from the Start-your-conspiracy-theories-now dept.
A dilapidated warehouse in Malmi is being used by the US Embassy for unknown operations after a Wikileaks release revealed its location.
The anonymous looking building on Takoraudantie is notable only for the new 427 meter perimeter fence that according to the Wikileaks' database was ordered by the US Embassy in April 2018.
Situated across the street from the main entrance of Malmi Airport, the warehouse with its 3 meter high security fence appears an unlikely location for official embassy business. Neighbouring companies include a car yard and a tyre warehouse.
Helsinki Times visited the perimeters this weekend. Security personnel, young Finns in uniforms with American flags on their arms, appeared nervous and suspicious when asked to comment on the warehouse and refused to even confirm the order of the new fence structure which now surrounds the compound. At one point a security guard appeared in a second floor window to carefully monitor this reporter's movements along Takoraudantie.
[...]
The database displaying US embassy procurements around the world shows that tons of cargo are being distributed to Helsinki and other US embassies via regular airfreight cargo deliveries from Baghdad.
Twelve consignments, each logged at 5000 kilograms are recorded as sent to Helsinki and 23 other West European US embassies – an average of 2500 kilograms per US embassy.
The reason for such a vast volume of embassy deliveries from Baghdad is as yet unknown but this latest disclosure follows Wikileaks news that the US Consulate in Frankfurt was a purchase and postal centre for distributing spy equipment to other US embassies worldwide. Concerns are now raised that the US Embassy in Baghdad is also being used as a main distribution centre for secret operations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @07:29PM (6 children)
"new 427 meter perimeter fence"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @08:13PM (2 children)
only fences that work are guarded fences. If you have a fence that no one guards, then it's quite useless. but thanks for trolling. Now go back to Fox & Friends, I mean your actual policy makers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Friday January 11 2019, @09:17PM
So true. But we have that one guarded incredibly well. We put young, beautiful guards from Finland in there to guard it. They're doing a great job. And their job is much easier, they're doing it much because they have the fence, the Steel Wire Barrier, whatever you want to call it.
By the way, Finland, and I say this when I visit California. In Finland, very few Wild Fires. And they're very small. I was with the President of Finland and he said, "oh, we have a much different, we're a forest nation." He called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don't have any problem. You’ve got to take care of the floors. You know the floors of the forest, very important. You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story from California.
I visited Pleasure, California. Where they had one of the worst fires, so many people dieing in that one. I was watching the firemen and they were raking areas. They were raking areas where the fire was. And they’re raking trees, little trees that are not trees, little bushes that you could see are totally dry. Weeds. And they’re raking them, they’re on fire. That should have been all raked out. You wouldn’t have the fires.
I know Gavin’s committed, we’re all committed, I’m committed to make sure that we get all of this cleaned out and protected. But, no more money for California until they clean up their act. Must RAKE, TREE CLEAR & STOP DIVERTING WATER TO OCEAN!!!
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @10:18PM
Go drink some Drano, you knee-jerk SJW pussy boy.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DannyB on Friday January 11 2019, @08:48PM (2 children)
Trump to college graduates in 2004: 'If there's a concrete wall in front of you, go through it, go over it, go around'
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Friday January 11 2019, @08:55PM (1 child)
Trump in 2019: "At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall."
:^)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @09:00PM
Misunderstanding. Democrats wanted a steel barrier around Trump so there isn't a concrete wall.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday January 11 2019, @07:40PM (6 children)
Are they bringing it home? Where to next, Area 51? Ununpentium!
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @08:05PM (1 child)
Sand, they are smugling sand.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 12 2019, @12:34PM
opium to fund the mex fence
(Score: 3, Funny) by corey on Friday January 11 2019, @09:01PM (1 child)
Is that Element 115?
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday January 11 2019, @10:39PM
Yes and it makes saucers fly.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Informative) by stormwyrm on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:59AM (1 child)
Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:59PM
In the days of reverse engineered alien flying saucer anti-gravity drives and the forthcoming Rapture it was still called ununpentium.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 11 2019, @07:54PM (4 children)
Wow, that was confusing.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @08:13PM
Weeeell, i guess you could say that Malmi is Finland's Miami.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 11 2019, @10:16PM
Miami, Florida, or Malmi, Finland?
I think it's supposed to be Finland.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:08AM (1 child)
Fixed... what? As of now (Friday January 11, @01:06PM S/N time), TFT still reads "Guarded Warehouse near Miami Airport and..."
Or... did you mean "Immutable headline"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:28AM
It was fixed, i saw it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @08:08PM (2 children)
Embassy in Baghdad is built and operated as a fortress, its purpose is clearly a military. But, historically, there is no fortress in Middle East which was not unconquered, so its future is most probably very bleak.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 11 2019, @08:50PM
Attempting to untangle the negatives in that to discern the actual meaning.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 12 2019, @03:06AM
When? Three centuries from now?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday January 11 2019, @09:16PM (5 children)
1) There is a warehouse near the Malmi airport. It's apparently connected to the US Embassy because it bought a fence for it.
2) The guards of the warehouse don't want to talk about it and observe visitors moving past it.
3) 60000 kg (66 ton) of cargo reach 24 warehouses, so 2.75 tons of material, average, go to Helsinki.
4) They are diplomatic mail or cargo (US Government Property)
5) [The State Department does not recognize diplomatic cargo as a diplomatic pouch. Source. It's thus inspectable by a foreign government if it wants.] [state.gov]
6) There's lots of traffic between Basra and Erbil of US Government Cargo. No link is made to Helsinki.
7) Other embassies buy spy equipment. No link is made to Helsinki.
8) Latin America is a target of spy equipment. No link is made to Helsinki.
9) Embassies engage in espionage. No link is made to Helsinki.
10) Funny stuff happens at the US Embassy in Ecuador. No link is made to Helsinki.
So let's strip away the innuendos that are irrelevant, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. Let's ignore #3 since it both doesn't define whether it's 0 ton or 60 tons which arrive in Helsinki.
What I'm left with is that there is a guarded U.S. Warehouse in Helsinki. Should there not be one?
What was the story here, again? Probably, "reporter was on deadline and so writes up a tabloid-worthy non-story."
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Friday January 11 2019, @09:39PM
The National Enquirer -- run by a good friend of mine -- has a story that, at first you think it's going to be interesting. About how Jeffrey Bezos was texting his girlfriend Lauren (from Fox L.A.) "months before" the announcement about his divorce. And possibly you're wondering, is it texting or sexting. You'd think sexting, right? But unfortunately it's not. It's like he tried to sext but it it came out very boring! nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-text-messages-affair-scandal [nationalenquirer.com]
(Score: 2) by MrGuy on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:03AM (1 child)
Your point 5 is somewhat misleading.
You're correct (and it's explicitly stated at the end of the article) that "diplomatic mail" and "diplomatic cargo" are not considered properly designated diplomatic pouches, which would make them unprotected. But you're wrong with your implication that something that's cargo-scale is automatically unprotected.
The article you cite states:
* International law does not set any limits on the permissible size, weight, or quantity of properly designated diplomatic pouches. Therefore, it is the view of the United States that size, weight, and quantity restrictions imposed by the receiving state on properly designated diplomatic pouches are inconsistent with the obligations under Article 25 of the VCDR.
So, size doesn't matter, and the US is perfectly OK with freight-size "diplomatic pouches" being a thing. The question is how they are designated:
* Diplomatic pouches must bear “visible external marks of their character.”
* Properly designated diplomatic pouches, transported in either the cabin or cargo-hold of an aircraft, vessel, train, or motor vehicle, are considered by the United States as being “accompanied” by a diplomatic or non-professional diplomatic courier when such couriers travel as a passenger on the same mode of transportation.
* Properly designated diplomatic pouches are considered by the United States as being “unaccompanied” when a diplomatic or non-professional diplomatic courier is not traveling as a passenger on the same aircraft, vessel, train, or motor vehicle that is transporting the pouch.
* There's a linked document that talks about unaccompanied diplomatic pouches, and the short version is sometimes they can be searched and sometimes they can't, depending on who they're from and the paperwork presented, but it's very possible for unaccompanied pouches to be protected as well.
So, to some degree, this is Simon Says - if it's properly labeled and designated, and carries the right forms, according to the US State Department, it's a diplomatic pouch, and can't be inspected. If it's NOT labeled and designated as a diplomatic pouch, then it's "diplomatic cargo" and unprotected. But if you do the paperwork right, then it's perfectly possible for the US to recognize uninspectable cargo shipments.
And, by the way, while looking at the US' policy is a probably a good proxy from what other countries do with US diplomatic pouches, there's no guarantee of reciprocity, so this article isn't really the right thing to look at. The statement is "it is the view of the United States that size, weight, and quantity restrictions imposed by the receiving state on properly designated diplomatic pouches are inconsistent with the obligations under Article 25 of the VCDR." The view of the United States is not legally binding anywhere outside its borders.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday January 14 2019, @11:33PM
You have a point, however, TFA specifically references Diplomatic Mail. It makes no mention of diplomatic pouches at all. So the point actually is that if it is diplomatic mail then the U.S. has expressed an opinion that such packages are in fact searchable - something TFA fails to state. (When you say "the article" says that I assume you're referring to the State Department article I referenced. TFA doesn't say anything about diplomatic mail being searchable that I found and I invite correction.) If it is anything different than a diplomatic mail or cargo, given the invocation of TFA, it's the responsibility of the author of that to credibly allege it.
And using the same bad logic as the TFA author it is thus obvious that the government of Finland could indeed inspect whatever is there when it came into the country. It's up to the author to prove that the warehouse contains something different (such as unscreenable material). Which is another step in the, "he's making stuff up out of his ass," category. Or rather he's assembling a collection of unrelated facts and events and trying to give them a unifying theme which does not attain from the evidence the author presents. Since he's just insinuating "bad stuff could be in there" it's up to him to prove it. And he hasn't come anywhere near that, even by yellow journalism standards.
As to "bad stuff".... could the U.S. government smuggle in espionage devices, guns, sex toys, drugs, and rock-n-roll in diplomatic pouches? Surely. I'm sure some of those items are indeed transported by diplomatic pouch for clandestine purposes into every embassy in every nation. (By every nation, come to that.) But "ooh! spoooky warehouse! bad stuff inside!" is just shoddy journalism looking for a baited click.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 14 2019, @10:44AM (1 child)
One Time Pads.
Whether those are actual paper codebooks, HDDs, SSDs, or some form of integrated electronic devices for 'reading out' the pad data.
And given how they are sent to so many other locations on a regular basis that sounds like a likely and mundane scenario for the cargo as well.
Unless, you know, it is all the USD they are using to bribe foreign government officials, or the containers of nerve gas for the 4th Reich's takeover of the World, having finally weeded their way into all levels of the US government since their takeover of the United States during/after Operation Paperclip was a success.
:-)
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday January 14 2019, @11:42PM
Interesting. My calculations suggest that would be 1,102,300 8.5 x 11 inch pages or a bit over 400,000 flash drives or some combination. Seems like a bit much.
I'd be far more inclined to think that it's 5,000,000 bills yep. Or maybe it's just garden tractor, fertilizers, security sourced/inspected cleaning equipment... all the stuff one would need to keep an embassy running.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Funny) by istartedi on Friday January 11 2019, @09:47PM (1 child)
It's sand. For sand boxes in the day care centers at the embassies.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 12 2019, @04:17AM
of course it is! the loot of US wars' this past century is just sand!
(Score: 4, Informative) by tangomargarine on Friday January 11 2019, @10:21PM (1 child)
Got rather confused when I hit the second "Malmi." Wait, is this a warehouse in Florida or Finland? And what is "Takoraudantie," some island off the coast of Florida or something?
No, apparently Takoraudantie is a street in Finland, and the "Miami" in the headline is a red herring typo.
I don't expect editors to be perfect, but when the mistake is in the damn headline itself that ticks me off. At least this is a couple steps up from people who get so excited to post something on Reddit they can't take 5 flipping seconds to check for obviously misspelled common English words.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday January 11 2019, @10:25PM
The semicolon in the title hinted that this was one of those articles that are 2 or 3 separate news items mashed together with a line between them, too. A string of false assumptions that are easy to make, considering "Helsinki Times" is the first clue in the fourth paragraph that this is in a different country if you ignore the headline. And the only reason I know where the hell Helsinki is, is because I'm a nerd who likes to read about Finland from time to time.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @10:30PM (2 children)
This has nothing to do with Miami airport, why did mods add that to my title?
(Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:50AM (1 child)
Probably because Marty's spell checker spit out Miami in stead of Malmi. Can't blame him though, the Admins have been busy with a server burnout.
The real place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki-Malmi_Airport [wikipedia.org]
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 12 2019, @01:46PM
Malmi wasnt in the orginal title either though.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @10:35PM
to guard the border, after seeing a Transformers movie. And it's being done in Malm because he mis-heard they could 'Finnish' it quickly there without 'Russian' the job..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 11 2019, @10:37PM
See? Those missing WMDs actually were to the north (Helsiinki) or the east (Miami) or the south (Basra) of Bagdhad! Sec. Powell will be so relieved that he was not actually a liar to the UN General session!!