The Hemingway Report

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Iran Denies U.S. Claim That It Was Behind Saudi Arabia Oil Field Attacks

Anyone swallowing this crap? When is the rest of the world (primarily Europe) going to follow America's lead against these Iranian dogs? Think about it...if it wasn't Iran then who?

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(DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) — Iran denied on Sunday it was involved in Yemen rebel drone attacks the previous day that hit the world’s biggest oil processing facility and an oil field in Saudi Arabia, just hours after America’s top diplomat alleged that Tehran was behind the “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”

The attacks Saturday claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels resulted in “the temporary suspension of production operations” at the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Riyadh said.

That led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 million barrels in crude supplies, authorities said while pledging the kingdom’s stockpiles would make up the difference. The amount Saudi Arabia is cutting back is equivalent to over 5% of the world’s daily production.

While markets remained closed Sunday, the attack could shock world energy prices. They also increased overall tensions in the region amid an escalating crisis between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Late Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly blamed Iran for the attack on Twitter, without offering evidence to support his claim.

“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo wrote. “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

The U.S., Western nations, their Gulf Arab allies and U.N. experts say Iran supplies the Houthis with weapons and drones — a charge that Tehran denies.

U.S. officials previously alleged at least one recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia came from Iraq, where Iran backs Shiite militias. Those militias in recent weeks have been targeted themselves by mysterious airstrikes, with at least one believed to have been carried out by Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Sunday dismissed Pompeo’s remarks as “blind and futile comments.”

“The Americans adopted the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning towards ‘maximum lies’,” Mousavi said in a statement.

Separately, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s office issued a statement on Sunday denying the drone attack came from there.

Iraq “abides by its constitutions that prevents the use of its lands to launch aggressions against neighboring countries,” the statement said.

So all those missiles attacks Iran perpetrated over the years is a figment of my imagination?

First, word of Saturday’s assault came in online videos of giant fires at the Abqaiq facility, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Machine-gun fire could be heard in several clips alongside the day’s first Muslim call to prayers, suggesting security forces tried to bring down the drones just before dawn. In daylight, Saudi state television aired a segment with its local correspondent near a police checkpoint, a thick plume of smoke visible behind him.

President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer his support for the kingdom’s defense, the White House said. The crown prince assured Trump that Saudi Arabia is “willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression,” according to a news release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world.”

The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then transports it onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea or to refineries for local production. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day. By comparison, Saudi Arabia produced 9.65 million barrels of crude oil a day in July.

The Khurais oil field is believed to produce over 1 million barrels of crude oil a day. It has estimated reserves of over 20 billion barrels of oil, according to Aramco.

There was no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.

San Francisco’s least expensive home still costs $600G

A 570-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath property is on the market for $599,000 in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood.

If a one-bedroom, one-bath cottage with no garage or backyard priced at over half-a-million dollars sounds like your cup of tea, then get our your checkbook.

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Forget the backyard...the view in the front yard is to die for.

San Francisco Public Works is right outside your front door ensuring your safety by removing massive amounts of trash, needles, and those dreaded plastic straws from the Homeless Camps.

Talk about peace of mind!

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A 570-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath property is on the market for $599,000 in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood.

According to SF Gate, the home was originally listed in March for $675,000, but after months without an interested buyer, the agent took it off the market in August.

Now the residential property at 17 Laidley St., which recently had its kitchen and bathroom remodeled is once again for sale at a lowered $599,000 price tag.

"We've been getting all kinds of activity. I'm getting calls from people down south and they're saying hey, I can get a house in SF for $599,000 I want it now. Some people are saying I don't even know what I'd do with it yet, but I want it,” listing agent Jeff Appenrodt with Laurel Realty told SF Gate.

The abode is considered a bargain given that the median price of homes--including condos --in the nine-county Bay Area was a cool $815,000 this summer, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which cited a report by CoreLogic.

In San Francisco, specifically, the median was $1.35 million.

Though there seems to be renewed interest in the “cheap” property, the home will never be as big as its mini-mansion neighbors, since the lot it sits on is only 614 square feet.

However, Appenrodt tells SF Gate the pint-sized home has a basement and attic that could potentially add more square footage if finished.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

You were expecting a different outcome?

Felicity Huffman Will Serve 14 Days in Prison Following College Admissions Cheating Scandal

Felicity Huffman's College Admissions Scam Jail Sentence

Felicity Huffman has officially been sentenced to 14 days in prison following her involvement in the college admissions scandal earlier this year. The actress was sentenced to a brief prison sentence, fined $30,000, a year of supervised release, and 250 hours of community service in a Boston federal courtroom on Friday afternoon.

According to reporters who were in the courtroom, Felicity took a moment to apologize for her part in the scandal, saying, "I take full responsibility for my actions . . . I am prepared to accept whatever sentence you deem fit."

On April 8, the actress, along with 13 other parents and one coach, pleaded guilty to "using bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to selective colleges and universities." A month later, Felicity pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston. "I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions," Felicity said in a statement. "I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community."

She also made it clear that her 18-year-old daughter, Sofia Grace, did not know about her actions. "My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her," she added. "This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty."