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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - International community sanctions on North Korea may be hurting key economic sectors and hampering the human rights of its citizens, a United Nations expert said on Thursday. It is my conviction that a comprehensive assessment of the sanctions regime is needed in order to avoid unintended negative impact on human rights, said Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, in a speech to a U.N. committee. Ojea Quintana said the sanctions must be evaluated to avoid imposing what would effectively constitute a collective punishment on North Koreans. The rapporteur said Pyongyang was ultimately responsible for protecting the human rights of its citizens, yet patterns of grave violations persisted. The U.N. Security Council last month strengthened sanctions against Pyongyang, including export bans as well as asset freezes and travel bans on various officials, over the country s sixth and most powerful nuclear test so far, conducted on Sept. 3. On Thursday, the United States unilaterally imposed sanctions on seven North Korean individuals and three entities over what it called serious human rights abuses, including forced labor. Ojea Quintana highlighted the deplorable conditions of detainees in detention centers near the border with China including widespread sexual and gender-based violence. | 0 |
This is hysterical, but sadly it s not far-fetched at all!I took down my Rebel flag (which you can t buy on e-bay any more) and peeled the NRA sticker off the front door. I disconnected my home alarm system and quit the candy-ass Neighborhood Watch. I bought two Pakistani flags and put one at each corner of the front yard. Then I purchased the black flag of ISIS (which you CAN buy on e-bay) and put it in the CENTER of the yard. Now, the local police, sheriff, FBI, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, Secret Service and other agencies are all watching the house 24/7.I ve NEVER felt safer and I m saving $69.95 a month that ADT charged me.Plus, I bought burkas for my family when we shop or travel. Everyone moves out of way and security can t pat us down Safe at last only in USA! | 0 |
Republicans are girding for a 2016 campaign debate with Democrats on immigration, but their presidential candidates are still unsure of the best way to handle an issue that could make or break their party’s ability to win back the White House.
Many of the contenders are equivocating or openly shifting their positions on the central question of how to handle the millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, which Hillary Clinton... | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will meet in Ottawa for a North American leaders’ Summit on June 29, the White House said on Wednesday. The “Three Amigos” summit, with two key U.S. trading partners, comes as Obama grapples with a wave of anti-free-trade sentiment that has stalled ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sweeping 12-nation pact that includes Canada and Mexico. Obama hopes the U.S. Congress will ratify the deal before he leaves office on Jan. 20. But trade has become a lightning rod issue in the presidential election campaign to replace him. Republican Donald Trump, now his party’s presumptive nominee for 2016, has attacked the TPP and describes the tripartite North American Free Trade agreement as a disaster that needs to be renegotiated or broken. In the Democratic campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders has opposed the trade deal, and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has also expressed concerns. Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and would suffer greatly if a future president moved to clamp down on free trade. Trudeau, asked how he would deal with a President Trump, said the leaders of both countries would always agree on the need for growth and prosperity. One important way to achieve this was through trade, he added. “The level of integration between the Canadian and American economies is unlike anything else ... in the world,” he told a news conference in Ottawa. The last “Three Amigos” summit was in Toluca, Mexico in 2014. Canada was supposed to host the meeting early last year but canceled it amid tension between then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama will address Canada’s Parliament during the visit, the White House said. He last came to Canada for a bilateral visit in February 2009, the first foreign trip of his presidency. Ottawa’s relations with Mexico are strained over Canadian rules, introduced under Harper, that impose visas for visiting Mexicans. Trudeau said he hoped to be able to announce within weeks that the requirement would be scrapped. | 0 |
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania s ruling Social Democrats hope to organize this autumn a referendum to restrict the constitutional definition of family, which would effectively rule out the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage, party leader Liviu Dragnea said on Saturday. The plan for a referendum came about after the Coalition for the Family, a civil society group, collected 3 million signatures last year in favor of changing the constitutional definition of marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman from the existing spouses. Under Romanian law, the constitution can be changed after a proposal by the president, the government, a quarter of all lawmakers or at least 500,000 citizens. Parliament must approve any revision, which must then pass a nationwide referendum. It is known that we are committed ... in this direction, state news agency Agerpres quoted Dragnea as saying at a party meeting at a resort on the Black Sea. Our intention is to end up organizing the referendum to change the constitution on the family issue this autumn. Few politicians openly support same sex marriage or even civil partnerships in the socially conservative eastern European nation of 20 million, where the Orthodox Church yields significant influence. Notable exceptions include centrist President Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German, who has said that as a member of an ethnic and religious minority, he supports tolerance and openness towards others who are different while rejecting religious fanaticism and ultimatums. The opposition Save Romania Union (USR) also held an internal vote on the issue and decided to oppose the referendum. In June, dozens of Romanian rights groups jointly asked parliament to reject the proposed constitutional change that they said would push the European Union state onto a populist, authoritarian track leading to an erosion of democratic rights and liberties. The Coalition for the Family also supports cancelling subsidies for contraception and elective abortion, forcing parents of minors to have counseling if they want to divorce, and lowering some taxes for married couples. Restricting the definition of family based on a marriage between man and woman also would hurt single parents, non-married couples and other non-traditional parenting units, rights groups have said. | 1 |
Christian parents who homeschool their children have the right to keep them stupid and ignorant according to a new ruling by Texas conservative-dominated Supreme Court.Laura and Michael McIntyre have been refusing to educate their kids because they believe they ll be raptured soon and literally argued that they have the right to do so under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.Just think about that for a minute. A Christian couple is arguing that they should be allowed to not educate their kids because they think Jesus is coming back any day now to take them all to heaven.And the Texas Supreme Court actually agreed with them.According to the Associated Press;Friday s 6-3 decision on technical grounds was a win for Laura and Michael McIntyre, who once educated their nine children in the family s El Paso motorcycle dealership.The couple argued that school district officials violated their 14th Amendment rights by attempting to verify that its children were learning.The district was investigating relatives complaints the McIntyre children weren t being educated because they were waiting for Jesus Christ s second coming.It all started in 2004 when the religion-obsessed parents took their kids out of their private school to educate them at home. But instead of learning math, history, and science the kids were learning all about Jesus and how they ll be raptured.Michael s brother testified that the nine children were never being taught anything that had to do with the school curriculum and that he overheard one of the children informing a cousin that they don t have to learn because the End Times are allegedly near.In their first court appearance, the judge basically laughed at the McIntyres defense and ruled in 2014 that: No parents have ever prevailed in any reported case on a theory that they have an absolute constitutional right to educate their children in the home, completely free of any state supervision, regulation, or requirements. They do not have an absolute constitutional right to home school. But six dimwits on the Texas Supreme Court allowed the McIntyres to be the first parents to prevail on such a theory, thus giving conservative Christian parents across the state the ability to indoctrinate their kids with religion as their daily education instead of learning the subjects necessary for them to have a future and a brain that knows how to think critically. All they have to do now is yank their own kids out of school and claim they have a constitutional right to keep their kids stupid.The Texas Supreme Court basically just ruled in favor of what amounts to child abuse and neglect and the people of Texas should be embarrassed.Featured Image: Wikimedia | 0 |
If you haven t heard, Donald Trump Jr. recently tweeted out emails between himself and Rob Goldstone, a right-wing opposition researcher who was acting as an intermediary between a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer who promised harmful information about Hillary Clinton.Goldstone arranged a meeting between Russian government attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and Trump Jr. at Trump Tower on June 9 of last year where he would receive the information as part of Russia and its government s support of the Trump campaign.Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017The meeting was attended by Veselnitskaya , Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump s husband Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Apparently, Goldstone was there too because he checked in on Facebook at Trump Tower for the meeting:"Preparing for meeting." I'm dying! pic.twitter.com/jC5UpPUyhQ Shari Nilsson (@sharicn) July 11, 2017He was also there in February, though the reason is yet unknown.Interestingly, Goldstone celebrated Trump s election by posting this picture to Instagram:Here's his instagram day after election pic.twitter.com/iXgjcDoaDO MaggyResistant (@Maggyw519) July 11, 2017Just for fun, here are a couple more photos of him that people have found showing him to be a truly stand-up individual:Well, you are talking about this guy pic.twitter.com/QPJSaB6wBE Princess Leah ? (@PrincessLeahSh) July 11, 2017 pic.twitter.com/Hz2vKNxnQY Don The Con (@LyinDonTheCon) July 11, 2017Just in case The Donald tries to weasel out of this by saying that he has never personally met Goldstone or Veselnitskaya, here s a photo of that happening:Also have to love the photographic evidence of Trump and Goldstone previously meeting. Here they are together. Goldstone is circled. pic.twitter.com/FzdSgU4yeG Trial Lawyer Richard (@TrialLawyerRich) July 11, 2017One thing to note that that, according to Goldstone s timeline, the meeting happened at around 4 PM. At 4:40 PM, Trump tweeted about Hillary s emails.How long did it take your staff of 823 people to think that up and where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted? https://t.co/gECLNtQizQ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016Let s be clear here: Trump Jr. knew the information he would receive was coming from a hostile dictatorship. He was told that it was part of the Russian government s backing of his father. He went anyway.Trump Jr. recently hired a criminal defense lawyer.Featured image via Instagram | 1 |
Ask Holly: Why am I such a miserable git? 03-11-16 Why am I such a miserable git? Jose Manchester Dear Jose, Happiness comes from sweets and things made of plastic and sparkly items you see in the adverts on Channel 5. All you need to do is get a job which pays you about £21.99 a week. If you are too young to work, ask your mum and dad every half an hour for several days to give you the money and then you can get some wine gums, a Sherbet Dip Dab, some Shopkins and a Barbie and you will be happy for at least five minutes. Hope that helps, | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), two of Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies, on Thursday backed Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) refusal to help the FBI break into an iPhone used by a shooter in the San Bernardino attack, saying that complying would set a dangerous precedent for privacy. It took two days, but the companies’ entry solidifies a small but powerful band of tech giants supporting Apple in its quest to buck government demands that it says would irreparably damage security and erode consumer trust. Among the first to come to Apple’s defense was its chief rival. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google tweeted in support of Apple on Wednesday. But other companies are staying mum. Yahoo Inc YHOO.O and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) have yet to weigh in on the case. In characteristic fashion, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey used the service itself to lend support to Apple CEO Tim Cook, tweeting "We stand with @tim_cook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)." (bit.ly/1RbfI5j) In a statement, Facebook said, “We will continue to fight aggressively against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems.” The case has intensified the rift between tech companies and law enforcement over the limits of encryption. And law enforcement groups have been vocal about their support for the Justice Department. Although some firms have remained silent, the industry is firmly on Apple’s side, said Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud-based storage provider Box Inc (BOX.N). “Companies choose to use their political capital when it is really important or relevant to them,” Levie said. “If individually pressed you would see the same message from essentially any Internet or hardware or enterprise software CEO or company, and that’s because the fundamental security model of our technology would break if you were to comply with this kind of order.” Levie said he unequivocally supports Cook’s stance. “The whole grounds on which Apple is standing on are just super important,” he said. At the center of the case is an iPhone used by Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people and wounded 22 in a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. The young married couple sympathized with Islamic State militants, and government investigators want the data on the phone to learn more about their activities the day of the shooting and their contacts with either accomplices or Islamic State. Apple’s Cook had said the court’s demand threatened the security of Apple’s customers and had “implications far beyond the legal case at hand.” | 0 |
If you haven t seethe viral video of a takedown by a Russian guard on one of our guys, you simply won t believe it! Now we punish Russia with a light slap on the wrist for tackling on of our guys? Lame!The United States expelled two Russian officials on June 17 in response to an attack by a Russian policeman on an American diplomat earlier in the month, the State Department said Friday. On June 17, we expelled two Russian officials from the United States in response to this attack, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He would not provide any further detail.Kirby said a Russian guard attacked an American diplomat outside of the U.S. Embassy compound in Moscow on June 6. He described the attack as unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the diplomat was a CIA agent who hit the guard in the face. Instead of the CIA employee, who was in disguise, as we understand, it could have been anyone a terrorist, an extremist, a suicide bomber, said Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.Kirby responded to Moscow s accusation by telling reporters, The Russian claim that the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue. The State Department has said that Russia has harassed U.S. diplomats in the past, a claim the Kremlin denies.Relations between Moscow and Washington have been especially strained since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. YOU WON T BELIEVE THIS! Via: WFB | 0 |
I d like to suggest that there is no such thing as the left or right. There s only an up or down. | 0 |
Now that he s president-elect, Donald Trump has begun turning his attention to his transition, as well as beginning to build up his cabinet. It s early right now, but sources have told Politico who is in line for some top positions. If you weren t already panicking just from his win last night, now would be a good time to start.Perhaps most alarming are his potential picks for Secretary of DHS. Politico reports that Sheriff David Clarke is said to be a major contender. This is the Milwaukee sheriff who made a name for himself calling for pitchforks and torches and armed rebellion if Trump lost.But he seems to be the main contender, not the sole contender. There s also a possibility that Bridgegate Kingpin Chris Christie could be in line for the position, as could Rudy Giuliani. Putting either of these people in charge of agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and more, could potentially be very damaging.For Secretary of State, we have John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Bolton was a controversial figure at the U.N., and he championed George W. Bush s insistence on one-sided foreign policy. Fan-bloody-tastic.Newt Gingrich could also be in line for this position, as could Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee.Trump is rumored to want to put his own finance chief, who s a former Goldman-Sachs exec, in as Secretary of the Treasury. Besides the blatant cronyism, a Wall Street executive in a cabinet position goes against everything Trump claimed about Hillary and her ties to the banks.Rudy Giuliani is rumored to be considered for a host of positions, including Attorney General, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence/CIA Director. Giuliani is about as erratic and unreasonable as Trump the most benign position in this list is probably Chief of Staff.Chris Christie may also be up for Attorney General.Trump s top pick for Secretary of Energy is Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm. This guy has shaped a lot of Trump s ideas on energy policy, which includes gutting renewable energy and escalating fossil fuel use.For Secretary of the Interior, the leading candidate right now is Forrest Lucas, the founder of Lucas Oil. An oil executive and a vocal animal rights opponent is such a great pick to protect our lands and our wildlife. We can probably say goodbye to national parks, the endangered species list, and more if he s chosen.Other candidates include none other than Queen Drunken Airhead herself, Sarah Palin, as well as Trump s own son, Donald Trump Jr. No nepotism there at all.Trump wants a business leader, a.k.a. a CEO, for Labor Secretary. Interestingly enough, though, the current commissioner of the EEOC, Victoria Lipnic, is said to be a frontrunner for this job. She s one of Obama s picks and supports things like the Equal Pay Act. She wants to get rid of the EEOC s pay data collection system, though.Trump said early on that he wanted to eliminate the EPA, but has since modified that position. However, he wants to put noted climate skeptic Myron Ebell in charge of the agency responsible for ensuring we have clean air and clean water, so he might as well eliminate it.Ben Carson. Nuff said.Politico has their full list, and CNN also has a list. It s very early yet, and it s true that not every single person Trump is considering would be a bad choice. For instance, he wants someone who s already got a lot of experience with Veterans Affairs to head up the VA. However, many of his potential picks are rampant with cronyism and just plain sheer idiocy and cluelessness.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state television said the Syrian army advanced on Tuesday to within 100 meters of troops that Islamic State has surrounded for years in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor. The army and allied forces have come close to relieving the Euphrates city after a swift lunge through jihadist lines. Islamic State has since 2014 besieged a government-held enclave where some 93,000 civilians live and an army garrison is stationed. | 1 |
On Sunday, House Speaker Paul Ryan stated that he feels he must support Donald Trump as the Republican Pary s presidential nominee, due to his position in Congress and the Party. During an interview on NBC s Meet the Press, Ryan told Chuck Todd, I feel like I have certain responsibilities as not just Congressman Paul Ryan from the 1st District of Wisconsin, but as Speaker of the House. Ryan continued, saying: Imagine the Speaker of the House not supporting the duly elected nominee of our party, therefore creating a chasm in our party to split us in half, which basically helps deny us the White House and strong majorities in Congress. Ryan then went on to add a caveat to his duty-bound support for Trump. Now having said that, if something is done and said that I don t agree with, that I think puts a bad label on conservatism then I m going to speak out on it as I have, as I will continue to do. And I hope I don t have to keep doing it. Ryan is indirectly commenting on his recent condemnation of Trump s racist rhetoric.Todd then pointed out that Ryan is choosing his party over what is best for the U.S. You just made a case though of party over country. No, I didn t, Ryan replied. I know Hillary Clinton won t agree with anything we want to do. She ll put a bad judge on the Supreme Court, she won t agree with any of the conservative reforms we are trying to do. Ryan s statement was an appeal to putting party politics over the nation s interests. Ryan s Trump is better than Clinton talking point isn t going to cover that up. The majority of the GOP has decided to back Trump as their new elephant overlord, despite their division on his policy proposals. Ryan is no different, even though he is trying to posture himself as a voice of reason against Trump s rhetoric in the GOP. That isn t possible to do with any credibility.You can watch the interview below.Featured image from video screenshot | 0 |
Written by Jacob G. Hornberger Thursday October 27, 2016 Several weeks ago, contemporaneously with the release of Oliver Stone’s excellent movie Snowden, friends and admirers of Edward Snowden launched a campaign to have President Obama pardon him for disclosing the NSA’s super-secret illegal surveillance scheme to the American people and the world. The reasons for the pardon request were excellently summarized in an op-ed that appeared in the New York Times entitled “ Pardon Edward Snowden ” by Kenneth Roth and Salil Shetty. Not surprisingly, the US national-security establishment and its assets within the mainstream press oppose a pardon for Snowden because, they say, he endangered “national security” with his disclosure of the NSA’s top-secret illegal surveillance programs. But notice something important: Every time someone discloses “national security” state secrets, the east coast doesn’t fall into the ocean, California isn’t hit by earthquakes, and the federal government isn’t taken over by communists, terrorists, Muslims, illegal immigrants, or drug dealers. Nothing ever happens! That’s because, as I point out in my ebook “ The CIA, Terrorism, and the Cold War: The Evil of the National Security State , ever since the federal government was converted into a national security state in the 1940s, the term “national security” has been nothing more than a way to shield criminal wrongdoing on the part of the national-security establishment. Remember MKULTRA? It was a highly classified operation on the part of the CIA. It involved drug experimentation on unsuspecting Americans. It was enveloped within the concept of “national security.” It was also a criminal operation. Once it came to light, the CIA ordered the destruction of all MKULTRA records so that the American people would never discover all the dark and sordid details of this Nazi-like program. The United States remained standing notwithstanding the revelation of the CIA’s national-security state secret. Consider the CIA’s assassination attempts, in partnership with the Mafia, against Cuba’s president Fidel Castro during the 1960s. Those assassination attempts were national-security state secrets. They were also criminal in nature. In fact, they were no different, in a criminal sense, from the assassination of Orlando Letelier by Chile’s DINA, the Chilean CIA-NSA type organization with which the US partnered in the aftermath of the US national-security state’s coup that brought military strongman Augusto Pinochet into power in 1973. Did the United States collapse when the CIA’s assassination plots were revealed to the world? No more so than Chile collapsed when DINA’s assassination plots were revealed to the world. Speaking of DINA, for years the US national-security establishment kept its role in orchestrating the coup in Chile secret from the American people. CIA Director Richard Helms even knowingly lied to Congress when asked about the CIA’s activities in orchestrating the coup. Why did Helms intentionally lie to Congress? To protect “national security,” of course. The CIA’s position was that if people were to discover the role that the US government played in orchestrating the Chilean coup, “national-security” would be threatened. But when the US role in the coup was ultimately disclosed, what happened? Nothing! Well, except for the fact that Helms got convicted for lying to Congress. He was lucky though. They let him off the hook with a misdemeanor plea and probation. When he returned to the CIA, he was hailed by his subordinates for his heroic effort to protect “national security.” Of course, he wasn’t as lucky as DNI Chief James Clapper, who didn’t get prosecuted at all for lying to Congress about the existence of the NSA’s illegal surveillance scheme. Why did Clapper lie to Congress? To protect “national security,” of course. But when the super-secret illegal scheme ultimately came to light, what happened to the United States? Nothing! Another false and fraudulent use of the meaningless term “national security.” It was no different with respect to the CIA’s kidnapping-murder of Rene Schneider, the overall commander of Chile’s armed forces. The CIA felt that it needed to keep its plot against Schneider secret on grounds of “national security,” including its smuggling high-power guns into the country and later its paying off the killers to keep them silent. Once again, they maintained, “national security” dictated secrecy. But when the CIA’s role in Schneider’s kidnapping-murder was ultimately discovered, nothing happened. The United States continued standing. Interestingly, not one single US official was ever charged in the felony-murder of Rene Schneider, whose only “crime” was standing in the way of the US national security establishment’s illegal and unconstitutional (in both Chile and the United States) plot to replace a democratically elected president with a brutal unelected US-supported military general whose forces proceeded to round up, incarcerate, torture, rape, execute, or assassinate tens of thousands of innocent people — that is, people whose only crime was believing in socialism. It was the same with the murder during the coup of two American men, Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, a murder in which US national-security state officials were complicit. Of course, they kept their involvement in the murder secret under the principle of “national security.” Horman’s “crime” was that he had learned of US complicity in the coup and planned to disclose it to the world. In the eyes of Chilean and US national-security state officials, that obviously constituted a threat to “national security.” Teruggi’s “crime” was that he was a socialist who had opposed the US government’s war in Vietnam. Despite the fact that a top-secret US State Department investigation revealed that US intelligence had played a role in their murder, not one single US official has ever been indicted, much less summoned to appear before Congress to explain why they murdered two innocent American citizens. In a moral sense, it’s not Snowden who needs a pardon. It is the US national-security state that needs a pardon from him … and from the American people for converting our nation into a charnel house of secret, dark, illegal, nefarious actions under the guise of the sham term “national security.” Reprinted with permission from Future of Freedom Foundation . Related | 0 |
Written by Daniel McAdams Thursday November 3, 2016 If ISIS is such a mortal threat to the United States, why has US military action in Iraq and Syria been proceeding at such a leisurely pace? Is it possible that ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria are being used -- or even supported -- by the US and its allies as a "regime change" weapon against Syria's Assad government? The US pursued this policy before, when it used Saudi-trained radicals to fight a Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. Those radicals became al-Qaeda... Copyright © 2016 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given. | 1 |
Remember when experts came out after Hillary collapsed following her visit to the 9-11 memorial in NYC and revealed that the odd blue-colored sunglasses Hillary was sporting that day are used by epileptic patients to avoid having a seizure.Who could forget Hillary s bizarre collapse that day, when her legs began to buckle and secret service agents grabbed her arms and threw her into the vehicle. It was almost as though the people around Hillary were well practiced in how to toss her into the vehicle before the cameras could catch her having a seizure only months before the election.Watch: Infowars Hillary was seen wearing the blue sunglasses during the 9/11 memorial in New York City where she later collapsed from complications stemming from her numerous health issues.Given her lack of fashion concerns she s regularly seen wearing pantsuits everywhere she goes it s unlikely her blue sunglasses were meant as a fashion statement.Epileptic patients often wear Zeiss Z1 blue lenses in particular because they are effective at treating photosensitive epilepsy. The Z1 lens is highly effective in controlling photoparoxysmal response in a very large number of photosensitive epilepsy patients irrespective of their epilepsy or antiepileptic drug treatment, according to a 2006 studypublished in Epilepsia. The lens might become a valid resource in the daily activity of any clinician who cares for patients with epilepsy. Hillary experiences seizures from flashing lights, such as camera flashes at public events, according to sources inside the Secret Service who spoke to Infowars.Hillary Clinton appeared in Chappaqua, NY in their Memorial Day parade as a float with her husband Bill, the former president and rapist. The former presidential candidate was seen wearing the same bizarre blue-colored sunglasses that she wore on 9-11.Bill & Hillary Clinton & Gov Cuomo at Memorial Day parade pic.twitter.com/rxSaTOxzgg Michael Grabell (@MichaelGrabell) May 29, 2017Here s Hillary again waving to the crowd as though she s already campaigning for 2020. Bill s just happy to not have to be cooped up in the same house with her for a couple of hours. .@HillaryClinton wearing anti-seizure Zeiss Z1 sunglasses at Chappaqua Memorial Day parade. pic.twitter.com/T0fvT4WN60 Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) May 29, 2017Here s a great shot of the happy couple:They look well. pic.twitter.com/0I1ETh41ta Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) May 30, 2017The Daily Mail asked Josh Caplan of Vessel News if they could use his photo of Hillary for a story:Hi @joshdcaplan, can the Daily Mail use this image with a credit to you? Thanks! MailOnline Pictures (@MailOnline_Pics) May 29, 2017Here is Caplan s hilarious response: Only if you note her anti-seizure sunglasses. Sick Hillary may run in 2020, so it's important your readers know extent to how unwell she is. https://t.co/z05G8xTEtf Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) May 29, 2017 | 1 |
Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to bring a woman that Bill Clinton had an extramarital affair with when he debates Hillary Clinton.Trump tweeted this response to Mark Cuban sitting in the front row, in an attempt to rattle him during the debates:If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!When Hillary Clinton takes the podium at Monday night s first presidential debate, she could be staring down an old romantic rival sitting in the front row.Gennifer Flowers, who carried on a 12-year affair with Bill Clinton when he was attorney general and governor of Arkansas, might attend the debate at Hofstra University as Trump s guest, BuzzFeed reported Saturday. Ms. Flowers has agreed to join Donald at the debate, her personal assistant, Judy Stell, wrote in an e-mail to BuzzFeed, according to the Web site.The development grew from a Twitter broadside Trump launched earlier that day. If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him! he tweeted. NYP | 0 |
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s “isolationist” foreign policy pronouncements are feeding insecurity in some Asian nations fearful of China’s growing power, and risk emboldening nationalists and authoritarians in the region. The real estate developer, who is very close to securing the Republican nomination for November’s presidential election, has with undiplomatic abandon challenged much of the status quo in U.S.-Asia relations. Overall, his comments have sounded like a death knell for the “pivot to Asia” strategy adopted by President Barack Obama five years ago. Trump has said U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more toward their defense, warned he could withdraw U.S. troops from bases in Japan, and mulled whether Japan and South Korea should have their own nuclear arms. This week he told Reuters he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would represent a major shift in U.S. policy. In a television interview on Friday, Trump told MSNBC that while he was open to talks, he “would never go to North Korea.” Trump has also threatened to rein in China’s big trade surplus with the United States, saying he will threaten to impose heavy duties on Chinese goods. And Trump says he will rip up and then renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact agreed to by the U.S., Japan, and 10 other countries in February. Furthermore, Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States risks undermining moderate leaders in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. “If he becomes president and adopts his own version of foreign policy, the U.S. will cease to be a Pacific power. That’s the end result,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, who served in both Beijing and Baghdad. “It’s not that we would adopt ‘Japan First,’ but if the U.S. leaves, there will be a vacuum and … China will try to fill it,” said Miyake, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies. “It’s a survival issue for all allies of the United States.” Trump could, of course, lose the election to the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is well known by many Asia policymakers. And if he is elected he could act much differently in office. But Asian diplomats and policy advisers say that initial impressions count. Trump’s idea of making Japan and South Korea pay up rather than enjoy a cheaper ride under the U.S. security umbrella sent shudders through Tokyo and Seoul. Trump reiterated his stance on Friday. “They have a lot of money, both of those nations,” he told MSNBC, pointing to Japan’s auto sales and South Korea’s electronics industry. “We have to get reimbursed.” In addition, his comments about the possibility of a local nuclear deterrent fanned fears among Asian diplomats that the world could become an even more dangerous place. “It is here that Trump is most scary,” Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian ambassador to Washington, told Reuters in New Delhi, though he also noted it may be “just election rhetoric.. Japan’s nationalist-led government has already boosted defence spending and has reinterpreted its pacifist constitution to allow its military to come to the aid of allies under attack even if Japan itself if not attacked, a major shift in Japan’s post-war security stance. “His position is causing anxiety, especially in East Asia,” said a senior lawmaker in Japan’s ruling coalition. “It is really hard to comprehend because conservatives have supported a stronger military presence and more engagement.” Mansingh said he expects China to test the foreign policy resolve of whoever occupies the White House next, and the South China Sea looms as one of the most likely flashpoints. Tensions over China’s land-building and installations on islets in the disputed waters flared on Tuesday, when two Chinese warplanes carried out what the Pentagon called an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft. “They’re building a massive fortress in the South China Sea. They’re not supposed to be doing that,” Trump told Reuters, without saying what he would do about it. At least, according to Mansingh, China’s leaders and Trump shared the mentality of dealmakers, which could help settle diplomatic wrangles before they get out of hand. Jia Qingguo, an adviser to China’s government on foreign affairs, said Trump sounds like an “isolationist” who doesn’t want the United States to become too active internationally. “So, he doesn’t sound that aggressive,” said Jia, the dean of the School of International Relations at China’s elite Peking University. “Chinese tend to think that too much so-called internationalism on the part of the U.S. is not that good.” A senior Japanese government official said Washington could lose influence in Asia if there was any perception it was softening its stance on issues like the South China Sea. “And it would be very difficult to get it back,” he warned. Mansingh says those fears are overblown as the United States’ self-interest lay in protecting access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. “What would American withdrawal mean? Does it want to hand over the affairs of the world to China? Would that serve anybody’s interest? I don’t think so.” There are also fears that the TPP could unravel, or become worth a lot less to Asian partners, should Trump renegotiate the pact, as he has said he wants to do. The deal has yet to be ratified by the U.S. Congress, but Obama has warned that delay could allow China to steal a march through its own proposed regional trade deal with 15 other nations. “I think it’s hard to imagine that TPP would survive a Trump presidency,” said a top trade official in a major country in the region, who declined to be more closely identified. “‘Less intervention’ would be a small benefit compared to the massive damage to the world from a USA that becomes more isolationist and more crassly commercial under Trump,” he said. The lack of priority Trump appears to give to issues that don’t serve his “America first” agenda could mean he’ll soft-pedal on human rights and democratic values, some critics said. That would come at a time when generals are running Thailand, a ‘strong man’ has just been elected as president of the Philippines, and Malaysia’s prime minister has silenced independent media. “Let’s hope that someone on his team realizes that respect for human rights must be a core U.S. foreign policy value and not just a reality show line,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. On the other hand, Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to Thailand’s defence minister, Prawit Wongsuwon, expressed confidence that Trump wouldn’t apply pressure to countries like his. “All in all, if Trump arrives, the chances of stronger ties will be good because he would want allies,” said Panitan. | 1 |
A U.S. Army veteran was recently arrested on charges that he plotted a coordinated terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State against civilian targets and military installations in Kansas City.Federal investigators believe Robert Hester wanted to murder his former military comrades and civilians through a series of bus and train attacks to be carried out on President s Day, the Washington Post reported Thursday.Hester was arrested following a months-long FBI investigation during which the 25-year-old met with undercover FBI agents who were posing as ISIS operatives and expressed his desire to reap mass casualties in the United States.Hester, a father of two, served a short stint in the Army beginning in 2012. He faced a series of disciplinary issues and received a general discharged in 2013.Three years later, Hester had converted to Islam, changed his name, and was posting anti-government messages to social media.The Army veteran was arrested last week and was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.In late January, Hester met with one undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS contact who asked the veteran to purchase a series of items that could be used to make bombs, including 9-volt batteries, duct tape, copper wire, and nails. Hester brought the bomb supplies to a later meeting and handed them over to the undercover agent.Hester s final meeting with the undercover agents was last week, where he brought a box of nails to be used as shrapnel for the bombs. He told agents on Friday that it felt good to help strike back at the true terrorist. First on social media, then during face-to-face meetings with an undercover FBI employee, this defendant repeatedly expressed his intent to engage in acts of violent jihad against the United States, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tammy Dickinson said in a statement. He believed he was part of an ISIS-sponsored terrorist attack that would result in the deaths and injuries of many innocent victims. WFB | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major medical groups kept up the pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday to maintain funding Obamacare subsidies that are paid directly to insurers, warning that not doing so would destabilize the individual insurance markets that millions of people use to buy health insurance. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians were among eight organizations that penned a letter to Trump. They urged him to “remove uncertainty about continued funding for cost sharing reductions,” the billions of dollars that are paid to insurers to help cover out-of-pocket medical expenses for low-income Americans. On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it had not yet made a decision on whether it would continue funding the subsidies. “The administration is currently deciding its position on this matter,” said Alleigh Marré, a national spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services. “No decisions have been made about how the administration will proceed,” she said. House of Representatives Republicans sued the Obama administration for funding the subsidies, which they argue have to be appropriated by Congress. A federal judge in May 2016 ruled in favor of the Republicans, prompting an appeal by the Obama administration. The case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Without the subsidies, the letter on Wednesday said, more insurers could leave the Obamacare exchanges, premiums for 2018 and beyond would rise, and providers would have additional uncompensated care costs, because they would not receive payments that help cover the costs of low-income patients. Insurers have to submit their rates for 2018 plans over the next several weeks and are grappling with whether they will receive the subsidies, which amount to about $7 billion a year. | 0 |
Making sure that Democrats take control of the Senate just became even more important.Ever since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, Republicans have refused to let President Obama fill the vacant seat he left behind on the Supreme Court bench. President Obama even nominated Merrick Garland, whom many consider to be a moderate who has even been praised in the past by the very Republicans who are blocking him now.There had been rumors that Republicans may approve his nomination if Hillary Clinton wins the election in order to prevent her from nominating someone more liberal to the post. But now it appears Republicans have something even more sinister in mind if they end up keeping control of the Senate in November.Arizona Senator John McCain, despite joining with his fellow Republicans to declare that the next president should get to pick the next Supreme Court Justice, has already urged Republicans to block any nominee Hillary Clinton puts forward, only to backtrack when outrage ensued over his remarks.But most Republicans think that s a good idea and want to take it even further by letting the Supreme Court die.As we all know, Supreme Court Justices may be appointed to serve for life, but they don t live forever.All of the medical technology and advances in the world are not enough to provide eternal life to humans. So even if every current Justice vows to serve till their last breath, new Justices will eventually be required to make sure the Supreme Court continues.Republicans, however, would rather the high court just disappear instead of doing their jobs by holding confirmation hearings for any of Hillary Clinton s nominees. And they seem to be getting their new playbook from Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, a right-wing organization funded by the Koch brothers.Apparently, Republicans have decided that if they can t get the conservative dominated Court they want, they ll settle for destroying it entirely so that it is no longer a functioning institution. As a matter of constitutional law, the Senate is fully within its powers to let the Supreme Court die out, literally, Shapiro wrote for The Federalist on Wednesday. I simply can t blame politicians who follow their convictions, he continued. If you truly believe that a particular nominee would wreak havoc on America, why not do everything you can to stop him? So when you get past the gotcha headlines, breathless reportage, and Inauguration Day, if Hillary Clinton is president it would be completely decent, honorable, and in keeping with the Senate s constitutional duty to vote against essentially every judicial nominee she names. In other words, Republicans have no intention of letting the next president pick the next Supreme Court nominee, or any nominee for that matter, unless the next president is Donald Trump. For all their talk of letting the voters decide who gets to pick the next nominee, Republicans are making it clear that they will ignore the will of the people if they elect Hillary Clinton on November 8th and will reject every nominee she puts forward.That means the Court will drag on with only eight Justices, which will result in more cases that result in 4-4 ties that fail to settle the law, which would give red states the power to have state laws that conflict with our Constitution. Essentially, it s a way to shift power to the states by default. And it would only shift more as other Supreme Court Justice die or retire. Once the Court bench dwindles too much, the Justices will have an even harder time keeping up with the case load, which means justice will be delayed.And this strategy could even affect lower courts as well. Without courts to keep them in check, conservatives could pass any laws they desire knowing that courts will be too backed up or are nonexistent to stop them, meaning more anti-gay laws, voter suppression laws, and anti-women laws will be enacted by red state legislatures with impunity.It s an impending constitutional crisis that Republicans are orchestrating.This a dangerous interpretation of the Constitution and it runs contrary to the established precedent that has been set since America s founding. No Senate has outright refused to hold confirmation votes on any nominees put forward by a sitting president. While the Senate has voted a handful of nominees down, they ve never blocked any and all nominees picked by a president no matter how divided the executive and legislative branches are politically.But that s exactly what Republicans are planning to do if Hillary Clinton wins and they get to keep control of the Senate, which means at least two more years until Americans can flip the Senate to more reasonable lawmakers. And it could actually end up being four more years of gridlock since the party that controls the White House often suffers midterm election losses.In short, the only thing that can prevent Republicans from letting the Supreme Court whither on the vine and die is the American people in this presidential election. Republicans must NOT be allowed to keep control of the Senate. The viability, functionality, and survival of our judicial institutions depends on Democrats taking back majority control of the Senate. If voters fail to do this, it could mean the end of the Supreme Court and justice in America.Featured Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
ReadyNutrition Readers and fellow warriors in the war of sustainability, the election may have been finished, but the unrest is not. I mention “may” have been finished, as the electors of the Electoral Vote have not weighed in on their final verdict. That verdict, due on December 19 may even be amended or reversed, with the entire thing not coming before Congress until January 6. In the meantime, civil disorder is increasing throughout the U.S. in both frequency and locations.
As of this writing, riots and unrest along with demonstrations have occurred in the following large metropolitan areas: Miami, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, New York City, Birmingham, AL, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Eugene, OR, Portland, OR, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Fresno, CA to name a few. These are no gangs of urchins around a burning barrel on a street corner: these riots and demonstrations are made up of thousands of angry protestors that have clashed both with Trump supporters and law enforcement, at times violently.
Law enforcement officers reported that more than 25,000 marched from Union Square in Manhattan all the way to Trump tower in midtown. Protests and demonstrations were marked by frequent arrests and clashes with police. On 11/11/16, a man was shot with two suspects detained in Portland, OR, where the clashes are intensifying; the man was shot on Morrison Bridge and law enforcement has stated it is related to the election turmoil.
Michael Moore , left-wing radical filmmaker was also in New York in an attempt to personally confront Trump at his Trump tower on Saturday 11/12/16. He said the following:
“[Trump is an] illegitimate president and does not have the vote of the people.”
In Washington, D.C. protestors blocked the Interstate 395 tunnel that leads to Capitol Hill for several hours. In Chicago thousands marched through the city streets and (what a coincidence) ended up in front of the hotel owned by Trump downtown. In Indianapolis, two police officers were injured by protestors who hit them with rocks. In Los Angeles the police estimated the protestors to be numbering more than 8,000 people.
Credit: CNN Portland, OR placed a curfew in effect for minors in an effort to prevent kids from being beaten up or hurt in the middle of all of it. 10:15 pm is the curfew for those under 14 years of age, and midnight for everyone ages 14-17 years old. In Baltimore the protestors marched from the Washington Monument on Charles Street to the Inner Harbor. Police had to move two reporters from Fox news out of harm’s way when the protestors began throwing rocks and bottles and shouting insults. There were also thousands protesting in Baltimore on Thursday night after the Ravens-Browns football game, blocking traffic for several hours in all directions from the stadium.
One of the interesting things to note is that in all of these cities, the placards of the protestors have many of the same motifs, and further: one type has “#notmypresident” printed on it. Perhaps some of you readers have seen this and can clarify what that means. The reason for the question is that the George Soros machine of destabilization so successfully employed in other countries, such as Ukraine, the former Yugoslavia (Croatia and Serbia, specifically), and Hungary…that machine is up and running in the United States. Paid protestors and other rabble rousers are being paid by Soros and bussed into the target cities to foment riot and dissent. This isn’t the first time Soros has funded riots on American soil and it won’t be the last.
Credit: BET Many protestors in Baltimore held placards with “People’s Power Assembly 443.221.3775” on the front. This, too, bears the hint of more subversive efforts paid for by those behind the scenes wishing to take the country to the bottom. Where does all of this lead? Well for starters, keep in mind those two previous dates mentioned regarding the Electoral votes. In addition to this, there is a petition circulating calling for the electors to reverse their original votes with more than 2 million signatures.
As if that isn’t enough, there are people openly calling on Twitter and Facebook for Trump to be “taken out,” in a myriad of violent manners. As mentioned in other articles, under the John Warner Defense Act of 2006, Obama has the ability to declare a “catastrophic emergency,” defined as one that interferes with (basically) any and every aspect of our society from government to finance. In the “interests of public safety” he can supplement that with Presidential Directive 51 (PD-51) and declare a state of martial law due to civil unrest. He can also call in foreign outsiders (such as the UN) to help him “reinstitute order under the law.”
With that in mind, I wish to refer you to something worth considering. All News Pipeline had an article (a good one in itself…Stefan Stanford and Susan Duclos with ANP are top-notch reporters and writers) with a comment posted that in my opinion truly summarizes what is happening here in this post-election period. The comment can be found at www.allnewspipeline.com/Shocking_Maps_Show_Overthrow_of_America.php , when you scroll to the bottom after the article. Posted by Andrew Mali , here it is in its entirety and well worth some deep thought for all of us as preppers, patriots, and concerned citizens:
“I’m probably going to get a lot of hate for this, but I feel it needs to be said. There is no coincidence that Trump won by electoral vote and lost the popular vote. This whole thing is a setup, to cause mass anger across the country. Right now, the Left is throwing a fit because they think Trump will be the new president, while the Right is distracted by celebrating it. He won’t. It is in the works right now to reverse the decision when congress meets Jan 6 to approve the electoral votes (maybe even something before that). This means the violence could last until then.
The purpose of this is to start a civil war that tears the country apart. What the elite gain from this is the ability to take control of the country by U.N. force, and to call our republic and constitution a failure. “Out of the ashes, the phoenix will rise.” A new country owned by the U.N. with a new government and leader. One does not simply walk into the National Archives and shred the constitution, therefore, we must tear down our country and way of life. This keeps the elites from putting their fingerprints on our demise.
Should we fail to kneel to their will and destroy ourselves, they will use Russia to destroy us so much that any survivors will be left begging the mercy of the U.N. to take them as refugees to a country that is controlled by the U.N. Now is not the time to be running off to fight a civil war, but is the time to be preparing, and praying that God confuses their plans.”
Quite a comment, and also spot-on. Bottom line: it’s going to get worse before it gets any better. You guys and gals need to stay on top of what is happening both nationwide and in your immediate locale. As one eye is on the news, the other needs to be on the preps. Bullets, beans, and Band-Aids are the rule of the day, with plenty of prayer around all of it…the truly indispensable part of your preparations.
Obama still has plenty of time to either take down the society with civil unrest as an excuse or by starting a war before he leaves office. In either case (as the comment pointed out) we must remain vigilant and prepare for society as we know it to change with the blink of an eye. The next few weeks will be a good indicator of what is to happen. In the meantime, keep your powder dry, and keep up that good fight! JJ out!
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods.
Mr. Johnson dries and tinctures a wide variety of medicinal herbs taken by wild crafting and cultivation, in addition to preserving and canning his own food. An expert in land navigation, survival, mountaineering, and parachuting as trained by the United States Army, Mr. Johnson is an ardent advocate for preparedness, self-sufficiency, and long-term disaster sustainability for families. He and his wife survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Cross-trained as a Special Forces Engineer, he is an expert in supply, logistics, transport, and long-term storage of perishable materials, having incorporated many of these techniques plus some unique innovations in his own homestead.
Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 14th, 2016 Sign of the Times: Riot Control Gear Sales Are Soaring… Emergency Survival Food Sales Soar as We Get Closer to… We Will Not Go Gently Into the Night: The Silent Majority… How Martial Law Will Lead to the Creation of the… Landing Strips, Farms and Hideaways: Secret Escapes of the… | 1 |
Is everyone else thinking what I m thinking? Two words come to mind on this one: concealed carry A Stroudsburg, Pa., woman suffered a broken eye socket and bruises during the attack, which took place in a local movie theater of all places. And why did the group of teen girls allegedly pounce on victim Cindy Santamaria-Williams? She tells WNEP-TV, which broke the story, that she shushed them for being loud and cursing. Worse, the attack didn t occur during the heat of the moment inside the theater. The woman tells WNEP that the girls jumped her after the film let out. They immediately jumped on me and knocked me to the ground, punched me in the face, she said, adding that the original girls were waiting with five other teens. She tells WNEP that she hopes someone will come forward to help police catch the young suspects: They were in my face. Their face is in my head. If I see them again or in a line up, I know exactly who they are, Santamaria-Williams said. Stroud Area Regional Police Chief William Parrish says authorities are looking at video from the mall.Via: wnep | 1 |
Friday on MSNBC, climate activist Bill Nye warned conservatives to watch out, saying progressive blue states will address climate change on their own.Nye said, Only 40 percent of people in the U.S. think that Congress should be addressing this and that s because certain conservative groups, especially from the fossil fuel industry, have been very successful in introducing the idea that scientific uncertainty, plus or minus two percent, is the same as plus or minus 100 percent. He continued, There s a lot of emphasis from conservatives on what are writ-large states rights. Just watch out, conservatives, if states rights include California, Illinois, New York these places that, where people voted in a progressive fashion watch out if all those places start to address climate change and then impose economic sanctions, either overtly or by default, on places that have not embraced the work that needs to be done. Then you ll end up with this states rights working the other way. He added, We ve got to remind people that we re all in this together. The people I think about all the time are what are eloquently stated as the hillbillies. We want to engage everybody. Not working to address climate change is in no one s best interest. It is not in the best interest, especially of your children and grandchildren. A couple of times you mentioned that I am against the president and so on. I m not especially against the president. I just think he s gotten himself surrounded by people who are willing to mortgage the future, to let the people who are coming into the workforce now pay for the future. This is true, not just with regard to the national debt, which will almost certainly increase the same way it tripled under the beloved Ronald Reagan, not only will that national debt increase, but the climate debt, in a sense, what we have to do to address climate change, will be more and more difficult to pay back or pay down. Breitbart NewsThe climate change debate went nuclear last year, over a whistleblower s explosive allegation that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association manipulated data to advance a political agenda by hiding the global warming pause. In an article on the Climate Etc. blog, John Bates, who retired last year as principal scientist of the National Climatic Data Center, accused the lead author of the 2015 NOAA pausebuster report of trying to discredit the hiatus through flagrant manipulation of scientific integrity guidelines and scientific publication standards. In addition, Mr. Bates told the Daily [U.K.] Mail that the report s author, former NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information director Thomas Karl, did so by insisting on decisions and scientific choices that maximized warming and minimized documentation. Gradually, in the months after [the report] came out, the evidence kept mounting that Tom Karl constantly had his thumb on the scale in the documentation, scientific choices, and release of datasets in an effort to discredit the notion of a global warming hiatus and rush to time the publication of the paper to influence national and international deliberations on climate policy, Mr. Bates said Saturday on Climate Etc.The June 2015 report, Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus, which updated the ocean temperature record, was published six months before the U.N. s Paris summit.The accusations sparked a fierce back-and-forth Sunday between so-called climate warmists and skeptics over the validity and implications of Mr. Bates claim, which he defended on the Climate Etc. blog run by former Georgia Tech climatologist Judith Curry.Zeke Hausfather, Berkeley Earth climate scientist, said in a Sunday fact-check on the CarbonBrief blog that the Karl paper s conclusions have been validated by independent data from satellites, buoys, and Argo floats and many other independent groups. While NOAA s data management procedures may well need improvement, their results have been independently validated and agree with separate global temperature records created by other groups, Mr. Hausfather said, citing Berkeley Earth and the U.K. s Met Office Hadley Centre.He said the record strongly suggests that NOAA got it right and that we have been underestimating ocean warming in recent years. Meanwhile, the whistleblowing prompted a we-told-you-so moment from Republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee who have long suspected the Obama administration of retroactively fiddling with climate data in order to erase the 1998-2013 pause in global temperature increases. Now that Dr. Bates has confirmed that there were heated disagreements within NOAA about the quality and transparency of the data before publication, we know why NOAA fought transparency and oversight at every turn, said Chairman Lamar Smith in a Sunday statement.The panel launched an investigation into the NOAA pausebuster report after whistleblowers said the study was rushed to publication before underlying data issues were resolved to help influence public debate about the so-called Clean Power Plan and upcoming Paris climate conference. Dr. Bates revelations and NOAA s obstruction certainly lend credence to what I ve expected all along that the Karl study used flawed data, was rushed to publication in an effort to support the president s climate change agenda and ignored NOAA s own standards for scientific study, Mr. Smith said.Mr. Bates said he decided to come forward after reading a Washington Post article Dec. 13 that said federal scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump. As a climate scientist formerly responsible for NOAA s climate archive, the most critical issue in archival of climate data is actually scientists who are unwilling to formally archive and document their data, he said on Climate Etc.In his experience, the most serious example of a climate scientist not archiving or documenting a critical climate dataset was the study of Tom Karl et al. 2015 (hereafter referred to as the Karl study or K15), purporting to show no hiatus in global warming in the 2000s. NOAA did not return immediately Sunday a request for comment. The Daily Mail said that Mr. Karl admitted the data had not been archived when the paper was published but denied trying to influence the climate summit. Asked why he had not waited, he said: John Bates is talking about a formal process that takes a long time. He denied he was rushing to get the paper out in time for Paris, saying: There was no discussion about Paris, said the Daily Mail article.The American Geophysical Union issued a statement saying it was very closely monitoring the situation, have considered the possible implications, and will be sharing any new information or response by AGU with you here. | 0 |
TOKYO/YANGON (Reuters) - The arrest of two Reuters journalists in Yangon this week was a signal that press freedom is shrinking in Myanmar and the international community must do all it can to get them released, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday. Guterres said his main concern over Myanmar was the dramatic violations of human rights during a military crackdown in Rakhine State that forced more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the country for southern Bangladesh, and the arrest of the journalists was probably related. It is clearly a concern in relation to the erosion of press freedom in the country, he told a news conference in Tokyo, referring to the detention of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been working on stories about the strife in Rakhine State. And probably the reason why these journalists were arrested is because they were reporting on what they have seen in relation to this massive human tragedy, he added. Myanmar s Ministry of Information said in a statement on Wednesday that the Reuters journalists and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The 1923 law carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. The reporters illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media , the ministry said in its statement, which was accompanied by a photo of the two reporters in handcuffs. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh say their exodus from the mainly Buddhist nation was triggered by a military offensive in response to Rohingya militant attacks on security forces at the end of August. The United Nations has branded the military s campaign in Rakhine State a textbook example of ethnic cleansing of the minority Rohingya. Guterres said the international community should do everything possible to secure the journalists release and freedom of the press in Myanmar. He called for aid to be delivered, violence contained and reconciliation promoted in Rakhine State, and for the Rohingyas right of return to be fully respected and implemented. Britain has expressed grave concerns to the government of Myanmar over the arrest of the two journalists, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters in London on Thursday. We are committed to freedom of speech and people s ability to report the facts and bring into the public domain what is happening in Rakhine state, he said. Canada s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland tweeted that she was deeply concerned by the reports about the arrests. Freedom of the press is essential for democracy and must be preserved, she said. And the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani also called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and release the two. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo went missing on Tuesday evening after they had been invited to meet police officials over dinner on the outskirts of Yangon. The authorities have not confirmed where the journalists are being held and, as of Thursday evening, Reuters had not been formally contacted by officials about their detention. At Htaunt Kyant police station, where the journalists were charged, family members of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were told that the pair were being detained at another location by an investigative team. They are not here, said Police Second Lieutenant Tin Htway Oo, according to Pann Ei, wife of reporter Wa Lone. The police investigation team took them soon after they were arrested. He said he did not know where the journalists were, Pann Ei added, but he did tell her they would be brought back to the station in two to three days at most. Reuters could not immediately reach Tin Htway Oo for comment. Police Lieutenant Colonel Myint Htwe of the Yangon Police Division told Reuters the reporters location would not be disclosed until the investigation was complete. It will be known later. Please wait a while, he said. Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement on Wednesday: We are outraged by this blatant attack on press freedom. We call for authorities to release them immediately. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar said it was appalled by the arrests and gravely concerned about the state of press freedom in the country. In a statement, it called on the authorities to ensure the safety of the reporters and allow their families to see them. The foreign correspondents club in neighbouring Thailand said it was alarmed by the use of this draconian law with its heavy penalties against journalists simply doing their jobs . Wielding such a blunt legal instrument has an intimidating effect on other journalists, and poses a real threat to media freedom, the Bangkok-based club said in a statement, calling for the journalists to be released. | 0 |
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police have launched operations to track down 42 university staff from Istanbul s Marmara University who are alleged to have links to last year s failed coup attempt, a police source said on Friday. So far 22 people have been detained in the operation, the police source said, adding the suspects were believed to be in contact with the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the abortive putsch in July 2016. Gulen has denied involvement and denounced in the coup. Since the failed coup, authorities have arrested around 50,000 people pending trial and some 150,000 people, including teachers, judges and soldiers, have been sacked or suspended from their jobs. The crackdown has alarmed rights groups and some of Turkey s Western allies, who fear the government is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. The government says the crackdown is necessary given the severity of the security threat. More than 240 people were killed in last year s coup attempt. | 1 |
Passionate supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders awoke enraged on Tuesday after learning that his slim hopes for winning the Democratic presidential nomination had been effectively dashed as a batch of superdelegates revealed their support for Hillary Clinton. After months of dancing around the phrase, news organizations on Monday night finally bestowed a label on Mrs. Clinton: presumptive nominee. The Sanders campaign immediately assailed the media for rushing the process and undermining the will of voters who were set to head to the polls in six states on Tuesday. In a email, Jeff Weaver, Mr. Sanders’s campaign manager, urged voters to defy the pundits and deliver a stunning series of victories for the Vermont senator. “We should let the voters decide who they want the Democratic nominee to be rather than having the media decide for them,” Mr. Weaver wrote. “I am asking you to continue to stand with Bernie in pushing for the political revolution. ” On social media, supporters of Mr. Sanders fumed at a system that they have increasingly felt is rigged against their candidate. Irate messages poured onto the “Sanders for President” message board on Reddit, an online discussion forum, with users promising to vote for Mr. Sanders regardless of what the superdelegates said. Some said they would vote for Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and others suggested that Mr. Sanders join the Green Party and keep running against Mrs. Clinton. But the momentum that now favors Mrs. Clinton may be too much. The term “presumptive nominee” has no formal definition in politics. Yet traditionally when it is used to describe a candidate, a wave of endorsements carries that person to the nomination. Once The Associated Press, which prodded the superdelegates to come forward, declared Mrs. Clinton the presumptive Democratic nominee, the phrase soon reverberated across news outlets around the world. “There’s a bandwagon effect,” Douglas G. Brinkley, a presidential historian and professor at Rice University, said of being billed as a presumptive nominee. “Everybody starts coalescing around that candidate. ” The A. P. said it uses the term when it becomes clear a candidate for president will be formally nominated at a party’s convention. Television networks, newspapers and online media quickly followed The A. P.’s lead once it was determined that Mrs. Clinton had reached the 2, 383 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Mr. Sanders and his campaign were clearly fearful that Mrs. Clinton would be called the presumptive nominee while primary voting was still going on, particularly with Tuesday’s contest in California, where polls have shown the two candidates to be close. But both candidates could be now exposed by The A. P.’s early call, which could dampen turnout among voters who think the race is over. Mrs. Clinton noted the importance of crossing the delegate threshold on Monday night, but avoided marking the moment as conclusive. If her voters stay home on Tuesday, a series of defeats would be an embarrassment and could buttress Mr. Sanders’s argument for why he should continue campaigning until the Democratic convention in July. Although the media was quick to give the designation to Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic Party did not. The Democratic National Committee has no official definition for the term “presumptive nominee. ” Mark Paustenbach, a spokesman for the committee, would not say if or when the D. N. C. would begin using “presumptive” to describe Mrs. Clinton. On the Republican side, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, declared Donald J. Trump the presumptive nominee after he won the Indiana primary last month. For the time being, Mr. Sanders is still making arguments for why superdelegates should ditch his opponent and make him the nominee. Polls that show him performing better against Mr. Trump than Mrs. Clinton, and his energized following, form the crux of his appeal. Mrs. Clinton, who eight years ago dropped her presidential bid and supported Barack Obama, can likely relate to the plight of Mr. Sanders despite her desire to focus on the general election. In 2008, Mr. Obama captured a majority of pledged delegates in May, but declined to declare victory. Mrs. Clinton insisted that the contest was not finished and argued that neither candidate would have enough delegates for the nomination. “This is nowhere near over,” Mrs. Clinton said at the time. The race went on for only two more weeks. | 0 |
Fox Business News host Stuart Varney makes no secret about the fact that he s a huge President Trump fan. He breaks into his show today so everyone can witness the signing of a bill by President Trump that will give our brave veterans the ability to receive care from the private sector. This should have been done a long time ago, but first we needed a president who gave a damn about our veterans and the quality of their health care.President Trump took a bold step in helping our veterans get the quality health care they deserve with the signing of the S.544 Veterans Choice in Healthcare Act. Trump took a moment to explain to the media what he was signing and why it was so near and dear to his heart.Watch:Watch:#WednesdayWisdomTY @POTUS from the bottom of our from every Veteran who has honorably served! #VetsFirst pic.twitter.com/bwu9IkIfp5 Carrie Merica (@carrieksada) April 19, 2017Stuart Varney was visibly thrilled after Trump signed the bill that promises to make life so much easier and better for our veterans in need of health care. President Trump promised that he would make our veterans a priority and today, he took a huge step in that direction.Here s the entire video. It s worth watching: | 0 |
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas s administration said on Wednesday it had resumed security coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank, frozen in July, and sought sole security control of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas Islamist forces dominate. The remarks, by the Palestinian police chief, left open the question of how Abbas might bring his former rivals in Hamas to heel given their refusal to disarm as demanded by Israel and the United States. An Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal last month formally restored Abbas s administrative control of Gaza after a 10-year schism with Hamas, though the details of implementation have yet to be worked out fully. Palestinians hope the pact will ease Gaza s economic woes and help present a united front in their drive for statehood. The vision includes the West Bank, where Palestinian security forces have tried to tamp down violence, often sharing intelligence and cooperating across jurisdictions with Israel, despite a three-year impasse in diplomacy between the sides. Under interim peace deals with Israel, Abbas Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. Abbas halted security coordination with Israel on July 21, demanding it remove metal detectors it had installed outside a Jerusalem compound housing Al-Aqsa mosque in response to the killing of two of its police guards by gunmen holed up there. Amid Palestinian and Jordanian unrest, and U.S. mediation efforts, Israel dismantled the walk-through gates within days and said it would install less obtrusive security measures. Police chief Hazem Attallah told foreign reporters in a briefing that the suspension of ties had ended two weeks ago. Security coordination between Palestinian and Israeli services have resumed as it used to be before it stopped, Attallah said, adding that he was referring to joint efforts to prevent militant attacks, as crime-fighting police cooperation between the sides had never stopped. Attallah said his police forces were ready to impose order in Gaza, likening the situation there to the West Bank a decade ago, where the Palestinian Authority set about disarming and dismantling Hamas and other armed factions. We will have one gun in Gaza, Attallah said. How can I do security when there are all these rockets and guns? This is possible? This doesn t work. In Gaza, Hamas has a guerrilla army believed to include tens of thousands of fighters and rockets. Hamas continues to police Gaza with nearly 13,000 security personnel. Fatah plans to discuss security responsibility further in talks with Hamas and other factions in Cairo on November 21. | 0 |
Watch "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET for an interview with Rand Paul.
Louisville, Kentucky (CNN) For Rand Paul, it's all led to this moment.
Since riding the tea party wave into the Senate in 2010, Paul has carefully built a brand of mainstream libertarianism -- dogged advocacy of civil liberties combined with an anti-interventionist foreign policy and general support for family values -- that he bets will create a coalition of younger voters and traditional Republicans to usher him into the White House.
The test of that theory began Tuesday when the Kentucky senator made official what has been clear for years: He's running for president.
"Today I announce with God's help, with the help of liberty lovers everywhere, that I'm putting myself forward as a candidate for president of the United States of America," Paul said at a rally in Louisville.
Paul immediately hit the campaign trail for a four-day swing through New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa and Nevada -- the states that traditionally vote first in the primaries and caucuses.
In his speech, he called for reforming Washington by pushing for term limits and a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. He argued that both parties are to blame for the rising debt, saying it doubled under a Republican administration and tripled under Obama.
"Government should be restrained and freedom should be maximized," he said.
The line-up of speakers who introduced Paul sought to paint the senator as a nontraditional candidate with diverse appeal, and by the time he got on stage, he was the first white man to address the crowd.
The speakers included J.C. Watts, a former congressman who's African-American; state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, who's Hispanic; local pastor Jerry Stephenson, who's African American and a former Democrat; and University of Kentucky student Lauren Bosler.
"He goes everywhere. It doesn't matter what color you are. Rand Paul will be there," Stephenson said, firing up the crowd.
So far, Paul joins only Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as a declared candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. "His entry into the race will no doubt raise the bar of competition," Cruz said in a statement welcoming Paul into the race.
But the field is certain to grow in the months ahead with Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham and others eyeing a campaign. Marco Rubio, a Florida GOP senator, is expected to launch his campaign next week.
Bush, who said his 2016 decision is a "while off," told reporters in Colorado Springs on Tuesday that "libertarianism definitely has a place in the GOP" but stressed that he differs with Paul on foreign policy.
For now, the nomination is up for grabs with no clear front-runner. Paul came in third place at 12% in a CNN/ORC International Poll of Republicans. Bush led the pack at 16% while Walker came in second at 13%.
But Paul, 52, will split from his father in one important way: his approach to the campaign. Where Ron Paul often focused on creating a libertarian movement, Rand Paul is planning a more strategic, less purist operation that could have a hope of competing in a general election.
The elder Paul sat on stage at the rally on Tuesday with his wife, though he's not expected to be a public face for his son's campaign. He merely attended the event as a "proud papa," a source close to the senator said.
Elected in 2010 with strong tea-party support, Rand Paul quickly rose to national fame in part due to his father's back-to-back White House runs in 2008 and 2012, but also because of Rand Paul's willingness to fight fellow Republicans.
He engaged in a war of words with Chris Christie two years ago over national security and federal spending and, more recently, he's taken swipes at Bush over issues like Common Core and medical marijuana.
While he bills himself as a conservative realist, Paul still tries to wear the mantle as the Republican most reluctant to take the country into war.
The cautious foreign policy dance has drawn criticism from his father's supporters, who say Paul has become too moderate, and from hawkish Republicans who fear he wouldn't go far enough as commander in chief to tackle problems overseas. Democrats and some Republicans, meanwhile, have accused him of flip-flopping and pandering to donors.
On Tuesday, the Foundation for a Secure & Prosperous America -- a hawkish group from the right -- released a $1 million television ad buy against Paul's foreign policy, which hits the airwaves nationally on cable, as well as in the key early states that Paul will visit this week.
Paul had been silent on the Iran deal until his speech on Tuesday, when he vowed to oppose any deal that doesn't guarantee Iran gives up its nuclear ambition.
He also sought to sound aggressive on terrorism. "The enemy is radical Islam and not only will I name the enemy, I will do what ever it takes to defend America from these haters of mankind," he said.
In an interview later Tuesday, Paul argued that the ad was "crazy" and represented what he called the "the naivety of the neocons."
"These loud, sort of juvenile voices putting pictures of bombs on ads, these are the people who are so reckless that it would be a grave danger to our country to ever have these people in charge of our country," he said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
In the same interview, Paul also weighed in for the first time on the religious freedom debate that took center stage last week after an Indiana law -- which has since been changed-- came under fire for what critics said was discrimination against gay and lesbian couples getting married.
The 2016 Republican field largely came out in defense of the law, standing by the rights of small business owners such as florists and bakers to decline participating in same-sex weddings. Paul said he felt the law was "unnecessary" and that the country's founding fathers would be "aghast" that laws needed to be in place to protect religious rights.
"That being said," he added. "I think the law ought to be neutral and we shouldn't treat people unfairly."
Asked which takes precedence, religious liberty or same-sex marriage rights, Paul said, "freedom."
"I don't think you can have coercion in a free society very well," he said. "So I would think we ought to try freedom in most of these things."
Paul is actually running for two offices at the same time, trying to hold onto his Senate seat while also running for president. Kentucky's election laws say candidates can't appear on a ballot twice, but with reluctant support from McConnell, a Kentucky powerhouse, the state's GOP will likely change its presidential preference vote from a primary to a caucus. That would allow Paul to get around the rule.
His interest in the Oval Office has never really been a secret. Shortly after the 2012 presidential election, he started crisscrossing the country to paint himself as a nontraditional Republican eager to court voters who don't typically live and vote in red areas.
He spoke at historically black colleges and universities, as well as Democratic strongholds like inner city Detroit and the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on criminal justice reform and civil liberties, two issues he believes can bring more people into the Republican Party.
"Liberal policies have failed our inner cities," he said Tuesday. "Our schools are not equal and the poverty gap continues to widen."
But Democrats are eager to paint Paul as another member of the "same old Republican Party."
"On issue after issue his policies are the same as the rest of the GOP, but even more extreme, and will turn back the clock on the progress we have made," said Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a statement.
As one of the few national politicians who went to Ferguson, Missouri, Paul frequently boasts that there is no "bigger defender of minority rights in the Congress" than himself.
He's steered clear of such hot-button issues more recently. Last week, for example, he was one of the few Republicans who didn't weigh in on religious freedom laws in Indiana and Arkansas that critics argued would allow businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
Paul has also worked to maintain a following that includes a large swath of young voters who he partly inherited from his father. Heavy on tech and social media, his political team has opened an office in Austin, Texas, and will soon establish one in the heart of Silicon Valley. Like clockwork, Paul frequently holds up his phone during his stump speech and declares that what people do on their smartphones is "none of the government's damn business."
His nontraditional style is complemented by Paul's wardrobe. The senator is known for wearing blue jeans with boots and a blazer when he's on the trail, and during the winter, he opts for a turtleneck and sport coat rather than a tie.
And while he's not media shy—he's given hundreds of interviews in the past year alone—Paul can get short-tempered with reporters. He shushed a female interviewer in February, and last fall he blew up at a reporter who asked a question about foreign aid to Israel. | 0 |
PHOENIX — There are certain unspoken talents required of television meteorologists in Phoenix, where the sun shines 296 days of the year and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees faze no one. One such skill is the ability to make the weather sound new each day. As a meteorologist for 12 News, Phoenix’s NBC affiliate, Matt Pace aims to make the recurring sunshine interesting, which is no easy task. I’ve watched Mr. Pace on the air as he searches for just the right words, from a limited list of options, to convey the very straightforward fact that it is so darn hot outside. “I go, ‘It’s hot,’ or, ‘It’s above average,’ or, ‘It’s going to be extremely warm today,’” he said on a day, from the safety of a Starbucks where he sipped a strawberry smoothie to “take the edge off the heat,” as he put it. “There’s also, ‘It’s really hot out there,’ or, ‘It’s hot, hot, hot,’ or just, ‘Triple hot! ’” On Twitter — where Mr. Pace’s often funny, always informative posts often end in exclamation points — it may well come to this: There are times when the best approach is to scrap adjectives or superlatives altogether, face the camera and declare, “The high is going to be 118 degrees today. ” When it’s that hot, Mr. Pace said, simplicity is the best way to drive the point across. Before delivering forecasts on TV, Mr. Pace, who has a Ph. D. in meteorology and climatology, was part of a team of meteorologists who monitored the weather from the edge of a runway at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where the city’s official temperatures are recorded. (It also happens to be one of the warmest places in Phoenix.) He was basically the official whose temperature readings and assessments of visibility during dust storms might force the tower to suspend takeoffs. “I normally worked the overnight shift, when it was cooler,” he said, drawing quotation marks in the air as he said the word “cooler” to highlight what everyone who lives here knows all too well: that “cooler” has another meaning in Phoenix. During the peak of summer, overnight temperatures hardly drop below 90 degrees. But, as they say, it’s a dry heat, at least when it’s not monsoon season, with its powerful storms. “What the dry heat means,” Mr. Pace said, “is that it might be 111 degrees, but it will feel like 107. ” He took another sip from his smoothie. “I know that still feels ridiculously hot,” he said. “But I think there’s also this psychological thing to living here: You walk outside and you know it will be hot. People just accept it. ” | 0 |
(CNN) The Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday without its outgoing Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, following a chaotic scene at a morning meeting where she was loudly jeered by Bernie Sanders supporters.
"I have decided that in the interest of making sure that we can start the Democratic convention on a high note that I am not going to gavel in the convention," Wasserman Schultz told the Sun Sentinel newspaper in an interview.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is also the Democratic National Committee's secretary, handled the gaveling instead.
"Delegates, alternatives, standing committee members and all of our honored Democrats and other guests here in Philadelphia and all of you who have joined us by television, radio and online, here in the United States and around the world," she said, "I hereby call the 47th quadrennial Democratic National Convention to order."
Wasserman Schultz will also not speak tonight or throughout the duration of the convention, a Democrat close to her says. She will remain in Philadelphia until Friday when she formally steps down as leader of the committee.
Wasserman Schultz changed her plans as the fallout deepened from leaked DNC emails that appeared to show the committee favoring presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Sanders during the primary. It became clear Monday that the convention floor could erupt in anger if she gaveled the convention into session or sought to speak.
And the Democratic National Committee issued an apology to Sanders moments after the convention opened, likely hoping to help soothe tensions heading into the week.
"On behalf of everyone at the DNC, we want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Sen. Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email," the statement said. "These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process. The DNC does not -- and will not -- tolerate disrespectful language exhibited toward our candidates. Individual staffers have also rightfully apologized for their comments, and the DNC is taking appropriate action to ensure it never happens again."
The morning Florida delegate meeting descended into chaos when Wasserman Schultz took the stage, with critics holding up signs with the word "emails," and Sanders supporters booing the congresswoman loudly, even after she began speaking.
"We have to make sure that we move forward together in a unified way," Wasserman Schultz said during brief remarks. "We know that the voices in this room that are standing up and being disruptive, we know that is not the Florida that we know. The Florida that we know is going to make sure that we continue to make jobs."
The audience was roughly half supportive of Wasserman Schultz and half detractors, though the angry participants were louder than the other half. Those attendees began to chant, "Shame! Shame! Shame!" while Wasserman Schultz was speaking.
Sanders tried to quell some of his dissatisfied supporters at a rally before his expected speech Monday.
"We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine," Sanders said, which prompted some attendees to shout him down.
Wasserman Schultz announced Sunday she is stepping down as chairwoman of the DNC at the end of the party's convention. The drama reinforced concerns about Democratic party unity.
Former Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver tried to show a unified Democratic Party on Monday, the morning after Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation.
"This happened, we knew it happened then, now is the time to go forward,' Weaver told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day" on Monday. "Now is the time to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump."
Wasserman Schultz talked with both President Barack Obama and Clinton before making announcing her upcoming resignation, a Democratic source said.
"Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish those goals [which include electing Clinton president] is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention," Wasserman Schultz said in the statement.
"As party chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans," she said.
DNC Vice Chairwoman Donna Brazile will serve as interim chair through the election. She had been a CNN political commentator, but CNN and Brazile have mutually agreed to suspend their contract, effective immediately, although she will remain on air during the convention week in an unpaid capacity, CNN said. CNN will revisit the contract once Brazile concludes her role.
Separately, a Democratic operative said Hispanic leaders close to Clinton and her high command were discussing Housing Secretary Julian Castro as a possible successor to Wasserman Schultz at the DNC helm, among a number of other candidates whose name are being mentioned.
Chants of "Debbie is done!" and "Debbie resigned!" broke out at a pro-Sanders rally Sunday in Philadelphia after the news was announced.
Party officials decided Saturday that Wasserman Schultz would not have a major speaking role or preside over daily convention proceedings this week. The DNC Rules Committee has named Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, as permanent chair of the convention, according to a DNC source. She will gavel each session to order and will gavel each session closed.
"She's been quarantined," another top Democrat said of Wasserman Schultz, following a meeting Saturday night but before her announcement that she was leaving.
Both sides of the aisle react
Obama issued a statement, saying, "For the last eight years, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had my back. This afternoon, I called her to let her know that I am grateful."
And Clinton thanked Wasserman Schultz for her leadership of the party.
"I am grateful to Debbie for getting the Democratic Party to this year's historic convention in Philadelphia, and I know that this week's events will be a success thanks to her hard work and leadership," Clinton said.
After slamming Wasserman Schultz as "highly overrated," Trump, speaking at a rally in Roanoke, Virginia, knocked Clinton for being disloyal to the soon-to-be former DNC chair.
"How about that for disloyalty in terms of Hillary Clinton. Because Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been so much for Hillary Clinton," Trump said. "These politicians. There's no loyalty there. No loyalty. None whatsoever."
"It gets a little heat and they fire her," Trump said. "Debbie was totally loyal to Hillary and Hillary threw her under a bus and it didn't take more than five minutes to make that decision."
Wasserman's Republican counterpart, Reince Priebus, said, "I think the day's events show really the uphill climb Democrats face this week."
"The extreme left will not be satisfied by one person's resignation," the Republican party national chairman added.
Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort said Clinton should follow Wasserman Schultz out the door.
"Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned over her failure to secure the DNC's email servers and the rigged system she set up with the Clinton campaign," he said in a statement. "Now Hillary Clinton should follow Wasserman Schultz's lead and drop out over her failure to safeguard top secret, classified information both on her unauthorized home server and while traveling abroad."
"I think what the signal was today is that the voices of Bernie Sanders supporters have been heard," he said. "And other people, frankly, in the party, Hillary Clinton supporters, who felt this was the last straw, that she had to go, and this shows they have been heard and gives us opportunity to move forward toward November -- united to deal with the problem of Donald Trump."
Wasserman Schultz's stewardship of the DNC has been under fire through most of the presidential primary process, but her removal from the convention stage comes following the release of nearly 20,000 emails.
One email appears to show DNC staffers asking how they can reference Sanders' faith to weaken him in the eyes of Southern voters. Another seems to depict an attorney advising the committee on how to defend Clinton against an accusation by the Sanders campaign of not living up to a joint fundraising agreement.
Before the announcement, Sanders on Sunday told Tapper the release of the DNC emails that show its staffers working against him underscores the position he's held for months: Wasserman Schultz needs to go.
"I don't think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC, not only for these awful emails, which revealed the prejudice of the DNC, but also because we need a party that reaches out to working people and young people, and I don't think her leadership style is doing that," Sanders told Tapper on "State of the Union," on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
"I am not an atheist," he said. "But aside from all of that, it is an outrage and sad that you would have people in important positions in the DNC trying to undermine my campaign. It goes without saying: The function of the DNC is to represent all of the candidates -- to be fair and even-minded."
He added: "But again, we discussed this many, many months ago, on this show, so what is revealed now is not a shock to me." | 1 |
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Continental Gold is an advanced-stage exploration and development company focused on maximizing shareholder value and committed to the highest standards of community and environmental responsibility. The Company´s 100%-owned flagship Buriticá project is a large high-grade gold deposit located 75 km northwest from Medellín, Colombia. On February 24, 2016, the Company announced the results of an independent Feasibility Study for the Buriticá project. Utilizing a gold price of $1,200/ounce, a silver price of $15/ounce and a US$:COP exchange rate of 1:2,850, the base case scenario resulted in an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount (NPV5) of $860 million, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 31.2% and payback of 2.3 years.
What Differentiates Continental Gold?
The Company´s 100%-owned flagship high-grade Buriticá project is a rare combination of size, grade, straightforward metallurgy, excellent infrastructure and growth potential. On February 24, 2016, the Company released the results of an independent Feasibility Study that indicates the Buriticá project will be a lowest quartile cost producer and an economically robust mine with modest initial capital expenditure. Once in production, Buriticá has the potential to approximately double the legal production of gold in Colombia and become the largest single gold mine in the country.
In association with various government entities in Colombia, the Company was the first in the country to formalize small-scale mining associations, paving the way for the implementation of legal and responsible small-scale mining operations at the Buriticá project. In addition, the Company has operated a 30 tpd small-scale operating mine at Buriticá since 1992 and is one of the largest employers in northwestern Antioquia, employing over 300 people. The Company focuses on providing a safe working environment and partnering with the local communities on key social projects.
ARI SUSSMAN – CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – Ari Sussman has over 15 years of experience in both the natural resources and investment markets sectors. Having dedicated the majority of his career to the natural resources industry, Mr. Sussman has been instrumental in sourcing, funding and developing high-quality mineral assets. During his career, Mr. Sussman has built a strong network of business contacts throughout Latin America, and in the past decade has raised over $500 million for various resource companies Association. MATEO RESTREPO – PRESIDENT – Mr. Restrepo was Vice-President of Corporate Affairs at Prodeco Group (a Glencore subsidiary), Colombia’s third largest thermal coal producer, where he was responsible for managing the company’s key relationships with the Colombian government, non-government organizations, and national and local stakeholders proximal to its operations. He was also Director of the Colombian Office of Grupo Salinas – Banco Azteca of Mexico, where he played a pivotal role in the process of licensing and setting up operations in Colombia. Mr. Restrepo has held various positions with the Colombian Government, including Senior Counselor to the President of Colombia on Economic Recovery (2009-2010) and Advisor to the Presidency of Colombia (2005-2008). Born in Medellín, Colombia, Mr. Restrepo holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Berkeley College. | 1 |
Because of what Hillary Clinton agreed to with the UN, we are at the mercy of Islam in a BIG way! If you watch and read nothing else today, THIS needs to be your focus because if Hillary is elected we go down this path in a BIGGER way! THE 10 YEAR STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN TO COMBAT THE DEFAMATION OF ISLAM THAT HILLARY CLINTON AGREED TO: Islamic World Tells Clinton: Defamation of Islam Must be Prevented in AmericaThis brilliant article by Clare M. Lopez goes into much greater detail but I tried to give you the main part of the argument that Hillary is in cahoots with the OIC/UN to stifle our freedom of speech when it comes to Islam:As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomes Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to Washington this week, it is critical that Americans pay attention to what these two leaders intend to do. From 12 to 14 December 2011, working teams from the Department of State (DoS) and the OIC are going to discuss implementation mechanisms that could impose limits on freedom of speech and expression.The OIC s purpose, as stated explicitly in its April 2011 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia, is to criminalize incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds. Incitement is to be defined by applying the test of consequences to speech. Under this twisted perversion of falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater, it doesn t matter what someone actually says or even whether it is true or not; if someone else commits violence and says it s because of something that person said, the speaker will be held criminally liable.The OIC is taking direct aim at free speech and expression about Islam.Last March, the State Department and Secretary Clinton insisted that combating intolerance based on religion can be accomplished without compromising Americans treasured First Amendment rights. But if that were so, there would be no possible excuse for engaging at this level with an organization like the OIC that is openly dedicated to implementing Islamic law globally. This is why it is so important to pay attention not only to the present agenda, but to a series of documents leading up to it, issued by both the U.S. and the OIC. From 12 to 14 December 2011, the DoS and OIC working teams will focus on implementation mechanisms for Resolution 16/18, a declaration that was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in April 2011.Resolution 16/18 was hailed as a victory by Clinton, because it calls on countries to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization based on religion without criminalizing free speech except in cases of incitement to imminent violence. But if the criterion for determining incitement to imminent violence is a new test of consequences, then this is nothing but an invitation to stage Muslim Days of Rage following the slightest perceived offense by a Western blogger, instructor, or radio show guest, all of whom will be held legally liable for causing the destruction, possibly even if what they ve said is merely a statement of fact. The implications of such prior restraint on free speech would be chilling (which is precisely the point). Clearly, the OIC feels some sense of urgency to get the rest of the non-Muslim world, and especially the U.S., on board with these objectives.In this same document is the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers Resolution No. 1/38-LEG On Follow Up and Coordination of Work on Human Rights, which makes reference to the OIC s new Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights and stipulates that it shall promote the civil, political, social, and economic rights enshrined in the Organization s covenants and declarations and in universally agreed human rights instruments, in conformity with Islamic values. [Emphasis added.] This wording alone should set off alarm bells in view of the OIC s 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI), which explicitly declared that when the Muslim ummah (as represented by the OIC) uses the term human rights, what is meant is Islamic law (sharia). Universally agreed or not, the CDHRI was served as an official document to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 1993, thereby creating an established instrument of reference on the Islamic definition of human rights. The foundational documents upon which the Muslim ummah the OIC now relies to undergird its sharia agenda were drafted years ago. The 1966 U.N. Commission for Human Rights International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which entered into force in 1976, was based firmly on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and preceded the 1969 creation of the OIC by just a few years. The ICCPR s Articles 19 (3) and 20 nevertheless foreshadow sharia Islam s demand for restrictions on free speech in an explicit and chilling way.Clearly, the OIC is trying to exploit these international standards, as shown in its April 2011 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia posted at its online Islamophobia Observatory. Given the ICCPR s assertions, the OIC s objective has long since been entered into official U.N. language. It required only a narrowing of the focus from the generality of the ICCPR down to the OIC s exclusive interest in protecting Islam from discrimination. It also required bringing the U.S. on board with the program to enforce Islamic law on slander. With the willing participation of the Obama administration, the OIC has tackled both of these challenges. In Section 6 of the Islamophobia Report, Conclusions and Recommendations, the language references the OIC goal of removing the gaps in international legal instruments to force the non-Muslim world to comply with its plan to criminalize slander of Islam.Those gaps in implementation and interpretation refer to U.S. objections to criminalizing free speech (in violation of the First Amendment), and the structured multilateral framework would appear to be the agenda in Washington, D.C. from December 12 to 14 at the meeting between Clinton and OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu. It would not be overreaching to conclude that the purpose of this meeting, at least from the OIC perspective, is to convince the Obama administration that free speech that rouses Muslim masses to fury as defined by the test of consequences must be restricted under U.S. law to bring it into compliance with sharia law s dictates on slander.Clinton s own statements reflect the OIC language on the gap (emphasis added): together we have begun to overcome the false divide that pits religious sensitivities against freedom of expression, and we are pursuing a new approach based on concrete steps to use some old-fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming, so that people don t feel that they have the support to do what we abhor. It may be recalled that the Obama administration claimed, obviously incorrectly, that defamation was no longer part of these agreements. The language of these resolutions instead stresses the importance of expediting the implementation process of its decision on developing a legally binding international instrument to prevent intolerance, discrimination, prejudice and hatred on the grounds of religion, and defamation of religions[.] The Department of State is not the only U.S. government agency committed to achieving compliance with the OIC s Islamophobia censorship agenda. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security both have committed publicly to an overhaul of their training materials to ensure that nothing in the curriculum gives offense to Muslim Brotherhood affiliates such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) or the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), with which both departments maintain close relationships. Instructors who previously taught the intrinsic connection among Islamic doctrine, law, and scripture and Islamic terrorism henceforth will be blacklisted by the U.S. government. As documented by the intrepid columnist and author Diana West, the Department of Defense also has made its obeisance to Islam, with troop instructions on how to handle the Qur an and avoid spitting, urinating, or sleeping with feet pointed in the direction of Mecca.Capping the administration s campaign to align U.S. national security policy within the parameters of Islamic law, the White House published Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States in December 2011. The plan makes clear that violent extremism, not Islamic terrorism, is the primary national security threat to the homeland. According to this strategy, the solution is partnership with local communities the term used for the administration s favored Muslim Brotherhood front groups, which already are using such relationships to silence their critics, both inside and outside government. These new rules of censorship state that the term violent extremism can no longer be used in combination with terms like jihad, Islam, Islamist, or sharia. And these new rules are already being taught to U.S. law enforcement, homeland security offices, and the military nationwide.The agenda of this week s Department of State/OIC meetings may mark an important milestone, as Sayyed Qutb might put it, on the pathway to sharia in America. If under the test of consequences those who speak truth about Islam, sharia, and jihad may be held criminally responsible for the violent actions of those who say they find such truth offensive, then, in the future, violent extremists could be just about anyone anyone the government, in obedience to the sharia dictates of the OIC, decides they are.Further, if the rubric is to be based on this test of consequence, then it creates a real temptation to any administration so inclined to create consequences that will justify a change in America s free speech rights. By way of example, analysts have suggested that the motive for the Department of Justice s Fast and Furious scandal, now under congressional investigation, may have been to create a crisis a consequence caused by U.S. guns shipped across the border to Mexican drug-dealers (and used in multiple homicides, including an American Border Protection officer) to nudge public consensus to expand gun control laws.Even if Obama s State Department seems fully enamored with a test of consequences on speech critical of Islam, most Americans across the political spectrum will realize that this perverts the traditional understanding of the First Amendment. It is to be hoped that dedication to the Constitution rather than to the OIC s definition of slander of Islam or the test of consequences will prevail among the ranks of our national leadership. Regardless of what s going on behind closed doors at the State Department this week, Americans should be aware and outraged. An informed citizenry, as always, remains the final defense of the Republic.Clare M. Lopez is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and also at The Clarion Fund.Read more: American Thinker | 0 |
Why is this woman not in jail?The evidence is overwhelming that Hillary was putting our national security at risk by taking money for the Clinton Foundation Slush Fund from foreign governments while Secretary of State, in return for favors. The latest Wikileaks email shows that our nations security was second to Hillary s desire to not get caught so it wouldn t hurt her chances at winning the election for the highest office in our nation. Here is the insane story of more Hillary corruption:Hillary Clinton solicited a $12 million donation from a government that her State Department considered corrupt, then realized the mess it would cause to her presidential run, a newly leaked email reveals.King Mohammed VI of Morocco agreed to give the money to the Clinton Foundation, provided that it hold a convention in his country in May 2015 with Clinton as the keynote speaker.But Clinton realized that the conference, slated for a month after she announced her run for president, would hurt her candidacy. No matter what happens, she will be in Morocco hosting CGI [Clinton Global Initiative] on May 5-7, 2015. Her presence was a condition for the Moroccans to proceed so there is no going back on this, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin wrote to campaign manager Robby Mook in a November 2014 email revealed by Wiki Leaks.In another email, Abedin warned that if Clinton didn t attend, the $12 million would be off the table. Just to give you some context, the condition upon which the Moroccans agreed to host the meeting was her participation. If hrc was not part if it, meeting was a non-starter, Abedin wrote in a January 2015 email to Mook and campaign manager John Podesta. CGI also wasn t pushing for a meeting in Morocco and it wasn t their first choice. This was HRC s idea, our office approached the Moroccans and they 100 percent believe they are doing this at her request. The King has personally committed approx $12 million both for the [foundation s] endowment and to support the meeting, Abedin continued. It will break a lot of china to back out now when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months. She created this mess and she knows it. The king gave the money to the Clinton Foundation and underwrote the CGI summit with the quid-pro-quo understanding that Hillary would attend, and other dignitaries attending were led to believe that she would be there.But Hillary sent Bill and Chelsea Clinton while she campaigned in Nevada and California.The deal with Morocco was struck even though the State Department under Hillary Clinton accused the country s government of arbitrary arrests and corruption, according to Fox News.It was unclear exactly how much went directly for the summit and how much went to the Clinton Foundation but the total added up to $12 million, according to the emails.Guests at the May 2015 CGI summit which was closed to the media stayed at the five-star Selman-Marrakesh hotel, a posh lodging featuring a stable of Arabian horses and luxury amenities.The meeting was officially paid for by OCP, a Moroccan government-owned mining company that has been accused of human rights violations.Hillary Clinton supported the monarch when she was secretary of state, and the US-financed Export-Import Bank gave OCP a $92 million loan guarantee during her tenure, the Daily Caller reported.Politico reported in 2015 that Clinton was seen by [the Moroccan capital] Rabat as among its staunchest supporters in the Obama administration. The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice charged OCP with serious human-rights violations, the Daily Caller said.For entire story: NYP | 0 |
Can the last man/woman out of America s progressive insane asylum please turn out the lights?Thirteen years ago, South Carolina man Edmonds Tennent Brown IV bound, raped and strangled 53-year-old teacher Mary Lynn Witherspoon to death, and now the incarcerated a-hole wants the state to pay for him to transform into a transgender woman named Katheryn Brown. I truly believe my outward appearance does not match or correspond with my inner self, the delusional bastard wrote in a letter to The Post and Courier. But as a female I would be complete and a productive member of society because I would actually be comfortable in my own skin. Except that you live in prison, not society, and you obtained this luxurious lifestyle courtesy your willful decision to MURDER this teacher, you heartless prick:This mentally disturbed ingrate also now claims that he never killed Witherspoon, though the copious evidence proves otherwise:Brown s father had dated the teacher from Charlestowne Academy several years earlier, but Brown continued to show up unexpectedly outside Witherspoon s home long after the relationship ended Witherspoon finally pressed charges after Brown, then 32, broke into her laundry room and stole her underwear in June 2003. While in jail, Brown put together a rambling to-do list that included plans to get a stun gun, take care of MLW and put her on ice On Nov. 10, 2003, Brown left jail to undergo outpatient mental health treatment Witherspoon was apparently unaware Brown was free until Brown showed up at her home, investigators said. Once inside, Brown reportedly bound Witherspoon s hands and feet, raped and strangled her, and then left her naked body in a bathtub full of water, according to court documents. After Brown s arrest for murder, investigators discovered that the suspect had used Witherspoon s credit card to purchase foam breasts and women s clothing from a shop in New York, police documents show. At the time, Brown said, [he] was about seven months away from having sex-reassignment surgery.Even worse, Brown alleges that he only plead guilty 13 years ago because he felt so uncomfortable being dressed as a man in court. Via: DownTrend | 1 |
The party looks to Kamala Harris, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth and Maggie Hassan to help lead it out of the abyss. | 1 |
(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice’s move to block AT&T Inc’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc was “foolish” because the deal posed no threat to consumers, the wireless carrier’s trial lawyer Dan Petrocelli told CNBC on Tuesday. The Justice Department on Monday sued AT&T arguing that the U.S. No. 2 wireless carrier would use Time Warner’s content to force rival pay-TV companies to pay “hundreds of millions of dollars more per year for Time Warner’s networks.” AT&T has vowed to defend the deal. “We want to go to court as soon as possible,” Petrocelli told CNBC, saying the burden of proof was on the government. The case was initially assigned on Tuesday to Judge Christopher Cooper in federal court in Washington but later reassigned to Judge Richard Leon. The case will be closely watched because U.S. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Time Warner’s CNN, and opposed AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner on the campaign trail last year, saying it would concentrate too much power in AT&T’s hands. In antitrust circles, the court fight will be closely watched since the Justice Department has not successfully litigated to stop a vertical deal - where the merging companies are not direct competitors - since the 1970s, when it prevented Ford Motor Co from buying assets from spark-plug maker Autolite. | 1 |
These darn progressive CNN reporters just can t help themselves. They re so conditioned to GOP candidates who roll over and allow the left to control the narrative, it s almost like they ve forgotten who they re dealing with At a fundraiser tonight in Norton, Massachusetts, CNN decided that instead of asking an intelligent question that might actually help Americans to learn more about what Trump thinks about serious issues facing America like say the Iran deal, they instead chose to ask Trump about a few protesters outside of a building packed with enthusiastic supporters. Well, I don t see a lot of protesters. I see thousands of people. And there are a few protesters. And, I figured you d ask that question because you know, that s the way it is. CNN is terrible. CNN. Are you with CNN. Are you with CNN. You people do not cover us accurately. So they have a few protesters outside. And thousands of people. And the first question from CNN is about protesters. https://youtu.be/ZJ4FEZAcFTA | 1 |
LONDON (Reuters) - Russia, the only major power that has not called on Iraq s Kurds to cancel a referendum on independence next week, has swiftly become the top funder of Kurdish oil and gas deals, with as much as $4 billion pledged in less than a year, industry sources say. Washington, European countries, Turkey and Iran have all lined up to oppose a move by Iraq s Kurds to hold a Sept. 25 independence referendum, which the Kurds consider the culmination of decades of struggle for a state of their own, but Iraq calls a violation of its constitution. This week, the White House issued a statement calling the planned vote provocative and destabilizing , noting that it will take place not only within the autonomous Kurdish region itself but on territory that is disputed. But Moscow has issued no such call to cancel the vote. Instead, with the planned referendum just days away, Russian state oil giant Rosneft announced its latest investment last week, to help Iraqi Kurdistan develop its natural gas industry, for domestic supplies and eventual export. The full value of the deal has not been disclosed officially, but according to industry sources familiar with it, it is worth more than $1 billion. It is Rosneft s third giant venture in the Kurdish region since February, transforming Moscow from an outsider with little profile in Kurdistan into the region s biggest source of cash. According to the industry sources, Rosneft s deals since it first arrived in Kurdistan last December are worth around $4 billion in total. That exceeds the $2 billion in financing the Kurdish region has previously received for oil sales from international trading firms that pre-pay for its exports, and $1.5 billion it has received from neighbor Turkey. It also marks a big change in focus for the Iraqi Kurds, who have had close ties with Washington since 1991 when the United States offered them protection from Saddam Hussein, the dictator later toppled by U.S. forces in 2003. Moscow has been effectively filling the gap as the United States has been pulling back from Iraq, said a senior source in Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region. Publicly, Moscow says it supports Iraq s territorial integrity while also recognizing the aspirations of the Kurds for a homeland. The 35 million Kurds are spread over Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. We are interested that the Kurdish people like any other nation on the planet can fulfill its hopes and aspirations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in July. We start from the fact that the legitimate aspirations of the Kurds, like other peoples, need to be fulfilled within the framework of existing international legal norms. But unlike other powers, Moscow has avoided giving a verdict on the legality or wisdom of holding the referendum itself. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said it had nothing to add to Lavrov s comments on the matter from July. The Russian position is: Let s wait and see the outcome of the referendum, said Hoshiyar Zebari, one of Iraq s pre-eminent Kurdish politicians, who served as foreign minister, deputy prime minister and finance minister in Baghdad from 2003 until last year and now advises Kurdistan s regional government. They seem to understand our situation, Zebari told Reuters, adding that Moscow expected the Kurds would use the outcome of the referendum as part of a process of negotiation with Baghdad. According to a diplomatic source, the Kurds took notice in June when Lavrov signaled to a Kurdish delegation at a meeting in St Petersburg that Russia would not oppose the referendum. During previous meetings, Lavrov always focused on Iraq s territorial integrity, said the source, who was present at the meeting on the sidelines of Russia s economic forum in St Petersburg. This time, he said that Russia understands the ambitions of Kurdish people for independence. And even though he added that it needed to be done carefully, it was a big signal. At around the same time as that meeting took place, Rosneft was signing its second of this year s three major oil investment deals with Kurdish officials. Days later, the Kurds announced the date of their referendum. The Russians are not the first foreigners to come to Kurdistan looking for oil. The Kurds have long argued that as an autonomous region of Iraq they have the authority to make agreements with foreign companies about pumping the oil on their territory. Iraq s central government, meanwhile, says any deals to export oil from Kurdistan are illegal without Baghdad s blessing. For several years, American companies were at the forefront of negotiating deals with the Kurds, on the assumption that Baghdad would eventually authorize them. The highest-profile deal was announced by Exxon Mobil, then under the leadership of CEO Rex Tillerson, now U.S. Secretary of State. But after signing a landmark deal to develop Kurdish oil fields in 2011, Exxon did little exploration, and has since handed some of the blocs back to the Kurdish government. While Washington remains friendly with the Kurds and sees them as a bulwark against Islamic State, it is concerned about their independence bid leading to the breakup of Iraq or a rupture with Turkey. The United States has long encouraged the Kurds to avoid unilateral steps, such as the referendum, that might destabilize the Baghdad government or antagonize Ankara. Russia, meanwhile, is looking for more friends in the Middle East after returning in force to the region with a decisive military intervention in Syria. Its main regional allies are Iran and the Syria of President Bashar al-Assad, and having friends in Kurdish territory, located between Syria, Iran and Turkey, would be geopolitically useful. Kurdistan has estimated recoverable reserves at 45 billion barrels of oil and 5.66 trillion cubic meters of gas, which could rise further with exploration. For Rosneft, run by Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, it potentially offers a cheap source of crude supplies to refineries in Europe, and a big boost to Rosneft s gas ambitions. In 2014, Erbil started oil sales via a pipeline through Turkey. It has generally conducted those deals with pre-financing, obtaining money in advance from international trading firms and Turkey before the oil is delivered. Rosneft began its involvement with a small pre-finance deal at the end of last year along the lines of deals the Kurds had previously reached with global traders. The Russian firm loaned the Kurds around $280 million, guaranteed by future oil sales, according to industry sources. In February 2017, Rosneft ramped up its cooperation by agreeing to lend the semi-autonomous region $1.2 billion, becoming the first big foreign oil company to publicly commit to pre-financing Kurdish exports. Kurdistan s minister of natural resources Ashti Hawrami called the deal a ground-breaker for the region that would help its economic independence - a crucial condition for seeking political independence. By that point, Turkey had invested some $1.5 billion and international trading houses such as Vitol, Petraco, Trafigura and Glencore had collectively loaned the Kurds some $2 billion. Russia became the Kurds single biggest financer with its next deal in June this year to lend money and help search for more oil, bringing its total investments close to $2.8 billion. This week s Russian pledge to invest more than $1 billion in Kurdistan s gas infrastructure could help the region become a major gas exporter to Turkey and Europe one day, Rosneft says. The independence referendum won t be a problem. Holding the referendum will not affect our work. We are doing business in an autonomous region in Iraq that has been recognized by law, Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontev said this week. This place is run by Iraqi Kurdistan s nation and it is the people of Iraqi Kurdistan who live there. That is why we don t think we are embarking on an adventure. | 0 |
The truth hurts The idea that there are people in America who would willingly vote for a person to be our next President, that most of America considers to be a Pathological Liar is really quite stunning Why would anyone want to associate pathological lying and Hillary Clinton?For more than an hour as of approximately 11:50 p.m. Sunday, a Google search for the terms pathological lying was producing a picture of Mrs. Clinton.The picture appears as the illustration for what Google calls a special featured snippet block at the top of the page. The snippet quotes from, and includes a link to, the Wikipedia article for pathological lying. By early Monday morning, the image had been removed from the Google search.Part of what makes the result odd is that while Mrs. Clinton has been accused of dishonesty and dissembling for the entire quarter-century since she became a national political figure as first lady, the Wikipedia article itself doesn t mention her or any specific cases of dishonesty by her. Washington Times | 0 |
CRTV and radio host Mark Levin said Wednesday that when those on the left “dumb down or mainstream violence,” some who are “on the edge … become violent and they act out. ” NOT FUNNY: Kathy Griffin ’Beheads’ Trump … https: . — DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) May 30, 2017, In an episode of LevinTV, the conservative author addressed the shooting in Alexandria Wednesday by a radical leftist who targeted Republican members of Congress and which left Rep. Steve Scalise ( ) in critical condition. Levin said about the rise in violence on the left: The language is violent, the conduct is violent, and that it is getting increasingly more dangerous. Now, of course, the point is that you have kooks out there. You have people who are on the edge. When you dumb down or mainstream violence, these people become violent and they act out. Breitbart News compiled a list of 15 episodes of leftwing celebrities envisioning violence against President Donald Trump, including comedian Kathy Griffin’s shock “beheading” photo of the president, Madonna’s statement that she has “thought a lot about blowing up the White House,” Joss Whedon’s tweet that he wants a “Rhino to F*ck Paul Ryan to Death,” and Shakespeare in the Park’s stabbing “Trump” to death during a performance of Julius Caesar. Violence solves nothing. I want a rhino to fuck @SpeakerRyan to death with its horn because it’s FUNNY, not because he’s a #GOPmurderbro, — Joss Whedon (@joss) January 14, 2017, “I make no excuses for a murderer or a murderer like this guy [James] Hodgkinson, but on the other hand I make no excuse either for the rhetoric of the Left, for the media coverage on the Left, for the nature in which our president has been attacked — where assassination becomes mainstream,” Levin said. The host showed video of violent leftwing protests, including one in November in which Los Angeles protesters burned Trump in effigy as they shouted, “Not my president. ” “I don’t remember any of that happening with Obama, or Bill Clinton,” he added, asserting the left’s use of violent rhetoric and its insinuations and threats of violence are “beyond the pale. ” Levin likened the kind of violence coming from the left now to that during the 1960s, and referred to it as “ . ” “When Barack Obama’s buddies Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn — people like that — these underground movements that poisoned our universities and so forth took place,” he said. “And you’ll notice they’re violent, they’re they’re . They’re . ” | 0 |
A Columbia University professor from Brooklyn went into hiding Thursday after pal James Comey revealed during his Senate testimony that the man leaked memos detailing the former FBI chief s conversations with President Trump to the press.But Richman had vanished from his Henry Street digs by midday, and family members, friends and neighbors wouldn t answer doors or phone calls to shed any more light.A doorman eventually turned security guard to stop reporters entering the building.Richman s wife, Alexandra Bowie, is a former president of the influential neighborhood civic group the Brooklyn Heights Association. Its director, Peter Bray, declined to speak about the man who had suddenly usurped Lena Dunham as the nabe s most famous inhabitant.Comey said in his testimony that he decided to give the content of his Trump memo to his good friend to leak to the press after President Trump tweeted out about possible takes of their conversations. Comey also said of leaking the memo, I thought it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. Via: NYPWho knew the FBI Director was a leaker! This is too much! Our intel community has become so politicized that it prohibits them from following the law or even focusing on gutting to the truth! During testimony today, Susan Collins asked if Comey ever shared memos from President Trump:COMEY S RESPONSE WAS A SHOCKER. HE SAID HE FELT HE NEEDED TO GET THAT OUT INTO THE PUBLIC SQUARE SO HE ASKED A FRIEND TO SHARE THE MEMO WITH A REPORTER:The person that Comey gave the memos to is a former classmate from Columbia Law School. He is considered to be a and adviser to Comey. Daniel Richman is in the video below and is a rather interesting guy. The video is dated but is meant to give you an idea of the character of this friend and adviser to the former FBI Director.Comey stated:James Comey leaked details of his conversation with @POTUS to friend and confidant Daniel Richman.Does this man look sane to you? pic.twitter.com/06Q7cfNRLI Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) June 8, 2017 Does this man look sane to you? pic.twitter.com/06Q7cfNRLI Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) June 8, 2017 | 1 |
A Conservative Reporter was brave enough to grab the mic at the Climate March and instruct people to yell Bill Clinton is a rapist! Everybody raise ya fist Everybody raise ya fist Bill Clinton is a rapist Bill Clinton is a rapistThe crowd wasn t too happy! You ll see in the video below Props to Jack Posobiec! Grabbed the mic and trolled the #ClimateMarch into singing Bill Clinton is a Rapist Grabbed the mic and trolled the #ClimateMarch into singing Bill Clinton is a Rapist pic.twitter.com/E8kSzbtd4K Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 29, 2017 | 1 |
BERLIN (Reuters) - Barring an upset, the main uncertainty surrounding Europe s most important election this year is not whether Angela Merkel will continue to lead Germany after next week s vote, but who with and how long they will take to get going. Although a surprise cannot be ruled out in the wake of any Russian interference, pollsters say they are confident about their surveys, which show Merkel s conservatives winning the most seats in the Bundestag lower house. The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) is set to enter parliament for the first time, and some experts have said it may gain more support than the roughly 10 percent polls suggest, an alarming prospect for many at home and abroad. But all the other parties have ruled out joining it in a coalition - an inherent part of Germany s electoral system - and the most likely scenario is probably a repeat of Merkel s grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). She will start sounding out partners right after the Sept. 24 vote, but coalition building is a protracted process, which could paralyze policy for months at a time when Brexit has shaken Europe s foundations. The process is especially complex this time as the number of parliamentary groups could rise to six from four. Informal soundings and then exploratory talks precede formal coalition negotiations and party leaders may also seek approval from their members before signing off on any deal. Depending on the shape of the coalition, the main issues at stake are the integration of the more than 1 million migrants who have arrived in Germany in the last two years, and investment in Europe's biggest economy as well as Merkel's leading role in talks on reform of the European Union and relations with Russia and Turkey. Here are the main scenarios: CONSERVATIVES, SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ( GRAND COALITION ) The most likely option, according to opinion polls. Merkel s parliamentary party, made up of her Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) has governed with the SPD for eight of the 12 years that Merkel has been chancellor, including the last four. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: Merkel, who has steered the conservatives toward the political center ground, looks comfortable ruling with the SPD. Such a coalition would likely have a large majority, provide continuity and broadly agree on Europe, Turkey, foreign policy, migration and security issues. HURDLES: It is a last resort for both sides, especially the SPD, which fears it will lose out as junior partner. It wants more emphasis on investment, education, tackling inequality and fair pensions while conservatives are more focused on tax cuts. The SPD is also reluctant to back planned defense spending hikes. CONSERVATIVES, FREE DEMOCRATS ( BLACK-YELLOW ) The conservative block and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) are traditional partners, especially on financial and economic policy, having ruled together for almost half of post-war Germany s seven decades. If they win sufficient votes, this is the most likely scenario. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: The pro-business FDP has rebounded this year, winning enough votes in a vote in Germany s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, in May to share power with the CDU there. A repeat at federal level would herald tax cuts and deregulation and possibly tighter laws on immigration, asylum seeking and security. HURDLES: The FDP was wiped out of parliament in 2013 after four chaotic years ruling with Merkel. It has more radical tax reduction and privatization plans, opposes deeper EU integration and wants EU countries to be able to quit the euro zone. Party leader Christian Lindner has also suggested Germany accept Russia s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, something Merkel has ruled out. CONSERVATIVES, FDP, GREENS ( JAMAICA - REFERENCE TO PARTIES COLOURS: BLACK, YELLOW, GREEN) As yet untested at a federal level, this combination rules in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE - If Merkel s bloc can t form an alliance with the FDP or the Greens alone, it may try a three-way deal. Both smaller parties have played down this option but may be lured by the prospect of power. HURDLES - The Greens and FDP are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Policy clashes would be likely on tax, energy, the EU and migrants. CONSERVATIVES, GREENS ( BLACK-GREEN ) Untested at a federal level, this has been mooted as an option under Merkel, who has pushed renewable energy. The CDU and Greens have worked together at regional level, including in a Greens-led coalition in the rich southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: The Greens leaders are pragmatic, worlds away from the eco-warriors who founded the party. The prospect of power may persuade them to compromise. Such a coalition would promote a strong Europe and focus on fighting climate change. The Greens would push for a phaseout of coal-fired power stations. HURDLES: Doubtful they would win a majority. Conservatives want lower taxes while Greens want to tax the super rich. Greens have a more liberal migrant policy which could pit them against the CSU, and they oppose plans to increase defense spending. Clashes are also likely on some aspects of energy policy and auto emissions regulation following the diesel scandal. A minority government would be a first and stability-craving Germans would not like it but may prefer it to new elections. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: If Merkel fails to find a partner, she may feel she has a mandate to rule given her personal popularity. She would probably get support for individual policies from the FDP, SPD and Greens. HURDLES: Merkel s natural caution coupled with Germans fear of instability, a legacy of the fragmentation in the years that preceded the rise of Hitler s Nazi party. SPD, LEFT, GREENS ( RED-RED-GREEN or R2G ) Highly unlikely. Never tested at a federal level, a tie up between the SPD and Greens, preferred partners, and the radical Left party, could be the only way for the SPD to take the chancellery. It is being tested in the state of Berlin under SPD leadership and, with a Left premier, in the state of Thuringia. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: For the first time, the SPD has not excluded the possibility of joining the Left. Such a coalition would probably focus on boosting investment and tackling inequality and adopt a more Russia-friendly stance. HURDLES: The Left s links with Communists in former East Germany and painful SPD memories of an exodus to the Left over deep labor market reforms more than a decade ago. While the SPD and Greens could rule together relatively easily, the Left wants a top tax rate of 75 percent, a 30-hour week and to replace NATO with an alliance including Russia. | 1 |
A Pennsylvania man apparently failed basic biology, but he s a strong Donald Trump supporter. Carl Unger of Montgomery Pennsylvania wrote a letter to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. The letter was supportive of Trump, but in protesting being called sexist, he makes one of the most sexist, and stupid attacks on Hillary Clinton yet. Now the liberals and Obama are calling for social justice and it is just code for socialism, the letter begins. Now they have college students who are talking about being triggered and taking away freedom of speech while the liberal politicians work on taking our guns so we cannot defend ourselves when the government comes. I hate to break it to you, Carl, but the government is everywhere. The government is the military, it s the police. If they wanted your guns, they would take them. They don t want them. They call us sexist just because we are critical of Hillary Clinton and her health. Critical of her health? Do you expect her to apologize for the apparent federal offense of getting pneumonia?Read this next sentence/paragraph twice.Gee, Carl, we totally believe you aren t sexist, especially after that zinger. Women get sick and have their time of the month all the friggen time. Most of us still go about our business, because we have no other choice. As for Clinton, though, um, she s 68 years old. She probably hasn t had her time of the month since the last millennia. The last time, she likely lived in the White House. If she is still getting her period, well, we should be in complete awe.In case Carl s sexist argument for why he s not sexist hasn t convinced you, he also made a racist argument for why he s not racist. The liberals call us racist to silence us because they cannot handle the truth that when they give out money to people of all races it makes them lazy. Here s the full letter:This letter actually ran in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, a real newspaper, today pic.twitter.com/LEPYtC2sx5 Anna Orso (@anna_orso) October 15, 2016 Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. | 0 |
Barack Obama recently kicked 35 Russian diplomats and their families out of the US, and announced sanctions over allegations that have yet to be proven, that the Russian government hacked John Podesta, Hillary s campaign chair s emails. HILLARY Clinton is facing a backlash in Germany after it was revealed the country s taxpayers handed over 4million to her foundation via the government at the height of the US elections.According to reports, the failed Democratic nominee s US-based charity received the cash to help plant trees in Africa at exactly the time she declared Angela Merkel her favourite politician.But the revelation of the financing arangment has been met with scorn.In October, around the same time the transaction was made, it was revealed that Mrs Clinton said the German Chancellor was one of her favourites when asked about who she admired in global politics.According to reports, the failed Democratic nominee s US-based charity received the cash to help plant trees in Africa at exactly the time she declared Angela Merkel her favourite politician.But the revelation of the financing arangment has been met with scorn.In October, around the same time the transaction was made, it was revealed that Mrs Clinton said the German Chancellor was one of her favourites when asked about who she admired in global politics.According to reports the tome alleges foreign groups and governments gave money to Mrs Clinton s charity in return for access to the State Department while she was Secretary of State.Now eyebrows are being raised after it was revealed German taxpayers handed over millions in the third quarter of the year, during the period Mrs Clinton was running for President while at the same time being investigated by the FBI.And it has been claimed the foundation s donors list shows the Federal Ministry of the Environment had made the transaction. Express UK | 1 |
Like a modern day Ben Franklin, Sen. Tim Scott makes his most critical decisions by listing the pros and cons on a sheet of paper.
So in recent weeks, as the South Carolina Republican tried to decide who to endorse for the GOP presidential nomination, Scott pulled out his detailed notes on the contenders along with his yellow legal pads and blue pens, crafting the rationale for each of the potential nominees as well as their downsides.
On Tuesday, he endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — a fellow 40-something when they were first elected in 2010; both minorities in the white confines of Republican caucuses. What seemed like a natural decision from the outside came through one of the more detailed, painstaking processes any senator uses for choosing which horse to back in presidential politics.
In an interview, Scott explained that, indeed, he really only had one choice once he had done his due diligence.“When I put together a strong position on national defense and foreign policy, coupled with a compassionate attachment for people to alleviate poverty using conservative principles exclusively, Marco Rubio became the only candidate that I honestly believe can do both,” he said.
The endorsement served as another boost to Rubio’s campaign, which shot out of the Iowa caucuses with a better-than-expected finish in third, narrowly edged out by Donald Trump for second and not far behind Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) winning slot. Rubio, who has tried to position himself as a next-generation leader, has also focused on winning endorsements from less tenured lawmakers, such as Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), both of whom were also elected in the 2010 Republican tidal wave.
Scott said that he’s aware endorsements don’t always add up to actual votes from real voters — that transference is one of the most difficult acts in politics. He said that he will travel to New Hampshire in the coming days to be with Rubio in advance of Tuesday’s primary, where Cruz’s staunch conservatism isn’t expected to play as well and Rubio might have a chance for a strong second-place finish or to even leap into first ahead of Trump.
Scott’s real focus, however, will be in South Carolina, which is shaping up in its usually pivotal fashion. “We’ll find out in 18 days,” Scott said Tuesday, counting down to the Feb. 20 showdown in his home state.
Getting to that point, however, took more than six months of detailed deliberation, note taking and face-to-face interaction between a dozen candidates and arguably the most sought-after endorser in the U.S. Senate. Scott, now 50, is the only African-American Republican in the Senate, and his personal biography of going from a childhood in poverty in North Charleston to making it into the Senate is the stuff of Republican storybook legend.
[Read how the Ryan-Scott poverty summit brought the issue to the 2016 forefront.]
Moreover, his blessing carries more than just symbolic weight because South Carolina is third in line in the presidential nominating process, after Iowa and New Hampshire. Scott is surpassed in popularity only by Gov. Nikki Haley (R) among Palmetto State leaders. In the interview, he acknowledged a “fairly assertive courting process” by the Republican contenders to get his backing.
Scott could’ve easily avoided the pressure of choosing because he is up for reelection this year. Haley appointed Scott to his Senate seat in 2013, after Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) decided to quit midterm to the Heritage Foundation. He won the remainder of DeMint’s term outright in November 2014, but now must stand for election in November to win a full six-year term.
Rather than taking a pass on endorsing anyone, Scott instead decided to maximize his leverage. He put a premium on issues of fighting poverty and upward mobility that are not part of the normal Republican primary vocabulary. Beginning in late August, Scott hosted 12 different town halls with presidential candidates spread all across the state, including everyone from onetime front-runner Donald Trump to his South Carolina partner, Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose own presidential bid came to an end in December.
At each event, Scott said, he took detailed notes of how the candidates handled questions from his constituents on the biggest issues of the day, with a particular focus on national security and poverty.
“Yellow pads and blue ink, a lot of it,” he said, describing the process.
That wasn’t enough, and so in early January Scott hosted what was billed as a “poverty summit”, along with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), in Columbia, S.C.. Six GOP hopefuls showed up, but Trump and Cruz were off campaigning in Iowa.
As Scott moderated the event, that’s when he began to settle on Rubio who, like Scott, uses his up-from-bootstraps story to talk about his aspiration for America.
“I think it all culminated at my poverty summit,” he said, explaining that he wants a candidate for the “next American century” rather than someone talking about the past. “I think it’s incredibly important for us to have a candidate who can win by using conservative principles — and that means you have to be able to sell those conservative principles so you need an aspirational candidate.”
But he still wasn’t settled. So, in recent weeks, that meant breaking out the legal pads and blue pens, again, crossing the line down the middle, and drawing up the pluses and minuses for each candidate.
Finally, Tuesday, the decision arrived. Rubio’s name got circled. | 0 |
Felony crime declined nationwide in 2015, continuing a historic drop. But mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., and Charleston, S.C. – as well as a slight uptick in the number of murders – have contributed to the feeling of unease.
Latonya Jones holds a photo of her mother, Bettie Jones, during a vigil on Sunday, in Chicago. Jones, an antiviolence activist and mother of five, was accidentally killed early Saturday by officers responding to a domestic disturbance on the city’s West Side, police said.
Earlier this month, when New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told fellow officers that 2015 will end up being the safest year ever in New York City history, he paused to note that it was also “a year of great contradictions.”
Despite the fact that the nation’s largest city is still experiencing historic drops in crime, Commissioner Bratton’s tone was somber: Four police officers had died in the line of duty since this time last year, making the latest crime statistics ring somewhat hollow in a “terrible” year for the NYPD.
And such is the mood across the nation, in many ways. A study at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that overall crime was still declining throughout the United States a bit in 2015. Felony crime declined 1.5 percent nationwide, and dropped by roughly 2 percent in New York. But the highly visible violence of the past year – such as mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.; Roseburg, Ore; and Charleston, S.C. – as well as a slight uptick in the number of murders, has contributed to the feeling of great contradictions when it comes to crime.
Indeed, 7 in 10 Americans said they believed there was more crime in the US this year than last, according to a Gallup poll in October, up from 2014. That’s despite the fact that the nation’s crime rates have plummeted over the past two decades. But as the polling center noted about its annual survey, “Americans' perceptions of crime … are not always on par with reality.”
“The public's perception of media coverage certainly gives a skewed image of what's going on with crime,” said Matthew Freidman, an economist with the Brennan Center in New York and coauthor of the study, to NPR last week. “What we find is that though we've seen a nearly three-decades-long decline in crime rates, public perception does not match that.”
The rise of social media and the 24-hour digital news cycle, as well as the high-profile nature of some of the deaths, may play into that.
For example, last December, two NYPD officers were gunned down in their patrol cars – randomly targeted by a man who said he wanted revenge for the shootings of black men. A sheriff’s deputy in Texas was shot at a gas station in August, and many police officers say they have felt under siege over the past year. However, there were 39 officers shot and killed so far in 2015 – a drop from 2014, when 47 were shot and killed, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
At the same, concerns about the number of people shot by police or who died in custody continues to create a climate of tension throughout the country. From the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore to the shooting of a black teen and the accidental killing of a black mother and activist in Chicago over the weekend, it has been a year in which violence has drawn much of the nation’s attention.
It is true that many cities saw a rise in the number of murders this year. In New York, there were 339 as of Christmas Day – slightly more than last year’s all-time low of 333, but still well below the 536 murders recorded in 2010.
However, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston are each projected to see double-digit increases in their murder rates this year. In Baltimore, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, rates have reached levels not seen since the 1990s, studies have found.
But scholars point out that despite such spikes this year, such statistics do not yet indicate a reversal in the dramatic drop in violence in the US over the past few decades, and can be attributed to normal variations in annual numbers. The overall crime rate is still half what it was in 1990, and nearly a quarter of what it was in 2000.
“The increase in the murder rate is insufficient to drive up the crime rate, and using murder as a proxy for crime overall is mistaken,” the Brennan study notes. “It is important to remember just how much crime has fallen in the last 25 years.”
But tensions remain high, fueled in part by the terror attacks in San Bernardino and Paris. Some 40 percent of Americans say that they believe the terrorists are winning – more than at any time after 9/11 – according to a CNN/ORC poll released Monday.
With the rise of the Black Lives Matter protest movement calling for an end to policing policies that activists say unfairly target minorities, many continue to perceive a “year of great contradictions.” Since last year, some high-profile deaths of black men and some women at police hands have prompted continued clashes and a feeling of unease within the nation’s law enforcement systems and the communities they serve.
In Chicago, police shot and killed two black people over the holiday weekend, including a 55-year-old mother of five and antiviolence activist who was accidentally killed after officers responded to a domestic disturbance by an emotionally disturbed college student.
The shootings come just a month after the Justice Department began an investigation of the Chicago Police Department after the release of a video showing the shooting death of a black teen last year. The video led to murder charges for the white police officer who shot the teen and the resignation of the city’s police commissioner.
By contrast, on Monday, a grand jury in Cleveland declined to bring charges against either of the two officers involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was playing with an Airsoft gun in a park at the time he was shot.
In New York, like the rest of the country, many report a growing sense of anxiety about crime and policing. But in the past five years, crime continued to fall, even as police have made dramatically fewer arrests.
New York City police arrested about 333,000 people through Dec. 20, The New York Times reported, down 13 percent from the 385,000 arrested last year. And these numbers are way down from the 423,000 arrests made in 2010.
So despite the fact that 2015 has been in many ways a rough and contradictory year, police officials are optimistic as both overall crime and the number of arrests continue to fall.
“This is going to be, potentially, a very significant year in terms of the history of index crime in New York City,” Dermot Shea, deputy commissioner of operations for the NYPD, told the Times. | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz won the backing of former rival Jeb Bush on Wednesday as prominent Republicans overcome their aversion to the conservative senator to try to force a standoff with insurgent Donald Trump at their party’s convention in July. The endorsement by Bush, part of a Republican dynasty, is the latest sign of how keen the party’s establishment is to stop Trump, fearing that his rhetoric on illegal immigration and national security will cost the party votes at the Nov. 8 presidential election. Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, is a staunch social conservative and a divisive figure in the party due to his willingness to criticize the leadership and his prominent role in bringing about a 2013 government shutdown. But he is still seen by party grandees and many Republicans in Congress as preferable to Trump, a real-estate billionaire viewed as straying even further from party orthodoxy. “Republicans across the spectrum are realizing that to nominate Donald Trump brings chaos to our party and potentially to our country,” U.S. Representative Trent Franks of Arizona told Reuters, “and that any differences they might have had with Ted Cruz are far less important than the danger of nominating Mr. Trump.” In his customary style, Trump took to social media to register his scorn, referring to the profligate spending by former Florida governor Bush’s well-funded campaign and associated political fund-raising groups. “I think having Jeb’s endorsement hurts Lyin’ Ted,” ran a message on Trump’s Twitter account. “Jeb spent more than $150,000,000 and got nothing. I spent a fraction of that and am first!” Bush, who quit his campaign last month after a poor start to the primary season, sent a fund-raising email on Cruz’s behalf to his supporters, urging them to help “overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity” of Trump. Cruz won the Republican caucuses in Utah on Tuesday but time is running out for him to defeat Trump before the Republican convention in July, and for Republican establishment figures to reassert control of a party that is being wrested away from it by rank-and-file voters. Cruz looked on track to win all of the 40 Republican delegates from Utah, although Trump won the 58 delegates up for grabs in Arizona, partly due to his tough message on illegal immigration. After Tuesday, Trump had 738 of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination, according to The New York Times. Cruz had 463. “WRONG AND UN-AMERICAN” On the Democratic side, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont won in two out of three states that voted for the party’s nominee on Tuesday, but this made only a small dent in the lead held by Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, who won Arizona. President Barack Obama echoed his fellow Democrats on Wednesday by criticizing Cruz’s call to “carpet bomb” Islamic State and for renewed calls from Cruz and Trump to increase the surveillance of Muslims in the United States after Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least 31 people in Brussels. To target Muslims in this way “is not only wrong and un-American,” Obama said in a news conference in Argentina, “but it also would be counterproductive because it would reduce the strength, the antibodies that we have to resist the terrorism.” The Bush endorsement put pressure on Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is struggling in third place in the Republican race, to drop out. “Kasich was viewed as the only establishment candidate left,” said U.S. Representative Matt Salmon of Arizona, a Cruz supporter. “With the quintessential establishment candidate now endorsing Cruz, it makes Kasich irrelevant.” People in Kasich’s campaign suggested the candidate was paying no more attention to party elites than voters were, saying he planned to survive to the convention and wrestle the nomination there. In interviews, some Republican lawmakers and wealthy party donors worried a Bush endorsement was no longer a game-changer. U.S. Representative John Duncan of Tennessee said it would “make a miniscule difference at most.” Cruz remains undaunted, and added Bush’s name to a list of prominent Republicans who had belatedly rallied to his cause, including Mitt Romney, the party’s unsuccessful 2012 candidate. “Across the spectrum Republicans are uniting,” he told the crowd at a New York City campaign event. | 1 |
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq s parliament has no right to remove Kirkuk s governor from office, a senior Kurdish official said on Thursday, after parliament voted him out following a request by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. He is an elected governor of the council of Kirkuk, said Hoshyar Zebari, a close adviser to Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. That is the only body that can remove him. The decision to remove the governor, Najmaddin Kareem, comes after Kirkuk - an oil-rich province claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq - voted to take part in a referendum set for Sept. 25 on Kurdish independence. | 0 |
(Reuters) - U.S. allies expressed support on Friday for Washington’s missile strikes on Syria, calling them a proportionate response to Syrian forces’ suspected use of chemical weapons. The strikes were denounced as illegal by Syria and its allies Russia and Iran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the world "to reject such policies, which bring only destruction and danger to the region and the globe". (Graphic locator map on attack - tmsnrt.rs/2nm68H0) Iraq criticized “hasty interventions” in an apparent comment on the U.S. action. But a wide range of U.S. allies from Asia, Europe and the Middle East expressed support, if sometimes cautiously, in similar terms. “The U.K. government fully supports the U.S. action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime and is intended to deter further attacks,” a British government spokesman said. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters: “Many innocent people became victims from the chemical attacks. “Japan supports the U.S. government’s determination to prevent the spread and use of chemical weapons,” he said. Turkey viewed the strikes positively and the international community should sustain its stance against the “barbarity” of the Syrian government, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said. In an interview with Turkish broadcaster Fox TV, Kurtulmus said Assad’s government must be punished in the international arena and the peace process in Syria needed to be accelerated. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Russia and Iran needed to understand that supporting Assad made no sense and that the escalation of the U.S. military role in Syria was a “warning” to “a criminal regime”. “Use of chemical weapons is appalling and should be punished because it is a war crime,” Ayrault told Reuters and France Info radio. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued statements saying Assad was solely to blame for the air strikes. The Dutch government said: “The United States has given a clear signal that the use of poison gas crosses a line.” It also labeled the strikes a “proportionate” response. “U.S. strikes show needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks. EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria,” the chairman of the council of EU leaders, Donald Tusk, said on Twitter. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the strikes sent “a vitally important message” that the world would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. “The retribution has been proportionate and it has been swift,” he told reporters in Sydney. “We support the United States in that swift action.” Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which back rebels fighting Assad, said they supported the U.S. strikes and held only the Syrian government responsible for the attacks. Other Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, also expressed support for the attacks. Some countries expressed reservations about the U.S. decision to launch strikes without authorization from the U.N. Security Council. Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria. “At the same time, Indonesia is concerned with unilateral actions by any parties, including the use of Tomahawk missiles, in responding to the chemical weapon attack tragedy in Syria,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said in a text message. “Military actions, undertaken without prior authorization of the U.N. Security Council, are not in line with international legal principles in the peaceful settlement of disputes, as stipulated in the U.N. Charter.” | 1 |
The media already is accountable, DOC, under US law, as I tried to illustrate in my post, above.
That said, the repeal of The Fairness Doctrine in the 1980s was devastating for the US public, and gave birth to Fox Propaganda News and MSNBC, among others. Also, having disingenuous propagandist commentators on every night like Kayleigh McEnany and Katrina Pierson should be shameful to CNN and Fox, respectively in these 2 cases.
I watch some Fox and CNN for details, and for the opinions of just a few of their commentators (Krauthammer, Acosta for the Electoral Map). I used to watch mostly Al Jazeera America, which of course closed shop, and still watch The BBC, which is better than anything American, although not as good as Al Jazeera was. CNN International also is excellent - available only over the Internet - and the much-despised Russia Today has some excellent programming as well - I like The Keiser Report. Thanks for your post. | 1 |
Amateur president Donald Trump is donating his second-quarter salary to the Department of Education, the White House announced Wednesday. During her daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was besieged with questions about Trump s Twitter announcement saying that he s banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, told everyone about the $100,000 donation. Huckabee Sanders then handed the check signed by the former reality show star to Education Secretary Betsy Devos, a billionaire.Now, while they may seem generous on the surface, Trump has proposed slashing the Education Department by $9.2 billion. That s a 14 percent reduction so $100,000 is a mere drop in the bucket.And while he s profiting from his businesses, typically every weekend when the 71-year-old needs a break, he threw his relatively meager salary at the very department he s stripping funding from.DeVos announced that the money would go toward hosting a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics camp for children at the department. We want to encourage as many students as possible to pursue STEM fields, DeVos said.Trump's donation to Dept of Education: $100,000.Spending cut to education in Trump's proposed 2018 budget: $9,200,000,000. Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) July 26, 2017Trump donated his first quarter salary of about $78,000 to the National Park Service. Just like Huckabee Sanders did today, Sean Spicer made a big show of handing over the Trump s salary to benefit the National Park Service, but his budget slashes the Department of the Interior by 12 percent.Trump s first paycheck of $78,333 went to a department he planned to slash by $1.6 billion in funding. We see a pattern here!Shortly before Trump s inauguration, Mar-a-Lago doubled its annual membership fee to $200,000. He s literally profiting from his presidency by using his Florida resort for official government business. Each weekend Trump spends at one of his businesses, the visit generates revenue for the alleged president. And we, the taxpayers, are footing the bill.But hey, he gave departments which he s slashed funding for his paycheck, so he s a really good guy, right? Here, have a penny while I take a billion dollars from you. It s all good.It does make a good photo-op, though.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 1 |
Putin dismisses allegations about Russia’s interference in U.S. election October 27, 2016 TASS vladimir putin , u.s.-russia relations , Valdai , sochi , elections in usa Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Valdai international discussion club on Oct. 27. Source: Kremlin.ru
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as hysteria speculations Russia is meddling in the election campaign in the United States.
"On the list of phantom problems, far-fetched problems there is the ongoing hysteria - I just cannot think of another word - over Russia’s alleged influence on the course of the current presidential election," Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai international discussion club on Oct. 27.
He pointed out that the United States was faced with many problems - from the mammoth federal debt to police brutality.
"But apparently the elite has nothing to say to calm public anxiety," said Putin. "It is far better to distract people’s attention with rumored Russian hackers, spies, agents of influence and so on and so forth.
“Is there anyone who thinks in full seriousness that Russia is capable of influencing the choice of the American people somehow? America is not a banana republic, is it? America is a great power." | 1 |
TASHKENT (Reuters) - Uzbekistan has abruptly recalled thousands of school teachers, college students and healthcare workers from cotton fields, halting a practice condemned abroad as forced labor, government officials and other sources told Reuters on Friday. The Central Asian nation is one of the world s leading cotton exporters and for years it has mobilized the students as well as staff at schools and clinics to pick the autumn harvest. It phased out using minors in 2015 under international pressure that included boycott campaigns. Officially, the work is voluntary and paid at about $0.005 per kilogram. In reality those who refuse risk expulsion or the sack unless they bribe an official or hire someone to work in their place, sources said. The harvest started this month but late on Thursday the Tashkent government ordered the cotton pickers home, said a district official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment. The government declined to comment. A central government official who also asked not to be named said an order barring the use of such workers had in fact been issued in August. On Thursday Tashkent warned regional governors they would be sacked if they fail to comply with it. The district official said regional governments have been ordered to hire unemployed locals for cotton picking instead. Several students and a school director, who all requested anonymity, said they had been ordered to return to class or had their trips to the field canceled at the last moment. Despite ending the use of child labor, Uzbekistan ranked among the top five worst offenders in the Global Slavery Index compiled last year by activist group Walk Free Foundation. The group estimated that almost 4 percent of Uzbekistan s population - then 31 million - lived in modern slavery, putting it second only to North Korea by that metric. The move to end the practice follows reforms by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev who took over the former Soviet republic after the death of strongman leader Islam Karimov last September. Mirziyoyev has moved to liberalize foreign exchange and travel regulations and had about 16,000 people struck off a blacklist of potential extremists, reforms that may help him rebuild ties with the West and attract foreign investment. | 1 |
https://100percentfedup.com/video-hillary-asked-about-trump-i-just-want-to-eat-some-pie/ | 1 |
Who kicks homeless people out onto the streets so they can host a rally? If Sanders really cared so much about the little guy, he would have given them a hot meal and a front seat. But alas, they aren t likely registered voters, so kicking them to the curb is the next best thing .Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders describes himself as a Democratic socialist. I guess he thinks that sounds a lot nicer than communist or Marxist. After all, the source of his constant ridicule, attacks, and plans to target should, heaven forbid, he become president are private insurance companies and privately-owned banks.Though the Democrat party likes to sell itself as one of youth and compassionate, that theory is blown when you look at the stage of the Democrat debates and see an old white woman who is as corrupt as the day is long and an older white man who is a crotchety socialist/Marxist who has capitalized on progressives filling the minds of our youth with lies about capitalism being bad and socialism, which has failed everywhere it s been tried in the world, as the saving grace.Sanders constant railing against the rich and his efforts to pit Americans of different socioeconomic levels against one another makes Obama s last seven years of divisiveness look like amateur hour. But, for all his talk about his compassion for the poor and his attempt to create envy and jealousy so that he can capitalize on his promise to make the rich pay for their success for confiscating larger amounts of their money so he can play Santa Claus, like all socialists, communists, Marxists, Bernie s personal actions don t quite mesh with his words.Some people told me Alabama was a conservative state. I guess not. Watch live: https://t.co/5W9i3XN1US #BernieInAL pic.twitter.com/6EH4fTJ1lH Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 19, 2016On Monday night, Sanders held a rally in Birmingham, Alabama. Since it was the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, he decided to use that day to sell his snake oil of socialism where MLK rose to prominence. Of course, he bragged about it on Twitter as well as the crowd that showed up. Here s what the auditorium normally looks when a marxist isn t hosting a Presidential primary rally in Birmingham, ALWhat he failed to mention, not surprisingly, was that the auditorium where his rally was held served as a warming station for the city s homeless. On what was the coldest night of the year, with temperatures falling to 20 degrees overnight, but feeling more like 15 degrees with wind chill factor, over 300 homeless people were kicked out onto the street so that Sanders could peddle his socialistic lies.I guess they weren t good enough to be allowed to remain in the warmth of the auditorium for his rally. Via: Politistick | 0 |
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Frankfurt city officials have warned that Germany s financial capital could grind to a halt on Monday if residents don t heed orders to vacate their homes to allow the defusing of a massive World War Two bomb. On Sunday, the city will evacuate some 60,000 people in the nation s biggest such maneuver since the war while officials disarm the British bomb discovered on a building site this week in Frankfurt s leafy Westend, where many wealthy bankers live. Fire and police chiefs, at a hastily called press conference on Friday, said they would use force and incarceration if necessary to clear the area of residents. An uncontrolled explosion of the bomb would be big enough to flatten a city block, Frankfurt fire chief Reinhard Ries told reporters. This bomb has more than 1.4 tonnes of explosives, he said. It s not just fragments that are the problem, but also the pressure that it creates that would dismantle all the buildings in a 100-metre (yard) radius. . The HC 4000 bomb is assumed to have been dropped by Britain s Royal Air Force during the 1939-45 war. Such finds are not unusual, but rarely are the unexploded bombs so large and in such a sensitive position. The compulsory evacuation radius of 1.5 km (roughly a mile) around the bomb includes police headquarters, two hospitals, transport systems and Germany s central bank storing $70 billion in gold reserves. Officials on Friday called on Frankfurt s residents to clear the area by 8 a.m. on Sunday and warned the effort could take at least 12 hours. Police said they couldn t begin defusing the bomb until they were sure everyone had left the area. They would ring every doorbell and use heat-sensing technology from overhead helicopters to help them identify stragglers, they said. Roads and transport systems, including the parts of the underground, will be closed during the work and for at least two hours after the bomb is defused, to allow patients to be transported back to hospitals without traffic. Air traffic from Frankfurt airport could also be affected if there is an easterly wind on Sunday, air traffic control told Reuters on Friday. Also, small private planes, helicopters and drones will be banned from the evacuation zone, they said. Frankfurters can spend the day at shelters set up at the trade fair and the Jahrhunderthalle convention center, police have said. In addition, most museums are offering Frankfurt residents free entry on Sunday, and a few of them will open their doors earlier in the morning than usual, the city said on its website. | 1 |
During Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Tom Cotton ( ) asked whether any spy fiction had “a plot line so ridiculous that a sitting United States senator and an ambassador of a foreign government colluded at an open setting with hundreds of other people to pull off the greatest caper in the history of espionage?” Cotton said, “[A] very simple question that should be asked is, did Donald Trump or any of his associates in the campaign collude with Russia in hacking those emails and releasing them to the public? That’s where we started six months ago. We have now heard from six of the eight Democrats on this committee, and, to my knowledge, I don’t think a single one of them asked that question. They’ve gone down lots of other rabbit trails, but not that question. Maybe that is because Jim oCmey said last week, as he said to Donald Trump, that on three times he assured him he was not under investigation. Maybe it’s because multiple Democrats on this committee have stated they have seen no evidence thusfar, after six months of our investigation and ten — 11 months of an FBI investigation of any such collusion. I would just suggest, what do we think happened at the Mayflower? Mr. Sessions, are you familiar with what spies called tradecraft?” After Sessions responded, “A little bit. ” Cotton continued, “That involves things like covert communications and dead drops and brush passes, right?” Sessions answered that’s “part of it. ” Cotton then asked Sessions if he liked spy fiction. After Sessions answered in the affirmative, Cotton asked, “Have you ever, in any of these fantastical situations, heard of a plot line so ridiculous that a sitting United States senator and an ambassador of a foreign government colluded at an open setting with hundreds of other people to pull off the greatest caper in the history of espionage?” Sessions answered that such charges are “beyond my capability to understand. ” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 0 |
TUNIS (Reuters) - The United Nations began a new push on Tuesday to stabilize Libya by getting rival factions to revise the stalled peace plan and set the country on the path to elections. The effort aims to end the turmoil that developed in Libya after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising ended Muammar Gaddafi s 42-year rule, giving space to Islamist militants and smuggling networks that have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe. Political and military fractures have left the country mired in conflict and the OPEC member s economy in freefall. Rival parliaments and governments have vied for power. Last week, U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame announced a one-year action plan for a transition toward presidential and parliamentary elections. The plan got underway on Tuesday with negotiations between delegations from rival parliaments from eastern Libya and Tripoli, which are meant to draw up amendments to a previous U.N.-mediated plan signed in December 2015. As the delegations convened in Tunis, Salame said he hoped the amendments could be agreed rapidly and that he sensed a window of opportunity for reconciliation. All Libyans are fed up. They are going from transition to transition with no horizon, he said. We have sleeping institutions that need to be awoken, divided institutions that need to be united, and hijacked institutions that need to be rebuilt. The 2015 deal has only had limited support from power-brokers and was never endorsed by factions aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar that control eastern Libya. Haftar, who has been courted by Western states after making military gains, was in Rome on Tuesday where he met Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti and Italy s highest ranking military officer, Claudio Graziano. Pinotti expressed hope that all parties would support Salame s inclusive political strategy ... excluding any military solution , according to a defense ministry statement. Italy and other Western states have tried to work with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, but it has been hamstrung by internal splits and has been unable to halt a slide in living standards or tame the power of armed groups. We re here to move the political process forward for the sake of the country s stability, said Moussa Faraj, head of the delegation from the High Council of State in Tripoli, according to a tweet from the United Nations from the Tunis meeting which got closed to the press after Salame s speech. Under the new U.N. plan, once amendments have been agreed a national conference drawing on a much larger number of representatives from across Libya is meant to approve the members of a transitional government that would run the country until elections. The eastern parliament, or House of Representatives (HOR), is expected to devise laws for national elections and for a referendum to approve a much-delayed constitution. The chamber has barely functioned over the past two years and has been boycotted by a large number of its members. Our task is difficult, said Abdusalam Nasia, head of the HOR delegation, according to the United Nations. I call on all to leave personal interests behind and focus on common interests. | 0 |
MSNBC host asked one final question during an interview with Rudy Guiliani on Thursday and his answer caused Matthews to take the former mayor to the woodshed.For years, Donald Trump has been outright accusing President Obama of not being born in the United States. Then President Obama released his birth certificate to the public and thoroughly humiliated the businessman.And now that Trump is the Republican nominee, his birtherism is coming back to bit him in the ass as he has repeatedly been asked if he still believes President Obama was born in Kenya.So far, Trump has refused to talk about it and is hoping the media will just forget about the whole thing, but Chris Matthews had other ideas on Thursday as he cornered Rudy Guiliani about it.Matthews pointed out that Mike Pence and Ben Carson have both broken with Donald Trump to confirm that President Obama is the legitimately elected Commander-in-Chief of the United States.Guiliani claimed that he also believes that and said that Donald Trump believes that as well, but Matthews didn t buy it because Trump has avoided talking about it and has not publicly admitted that President Obama was born in America. When did he do that? Matthews demanded to know.Guiliani claimed Trump said it a few years ago, but that was news to Matthews, who continued to grill Guiliani about it.Guiliani then tried to blame Hillary Clinton for the birther movement, but Matthews quickly shut that lie down and made Guiliani squirm. When is he gonna say that this president is legitimate? Matthews repeated. This is a fundamental question, mister mayor. Is the President of the United States legitimate of not? Guiliani continued to try and cover Trump s ass, but Matthews was not having any of it. Can you commit to your candidate saying in the next 24 hours that President Barack Obama s a legitimate president? Matthews asked. Can you commit for him that he will say that? But Guiliani couldn t even do that and ended up desperately trying to change the subject to Hillary Clinton.Here s the video via YouTube:Guiliani got his ass handed to him in this interview and that makes it very clear that Donald Trump needs to eat some crow and admit that President Obama is a legitimate president and reject birtherism once and for all.Featured Image: Screenshot | 1 |
Mainstream media networks devoted 57 times more coverage to President Donald Trump’s temporary “ban” on travel from seven countries than they did to President Barack Obama’s permanent ban on Cuban refugees to the U. S.[That’s according to a NewsBusters investigation, which also found that “[b]etween them, ABC, CBS and NBC only spent 68 seconds during their news coverage the following morning” after Obama ended the “wet foot, dry foot” policy for Cubans. NewsBusters adds: Both actions severely limited immigration from certain regions, but CBS This Morning and NBC’s Today hyped the Castro regime “praising” Obama’s policy decision. In contrast, the coverage of Trump’s executive order has been overwhelmingly negative, with NBC’s Today even going so far as to suggest a link between Trump’s immigration ban and a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec, despite a complete lack of evidence. … But this wasn’t the only instance of the networks ignoring one of President Obama’s bans on refugees. It wasn’t until 2013 that ABC News reported that “State Department stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months in 2011,” after the discovery that two operatives had used the program to enter the U. S. and move to Bowling Green, Kentucky. … … CBS and NBC never followed up on the story, and ABC dropped its coverage after that single day of attention. Coverage of Obama’s rapprochement and normalization of relations with Cuba has been generally laudatory, ignoring the Cuban regime’s complete failure to make progress on democracy and human rights, while praising the diplomatic commitment of the Obama administration to back down, unilaterally. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 0 |
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States wants to exhaust every diplomatic option on North Korea s nuclear and missile programs, and to see loopholes in the North Korean sanctions regime closed, U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said on Friday. Sanctions have not had a real opportunity to bite as hard as we would like them to bite, and that comes from the fact that they have not been fully implemented, Wood told a news conference in Geneva. North Korea fired a second missile over Japan far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, deepening tension after Pyongyang s recent test of its sixth and most powerful nuclear bomb. Washington has in the past accused China, North Korea s main trading partner, of failing to apply enough economic pressure to its neighbor. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that if China failed to implement the latest U.N. sanctions on North Korea, he would seek new financial sanctions against Beijing. Wood, formally U.S. ambassador to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, said North Korea had exploited gaping holes in the sanctions regime to secretly acquire equipment for its ballistic missile and nuclear weapon programs: We want to close those loopholes. Asked if war or a U.S. military strike was possible, Wood said: We are not taking any options off the table but ... we are pursuing the diplomatic track right now. That s where we are. We want to exhaust all diplomatic options. The United States wanted to see North Korea further isolated, with more countries breaking off or downgrading relations and cutting off trade. He said China had the same interest as the United States in seeking the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and had helped to apply pressure on North Korea by supporting two U.N. Security Council resolutions. But he said there was much more that China could do, and suggested that Beijing s unique leverage was only just coming into play. We re at a real inflection point with regard to China, Wood said. In a wide-ranging briefing on U.S. disarmament interests, Wood also reiterated President Donald Trump s view that Iran was not fulfilling the spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 deal that allowed Iran sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear program. If you look at what Iran is doing with regard to ballistic missile activity ... when you look at the support it is giving to the Assad regime in Syria, to Hezbollah, to Hamas, their funding and support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen ... Iran is not in any way, we think, fulfilling the aspirations of the JCPOA. He cited the preface of the JCPOA, which says the signatories anticipate that the agreement will positively contribute to regional and international peace and security . Trump must decide next month whether Iran is complying with the deal. | 1 |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China supports Iraq s unity, the country s foreign ministry said on Monday, as voting started in an independence referendum organized by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, ignoring the threats of the Kurds neighbors. The vote, expected to deliver a comfortable yes for independence, is not binding and is meant to give Massoud Barzani s KRG a mandate to negotiate secession of the oil producing region with Baghdad and neighboring states.[nL8N1M60E9] The referendum is being held despite intense international pressure on Barzani to call it off, amid fears that it would spark fresh conflicts with Baghdad and with Iraq s powerful neighbors, Iran and Turkey. The Chinese government supports Iraq s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing, when asked about the referendum. We hope the relevant sides can resolve the differences via dialogue, and find an inclusive solution that takes into account history and reality, to jointly protect Iraqi and regional stability, Lu added. This will help promote Iraq s rebuilding and counter-terrorism efforts and accords with the joint interests of countries in the region and the international community, he said. China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, is generally a low-key player in the Middle East despite its reliance on the region for oil, but has been trying to get more involved, for example by appointing a special envoy for the Syrian crisis. China says it adheres to a policy of non-interference in other countries internal affairs, but it generally takes a dim view of independence or secessionist movements around the world. At home, it contends with what it says are separatist movements in its western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, and has repeatedly expressed concern that self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, could declare formal independence. However, Beijing has expressed more openness toward independence votes when both sides have agreed to them, such as Scotland s unsuccessful 2014 referendum to leave the United Kingdom, and South Sudan s 2011 vote in favor of independence from Sudan. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Teamsters union on Friday praised House lawmakers for keeping self-driving commercial trucks out of a proposed bill aimed at speeding deployment of the advanced technology for cars. The U.S. House Energy and Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would hasten the use of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The measure only applies to vehicles under 10,000 pounds and not large commercial trucks. The 1.4-million-member union, hoping to protect the jobs of truck drivers, has been lobbying at the federal and state levels to slow legislation to make it easier for companies to roll out self-driving trucks. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has said she is “very concerned” about the impact of self-driving cars on U.S. jobs, a big part of President Donald Trump’s campaign message. “It is vital that Congress ensure that any new technology is used to make transportation safer and more effective, not used to put workers at risk on the job or destroy livelihoods,” Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said in a statement, adding the union wants more changes in the House measure. Teamsters officials have been involved in talks with Senate aides, seeking to exclude commercial trucks from a similar bill setting federal regulations for autonomous vehicles, lobbyists said. The Senate proposal has not been made public yet. The House bill would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year, a cap that would rise to 100,000 vehicles annually over three years. Auto industry leaders have said 3 million commercial truck jobs could eventually be at risk if self-driving vehicles replaced human drivers. Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit Waymo is working on developing self-driving trucks, the company said last month. Other companies have also been working on self-driving trucks. Ride services company Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] is working on autonomous trucking through its Otto unit, which it acquired last year. Tesla Inc, which is working on self-driving technologies, plans to unveil a commercial truck called the Tesla Semi in September. The Teamsters have opposed efforts by states to approve plans by logistics companies to use platooning technology that could reduce driver jobs by allowing a pack of trucks to be digitally connected and driven in formation. Missouri Governor Eric Greitens approved a revised platooning measure this year that requires a driver in the cab of each truck. His predecessor Jay Nixon vetoed platoon testing last year. | 1 |
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have collected DNA and other biometric data from the whole population of the volatile western region of Xinjiang, Human Right Watch said on Wednesday, denouncing the campaign as a gross violation of international norms. Hundreds of people have been killed in Xinjiang in the past few years in violence between Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people, and ethnic majority Han Chinese, which Beijing blames on Islamist militants. The unrest has fueled a sweeping security crackdown there, including mass rallies by armed police, tough measures that rights advocates say restrict religious and cultural expression, and widespread surveillance. Police are responsible for collecting pictures, fingerprints, iris scans and household registration information, while health authorities should collect DNA samples and blood type information as part of a Physicals for All program, the New York-based group said in a statement, citing government a document. The mandatory databanking of a whole population s biodata, including DNA, is a gross violation of international human rights norms, and it s even more disturbing if it is done surreptitiously, under the guise of a free health care program, Human Rights Watch s China director Sophie Richardson said. According to the Xinjiang-wide plan posted online by the Aksu city government in July, main goals for the campaign include collecting the biometric data for all people between the age of 12 and 65, and verifying the region s population for a database. Blood type information should be sent to the county-level police bureaus, and DNA blood cards should be sent to the county police bureaus for inspection, the plan said. Data for priority individuals should be collected regardless of age, it said, using a term the government has adopted to refer to people deemed a security risk. Government workers must earnestly safeguard the peoples legal rights , plan said, but it made no mention of a need to inform people fully about the campaign or of any option for people to decline to take part. Xinjiang officials could not be reached for comment. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about the report by Human Rights Watch, accused the group of making untrue statements. He told a regular news briefing in Beijing the general situation in the region was good. Human Rights Watch cited an unidentified Xinjiang resident saying he feared being labelled with political disloyalty if he did not participate, and that he had not received any results from the health checks. State media, reporting on the campaign checks, have said participation was voluntary. The official Xinhua news agency in November cited health authorities as saying 18.8 million people in the region had received such physicals in 2017 for a 100 percent coverage rate. | 0 |
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government would insist on a role in the running of Northern Ireland if power-sharing devolved government is not restored in the British province, but it hopes that will not happen, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Wednesday. The British government moved on Wednesday to directly set Northern Ireland s budget after the province s main political parties failed to reach agreement on restoring a power-sharing government that collapsed in January. We will have to fall back on the full detail of the (1998) Good Friday agreement, in terms of the structures that are required in the absence of devolved government, Coveney told Irish state broadcaster RTE. The prospect of direct rule in Northern Ireland and the Irish government s insistence on having a role in that an appropriate role consistent with the Good Friday Agreement is not where we want to be, he said. | 1 |
A Caddo Nation tribal leader has just been freed after spending two days behind bars in North Dakota. Family members say she was simply an innocent bystander in a clash between police and protesters, and was not guilty of anything the police claimed.
Via AlternativeNews
Jessi Mitchell, of local News 9 reports that “family members of Caddo Nation chairwoman Tamara Francis-Fourkiller said an anonymous donor paid $2.5 million late Saturday afternoon to release everyone arrested on Thursday at the Dakota Access Pipeline site.”
They added, however, that Francis-Fourkiller was never supposed to have been arrested in the first place. “An expert on sacred burial grounds , Francis-Fourkiller was one of the tribal leaders visiting the Sioux of Standing Rock to advise them during negotiations with the Dakota Access Pipeline construction team,” Mitchell continues. “Remains were being desecrated in this pipeline, so they had asked a bunch of people to come up there, so there’s a big conference,” Francis-Fourkiller’s sister Loretta Francis explained.
On the visit , Francis said her sister and other leaders decided to tour the protest camps. They never thought they would wind up in jail. Francis said her sister had no access to her medication while in custody in Cass County, North Dakota, and now faces charges of conspiracy and rioting. “Part of my family was removed on the Trail of Tears and they came here to Oklahoma and they suffered,” said Francis. “I always feel like each generation – our parents, our grandparents – try to make it better for the next generation and they certainly didn’t want this for my sister.”
Dozens of Native Americans from Oklahoma tribes had gathered Saturday afternoon at the state Capitol, according to Mitchell, with the purpose of voicing their “anger at the treatment of the protesters in North Dakota, pointing out this week’s acquittal of armed protesters at an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year.”
“We’re not holding guns. We’re not armed, and when we see the military right here in the US use that on us, it’s shameful,” Comanche Nation tribal council member Sonya Nevaquaya explained.
One of the fundamentals of all Native American tribes is the protection of the land. Chanting “Water is life!” Saturday, the Oklahoma demonstrators hope to rally people from around the country to stand with those in North Dakota and stop construction on the pipeline project. “These pipelines, you hear of a lot of bursts and leaks and it contaminating the waters. What happens when all of our waters and resources are gone?” Nevaquaya explained. Francis-Fourkiller says she will be traveling back to her home in Norman as soon as possible.
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When high-profile women like Sarah Palin stay silent, it enables sexual predators and puts more women at risk of being sexually harassed and assaulted.As Fox News continues to reel in the aftermath of Bill O Reilly s sexual harassment scandal just a year after the network dealt with Roger Ailes own sexual harassment scandal, former contributors and anchors have been coming forward to tell their stories of how they were treated by their male colleagues there.But not Sarah Palin. Palin would rather pretend that nothing happened to her and that her male colleagues were totally professional and considerate.During an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN, Palin danced around the question of whether she experienced sexual harassment at the network and made it sound like her decision to leave Fox News was more about looking for different opportunities.TAPPER: It sounds like you experienced something. PALIN: I just you know, it was just time to part ways and, and, you know, get get out there in, I guess, a more diverse arena to express views. In fact, Palin had far stronger words for the victims who were repeatedly sexually harassed at Fox News than she did for the perpetrators. If a woman believes that she is being intimidated and harassed, she needs to stand up and do something about it and not stick around for a paycheck for years and years and years, and then after the fact complain about what she went through. Sarah Palin collected a paycheck for five years (2010-2015) from Fox News as a contributor and analyst.The sexual harassment was there from the start.In 2010, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace remarked that one can only hope when asked if Palin would be sitting in his lap during an upcoming interview. Seriously.In 2011, Roger Ailes openly admitted that he only hired Palin because she was hot and got ratings. Tucker Carlson, who has been with Fox News since 2009 and was just recently promoted to take Bill O Reilly s place, posted an incredibly sexist tweet about Palin in 2011 that he was forced to delete. Palin s popularity falling in Iowa, but maintains lead to become supreme commander in Milfistan, Carlson wrote.In other words, things haven t changed much at all at Fox News. The network merely fired an old sexual predator and replaced him with a younger one.If Palin faced this much sexual harassment at the beginning it stands to reason that she faced it constantly throughout her time at the network. And she drew a paycheck for years without doing something about it and she continues to do nothing about it. She is protecting Fox News by staying silent and that puts women who still work there at risk.Palin then went on to shame other women who haven t spoken up and once again demonstrated that she is a hypocrite. As a strong woman, I say we should feel more empowered than that and take a stand and get out of the place and blow the whistle on the perpetrator doing the bad stuff so that the culture will change. But Palin herself refused to speak up and blow the whistle on the men who sexually harassed her at Fox News, and she just got done shaming the women who have come forward to actually blow the whistle.This is why Sarah Palin has zero credibility and why she is not a good role model for women.Featured Image: Screenshot | 1 |
Remember when comedians were funny? Those were the good ole days, before the cancer that is liberalism exposed their hatred for anyone who doesn t agree with them Actor-comedian George Lopez sent a message to President Donald Trump: instead of deporting Latinos to make America s streets safer, he should deport the police. In a post published on his Instagram Friday, Lopez is seen standing next to a caption that reads, The Trump administration is deporting Latinos to make the streets safer You wanna make the streets safer deport the police. The former Lopez Tonight host also said, This is not an indictment of all Law Enforcement , some still just beat you #gacho #georgelopezonhbo #TheWall ( @momorodriguez #gracias. Lopez s Instagram account is now set to private, but an archive of the post can still be found online.The Instagram caption caused outrage among many of the comedian s fans. This is a very irresponsible comment bro. You have really disappointed me bro, I thought you were better than that, wrote one commenter, who claimed to be a police officer. Not cool @georgelopez. I m Latina and I ve been pulled over more than enough times for speeding. All but one cop were nice and respectful, wrote another user. I realize there are some bad apples in the bunch but your statement puts all cops in the bad bunch category. Please stick to comedy. You re not that funny when you bring politics into your posts. Another commenter wrote, Keep calm george i got two brothers that are police officer ..and we are Mexican/Americans.. A couple weeks later at a show in Phoenix, Arizona, the comedian led a crowd in a chant of fuck that puto. (Puto is Spanish slang for male whore.) Breitbart NewsPrior to the general election a TMZ interviewer asked comedian and actor George Lopez if Trump had any chance of winning the election (2:20 mark). Lopez replied, Yeah, sure. There s enough racists in this country to get him elected It s unfortunate. Lopez then stated that if Trump wins, He won t have to worry about immigration, we ll all go back. Lopez of course, chose to remain in the United States of America.Feb. 2017: Lopez was just caught on tape making racist comments about black people during one of his comedy stints (see video below).When a woman in the audience objected, Lopez went off on an unbelievable, vile rant against her ***WARNING***Strong language*** There are only two rules in the Latino family. Don t marry somebody black, and don t park in front of our house, Lopez said during his set, which prompted a woman in the audience to put up her middle finger.In a clip of the incident obtained by TMZ, Lopez is seen responding to the woman s gesture by calling her a bitch and telling her, Sit your f**king ass down or get the f**k out. Sit your f**king ass down, Lopez repeated three times. I m talking, bitch. You paid to see a show. Sit your ass down. You can t take a joke, you re in the wrong motherf**king place. Sit your f**king ass down or get the f**k out of here. You have two choices, he continued. Shut the f**k up or get the f**k out. I ll tell you what. I ll make the choice for you. Get the f**k out of here. I ll make the choice for you. Bye. Bye. Bye. Perhaps George Lopez and Kathy Griffen can find one of those jobs Americans won t do when nobody will hire the formerly funny comedians | 0 |
My husband and I sat in a restaurant booth last night in Michigan and listened to group of college administrators talking about how best to address sexual fluidity in the classroom. I heard words like binary and confused and in search of sexual identity being thrown around as if they were the most important issues college kids are facing today. There was no mention of academics, it was all about a ensuring the faculty was in-tune and sensitive to their student s sexual identity. I was barely able to digest my food after listening to these administrators discussing what was of utmost importance to them in the college environment. I am more grateful than ever for conservative students like Grant Strobl, who are boldly standing up to the idiocy of political correctness .especially in my home state of Michigan A new policy at the University of Michigan allows students to choose their preferred pronouns including the gender-neutral they and ze to appear on class rosters.With that in mind, one conservative student, Grant Strobl, who is also chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom board of governors, decided to troll the university administration by officially requesting his pronoun to be changed to His Majesty. And it worked!Although Storbl says he has no problem with students asking to be identified a certain way, he thought it important to show just how ludicrous it is for universities to institutionalize the use of arbitrary pronouns and threaten disciplinary action if students and staff repeatedly fail to use them. I henceforth shall be referred to as: His Majesty, Grant Strobl. I encourage all U-M students to go onto Wolverine Access, and insert the identity of their dreams he told the College Fix.University of Michigan now allowing students to choose preferred pronouns, prompting student to troll school by choosing His Majesty. pic.twitter.com/n7po5mwTAo Fox News (@FoxNews) September 30, 2016The university vice president and provost of student life said employing preferred pronouns was one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their identity and to cultivate an environment that respects all gender identities. Students can now add or change their preferred pronouns, and the changes will only be shared with those who have a legitimate education interest in this information, according to the new website.Since the announcement, several students have followed Srobl s example, registering an array of of regal pronouns. Via: Heat Street | 0 |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is shedding few tears over the ousting of its old friend Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe, fed up with the ruinous state of its economy and confident a new government will not antagonize China or change course on policies towards it. China pointedly failed to offer any open support for Mugabe after the army took power last week, instead calling vaguely for a peaceful resolution under a legal framework and for talks to bridge differences. On Wednesday, the foreign ministry said it respected Mugabe s decision to resign as president, and that he remained a good friend of China s who made historic contributions to Zimbabwe s independence and liberation . China s friendship with Mugabe dates back to Zimbabwe s independence struggle, which China supported. Mugabe has visited China numerous times, most recently in January when President Xi Jinping told him: China will never forget its old friends. But trade has sagged amid Zimbabwe s economic turmoil of recent years, and China does not rely on it for any crucial raw materials, unlike Zambia for its copper or Angola and oil. China s total trade with Zimbabwe in 2016 was worth $1.11 billion, down 15 percent on-year, a fraction of the $35.3 billion in trade China and South Africa did. Last year, China did more trade with Tunisia and Senegal than Zimbabwe. It has been clear to China what has caused the problems, and China showed no desire to prop up Mugabe in his hour of need. China will not interfere and is happy to let Zimbabwe s people make their own choices, said Shen Xiaolei, an Africa expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences government think-tank. The ruling party is fighting amongst itself, and his economic policies and national governance have had many problems, Shen said. Zimbabwe s regime was certainly going to get into trouble; I just didn t expect it would happen so fast. In contrast to his elevated status on the continent, Mugabe is reviled in the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of Africa s most promising states. In 2015, Mugabe won the Confucius Peace Prize, supposed to be China s answer to the Nobel Peace Prize, but he turned it down according to Zimbabwe media after he learned it had no connection with the Chinese government. China had been an important ally on the world stage too for Mugabe. In 2008, China vetoed a proposed Western-backed U.N. resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and financial and travel restrictions on Mugabe and 13 other officials, saying it would complicate conflict. China has denied that it knew anything about the army take over, despite a visit to Beijing by Zimbabwe s military chief, General Constantino Chiwenga, shortly before he moved against Mugabe. On Monday, the Chinese embassy in South Africa said it was complete nonsense to suggest Chiwenga had tipped off China about his plan, saying this was an attempt to smear China and that Mugabe had in any case approved Chiwenga s visit. However, the embassy also did not offer any support to Mugabe, reiterating that China believed Zimbabwe s crisis was an internal affair and that African people should resolve African problems. China s frustrations with Mugabe had begun to play out in its state media. Over the past week, Chinese media has run unfavorable articles about his wife, Grace, with online news portal Sina calling her a wanton squanderer . On Sunday, the WeChat account of the overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party s official People s Daily carried a largely negative account of a 1985 visit by Mugabe to Beijing when he met former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China s reforms. Showing pictures of Zimbabweans carrying bundles of cash during its hyperinflation crisis, the paper said Zimbabwe s chaos could in large part be traced to Mugabe s extreme leftist, populist policies. Zhang Weiwei, a professor at Shanghai s Fudan University, described a conversation he interpreted between Deng and Mugabe in which Deng warned him of China s mistakes and urged him to embark on the same reforms as China. Mugabe did not seem to get the message, Zhang wrote. This person didn t take anything in, and that will be his loss, Zhang cited an exasperated Deng as saying after the meeting. There is confidence too for China that Mugabe s former vice president and likely successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose sacking prompted the military to take power, will not upset China. State media has pointed out he is a known quantity, with frequent visits of his own to China. Whereas Beijing has worried about anti-Chinese feeling in Zambia, where some workers have accused Chinese firms of abuses and underpaying, there have been no such problems in Zimbabwe. China and Africa are all-weather friends, and China and Zimbabwe are no exception, said Wang Wei, an associate research fellow at the foreign ministry s China Institute of International Studies. It does not matter what changes there are in government officials, the broader trend is still to develop friendly relations between China and Zimbabwe and China and Africa to promote joint prosperity and development. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is looking for ways to defend American-made products by certifying legitimate U.S. goods and aggressively going after imported products unfairly sporting the “Made in America” label, the White House said on Tuesday. Trump, who campaigned on reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector, vowed on Monday that his administration would crack down on “predatory online sales of foreign goods” hurting U.S. retailers. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss with small- and medium-sized manufacturers how to certify their products and keep out foreign counterfeits, a senior administration official told reporters. Their products include gutter filters, flags and pillows. “There’s just too many examples of foreigners slapping on ‘Made in America’ labels to products and the worst insult is when they do it after they have actually stolen the product design,” the official said. The United States loses about $300 billion a year to theft of intellectual property ranging from semiconductors to jeans, the official said. In March, Trump signed an executive order that gave customs officials more authority to stop pirated and counterfeit items, the official told reporters. The White House plans to work with the private sector on the new certification and verification system rather than create new regulations or spend taxpayer money, the official said, citing as a model the LEED system used to rate the environmental sustainability of building projects. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, showed further improvement days after being shot by a man who opened fire on lawmakers at a baseball practice earlier in the week, his lead surgeon said in a statement on Saturday. Scalise’s condition was upgraded to “serious,” from “critical” after undergoing another surgery on Saturday, according to a statement from Dr. Jack Sava, the director of trauma at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “He is more responsive and is speaking with his loved ones,” the doctor said. Scalise, 51, sustained injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding after being shot in his left hip early on Wednesday at a baseball field in a suburb of Washington. Four men, including Scalise, a police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist, were shot and wounded when a man identified as James Hodgkinson, opened fire on the lawmakers as they practiced for an annual charity baseball game between Republicans and Democrats. Sava earlier said the Louisiana congressman had been at “imminent risk of death” when he was first brought into the hospital on Wednesday, and he received many units of transfused blood. Hodgkinson 66, who was from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, died after being shot by police. | 0 |
Seth Meyers destroyed Republican presidential wannabe Ted Cruz on Tuesday night for running a campaign of dirty tricks and lies.The Late Night host brutally examined Tricky Ted during the Closer Look segment for the way he has used unethical maneuvers to smear his opponents and fool voters into casting their votes for him.It all started in Iowa when Cruz s campaign put the word out that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race, which may have caused some Carson supporters to switch their allegiance to the Texas Senator.The stolen votes likely helped Cruz capture victory in Iowa but it hurt him in the media, forcing him to request a meeting with Carson in an effort to make amends. The only problem is that instead of a meeting in a normal setting, the two chose a storage closet instead, which as Meyers pointed out, is pretty ironic considering both men are anti-gay. That s right, Cruz and Carson met inside of a storage closet. A moment I m sure both of them, as anti-gay rights advocates immediately regretted when they realized that eventually they would have to come out of the closet, together, Meyers quipped.But Cruz hasn t only played dirty tricks against Ben Carson. His new target has been Marco Rubio with ploys such as making it appear like Rubio and President Obama are alike or making up stories about how Rubio trashed the Bible in front of Cruz staffers.Meyers also noted that even Republicans have called out Cruz for saying and doing anything to get elected, regaling the audience about how Cruz took a pro-fireworks stance on a local issue because staffers found 60 people who would vote for him if he took up their cause.Here s the video via YouTube.Ever since he won Iowa, Ted Cruz has not fared very well. New Hampshire chose Donald Trump, and even South Carolina couldn t stomach Ted Cruz as the nominee as evangelical voters abandoned him for the billionaire loudmouth. It even looks like he could lose in his home state of Texas as newspapers in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are endorsing anybody but Cruz as the GOP nominee. And now Cruz is looking more and more like a desperate man whose dream of world domination is slipping further and further away. Featured image via Raw Story | 1 |
On Wednesday, Rachel Maddow made a comparison between the overt racism of Donald Trump s current campaign and the polite racism of Rick Santorum s campaign in 2012. During the segment, Maddow raises some interesting questions about Trump and the normalization of racism in the 2016 political cycle.Racist policies have been a major part of the GOP s platform since they adopted the southern strategy. Since it is no longer considered polite to be openly racist, the GOP had to come up with a racist agenda that is coded in the language of economic policy. On occasion, a Republican candidate slips up and the veil covering their racist attitudes falls away.Maddow points towards the time when Santorum infamously stated on the campaign trail that he doesn t want to make black people s lives better by giving them somebody else s money. Santorum quickly tried to backpedal on the gaffe, saying that he actually said blah people. Much like the rest of Santorum s political career, it was both very sad and hilarious.Things have changed since 2012. With black uprisings taking place all across the United States in 2014 and 2015, a movement was born that demanded that people finally recognize that black lives matter. Because the U.S. is extremely racist, that simple demand was meant with a huge backlash from ignorant and racist right-wingers. The same thing can be said in regards to Muslims, Mexicans, and just about every other racial group in the U.S. While racial minorities demand to be treated equally, the right fights harder and harder to maintain white supremacy.So with racial tensions running high and matters of racial justice becoming an ever more partisan subject, Trump entered the 2016 primary election fully exploiting that tension. His rallies have nearly turned into all out race battles, his racist rhetoric is up front and he is unapologetic about that. In the segment, Maddow points towards one of his recent statements involving the judge who ruled against him in a lawsuit over one of Trump s most horrendous scams, Trump University.While it is probably true that Trump is normalizing racist language, he is also exposing the racist foundations that modern GOP is built upon. That s causing deep fractures to form among Republicans. The GOP cannot continue being the party of racists, in a nation that is rapidly becoming more diverse. So while the normalization of racist rhetoric is terrible it is important to keep in mind that we are witnessing the death throes of a dying political party.You can watch the segment below. Featured image via video screenshot | 1 |
Thursday 3 November 2016 Chicago Cubs go 24 hours without winning a World Series
Fans are blaming ‘some kind of curse’ for the Cubs’ failure to win a single World Series since yesterday.
The team, which has now not won a Series in as long as many of their severely drunken, staggering fans can remember, is worried that their failure to buy some lucky white heather from a mysterious gypsy who called at Wrigley Field in the early hours of this morning has in some way jinxed their success.
Infielder Chris Bryant, who answered the door to the peculiar crone, reported that he told her he felt they’d got enough good luck already – and then the witch told him ‘A curse be on this place and all within!’ before vanishing in a cloud of stale, brimstone-scented smoke.
“And we’ve not won a World Series since,” he concluded in a worried tone. “What have I wrought upon the club?”
Board chairman Thomas Ricketts has apologised to the people of Chicago for the lack of trophies in the last day, but pledged he was doing his hardest to bring ‘some kind, any kind’ of award to the city to placate concerned supporters.
When told of the club’s failure to bring home any silverware in almost 24 hours, fan Simon Williams looked up groggily and replied “What? Uh, oh God, here we go again.
“Well, it was fun while it lasted.” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. district judge again declined to ease bail conditions for President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Richard Gates on Monday, saying they still needed to provide more financial information. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she was concerned about some of the $12 million in assets that Manafort had offered as security to get the court to lift house arrest and allow him to stop wearing an electronic monitoring device. Manafort and Gates have pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion with Trump associates. They are charged with conspiring to launder money, conspiracy against the United States and failing to register as foreign agents of Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government. Jackson said she was especially worried about life insurance policies Manafort had offered as part of an effort to secure better bail conditions. The policies, valued at about $4.5 million are held in trust and in his wife’s name. But having a relative serving as a surety, or a guarantor of the policy, Jackson said, “is very problematic.” Anyone serving in this capacity needs to provide details about their assets and liabilities, she said. Life insurance policies held in trust tend to have many restrictions and can also be subject to asset forfeiture in the case of a conviction, the judge said. “A lot of these details need to be nailed down” she said. Prosecutors also say they are not yet satisfied they have enough details on how to value Manafort’s properties, including a condo he has in Trump Tower, the president’s signature building in New York. Manafort, a longtime Republican operative, ran Trump’s presidential campaign for several months last year. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied meddling in the election. Trump has denied collusion between his associates and Russia, calling the investigations a witch hunt. The judge last week also denied requests from Manafort and Gates for an easing of their bail conditions. Jackson did grant a request from Gates to be allowed to leave his Virginia home on Tuesday to vote. On Monday, the judge said she is not very likely to grant any requests for the freedom to travel internationally and is inclined to require the pair to stay in the Washington area for work, unless such trips are cleared in advance. Currently, Manafort has promised to pay $10 million and Gates $5 million if they fail to appear for future court appearances. Manafort is seeking permission to travel to New York where he has clients, as well as Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where his attorney Kevin Downing said he has a telecommunications business involving secure and “virtually indestructible” cell phones. A spokesman for Manafort could not immediately provide details on the business when asked by Reuters on Monday. The judge also held off on setting a future trial date, and ordered the parties to return for a status hearing on Dec. 11. | 1 |
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro s approval rating rose to 23 percent in September, up 6 percentage points from 17 percent in July, according to a poll by local firm Datanalisis. The rebound followed several rounds of sanctions by U.S. President Donald Trump s administration as well as a sharp drop-off in four months of violent anti-government protests. Nearly 52 percent of respondents opposed the Trump administration sanctions that came in response to the creation of a legislative superbody called the Constituent Assembly, which critics call the consolidation of a dictatorship. Fifty-seven percent said they disagreed with the United States using a military option to push for change in Venezuela, in reference to Trump comments in August that were met with condemnation around the region. Maduro s low approval is not unusual in Latin America. Presidents Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia and Michel Temer in Brazil have shown lower poll numbers this year. But Maduro s popularity has been falling since he was narrowly elected in 2013 following the death of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. The decline has largely resulted from an economic crisis driven by triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style shortages. The opposition says the crisis is the result of a failing socialist model and rampant corruption. Maduro blames the situation on an economic war by the opposition with the support of Washington. The poll, which surveyed 1,000 people between Sept. 8 and Sept. 22, showed that 86.9 percent of respondents believed the country s situation was negative. The survey s margin of error was 3.04 percentage points. | 1 |
As one of Antonin Scalia s last rulings on the Supreme Court, he made the argument that black students should be discouraged from attending top ranked schools because they probably couldn t keep up. Instead he suggested they be sent to slower-track schools like, say, community college or lesser universities so they could shoot for mediocrity. It was an appallingly racist statement, from a sitting Supreme Court Justice no less, and one that flies directly in the face of the lived experience of one of the most successful African Americans of all time: Barack Obama.On the way to the White House, Obama overcame racism and adversity to thrive at two top shelf schools Harvard and the University of Chicago and that education helped propel his career into law and eventually politics. It s hard to imagine Obama one day becoming president if he had taken Scalia s advice and settled on a slower-track community college.So, it hardly seems surprising that Obama isn t planning on cancelling his packed schedule to attend the funeral of a man, however important, that viewed people of his skin color as less competitive than their white counterparts. It s also a long-standing tradition that either the president or the vice president attend the funeral of a justice. Not both. Biden already announced that he was going.Four out of the past seven funerals for a Supreme Court justice have either had the president or vice president in attendance.Former President George W. Bush attended the funeral for Chief Justice William Rehnquist.Former President Bill Clinton attended the funerals for former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice William Brennan but did not attend the funerals for Justices Harry Blackmun or Lewis F. Powell Jr.Former Vice President Al Gore attended the funeral for Justice Thurgood Marshall.So for any other president this wouldn t be a big deal. But it s Obama. And Republicans are Republicans. The freak out has already begun.While Fox News has devoted wall-to-wall outrage directed at Obama for not going to Scalia s funeral (he ll be in Cuba working out the details to zeitgeist shifting thawing of relations with America s once sworn enemy kind of a big deal), Sen. Ted Cruz managed to amp up the hysteria to 11 while desperately clawing his way to second place in South Carolina.On the campaign trail, Cruz decided that he would accuse Obama of being an atheist. We ve got 11 more months of watching damage to this country. From a lawless and faithless president who is eager to travel to Cuba, but is unwilling even to show up at the funeral of Justice Antonin Scalia. This is a stark change in Cruz s earlier remarks that said it was irresponsible to speculate on the President s faith. It does, however, pander to the beliefs of the toxic fanatics at the very heart of the Republican Party. To them, Obama will always be a Kenyan, socialist, Muslim atheist no matter how many times he celebrates Christmas or mentions his faith in speeches.Cruz s shameful remarks come at a time when he is trying to woe many conservative Christians to support his campaign. In fact, his entire base is built on Christian extremists. Suggesting that Obama is a godless heathen is exactly the sort of thing that would get them fired up enough to vote for a sleazeball like Cruz.Ironically, Cruz s remarks come at a time where he and his fellow ideologues are melting down over the fact that the pope called Donald Trump s plan to build a massive cement wall across the entire southern border un-Christian. Conservatives blasted the pope for pointing out the obvious and suggested it was offensive for someone to speculate about another person s faith. In other words, the sheer amount of hypocrisy being generated by the Republican Party could power the sun.But perhaps there is just a twinge of jealousy in this mudslinging knowing that when Obama does go to church he takes us to church.Feature image from Gage Skidmore/Flickr | 0 |
Warning or threat? Hillary hints at second civil war if Trump wins 11/02/2016
While speaking to supporters in Cincinnati on Monday, Democrat Hillary Clinton hinted at a second civil war if GOP nominee Donald Trump wins, Breitbart.com reported.
Charlie Spiering wrote:
“He has a dark and divisive vision for America that could tear our country apart,” Clinton said to supporters in Cincinnati, Ohio on Halloween.
Clinton specifically referred to the Civil War, suggesting that the country faced a similar threat of divisiveness from Donald Trump.
“Abraham Lincoln understood a house divided against itself cannot stand, and that was over the greatest of challenges – the challenge posed by slavery – and we fought a civil war,” she said.
She warned voters that it was time for the country to take the divisions in the country seriously.
“But we also have to take stock of how divided we are today, the kinds of divisions that need to be healed to bring people together,” she added, failing to admit that her side is the one that has divided America by race, class and gender.
She also claimed that Trump would start a nuclear war if a foreign leader got under his skin.
“I know there are some who will say that any discussion of this topic could be fear-mongering, but I don’t think so,” she said at a rally in Kent, Ohio, earlier in the day.
A post at Barracuda Brigade observed:
Liberals especially the Clinton are always projecting. Anything that they accuse the other side of is what they are doing. She suggests that her message is one of “hope and change” when in fact it is just more of the same.
Moreover, Trump has spent a great deal of time talking about policies and issues while Clinton & Co. have done absolutely nothing but engage in fear-mongering and fingerpointing.
Still, we have to ask — was Clinton’s “hint” a “warning” or a “threat?”
Related: | 1 |
This news is heartbreaking because it s the unnecessary delay in treatment that ultimately determined the fate of this little baby: The window of opportunity has been lost Chris Gard and Connie Yates announced their decision as a high court judge was preparing to oversee the latest round of a five-month legal battle.The parents have said they want to withdraw their application for him to receive experimental treatment in the US because it was too late for it to work.In a move that would appear to bring an end to a protracted, emotional legal case in which Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) argued his life support should be switched off to prevent him suffering further, their lawyer said on Monday that delays meant it was no longer in Charlie s interests to keep him on a ventilator.Mr Justice Francis had been scheduled to analyse what the couple said was fresh evidence at a hearing in the family division of the high court in London.Grant Armstrong, representing Charlie s parents, told the high court in London: For Charlie, it s too late, time has run out, irreversible muscular damage has been done and the treatment can no longer be a success. He said the parents had made the most painful of decisions, that only parents can make. Armstrong said: Charlie has waited patiently for treatment. Due to delay, that window of opportunity has been lost. Baby Charlie Gard was born has a rare genetic condition from his parents and is blind, deaf and can only breathe through a ventilator.OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON BABY CHARLIE GARD:The horrible result of socialized medicine may be seen in the plight of Charlie Gard. The brain-damaged British baby whose parents recently lost a legal battle to keep him on life support has now tugged at heart strings as far away as the Oval Office.President Trump tweeted out his willingness to lend a hand and in doing so exposed the debate over who should make life-and-death decisions for Charlie to a massive audience. If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so, Trump wrote.The tweet, which noted a similar call for compassion from Pope Francis on Sunday night, comes just ahead of Trump s second international trip later this week, during which he ll meet with world leaders at the G-20 summit it Germany a conference at which Trump could cross paths with British Prime Minister Theresa May.Trump s tweet also implicitly highlights perceived pitfalls in the British health care system a publicly funded system at a time the U.S. is undergoing yet another debate about medical coverage.Gard s parents have fought the courts to keep their son on life support. Chris Gard and Connie Yates want to bring Charlie to the U.S. for experimental therapy. But doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, who have been caring for Charlie, were granted permission by a court to turn off his life support. Though it was expected Charlie could be removed from the essential devices as soon as Friday, the hospital said in a statement it was putting together unspecified plans to give the 11 month old and his parents more time together as a family. Read more: The Guardian | 1 |
Could this guy be any more clueless? Is it that this administration is this clueless or this evil? Al Qaeda tied leaders who ve been vetted by the Saudis are visiting DC do we trust the Saudis at all? If this guy knows this man had been vetted by the Saudis then why doesn t he know more? The Obama administration has been using the tactic of ignorance of situations since day one. Eric Holder, Jeh Johnson and others have lied and claimed they have no clue but will look into a problem. Here s yet another example of this tactic: | 1 |
No One Listened We had many chances to expose this freak show when it started, but Americans allowed the Left to bully us into submission for fear of being labeled a racist It s important to understand this movement comprised of domestic terrorists and their motives. Please read this story to the end.Here is Andrew Breitbart s warning to Americans just before he died:Why is Breitbart News so on top of the Black Lives Matter movement?Easy. We saw it coming.Not everyone liked what we saw either. In August 2012, the magazine American Conservative did an article on the film Occupy Unmasked. That film was directed by Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon and featured people like Andrew Breitbart, Brandon Darby, and myself exposing the Occupy Wall Street movement for what it was a socialist, Obama-inspired activist movement. We pointed out that Occupy was the latest incarnation of the far-left, anti-American protest movements that dates back to the 1960s Students for a Democratic Society and Black Panthers. We also said that the next step in the evolution of Occupy Wall Street would be race-based.Breitbart News has given #BlackLivesMatter more detailed, deep, and honest coverage than any other media outlet on the planet in 2015, and for good reason. From covering every major protest they did to exposing the cop killer that the group worships to revealing the secret funder behind the movement to Milo Yiannopoulos s complete shredding of activist Shaun King, Breitbart News has been the go-to source for original reporting on Black Lives Matter.American Conservative took the film to task for using the term race war to describe what we saw as the next phase of the Occupy movement. Remember, Occupy Unmasked came out about a year before three self-described queer black women started Black Lives Matter in July 2013. In 2012, Anita MonCrief was mocked by American Conservative when she defended her use of the term race war in Occupy Unmasked by saying:But seriously, that s why you have Barack Obama out there saying if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin. they want black people running around in hoodies protesting in the streets. That s what he s looking for. He wants us divided, and he wants us to fight in the streets, so they can basically keep us down.MonCrief said this two years before the hoodie-wearing thugs burned down Ferguson, before they looted and set fire to Baltimore, before they shut down Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)16% at NetRoots nation, and before they shut down Chicago s Magnificent Mile on the busiest shopping day of the year.Anita Moncrief is an amazing patriot who doesn t get enough credit for exposing the truth about the Left. Watch her shocking testimony of how she became a conservative warrior here:The assertion that Occupy Wall Street would morph into Black Lives Matter wasn t a lucky guess. MonCrief, Darby, and I are all former leftists with professional organizational experience. Anita was a whistleblower who worked for ACORN, Darby was a cofounder of Common Ground in New Orleans, and I did work for MoveOn.org and Brave New Films. Because we understand the tactics and the players, it was clear to us that the Occupy movement and its focus on class had failed to resonate with a large enough segment of the American people. We knew that the logical next step was to head back to the 1960s playbook of trying to tear down America by creating as deep a racial rift as possible.With Barack Obama in the White House and Eric Holder running the Department of Justice, the stage was set for the next iteration of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Black Lives Matter was the new Occupy.We also saw that community organizers were working on developing a new movement based on young black people in the wake of George Zimmerman s not guilty verdict in the Trayvon Martin shooting case. As I wrote at Breitbart News in July 2013, the takeover of the Florida statehouse by the group Dream Defenders was a magnet for young people. The long-term goal is straightforward and explicit: the 2014 vote. Once in the Capitol, the Dream Defenders are giving the enthusiastic participants organizer training, right in the governor s office. With two generations of educators, media, and legal experts all schooled in New Left political correctness by America s leading universities, the Black Lives Matter movement has been essentially immune to criticism. The result has left universities, businesses, and police departments defenseless intellectually and physically against Black Lives Matter.There s been a practical cost as well. We ve seen businesses burned to the ground in Ferguson and Baltimore. We ve seen other businesses shut down at the Mall of America and on Chicago s Magnificent Mile. We ve seen the murder rate spike in cities across the country as a result of the Ferguson Effect that has caused police officers to pull back from enforcing the law in the face of unrelenting hostility and scrutiny.We ve seen universities from coast-to-coast bullied into staff firings and policy changes that were meant to only aid black students. These college uprisings have been accompanied by a fierce hatred of free speech; and when combined with the bold aggressiveness of multicultural and feminist Social Justice Warriors, they ve created an educational environment that is openly hostile to white students and faculty.With the next presidential election only 11 months away, conservatives and Republicans would be making a huge mistake to ignore the Black Lives Matter movement.At the close of 2015, the pot is getting ready to boil over. The decision not to prosecute Cleveland police officers in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, the ongoing anger in Minneapolis over the death of Jamar Clark, and two recent Chicago police shootings all create an atmosphere where even angier protests are in the works.Already, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his Democrat machine regard Black Lives Matter activists as an existential threat.The engine that drives the anger is the mainstream media, which has done nothing to seriously vet the Black Lives Matter movement. Much of the anger is caused by the inaccurate reporting that consistently vilifies the police and leaves out key details about the shooting victims. This has led to fables such as Hands Up, Don t Shoot, which have continued to be amplified and repeated by Black Lives Matter protesters long after they have been debunked.In fact, one of the key characteristics of the Black Lives Matter movement and the mainstream media s reporting on it is a naked antipathy for facts. Both in real life and on social media like Twitter, leading Black Lives Matter activists are known for shutting down the speech of dissenting opinions and literally blocking anyone who disagrees with them.The result has been a hermetically sealed activist movement that is angry and ignorant, with a hairtrigger temper and a long list of grievances that have no factual basis. Worse, their set of crazed demands have been granted time and again by officials who are too scared to speak out for fear of being branded racists.Like spoiled children, none of this appeasement has done anything to quell the protesters fury. Every time that politicians or university administrators have given into the outrageous, entitled Black Lives Matter mob, they ve learned that feeding that monster has only given it more power to make more demands.In the face of all this feckless kowtowing, no wonder the blunt and in-your-face style of billionaire Donald Trump has hit home for so many Americans. Trump like Ronald Reagan in the 1960s seems to be one of the few people in public life willing to tell Black Lives Matter protesters to sit down, shut up, and stop taking the loser road of self-victimization.This is one of the reasons that Donald Trump, more than any other political candidate on the scene right now, has incurred so much of the wrath and anger of Black Lives Matter. They are keenly aware that he simply will not play their game. The other current frontrunner for the Republican nomination is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)97% , who has already demonstrated that he is no cupcake either. Should either Cruz or Trump be the nominee, expect Black Lives Matter s army to take to the streets and try to shut them down at every opportunity.For that reason, the current political season is set to be even more divisive than either of the last two election cycles, which had already set a very high bar for vitriol.As the newest incarnation of the activist Left, Black Lives Matter will not back down or rest until it is either stopped by somone gutsy enough to call them out or until it gets what it wants: a bloody revolution leading to a socialist/anarchist America.The one thing the left has not counted on, however, is a dogged, active conservative media culture that can bring real information straight to the American people without being filtered by Black Lives Matter s journalism school comrades. We re not about to let Black Lives Matter or any leftist revolutionary movement destroy America without making sure they re fully revealed for what they are. Via: Breitbart News | 1 |
Financial Markets , Gold , Market Manipulation , Precious Metals , U.S. Economy Deep State , new world order , stock market bubble , war on cash admin The Oligarchs’ Plan to Monetize Humanity
The greed-diseased and power-obsessed Deep State oligarchs hate you for your freedom and love you for your money, and they are accelerating their plans to strip you of both. There are two things standing in their way: cash, and precious metals. The oligarchs are doing everything in their power to falsely discredit both of them in the eyes of the people. Cash and precious metals are physical manifestations of financial and human liberty. Liberty, which is indivisible, is the absolute last thing the oligarchs have in mind for us, as there is no profit in it for them. The oligarchs realize that the people are fast waking up to what is being done to them. While the Oligarchy remains an unimaginably dangerous enemy, it was wounded in the United States presidential election, is acting more erratically and illogically, and is starting to make serious mistakes. How we, the people, push forward from here will determine whether we remain free, or become slaves to the greatest Force of Evil ever known to mankind, the Deep State oligarchs.
While the above themes are not new to Inferential Analytics, the accurate and reliable forecasting method we have developed and use, the intensity with which the Deep State is pursuing its “dual mandate” of expropriating private wealth and enslaving the people by deliberately impoverishing them is absolutely unprecedented. If the people lose the war that the Deep State has declared against them, their futures and those of their descendants will be destroyed. The people must not and need not lose this war. In fact, the people can defeat the Deep State by using simple tools and common sense. The problem is that the people do not realize they have the power to take down the Oligarchy, so we all must work to open their eyes and show them the force of nature they truly are. That is our mission in this article, and the ones to follow.
The post-election orgy of precious metals price destruction is an open letter from the Deep State oligarchs that they couldn’t care less about the people’s desire for fundamental change, something the people shouted from the rooftops with their votes. The oligarchs have announced that there will be no change in policy or operating procedures; it is full steam ahead for them, because they know they can loot society of trillions more dollars if they can successfully implement their plans, which are well underway and inimical to the people in the extreme.
Money that flows into physical precious metals means less money in banks for the Deep State oligarchs to loot. In 2011, as gold surged to $1900 and silver to $50 per ounce, the oligarchs saw the real potential of a buying stampede breaking out among the people, which would have resulted in even greater bank withdrawals. They were simply not going to allow that to happen. Plans to gain control of the people’s money were in the formative stages, and could not be activated at that time. Not having the means to restrict the flow of money into precious metals, they decided instead to crush prices by market manipulation, both to financially punish those who had bought into the gathering stampede, and to scare away prospective buyers. The Deep State is now on the threshold of being able to implement its asset control agenda, and is certainly not going to lose bank deposits to precious metals when they are so close to their objective. Therefore, they have ratcheted up their illegal price manipulation activities to record intensity.
Post-election, the Deep State oligarchs have made it clear that they are going to continue to ram down the throats of the people the self-serving crony communist agenda they have been pursuing for the past twenty years, and particularly during the past eight, when they have had an energized communist organizer in place. If this means that they must hire phony activists on Craig’s List for $12.00 per hour and bus them around the country from one pre-arranged “demonstration” site to another, this is what they will do, as we can see. This is a small price to pay for the power and money prizes they have plotted to win.
The most profitable financial instruments ever created by the oligarchy are derivatives. These synthetic devices, designed for hedging, risk management and speculation by market players, and structured to generate guaranteed profits for the oligarchs who invent, issue and control them, include futures, options, forwards and swaps, and are a Deep State money machine.
Derivatives are layered on top of what are known as “underlying” assets, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, government debt, and securitized debt and mortgages.
We believe that the oligarchs are creating a new class of financial derivatives that could produce the largest transfer of wealth in history, from the people to them.
We call them “Human Derivatives,” or “HDs.” The “underlying” asset in HDs is humanity itself; specifically, the personal wealth and future wealth-creation potential of human beings, in addition to rich, deeply personal, tradeable and exploitable information about them. With HDs, the Oligarchy intends to monetize humanity. By positioning themselves as the “House,” and giving themselves proprietary fee-setting, settlement, arbitrage and inside trading powers over HDs and bank deposits, the oligarchs intend to create a monopolized toll booth through which most monetary assets must pass. This will enable them to siphon off trillions of dollars of existing and future financial wealth from “underlying” human beings. The oligarchs plan to turn humanity into a financial asset over which they have control.
Human Derivatives will not just leverage people’s underlying financial assets, but much more important, deep personal insight into who they are, what they buy, how they behave, their medical well-being, their relationships and social networks, their susceptibility to messaging and advertising, and their overall economic “value.” This information will be codified, scored and quantified, and then converted into indexes made tradeable by HDs. The tradeable financial digitalization of the people will be worth a fortune to the Deep State “House.”
The oligarchs face a critical prerequisite to the optimization of Human Derivatives: the elimination of cash. By removing cash from the system, the oligarchs will obtain full visibility into and control over the people’s monetary transactions, which is required to maximize HD profits.
While numerous “motherhood” justifications for the elimination of cash are enunciated by the Deep State shills who are promoting it, such as fighting terrorism, crime and drug trafficking, these are misdirections and lies. The real purpose for the elimination of cash is simple: to give the Oligarchy full-spectrum control over monetary assets. The fact that Larry Summers is one of the main proselytizers for cash elimination is all that you need to know; he is a longstanding Establishment spokesperson and enabler.
Influential, non-banker elitists are now joining the battle. For example, on October 27, 2016, while speaking to reporters, Apple Computer CEO Tim Cook triumphantly stated, “We are going to kill cash.” By “we,” he does not mean Apple, which has no means by which solely to murder cash, but the Deep State elite, of which he is a peripheral member. The elimination of cash will be a boon to Apple Pay, which collects a 0.15% commission on all transactions, an amount that is guaranteed to increase by multiples and passed on to consumers in the form of price inflation once digital payments are non-optional and monopolized.
On November 8, 2016, the Indian government announced the most brazen cash reset and windfall tax generation scheme ever hatched. At 8 PM, after the banks had closed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise proclamation that as of 11:59 PM that same evening, all 500 and 1,000 rupees currency notes would be demonetized, stripped of “Legal Tender” status, and “extinguished.” In his words, “currency notes of rupees 500 and rupees 1,000 will be just paper with no value.” Rupees 500 and 1,000 notes are worth roughly $7.50 and $15.00, respectively, and they constitute 85% of India’s total currency supply. With no advance warning, Indian citizens were given 4 hours to spend 85% of India’s total money supply, or endure a massively time-consuming currency conversion ordeal.
In the few hours remaining that night, the stores were flooded with citizens trying to dump their 500 and 1,000 rupees notes. Gold spiked to the equivalent of $2,300 per ounce, before completely selling out at dealer locations, as people were willing to spend pretty much anything to get a real asset like gold in exchange for “just paper with no value.”
The government gave those unable to offload their 500 and 1,000 rupees notes during the four hour window the option of depositing them into their bank accounts (assuming they have them) until December 30, 2016. But to do that, the depositor must fill out an affidavit, explaining where the money came from. If the authorities determine that the depositor has not satisfactorily accounted for the funds, then an income tax and fines will be imposed on the depositor, or the currency will simply be seized.
The government also gave the people the ability to physically exchange at banks their rupees 500 and 1,000 notes for new currency, but only until November 24, 2016 (a period of 14 days), and only at a rate of 4,000 rupees (roughly $60.00) per day. If a person is willing to stand in a bank line for hours a day, for 14 days straight, they will be able to exchange a grand total of 56,000 rupees, or roughly $840.00.
Modi stated that the extraordinary action was taken to curb “counterfeiting,” “corruption,” “terrorism,” “black money,” and the “black economy,” the usual excuses for tyranny, but never explained how, which is typical of these Deep State gambits. While making his announcement, Modi stated: “Experience tells us that ordinary citizens are always ready to make sacrifices and face difficulties for the benefit of the nation.” As we can see, the citizens’ willing acceptance of surprise currency resets is being positioned by the Deep State as a matter of patriotism and duty.
India’s gun control laws are among the strictest in the world, and have been tightened even further by Modi since he came into office in 2014. The people are also trained from a young age to be compliant and polite. It is no wonder why India was chosen as the test site for Deep State’s first surprise, national currency reset.
Almost exactly one year ago, it was the same Modi who announced an Indian “paper gold” scheme. The Indian people were asked to turn in to their bank their physical gold, in exchange for a paper “note” that would provide 2.25 – 2.75% interest per annum on the gold’s value at the time of submission. The “investor” would not be able to get their gold back for at least 5 years. By then, of course, it would be long gone. Indian inflation is consistently above the offered interest rate. The Deep State’s scheme, promoted by their puppet Modi, flopped because the people, who are never nearly as stupid as the elitists think, saw right through it.
There are an estimated 20,000 tonnes of gold in the private hands of the Indian people, and the bullion banks wanted it for their own profit-making purposes, not the least of which was to cover their enormous naked short positions.
We believe the Indian currency reset is a test, foisted upon a compliant, disarmed people to gauge their reaction. The real drama is yet to come, and will occur throughout the West. If the oligarchs cannot trick the people into accepting the elimination of cash, then they will do the next best thing: a for-profit currency reset that nets a windfall. Most likely, they will do both, in succession: a currency reset, netting a windfall, followed by the elimination of cash, netting a second, much larger windfall.
Several prominent commentators have recommended holding cash as a financial defense mechanism. But none of them has warned of the possibility of a currency cancellation, such as the one that just occurred in India. This demonstrates how entropic, unpredictable and dangerous the current financial environment has become. We urge readers to stay highly informed via the Alternative Media, the only place where you can find the truth. Developments are happening fast, and you could get blindsided if you are inattentive and drop your guard.
All of the above begs the question: how can we financially defend ourselves from the Establishment controllers who are coming for our money and our freedom?
Even though precious metals prices are being deliberately crushed at this time, for the reasons outlined above, we view them as the best, and in certain cases, only defense against Deep State exploitation and expropriation. Gold and silver are financial Freedom Fighters, uniquely capable of protecting people from oppression. Throughout history, as people have fled persecution and sought liberty, gold has been their salvation. For millions over millennia, freedom has only been payable in gold. Precious metals provide the best escape from the Deep State’s coming financial command and control matrix, and are the only assets that cannot be canceled, demonetized or extinguished by government decree and whim. Even assets traditionally viewed as being safe, such as productive farm land, can be taxed into oblivion by a government gone rogue. It has happened in the past, and will certainly happen in the future. One cannot hide farm land, or stitch it into one’s coat.
Some people express the concern that governments will prohibit the ownership of precious metals, particularly gold, when things unhinge. We would respond by saying that if it ever comes to that, you will know, for a fact, it is game over. By issuing such an order, the Deep State would make it absolutely categorical that they intend to impoverish and enslave you. While many people might surrender to that kind of totalitarianism, hundreds of millions to billions of people worldwide will not.
Governments can create currency, but only God can create gold, and He is not in the Deep State’s back pocket. No government has the moral authority or practical ability to extinguish the value of the gold made by God. The gold and silver markets have been healthy, consensual and vibrant for more than 5,000 years, and that will never change as long as human beings still walk this earth and breathe the air. Government made currencies have catastrophically failed every single time they have been created. That, too, will never change. Soon, the exchange value of metals will be determined by people, trading one to one, and not by Deep State manipulators and criminals who now set phony prices in rigged markets that they control. You will only be able to enjoy gold and silver’s many virtues if you own them. As millions upon millions of people wake up, see monetary truth and buy, it will become harder to acquire metals at anywhere near current prices, in our view. This is not investment advice (we are not investment advisors and urge you to do your own research and make your own decisions), this is common sense. We believe your opportunities for action are diminishing, because you are battling deteriorating fiscal, economic and monetary circumstances, not to mention time.
Stewart Dougherty November 13, 2016
Stewart Dougherty is the developer of a privately-held, principles-based forecasting methodology named Inferential Analytics. The unique IA model assesses monetary, fiscal, financial, market, social, political, empirical and anecdotal factors to get a glimpse of tomorrow, today. He has 35 years of management, corporate strategy and business development experience. He is a graduate of Tufts University (MA) and Harvard Business School (MBA). Share this: | 1 |
Posted on October 31, 2016 by Edmondo Burr in News , US // 0 Comments A man dressed as Freddy Krueger and an accomplice have shot five people at a large Halloween party in San Antonio, Texas.
Early Sunday a man dressed like the fictional serial killer from the film ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ opened fire on a large crowd after an argument turned violent.
The shooters are still at large.
Kens5 reports:
The shooting happened on the 2900 block of Aspen Meadow around 5 a.m. on Sunday. One of the residents who did not want to go on camera said he was throwing the party with his housemates and was taking fees at the door. RELATED CONTENT Two Teenagers Dead And 17 Injured In Florida Nightclub Shooting
He said several men he did not know showed up to the home and started a fight with his friends. He said the argument escalated into a shooting.
He said several people who attended the party captured part of the fight on Snapchat. This later reportedly helped police identify that there were two shooters involved. He said one man had a shotgun and the second man had a hand-gun.
There were five people who were injured in the shooting. Police said that one injured woman tried to drive to the hospital, but wrecked her car along the way. Jasmine De Hoyos, who attended the party, said there were more than a hundred people at the home. She said she helped one of the victims who got shot in the arm.
“I kind of applied pressure to the wound to make sure he didn’t bleed out. A couple of his friends were there with us. So, we were trying to keep him calm,” said De Hoyos.
No arrests have been made and police are still searching for the shooters.
“I’m kind of sad that this happened in this neighborhood because I like living here. It’s a really good neighborhood. It is what it is, and we’re just going to keep an eye out and try to keep each other’s back,” said Jeremy Collins, another neighbor.
The resident of the home who did not want to go on camera said one of his friends who got shot in the stomach is still in critical condition. | 1 |
For someone who promoted his management skills and campaigned as an “organizational genius,” as Anderson Cooper of CNN put it, it has been a rocky White House debut for Donald J. Trump, the first president to go directly from the executive suite to the Oval Office. “Chaos” seems to be the word most often invoked, closely followed by “turmoil. ” (One exception: the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, who said he preferred “ . ”) In less than two weeks, Mr. Trump created upheaval at the nation’s borders, alienated longtime allies, roiled markets with talk of a trade war and prompted some of the largest protests any president has faced. The conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal bemoaned a refugee policy “so poorly explained and prepared for, that it has produced confusion and fear at airports, an immediate legal defeat, and political fury at home and abroad. ” Even the top House Republican, Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who had released a statement praising the immigration order, later distanced himself, saying, “It’s regrettable that there was some confusion with the rollout. ” All new presidents undergo a learning curve. But Mr. Trump promised a seamless transition and, with a real chief executive in charge as opposed to a career politician, an administration that would function as a machine. So it doesn’t seem premature to ask some leading management experts for an assessment of Mr. Trump’s first weeks, purely from the viewpoint of organizational behavior and management effectiveness, as I did this week. The unanimous verdict: Thus far, the Trump administration is a textbook case of how not to run a complex organization like the executive branch. “This is so basic, it’s covered in the introduction to the M. B. A. program that all our students take,” said Lindred Greer, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. By all outward indications, Mr. Trump “desperately needs to take the course,” she said. Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford and the author of “Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t,” said Mr. Trump’s executive actions as president “are so far from any responsible management approach” that they all but defy analysis. “Of course, this isn’t new,” he told me. “His campaign also violated every prudent management principle. Everyone including our friends on Wall Street somehow believed that once he was president he’d change. I don’t understand that logic. ” Wall Street did take notice. After months of cheering the prospect of tax reform and infrastructure spending, investors sold stocks after a weekend of chaos at the nation’s airports connected to the president’s executive order on immigration. On Monday, the Dow industrials experienced the biggest decline since the election, fueled by worries that a dysfunctional White House wouldn’t be able to execute Mr. Trump’s policies. “If you thought immigration was bad, just wait for health care,” Mr. Pfeffer warned. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. There is an enormous amount of literature and data exploring what constitutes effective management of complicated organizations. “The core principles have served many leaders really well,” said Jeffrey T. Polzer, professor of human resource management at Harvard Business School. “It’s really common sense: You want to surround yourself with talented people who have the most expertise, who bring different perspectives to the issue at hand. Then you foster debate and invite different points of view in order to reach a solution. ” This is often easier said than done. It “requires an openness to being challenged, and some and even humility to acknowledge that there are areas where other people know more than you do,” Mr. Polzer continued. “This doesn’t mean decisions are made by consensus. The person at the top makes the decisions, but based on the facts and expertise necessary to make a good decision. ” Mr. Trump has already violated several of these core principles. The secretary of Homeland Security, John F. Kelly, was still discussing a proposed executive order restricting immigration when Mr. Trump went ahead and signed it. Nor was Jim Mattis, the defense secretary, consulted he saw the final order only hours before it went into effect. Not to consult thoroughly with top cabinet officers before deciding on the order “is insane,” since they “have the expertise and should be on top of the data,” Ms. Greer said. “Ignoring them leads to bad decisions and is also incredibly demoralizing. ” And there’s another reason to consult, Mr. Polzer said: “When people are genuinely involved in a decision and their input is heard and valued and respected, they are more likely to support and buy into the decision and be motivated to execute to the best of their abilities, even if the decision doesn’t go their way. ” Conversely, people who aren’t consulted feel they have no stake in a successful outcome. Far from encouraging and weighing differing views as part of the process, Mr. Trump appears to view dissension as disloyalty. After career State Department officers circulated a draft cable questioning the effectiveness of the immigration ban, Mr. Spicer responded, “They should either get with the program or they can go. ” “Debate and dissent are essential to reaching any thoughtful outcome,” Ms. Greer said. Comments like Mr. Spicer’s “will discourage anyone from speaking up. You end up with group think, an echo chamber where people only say what they think the president wants to hear. ” And while it’s understandable that the president was eager to act swiftly to follow through on his campaign promises — he had made a long list of actions to be carried out on “Day 1” — his directives came across as needlessly hasty and poorly thought through. Some had to be reframed (talk of a Mexican border surcharge) or significantly modified and clarified after the fact (immigration policy). I asked the management experts to ignore their views about the merits of Mr. Trump’s policies, but all said that execution and substance are inextricably linked. “When you’re on the receiving end of a policy decision, the merits of the decision and the execution go hand in hand,” Mr. Polzer said. “If either one is done poorly, the outcomes will be bad. Even good plans that are poorly rolled out aren’t going to work well. ” For many people, the Affordable Care Act was indelibly tainted by the computer malfunctions that plagued its start. Similarly, for many Americans, the enduring image of Mr. Trump’s immigration policy will be that of a tearful Iraqi immigrant who was detained at Kennedy International Airport after risking his life working as a translator for the American military over a period. (He was released after lawyers intervened on his behalf.) That prompted even Mr. Ryan to say, “No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this. ” Some Trump defenders have said that the president thrives on chaos, and it has proved to be an effective management approach for him in the past. But every expert I consulted said there is no empirical data or research that supports the notion that chaos is a productive management tool. “I’m not aware of anyone who advocates that,” Mr. Polzer said. “I don’t really know what’s going on in the White House, so I don’t feel comfortable commenting on that specifically. But I can say in general that in organizational settings, less chaos is a good thing. ” Everyone agreed that there was still time for Mr. Trump to right the ship. Other administrations have had course corrections and personnel . But having to reorganize only weeks into a first term is not promising. If this were the private sector, “someone would be fired,” Ms. Greer said. That seems highly unlikely, since Mr. Trump has not even acknowledged a problem, instead blaming the media for an impression of upheaval in the White House. That is a fundamental problem, Mr. Pfeffer said. “No good business makes decisions that are based on falsehoods,” he said. “My sense is that Trump takes no one’s counsel but his own. That’s bad management, period. ” | 0 |
Poland is acting like they don t quite like fascists or something. While some have criticized Andrzej Duda for arranging a cheering crowd (complete with a Confederate flag) to make poor besieged snowflake Donald Trump feel safe enough from criticism that he was willing to visit,it was worth it. It was so worth it.Humiliating Trump is becoming something of a sport among world leaders, whether they are dominating the handshake game, trolling him on Twitter, or even just letting him speak.Shortly into his remarks on Thursday, Trump majorly undersold Hitler and Stalin s invasions of Poland, calling them tough and trouble remarks that baffled literally anyone who has opened a history book and realizes how horrific these events were.To top things off, Trump managed to once again find himself humiliated by a woman a huge blow for the kind of guy who thinks women aren t people.Today s example of how little the rest of the world respects Donald Trump is sponsored by Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, who apparently decided to follow Melania s numerous examples and refuse to touch his hands.Though Trump was able to shake her husband s hand, the First Lady didn t want his greasy, smallish p*ssy-grabbing hands anywhere near her. As Trump attempts to shake her hand, she walks straight past without even looking at him and warmly greets Melania first. The most beautiful part is Donald Trump s expression.Our President is a joke and we re still waiting for a punchline that will never come. It s time to remove him from office so we can begin undoing the damage he has done, is doing, and will do.Watch it below:The latest installment in the @realDonaldTrump handshake saga: Do you think he was snubbed by Poland's First Lady?https://t.co/l5lZ2oMYLq pic.twitter.com/Scm4pUB6e3 Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) July 6, 2017Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s ambassador to the United States discussed a row over retweets sent by President Donald Trump with senior White House officials on Wednesday, a British government source said on Thursday. The source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, did not give further details of the discussion. Trump has sparked outrage in Britain’s political establishment with a sharp rebuke of Prime Minister Theresa May on Twitter after she criticised him for retweeting British far-right anti-Islam videos. | 1 |
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore should end harassment of peaceful activists, Human Rights Watch has said, after participants at a candlelight vigil for a man being executed for drug trafficking were stopped from leaving the country. On July 13, about 10 people, including opponents of the death penalty and relatives Prabagaran Srivijayan, 22, attended the vigil outside Changi Prison in support of the man, who was to be hanged early the next morning. The man, who was executed on July 14, was convicted of trafficking 22.4 grams of heroin into Singapore. During the vigil, participants said they were approached by police and told that a police report had been filed and that they were to remove the candles. The police removed the candles and photographs of Prabagaran but the participants say they were not asked to disperse. Assemblies and processions for a cause in public places without a permit is a criminal offense in Singapore. Anyone convicted of organizing such an assembly faces penalties of up to S$10,000 ($7,440) in fines and up to six months in jail. The Singapore government has said that the law is required to provide for the individual s rights for political expression without compromising on order and safety . Among those at the vigil were a journalist, who is an activist against capital punishment, an editor of independent online blog Online Citizen and a filmmaker whose most recent work focused on the detention in 1987 of political activists under Singapore s Internal Security Act. The three said in social media postings that they had been prevented from leaving the country, and had been told that they were required to stay in Singapore to assist police with an investigation. As of Friday afternoon, police were not able to respond to requests by Reuters for comment. Human Rights Watch said the government should respect the right of free speech and assembly. The government should end its harassment of activists campaigning against capital punishment and respect their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the group said in a release on Thursday. None of the three had been arrested or charged, Kirsten Han, the activist and journalist, told Reuters. | 0 |
The path to total Dictatorship: America’s Shadow Government and its silent coup Unaffected by elections. Unaltered by populist movements. Beyond the reach of the law By John W. Whitehead - October 27, 2016 “Today the path to total dictatorship in the U.S. can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by Congress, the President, or the people . Outwardly we have a Constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system … a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state…. The important point to remember about this group is not its ideology but its organization… It operates secretly, silently, continuously to transform our Government…. This group … is answerable neither to the President, the Congress, nor the courts. It is practically irremovable.”— Senator William Jenner, 1954 speech
Unaffected by elections. Unaltered by populist movements. Beyond the reach of the law.
Say hello to America’s shadow government.
A corporatized, militarized, entrenched bureaucracy that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officials who are, in essence, running the country, this shadow government represents the hidden face of a government that has no respect for the freedom of its citizenry.
No matter which candidate wins the presidential election, this shadow government is here to stay. Indeed, as recent documents by the FBI reveal, this shadow government— also referred to as “The 7th Floor Group” —may well have played a part in who will win the White House this year.
To be precise, however, the future president will actually inherit not one but two shadow governments.
The first shadow government, referred to as COG or Continuity of Government, is made up of unelected individuals who have been appointed to run the government in the event of a “catastrophe.” COG is a phantom menace waiting for the right circumstances—a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, an economic meltdown—to bring it out of the shadows, where it operates even now. When and if COG takes over, the police state will transition to martial law.
Yet it is the second shadow government —also referred to as the Deep State—that poses the greater threat to freedom right now. Comprised of unelected government bureaucrats, corporations, contractors, paper-pushers, and button-pushers who are actually calling the shots behind the scenes, this government within a government is the real reason “we the people” have no real control over our government.
The Deep State, which “ operates according to its own compass heading regardless of who is formally in power ,” makes a mockery of elections and the entire concept of a representative government.
So who or what is the Deep State?
It’s the militarized police, which have joined forces with state and federal in order to establish themselves as a standing army. It’s the fusion centers and spy agencies that have created a surveillance state and turned all of us into suspects. It’s the courthouses and prisons that have allowed corporate profits to take precedence over due process and justice. It’s the military empire with its private contractors and defense industry that is bankrupting the nation. It’s the private sector with its 854,000 contract personnel with top-secret clearances, “a number greater than that of top-secret-cleared civilian employees of the government.” It’s what former congressional staffer Mike Lofgren refers to as “ a hybrid of national security and ”: the Department of Defense, the State Department, Homeland Security, the CIA, the Justice Department, the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President via the National Security Council, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a handful of vital federal trial courts, and members of the defense and intelligence committees.
It’s every facet of a government that is no longer friendly to freedom and is working overtime to trample the Constitution underfoot and render the citizenry powerless in the face of the government’s power grabs, corruption and abusive tactics.
These are the key players that drive the shadow government.
This is the hidden face of the American police state that will continue long past Election Day.
Just consider some of the key programs and policies advanced by the shadow government that will continue no matter who occupies the Oval Office.
Domestic surveillance. No matter who wins the presidential popularity contest, the National Security Agency (NSA), with its $10.8 billion black ops annual budget, will continue to spy on every person in the United States who uses a computer or phone. Thus, on any given day, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency, whether the NSA or some other entity, is listening in and tracking your behavior. Local police have been outfitted with a litany of surveillance gear, from license plate readers and cell phone tracking devices to biometric data recorders. Technology now makes it possible for the police to scan passersby in order to detect the contents of their pockets, purses, briefcases, etc. Full-body scanners, which perform virtual strip-searches of Americans traveling by plane, have gone mobile, with roving police vans that peer into vehicles and buildings alike—including homes. Coupled with the nation’s growing network of real-time surveillance cameras and facial recognition software, soon there really will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
Global spying. The NSA’s massive surveillance network, what the Washington Post refers to as a $500 billion “ espionage empire ,” will continue to span the globe and target every single person on the planet who uses a phone or a computer. The NSA’s Echelon program intercepts and analyzes virtually every phone call, fax and email message sent anywhere in the world. In addition to carrying out domestic surveillance on peaceful political groups such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and several religious groups, Echelon has also been a keystone in the government’s attempts at political and corporate espionage .
Roving TSA searches. The American taxpayer will continue to get ripped off by government agencies in the dubious name of national security. One of the greatest culprits when it comes to swindling taxpayers has been the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), with its questionable deployment of and complete mismanagement of millions of dollars’ worth of airport full-body X-ray scanners, punitive patdowns by TSA agents and thefts of travelers’ valuables. Considered essential to national security, TSA programs will continue in airports and at transportation hubs around the country.
USA Patriot Act, NDAA. America’s so-called war on terror, which it has relentlessly pursued since 9/11, will continue to chip away at our freedoms, unravel our Constitution and transform our nation into a battlefield, thanks in large part to such subversive legislation as the USA Patriot Act and National Defense Authorization Act. These laws completely circumvent the rule of law and the rights of American citizens. In so doing, they re-orient our legal landscape in such a way as to ensure that martial law, rather than the U.S. Constitution, is the map by which we navigate life in the United States. These laws will continue to be enforced no matter who gets elected.
Militarized police state. Thanks to federal grant programs allowing the Pentagon to transfer surplus military supplies and weapons to local without charge, police forces will continue to be transformed from peace officers into heavily armed extensions of the military, complete with jackboots, helmets, shields, batons, pepper-spray, stun guns, assault rifles, body armor, miniature tanks and weaponized drones. Having been given the green light to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts, America’s law enforcement officials, no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace, will continue to keep the masses corralled, controlled, and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens.
SWAT team raids. With more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year on unsuspecting Americans by local police for relatively routine police matters and federal agencies laying claim to their own law enforcement divisions, the incidence of botched raids and related casualties will continue to rise. Nationwide, SWAT teams will continue to be employed to address an astonishingly trivial array of criminal activity or mere community nuisances including angry dogs, domestic disputes, improper paperwork filed by an orchid farmer, and misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Domestic drones. The domestic use of drones will continue unabated. As mandated by Congress, there will be 30,000 drones crisscrossing the skies of America by 2020, all part of an industry that could be worth as much as $30 billion per year. These machines, which will be equipped with weapons, will be able to record all activities, using video feeds, heat sensors and radar. An Inspector General report revealed that the Dept. of Justice has already spent nearly $4 million on drones domestically, largely for use by the FBI , with grants for another $1.26 million so police departments and nonprofits can acquire their own drones.
School-to-prison pipeline. The paradigm of abject compliance to the state will continue to be taught by example in the schools, through school lockdowns where police and drug-sniffing dogs enter the classroom, and zero tolerance policies that punish all offenses equally and result in young people being expelled for childish behavior. School districts will continue to team up with law enforcement to create a “schoolhouse to jailhouse track” by imposing a “double dose” of punishment: suspension or expulsion from school, accompanied by an arrest by the police and a trip to juvenile court.
Overcriminalization. The government bureaucracy will continue to churn out laws, statutes, codes and regulations that reinforce its powers and value systems and those of the police state and its corporate allies, rendering the rest of us petty criminals. The average American now unknowingly commits three felonies a day, thanks to this overabundance of vague laws that render otherwise innocent activity illegal. Consequently, small farmers who dare to make unpasteurized goat cheese and share it with members of their community will continue to have their farms raided.
Privatized Prisons. States will continue to outsource prisons to private corporations, resulting in a cash cow whereby mega-corporations imprison Americans in private prisons in order to make a profit. In exchange for corporations buying and managing public prisons across the country at a supposed savings to the states, the states have to agree to maintain a 90% occupancy rate in the privately run prisons for at least 20 years.
Endless wars. America’s expanding military empire will continue to bleed the country dry at a rate of more than $15 billion a month (or $20 million an hour). The Pentagon spends more on war than all 50 states combined spend on health, education, welfare, and safety. Yet what most Americans fail to recognize is that these ongoing wars have little to do with keeping the country safe and everything to do with enriching the military industrial complex at taxpayer expense.
Are you getting the message yet?
The next president, much like the current president and his predecessors, will be little more than a figurehead, a puppet to entertain and distract the populace from what’s really going on.
As Lofgren reveals, this state within a state, “concealed behind the one that is visible at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue ,” is a “hybrid entity of public and private institutions ruling the country according to consistent patterns in season and out, connected to, but only intermittently controlled by, the visible state whose leaders we choose.”
The Deep State not only holds the nation’s capital in thrall, but it also controls Wall Street (“which supplies the cash that keeps the political machine quiescent and operating as a diversionary marionette theater”) and Silicon Valley.
This is fascism in its most covert form, hiding behind public agencies and private companies to carry out its dirty deeds.
It is a marriage between government bureaucrats and corporate fat cats.
As Lofgren concludes:
[T]he Deep State is so heavily entrenched, so well protected by surveillance, firepower, money and its ability to co-opt resistance that it is almost impervious to change … If there is anything the Deep State requires it is silent, uninterrupted cash flow and the confidence that things will go on as they have in the past. It is even willing to tolerate a degree of gridlock: Partisan mud wrestling over cultural issues may be a useful distraction from its agenda.
In other words, as I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People , as long as government officials—elected and unelected alike—are allowed to operate beyond the reach of the Constitution, the courts and the citizenry, the threat to our freedoms remains undiminished.
So the next time you find yourselves despondent over the 2016 presidential candidates, remember that it’s just a puppet show intended to distract you from the silent coup being carried out by America’s shadow government. | 1 |
(Reuters) - The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources said it will work to identify red tape and other bureaucratic hurdles to speed up Puerto Rico’s recovery and rebuilding, as the island struggles to recover from the impact of Hurricane Maria. Committee Chairman Rob Bishop said in a press call on Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal partners will also likely be engaged for years in helping Puerto Rico get back on its feet. Bishop added that an emergency response will be executed through FEMA and local officials. “An emergency funding package is taking place as we speak to support those efforts,” he said. On Tuesday a White House official told Reuters the White House was preparing a $29 billion disaster aid request to be sent to Congress after hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida. The request was expected to come on Wednesday. It will combine nearly $13 billion in new relief for hurricane victims with $16 billion for the government-backed flood insurance program. Bishop said under evaluation was also the question of whether to modify or give additional power to the oversight board tasked with overseeing Puerto Rico’s debt restructuring. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were battered by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Hurricane Maria knocked out power to Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents last month, devastating the island’s already dilapidated electric power infrastructure. Following a closed-door meeting of the committee, Puerto Rico’s Republican delegate, Jenniffer Gonzalez, told reporters there are ongoing discussions among members of Congress, White House aides and the Treasury Department over a possible short-term loan to Puerto Rico, which she said will face a liquidity crisis in November. She said it was unclear whether Trump might be able to issue an executive order, if he so desired, to provide quick financial help or whether Congress would have to act. Representative Raul Grijalva, the senior Democrat on the panel, said of PROMESA after the meeting: “I said let’s open it up and see what is working and see what is not applicable in this situation, what we need to suspend.” PROMESA is the federal 2016 rescue law under which Puerto Rico in May filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. | 1 |
(Reuters) - If Republican Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz lands a win in the nominating contest in his home state of Texas on Tuesday, part of the credit will go to support from a small and often overlooked interest group: homeschoolers. The Senator’s campaign has invested months of effort courting the well-organized network of families who educate their children at home - often to avoid constraints on religion in public school - in the hopes they can keep a big chunk of conservative voters away from his rivals, billionaire Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. “They were crucial to our win in Iowa and will be in Texas (as well),” said Cruz campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier, referring to Cruz’s only victory in a string of four contests for the party’s presidential nomination so far that have otherwise been swept by Trump. The Cruz campaign has used its message of religious liberty and small government to draw some 6,670 members to its “Homeschoolers for Cruz” coalition in recent months - many of whom campaign on his behalf. “One thing to understand about homeschoolers is we are all networked,” said Ken Cuccinelli, a member of Homeschoolers for Cruz and an occasional campaign surrogate. He said the group has used email pleas, door-knocking, and old-fashioned word-of-mouth to win votes. “The real rock stars are the teenagers. They have so much energy... And work ethic. They just churn through work like us old people don’t.” Cruz’s campaign is betting that support like that will help him secure a win in Texas - the biggest prize among the 12 states holding Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday. Texas has 155 delegates and a big win for Cruz could potentially shift the balance of the race to decide who will be the Republican nominee at the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump currently has 82 delegates to Cruz’s 17. Only around 3.5 percent of schoolchildren in the United States are homeschooled. But the families that endorse homeschooling can have outsized political influence in some states and are often conservative. Many proponents of homeschooling share two important traits: a bent toward religion and a tendency to carefully guard against education policy changes that could affect them personally. “(Cruz) is going to make sure that the federal government will not infringe on what we believe is our God-given right,” said Will Estrada, a Virginia-based co-chair of Homeschoolers for Cruz and a lawyer at the Home School Legal Defense Association - which does not typically endorse candidates before the general election. Homeschoolers help candidates tap into the evangelical vote, long thought to be Cruz’s firewall in Southern states, even though he has struggled to win the conservative Christian vote amid the challenge by Trump. Cruz leads Trump in Texas, 36.2 to 26.6 percent, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average, one of few leads predicted for the Texas senator for March 1 contests. The stakes are high for Cruz on Tuesday. At a recent presidential forum at Regent University in Virginia, also a Super Tuesday state, Cruz warned that a runaway victory for Trump could make the billionaire businessman “unstoppable.” Marlin Bontrager, a homeschooler parent whose family gospel band tours the country by bus, said he’s supporting Cruz in part because he worries that secular education has contributed to a drop in the American intellect and the rise of Trump, as well. “Our educational system has(...) dumbed down our society. And we’re seeing the effect of that this election,” he said, referring to the broad support for Trump. In 2008, homeschoolers in Iowa mobilized around then-Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, helping him win the state. (Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Alistair Bell) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 1 |
Donald Trump s lies and empty threats are finally catching up to him. Just a day after the hearing of former FBI Director James Comey, Committees in Congress are announcing that they not only want to see Comey s memos of his conversations with Trump, but they also want to see the supposed White House tapes that Trump says exist.The Senate Judiciary Committee released a letter to Daniel Richman, a friend of Comey who had leaked Comey s memo to the press after receiving instruction from the former FBI Director to do so. This letter requests that Richman provide copies of every memo Comey gave him:The Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Comey s good friend at @ColumbiaLaw for copies of the memos Comey provided him. pic.twitter.com/kgOip24e7m Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 9, 2017Trump is currently freaking out over this, and his own personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz will be filing a complaint about the leak in response.In another move that will leave Trump tweeting in anger, the House Intelligence Committee put out a separate statement requesting the memo and tapes , which Trump had threatened to release to get back at Comey:The letter demands that the tapes, to the extent they exist now, must be given to the committee by June 23rd.Already, Trump is sh*tting his pants. Earlier today, Trump accused Comey of perjury, and also wouldn t directly back up his previous statements about the tapes, which allegedly contain his conversations with Comey.Trump may be having a meltdown over this, but Comey is likely tickled pink that the committees want to see the tapes. When Trump threatened to release the likely nonexistent tapes, Comey said: Lordy, I hope there are tapes. It s almost certain that Trump has been lying all along, and he s about to be exposed in a truly humiliating way.Featured image via Pool / Getty Images | 0 |
Donald Trump s Co-Chair of the Veterans For Trump Coalition in New Hampshire, Jerry Delemus, was just arrested by the FBI on nine charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.Jerry Delemus, a significant component of Trump s campaign effort to attract veterans, is a Tea Party activist who made trips to take part in the Bundy Ranch stand-off. According to the indictment being brought against him, Delemus was a mid-level leader and organizer of the conspiracy who, among other things: recruited, organized, trained and provided logistical support to gunmen and other followers and organized and led armed patrols and security checkpoints. Delemus s connection to Trump is certainly a factor, but it s also damaging to the Republican party as a whole. Jerry s wife, Susan Delemus, is a GOP lawmaker in the state of New Hampshire s House of Representatives. News of the incident first broke when Susan called Jack Kimball, the former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP to let him know that the FBI was raiding their house. Here s what Kimball wrote on Facebook: She said that the FBI just rolled up with lots of vehicles and Agents who were in tactical gear. They forced their way into Jerry Delemus and Sue s condo with weapons drawn and arrested Jerry and took him away. Currently, the FBI is not taking questions on the matter and is asking that anyone needing more information to get in contact with the Department of Justice. As of right now, the U.S. DOJ has not gotten back in touch with local newspaper Portsmouth Patch, who reported on it first.Here is a list of the charges Delemus is currently being faced with:In addition to taking part in the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve in Oregon, Delemus was a security team member on the Bundy Ranch in Nevada.Even though these charges are quite serious (and factual) it s likely the right is going to chalk this up as retaliation for being either 1) a Trump supporter or 2) because of their anti-government beliefs.Delemus s wife had already been an outspoken proponent of big government and lying politicians, even before the FBI ransacked her home. That is, everyone but Trump. You may remember her face from a recent CNN survey she did, in which she professed her ardent support for the man: We ve got people in positions of power who I know for a fact are liars. Liars! I watch the TV My president comes on the TV and he lies to me! I know he s lying. He lies all the time. Trump supporter: I believe Donald. I m telling you he says what I m thinking. https://t.co/K0KNfPh6Gp @CNNPolitics Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) December 10, 2015No, Delemus was not arrested because of his Trump beliefs. If that was the case the FBI would have hauled her crazy ass off with him and thrown her in a jail cell, too.Featured image via screen capture. | 0 |
The funny thing is, we all know the media s obsession with Russia would never be happening if Hillary won the election. Where were all the rabid Russian conspiracy journalists when Hillary was selling them our uranium for favors? We re not fans of Putin, but any dummy can see that the left is clearly using Putin s alleged involvement in our elections as a means to destroy the legitimacy of President Trump s election Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied interfering in the U.S. elections, and he did it by using a famous quote from a U.S. president. Watch my lips, no, Putin said.The Russian strongman made the claim when asked point-blank whether Russia had interfered and whether any evidence to the contrary would get found.He invoked former President Reagan, although the Read my lips quote was actually used by his successor, George H.W. Bush, speaking at a CNBC event on Arctic issues.Putin said claims of Russian interference were lies used for domestic American politics.All those things are fictional, illusory and provocations, lies, Putin continued. All these are used for domestic American political agendas. The anti-Russian card is played by different political forces inside the United States to trade on that and consolidate their positions inside. Then he delivered a friendly message to U.S. audiences. We said on numerous occasions and I reiterate that we are confident And know for sure that opinion polls in the Unites States show that very many people are friendly towards the Russian Federation and I d like to tell these people that we perceive and regard the United States as a great power with which we want to establish good partnership relations. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday in an interview with CBS News, We all knew Russia was trying to meddle with our election. And we already know right now they re trying to do it with other countries. Ryan continued: The world s super power, the American government needs to do everything we possibly can, not only to undercut what they re trying to do but to uncover what they re trying to do and help our allies prevent it from happening. Putin also said Thursday he is ready to meet with Trump if Finland hosts an Arctic summit. Finland is set to take over the rotating leadership of the Arctic Council.For entire story: Daily Mail | 0 |
The United States attorney’s office is looking into the way Fox News handled payments related to sexual harassment cases to determine whether the company misled investors, according to the lawyer for a woman who is suing the network. At a hearing in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, the lawyer, Judd Burstein, who is representing the former Fox anchor Andrea Tantaros, said that another one of his clients had received a grand jury subpoena related to Fox News. He did not identify that client. Mr. Burstein said in a text message that he believed federal investigators were looking at whether Fox News structured sexual harassment settlement claims by paying them out in salaries, “so as not to have to report them. ” He added that the prosecutors had identified themselves as being from a securities fraud division of the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. In a statement, Fox News said it had not received a subpoena but had “been in communication with the U. S. attorney’s office for months. ” The statement added that Fox “will continue to cooperate on all inquiries with any interested authorities. ” The United States attorney’s office declined to comment. The prospect of a criminal investigation is a surprising escalation of the sexual harassment scandal that engulfed Fox News over the summer and led to the departure of its chairman, Roger Ailes. After reaching a $20 million settlement with Gretchen Carlson, a former anchor who sued Mr. Ailes, and conducting an internal investigation into his conduct, the company tried hard to put the episode behind it. The scope of the investigation by the United States attorney’s office, which appeared to be in the early stages, was not immediately clear. Mr. Burstein made the remarks while he was arguing that Ms. Tantaros’s case — she sued the network in August, accusing Fox News of retaliation after she complained about sexual harassment — should go forward in an open court. A judge rejected that claim on Wednesday and ruled that her case would be resolved in arbitration. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Fox News said, “The court granted Fox News’s motion to send Andrea Tantaros’s case to arbitration, where it always belonged, and rejected her counsel Judd Burstein’s histrionics. ” Asked whether Mr. Ailes had received a subpoena, Susan Estrich, his lawyer, declined to comment. Mr. Ailes has denied the sexual harassment allegations. Ms. Tantaros’s suit asserts that the network’s newsroom resembled “a Playboy cult. ” The suit named a number of Fox News executives in addition to Mr. Ailes, accusing them of marginalizing her and removing her from the air after she complained. Fox News denied the charges, saying that Ms. Tantaros was let go for violating her contract by writing a book without approval. In July, Ms. Carlson sued Mr. Ailes for sexual harassment. Fox News’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, hired the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison to conduct an investigation, and a number of other women stepped forward with similar accusations, including the former Fox star Megyn Kelly. | 0 |
On Monday night, Donald Trump traveled to West Virginia to give a speech to a bunch of Boy Scouts you know, children. In that speech, instead of inspiring them and being a role model, Trump chose to swear, re-litigate his Electoral College victory, talk about cocktail parties, and rant about political issues. Of course, this is a stunningly inappropriate speech for any adult to give to little kids, much less for someone in Trump s position to do it.There have been many responses to this insanity, but perhaps the best one came from Pete Souza, the enthusiastic photographer in the Obama White House. Souza s Instagram account has become a goldmine of images trolling Trump s most outrageous moments, and this one was no different. Souza posted the following photo during Trump s speech of President Obama greeting a young Boy Scout in the Oval Office:.@PeteSouza on Instagram responds to Trump's Boy Scouts speech pic.twitter.com/GtzQgsrSV4 Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 25, 2017Of course, it also bears pointing out that President Obama was in the Indonesian equivalent of the Boy Scouts, while obviously Trump was never any kind of scout. Plus, when it comes to character, Obama exudes what the Scouts strive to be, while Trump is everything they don t want anyone to be.The striking part of all of this, though, is to show just how low we have gone as a country to have this orange fascist and his goons running it. Trump is racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, vindictive, a bully, and a con man. On the other side of that, President Obama was easily one of the most extraordinary human beings to ever hold that office. He is, as a person, the very definition of class and dignity.Oh, America, what have we done? How did we elect a man who is the best role model we could ask for when it comes to having behavior in the Oval Office we want future generations to emulate, to having a fraudulent vulgarian in there who exhibits behavior even toddlers know better to engage in?We can only speculate, but thank goodness for Pete Souza s Instagram account to help us remember what it was like to have a real president.Featured image via Official White House Photo by Pete Souza | 1 |
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