS ( USGS )

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake has struck near Papua New Guinea, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has said.

The quake struck 33km north west of the town of Bulolo in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The epicentre of the strong quake was 127 km (79 miles) below the surface, the USGS said, in a region at the eastern edge of the mountainous country.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

There are currently no tsunami warnings in the region, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The fire department in the eastern town of Lae said no one had yet called in to report damage or injuries so far following the quake.

It comes after Papua New Guinea was struck by a 7.5 magnitude quake which claimed the lives of more than 150 people last year.

Earthquakes are common in the country, which sits on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates

Its mountainous terrain means it often takes aid agencies and government officials days before they can gather information on damage and casualties.

RUSSIAN AEROFLOT EXPLOSION & CRASH

‘Bright flash and a bang’: Pilot describes lightning strike before deadly landing of Russian passenger jet

Crew say plane struck during electrical storm lost radio communications

• VIDEO: Passenger films plane on fire from inside the cabin
• What is Russia's aviation safety record and how concerned should travellers be?
• Simon Calder: The emergency evacuation rules designed to keep you safe

LIVEMET GALA 2019

Dozens of people are dead after a Russian passenger plane made an emergency landing and erupted in a huge ball of fire and smoke at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

Aeroflot says the Superjet-100 had to return to the airport "due to a technical reason" and its engines caught fire upon landing.

Forty-one people including at least two children are known to have died

Passengers could be seen leaping onto an inflatable slide at the front and running from the blazing plane as huge black columns of smoke billowed into the sky.

Full story: u.afp.com/JYAD

The plane, an Aeroflot SSJ100, was carrying 78 people, including five crew members.

NEWS.YAHOO.COM

Experts hunt for reason why 41 died in Moscow plane fire

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian airliner that took off from Moscow was airborne for just 28 minutes before returning to make an emergency landing while still heavy with unburned fuel, which then ignited after a rough touchdown.

AS the ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid speeds past earth, it may end up protecting us from more dangerous foes to come

Currently, the best plan for redirecting an asteroid is to punch it hard enough to slow it down, but for that to work, we’ll need to understand what kind of object we’re trying to hit

Jillian Scudder @Jillian_Scudder

Dr Jillian Scudder is assistant professor of physics at Oberlin College and Conservatory

The asteroid 99942 Apophis is 340 meters across, and coming our way, but it won’t get too close. On 13 April, 2029, this asteroid will zoom past the Earth, allowing scientists a close-up view of an asteroid without needing to travel to it.

Between the discoveries made by spacecraft orbiting other asteroids, Ryugu by Hayabusa 2, Bennu by Osiris ReX, and others, the asteroids which litter our solar system have turned out to be a diverse bunch of objects. But typically we have to sent robotic craft out to see them – it’s rare that they come so close to us, especially large ones like Apophis, named after the Egyptian god of chaos.

So last week, scientists began to plan. They have been given a brief window to observe this asteroid in high resolution, so what would they like to do? What data would be most helpful to understand larger asteroids in detail? And also, how will they be able to spot and understand changes on the surface of the asteroid as it passes by the Earth?

Apophis has been tracked reliably since its discovery in 2004, when its orbit was initially so poorly understood that there was a concern it might strike the Earth directly.

Since then, additional data has fine-tuned our understanding of its path, traced by gravitational forces, through our solar system, and while it will skim rather close to us – 31,000 kilometers – it will remain far enough away that nearly two and a half Earths could fit between the surface of our planet and the asteroid’s path.

If it’s missing us, why study it in so much detail? Apophis is by no means the only asteroid that has the potential to swing so close by the Earth; there are about 2,000 such objects in the solar system that we know about. And it’s worth knowing. An asteroid impact on the surface of the planet could be catastrophic; after all, it was an asteroid thought to be about 30 times larger than Apophis that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The end goal of studying these Earth-crossing asteroids is to be able to avoid disaster if an asteroid is discovered that will strike the Earth if no action is taken.

If Apophis is typical of asteroids which cross the Earth’s orbit, then by studying it in detail we learn about the type of objects we’ll be dealing with, should a hazardous asteroid be found.

Currently, the best plan for redirecting an asteroid is to punch it hard enough to slow it down even by a few minutes, allowing the Earth to pass in front of the asteroid unperturbed. But for that to work, we’ll need to understand what kind of object we’re trying to hit. The response of a pile of rocks loosely held together by gravity would have a very different response than one with more structure to it.
Watch more

Nasa preparing for arrival of huge asteroid named 'God of Chaos'

Apophis is a fun object to study because of its size, and the fact that it is (and it’s worth reiterating) definitely missing Earth.

An asteroid doesn’t have to be that large to do damage on the surface. The meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013 was a much smaller object than Apophis – only about 20m or so – and even that was enough to shatter windows and set off car alarms, and a number of people were injured, mostly from the flying shattered glass.

Over a bigger city, or at a busier time of day, a slightly bigger object could easily have done much more damage.

Apophis, won’t be disruptive to us here on Earth, but what we can learn from it might help avoid chaos in the future. In the meantime, mark your calendars, because you may be able to see it zip past the Earth with the naked eye, as gravity pulls it inexorably inwards to the sun.

RA AS HORUS DEFEATS APOPHIS

I AM AN ALBERTA RED AND NOT JUST MY NECK

The Edmonton General Strike of 1919 - Eugene Plawiuk - Libcom.org

https://libcom.org/library/edmonton-general-strike-1919-eugene-plawiuk

Calgary 1919: The Birth of the OBU and the General ... - Libcom.org

 

https://libcom.org/library/calgary-1919-birth-obu-general-strike-eugene-plawiuk

THE CCF THE ORIGINAL REFORM MOVEMENT - OoCities

www.oocities.org/capitolhill/5202/ccf.htm

ANCIENT METEOR CRATER IN NORTHERN ALBERTA

HOTCHKISS STRUCTURE

by: Charles O’Dale

• Type: Complex
• Age (ma): 120-330a – MISSISSIPPIAN
• Diameter: 3.9 km
• Location: N 58° 49′ W 118° 16′ (approximate)

a Determining the timing of this event is poorly constrained stratigraphically since the Gething-Debolt unconformity marks a nearly 200 million-year gap in the geological record in this area.

Uniquely identifying this structure as an impact structure is a difficult task since
there are no wells penetrating the disturbed rocks of the structure.

The Hotchkiss structure is  indicated by the small red circle on the Alberta map,  in the north west near the Chinchaga River.

The Hotchkiss structure,  located near the Chinchaga river, is an anomalous feature that has been observed on seismic data. The structure  bears many of the diagnostic features of a complex impact crater. The structure is 3.9 km across and is buried approximately 1000-m below the surface. There are few wells in the area. Also in the area are a number of kimberlite pipes that are of considerable economic interest to local mining companies. The presence of these pipes, however, complicates the interpretation of this feature as an impact structure.

A combination of wind and weather prevented me from an overflight of the Hotchkiss structure (red circle). The routes we flew in GOZooM in our efforts to see the structure location are indicated here. In the area, we did manage to overfly Carswell, Pilot Lake and Gow craters.

The Hotchkiss structure exhibits many features, including evidence for a central uplift, large-scale faulting at the rim and in the central uplift, a breccia infill, and a continuation of the disturbance to depths in excess of 1500-m below the top of the feature. The structure also obeys many of the scaling relationships relating to impact features. At the time of formation between 120 and 330 million years ago,  the original size of this structure is estimated to have been 3.9 km in diameter by 480 m in depth. At the end of the modification state, the transient cavity had a diameter of 2.26 km and was about 630 m deep. (Mazur 1999)

Simplified stratigraphic column for the Hotchkiss area. Subsequent to its formation, the Hotchkiss structure experienced a large amount of erosion. The Gething-Debolt unconformity marks this period of erosion during which an estimated 500 m of the structure was eroded. (Mazur et al 1998)

Uniquely identifying Hotchkiss as an impact structure is a difficult task since there are no wells penetrating the disturbed rocks of the structure.

Mazur 1999

The Hotchkiss structure in northwestern Alberta shows many of the morphological characteristics of a complex impact crater.

Shown here are faults  and a continuous surface representing the general shape of the structure as interpreted on seismic line 2 (Mazur 1999).

2-D seismic data interprets the current extent of the feature and its preerosional dimensions. The current size of the area of disturbance is 3.5 km across and 400 m thick. Using scaling relations, the Hotchkiss structure is estimated to have been 4.5 km in diameter and 500 m deep at the time of formation between 120 and 330 million years ago (Mazur, Stewart and Hildebrand, 1999).

This is typical northern Alberta geology around the buried Hotchkiss structure.

Virginia Falls north of the Hotchkiss structure.

References

[see – METEORITE]
Mazur M.J. The Seismic Characterization of Meteorite Impact Structures, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Calgary Alberta (1999)

Michael J. Mazur and Robert R. Stewart, Interpreting the Hotchkiss structure: A possible meteorite impact feature in northwestern Alberta CREWES Research Report — Volume 10 (1998)