text
stringlengths 1
143k
| label
int64 0
1
|
|---|---|
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contractors likely breached security and handed over documents describing the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of hacking tools to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity said intelligence agencies have been aware since the end of last year of the breach, which led to WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of information on its website on Tuesday. According to the documents, CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones, devices running Google’s Android software and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software. The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was “extremely concerned” about the CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks release. “Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law,” spokesman Sean Spicer said. The two officials told Reuters they believed the published documents about CIA hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic. One of the officials with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that WikiLeaks published, and then going over their computer logs, emails and other communications for any evidence of who might be responsible. On Tuesday in a press release, WikiLeaks itself said the CIA had “lost control” of an archive of hacking methods and it appeared to have been circulated “among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.” The CIA, which is the United States’ civilian foreign intelligence service, declined to comment on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents. The agency said in a statement that its mission was to collect foreign intelligence abroad “to protect America from terrorists, hostile nation states and other adversaries” and to be “innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defense in protecting this country from enemies abroad.” The CIA is legally prohibited from surveillance inside the United States and “does not do so”, the statement added. A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said it would be normal for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA both to open investigations into such leaks. U.S. officials previously have confirmed that prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia for years have been conducting a federal grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks and its personnel. A spokesman for the prosecutors declined to comment on the possibility of that probe being expanded. It is not clear if the investigation of the latest CIA leaks is part of the probe. Contractors have been revealed as the source of sensitive government information leaks in recent years, most notably Edward Snowden and Harold Thomas Martin, both employed by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH.N) while working for the National Security Agency. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said the government needed to stop the breaches. “I think we really need to take a look at the contractor portion of the employee workforce, because you have to be loyal to America to work for an intelligence agency, otherwise don’t do it,” Feinstein said. Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committees have either opened or are expected to open inquiries into the CIA breach, congressional officials said. Some cyber security experts and technology companies have criticized the government for opting to exploit rather than disclose software vulnerabilities, though an interagency review process set up under former President Barack Obama was intended to err on the side of disclosure. Those concerns would grow if U.S. authorities did not notify companies that CIA documents describing various hacking techniques had been compromised. Apple, Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) did not immediately respond when asked if they were notified of a CIA breach before WikiLeaks made its files public. At Apple, none of the vulnerabilities described in the documents provoked a panic, though analysis was continuing, according to a person who spoke with engineers there. Google’s director of information security and privacy, Heather Adkins, said in a statement: “As we’ve reviewed the documents, we’re confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android (operating systems) already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities. Our analysis is ongoing and we will implement any further necessary protections.” One reason the investigation is focused on a potential leak by contractors rather than for example a hack by Russian intelligence, another official said, is that so far there is no evidence that Russian intelligence agencies tried to exploit any of the leaked material before it was published. One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the WikiLeaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European intelligence agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations. U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to tilt last year’s U.S. presidential election in Trump’s favor, including by hacking into Democratic Party emails. Moscow has denied the allegation. One major security problem was that the number of contractors with access to information with the highest secrecy classification has “exploded” because of federal budget constraints, the first U.S. official said. U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to hire additional permanent staff needed to keep pace with technological advances such as the “internet of things” that connects cars, home security and heating systems and other devices to computer networks, or to pay salaries competitive with the private sector, the official said. Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents. A person familiar with WikiLeaks’ activities said the group has had the CIA hacking material for months, and that the release of the material was in the works “for a long time.” In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor’s office said that it would review the WikiLeaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt. “We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators,” a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office told Reuters. Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Washington on March 14 for her first meeting with Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending. | 1 |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union warned on Wednesday that it was ready to act within days to counter proposed new U.S. sanctions on Russia, saying they would harm the bloc’s energy security. Sanctions legislation overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday has angered EU officials: they see it as breaking transatlantic unity in the West’s response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Brussels also fears the new sanctions will harm European firms with connections to Russia, and oil and gas projects on which the EU is dependent. “The U.S. bill could have unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU’s energy security interests,” EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement issued after a meeting at which European commissioners were united in their views, according to a senior EU official. “If our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days. ‘America First’ cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last,” he said, mentioning President Donald Trump’s guiding slogan. A EU document prepared for the commissioners, seen by Reuters, laid out the EU’s plans to seek “demonstrable reassurances” that the White House would not use the bill to target EU interests. The bloc, it says, will also prepare to use an EU regulation allowing it to defend companies against the application of extraterritorial measures by the United States. If diplomacy fails, Brussels plans to file a complaint at the World Trade Organization. “In addition, the preparation of a substantive response that would deter the U.S. from taking measures against EU companies could be considered,” it says. However, most measures taken by Brussels would require approval from all 28 EU member governments, which could expose potential differences in individual nations’ relations with Moscow and Washington. Despite changes to the U.S. bill that took into account some EU concerns, Brussels said the legislation could still hinder upkeep of the gas pipeline network in Russia that feeds into Ukraine and supplies over a quarter of EU needs. The EU says it could also hamper projects crucial to its energy diversification goals, such as the Baltic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project. The new sanctions target the disputed Nord Stream 2 project for a new pipeline running from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. But the EU note says: “the impact would in reality be much wider.” A list prepared by the EU executive, seen by Reuters, shows eight projects including those involving oil majors Anglo-Dutch Shell, BP and Italy’s Eni that risk falling foul of the U.S. measures. Voicing frustration at the fraying in the joint Western approach to Moscow, Juncker said “close coordination among allies” was key to ensuring that curbs on business with the Russian energy, defense and financial sectors, imposed in July 2014, are effective. EU sources said Juncker told Commissioners the risk to EU interests was collateral damage of a U.S. domestic fight between Trump and U.S. lawmakers. It was unclear how quickly the U.S. bill would reach the White House for Trump to sign into law or veto. The bill amounts to a rebuke of Trump by requiring him to obtain lawmakers’ permission before easing any sanctions on Moscow. Rejecting the legislation - which would potentially stymie his wish for improved relations with Moscow - would carry a risk that his veto could be overridden by lawmakers. European energy industry sources voiced alarm at the potentially wide-ranging damage of the new U.S. measures. “This is pretty tough,” one industry source told Reuters. “We are working with EU officials to see what safeguards can be anticipated to protect our investment and give us certainty.” Five Western firms are partnered with Russia’s Gazprom in Nord Stream 2: German’s Wintershall [WINT.UL] and Uniper, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV and France’s Engie. But EU officials warn the U.S. measures would also hit plans for the LNG plant on the Gulf of Finland in which Shell is partnering with Gazprom. The EU document shows they might jeopardize Eni’s 50 percent stake in the Blue Stream pipeline from Russia to Turkey as well as the CPC pipeline, carrying Kazakh oil to the Black Sea, involving European groups BG Overseas Holdings, Shell and Eni . It further warns that BP would be forced to halt some activities with Russian energy major Rosneft. | 1 |
Soooo the IRS lied to Americans to prod them to comply and sign up for Obamacare. They lied about the cost of Obamacare. Does anyone see the criminality in this? It s a classic bait and switch but by our government! The Obama administration misled Americans into thinking signing up for Obamacare would be cheaper than it really was, according to an inspector general s report Thursday that said the IRS dramatically understated the actual cost of enrolling. IRS officials sent the letters to try to prod Americans to comply with the 2010 health law s individual mandate that penalizes them for not holding coverage.But as part of the letters, the IRS said most people could find plans for $75 a month or less once government subsidies were figured in. That was untrue in fact, the average cost was more than twice that figure, at $168 a month, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said. Many of the nearly 7.5 million taxpayers who receive letters and seek insurance may feel misled if the actual cost of their insurance is much higher than the $75 per month detailed in their notification letter, the inspector general concluded. The IRS said it was only using numbers provided by Department of Health and Human Services and verified by the Treasury Department. They said the $75 figure was true for some taxpayers.The inspector general said it asked for that documentation but never received it.Auditors said their own analysis found the HHS studies were based on a smaller sample and was limited to those who chose lower-coverage plans with fewer benefits.According to the new audit, federal regulations require agencies to present accurate information.Investigators uncovered the misleading information as part of a broader audit about how the IRS was handling its role in alerting Americans who aren t complying with Obamacare s mandate to hold insurance.Read more: WT | 0 |
Singer/songwriter Joy Villa decided to follow the political theme at The Grammy s tonight by wearing a gown that says Make America Great Again on the front and TRUMP on the back It might not be what the producers expected LOL! WE LOVE IT!If you tweet, PLEASE support this young artist with a retweet! She s being royally abused by the liberals She needs some love from the Deplorables!She s getting lots of attention from the press:From Villa s Website:Who is Joy? True to the lyrics of her song Vagabonds , Joy Villa is a singer songwriter who s never slowing down. Having lived in Hollywood, Seattle, Las Vegas, and now residing in NYC, touring extensively since 2012 to Asia, Australia the US and Europe.Joy s favorite genre has always been rock and roll, and she considers herself lucky to be a female that looks different than the normal Rockstar . A classic renaissance woman, she also paints, models, acts, dances, composes poetry, and writes screenplays and books.Photo credit: Aaron FortnerVia: GP | 1 |
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Social Democrat (SPD) leader Martin Schulz, whose party trails Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives by 17 points, said he was going into Sunday s television debate convinced he would win this month s elections. I am not in the least bit nervous, he told Bild newspaper in an interview conducted after media reports suggesting his predecessor as leader had given up hope of an SPD victory. A successful duel can create momentum, Schulz said in a separate interview with the RND network of newspapers. Merkel, 63, has been chancellor since 2005 and is widely seen as Europe s most influential politician. She has weathered storms over mass immigration and financial and political turmoil the European Union, while the SPD, Germany s oldest party, has struggled to promote a strong rival. Merkel told the Rheinische Post newspaper she expected the debate to spark great public interest. I ll be happy if as many people as possible take the time to watch, she told the newspaper in an interview to be published Saturday. But she defended her decision to allow only one such two-way debate since voters in Germany s parliamentary system pick parties and direct candidates in their districts, rather than voting directly for a chancellor. Schulz s campaign got off to a promising start early this year, with thousands flocking to the party after he was chosen as candidate; but three crushing defeats at the hands of the conservatives in regional elections, including in its heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia, knocked him off course. These were very difficult defeats for the SPD ... but nonetheless, 46 percent of voters have yet to make up their minds, a weary-looking Schulz, 61, said in a live online interview with Bild. He said he would turn things around in the first and only televised debate between the pair ahead of the Sept. 24 election. I believe we will certainly still win the election. The SPD, which has stewarded Europe s biggest economy as junior partner to Merkel s conservatives for the last four years, was on 22 percent in an opinion poll published on Friday, while the conservatives were on 39 percent. Almost half the 61.5 million people eligible to vote are expected to tune into the debate, pollster Forsa found. Nearly two-thirds of Germans expect Merkel to win the contest while 17 percent expected Schulz to fare better, another poll showed. It also found that if there were to be a direct vote for chancellor, 49 percent of Germans would pick Merkel, who is seen as a steady pair of hands at a time of global uncertainty, with Donald Trump in the White House and Britain preparing to leave the European Union. Just 26 percent would opt for former European Parliament President Schulz, whose campaign focusing on social justice has struggled at a time when Germans are enjoying rising wages and record employment. In a bid to appeal to the younger generation, Schulz told Bild the biggest domestic policy difference between him and Merkel was on pensions. If someone is in his early 40s, he will belong to the generation that pays ever more contributions and at the end will get the lowest pension in history from his pension insurance, he said. | 1 |
The Democratic presidential nominee is in the midst of a multiday, high-dollar fundraising blitz across the country.After a weekend packed with five fundraisers in Martha s Vineyard and Cape Cod in Massachusetts (including one with an appearance by Cher), Clinton is traveling today to California, where she will attend seven fundraisers over the next three days.Pop icon and prolific tweeter Cher hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Cape Cod Sunday that reportedly raised more than $1.5 million for the Democratic presidential nominee s campaign. Approximately 1,000 people attended the summer celebration event at the Pilgrim Monument & Museum in Provincetown, including the 70-year-old Believe singer, who did not perform, according to the Cape Cod Times.She then travels to the Hamptons in New York this weekend for even more fundraising events.The Clinton campaign s decision to prioritize private fundraisers over public campaign events appears to be twofold.Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Garner hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic nominee for president Hillary R. Clinton campaign Thursday, Aug. 18th at the home of Benjamin and Penelope Pierce from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.Jennifer Garner, the star of Dude, Where s My Car? is a active supporter of Democratic candidates. In the 2016 cycle, she donated $5,940 to Act Blue, a left-wing Political Action Committee, as well as 5,400 to the aborted congressional campaign of Democract Melissa Gilbert, who starred in the 1970s TV series Little House On The Prairie. Garner, who no longer uses the surname Affleck in legal filings since beginning the process of divorcing actor Ben Affleck, also gave $2,700 to California Democrat Kamala Harris s Senate campaign. Breitbart | 1 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Monday for sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl, setting off a scandal that played a role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Weiner, 53, started to cry as soon as the sentence was announced by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan. His wife Huma Abedin, an aide to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was not in the courtroom and has filed for divorce. He pleaded guilty in May to transferring obscene material to a minor, and agreed he would not appeal any sentence of 27 months or less. “I was a very sick man for a very long time, but I’m also responsible for the damage I have done,” Weiner read from a statement in court before he was sentenced. He said he was being treated, and asked Cote to spare him prison and sentence him to probation so he could continue treatment. Weiner’s lawyer, Arlo Devlin-Brown, said that while Weiner exchanged sexually explicit messages with many women, all of the others were adults. Cote said she believed Weiner was suffering from an addiction, and was serious about being treated. However, she said it was important to deter others from committing similar crimes. “There is the opportunity to make a statement that could protect other minors,” she said. “We are of course disappointed that Anthony was sentenced to prison, particularly so given that Judge Cote found that the treatment program Anthony had engaged in for the past year was showing great promise and should be continued,” Weiner’s lawyer, Devlin-Brown, said in a statement Monday afternoon. Weiner declined to speak to reporters as he left the courtroom. He was ordered to surrender by Nov. 6. The investigation into Weiner’s exchanges with a North Carolina high school student roiled the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign in its final days, when authorities found emails on Weiner’s laptop from his wife. Weiner, who wore his wedding band at the sentencing, and Abedin have a son, Jordan, who is 5 years old. The discovery of the emails prompted James Comey, then director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to announce in late October that the agency was reopening its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state. Clinton has said the announcement contributed to her upset loss to Republican Donald Trump, who had accused her of endangering national security by using the private server. President Trump fired Comey in May amid the FBI’s probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia to defeat Clinton, a claim the president has denied. Weiner represented parts of New York City in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years before resigning in 2011, after it emerged that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages with adult women. In 2013, Weiner ran for New York City mayor, but was defeated in the Democratic primary after more lewd messages became public. (This version of the story corrects paragraph 16 to say that Weiner did not drop out of the 2013 mayoral election, but instead was defeated). | 1 |
Wayne MADSEN | 03.11.2016 | WORLD Hillary and Bill Clinton: The «Bonnie and Clyde» of American Politics Whether the information originated from hacked e-mails and computer files or Freedom of Information Act requests, the revelations about the political and business activities of Hillary and Bill Clinton and their cronies hearken back to another era, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the crime spree of another unscrupulous couple: bank robbery desperados Bonnie and Clyde. Aside from Hillary Clinton running her own lucrative «off-the-books» foreign policy via her private email servers and e-mail chain of associates and flunkies, it was her and her husband’s joint Clinton Foundation and Teneo Capital operations that scream out the word «corruption.» The servers were merely a mechanism by which the Clintons ran their own «pay-to-play» racketeering operation, something that would have been the envy of a contemporary of Bonnie and Clyde, Chicago crime boss Al Capone. Teneo, which runs a hedge fund operation and a «private intelligence» service jam-packed with former Central Intelligence Agency operatives, is where Mrs. Clinton’s «gal pal» and aide Huma Abedin worked simultaneously to her government employment with the State Department. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe of 650,000 emails found on the laptop computer of disgraced former New York Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Abedin, is but the proverbial tip of the iceberg. While FBI agents pore through Abedin’s emails that were discovered on the laptop and looking Mrs. Clinton’s emails that were either not destroyed by her aides or which were never accounted for, the real story is the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation and Teneo. Five FBI field offices are investigating the racketeering of the foundation and the foreign connections of Teneo. The offices include New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Miami. Little Rock is the home of the Clinton Foundation, while New York is the home base of Teneo. The addition of the Miami field office to the Clinton probe is significant. One of Teneo Intelligence’s many global offices is located in Bogota, Colombia. A secretive Colombian private equity fund, «Fondo Acceso», financed by Mexican mega-billionaire Carlos Slim and Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra, is run out of the Clinton Foundation’s Bogota office. Tracking the money being fed into the Clinton Foundation may include proceeds from the illegal narcotics traffic in Colombia and other nearby countries. The Bogota activities of the Clinton Foundation, «Fondo Acceso», which ironically means «Access Fund», and Teneo appear to be concentrated in the Chico Business Park in the Colombian capital. Therefore, the involvement of the Miami office, in investigating Clinton Foundation funding, including the major donations from Slim and Giustra, makes a world of sense. Teneo was co-founded by longtime Bill Clinton associate Doug Band, who served in Clinton’s White House Counsel’s Office and later as Clinton’s chief aide in the Clinton Foundation and its associated Clinton Global Initiative. Band’s brother is Bill Clinton’s medical doctor who accompanies the ex-president on foreign trips. Doug Band was the point person who lobbied the incoming Barack Obama administration in 2008 to appoint Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Mrs. Clinton’s tenure at State ensured that there was little separation between her department, the Clinton Foundation and Global Initiative, and Teneo. Abedin served as Mrs. Clinton’s «transition team» leader as the Secretary of State left the department to launch her presidential candidacy after the November 2012 election. From that time on, Mrs. Clinton, Abedin, Doug Band, Clinton’s campaign chief John Podesta, and others engaged in an email flurry to 1) ensure that the files in the private servers were either scrubbed or sanitized; 2) to officially sever all links between them and the Clinton Foundation and Teneo; and 3) to paint a picture for the public that all was well and legal with Mrs. Clinton’s term as America’s chief foreign policy executive. Unfortunately, the entire Clinton team has been exposed with the publication of emails from Mrs. Clinton’s swearing in as Secretary of State in 2009 to after she launched her campaign for the White House in 2013. The picture painted by the emails is one of modern-day gangsters milking everything they possibly could out of supposed public service. The FBI’s New York field office is also likely looking at Teneo’s dealings with other Clinton allies. It was Teneo that advised former New Jersey Democratic Governor Jon Corzine's MF Global investment firm as it was collapsing amid charges of major fraud by Corzine, a Clinton loyalist. It is also known as Mrs. Clinton communicated with President Obama over her private server and that Obama used a pseudonym. Obama lied to the American people when he stated that he first learned of the existence of Mrs. Clinton’s server from news media reports. There is little wonder why Obama has refused to condemn FBI director James Comey for re-launching his probe of the Clinton emails, based on the discovery of the additional traffic on Weiner’s laptop. Presidents who dug themselves deep into scandals by lying about «what they knew and when they knew it» helped sink the administration of Richard Nixon and almost cost Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton their presidencies. Obama was wise not to interfere in the FBI’s many criminal cases now building up like a tidal wave against Mrs. Clinton. The many Clinton scandals also involve the illegal shipment of U.S.- and foreign-manufactured weapons to jihadist rebels in Libya and Syria against U.S. law. When Clinton and Abedin oversaw the jihadist rebellions in both countries, the U.S. was subject to imposing a United Nations arms embargo directed against both civil war theaters. The sudden decision on October 5, 2016, by the Justice Department to drop all charges against the State Department-licensed Turi Defense Group of Arizona and its owner, Marc Turi, for violating U.S. law by shipping unregistered weapons to Libyan rebels, some of which were transferred to Syrian rebels by the CIA station in Benghazi, indicates that Attorney General Loretta Lynch wanted the Turi case to disappear before the November 8th election. The federal trial of Turi and his company was due to begin on November 8th. The indictment of Turi was brought in the U.S. Court for the District of Arizona in Phoenix. Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport was the scene of an impromptu and highly-questionable tarmac meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Lynch on June 27, 2016. Turi claims that approval for the secret weapons shipments to Libya and onward to Syria were personally approved by Mrs. Clinton and had a green light from the CIA. Any new email or other evidence that Mrs. Clinton authorized illegal weapons shipments to jihadist terrorists would have required the FBI to broaden its investigation of both Hillary and Bill Clinton, as well as Lynch. Mrs. Clinton may have violated federal law by permitting the shipment of weapons to belligerent parties in Libya and Syria; Mr. Clinton may have obstructed justice in talking to the Attorney General; and Lynch may have violated her oath of office in misusing her position as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. The Clinton scandal, in many ways, resembles the Iran-Contra episode more than it does Watergate. In Watergate, the cover-up by Nixon and his cronies, in many respects, was worse than the original crimes. In Iran-Contra, the arms and drugs smuggling crimes were equal to the cover-up, including the criminal role of then-Vice President George H. W. Bush in the entire affair. With the Clintons’ «E-mailgate», shipping U.S. weapons to terrorists and accepting foreign campaign donations from dodgy regimes in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Qatar are every bit as bad as the obvious ensuing cover-up by Hillary Clinton and her and her husband's cronies. If these many cases are what the FBI and its offices in Washington, New York, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Miami, and possibly Phoenix, are now looking at, the FBI director had every right and a constitutional responsibility to inform Congress and the voting public. And FBI director Comey has every right not to tip off to the Clinton gang what he and the bureau may have on them, evidence demanded now by Mrs. Clinton and her supporters. This evidence may become material to the impeachment of Mrs. Clinton from the office of president of the United States should she be elected on November 8 th . | 1 |
Two man-children with access to nuclear weapons are having a pissing match and the world is hoping and praying that like much of what Donald Trump says, it s all talk. A resurfaced video from 1999, though, shows that Trump has wanted to send nukes to North Korea since at least then, even though that s not what he thinks he wanted.This is what the world saw today from Donald Trump, after reports indicated that North Korea had miniaturized a nuclear warhead that could, in theory, reach the United States: North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, Trump said, arms crossed, from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Source: CNNWe don t actually know for sure that North Korea has miniaturized the warhead, or that it s been tested, but nonetheless, Trump seems ready to push that button.We could try to console ourselves by saying that like with his supposed wall, Trump is just talking tough, but this kind of tough talk has been going on for at least 18 years from Trump.A recently resurfaced video of a Meet the Press episode from 1999 shows a far more articulate Trump talking to Tim Russert about North Korea (why the hell was Tim Russert talking to Donald Trump about North Korea is still a mystery). Trump was full of tough talk even then.He began the segment by saying he would negotiate like crazy with North Korea.Then Trump just had to throw in a barely veiled racist jab at Washington, D.C. Look Tim, if a man walks up to you in a street in Washington because this doesn t happen of course in New York and puts a gun to your head and says give me your money, wouldn t you rather know where he was coming from before he had the gun in his hand? Trump went on to predict that in three to four years, North Korea would have nuclear weapons pointed at the United States. They didn t. They still don t. He then said, we can talk about the economy, we can talk about social security, but the biggest problem the world has is nuclear proliferation. Of course, that was before DT took over the Oval Office.Trump quickly pivoted from negotiation to a preemptive strike, to which Russert noted that a former Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin, said that the nuclear fallout from a preemptive strike would be devastating to the Asian Peninsula. Trump then clutched his chest, saying, I m not talking about us using nuclear weapons. I m saying that they have areas where they re developing missiles. Russert interrupted Trump to say that by taking out their nuclear missiles, it would create the fallout, no matter who sent the weapons.Trump then began to get belligerent, saying we need to do something or in five years, they would have nuclear weapons all over the place. Again, they didn t and they don t. But Trump now has access to the largest military in the world and one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. Every Asian country, including our largest trading partner, China, is now either publicly or privately terrified and now that we know that Trump has been sitting on this fantasy for at least 18 years, we should all be.Here s the video:Tim Russert interviewing @realDonaldTrump in 1999 about launching a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. Could be key to his thinking. pic.twitter.com/PRbDA9r6Jp Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) June 20, 2017Read more:Featured image via video screen grab | 1 |
Meet Keegan Stephan. He could be Barack Obama s son. He s a community agitator with a sizable following on Twitter, who appears to get a thrill out of organizing Occupy re-treads and Ferguson holdovers to create hate and division in NYC. His primary focus for now, appears to be creating hate and mistrust for the entire New York Police Department through a campaign of propaganda.Occupy re-tread, Hillary supporter and #BlackLivesMatter activist Keegan Stephan s Twitter feed is filled with misleading propaganda which includes video footage that appears to be staged to make it look like a protestor was assaulted by a New York Police Officer. Notice the title of the vine video posted by Keenan: This is what happened to my friend Elsa. Watch the cop shove her. #ShutDownA14 Listen to the narrator of the video refer to the person being assaulted by the police officer (or more likely, a fellow protestor) as he. The narrator states: This protestor was shoved to the ground by an officer. He appeared to be injured. And here is the vine he used to show here being assaulted:Just before posting the vine (above), Keegan tweeted about this picture, saying: NYPD broke my friend Elsa s ribs by slamming her on the sidewalk. Didn t arrest her, just left her. #ShutDownA14So which one is it Keegan? Was the person who was assaulted by an evil NY Police Officer a he or a she? A proud Hillary supporter (that should come as no surprise given his penchant for lying), Keegan posts pictures of the vandalized signs that were posted all over NYC mocking Hillary Clinton:Keegan posted some additional footage from the Occupy the Brooklyn Bridge/#BlackLivesMatter event that appears to by more false propaganda. Keegan has this to say about the vine video below: Members of the press running scared from the NYPD. #ShutDownA14 First of all where the heck are the press? Secondly, pay close attention to the man with the large camera who doesn t seem to be in on the staged hoax, as he keeps looking behind to see what these people are running from but can t seem to find anyone chasing them.Meanwhile, according the New York Daily News, cops are hunting for two demonstrators who pummeled an off-duty NYPD sergeant during the #ShutDownA14 protest against police brutality. The 4:45 p.m. attack on Sgt. David Cuce, who was on the Brooklyn Bridge heading into Manhattan, occurred as hundreds of demonstrators spread from Union Square Park to lower Manhattan and across the East River to protest police violence in the wake of a fatal April 4 shooting in South Carolina involving an unarmed black man.Cuce, who was not in uniform, was punched in the head and shoulder by one of the two protestors after he exited his car to investigate the demonstration, which had brought traffic on the historic bridge to a standstill. After a brief fight, Cuce drew his service weapon and identified himself as a police officer, officials said. His attackers fled into the crowd and remain at large. In addition to the attack, police arrested 42 demonstrators for a smattering of misdemeanors following the protest, officials said.Here s what Keenan had to say about the 42 demonstrators who were arrested:How about They punched an off duty NY Police Officer in the head who was simply driving across the bridge and got out of his vehicle to see why the traffic was stopped? And last, but certainly not least, Keegan makes a brilliant <sarcasm> analogy on Easter weekend comparing Jesus with the angry Ferguson/Garner protestors: And no Easter weekend would be complete without a cop hater comparing Eric Garner to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:This is what we re up against America. These protests are not spontaneous, they re orchestrated and they re funded by wealthy radicals and unions whose primary objective is to divide Americans by class and race. No justice no peace I don t know how old Keegan is, but I m guessing he s old enough to remember this scene from 9-11, where there was no shortage of good cops who risked their lives for total strangers:This photo is just a subtle reminder Keegan, that not all cops are bad cops | 1 |
Email
Hillary supporter Robert Dougherty from Jacksonville, North Carolina bragged on Facebook today about how he committed voter fraud.
Robert boasted on how he voted for some of his Facebook friends using their identities, and tells them not to worry about voting, because he’s already done it for them.
And he’s bragging about it on Facebook.
Robert boasts about how they give you a sticker every time you vote.
He says he will continue to vote all next week!
“Isn’t North Carolina nice they give you a sticker every time you vote… No ID required.”
“There isn’t a need for you to wait in line anymore. Took care of it for you. Gave you a straight Democratic ticket.”
“Amazing how many addresses you get from Google. Going again until Saturday and all next week.”
Robert either thinks voter fraud is a big joke or he’s one stupid Hillary-supporting criminal.
What do you think, will Voter Fraud play a key role in the election? | 1 |
Dear MILO — I’m not one to write fan letters, but I realized I wouldn’t get my (completely unnecessary) beauty sleep unless I took some time to say: thank you. [I know you are deluged with fan mail from the college students, military personnel and even grandmothers whose lives you’ve touched, but I hope you take a few minutes to read this letter. After all, it isn’t very often you receive correspondence from someone as fabulous and talented as you. I’m going to get right to the heart of the matter by skipping the requisite part of fan mail that claims you go “too far” in one area or another. I won’t skip the other requisite part — mentioning that your hair and brain are both amazing! In short, thank you for helping Donald Trump to be elected President of the United States. As a fellow foreigner, I know you will recognize that America is often a bit nuts, but seems to regain sanity at key turning points throughout history. We are at just such a turning point, but the good guys winning was, for much of 2016, far from guaranteed. America was on the brink of electing Sick Hillary and devolving completely into a kleptocracy. Without any doubt, you have helped America, a country you love as deeply as your native England, to make the right decision. I will admit, as your biggest fan, that watching the bad guys get upset at you has been just as entertaining as your writing and speaking. The fake news media has gone into overdrive printing lies about you. The campus crybabies have moved past protesting you they now are threatening to stab you. And the bitcoin brownshirt wing of the continues to hate your guts. Without question, your voice is the one that reached millennials on campus, in military service, and, yes, even those currently living in their mom’s basement thanks to the Obama economy. While other leading lights of conservatism were busy arguing policy points or foolishly throwing their weight behind the #NeverTrump movement, you reached young people with a message of free speech, free expression and spread Donald Trump’s message of unleashing hell on the liberal status quo. You completely called it when you wrote in June of 2015 that Donald Trump should be the Internet’s candidate for President. He was. He was also America’s choice. You were one of the vanishingly few people in public life never to doubt his victory — or the power of the internet to propel him to the most powerful elected office on the face of the Earth. Meme magic is real. You’ve waged a vast war for free speech on campuses practically … and won! You’re like a skinny Rambo, with better hair and diction. Your Dangerous Faggot Tour showed young conservatives that they don’t have to furtively hide in the shadows on campus — leading to them expressing themselves as vociferously as their liberal classmates. Can anyone imagine conservative students chalking messages about their candidate in any other situation? Congratulations for inspiring and entertaining an entire generation of young and . Your tour had other effects on voters besides emboldening young conservatives. Your speeches frequently exposed Americans to the ugly underbelly of identity politics. Without a doubt, tens of thousands of voters who would have otherwise voted for Crooked Hillary chose to vote third party or stay home after seeing videos of the hysterical crybabies who have replaced classical liberals in the Democrat power structure. They have been left pondering how their party became the party of hatred and violence. Not to mention many thousands of undecided voters who chose Trump based on the protestors and university administrations who bent over backwards apologizing for allowing you to speak on their campus. Can you blame undecided voters for rejecting four years of the country being run by the most boring nannies and scolds in history? Joyless, soulless schoolmarms may run many American universities, but they won’t run America, in part thanks to you, Milo. I know you could read this forever, because I could write it forever. But both of us need to get back to work, because electing Donald Trump was just the first step in the coming culture war — a war we will win. Maybe my second book will be one long fan letter to myself. In the meantime, I will wrap this up with a few more important MILO moments. Your war with Twitter in 2016 exposed just how far Silicon Valley had descended into liberal activism. You made a convincing case for gay voters to support Donald Trump by speaking outside the Pulse nightclub following the terrorist attack in Orlando. Your speech underscored the betrayal of LGBT citizens by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in their rush to embrace Islam. You twisted the knife in trademark MILO fashion by hosting a Gays for Trump party at the RNC. It was the hottest event of the entire RNC — a convention of which you were the undisputed star. And this is just the beginning. You have recently hit a million fans on Facebook and achieved a dollar book deal with a major publisher for a book that shot to #1 on the Amazon Best Seller list within a day of its announcement, two months from publication. You’re the hottest thing in media, and everyone knows it — even the journalists who continually lie about you to their readers, to no effect. To sum things up, thank you for being you. America and indeed the entire world is a better, safer place with Daddy in charge and with you keeping the world entertained. It took someone as handsome, intelligent, fashionable, talented, popular, stunning and brave as you — me — to write this letter, so you know your contributions to culture and western civilization have not gone overlooked. Here’s to a stunning, successful, winning 2017, packed to the gills with cultural, commercial and journalistic success. You are what young conservatism looks like now — and it’s fabulous. Love forever, MILO, DANGEROUS is available to now via Amazon, in hardcover and Kindle editions. And yes, MILO is reading the audiobook version himself! Follow Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Hear him every Friday on The Milo Yiannopoulos Show. Write to Milo at milo@breitbart. com. | 0 |
European Parliament suspends negotiations with Turkey on EU membership November 24, 2016 - Fort Russ News - RIA Novosti - translated by J. Arnoldski - At a plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the EU to suspend negotiations on Turkey’s membership over the actions of the Turkish authorities. The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, said during a debate in the European Parliament session that relations between Ankara and the EU are at a crossroads and that “the transition from rhetoric to action on the issue of the death penalty will be a signal that Turkey does not want to be a member of the European family, nor the Council of Europe, nor the European Union.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday that the adoption of the resolution means nothing to Turkey. Commenting on the results of the vote in the European Parliament, the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, Omer Celik, said that “while Turkey, due to threats from Syria and Iraq, is undergoing a difficult period in the fight against terrorism, unfortunately, short-sided and one-sided discussions are happening in Europe.” Brussels has repeatedly asserted that Ankara’s behavior calls into question its desire to join the bloc. In early November, in its yearly report on Turkey’s progress on the road to joining the EU, the European Commission highlighted Ankara’s failures in policy in the fields of civil society, human rights, and freedom of speech. The report also noted that Turkey’s authorities are not doing enough to bring legislation in line with European norms. The agreement on association between the European community and Turkey was signed in 1963. Ankara applied for membership in 1987. However, negotiations on joining the EU, which began only in 2005, have repeatedly been complicated by disagreements that have now led to their suspension. Now only 16 out of 35 chapters of the negotiation file on Turkey joining the EU are open. In March 2016, the leaders of EU member countries agreed to intensify negotiations in exchange for Ankara’s agreement to contribute to reducing the influx of migrants to Europe via Turkish territory. Follow us on Facebook! | 1 |
RIDICULOUS! Sen. Schumer on Gorsuch nominee: When a nominee doesn t get 60 votes, you shouldn t change the rules you should change the nominee. Sen. Schumer on Gorsuch nominee: When a nominee doesn t get 60 votes, you shouldn t change the rules you should change the nominee. pic.twitter.com/1QmmZZSkcT Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 2, 2017 | 0 |
LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that his remarks last week about a jailed Iranian-British aid worker could have been clearer, and said he had not wanted to add credence to Iranian allegations against her. On Nov. 1, Johnson said that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching people journalism before her arrest in Iran in April 2016. The UK government has no doubt that she was on holiday in Iran when she was arrested last year and that was the sole purpose of her visit, Johnson said. My point was that I disagreed with the Iranian view that training journalists was a crime, not that I wanted to lend any credence to Iranian allegations that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been engaged in such activity, he said. I accept that my remarks could have been clearer in that respect and I am glad to provide this clarification. Johnson said he would travel to Iran in the coming weeks and discuss all consular issues there. | 1 |
We re just days into experiencing the leadership skills Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump s new campaign manager, has to offer, and so far it s a disaster. An interview on CNN s State of the Union gave us a taste of Conway s ability to handle a little bit of grilling from the press.Before her rise to the top, Conway had called out Trump for his refusal to release his tax returns. Dana Bash, the show s host, wasted no time bringing up the matter during the interview. OK, now you re in charge of Donald Trump s campaign. Given that, given how you feel, are we going to see Donald Trump s tax returns soon? Conway, who is apparently not interested in creating any original talking points, went straight to the there s a media conspiracy against Trump line. Conway insisted that CNN should be more concerned with covering corruption relating to the Clinton Foundation. Which, seeing as there is no real conspiracy against Trump, they did. Conway said: So, now that I m on the inside, I know something I didn t know then, which is he is under audit and what that means. And, he has said very clearly, and I back him up completely, that when the audit is completed he will release the tax returns. And let me just say something about transparency. It comes in many different forms, Dana, as does accountability and as does truthfulness. And we can t imagine going up against a less transparent, less accountable, more sort of rigged and corrupt individual as our political opponent than Hillary Clinton. She s had a terrible week when it comes to being transparent and accountable. Whether it s the revelations of the pay-for-play at the in the State Department, that I know that CNN is very much on top of and your reporting is, Dana. As well as, as well as, the what happened at the Clinton Foundation, which is a big hot mess. Bash responds saying: And we are talking about that for sure, but in this particular interview and these questions are about Donald Trump. And you mentioned the audit. According to his lawyers, the years 2002 to 2008 are no longer under audit. So would you release those tax returns? Conway continues to evade the question, saying: No, I would not. And this entire tax return debate is somewhat confounding to me in the following sense. I don t think that it creates one job, gets one more individual who does not have health insurance covered by health insurance, particularly under the disaster that has been Obamacare with these private insurers pulling out of our exchanges now and reporting billions of dollars of losses. What I think people are most concerned about is; how would a President Trump, or how would a President Hillary, affect their tax bill? Conway just proved that she is going to offer more of the same from the Trump campaign as we saw under the Manafort era. Same messaging and words, just a new mouth saying them.You can watch the exchange below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApplceC4RtUFeatured image via video screen capture | 1 |
When you watch this video of Crooked Hillary’s speech from yesterday here in Florida, you will see some amazing things. First, you will see a background section that is in 2-D and not 3-D, like a projected image on a wall would look. Why would that be? Well, that happens in what we call green screen technology, and in this case, poorly done green screen.
Via EndBegins
When you watch this video of Crooked Hillary’s speech from yesterday here in Florida, you will see some amazing things. First, you will see a background section that is in 2-D and not 3-D, like a projected image on a wall would look. Secondly, you see when anyone steps in front of that background, there appears a darkened halo around them. Why would that be? Well, that happens in what we call green screen technology, and in this case, poorly done green screen.
Start watching at the 1:03:00 mark to see where Crooked Hillary starts speaking:
Another salient clue that she used a green screen is that when she turns around to wave to these people, they are mere feet away and yet she shakes hands with none of them. Why, because they weren’t there. Liberal news rag CNN is infamous for pretending to be in a location but in reality it’s nothing more than green screen. CNN did it here, here, and also here.
THE HANDHELD VIDEO CAMERA EXPOSES THE LIE: Look in the viewfinder of the video camera filming Crooked Hillary – it’s black behind her yet in the official video it’s filled with people. Hmm…awake yet, America?
Lastly, if you look close at the end of the video, you will see the real people behind her with cameras, but then the main group of people behind them are flattened out in 2-D because they are not actually there.
HILLARY’S RALLY WAS UBER-TINY SO IT’S LITTLE WONDER THEY HAD TO RESORT TO GREEN SCREEN: Clinton supporters beginning to enter Broward College for Hillary Clinton early voting rally in Coconut Creek #tcpalm pic.twitter.com/8HhLkFltks
— Eric Hasert (@TCPalmHasert) October 25, 2016
| 1 |
National Security Council aide Craig Deare was dismissed on Friday after it was learned that he harshly criticized the President and his top aides.Deare s criticisms took place at an off-the-record roundtable and included attacking the President himself, chief strategist Stephen Bannon and the President s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, both of whom serve as advisers. He also claimed that the President had an embarrassing phone call with Mexico s president, Enrique Pena Nieto.Deare served as the NSC s senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs and was previously the dean of administration at National Defense University.(Source: Free Beacon) | 1 |
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - When Mike Sylvester entered a career training center earlier this year in southwestern Pennsylvania, he found more than one hundred federally funded courses covering everything from computer programming to nursing. He settled instead on something familiar: a coal mining course. I think there is a coal comeback, said the 33-year-old son of a miner. Despite broad consensus about coal s bleak future, a years-long effort to diversify the economy of this hard-hit region away from mining is stumbling, with Obama-era jobs retraining classes undersubscribed and future programs at risk under President Donald Trump s proposed 2018 budget. Trump has promised to revive coal by rolling back environmental regulations and moved to repeal Obama-era curbs on carbon emissions from power plants. I have a lot of faith in President Trump, Sylvester said. But hundreds of coal-fired plants have closed in recent years, and cheap natural gas continues to erode domestic demand. The Appalachian region has lost about 33,500 mining jobs since 2011, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission. Although there have been small gains in coal output and hiring this year, driven by foreign demand, production levels remain near lows hit in 1978. A White House official did not respond to requests for comment on coal policy and retraining for coal workers. What many experts call false hopes for a coal resurgence have mired economic development efforts here in a catch-22: Coal miners are resisting retraining without ready jobs from new industries, but new companies are unlikely to move here without a trained workforce. The stalled diversification push leaves some of the nation s poorest areas with no clear path to prosperity. Federal retraining programs have fared better, with some approaching full participation, in the parts of Appalachia where mining has been crushed in a way that leaves little hope for a comeback, according to county officials and recruiters. They include West Virginia and Kentucky, where coal resources have been depleted. But in southern Pennsylvania, where the industry still has ample reserves and is showing flickers of life, federal jobs retraining programs see sign-up rates below 20 percent, the officials and recruiters said. In southern Virginia s coal country, participation rates run about 50 percent, they said. Part of our problem is we still have coal, said Robbie Matesic, executive director of Greene County s economic development department. Out-of-work miners cite many reasons beyond faith in Trump policy for their reluctance to train for new industries, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen former and prospective coal workers, career counselors and local economic development officials. They say mining pays well; other industries are unfamiliar; and there s no income during training and no guarantee of a job afterward. In Pennsylvania, Corsa Coal opened a mine in Somerset in June which will create about 70 jobs one of the first mines to open here in years. And Consol Energy recently expanded its Bailey mine complex in Greene County. But Consol also announced in January that it plans to sell its coal holdings to focus on natural gas. And it has commissioned a recruitment agency, GMS Mines and Repair, to find contract laborers for its coal expansion who will be paid about $13 an hour - half the hourly wage of a starting unionized coal worker. The program Sylvester signed up for was set up by GMS. The new hiring in Pennsylvania is related mainly to an uptick in foreign demand for metallurgical coal, used in producing steel, rather than domestic demand for thermal coal from power plants, the industry s main business. Some market analysts describe the foreign demand as a temporary blip driven by production problems in the coal hub of Australia. Officials for U.S. coal companies operating in the region, including Consol and Corsa, declined requests for comment. The coal industry has stabilized, but it s not going to come back, said Blair Zimmerman, a 40-year veteran of the mines who is now the commissioner for Greene County, one of Pennsylvania s oldest coal regions. We need to look at the future. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor has received about $2 million since 2015 from the federal POWER program, an initiative of former President Barack Obama to help retrain workers in coal-dependent areas. But the state is having trouble putting even that modest amount of money to good use. In Greene and Washington counties, 120 people have signed up for jobs retraining outside the mines, far short of the target of 700, said Ami Gatts, director of the Washington-Greene County Job Training Agency. In Westmoreland and Fayette counties, participation in federal job retraining programs has been about 15 percent of capacity, officials said. I can t even get them to show up for free food I set up in the office, said Dave Serock, an ex-miner who recruits in Fayette County for Southwest Training Services. Programs administered by the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal and state partnership to strengthen the region s economy, have had similar struggles. One $1.4 million ARC project to teach laid-off miners in Greene County and in West Virginia computer coding has signed up only 20 people for 95 slots. Not a single worker has enrolled in another program launched this summer to prepare ex-miners to work in the natural gas sector, officials said. Greene County Commissioner Zimmerman said he d like to see a big company like Amazon or Toyota come to southwestern Pennsylvania to build a distribution or manufacturing plant that could employ thousands. But he knows first the region needs a ready workforce. Amazon spokeswoman Ashley Robinson said the company the company typically works with local organizations to evaluate whether locations have an appropriate workforce and has no current plans for distribution operations in Western Pennsylvania. Toyota spokesman Edward Lewis said the company considers local workforce training an important consideration when deciding where to locate facilities. Sean Moodie and his brother Steve spent the last two years working in the natural gas industry, but see coal as a good bet in the current political climate. I am optimistic that you can make a good career out of coal for the next 50 years, said Sean Moodie. Coal jobs are preferable to those in natural gas, they said, because the mines are close to home, while pipeline work requires travel. Like Sylvester, the Moodie brothers are taking mining courses offered by Consol s recruiter, GMS. Bob Levo, who runs a GMS training program, offered a measure of realism: The point of the training is to provide low-cost and potentially short-term labor to a struggling industry, he said. That s a major part of the reason that coal mines have been able to survive, he said. They rely on us to provide labor at lower cost. Clemmy Allen, 63, a veteran miner and head of the United Mineworkers of America s Career Centers, said miners are taking a big risk in holding out for a coal recovery. He s placing his hopes for the region s future on retraining. UMWA s 64-acre campus in Prosperity, Pennsylvania - which once trained coal miners - will use nearly $3 million in federal and state grants to retrofit classrooms to teach cybersecurity, truck driving and mechanical engineering. Unlike when I worked in the mines, he said, if you get laid off now, you are pretty much laid off. Follow Trump s impact on energy, environment, healthcare, immigration and the economy at The Trump Effect - www.reuters.com/trump-effect (Refiles to remove repeated words the company in paragraph 26) | 0 |
Donald Trump lost his temper on CNN when Jake Tapper asked him to be a leader and tone down the violent rhetoric of his campaign.On Sunday, Trump appeared on CNN and was immediately confronted by Tapper about how the Republican front-runner has incited violence during his rallies that have led to his supporters carrying out vicious attacks against non-white protesters.Last week, an old white Trump supporter sucker-punched a young black man during a rally in North Carolina and suggested he and friends would kill him if he shows up to another rally.During the same rally, yet another white Trump supporter yelled obscenities at a black man and slapped him.Both incidents were caught on video and neither of the white men were arrested or kicked out of the rally at the time.And since then, Trump rallies have only gotten worse as rallies in St. Louis and Chicago nearly turned into race wars.But Trump refused to tone his rhetoric down on Sunday, insisting that he was the victim and that his supporters are peaceful people who love America. He also accused Bernie Sanders of sending his supporters to disrupt the rallies and claimed that he hasn t incited violence at all even though he has been caught on tape doing exactly that.When Tapper tried to convince Trump to be a real leader and stop inciting violence, Trump became snippy.TAPPER: People are getting hurt and people are actually concerned that somebody might get seriously, seriously injured. You are not taking down the temperature. You are, in the views of many of your fellow Republicans, making things worse, inciting, encouraging violence. And you re a leader, sir. You re the front-runner in the Republican Party. TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me! My fellow Republicans are running against me, they are losing bigly. The Donald then proceeded to lose his temper by nastily attacking his opponents and accusing Tapper of not covering his campaign rallies truthfully, yelling over Tapper and interrupting him while bashing CNN and claiming that zero people have been injured at his rallies.When Tapper could actually get a word in, he once again asked Trump to dial back his rhetoric for the sake of the country. Trump responded that Tapper should be more accurate in his reporting.TAPPER: I would just ask as a fellow American if you could consider whether or not dialing down the temperature, might be a healthier thing, both for your campaign and for the nation the nation at large. TRUMP: Well, you should report it right because we ve had no injuries at my events. So, you know, do what you have to do. Here s the video via YouTube.Clearly, Trump is lying when he says nobody has been injured at his rallies. There are countless videos of protesters being roughed up or flat-out assaulted by his supporters as Trump eggs them on. As we get closer and closer to the nomination, Trump has become more and more dangerous as his rallies have basically become full-blown Klan and neo-Nazi rallies where white racists feel right at home. What once sounded like a joke campaign has now become America s worst nightmare and it isn t over yet.Featured image via screen capture | 1 |
President Trump told the graduates that they are graduating to a totally brilliant future. Trump specifically recognized graduates who have served in the military, It is truly a testament to this university and to the values that you embrace, that your graduating class includes so many patriots who have served our country in uniform. He also thanked Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. and members of the Falwell family. You are about to begin the greatest adventure of your life, said Trump who remarked how blessed the graduates are.Trump said that he knows each graduate will be a warrior for the truth , a warrior for our country and for your family. He encouraged them that they will do what is right even when it isn t easy, You will be true to yourself, your family, your beliefs. The President then referred to what he has seen so far in his short time serving in Washington, D.C.:Trump remarked that those graduating have given half a million hours of charity in just the past year. We don t need a lecture from Washington on how to lead our lives, he followed.He said he was standing in front of leaders, one or two future U.S. presidents could be in the crowd. America has always been a land of dreams because America is a nation of true believers, said Trump who then referred to the pilgrims landing at Plymouth. He remarked that the pilgrims prayed and, later, America s Founding Fathers invoked Creator God four times in the Declaration of Independence. Because in America we don t worship government, we worship God, he said.Watch:He recognized that United States currency bears the phrase, In God We Trust and referenced One nation under God in the Pledge of Allegiance. The story of America is the story of an adventure that began with deep faith, big dreams, and humble beginnings, said Trump who said Liberty University began in the same way.For entire story: Breitbart News | 0 |
The Washington Post
Excerpts: Once prohibited — indeed, unthinkable — the euthanasia of people with mental illnesses or cognitive disorders, including dementia, is now a common occurrence in Belgium and the Netherlands.
This profoundly troubling fact of modern European life is confirmed by the latest biennial report from Belgium’s Federal Commission on the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia, presented to Parliament on Oct. 7.
Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002 for patients suffering “unbearably” from any “untreatable” medical condition, terminal or non-terminal, including psychiatric ones.
In the 2014-2015 period, the report says, 124 of the 3,950 euthanasia cases in Belgium involved persons diagnosed with a “mental and behavioral disorder,” four more than in the previous two years.
Read the full article at The Washington Post .
See Also: | 1 |
David Duke October 26, 2016
Today Dr. Duke discussed the state of his campaign, including television commercials that he was preparing. He will be in a televised debate with the other leading candidates, which should be critical in putting him in the run off.
Pastor Mark Dankof took over the show at the break. He took calls from listeners. One call asked about Jesusâs warning about the Synagogue of Satan. Pastor Dankof ended the show with a passionate warning about the risk of World War III should Hillary be elections.
This is another great show that you wonât want to miss. | 1 |
Darwin also didn’t have anything to say about how life got started in the first place — which still leaves a mighty big role for God to play, for those who are so inclined. But that could be about to change, and things could get a whole lot worse for creationists because of Jeremy England, a young MIT professor who’s proposed a theory, based in thermodynamics, showing that the emergence of life was not accidental, but necessary. “[U]nder certain conditions, matter inexorably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life,” he was quoted as saying in an article in Quanta magazine early in 2014, that’s since been republished by Scientific American and, more recently, by Business Insider. In essence, he’s saying, life itself evolved out of simpler non-living systems.
The notion of an evolutionary process broader than life itself is not entirely new. Indeed, there’s evidence, recounted by Eric Havelock in “The Liberal Temper in Greek Politics,” that it was held by the pre-Socratic natural philosophers, who also first gave us the concept of the atom, among many other things. But unlike them or other earlier precursors, England has a specific, unifying, testable evolutionary mechanism in mind.
Quanta fleshed things out a bit more like this:
From the standpoint of physics, there is one essential difference between living things and inanimate clumps of carbon atoms: The former tend to be much better at capturing energy from their environment and dissipating that energy as heat. Jeremy England, a 31-year-old assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has derived a mathematical formula that he believes explains this capacity. The formula, based on established physics, indicates that when a group of atoms is driven by an external source of energy (like the sun or chemical fuel) and surrounded by a heat bath (like the ocean or atmosphere), it will often gradually restructure itself in order to dissipate increasingly more energy. This could mean that under certain conditions, matter inexorably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life.
It doesn’t mean we should expect life everywhere in the universe — lack of a decent atmosphere or being too far from the sun still makes most of our solar system inhospitable for life with or without England’s perspective. But it does mean that “under certain conditions” where life is possible — as it is here on Earth, obviously — it is also quite probable, if not, ultimately, inevitable. Indeed, life on Earth could well have developed multiple times independently of each other, or all at once, or both. The first truly living organism could have had hundreds, perhaps thousands of siblings, all born not from a single physical parent, but from a physical system, literally pregnant with the possibility of producing life. And similar multiple births of life could have happened repeatedly at different points in time.
That also means that Earth-like planets circling other suns would have a much higher likelihood of carrying life as well. We’re fortunate to have substantial oceans as well as an atmosphere — the heat baths referred to above — but England’s theory suggests we could get life with just one of them — and even with much smaller versions, given enough time. Giordano Bruno, who was burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600, was perhaps the first to take Copernicanism to its logical extension, speculating that stars were other suns, circled by other worlds, populated by beings like ourselves. His extreme minority view in his own time now looks better than ever, thanks to England.
If England’s theory works out, it will obviously be an epochal scientific advance. But on a lighter note, it will also be a fitting rebuke to pseudo-scientific creationists, who have long mistakenly claimed that thermodynamics disproves evolution (here, for example), the exact opposite of what England’s work is designed to show — that thermodynamics drives evolution, starting even before life itself first appears, with a physics-based logic that applies equally to living and non-living matter.
Most important in this regard is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that in any closed process, there is an increase in the total entropy (roughly speaking, a measure of disorder). The increase in disorder is the opposite of increasing order due to evolution, the creationists reason, ergo — a contradiction! Overlooking the crucial word “closed,” of course. There are various equivalent ways of stating the law, one of which is that energy cannot pass from a cooler to a warmer body without extra work being done. Ginsberg’s theorem (as in poet Allen Ginsberg) puts it like this: “You can’t win. You can’t break even. You can’t even get out of the game.” Although creationists have long mistakenly believed that evolution is a violation of the Second Law, actual scientists have not. For example, physicist Stephen G. Brush, writing for the American Physical Society in 2000, in “Creationism Versus Physical Science,” noted: “As Ludwig Boltzmann noted more than a century ago, thermodynamics correctly interpreted does not just allow Darwinian evolution, it favors it.”
A simple explanation of this comes from a document in the thermodynamics FAQ subsection of TalkOrigins Archive (the first and foremost online repository of reliable information on the creation/evolution controversy), which in part explains: Creationists thus misinterpret the 2nd law to say that things invariably progress from order to disorder. However, they neglect the fact that life is not a closed system. The sun provides more than enough energy to drive things. If a mature tomato plant can have more usable energy than the seed it grew from, why should anyone expect that the next generation of tomatoes can’t have more usable energy still? That passage goes right to the heart of the matter. Evolution is no more a violation of the Second Law than life itself is. A more extensive, lighthearted, non-technical treatment of the creationist’s misunderstanding and what’s really going on can be found here. The driving flow of energy — whether from the sun or some other source — can give rise to what are known as dissipative structures, which are self-organized by the process of dissipating the energy that flows through them. Russian-born Belgian physical chemist Ilya Prigogine won the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work developing the concept. All living things are dissipative structures, as are many non-living things as well — cyclones, hurricanes and tornados, for example. Without explicitly using the term “dissipative structures,” the passage above went on to invoke them thus: Snowflakes, sand dunes, tornadoes, stalactites, graded river beds, and lightning are just a few examples of order coming from disorder in nature; none require an intelligent program to achieve that order. In any nontrivial system with lots of energy flowing through it, you are almost certain to find order arising somewhere in the system. If order from disorder is supposed to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics, why is it ubiquitous in nature? In a very real sense, Prigogine’s work laid the foundations for what England is doing today, which is why it might be overstated to credit England with originating this theory, as several commentators at Quanta pointed out, noting other progenitors as well (here, here and here, among others). But already England appears to have assembled a collection of analytical tools, along with a sophisticated multidisciplinary theoretical approach, which promises to do much more than simply propound a theory, but to generate a whole new research agenda giving detailed meaning to that theoretical conjecture. And that research agenda is already starting to produce results. (See his research group home page for more.) It’s the development of this sort of detailed body of specific mutually interrelated results that will distinguish England’s articulation of his theory from other earlier formulations that have not yet been translated into successful theory-testing research agendas. Above all, as described on the home page mentioned above, England is involved in knitting together the understanding of life and various stages of life-like processes combining the perspectives of biology and physics: Living things are good at collecting information about their surroundings, and at putting that information to use through the ways they interact with their environment so as to survive and replicate themselves. Thus, talking about biology inevitably leads to talking about decision, purpose, and function. At the same time, living things are also made of atoms that, in and of themselves, have no particular function. Rather, molecules and the atoms from which they are built exhibit well-defined physical properties having to do with how they bounce off of, stick to, and combine with each other across space and over time. Making sense of life at the molecular level is all about building a bridge between these two different ways of looking at the world. If that sounds intriguing, you might enjoy this hour-long presentation of his work (with splashes of local Swedish color) — especially (but not only) if you’re a science nerd. Whether or not England’s theory proves out in the end, he’s already doing quite a lot to build that bridge between worldviews and inspire others to make similar efforts. Science is not just about making new discoveries, but about seeing the world in new ways — which then makes new discoveries almost inevitable. And England has already succeeded in that. As the Quanta article explained: England’s theoretical results are generally considered valid. It is his interpretation — that his formula represents the driving force behind a class of phenomena in nature that includes life — that remains unproven. But already, there are ideas about how to test that interpretation in the lab. “He’s trying something radically different,” said Mara Prentiss, a professor of physics at Harvard who is contemplating such an experiment after learning about England’s work. “As an organizing lens, I think he has a fabulous idea. Right or wrong, it’s going to be very much worth the investigation.” Creationists often cast themselves as humble servants of God, and paint scientists as arrogant, know-it-all rebels against him. But, unsurprisingly, they’ve got it all backwards, once again. England’s work reminds us that it’s scientists’ willingness to admit our own ignorance and confront it head on — rather than papering over it — that unlocks the great storehouse of wonders we live in and gives us our most challenging, satisfying quests. | 1 |
21st Century Wire says It s called Tykables. A disturbing number of stories have been emerging of late documenting what can only be seen as our complete cultural and societal collapse A top feminist author has described the rise of transgender mania as a symptom of cultural collapse, a robotics professor has warned that sex robots will stop people forming relationships with normal people , and now we bring you news of a daycare opening in Chicago that is specifically for adults to attend who want to wear diapers and act like babies.The need for such a daycare is evidence of both the growing infantilization of adults and the widespread prevalence of severe psychological problems in Western populations.Instead of politically fighting against the ever increasing encroachment on our freedoms and constant drive to new wars, adults are spending their time cheering on sports teams and literally sitting around in diapers.Here is a somewhat disturbing promotional video from Tykables: MORE ON WESTERN CULTURE : 21st Century Wire Culture Files | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Senate Democratic aide Russ Behnam to be a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Behnam’s nomination, which must be confirmed by the Senate, could come as early as this week, the Journal reported. Behnam is senior counsel to Senator Debbie Stabenow, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. | 0 |
(Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed two anti-discrimination executive orders on Thursday aimed at safeguarding rights of transgender people, countering efforts by other states forcing them to use public bathrooms that match their gender at birth. One order bans the state from discriminating against any employee or job applicant based on a host of criteria including “gender expression or identity.” It also bans discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, or disability. The second seeks to eliminate discrimination in contracting, requiring any company doing business with the state to eliminate bias in hiring and promotion. | 0 |
It s one thing to have a choice to sit to during the national anthem, but it s something else entirely when one is forced to do so.Prior to a demolition derby event in West Jordan, Utah, police officer Daniel Argueta and his family were forced to sit during the Star Spangled Banner because the truck carrying the American flag also carried a Confederate flag, which Stirrin Dirt Racing owner Jim Simko blamed on helpers by claiming it was added shortly before the anthem.But that s not true according to Argueta, who says the Confederate flag was positioned on the truck a full hour before the anthem took place. In other words, there was plenty of time to remove the flag but it wasn t.As a result, the crowd was asked to stand and salute a racist flag of traitors alongside the stars and stripes.And that s why Argueta and his family chose to sit instead. You kind of get caught in, yes, you want to stand, you support the U.S. flag, Argueta told KSTU-TV. You support the troops, you support police officers, but what is the Confederate flag doing there? For anybody that knows history and understands the negative impact of that flag and how it s been used historically, it s hard to stand up. The Confederate flag has drawn much outrage in recent years, especially after white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine black parishioners at a church in South Carolina. The state finally removed the Confederate flag that had been flying for decades outside the statehouse, which had been raised in protest of civil rights.Simko tried to excuse the presence of the Confederate flag by arguing that people should be free to fly it. It wasn t politically correct, I m sure, for some people, but there s some people who look at that flag and say this is the land of the free, Simko said. It shouldn t have happened, but I can t, unfortunately, watch what everybody does at every minute. Again, Simko had 60 minutes to make sure it didn t happen and he did nothing. Also, individuals have the freedom to fly the flag all they want on their private property. But this event forced people to salute a flag that had no business flying during our national anthem. It was humiliating, Argueta said. It was demeaning, because with all the controversy going on with the flag recently and people sitting during the anthem, we had all intended to stand, but we couldn t. People probably looked around, probably wondering what we were doing. Here s the video via KSTU.The reason why athletes such as Colin Kaepernick are sitting during the national anthem is because they are protesting police brutality and racial inequality. They have the right to make that choice and so far it has brought attention to the issues they want to highlight.Of course, if a pastor in Alabama had his way, the Argueta family and all of these athletes would be lined up against a wall and executed for not standing, thus demonstrating that conservatives don t really understand what freedom is at all.Featured image via Deseret News | 0 |
MADRID (Reuters) - Sacked Catalan president Carles Puigdemont on Saturday called for a democratic opposition to Madrid s takeover of the region following its declaration of independence. It s very clear that the best form of defending the gains made up until now is democratic opposition to article 155, Puigdemont said in a brief statement. | 0 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump planned a Saturday meeting with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and fierce Trump critic, and may discuss whether he should be a candidate for secretary of state, a source familiar with the meeting said on Thursday. Trump already has a lengthy list of potential candidates for the post of top U.S. diplomat, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who met Trump on Thursday. Trump, a former reality TV star, has shown a flair for the dramatic in his deliberations over his Cabinet, saying only he knows who “the finalists” are. Corker told CNN on Wednesday he was “in the mix” for the position but that Trump might pick someone who was closer to him during the presidential campaign. He met on Thursday in Washington with Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Trump’s expected meeting with Romney amounts to an olive branch of sorts to one of his sharpest critics. Romney, who in a speech in March called Trump “a phony, a fraud,” urged Republicans to vote for anyone but the New York real estate magnate while the party was picking its presidential nominee. Trump, in turn, used harsh rhetoric at times during his campaign to dismiss Romney as a failure who blew a chance in 2012 to defeat Democratic President Barack Obama, whom Trump felt was a weak opponent. The source told Reuters that a broad discussion was expected during the meeting and that discussion about the secretary of state position was possible. The source had said earlier his understanding was that the meeting would occur on Sunday. Asked about the meeting, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested it was still being arranged. “We’re working on it,” she said. “I think it’s good that the president-elect is meeting with people like Mr. Romney,” U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, one of Trump’s closest confidants and a potential nominee for defense secretary, told reporters at Manhattan’s Trump Tower. Sessions sounded far from certain Romney would be offered a job. “There are a lot of talented people that he (Trump) needs good relationships with. And I think Mr. Romney would be quite capable of doing a number of things. But he will be one of those, I am sure, that’s reviewed. Donald Trump will make that decision,” Sessions said. When Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, opted out of running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, people close to him suggested that serving as secretary of state might be appealing to him if a Republican won the presidency. A steady stream of potential Trump administration hires made their way through the lobby of Trump Tower to meet with either Trump or officials close to him. All indicated a willingness to serve, such as Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. He is a potential treasury secretary in the Trump administration. “I stand ready to help the president in any capacity possible. I’ve got a great position in public policy today, if he wants to talk to me obviously, about serving somewhere else, we’ll look at serving somewhere else,” he told reporters. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. oil and gas industry on Wednesday welcomed President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, and wasted no time making its first specific request of him: to support increased exports of America’s natural gas overseas. Trump named Perry as his pick for the top U.S. energy job on Wednesday morning, handing the portfolio to a climate change skeptic with close ties to the oil and gas industry, and who previously proposed abolishing the department. The choice adds to a list of drilling proponents who have been tapped for top jobs in Trump’s administration, worrying environmental groups but fitting neatly with Trump’s promise to revive oil and gas drilling and coal mining as president by cutting back on federal regulation. Jack Gerard, president of the Washington-based American Petroleum Institute representing oil and natural gas companies, said he welcomed Perry’s nomination, and called on him to make increasing exports of U.S. natural gas a “top priority.” “As the former governor of Texas, Rick Perry knows the important impact that energy production has on our nation’s economy. In his new role at the Energy Department, he has the opportunity to encourage increased exports of domestically produced natural gas,” he said in a statement. Natural gas companies are eager to access foreign markets for their supply after a decade-long drilling boom that triggered a domestic glut and depressed prices. The oil industry successfully lobbied for an end to a decades-old crude oil export ban in December 2015 following a slump in prices, a move meant to help American companies weather lower prices at home. There is no ban on natural gas exports, but U.S. law requires American companies to obtain authorization from the Energy Department before being able to ship it overseas, and there are tough permitting requirements for building the specialized facilities that make shipping gas possible. The United States exported its first cargo of liquefied natural gas earlier this year from an export facility on the Gulf Coast, but the industry has complained that boosting exports to match global demand has been constrained by a slow and opaque bureaucratic process. U.S. energy exports have long been a contentious political issue, dividing lawmakers seeking to balance the benefits of low consumer prices at home and American energy independence against opportunities for companies to expand access to potentially lucrative foreign markets. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has made energy a central part of his agenda, vowing a revival in the oil, gas and coal industries, and picking industry allies for top administration jobs. On Tuesday, Trump selected oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp’s CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. His Environmental Protection Agency pick is Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a foe of Democratic President Barack Obama’s initiatives to combat climate change. Trump said during his campaign he would pull the United States out of a global deal to curb emissions of carbon dioxide signed in Paris last year, though he has since confused observers by saying he would keep an “open mind” on the accord. An overwhelming number of scientists say carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels contributes to changes to the climate that are leading to sea level rise, droughts and more frequent violent storms. Trump’s transition team said Perry’s tenure leading Texas, the nation’s second most populous state and a major producer of oil, gas and wind power, from 2000 until 2015 made him a strong pick for energy secretary. Trump said in a statement Perry had created “a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as secretary of energy.” The department is responsible for U.S. energy policy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons program. Perry is a former presidential rival and critic of Trump who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 2016 and 2012. His nomination requires Senate confirmation. If confirmed, he would replace Ernest Moniz, a physicist who was one of the chief negotiators in last year’s Iran nuclear deal. After his tenure as Texas governor, Perry joined the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners, a Texas-based company building the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota that has been stalled by protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and supporters. Anthony Scaramucci, a member of the Trump transition team’s executive committee, said the president-elect was focused on preserving the environment as well as boosting U.S. energy production. “Whether you believe in climate change or not, we want clean air, we want clean water for the American people. What we also want is energy independence,” Scaramucci told CNN. Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, who backed Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election, said he hoped Perry’s nomination would be blocked. “Trump no longer has to abolish departments. He can dismantle them from within,” Steyer said. “It’s now up to the Senate to defend our health, our economy and our democracy by defeating this nomination.” | 1 |
Israel Shamir is an internationally acclaimed political thinker, Internet columnist and writer. His comments about current affairs and their deeper meaning are published on his site IsraelShamir.net and elsewhere. They are also collected in three books, Galilee Flowers, Cabbala of Power and recently published Masters of Discourse available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian etc. Shamir is a Russian-born Jew who converted to Orthodox Christianity. Originally from Novosibirsk, Siberia, Shamir moved to Israel in 1969. He lives in Jaffa and and spends much time in Moscow and Stockholm ; and is an outspoken critic of Israel and Zionism. Israel Shamir can be reached at [email protected] I envy you, American citizens. By Israel Shamir on November 4, 2016 We know he is against the Masters because every newspaper is against him.
by Israel Shamir
I envy you, American citizens. I do not care about your military might, nor for your supreme currency, the US dollar. I envy your chance to deal on 11/8 a decisive blow to the rule of the Masters of Discourse.
Though the Masters control the entirety of world media, and they decide what people may think and say from Canada to Hong Kong, only you, American citizens, can defeat them. This is a great chance, a unique opportunity not to be missed.
The Masters of Discourse can be defeated. They are not stronger than any ruler of past. Trump has a great quality making him fit for the task: he is impervious to labels and libels. He had been called everything in the book: anti-Semite, racist, women hater, you name it. And he still survived that flak. Such people are very rare.
We know he is against the Masters because every newspaper is against him. I never saw a similar onslaught but once, in Russia in 1996. Then President Yeltsin, an old drunkard who had brought Russia to collapse, had to run for his second term. His popularity was next to zero. Two per cent of Russians intended to vote for him. And then the oligarchs turned on their propaganda machine. Yeltsin’s competitor Gennady Zyuganov, a mild church-going post-communist, had been presented like a Hitler of his days. All the Russian media of the day belonged to oligarchs, and all of it participated in the onslaught. Zyuganov surrendered.
Perhaps he won the election, but he congratulated Yeltsin with his victory. It was said that he was threatened with assassination unless… Others say he was bribed. I do not exclude both explanations, but for sure the might of united media can crush a timid man.
In the days of the Jewish Temple, there was a Magrepha, a wind instrument able to produce diverse and frightening sounds. There is no agreement among the scholars about what sort of thing it was. Whenever it sounded, people were scared.
The media of our days is a new Magrepha. If all of its outputs are united, they produce a terrible roar. A Magrepha, the organ of the ancient Hebrews in the synagogue.
Yes, the onslaught of the media upon Trump has been exceedingly unfair, but he survived it. What is even more important, you survived it, it does not matter what the polls say: they say what the newspapers tell them to say. Even people answer the polls according to the media prognoses: they are shy of saying they would vote for a man who … But at the moment of actual vote, they do what they know is right for them. Not for transgenders, not for Muslim brokers, not even for single mothers, but for themselves.
You have a very good chance to win, and to defeat the witch and her supporters. We learned that the British people voted for Brexit, though all the media said that proposal had no chance. But we also learned from Brexit, that nothing is over until it is over. The Masters of Discourse will try every trick to steal the elections, and only their fear of armed rising may finally force them to acknowledge their inevitable defeat. We know that in 2015, when Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, was afraid of losing the elections, he revealed that the American intelligence has some superior software which allows them to falsify the elections. Perhaps, but he won despite this magical software, despite Obama’s wrath. Even in Israel, that favorite son of the Masters, the Masters are hated. The New York Times is always speaking good about Israel, but still Israelis do not like the newspaper. Nobody likes them, nobody likes an old aunt who tries to tell us what we can say and what we can’t. If Netanyahu could win, Trump can win twice. KEY STATES TILTING TOWARD TRUMP AFTER FBI’S OCTOBER SURPRISE
After the first debate of Trump and Clinton, people said: She won! But we shall vote for him. This was a very encouraging sign. Indeed every woman worth its salt would win an argument with her husband or son-in-law, let alone a pretender. That is the way we are made.
The story of sirens enforces the belief that if you listen to a woman, she will bewitch you. Sirens actually ate the bewitched sailors; our womenfolk do not go to such extremes, but they can cause us a lot of trouble.
Trump seems to be almost pure of heart and deed, as even the extremely prejudiced media could not find anything really incriminating about him but bragging about having his way with women.
I shall not recount so many proven accusations against Hillary. All of that can be found in the emails revealed by Julian Assange and his great Wikileaks team. The media kept mum about it, but the secrets can’t be kept forever.
There are many practical things Donald Trump will be able to fix. He can return industries home, he can return American GIs home from four ends of the world, he can improve life for a lot of working men and women. But he surely will set all of us free from the annoying bondage of the Masters. Just for that reason, go and vote, for yourself and for millions of us who aren’t entitled to. Israel Shamir can be reached at This article was first published at The Unz Review .
Also see: | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michelle Obama will travel to Liberia, Morocco and Spain with her teen daughters Malia and Sasha at the end of June to promote education for girls, one of her signature issues as the first lady of the United States, the White House said on Wednesday. In Liberia, Obama will visit a Peace Corps training center in Kakata and a school in Unification Town to talk to young women about barriers they face to staying in school. She will be joined by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the White House said. Obama will be joined by actor Meryl Streep in Morocco on June 28 and 29 to talk about commitments made by the U.S. government and the Kingdom of Morocco to help girls go to school. On June 30, Obama will wrap up the trip by giving a speech in Madrid about her “Let Girls Learn” global initiative, a push to harness government and private sector resources to promote education for girls, the White House said. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has shown no interest in pursuing talks on its nuclear and missile programs, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged the United States was communicating directly with Pyongyang. “North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. | 0 |
In today’s, 25th, Wikileaks release of hacked Podesta emails, one of the notable highlights is a March 2, 2015 exchange between John Podesta and Clinton aide Cheryl Mills in which the Clinton Campaign Chair says “On another matter….and not to sound like Lanny, but we are going to have to dump all those emails.”
The email, which may indicate intent , was sent just days before the NYT story revealing the existence of Hillary’s email server, and Hillary’s press conference addressing what was at the time, the stunning revelation that she had a personal email account, and server, in her home.
Mills’ response: “Think you just got your new nick name.”
It is unclear which Lanny is referred to: the infamous former DOJ staffer Lanny Breuer who quit in January 2013 after telling Frontline that some banks are too big to fail, or, more likely Lanny Davis , special counsel to President Bill Clinton, and spokesperson for the President and the White House on matters concerning campaign-finance investigations and other legal issues.
It is also unclear for now which emails Podesta is referring to in the thread, but Podesta adds: “better to do so sooner than later.” We can hope that a subsequent response, yet to be leaked by Wikileaks, will provide more color.
If the exchange is shown to disclose intent to mislead, it will negate the entire narrative prepared by Clinton that she merely deleted “personal” emails and will reveal a strategic plan to hinder the State Department and FBI “investigation.”
This is the first time that particular exchange has emerged among the Podesta emails.
And in a separate email sent out just days later by Clinton campaign communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, we get yet another confirmation that the president actively mislead the public when he said he didn’t know Hillary was using a private email address:
Suggest Philippe talk to Josh or Eric. They know POTUS and HRC emailed . Josh has been asked about that. Standard practice is not to confirm anything about his email, so his answer to press was that he would not comment/confirm. I recollect that Josh was also asked if POTUS ever noticed her personal email account and he said something like POTUS likely had better things to do than focus on his Cabinet’s email addresses.
Perhaps while the DOJ/FBI is taking a second look into Huma Abedin’s emails, it can also take a repeat look at some of these, especially the ones involving POTUS. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ).
Contributed by Zero Hedge of www.zerohedge.com . | 1 |
If you re not okay with taxpayers paying for exorbitant medical costs, including transgender surgeries for military members, you ll want to remember these names in 2018 A majority in the House voted down a proposal to restrict funding for transgender members of the military, standing by social policy changes enacted by the Pentagon under former President Barack Obama.Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., succeeded in forcing a vote, arguing that Obama s transgender decision is costly in dollars and short on common sense. The attempted rollback failed on a 209-214 vote, however, as 24 Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in opposing the proposal. The Obama transgender policy, which was implemented without input from members of Congress, is ill-conceived and contrary to our goals of increasing troop readiness and investing defense dollars into addressing budget shortfalls of the past, Hartzler said in June. By recruiting and allowing transgender individuals to serve in our military we are subjecting taxpayers to high medical costs including up to $130,000 per transition surgery, lifetime hormone treatments, and additional surgeries to address the high percentage of individuals who experience complications. Her amendment would have barred the Defense Department from provid[ing] medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition to members of the military. Proponents of transgender military service argued that her proposal would reduce military readiness by discouraging transgender Americans from serving. It would have a negative impact on morale, a negative impact on retention and move us away from the merit-based system which we now have, where we have one set of rules applied to everybody, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., who co-chairs the LGBT Equality Caucus, said Wednesday.Hartzler maintained that her amendment would increase readiness, however. The deployability of individuals going through the sex transition process is highly problematic, requiring 210 to 238 work days where a soldier is non-deployable after surgery, she said. This recovery time equates to 1.4 million manpower days where transgender personnel cannot deploy and fight our nation s wars, therefore relying on an already stressed force to pick up the burden. It makes no sense to purposely recruit individuals who cannot serve. Washington ExaminerHere s the list of 24 Republicans who voted to keep Obama s transgender policy for our military in place that was implemented without input from members of Congress:Justin Amash (Michigan)Jack Bergman (Michigan)Mike Coffman (Colorado)Barbara Comstock (Virginia)Paul Cook (California)Ryan Costello (Pennsylvania)Carlos Curbelo (Florida)Jeff Denham (California)Charlie Dent (Pennsylvania)John Faso (New York)Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania)Darrell Issa (California)John Katko (New York)Steve Knight (California)Leonard Lance (New Jersey)Frank LoBiondo (New Jersey)Tom MacArthur (New Jersey)Brian Mast (Florida)Tom Reed (New York)Dave Reichert (Washington)Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida)Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania)Elise Stefanik (New York)Claudia Tenney (New York)h/t Truth Division | 0 |
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia s main medical association called on Saturday for the government to allow independent doctors and other health experts to help more than 400 asylum seekers languishing inside a recently closed detention center in Papua New Guinea. The asylum seekers have shut themselves inside the Australian-run Manus Island Centre for the past 18 days, defying attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to close it in a standoff the United Nations describes as a looming humanitarian crisis . Australia has shut access to the center, and staff, including doctors, have left, leaving the men without sufficient food, clean water, power or medical care. Members of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) voted unanimously on Saturday to call on the government to grant access to the center so doctors could assess the men s health, wellbeing and living conditions. The AMA has made many representations on this matter, both publicly and in private but, with a worsening and more dangerous situation emerging on Manus, the federal council strongly believes that urgent action and answers are needed, AMA President Michael Gannon said. It is our responsibility as a nation with a strong human rights record to ensure that we look after the health and wellbeing of these men, and provide them with safe and hygienic living conditions. Government spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. Australia s sovereign borders immigration policy, under which it refuses to allow asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach its shores, has been heavily criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups but has bipartisan political support in Australia. The 421 asylum seekers on Manus island say they fear violent reprisals from the community if they move to transit centers, pending possible resettlement to the United States. Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz said via text message on Saturday that PNG officials had started to dismantle the center s perimeter fences and food was running low. We are waiting drinking from the rainwater ... it s tense feeling, we don t have any idea what PNG will do to us. Their attitude toward us they are really aggressive, Aziz said. PNG s Supreme Court ruled last year that the center breached its laws and fundamental human rights, leading to the decision to close it. New Zealand has offered to accept 150 of the men, but Australia has declined the offer saying the priority was an existing refugee swap deal negotiated with former U.S. President Barack Obama last year. Under that deal, up to 1,250 asylum seekers could be sent to the United States and Australia will in turn accept refugees from Central America. | 1 |
Karl Rove gets called out by Eric Bolling in a tense exchange where Rove calls Bolling paranoid . This interview tells you no matter what candidate you support that the establishment plans on denying Trump no matter what. | 0 |
(CNN) CNN commentators offer their take on the results of the New Hampshire primary. The opinions expressed in these commentaries are those of the authors.
Timothy Stanley: U.S. politics changing before our eyes
But the big shock is John Kasich in second place. First, Jeb Bush led the moderate pack, then Marco Rubio . Now we have a third contender -- a man who ran on experience, compassionate conservatism and a refusal to sink to the lows set by Trump.
The family I watched Saturday night's debate with all said the same thing: "I could vote for that guy." The question is, does he have the structure and money to last longer?
What's striking from the exit polls is how even more ideological both parties are than they used to be -- representing a polarized electorate. This makes it harder for any eventual nominee to reach out to the center ground. Iowa and New Hampshire have done long-term damage.
Moderates in both parties can look forward hopefully to South Carolina -- a state that tends to prefer establishment candidates and, on the Democrat side, has a large African-American population leaning towards Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, the strength of populist feeling is palpable.
Perhaps people are looking for generational change and substantive differences between parties. A Trump vs. Sanders race would give them both. It would also probably give them Michael Bloomberg running as an independent and one of our most divided and definitive elections since 1992.
Timothy Stanley, a conservative, is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics."
Sally Kohn: Real test is in states that actually look like America
As a progressive commentator who leans toward Bernie Sanders, it's tempting to make even more out of his strong showing in New Hampshire than Hillary Clinton's supporters made out of her narrow win in Iowa. But the fact is that neither state is terribly reflective of the majority of our nation's voters.
New Hampshire and Iowa are whiter than the rest of the country, which calls into question their disproportionate influence in being the first to weigh in on presidential primaries. Indeed, since its founding, the United States has always given this disproportionate electoral power and political influence to white voters. Even still, in 2016.
The simple fact is that the next states to vote, South Carolina and Nevada, offer a far more accurate picture of America's demographics -- and a more realistic test for all of the candidates, especially on the Democratic side. Bernie may be giving Hillary a run for her money, especially with young white women, but can he cut into her currently commanding lead with communities of color?
And how will a voting base that reflects the pluralism of America respond to the intensely anti-pluralistic demagoguery of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz? The next votes are the real test.
Well, that was quick. As early as 8 p.m., news outlets were calling the New Hampshire primary for Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders. While these outcomes were expected, these candidates will face very different trajectories ahead.
By contrast, on the Democratic side, Sanders will face a tougher road in South Carolina and Nevada. These states have significant African-American and Latino voters, respectively, two groups that have been part of Hillary Clinton's base of support. However, as the night goes on, if Sanders can increase his margin of victory in New Hampshire, he may benefit from a new round of donations -- and the growing sense that he should be taken seriously as a national challenger to Clinton.
Together, the wins by Trump and Sanders reveal that in New Hampshire at least voters are ready to upend the status quo.
On the GOP side, John Kasich has managed to pull into second place. This is a testament to his optimistic campaigning and his emphasis on old-fashioned retail politics -- perhaps showing that the barrage of attack ads that have blanketed the Granite State were not as effective as the 100+ town hall meetings that Kasich attended.
The loser seems to be Marco Rubio. He has dropped back in the pack after crumpling under Chris Christie's criticism at Saturday's debate. A sad showing for him, and a reminder that debate performances do indeed matter; CNN polling showed that 46% of Republican primary voters made up their minds in the last three days. Time for "Robot Rubio" to do a reset.
Even though they have been leading by wide margins in the polls, it is still hard to believe that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump each crushed their opponents by double digits on Tuesday. New Hampshire is supposed to pick presidents, not renegade populists. It is hard to remember a key primary that has so thoroughly trashed America's political elites.
No one can be certain where the campaigns go from here. Hillary Clinton is still favored to win the Democratic nomination -- and quite possibly the general election -- but she leaves the first two contests wounded and vulnerable. Her speech last night suggested she will scramble even further left. That may help secure the nomination but risks losing support in the general election.
After his stumble in Iowa, Trump is once again the man to beat on the Republican side. But who is capable of that? Ted Cruz probably has the best chance now but enmity toward him is high in the party. John Kasich earned a chance to take on Trump but to win, he must first prove he has the chops to raise money and succeed in less-friendly territory. Jeb Bush can slog on to South Carolina but must pull off an upset there. And Marco Rubio -- well, that train seems stuck at the station.
The truth is that we just don't know where this is going, but we do know that American politics won't be the same for a long while. Until elites pay more attention to the needs of working people and our economy booms again, our politics will be volatile. That may be healthy.
The old political adage, that a week is an eternity in politics, has struck again. One week ago, Marco Rubio was on fire, riding high with his strong third-place finish in Iowa, almost overtaking Donald Trump. John Kasich came in eight with an abysmal 1.9%, and Jeb Bush didn't do much better with 2.8%. What a difference a week makes. Especially one that includes a debate.
With Rubio stumbling badly in that face off, the door was opened for the cluster of establishment candidates in the middle of the pack to take advantage. Late deciders leaning Rubio broke for Kasich, giving his campaign a much-needed shot of adrenalin. How long that lasts remains to be seen, given Kasich's lack of organization moving forward. Even Jeb Bush emerged from the doldrums with a face-saving finish in New Hampshire. Maybe Jeb should bring his mom out on the trail more often.
As for Ted Cruz, he beat expectations in a state where he wasn't supposed to do well, which bodes well for him heading into friendlier political territory in the South.
To think Donald Trump would ever win any state -- well, this is a remarkable political moment. But there's still a long way to go. Not, however, for Chris Christie. His kamikaze attack against Rubio in the last debate may have hurt the senator, but he survived -- and Christie won't. He's finished.
Donna Brazile: What Clinton must do now
Sen. Bernie Sanders was expected to win big, which meant that he had to win very big in order to truly claim victory, and he did just that. With his resounding victory in New Hampshire, Sanders will have the resources and the momentum to take this race further than anyone imagined a few months ago. Whether he can take it all the way is an open question. We will learn in the weeks and months ahead as the race now moves on to more diverse states across America.
For Hillary Clinton, who lost not only Manchester, but Concord and Keene -- cities that enabled her to defeat Barack Obama in 2008, it's time for her campaign to take stock and reset its operational structure (which includes ground game, but also its conversation with voters.) If her campaign can refocus on its strengths, it is capable of a comeback.
Bernie Sanders' victory in New Hampshire will challenge Hillary Clinton to recalibrate her message to focus on the dreams and aspirations of the left, but it must also push her to become a better campaigner.
For now, Sanders will have much higher expectations in the upcoming South Carolina, Nevada, and Super Tuesday contests. His challenge will be to show that he can outperform expectations in reaching out to a more diverse Democratic electorate.
Clinton's biggest challenge going forward will be less to defeat Bernie Sanders than it will be to inspire and motivate Americans -- especially young voters, independents and new voters -- to take a different look at her candidacy.
Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor and a Democratic strategist, is vice chairwoman for civic engagement and voter participation at the Democratic National Committee. A nationally syndicated columnist, she is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of "Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in America."
He's likely capturing some of the non-interventionist, libertarian-leaning college-aged people who last time around would have supported Ron Paul -- another septuagenarian white man with a radical streak and surprising youth cred.
Now that there isn't anyone named Paul in the race (RIP: Rand, who failed to inspire as much devotion as his father), there's no obvious inheritor of the libertarian vote, which is split among several imperfect candidates -- including avowed socialist Sanders. Ted Cruz is clearly angling for libertarian support, but his less-than-fantastic finish in the GOP contest Tuesday night suggests he couldn't convince independent-minded New Hampshire voters to overlook his dogmatic social conservativism.
Tonight's results served more as a counterpoint to Iowa's caucus results than a referendum on the actual state of the race.
In Iowa, Ted Cruz snuck out in front of The Donald by a few percentage points; Trump responded with a resounding victory in New Hampshire, beating Cruz by a far bigger margin than he'd lost the Hawkeye State. Similarly, Clinton eked out a win in Iowa over a surging Sanders, but Sanders returned serve with a much more solid victory.
And yet, because the conventions don't count victories by state, but by delegates won, these early wins (or losses) serve up more narrative sizzle than electoral steak. After all, Iowa and New Hampshire combined make up less than 4% of the total needed to win for Republicans and less than 1% for Democratic candidates.
There's plenty of race still ahead, and distracting headlines aside, it's really anybody's game on both sides of the aisle. And that doesn't even figure in the threat of Michael Bloomberg marching right down the middle of it.
Jeff Yang is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a frequent contributor to radio shows including Public Radio International's "The Takeaway" and WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show." He is the co-author of "I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action" and editor of the graphic novel anthologies "Secret Identities" and "Shattered."
Dasha Burns: What New Hampshire tells us
On the surface, it seems like we're in a country already ripping at the seams. The two parties have grown increasingly polarized, and now surprisingly powerful forces at the far edges are tearing us further. Bernie Sanders is engaging a new demographic of voters in millennials, and re-engaging disillusioned voters with his no bullsh** frankness. And Donald Trump is capitalizing on America's darkest anxieties in a deeply fearful and angry segment of the electorate.
The results of the New Hampshire primary paint a bleak picture of modern American sentiment toward the status quo. People aren't happy and they're making themselves heard through other voices -- the young are using grandpa and the fearful are using a demagogue. But enrapturing as this picture may be, it might not be an accurate one.
Like watching a bad reality show, we can all admit it's been a guilty pleasure to indulge in all the drama of this election so far. But if we turn off the TV for a second, actual reality looks a lot less sensational. Neither of these wins were a real surprise. And while the results may influence candidates' strategies, New Hampshire does little to predict the final election outcome. New Hampshire is not representative of what will happen in Nevada or South Carolina -- which have seen almost no polling -- or any of the March 1 primaries.
If tonight tells us anything, it's that we have a long way to go till November.
Dasha Burns is a writer and works as a strategist and creative content producer at Oliver Global, a consulting agency where she focuses on leveraging media and digital technology for global development.
When it was announced Tuesday night that the two candidates whose rhetoric has put them at either end of the political spectrum won the New Hampshire primaries, it confirmed one thing: We are living in a highly polarized political climate.
On the one hand, Bernie Sanders' victory signals that liberal voters want the progressive president that Barack Obama promised, but failed, to be. On the other hand, Donald Trump's victory shows that establishment Republicans failed to quash the insurgent tea party movement.
Should these far right and far left candidates in fact become the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, independent swing voters may well just decide to stay home next November. And that will make this already surprising presidential election all the more unpredictable. | 0 |
(Reuters) - Hurricane Maria has intensified and regained its Category 5 hurricane strength, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday. Maria, which made landfall in Dominica as a Category 5 storm on Monday night, is about 205 miles (325 km) southeast of St. Croix with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h), it said. The hurricane is expected to move towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Miami-based weather forecaster added. | 1 |
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, has been advised by doctors to stay in New Zealand until fluid from his lungs clears, days after he was evacuated from the South Pole as his condition worsened. The 86-year-old adventurer who was visiting the pole as part of a tourist group, was flown to Christchurch, New Zealand, early on Friday because of congestion in his lungs. His team posted details of his medical evacuation from Antarctica over the weekend, along with pictures of him in good spirits, on his official website as well as on Twitter. “I am being very well looked after in Christchurch. I’m looking forward to getting home soon to spend Christmas with my family and to continue my quest for Cycling Pathways and a permanent settlement on Mars,” he said on his website. In one of the photos on Twitter, Aldrin can be seen reading a newspaper in his hospital bed as he tweeted: “Catching up on the world while I’m stuck in quarantine.” His manager, Christina Korp, who travelled with him to Antarctica, posted photos on Sunday of him taking a walk with a nurse inside the hospital. Aldrin was a fighter pilot during the Korean War before joining the U.S. astronaut program. On July 20, 1969, he stepped on the moon about 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong took the historic first step. Their moonwalk, part of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, was watched by a then-record television audience of 600 million people. | 0 |
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Reuters) - A top adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged a U.S. regulator on Thursday to not abandon a proposal to limit the number of futures contracts traders can hold on certain commodities. A committee advising the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has urged it to drop its plan to cap the futures contracts traders can hold on commodities such as oil and natural gas, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Gary Gensler, a Clinton adviser and former CFTC head, told Reuters the former secretary of state believes “these limits are a critical tool in curbing excessive speculation and protecting the integrity of markets” and should be finalized. “Congress has provided for such rules since the 1930s to ensure that no single trader has too large a share of the market and that agricultural, energy and metals markets remain fair and competitive,” Gensler said in a statement provided to Reuters. Clinton believes the rule would protect “consumers, farmers and manufacturers from excessive speculation,” Gensler added. Clinton, who is fending off a challenge from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is fresh off a victory in the Nevada primary and the two will face off in South Carolina on Saturday. A major theme in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination has been how to best rein in the excesses of Wall Street. Both Clinton and Sanders have released plans about how they would curb excessive market speculation. The committee advising the CFTC on the limits rule was created by the Dodd-Frank Act and includes members from the energy trading industry, such as from the CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange. The New York Times reported that eight of nine members concluded that there was “scant evidence” the limits are needed. The lone dissenter was from a public advocacy group. (Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler) 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 |
Congresswoman @MaxineWaters, on working with President Trump: My greatest desire is to lead him right into impeachment. #CheddarLIVE pic.twitter.com/Hr5THHR3XM Cheddar (@cheddar) February 3, 2017 | 0 |
Email
Bradley Birkenfeld held a book launch party at the National Press Club tonight.
And it is telling that he invited some of the nation’s top whistleblowers — including John Kiriakou who spent two years in prison — to be his guests.
One of the ironies that was not lost on anyone in the room is that increasingly, it’s not corporate executives but whistleblowers who are doing jail time.
Birkenfeld himself blew the whistle on his employer, the giant Swiss bank UBS, where the rich and famous stashed their millions in numbered accounts to evade U.S. tax authorities.
Guess who went to jail?
Birkenfeld.
A copy of Birkenfeld’s book — Lucifer’s Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy — was given to each guest at the book launch.
And tucked inside was a book mark — a laminated copy of the check that Birkenfeld got from the U.S. government for helping recover over $15 billion from American tax cheats.
The government paid Birkenfeld $104 million as a bounty, but the check is made out to Birkenfeld in the amount of $75 million. (Why minus $29 million? Taxes.)
This is perhaps one of the best corporate crime books ever written.
And the reason is that it clearly exposes our system of no fault corporate crime.
Deferred prosecutions. Non prosecutions. Neither admit nor deny consent decrees. Executives rarely sent to jail.
Just have the corporation write a check. Thank you.
Birkenfeld exposes the perverse outcomes of that system at almost every turn.
It’s not just that whistleblowers are doing prison time and corporate executives are not.
It’s that when corporate executives are sent to jail —
Well, take the case of Joe Nacchio.
While doing his 30 months in prison at Schuylkill Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania, Birkenfeld ran into Nacchio.
“Joe Nacchio had been the President and CEO of Qwest, a huge telephone company,” Birkenfeld writes. “He was close to the Bush people, even visiting the White House on occasion. Shortly after 9/11, the Bush administration had gone to all the phone companies and demanded their customer records and email. AT&T and Verizon had caved right away, but Joe told the Feds to fuck off.”
“We’re a private company,” Naccio said. “I can’t do that”
“Yes, you can,” said the Bushies. “Matter of national security.”
“It’s unconstitutional,” Joe protested. “Without warrants from a judge, on a case-by-case basis, I won’t do it.”
“Oh, really?”
“So the Bushies charged him with insider trading and put him away for seven years. Joe’s replacement at Qwest got the message, and the Feds got the records.”
I’m in Washington and I like this book because it exposes the system of no fault corporate crime enforcement.
But a lot of people in Washington are not going to like this book.
Birkenfeld asks some pointed questions — including — why was the Department of Justice so reckless as to allow UBS to disclose the identities of only 4,700 (including some relatively low income dentists) of the 19,000 illegal account holders?
Those protected probably included many names you would recognize.
Why were these names never made public?
That’s why Hillary Clinton is not going to like this book.
Birkenfeld recounts the deal Clinton cut with the Swiss that Birkenfeld says kept the big names secret.
Prior to Clinton’s deal with the Swiss, UBS had only seen fit to contribute $60,000 to the Clinton Foundation, “an amount that wouldn’t even cover the bank’s annual parking tickets,” Birkenfeld writes.
“Afterward the Clinton Foundation’s cash registers rang up $600,000 in UBS gifts,” he writes. “The bank also decided to partner with the Foundation on some inner-city development programs, issuing a $32 million loan at very reasonable rates. Oh, and suddenly UBS also thought that Bill Clinton would make a very fine paid speaker about global affairs, so they paid him $1.52 million for a series of fireside chats with the bank’s Wealth Management Chief Executive, Bob McCann. It was Bill Clinton’s biggest payday since leaving the office of the Presidency.”
Most of the lawyers who Birkenfeld ran into are not going to like this book because they are caught up in the corporate crime industrial complex that defines inside the beltway lawyers.
For example, when Birkenfeld approach Skadden Arps partner Bob Bennett to take his case against UBS, Bennett begged off.
“Don’t tell me Bob, they’re your client,” Birkenfeld asked.
“They’re everyone’s client,” Bennett tells Birkenfeld. “That’s what all the major financial firms do, especially if they have big interests and lobbyists here in Wonderland. They put everyone on retainer. It’s like buying lawsuit insurance.”
But most importantly, the Justice Department is not going to like this book because Birkenfeld says it’s not about the facts, the law and justice.
It’s about brute corporate power.
Why did the Department of Justice fail to fine UBS adequately — settling for only $780 million in 2009 — not even commensurate with the billions of dollars illegally earned in profits by UBS over many decades?
Why did the Department of Justice release from custody two of the most senior UBS executives who oversaw this massive fraud?
Birkenfeld says it’s about corporate connections.
Which he lays out in intimate detail.
At the book launch party, Birkenfeld said he had sent a copy of the book to the President Obama at the White House.
“The American taxpayers need to know why the Department of Justice took such extraordinary actions to protect the perpetrators of the largest tax fraud in history.”
“Why the keen interest to shield from the American public all of those getting a free ride off the backs of tax-paying, law-abiding citizens? I ask you Mr. President, what will you do to investigate these serious injustices?”
That question Birkenfeld asked sort of tongue in cheek.
After all, Birkenfeld knows about Obama’s UBS connection.
In August 2009, on the first Sunday after Birkenfeld was sentenced in prison, at the Farm Neck Golf Club in Martha’s Vineyard, President Barack Obama had strolled out onto the links.
“His golfing partner that day was Robert Wolf, Chairman of UBS Americas,” Birkenfeld writes. “I’m sure it was a fine day of patter and play, guarded by a throng of Secret Service agents, and I wondered if Obama and Wolf had high-fived over my downfall, or maybe sent a ‘good job’ text to (the sentencing judge.) But I’d never know, because much like Swiss bankers, Secret Service agents don’t talk.” | 1 |
Last week, President Trump totally humiliated ABC News on Twitter, as he pointed out their embarrassing attempt at gotcha journalism when Brian Ross erroneously reported in a BREAKING NEWS story, that Michael Flynn was told by Donald Trump to talk to the Russian Ambassador during his campaign. Brian Ross was suspended for a month. President Trump suggested should be fired for his #fakenews reporting.Congratulations to @ABC News for suspending Brian Ross for his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt. More Networks and papers should do the same with their Fake News! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017This week, it was NBC s Never-Trump Megyn Kelly s chance to exact revenge on President Trump, who after attacking him during his first debate, lost her conservative Fox News fanbase and basically saw her promising career come to a screeching halt. NBC picked up Kelly in a $23 million per year contract in a gamble that liberals would warm up to the formerly conservative host. NBC has since found out that conservatives no longer want anything to do with Kelly, and liberals despise her for her past performances as a top-rated host on conservative-leaning FOX News.Twitter users were on fire after Megyn Kelly did her part to help tear down President Trump (again):Megyn Kelly,You and your employer need to smear Trump but there's nothing left to accuse him of so you're going to re-interview Trump accusers who've already been proven pos liars?How desperate you must be. Philip Schuyler (@FiveRights) December 11, 2017Today, Megyn Kelly traipsed out a trio of Donald Trump accusers on her failing show. Rest assured, there will be many more liberal accusers who come out against Donald Trump, as racism appears to have lost its glow, as a means to draw voters into the Democrat Party, as Americans have become tired of watching Democrats constantly drawing from the bottom of the deck, as a way to cloud Trump s Make America Great Again agenda of a pro-growth economy, jobs, education, lower taxes, and America first.Megyn Kelly, who is desperate for ratings, must have been incredibly disappointed when breaking news of a botched suicide bomber attack in New York City was reported at the same time her Democrat Donald Trump accuser was telling her story on her show.Daily Mail A trio of the president s accusers reemerged on Monday to hound him for sexually harassing them.Samantha Holvey, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks had previously made allegations against Trump and appeared on Megyn Kelly Today to demand justice as the White House resumed its claim that the issue had been litigated in last year s election. All of a sudden, he s all over, me, kissing and groping and groping and kissing, said Leeds, a self-proclaimed Democrat, who says she revealed her story because I wanted people to know what kind of a person that Trump really is what a pervert he is. This is the same Jessica Leeds that accused Trump of sexual harassment.Think Megyn Kelly will bring this picture up?Think she ll bring up the time that Jessica Leeds was in a two year property law suit with Trump? pic.twitter.com/AvdEyYu8Ew WhiteNitemare (@Carl_Anthony215) December 11, 2017Leeds claims that Trump assaulted on a plane in the 70s and called her a c*** when he ran into her some time later at a party in New York while he was still married to his first wife Ivana.Megyn Kelly asked former Trump accuser Jessica Leeds what she wants other women to know about sexual harassment. Leeds replied, We have a problem in that we have been enculturated all of this time for all of this time, for years and years and years, to be compliant. Leeds went on to say, For the woman who voted for Trump, they just didn t want to vote for a woman It became reasonably difficult to believe a single work Leeds had to say when she used the word enculturated when referring to her alleged meeting with Donald Trump. It became impossible to believe a word she said when Leeds followed up her comment by exposing her bitter feelings towards women for not voting for Hillary. The only thing missing from Leeds during her appearance on the Megyn Kelly show was her pussy hat and an I m a committed Democrat Feminist tattoo on her forehead. Watch:WATCH: "If there are other women out there, what do you want them to know?" Megyn asks Trump accusers Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey & Rachel Cooks on #MegynTODAY pic.twitter.com/YPt1CxieUA Megyn Kelly TODAY (@MegynTODAY) December 11, 2017Watch Crooks tell Megyn her alleged story here: Is it true he [Trump] asked for your phone number? @megynkelly Yeah I remember saying, What do you need that for? Trump accuser Rachel Crooks on @MegynTODAY pic.twitter.com/OCX1ZpnV2J TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2017Watch the obvious excitment of Megyn Kelly to be able to pretend as though she s relevant with a breaking news announcemnt with the official White House response to the allegations:WATCH: Statement the @WhiteHouse just provided to #MegynTODAY pic.twitter.com/0hahP6goW1 Megyn Kelly TODAY (@MegynTODAY) December 11, 2017Daily Mail The two other women said that Trump s conduct while he was a businessman left them shocked and devastated and feeling very gross and very dirty. I was so uncomfortable, and a little, yeah, threatened, like I didn t have a choice, Crooks on Monday said.Kelly s program was preempted in New York as an explosion went off in Manhattan. Her show aired in other parts of the country, however, including Washington.Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant, said that Trump came backstage in 2006 and reviewed the women while they were indecent.She recalled thinking at the time that it would be a meet and great with Trump. But it wasn t.The former Miss North Carolina says Trump was just looking me over like I was just a piece of meat. I was not a human being. I did not have a brain I did not have a personality. I was just simply there for his pleasure. It left me feeling very gross, very dirty, like this is not what I signed up for. Here s how Twitter responded to Megyn s show: You know the Russia narrative is over when Megyn Kelly is having Trump accusers on her show.It will be never ending the next 3-7 years.The media is becoming the little boy that cried wolf.If they ever did find REAL dirt on Trump, no-one will believe them. Josh (@JoshNoneYaBiz) December 11, 2017Megyn Kelly is interviewing the lying 3 blind mice Trump accusers to save her failing show. Hope it s the final blow revealing to all that it s all about Megyn, for Megyn & nothing but Megyn s self serving ass who owes Trump gratitude for her relevancy. Tiff (@LATiffani1) December 11, 2017 | 0 |
This is a very big development. We all knew the GOP establishment has been pandering to pro-amnesty corporations and the Chamber of Commerce, but this is a new low, even for the GOP establishment There is a bigger controversy about to break wide-open that s potentially far more significant than Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell approving Nikki Haley s non-subtle attack on GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. That bigger controversy is the Spanish version of the GOP State of the Union rebuttal containing an amnesty pledge .As this is written, Governor Nikki Haley is trying to get out ahead of the building expose . Haley just gave a DC press conference claiming she does not support amnesty ; however, against her earlier admission of Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell approving her script the Spanish version must have held similar approvals.Governor Haley gave the English version, Miami Representative and party-insider Mario Diaz-Barlat delivered it in Spanish.ENGLISH:SPANISH:Here s a (paragraph by paragraph) comparison as translated by the Miami Herald (emphasis mine): English (Via Haley): No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.Spanish (Via Diaz-Barlat): No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love the United States should ever feel unwelcome in this country. It s not who we are. English: At the same time, that does not mean we just flat out open our borders. We can t do that. We cannot continue to allow immigrants to come here illegally. And in this age of terrorism, we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined.Spanish: At the same time, it s obvious that our immigration system needs to be reformed. The current system puts our national security at risk and is an obstacle for our economy. English: We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.Spanish: It s essential that we find a legislative solution to protect our nation, defend our borders, offer a permanent and human solution to those who live in the shadows, respect the rule of law, modernize the visa system and push the economy forward. English: I have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our sovereignty and our citizens, all while remaining true to America s noblest legacies.Spanish: I have no doubt that if we work together, we can achieve this and continue to be faithful to the noblest legacies of the United States.It is important to remember the backdrop to this current dual narrative (one the GOPe leadership want to say publicly and one they wish to keep hidden).Back in June 2014 Speaker John Boehner was only two days away from calling up the vote on the Senate gang-of-eight amnesty bill, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in the Virginia Primary.Mario Diaz Balart along with Paul Ryan and Luis V. Gutierrez were in secret negotiations throughout the spring/summer of 2014 planning the pathway for comprehensive immigration reform. John Boehner asked Kevin McCarthy to whip the house and identify if they had votes for passage:[ ] On Tuesday June 10th Speaker Boehner, Eric Cantor (Majority Leader) and Kevin McCarthy (Majority Whip) had lunch together discussing timing the vote Thursday night or Friday Morning.However, later that same night the results from the 2014 Virginia primary showed an unknown conservative outsider, Dave Brat, had defeated (primaried) Eric Cantor. At 7:00pm Tuesday night the first word went out that Cantor had lost.~ Full Back StorySo this hidden narrative within the 2016 Republican State of the Union Rebuttal should come as no surprise. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is the GOPe agenda they continue to hide from the electorate.Via: Conservative Treehouse | 0 |
LONDON (Reuters) - New York real estate developer Donald Trump says he has “unlimited” personal wealth to fund his White House run, but a Reuters review of his financial disclosures suggests he does not have enough cash to see his campaign through to Election Day. Trump this week dismissed concerns about his campaign finances after electoral filings showed he raised just $3 million in individual contributions in May and had a war chest of only $1 million at the end of the month. His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, raised $26 million and ended May with a war chest of $42 million. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee who says he is worth about $10 billion, said in a statement on Tuesday that “if need be, there could be unlimited ‘cash on hand’ as I would put up my own money.” Trump had cash and other liquid investments - money in funds, equities and cash - worth $60 million to $180 million in May, according to his filings with the Office of Government Ethics. The form does not require candidates to give precise values for their assets, only ranges. If President Barack Obama’s spending in his successful re-election bid in 2012 election is any guide, then Trump is a few hundred million dollars short. Obama spent almost $600 million between June and November 2012, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Trump’s campaign declined to comment for this story but referred to his earlier statement, in which he said his White House bid costs less than a traditional one because it is “leaner and more efficient.” If Trump did decide to self-finance his campaign, he could, in theory, tap the hundreds of millions dollars of revenue he says is generated annually by his businesses. But it’s not clear how much of this revenue he could use. Business owners can take money out of a business only after deducting operating costs and taxes. Even then, much of an entrepreneur’s corporate earnings are often used to invest in building their businesses and maintaining their property assets. Trump’s liquid assets stood at $80 million to $230 million in July last year, according to an earlier electoral filing. Using the midpoint of the ranges, Trump’s liquid assets have fallen $35 million in the past year. The drop shows his campaign spending so far has already been funded in part by dipping into savings, rather than solely from his income. “There is a real question about how much he has in terms of liquid assets,” said Norman Ornstein, a political scholar and expert in political finance at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, citing the regulatory filings, which do not give a precise picture of Trump’s wealth. “It’s quite possible that he doesn’t have anywhere near what he suggests he has and what he does have is tied up in real estate, and selling that is no easy task,” he said. As a result, a more likely scenario would be Trump trying to borrow the funds, which could be probably done more quickly than trying to sell one of his buildings, he added. Jan Baran, a former general counsel with the Republican National Committee, said Trump may not need as much money as people think. “He’s breaking the mold on everything ... he has proven that spending large sums of money does not guarantee success,” Baran said, referring to how Trump defeated well-funded Republican rivals such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in the early nominating contests, or primaries. If Trump does not use his own money, he can seek donations, the traditional fund-raising route. Individual donors can contribute $2,700 each to his general election campaign. Trump has also signed a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee. The RNC currently has $20 million in cash, money that will be used to help elect Trump and Republican lawmakers across the country. Trump could also benefit if external groups like Super PACs raise money to campaign on his behalf. However, Trump has not yet blessed a Super PAC. Trump has spent around $63 million so far in his presidential bid, including $46 million in loans he made to his campaign, FERC data shows. Typically, television advertising and creating infrastructure at a state and local level to mobilize voters are the most expensive aspects of a U.S. presidential campaign. TV networks charge high fees for prime time slots and many ground troops needed to bring out the voters must be paid. So far Trump has not needed to spend much on television advertising - his fiery rhetoric on illegal immigrants and what he says are the security risks posed by refugees from the Middle East have guaranteed him blanket media coverage. Daniel Weiner, a campaign finance expert at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice said you can get only so far with free media in an election. “TV advertising has been decreasing in importance for a long time, but the get-out-the vote stuff is crucial, particularly in an election that people perceive as being more about motivating their core voters, as opposed to winning over swing voters. And what we call ‘the ground game’ is quite expensive,” he said. Trump has said he plans to outsource some of that ground game to the RNC, for example relying on their field staff in battleground states to help get out the vote. Trump has significant real estate holdings, which he says have low debt on them. With Election Day on Nov. 8 now just four months away, some real estate experts say selling them to generate cash would be a challenge. But several bankers say Trump could conceivably borrow hundreds of millions against them, despite his history of business bankruptcies and litigation with lenders. Exactly how much he could borrow, how easily and at what interest rates depends on how much Trump owns of the buildings that he cites as his own and how much debt he has. “You have years of prosperity and you have all of these alternative lenders and you have banks that are hungry for loans,” said one veteran banking executive, who was not permitted to speak on the record.” If Trump needs to borrow tens of millions of dollars, he probably can, the executive said. “If it is hundreds of millions, that’s another matter.” | 0 |
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several U.S. chief executives had been considering resigning from Donald Trump’s business advisory councils for months after the president said he would pull out of the Paris climate accord and ban transgender people from the military, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, long before Trump’s comments on racial violence this week pushed them over the edge. Trump disbanded two high-profile advisory groups on Wednesday, after the head of his Strategic and Policy Forum advised the White House the group was breaking up, and a trickle of departures from his American Manufacturing Council threatened to become a mass exodus. “He was at 95 percent already,” a source close to Larry Fink, head of investment firm BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), said of Fink’s leaning toward resigning from the Strategic and Policy Forum. “I think that (Trump’s latest comments) just made it 120 percent.” A number of CEOs started to consider more seriously whether to disband after Trump’s initial remarks blaming violence at Saturday’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on “many sides,” which was taken to include not only white nationalists but also anti-racism activists who opposed them. Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) CEO Kenneth Frazier, an African-American, was the first to leave the manufacturing council on Monday over Trump’s weekend reaction. Trump then attacked Frazier on Twitter, prompting other CEOs to consider quitting also. Frazier’s resignation was followed by the CEOs of Under Armour Inc (UAA.N) and Intel Corp (INTC.O) later on Monday. Trump’s fiery comments on Tuesday, doubling down on his initial response to the Virginia rally, unnerved CEOs already doubting the utility and public relations value of remaining on Trump’s councils, sources close to several of the CEOs told Reuters. Soon after Trump’s comments on Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon, who serves on the Strategic and Policy Forum, started pushing for the forum to take some kind of action, a person close to him said. Dimon had previously expressed exasperation with politics in Washington, saying in July that it is “almost an embarrassment being an American citizen traveling around the world.” Sensing a breakdown in the group, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of money manager Blackstone Group (BX.N) and chairman of the Strategic and Policy Forum, convened a call on Wednesday for its members. After some debate, “the momentum was such that there wasn’t much room for dissent,” said one source familiar with the discussion. The decision to disband was agreed and Schwarzman called the White House to inform the president, the source said. Shortly after, Trump tweeted that he was disbanding the two groups. The leader of the manufacturing council, Dow Chemical Co DOW.N CEO Andrew Liveris, had planned a call with remaining members to try to salvage the group on Wednesday, according to an email seen by Reuters. The call never took place, superseded by Trump’s dissolution of the group. Sources familiar with the discussions of the boards of Merck and Intel said that they backed their CEOs’ decisions to leave because they did not believe stepping down from Trump’s councils would have a negative impact on their businesses. “I don’t think these are personal decisions,” said Blain Rethmeier, a Republican strategist who worked on the Trump transition and consults with companies in California. “I think these are made through the eyes of what’s in the best interest of the company, and the brand risks of what it means to be involved with the council became too much.” | 1 |
In a bizarre interview with Irish TV, wacky grandma Hillary Clinton talked about her election loss. She took it upon herself to say she was totally worried about Trump becoming our president. Maybe it was visions of that orange prison jumpsuit and a jail cell that kept going through her head.She also admitted that she had no concession speech prepared. Really? That s just stupid! You paid those pollsters to lie. You must have known the truth or did you figure that no one could overcome as much election fraud as you and the Democrat Party had committed?Either way, Hillary, Donald Trump is President, you are not, and We the People are the grateful winners.The interview takes on a narcissistic tone when she describes how she had to go lie down and would scream in her pillow to get over the pain of losing the election to Trump. I would have to go lie down because it was so excruciating , she joked to interviewer Ryan Tubridy in a candid conversation, filmed near her home in Chappaqua, New York. I was in a state of shock. I had not prepared a concession speech, the former presidential candidate revealed, explaining that whilst expecting a close result, her campaign remained confident of victory up until early election night returns began to suggest otherwise. EVERYONE WAS SO CONFIDENT Following a final rally in Philadelphia, appearing with then president, Barack Obama, husband Bill Clinton and celebrities including Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, Clinton recalled that on the eve of polling day everyone was so confident. Whilst discussing the inauguration of President Trump, asked if she wanted to scream, Clinton told RT , Oh, I did. But that was a common occurrence in those days. You know, scream into the pillow when I saw what was happening. I would have been disappointed and really unhappy if I had lost to a normal Republican. But to lose to someone who I believed profoundly was not ready for the job, was temperamentally unqualified for the job was such a burden. I just thought, I ve let everybody down, I ve let my country down, I ve let the world down. How did this happen? Clinton recalled.TOSSING THE BLAME TO EVERYONE BUT HERSELF Acknowledging the role of the email scandal and various shortcomings in her campaign, Clinton also blamed Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the propagation of fake news as factors in the election of President Trump. I knew there were these other forces at work that needed to be unpacked and analyzed. It s not only about what happened, it s about preventing it from happening again, she added. SLIGHTLY WACKY GRANDMA With links to Ireland since her involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s, Clinton, who segued from imposing political figure to slightly wacky grandma according to one reviewer, told Ireland s RT Television that she was not going to let the experience turn her bitter and cynical and that she would use her platform to fight against what she saw as politically damaging trends emerging in the US.SHE NEEDS TO GO AWAY! | 1 |
The Clinton email scandal has taken an unexpected twist Friday as Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey notified key members of Congress that the agency will be reopening their investigation against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In a letter to Congress, Comey wrote that the FBI has recently “ learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation” regarding Clinton’s use of a private server during her tenure at the State Department.
While Comey did not elaborate on what those emails contain, the director that the emails were discovered “in connection with an unrelated case.”
Via FoxNews
He told lawmakers the investigative team briefed him on the information a day earlier, “and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”
He said the FBI could not yet assess whether the new material is significant and he could not predict how long it will take to complete “this additional work.”
Trump, speaking to cheering supporters Friday afternoon in Manchester, N.H., praised the FBI for having the “courage” to “right the horrible mistake that they made” – saying he hopes that is “corrected.”
“Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before,” Trump said. “We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.”
In a nod to the significance of the FBI’s announcement, Trump quipped: “The rest of my speech is going to be so boring.”
We will continue to update as new details surface.
| 1 |
It s a dirty, dark secret; I m glad it s coming out WOW I guess we won t be seeing Charles Barkley sitting for the national anthem because he s resents the White man or neighborhood cop for keeping him down NBA legend and all around awesome person, Charles Barkley, was recently interviewed by a local Philadelphia radio station about the current racial issues plaguing America. During the interview, Barkley stated that unintelligent, brainwashed African-Americans are the ones keeping successful ones down, not white people, or cops.What prompted Charles Barkley s response was a question posed to him on the radio show, Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis; he was asked about a rumor that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was being accused by his fellow teammates of not being black enough. Colin Kaepernick s and Chris Brown s most recent debacles are prefect examples of Charles logic.Charles Barkley finished out his interview by stating:Via: Blue Lives Matter | 1 |
Soooo the IRS lied to Americans to prod them to comply and sign up for Obamacare. They lied about the cost of Obamacare. Does anyone see the criminality in this? It s a classic bait and switch but by our government! The Obama administration misled Americans into thinking signing up for Obamacare would be cheaper than it really was, according to an inspector general s report Thursday that said the IRS dramatically understated the actual cost of enrolling. IRS officials sent the letters to try to prod Americans to comply with the 2010 health law s individual mandate that penalizes them for not holding coverage.But as part of the letters, the IRS said most people could find plans for $75 a month or less once government subsidies were figured in. That was untrue in fact, the average cost was more than twice that figure, at $168 a month, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said. Many of the nearly 7.5 million taxpayers who receive letters and seek insurance may feel misled if the actual cost of their insurance is much higher than the $75 per month detailed in their notification letter, the inspector general concluded. The IRS said it was only using numbers provided by Department of Health and Human Services and verified by the Treasury Department. They said the $75 figure was true for some taxpayers.The inspector general said it asked for that documentation but never received it.Auditors said their own analysis found the HHS studies were based on a smaller sample and was limited to those who chose lower-coverage plans with fewer benefits.According to the new audit, federal regulations require agencies to present accurate information.Investigators uncovered the misleading information as part of a broader audit about how the IRS was handling its role in alerting Americans who aren t complying with Obamacare s mandate to hold insurance.Read more: WT | 1 |
MANILA (Reuters) - The head of the Philippines narcotics control body has resigned after just five months in the job, the second successive official to vacate the post for making statements contracting President Rodrigo Duterte. Retired army general Dionisio Santiago on Tuesday said he quit as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board after receiving a call from Duterte s executive secretary, a few days after he publicly said the construction of a 10,000-bed mega drug rehab facility was a mistake. Countering illicit drugs is the centerpiece policy of Duterte s presidency and he has repeatedly threatened to kill dealers and users and said he was willing to be jailed for it. His crackdown has killed thousands of Filipinos, but the administration insists it is committed to arresting dealers and rehabilitating users, citing the new facility and the voluntary surrender of 1.3 million addicts and pushers as a sign of its positive intent. My rule is the boss is always right and if you think the boss is not right, refer to rule No. 1, Santiago told Radyo Inquirer, adding he had already submitted a two-sentence resignation letter. Santiago had said the government may have miscalculated with the rehab center and should have pursued a practical community-based rehabilitation program. Fewer than 500 people have been admitted to the facility, which was launched last year amid great fanfare and was funded by a wealthy Chinese businessman. Duterte gave Santiago the job in June after the former head was forced to quit after disputing the president s repeated statements that there were more than four million Filipino drug addicts. Duterte has never disclosed the source of that information and some experts say it is exaggerated. Separately, Duterte s new health minister, Francisco Duque, on Tuesday voiced his approval for using marijuana only for research purposes in medicine. He said he would prefer marijuana in pharmaceutical form if the country legalized its use. If it is in raw form, it is uncontrolled, subject to abuse, addiction, he said at his first news conference. That is where, I believe, the risks are more profound. There is a pending bill in Congress to legalize and regulate the medical use of cannabis. | 0 |
Hillary Clinton delivered an inspiring speech last night in the wake of the attack on Brussels proving that she is more fit for the presidency than both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.On Tuesday morning, terrorists attacked Brussels, Belgium with bombings that killed over 30 and injured over a 130 more.The Republican response from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz was predictable and galling. Both GOP candidates called for discriminating against Muslims as if every Muslim in the world were responsible for the actions of a few extremists.Trump repeated his calls for closing the border and banning Muslims from entering the country. He also repeated his intention to bring back torture.Cruz called for police to patrol Muslim neighborhoods and called for Americans to stop being politically correct, which is code meaning he wants us to discriminate against Muslims and be bigots toward them.During her victory speech in Arizona on Tuesday night, however, Hillary Clinton fired back at the bigotry of both Republican presidential wannabes. We live in a complex and dangerous world, and we need a commander-in-chief who can provide leadership that is strong, smart and above all, steady in taking on these threats, Clinton declared. The last thing we need, my friends, are leaders who incite more fear. In the face of terror, America doesn t panic. We don t build walls or turn our backs on our allies. We can t throw out everything we know about what works and what doesn t and start torturing people. What Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and others are suggesting is not only wrong, it s dangerous. It will not keep us safe. This is a time for America to lead, not cower. And she only continued hammering Trump and Cruz, urging Americans to reject bigotry and violence and reaffirm America s commitment to our values of a United States that accepts diversity and is open to everyone. There s a lot of pessimistic talk. There s a lot of negativity. It s as if we aren t Americans. Nobody can beat us. They can t beat us anywhere When we see people running for president of the United States who are literally inciting bigotry and violence we ve got to reclaim the promise of America for all our people, every single one of us. Here s the full speech via YouTube. The remarks reported here begin at the 5:00 mark.That s how America should respond to fear mongers and bigots and that s why Hillary Clinton is more qualified to be president than Cruz and Trump combined.Featured Image: Instagram | 1 |
Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel opened his program Monday with a ten-minute political rant about Sunday s mass murder in Las Vegas, saying now is the time for political debate about gun control.Dismissing as inadequate calls for prayers for the victims by President Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Jimmy Kimmel Live host said: they should be praying for God to forgive them for letting the gun lobby run this country. Kimmel railed against lawmakers who won t do anything about this because the NRA has their balls in a money clip, insisting that their thoughts and your prayers are insufficient. The comic responded to those saying there was nothing that could have been done to stop Sunday s attack. I disagree with that intensely, Kimmel said, because of course there s something we can do about it. BreitbartMeanwhile, reports are coming out that Kimmel has increased his security detail which consists of highly-trained, off-duty police officers.According to a report from The Blast on Monday, late night host Jimmy Kimmel has been bulking up on his security for his Jimmy Kimmel Live! show tapings, including the addition of highly-trained, off-duty police officers at both the front and back entrances. Per the report:Sources close to the show tell The Blast that ever since Kimmel re-ignited his campaign against the Republicans health care proposals, the comedian has had some issues with protestors at the show.We re told the show has responded by adding security to the tapings increasing personnel at both the front and back entrances. | 0 |
The wicked witch of the White House makes America sick again.As we all know, Donald Trump botched his first visit to Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey by basically holding a rally and bragging about himself without once talking to a victim of the storm or surveying the devastation first-hand.And Trump s do-over trip was just as embarrassing and divisive as he praised the Coast Guard before attacking the media and bragging about his hand size.But Kellyanne Conway thinks all of that adds up to Trump uniting the country.During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Sunday, Conway gushed about Trump s visit to Texas and bragged about his pledge of $1 million to Harvey victims after Abby Huntsman incorrectly claimed that Trump s recent most recent trip has not been criticized by the media. That s what s so significant here, that the president and first lady felt compelled to donate $1 million of their own money, felt compelled to visit twice, to really spend the time yesterday, engage people, look them in the eye, Conway said.The only reason why Trump visited a second time is because he f*cked up his first visit so badly. This is the Donald Trump that so many of us know and are privileged to work with and to know very close and personal, Conway continued.And we all that s complete bullshit because Trump is a vindictive narcissist who only cares about himself. He has proved that time and time again.Furthermore, that $1 million pledge is merely a pledge. He actually hasn t donated a penny yet. And he probably won t since the foundation he uses to donate other people s money to charities is under investigation. Trump won t spend his own money to help those in need.But Conway wasn t done making America puke. She claimed that Trump is uniting the country by helping people who didn t vote for him as if to suggest that he doesn t have to help people who didn t support him in 2016. We look at them as our brothers and sisters in need who are suffering, Conway said. But this man is somebody who has always expressed the capacity and compassion for people in need. Is everyone done laughing yet? Because we all know Trump has zero compassion for anyone. He lacks the capacity to care about others. He only cares about himself and his image. Again, the only reason he went back to Texas a second time is because he refused to take the time to visit victims the first time around. Now he is busy using the victims as props so he can claim to give a damn.Conway then attacked the media for criticizing Trump, despite Huntsman claiming that there was no criticism of this second trip. They look so peevish and so small, Conway said. People are saying he missed an opportunity to unify the country. They are doing exactly that here. And also getting people meeting their needs of food, water, and shelter at the same time. Let s unify as a country beginning with the president. Here s the video via YouTube. The relevant remarks begin at the 5:30 mark.Donald Trump did not unify the country by going to Texas. If anything, he divided it even further by botching his first visit and then attacking the media during his second visit. He couldn t even control himself at a time when petty grievances should be put aside. Kellyanne Conway should be ashamed of herself. And so should Abby Huntsman.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
Fox News and other right-wing outlets are quivering with glee at the fact that a known Ku Klux Klan leader is endorsing Hillary Clinton. What they AREN T reporting though is this: the guy is actually a Trump supporter. This endorsement is really just an effort to paint Clinton as a racist and damage her brand and her campaign with the dark stain of open and obvious racist terrorism that is the KKK.The outrageous reason for California KKK Grand Dragon Will Quigg to endorse the Democratic frontrunner? He thinks Hillary is a secret racist even to the point of being in line with the KKK s views. Quigg told the Telegraph of his Clinton endorsement : She is telling everybody one thing, but she has a hidden agenda. She s telling everybody what they want to hear so she can get elected, because she s Bill Clinton s wife, she s close to the Bushes. Once she s in the presidency, she s going to come out and her true colors are going to show. Border policies are going to be put in place. Our Second Amendment rights that she s saying she s against now, she s not against. She s just our choice for the presidency. So, in other words, this dude is trying to make people think that Hillary Clinton is a racist, immigrant-hating gun nut. Yeah, good luck with that Mr. Quigg. The thing is, though, Quigg s own words show that he isn t truly endorsing Hillary Clinton. In fact, here are his pro-Trump, pro- white power tweets that prove it:@realDonaldTrump You Sir are the only hope we have of getting WHITE AMERICA BACK! WE all will be voting for you! CHURCH OF INVISABLE EMPIRE Wm. Quigg (@GrandDragonCa) September 17, 2015@JohnKerry @StateDept Forget Kerry, America needs Donald Trump if we're ever going to get this Country BACK!!! Wm. Quigg (@GrandDragonCa) September 16, 2015This guys is clearly lying about his Clinton support. He s a Trump supporter through and through, and his reason for that is the fact that most of Trump s racist talking points are straight from the terrifying playbook of one of the world s most infamous and dangerous dictators, Adolf Hitler. This is nothing more than an effort to smear Clinton and make Black voters think twice about following her.Don t fall for this one folks. This guy is a dangerous racist who supports Donald Trump.Featured image via Wikimedia Commons | 1 |
SUBTITLED VIDEO:HERE S ANOTHER JOURNALIST S TAKE ON WHAT S HAPPENED TO SWEDEN: SWEDEN: FROM ABBA TO ALLAH In the 1970s Sweden was a stable and wealthy country that was admired by many outsiders. It had international pop artists such as ABBA, sports stars like Bj rn Borg and Ingemar Stenmark as well as Volvo cars. Some outsiders still maintain this rosy image. In 2016, Sweden was still ranked as the world s goodest country.Unfortunately, being good in the Western world today seems to mean being suicidal.In just two generations, Sweden has become an increasingly dysfunctional and crime-ridden country. The main cause of this negative transformation is non-European mass immigration.I have been chronicling Sweden s decline for many years. My reports were falsely dismissed as fantasies made by an alleged right-wing extremist. This denial is no longer possible.Many alternative media and independent websites are now describing these issues. Major media in Britain, Germany, the USA and even in Russia have also finally discovered Sweden s Multicultural problems. This is causing huge embarrassment to the ruling elites in Sweden. They are used to being admired. They are not accustomed to international ridicule, or being viewed as an example of what not to do.Events reached a peak when U.S. President Donald Trump publicly made negative remarks about the problems in Sweden. The Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan L fven has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the authorities have lost control. On February 20, 2017, the former Prime Minister Carl Bildt accused President Trump of engaging in misinformation and slander against Sweden. That very same night, violent riots once again erupted in one of the no-go zones near Stockholm that allegedly do not exist.Car burning in Sweden, January 2017 All former Swedish governments since the 1970s, including those led by Mr. Bildt and Mr. L fven, have directly contributed to the massive problems Sweden is currently facing.Carl Bildt served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was in charge of a center-right coalition government by Swedish standards. Bildt served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2006 and 2014 in the center-right coalition of PM Fredrik Reinfeldt. These governments also continued mass immigration, just as the Socialist Prime Ministers Olof Palme, Ingvar Carlsson, G ran Persson and Stefan L fven did.The Swedish author Astrid Lindgren published the first stories about Pippi Longstocking in the 1940s. If they were updated for today, perhaps Pippi would have to flee from the suburbs of a Swedish city after having been gang raped by immigrant boys. Alternatively, she might have been a radical Feminist who donned the Islamic veil in order to express her solidarity with the Muslims who are colonizing her country.The Swedish mass media and political elites are very careful not to suggest any connection between rapes and mass immigration from Third World countries. Yet there is every reason to suspect that such a connection exists. We know from other Western European countries that immigrants from certain regions and cultures, particularly from the Islamic world and Africa, are disproportionately represented as perpetrators in rape cases.READ MORE: GATE OF VIENNA | 1 |
The Imperial Presidency continues against the Constitution: The Constitution provides that the president shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur (Article II, section 2) White House: The president has the legal authority to ratify the accord without the two-thirds Senate vote required for treaties. The pact is merely an executive agreement. What they re not telling you is this executive agreement is a HUGE redistribution of American tax dollars to other countries!This should be voted on!For many years the public at large has been spoonfed the idea that Global Warming Climate Change, is caused by man s excessive release of carbon into the atmosphere. And that the solution to the Climate crisis was to decrease the production of said gas.Over the past several years the Global Warming fanatics have changed their tune. Many of us in the new media have been warning about their true motives for year.Now, instead of the climate crisis being caused by carbon emissions, it is being caused by inequality.On Monday, during a press conference at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris, Ms. Camille Risler, a representative of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) which is an organization listed as an official consultant to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, stated that the cause of Climate Change is the unequal distribution of wealth, carbon, and power: This is the press conference of the Women and (unintelligible) constituency. It is one of the nine official constituencies of the UNFCCC, and we are composed of 15 women s rights and feminist organizations from all around the world. So I m going to begin with kind of an overview of our positions and then I will give the floor over to my colleagues that will go more into details of each section of negotiations.I m Camille Risler. I m from France but I m living in Thailand. I m working for a feminist network that is called Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development and I m working for the Climate Justice Program.So what we want to highlight here is that Climate Change is a clear symptom of an unequal and unjust world.So if we are to address the Climate crisis we need to challenge the structural causes of the crisis which lies on unequal distribution of wealth, of carbon, and of power. Whether it s political power, economic power, or even military power. Ms. Risler goes on to say that the solution to the Climate crisis is to create more just and equitable economies .Roughly translated that means an economy based along the lines of Socialism and Communism. Because now, according to the Climate preachers, nothing is more dangerous to the planet than a free market economy, individual free will, and inequality. Not even Islamic Terrorists.You can view the entire press conference HEREVia: Gateway Pundit | 1 |
Of course anyone on Obama s Team Fundamental Transformation of America is exempt from any of the consequences the rest of America would have to face for the same unlawful actions To meet the Obama administration s goal of implementing a robust diversity strategy at the Department of Defense (DOD), the agency s director of diversity violated government rules by distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to controversial leftist groups. Adding insult to injury, a consulting firm gets nearly half a million dollars from the DOD to help distribute the money to groups even those that don t qualify that support the Pentagon s diversity strategy and program objectives. Among the recipients is the notorious open borders group League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Minority Access Inc., a Maryland-based nonprofit committed to decreasing disparities and reducing incidences of environmental injustices, and the renowned National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Others include the Society of American Indian Government Employees and the Asian American Government Executive Network. In all, the Pentagon s Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODME) gave these and other groups north of $300,000, according to a DOD Inspector General report released this month. These are considered affinity groups involved with networking or professional associations that are often race, ethnic background or gender based, according to the report.The high-ranking official who violated DOD and government rules by doling out the cash to unqualified non-federal entities (NFE) is Clarence Johnson, the DOD s Director of Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity. In 2010 Johnson, a veteran Pentagon official, was assigned to assist the Army in implementing a robust diversity strategy. The position came with a hefty budget to support diversity outreach functions and Johnson launched a cash giveaway, filling the coffers of groups that should not have received public funds. In its report the DOD watchdog concludes that Johnson improperly co-sponsored NFEs that he had selected. Auditors found that Johnson spent $301,000 on NFE sponsorships and recommend corrective action. The money flowed through a company called New Concepts Management Solutions (NCMS) that was evidently handpicked by Johnson. In 2012, the Office of Diversity Management hired a consulting firm called Deloitte for $480,554 to handle the diversity outreach allocations.Here s a brief breakdown of how some of the money was divided. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Institute Conference got $25,000, the Society of American Indian Government Employees got $12,000 for a training conference and a conglomerate called Latina Style Outreach received $20,000. LULAC and the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) received $25,000 each. It appears that Johnson knew well that he was violating agency rules when he headed the diversity crusade because the report reveals that the DOD Office of Special Counsel has consistently said that the agency should not sponsor non-federal entities like the ones Johnson gave money to. In addition to money, Johnson provided these various groups with logistical manpower compliments of Uncle Sam.It s unlikely that Johnson will face any repercussions for his transgressions or, at most, a weak slap on the hand. He certainly appears confident in testimony to investigators probing his violations. My job is to grow, or focus on growing, the presence of minorities and women in government jobs with higher pay scales, Johnson told investigators. He added that the mission of his office is diversity outreach, which involves informing the diverse audience. This is why he seeks affinity groups that have a national reach and influence.President Obama has made it his mission to culturally transform government by teaching federal workers about diversity, race and gender, healthcare disparities and cultural competencies. The effort has affected practically every major agency, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. It s been a costly initiative for taxpayers. A few months ago a Judicial Watch investigation found that the Obama administration has paid a Chicago-based firm millions of dollars to strengthen the federal workplace with its brand of diversity consulting. This includes two recent DHS contracts for $24,000 and $10,000 and one for $8,500 from the Department of Energy (DOE). Via: Judicial Watch | 0 |
Just as Sarah Palin was set to deliver another pro-Trump stump speech, the one-time Republican vice presidential candidate learned that her husband, Todd, had been involved in a serious snowmobile accident in Alaska and was in bad condition in the Intensive Care Unit. She cancelled one event, but didn t go home. Instead, she returned to the campaign trail that same day and delivered one of the most pathetic endorsements of Trump yet. She even found a way to exploit her husband. it was painful to watch.It almost makes you feel bad for Todd Palin. Lying in his hospital bed, watching his wife use his moment of need to promote the guy she thinks will keep her relevant.Never one to let a family crisis go to waste (remember when she managed to turn her son s brutal beating of his girlfriend into a critique of Obama?), Palin told the gathered Trump crowd that the experience of learning her husband almost died made her immediately realize how important her time was and that she needed to spend it getting Trump elected.The audience went wild.Incoming word salad (recorded verbatim): Yeah, good to be here. Thawed out and little Alaskas. Literally thawed out. Just before I got on a flight to get out here, he s out ice fishing on our frozen lake and my husband s out snow machinin and thank you guys for your prayers for my husband who is recovering right now in ICUS after a little wreck on a snow machine. So thank you. Big wreck. Thank you. But, you know, when real life happens, right? When someone is sick in your family, there s an accident that happens, all these challenges, these struggles in your business, in your family, with your finances, tryin to get your kids to be able to afford to go to college, all these real life issues that happen, it really puts things into perspective, doesn t it? And doesn t it make you so appreciate your time time is our most valuable resource. It makes me appreciate the time that we have to spend in doing something so worthy. And that s to get Donald J. Trump elected president.When Palin learns her husband is badly injured, she takes the experience to appreciate how important it is for her to shill for Donald Trump. That really does put things into perspective, doesn t it? Palin: Todd s Accident Made Me Appreciate the by tommyxtopherFeatured image via Fox10 screengrab | 0 |
NEW YORK — Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a likely contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination and a leading voice for Christian conservatives, said Thursday that governors and state legislatures should consider ways to resist a Supreme Court decision that recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right.
On USA TODAY's Capital Download, Huckabee likened such a possible decision, on an issue now being weighed by the high court, to the notorious Dred Scott case before the Civil War that ruled African Americans couldn't be citizens. Pushing back against such an opinion "is not without historical and judicial precedence," he said in an interview promoting his new book, God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy, published Wednesday by St. Martin's Press.
If he were still governor, he said, "I think I would put it before the legislature. I mean, we would ask, 'We have a constitutional amendment in our constitution. Do we want to hold to that? Do we want to put it before a referendum of the people?' I mean, there are a lot of different angles to pursue it. (Or) you could just surrender and say, 'OK, we just agree that the court is right.' "
Whatever the legal basis for Huckabee's stance — and constitutional scholars question whether there is one — as a political matter his fervent opposition all but guarantees that the issue of gay marriage will be prominent in the GOP presidential debate. While other leading contenders also oppose gay marriage, some of them, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have said court decisions recognizing the right make it a settled question.
"Rather than just immediately capitulate to nine people in robes, and what it will probably be is five people in robes against four people who disagree ... then you have a very, very divided court," he told the weekly newsmaker series. "Do we really surrender the entire American system of government to five people, unelected, appointed for life, with no consequences for the decisions they make? The founders never intended for there to be such incredible, almost unlimited power, put in the hands of so few people."
However, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Law School, Irvine, said states would have no options if the Supreme Court decided that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage violated the Constitution.
"There have been efforts by states to circumvent or ignore Supreme Court decisions, most notably the intense Southern resistance to Brown v. Board of Education and desegregation," Chemerinsky said. "The Supreme Court made it clear that its ruling was the law of the land. This will be no different."
The issue has been joined, he noted. "Already, marriage equality exists in 36 states, mostly because of court decisions, and there has not been the type of resistance Huckabee suggests."
Still, it is a sign of Huckabee's appeal to the evangelical Christians who are among the GOP's most loyal voters that his new book immediately shot to No. 1 in sales among political books on Amazon and into the top 100 among books of all sorts. In his folksy, conversational style, he unfavorably contrasts New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — places he dubs "Bubble-ville" — with those from the heartland, which he dubs "Bubba-ville."
At one point in the book, he discussed how "goooood" it is to eat game. "I'm sorry if that sounds cruel to any vegan readers," he added. "(And are there any? Raise your hands, if you have the strength.)"
In the interview, Huckabee also:
• Acknowledged he was likely to make his second bid for the White House. He also ran in 2008. "If everything continues to work well and I sense that there is, say, the proper financial and political support, then I think it's a given that that's where the destination is."
• Predicted former president Bill Clinton would be an asset to his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, if she runs for the Democratic nomination. "I mean, he had a good presidency. I'm a Republican but I admire good governing."
• Dismissed as overblown a furor over comments in his new book criticizing Beyonce and Jay-Z for using sexually explicit lyrics, and the president and first lady for allowing their daughters to listen to them. "I do think they're good parents," he said of the Obamas, adding he has some of Beyonce's songs on his iPhone. "She's an incredibly gifted singer and dancer. She doesn't need to get into the vulgar in order to be successful and influential."
He also denied charges of hypocrisy, leveled this week by Jon Stewart in a combative interview on The Daily Show, because he had played bass backing up rocker Ted Nugent as he sang "Cat Scratch Fever," a song with sexually suggestive lyrics of its own.
• Discussed reports that the FBI had decided not to pursue civil-rights charges in the police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., saying the Justice Department would have proceeded if it could have found any standing to do so. "It was obvious that (Attorney General) Eric Holder wanted to be able to bring charges," he said. "It was almost evident from the beginning that he was hoping that they would be able to find some way to indict or bring some charges against officer Darren Wilson."
Now, he said, "I hope that (civil rights activist and MSNBC anchor) Al Sharpton will have a rally and apologize for having incited so many people to actions that were hurtful to the people of Ferguson, hurtful to many minority business owners whose businesses were burned and looted because passions were inflamed." | 0 |
As Donald Trump and his supporters continue to live in a frightening amount of denial that they are losing this election, their moronic claims of the election being rigged is only getting louder. Their cries have gotten more desperate as Trump s campaign continues to further unravel thanks to a leaked audio tape and numerous allegations of sexual assault against Trump.CNN s Jake Tapper recently had a mind numbing experience with a Trump supporter on The Lead, when Trump spokesperson Boris Epshteyn actually tried to say that President Barack Obama won the 2008 election because of voter fraud in North Carolina. Building upon Trump s claims of a rigged system , Epshteyn said: What Mr. Trump and our campaign are talking about is the rigged system in two ways. One, in terms of the media. 96 percent of donations, contributions in this cycle by the media are going to the Clinton campaign. Epshteyn didn t get very far before Tapper cut him off and said: Boris, That s like from like restaurant that s like from TV critics and restaurant reviewers. That s not from me! That s not from Chris Cuomo or campaign staff or anybody covering the election. But Epshteyn didn t care how idiotic his argument was and kept right on, spewing exaggerated numbers just like his boss: Numbers by Pew show that 40 percent of people who are not citizens are registered to vote. People who are dead voting in Colorado. Those are the kind of instances, the kind of voter fraud, we want to make sure that does not happen.Barack Obama may have won that Barack Obama may have won in 2008 in North Carolina due to illegal voting. And this is where Epshteyn went too damn far. Guest Angela Rye, who was standing beside him, blurted out Oh my God in disbelief, and Tapper jumped in to dispute this insanity. Tapper fired back: Boris, where are you getting that from? Barack Obama won in North Carolina because of voter fraud? Rye laughed at the bizarre claim, but Epshteyn wasn t deterred. He continued: Look at the Washington Post story saying 5 percent of voting in North Carolina may have been by non-citizens who shouldn t have been voting and swung North Carolina to Mr. Obama to President Obama because of how tight the race in North Carolina was in 2008. The segment then erupted in chaos as Rye and Epshteyn sparred over Trump s recent sexual assault allegations and this ridiculous voter fraud claim. Tapper just looked on, almost too stunned to do anything. You can watch this ridiculous segment below:Featured image is a screenshot | 0 |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have reached the main road between Albu-Kamal in Syria and al-Qaim in Iraq, the Lebanese TV news channel al-Manar, which is affiliated to the Syrian government s ally Hezbollah, reported on Friday. The two towns are very close to each other on opposite sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border in the last important territorial stronghold of Islamic State. | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five million to 6 million power customers lack electricity after Hurricane Irma swept through the Florida and other parts of the U.S. southeast, leaving about 15 million people without power, federal emergency officials said on Tuesday. Obviously, power restoration is one of the biggest goals, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long told reporters at a news conference. He added that he was traveling to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to meet with their governors later on Tuesday. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump this week will meet with retired U.S. General David Petraeus and U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, as well as hold a second meeting with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Trump’s transition team said. Trump will meet with former CIA Director Petraeus on Monday, and with Corker and Romney on Tuesday, Trump aides told reporters on a conference call. All three have been floated as potential picks to be Trump’s secretary of state. | 0 |
Many Republicans believe that if Donald Trump s presidential campaign is as unsuccessful as it is ramping up to be, that they can contain the damage. The thought process goes that if Trump is a failure, it is best to keep him at an arm s length, and Republicans won t have to suffer too much for it.But the Trump containment strategy is facing a test, as evidence emerges that Trump s controversial Trump University may have dodged criminal prosecution thanks to a relationship between Trump and Florida attorney general Pam Bondi.Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is denying that a $25,000 donation from Donald Trump is in any way connected to her office s decision not to pursue action against Trump University, despite dozens of complaints in Florida, her spokesman said.Bondi, who endorsed Trump in March, received the donation in 2013 via a political action committee raising money for her re-election.Bondi, who rose to fame within conservative circles thanks to repeated appearance on Fox News, reportedly received multiple complaints about Trump University s business practices, as new documents released in the fraud litigation against Trump University recently revealed.Instead of doing her job and being an advocate for consumers bilked by Trump University, Bondi s office decided against prosecuting the organization.The complaints show several unsatisfied customers called the course a scam and one man claimed it forced him in to personal bankruptcy.Trump has recently announced a campaign event in Florida where Bondi, who supports his nomination, will appear.Texas governor Greg Abbott, who served as state attorney general when legal action was heating up on Trump University, declined to announce that the company was facing a $5.4 million penalty for how they had conducted business in the state. Trump University soon after stopped doing business in the state.Featured image via Twitter | 1 |
Our complete coverage of the Tony Awards ] [ And our live blog of the Tony Awards ] These are the winners of the 70th annual Tony Awards. Musical: “Hamilton” Play: “The Humans” Musical Revival: “The Color Purple” Play Revival: “A View From the Bridge” Actor, play: Frank Langella, “The Father” Actress, play: Jessica Lange, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Actor, musical: Leslie Odom Jr. “Hamilton” Actress, musical: Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple” Book, musical: “Hamilton,” Miranda Original Score: “Hamilton,” music and lyrics, Miranda Featured actor, play: Reed Birney, “The Humans” Featured actress, play: Jayne Houdyshell, “The Humans” Featured actor, musical: Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” Featured actress, musical: Renée Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton” Scenic design, play: David Zinn, “The Humans” Scenic design, musical: David Rockwell, “She Loves Me” Costume design, play: Clint Ramos, “Eclipsed” Costume design, musical: Paul Tazewell, “Hamilton” Lighting design, play: Natasha Katz, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Lighting design, musical: Howell Binkley, “Hamilton” Direction, play: Ivo van Hove, “A View From the Bridge” Direction, musical: Thomas Kail, “Hamilton” Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “Hamilton” Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire, “Hamilton” Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater: Sheldon Harnick and Marshall W. Mason Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Brian Stokes Mitchell Regional Theater Tony Award: Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, N. J. Special Tony Award: National Endowment for the Arts and Miles Wilkin Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater: Seth Gelblum Joan Lader Sally Ann Parsons | 0 |
NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez abused his power to help a wealthy benefactor in a years-long bribery scheme that netted the New Jersey Democrat lavish gifts and major campaign donations, federal prosecutors told a jury on Wednesday. “This case is about a corrupt politician who sold his Senate office for a life of luxury he couldn’t afford,” the lead prosecutor, Peter Koski, said at the start of Menendez’s corruption trial in Newark. Menendez’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said prosecutors had twisted a close, brother-like relationship into something illicit. “Acting out of friendship is not improper, it is not corrupt, and it is certainly not a crime,” he said. Menendez is accused of intervening with federal officials to help his co-defendant Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist who gave the senator private flights, stays at a Caribbean villa and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money. The case comes at a crucial time in Washington, D.C., where Republicans hold a razor-thin 52-48 edge in the Senate. If Menendez is convicted and either resigns or is expelled by his colleagues before January, his replacement would be named by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican. A group of supporters cheered Menendez, 63, as he entered court on Wednesday morning. The senator told reporters he had “never backed away from a fight.” He is running for a third six-year term in 2018 despite the charges. Koski told jurors Menendez used his influence to help Melgen, securing visas for Melgen’s foreign girlfriends and pressuring the U.S. State Department to resolve a contract dispute between a company Melgen owned and the Dominican Republic. After Medicare, the federal insurance plan for the elderly and disabled, concluded Melgen had overbilled it by $8.9 million, Menendez asked officials to change the reimbursement policy, Koski said. Melgen was convicted earlier this year of perpetrating a massive Medicare fraud. He has yet to be sentenced. Koski also urged jurors to pay attention to the timing of Melgen’s gifts. In April 2012, for instance, Menendez met with an assistant secretary of state regarding the Dominican Republic dispute; Melgen gave Menendez $80,000 on the same day. “Robert Menendez was Salomon Melgen’s personal United States senator,” Koski said. Lowell said Menendez only acted at Melgen’s suggestion after researching the issue with his staff and concluding it was sound policy. He also accused prosecutors of cherry-picking a handful of examples amidst countless similar interventions that Menendez has made over the years when matters were brought to his attention. The trial is expected to last up to eight weeks. | 0 |
The Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee withdrew from the committee’s business Tuesday, forcing the committee to delay voting on confirming Steven Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Rep. Thomas E. Price (R. .) for Health and Human Services Secretary. [Leading the walkout was Sen. Ron Wyden (D. .) the committee’s ranking member, who said the extreme action was a tactic to force Mnuchin and Price to answer questions from the Democrats. Wyden said he opposes both men for nomination. “This morning, the Finance Committee was scheduled to vote on two nominees who have misled the public and held back important information about their backgrounds,” he said. “Until questions are answered, Democrats believe the committee should not move forward with either nomination. ” Senate Finance Committee rules require at least one member of the minority party to be present for the committee to conduct official business. Wyden said he was not satisfied with the answer Price gave him regarding his stock trading. “I asked Congressman Price directly if he got an exclusive discount on stock in an Australian biomedical firm, and he said no,” the senator said. “From the committee’s investigation to company documents to the company officials’ own words, the evidence tells a different story. It looks more and more like Congressman Price got special access to a special deal. ” The Oregon senator said he was also concerned about the fullness and veracity of Mnuchin’s answers regarding his leadership at OneWest Bank. “Mr. Mnuchin denied that OneWest Bank under his leadership engaged in foreclosure documents, but that is indisputably false,” he said. “Court documents and testimony show that OneWest employees processed hundreds of documents a week, spending only seconds on each, and they routinely did so without verifying their contents,” he said. “What OneWest did is the textbook definition of shady practices. ” was a common practice in the middle of the last decade as the real estate boom overwhelmed the capacity of banks and other financial and real estate companies to properly review documents. Lawyers have challenged documents that were approved by and employees under pressure to process paperwork more quickly, which produced the practice. Wyden said Democrats on the Finance Committee are committed to denying quorum for the committee until they have their concerns allayed and questions answered in regards to Mnuchin and Price. “The Finance Committee needs to continue following its bipartisan vetting process that has been upheld for more than 20 years,” the senator said. “This is about getting answers to questions, plain and simple. Ethics laws are not optional, and nominees do not have a right to treat disclosure like a shell game. ” | 0 |
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh is in negotiations with Myanmar aimed at a deal to repatriate displaced Rohingya and Dhaka s foreign minister will address the matter at talks in Myanmar this week, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry said on Sunday. More than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since late August, driven out by a military clearance operation in Buddhist majority Myanmar s Rakhine State. The Rohingyas suffering has caused an international outcry. Bangladesh and Myanmar are in the process of negotiation for a bilateral agreement for repatriation of displaced people and expect to form a Joint Working Group to facilitate the repatriation, said a ministry statement, quoting remarks by Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali at a meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Dhaka on Sunday. A senior aide to Ali said he would leave for Myanmar late on Sunday to attend an Asia-Europe (ASEM) meeting on Monday and Tuesday and would stay on another couple of days for bilateral talks on the Rohingya. The official said Ali hoped for an agreement on allowing Rohingya to return to Myanmar. Both countries have almost reached an understanding on this issue and there are a few points (still) to be agreed ... We hope to reach an agreement. There was no immediate comment from Myanmar. On Nov. 1, Myanmar insisted it was ready to set up a repatriation process but voiced fears Bangladesh was delaying an accord to first get international aid money. A senior Bangladesh home ministry official described the accusation as outrageous. Stung by international criticism and accusations of ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, Myanmar s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has said Rohingyas who can prove they were resident in Myanmar would be accepted back. Last week a United Nations General Assembly committee called on Myanmar to end military operations that have led to the systematic violation and abuse of human rights of Rohingya. The move revived a U.N. resolution that was dropped last year due to Myanmar s progress on human rights. However, in the past three months there has been a Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh after the Myanmar military began an operation against Rohingya militants who attacked 30 security posts and an army base in Rakhine on Aug. 25. Myanmar s army released a report on Monday denying all allegations of rapes and killings by security forces, days after replacing the general in charge of the military operation. Top U.N. officials have denounced the violence as a classic example of ethnic cleansing. The Myanmar government has denied these allegations. Rohingyas have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, where many Buddhists see them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. A U.S. congressional delegation, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Germany, Sweden and Japan visited Rohingya camps in Cox s Bazar at the weekend to raise awareness of their plight. We support Bangladesh s efforts toward a lasting solution, including the repatriation of displaced persons, Japan s Taro Kona told Ali at their meeting, where Tokyo pledged $18.6 million in aid to ease the Rohingya crisis. Mogherini told reporters: More than putting pressure, our approach has always been and will continue to be to offer a negotiating space, encourage the taking care of a situation that is not going to disappear. | 1 |
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany s Social Democrats came under growing pressure on Thursday to drop his opposition to a new grand coalition with Angela Merkel s conservatives, with senior politicians arguing the party had a duty to promote stability. Merkel is facing the biggest political crisis of her career since efforts to forge a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed last weekend. That has raised worries across Europe of a prolonged leadership vacuum in the continent s economic powerhouse. The Social Democrats (SPD) have governed in coalition under Merkel since 2013. But leader Martin Schulz said the party must heed the will of voters by going into opposition after achieving its worst result of the postwar period in the Sept. 24 election. Pressure is growing on the party to revisit his decision, either by agreeing to prop up a conservative-led minority government by not voting against it, or by forming a renewed coalition. In either case, the position of Schulz as party leader could become untenable. If changing course and teaming up with the conservatives requires a change of leadership at the SPD, that would be unlikely before a party conference on Dec. 7-9. Schulz held a lengthy meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former SPD lawmaker and foreign minister, on Thursday afternoon before heading to party headquarters to consult senior party members. Steinmeier is trying to help facilitate a coalition government and avoid fresh elections. We will talk about if and how one can get a federal government in Germany, a senior SPD member said ahead of the meeting, adding that one option on the table was to support Merkel only indirectly by not blocking a minority government. But Stephan Weil, the SPD premier of the state of Lower Saxony, one of the party s most influential figures after he defied polls by winning re-election this year, implied a full coalition would preferable to a minority government. Minority governments are fragile constructs, he told the RND newspaper consortium. The SPD had to chart a path between a party rank-and-file reluctant to repeat the bruising experience of a grand coalition and its democratic obligations. Everyone understands that the stakes are high, involving the stability of an extremely important member of the European Union, he added. Volker Kauder, leader of the conservative parliamentary group and a key ally Merkel ally, echoed the sentiment, calling for the grand coalition to be reprised. Europe is waiting for a Germany capable of acting so that it can finally respond to the questions raised by French President (Emmanuel) Macron, he said, referring to Macron s call for fiscal reforms to strengthen the euro zone. Germany, the world s fourth largest economy, has long been a bastion of stability in the EU, and officials in Brussels and Paris fear months of political uncertainty could harm plans to reform euro zone governance and EU defense and asylum policies. Merkel, who remains acting chancellor until a new government is agreed, has said she would prefer to work with the SPD, but if that option fails, she would favor new elections over an unstable minority government. Another election would also provide no speedy resolution. Under Germany s constitution, the president could call another election only after Merkel had lost several votes in the Bundestag a process that could take several months. The mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday that 30 members of the SPD s 153-strong parliamentary group this week had questioned Schulz s preference for going into opposition during a meeting of the parliamentary party. Speaking to ZDF television on Thursday, SPD deputy leader Karl Lauterbach said his party might have to rethink its opposition to another grand coalition , but added he was still skeptical about joining one led by Merkel. The SPD supports Macron s proposal to give the euro zone the power to spend money to protect members of the single currency bloc against external shocks. If the SPD changes tack about a grand coalition , however, the leader of Merkel s sister party in the state of Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU), said on Thursday it should not expect the conservatives to grant any significant concessions. We can t be blackmailed, said Horst Seehofer, who is himself fighting to hang on as CSU leader in the face of internal opposition. | 1 |
Owned by Unilever, the Axe brand includes a range of men’s grooming products with many of the ingredients never even tested for safety according to the C.I.R. – Cosmetic Ingredient Review. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
Axe products are loaded with endocrine disrupting chemicals. Endocrine disruptorsare exogenous, synthetic chemicals that have hormone-like effects on both humans and wild-life and interfere with the endocrine system by either mimicking or blocking our natural hormones and disrupting their respective body functions. Member scientists of the Endocrine Society issued a report in which they claim:
“We present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostrate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.”
New studies are also revealing that these harmful chemicals may be causing physical feminization in males. A study published by the International Journal of Andrology found that feminization of boys can now be seen through their play habits.
Medical experts are now wondering whether exposure to years of these toxic chemicals is part of the reason so many older men are low on testosterone and experiencing erectile dysfunction. So they take a little blue pill and get exposed to even more chemicals and the cycle continues. Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly
Aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly is the active ingredient in Axe deodorant products. One or more animal studies show kidney or renal system effects at very low doses, mammalian cells show positive mutation results, animal studies show reproductive effects at moderate doses.
Aluminum was first recognized as a human neurotoxin in 1886, before being used as an antiperspirant. A neurotoxin is a substance that causes damage to nerves or nerve tissue.
COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE
COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE is a very toxic ingredient which has been linked to cancer in animal tests. The biggest danger of using a product with cocamidopropyl betaine is its potential contamination with nitrosamines .
Nitrosamines are created when nitrosating agents are combined with amines. Nitrosamines have been identified as one of the most potent classes of carcinogens, having caused cancer in more than 40 different animal species as well as in humans. PPG-14 Butyl Ether
PPG stands for popypropylene glycol, which is made from a completely artificial petroleum product, methyl oxirane. Another name for that is propylene oxide (which is a probable human carcinogen). Propylene oxide is also an irritant and highly flammable. Butyl ethers are in the paraben family, and they are toluene derivatives (toxic petrochemical compounds). Toluene has proven to have a harmful affect on the reproductive system while parabens have been linked to cancer.
PEG-8 Distearate
According to a report in the International Journal of Toxicology by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) committee, impurities found in various PEG compounds include ethylene oxide; 1,4-dioxane; polycyclic aromatic compounds; and heavy metals such as lead, iron, cobalt, nickel, cadmium, and arsenic. Many of these impurities are linked to cancer. BHT
There have been many studies which demonstrate that BHT accumulates over time in the body, having a toxic impact on the lungs, liver and kidneys amongst other negative effects. A study by Gann in 1984 showed that BHT was capable of promoting chemically-induced forestomach and bladder cancer in male rats.
A 1988 Swedish study by Thompson looked at both BHT and BHA. They found that both were toxic and tumour promoting. Both antioxidants were observed to be cytotoxic in a concentration-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 100 to 750 microM. At equimolar concentrations BHT was more cytotoxic than BHA. | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday appealed a ruling by a federal judge in Hawaii extending a suspension of President Donald Trump’s revised restrictions on travel from some Muslim-majority countries. The appeal will be considered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which last month upheld a suspension of Trump’s first travel order. Trump signed the revised ban earlier this month in a bid to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson on Wednesday turned an earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii. The case challenged Trump’s travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim it is based on Trump’s election campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” “The court will not crawl into a corner, pull the shutters closed, and pretend it has not seen what it has,” Watson wrote on Wednesday. The Justice Department on Thursday also asked a Seattle federal judge to suspend separate litigation filed by Washington state against Trump’s travel restrictions until after the 9th Circuit rules on the Hawaii appeal. In addition, the Justice Department earlier this month appealed a ruling from a Maryland judge against Trump’s revised executive order. That case will be heard by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia. | 0 |
This is a stake to the heart of Senator Ted Cruz! Sarah Palin is shocking everyone with a big endorsement today LIVE STREAMING BELOW (6:00 p.m. Eastern):Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee who became a Tea Party sensation and a favorite of grass-roots conservatives, will endorse Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, officials with his campaign confirmed. The endorsement provides Mr. Trump with a potentially significant boost just 13 days before the state s caucuses. I m proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for president, Ms. Palin said in a statement provided by his campaign.Her support is the highest-profile backing for a Republican contender so far. I am greatly honored to receive Sarah s endorsement, Mr. Trump said in a statement trumpeting Mrs. Palin s decision. She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support. In Iowa, where Ms. Palin spent years developing support, the endorsement could be especially helpful. Over the years Palin has actually cultivated a number of relationships in Iowa, said Craig Robinson, the former executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa and publisher of the website The Iowa Republican. There are the Tea Party activists who still think she s great and a breath of fresh air, but she also did a good job of courting Republican donors in the state, he added.Other conservatives said that Ms. Palin serves as a particularly effective shield against Senator Ted Cruz, who is battling Mr. Trump for the lead in Iowa polls by courting the state s evangelical voters.LIVE STREAM: WINTERSET, Iowa Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is kicking off a swing through Iowa at the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, where he received an endorsement from the Western film actor s daughter, Aissa Wayne. The endorsement was announced Tuesday in front of a life-size, rifle-toting model of the actor in full cowboy gear.Aissa Wayne said the country needs a strong and courageous leader like her father. She said John Wayne would be offering his endorsement if he were still alive.Trump said he was a big fan of Wayne and that the actor represented strength and power which the American people are looking for.He said, We have exactly the opposite from John Wayne right now in this country. The museum includes an extensive collection of memorabilia from Wayne s movies.VIA: NYPTRUMP S FACEBOOK POST ON THE ENDORSEMENT:A true honor to receive the endorsement of John Wayne s daughter, Aissa Wayne. So proud that if John were here today, he would have endorsed Trump strength! | 1 |
Two Systems of Justice In America: One for the Ultra-Wealthy … Another For Everyone Else
Billionaire Peter Thiel said yesterday:
If you’re a single-digit millionaire … you have no effective access to our legal system.
Thiel is saying even plain vanilla millionaires can’t afford justice in America.
Fordham Law School professor and criminal justice expert John Pfaff notes that – using 2007 numbers – many states’ entire budgets for legal defense for people who can’t afford a lawyer is in the single-digit millions: 1. As of 2007, four states’ ENTIRE INDIGENT DEFENSE BUDGET were “single-digit millionaires.”
Maine: $9.6M | 1 |
Wednesday 9 November 2016 by Lucas Wilde America gives Grand Piano to horse
America has given a grand piano to a horse and is expecting some quality tunes.
“I’m particularly looking forward to Beethoven’s Ninth,” beamed horse supporter and piano enthusiast, Jay Cooper.
“A horse has never been given a piano before because, frankly, the establishment wouldn’t allow it.
“Now, at last, change has come, and America will change for the better.
“There are a lot of doubters out there, and those doubters will soon be silenced by the graceful notes of Chopin, Mozart and maybe even Little Richard.”
Horse, Dobbin Williams, said, “I’m not really sure what’s expected of me here.
“I’m a horse. I am absolutely not qualified to play a piano.
“I mean… Look at these hooves and the way I am in general. I can’t even sit on the chair properly.
“Why on earth did anyone think this was a good idea?”
Cooper grinned, “We did it. We’ve made pianos great again.”
Democrat, Elizabeth King, said “We wanted to get a pianist of low-to-medium standard for the piano.
“She wouldn’t have thumped out anything exciting, but it would have been perfectly reasonable background music.
“But the people have spoken, and the people wanted a horse.
“God Bless America.” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently witterings below - why not add your own? | 1 |
Nothing says respect for America and for your elected office like using an executive order to make it easier for people who entered our country illegally to break the law without fear of persecution Watch for the political stock of Mohamed Khairullah, the Syrian-born Mayor of Prospect Park, to rise in Democratic circles after he signed an executive order on Friday that declared the Passaic County borough of 5,865 a sanctuary for immigrants.Hailing from Aleppo, which has become synonymous with the worst violence of the long Syrian civil war and has thus created tens of thousands of refugees, Khairullah immigrated to the United States in 1991, was elected Councilman in 2001, and has been the Mayor since 2006.Khairullah directly refers to his own past in explaining why he signed the order: It is important to me as a person who came to the U.S as an immigrant, that we uphold our laws and values, he said Saturday, according to NJ.com. The U.S is the land of opportunity and dreams for many people all over the world. The heightened profile for Khairullah, a former teacher in the Paterson public schools who worked at Office Depot, represents growing political power for Muslims in New Jersey politics.Seven weeks ago, Passaic County elected its first Muslim Freeholder when Assad Akhter, a deputy chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell and the son of Pakistani immigrants, took of the seat of Hector Lora. Lora resigned to become Mayor of Passaic. Observer NJ | 1 |
Pastor Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow claims he s Reverend Al Sharpton s brother, and he s registering thousands of felons to vote in the hotly contested, upcoming Senate election. When the local News 5 station looked into the pastor s claim, that he was Al Sharpton s brother, they made an interesting discovery. Glasgow told News 5 that he was indeed Al Sharpton s brother and that he dropped the Sharpton because we didn t want somebody that s a racist, a bigot, to try to kill me knowing I was Sharpton s brother while he was in prison. News 5 performed a background check on Glasgow and came up with nothing. They also called Reverend Sharpton s office in New York and spoke with Sharpton s media correspondent, who said he d never heard of Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow. It wasn t until they contacted Sharpton-Glasgow s mother, Tina Glasgow, that they finally discovered the connection.As it turns out, Glasgow actually has ties to Al Sharpton Watch the video below for the bizarre details:Much like his brother, the pastor is also a Democrat activist, and he is pulling out all the stops to help the party defeat Judge Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama. While the Democrat Party is begging for donors to help support Moore s opponent, Doug Jones, Al Sharpton s half-brother is busy signing up felons to vote in a controversial election, where every vote will count.Thousands of felons across Alabama have registered to vote in recent weeks, according to Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, who is heading up a statewide effort to get felons to the voting booth.Glasgow s goal is to get as many felons as possible signed up to vote before the end of the day Monday, the deadline to be able to cast a ballot in Alabama s Dec. 12 U.S. Senate special election. In the last month, I think we registered at least five- to ten-thousand people all over the state, Glasgow, president of Dothan s The Ordinary People Society (TOPS) advocacy group, said Monday. I ve got people all over the state registering people with my TOPS branches in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery, Enterprise, Dothan, Abbeville, Geneva, Gordon, Bessemer, we have a lot. For generations, most Alabamians convicted of a felony were barred from ever voting in the state again, but the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act, a new law passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May, cleared the way for thousands of felons to restore their voting rights.The law lists several dozen felony convictions that are considered crimes of moral turpitude, which means that anyone convicted of one of them loses the right to vote; other felons are now eligible to restore that right. Previously, the list of crimes that some registrars considered to be of moral turpitude was not clearly defined, and many felons simply believed they could never regain the franchise. AL | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A closely divided Supreme Court struggled with its biggest abortion case in years on Wednesday, with pivotal Justice Anthony Kennedy voicing concerns about a restrictive Texas law yet stopping short of signaling he would strike it down. The court’s four liberal justices indicated they believed the law, which imposes strict regulations on abortion doctors and clinic buildings, intrudes on a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy established in a 1973 ruling. Conservative justices including Kennedy expressed doubt during the 85-minute oral argument about claims by abortion providers who asserted that the Republican-backed 2013 law forced numerous clinics to shut down. Kennedy at one point suggested sending the case back to a lower court to get further evidence on the law’s impact, including an assessment of the ability of existing Texas clinics to meet the demand for abortions. If there is evidence new clinics that meet the state’s regulations have increased capacity to perform abortions, it would show the law has provided a “beneficial effect,” Kennedy said. The outcome appeared to be in the hands of Kennedy, who often casts the deciding vote in close rulings. In past abortion cases, he has backed a fundamental right to abortion while supporting some restrictions. The court was shorthanded with only eight justices following the Feb. 13 death of conservative Antonin Scalia, leaving the liberals and conservatives evenly divided. The best that supporters of the law could hope for would be a 4-4 split that would let stand a lower-court ruling that affirmed the Texas regulations but set no nationwide legal precedent on whether other states could enact similar measures. However, a such ruling leaving the Texas law intact could encourage other states with anti-abortion legislatures to pass similar laws. Kennedy gave little indication he would be willing to uphold the law in full, as his three conservative colleagues would be expected to do. If Kennedy sides with the court’s four liberals, the court could either send the case back to the lower court or strike it down. A ruling is due by the end of June. A decision sending the case to a lower court could mean the dispute might not be resolved for years. Some justices questioned the lack of evidence on why specific clinics closed after the law was passed, which could be addressed if new legal proceedings take place. Abortion providers assert that the law caused 22 of 41 clinics to close, but the state contests those numbers. “What is the evidence in the record that the closures are related to the legislation?” conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked. Texas contends the law, passed by a Republican-controlled legislature and signed by a Republican governor, protects women’s health. The abortion providers who have challenged it assert that the regulations are aimed at shutting down their clinics. In a sign that he was not comfortable with aspects of the law, Kennedy sounded concerned about a possible increase in surgical abortions prompted in part by the state’s separate new restrictions on medically induced abortions, in which women take pills to terminate a pregnancy. Kennedy said that “this law has really increased the number of surgical procedures as opposed to medical procedures, and that this may not be medically wise.” Abortion rights advocates say surgical abortions increased because of the delays women seeking an abortion faced as a result of the 2013 law. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg questioned the need for a provision of the law requiring clinics to have costly, hospital-grade facilities, when abortions almost always are low-risk procedures for the woman. “What was the problem the legislature was responding to that it needed to improve the facilities for women’s health?” Ginsburg asked. The Texas law requires abortion doctors to have “admitting privileges,” a type of formal affiliation, at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic. Abortion providers say the provision already has forced clinics to close because such an affiliation is hard to obtain. The abortion providers also challenged a provision, not yet in effect, requiring clinics to have hospital-grade facilities with standards for corridor width, plumbing, parking spaces, room size, the spacing of beds and many other attributes. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito indicated support for the regulations and referred to evidence that abortion facilities in Texas “have been cited for really appalling violations when they were inspected: holes in the floor where rats could come in, the lack of any equipment to adequately sterilize instruments.” The Supreme Court’s last major abortion ruling came in 2007 when it upheld a federal law banning a late-term abortion procedure. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. But abortion remains a disputed issue in the United States, as it does in many countries, and some states have passed laws aiming to place a variety of restrictions on a woman’s ability to terminate a pregnancy. The court is considering the Texas case in the midst of the heated campaign ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. | 1 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alabama Democrat Doug Jones, who won a bitter fight for a U.S. Senate seat this week, on Thursday called on his Republican opponent to concede the race and help heal the Southern state after a deeply divisive contest. Roy Moore, the conservative Christian Republican whose campaign was tainted by accusations that he pursued teenaged girls while in his 30s, made a second statement on Wednesday night in which he did not concede the election. Jones, a former federal prosecutor, will be the first Democrat to hold a Senate seat in Alabama in a quarter-century, narrowing Republicans’ majority in the Senate to 51 of 100 seats and potentially making it more difficult for them to pursue President Donald Trump’s agenda. With 99 percent of the vote counted, Jones had a lead of 1.5 percentage points over Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice. Alabama’s secretary of state, a Republican, has said the remaining ballots from Tuesday’s election were unlikely to shrink the victory to the half a percentage point margin required to trigger a recount. Jones said in an interview with NBC that he was confident of the outcome. “It’s time to move on,” he said. “The people of Alabama have now spoken ... Let’s get this behind us so the people of Alabama can get someone in there and start working for them.” Asked whether Moore should concede, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters, “I’m surprised. It sounds like it ... should have already taken place.” Jones on Wednesday said he had received congratulatory phone calls from Trump, who had endorsed Moore, as well as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “The president’s already called and congratulated Doug Jones and expressed his willingness to work with him and meet with him when he arrives,” Sanders said. | 1 |
Ever wonder what would happen if the U.S. was nuked? While there are numerous factors to take into consideration in the event of a nuclear war on U.S. soil, we’ve done our best to answer some of the most commonly asked questions, in the simplest and most understandable of terms.
Which Areas Would be Hit, and How Far Would the Fallout Reach? On the topic of which regions of the U.S. would be hit; part of it is left up to guess work, as we are unable to fully predict the aggressing nation’s tactics, but then much of it is also based on logic. For example, any nation that strikes the U.S. will want to disable their nukes, so we can easily surmise that areas such as North Dakota would be obliterated.
Active nuclear energy plants would also make good targets, as the added nuclear energy from the reactors would maximize destruction. And then of course, there are the major government facilities that would be targeted, at least, those that are known of – unfortunately, it’s safe to assume an aggressing nation’s intelligence would have a better idea of the U.S. government’s “soft spots” than the average American citizen.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, however, let’s go with what we know; what kind of targets would the U.S. go for? In the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, numerous military personnel, politicians, and now historians claim that the first bomb was dropped to prove it could be done, and the second bomb was dropped to display the United States’ strength to Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, who was originally aligned with the U.S. and Britain during WWII, but who the U.S. knew would become a problem once the war was over, (Foner, 2014, p. 887-949).
While we are aware there are numerous citizens who, to this day, refuse to believe any other version of events than the original government narrative, the point is, we can’t use the cases of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an accurate indicator of the type of targets the U.S. would choose. Fortunately though, we do have a detailed list of targets the U.S. created in 1956 – in the event of war with the Soviet Union – that was released through the National Archives and Records Administration . The list includes major cities for “ systematic destruction ,” including areas that contain “ Agricultural Equipment ” and “ Transformers, Heavy .” Most horridly though, was a target simply titled “ Population .”
Yep. The almighty, all wise, glorious, wholesome and righteous, baseball-loving, apple pie-eating, land of the free, and home of the brave, planned to target large populations of innocent civilians, and it’s with that in mind we can surmise that largely populated areas would be potential targets here in the States, as well.
Provided below are two maps created by FEMA, the first of which is from 1990, and shows the presumed targets the Soviets would have hit in the event of a nuclear attack. “Fallout,” according to the University of Notre Dame , is described as the mixture of earth and/or water that has entered the rising fireball caused from the detonation of a nuclear bomb near the Earth’s surface. This mixes with the radioactive debris of the explosion at an early stage, and is then blown into the troposphere and lower stratosphere, creating fallout. The most lethal fallout is indicated by the darkest coloration, while the lesser lethal fallout is indicated with yellow:
Source: FEMA
In this map, FEMA shows a sample fallout pattern we could expect in a nuclear attack:
Source: FEMA
How Long Would the Fallout Last? After being blown into the troposphere and lower stratosphere, “ the material is then re-distributed over polar (3-12 months) or equatorial regions (8-24 months). Fall-out removal times (defined in terms of half-life) ranges from 10 to 24 months depending upon seasonal conditions, most rapid during spring, slow in summer ,” again, this is according to the University of Notre Dame, (source above).
Where Would Government Officials and the “Elite” Go in the Event of a Nuclear Attack? | 1 |
BEIJING (Reuters) - A former personal assistant to an exiled Chinese-born billionaire, who has made claims of high-level Communist Party corruption, has filed a lawsuit in New York accusing him of raping her, court documents show. In the civil complaint lodged with the New York Supreme Court on Monday, the 28-year-old woman said she was lured by the businessman, Guo Wengui, to New York under the guise of a one-week business trip. Instead, she was held captive and ultimately subjected to repeated acts of mental cruelty and sexual violence , the suit says. She is seeking $140 million in compensation. Guo, who lives in New York, denied the accusation, describing it as fake . The complaint says the woman is a Chinese national who was employed by one of Guo s China-based companies. She was told upon arrival in New York that she would work as one of the real estate tycoon s personal assistants, the complaint, reviewed by Reuters, says. It said Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, forcibly took away the woman s passport, threatened her, monitored her internet usage and restricted access to her phone and laptop computer. The woman said she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse, which soon escalated to sexual assault, before she managed to escape to the Chinese embassy in London during a business trip with Guo. After her return to China, the woman provided a statement and evidence of her allegations to police in China, the lawsuit said, without detailing the evidence. The Associated Press reported late last month that Chinese police were investigating the woman s claims. Guo refuted the accusation. Of course it s fake, he told Reuters. He said the robbers of the country engineered the allegations to divert my attention, spread rumors and smear my reputation. Guo, who left China in 2014, has named senior Communist Party officials in a deluge of graft accusations via Twitter posts and video blogs, attracting a loyal online following. He has provided little evidence for his claims. China calls Guo a criminal suspect, and articles in state media have accused him of crimes including bribery, fraud and embezzlement. At China s request, Interpol issued a global red notice for Guo s repatriation in April. Guo lodged an application for political asylum in the United States last week. | 0 |
LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump on his views on climate change when the two leaders meet on Friday. Trump has dismissed climate change as a “hoax” and vowed during his presidential campaign to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. “As one of the world’s largest emitters ... his approach to reducing emissions could determine whether we, in the UK and people round the world, experience or avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” the letter from the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee said. May is set to be the first foreign leader to meet the new U.S. President on Friday, with the talks expected to focus on trade. Environmental Audit Committee chair Mary Creagh said that May should use the opportunity to demonstrate Britain’s commitment to fighting climate change. “The Prime Minister has said she won’t be afraid to challenge the new President. So she should start by telling him climate change is not ‘a hoax’,” Creagh said. Scientists warn that rising global temperatures must be stalled to stave off the worst effects of climate change, including floods, droughts and rising sea levels. | 1 |
Wow! Open threats that government will kill the president had to be clarified by Jake Tapper. BUT Please listen to this unhinged commentator on CNN and tell us the Deep State doesn t exist:I found the actual for video You guys decide if this is okay or not. Change agents=threats. Words like this on National TV is not right. pic.twitter.com/dQKksW47ef Bobby Axelrod (@SirBobbyAxelrod) August 10, 2017These CNN commentators were discussing the fact that Putin fired embassy employees in Russia. We reported (see video below) that President Trump said it s fine that Putin fired the employees because it saves the U.S. money. These loose cannons went ballistic and said that government will kill him. Even if it s not literally to kill, it s still a very threatening message! The entire commentary is disturbing!Here s what the panel was referring to: This is priceless! President Trump just gave the best response ever to a reporter s question! He said he wanted to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for reducing his payroll by firing U.S. embassy staff in Moscow. Hysterical and so quick! Watch how Trump doesn t skip a beat with his response:After Sanctions on Russia were put in place in July, Putin ordered 755 embassy personnel out of Russia.President Trump was asked today during a press conference what he thought of the firing. His response was quick and decisive. He said he wanted to thank Putin for the firing: No. I want to thank him, because we re trying to cut down on payroll. And as far as I m concerned, I m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll. He continued: There s no real reason for them to go back. So I greatly appreciate the fact that they have been able to cut our payroll for the United States. We ll save a lot of money. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE CNN PANEL KNOWS NOTHING! THE TRUTH IS THAT MOST OF THESE EMPLOYEES ARE RUSSIAN!SOURCE: BBC | 0 |
Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Randy J of 21Wire, Andy Nowicki from Alt Right Blog Spot and Daniel Spaulding of Soul of the East. Tonight the Boiler Gang discusses some twisted trends in identity politics some that you probably don t even know exist and may just blow your concept of what is coming down the pipeline with regard to the PC nightmare of life being nothing more than a choose your own adventure. The crew goes deep on the Orlando shooting in Florida for the entirety of the show after the hideous ice breaker topic!BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! Reference Links: | 0 |
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The city of Chicago asked a federal judge on Monday to bar President Donald Trump’s Justice Department from denying public-safety grants to so-called sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with a federal immigration crackdown. The nation’s third-largest city sued U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in August. The lawsuit was filed after Sessions announced the Justice Department would bar cities from getting certain grants unless they allowed immigration authorities unlimited access to local jails and provided 48 hours’ notice before releasing anyone wanted for immigration violations. Trump has made tougher immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his campaign and presidency, including vowing to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. The federal government has also sought to crack down on sanctuary cities. On Monday, Chicago attorney Ron Safer argued in U.S. District Court for a preliminary injunction that would apply nationwide while the court challenge proceeds. Safer argued that Sessions lacked authority to attach conditions that would force Chicago to choose between funding for crime-fighting equipment and programs, and adopting an unconstitutional policy that would shatter trust with immigrant communities needed to solve crimes. “This is a tremendously dangerous precedent to set,” Safer said, arguing that it could be applied to other grant programs to pressure cities to alter other local policies. Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler countered that the program was voluntary and tha funding amounted to less than 1 percent of Chicago’s public safety budget. The government had the authority to attach such conditions, and cited the previous administration attaching requirements that the money not be spent on military-style weapons, he said. “The courts have routinely recognized that the government can put conditions on spending to achieve things that they couldn’t otherwise directly achieve,” he said. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber did not say when he would rule but told both sides they would hear from him soon. During oral arguments, Leinenweber said there were conflicting statistics on whether such policies help or hurt crime. He asked questions about the Justice Department’s authority to set such conditions as well as the city’s larger stance on illegal immigration. “You don’t disagree that the United States should prevent illegal immigration, do you?” he asked. Safer acknowledged that the city did not support the practice of people coming to the United States without permission. The Trump administration has requested $380 million in funding next year for grants for police equipment and programs to hundreds of cities. Chicago and nearby suburbs have applied for $2.2 million this year. | 0 |
LONDON (Reuters) - Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Britain s Prince William and wife Kate, is to start at a nursery school near the family home in west London early next year, her father s office said on Monday. The two-year-old, fourth-in-line to the British throne behind her father, whose official title is Duke of Cambridge, her elder brother George and grandfather Prince Charles, will attend the Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington. We are delighted that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen the Willcocks Nursery School for Princess Charlotte, the school said in a statement. We look forward to welcoming Charlotte to our nursery in January. On its website the school, rated as outstanding by government inspectors, describes itself as traditional, saying it strives to maintain its ethos for high standards, excellence and good manners . Fees are 3,050 pounds ($4,072) per term for mornings and 1,800 pounds for afternoons. Unlike previous senior royals, Prince William attended nursery school as a child. His son George made the step up from nursery to primary school in September when he began at Thomas s Battersea, a private school in southwest London which is also close to the family s Kensington Palace home. As well as announcing news of Charlotte s new school, William and Kate released a new portrait photograph of their family which adorns their Christmas cards this year. Kate is pregnant with the couple s third child with the new royal baby due in April. ($1 = 0.7490 pounds) | 1 |
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Flames swept through an illegal firecracker workshop in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Wednesday, killing at least six people, police said. The fire broke out as workers were making crackers for Thursday s celebrations of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, district police chief Niti Shekhar told Reuters. The blaze injured seven others, leaving some with serious burns, he said. They had stocked crackers in the cottage illegally. Some workers were making the crackers and some were present to purchase the crackers, he added. Local television channels showed fire and smoke billowing out of the workshop in a cottage in Bahabalpur village, about 200 km (120 miles) from state capital Bhubaneswar. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton expressed doubts about whether the United States should go forward with a modernization of its nuclear forces at a in February, questioning an Obama administration plan that she has remained largely silent on in public. Mrs. Clinton also suggested she would be far tougher against foreign nations that hack into American computer networks and would kill one of the Pentagon’s pet projects, a cruise missile. “The last thing we need,” she told the audience, “are sophisticated cruise missiles that are nuclear armed. ” Her comments were contained in an audio recording of the that appeared on the website of The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative publication, which said it was gleaned from the hack of a campaign staff member. But it said nothing about who did the hacking. At a moment when Mrs. Clinton and the Obama administration have warned that Russia is trying to influence the American election, the mysterious release of the tape is also certain to raise new questions about the scope of attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. A former Defense Department official present at the Andrew C. Weber, who raised the question about nuclear modernization, verified the contents of the tape, but also suggested its release was part of the same hacking campaign that exposed D. N. C. emails. Before she turned to nuclear matters, Mrs. Clinton used the to suggest that she would be much firmer against foreign nations that hack into American networks. Though the administration never formally accused China of stealing the records of nearly 22 million federal employees and contractors, she called the theft “a gold mine for Chinese intelligence. ” “They are at it all the time,” she said of the Chinese hackers. But she also seemed to suggest — more directly than she did in Monday night’s debate — that she thinks the best deterrent to the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians and the North Koreans, all of whom she named, was a dose of American offensive cyberweaponry. “They have physical assets that are also connected on the internet,” she said. “So they have to know we would retaliate. So that provides a certain level of deterrence. ” It may not: The hacks of the Democrats’ infrastructure, so far without a visible American response, suggest that the deterrence Mrs. Clinton is relying on is not working. The recording was made in February during a event at the home of Beatrice and Anthony Welters in McLean, Va. Mrs. Welters was ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state. Mr. Weber was an assistant secretary of defense for nuclear programs from 2009 to 2014. Last year, after leaving office, he joined William J. Perry, a secretary of defense in the administration of President Bill Clinton and one of the Democratic Party’s most influential nuclear advisers, to write an in The Washington Post strongly opposing White House approval of an upgraded nuclear cruise missile. The missile is part of a sweeping modernization of the American nuclear arsenal that is estimated to cost up to $1 trillion over three decades. Undertaken by the Obama administration, it features new factories, refurbished nuclear arms, and a new generation of weapon carriers, including bombers, missiles and submarines. The new bombers are to carry the new cruise missile. At the Mr. Weber asked Mrs. Clinton about the modernization push and whether she, as president, would cancel the cruise missile, which he called a “particularly destabilizing, dangerous type of nuclear weapon. ” “I certainly would be inclined to do that,” she answered. “The last thing we need are sophisticated cruise missiles that are . ” Mrs. Clinton went beyond the question to warn of an emerging nuclear arms race, naming Russia and China as well as Pakistan and India. “This is one of the most dangerous developments imaginable,” she told the audience. “Pakistan is running full speed to develop tactical nukes in their continuing hostility with India. ” she said. “But we live in fear that they’re going to have a coup, that jihadists are going to take over the government, they’re going to get access to nuclear weapons, and you’ll have suicide nuclear bombers. So, this could not be a more threatening scenario. ” The United States, Mrs. Clinton said, needs to “do everything we can” to restrain the competitions, including exploring new treaties with Moscow that would go beyond the New Start treaty of 2010, which she helped negotiate. Mrs. Clinton proceeded to praise Mr. Perry, saying the more he spoke out publicly and joined with Republican statesmen in trying to curb nuclear arms, “the better off we’ll be in trying to really cut this off.’ “This is going to be a big issue,” she added. “It’s not just the cruise missile. There’s a lot of other money we’re taking about to go into refurbishing and modernization. ” “Do we have to do any of it?” Mrs. Clinton asked. “If we have to do some of it, how much do we have to do? That’s going to be a tough question, so I will look to people like you and Bill Perry to help me answer that question. ” Mr. Obama has said he wants to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in American strategy, and his aides have hinted he may believe the modernization program needs reconsideration. But he seems to have left that to his successor, and the cruise missile Mrs. Clinton spoke about so disparagingly remains in the Pentagon budget. | 0 |
(This version of the October 31st story corrects date of Trump s visit to Asia to November 5 in 8th paragraph) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will not go to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border of North Korea and South Korea during his Asia trip, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. The president is not going to visit the DMZ. There is not enough time in the schedule, the official told reporters in a background briefing. Instead, Trump will be the first American president to visit Camp Humphreys, a military installation south of the South Korean capital of Seoul. We thought that would make more sense in terms of its messaging, in terms of the chance to address families and troops there, the official said. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula last week and Vice President Mike Pence made the same trip in April. The official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity in briefing reporters, noted the two Trump administration forays to the zone. It s becoming a little bit of a cliche, frankly, the official said. Trump leaves for his first trip to Asia this week and is expected to arrive on November 5 in Tokyo. Separately, two U.S. officials said a decision may be made for the three aircraft carriers currently in the Asia Pacific region to carry out an exercise to coincide with Trump s trip. The officials said no decision had been made, but it would be the first exercise with three U.S. aircraft carriers in the region since 2007. A senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the buildup of naval forces was part of the military component of the Trump administration s strategy to put maximum pressure on North Korea, which includes sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Earlier on Tuesday, the State Department welcomed a decision by China and South Korea to resume normal ties after a year-long standoff over a decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy a missile defense system to counter North Korea s nuclear program. | 0 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Thursday said it had belatedly begun informing Congress and others about groups associated with the Russian intelligence and defense sectors as required under a 2017 law tightening sanctions on Russia. The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which became law on Aug. 2, among other things imposes sanctions on Russia to punish Moscow because U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia carried out a hacking and propaganda campaign to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations. The law calls on the president to impose sanctions on anyone he identifies as having engaged “in a significant transaction with a person that is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors” of the Russian government. The law required the Trump administration to “specify the persons that are part of, or operate for or on behalf of, the defense and intelligence sectors” of the Russian government by Oct. 1, a deadline the administration missed. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has now authorized the State Department to identify such people or entities, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. She said notification to Congress, as well as to industry, allies and partners, had begun and that public guidance on the matter would posted on the agency’s website soon, although she suggested this would not happen on Thursday. “We expect to post the full public guidance on state.gov shortly ... a lot of these conversations are still ongoing between Congress, industry, allies and also partners,” Nauert said at a briefing. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker this week said he wanted administration answers about why it failed to meet the deadline for implementing the sanctions on Russia. However, he said he spoke to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan by phone on Thursday and afterward said in a statement that the department’s guidance “is a good first step in responsibly implementing a very complex piece of legislation.” | 0 |
The USAA financial services firm is reinstating its advertising on Sean Hannity s Fox News Channel program after receiving heavy criticism for its initial decision from many of the military members and veterans that it serves.The San Antonio, Texas-based company said Tuesday it will also start advertising again on other programs where it had suspended ads, including Hardball and The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, and Jake Tapper s The Lead on CNN.Following Hannity s reporting on (what the AP calls a discredited conspiracy theory) involving the death of a Democratic National Committee staff member, the liberal advocacy group Media Matters last week posted a list of his show s advertisers and USAA was one of 10 to say it was pulling its commercials. At the time, the USAA said the company s policy was to avoid politically opinionated shows.But many of USAA s customers reacted angrily, and it didn t help when the company s advertising on other opinion shows was pointed out.USAA said it wasn t trying to favor one set of political views over another. We heard concerns from many members who watch and listen to these programs, USAA said in a statement on Tuesday. Our goal in advertising has always been to reach members of the military community who would benefit from USAA s well-known commitment to service. Today, the lines between news and editorial are increasingly blurred. The advertising is returning while the company reviews its policy about avoiding the opinion shows.Hannity was due to return to Fox Tuesday following a brief vacation. He had said he would no longer talk about the shooting death of Seth Rich last year following pleas from the man s family, although his network had retracted an online story about Rich because it hadn t met its reporting standards.Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, said he wasn t surprised by USAA s decision, given the avalanche of protests. His group was behind mobilizing that backlash, and said its members generated more than 1,600 phone calls to USAA within 48 hours. AP | 1 |
Next Prev Swipe left/right This outake of Brian Blessed swearing his head off on GamesMaster is why he’s a national treasure
60 seconds of muscular searing joy. We love you Brian. | 1 |
What happens when Hillary s poll numbers take a nose-dive after she s caught having convulsions in a press-free zone, passes out, and has to lifted into her vehicle by secret service? What happens when the public realizes Hillary is a sociopathic liar and they decide they can no longer support her, even if her genitalia matches theirs? They panic and then they resort to the most despicable act of all impugning the character of Donald J. Trump by using a FROG to paint him as a racist! pinning him to ONE person on Twitter who used Pepe the Frog to push a White Nationalist message. According to the liberal rag The Daily Beast the Twitter user is a self-proclaimed 19 yr old White Supremacist. The Hillary campaign is desperate, and is looking for any excuse they can think of to take down their formidable opponent, Donald J. Trump. How do they do it? With a frog From the Hillary.com website:Over the weekend, Donald Trump s son and one of his closest advisers posted an odd photo on their social media accounts:This raised some important questions.That s Pepe. He s a symbol associated with white supremacy.That s right.Here s the short version: Pepe is a cartoon frog who began his internet life as an innocent meme enjoyed by teenagers and pop stars alike.But in recent months, Pepe s been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the alt-right. They ve decided to take back Pepe by adding swastikas and other symbols of anti-semitism and white supremacy. We basically mixed Pepe in with Nazi propaganda, etc. We built that association, one prominent white supremacist told the Daily Beast.Trump has retweeted his white supremacist supporters with regularity, but the connection between the alt-right and his campaign continues to strengthen. Trump has been slow to disavow support from Ku Klux Klansmen (HILLARY IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO HAS RECEIVED OVER $20,000 IN DONATIONS FROM THE KKK AND HAS BEEN OPENLY ENDORSED BY THE HATE GROUP) and white supremacy groups, and he recently hired Breitbart.com s Steve Bannon as his campaign CEO (and Bannon isn t shy about the fact that his news organization is the platform for the alt-right ).Now white supremacists have given Pepe the cartoon frog some Trump hair and the candidate s own son says he is honored to be grouped with him.Let me get this straight: Trump s presidential campaign is posting memes associated with white supremacy online?Yes.Like all great art, Pepe was open to endless interpretation, but at the end of the day, he meant whatever you wanted him to mean. All in good fun, teens made Batman Pepe, Supermarket Checkout Girl Pepe, Borat Pepe, Keith Haring Pepe, and carved Pepe pumpkins.But he also embodied existential angst. Pepe, the grimiest but most versatile meme of all, was both hero and antihero a symbol fit for all of life s ups and downs and the full spectrum of human emotions, as they played out online.On social media, Pepe became inescapable. Katy Perry tweeted a crying Pepe with the caption Australian jet lag got me like, racking up over 10,000 retweets. Nicki Minaj posted a twerking Pepe on Instagram with the caption Me on Instagram for the next few weeks trying to get my followers back up, which 282,000 users liked. And then, recently, things took a turn: Pepe became socially unacceptable.Here is a screen shot of the PARODY account @JaredTSwift the Daily Beast and Hillary s campaign refer to:Yep that s it. Pepe the Frog was used by a singe Twitter user who clearly identifies his account as PARODY, so if Trump or anyone associated with Trump uses Pepe the Frog (who has been used by literally hundreds of thousands of social media users) Trump must be a racist! There is absolutely no mention of Jared Taylor Swift s support for Donald J. Trump in his bio or in his Pepe the Frog posts. But that s how these liberal rags roll, and Hillary jumped right on that bandwagon without any evidence whatsoever, in a desperate effort to tie Trump to this ONE anonymous PARODY Twitter user.This YouTube video does a great job of mocking Hillary and her campaign for attempting to pin a racist label on the cartoon frog in hopes that it would in turn make American voters believe Trump is a racist just like the cartoon frog Enjoy: | 0 |
You Are Here: Home » Health & Wellness » 4 Motivation-Zapping Thoughts To Identify and Eliminate 4 Motivation-Zapping Thoughts To Identify and Eliminate Prev post Next post
by Elizabeth Seward – Staff Writer
I often tell myself that the only difference between an idea and an accomplishment is action. I repeat this to myself regularly because I believe it; I believe in the power of action. Most people fully understand the importance of action, no matter how unproductive they might be.
The difficulty is often in finding the motivation to initiate action. Not everyone is born naturally motivated, but we all need this driving force behind us if we’re going to succeed in doing just about anything we dream of doing. In fact, much of our life trajectory depends on our ability to harness motivation so that it yields action. Are you killing your own motivation?
If you catch yourself entertaining any of the motivation-zapping thoughts below, stop that unhelpful voice in your head dead in its tracks and reset! What I Want Is For Other People, Not Me. I’ve been an artist all of my life. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to make “a living” out of creating, and thus, all of my life, I occasionally come across people who try to convince me that the life of an artist is one for rich folks or crazy people or beautiful elites or some other kind of person that just isn’t me. Luckily, I haven’t spent much time listening to those people. However, every once in a while, especially if I’m already feeling down, that thought pattern will make its way into my head. Learn this now: no matter your background, you are entitled to the opportunity to work toward what you want. I Don’t Have The Resources. Maybe you think you don’t have the time, the energy, the right space, the money, or any other type of resource or support you need to put your ideas into action. And maybe you’re right. But be honest with yourself: it’s more likely that you’re just making excuses. There are solutions to most problems like these, so find them and embrace them. Improve your time management skills, get some help with your other tasks (delegate!), secure the space and equipment you need – even if you have to borrow it, pinch pennies, find financing, look for a new job, exercise daily for an energy boost – just do whatever it takes. If the idea is important enough to you, you’ll find a way to uplift it with action. I’ll Do It Eventually. There is no eventually. There is no guarantee that you will be here tomorrow. If you can begin today, get the show on the road! Meet this motivation-zapping thought with rebellion and give your idea the green light today. I’m Not Good Enough. Maybe you think you don’t have the talent, intelligence, or charisma it takes to bring your idea into fruition? Think again. The biggest thing standing between you and your goal is not your raw skill, but your willingness to actively participate in your own idea. As they say, showing up is half of the battle (I think it’s most of the battle). Most people who are good at something didn’t get that way without practice. You have to begin cutting your teeth somewhere! The main reason others might be more skilled than you are at something specific is because they do it regularly and you do not. There are exceptions, of course, but this is usually the case. 3 Common Vegetable Garden Planning Mistakes
Are you planning a vegetable garden? You might not be aware of several common mistakes people make when they are planning out their vegetable gardens. When planning a vegetable garden it’s easy to ignore problems that can occur when plants are in the ground. In this video we look at 3 common mistakes gardeners make […] 8 Herbs That Can Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Are you feeling stressed or suffering from feelings of anxiety? You may find that certain herbs are a fast, easy and effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. Before going into detail about the herbs that can help you to manage your stress and anxiety, I do want to point out that diet and lifestyle still need to […] Chemtrails Killing Organic Crops and Monsanto’s GMO Seeds Thrive
Organic farmers and our food supply have a huge environmental hazard to contend with compliments of the U.S. government – chemtrails. Chemtrails are chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for purposes undisclosed to the general public in programs directed by various government officials. These sprays pollute the soil, water and air while […] The Horrific True Story of How Pringles Chips are Made
The Pringles Company (in an effort to avoid taxes levied against “luxury foods” like chips in the UK) once even argued that the potato content of their chips was so low that they are technically not even potato chips. by Dr. Mercola – Mercola.com To understand the nature of Pringles and other stackable chips, forget the […] Top 20 Energy Boosting Foods
Check out these 20 Super Energy Boosting Foods! by Matt Hall – staff writer If you’re finding your energy lacking, you may be tempted to reach for a chemical-laden energy drink or yet another double-shot espresso. Don’t! Instead of your 10th cup of coffee for the day, reach for one or more of the following […] China Incinerates 3 US Shipments of Genetically Modified Corn
China has destroyed a total of at least three genetically modified corn shipments with origins from the United States in a move that echoes the way in which the nation of Hungary actually went and destroyed acres upon acres of Monsanto’s GMO corn fields. This move by China represents a direct stand against Monsanto — […] Top chefs meet with lawmakers to urge GMO labeling
by Rachael Nania – WTOP News Chef José Andrés address lawmakers and chefs who met on Capitol Hill to urge members of Congress to support legislation mandating the labeling of genetically modified foods. (WTOP/Rachel Nania) WASHINGTON — The discussion surrounding labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms is reaching a boiling point, and chefs are adding […] Shoulder Pain: Natural Remedies For Joint Pain Relief
You can provide your own shoulder joint pain relief, in most cases. The pain relief is usually right at your fingertips……once you know a few very basic techniques. Learn the self-treatments that will get rid of your pain. The results can occur quite rapidly once you release the right tissue. Just follow along with the videos. Step 1 – […] How Roundup Ready GMO Corn Is Made
Have you ever wondered how GMO corn is made? Roundup Ready Corn is genetically engineered corn that has had its DNA modified to withstand the herbicide glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup). It is also known as “glyphosate tolerant corn.” Roundup Ready corn was first deregulated in the U.S. in 1997 and first […] Eight foods that help fight allergies
by Sandeep Godiyal – Naturalnews.com Allergies are indeed bothersome. But instead of reaching out to the usual medications, individuals can now seek relief from various foods. Among the known foods that help fight off spring allergies are citrus fruits, red grapes, broccoli, collard greens, nuts, apples, fish, onions and garlic. With a diet enriched with these […] Costco Going All Out for Organic
As originally reported by The Seattle Times, Costco is finding new and creative ways to meet its customers’ growing demand for organic produce. Article by Sarah Landers – Natural News Costco can be a little unpredictable when it comes to embracing natural, healthy foods. In 2015, there was a petition against the company to urge it not […] Attachment And Separation: What Everyone Should Know
by Dr. Peter Cook – The Natural Child Project Many human troubles would be lessened if the emotional needs of infants and young children were better understood in our society. This applies particularly to attachment needs and the effects of separating infants from their parents. Can you imagine how you might feel if you were happily […] Kellogg’s Loves GMO Contamination of Organic Food
Organic Consumers Association and allies warned Kellogg’s, if they used sugar from genetically engineered sugar beets in their foods, they would face a consumer boycott. Kellogg’s responded, claiming that, even though they don’t use genetically engineered ingredients in Europe, in the U.S., “consumer concerns about the usage of biotech ingredients in food production are low.”Does that […] 6 Diet Tips to Prevent Cancer
Even though there isn’t a food out there that is going to prevent cancer completely, there are certain things that you can do to avoid getting one of the major cancers. For starters, how about sticking with more of a plant-based diet? Eating more vegetables and fruits, while consuming less dairy, processed meats and alcohol can […] Join For Free! Discover Little Known Health Secrets and Useful Tips For Healthy Living! First Name | 0 |
The Washington Post Nearly a third of territory reclaimed from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2014 has been won in the past six months, due to new policies adopted by the Trump administration, a senior State Department official said Friday.Brett McGurk, the State Department s senior envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, said that steps President Trump has taken, including delegating decision-making authority down from the White House to commanders in the field, have dramatically accelerated gains against the militants.Combined Islamic State losses in both countries since the group s peak control in early 2015 total about 27,000 square miles of territory 78 percent of militant holdings in Iraq and 58 percent in Syria. About 8,000 square miles have been reclaimed under Trump, McGurk said in a briefing for reporters.Although the Trump administration has yet to announce its new strategy for the campaign against the Islamic State, McGurk cited key changes under Trump. In addition to the delegation of decision-making authority, which he said has allowed much greater responsiveness to opportunities and changing circumstances, he cited a campaign of annihilation that has concentrated on surrounding cities held by the militants before launching offensives, to ensure that no militants will escape.He said the 2,000 militants remaining in Raqqa most likely will die in Raqqa. The United Nations has estimated that 25,000 civilians also remain in the city.McGurk, who held the same job in the Obama administration, also cited renewed administration efforts to increase burden sharing from the coalition among what he said were 73 countries. Most of them do not contribute to the warfighting but are expected to help with stabilization efforts in cleared areas, including in the Iraqi city of Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraq security forces declared victory over the Islamic State last month. | 1 |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Granting Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont political asylum in Belgium would be not unrealistic if he asks for it, the Belgian migration minister said, underlining his country s position as a contrarian voice in the Spanish standoff. The Madrid government sacked the Catalan leader and dismissed the region s parliament on Friday, hours after it declared itself an independent nation [nL8N1N280L]. Spain s constitutional court has also started a review of Catalonia s independence vote for prosecutors to decide if it constituted rebellion. While there was no indication Puigdemont was hoping to come to Belgium, the country is one of few members of the European Union where EU citizens can ask for political asylum. It is not unrealistic if you look at the situation, Belgium s migration minister, Theo Francken, told Belgian broadcaster VTM. They are already talking about a prison sentence, Francken, a member of Flemish nationalist party N-VA, said. The question is to what extent he would get a fair trial. It would be difficult for Spain to extradite Puigdemont in such a case, he said. While most European leaders have refrained from commenting on the Spanish crisis, saying it was an internal matter and the country s constitution should prevail, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called for dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona[nL8N1MD34Z]. Michel, a centrist from French-speaking Wallonia, has governed in coalition with the N-VA since 2014, a period during which the party toned down its calls for more independence for Belgium s Dutch-speaking North. The relationship between Belgium and Spain soured over a similar issue in the 1990s and 2000s, when the country refused to extradite a Spanish couple wanted over alleged involvement with the Basque militant group ETA. | 1 |
Pieczenik: ‘There is a coup in the White House and we are going to stop it’ Full-scale counter coup launched November 1; the tyrants have been warned By Shepard Ambellas - November 2, 2016 ( INTELLIHUB ) —“The Clintons have been involved in corrupting our White House, our judiciary, our CIA, our Federal Bureau of Investigation, our Attorney General Loretta Lynch and our Diector of the FBI James Comey for some time now,” Steve Pieczenik said in his latest video released Tuesday
Pieczenik said that a coup had been formed in the White House through “political cronyism” and that “the Intelligence community and others formally involved have gotten together” and “initiated a counter coup through Julian Assange and Wikileaks.”
“We have your number,” Pieczenik said, talking about the corrupt Administration.
“We are going to stop you from making Hillary Clinton the President of the United States,” Pieczenik told the Establishment in a firm tone.
“[…] we will convict and indict the President of the United States, Loretta Lynch and many other who are involved in the cover-up of the massive corruption that occurred under the Clinton Foundation.”
“This is probably the first time in the history of any country where a coup was initiated through the Internet and a counter-coup was initiated through the Internet.”
‘This is bigger than me,’ Pieczenik said before pointing out that good people in “over 15 agencies” are working together to stop this criminal syndicate.
‘We have everything we need to undermine the Clintons’
“We do not have weapons, we do not have the intent to kill anybody and we do not intend to harm anybody.”
Pieczenik pointed out how the American public, along with good veterans and people in Intelligence agencies, will put a stop to the Clintons from once again “assuming power.”
‘History is occurring in front of us.’
Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, filmmaker , radio talk show host and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics. Established in 2013, Intellihub.com is ranked in the upper 1% traffic tier on the World Wide Web. Read more from Shep’s World . Get the Podcast . Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter . | 1 |
BNI Store Nov 4 2016 “MODERATE” INDONESIA: Protest against a Christian governor turns violent as more than 100,000 Muslims demand death for Christian governor who “blasphemed” Islam JARKARTA: The biggest street protest in years shook this sprawling capital today in a stark display of the more conservative, militant strain of Islam taking hold in the world’s largest Muslim country. ( Which Hillary Clinton has called a “shining example of a ‘moderate’ Islamic country” ) WSJ Police said an estimated 100,000 people turned out for a rally called by hard-line Muslim groups against the capital’s Christian governor, whom they accuse of having committed blasphemy. Blasphemy is a criminal offense in Indonesia and prosecutions have increased in the past decade. President Joko Widodo had met with other political leaders amid calls for calm, but critics say he has been too slow since taking office in 2014 to respond to worsening tension for fear of being labeled anti-Muslim. “Religiosity is rising, especially among the middle class,” said Yon Machmudi, an Islamic politics expert at the University of Indonesia. “A sense of identification is increasing.’’ Protesters were taking aim at Basuki Tjahaha Purnama, known as Ahok, who is the most prominent politician among the country’s often-persecuted, ethnic Chinese minority. He was elected deputy governor in 2012 and elevated to the top job in 2014 after his boss, Mr. Widodo, was elected president. Some hard-liners had tried to block his ascent then, saying Muslims shouldn’t be ruled by a “kafir,” or nonbeliever. Mr. Purnama, now running for re-election, angered the groups again by citing a verse of the Quran in a public address in late September. He has apologized and said he would cooperate with a police investigation, but has since been the target of protests. Vice President Jusuf Kalla met a group of protest leaders and said afterward that police would pursue a blasphemy case against Mr. Purnama. Nearly 90% of Indonesia’s 250 million people are Muslim and are becoming more radical every year as seen by head scarves for women, once rare, are now widely worn and Islamic schools are expanding. A movement to ban alcohol is gaining steam and sales have been banned from convenience stores. Travel to Mecca for the minor pilgrimage of umrah, once a relatively uncommon undertaking for middle-class Indonesians, is newly popular. Security experts say the rising conservatism paves the way for potential violence , pointing to some religious hard-liners who have rebranded themselves as cells of Islamic State. “What we’ve seen in the last 18 months to two years is increasing crossover from organizations that started out ‘nonviolent but hard-line’ to organizations which are now committed to using violence,” said Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. Gang of Indonesian Muslim men (below) beat to death members of Ahmadiyah sect, which Muslims reject as part of Islam because of it’s call for non-violence. | 1 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.