May 7 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

On This Day: 'The Scream' found 3 months after theft

In 1718, city of New Orleans was founded.

Steve Goodman - City Of New Orleans

"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), ...

City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie

Willie Nelson - City Of New Orleans (Official Audio)

Johnny Cash - City of New Orleans (Riding the Rails, 1974)

The Highwaymen - City Of New Orleans

In 1824, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was performed for the first time.

In 1913, homemade bombs found under the bishop's throne in St. Paul's Cathedral and opposite the offices of Evening Star in Bouverie Street, were deemed by police to have been the work of suffragettes.

In 1915, a German U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, killing nearly 1,200 people.

In 1921, in an exclusive interview with the United Press, Sun Yat Sen, president of the Canton Chinese government, outlined his policy proposals as he sought recognition for his fledgling government.

File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI

In 1945, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Gen. Alfred Jodl.

In 1954, rebel Viet Minh forces overran the French stronghold of Dien Bien Phu, bringing about the end of French control in Indochina and creating the division of Vietnam.

On May 7, 1994, "The Scream," Edvard Munch's famed expressionist painting, was found in a hotel room south of the Norwegian capital of Oslo three months after it was stolen

GENESIS P-ORRIDGE AND PSYCHIC TV- SIRENS

U.S. sending carrier, bombers to Mideast is 'psychological warfare': Iran

CRIMINAL CAPITALISM

Kraft Heinz to restate nearly three years of financial reports after investigation

(Reuters) - Kraft Heinz Co will restate financial reports for a near three-year period to fix errors that resulted from lapses in procurement practices by some of its employees, the packaged food company said in a filing on Monday.

The company also said it received an additional subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March, related to the assessment of goodwill and asset impairments and a request for documents associated with the procurement operations.

Kraft had disclosed a SEC subpoena in February related to an investigation into its accounting practices and, procurement procedures. Following the subpoena, the company initiated an investigation into the procurement practices.

Kraft Heinz said the misstatement was not “quantitatively material” to its financial reports, adding that its investigation was substantially complete and that it would continue to cooperate with the SEC.

Along with the subpoena, the company had also announced a $15.4 billion write-down of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands in February and Monday’s filing revealed that the misstatements would increase the amount by about $13 million.

Due to these findings, the company said it would not be able to timely file its quarterly report for the period ended March 30.

“While we expect there will be more change, the worst of the uncertainty surrounding financial statements appears to be over,” Consumer Edge Research’s Jonathan Feeney said.

Shares of the company were marginally up at $32.70 in noon trading.

Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc is Kraft Heinz’s largest shareholder with a 26.7 percent stake, told CNBC after Kraft Heinz disclosed the restatements that the company had his confidence.

The misstatements in Kraft’s reports for the years 2016, 2017 and the first nine months of 2018 mainly relates to the timing and recognition of supplier contracts in the procurement area.

The investigation and review required adjustments of about $208 million related to the costs of products sold and the findings from the investigation also revealed that there was no misconduct from any member of Kraft Heinz’s senior management.

Kraft also said it reviewed supplier contracts and found additional misstatements may or may not have resulted from the misconduct tied to its procurement practices.

“The company is taking action to improve our policies and procedures and will continue to strengthen our internal financial controls,” Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen said.

Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sriraj Kalluvila

One in 15 US student loan recipients have considered suicide over debt, study suggests

2.8 million people owe $495 billion , as of March

The $1.6 trillion in US student debt may not pose a direct threat to the economy, but it’s causing anguish that goes far beyond financial concerns for the people who owe it.

One in 15 borrowers has considered suicide due to their school loans, according to a survey of 829 people conducted last month by Student Loan Planner, a debt advisory group.

Most student debt is held by people with balances on the lower end of the scale, with only 0.8 percent of the US population owing more than $100,000 according to Deutsche Bank economists.

They have labelled the issue as a “micro problem” for individuals, rather than a macro problem for the economy.

Yet that still equates to 2.8 million people with around $495 billion in debt as of March, according to US Department of Education data.

 Even more worrying is that it’s an increase of almost $61 billion since the end of 2017.

Student loans are the second-biggest kind of debt in America behind home mortgages and often more expensive to service relative to the amount owed because interest rates are generally higher.

Not to mention that unlike buying a home, an education isn’t a tangible asset that can be sold.

It’s also turning into a hot political issue as next year’s presidential election approaches.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed a plan to cancel loans for many borrowers, while former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper addressed some of the knock-on effects for the economy in a presentation at the Milken Institute conference earlier this week.

BLOOMBERG 

Jane Birkin on making 'Je T'Aime...': 'It's about not believing in physical love. Serge was right. Bardot left him, I left him

Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg - Je T'aime,...Moi Non Plus https://youtu.be/k3Fa4lOQfbA

Fifty years ago, the sound of a woman having an orgasm was a No 1 hit. Its singer talks to Simon Hardeman about sex, Serge Gainsbourg and heavy breathing

It was the year a female orgasm made it to the top of the charts. 

In 1969, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s “Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus” became the first banned record and the first foreign-language single to reach No 1 in the UK. It still is, uniquely for such a pop hit, an erotic sound-collage of two people having sex. 

Over a sultry, repetitive tune from a cheesy organ, the 22-year-old Birkin breathes, “je t’aime, je t’aime…”, while the 40-year-old Gainsbourg louchely growls “moi non plus” (“me neither”). It builds, via increasingly heavy breathing, to Birkin’s orgasmic chorusing of “tu vas, tu vas et tu viens/ entre mes reins” (“you come, you come and you go/ between my kidneys”). Yes, the words: I’ll come to them.

The song wasn’t written for Birkin. It was composed two years earlier at the behest of Brigitte Bardot, at that point probably the world’s most famous sex symbol, and with whom the French music producer and provocateur Gainsbourg was beginning an affair. Their recording, made in a vocal booth with very steamed-up windows, caused a scandal that led to her then-husband demanding its suppression (it was eventually released in 1986).

A COVER WAS DONE BY SEX MAGICK BAND  PSYCHIC TV 

Giulio Regeni: Cambridge student 'tortured to death for being British spy'

'We thought he was an English spy, we took him ... and after loading him in the car we had to beat him', witness allegedly says

Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93


Giulio Regeni's body was found with broken bones and shattered teeth, and letters had been carved into his skin ( )

A Cambridge University student who was tortured to death in Egypt was murdered because he was suspected of being a British spy, according to a report in an Italian newspaper.

Giulio Regeni, an Italian man who was 28 at the time of his death, went missing in January 2016 before his body was discovered more than a week later at roadside in Cairo.

His body showed signs of torture, having suffered broken bones and shattered teeth, and letters had been carved into his skin.

Mr Regeni’s family believe he was killed by Egypt’s security services because he was researching labour unions which had opposed president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as part of his PhD at Cambridge University‘s Girton College.

Now a new witness has come forward and told Mr Regeni’s family he overheard an Egyptian intelligence agent speaking about “the Italian guy” and saying the student had been beaten because he was thought to be a British spy.

“We thought he was an English spy, we took him, I went and after loading him in the car we had to beat him,” the intelligence agent allegedly said, according to the Correre della Sera newspaper. 

“I hit him in the face,” the agent reportedly added.

The conversation is said to have taken place at a police convention in an unnamed African country in 2017.

The Egyptian agent’s name was passed to Italian prosecutors, who believe the evidence is credible.

They have requested Egyptian prosecutors outline the agent’s whereabouts at the time of the alleged conversation in 2017.

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Egypt has strenuously denied its security services were involved in Mr Regeni’s death, and initially said he died in a car accident before blaming a gang for his murder.

Italy recalled its ambassador to Cairo in April 2016 in protest at the slow pace of the probe into Mr Regeni’s death, though a replacement was sent a year later.

Lawyer investigating death of Cambridge student in Egypt disappears

Egypt police investigate news agency over article on student’s death

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