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308 | In Era of Trump, China’s President Champions Economic Globalization - The New York TimesDAVOS, Switzerland — In a world troubled by grave uncertainties over the basics governing trade, security and the mission to limit climate change, President Xi Jinping of China on Tuesday portrayed his nation as a responsible global citizen dedicated to furthering international integration. That a leader of the People’s Republic of China can stake a claim to the mantle of leadership in the realm of free trade speaks to the unforeseen, even surreal alteration of the global order in recent months. His message, delivered here in the Swiss Alps at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum, appeared meticulously timed to the tumultuous moment at hand. He was speaking three days before Donald J. Trump was to be inaugurated president of the United States, raising the prospect of a trade war with China, and on the same day that Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain outlined plans to pursue her country’s departure from the European Union. The Chinese leader used his moment to make an expansive case for globalization as a source of prosperity. He never mentioned Mr. Trump by name, nor did he even make reference to the fact that the White House is about to gain a new occupant. Yet his speech resonated as a rebuke of the trajectory that the has promised — not least, his repeated threat of steep tariffs on Chinese goods as a response to what he portrays as predatory trade practices. In myriad ways, Mr. Xi is a strikingly steward of openness and connectivity. Under his direction, China’s Communist Party has clamped down severely on civil society, tightening restrictions on the internet and jailing scores of lawyers focused on using the country’s own laws to defend the rights of aggrieved people. He has projected China’s navy into contested waters in the South China and East China Seas. Throughout his speech, Mr. Xi carefully used the phrase “economic globalization,” while avoiding unqualified “globalization,” reflecting China’s spurning of an open internet, universal human rights and free elections. Indeed, the metaphor he used to reject protectionism — “like locking oneself in a dark room” — could just as well have been used to describe China’s political path under his leadership, with the Communist Party overtly guiding a campaign to restrict the influence of what it labels Western notions such as democracy. This month, China’s top judge delivered a speech sharply criticizing the idea of an independent judiciary, which he said must be “resolutely rejected. ” Not for nothing, China carries a reputation as a country willing to bend the norms of global commerce when such a course suits its interests. Steel producers around the globe complain that Beijing dumps its steel on world markets at prices lower than the cost of raw materials, costing jobs at mills from Italy to Indiana. But the populist ferment refashioning the global order has made previously unthinkable roles possible. In the United States, the supposed citadel of free market enterprise, a wealthy real estate magnate has captured the White House on the strength of his appeal as a supposed champion of workers. Here in Davos, where technology executives fret about the plight of Africa while drinking champagne paid for by investment banks, the chairman of the Communist Party of China — an institution that rules in the name of revolution — draped himself in the banner of globalization. None of these details were featured in Mr. Xi’s highly choreographed appearance at the gathering that has become a rite of passage into the ranks of the global elite. For Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, the participation of China’s president amounted to a public relations coup because it was the first time a Chinese head of state had attended. Mr. Schwab obliged with his trademark soft treatment. He asked no questions, solicited none from the audience, and delivered an introductory address so laudatory that it provoked winces among some in the audience. “In a world marked by great uncertainty and volatility, the international community is looking to China to continue its responsive and responsible leadership in providing all of us with confidence and stability,” Mr. Schwab said. That Mr. Xi chose this year to make his debut underscores China’s attempt to improve its international standing just as much of the world appears in turmoil. The United States is about to inaugurate as president someone who has questioned the relevance of powerful institutions that have anchored the world order for decades, from NATO to the World Trade Organization. Britain is pursuing a fraught divorce from the European Union, dealing a blow to those who have advanced regional integration as a solution to economic and security problems. The growing electoral strength of populist, Union parties in France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany has intensified fears that the union may not endure. These developments have yielded a gnawing sense that a complex world is suddenly short of adult supervision. Mr. Xi devoted his speech to trying to fill that vacuum, casting China as a trustworthy power in which people are taking considered action to address consequential challenges — from climate change to a weak global economy. “This appears to be a time of uncertainty in the United States, in the U. K.,” said Lee, a prominent venture capitalist in Beijing who invests in emerging Chinese companies. “The world needs strong leaders to give the world confidence. ” In keeping with the traditions of speeches delivered by senior Chinese officials, Mr. Xi’s address was long on platitudes, tortured metaphors and literary references, while nearly bereft of policy pronouncements. Yet, in totality, it delivered a striking message: In an era in which the United States and Britain are consumed with recriminations over the strains of globalization, China will continue to tether its fortunes to world trade. Mr. Trump has picked as a key trade adviser the economist Peter Navarro, who has long portrayed China as a mortal threat to American prosperity. Mr. Trump has threatened to brand the country a currency manipulator, opening the door to punitive tariffs. Though Beijing has in years past maintained its currency, the renminbi, at artificially low levels to make its goods cheap on world markets, it has in recent months intervened aggressively in the other direction, propping up its value against the dollar. “China has no intention to boost its trade competitiveness by devaluing the RMB,” Mr. Xi said. In another implicit rebuke of Mr. Trump, the Chinese president argued forcefully for on the 2015 Paris climate accord. Mr. Trump has threatened to renounce the deal while naming to his cabinet several people who question the basic scientific consensus on climate change. “The Paris agreement was hard won,“ Mr. Xi said. “All signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it, as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations. ” Mr. Xi was accompanied by an enormous delegation of Chinese officials and business executives who reveled in a moment on the world stage, posing for photos as they awaited the president’s arrival. In conversations on the sidelines, many expressed concerns about the threats of tariffs from the incoming Trump administration, fearing the consequences of a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. But most assumed tough rhetoric would eventually give way to the realities of shared commercial interests. China relies on access to the United States, the largest consumer market on earth, as the landing place for its exports. The United States depends upon China for a vast range of finished goods. Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, the Chinese giant, said he assumed cooler heads would find a way to avoid trade hostilities. “I don’t think it will happen,” he said of the hostilities. “It’s going to be a disaster if it does. ” More than a decade has passed since the United States Congress effectively prevented CNOOC, a Chinese oil company, from buying the American energy company Unocal, branding the merger a threat to national security. Fu Chengyu, CNOOC’s chief executive at that time, pointed to the treatment of the merger as an indication of American hypocrisy on free trade. But on Tuesday, as he waited for the Chinese president to deliver his address, Mr. Fu, who recently retired from another major Chinese energy company but retains a party post, expressed confidence that Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump would forge common ground. “Eventually, they will cooperate to get more benefits,” Mr. Fu said. “At the beginning, Trump will say something very harsh. He will try to do something punishing. But this is a sword. Once he’s in the White House, he will see things differently. ” | 1 |
309 | The Sad Saga Of John Walker Lindh, Rebel Without A Clue The Sad Saga Of John Walker Lindh, Rebel Without A Clue The Sad Saga Of John Walker Lindh, Rebel Without A Clue Beau Albrecht
My father was a high-ranking student radical poobah and still thinks Castro is the bees' knees. Although this makes me technically a red diaper baby, I rejected all that baloney early on. These days, I write stories - mostly comedy science fiction - as well as maintain a blog mainly about dating advice, political commentary, and my writing projects. November 15, 2016 Culture
John Walker Lindh grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. His family brought him to California when he was ten. In another ten years, he would become known as the American Taliban. While in Afghanistan, he was known as Sulayman al-Faris, one of several Arabic monikers he’s used over the years. Johnny joins the jihad There are moments when one realizes one’s vacation is really starting to suck.
When he was twelve, the young Lindh saw Spike Lee’s rather hagiographic film biography about Malcolm X. That began his fascination with Islam. While a teenager, he used the evocative email [email protected] and made several postings about rap music on Usenet. Sometimes he pretended to be Black, even having the nerve to “dis” Dr. Dre :
$hort Dog does hip hop no glory Wack like Dr Dre and his made-up gangster stories Sellout house nigga living honkey dory Saying he’s broke in his own pool doing laps All these playground MC’s fall off like scabs Skills disappear like alaka abracadab
Dr Dre’s a disgrace selling out to the talcolm He’ll be left dead and naked in the outcome Word to brother Malcolm Dre shirts and hat’s when will we see his cereal?
So who’s the poseur there, anyway? I’m not sure whether to laugh at the sheer impertinence, or cry at the abuse of the English language.
When he was sixteen, he formally converted, beginning his fateful journey. Meanwhile, his family situation was on shaky ground. His father turned gay , living part-time with his male lover , and eventually divorced.
John began his world travels, twice venturing to Yemen, both times for nearly a year. Later, he stayed at a Pakistani madrassa. In May 2001, he went to Afghanistan to fight on behalf of the Taliban. Unfortunately for him, after September 11, American forces went to war with the Taliban. He was captured on November 25 after his unit surrendered in Kunduz.
The CIA questioned him, and he claimed to be an Irishman. (That must have been an interesting conversation, perhaps “Ach, begorrah, top o’ the mornin’ to ye!” Presumably, pretending to be black again wouldn’t have gotten him very far.) Shortly after, the captive jihadis staged a bloody uprising , and Lindh escaped. Hundreds died, including Mike Spann, one of his interrogators. After that, he was recaptured and—following some rough treatment, not that I’m shedding any tears about it—questioned again. He announced defiantly that he wasn’t in the Taliban, but rather Al Qaeda. His actions sealed his doom.
Fighting for the Taliban fruitcakes was a pretty dumb move on his part. His actions after being captured were even dumber. What could he have done differently? In the beginning, he could’ve said he was interested in Islam, and his quest for discovering his spiritual roots took him abroad. Then he could have lied and told them he was press-ganged into the Taliban, and he was quite happy to be freed by his countrymen.
He could have tipped off his interrogators about the planned escape attempt—potentially sparing many lives on both sides—as well as avoiding further criminal charges for himself. Had he given a helpful warning about the uprising, likely they would’ve concluded he was small fry and let him go. After that, he could’ve become the star of the daytime TV talk shows. Then he could’ve given speeches on the anti-war circuit, helping his jihadi buddies by saying they really aren’t that bad or whatever.
Instead, he ended up faced with ten criminal charges, which could’ve meant three life sentences plus ninety years. Finally getting smart, he copped a plea for twenty years, with the possibility of three off for good behavior. Now, he’s in Federal prison, making the news back in 2012 by suing for the right to be allowed group prayer . What went wrong?
As Bush the Elder put it, Lindh was “some misguided Marin County hot-tubber.” Later, he apologized profusely for the remark. Still, I have to say that Bush 41 was onto something with that one; all the criticism he got from that was because the truth hurts .
Things could’ve been different. Lindh didn’t have to become a renegade. If he’d made other choices, he could be living a happy life as a productive member of society, rather than counting the days in a prison cell. Still, his environment bears some responsibility for what he became.
He was raised in the Catholic faith, but a stronger grounding in it—as well as explaining some of the unpleasant realities about Islam to balance out the picture —might have put the kibosh on his journey to jihad. (A liberal environment should at least be able to explain why all that’s bad. Or has liberalism become too wishy-washy to assert its own values?) There wasn’t much chance of parental guidance turning him from the wrong path; his mother converted to Buddhism and his father left for the gay community.
For that matter, if he had acquired an appreciation for good music—be it Mozart or Metallica—perhaps he wouldn’t have been so fascinated by irritating rap music. What kind of white kid is so alienated from his heritage that he pretends to be Black and laughably accuses Dr. Dre of selling out? On that note, as for Malcolm X, didn’t Lindh have some cultural icons of his own? I have to wonder if he received much grounding in his own Irish-American heritage.
All this is an illustration of what can happen when an impressionable adolescent is cast adrift in an “ anything goes ” environment. Islam speaks in absolutes, enjoining right conduct and forbidding haram conduct, and they fight for what they believe in. (I can’t fault them too much for that, although I disagree with their theology and actions on many points.)
Going further, Islam offers paradise for believers—promising seventy virgins to their martyrs—and eternal hellfire and brimstone for the damned; there’s nothing wishy-washy about it. Indeed, embracing radical Islam could be interpreted as an utter rejection of the “anything goes” world view. I certainly don’t agree with Lindh’s choices, but I can see how he found that compelling in comparison to being at sea in moral relativism .
This certainly isn’t the first time that people turned their backs on their countries and went abroad to give aid and comfort to the enemy. Jane Fonda’s North Vietnam adventure comes to mind; an action she now regrets. More recently, there were about five hundred misguided youths who volunteered to be human shields in Iraq for their pal Saddam. For all their posturing, none of them got themselves blown up over there. (Leaving aside the question of whether or not the resumption of war was justified, 500 fewer Social Justice Warriors would’ve helped cleanse the gene pool a bit.)
Then there’s the odd case of Matthew Todd Miller , a Californian who went to North Korea, tore up his visa, and announced he was seeking political asylum. That one’s an iffy case though; later he said “I just wanted to speak to an ordinary North Korean person about normal things.” Kids these days… In summary Don’t let this happen to our youth. They must not grow up culturally bereft.
In times past, children were taught about their country’s heritage, instructed in their culture, and pride in their nation was instilled in them. It was a given that these were presented as good things. These days—at least in much of the Western world—this isn’t happening. We can’t count on the educational system—and certainly the media—to do that any more.
Because of decades of cultural Marxism , young people are indoctrinated with a negative view of their own civilization. “All societies, beliefs, and ways of life are equal, except yours are terrible.” Those who don’t see through that baloney end up rootless, alienated, and disconnected from their own culture. Some even end up thinking that their homeland is the embodiment of all evil while repressive regimes abroad are wonderful. This is basically what Social Justice Weenies think, something they have in common with young jihadi rebels without a clue.
This will have to change, of course. Hopefully, the day will come when the media manipulators and educational bureaucrats who pushed cultural Marxism are standing in the unemployment line. For now, we’ll have to pay close attention to the messages that the young people in our lives are absorbing, and help them learn to be secure in their faith and cultural identity. Teach them about their roots and why that’s important. Don’t let the TV be your child’s babysitter. “Anything goes” is not a standard by which to raise our youth. | 0 |
310 | Courts Disagree Over Michigan Vote Recount - The New York TimesDueling court rulings left the fate of a presidential vote recount in Michigan uncertain on Tuesday night, and elections officials in the state said they were “seeking clarity about the next steps. ” A recount of last month’s election had already begun in parts of Michigan, one of three closely contested states where Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presidential nominee, had called for new counts, when the seemingly conflicting legal decisions emerged late Tuesday from state and federal courts in Michigan. Ms. Stein has cited concerns about computer hacking and the reliability of voting machines, setting off legal fights with lawyers for Donald J. Trump, his campaign and his allies, who view the recounts as a needless and expensive tactic. A panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals found that Ms. Stein, who finished a distant fourth to Mr. Trump in the election, had not met the state’s requirements for a recount because she had no chance of winning. The panel concluded that the Michigan Board of State Canvassers ought not to have permitted a recount to go forward because Ms. Stein, given the size of the vote for her, could not be deemed “aggrieved,” as required for a recount under state election law. Yet in a separate decision, also announced late Tuesday, a federal appeals court turned down requests from the state’s Republican Party and from Bill Schuette, the state’s attorney general, to block a federal court ruling that had cleared the way for the recount to proceed more swiftly than expected. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that Mark A. Goldsmith, a Federal District Court judge, had not violated his discretion when he ordered the recount to go forward on Monday in order to get it done by Electoral College deadlines in . Even as the recount has proceeded in conference halls and fairgrounds around the state, the legal fight has been fierce. By late Tuesday, even some officials leading the recounts seemed puzzled about what the latest court rulings would mean for counting the rest of the ballots. In at least one county, Ingham, Barb Byrum, the county clerk, said her workers were finished with their count. In Pennsylvania, another of the states where Ms. Stein has pressed for a recount, lawyers for Ms. Stein went to federal court on Monday to ask a judge to order a recount on constitutional grounds. Republicans are countering the petition, and a decision is pending. And in Wisconsin, a recount was in its sixth day and proceeding as scheduled, with little change in the statewide results as they were reported on election night. A lawsuit seeking to halt the recount, filed late last week by two “super PACs” supporting Mr. Trump and by a private citizen, is still pending a judge has scheduled a hearing for Friday. | 1 |
311 | Bernie Sanders’s Feud With the Democratic Leadership Heats Up - The New York TimesDoubling down on his feud with the Democratic Party leadership, Senator Bernie Sanders said that if elected president, he will not reappoint Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. He made the comments during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that is set to air on Sunday. Mr. Sanders also said he was supporting Tim Canova, a law professor who has begun an insurgent campaign against Ms. Wasserman Schultz for her South Florida congressional seat. They will face off in a primary this summer. “Well, clearly, I favor her opponent,” Mr. Sanders told Mr. Tapper. “His views are much closer to mine. ” For months, Mr. Sanders has accused the party of favoring Hillary Clinton, often calling her the “anointed candidate. ” He has criticized the party for a debate schedule that his campaign says favors Mrs. Clinton an arrangement under which Mrs. Clinton raises money for the party and the appointment of Clinton supporters as leaders of important convention committees. Most recently, he and the party have sparred over what happened at the Nevada Democratic convention a week ago. There, Sanders supporters disrupted the proceedings in a fight over delegates and the state party chairwoman was later threatened. After the party rebuked Mr. Sanders for not clearly condemning what had occurred, his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, accused Ms. Wasserman Schultz of “throwing shade on the Sanders campaign from the very beginning. ” This week, Ms. Wasserman Schultz pushed back against the Sanders campaign in an interview with CNN. “We’ve had the same rules in place that elected Barack Obama,” she told the network. “These rules were adopted for state parties all across the country in 2014. ” In a statement on Saturday, she said that “even though Senator Sanders has endorsed my opponent, I remain, as I have been from the beginning, neutral in the presidential Democratic primary. ” As president, Mr. Sanders would have the ability to appoint the committee chair, though it is not likely he will get that chance, as Mrs. Clinton is close to clinching the nomination. Nevertheless, he can try to draw a little blood from Ms. Wasserman Schultz with his endorsement of her primary opponent, Mr. Canova, the underdog in the race. Mr. Canova, a Nova Southeastern University law professor, has echoed Mr. Sanders’s messages about the need to combat economic inequalities and reform campaign finance. He has also mirrored, on a small scale, Mr. Sanders’s model by raising more than $1 million through small donations that have averaged about $19 each. “I’m so proud to know that Bernie Sanders favors our progressive campaign,” Mr. Canova said in a statement on Saturday. “Like Senator Sanders, I’m running a campaign that’s truly backed by the people, not big corporations — one that stands up to Wall Street interests instead of cozying up to them. ” Mr. Sanders spent Saturday campaigning across the Western states. At a rally in Vado, N. M. he offered a series of familiar attacks against Mrs. Clinton, criticizing her use of “super PACs,” her stances on trade agreements and her support of fracking. He also talked about the need to improve the poverty and high school graduation rates in the state. Mr. Sanders then went to California, where he planned to hold an evening rally in National City and where he visited International Friendship Park, an area on the United States border with Mexico. There, he walked along two large walls separating the countries with an immigration activist and Maria Puga, a woman whose husband was killed by border patrol agents as he attempted a crossing from Mexico. Mr. Sanders vowed that if elected, he will push for comprehensive immigration reform. He called a proposal by the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, to build a wall along the entire border both “immoral” and “impractical. ” | 1 |
312 | The shortest and most powerful explanation of Trump's victory I have ever seenZach Cartwright | November 11, 2016
The Democrats’ staggeringly piss-poor performance Tuesday night resulting in Donald Trump’s victory can be summed up in one word: Turnout.
Hillary Clinton would have won had she focused her message more on appealing to white, working-class voters in rust belt states like Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. As this New York Times map of the 2012 election shows, President Obama won all of those states in 2012. Obama also won roughly 2.6 million more votes than Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Donald Trump’s narrow margin of victory in the Electoral College was only possible by winning all of the aforementioned rust belt states .
There was hardly any enthusiasm behind Hillary Clinton when examining exit poll results. In an analysis of Reuters/Ipsos exit polling, Times writer Sarah Jaffe found several revealing trends showing why Clinton was a poor choice for the Democrats in terms of motivating voters to get to the polls and cast their ballots for their party’s nominee:
75 percent of respondents agreed “America needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful.” Only slightly fewer agreed that “the American economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful,” and — perhaps the kicker — 68 percent believed that “traditional parties and politicians don’t care about people like me.”
The numbers bear out that argument — Clinton’s turnout was lower than Obama’s turnout in both 2008 and 2012, even though she still won the popular vote this year. No matter how you slice it, Clinton wasn’t enough of a draw to make the difference, particularly in key states like Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states Obama won in 2012. As the Washington Post reported, three traditionally blue states Trump won in 2016 that Obama won in 2012 — Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — Clinton got between 5 and 15 percent fewer votes than Obama.
The Democratic primaries were a harbinger of things to come in a general election matchup featuring Clinton and Trump. As US Uncut reported in March, Hillary Clinton’s victories in the March 1 Super Tuesday primaries all depended on voter turnout numbers lower than 2008 figures — the last time there was a contested Democratic primary. In all seven states Clinton won that day, each state had turnout anywhere between 4 percent and 50 percent lower than in 2008 .
The data makes the argument all by itself. No amount of scapegoating heaped on Jill Stein supporters can explain Hillary Clinton losing traditional Democratic strongholds that Obama won not only once, but twice . In Detroit, Michigan, for example, Hillary Clinton got roughly 120,000 fewer votes than President Obama in 2012. Those votes made the difference in securing Trump’s victory, as Clinton lost Michigan by roughly half that number.
Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell — one of the most senior officials within the Democratic Party apparatus — argued in a radio interview that even though Hillary Clinton was beloved by Democratic Party leadership, Bernie Sanders would have likely prevailed among the white, working-class rust belt constituency specifically due to his anti-establishment message.
“It would be interesting to think of how Bernie Sanders would’ve done. Bernie Sanders would’ve lost a few Republicans who voted for Hillary because of some of his economic views but he would’ve fought Donald pretty hard for those disaffected, angry, and frustrated workers,” Rendell said on 1210 WPHT in Philadelphia.
Had the Democratic Party nominated a candidate more attuned to the mood of voters in one of the most anti-establishment elections in generations, turnout could have been much higher, and America would have averted Trump’s victory.
Zach Cartwright is an activist and author from Richmond, Virginia. He enjoys writing about politics, government, and the media. Send him an email at [email protected] | 0 |
313 | Russia Looks to Populate Its Far East. Wimps Need Not Apply. - The New York Times Russia — Standing ankle deep in mud in a swampy grassland more than 4, 000 miles from his home, Yuri A. Bugaev surveyed a wasteland that the Russian government is offering to pioneers under its own version of the 1862 Homestead Act in the United States. “This is not really what I had in mind,” said Mr. Bugaev, who had traveled across seven time zones from St. Petersburg, Russia, to scout the possibilities for settlers in the country’s sparsely populated Far East, a territory roughly the size of the United States. The nine Far Eastern regions targeted for settlement in the government’s land giveaway, which began on June 1, encompass more than a third of Russia but are home to only 6. 1 million people. This is just 4 percent of the country’s population and compares with the 110 million Chinese living across the border in the three provinces that make up Manchuria. Mr. Bugaev is a dedicated, if largely sedentary, Cossack, a fraternity of Slavic warriors, freebooters and rebels. A romantic throwback to earlier generations of Cossacks who settled and secured the borders of the Russian empire, he sees getting his Cossack brethren and other Russians to move out east as the only way to keep mostly empty Russian lands safe from China. For years, he said, he had dreamed of Russia embracing, or rather the pioneer spirit, and he was delighted by the Kremlin’s backing of a program meant to reassert the country’s manifest destiny as a power. All the same, he conceded that not many Russians living in the European side of Russia, who dream of a house in London or Paris, not a shack in a swamp near China, share his zeal for a new life in wild eastern regions that many associate with labor camps and convicts. “Most people these days don’t want an adventure,” he said. The Russian government, however, is intent on proving otherwise and on giving some substance to a command by President Vladimir V. Putin in 2013 that the development of Siberia and the Far East must be “our national priority for the entire 21st century. ” How to get people to settle in the Far East is a question that has preoccupied and confounded Russian rulers since the establishment of a Russian naval base on the Pacific Ocean at Okhotsk in the 17th century. Cossacks, convicts and desperate peasants have often been the only takers. In Communist times, labor camps, heavy investment in remote industrial sites and the construction of a second railroad across Siberia and the Far East revived the eastward flow of people. But this ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and residents began to drift away. A population of more than eight million dwindled by about two million. Russia’s Ministry for the Development of the Far East, the agency managing this latest development gambit, cited a survey it commissioned, saying that 20 percent of Russians would be ready to move east if given free land. Younger Russians, the ministry said, were even more enthusiastic, with more than 50 percent expressing an interest in heading east to take advantage of the offer — one free hectare, about two and a half acres, a person. But as often happens in Russia, grandiose hopes and plans have run far ahead of the reality on the ground, where bureaucrats, appalling weather and immense distances conspire to smother the Kremlin’s ambitions. “It is all pie in the sky,” said Vladimir V. Mishchenko, the head of the Khankaisky district, one of nine pilot areas chosen by Moscow to test the free land program. He complained that the whole thing had been dreamed up by people in Moscow who had no understanding of the Far East but needed to show the Kremlin that they were doing something. For the moment, the free land is restricted to small areas, like the Khankaisky area around an isolated settlement north of Vladivostok, and is open only to Russians already living in the Far East. Starting in February, however, all Russian citizens can apply, and Mr. Bugaev wants to make sure he is ready to “help save Russia. ” At the start of his scouting mission, after a flight to Vladivostok from Moscow, he found his hotel packed with Chinese, mostly tourists. Donning his Cossack fur hat, he declared his mission even more urgent than he had thought. He set off the next day for to inspect the land on offer, driving for hours in torrential rain through sodden taiga and mostly empty villages. Undaunted, he said he thought there were enough hardy souls ready to join his organization, the Far Eastern Hectare Social Movement, a private outfit set up in St. Petersburg to drum up interest in the free land program and to organize new settlements. Its website explains that it is possible to be a pioneer without even leaving home, at least to start with. People can simply apply for free land and pool what they get so a larger plot can be developed by a few adventurous souls. If this works, those who contribute land but stay behind in St. Petersburg can move east later, after most of the hard work is done. “Virtually nobody wants to come out here right now,” Mr. Bugaev conceded, complaining that the available plots — about 12, 000 square yards a person — cannot possibly support sustainable agriculture or any other business venture. (American pioneers got more than 60 times that amount — 160 acres — under the Homestead Act.) The Russian plan has been derided as a dreamy patriotic stunt cooked up by Kremlin image makers or a scam that will end up enriching officials, who have the right to take back the land after five years if they decide development targets have not been met. The Kremlin, however, has thrown its weight behind the program, set in motion this summer with a blitz of publicity on state news media presenting the Far East as an El Dorado of opportunity, and the start of a government website that allows citizens to view plots of land and make online applications. The official website went down as soon as it was unveiled, a mishap that Aleksei A. Navalny, the renowned anticorruption campaigner, said was probably a deliberate malfunction engineered by officials so they could grab the best land for themselves. Mr. Navalny, in a report last month, noted that coveted plots on the shore of a picturesque lake outside had been snapped up by the time the website started working again. Yan P. Ovodenko, a local official, denied that the lakeside plots had all been taken. A more serious blow to Mr. Bugaev’s hopes was delivered by Mr. Mishchenko, the district head. While the area might look empty, he explained, nearly all the land is already owned or at least claimed by somebody. And even if Mr. Bugaev were to get allotted land, developing it would require cooperation from 22 different government agencies responsible for enforcing a thicket of rules and regulations. “The water code, you have to abide by it town planning code, you have to abide by it land code, you have to abide by it border area rules, you have to abide by them prescriptions of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, you have to abide by them forest regulation, you have to abide by it,” the district chief said. Of the 460 people who have applied since June 1, Mr. Mishchenko said, 390 have been rejected outright because they failed to provide the necessary information. In all, only four people, all from Vladivostok, have thus far secured plots. “For any meaningful agriculture, you need 5, 000 hectares to start off,” Mr. Mishchenko said. “And those lands don’t exist. They’ve been snapped up a long time ago. ” Undeterred by his initial finding in Khankaisky district, Mr. Bugaev pressed on. A Cossack leader in the regional administration in Vladivostok, Oleg Melnikov, assured him that the land giveaway was on track and faced no serious problems. A local company involved in agriculture also liked Mr. Bugaev’s plans for an updated version of collective farming and urged him to focus on trying to find people in St. Petersburg ready to apply for plots of land. “I think this will all work out,” Mr. Bugaev said, warily eyeing Chinese tourists crowded in the lobby of his Vladivostok hotel. “This is not just for adventure but to save Russia. ” | 1 |
314 | The Johnson Amendment, Which Trump Vows to ‘Destroy,’ Explained - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — When President Trump told an audience of religious leaders on Thursday that he would ‘destroy’ the Johnson Amendment, he declared his intention to sign a bill that would fundamentally alter a major aspect of the divide that has been a constant in American politics for generations. But what exactly is the Johnson Amendment? It is one of the brightest lines in the legal separation between religion and politics. Under the provision, which was made in 1954, entities like churches and charitable organizations are unable to directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate. Specifically, ministers are restricted from endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. If they do, they risk losing their status. Considered uncontroversial at the time, it was passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. Today, however, many Republicans want to repeal it. Back when Lyndon B. Johnson was a senator from Texas, he introduced the measure as an amendment to the tax code in 1954. Like many things Johnson did, the goal was to bludgeon a political opponent, in this case a rival in a primary who had the backing of nonprofit groups that were campaigning against him by suggesting he was a communist. Though there was no church involved, according to PolitiFact, churches were covered by the bill as well. Mr. Trump promised he would work to repeal the Johnson Amendment as part of his extensive outreach efforts to religious conservatives, a group that took a long time to warm to his candidacy. Eliminating the measure has been a goal of the right. Conservatives have argued that it violates the protections of free speech and free exercise that the First Amendment extends to houses of worship. Courts have not agreed. Speaking of the implications of a repeal last year, Jerry Falwell Jr. the prominent evangelical leader and Trump supporter, said it would “create a huge revolution for conservative Christians and for free speech. ” | 1 |
315 | Donald Trump to March for Life: ‘You Have My Full Support!’President Donald Trump signaled his support for activists attending the March for Life on Friday. [“The #MarchForLife is so important,” he wrote on Twitter. “To all of you marching — you have my full support!” The President confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence will speak at the event. According to organizers, Pence is speaking around noon. Trump set big expectations for the March for Life during an interview with ABC’s David Muir when asked to compare possible crowd size to that of last week’s Women’s March on Washington: “You will have a large crowd on Friday, too, which is mostly people, too, and I didn’t realize this, but I was told. You will have a very large crowd of people — as large or larger, Trump said. Some people said it will be larger — people, and they say the press doesn’t cover them. | 1 |
316 | Police Official Found Dead on Long Island, and Suicide Is Suspected - The New York TimesA New York City police official was found dead on Friday in a car on Long Island, where he is believed to have shot himself, the authorities said. The official, Inspector Michael Ameri, the commanding officer of the Police Department’s Highway District, was found in Suffolk County with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, Stephen P. Davis, the department’s top spokesman, said in a statement. The authorities in Suffolk County said detectives were investigating a death that was reported shortly before 1 p. m. in Babylon. Inspector Ameri, 44, was a friend of Deputy Inspector James Grant, the commander of the 19th Precinct on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, who had been reassigned as part of a wave of discipline amid a sprawling federal inquiry into municipal corruption in New York. Inspector Grant was placed on modified duty last month. There has been no indication that Inspector Ameri was under investigation. It was unclear whether investigators were seeking Inspector Ameri’s cooperation with their inquiry focused on Inspector Grant. Mr. Davis declined to comment on the investigation. “We’ve consistently said this is an ongoing investigation and we would not comment whatsoever,” he said. A law enforcement official said that as of Friday, Inspector Ameri’s duty status had not changed. On Friday evening, police cars were parked in front of Inspector Ameri’s home in West Babylon. Inspector Ameri was the commanding officer of the 78th Precinct in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, from 2011 to July 2014, when he left to lead the Highway District. “We are saddened to learn of the passing of Inspector Michael Ameri,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. ” City Hall officials said that Mr. de Blasio knew Inspector Ameri in passing from the time when the inspector was commander of the 78th Precinct. Roy T. Richter, the president of the union that represents police captains, inspectors and deputy chiefs, said the group was “heartbroken” by Inspector Ameri’s death and asked “that you keep his family in your prayers during this traumatic time. ” “Inspector Ameri is known as a dedicated police officer who excelled in all of his command assignments,” he said. | 1 |
317 | Life: If You Love Enamel Pins, You’ll Love This Etsy Shop, And If You Don’t Care About Enamel Pins, You’ll Explode Over This Picture Of A Bulldog Puppy, And If That Doesn’t Do It For You, You’ll Lose Your Shit Over This Amazing-Looking Pizza, And If You Don’t, We’ll Find Something For YouEmail If you can’t get enough enamel pins, then it’s time to start freaking out, because this Etsy shop is all about them. With hundreds of unique designs for you to mix and match, it’s easy to get lost in this enamel fan’s wonderland. Check it out: Or maybe enamel isn’t for you. Not a problem. Forget about the pins, in that case, and get ready to explode the moment you see this little guy: A ! He’s a bulldog puppy, he’s 2 months old—oh, and did we mention he has the most adorable face anyone has ever seen? Bulldog isn’t doing the trick? Hey, that’s totally okay! Let’s move on. Here’s an incredible pizza. And here’s a grilled cheese you need in your belly ASAP. We have collected it for you. It is here to annihilate your mind. How’s that? Are you now slobbering uncontrollably from the food? Has the food melted you to a quivering puddle of yes? If not, keep scrolling, because we’re just getting started. We will find just the thing. What about this diabolical optical illusion that is going to destroy your mind. Total brain collapse in three…two…one… Did that work? Surely you have lost it and you can’t even handle it and you love it so much it is so you. No? Fine…What else…Perhaps this is the thing that will wreck you at last: a badass vintage car. Go ahead and flip out: Still nothing? You are not yet blowing up with joy? Okay. Don’t worry. The GIF of the dog who is trapped in the toilet will now transform your body into rubble: Jesus. Let’s go back to the enamel store for a sec, maybe we scooted off it too quickly. It really is a great store. Hard enamel. Soft enamel. Lapel pins. Regular old pin-pins. If you like enamel AT ALL then it should only take one look at this set of OMG-worthy pins and you’ll be out of control with joy: What?? What do you want from us? What do you need? We will collect it here. You crave Bill Murray in public? Here is Bill Murray in public: Beautiful pic of biggest waterfall? There. It is done. Look. Look at these things. There must be | 0 |
318 | Nevada: Rep. Election Workers IntimidatedNevada: Rep. Election Workers Intimidated November 08, 2016 Myla Gibson, 3, waits as her father Ken Gibson fills out a ballot for the presidential election at the James Weldon Johnson school in East Harlem,
Republican volunteers called 911 claiming Clinton supporters were Harassing them.
Volunteers canvassing and dropping off literature at houses Monday for Nevada Republican senate candidate Rep. Joe Heck were followed by supporters of Hillary Clinton, who then subsequently pulled down the literature, a source within the Nevada Republican Party told The Daily Caller in an exclusive report. The staffers following them were wearing HRC buttons and HRC stickers. Beyond following them, the HRC workers began going up to houses and illegally removing Heck literature from the doors,” the Nevada GOP source said. “When the Heck volunteers noticed this going on, they stopped to take pictures of the illegal action.” The source said that, “Within a few minutes, more HRC campaign workers showed up. At this point, the Heck volunteers began to feel threatened and called 911 to report HRC workers illegally removing campaign literature and harassing the Heck volunteers.”
Reports like the case in Nevada may seem minor to some, but those that have been called to pray over this election know that it only confirms the need for prayer. The kind of anger and even violence that can manifest during and after elections is something to be taken seriously. We have seen violence erupt during elections in other countries, and it certainly isn't something we want to see in the United States. The call is to pray without ceasing Church!
Article by The Daily Caller / TRUNEWS analysis.
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We believe Christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide Church informed, and to offer Christians a positive alternative to the anti-Christian bigotry of the mainstream news media Top Stories | 0 |
319 | Radical Changes Are In Store For The World And Global Markets, Are You Ready?79 GOLD , KWN King World News
On the heels of continued chaos in key markets, radical changes are in store for the world and global markets.
Radical Changes Are Coming On the heels of the release of his KWN audio interview covering the gold smash and urging investors to remain strong, KWN did a follow-up interview with Dr. Leeb because of the intensity of the recent takedown in gold, silver, and the mining shares: “If you’re worried that gold’s post-election drop means the bull market in the metal that we’ve been predicting is a mirage, relax. The current dip in gold, while it could last a month or two longer, is merely a slight head fake in a bull market more on course than ever to be of momentous proportions… IMPORTANT: To hear which legend just spoke with KWN about $8,000 gold and the coming mania in the gold, silver, and mining shares markets CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
If we had to sum it up in a single (albeit long) sentence, here it is: Trump’s victory and the market’s subsequent turbulence signals a seismic shift in market leadership to commodity-led growth; U.S. imports of increasingly scarce and ever more costly commodities will rise drastically and so will inflation that a behind-the-curve Fed will be helpless to curb; the eventual, inevitable upshot will be that commodity producers will become increasingly reluctant to take paper money for their ever scarcer resources and will want some more durable asset like, you guessed it, gold.
That’s the case for gold in broad outline. Now for the supporting evidence.
Let’s start with the reality that the U.S. has been blindly complacent about commodities, which will be required in massive amounts for the big infrastructure push Trump has promised. The U.S. Geological Survey tracks around 65 vital commodities and minerals. For over 40 of them we import more than half our needs; for 25 (about 40 percent), we import at least 90 percent of our needs. We used to be far less dependent on other nations. At the beginning of this century we imported 90 percent or more of our needs for only a quarter of important commodities and imported 50 percent or more for about half.
If you wonder why that’s a big deal, the problem is that those resources will be increasingly difficult and costly to obtain as they become scarcer. And scarcities are inevitable – in fact, they’ve begun. The chart of the index of raw industrials, the prices businesses pay in real time for the commodities they use (as opposed to futures trading) is revealing. Remarkably, it shows that even at the nadir of the Great Recession, when capitalism’s very existence seemed precarious, the index stood 20 percent higher than its average during the 1990s. There is no way to explain this other than by realizing that commodities had become scarcer than in the previous decade.
Since the 2008 crash, global growth has been strong only in 2010 and the first half of 2011. In this period, the index far surpassed its 2008 high. After 2011, world growth retreated to recessionary levels until mid-2016, when just a hint of growth sent commodities almost to their pre-Great Recession peak. Now with commodity-intensive infrastructure a worldwide imperative, they are destined to go well past their all-time highs.
But What About Gold? So why hasn’t gold gotten the message yet? One reason is that with gold rightfully seen more as a currency than a commodity, and with inflation still low, the market has some illusions that perhaps we’re going back to the 1990s Goldilocks era of strong growth and low inflation. But the emergence of commodity scarcities will nix that possibility.
The only reason the markets haven’t already caught on is one recalcitrant commodity: oil. With oil prices lagging, headline inflation has remained low and the Fed still behaves as if it will remain low forever. But once oil gets into the act, headline inflation will jump and everything that requires oil – including virtually every other commodity – will jump as well.
Here is a look at a few key reasons why oil will rise. Right now, with virtually every producer producing at full throttle, oil is about 750,000 barrels a day in oversupply. That will change either because OPEC at its meeting later this month acts to cut production or because increased demand overtakes the world’s ability to produce. Above is a sign from the 1970s warning consumers about gas shortages
OPEC Will Move To Raise Oil Prices We think OPEC will act, and it won’t have to cut by much to reverse the current situation of oversupply. OPEC currently produces about 34 million barrels a day, a record amount, and is estimated to have no more than about 1 million barrels of excess supply – and even that could be overstating it. Over the past five years the cartel’s production has averaged about 31 million barrels a day. At its peak in 2015 it was producing less than 33 million barrels. Even returning to that previous peak would easily turn a glut into a deficit.
And with the IEA estimating demand in 2017 will grow by 1.2 million barrels a day – likely an underestimate in light of the push for infrastructure – it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that we’re headed for an oil deficit. That means big-time gains in oil prices and in inflation. If you think fracking will fill the gap, it won’t. Even with three-digit oil, frackers will find it tough to add even half a million barrels of oil to current production. Remember, fracking is resource-intensive, so its costs rise when commodity prices go up – and much of the recent gains in fracking productivity come from vast increases in the amount of sand and water used to frack the wells.
Gold Liftoff! Once oil joins the party, all the commodity pieces will be in place for gold to take off. Remember, gold was far stronger than industrial commodities during the 2001 to 2008 boom and again during the second commodity upleg between 2009 and 2011.
As for the Fed, we don’t expect it to take a strong stand against inflation, not with a Trump administration that has little fear of debt and that will likely view even high inflation as better for business than slow or even negative growth. Protracted slow growth has fractured America and the world, and the 1970’s high inflation harmed Wall Street. Not much of a choice for a populist administration.
Bottom line: the world has taken another giant leap to a future with little place for paper currencies and in which gold will become the monetary center. So stop worrying about gold’s current weakness and buy gold, which will be by far your best protection in a tumultuous future. While commodities and commodity-levered stocks will lead the market for the foreseeable future, gold (and other precious metals) will end up winning the race…As mentioned in the opener, KWN also released a completely separate audio interview today with Dr. Leeb covering the takedown in the gold and silver markets. T o listen to the extraordinarily powerful audio interview where Dr. Leeb urged investors to stay strong ahead of what he predicted “is going to be the greatest bull market of anybody’s lifetime that’s alive today ” CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
***ALSO JUST RELEASED: Did This Just Signal A Major Bottom In Gold & Silver? CLCK HERE.
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320 | What It’s Like to Make It in Showbiz With Your Best Friend - The New York TimesThey met at 18, the worst dancers in a college ballet class, and sought refuge in a basement practice room, taking a first stab at songwriting with a tune about adolescents playing hooky and footsie at a suburban diner. They went viral before going viral was a thing — their undergraduate years coincided with the birth of Facebook, and the first song cycle Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote, called “Edges,” was discovered, shared and performed by musical theater majors around the country. Now, at the age of 31, after a decade of being touted as promising, and Pasek and Paul have arrived. Their first original musical, “Dear Evan Hansen,” a daringly show that explores the charged interplay between collective grief and social media after a misconstrued high school suicide, begins previews Monday, Nov. 14 and is generating prize chatter even before it opens on Broadway Dec. 4. Five days later, their first Hollywood movie, “La La Land,” a romantic Ryan Stone musical fantasia for which they wrote the lyrics, opens that film was the hit of this year’s festival circuit. But that’s not all. In an era in which the film and television industries are showing a renewed interest in musicals, they have written all the songs for a movie starring Hugh Jackman — a P. T. Barnum biopic called “The Greatest Showman” — which is now in rehearsal and scheduled for release late next year by 20th Century Fox. Disney has hired them to write new songs for a remake of “Snow White. ” Oh, and they even have a song in “Trolls,” the DreamWorks Animation comedy that opened early this month. “I love them,” said Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, who hired the pair to write three songs for the television show “Smash,” and became so enamored that he is now a on “Dear Evan Hansen. ” “To me, they’re the future of the musical, on stage or screen. ” Musical theater history is peopled by pairings. And even before they graduated from the University of Michigan, Pasek and Paul — that’s the branding they fell into as their surnames in alphabetical order — have been prospectively placed in the pantheon. “Rodgers Hart. Lerner Loewe. Pasek Paul? It has a nice ring to it,” said a university publication in 2006. They are handsome and charming, and exuberant, observant, obsessive, and, of course, neurotic. Mr. Pasek writes words, and Mr. Paul writes music, but they have opted, right from the beginning, to share credit for both elements of their songs. They estimate that they spend 350 days a year together, for six to 12 hours at a stretch, sending texts and video clips back and forth when they are not in the same room, and even sometimes when they are. “Everything that we’ve studied and loved has all built to get to be in a moment like this,” Mr. Paul said during a joint interview at Sardi’s, surrounded by caricatures of the industry’s greatest talents. “Our goal was always, if we could just write songs and tell stories, and get to do that every day, that’s our dream. ” [A Pasek and Paul primer: six videos to watch] Although their sensibility is contemporary, they are deeply rooted in the musical theater tradition, and their sound is somewhere on the border between show tunes and pop — they are not part of the revolution on Broadway. They have proven especially deft at musicalizing emotional yearning: The 11 o’clock number in “Dear Evan Hansen” is a poignant effort by an apologetic single mother (Rachel Bay Jones) to comfort her disconsolate son (Ben Platt). In “La La Land,” the climactic song is a stirring recollection by an aspiring actress (Ms. Stone) reflecting on inspiration at a casting call. “I think we’re attracted to material that’s hopeful and messy, and in that mess, there’s an attempt at getting at truth,” Mr. Pasek said. They are, on the surface, quite different from each other. Mr. Paul, who lives in Harlem, is a churchgoing Christian from Westport, Conn. straight married and the father of a daughter. Mr. Pasek, who grew up in Ardmore, Pa. and now lives on the Upper West Side, is gay, Jewish and single. But they both began as little boys who loved to sing. Mr. Paul, a talented pianist, started early. At age 3, he was singing gospel music with his father, a pastor, in church. Later, he sang and danced at senior centers with Music Theater of Connecticut and then, at Staples High School, he performed in “Into the Woods,” conducted the orchestra in “Hello, Dolly!” and spent his free time poring over Broadway “fake books,” which help pianists master melodies. Mr. Pasek also sang with a parent: His mother is a developmental psychologist and professor with a propensity for bursting into song. (“She’s like a musical theater character, in the best possible way,” he said.) She wrote and performed songs from a child’s point of view (“They were a big hit on the synagogue circuit,” he said) and he remembers guest starring with her at about age 7. Mr. Pasek sang and traveled with the Philadelphia Boys Choir Chorale, and then, as a student at Friends Central School, performed in musicals including “Bye Bye Birdie” and “42nd Street. ” They compare themselves to brothers, who bicker and bond, knowing their relationship will endure. A recent fight, over whose bad habits were to blame for their difficulty replacing the final first act song in “Dear Evan Hansen,” sent Mr. Pasek stalking out of their Columbus Circle studio into the street, but then, 10 minutes later, calling Mr. Paul for a lengthy that prompted the pair to ditch the disputed number and start over. Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul met the summer before college, at a freshman orientation weekend, and connected over a shared sense of humor, a passion for the work of Jason Robert Brown and an obsession with “Merrily We Roll Along. ” (The title “Edges” alludes to a “Merrily” lyric.) Mr. Pasek wanted to record some songs he had written as a high school senior, and he recruited Mr. Paul as an arranger and accompanist with that, their collaboration began. They mined their own experiences, and those of their friends, for material, acting out songs as they wrote. “I kept watching them observe the social experiment of college and find ways to articulate it,” said Nick Blaemire, a fellow Michigan student who is now an actor in New York, recalling a night when he told Mr. Pasek about his difficulty expressing love to a girlfriend, and seeing that become “I Hmm You. ” Raised in the digital age, and aware of the role social media played in fueling their popularity, they have demonstrated an ease promoting their work — at first with CDs and a homespun tour of “Edges,” and more recently with producers, performers and journalists — that has served them well. “They’re salesmen, and always have been — they know how to explain what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,” Mr. Blaemire said. Michael Gracey, the director of “The Greatest Showman,” had imagined asking a number of songwriters to contribute songs to his film, but, as he talked with Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul about the movie, abandoned that plan to give them all the work. He even videotaped their songwriting sessions, convinced that they would be of significance for posterity. “I can’t even begin to describe the enormous impact those two have had on this film,” he said. The director of “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle, had a similar experience: He was looking for seasoned lyricists who could write words for songs composed by Justin Hurwitz when Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul, seeking the gig, gave him proposed lyrics for a song called “City of Stars. ” That became a signature number. “It was screamingly obvious that we had stumbled onto a gold mine with these guys, and we brought them on right away,” Mr. Chazelle said. Their promise was evident as soon as they started writing together. Brent Wagner, the emeritus chairman of the musical theater program at the University of Michigan, still remembers the night in 2005 when Mr. Blaemire, then a junior, persuaded him to stop by the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor to see “Edges. ” “It was a youthful work, and it wasn’t completely advanced — there wasn’t even music written down — but it was marvelous, and at that moment, you knew you were in the midst of real talent and real understanding of theater craft,” Mr. Wagner said. “By the time they left school,” he said, “we knew it would just be a matter of time. ” Jeff Marx, the Tony of “Avenue Q,” was equally convinced — so sure that he placed a bet on them. A Michigan alumnus, he had taken on Mr. Pasek as an assistant in the summer of 2005. (“I looked at his Friendster profile and he seemed like a nice kid. ”) The next year, when Mr. Pasek asked to return, Mr. Marx told him he needed to stop interning and focus on writing shows with Mr. Paul. Mr. Paul couldn’t afford to write full time — he needed to earn money for school — but Mr. Marx was so intent that he offered to give Mr. Paul money in lieu of what he would have earned from a summer job. Then, when Mr. Paul said he was unwilling to accept charity, Mr. Marx repositioned his offer as a wager, staking him $7, 000, to be repaid only if Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul made it to Broadway within the next decade. It happened, but in an unexpected way. They had a frustrating experience adapting the Roald Dahl children’s book “James and the Giant Peach,” which was mounted at Goodspeed Musicals in 2010, and has been revised since. They remain proud of their songs, and the show is still being produced at small theaters, but the Dahl estate has decided to restrict professional productions to make room for a different adaptation. Their musical version of the 1991 film “Dogfight” was presented at Second Stage, Off Broadway, in 2012, and was generally admired, but not well enough to make the leap to Broadway. But after the initial songwriter for the adaptation of the 1983 family film “A Christmas Story” was let go, they were brought in — and nominated for a Tony Award — when the show, which was developed to tour, ended up transferring to Broadway in 2012. Six years after Mr. Marx’s bet, Mr. Paul handed him a check at the opening night party. “My money was safe,” Mr. Marx said. Other mentors have stepped in, too. Stephen Schwartz, the writer of “Pippin” and “Wicked,” has been advising them since Mr. Paul met him as an undergraduate. Mr. Schwartz recommended them to Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (“Ragtime”) who admitted them to a Dramatists Guild fellowship. Ms. Ahrens and Mr. Flaherty assigned them to observe the development of “Next to Normal,” where they met the director Michael Greif (best known for “Rent”) who is now directing “Dear Evan Hansen. ” The new show was borne from an observation Mr. Pasek had about how his own high school community reacted when a former student died unexpectedly he noted the desire of many, including himself, to be counted among the bereaved for someone they did not know well. Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul had talked about the idea for years when a producer, Stacey Mindich, who had helped commission “Dogfight,” offered to finance their dream project. She introduced them to the work of a playwright, Steven Levenson, who became the “Dear Evan Hansen” book writer, turning their musings into a narrative. The show, developed through productions last year at Arena Stage in Washington and this year Off Broadway at Second Stage, features a performance by the Mr. Platt (“Pitch Perfect”). As a high school student he had discovered Pasek and Paul via YouTube, and sang one of the “Edges” songs at a senior concert. (Mr. Platt is not the only Pasek and Paul fan in his family — his father, Marc Platt, is the producer of “La La Land” and “Snow White. ”) The duo’s work demonstrates an understanding of the contemporary lives of teenagers, but several of their collaborators have also been struck by their empathy for parents. “The insight they seem to have into the heart of a mother has been there as long as I’ve known them,” said Ms. Jones, who has played Pasek and Paul mothers in “A Christmas Story” and “Dear Evan Hansen. ” “They use these tiny moments to describe enormous feelings that have no words — a lyric about a Ninja Turtle or glow stars on the ceiling,” she said, referring to a song that was used during the early stages of “Dear Evan Hansen. ” Both Ms. Jones and Mr. Platt distinctly remember the day Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul brought in a new song, “So Small,” in which her character describes the impact of the breakup of her marriage on his character’s childhood. “It makes you die inside because it’s so real,” she said. Mr. Platt agreed. “Everybody was a big wreck. ” As they now prepare for the openings of the musical and movie, Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul describe what looks like sudden success as largely a coincidence. They have been working on “Dear Evan Hansen” for six years, they finished writing songs for “Trolls” and “La La Land” more than a year ago, and they haven’t yet begun work on “Snow White. ” But still — on one particularly busy recent day, they started in Dumbo, Brooklyn, at 8:30 a. m. for a “Greatest Showman” script meeting traveled to Midtown to tweak “Dear Evan Hansen” arrangements with their orchestrator, Alex Lacamoire split up so Mr. Paul could go to a Chelsea studio to record tracks for “Showman” while Mr. Pasek sat in on auditions for Mr. Platt’s understudy went to MoMA for a screening of “La La Land” hosted by Jennifer Lawrence and then to an at the Rainbow Room’s Bar SixtyFive. Most days aren’t nearly that varied or that glamorous. And at the start of each project, it is still the two of them, trying to figure out how to tell a story through music. “Nothing changes — the next time we have to write a song we’re going to sit down at a piano and bang our heads against it for a long time and talk ourselves blue in the face about what it should be,” Mr. Paul said. Mr. Pasek jumped in, finishing the thought: “Facing the blank page doesn’t get any easier. ” | 1 |
321 | Trump Nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, elevating a conservative in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia to succeed the late jurist and touching off a brutal, partisan showdown at the start of his presidency over the ideological bent of the nation’s highest court. Mr. Trump announced his selection during a evening ceremony that unfolded in prime time at the White House. He described Judge Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge based in Denver, as “a man who our country really needs, and needs badly, to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. ” “Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support,” Mr. Trump said, standing beside the judge and his wife, Louise, as White House officials and Republican lawmakers looked on. “It is an extraordinary résumé — as good as it gets. ” But Democrats — embittered by Republican refusals for nearly a year to consider President Barack Obama’s choice to succeed Justice Scalia, and inflamed by Mr. Trump’s aggressive moves at the start of his tenure — promised a showdown over Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation. Joined by liberal groups that plotted for weeks to fight Mr. Trump’s eventual nominee, leading Democrats signaled they would work to turn the Supreme Court dispute into a referendum on the president, and what they contend is his disregard for legal norms and the Constitution. Conservatives and business groups cheered Judge Gorsuch, calling his record distinguished and his qualifications unparalleled. The announcement came at a particularly tumultuous moment in an extraordinarily chaotic beginning to Mr. Trump’s presidency. Just a day earlier, he dismissed the acting attorney general for refusing to defend his immigration order that started a furor across the United States over what critics condemned as a visa ban against Muslims. “Now, more than ever, we need a Supreme Court justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights and will stand up to a president who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said in a statement. “The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans,” Mr. Schumer said. He said he would insist that Judge Gorsuch meet the threshold needed in the Senate to overcome a filibuster for his confirmation to move forward. That would either require eight Democrats to join the Senate’s 52 Republicans to advance the nomination, or force Republicans to escalate a parliamentary showdown — as Mr. Trump has already urged them to do — to change longstanding rules and push through his nominee on a simple majority vote. Republicans and conservative groups signaled they relished a war over Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation. “I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. He noted that the Senate confirmed Judge Gorsuch without opposition in 2006 to his current seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Carrie Severino, the chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group that immediately started a $10 million campaign to defend Mr. Trump’s nominee, said the coalition would mount intensive campaigns in crucial states to “force vulnerable senators to choose between obstructing and keeping their Senate seats. ” If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would become the 113th justice and take a seat held not only by Justice Scalia, but also by Justice Robert H. Jackson, perhaps the finest writer to have served on the court. As an Episcopalian, Judge Gorsuch would be the only Protestant seated among five Catholics and three Jewish jurists. He would restore the split between conservatives and liberals on the court, returning the swing vote to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose rulings have fallen on both sides of the political spectrum. At 49, Judge Gorsuch (pronounced ) is the youngest nominee to the Supreme Court in 25 years, underscoring his potential to shape major decisions for decades to come. In choosing him, Mr. Trump reached for a reliably conservative figure in Justice Scalia’s mold, but not someone known to be divisive. Mr. Trump, who recognized Justice Scalia’s wife, Maureen, in the audience as he announced his choice, heaped praise on the “late, great” jurist, saying his “image and genius was in my mind throughout the process. ” Judge Gorsuch said he was humbled by his “most solemn assignment. ” “I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country,” he said. He also praised Justice Scalia as “a lion of the law. ” The announcement reopened the bitter wounds that dominated the political battle last year over Mr. Obama’s nominee for the seat, Judge Merrick B. Garland. Republicans refused to even consider — much less support — his nomination in the thick of a presidential campaign. A Colorado native who was in the same class at Harvard Law School as Mr. Obama, Judge Gorsuch is known for his measured opinions that are normally, though not exclusively, conservative. He holds a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and was a Supreme Court law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Kennedy. That Judge Gorsuch has a personal connection to Justice Kennedy is no accident. By choosing a familiar figure, several officials said, the White House is sending a reassuring signal to Justice Kennedy, 80, who has been mulling retirement. Choosing a more ideologically extreme candidate, the officials said, could have tempted Justice Kennedy to hang on to his seat for several more years, depriving Mr. Trump of another seat to fill. Still, Judge Gorsuch’s conservative credentials are not in doubt. He has voted in favor of employers, including Hobby Lobby, who invoked religious objections for refusing to provide some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers. And he has criticized liberals for turning to the courts rather than the legislature to achieve policy goals. “It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people’s representatives,” he said on Tuesday. “A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands. ” Judge Gorsuch is the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, who became the first female head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, outside Washington, before going to Columbia University. There had been some speculation that Mr. Trump would choose someone with a less elite background for the court. The other finalist for the post, Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, was the first person in his family to graduate from college, and helped pay for his education by driving a taxi. The White House stoked suspense over Mr. Trump’s court choice in the hours before announcing it. A senior Trump administration official said both Judge Gorsuch and Judge Hardiman were summoned to Washington for the nomination ceremony. But only Judge Gorsuch appeared at the White House gathering shortly after 8 p. m. In an allusion to the intense foreshadowing he and his team did to encourage interest and speculation over the pick, Mr. Trump interrupted his own announcement to marvel at his showmanship: “So was that a surprise?” the president said after announcing Judge Gorsuch’s name. “Was it?” As he looked out into an audience that Democrats had refused to join — several senior lawmakers declined his invitation to attend the East Room ceremony — the president expressed hope that he could avoid a partisan battle. “I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once, for the good of the country,” Mr. Trump said. But progressive groups had already gathered at the steps of the Supreme Court to protest a nominee they predicted would be extreme. Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice called Judge Gorsuch “a disastrous choice,” adding that his record showed “no sign that he would offer an independent check on the dangerous impulses of this administration. ” Conservatives were as ardent in their support. Tom Fitton, the president of the group Judicial Watch, called Mr. Trump’s nomination “a major step in the right direction in defining his presidency and moving the Supreme Court away from dangerous and destructive judicial activism. ” | 1 |
322 | Sparks Fly as Bikers for Trump Meet ProtestersHome / News / Sparks Fly as Bikers for Trump Meet Protesters Sparks Fly as Bikers for Trump Meet Protesters fisher 5 mins ago News , USA , World Comments Off on Sparks Fly as Bikers for Trump Meet Protesters Sparks Fly as Bikers for Trump Meet Protesters
Millie Weaver interviews a flag hater disgracing the American flag. All of a sudden, a member of Bikers for Trump intervenes picking the flag up off the ground setting off commotion. This is what I’m talking about! Bikers for Trump dont mess around! These protesters have been causing all sorts of havoc over the past week since Trumps election! Its like watching a child throw a temper tantrum! Watch This video of a Patriot Biker confronting a flag hater!
What do you think? Should burning or disgracing the flag be made a crime?
Let us know in the comments below! In any case, I’m sure most would agree these stuck up loosers need to be stood up to, and I’m glad Bikers for Trump has stepped up to do so.
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323 | Bidders Cast Doubt on Seriousness of Mexican Border Wall ProjectsCompanies have expressed numerous concerns over the proposed border walls. With the lack of funding in the 2017 budget, those concerns are growing. [Construction of President Trump’s proposed border wall along the U. S. Border is slated to kick off in June when 20 selected bidders will be asked to build prototypes based on the proposals they submitted, Breitbart Texas previously reported. However, The Arizona Republic reports that some bidders are starting to have serious doubts with some already giving up on the project due to how poorly the government is managing details. Michael Hari, the founder of Crisis Resolution Security Services in Illinois, submitted a proposal but is now one of its skeptics. “From the beginning it’s not a serious process, it’s not going to get the wall built,” Hari said. “Right from the there were conflicts, there was not enough time given to it, to develop a reasonable process that would result in a wall getting built. ” Hari, a former sheriff’s deputy, described to the Chicago Tribune in April his vision and reasons for wanting to work on the border wall, which is about more than money. “We would look at the wall as not just a physical barrier to immigration but also as a symbol of the American determination to defend our culture, our language, our heritage, from any outsiders,” Hari said. M3 Federal, a consulting firm for contractors that has over 40 years of experience working on government contracts, warned that Washington not have a specific concept in mind for what exactly they seeking, as evidenced by multiple changes made to the requests for proposals. “The fact that things are being delayed and the fact that there are seven amendments out there just verifies the fact that the government does not have a confirmed concept about what they want to put in place,” said Patrick Malyszek, owner of M3 Federal. “The way the government is handling this is actually going to create a very high risk in terms of the overall project. ” Among those bidders who have already given up on the border wall project is Christopher Dillon, owner of a construction management company based in Alaska. “From the outset of the project, I have been tracking it and it’s a political stunt,” Dillon said. “It’s burning a lot of money. It’s really jerking the contracting community around. ” Building a wall on the U. S. Border was a hallmark for Donald Trump’s campaign. During the campaign launch at Trump Tower, he said, “I would build a great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. ” Despite this promise, President Trump said that he was “very happy” with the $1. 2 trillion spending bill that he signed on May 5 which included $0 for a border wall. President Trump has reassured supporters that the wall is going to get built despite the setbacks in the 2017 budget in which he blamed Democrats for being “obstructionists. ” “Look, the Democrats are obstructionists that’s all they can do is obstruct. They have no leadership. And we have to agree, and I think both — both sides agree, we have to keep government going, we don’t want to shut government,” he said. Ryan Saavedra is a contributor for Breitbart Texas and can be found on Twitter at @RealSaavedra. | 1 |
324 | What’s at stake in the US election?United States By ORIENTAL REVIEW
The outcome of the 2016 presidential election will show that the American political system – as we have known it – will apparently cease to exist. Trump is nothing like those Republican pawns who, along with the puppets of the Democratic party, have spent the last 40 years erecting the facade of American democracy. It really looks like he is ready to make good on the threat he made even prior to the Republican National Convention – to send millions of his supporters into the streets.
Today Trump represents an entirely new party made up of half of the American electorate, and they are ready for action. And whatever the eventual political structure of this new model, this is what is shaping America’s present reality. Moreover, this does not seem like such a unique situation. It rather appears to be the final chapter of some ancient story, in which the convoluted plotlines finally take shape and find resolution.
The circumstances are increasingly reminiscent of 1860, when Lincoln’s election so enraged the South that those states began agitating for secession. Trump is today symbolic of a very real American tradition that during the Civil War (1860-1865) ran headlong into American revolutionary liberalism for the first time.
Right up until World War I traditional American conservatism wore the guise of “isolationism.” Prior to WWII it was known as “non-interventionism.” Afterward, that movement attempted to use Sen. Joseph McCarthy to battle the left-liberal stranglehold. And in the 1960s it became the primary target of the “counter-cultural revolution.” Richard Nixon
Its last bastion was Richard Nixon , whose fall was the result of an unprecedented attack from the left-liberal press in 1974. And this is perhaps the example against which we should compare the present-day Trump and his current fight.
And by the way, the crimes of Hillary Clinton, who has failed to protect state secrets and has repeatedly been caught lying under oath, clearly outweigh the notorious Watergate scandal that led to Nixon’s forced resignation under threat of impeachment. But the liberal American media remains silent, as if nothing has happened.
By all indications it is clear that we are standing before a truly epochal moment. But before turning to the future that might await us, let’s take a quick glance at the history of conflict between revolutionary liberalism and traditional white conservatism in the US. ***
Immediately after WWII, an attack on two fronts was launched by the party of “expansionism” (we’ll call it that). The Soviet Union and Communism were designated the number one enemy. Enemy number two (with less hype) was traditional American conservatism. The war against traditional “Americanism” was waged by several intellectual fringe groups simultaneously.
The country’s cultural and intellectual life was under the absolute control of a group known as the “ New York Intellectuals .” Literary criticism as well as all other aspects of the nation’s literary life was in the hands of this small group of literary curators who had emerged from the milieu of a Trotskyist-communist magazine known as the Partisan Review ( PR ). No one could become a professional writer in the America of the 1950s and 1960s without being carefully screened by this sect.
The foundational tenets of American political philosophy and sociology were composed by militants from the Frankfurt School , which had been established during the interwar period in Weimar Germany and which moved to the US after the National Socialists took power. Here, retraining their sights from communist to liberal, they set out to design a “theory of totalitarianism” in addition to their concept of an “authoritarian personality” – both hostile to “democracy.” Max Shachtman
The “New York Intellectuals” and representatives of the Frankfurt School became friends, and Hannah Arendt , for example, was an authoritative representative of both sects. This is where future neocons (Norman Podhoretz, Eliot A. Cohen, and Irving Kristol) gained their experience. The former leader of the Trotskyist Fourth International and godfather of the neocons, Max Shachtman , held a place of honor in the “family of intellectuals.”
The anthropological school of Franz Boas and Freudianism reigned over the worlds of psychology and sociology at that time. The Boasian approach in psychology argued that genetic, national, and racial differences between individuals were of no importance (thus the concepts of “national culture” and “national community” were meaningless).
Psychoanalysis also became fashionable, which primarily aimed to supplant traditional church institutions and become a type of quasi-religion for the middle class.
The common denominator linking all these movements was anti-fascism . Did something look fishy in this? But the problem was that the traditional values of the nation, state, and family were all labeled “fascist.” From this standpoint, any white Christian man aware of his cultural and national identity was potentially a “fascist.”
Kevin MacDonald, a professor of psychology at California State University, analyzed in detail the seizure of America’s cultural, political, and mental landscape by these “liberal sects” in his brilliant book The Culture of Critique , writing:
“The New York Intellectuals, for example, developed ties with elite universities, particularly Harvard, Columbia, the University of Chicago, and the University of California-Berkeley, while psychoanalysis and anthropology became well entrenched throughout academia.
“The moral and intellectual elite established by these movements dominated intellectual discourse during a critical period after World War II and leading into the countercultural revolution of the 1960s.”
It was precisely this intellectual milieu that spawned the countercultural revolution of the 1960s.
Riding the wave of these sentiments, the new Immigration and Nationality Act was passed in 1965, encouraging this phenomenon and facilitating the integration of immigrants into US society. The architects of the law wanted to use the celebrated melting pot to “dilute” the “potentially fascist” descendants of European immigrants by making use of new ethno-cultural elements.
The 60s revolution opened the door to the American political establishment to representatives from both wings of the expansionist “party” – the neo-liberals and the neo-conservatives.
Besieged by the left-liberal press in 1974, Richard Nixon resigned under threat of impeachment. In the same year the US Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik Amendment (drafted by Richard Perle ), which emerged as a symbol of the country’s “new political agenda” – economic war against the Soviet Union using sanctions and boycotts.
At that same time the “hippie generation” was joining the Democratic Party on the coattails of Senator George McGovern’s campaign . And that was when Bill Clinton’s smiling countenance first emerged on the US political horizon.
And the future neo-conservatives (at that time still disciples of the Democratic hawk Henry “Scoop” Jackson) began to slowly edge in the direction of the Republicans. «If there is any doubt about the power of your ideas, just look at the number of members of the Center that have been appointed to posts in this administration -especially in the Department of Defense- to dispel that doubt». Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, September 5, 2002
In 1976, Mr. Rumsfeld and his fellow neo-conservatives resurrected the Committee on the Present Danger , an inter-party club for political hawks whose goal became the launch of an all-out propaganda war against the USSR.
Former Trotskyists and followers of Max Shachtman (Kristol, Podhoretz, and Jeane Kirkpatrick) and advisers to Sen. Henry Jackson (Paul Wolfowitz, Perle, Elliott Abrams, Charles Horner, and Douglas Feith) joined Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and other “Christian” politicians with the intention of launching a “campaign to transform the world.”
This is where the neocons’ “nonpartisan ideology” originated. And eventually today’s “inalterable US government” hatched from this egg.
American politics began to acquire its current shape during the Reagan era. In economics this was seen in the policy of neoliberalism (politics waged in the interests of big financial capital) and in foreign policy – in a strategy consisting of “holy war against the forces of evil.” The Nixon-Kissinger tradition of foreign policy (which viewed the Soviet Union and China as a normal countries with which is essential to find common ground) was entirely abandoned.
The collapse of the USSR was a sign of the onset of the final phase of the “neocon revolution.” At that point their protégé, Francis Fukuyama, announced the “end of history.” ***
As the years passed, the influence of the neo-conservatives (in politics) and neoliberals (in economics) only expanded. Through all manner of committees, foundations, “think tanks,” etc., the students of Milton Friedman and Leo Strauss (from the departments of economics and political science at the University of Chicago) penetrated ever more deeply into the inner workings of the Washington power machine. The apotheosis of this expansion was the presidency of George W. Bush, during which the neocons, having seized the primary instruments of power in the White House, were able to plunge the country into the folly of a war in the Middle East.
By the end of the Bush presidency this clique was the object of universal hatred throughout the US. That’s why the middle-ground, innocuous figure of Barack Obama, a Democrat, was able to move into the White House for the next eight years. The neocons stepped down from their central rostrums of power and returned to their “influential committees.” It is likely that this election was intended to facilitate the triumphant return of the neoconservative-neoliberal paradigm all wrapped up in “new packaging.” For various reasons, the decision was made to assign this role to Hillary Clinton. But it seems that at the most critical moment the flimsy packaging ripped open …
What happened? Why is this clique’s triumphant return to power erupting in massive scandal this time around? Probably because we are living in an era during which much that was mysterious is suddenly becoming clear. Probably because Trump’s “silent majority” suddenly saw before them someone they had been waiting for for a long time – a man ready to defend their interests.
Perhaps also it is because the middle class is choking on its growing exasperation with the “elite caste” occupying its native country. And it finally became clear to the sober-minded American patriots in law enforcement that the return to power of the people responsible for the current global chaos could be a big threat to the US and rest of the world. Because, in the end, everyone has children and no one wants a new world war.
How will this new conservative revolt against the elite end? Will Trump manage to “drain the swamp of Washington, DC” as he has promised, or he will end up as the system’s next victim? Very soon we can finally get an answer to these questions. RELATED POSTS | 0 |
325 | Israel Approves Additional Funding for Settlements in West Bank - The New York TimesJERUSALEM — The Israeli government on Sunday approved about $20 million in additional financing for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, underlining its strengthened orientation and raising the ire of political opponents and the Palestinians. The move came as the Israeli Avigdor Lieberman was to arrive in Washington on his first visit in his new role as defense minister, during which he is expected to meet with Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter. Mr. Lieberman, a settler, was appointed last month in a coalition deal that brought his ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party into the government. The new money would add to what the settlements already receive from various parts of the government’s budget. It was approved days after blistering condemnations of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by two former Israeli defense ministers and military chiefs of staff. Speaking at a prestigious security conference, they accused the prime minister and his government of pushing a divisive agenda that threatened Israel’s future as a Jewish democracy and undermined its core values. In remarks before the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud Party, said the assistance plan was intended to strengthen security for the settlements, as well as to bolster small businesses and encourage tourism. Yariv Levin, the tourism minister, said in a statement that some of the money would “provide financial support for the construction of hotels in the main tourism areas in Judea and Samaria,” referring to the West Bank by its biblical name. The settlements have long been a source of friction between Israel and the United States, along with much of the rest of the world. Most countries view settlement construction as a violation of international law and an impediment to a resolution of the conflict the Obama administration has described the settlements as “illegitimate. ” Israel considers the West Bank territory that it conquered from Jordan in the War of 1967 to be disputed, not occupied, and says the fate of the settlements should be determined in negotiations. Under growing international pressure, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Lieberman recently affirmed their commitment to the principle of “two states for two peoples,” meaning the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but the Palestinians and others are skeptical about the Israelis’ motives. “Israel is doing everything possible to sabotage every effort to achieve a just and lasting peace,” Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement after the Israeli government approved the settlement financing. “It is time for the international community to assume its responsibilities towards this extremist government that openly supports apartheid and stands against the solution. ” While strengthening the settlements, Israel has continued to demolish unlicensed Palestinian homes and livestock pens in the part of the West Bank known as Area C, the more than 60 percent of the territory where Israel exercises full security and civil control. The financing measure was approved after months of deadly Palestinian attacks in and around the settlements, as well as in Jerusalem and in cities around Israel. But Amir Peretz, an Israeli legislator from the Zionist Union and a former defense minister, said of the financing measure, “They are using the name of security baselessly, because the defense establishment will not abandon the settlers even without getting the millions it is getting today. ” Mr. Peretz added that the allocation was “rubbing the salt in the wounds of those who need every shekel. ” He pointed to a protest march led by mayors of towns far from the center of Israel as they campaign for a fairer distribution of government funds for education and welfare. Moshe Yaalon, a Likud politician and a former military chief of staff who resigned from his post as defense minister last month after it was promised to Mr. Lieberman, said at the annual Herzliya security conference near Tel Aviv last week that he intended to run for prime minister in the next elections, which are to be held by late 2019. Mr. Yaalon, who has supported settlement growth, accused the Israeli leadership of scaremongering. Citing the nuclear agreement with Iran, which Mr. Netanyahu strenuously opposed, and the capabilities of the military, he said, “I can say that today and in the foreseeable future, there is no existential threat on the State of Israel. ” Ehud Barak, another former military chief and defense minister, who, as the leader of the Labor Party, served a short and largely unsuccessful term as prime minister, said at the conference that “a fanatic seed of extreme ideology has taken over the Likud. ” He added that Mr. Netanyahu’s priority was not security but “a slow and cunning advancement of the solution agenda. ” Mr. Barak said that would lead to either an apartheid state or a binational state “in which the Jews will become a minority within a couple of generations. ” Likud dismissed Mr. Barak, who also gave a lengthy television interview on Friday night, as a failed politician who was seeking attention. Mr. Netanyahu rejected Mr. Yaalon’s criticism as politically motivated, saying in a statement, “You cannot express full confidence in the leadership when you are on the inside and say the absolute opposite when you are on the outside. ” | 1 |
326 | TX Gov Abbott: I Will Sign Legislation That Could Put Sheriffs of Sanctuary Cities in Jail - BreitbartOn Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show,” Gov. Greg Abbott ( ) said he will confront the issue of cities that refuse to comply with immigration law by signing legislation that could jail sheriffs of sanctuary cities. Abbott said, “We have been pushing a piece of legislation in Texas that is going to pass that I will be signing into law that imposes even sterner penalties on counties. It will include things such as further defunding them. It will impose fines. And it could impose jail time for these sheriffs to enforce the laws. Oddly enough these sheriffs could wind up behind the very bars they are releasing these criminals from. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
327 | Donald Trump Holds ‘Thank You’ Rally in Cincinnati, and Announces His Pick for Defense Secretary - The New York Times Donald J. Trump thanked supporters at a rally in Cincinnati on Thursday, and announced that he intends to nominate James N. Mattis as defense secretary. Watch the video below. After claiming credit for saving jobs in Indiana, Mr. Trump held a rally in Cincinnati to say thank you to Ohio, which he carried and where no recount is being demanded. Mr. Trump exulted in rallies during the campaign and seems to be itching to return to the adulation of the crowds. Other states are expected to be added to the tour in the days and weeks ahead. Mr. Trump revealed at the rally that he had chosen James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general who led a division to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, to serve as his secretary of defense. Read more. The decision by Gov. Jerry Brown of California to name Representative Xavier Becerra to be the state’s attorney general has set off another round of among Democrats — and opened a crucial post in the Trump era. Mr. Becerra, like Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland before him and former Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois (now the mayor of Chicago) before them, had risen as far as he could in the House leadership. Mr. Becerra faced a blockade of older members of Congress, like Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, and James E. Clyburn, in the top ranks. Unlike Mr. Van Hollen, who was elected to the Senate last month, Mr. Becerra opted against running for his state’s open Senate seat, but he has found his own way to statewide office. Mr. Becerra was in line for a huge consolation prize in the House, however. The veteran Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan had just stepped aside as the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee — and he recommended the telegenic Californian for the post. That would have put Mr. Becerra on the front lines as Mr. Trump tries to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut taxes, overhaul the tax code and possibly convert Medicare into a system that offers fixed sums to seniors to buy private health plans. Instead, it looks as if that role will go to Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, who may be less camera ready but is actually better versed on the intricacies of tax policy. So far Representative Keith Ellison’s drive to be the next Democratic National Committee chairman has gone swimmingly, with no strong competition in sight. But CNN went where other outlets have feared to tread, printing old writings of Mr. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in defense of the Nation of Islam and other contentious black activists. As a law student at the University of Minnesota, Mr. Ellison, writing under the name Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, said: “Whether one supports or opposes the establishment of Israel in Palestine and Israel’s present policies, Zionism, the ideological undergirding of Israel, is a debatable political philosophy. Anyone, including black people, has the right to hear and voice alternative views on the subject — notwithstanding our nominal citizenship. ” He continued: Mr. Ellison long ago renounced his associations with the Nation of Islam, and has had Jewish groups defend him. But the report could prove troublesome, to say the least. The League, which has been mildly supportive, reacted strongly. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, is paying a visit to Trump Tower on Friday, and Senator Chuck E. Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader, is having heart palpitations. To Democrats, that last line can mean two things, neither of them good. If she is in line for an administration job, her Senate seat would turn Republican. If not, she seems to be indicating she is a possible vote for the Trump agenda. And no matter what, her seat is up in 2018 — in a state that went to Mr. Trump with 62 percent of the vote. The great chronicler of this year’s presidential vote, Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, declared it official on Thursday: Jill Stein is the Ralph Nader of 2016. Her vote tallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania now exceed Mr. Trump’s margins in the three Rust Belt states that gave him the presidency. Another point: In the end, the difference between a Trump presidency and another Clinton administration came down to 79, 646 votes — fewer than a sellout for a Wisconsin Badgers football game. For the record, Mrs. Clinton’s overall lead in the popular vote stands at 2, 544, 817. Trump took phone calls Wednesday from Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. The results were instructive. According to Kazakhstan, Mr. Trump said “that under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev our country over the years of Independence had achieved fantastic success that can be called a ‘miracle’. ” Through some rather circuitous paths, Mr. Trump’s real estate empire has been tied to Kazakhstan in ways a Financial Times investigation labeled “dirty. ” Mr. Nazarbayev has run Kazakhstan since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1989. Last year, he won a fifth consecutive term with 97. 7 percent of the vote. The Pakistani government released its own account of the telephone conversation between and Mr. Trump and Mr. Sharif that sounded, well, Trumpian. While not exactly confirming the content, the Trump transition team did acknowledge both calls. The White House has been trying its best not to criticize Mr. Trump, but after those two phone calls, a top administration official suggested that Mr. Trump get some expert help. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, noted that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States was “quite complicated” and got more so after the American raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. And then Mr. Earnest mentioned where Mr. Trump could get some assistance. “I’m just making the observation that there are dedicated experts, public servants at the State Department that have years of experience that they have amassed that they’re prepared to use to advise the incoming president,” Mr. Earnest said. Ten Democratic senators have sent a strongly worded letter to Mr. Trump criticizing the number of “lobbyists and others with extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry” in his transition team and among potential nominees for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. Citing advisers like Myron Ebell of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute and the former fossil fuel lobbyist Thomas Pyle, the senators argued that “you have raised serious questions about your desire to ‘drain the swamp’ with respect to energy and environmental issues. ” The letter, signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and others, quoted a 2009 advertisement signed by Mr. Trump calling climate change “scientifically irrefutable,” with “catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet. ” Chalk up another tradition broken in the Trump era: the practice of cabinet picks going mum once they are named, shunning the news media until confirmed by the Senate. Steven Mnuchin, the newly named choice for Treasury secretary, made that break most evident on Wednesday, appearing on CNBC and before reporters at Trump Tower, musing at length on tax policy. Others including Wilbur L. Ross, tapped for commerce secretary, have been similarly voluble. This has surprised people in both parties familiar with the tortuous Senate confirmation process — and with what they see as the good reasons to stay silent. Talking to the press is “an opportunity to fail — it can only kind of cause you more headaches and questions,” said Dean Zerbe, a former adviser to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, on the Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Mnuchin, for example, said the Trump tax plan would give a big tax cut to the middle class but not to the wealthy, though a range of nonpartisan analyses have concluded the opposite. “As soon as I saw that,” Mr. Zerbe said, “my immediate thought was, ‘O. K. you’ve just now given about a dozen questions to senators to ask about. ’” Not that the 1, 000 workers whose jobs were saved will care, but the deal to keep that Carrier plant in the United States, which included a multiyear, $7 million incentive package from Indiana, is starting to take flack from the right and the left. To conservatives, government intervention at such a microlevel is just bad economics. The Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, weighed in early: Now it’s coming from more intellectual circles. “This is all terrible for a nation’s economic vitality if businesses make decisions to please politicians rather than customers and shareholders. Yet America’s private sector has just been sent a strong signal that playing ball with Trump might be part of what it now means to run an American company,” wrote James Pethokoukis, the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Liberals have latched onto the tax breaks and incentives offered to Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, by Gov. Pence of Indiana just before he leaves for Washington. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, put it this way in The Washington Post: If companies can extract tax concessions by threatening to move to Mexico, they may have found a partner willing to play ball with the new president, the critics say. Economists call that “moral hazard. ” | 1 |
328 | Some Lawmakers Now Look to Bipartisanship on Health Care - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — The sudden death of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act has created an opening for voices from both parties to press for fixes to the acknowledged problems in President Barack Obama’s signature health law, as lawmakers and some senior White House officials appealed for bipartisanship. But the White House, still smarting from a disastrous defeat on Friday, appeared uncertain on the path forward. President Trump predicted that “Obamacare will explode” and offered no plan to stop it, but his was not the only voice from the White House. The president “wants to make sure that people don’t get left behind” in the search for affordable, quality health care, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said on “Fox News Sunday. ” “I think it’s time for our folks to come together,” Mr. Priebus said, adding that it is time to “potentially get a few moderate Democrats on board, as well” as they try to bring down premiums and stabilize insurance markets. That appeal was echoed by Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican who opposed the House Republicans’ health bill and has also worked with Democrats to explore changes to the Affordable Care Act without repealing it. “With the demise of the House bill, there’s a real window of opportunity for a bipartisan approach to health care,” she said. In the wake of the Republican failure to make good on the promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Trump and congressional leaders find themselves at a political crossroads. They could sabotage the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets, betting that Democrats would be blamed for collapsing coverage choices and spikes in insurance premiums and would then come to the negotiating table ready to toss the law and start fresh. Or they could work with Democratic lawmakers and moderate Republicans, who for years have discussed improvements to the Affordable Care Act, which, unlike many social welfare programs, has not been significantly updated or revised. Speaker Paul D. Ryan has said he wants to move on to other issues, and indicated that Democrats would have to come to him if they want to cooperate on health care. After insisting that the health law had to be eradicated “root and branch,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has been remarkably quiet since Friday’s debacle. The messages from the White House, so far, have been mixed. “You cannot fix a broken system,” the White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press. ” “You are never going to fix that. This system must be removed. ” Mr. Trump appeared to endorse the strategy on Saturday morning, saying on Twitter: “ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great health care plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!” But Mr. Priebus’s softer vision gave some in Congress hope that a bipartisan approach could be found — possibly to alleviate the health law’s burdens on small business, repeal some of its more unpopular taxes, give employers more leeway on which employees they have to offer insurance to, and foster more competition among insurance companies. “I believe that there is a group of centrist Democrats who recognize that the Affordable Care Act has flaws that must be fixed,” Ms. Collins said. “Until there was a repudiation of the House bill, they felt constrained from negotiating. Now that the House bill has died, I hope they will feel free to come to the table. ” Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska, also called for bipartisanship. His state has benefited from its expansion of Medicaid under the health law, and would have been punished under the House Republican bill because its high premium costs would not have been offset by larger tax credits, as they are under current law. “The reason why Obamacare failed was because it wasn’t a bipartisan bill,” Mr. Young said. Republicans, he said, made the same mistake, writing their bill without Democrats. “We were very frankly guilty of that,” he said. Democrats also sounded more conciliatory. “Until now, we haven’t talked at all about compromise on the Affordable Care Act,” said Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado. “From the moment it passed, Republicans started their mantra of ‘repeal and replace.’ Now that repeal seems to be off the table, I think it’s in everybody’s interest to make the law work better for our constituents. ” Representative Jim Cooper, a centrist Democrat from Tennessee who has often worked with Republicans, said: “We need to fix the flaws in Obamacare. I hope Republicans are willing to do that, instead of just destroying Obamacare. ” But, he added, “before we can work with them, the Republicans have to bargain in good faith and stop sabotaging Obamacare. ” Mr. Obama’s health care law may not be imploding, as President Trump says. But in states as diverse as Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the public insurance marketplaces — a central innovation of the Affordable Care Act — are in trouble. Consumers have seen big premium increases for health plans sold by a shrinking number of insurers. “People will have to come to the bargaining table sooner rather than later,” said Chris Jacobs, a health policy analyst. Within a few weeks, insurers must decide whether they will participate in the marketplaces in 2018. Insurance markets could quickly unravel if the House wins a court case challenging the legality of subsidies paid by the government to insurers on behalf of people. “The comments by President Trump and Speaker Ryan predicting the collapse of the A. C. A. and health insurance exchanges could become a prophecy,” said Kevin J. Counihan, who was the chief executive of the federal insurance marketplace, HealthCare. gov, under Mr. Obama. Mr. Counihan said he saw a risk that some counties might not have any insurers on the exchange next year as major insurers like Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth pull back from the program. Republicans in Congress, especially those from rural areas, share that concern. The Obama administration worked hard to keep insurers in the market, and to promote during open enrollment season. Whether the Trump administration will do so is unclear. Mr. Counihan suggested several areas where Republicans and Democrats in Congress could work together. They could, he said, give insurers more discretion to charge higher premiums for older adults, reflecting their medical costs. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers can charge older adults no more than three times the rates for young adults. The House Republican bill would have allowed them to charge five times as much, or more if states wanted. A ceiling somewhere between those numbers might be appropriate, Mr. Counihan said. In addition, he said, Congress could shorten the length of “grace periods” during which insurers must provide coverage to consumers who fail to pay their premiums. Lawmakers from both parties have also expressed a desire to give states more freedom to pursue their own ideas for expanding coverage, controlling health costs, reducing premiums and stabilizing insurance markets. Giving states more flexibility is consistent with Republicans’ federalism philosophy. It also has potential appeal to Democrats because many states, including some with Republican governors, are to the left of the Trump administration on health policy. One section of the Affordable Care Act, added at the behest of Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, already allows waivers for innovations in state health policy. But states say the requirements are so stringent that the waivers are of limited use. “As Republicans, we know that works for no one and certainly did not work for the individual markets,” said Representative Michael C. Burgess of Texas, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health. Lawmakers of both parties also support legislation to help small businesses get insurance. As a possible model for bipartisan cooperation, they point to a bill signed by Mr. Obama in 2015 that changed the definition of “small employer” to protect such companies against increases in health insurance premiums. The possibility of bipartisan cooperation may not last long. Some conservative Republicans like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Representative Sean P. Duffy of Wisconsin said they would redouble their efforts to undo the Affordable Care Act. “Rip it all out by the roots!” Representative Steve King of Iowa said Friday in a Twitter post. But other Republicans said that Democrats should be involved in efforts to rewrite the law. Representative Mark Sanford, Republican of South Carolina, opposed the House bill and said its demise could “prove to be a catalyst” for forging a consensus. “Seeming stopping points can ultimately prove to be beginning points in life,” he said. | 1 |
329 | Inside the Conservative Push for States to Amend the Constitution - The New York TimesTaking advantage of almost a decade of political victories in state legislatures across the country, conservative advocacy groups are quietly marshaling support for an event unprecedented in the nation’s history: a convention of the 50 states, summoned to consider amending the Constitution. The groups are an amalgam of and proponents, often funded by corporations and deeply conservative supporters like the billionaire Koch brothers and Donors Trust, whose contributors are mostly anonymous. They want an amendment to require a balanced federal budget, an idea many conservatives have embraced, many economists disdain and Congress has failed to endorse for decades. But as the groups near their goal, critics and some skeptical constitutional scholars are warning that holding an meeting with no historical parallel and no written rules could open a Pandora’s box of constitutional mischief. The process, which is playing out largely beyond public notice, rests on a clause in Article 5 of the Constitution that allows the states to sidestep Congress and draft their own constitutional amendments whenever of their legislatures demand it. That will by no means be easy. Even if the threshold were reached, a convention would probably face a court battle over whether the legislatures’ calls for a convention were sufficiently similar. And as with any amendment that Congress proposes, amendments would need approval by of the states — either by their legislatures or by state conventions — to take effect. But as Republicans have surged to control of state legislatures and moved sharply rightward during the Obama years, what was once a pet project of the party’s fringe has become a proposal with a plausible chance of success. Some of the former Republican presidential candidates, including comparative moderates like John Kasich and Jeb Bush, have endorsed a state amendment convention. So far, 28 states have adopted resolutions calling for a convention on a amendment, including 10 in the past three years, and two, Oklahoma and West Virginia, this spring. That is just six states short of the 34 needed to invoke the Article 5 clause. “I think the prospect is very good in 2017,” said Gary Banz, a Republican who is the majority whip in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. “You can look at any number of states that are not on board yet, and they’re controlled by very conservative elements. ’’ Including nominally nonpartisan Nebraska, Republicans now control 31 state assemblies — more than double the number in 2010. Of the 11 states advocacy groups have targeted for lobbying next year, Republicans control both houses of the Legislature in seven. Representative Banz is among those leading the charge. In addition to his statehouse job, he is the national secretary of the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, a nonprofit financed by corporate and private donors, including the Kochs, that is at the center of the convention effort. At ALEC’s annual meeting, in Indianapolis last month, another leading advocacy group, the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, staged a seminar for legislators on an amendment convention. Citizens for a group with Tea Party roots, has ALEC backing for a more sweeping goal: an amendment that would “impose fiscal restraints” on the federal government, reduce its authority and limit the terms of federal elected officials. The juggernaut nature of the convention movement has almost overshadowed the longstanding debate about its motivation: to imbue the Constitution with a binding limit on federal spending. Supporters say the philosophy that state governments and ordinary people usually adhere to — that it is wrong and destructive to spend beyond one’s income — should apply to the federal government as well. In that view, the $19. 4 trillion national debt threatens to destroy Americans’ future prosperity. “It’s immoral for one generation to borrow and spend beyond its means and leave the bill to the next generation,” said Scott Rogers, the director of the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force. But opponents say an amendment, not the deficit, is the threat. A government that could not run deficits, they argue, would not be able to stimulate the economy during recessions, when spending is most needed. And it would not be able to elude budget ceilings for benefits like Social Security, or for projects like highways that are financed with debt. In truth, they say, debt is a fact of life for both states and ordinary households — in bond issues that finance revenue generators like convention centers and bridges, and for ordinary necessities like cars, kitchen remodelings and homes. Banning deficit spending, they say, would bring the economy to a halt. But the basic argument for federal frugality has broad appeal. Polls generally indicate strong support for a amendment, and advocates persuaded 32 state legislatures to back an amendment convention during the Reagan administration. Congress defused the movement by passing the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, which pledged — toothlessly, it turned out — to eliminate annual federal deficits within six years. Over the next three decades, many legislatures rescinded their convention calls. Only recently has the movement seen a revival. Amendment conventions are not exclusively a conservative cause. With liberals’ backing, four states have passed resolutions advocating a convention to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling on campaign finance. Yet debate over an amendment’s merits has taken a back seat to a more fundamental question: whether delegates to a convention could be trusted not to tinker with other parts of the Constitution. Article 5 places no limits on a convention’s power. Some experts note that the Constitution itself arose from a convention called to amend its predecessor, the Articles of Confederation — and tore up the document and started from scratch. That convention even scrapped the Articles’ terms of ratification — unanimous approval by the states — and substituted a lower barrier, of states. (Some conservatives argue that the delegates to Philadelphia did not go rogue, but always planned to rewrite the Articles.) So what rules would an amendments convention follow? “The answer to almost every question you could ask is ‘We don’t know,’” said Michael J. Klarman, a constitutional law expert at Harvard whose book on that convention, “The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution,” will be published in October. “I think a convention can do anything they want — slavery, establish a national church. I just don’t think there’s any limit. ” Michael J. Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor and scholar in residence at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, said Article 5’s reticence gave states leeway to improvise. “Once you have a convention, then in some respects it becomes a ” he said. “All bets are off. ” History suggests at least one Founding Father had similar qualms. During the drafting of the Constitution, James Madison did not oppose the Article 5 clause, but worried “that difficulties might arise as to the form, the quorum. ” Advocates scoff at the . Conventions of states, they say, are nothing new: About three dozen met from the 1700s to 1922 — most before the Constitution was drafted — considering everything from trade to slavery to divvying up the Colorado River’s water. Most did not include every state, but each generally followed a preset agenda. A convention to draft amendments, they say, would be no different. “There’s never been a convention where the delegates went wild,” said Rob Natelson, a former University of Montana constitutional scholar who wrote an amendment convention handbook for ALEC and is now a fellow at the conservative Independence Institute in Denver. “They all negotiated a deal, came to an agreement or didn’t, and went home,” he said. There is, though, one signal difference: None of those meetings bore the Constitution’s blessing. One, in 1861, did propose an amendment to avert an impending civil war, but it was an ad hoc affair, not an Article 5 meeting. At least one contrarian liberal agrees with Mr. Natelson. Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard Law School professor and recent, if brief, Democratic presidential candidate, said he doubted that an amendments convention would run amok, rewriting the nation’s seminal rules. But even if it did, he said, he would not be especially concerned: After all, a convention only proposes amendments. “The very terms of Article 5 state that proposals aren’t valid unless they’re ratified by of the states,” he said. “There’s no controversial idea on the left or the right that won’t have 13 states against it. ” | 1 |
330 | Donald Trump Tells N.R.A. Hillary Clinton Wants to Let Violent Criminals Go Free - The New York TimesLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Donald J. Trump accused Hillary Clinton on Friday of wanting to let violent criminals out of prison and “disarm” citizens in unsafe neighborhoods, and warned that women, in particular, would be at greater risk if she were elected president. Accepting the endorsement of the National Rifle Association at its annual convention here, Mr. Trump — who has not always been the staunchest opponent of stricter gun controls — said the November election would be a referendum on the Second Amendment. He claimed, hyperbolically, that Mrs. Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent, “wants to take away your guns. ” “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most Amendment candidate ever to run for office,” he said. Mrs. Clinton has called for tightened restrictions on guns, but not for abolishing the right to own them. Mr. Trump, whose record of sexist remarks, among other things, has left him at a potentially crippling disadvantage among female voters, polls show, appealed directly to women in his speech, imbuing his defense of gun rights with an undercurrent of fear. “In trying to overturn the Second Amendment, Hillary Clinton is telling everyone — and every woman living in a dangerous community — that she doesn’t have the right to defend herself,” Mr. Trump said. “So you have a woman living in a community, a rough community, a bad community — sorry, you can’t defend yourself. ” If Mr. Trump’s comments seemed reminiscent of an era when crime rates were far higher — the Willie Horton ads attacking Michael S. Dukakis, the Democratic nominee, in the 1988 presidential race came to mind — they also appeared somewhat at odds with the broad bipartisan consensus on the need to reduce incarceration rates and prison populations: Mr. Trump sought to frighten voters about the idea of criminals being released from prison. He said Mrs. Clinton’s agenda was “to release the violent criminals from jail,” freeing them to roam the streets and put “innocent Americans at risk. ” He even tried out a new epithet for Mrs. Clinton: “heartless Hillary. ” Calling Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, “heartless hypocrites,” he dared them to “let their bodyguards immediately disarm,” an apparent reference to their Secret Service protection. “Let’s see how good they do,” Mr. Trump said. “Let’s see how they feel walking around without their guns and their bodyguards. In the meantime, nobody else can have the guns, right?” Mr. Trump’s efforts to shore up his support among the N. R. A. ’s more than five million members could help him in the Rust Belt states that he would need to carry to win the White House. But Mrs. Clinton must strike a more delicate balance on the issue: In the Democratic primaries against Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has a mixed record on gun control, she has taken an aggressive tack against firearm manufacturers and sellers. In a general election contest with Mr. Trump, however, Mrs. Clinton would vie with him for the loyalties of white voters in a number of battleground states where support for gun rights runs deep. Indeed, in recent weeks, as she campaigned before largely white, audiences in Appalachian and Great Lakes states, she has gun control and focused more on job creation and economic aid for financially struggling communities. But on Saturday, Mrs. Clinton will speak at a dinner of the Trayvon Martin Foundation’s “Circle of Mothers” in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. a group offering support to women who have lost a child to gun violence. And she is expected to press the issue to win over voters in Los Angeles, Oakland and other California cities before that state’s primary on June 7. Maya Harris, a senior policy adviser to Mrs. Clinton, dismissed Mr. Trump’s attacks on Friday, saying he was “peddling falsehoods. ” “Along with the vast majority of Americans, Hillary Clinton believes there are steps we can take at the federal level to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while respecting the Second Amendment,” Ms. Harris said. Since announcing his presidential bid, Mr. Trump — who himself has a concealed carry permit and whose two oldest sons are avid hunters — has fashioned himself a fierce advocate of gun rights. He has released a policy paper on the Second Amendment, has called for making concealed carry permits valid in all 50 states and routinely tells his audiences, as he did again here on Friday, that terrorist attacks like those last year in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. might have been prevented if more people were armed. But his support for gun rights has not always been so absolutist. In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” he wrote that he “generally” opposed gun control, but criticized the N. R. A. ’s outsize lobbying power, saying, “I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. ” After President Obama spoke in 2012 at a vigil for those killed in the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter: “President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks in #Newtown, Connecticut. ” On Friday, however, Mr. Trump took his support for gun rights an additional step. In January, he said he wanted to end zones in schools. In his speech here, he said he wanted to do away with them entirely. “We’re getting rid of zones,” he said, arguing that more guns would mean less gun violence, as his audience cheered. Officially throwing the N. R. A. ’s support to Mr. Trump, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the group’s political and lobbying arm, warned that Mrs. Clinton would appoint liberal justices to the Supreme Court who would roll back gun rights. “We have to unite and we have to unite right now,” Mr. Cox said. (He also played a clip of Mrs. Clinton talking about the Second Amendment, but not before “accidentally” playing a video showing Mrs. Clinton barking like a dog.) The Secret Service prevented attendees from bringing knives and guns — ordinarily commonplace accessories at the convention — into the hall where Mr. Trump was speaking, prompting some grumbling. There was also some grumbling about the presidential campaign, despite the N. R. A. ’s endorsement. Dan Kelsey, 57, an I. T. consultant and N. R. A. member from Columbus, Ohio, said he was not excited about Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton, and was worried that Mr. Trump might shift his position on the Second Amendment. “He talks a good game, but I’m not sure what his core values are,” Mr. Kelsey said. “He’s a good entertainer and marketer, but I don’t know what he really believes. ” Yet to other members of the group, Mr. Trump’s promises to support the Second Amendment were reassurance enough. Dianne Jennings, 67, a certified N. R. A. pistol instructor from Dayton, Ohio, said she had “nothing nice to say” about Mrs. Clinton: “Basically, I detest her. ” Ms. Jennings said that she found Mr. Trump “entertaining” and “not politically correct” and that she thought he would do a good job as president. “I think people are just terrified of his persona, but I think he has a lot of different personas,” she said, “and he can use the right one in the right situation. ” | 1 |
331 | Pope Francis, Trump, Japan: Your Tuesday Briefing - The New York TimesGood morning. Here’s what you need to know: • A powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami off the coast of Japan, near where three nuclear reactors melted down at a plant in Fukushima after a quake and tsunami in 2011. Minor injuries were reported. A cooling system in a reactor in a nuclear plant shut down, but was restored without incident. Tsunami warnings were lifted by early afternoon. _____ • Donald J. Trump released an YouTube video in which he asserted that his transition was going “very smoothly, efficiently and effectively” and discussed top priorities for his first day in office. One of them: beginning the process of withdrawing from the Partnership. Here is the latest on the transition and a look at what he hopes to accomplish in his first 100 days. _____ • The importance of one factor that played into the election is still emerging: the role of fake news. Some false stories are produced deliberately, but some build from misinformed social media posts. We look at how one mistaken tweet by a man with just 40 followers exploded through the hyperpartisan blogosphere. _____ • The fallout from revelations of Russia’s doping program is rewriting the record books for the Beijing and London Summer Olympics. The retesting of stored urine samples has incriminated at least 40 medal winners, the majority from Russia and other Eastern European countries. Medals from the 2014 Sochi Olympics are also likely to be called into question. _____ • President Obama returns home from the Economic Cooperation summit meeting with China ascendant. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines said he plans to declare part of the Scarborough Shoal a marine sanctuary, another sign of growing rapprochement between Beijing and Manila. _____ • South Korea’s opposition, the People’s Party, has started collecting signatures in Parliament to impeach President Park over an scandal. Many South Korean women worry that Ms. Park’s troubles could make the country, already among the lowest in global rankings, even more resistant to elevating women to positions of power. _____ • “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” cast a spell on international audiences, earning $143 million in a partial release. In Korea, the Harry Potter spinoff accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total weekend box office. The film opens soon in China and Japan. • The Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways has canceled all flights and suspended trade on its stocks, pending a major announcement today. • Samsung and Panasonic are investigating allegations that migrant Nepalese workers were abused working in the companies’ supply chain in Malaysia. • A European documentary photographer visited call centers in India and the Philippines, creating a window to the world on the other end of the line. • Quit social media. That’s the advice of a university professor who says that doing so could benefit your career. “If you’re serious about making an impact in the world,” he says, “power down your smartphone, close your browser tabs, roll up your sleeves and get to work. ” • United States markets were higher, and the major indexes were on pace to close at record levels. Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • Afghanistan’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, condemned a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed at least 27 people as “a war crime and an act against Islam and humanity. ” [The New York Times] • Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union might have seemed simple at first, but the details are a matter of principles as well as economics. [The New York Times] • The Vatican extended a policy allowing priests to grant forgiveness for abortion, continuing Pope Francis’s aim to make the church more welcoming and inclusive. [The New York Times] • Here’s our look at some of Pope Francis’s other efforts to reshape the Roman Catholic Church. [The New York Times] • As America’s white nationalists embrace Mr. Trump’s victory, we take a look at how the movement overlaps with white supremacy. [The New York Times] • The award for the world’s best rice went to Thailand’s Hom Mal at a recent industry contest. Cambodia’s Phka Rumdoul took second place, and Japonica rice, from the U. S. was third. [The Phnom Penh Post] • We spoke with Martin Scorsese about his new film, “Silence,” which is based on a novel about missionaries in 17th century Japan. The movie is his ultimate passion project. • The world’s best climber is taking on Yosemite’s Dawn Wall. He wanted to shatter a record. Now he’s just trying to finish. • The next great space telescope spread its wings this month, but it won’t launch until October 2018 — and it won’t record its first real image until 2019. • A monumental sculpture of a fistful tulips by the artist Jeff Koons will be donated to the city of Paris to commemorate the victims of terrorist attacks. • Our Daily 360: Take a flight over California’s forests, where tens of millions of trees have created a tinderbox for wildfires. Ah, the family road trip. Every country with cars knows the drill, and this week the United States will see some of its busiest traveling days of the year with the Thanksgiving holiday. AAA predicts that 43. 5 million Americans will be on the roads. What to do as you’re going over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house? While comforts, apps and screens have made it easier to pass the time while on the road, the games of yesteryear can offer a twinge of nostalgia for adults and a option to entertain the kids. Whether it’s spotting roadside novelties — as in I Spy or Bingo — or vehicles from different states (or countries) — as in the license plate game — most games are variations on a scavenger hunt. (Punch Buggy, which depends on spotting a dwindling supply of old Volkswagen Beetles, could just be an exercise in frustration.) In Britain, car snooker adapts the rules of the cue sport on which it’s based, requiring players to spot vehicles of different colors. Earlier this year, The Times also collected favorite travel games from readers (one is titled “Guess What I Saw? ”). Perhaps more important, in the aftermath of a contentious election, getting to dinner might be more fun than the destination itself. Chris Stanford contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
332 | #MayorsStand4All Day Touts Support for Illegal ImmigrantsSixty mayors from around the country on Tuesday held press conferences and other events to show their support for immigrants both legal and illegal. [The U. S. Conference of Mayors helped organize the effort dubbed “Cities Day of Immigration Action. ” The organization collected the names of the mayors and cities participating in the event and the actions they would be taking, including pledges to: The mayor of Austin, Texas, Steve Adler, Tweeted an article entitled “Mayors Celebrate Immigrants While Facing ICE’s New ‘ ’ City List” using the hashtag “MayorsStand4All. ” . @routefifty: Mayors Celebrate Immigrants While Facing ICE’s New ‘ ’ City List #MayorsStand4All https: . — Mayor Adler (@MayorAdler) March 22, 2017, Breitbart Texas reported that ICE, under the Trump Administration, is now publishing a weekly Declined Detainer Outcome Reports, demonstrating the crimes for which aliens have been accused. The maiden report revealed that sanctuary jurisdictions released 206 criminal aliens from their jails. Texas leads the nation with more than 70 percent of cases. While there were 149 criminal aliens released from Texas jails, 142 were released in Travis County. One day before the #MayorsStand4All events, Jessica Vaughan with the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) told Breitbart Texas, “The report from DHS is commendable, but also alarming. Now the public can understand exactly who is benefiting from the sanctuary policies — the released criminal aliens. ” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings used the #MayorsStand4All hashtag to welcome the director of the new “Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs. ” Pleased to welcome Liz director of our new Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs. #MayorsStand4All pic. twitter. — Mayor Mike Rawlings (@Mike_Rawlings) March 21, 2017, The Dallas mayor has been outspoken for the rights of Syrian refugees and illegal aliens, and has stood against Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s efforts to stop the flow of refugees into the Lone Star State. Mayor de Blasio held a press conference outside of the Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan and said absent a court order, he will ICE agents from the city’s schools. “We will not allow ICE agents to threaten that protection, disrupt classes or take any action that would be detrimental to our students,” de Blasio said, reported Breitbart News. When questioned, the NYC mayor admitted that ICE agents have not gone into the schools but ominously added, “we’re seeing things that we have not seen before and there’s a tremendous amount of fear out there. We have to be ready for anything. ” Our schools will not become part of the president’s deportation machine. #MayorsStand4All pic. twitter. — Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 21, 2017, The New York Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs issued a letter to students and families the same day stating that ICE agents would not be permitted in the schools. It also declared that the NYC Department of Education (NYC DoE) would not be releasing information about students and would be “expanding Know Your Rights workshops for students, parents and community members. ” City officials in Washington, D. C. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, and Kansas City Mayor Sly James participated in the Cities’ Day of Immigration Action along with 57 other mayors and cities. DC joins 59 cities across the US today for Cities’ Day of Immigration Action! @usmayors @MayorBowser #MayorsStand4all #SomosWashingtonDC, — Tomás Talamante (@TalamanteDC) March 21, 2017, Mayors across the country are joined together in our support of the New Americans who strengthen our cities and economy. #MayorsStand4All pic. twitter. — Megan Barry (@MayorMeganBarry) March 21, 2017, Mayors know first hand the economic and moral imperatives that make it necessary to fix our broken immigration system. #MayorsStand4All pic. twitter. — Mayor Sly James (@MayorSlyJames) March 21, 2017, Not everyone who used the hashtag “MayorsStand4All” was supportive of the mayors. This individual may have been noting the recent rape and sodomization of a girl at Rockville High School in Maryland. #MayorsStand4All is a nifty way of saying ”your daughters are less important to us than illegal aliens (aka:future Democrat voters).” — Ben Crystal (@Bennettruth) March 22, 2017, Others were clear in their reference to the alleged sexual assault. One of the males charged, Sanchez Milian, had a deportation order pending at the time of the alleged assault. The Guatemalan was allowed to enroll as a freshman, reported Breitbart News. Jose O. Montano, the other student charged, is from El Salvador. Sean Spicer criticized sanctuary jurisdictions saying the tragic crime was why President Trump is so “passionate” about buckling down on illegal immigration. Rockville High School is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, a county that is listed as a sanctuary jurisdiction, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Illegal immigrants get more passes in US than Americans because of this we get horrific crimes like #RockvilleRape sick! #MayorsStand4All, — TrumpStrong (@TrumpStrong45) March 21, 2017, Still waiting for #MayorsStand4All folks to tell me how many #RockvilleRape cases they are willing to accept for ideology. Pick a number. — CassiusK (@UWRockBuster) March 21, 2017, One of those Tweeting under #MayorsStand4All said it was ironic that the hashtag was trending at the same time as “#rockvillerape” and added, “Mayors should stand for citizens first. PERIOD. ” #rockvillerape #MayorsStand4All How ironic these two trending. Mayors should stand for citizens first. PERIOD. — T (@MADDdawg99) March 21, 2017, Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2. | 1 |
333 | Trump’s campaign for celebrityTrump’s campaign for celebrity Like junk food, will Trump leave us empty and wanting more? By Neal Gabler Posted on November 1, 2016 by Neal Gabler
It is a cliché by now that Donald Trump has run a reality show campaign—a series of gaffes, surprises, outrages, weirdnesses, explosions, revelations, and just every other ingredient that comprise the popular TV genre of faux authenticity. On reality TV, the subjects are seldom artists or entertainers or high achievers in any field. They are personalities. Their roles are their lives, which creates a Möbius strip. What do the Kardashians actually do besides being on their show, which has, of course, generated all sorts of commercial opportunities that almost make it seem as if they are doing something? What is their talent, other than the talent for self-promotion?
All of this was anticipated 54 years ago by historian Daniel Boorstin in The Image , in which he defined a celebrity as someone who is known for being well-known. In a previous post , I discussed how this applied to Trump, who seems a hollow man except for his fame.
But I am not sure that Boorstin’s tautology, clever as it is, is really accurate. I would submit that celebrity isn’t a status, nor is it a media anointment. I think celebrity is actually a narrative form played out in the medium of life and then broadcast by the traditional and now social media. One earns celebrity—to the extent that you can call it earned—by keeping one’s narrative going. You lose your celebrity not when you lose fame or attention, your well-known-ness, but when you lose your narrative, which is what got you the attention in the first place.
Donald Trump is the first celebrity candidate in both Boorstin’s sense and mine—Boorstin’s because Trump is less a builder of edifices than a slapper-of-his-name-on-other-people’s edifices. He is literally known for being well-known. And in mine because Trump has spent the better part of his life providing narratives to the press to feed its insatiable appetite for gossip and his desire for attention. There are many ways in which Trump is a unique presidential aspirant, but chief among them may be this: He is the first candidate who ran for president to feed his celebrity. The entire campaign is a plot point—a means to a larger end, which is not the presidency, but keeping his celebrity afloat. Relevance is an issue for all of us, but especially for a 70-year-old man who is accustomed to the spotlight.
I thought of this when The New York Times ran two pieces this week. One was the first of a series based on interviews with Trump conducted by biographer Michael D’Antonio and given to The Times by him. What the interviews reveal is that Trump’s primary obsession is a fear of losing his fame. In the interviews Trump reviles Arsenio Hall , a former talk show host and one-time Celebrity Apprentice contestant . “Dead as a doornail. Dead as dog meat,” Trump eulogized.
The other article that struck me was one about how Trump used appearances on TV shows and in films
As the Times piece about Trump’s Hollywood connections tells it, he began talking about running for president as early as 1988. Why? Trump didn’t have any overriding sense of national mission. He doesn’t have one even now. Clearly, his ongoing, three-decades-long flirtation with the presidency was just a plot twist—a way of juicing the narrative when it was flagging. In that sense, it was no different than his affair with Marla Maples, his feud with Rosie O’Donnell, his nonstop lawsuits and everything else. The presidency was a publicity stunt. It still is. Viewed that way, nearly everything Trump does,
Politics, as I have written many times, has long been integrated with entertainment. The devices of the latter serve the ends of the former, and this has especially served conservatives: The X-Files fed conservative paranoia, 24 This post was first published on BillMoyers.com
Neal Gabler is an author of five books and the recipient of two LA Times Book Prizes, Time magazine’s non-fiction book of the year, USA Today’ | 0 |
334 | Democrats Drag Out Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation Fight - BreitbartSenate Judiciary Committee Democrats forced debate on the confirmation of Jeff Sessions for the position of Attorney General into Wednesday with belabored speeches over Sessions’ qualifications and President Donald Trump’s firing of Obama Administration holdover, acting Attorney General Sally Yates, the night before. [As Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley ( ) opened the hearing, he stated that there would be a vote on confirmation of Sessions for the position of Attorney General, but as the lengthy meeting progressed, Democrats forced the meeting on that vote into Wednesday on a technicality. Grassley noted in his opening comments that proceedings would commence as did those in the confirmation of former Obama Administration Attorney General Loretta Lynch, adding that it was his understanding that each Democrat on the committee, except two, intended to oppose Sessions’ nomination. Grassley referred to the more than 10 hours of questioning that Sessions endured in a prior committee hearing regarding his confirmation. The senator further noted Democrat opposition that began before those Senators even submitted questions to Sessions, insinuating the partisan political nature of their opposition. Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California rebuked Sessions, accusing him of involvement with the President’s executive action to temporarily restrict travel from seven nations identified as exceptional security risks. It was the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama Administration which identified the seven countries in the Terrorist Prevention Act of 2015 and its 2016 extension. Feinstein heavily referenced and quoted an article from the Washington Post in her lambasting of Sessions, accusing him of guiding the Presidents’ policy agenda. Grassley made clear that Sessions was not involved in the drafting of the executive order based on a statement from Sessions on the matter. Feinstein declared “no confidence” that Sessions would “uphold our laws and civil liberties as attorney general. ” She went on to praise Salley Yates in her function as acting Attorney General before stating, with no ambiguity, that she would vote no on confirmation of Sessions. In the course of Tuesday’s hearing, Grassley remarked how much longer Democrats were speaking than Republicans. Late on Monday, Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she instructed members of the Department of Justice not to defend the President’s executive action, an action which instituted a temporary travel restriction on seven countries. Yates was a holdover from the Obama Administration, operating in the position of acting AG as the Senate considers the confirmation of Sessions. Sen. Patrick Leahy is leading the effort to block confirmation of Sessions as Attorney General, according to NBC News. During Tuesday’s hearing, Leahy launched into a drawn out condemnation of the President’s firing of Yates. Sen. Ted Cruz specifically cited legal guidance relating to Trump’s executive order and its legality. He rebuked Yates for allowing an act of “brazen partisan lawlessness” and policy disagreement to dictate her duties. As Tuesday’s session neared a close, Grassley set aside 22 minutes for Sen. Al Franken to speak at Wednesday’s hearing, while Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse ( ) was told he would be granted 20 min. The committee was then scheduled to meet at 10:30 a. m. ET on Wednesday morning with a vote to commence between 11 and 12 a. m. Democrats on two other committees moved to obstruct confirmation of President Trump’s nominees with their refusal to even appear at those hearings. Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana | 1 |
335 | BREAKING NEWS: Podesta Brothers Pedo Ring: MR. TRUMP, DRAIN THE SWAMP!! — V, The Guerrilla EconomistNovember 20, 2016 at 6:09 pm
“She well documents everything.The history in these United States as well as elsewhere is all an illusion,people are trapped in a matrix.”
You say this as if existence itself is NOT an illusion. It very well could be. How would we know? glitter 1 November 21, 2016 at 2:43 pm
Ed_B,
“You say this as if existence itself is NOT an illusion. It very well could be. How would we know?”
You know by now where I’m coming from.People,the inhabitants on this planet are born,they live and die,never truly understanding how they/we got here,the purpose/meaning of life and where they/we are going once the last breath is taken. Here is my simplest answer/response:
John 14:6King James Version (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
It’s either true or a lie.It can be accepted as such or rejected. Eric
Actually I already knew about Graham. Was a little shocked about Nixon. But not really.
This is a BIG CLUB. And you ain’t in it. Guido November 19, 2016 at 3:26 am · Reply
For those in the alt-media who were already on the anti-Trump bandwagon long before Trump won the election, NOBODY he proposes to man his cabinet (whether allegedly or actually) will pass their litmus test. They will be sure to find fault with EVERY one of his selections or rumored selections, and then revel in their own “brilliance” by telling us in their articles, videos and posts that they warned us. Essentially, Trump’s alt-media critics are doing the job of the MSM, who on the very next day after Trump won the election went on a tear about how he was planning on staffing his cabinet with insiders.
It’s clear that those who engage in this sort of “reporting” are intent on disrupting Trump’s support base by giving the impression that he is defaulting on his promises and engaging in business as usual. I’m dubious of anyone who engages in perpetual rumor and speculation by relentlessly parroting names that are circulating about as part of an organized disinfo campaign. When the choices are made and announced, then we could fairly engage in worthy critique if need be. Every one of us is bound to find fault with at least someone in his cabinet. This is all completely normal because no reasonable person ever expected that his choices would be saints who were free of all unsavory baggage. But the key word here is REASONABLE, something that is sorely lacking these days.
In so far as the aftermath of the election, the MSM seriously miscalculated the intelligence of the American people in the days following the election. They thought that by giving the pampered protesters carte blanche coverage, their support base would grow beyond all proportions as a mass anti-Trump movement swept the nation. Instead, the shattered hearts of the coddled candy-asses who lack the basic fortitude to handle defeat of ANY kind, has been laid bare for all too see. They are the poster children of everything that is wrong with the deviant and dysfunctional left in the US. The Purple Revolution is backfiring miserably as the nation is waking up to the reality that a minority of snot-nosed deplorables are attempting to rip the country apart at the seams. It ain’t gonna fly, no matter how much cash massa Soros pumps into their basket.
No, the left isn’t quite dead yet, but it’s gasping for air. The cat’s out of the bag now, and the blowback that will come down the pike in the following months will leave no doubt as to what side of history this gaggle of miscreants will end up on when the final chapter is written. Ed_B November 20, 2016 at 6:55 pm · Reply
@Guido
Agreed. The back-stabbing has commenced and all the sore losers in our country are lining up to receive free blades from their masters. Perhaps it is they who could use some time in a “re-education camp”?
It’s now clear all with an IQ above room temp that the MSM have completely sold their credibility for political access and favors, which leaves them with NOTHING of any value to sell.
But all this is OK. Their complaining and whining will pale to insignificance when Trump succeeds with various promises he’s made. Not that he can keep them all, of course, but the general direction in which he moves will be a substantial improvement over the past 8 years.
Speaking of idiots, lol… did you see where Obama was telling Trump that he “needs to be tough with the Russians”? I almost choked on my morning coffee over that one. The dish rag is counseling the pit bull on how to be tough! LOL!! Guido November 20, 2016 at 7:30 pm · Reply
Ed, did you ever see that video where Barry is pretending to workout with weights? Tough? Not quite. What about that one where he’s throwing the first pitch at a major league ballgame? Not exactly my idea of toughness. Compare this pansy to footage of Vlad engaging in the martial arts, shooting firearms, riding horseback shirtless, or hobnobbing with that outlaw biker club in Russia (some of whose members volunteered to fight with the pro-Russian resistance in Ukraine after the US-led coup). Granted, it’s all theater, but it does get the point across in no uncertain terms.
8 years of Barry has been too much to take, but just think of the entire generation of numbskulls and meatheads who not only went through their formidable years while this fool played pretend at the White House, but actually cite him as one of their top influences and heroes. It’s no wonder these wanna-be community organizers and communist revolutionaries are prancing around the streets at professional protests chanting the trendiest slogans of the week.
Oh well, at least mommy and daddy have a bit of free time to themselves while the kiddies are away playing dress-up. But they’ll be back to the basement soon enough. videoctr November 19, 2016 at 6:37 am · Reply
I like the idea of calling the alt-media, new media instead. I also like the idea suggested in this interview, to not only confiscate George Soros money and arrest him. Also, efforts should be made to go after the Rothschild globalists if they are connected with funding radical groups. Confiscate their wealth the same way drug dealers money is confiscated by the police. dcm November 19, 2016 at 9:43 am · Reply
Hello Sean , My take away from this video which will challenge you . The interviewee espoused a core premise of modernism , when a person physiologically internalizes this concept , the process of natural or organic , if you will , understanding is diminished. Put hand in fire – hot it burns- etc . This psychological meme ( what is called modernism) is man made , a product of what is referred to as the “enlightenment” period historically . The names of the practitioners of this FALSE meme is recorded historical fact , as well the reason for the development of, and the spread of. My challenge for you is to search human history for societies that practiced infanticide as well societies that practiced sodomy , were there cultures that practiced both at the same time ? Or did one diminish and the other take over , or variations such as open human murder , referred to as human sacrifice. What was the out come of these cultures ? Millicent November 19, 2016 at 10:31 am · Reply
I decided to make a project of tracking some of the dumbest statements made on this blog…
When I saw Glitter make the “call” for December 2016 PM price points of $100 Silver and $3500 Gold back in February of 2016 I knew that I had a winner.
December will come & go and his “call” will not be even remotely close. Eric will keep yammering his psycho babble about books, how I’m stupid, etc., etc. but the the fact remains that Glitter did not have a clue about what he was predicting and somehow I will be blamed for calling him out and telling him he was a moron for making that “call”.
Eric keeps asking why I say that he is being conned. Eric is so hopelessly immersed in the con that he has become a part of it and will probably never wake up to the fact. Eric
Millicent,
You ARE stupid. I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you.
Now can you at least have a little credibility and tell me what the con is? If you want to make a point, provide some information.
Monetary base and Fed’s balance sheet increased 5 fold. There’s no good reason why the Gold price won’t increase by at least the same amount.
Don’t forget to remember my speculative prediction of $2500 Gold/$60-$75 Silver by end of 2017.
Too bad you missed my Trump wins in a landslide if there is an election. Nailed that one.
Millicent = useless eater and comment critic. bt
eric ,return email at [email protected] have message for you | 0 |
336 | Las frases más destacadas del debate de investiduraLas frases más destacadas del debate de investidura RESUMIMOS LA AGITADA JORNADA DE HOY EN EL CONGRESO Sesión de investidura
Mariano Rajoy no ha conseguido ser investido presidente en la primera votación a causa del rotundo “no” del PSOE. Una actuación muy poco creíble por parte de la bancada socialista, sobreactuada incluso, como cuando Rafael Hernando, portavoz socialista, se ha levantado de su escaño para votar y, justo después de hacerlo, le ha tirado un vaso de agua a la cara a Rajoy y ha fingido un desmayo. Fuentes del Congreso aseguran que Hernando ha guiñado el ojo a Rajoy en un par de ocasiones para tranquilizar al candidato a la presidencia.
Recopilamos a continuación algunos de los momentos más importantes de la jornada. Mariano Rajoy (PP)
“He aceptado el encargo del Rey para presentarme a la investidura porque, oigan, es el Rey”.
“Hemos ganado dos veces las elecciones, fácilmente. ¿Quieren que gane otra más? Cuando haga falta, yo no tengo prisa”.
“Algo le pasa a Cristiano. No está fino. Desde el Partido Popular intentaremos solucionarlo”.
“Hace tres días yo estaba en el paro. Y mírenme. Empieza la regeneración del empleo en España”.
“Estoy aprendiendo Twitter, ya sigo a Cristiano Ronaldo”.
“En Twitter soy @marianocrystal y me gustaría que me hicieran ‘hashtag’ sus señorías”.
(A Pablo Iglesias, tras la alusión a los SMS) “También he aprendido a usar los SMS mejor, como usted dice, aunque siempre llamo después para comprobar que han llegado”.
(A España) “Eres mía. Sólo mía. Miísima. Más mía no puedes ser. Y no porque yo te lo diga, sino porque así lo has decidido tú. Mía. Sólo mía. Miísima. Esa mía tan tuya de la que me he enamorado”.
“Sigan diciendo sus cosas y vayamos alargando debates estériles. Ustedes, y sólo ustedes, serán los responsables de eliminar el puente a todos los diputados”.
(A Joan Tardà) “Oiga, se lo diré hasta con cariño, han hecho ustedes llorar a Cristiano”. Antonio Hernando (PSOE)
“No le pondremos las cosas fáciles al PP. Sin ir más lejos: hoy he aparcado el coche muy pegadito al de Soraya. A ver cómo entra luego”.
“Vamos a hacer de oposición, señor Rajoy, hágase a la idea. Mal empezaríamos con artimañas como los vetos y los decretos […] Sea consciente, señor Rajoy, de que nos vamos a hacer respetar como oposición. No aprobaremos nada, absolutamente nada de lo que usted diga a la primera, lo haremos a la segunda”.
“Nos vamos a hacer respetar como oposición. Los ciudadanos nos exigen que les controlemos. Y lo haremos sin gritar ni utilizar la demagogia y con la camisa metida por dentro, que es algo que los españoles aprecian (en referencia a Podemos)”.
“Nos sobran razones para no confiar en usted, pero no hay razón para mantener el bloqueo político y llevar a los españoles a nuevas elecciones, sólo nos jugamos el país y además no tenemos candidato en el PSOE”.
“Somos de izquierdas, no les quepa ninguna duda. Y seguiremos cantando La Internacional con orgullo. Siempre y cuando La Internacional tenga papeles y esté en una situación regulada”.
(A la salida de la cámara, tras la pregunta de un periodista) “Pedro Sánchez y yo somos buenos amigos. Es más: este sábado, en la segunda votación, cantaremos ‘Escondidos’. Yo haré de Bisbal”. Pablo Iglesias (Podemos)
“Hay aquí mucho delincuente potencial. Lo sé porque me lo han dicho los precogs”.
“Mírenme a los ojos y díganme que no les doy miedo”.
“Me debo al honor de mi patria, de los ciudadanos de mi país y de la asociación de rol ‘Sword of Carabanchel’ que saludo desde aquí”.
“Supongo que Albert Rivera tendrá que buscar en Google algún Torrent de la película del 23-F pero yo se la puedo pasar en un pen”.
“Somos la única oposición real al PP. Errejón mariquita. Nuestra única misión es hacer frente a Rajoy. Íñigo, tonto. No tengan ni una duda de que nada ni nadie nos distraerá. Gafotas cuatroojos”.
(A Ferreras) “Ferreras, no me esperes para cenar, que esto va para largo”. Albert Rivera (Ciudadanos)
“¡Christian! ¡Que no te chivaste de mi cara!”
“¡Que te comiste 10 en una noche y no me diste ni media! ¡Y no me diste ni mierda!”
“Sí, el Chuky de Cieza, cuando quieras bajas a buscarme, que tengo yo que engancharte por la banda”.
“Gilipollas”.
“Te tengo que reventar, literalmente”.
“Que te chivaste a tu ma, a mi ma, te chivaste a la… ¡Ya verás!”
“¿Sabes lo que tengo ahí en mi coche? ¿Quieres verlo? ¿Quieres sentirlo en el pecho?”
(A Iglesias) “¿Ves los agujeros del techo? Eso sí que… ahí la Guardia Civil entrando y ¡pam! ¡pam! Eso sí es un Golpe de Estado… No hay que usar la palabra a la ligera. El que la saca para enseñarla es un parguela”.
(A Iglesias) “Así… ¡ñeeepam!” Joan Tardà (ERC)
“Ya que el señor Rivera ha usado el catalán entiendo que yo también puedo usarlo. El poble català veié una gran lluminària i cregué que la vida li mancava; mes, abans de perdre del tot la coneixença, encara sentí caure-li al damunt i enfonsar-se en ses carns la grapa peluda i alenada roent de la fera, senyor Rajoy.”
“Té nyirvis, senyor Rajoy? Mes l’encís ja estava romput i la terra, bella i tot com suara, no logrà revifar-li el caliu d’aquell primer anhel”.
“Li dic que matarem el llop”. Pedro Sánchez (PSOE)
“Perdona, ¿está ocupado este escaño? Ah, vale… No, no, ya sigo buscando”.
“Oye, ¿está libre este escaño? Ah… Bueno, si le estás guardando el sitio a alguien, poniendo las chaquetas encima, tranquila. Chao”. Ana Pastor, presidenta del Congreso
“Por favor, silencio. Señores del PSOE, un minuto de abstención. ¡De atención!” | 0 |
337 | Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won't Build a More Peaceful WorldTweet Widget by Hugh Esco
The author, a reader and colleague of BAR, offers a corrective to our use of the word “jihad,” a term that, in “an Islamic conception, has nothing to do with ‘holy war.’” In this “appeal,” Mr. Esco warns: “When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.” Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won't Build a More Peaceful World by Hugh Esco
“No one seems to use of phrases like ‘Christian Terrorists,’ although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase.”
Black Agenda Report led the way by banning the perjorative use of “illegal” to describe workers in this country without documentation. This publication did so in an article years ago comparing its use to that of the n-word. Many other media outlets including those in the mainstream have since followed suit, so that these days the word is only heard in those venues intent on expressing their contempt for our fellow workers in this divisive way.
This is my appeal that Black Agenda Report and the readers who look to this publication for thought-leadership decide for ourselves that FOX news does not need our help creating a hostile world for our Muslim neighbors who respect a messenger who in his final sermon instructed the faithful, "Treat others justly so that no one will be unjust to you."
Fringe white supremacist groups have long shown a willingness to use violence to advance their political agenda and to justify their tactics by misquoting the Bible and claiming a Christian Identity. Still no one seems to paint all Christians as equally heinous, to treat their claims of Christian faith with any seriousness or to adopt the widespeard use of phrases like “Christian Terrorists,” although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase.
Yet it serves the monied interests who profit from war to create fear by conflating the actions and strategies of small sectarian militias who misquote the Quran to advance their secular agenda with the beliefs of 1.6 billion Muslims who actually seek to practice its precepts.
“The Arabic word ‘jihad’ most often translates as ‘struggle.’”
For Muslims around the world an Islamic conception of jihad has nothing to do with “holy war,” a concept put forward in 1095 by the Catholic Pope Urban II to justify the crusades against Muslims. The Arabic word most often translates as “struggle,” and is used forty-one times in the
Quran, thirty-one times to speak of what the context reveals is a “jihad al-nafs,” or an inner struggle in the path of the Divine, what Islamic scholars have called “the greater jihad.” It is the sort of lifetime commitment to personal integrity that supports being good partners to spouses, good parents to children, good neighbors, to be civically engaged to create a better world for our communities.
The Quran includes ten references to “jihad al-qital,” referred to as the “lesser jihad” by the scholars and theologians. Jihad al-qital is an external militant struggle, ordained by legitimate civil authorities and constrained by rules-of-engagement respecting the distinctions between combatants and others. It includes an expectation that the lives of captured combatants will be spared. Jihad al-qital bears more in common with the Christian concept of just-war, than with the
scorched earth policies of the crusades which burned the libraries of Byzantium, or the Jewish tribes annihilation of all the indigenous peoples of Canaan, along with their livestock and shrines.
We create a communications disconnect when we turn jihad into a pejorative, one where Muslims and non-Muslims wind up talking past each other.
“We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us. ”
We also empower Al-Qaida and ISIS and similar organizations and their allies among the elites of the United States, when we let them appropriate this key Islamic concept to describe their terrorist activities. We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us.
When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, this hate speech, this disrespect for the faith of 1% of our fellow US citizens and roughly a quarter of our global neighbors, we first show our ignorance but worse share responsibility for creating an atmosphere which lends support to the attacks being suffered on a regular basis by our Muslim neighbors, both here at home and abroad. We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.
If we need an Arabic word to describe terrorism, that word would be hirabah, which translates as “unlawful warfare.”
Nuclear blackmail is hirabah. Drone strikes are hirabah. Cluster munitions are hirabah. White phosphorous is hirabah. Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are hirabah. Wars for oil are hirabah.
And distorting language to tell people that words mean the opposite of what they mean is also a form of cultural warfare, and ought to be unlawful, but is perpetrated daily by elected officials, agencies of our own government, the war industry funded think tanks, FOX-News and other Islamophobes in the media. Sectarian militias and FOX news ought not be given the power to redefine the 'sixth' pillar of Islam for the non-Muslim world.
“Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are ‘hirabah.’”
And they certainly do not need our help doing it. In that final sermon referenced above, the Muslim Prophet also prohibited usurious loans and instructed those with accumulated wealth to give every year to the state specified percentages for distribution to the needy. No wonder the disaster capitalists want us to be afraid of our Muslim neighbors.
If fearing our neighbors serves the interests of disaster capitalists, it is highly unlikely to do us any good.
Jihad, even in its lower form, shows its practitioners to be more civilized that the imperial purposes to which our tax dollars are put in imperial wars of aggression and occupation. Jihad al-nafs is an islamic principle to which all the worlds' people, with or without faith, should aspire.
So-called 'jihadist terrorist' is an oxymoron, one which creates a disconnect for those who understand Arabic and Islamic teachings. We ought to say 'sectarian militia' when that is what we mean. Doing so is as essential to our learning to respect our immigrant neighbors as was our rejection of the pejorative use of 'illegal'. Getting the language right is a key early step to creating peace with our Muslim neighbors in the global community. It will help us take the next step of ending our imperial occupations. FOX news is not a legitimate source for a vocabulary useful to our struggle, our jihad for a just future. But respect for the faiths of others can move us in the right direction. Hugh Esco is a founding officer of the Georgia Green Party who works by day in IT, and on nights and weekends for a world worthy of passing on to the next generation. He can be contacted at [email protected] | 0 |
338 | Lazy Liberal Journalists Smear Bannon Lazy Liberal Journalists Smear Bannon Lazy Liberal Journalists Smear Bannon November 16, 2016, 1:37 pm by Cliff Kincaid Leave a Comment 0
Accuracy in Media
Media bias won’t let up just because the liberal media were humiliated on November 8. The bias is now being directed at the President-elect’s conservative appointments.
On Monday night’s CBS Evening News, anchor Scott Pelley proclaimed that the Southern Poverty Law Center had declared that Donald J. Trump’s campaign CEO Stephen Bannon “has no business being in the White House.” Bannon was named as chief strategist and counselor.
In fact, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has no business being cited as a credible source by any responsible news organization. It smears conservatives for profit, diverting attention from real domestic threats, such as the Marxist extremists currently demonstrating against Trump in the streets and threatening to disrupt his inauguration.
Many of the demonstrators are from the ANSWER Coalition , an outgrowth of the pro-North Korea Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party.
But don’t expect to get any information about the ANSWER Coalition from the SPLC.
In fact, the SPLC is in bed with communists of all kinds, having participated in the notorious Left Forum held in New York City earlier this year. We noted at the time that the event featured “an assortment of communists, 9/11 truthers, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists, and other extremists.”
Even more troubling, SPLC President and CEO Richard Cohen was a member of the “ Countering Violent Extremism Working Group ” of the Department of Homeland Security in 2010. It is possible that Cohen, in this capacity, was able to get access to classified information, and that the SPLC, in turn, shared its erroneous data on conservative opponents of the Obama administration with federal law enforcement agencies.
The attacks on Bannon stem from his leadership of the news site, Breitbart News , a popular source of alternative news and information which was strongly pro-Trump during the campaign. On occasion, the site features some unorthodox conservative views that Bannon’s critics have tried to pin on him.
The site was named for Andrew Breitbart, who pioneered new and effective ways to undermine the left. One of his disciples, Jeremy Segal, did a video exposing Democratic Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL) being honored at the Communist Party U.S.A.’s headquarters in Chicago for a lifetime of “inspiring leadership.”
Lazy liberal journalists would rather cite the SPLC as authoritative without having to bother to investigate how the group has been exposed by such investigative reporters on the left as Ken Silverstein. At one time, notes Silverstein , the group did some good work against racist hate groups. But later, in order to expand its business model and make more money, it expanded the “hate” label to mainstream conservative organizations. It has accumulated $300 million in a reserve fund and has become “one of the most profitable charities in the country,” with its top officials getting membership in the so-called financial elite one percent.
This journalist was named a member of the “radical right,” a designation then transformed into a charge of “Islamophobia” by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The accusations are designed to silence First Amendment rights and discourage the media from going to conservative sources for news, information and commentary.
Before Pelley uncritically cited the SPLC, Kate Snow was on MSNBC talking about how Trump’s stand against illegal immigration was similar to that of the secretary of state of Kansas, Kris Kobach. She said Kobach had given “support” to the Social Contract Press, which she described as a “hate group” designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Social Contract Press rebuts all of the accusations, while noting that the SPLC’s $300 million cash hoard “rivals that of [the] Clinton Foundation.” It was the Social Contract Press which published one of Silverstein’s articles exposing the SPLC.
Indeed, Silverstein’s exposé was just one section of a major report the Social Contract Press published in 2010 that examined the SPLC’s strategy and tactics.
Yet, it’s Bannon who is being accused of being an extremist. The Washington Post admits there’s no real evidence behind the allegation, making it just another smear picked up by most of the media without adequate checking or verification.
What we are witnessing in the faux outrage against Bannon is a fear that the Trump administration and the new Republican Congress will get back to the business of monitoring real domestic threats.
For example, Trump adviser Walid Phares has already indicated that the President-elect will back a bill, the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which could lead to an investigation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Trevor Loudon, the producer of the new film, “ Enemies Within ,” says the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act could be supplemented by the House and Senate bringing back committees or subcommittees devoted to exposing internal security problems, also known as un-American activities.
A member of Congress exposed in the film for his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood is Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) , who is running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. | 0 |
339 | Australia Will Close Detention Center on Manus Island, but Still Won’t Accept Asylum Seekers - The New York TimesSYDNEY, Australia — A detention center in Papua New Guinea where Australia has sent hundreds of asylum seekers will be closed, the governments of both countries said Wednesday. But neither side said when it would be shut down or what would be done with the people held there. The center, on Manus Island, a rugged, volcanic outcrop, is one of two such detention centers that Australia maintains in the Pacific to house migrants it has intercepted on the way to its shores, a policy that rights groups and the United Nations have criticized. In April, Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court declared the center illegal, and the governments have held discussions since then about how to proceed. But few details about the future of the 960 asylum seekers being held there were disclosed Wednesday. “A series of options are being advanced,” Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, Peter O’Neill, said in a statement announcing that both governments had agreed to close the center. Australia’s minister for immigration and border protection, Peter Dutton, said the move would not change his country’s refusal to accept asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. “No one from Manus Island Regional Processing Center will ever be settled in Australia,” Mr. Dutton said in a statement. He has said in the past that asylum seekers granted refugee status could resettle in Papua New Guinea, though few have been allowed to do so, and that those denied asylum should be sent back to their home countries. Australia’s government, which has maintained a policy toward asylum seekers to discourage migrants from trying the dangerous sea voyage, has said it is for Papua New Guinea to decide what to do with the asylum seekers at the Manus detention center. A senator in the Australian Greens Party, Sarah said Wednesday that the asylum seekers should be resettled in Australia. “The government must ensure that these people are given a chance to rebuild their lives in safety in Australia,” Ms. said in a statement. The conditions at the center, and at another on Nauru, a tiny island nation, have come under scrutiny. The United Nations has said that Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers at the offshore centers is cruel, inhuman and degrading, and that it violates international law. Detainees on Manus Island have contracted malaria and typhoid, and there have been reports of a lack of toilet paper and running water. Guards there have also been accused of brutality and of failing to protect detainees. Conditions at the detention center on Nauru have also been described as harsh and dispiriting. The Guardian released documents this month from the Nauru center that detailed reports of child sexual abuse, assault and among asylum seekers. About 1, 000 asylum seekers are living on Nauru. “Australia’s international reputation has been enormously damaged by the establishment of offshore camps,” said Tim O’Connor, acting chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, which represents 200 groups that support asylum seekers. “It has done enormous damage to the thousands of individuals who have been trapped in this system. The refugees should immediately be brought to Australia. ” Leaders of Australia’s governing parties and the main opposition Labor Party have said the country’s policy has led to a steady decrease in the number of asylum seekers attempting to reach their shores, and the officials have shown few signs of wanting to change the policy. | 1 |
340 | Politico: Hillary Clinton Is Running Again - BreitbartMatt Latimer, a former Bush speechwriter and contributing editor to Politico Magazine, predicts that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. [From Politico Magazine: Hillary Clinton will run for president. Again. No inside information informs this prediction. No argument is advanced as to whether her run is a good or a bad idea — there are many ways to make a case either way. Instead this is just a statement of simple facts (if facts mean anything anymore, that is). And the facts are clear that the former secretary of state is doing everything she needs to do to run for the White House one more time. If she finds a path to do so, she will take it. And I can prove it. … Clinton is not going to want to spend the rest of her life haunted by the question of “what if. ” What if I could run again — and win? Besides, seeking the White House has been her aspiration for decades. What else is there for her to do? Yes, barring some calamity, Clinton is running. And this brave columnist will go one step further. Not only will Clinton will run again, she has an excellent shot at getting the Democratic Party nomination again. But only if she approaches it quite differently. Here’s some advice for her. Read the rest of the article here. | 1 |
341 | Giant Lynx Makes The Most Adorable Sound, Whenever His Human Rubs His FaceShare on Facebook When you think of a Lynx, chances are a big kitty happily purring in utter contentment does not come to mind! However, that's exactly how Max the Canada Lynx acts when his caretaker pets him and gives him a nice relaxing head massage. Just like his domestic feline relatives, Max is partial to a good ear, cheek, and chin scratch. In fact, he loves it so much that he rolls over on his back and purrs like an engine. Hearing his sweet rumble is so therapeutic and relaxing, if you listen to this you'll be falling asleep before you know it! When you think of a Lynx, chances are a big kitty happily purring in utter contentment does not come to mind! However, that's exactly how Max the Canada Lynx acts when his caretaker pets him and gives him a nice relaxing head massage. Just like his domestic feline relatives, Max is partial to a good ear, cheek, and chin scratch. In fact, he loves it so much that he rolls over on his back and purrs like an engine. Hearing his sweet rumble is so therapeutic and relaxing, if you listen to this you'll be falling asleep before you know it! She runs a program called Wildlife Education by Bernie which Max is a part of. He's an education animal ambassador who helps teach school children and the general public about the ongoing need to both protect and respect our planet and the endangered species who call it home. For centuries the Canada Lynx had endured and survived despite hunters who trap and kill them for their fur. In addition to hunting, an overall loss of habitat has led to their steady decline, so much so that in March of 2002 they were added to the endangered species list as threatened. Hopefully their population and numbers will rebound back to healthy levels. Until then, wildlife ambassadors like Max will continue to raise awareness and spread hope for the survival of all threatened and endangered species everywhere. Check out his beautiful face and listen to the sweet purring noises he makes, they'll definitely make you relax and feel at ease! Related: | 0 |
342 | Minnesota Cop Found Not Guilty in Philando Castile Shooting TrialThe Minnesota officer who has been on trial for the murder in the shooting death of a black motorist has been found not guilty. The verdict was announced around 2:55 p. m. on Friday. [St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez testified during the trial that Philando Castile had his hand on a gun. A Facebook video live streamed by Diamond Reynolds, his girlfriend who was in the car, went viral. She narrated as Castile sat dying. Officer Yanez fatally shot Castile on July 6 after a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time, there was a question as to whether Castile was a suspect in a recent convenience store robbery. Officer Yanez faced charges of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a weapon. The Minnesota jury has been deliberating this week. Shortly after the shooting, Officer Yanez’ lawyer said, “I can tell you that the stop of the vehicle for an equipment violation was not the only reason for the stop. ” A handgun was recovered at the scene. During the Facebook live stream, Reynolds said, “police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason. ” Castile had a concealed handgun license. During Yanez’ trial, a police force expert testified that the officer was justified in his use of force. Expert Joe Dutton told jurors “When Yanez saw the grip of Castile’s hand, he had to react to the actions of Mr. Castile,” reported the CBS affiliate in Minnesota. He added, “This truly was a decision, there wasn’t time to do anything else. ” A firefighter testified that he heard Castile’s gun drop to the ground from his pocket when he put him on a stretcher. Officer Yanez took the stand in his defense. He testified that he stopped Castile’s car after Castile drove past him and gave him a “deer in the headlights” look that made him suspicious. “It’s a trigger,” he testified. The officer was already on alert after the convenience store robbery and Castile looked like one of the robbery suspects. He radioed his partner that he was going to pull the car over because “[t]he two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery,” Minnesota’s Star Tribune reported. He also had legal grounds to pull Castile over because he was driving with a broken brake light. Yanez walked up to the car, and he could smell burnt or burning marijuana, he testified. The officer told the jury he saw Castile’s hand on the gun and Castile did not follow his instructions not to reach for the gun. He told the jury, “I told him, ‘Don’t pull it out,” but when he saw Castile pull out the top of the gun, “That’s when I engaged Mr. Castile and shot him. ” The officer testified when he saw Castile’s gun, “my family popped into my head. My wife. My baby girl. ” “I did not want to shoot Mr. Castile at all. ” “Those were not my intentions. ” After the shooting, Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, reportedly told CNN, “I think he was just black in the wrong place. ” Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton further fanned the flame of racial tension when he asked at a press conference after the shooting — “Would this have happened if the driver and passenger were white?” He answered his question saying — “I don’t think it would have,” reported Fox 9 News in . Paul. As can be heard in the video, the officer told the girlfriend, “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand off of it. ” This occurs at the mark in the video. Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2 | 1 |
343 | 115 Million Americans Killed In 30 Minutes
It is called the SS-18, the “Satan” for short. As Obama has gutted military preparedness, Putin has busily been doing the opposite. The Russian military is capable of wiping our large swaths of this country in less than an afternoon.
The title of this piece is 115 million Americans killed in 30 minutes. Thirty minutes is the approximate time that an SS-18, launched from inside Russia, would reach the Eastern Seaboard, where 5 of these missiles would destroy the entire east coast in which 115 million Americans would perish with scarcely a trace. The casualty figures come from Paul Craig Roberts.
When will the bulk of Americans realize that they have been sold out under a treasonous chief executive? You will scarcely believe your eyes and ears in the following report as you are about to learn that we are Russia’s mercy.
The stunning details are in the following video.
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344 | Wayne Madsen: The CIA Has Always Served the Interests of Wall Street90 Shares
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Mohsen Abdelmoumen : According to you, when we see the numerous demonstrations anti-Trump in the United States after the election of Donald Trump at the presidency, are we witnessing a colored revolution?
Wayne Madsen: It is classic Soros-funded color revolution. Soros is financing MoveOn.org, Black Lives Matter, Demos, and other of his groups to turn out protesters and is even running ads in papers looking for paid drivers and protest coordinators.
In your very relevant books devoted to George Soros: “Soros: Quantum of Chaos”, you reveal the true face of this figure who is the spearhead of several destabilization operations in the world. From where does all the power come that this criminal holds and why is he untouchable?
Soros is very wealthy and actually a frontman for an even more powerful and wealthy person, Evelyn de Rothschild, along with his family. They are all the true puppet masters of the world.
Soros remains a major element in the anti-Trump device. Can Trump resist him?
MORE... Disrespecting the American Imperial Presidency Trump Won, Now What? Will America Survive the Next 4 Years? Defeating White Liberalism in the Age of Trump Trump is actually now being surrounded by people who will serve in his administration who will be loyal to the Soros-Rothschild puppet masters and certainly not to Trump.
Can we say that the occult world is more powerful than legal institutions?
Secret societies with their crazy rituals have been the bane of human existence since the time of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees in Palestine and the Dionysian cults of the Nile Valley and the Mediterranean region.
In your book “ ISIS is US - The Shocking Truth Behind the Army of Terror”, you detail the relations between the USA and ISIS/Daesh. What is the triggering element that has put you on this trail?
Trump's national security adviser retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn revealed that the US was supporting ISIS and then he was forced to resign. My own sources in the Middle East confirmed this long before Flynn made his public statement and was fired as Defense Intelligence Agency chief by Obama.
You mention Western Sahara and the involvement of the Clintons in a deal with the Kingdom of Morocco while this case is under the authority of UN. Aren't the Clintons outlaws such Bonnie and Clyde by supporting Morocco against the Sahrawi people and the UN's resolutions?
The Clintons received at least $12 million from the Moroccan government in return for buying their loyalty to Morocco's agenda, which includes permanently annexing Western Sahara as the "Southern Province." Morocco and Israel share the same policy on annexing illegally-occupied territories.
According to your diverse very interesting analysis, can we assert that the World Government or the false prophets of the New World Order are the real decision-makers of this world?
I mentioned a few already, Soros/Rothschild. Others are the Bilderbergs, Bohemian Club, and the Council on Foreign Relations and their counterparts.
You know very well some American intelligence agencies like the NSA. Do these intelligence agencies serve the US' interests or, rather, the oligarchy's interests?
The CIA has always served the interests of Wall Street. NSA now serves the interests of the global security network it leads.
You were an officer in the US Navy. Was the whistleblower you are today born after your military career or before?
Before. I was an FBI-Navy whistleblower in 1982 and helped to uncover a major pedophile ring in the US Navy that reached into the Reagan-Bush White House and was ultimately exposed in The Washington Times in 1988-89. My whistleblowing cost me my Navy career, however, and a subsequent series of fairly bad jobs.
In the recent US election, we saw the mass media bankruptcy despite their manipulations and their fake polls. Didn't one of the pillars of world oligarchy collapse under our eyes? Don't we witness a historic moment announcing the end of the New World Order and its purely capitalist product, globalization?
99 percent of major newspapers endorsed Clinton. Many alternative news sources supported Trump. We are seeing a massive shift away from newspapers and corporate TV and websites to the alternative media, of which WayneMadsenReport.com has been prominent since its founding in 2005.
Snowden has denounced the Prism program and you have denounced Echelon, both of which serve the interests of the world's oligarchic caste. What is known is not only the immersed part of the iceberg?
What is still relatively unknown is the close cooperation between NSA and private companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, and major telecommunications companies. It is much greater than even Snowden's documents describe.
The quantity and especially the quality of your reports reveal to us a world unknown by millions of human beings. How all these truths have been hidden?
The major media cooperates with the government in covering up news events.
I advise everyone to read the Wayne Madsen Report as well as your books and follow your various interventions in the alternative media. How do you explain that we, who are resisting to what I call the fascist oligarchic caste, are called conspiracy theorists? Is this concept the only weapon of the fascist imperialists to reduce to silence all those who resist them and to reinforce the ranks of those whose who have been brainwashed?
The term conspiracy theorist was developed by the CIA in the mid-1960s to ridicule those who believed there was a wide government role in the assassination of President Kennedy. It has been used ever since to describe legitimate researchers into Iran-Contra, 9/11, and other deep state crimes.
Your book “ The Star and The Sword ” is one of the few to talk about intimate and opaque links between the Zionist entity of Israel and Saudi Arabia. You claim that they organize false flag attacks, including the 9/11. What is the origin and nature of this Israeli-Saudi strategic alliance? Do you think that the JASTA law will succeed or will it be countered by the Zionist allies of Saudi Arabia? Do the fact that the USA and the Westerners turn a blind eye on the criminal war led by the Saudis to Yemen isn't due to the weight of the lobby Zionist?
The Zionist-Wahhabi/Saudi alliance goes back to Ibn Saud who wrote the British and Zionist leaders that he did not oppose a Jewish homeland in Palestine so long as it did not lay claim to Saudi territory on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. The relationship has always been close, except for the time of King Faisal, who was conveniently shot in the face and killed by a relative.
Do you undergo pressure or threats in relation to the remarkable work you do? If so, how do you live it?
I was forced to move my domicile from Washington because the outgoing Obama administration put pressure on some media organizations I did work for. These included RT (contributor agreement canceled) and Al Jazeera America (which is now defunct).
The FBI entered my apartment in Washington at least twice and I've had three visits by them at my new home in Florida.
I was informed of 3 personal threats in Washington.
I ignore all these pressures and continue to exercise the freedom of the press.
Are you optimistic or do you think that the Satanist project of the oligarchy still has a nuisance capacity that can plunge the world into chaos?
As with cockroaches, which detest light, the shadow figures of covert power cannot stand what is known as the disinfectant of sunshine. Light has always fought against darkness and will continue to do so.
Interview realized by Mohsen Abdelmoumen
Who is Wayne Madsen?
Wayne Madsen is an American journalist, television news commentator, online editor of Wayne Madsen Report.com , investigative journalist and author specializing intelligence and international affairs. Starting in 1997, after his military service as a U.S. Navy lieutenant assigned to Anti-Submarine Warfare duties and to the National Security Agency as a COMSEC analyst, he applied his military intelligence training to investigative journalism. He has since written for many daily, weekly, and monthly publications including The Progressive , The Village Voice , Counterpunch , Philadelphia Inquirer , Houston Chronicle , Allentown Morning Call , Juneau Empire , Cleveland Plain Dealer , Real Clear Politics , Danbury Newstimes , Newsday and many others. Throughout his journalistic career, he has been a television commentator on many programs, including 60 Minutes , Russia Today , Press TV , and many others. He has been a frequent political and national security commentator on Fox News and has also appeared on ABC , NBC , CBS , PBS , CNN , BBC , Al Jazeera , and MS-NBC .
He has been invited to testify as a witness before the US House of Representatives, the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and a terrorism investigation judicial inquiry of the French government. Wayne Madsen has some thirty-five years experience in security issues. As a U.S. Naval Officer, he managed one of the first computer security programs for the U.S. Navy. He subsequently worked for the National Security Agency, the Naval Data Automation Command, Department of State, RCA Corporation, and Computer Sciences Corporation. Wayne Madsen was a Senior Fellow for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a privacy public advocacy organization. Mr. Madsen is a member of the National Press Club.
Wayne Madsen is the author of The Handbook of Personal Data Protection (London: Macmillan, 1992), an acclaimed reference book on international data protection law; Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa 1993-1999 (Edwin Mellen Press, 1999); co-author of America's Nightmare: The Presidency of George Bush II ( Dandelion, 2003); Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden ; author of Jaded Tasks: Big Oil, Black Ops & Brass Plates ; Overthrow a Fascist Regime on $15 a Day ; The star and the sword ; The Manufacturing of a President: the CIA's Insertion of Barack H. Obama, Jr. into the White House ; L'Affaire Petraeus ; and National Security Agency Surveillance: Reflections and Revelations ; Soros: Quantum of Chaos (2015); Unmasking ISIS: The Shocking Truth (2016).
His website: http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/ | 0 |
345 | November 10: Daily Contrarian ReadsNovember 10: Daily Contrarian Reads By David Stockman. Daily contrarian reads for Thursday, November 10th, 2016. | 0 |
346 | FLASHBACK - Reports: Obama’s 2008 Campaign Reps Talked with Iran, HamasAmid the controversy surrounding White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s alleged conversations with Russia, it may be instrumental to recall that representatives for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign were accused of meeting with Hamas and Iran. [Depending on what took place, the alleged contacts with Iran may have violated the Logan Act, which bars citizens from negotiating with foreign governments in dispute with the United States. It may be questionable whether Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, legally qualifies as a foreign government. In 2008, Robert Malley stepped down as an informal foreign policy adviser to Obama’s campaign when it was revealed that he met with Hamas members. Malley admitted to the meetings, but he claimed he met with the terrorists as part of his private job. “I have never hidden the fact that I had meetings with Hamas,” Malley wrote in an open letter published in the New York Times. “I do this as part of my job as Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group. ” He said he distanced himself from Obama’s campaign because the Hamas meetings were “becoming a distraction to me and to Senator Obama’s campaign, and to avoid any misperception — misrepresentation being the more accurate word — about the candidate’s position regarding the Islamist movement. ” Malley later joined the Obama administration. In 2015, he was appointed to lead the Middle East desk of the National Security Council. He was also named Obama’s special adviser regarding the Islamic State. Meanwhile, in August 2014, Michael Ledeen, a former consultant to the National Security Council and U. S. Defense Department, penned a column at PJ Media stating Obama opened a to Iran during the 2008 presidential campaign. Ledeen said the back channel went through retired Ambassador William G. Miller, who also led the 1979 negotiating mission during the Iran hostage crisis. Ladeen wrote that Miller confirmed his involvement to him. Ledeen wrote: The actual strategy is detente first, and then a full alliance with Iran throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It has been on display since before the beginning of the Obama administration. During his first presidential campaign in 2008, Mr. Obama used a secret back channel to Tehran to assure the mullahs that he was a friend of the Islamic Republic, and that they would be very happy with his policies. The secret channel was Ambassador William G. Miller, who served in Iran during the shah’s rule, as chief of staff for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and as ambassador to Ukraine. Ambassador Miller has confirmed to me his conversations with Iranian leaders during the 2008 campaign. The Logan Act states: Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio. ” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook. | 1 |
347 | LesserOfTwoEvilism2016 presidential campaign by Matt Sedillo
Hillary Clinton is, no doubt, a threat to life on Earth. But the duopoly electoral system is a menagerie of warmongers. “The response to the white nationalism of Donald Trump has been the rainbow coalition of hawks.” Barack Obama has proven an awesomely prolific war maker. Bernie Sanders is no peacenik. “It is only the white nationalist orange demon -- guided only by his own whims and twitter feuds -- that is at all off script on this question.” LesserOfTwoEvilism by Matt Sedillo
“ So long as there is a ruling class they shall rule by fire and blood.”
The loathsome and shameless hypocrisy of the Democratic Party and the doctrine of lesseroftwoevilism has been laid bare this political season. This same Democratic Party that unquestionably rigged the primaries against the left-leaning Bernie Sanders campaign is now selling itself to the public as the savior of the downtrodden from the threat of an uber right wing candidate.
Hillary Clinton at this point in her election run appears to be making no promises to the public other than to not to physically morph into Donald Trump during her coronation come Election Day.
Lesseroftwoevilism is a bankrupt political ideology and the means by which the Democratic Party deadens any inkling towards decency or rational self interest that may lay dormant in the American electorate. Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party intend to use the platform of "at least not being Donald Trump" to install the most despised Democratic candidate in a generation into the White House.
It is indeed horrifying that a straight up eugenicist billionaire who brags about sexual assaulting women won the Republican primary. It is terrifying that the cult leader of a white nationalist zombie apocalypse has gotten this far through the electoral process.
“There is no greater threat to the future of much of life on the planet than Hillary Clinton.”
The country is polarizing and it is terrifying to see that much of it is polarizing in the direction of Donald Trump whose campaign is defined by phrases like “Make America Great Again” quickly followed by “Mexico Will Pay.” Much of the country is also polarized in the direction of Bernie Sanders. It was the political apparatus of the Democratic Party, not the Republicans, that prevented these two competing visions from standing before the American public.
Setting aside the fact, for a moment, that we don't live in a democracy, it must be noted that lesseroftwoevilism in American politics is an ideology by Americans for Americans. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, AND Bernie Sanders are all advocates of the US war machine. If any of these three warlords were to sit in the seat of power children in far off lands would still be bombed in their sleep and be reported on as collateral damage.
Hillary Clinton is the most bloodthirsty advocate for murder and mayhem in a political system that thrives upon such practices. When it comes to dropping bombs, obliterating nations or possibly igniting a nuclear winter there is no greater threat to the future of much of life on the planet than Hillary Clinton.
Rainbow Coalition of Hawks
Far beyond a “basket of deplorables,” the 2016 Republican national convention was a ghastly horror show of the most reactionary, bigoted elements of American political culture. Less than esteemed actor Scott Baio captured the mood when he proclaimed, “so of course let’s make America great again, but let’s make America America again.” That largely captured the theme of the proceedings and most speeches were some variation upon that theme.
The Democrats in response sought to make their convention a big tent of peoples, ideas and movements. And indeed from the spontaneous chants of “black lives matter” to Tim Kaine leading a chant of “si se puede” to Eva Longoria reminding the audience “we didn’t cross the borders the borders crossed us” to Michelle Obama letting the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home know that slave labor built the White House and the country, from Sebastian De La Cruz singing the national anthem in full mariachi garb to the Khan family holding a copy of the Constitution, the Democratic National Convention did present itself as a stark contrast to what the GOP was offering.
The theme of inclusion ran high and, indeed, current president Barack Obama made his call for strength in unity, explicitly saying “And most of all I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe we are stronger together, black white, Latino, Asian, Native American, young, old, gay, straight, men, women, folks with different abilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big bold country that we love.” One flag to rule them all.
“America the greatest and most diverse nation on Earth shall ransack the globe as it sees fit. ”
General John Allen, standing before a multi ethnic group of people continued upon this theme and made the connection between a more inclusive union and explicit projection of American might
“Every American, in uniform or out, in the White House or at home, must be a force for unity in America, for a vision that includes all of us: every man and woman, every race, every ethnicity, every faith and creed, every gender orientation – all of us together pursuing our common values.
“From the battlefield to the capitals of our allies, friends, and partners, the free peoples of the world look to America as the last best hope for peace and for liberty for all humanity, for we ARE the greatest country on this planet.
“So we stand before you tonight to endorse Hillary Clinton for President of the United States of America.”
The message could not be clearer. Sorry Donald Trump, we are all Americans here. No apologies rest of the world, America the greatest and most diverse nation on Earth shall ransack the globe as it sees fit.
The response to the white nationalism of Donald Trump has been the rainbow coalition of hawks as chiefly embodied in the persons of Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton: The Obliterator of Nations
Hillary Clinton is a war criminal. So is John Kerry. So is Condoleezza Rice. So are Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. The secretary of state in an imperialist nation is the immediate manager of the projected might of the empire they represent.
Hillary Clinton is known to be a war hawk for much the same reason Donald Trump is known as a white nationalist. She is blatant and crass about it.
“We came. We saw. He died” – Hillary Clinton on the assassination of Ghadaffi
“In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them” – Hillary Clinton speaking of obliteration of 75 million Iranians.
For much of the past few months the Clinton campaign have bemoaned a Russian conspiracy to reveal the words that Hillary Clinton actually wrote and thereby influence the American election.
Hillary Clinton’s neo-Mcarthyite cold war against her own words and general war talk on Russia should come as no surprise to anyone paying any attention. She was hawkish on Russia in their land dispute with Georgia over Ossetia, even going so far as to arm the Georgian government in 2010 less than two years after the conflict. She was warlike on the conflict in the Ukraine, promising Ukrainian government officials as recent as September of this year to stand with them against “Russian aggression.”
“A Clinton presidency is the will of the ruling class.”
This is the talk of someone prepared for a nuclear apocalypse.
It should be mentioned, however, that Obama has also dialed up his anti Russian rhetoric, as has Tim Kaine, as has Mike Pence. It is only the white nationalist orange demon -- guided only by his own whims and twitter feuds -- that is at all off script on this question.
Ultimately a Clinton presidency is the will of the ruling class. If she wants war it is a reflection of their desire for war. If they want the bombs to fall then death will rain from the sky. So long as they hold power they shall exercise it. So long as there is a ruling class they shall rule by fire and blood, because there truly is no alternative. Because ultimately, this is about Clinton and then again it isn’t. And this is about the Democrats and then again it isn’t. This is about the US and this is about war. Hillary Clinton is a 2016 warlord. War is a racket. And so is this God damn election. Matt Sedillo can be contacted at [email protected] . | 0 |
348 | Another powerful earthquake strikes central ItalyAnother powerful earthquake strikes central Italy Please scroll down for video
Initial reports on the magnitude of the tremors varied – while USGS and Italian media first talked of a 7.1 earthquake, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said the tremor was magnitude 6.5 or 6.6.
Italy Civil Protection reports buildings collapsing in a number of locations following Sunday's tremors. They did not provide any information regarding casualties.
Local RAI TV reports that the tremor was powerful enough to wake the residents of the capital Rome, who reported walls of buildings shaking.
While according to RAI Radio, at least two buildings collapsed in Norcia - the Basilica di San Benedetto and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Argentea. BEFORE AFTER
Local media also reported destruction at the Church of Saint Augustine in Amatrice, which lost its bell tower .
According to the mayor of Ussita, a commune in the Marche district with around 450 inhabitants, 90 percent of the buildings in the area were brought down by the quake.
Emergency services across the region are currently checking the destroyed buildings for casualties, civil protection authorities said.
Aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.5 still reportedly rock the area.
The USGS says the quake was centered 6 km (3.7 miles) north of Norcia, a town in the province of Perugia. The epicenter lay some 10 kilometers deep. Norcia is home to some 5,000 people.
Italians who live in the areas affected by the quake rushed to the web, posting videos of shaking furniture inside their homes.
Italy's National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks (CGR) cautioned Friday that more powerful earthquakes could hit the region in the nearest future, identifying at least three areas at risk for further seismic activity.
"There is no current evidence that the (seismic) sequence underway is coming to an end," the commission warned.
This week's quakes come mere two months after almost 300 people were killed in the region by a quake that levelled several small towns ( via rt.com ). Related Articles | 0 |
349 | Aya Cash: The First Time I Ate a Vegetable (I Was 22) - The New York TimesI grew up in San Francisco, land of organic vegetables and vegan delights, before such things were so popular. From an early age, my parents sent me to school with sandwiches, eggs, and fresh fruit from the fields of the Central Valley. Although I had every opportunity to eat delicious and nutritious food, I never met a vegetable I liked. Every time I tried something green, I spit it out or threw it up. I was a theatrical kid: taking off all my clothes when I didn’t want to leave a friend’s house, throwing myself against walls screaming “Aya not tired! Aya happy! Aya bouncing off the walls!” when I didn’t want to go to bed. I was just as melodramatic with food, gagging loudly when I accidentally ran into a zucchini in a quiche, picking mushrooms out of pasta dishes and piling them on the side of my plate like dams, throwing out a perfectly good tuna melt if there were slivers of celery inside. What I could keep down was junk food. Lots and lots of junk food. My parents tried their best, but the only times I was truly happy were the two days a week I ate fast food for dinner, one day with my mom at McDonald’s and the other with my dad at Wendy’s. My parents were divorced I spent exactly half the week with each of them, alternating every Saturday. Neither parent knew about the other’s weekly convenience meal. Like most children of divorce, the only power I had was to keep their secrets and then exploit them when it suited my needs. I kept these visits confidential, allowing both parents to think they were treating me to something special. I would sit in the car, beatifically chewing, fondling a Hamburglar toy or cheap movie that had come with the food. By the time I got to middle school, I was a sugar addict, using every dime of my weekly “lunch money” to buy candy at the Cala Foods in the Castro. I hid Skor bars and Skittles around my room like Claudia in “The Club. ” I once woke up covered in melted chocolate from a forgotten stash in my pillowcase. In high school, I realized I needed more than just sugar to live, so every day I would buy and consume an entire bag of Goldfish (that elusive pizza flavor really is the best). Who needed multiple food groups? Artificial flavors? Count me in. Butylated hydroxyanisole? Yum! It wasn’t until I was 22 and newly graduated from college that I voluntarily chose to put a piece of lettuce in my mouth, then actually chewed and swallowed it. I was doing “The Winter’s Tale” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Great River Shakespeare Festival, playing Perdita and Hermia — two characters whose names, in retrospect, sound like leafy greens. I was a working actor making $250 a week, more money than I had ever seen, and I felt like a real adult. But adults cooked and had wine with dinner. When I was invited for meals at other company members’ small apartments, I didn’t want to embarrass them by refusing their food, or embarrass myself by smuggling in a box of Mike and Ikes and a bag of . One night, someone made a salad. Just a salad. I stared at the plate — lettuce, onions, tomatoes — you know, salad. To me, that pile of fresh food was like a challenge out of “Fear Factor. ” For years, I had been telling everyone that I didn’t eat vegetables. I believed I hated them. I even took pride in the fact that I could fill my body with junk and not gain weight. I secretly, ridiculously, bizarrely thought my stance made me intriguing. Unique. Idiosyncratic. But sometimes we tell stories about ourselves that aren’t true. Sometimes stories we think are fixed are actually flexible. I picked up a piece of lettuce and ate it. I didn’t gag. To my surprise, I didn’t even dislike it. Tentatively, I began to try other vegetables, not just that night, but every time they were put in front of me. That Christmas, out for dinner with my mother, I lifted a fork of spinach to my mouth. She was so excited that she took a picture of it and made it her screen saver. Surprisingly, I found that I loved lots of vegetables and consequently, all kinds of foods. Broccolini was somehow less intimidating than the larger version: the gateway, broccoli. Zucchini wasn’t so bad after all. I realized that I had determined a defining characteristic based on who I was at 6. I had not tried again for 16 years. What else had I decided about myself that might not be true anymore? What had I decided about other people? That piece of lettuce was my first recognition that my identity was not set, but malleable. I used to think belly button piercings were cool. I used to date men who didn’t like me. I used to smoke. I had never wanted to get married I thought it wasn’t “who I was. ” But a few years ago, I found myself feeling otherwise. This didn’t mean I was a different person. But the narrative I had about myself had changed. Would I have learned this in other ways? Probably. But that bite opened me up to the possibility that change can happen even when you’re not trying you just have to stay curious. I’m still a picky eater. I don’t like pork chops, chicken, mushrooms and celery. But now, I will at least try pretty much anything. I still love the occasional Taco Bell (two bean burritos, no red sauce, no onions) and, of course, an burger. Yet my world is so much bigger because of that tiny piece of lettuce. | 1 |
350 | Trump Adviser Says Israeli Settlements ‘Not Illegal’Trump Adviser Says Israeli Settlements ‘Not Illegal’ Contrary to Trump camp's statements, Israeli settlements are a violation of international law, | October 27, 2016 Be Sociable, Share! Marc Zell, co-chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel speaks as the Republican Party launches its first ever election campaign in Israel in Modiin, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016.
Donald Trump’s adviser on Israel said on Wednesday that Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are not illegal, adding that he believes the candidate agrees with him, putting the pair at odds with much of the world.
Speaking to AFP at a rooftop restaurant on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion after a pro-Trump rally, David Friedman also said the US presidential candidate was “tremendously sceptical” about the prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
About 150 people, including right-wing Israelis and evangelical Christians, attended Wednesday’s Trump rally outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, near the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
The compound is holy to both Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. Located in East Jerusalem, it was occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.
Asked whether Trump viewed the West Bank as part of Israel, as many far-right Israelis do, Friedman did not answer directly.
“I don’t think he believes that the settlements are illegal,” Friedman said. Myself and . @realDonaldTrump senior #Israel advisor David Friedman at the #JerusalemForever event that was held tonight at the old city. pic.twitter.com/2JxEWRrk8o
— Israeli for Trump (@davidweissman3) October 26, 2016
Israeli religious nationalists see the Palestinian territory as part of the country, citing Jews’ connection to the land from biblical times.
The US has intensified criticism of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank in recent months, warning that it is eating away at hopes for a two-state solution.
Settlements in the West Bank are viewed as illegal under international law and are major stumbling blocks to peace efforts because they are built on land seized in the 1967 war which Palestinians see as part of their future state.
At an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in March, Trump described an “unbreakable bond” between the US and Israel.
“When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one,” Trump told delegates, in a speech that heaped praise on Israel and derided Palestinians as perpetrators of violence.
Recalling rounds of failed peace talks between the two parties, Trump blamed Palestinian leaders.
“To make a great deal, you need two willing participants,” Trump said. “We know Israel is willing to deal. Israel has been trying to sit down at the negotiating table without preconditions for years.”
Friedman reiterated that Trump would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there – which would break with decades of precedent and put Washington at odds with most UN member states.
There were chants of “lock her up” when Trump’s Democrat rival Hillary Clinton’s name was mentioned at the rally ahead of the 8 November vote – a common refrain among Trump supporters who want to see her jailed over an emails scandal.
“I hate Hillary. She’s the same like (Barack) Obama,” said Ran Hofman, 54, who waved an Israeli flag. “They screw up the whole world.”
A brief video message from Trump of about one minute was played at the event.
“Together we will stand up to the enemies like Iran, bent on destroying Israel and her people,” Trump said. “Together we will make America and Israel safe again.” | 0 |
351 | Serena Williams Prevails in Opener, No Problem - The New York TimesAll the worries over Serena Williams’s right shoulder and concerns about her difficult opponent seemed to vanish in a little over an hour Tuesday, as Williams let the rest of the women’s field know that despite the alarms, she is in very good form. The Williams opened her 2016 United States Open campaign with a smooth win over No. 29 Ekaterina Makarova and moved a step closer to the title that eluded her a year ago. Also on Tuesday night, Andy Murray defeated Lukas Rosol, . Williams’s previous match at the U. S. Open was her surprising semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci in 2015, which prevented Williams from winning the Grand Slam. “I had a great experience last year,” she said. “I was going for something that no one has done in a really long time. Yeah, it didn’t end up wonderful for me or the way I wanted it to end. But it was all I could do. If I could make the semis this year, I’d be excited about that. I need to at least do something. ” This year Williams is seeking her 23rd title in a major tournament, which would move her past Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era. She is also in pursuit of a record seventh U. S. Open title, which would break a tie with Chris Evert. The smiles and hugs that were exchanged by members of her support team after the match, including her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, suggest Williams is ready for the challenge. Wearing compression sleeves on both arms, Williams moved well across the court. Her serve was more than strong enough to dismiss most of the concerns about the shoulder injury that prompted her to withdraw from the Western Southern Open in Cincinnati this month. Williams said the key, though, would be how she felt Wednesday. Her average speed was 108 miles per hour, and she touched 121 m. p. h. on her fastest delivery. She served 12 aces, eight in the first set, to overwhelm Makarova in 62 minutes. Makarova beat Williams at the Australian Open in 2012, but there was little to resemble that match on Tuesday, which was a good day over all for the Williams family. Before Serena Williams took the court, her sister Venus, seeded sixth, defeated Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine, to improve her record in the of the Open to . Venus Williams said she knew nothing about her opponent before the match. She said mistakes led to her dropping the second set. “I definitely had a lot more errors than I wanted,” she said. “If I could cut those in half, it’s definitely a different story. ” She made 63 unforced errors to 39 for Kozlova. Venus Williams was playing in the main draw of a record 72nd Grand Slam event, breaking a tie with Amy Frazier for the most in the Open era. She reflected back on her first final here, in 1997, which she lost to Martina Hingis, and wondered if her younger sister could have won. Perhaps Serena could have. But the more pertinent question today is whether Serena Williams can win a match a week from Saturday, when the final is scheduled, even if her shoulder is sore. “I wouldn’t bet against her,” Venus Williams said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t want to do that. ” | 1 |
352 | ’Soul Man’ Sam Moore ’Honored’ to Perform at Trump inaugurationSam Moore, of legendary soul and RB duo Sam Dave, has been announced as a performer at the “Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration” on January 19 in Washington, D. C.[“I was a participant in the civil rights movement and have seen many positive changes and advancement in my 81 years of living in this wonderful country, but I know we must all join hands and work together with our new President,” the Grammy singer said in a press release. “I honestly believe that if we can accomplish this, the best is yet to come. ” Moore stressed the importance of all Americans rallying behind Trump. “We all as Americans need to unite behind our new President and give him a chance,” he said. “He needs everyone’s support to make America greater, stronger and an even better country. ” Moore joins a list of inaugural performers, including The Beach Boys, country music stars Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith, and rock band Three Doors Down. Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday and renowned opera singer Andrea Bocelli backed out of singing at inauguration events after facing fierce backlash. Moore said he won’t be bullied by protesters because performing at Trump’s inauguration is the “right thing to do. ” “I am not going to let them, the left side, intimidate me from doing what I feel is the right thing to do for the country and that [presidential] seal,” Moore said, according to the Associated Press. “Give the man a shot. He hasn’t even said ‘I do’ yet. Give him a chance. If you don’t like him after four years, then don’t vote for him next time. ” Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson | 1 |
353 | Will Ferrell Just Came Back As Bush To Destroy Trump (VIDEO)Comments
Famed actor and funnyman Will Ferrell returned to Comedy Central to reprise his caricature of despised President George W. Bush to hilarious effect.
“First of all, I’d like to say something about my cousin Billy Bush. He’s been in the news a lot lately. Him and that disgraced pumpkin, Donald Trump, talking on the bus. I just want to say ONE thing, we Bushes don’t act like that, okay? We have standards, and we’re raised certain way. We would never, under any circumstances, ride a bus. When you’re a Bush, you ride in a limousine or a jump jet, or maybe a monster truck called Sasquatch Express. Never a bus.”
Ferrell then goes on point out that somehow, the utterly abhorrent character of Republican has whitewashed Bush’s less viscerally appalling but equally reprehensible legacy.
“This dunderhead is making me look great. I destabilized an entire region [Iraq], but no one seems to care anymore thanks to the Bozo Trump here. Folks forgotten how I tanked the economy or how I didn’t get Bin Laden.”
Nobody should forget how the Great Recession was engineered and executed under the watch of George W. Bush or how the wars he began mortgaged our nation’s future and led to the deaths of millions around the world. One shudders to think of what a President Trump would do to this country and the safety of the free world.
Watch it here: | 0 |
354 | Chinese Government Not Concerned with Tough Talk from Trump Cabinet - BreitbartAccording to the Associated Press, Chinese diplomats “say they aren’t overly worried by fiery rhetoric from Trump and his Cabinet picks, and that China won’t change its basic approach” to issues like the South China Sea. [“Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Thursday that tensions in the strategically vital waterway have lessened and countries from outside the region should support efforts toward stability,” the AP reports. Kang was speaking in response to Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson’s assertion that the U. S. should send a “clear signal” to China about halting its military buildup on South China Sea islands. The New York Times worries that Tillerson’s remarks could “foreshadow” a foreign policy crisis with China: Mr. Tillerson told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that China’s campaign in the rich sea was illegal and “akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea. ” “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the stops,” Mr. Tillerson told the senators. “And second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed. ” Should those words be translated into action after Donald J. Trump assumes the presidency on Jan. 20, it would be a remarkable change in the American approach to Beijing’s in the South China Sea, which is transforming the area into what one Washington think tank said would by 2030 become “virtually a Chinese lake. ” China asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea despite competing claims by countries including Vietnam and the Philippines and an international ruling rejecting most of Beijing’s assertions. The Secretary of State nominee explained his focus on the South China Sea, as related by Reuters: Tillerson said he considered China’s South China Sea activity “extremely worrisome” and that it would be a threat to the “entire global economy” if Beijing were able to dictate access to the waterway. He blamed the current situation on what he termed an inadequate U. S. response. “The failure of a response has allowed them just to keep pushing the envelope on this,” Tillerson said. “The way we’ve got to deal with this is we’ve got to show back up in the region with our traditional allies in Southeast Asia,” he said. “They’re taking territory or control, or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s,” he added, stressing that China’s and declaration of an air defense zone in contested waters are “illegal actions. ” If Tillerson is serious about denying China access to the islands, it certainly would be a dramatic change from the Obama policy of “challenging” China’s “excessive maritime claims” without doing anything to actually slow them down. The Times reports Tillerson’s remarks generated “reactions including confusion, disbelief, and warlike threats from analysts in China,” quoting one such analyst boasting that China now has greater capability than the United States, and would be ready for any “troubles” sent its way. Just about every Western media report on Tillerson’s statement focuses on the ominous ambiguity of what he meant by denying China “access” to South China Sea islands — many of which, as Reuters points out, are “equipped with airstrips and fortified with weapons. ” “This is the sort of remark akin to a tweet that pours fuel on the fire and maybe makes things worse. Short of going to war with China, there is nothing the Americans can do,” senior analyst Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute told Bloomberg News. However, Bloomberg notes that for all the concern about an enraged Chinese response, and a bit of snarling from analysts like those cited and alluded to by the New York Times, the actual official response from Beijing has been “relatively measured” so far — consisting mostly of officials like the Foreign Ministry’s Lu Kang saying they aren’t quite certain what Tillerson meant. | 1 |
355 | Billionaire Is Reported Seized From Hong Kong Hotel and Taken Into China - The New York TimesHONG KONG — A billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border, a person close to the businessman said on Tuesday. The billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, who has been missing since Friday, is in police custody in China, where he apparently is safe, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. Mr. Xiao is a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, though he was born in China. His removal from Hong Kong appears to contravene the “one country, two systems” rule that allows the former British colony to run its own affairs and bars the Chinese police from operating here. When asked on Tuesday about Mr. Xiao, the Hong Kong police issued a statement saying that “the subject” had entered mainland China through a border crossing on Friday. His disappearance was reported the following day, but on Sunday one of Mr. Xiao’s family members reported that Mr. Xiao was safe and that the family had asked to withdraw the missing person’s filing. Mr. Xiao, 45, had spent years outside China, most recently staying at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. The situation is eerily reminiscent of the case of another holder, the bookseller Lee Bo, who disappeared off the streets of Hong Kong in late 2015, only to turn up days later in Chinese custody. His case, as well as the disappearance of four of his business associates, made headlines around the world and shook many people in Hong Kong, who saw his abduction as a violation of the city state’s ability to run its own affairs, guaranteed by international treaty until 2047. Mr. Xiao, a prodigy who passed the examination to enter the elite Peking University at age 14, controls a sprawling empire with shares in banks, insurance companies, coal, cement and property through his Tomorrow Group. The Hurun Report, which tracks Chinese billionaires, estimated his fortune last year at 40 billion renminbi, or $5. 8 billion. But that vastly understates his wealth, said the person close to Mr. Xiao. Mr. Xiao’s fortunes rose after his graduation from the university in 1990, where he had been head of the official student organization and stayed loyal to the government during the demonstrations in 1989. In recent years, Mr. Xiao has acted as a kind of banker to the ruling class, paying $2. 4 million in 2013 to buy shares in an investment firm held by the sister and of China’s president, Xi Jinping. A company he helped to control financed a deal that benefited the of a top former leader, Jia Qinglin, The New York Times reported in 2014. Mr. Xiao bought the shares from Mr. Xi’s relatives to help them divest financial holdings following a 2012 report by Bloomberg News that detailed his relatives’ wealth. He did it “for the family,” Mr. Xiao’s spokeswoman said in 2014. His fate in recent days has been the focus of media attention and confusion in Hong Kong and in the overseas press after reports emerged that he had been arrested. On Tuesday, Mr. Xiao posted two notices on his company’s WeChat account saying he had not been taken from Hong Kong to the mainland and instead was “recuperating abroad” and soon would meet with media organizations. In Chinese, there is no ambiguity: “Abroad” means outside the mainland. Those posts have since been removed. Those statements were untrue, according to the person close to Mr. Xiao, and were meant to tamp down interest in the story, because China’s government did not want it publicized. The person did not know why Mr. Xiao had been taken to the mainland, adding that his relatives, including his wife and son, were not in China. The Tomorrow Group has extensive holdings in China. Previous disappearances of Chinese billionaires have generated turmoil in Chinese stock markets, which are closed this week for the Lunar New Year. On Tuesday evening, the Hong Kong police press office would not comment on whether the local police had helped arrest Mr. Xiao and transport him across the border, and it would not say whether the Chinese police had illegally apprehended Mr. Xiao, saying only that it had asked the mainland police for help in the case. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a faxed request seeking comment on Mr. Xiao. A spokesperson for the Four Seasons Hotel, where Mr. Xiao lived for years, was not available to comment. | 1 |
356 | Easy to know what is up - linkReport Copyright Violation Easy to know what is up - link For you unlightened guys, there are people who knows how to do this shit and get down on the realities of life. | 0 |
357 | A Homebody Finds the Ultimate Home Office - The New York TimesPresident Trump, who flew across the country on hundreds of nights during the 2016 campaign to sleep in his own bed, has now spent five straight days in the unfamiliar surroundings of the White House. His aides said privately that he seemed apprehensive about the move to his new home, but Mr. Trump has discovered there is a lot he likes. “These are the most beautiful phones I’ve ever used in my life,” Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview Tuesday evening. “The world’s most secure system,” he added, laughing. “The words just explode in the air. ” What he meant was that no one was listening in and recording his words. The president sat at his desk — the one used by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, among others — at the end of his fourth full day in office. His mornings, he said, are spent as they were in Trump Tower. He rises before 6 a. m. watches television tuned to a cable channel first in the residence, and later in a small dining room in the West Wing, and looks through the morning newspapers: The New York Times, The New York Post and now The Washington Post. But his meetings now begin at 9 a. m. earlier than they used to, which significantly curtails his television time. Still, Mr. Trump, who does not read books, is able to end his evenings with plenty of television. In between, Mr. Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office and has meetings in the West Wing. “They have a lot of board rooms,” he said of the White House, an apparent reference to the Cabinet Room and the Roosevelt Room. The White House is the only property that Mr. Trump has slept in that is more famous than one of his own, and he seems in awe. Although he made his name building extravagant, gilded properties, the new president has marveled to aides about the splendor of the White House and the lengths he must walk to retrieve something from a room. His preference during the day is to work in the Oval Office. And to stare at it, still. So do his staff members and relatives. “I’ve had people come in they walk in here and they just want to stare for a long period of time,” Mr. Trump said. Among modern American presidents, Mr. Trump may be best situated to work where he lives. For decades, he has lived in a penthouse apartment on the 58th floor of Trump Tower and taken an elevator down to the 26th floor, where he has a corner office with views of Central Park. Many presidents have complained of being cooped up inside the White House — George W. Bush in particular said he missed the outdoors — but Mr. Trump can go for days without breathing in fresh outside air. Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, went back to New York on Sunday night with their son, Barron, and so Mr. Trump has the television — and his old, unsecured Android phone, to the protests of some of his aides — to keep him company. That was the case after 9 p. m. on Tuesday, when Mr. Trump appeared to be reacting to Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News, which was airing a feature on crime in Chicago. At 9:25 p. m. Mr. Trump posted on Twitter: In the interview, Mr. Trump demurred when asked about whether it was hard having his family away from him, and he pointed to Thursday, when Mrs. Trump and Barron, who is finishing the school year in New York, are expected to return. “They’ll come down on weekends,” Mr. Trump said. “She’ll come down on Thursdays and stay. ” He said he was enjoying himself so far, despite his visible displeasure with the coverage of his inauguration and the first performance of his press secretary, Sean Spicer, who shouted at the news media and made numerous false statements about Mr. Trump’s inaugural crowds in the White House briefing room on Saturday. Mr. Trump and his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, and his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, watched Mr. Spicer’s on Monday while eating lunch in the West Wing dining room, where the president murmured approval of Mr. Spicer’s Monday performance and called his press secretary a “superstar. ” His first breakfast at the White House was Saturday morning — a buffet in the residence spread with fresh fruit, pastries and other treats — where his adult children and their families joined him. The kitchen has been stocked with the same types of snacks that Mr. Trump had on his private plane, including Lay’s potato chips. His oldest daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser, stayed with him in the White House through Sunday. They left for their own new home at the end of the weekend to get their children ready for their new schools. Mr. Trump has not brought along any household staff from Trump Tower, an aide said. The president spent a part of Tuesday poring over artwork from the White House collections, settling on a portrait of Andrew Jackson — America’s first populist president, who has been invoked by Mr. Trump’s aides as inspiration — to hang in the Oval Office. “Now, I’m working,” Mr. Trump said in the interview, punctuating his focus by cataloging the work of the day: an executive order restarting the Keystone XL pipeline and his plans for actions over the next days. Mr. Trump is in the meantime pondering his first break away from the White House, a potential trip to his private club in Palm Beach, Fla. possibly the weekend of Feb. 3. Until then, he is breaking in the residence, which Mrs. Trump is still working on decorating. “It’s a beautiful residence, it’s very elegant,” Mr. Trump said, deploying one of his highest forms of praise. “There’s something very special when you know that Abraham Lincoln slept there,” Mr. Trump said. “The Lincoln Bedroom, you know, was his office, and the suite where I’m staying is actually where he slept. ” Mr. Trump was referring to the White House master bedroom, which is now his own. “Knowing all of that, it’s different, than, you know, just pure elegance and room size,” Mr. Trump said. “There’s a lot of history. ” | 1 |
358 | Ann Coulter Unloads on Paul Ryan’s ’Deeply Unpopular’ Obamacare 2.0 Bill - BreitbartBestselling conservative author Ann Coulter, one of President Donald Trump’s earliest and staunchest supporters, railed against the Obamacare 2. 0 bill championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday. [Obamacare 2. 0 would inflict severe healthcare costs on Rust Belt voters while easing taxes on counties that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, according to Bloomberg News. Trump swept into the White House on a populist wave because voters protested mass immigration policies, erosive trade deals, and Middle Eastern military conflicts — not because they wanted another “crazy corporatist agenda,” Coulter tweeted. Could some investigative reporter write a piece explaining why Ryan is so hellbent on this deeply unpopular healthcare bill? — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, We did the tough thing! We passed an unpopular bill! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP: When did you get the sense that Americans are clamoring for a tax cut to help the “job creators”? — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, Only 50% of people even pay taxes! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, ”Job creators” aren’t popular right now. They’re creating jobs in Indonesia and jobs for lobbyists. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, TRUMP DIDN’T RUN ON CUTTING TAXES! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, NO ONE SAID CUTTING TAXES WAS TOP PRIORITY! Even businesses would prefer cutting regulations, red tape and trial lawyers. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, The only thing that got the GOP this win that voters thought Trump was going to abandon this crazy corporatist agenda. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP response to Trump’s victory has been to on all the ugly unpopular policies that make GOP hated. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP has to get working class votes, or they’re just handing it to social justice warriors. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, I’d love to pay less in taxes. THAT ISN’T THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. Bigger: No jobs, no health care, no wall, immigrant crime welfare … — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, Conservatives are furious over the bill’s complete lack of enforcement against illegal aliens receiving healthcare tax credits — meant for citizens and certain immigrants — through document fraud and identity theft. Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash said the bill has “no constituency” beyond the political class entrenched in Washington, D. C. and their wealthy insurance company allies. | 1 |
359 | Transgender Bathroom Debate Turns Personal at a Vermont High School - The New York TimesCHESTER, Vt. — The way A J Jackson tells it, he kept his head ducked down and pretended to fiddle with his cellphone as he walked into the boys’ bathroom and headed for a stall at Green Mountain Union High School here. But the way some of his classmates see it, A J was still Autumn Jackson, a girl in boys’ clothing, who had violated an intimate sanctum, while two boys were standing at a urinal, their private parts exposed. “It’s like me going into a girls’ bathroom wearing a wig,” Tanner Bischofberger, 15, a classmate of A J Jackson’s, who was not one of those in the bathroom, said this week. “It’s just weird. ” A complaint about Mr. Jackson’s using the boys’ bathroom set off a protest by students advocating the right of their transgender classmate to use the bathroom of his choice. On Thursday, the schools superintendent announced a new practice at the high school allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, rather than being encouraged to use a bathroom. The announcement came a day before the Obama administration’s national directive was announced. But this week, there was a counterprotest by students like Mr. Bischofberger wearing showing the male and female figures commonly used to label bathrooms, over the words “Straight Pride. ” Like much of the country, this rural school of 300 students in seventh through 12th grade, where everyone insists there were never any cliques, is divided over the bathroom issue, with the teenagers here carrying out a proxy culture war for their parents and the country. Still struggling to form opinions about what makes a civil society, they openly quote what they have heard their parents say about the merits or demerits of transgender bathrooms. And the dispute has driven apart young people who grew up together and were once friends. Some say the new rule opens the door to sexual predators disguised as someone they are not. Others say it just violates tradition. A society has rules for a reason, and this is one of those rules, that’s just the way it is, they say. But on a more basic level, students at Green Mountain are complaining that a small vocal minority of gay, lesbian and, as far as they know, one — or maybe two — transgender students among them are trampling on the rights of the majority to decide what the rules of conduct should be. That idea of a minority’s ruling unfairly is what motivated the father of one student to order the “Straight Pride” online last week and send them to school with his daughter, who declined to be interviewed. The students say gay people are being celebrated at the expense of straight people. “I just want to be clear: I accept everybody being proud,” said Daniel Baldwin, a junior. Sitting at a table in the school hallway, a copy of “The Catcher in the Rye” open in front of him, he wore a “Straight Pride” shirt pulled over a shirt dedicated to Slayer, a band. “Everybody has the right to be who they are. ” Mr. Baldwin said he thought people should use male or female bathrooms depending on what was written on their birth certificates. But he also said he would defend A J if someone tried to bully him for being transgender, or even for using the boys’ bathroom. “I would step up for A J,” he said. “We’re Americans. We’re supposed to be civil. ” Listening to him, Mr. Jackson said he was dismayed by how they had been torn apart. “Oh, my God, we used to talk for hours about music,” he said. More broadly, the issue here has pitted resident against resident, often along social and economic lines. This is a place where transplants wearing Birkenstocks and artsy jewelry mingle with people in boots who know how to handle a shotgun and proudly inhabit the homes of their ancestors. Despite Vermont’s image as a place of bucolic egalitarianism, home of the avowedly socialist candidate for president, tensions over privilege and tradition simmer just under the surface, and the bathroom wars have brought them to the fore. “I go in and do my thing and leave, but I have a concern about child molesters and pedophiles,” Joe Kopacz, 48, who runs a operation, said as he stopped into Lisai’s Chester Market. Society does not change on a dime, especially society, said Deb Brown, a member of the Green Mountain Union High School board, speaking in MacLaomainn’s, a pub and popular gathering spot that she owns with her husband. For people like her daughter, who was on girls’ sports teams with A J when he was Autumn, this is intensely personal, not just philosophical. “As we move forward as a community, there has to be compassion on both sides,” Ms. Brown said. “He needs to understand that this has been 15 years that students have known him one way. It’s obviously his choice, but maybe he should have respect for his classmates right now. ” Mr. Jackson has gradually been making the transition from a vivacious girl with a big smile and long wavy locks to a husky boy with chopped hair dyed several shades of green, snakebite piercings in his lips and gauges embedded in his earlobes. His chest is visibly bound, and because he has not yet started taking male hormones — he plans to do that, and also to have “top surgery,” he says — his face is smooth and still has feminine contours. He once thought he was lesbian, and is still attracted to girls. His mother, Tracy, a case manager for children with developmental disabilities, and his father, Scott, a mechanical engineer, came to Vermont from Connecticut to try it out 20 years ago and stayed. They brought up A J and his older brother in a log cabin in the woods, where they raise chickens and ducks, including a duck named Bernie, for you know who. “A typical American family,” his mother said, smiling. He was in sixth grade when he realized he was meant to be a boy, he said, and came out to the school last year in ninth grade, sending emails to teachers. When he entered Green Mountain in seventh grade, “I was using the female bathroom because, I really don’t know, I was still kind of back and forth about my identity,” Mr. Jackson said. “This year is the year I started using the men’s bathroom, because I already felt like way more comfortable in who I was. ” There were practical issues. When he had his period, he wondered if he should revert to the girls’ bathroom, because there was no place to throw away his used tampons. But he had started feeling like an intruder in the girls’ bathroom, and the single bathrooms were so far out of the way it was hard to get to class on time. So he stuck with the boys’ bathroom. “I use a stall, and I wait till everybody’s gone to get up and leave,” Mr. Jackson said. “The guys, they look at me like I’m some kind of freak, or they’re concerned or scared. ” The only classmate who talks to him when he sees him in the bathroom is his childhood friend Connor Rose, a leader of the school’s alliance. Mr. Jackson feels safe in the boys’ bathroom at school, he said, whereas in public places, like Dunkin’ Donuts, he is afraid to go to the men’s restroom for fear of being attacked by straight men. He said he understood the concerns of some of his classmates. “There probably are some transgender people that are bad people, just like there are probably a whole bunch of gay people or straight people that are bad,” he said. He had been using the boys’ bathrooms for less than a month — trying to go in during lunch or recess when he would not be noticed — when someone complained. No one knows for sure who complained, but a widespread rumor holds that it was a middle schooler. Hank Mauti, a school board member and retired sawmill worker from Andover, said he wondered why Mr. Jackson would feel compelled to use a boys’ bathroom when there were six bathrooms in the school. “What about the little boy that reported it?” asked Mr. Mauti’s wife, Wanda, repeating the rumor, in an interview in their home, under a trophy of a moose that Mr. Mauti shot. “As far as I can tell, his discomfort hasn’t been addressed. ” Tom Ferenc, the principal, called Mr. Jackson’s mother the night of the complaint and told her that he was going to ask A J to use the bathroom, she recalled. The next Monday, A J and about 30 supporters walked out of the school in protest. Three days later, the district announced the new policy. Mr. Ferenc was happy to get some “clarity” about the proper policy, as he put it, and proud of his school. “It reminded me of Rosa Parks, honestly,” he said. Besides the “Straight Pride” counterprotest, the decision has set off a storm of discussion, sometimes nasty on both sides, on Facebook. Also, someone taped a sign to a trash can this week that said, “Reserved for Mariah and Tanner,” referring to Mariah Lique and Mr. Bischofberger, two student leaders of the counterprotest, who are dating. Ms. Lique said that she and Mr. Bischofberger were just saying what a lot of other students think but are afraid to say because if they did, “you’d get hated. ” “We’re considered more conservative,” she said. “Because we’re outspoken,” Mr. Bischofberger interjected, finishing her sentence. Two of their favorite teachers are openly gay, they said, and the students misunderstand where they are coming from. “They see us as … ” Mr. Bischofberger began, “hating their sexuality,” Ms. Lique finished. But that is not true, they said. Part of what troubles them is that Mr. Jackson is still anatomically female. “Autumn, A J, whatever you call them, hasn’t had any hormone or sex change yet,” Mr. Bischofberger said. “This opens up opportunities for other kids to do stuff they’re not supposed to. ” While everyone seems to sympathize with the gay students, they seem to have a license to make him feel ostracized and attacked, and it hurts, Mr. Bischofberger said: “They’re calling me a cisgendered, hypocritical homophobe. ” | 1 |
360 | Why Obama And Hillary Wanted Libya’s Gaddafi Toppled And Killedin: Government , Government Corruption , Obama Exposed , War Propaganda , World News October 20 marked the fifth anniversary of Muammar Gaddafi’s sodomized-related death – US imperial viciousness responsible for his murder and destruction Africa’s most developed, socially responsible nation. Endless violence and chaos replaced a society safe and fit to live in. Gaddafi provided Libyans with important benefits Americans can’t imagine. More on this below. Hillary orchestrated war to eliminate him, wanting US-controlled puppet governance replacing Libyan sovereign independence. In early 2011, made-in-the-USA protests preceded US-led NATO terror-bombing, indiscriminately massacring civilians, creating charnel house conditions. Endless violence continues daily, exacerbated by ISIS fighters infesting parts of the country, Washington supporting them with funding, weapons and other material aid. Obama and Hillary wanted Gaddafi eliminated for instituting policies all nations should embrace. Previous articles discussed them. He supported pan-Africanism, a United States of Africa free from imperial domination. He wanted Libyans sharing in the country’s oil wealth, a notion foreign to America and other Western powers. Under his 1999 Decision No. 111, all Libyans got free healthcare, education, electricity, water, training, rehabilitation, housing assistance, disability and old-age benefits, interest-free state loans, as well as generous subsidies to study abroad, buy a new car, help couples when they marry, practically free gasoline, and more. Literacy under Gaddafi rose from 20 – 80%. Libya’s hospitals and private clinics were some of the region’s best. Now they’re in shambles. Vital public services he provided no longer exist. Pre-war, Libyans had African’s highest standard of living. Homelessness was nonexistent. Gaddafi believed all Libyans had a right to a home or rent-free apartment, notions unheard of in the West. He rejected farcical Western-style money-controlled democracy (sic), deplored crony capitalism and neoliberal harshness. During his tenure, women had the right to vote, participate politically, as well as own and sell property independently of their husbands. Clause 5 of Libya’s 1969 Constitution granted them equal status with men, notably for education and employment. In January 2011, weeks before US-led NATO naked aggression began, the UN Human Rights Council praised Gaddafi for instituting and supporting important political, economic, education, social and cultural rights. He called his Great Man-Made River (GMMR) development of an ocean-sized aquifer beneath Libya’s sands the “Eighth Wonder of the World” – wanting all Libyans sharing in its benefits. Washington and rogue Western partners wanted it privatized for exclusive corporate gain. Under Gaddafi, the Central Bank of Libya was state-owned, the interest-free Libyan dinar used for productive economic growth, not speculation, profits and bonuses for predatory bankers. He funded Africa’s only communications satellite, saving hundreds of millions of dollars for low-cost incoming and outgoing calls. He provided two-thirds of the $42 billion needed to launch a public African Central Bank, Monetary Fund and Investment Bank. He supported a new gold standard, replacing dollars with gold dinars, aiming to provide real monetary wealth and value, free from predatory Western lending agencies. Washington wants dollar hegemony, maintaining it as the world’s reserve currency, an agenda challenged by Russia, China and other nations, increasingly trading bilaterally in their own currencies. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is threatened. Neocons infesting Washington want regime change. His redoubtable leadership prevents it. Will nuclear war on Russia follow Hillary’s ascension to power next year? Will the unthinkable become reality? Submit your review | 0 |
361 | How NATO Is Trying to Sabotage the Turkey-Russia Reset - M.K. BhadrakumarCitizen journalism with a punch How NATO Is Trying to Sabotage the Turkey-Russia Reset
Deployments to the Black Sea and rhetoric on Aleppo are serving one important goal -- placing pressure on Turkey to backpedal on rapprochement with Moscow Originally appeared at Indian Punchline
The Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg in his ‘doorstep statement’ today on the 2-day meeting of the alliance’s defence ministers in Brussels said, inter alia, that an agenda item concerns “making progress on plans” for more NATO presence in the Black Sea region. He cited Russia’s belligerence as the rationale for such move. Interestingly, there was much emphasis on the Russian operations in Syria in Stoltenberg’s media briefing. ( Transcript )
Prima facie, Syria is not ‘NATO territory’, but a linkage is being established between NATO posturing toward Russia and the latter’s military presence in Syria. This can only happen at the behest of the United States, because Stoltenberg wouldn’t even sneeze sans green signal from Washington.
Of course, generally speaking, boosting the ‘enemy’ image of Russia is useful and necessary for Washington to keep the alliance going, since the member countries are otherwise loathe to increase their defence budgets to 2% of GDP. The US also calibrates the NATO posturing toward Russia to curb any proximity developing between individual European countries and Moscow at the bilateral level as well as to ensure that the sanctions against Russia will remain in place.
However, the plan to discuss Black Sea deployment as well as Stoltenberg’s emphasis on Aleppo also appears to serve another US objective – namely, put pressure on Turkey to delimit its strategic autonomy vis-à-vis Syrian conflict.
Significantly, NATO intervened publicly – alongside an American demarche – to force Spain to refuse refuelling for the Russian flotilla of warships (including aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov) heading for eastern Mediterranean. This has been justified on the ground that with beefed up military prowess, Russian operations in Aleppo might intensify. ( RT )
The alibi that NATO has advanced is laughable – namely, humanitarian considerations – given the alliance’s brutal war crimes in Libya and its role in the gruesome murder of Muammar Gaddafi. Seumas Milne wrote in Guardian newspaper at that time, ‘If there were global justice, NATO would be in the dock over Libya.’ ( Guardian )
So, why is Stoltenberg acting like this? The answer is, Spain’s rethink on refuelling the Russian flotilla on the basis of a NATO demarche, is intended to create a precedent that will also be applicable to Turkey. Indeed, Washington is having a difficult time to ‘manage’ Turkey. Turkish President Recep Erdogan is on guard vis-à-vis Washington ever since Ankara concluded that the US had a hand in the July 15 attempted coup to overthrow his government. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus had some strong words for the Obama administration when he left Ankara for Washington on Tuesday on a mission to put more pressure on Washington to extradite the Islamist preacher Fetullah Gulen. (Hurriyet)
But then, wouldn’t Ankara know that Washington simply cannot extradite Gulen who has worked for the CIA? Of course the Turks would know that alright. So, it is a catch-22 situation. Gulen has become a lump stuck in Uncle Sam’s throat. Read a caustic commentary by the pro-government Sabah newspaper titled What happens if Washington refuses to extradite Fetullah Gulen?
To be sure, Turkey’s role in any plans on NATO deployment in the Black Sea will be crucial because of its prerogatives under the Montreaux Convention (1936), which severely restricts the traffic of warships (other than Turkey and Russia’s) through the Bosporus. In principle, Turkey will be obliged to go along with any NATO plans to step up deployment in the Black Sea. But in reality, Turkey would know that Moscow expects it to fully and faithfully observe the provisions of the Montreaux Convention. You bet Erdogan will twiddle thumbs and keep Stoltenberg waiting in the ante-room, no matter the decision to accelerate NATO deployment in the Black Sea.
Clearly, the US hopes to somehow insert NATO into the Turkey-Russia rapprochement. Washington feels uneasy that Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are effectively coordinating their approaches to the Aleppo situation. What emerges out of all this is the desperate extent to which Washington will go to stall the progress of the Russian-Syrian mlitary operations to liberate Aleppo from the al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra. Conceivably, the Obama administration would prefer to somehow keep the Syrian situation fluid for Hillary Clinton to do what she promises to do — namely, revive the ‘regime change agenda in that country, if need be through a US military intervention. (See the piece in Telegraph titled Hillary Clinton will reset Syria policy against ‘murderous’ Assad regime .)
Erdogan disclosed today that the Turkish military operations in northern Syria will steer clear of Aleppo. He said he has discussed the matter with Putin. At the same time, he gave a punch to Washington by revealing that Turkey next intends to target Manbij in northern Syria with a view to drive out from the city the Syrian Kurdish militia, who happen to be the US’ closest ally on the Syrian chessboard. ( Hurriyet ) Did you enjoy this article? - Consider helping us! Russia Insider depends on your donations: the more you give, the more we can do. $1 $10 Other amount
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362 | ALERT: Former Soros Associate Just Warned The Pros Have It Wrong, Gold & Silver Will Skyrocket Like The 1970s161 Views November 16, 2016 GOLD , KWN , KWN II King World News
In the aftermath of what has been a wild couple of weeks of trading, today a former associate of George Soros told King World News that the professionals have it completely wrong and that gold and silver are going to skyrocket like the 1970s.
Victor Sperandeo manages over $3 billion, has been in the business 45 years, and has worked with famous individuals such as Leon Cooperman and George Soros. Below is what Sperandeo had to say .
Victor Sperandeo: “ The base metals are going through the roof. Why? Because inventories were so low and demand is picking up. Inflation is rising all over the world because all of the currencies across the globe have been plunging, except for the U.S. dollar… IMPORTANT: To find out which company Doug Casey, Rick Rule and Sprott Asset Management are pounding the table on that already has a staggering 18.1 million ounces of gold that just added another massive deposit and is quickly being recognized as one of the greatest gold opportunities in the world – CLICK HERE OR BELOW: Sponsored
And with regards to a Trump presidency, yes, you will get growth. But you will also get rising interest rates and rising inflation. If you look back to the 1970s, that’s why gold went up 31 percent a year from 1971-1980 (see remarkable chart below).
This is what the professionals are missing, Eric. We are going to have a lot of inflation going forward and that will be extremely bullish for both gold and silver, which will soon catch up to the rest of the industrial metals. People just need to look at the 1970s in order to understand the roadmap for higher gold and silver prices.
The Days Of Low Inflation Are Over 5-year compounded rates of inflation are now at the lowest levels since 1961. 1.56 percent compounded is the rate of 5-year inflation. Again, Eric, that is the lowest in 55 years. The 10-year compounded rate of CPI is 1.87 percent per year. This is all coming to an end, Eric. Worldwide central banks have failed. Their policies have failed. Now there is going to be spending and debt will increase. Meaning, the days of low inflation have come to an end.
Massive Inflation Is Coming – Gold & Silver Will Skyrocket What we are looking at going forward is massive inflation. If you remember, Eric, inflation was so out of control in the 1970s that there were times when people would purchase a high-quality used car and it would be worth more money one year later than what they originally paid for it — that’s how bad inflation was. And during that historic run, gold went up 25.5 times and silver went up 38 times in price. This is what the professionals are missing, Eric. The bottom line is that once again gold and silver are going to skyrocket.”
*** KWN has just released one of legendary Art Cashin’s greatest audio interviews ever discussing the gold market at length, including the recent takedown in gold, what to surprises to expect in key markets as Trump becomes president, and what impact massive public works projects will have on the United States, inflation, gold, bonds, and much more. and you can listen to this extraordinary interview by CLICKING HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
***KWN has now released the extraordinary KWN audio interview with whistleblower Andrew Maguire, where he discusses the gold and silver smash, at what price the large sovereign wholesale bids are located, and much more, and you can listen to it by CLICKING HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
Is The World Going To See A Global Monetary Reset With QE Used To Purchase Gold? CLCK | 0 |
363 | Beauty Queen Told To Lose Weight Quits Pageant - The Onion - America's Finest News SourceDoctors Restore Ken Burns’ Full-Color Vision After Removing Massive Tumor From Filmmaker’s Visual Cortex CLEVELAND—Speaking to reporters following the successful eight-hour procedure Tuesday, neurosurgeons at the Cleveland Clinic confirmed they had removed a golf ball–sized tumor from the visual cortex of filmmaker Ken Burns, restoring the documentarian’s ability to see in full color. Mom Produces Decorative Gift Bag Out Of Thin Air LEXINGTON, MA—Conjuring the item into existence along with several sheets of perfectly coordinated tissue paper, local mother Caroline Wolfson, 49, reportedly produced a decorative gift bag out of thin air Tuesday within a mere fraction of a second of her daughter mentioning she needed to wrap a present. Paul Krugman’s Facebook Friends Excitedly Posting About New Article He Got Published In ‘The New York Times’ NEW YORK—Sharing the link on their news feeds with captions such as “You have to read this!” and “Check out what a buddy of mine wrote,” Paul Krugman’s Facebook friends reportedly spent Tuesday morning excitedly posting about a new article of his that was published in The New York Times. | 0 |
364 | Is Hillary Panicking Over the FBI and Weiner Emails?Is Hillary Panicking Over the FBI and Weiner Emails?
These past few days have seen a major shift in the Clinton tactics. During the original investigation, the Clinton campaign and its political and media allies launched attacks at Republicans for "wasting time" investigating Hillary, but did not attack the FBI. It misrepresented FBI statements, but it certainly did not target investigators in the way we're seeing now.
But now we have open hostilities between Lynch at the DOJ and the FBI. We have the Clinton campaign circulating a letter attacking the FBI. We have countless media hit pieces aimed at the FBI.
The obvious question is why. The Clinton campaign kept its cool, at least to some degree, before. It certainly didn't begin an ill-advised campaign against the FBI. That's the kind of tactic that may play to your core base, but alienates everyone else. That is to say everyone who isn't in the media.
So what's going on here?
1. The Clintons thought they were done. It's close to the election. So they're lashing out. It's typically paranoid and nasty behavior by the Clintons. Hillary tried playing humble. She tried apologizing. But a moment ago, her victory seemed inevitable, and now she's in a state of fury at having it put at risk.
2. There is something in those emails that genuinely frightens the Clinton campaign. Which is why it took the crazy risk of going after the FBI with both barrels. It's desperate to smear the FBI as much as possible in order to neutralize any revelations or even potential charges. The attacks are a warning to treat Hillary with kid gloves again... or else.
The first is plausible. To a degree. But for all of Hillary's awkwardness, she didn't lose it in the past. Why is she losing it now? There's no evidence beyond speculation for the latter. And yet the major shift in tactics is rather striking. If the Clinton campaign were panicking, this is what it would look like. | 0 |
365 | In 77 Chaotic Minutes, Trump Defends ‘Fine-Tuned Machine’ - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — President Trump, smarting from a series of crises, moved his surrogates aside on Thursday and assigned the rescue of his presidency to the only spokesman he’s ever really trusted — himself. For days, a frustrated and simmering president fumed inside the West Wing residence about what aides said he saw as his staff’s inadequate defense and the ineffectiveness of his own tweets. Over the objections of some top advisers who wanted to steer him away from confrontation, Mr. Trump demanded to face the media, determined to reject the narrative that his administration is sinking into chaos, scandal and incompetence. In a rowdy, news conference hastily staged in the East Room, Mr. Trump attempted to deflect attention from news coverage about Russian intelligence, the resignation of his national security adviser, the defeat of his labor secretary nominee, and deepening questions about his ability to govern. “I turn on the T. V. open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos,” Mr. Trump said as he attempted — with little discipline — to read from prepared remarks listing his accomplishments since being inaugurated one month ago. “Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a machine. ” From there he offered a disjointed and emotional performance in which he appeared to release anger and suspicion about the “dishonest media,” Democrats, intelligence officials, “criminal” leakers, Hillary Clinton, environmentalists and judges. Taking a room of reporters and the television audience on a journey through the Trump psyche, the president was at times angry (at the news media) playful (“I love this,”) bewildered (by “bias and hatred”) occasionally respectful (“It’s a great honor to be with you”) and needy (“I’m really not a bad person, by the way”). Ever the salesman, Mr. Trump painted his presidency as he wishes it to be: an Electoral College victory so massive it was historic — a falsehood pointed out by a reporter in the room — plus accomplishments in the first four weeks that have outpaced, he said, every other president. For his supporters, the performance was certain to be energizing. Mr. Trump turned sober questions from journalists into, at times, mesmerizing television. He attempted to reassert his command of “dishonest” journalists at a time when the news media is questioning his capacity to lead. It all made the brooding boss feel better, people close to Mr. Trump said. The news conference, they said, was Mr. Trump’s best effort at spitting the bit out of his mouth and escaping the bridle of the West Wing, where he views his only way to communicate his side of any argument is his limited Twitter feed. Still, it is unlikely that Mr. Trump’s performance will divert much attention from questions about his campaign’s relationship with Russia, or reassure wavering Republicans on Capitol Hill that their agenda is on track. Yet Mr. Trump’s close allies said he had met his more immediate goal of soothing himself with a sense of control over his own administration. Mr. Trump, who has long required employees to sign nondisclosure agreements, has been unnerved, aides said, by leaks big and small, ranging from disclosures about his evenings spent alone in the White House residence to the details of his calls with global leaders. Now, Mr. Trump finds himself at the mercy of a vast, leaky bureaucracy. “The first thing I thought of when I heard about it is: How does the press get this information that’s classified? How do they do it?” Mr. Trump said of the leaks. “The press should be ashamed of themselves. ’’ The news conference was not without its high points for the embattled president. His initial statement about a surge of optimism in the business world and more jobs was, however fleetingly, a focused message on the issue that helped elect him. And he lured a few reporters into a trap of debating the quality of their reporting as opposed to the merits of their original questions. And after complaining to aides about the dour delivery of his press secretary, Sean Spicer, at the daily televised briefing, Mr. Trump laced his own banter with humor. But he also revealed how crushing he is finding the onslaught of criticism that a president receives, saying that he has long preferred the business media to the political press corps he must now deal with. With the same lack of discipline that his supporters on the campaign trail found refreshing, Mr. Trump lashed out at the news media, which he called “out of control. ” He accused The New York Times of publishing what he termed a “discredited” story — evidently a reference to an article this week about current and former American officials who say that phone records and intercepted calls show that members of his campaign had repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election. He said The Wall Street Journal had published an article that was “almost as disgraceful. ” He mocked Jim Acosta, a CNN correspondent, saying at one point, “Yeah, go ahead, Jimmy. ” His exchange with Mr. Acosta — a frequent foil for Mr. Trump in his news conferences on the campaign trail — made it clear that the president believes that the American people are with him, and against the news media. “That’s why the public sees it,” Mr. Trump said. “They see it. They see it’s not fair. The public is smart, they understand it. ” Mr. Trump also blamed former President Barack Obama — whom he had often described in glowing terms since his inauguration — for handing him a failing government. “I inherited a mess,” Mr. Trump asserted. “It’s a mess. At home and abroad, a mess. Low pay, low wages, mass instability overseas, no matter where you look. ” At one point, Mr. Trump searched for a new face among the veteran White House reporters who were challenging him and settled on a journalist wearing a skullcap whom he clearly did not recognize, hoping for the best. “Are you a friendly reporter? ’’ Mr. Trump said. The response of the reporter, Jake Turx of Ami magazine, a Jewish publication, could not be heard in the room. The president’s anger then flared when Mr. Turx asked about a rise in incidents around the country. Telling Mr. Turx to sit down and accusing him of lying about asking a “very straight, simple question,” Mr. Trump rejected the charge that he is personally — something the reporter had explicitly said he was not asserting. At one point, Mr. Trump predicted how the news media would cover the event — and preemptively rejected that, too. “Tomorrow, they will say, ‘Donald Trump rants and raves at the press,’” Mr. Trump said. “I’m not ranting and raving. I’m just telling you. You know, you’re dishonest people. But — but I’m not ranting and raving. I love this. I’m having a good time doing it. ” | 1 |
366 | One Police Shift: Patrolling an Anxious America - The New York TimesPolicing in America today is a rib dinner paid for by a stranger, and a protester kicking a dent into your patrol car door. It’s warning a young man speeding down a country road to beware of errant deer, and searching through trash cans for a gun on the streets of a big city. It’s your daughter calling repeatedly to ask if you’re safe. It’s your mother wishing you could wear plainclothes again. And it’s a kiss and a goodbye that you promise won’t be your last. But it’s also watching a video in your Facebook feed when another officer shoots a black man — a therapist, hands raised, trying to help a client who is autistic a young man stopped for a traffic violation a man selling CDs. And it’s facing the protests that follow, which are prompting introspection and even more of an attitude of . Adapting — it’s that, too. Being a warrior one minute, on guard at all times, and minutes later answering the most banal questions: You know a good restaurant around here? How do I get to the highway? About 477, 000 sworn officers serve in the roughly 12, 000 police departments in the United States. The demands, challenges, resources and cultures of each police force vary. But there are also commonalities. With the exception of some cities still awash in violence, crime has dropped, and the job has changed. And after the fatal ambushes of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La. — as well as years of intensifying protests about the deaths of black men, women and children at the hands of the police — officers everywhere are under pressure to change still more. On the streets of every town and city, each shift is a search for safety. Here’s a look at one such shift, compiled through ridealongs last week with officers in 10 departments — big, small, rural, suburban — across the United States. Officer Michael Virgilio’s shift has just begun. He is already on high alert. He slowly eases his vehicle out into the alley of a precinct in Seattle (population: 684, 451) scanning left and right as the precinct’s metal garage door trundles down behind him. The brick alley has recessed alcoves that could conceal someone lying in wait, and the new safety protocol in his department says to take no chances, make no assumptions and avoid being predictable. “One of the most vulnerable times in our day is shift change,” Officer Virgilio, 31, says as he checks the route. “It’s a matter of avoiding certain patterns. Anybody who is trying to organize some sort of attack on police officers is going to do some sort of surveillance. They’re going to figure out when our shift changes are, they are going to figure out what doors we use to get in and out of the precinct. And it doesn’t take long to gather that type of intelligence. ” _________ Lt. Scott Finn begins all his shifts in Prince George’s County, Md. (population: 909, 535) a densely packed suburb just outside Washington, D. C. by passing through a set of doors scarred by two bullet holes, each a round shock of silver, embedded in mundane tan paint. A few months before the ambushes in Dallas and Baton Rouge, a man with a handgun opened fire outside the police station in Landover as officers were leaving roll call. With two of his brothers filming, the police said, the man shot randomly at cars and an ambulance, while officers inside the stationhouse returned fire. A police detective, Jacai Colson — who, like the gunman, was black and dressed in street clothes — happened to pull up to the front of the station, on his way into work. A fellow officer mistook him for the assailant and shot him dead. “It was just the fog of war,” Lieutenant Finn says. “Everything had to align perfectly to have something like that happen. ” The lieutenant pushes through the doors and walks to his unmarked patrol car, where he slips on his bulletproof vest, pressing the Velcro on its sides to make sure it is tightly secured. Another shift begins. The call came about an hour in: Shots fired. “We’re going to go in kind of cautious,” Officer Michael Walker of the Milwaukee Police Department says. He’s 39 and an imposing veteran of the force on patrol with an affable rookie named Nathan Smalkoski. They speed through the North Side of Milwaukee (population: 600, 155) parts of which have long wrestled with poverty, disinvestment and violence. It’s over 90 degrees outside and it’s busy. The shift will send them to answer a call about the theft of a Lexus. A car wreck. Domestic dispute. School burglary alarm. One assignment after the next, without any breaks, not even for lunch, which amounted to a Brisk Lemonade from a store. “I’m going to have a heightened awareness of what’s going on here,” Officer Walker says on his way to the call. He parks a little farther away from some incidents now, to gauge the circumstances more carefully. Six fresh bullet casings are scattered through an alley. A man on a bike says some people sped off in an old Honda. But the report of shots fired came not from a neighbor here, but from ShotSpotter technology, which captures the sounds of gunfire to determine where a shooting is taking place. A worker at a nearby school and many of the neighbors heard the shots but apparently did not call 911. Gunshots happen all the time, some said. “Police! Anybody home?” Officer Walker calls out, loudly knocking on one door. “Hello ma’am, how are you?” he says to a woman who answers. “Am I in trouble?” she says. Officer Walker explains to the elderly couple who live there that their house was hit with a bullet. He climbs to a packed storage room on their second floor and digs under old blankets, lamps, computers and mattresses to find the hole where the bullet came through their wall. Outside, behind yellow police tape, Officer Smalkoski is marking the shell casings. A resident walks up and begins videotaping the officer with his phone. “Everybody records everything,” Officer Smalkoski says. In Park Forest, Ill. (population: 21, 954) where an officer was shot and critically wounded in March, many residents are tying blue ribbons to trees or installing blue lightbulbs on their porches to show support for the police. In Paulding County, Ga. (population 152, 238) west of Atlanta, a family brought a sign to the sheriff’s headquarters that now hangs in the squad room: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God. ” In the Connecticut countryside, children from a local camp have drawn pictures, sent cards and delivered a large poster to the police station, thanking officers for their service. In many places, officers have been showered with gifts of food, Starbucks, cold drinks. “Over the past five days, I’ve had more people offer to buy me a coffee than I can remember,” says Sgt. Thomas Glynn, 46, during a patrol through Cambridge, Mass. (population 106, 844). But officers around the country are also confronting tension, and it’s been building for years. Sergeant Glynn’s city is where, in 2009, Henry Louis Gates Jr. a Harvard professor who is black, was arrested for trying to break into his own home the episode soured police relations with President Obama, who said the Cambridge police had “acted stupidly. ” And in 2013, the fugitive Boston Marathon bombers murdered an M. I. T. police officer. Near Harvard Square, Sergeant Glynn pulls up to a bus at a parking meter that has expired. Another officer had given the driver a ticket and told him to move the bus, but while backing up, the bus driver hit the officer’s motorcycle. The driver, whose first language was not English, grew agitated and shouted, “And you wonder why police officers kill people!” Sergeant Glynn says: “That was not what he meant to say. What he meant to say was, ‘And you wonder why people kill police officers! ’” Dallas and Baton Rouge had made their way to the land of Harvard. The man’s outburst, Sergeant Glynn says, “had everything to do with what’s happening now. ” _________ Lieutenant Finn points to his patrol car’s door. “Like the dent?” he asks. Just days earlier, he says, someone had kicked his car and yelled, “Black lives matter,” before taking off on a motorcycle. It was, he says, part of a pattern of increased tension that he has noticed in Prince George’s County ever since police officers shot and killed Alton B. Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. on days this month. Lieutenant Finn says he sees more pushback and hears more obscenities from residents now than ever before. “I’ve never experienced that until just recently,” he says, while driving through a stretch of the county studded with strip malls, just outside Washington. “At this point, I’m fortunate that it was a kick, and not a bullet. We can see that that’s a strong possibility. ” _________ A dark night. A country road in Coventry, Conn. (population: 12, 438). A Dodge Durango races by, going around 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. Sgt. Michael Hicks pulls out behind, following up and down a hill until he reaches a straightaway. The flashing lights go on, the Durango pulls over. A young man with a shaved head sits in the driver’s seat. “I definitely notice that now more people I pull over, if they’re black, they right away turn on the lights and put their hands on the wheel,” Sergeant Hicks says. “I like that. It makes me feel safe. ” He flips on his body camera, gets out of his police S. U. V. and goes through his routine. He puts two fingers on the black Durango’s trunk, to make sure no one is inside — two cops were once killed when someone jumped out of a trunk, he explains. He flashes his light into the back seat, then the front, and approaches the driver with his holstered gun on a hip that he positions away from the car window. “We’re trained for Armageddon,” Sergeant Hicks says back in the vehicle. “We’re trained for the worst. ” He returns to the driver, a Hispanic man with no previous traffic violations, and gives him a warning: “Slow down. You hit a deer going 63, and it won’t be good. ” _________ The gangs of Compton, Calif. (population 97, 877) — the Crips and the Pirus, the Compton Varrio Tortilla Flats and others — hang out in places that are easy to defend: alleys, dead ends and a housing development with “one way in, one way out,” where residents shout warnings to one another as soon as the police arrive. “Gangsters like ” says Deputy Sheriff Mizrain Orrego, 30, driving with his partner through Compton, the section of Los Angeles County (population: 10, 170, 292) made famous by violence and gangster rap. “They can jump the fence onto the street behind, and we can’t follow in the car. Or they see us coming and toss the pistol over the fence. You ask for help, and everyone walks away and says nothing happened. ” Deputy Orrego and his partner check one after another. In most spots, men are hanging around outside, often drinking beer, but the officers have no cause to search them. They ask how they’re doing — ”You good?” — and then move on. But as soon as the police cruiser turns one corner, a young man at the end of the block takes off running. He ducks into the shadows behind an abandoned house, and he’s gone. Deputy Samuel Aldama, 29, hits the gas. The cruiser flies to the end of the street, and in an instant both he and Deputy Orrego are out of their car, yelling at a group of young black men to put their hands in the air. Each deputy keeps a finger on his weapon, but the guns stay in their holsters. The abandoned house has become a hangout for the South Side Compton Crips, and Deputy Orrego is convinced that there is a gun here — or, at least, that there was one. “Every time you get three of these guys together, you know they have a gun somewhere,” Deputy Orrego says. Finding a gun is the primary challenge in the game that the officers have been playing all day, as part of a summer unit aimed at limiting gang activity. Their shift started at 9 a. m. It’s 11 p. m. The deputies have pulled 18 guns off the streets in the last nine weeks. But none this day. The victim — a black man, perhaps in his 30s — lies uncovered on the sidewalk of the bus station’s bay, his backpack askew on the pavement. His arm is curled toward his body, frozen a few inches off the ground. In parts of Prince George’s County, a mostly black area, where some people struggle more than others, this is routine. The call came in as a stabbing. Lieutenant Finn does not respond until he realizes that the victim has died. It is now a homicide. A handful of officers manage the scene. Lieutenant Finn heads for dinner. He says he prefers not to eat in the area he has been patrolling, where he might run into people he arrested or be reminded of where fellow officers were shot. So he drives south, to a Texas Ribs BBQ in Clinton, Md. Talk turns to the Black Lives Matter protests. “ ‘Black Lives Matter When the Police Kill Them,’ ” Lieutenant Finn says, as if arguing with protesters. “Have that be your name. ” _________ Sometimes — especially since the recent shootings by police — black residents will say they were pulled over because of racial profiling, Deputy Orrego says. “It’s not true,” he says, driving through Compton and past homes tagged with graffiti by competing gangs. “We’re minorities as well. ” The news media don’t tell the whole story, he says. “You don’t know what goes on. ” “We all have families to go home to,” he says. “There’s more to it than you think. ” “The reality is that in Compton, in the west side, the reality is you will stop and contact more ” he says. “If you’re on the east side, you’ll contact more Hispanics. ” “The reality is that people who steal cars are mostly Hispanics,” he says. “The reason why is because more Hispanics who are involved in any criminal activity, they use methamphetamine. So now they need to support their habit. Where they don’t do that for the most part. They don’t consume methamphetamine. ” “The reality is that at least in the city of Compton — and I’m talking from our training and experience — they commit more violent crimes, more shootings. There’s more gang feuds among . ” The cruiser rolls slowly around a corner, his words on crime and race still hanging in the air. _________ Deputy Constable Steve W. Faulkner, 39, joins two other deputies at a taco truck and food trailer parked side by side in a parking lot in Precinct 1 in Houston (population: 2, 296, 224). They are talking about guns, life, the job. A few days ago, he says, after the attack in Dallas, he and other deputies responded to a call from a woman who had concerns about messages her teenage daughter had been receiving. The woman and her daughter were black. The deputies were white. The woman and her daughter were not pleased with the deputies after they suggested removing an app from her daughter’s phone as a possible solution. “The younger girl, she’s probably about 13, she just piped up and said, ‘You don’t like black people. If this would have been a white girl, this would have been handled totally different,’” Deputy Faulkner recalls. “That,” he says, “is a direct result of everything going on right now. ” Later in the shift, the dispatcher’s voice fills the car: A group of men are waving a gun in front of a Washateria laundry. One is a Hispanic male in a black shirt and red pants, the other a black male in a white shirt and white shorts. Deputy Faulkner speeds toward the scene, lights on and siren wailing. As he turns into the Washateria parking lot, he sees a black man and three Hispanic men standing next to their cars. He gets out of his car. He is alone. One of the Hispanic men wears a dark gray shirt and red shorts. The deputy pulls his gun and orders all four onto the ground. The men are not happy, though they do as they are told. He handcuffs two of them. He searches them and finds nothing. He uncuffs the two men. He explains why he is there, and the tensions ease up. “Thanks for not shooting me,” one of the men says, smiling as he holds his hands in the air. Deputy Faulkner slides back into the driver’s seat and turns to the four men. “Y’all have a good one,” he says. _________ Officers John Buchanan and Robert Bramble are cruising through one of Brooklyn’s rapidly changing neighborhoods. Officer Buchanan, 24, is white. He grew up in suburban Suffolk County, on Long Island, where he still lives. He has two cousins who are police officers. Officer Bramble, 24, is black. He grew up in Brooklyn, in East Flatbush. He still lives in the city, about 15 minutes from the stationhouse. His father was a New York City police officer. It is hot, and as they drive along the streets of the 79th Precinct they notice a sight: “It’s S. O. S. ,” Officer Bramble says. On the sidewalk, a small contingent from the group Save Our Streets is protesting — a woman with a bullhorn condemning violence and other people wearing that say: “Stop shooting. Start living. ” Officer Bramble says the protests are now a part of life in Brooklyn (population: 2, 636, 735). “There are people in the law enforcement world that are hurt right now there’s civilians out there reading and seeing these things, and experiencing them, that hurt right now,” he says. “It affects everybody. ” Even with the tensions surrounding policing, Officer Bramble does not feel defensive. “I don’t personally feel any animosity because I feel like I understand where the protesters I have encountered are coming from and what they’re trying to achieve and establish,” he says. “There may be protesters out there who have a more sinister agenda. I just, in my limited experience, have not encountered them yet. ” Officer Buchanan shifts the discussion to the importance of neighborhood policing. “We can use that to try and change some people’s perspectives, or at least be an example for what policing in a community should be,” he says. Still, he thinks anyone who is not an officer cannot understand the pressures and risks of the job. “You can’t have a perspective on this job, in my opinion, unless you do it,” he says. “Unless you’re in policing, doing it every day as a career, you can’t know what it’s like. ” _________ Cpl. Jon Mannino in Park Forest remembers another example of how things have changed. Shortly after the fatal shooting of Mr. Castile by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop, an driver that Corporal Mannino had pulled over seemed afraid. “He said, ‘I’m reaching for my wallet, don’t shoot me,’” Corporal Mannino says. “And he wasn’t being funny. He wasn’t being sarcastic. ” “What can you say?” the corporal says. “While it’s not personally upsetting, it’s upsetting that that’s where we are right now as a country. ” Deputy Faulkner’s cellphone rings as he sits in his patrol vehicle outside the precinct office. It’s a fellow Houston deputy. “Yeah, I’m fixin’ to roll out,” he tells the caller. He is silent as he holds the phone to his ear, then quickly steps out of the vehicle and heads into the precinct. The deputy was calling to relay a concern. The wife of a lieutenant has been having trouble reaching her husband on his cellphone. She is worried. Deputy Faulkner returns to the vehicle. He reports back: The lieutenant is in the precinct office. He’s fine. He just left his cellphone inside while talking to a colleague outside. It took only those few minutes for the lieutenant’s wife to start panicking. Deputy Faulkner says this is how the job is lately. His own wife calls more often to check on him. He and his daughter have a ritual before he leaves the house: She stands at the front door and gives him a kiss on the forehead. Lately, though, she has started telling him, “Be safe” and “Be careful,” phrases she had not used before the Dallas ambush. “It changes the way you do patrolling,” Deputy Faulkner says. “Your head’s on a swivel now. ” | 1 |
367 | Fighting Ghost Fascists While Aiding Real Ones2016 presidential campaign by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
An architect of regime-change, coups, no-fly zones, rule of the rich and mass incarceration is about to become Commander-in-Chief, yet the bulk of what passes for the Left is “engaged in a 1930s-style ‘united front’ against a ‘fascism’ that was never a threat in 21 st century America.” Donald Trump, the orange menace, didn’t have a chance of becoming president. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is a 21 st century fascist and threat to life on Earth. Fighting Ghost Fascists While Aiding Real Ones by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
“Trump’s anti-“free trade” stance and opposition to regime change and military confrontation with Russia and China drove most of the Republican-allied section of the ruling class straight into Hillary Clinton’s imperial Big Tent.”
Hillary Clinton’s impending -- and totally predictable -- landslide victory on November 8 will prove only that there never was any danger of a “fascist” white nationalist takeover of the U.S. executive branch of government in 2016. That was always a red (or “orange”) herring, a phony “barbarians at the gate” threat that -- as Wikileaks documents confirmed -- John Podesta and Hillary’s other handlers fervently hoped would convey “lesser evil” status to their manifestly unpopular candidate.
There was nothing particularly devious or out of the ordinary in the Hillary camp’s favoring Donald Trump or, alternatively, Ted Cruz. It is standard Democratic Party practice to position themselves just to the left of the Republicans. In a duopoly electoral system, victory lies in where the cake is cut. By hugging close to the GOP’s flanks, national Democratic candidates can lay claim to a “center-left” spectrum of political space that encompasses a clear majority of U.S. public opinion on most issues. By this calculus, Democrats are supposed to win, unless they are tripped up on the closely related issues of race (failure to “stand up” to the Blacks) and foreign policy (failure to “stand up” to whoever is the designated foreign enemy).
Race is the trickiest part of the equation, since white supremacy is embedded in the American political conversation, hiding just beneath the surface of most discourse on social and economic policy.
“His overt racism probably weakened his appeal to whites.”
Trump thought he could win by combining an overt white racist appeal with an anti-corporate message that laid the blame on Wall Street for (white) American job losses and falling living standards. He also calculated -- correctly, it turns out -- that in the wake of the 2008 economic meltdown, many white Americans were more upset about their own economic and social status than they were angry at Russians; that they wanted regime change at home more than abroad.
Both of Trump’s central policies backfired, dooming his campaign. His overt racism probably weakened his appeal to whites, who have given majorities to national Republicans since 1968 but whose self-image is that they are not, as individuals, racist. (Certainly, white women found further reason to reject his candidacy.) Much more spectacularly, Trump’s anti-“free trade” stance and opposition to regime change and military confrontation with Russia and China drove most of the Republican-allied section of the ruling class straight into Hillary Clinton’s imperial Big Tent.
At the national level, the duopoly system, as we had known it, virtually ceased to exist – a fact dramatically driven home by the near-universal corporate media rejection of Donald Trump, the candidacy they had done so much to create. The near-collapse of the duopoly system was the great fracture of the 2016 election, a potential historic opening to a far wider space of progressive political struggle, including on the moribund electoral level. With the ruling class gathered in one Big Tent, and the overt racists occupying the imploded shell of the GOP, the system itself was in disarray. What was once two vibrant parties of the ruling class, with a virtual monopoly on the totality of the electorate, had become one ruling class party plus a hollowed-out husk, at least temporarily occupied by white nationalists under the leadership of a narcissistic and incoherent billionaire, yet without enough funds to mount a competitive general election campaign.
“The near-collapse of the duopoly system was the great fracture of the 2016 election.”
In these pages, we had been saying since last year that Donald Trump could not win; that Bernie Sanders’ fate would be sealed in the southern primaries; and that, although ruling class money would insure Clinton an election by landslide, it could not buy her legitimacy among a significant section of the Democratic “base,” who would now be pushed to the latrine area of her Big Tent. As we wrote on May 18 of this year:
“Outsized fear of Trump is hysteria. These days, the ‘brown shirts’ wear blue. Hillary is the candidate of Wall Street, War and Austerity – not Trump, the racist America Firster. And, he can’t win, anyway – not with tens of millions of ‘moderate’ Republicans and most of the party’s funders rushing into Hillary’s welcoming embrace.”
But sadly, hysteria does reign in most of the “left” precincts of America. Those who did not hesitate to kick Hillary when she appeared to be “down” -- in those heady days when they imagined it was possible she could lose to Sanders -- are terrified to kick her when she is “up” and primed to take the helm of the hyper-power. They are engaged in a 1930s-style “united front” against a “fascism” that was never a threat in 21 st century America, where a different kind of dictatorship of the rich (but also a fascism) has made brown-shirts (and Klansmen) utterly superfluous. These trembling leftists refuse to oppose the modern manifestation of fascism, which is now firmly entrenched in power with Hillary as its champion, in favor of a crusade against an “orange” menace that did not have a ghost of a chance of seizing national power. They have made themselves perfectly irrelevant and useless -- except, of course, to the fascists-in-charge. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at [email protected] . | 0 |
368 | Your Monday Evening Briefing: Brexit, Abortion, ‘Game of Thrones’ - The New York Times(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. The Supreme Court made its most sweeping ruling in decades on abortion rights, striking down parts of a Texas law that imposed strict limits on abortion providers. Opponents of the law, which was passed in 2013, said that it had already caused about half of the state’s abortion clinics to close. The decision has significant implications for laws in other states where similar restrictions exist they, too, are likely unconstitutional. _____ 2. The court vacated the conviction of Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia, on corruption charges, a unanimous decision that could send Mr. McDonnell back for another round with prosecutors. “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful it may be worse than that,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, emphasizing that the justices were more focused on what they considered an overly broad interpretation of the federal bribery law at hand than “tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes and ball gowns. ” _____ 3. In Britain, the path forward remained uncertain after the vote last week to leave the European Union. Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London who supported “Brexit” and is a contender to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, promised Britons in an essay that their country “is part of Europe, and always will be. ” But the nation remained locked in a political crisis, and leaders of the “Leave” movement, including Mr. Johnson, have already disavowed some of their pledges. _____ 4. The pound, meanwhile, sank to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, and S. P. downgraded Britain’s credit rating to AA from AAA as the economic fallout from the Brexit vote continued. Global authorities tried to soothe the markets, promising to intercede in the event of an economic disaster. But investors remained skeptical, and British officials tried to assure citizens that they would still have access to the Continent’s market. _____ 5. Volkswagen has agreed to pay nearly $15 billion to settle claims stemming from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, in one what would be one of the largest ever consumer deals ever in the U. S. The cash compensation offered to each car owner will range from $5, 100 to $10, 000. The German automaker acknowledged last year that it had installed illegal software in 11 million cars worldwide that made them capable of defeating pollution tests. 6. Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned together for the first time on Monday in Cincinnati. Their alliance seems unlikely to some, given their distinct approaches to Wall Street. But those differences did not come into play during the Ohio appearance: The two women showed a united face on income inequality and criticism of the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump. _____ 7. A police scandal has erupted in Oakland, Calif. with more than a dozen officers coming under investigation for their relationships with an prostitute who is a daughter of a police dispatcher. The city has long had a reputation for police abuses, but it had seemed to be in the midst of a turnaround under its new mayor, Libby Schaff. She said in a recent interview, “It’s tragic that this scandal has overshadowed the incredible progress that Oakland has made. ” _____ 8. Unfortunately for your briefing editor, spoilers abound in our television critic’s review of the sixth season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” which had its finale Sunday night. We can tell you without ruining anything that he found the show to be “faster, simpler and more ” partly because it was the first season to move beyond the plot established by the books. “If this was not the series’s best season, it was its most entertaining,” he writes. 9. Returning from a visit to Armenia on Sunday night, Pope Francis said that all Christians and the Roman Catholic Church owed the gay community an apology for past mistreatment. Francis’ comments, in response to a question about the recent deadly attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. were applauded by leaders of gay Catholic groups, but some said there was more work to be done. “A statement of remorse is only as good as the change in behavior that follows,” said the head of one leading organization. _____ 10. “Now, what we’ve been doing is looking at the data, and we know that police somehow manage to disarm and not kill white people every day. ” That comment was part of a powerful speech by the actor Jesse Williams of “Grey’s Anatomy” at the BET Awards on Sunday. The show featured a commanding performance from Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, and tributes to Prince and Muhammad Ali. But Mr. Williams’s speech, a demand for equal treatment and justice, was the strongest statement of the night. _____ 11. Summer is already in session for many of us, but New York City’s public school students are just now preparing to go on vacation. Tuesday is officially the last day of school, and some students are planning to duck out early. Daily attendance last year at the city’s high schools was 88 percent on the last day, it fell to 74 percent. “I might go to school,” one student told our reporter, a hint that schools may experience a similar drop this year. “I might. ” _____ 12. Students may soon own the streets of New York, but on Sunday afternoon, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was dominated by the walking dead. The Zombie Crawl, an annual event celebrating “all things undead, bloody and ” celebrated its 10th year. Participants chanted about their lust for brains, drank beer and speculated about their chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse. “If it ever happened in real life, I think I could personally deal with that,” one said. _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s the Weekend Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
369 | EU Increases ‘Brexit Bill’ Demand to €100 Billion, Up From €60 BillionThe European Union (EU) has dramatically increased the size of the “divorce” bill it is demanding the UK pays before leaving the bloc, to 100 billion euros. [The new figure, equivalent £84. 5 billion, reflects stricter demands made by Germany and France, in particular in relation to farm payments and EU administration fees, according to an analysis by the Financial Times. European Commission president Juncker and chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier have previously said the UK would be expected to pay around €60 billion (£50. 75 billion). The British Government’s lawyers, however, and a House of Lords committee have said the UK has no legal responsibility to pay the £50 billion bill and the prime minister is opposed to handing over a large amount. David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, reiterated these claims Wednesday morning, as well as implying the escalating demands were merely part of the EU’s negotiating tactics. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Wednesday morning, Mr. Davis said recent comments from his European partners should be “taken with a pinch of salt”. “You have seen in the mixture of gossip and spin there are attempts to shape opinions, try to put across robust points of view,” he said. “This is merely preliminary to negotiations. The simple truth is that this is early manoeuvring. We have to deal with it with equanimity. ” Speaking to ITV Tuesday night, he added: “We’ll not be paying 100 billion. What we’ve got to do is discuss in detail what the rights and obligations are. ” The rising bill reflects a hardening of the EU’s Brexit negotiating stance. According to the Financial Times, the French and Polish governments have pushed for the inclusion of annual farm payments, whilst the Germans are against granting Britain a share of EU assets. The UK would also be held to guarantees and loans to countries such as Ukraine and Portugal, with Britain being reimbursed as the loans are repaid. Over the period of a decade or more, therefore, the repayments would reduce the net size of the “Brexit bill” to between €55 billion and €75 billion. Mr. Barnier has previously said the UK will not be able to begin discussions on a future trade deal with the bloc, or guarantee the rights of UK citizens in the EU, until the bill is settled. | 1 |
370 | Arianna Huffington’s Sleep Revolution Starts at Home - The New York TimesArianna Huffington was sitting like a very relaxed queen in her SoHo bedroom on a thronelike bergère chair covered in brocade Fortuny fabric. It was time to wind down, 8 p. m. Behind her, an embroidered throw pillow announced: “Sleep your way to the top. ” The phrase recalls a TED Talk she gave in 2010, and it isn’t about sex, thank you. It is about sleeping. “I was making a speech about sleep as a performance enhancer,” she said. “As opposed to being lazy or not engaged with life. ” One wouldn’t think that about one of the most powerful women in the world, the author of 15 books and a founder of a news site that sold to AOL for $315 million in 2011. But of all the things on her agenda, which would exhaust most mortals, sleep is at the top. Her new book, “The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time” (Harmony) is a call to bed. It is also inspiring a turbocharged national tour that involves “sleep fairs” at colleges and an educational “takeover” of a JetBlue flight during which she gave out books and answered questions. “I want to rekindle our romance with sleep,” said Ms. Huffington, 65, in a lullaby voice as soothing as her floral perfume. “It’s a central part of life and a gateway to our dreams. ” If sleep is a gateway to her dreams, then her bedroom is the mother ship. It is one of four in a vast apartment she transformed a few years ago with the help of the designer Steven Gambrel. “It was a minimalist loft,” she said. “But I wanted something that felt more and European. ” To achieve that, she hired Mr. Gambrel to add walls to break up the space, for which he also designed much of the furniture. Peter Mucek, the decorative painter, plastered the walls to emulate a golden Venetian glow. Michael S. Smith, who redecorated some rooms in the Obama White House and is a friend, suggested that she treat the loft’s concrete columns with metallic brown paint to give them an ancient bronze feel. Mr. Smith also designed some leather chairs and an ottoman. Her home now has a regal and romantic ambience that seems in perfect keeping with Ms. Huffington’s personality. Everything in the decidedly bedroom is as carefully considered as a business move. On a bed surrounded with Fortuny curtains in a restful light blue, she sleeps on organic cotton sheets from a collection called Huffington. The Huffington line, carried by a nearby bedding shop, was designed by her daughter Isabella Huffington, 25, an artist who shares her home. Her pillows are stuffed with soporific hops and barley. Across the room are two Gordon Parks photographs, including the bucolic “Boy With June Bug. ” Over her night stand is a photograph of her other daughter, Christina, now 27, at Isabella’s christening. “I call it a joy trigger,” Ms. Huffington said, “and I like having it right by my bed. ” Her night stand functions as a kind of altar to Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. The books are inspirational, including works by Rumi, the Persian poet, and Marcus Aurelius, whom Ms. Huffington admires because he was a multitasking Roman emperor and not easily ruffled. There is a simple alarm clock from Pottery Barn without any of the pesky digital lights she bans from her bedroom and from her hotel rooms. (She packs masking tape to obscure their blinking.) Roses and peonies rest in a vase by a journal with a black cover decorated by Isabella. Next to it is a pen light. “So if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can write down my dreams without turning on the light,” she said. Dreams, of course, are welcome business ideas, not so much. On a desk and dresser across the room, which she can’t reach from her bed, Ms. Huffington has several china Herend Rothschild bird bowls to hold such workaday items as and manuscript clips, and a lacquered box for her packed appointment book. “I hide the whole mess to forget about it,” she said, lifting and setting down lids like a cook. At bedtime, her phone and electronic devices are relegated to the foyer outside the bedroom, to recharge under a wall of family photographs. Withdrawing from her machines, she said, is part of a “transition to sleep” ritual that includes writing down the many things she is grateful for dimming the lights taking a warm bath in Epsom salts by flickering candlelight and changing into a silk nightgown to greet sleep with respect. “I used to sleep in the same thing I wore during the day,” said Ms. Huffington, whose call to rest came in 2007, when she fell down from exhaustion and broke her cheekbone. “It’s better to have special clothes for sleeping. ” It also helps to have soundproofed windows, which required a complicated and expensive installation process that made her renovated home as quiet as a church. Indeed, her cellphone rings with the sound of cathedral chimes. “I love church bells, don’t you?” she asked in a seductive purr. It was time for a tour of the rest of the apartment. It is one of her two homes and very different from the one she has in California. “My other house is from the 1920s, in Brentwood, in L. A.,” she said as she swept into her living room. “When I step out the door there, it’s into a garden of entirely white flowers, where all I smell is gardenias and it feels like being in the country. Here, it’s children, dogs and people from all over the world on my street when I walk out, and my favorite shops and restaurants. ” Her spacious living area — with a custom bookcase, a gilded Louis XV desk, gilded bronze and cobalt candelabra and a Italian mirror above the fireplace — has the feeling of something between a papal chamber and the Oval Office. “Isn’t this beautiful?” she asks, gesturing to a screen by Mr. Mucek that hides a small white kitchen area, where she doesn’t concern herself with cooking. Just the same, Ms. Huffington loves to hold the many dinners that she doesn’t prepare at a faux marble dining table. “I know how to make a really great cheese plate,” she said. She makes tea, too. Near the front door is a portrait of a woman by Françoise Gilot, which Ms. Gilot, who spent 10 years with Picasso, gave Ms. Huffington around the time Ms. Huffington was writing “Picasso: Creator and Destroyer,” published in 1988. The portrait of her daughters is by Nelson Shanks, who also painted Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II and Diana, Princess of Wales. “But what I love most of all are the works of my daughter Isabella,” she said. As if on cue, Isabella emerged from an art studio next to her bedroom. (Christina has her own place.) The two put their arms around each other. The daughter, as it turns out, also respects a good night’s sleep. “Even in college, I’d get nine hours of sleep a night,” said Isabella, who is as tall and graceful as her mother and whose pretty collages have a dark political edge. “Remember when you’d visit, and my friends were pulling and you’d lecture them about it?” Her mother laughed. No need for that at home. It was 10 o’clock, and with a television appearance scheduled for early the next day, time to dim the lights and take the moment seriously. “My sleep ritual is about to begin,” Ms. Huffington said with a beatific smile. She looked to the double doors leading to her bedroom. “My gateway calls. ” The church bells on her phone were ringing. She ignored them. | 1 |
371 | Путин рассказал, когда в Крыму решат проблему с пресной водой0 комментариев 7 поделились
Отвечая на соответствующий вопрос участника форума Виктора Тарасова, глава российского государства отметил: "Мы направили на решение этой задачи из федерального бюджета 23 с лишним миллиарда рублей. С 2015 по 2020 г. планируется в федеральной целевой программе по развитию Крыма и Севастополя еще свыше 40 млрд руб.", — сказал Путин. Он также добавил, что эти деньги необходимо израсходовать рационально. "Федеральные и региональные органы власти эту проблему должны решить и обязательно решат, у меня в этом сомнений нет никаких".
Президент также напомнил, что на первых порах проблема с пресной водой на полуострове стояла "очень остро, особенно после того как наши соседи отключили Крым от Северо-Крымского".
В данный момент сделано очень многое, но сама проблема осталась, подчеркнул глава государства.
Отметим, что кроме прочего, Владимир Путин призвал активистов ОНФ продолжать мониторинг расходования бюджетных средств.
Один из участников пленарного заседания форума ОНФ "Форум действий. Крым" отметил, что федеральной целевой программой по развитию массового спорта для Крыма предусмотрено 4,5 млрд руб. на реконструкцию восьми крупных спортивных объектов. Если отложить реконструкцию одного из них, то на освободившиеся деньги можно построить 2,5 тыс. спортивных площадок для развития массового спорта. Он попросил президента "пересмотреть назначения" в пользу таких спортивных площадок.
В первый день упомянутого форума, 25 октября его работа развернулась на трех тематических площадках: "Образование и культура как основы национальной идентичности", "Качество повседневной жизни" и "Честная и эффективная экономика". Участники мероприятия сосредоточились на наиболее актуальных проблемах, выявленных активистами региональных отделений в Крыму и Севастополе по результатам обработки обращений граждан, опросов, экспертных совещаний
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373 | Sonoma County California Just Voted to Create the Largest GMO Free Zone in AmericaSonoma County California Just Voted to Create the Largest GMO Free Zone in America Nov 14, 2016 0 0
Just when it seemed the biotech industry couldn’t get any more gargantuan, with the threat of a Bayer-Monsanto merger , not only were the TTIP and TPP pronounced dead , but Sonoma County California just passed a successful ban on the cultivation on genetically modified crops, creating the largest GMO-Free zone in America .
Measure M passed with 55.9% of the vote in favor of banning crop cultivation. The vote transpired on the same day as the U.S. presidential election. The ban will affect a whopping 13,734 square miles bridging Sonoma, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Santa Cruz and Trinity Counties.
Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, and DuPont all descended on Sonoma County to fight Measure M, but local farmers largely wanted an opportunity to grow organic, non-GMO crops without the fear of contamination through cross-pollination. (You can see who supported a ‘yes’ note and who supported a ‘no’ vote, here .)
“My right to grow non-GMO should not be threatened by someone else’s business practices that are harmful to mine. Millions of dollars in lost export revenue has occurred from GMO contamination,” says Joey Smith , owner/manager of Let’s Go Farm in Santa Rosa. “Because people growing genetically engineered crops are not required to register, we don’t know exactly how many genetically engineered crops are growing here in Sonoma County.” he explains. “We don’t want GMO crops proliferating here, so that’s why we are taking action. The Measure is carefully written to be fair to all farmers. Measure M is really about being proactive, just like the GMO growing bans in the five other CA counties.”
Already, 80% of Sonoma County’s dairy farms are certified organic, and the wine-making industry has been trying to go organic as well.
Measure M will make it much easier for farmers growing a multitude of crops to do so without using herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and petroleum-based fertilizers, but also without their hard-earned yield going to waste due to GM contamination.
The measure will protect farmland, pastureland, and surrounding green spaces, and hopefully the almost 14 thousand square miles which are now to be GM-free, will eventually expand to cover an even larger area.
When this area is tied to others in the U.S. which have smaller GMO-Free zones, we can start to see a patchwork of resistance that has paid off.
Connecticut and Maine have passed GMO labeling laws as of May of 2013 , but are still waiting on triggering states for those laws to go into effect.
Maui, Hawaii has successfully passed a GMO moratorium which took effect in March of 2015.
Both Josephine and Jackson Counties in Oregon have banned GMOs, though they are said to be in conflict with a state law. Vermont fought hard against the GM industry and passed a law that requires ALL GMO food to be labeled as of July 1, 2016.
San Juan County in Washington has also banned GM crops.
The GMO-Free movement has grown slowly, but surely over the years, and Sonoma’s recent addition of GM-Free lands is a shining example of what grassroots movements can do to fight against the trillion-dollar biotech machine. It isn’t impossible, but it has been hard as heck.
Consider purchasing some Sonoma County organic wine or fresh produce over the holidays to toast their successful endeavors. | 0 |
374 | FBI’s Comey: WikiLeaks Is ‘Intelligence Porn,’ Not Journalism - BreitbartDifferentiating Wikileaks from journalists, FBI Dir. James Comey calls Wikileaks ”intelligence porn” https: . pic. twitter. Wednesday at the Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, FBI Director James Comey said Wikileaks was not journalism, but “intelligence porn. ” Comey said, “In that there is at least a portion, and people can argue that maybe this conduct Wikileaks is engaged on in the past that is closer to regular news gathering, but in my view, a huge portion of Wikileaks’ activities has nothing to do with legitimate news gathering, informing the public, commenting on important controversies but releasing classified information to damage the United States of America. People start to get cynical about journalists, but American journalists do not do that. ” “They almost always call us before classifying publishing information to say, is there anything that will jeopardize government people, or innocent civilians anywhere in the world and work with us to try to accomplish their important First Amendment goals by safeguarding the interests. This activity, I’m talking about Wikileaks, involves so much considerations whatsoever,” he continued. “It is intelligence porn, push it out in order to damage. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
375 | Clare Waight Keller Is Named First Female Designer of Givenchy - The New York TimesIs Audrey Hepburn making a return to the house of Givenchy? On Thursday, the French brand named Clare Waight Keller as its artistic director, responsible for women’s and men’s wear, accessories and couture. She will be the first woman to run the creative side of the house founded by Hubert de Givenchy in 1952. The announcement marks a new stage in this year’s game of fashion musical chairs, and it is a potentially significant change, both for Givenchy and its incoming designer. The news came less than two months after Ms. Waight Keller, a British designer, officially resigned from Chloé — which is owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, and which announced last week that its new creative director was Natacha . Ms. had been creative director of women’s at Louis Vuitton, a brand that, like Givenchy, is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. “I am very happy to have Clare Waight Keller join the LVMH group,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, in announcing the news, which was released simultaneously on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat and Weibo. “I believe her widespread expertise and vision will allow Givenchy to enter the next phase of its unique path. ” What that next phase is remains to be seen, but the choice of Ms. Waight Keller, rumored during the recent Paris Fashion Week, suggests the answer is not more of the same. Givenchy’s previous artistic director, Riccardo Tisci, left the brand in February after 12 years. He was responsible for transforming it from the house defined largely by the relationship between Mr. de Givenchy and Ms. Hepburn, his greatest muse, to a house the Kardashians loved, with all the Gothic buzz that suggests. Mr. Tisci also made it a social media force. By contrast, there is nothing about Ms. Waight Keller, 46, a personality often pictured peeking out from under her long brown hair, hands tucked into trouser pockets. As a designer, she has seemed content to let her brands be the stars, and her work, both at Chloé and in her former position as designer of Pringle of Scotland, was marked by a accessible elegance with a tailored line. Think of it as slouchy chic. Indeed, the statement by Philippe Fortunato, chief executive of Givenchy, seemed to suggest a return to the brand’s roots. “I am very excited to see Clare bring her singular sense of elegance and modernity to Givenchy,” he said. “By exploring our maison’s heritage and the outstanding of its ateliers, I am convinced Clare will help Givenchy reach its full potential. ” Though Ms. Waight Keller, who began her career working at Calvin Klein in New York and with Tom Ford at Gucci, was also in charge of men’s wear at Pringle, she has never worked with an haute couture atelier before. Givenchy suspended its formal couture shows in 2012, first holding static presentations of the collection instead, and more recently incorporating some couture looks into its men’s wear shows in January and June. But the fact that Ms. Waight Keller has been specifically given responsibility for the highest form of fashion’s art suggests that a return to a more formal couture offering may be in the future. It also suggests that the idea was false that Ms. Waight Keller, who has three children and has recently moved her family to London from Paris, was taking time off after Chloé because of the pressures of today’s fashion cycle. Her responsibilities at Givenchy, after all, will be significantly greater than her responsibilities at Chloé: She will be overseeing at least eight collections a year, as opposed to four. LVMH does not break down the performance of individual brands in its financial results, but the Givenchy annual sales revenue is believed to be to around 500 million euros, or more than $530 million,) and there are 72 stores worldwide. In January, LVMH reported revenue of €37. 6 billion in 2016, an increase of 5 percent, beating expectations because of strong sales in the United States and Europe, and a pickup in demand in Asia. Along with the move of Raf Simons to Calvin Klein from Christian Dior, the switch by Ms. Waight Keller should put to rest the recent theory that designers are rebelling against the relentless demands of the system by stepping off the hamster wheel. Perhaps most significantly of all, though, her appointment at the helm of one of LVMH’s signature brands is further indication that the largest luxury group in the world is increasingly focused on the talents of women designers, and changing a historical pattern that has seen most large brands with significant women’s wear profiles run by male creatives. (In June, Christian Dior, the structural owner of LVMH, named Maria Grazia Chiuri as artistic director.) In her new role — like Phoebe Philo, the creative director of Céline, another LVMH brand (who, when she was creative director of Chloé, became the first designer to ever take a formal maternity leave) — Ms. Waight Keller will move between London and Paris, where the Givenchy atelier is based. It may seem astonishing, but the idea that a designer would not have to choose between having a power position and a family life is a relatively new look in the fashion world. Ms. Waight Keller officially begins work May 2. Her first show for Givenchy will take place during Paris Fashion Week in October. The fashion world will be left to speculate on where Mr. Tisci, whose next move has not yet been announced, will end up. Rumor has it the answer is Versace. Stay tuned. | 1 |
376 | Realities Faced by Black Canadians are a National ShameTweet Widget by Robyn Maynard
Canada, including its French-speaking regions, is home to much the same kind of systemic racism as its southern neighbor, according to a United Nations Working Group report. Black women’s poverty rates are “almost five times higher than that of white Canadian women.” In Montreal, “a 2008 study found that black girls are three times more likely than white girls the same age to have been arrested two times or more.” Realities Faced by Black Canadians are a National Shame by Robyn Maynard
This article previously appeared in the Montreal Gazette .
“ Black Montrealers continue to experience dehumanizing treatment across institutions.”
After holding consultations in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario last month, the United Nations Working Group on People of African Descent issued a statement that sheds light on realities, too-often invisible to most Canadians, that should be seen as a national shame.
The group’s preliminary findings confirm what is already well known in Canada’s black communities: that systemic discrimination has subjected black people to racial profiling by law enforcement, soaring incarceration rates, disproportionate poverty and poor health, the over-apprehension of black children by child welfare agencies and lower graduation rates. Black women, they note, face a rate of poverty that is almost five times higher than that of white Canadian women, and are one of the fastest-growing groups in federal prisons.
Underlying these injustices, the UN Working Group has made clear, is systemic racism.
The UN is right to be concerned, and Montreal is by no means exempt from this criticism: Both its historical and contemporary realities are defined by a systemic anti-blackness that goes too frequently un-named. The enslavement of black (and indigenous) persons was not an uncommon practice in New France, and indeed was legal until 1834. The fact of slavery remains all around us: acclaimed art historian Charmaine Nelson reminds us that many present-day Montreal streets, buildings and institutions are named after white businessmen like James McGill and John Redpath who traded in plantation crops worked by slave labor.
Enslavement may be over, but centuries later black Montrealers — the largest visible minority in the city — continue to experience dehumanizing treatment across institutions. A 2010 study by sociologists Léonel Bernard and Christopher McAll found that it was over-surveillance, and not the rates of so-called “black crime,” that accounted for up to 60 per cent of the over-incarceration of black youth in Montreal.
“The enslavement of black (and indigenous) persons was not an uncommon practice in New France, and indeed was legal until 1834.”
A report commissioned by the Montreal police, leaked to La Presse, found that in St-Michel and Montréal-Nord, up to 40 per cent of black youth were stopped in 2006-2007, a rate that indicates a high degree of racial profiling by police officers. Much of this heightened policing was justified to the public as curbing “gang activities,” when in reality, in 2009, only 1.6 per cent of crimes were gang related. High profile cases of police abuse of black Montrealers and alleged abuse continue to surface, including the recent case of Veckqueth Stevenson, a legally blind black man in his 50s, who has accused the police of using excessive force and unjustly arresting him, ironically, while he was at Nelson Mandela Park.
Black women and girls are not exempt, though we hear even less about their experiences locally; the case of Majiza Philip, a black woman who says she had her arm broken by police in 2014, is one example, however. A 2008 study found that black girls in Montreal are three times more likely than white girls the same age to have been arrested two times or more.
Beyond the criminal justice system, numerous studies have demonstrated that black children are apprehended from their homes by child welfare at alarming rates in Montreal, and this, too, can be attributed to racism.
The UN Working group is not the first to point out these injustices, nor are they the only ones proposing solutions. Black Lives Matter-Toronto and other black activist groups in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal have been steadily mobilizing to address anti-black racism. Across cities, black communities have denounced, among other issues, the recent deaths of Abdirahman Abdi in Ottawa, and Bony Jean-Pierre in Montreal, both at the hands of police in 2016.
If Canada intends to genuinely reckon with its still-living legacy of black enslavement, the injustices brought to light by the UN — alongside those highlighted by black activists around the country — need to be both addressed and redressed. Robyn Maynard is an activist and writer living in Montreal, author of the forthcoming book Policing Black Bodies (2017). | 0 |
377 | Top NFL Draft Prospect Caleb Brantley Charged With Punching a Woman in the Face - BreitbartProjected as a selection in the upcoming 2017 NFL draft, Caleb Brantley now may be overlooked after legal authorities charged him with misdemeanor assault for punching a woman in the face. [The Florida defensive tackle struck a woman who stands and weighs 120 pounds, with what police described as “the intensity of force far exceeding what was reasonable or necessary. ” The malicious act, according to The Big Lead, occurred after the woman pushed Brantley for making “crude” remarks to her. Considered by some to be an instant starter in the NFL, Brantley reacted to the push by hitting her so hard she fell unconscious and “sustained dental injuries that displaced a tooth and will require a root canal. ” Some might label Brantley as a good fit for the NFL, but this same kind of cowardly thug behavior prompted the NFL to permanently suspend Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after a 2014 tape showed Rice knocking his unconscious in an elevator and dragging her out into the hallway. In 2014, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was arrested for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend and threatening to kill her, both misdemeanors. In the same year, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald was arrested on an accusation of felony domestic violence. In 2015 there were 31 NFL players arrested for a variety of offenses including domestic violence, DUIs, guns and weapons charges, and animal abuse. | 1 |
378 | Videos on the Pacific Crest Trail Association and the LaVoy Finicim MURDERPosted on October 30, 2016 by Graywolf Published on Oct 17, 2016 by Leo Stratton 10-16-16 Portland Or, City Hall, Laz and Shawna Cox present newly uncovered evidence of the co-conspiritors in the murder of LaVoy Finicim Hedge Funds, greed, power, its all exposed here in this, part 1 of this series Published on Oct 18, 2016 by Leo Stratton 10-16-16 Portland Or, City Hall, this is part 2 of “new evidence Lavoy Finicim murderers” Laz and Shawna disclose documents and information with details pertaining to purchase of land for 10 $/ acre, the Bentz Family and their corruption, and the many Officials benifiting from the theft of our land, liberty, and freedoms. Published on Oct 18, 2016 by Leo Stratton 10-16-16 Portland Or, City Hall, previously in videos 1 and 2 Laz and Shawna present the newly discovered documents pointing to the monetary gains, via hedge funds, executive orders, and other means that led to the land seizure of innocent ranchers, and the murder of LaVoy Finicim, this further explains details. Published on Apr 20, 2016 by Leo Stratton 4-20-2016 you are watching video 4 the conclusion to the “BOMBSHELL” videos, as i was filming a Stand with LaVoy Finicim and our Patriots event in Portland Or, in front of the Federal Courthouse where many of the individuals from the Compound near Burns Oregon are being held without bail, i filmed an individual with a very powerful message, i posted it to my channel and it became popular, He contacted me because he was flattered, and subsequently invited me among the inner circle of Patriots joining him to expose the documents he has tirelessly gathered to implicate the true villains and exonerate the ranchers and other individuals simply trying to make an honest living Published on Oct 18, 2016 by Leo Stratton 10-16-16 Portland Or, City Hall, as the first 3 videos in this series state, LaVoy Finicim was assassinated to cover up the greed and wealth grab by Politicians who make their own laws, and believe they are aboe guilt, Laz and Shawna’s intent is to present documents that prove beyond a reasonable doubt, their collusion destroy many Families lives and to make sure it does not continue.
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379 | 12 Life Lessons from a Man Who’s Seen 12000 Deaths(By Deepak Ramola , Uplift Connect )
Rooted in the hearts of many Hindus is the belief that if you breathe your last in Kashi (Varanasi) you attain what is popularly known as ‘Kashi Labh’ or ‘the fruit of Kashi’—moksh or “release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma”.
Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi is one of the three guesthouses in the city where people check in to die. The other two are Mumukshu Bhawan and Ganga Labh Bhawan. Established in 1908, Mukti Bhawan is well-known within the city and outside.
Bhairav Nath Shukla has been the Manager of Mukti Bhawan for 44 years. He has seen the rich and the poor take refuge in the guesthouse in their final days as they await death and hope to find peace. Shukla hopes with and for them. He sits on the wooden bench in the courtyard, against the red brick wall and shares with me 12 recurring life lessons from the 12000 deaths he has witnessed in his experience as the manager of Mukti Bhawan: People check in to die. 1. Resolve all conflicts before you go
Shukla recounts the story of Shri Ram Sagar Mishr, a Sanskrit scholar of his times. Mishr was the eldest of six brothers and was closest to the youngest one. Years ago an ugly argument between the two brothers led to a wall to partition the house.
In his final days, Mishr walked to the guesthouse carrying his little paan case and asked to keep room no. 3 reserved for him. He was sure he will pass away on the 16th day from his arrival. On the 14th day he said, “ Ask my estranged brother of 40 years to come see me. This bitterness makes my heart heavy. I am anxious to resolve every conflict.”
A letter was sent out. On the 16th day when the youngest brother arrived, Mishr held his hand and asked to bring down the wall dividing the house. He asked his brother for forgiveness. Both brothers wept and mid sentence, Mishr stopped speaking. His face became calm. He was gone in a moment.
Shukla has seen this story replay in many forms over the years. “People carry so much baggage, unnecessarily, all through their life only wanting to drop it at the very end of their journey. The trick lies not in not having conflicts but in resolving them as soon as one can,” says Shukla. The trick lies not in not having conflicts but in resolving them as soon as one can. 2. Simplicity is the truth of life
“People stop eating indulgent food when they know they are going to go. The understanding that dawns on many people in their final days is that they should’ve lived a simple life. They regret that the most,” says Shukla.
A simple life, as he explains, can be attained by spending less. We spend more to accumulate more and thus create more need. To find contentment in less is the secret to having more. 3. Filter out people’s bad traits
Shukla maintains that every person has shades of good and bad. But instead of dismissing “bad” people outrightly, we must seek out their good qualities. Harbouring bitterness for certain people comes from concentrating on their negatives. If you focus on the good qualities though, you spend that time getting to know them better or, maybe even, loving them. To find contentment in less is the secret to having more. 4. Be willing to seek help from others
To know and do everything by yourself might feel empowering but it limits one from absorbing what others have learnt. Shukla believes we must help others, but more importantly, have the courage to seek help when we’re in need.
Every person in the world knows more than us in some respect. And their knowledge can help us, only if we’re open to it.
He recounts the incident of an old woman being admitted on a rainy day back in the 80s. The people who got her there left her without filling the inquiry form. A few hours later, the police came to trace the relatives of the old lady who, they said, were runaway Naxalites. Shukla pretended to know nothing. The police left. When the lady’s relatives returned next morning, Shukla asked the leader uninhibitedly, “When you can kill 5-8 people yourself why didn’t you simply shoot your Nani and cremate her yourself? Why did you make me lie and feel ashamed?” The grandson fell to his knees and pleaded for forgiveness saying no one amongst them is capable of helping his religious grandmother attain salvation. He respects that, and is the reason why he brought her to Mukti Bhawan. We must help others, but more importantly, have the courage to seek help when we’re in need. 5. Find beauty in simple things
Mukti Bhavan plays soulful bhajans and devotional songs three times a day. “Some people”, he says, “stop and admire a note or the sound of the instruments as if they have never heard it before, even if they have. They pause to appreciate it and find beauty in it.”
But that’s not true of everyone, he adds. People who are too critical or too proud, are the ones who find it hard to find joy in small things because their minds are preoccupied with “seemingly” more important things. 6. Acceptance is liberation
Most people shirk away from accepting what they are going through. This constant denial breeds in them emotions that are highly dangerous. Only once you accept your situation is when you become free to decide what to do about it. Without acceptance you are always in the grey space.
When you are not in denial of a problem you have the strength to find a solution.
Indifference, avoidance, and denial of a certain truth, Shukla believes, cause anxiety; they develop a fear of that thing in the person. Instead, accept the situation so you are free to think what you want to do about it and how. Acceptance will liberate you and empower you. Stop and admire a note or the sound of the instruments. 7. Accepting everyone as the same makes service easier
The secret to Shukla’s unfazed dedication and determination towards his demanding job can be understood via this life lesson. He admits that life would’ve been difficult if he treated people who admit themselves to Mukti Bhavan differently, based on their caste, creed, colour, and social or economic status. Categorisation leads to complication and one ends up serving no one well. “The day you treat everyone the same is the day you breathe light and worry less about who might feel offended or not. Make your job easier,” he says. 8. If/When you find your purpose, do something about it
To have awareness about one’s calling is great, but only if you do something about it.
A lot of people, Shukla says, know their purpose but don’t do anything about realising it, making it come to life. Simply sitting on it is worse than not having a calling in the first place. Having a perspective towards your purpose will help you measure the time and effort you need to dedicate to it, while you’re caught up in what you think you can’t let go or escape. Take action on what truly matters. Categorisation leads to complication and one ends up serving no one well. 9. Habits become values
Shukla recommends cultivating good habits to be able to house good values. And building good habits happens over time, with practice. “It’s like building a muscle; you have to keep at it everyday.”
Till one doesn’t consistently work towards being just or kind or truthful or honest or compassionate, every single time he is challenged, one cannot expect to have attained that quality. 10. Choose what you want to learn
In the vastness of the infinite amount of knowledge available to us it is easy to get lost and confused. “The key lesson here is to be mindful of choosing what you deeply feel will be of value to you,” he says. People might impose subjects and philosophies on you because it interests them and while you must acknowledge their suggestions, the wise thing to do is delve deeper into what rejoices your own heart and mind.
With a smile on his face Shukla says, “In the last days of their life a lot of people can’t speak, walk or communicate with others with as much ease as they could, earlier. So, they turn inwards. And start to remember the things that made their heart sing once, things that they cared to learn more about over the course of their life, which enriches their days now.” They start to remember the things that made their heart sing once. 11. You don’t break ties with people; you break ties with the thought they produce
You can seldom distance yourself from people you have truly loved or connected with in some way. However, in any relationship, along the way, certain mismatch of ideologies causes people to stop communicating. This never means you are no longer associated with that person. It simply means that you don’t associate with a dominant thought that person brings with him/her, and to avoid more conflict you move away. The divorce, Shukla affirms, is with the thought and never with the person. To understand that is to unburden yourself from being bitter and revengeful. 12. 10 percent of what you earn should be kept aside for dharma
Dharma, Shukla doesn’t define as something religious or spiritual. Instead, he says it is associated more with doing good for others and feeling responsible about that. A simple calculation according to him is to keep 10 percent of your income for goodwill.
Many people donate or do charitable acts towards the end of their life because death is hard on them. In their suffering, they begin to empathise with others’ suffering. He says those who have the companionship of loved ones, the blessings of unknown strangers, and an all-encompassing goodwill of people exit peacefully and gracefully. That is possible when you don’t cling on to everything you have, and leave some part of it for others.
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380 | Trump and G.O.P. Work to Win Repeal of Obama’s Health Act - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — President Trump and House Republican leaders worked Thursday to win conservative support for legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, offering concessions to speed cutbacks in Medicaid and dismantle more of President Barack Obama’s signature health law. But in a bid to ensure passage of the Republican health care bill in the House, White House and Republican leaders risked losing support in more moderate quarters of their party — not only in the narrowly divided Senate, but in an increasingly nervous House. A faster path to Medicaid cuts, new work requirements for Medicaid recipients and potentially smaller tax credits for the working poor could mollify conservatives who are pressing for a smaller government footprint on the health care system, but they would cut deeper into the benefits that many Trump voters have enjoyed under the Affordable Care Act. White House officials have made clear that they are open to supporting amendments that would require a quicker end to the expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 health care law, according to an administration official involved in negotiations with Congress. Representative Joe L. Barton, Republican of Texas, and other conservatives want to freeze the expansion of Medicaid next year, two years earlier than under the legislation drafted by House Republican leaders. Referring to this change, Mr. Barton said, “The Trump administration is open to it. ” But in an interview, Representative Leonard Lance, Republican of New Jersey, said: “I am opposed to that. New Jersey expanded Medicaid. I don’t want that to be eliminated. ” The federal government pays at least 90 percent of Medicaid costs for newly eligible beneficiaries, and Mr. Lance said, “I would like that to continue for at least several years. ” Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Mr. Trump was now fully engaged. “This president is getting deeply involved,” Mr. Ryan said. “He is helping bridge gaps in our conference. He is a constructive force to help us get to a resolution. ” The political stakes for the president and the speaker could hardly be higher. If they succeed in undoing the Affordable Care Act, it would add momentum to efforts to enact other items on their agenda, such as tax cuts and a rewrite of the tax code. If they fail, it would embolden Democrats keen to block Mr. Trump — and conservatives still seeking to imprint their policies. But they are in a delicate dance with conservatives and moderates. Halting the expansion of Medicaid in 2018, rather than in 2020, “would be a huge problem, enormously problematic,” said Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, one of 31 states that have expanded eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. House Republicans appeared determined to power through, despite divisions in their ranks. On Thursday, the House Budget Committee approved a motion to send the repeal bill to the full House, where Republican leaders plan to take it up this month. But the vote in the Budget Committee portends possible difficulties. Three conservative Republicans — Dave Brat of Virginia, Gary Palmer of Alabama and Mark Sanford of South Carolina — voted no, joining a united Democratic opposition. “This legislation is a conservative vision for health care,” said Representative Diane Black of Tennessee, the chairwoman of the Budget Committee. “It dismantles Obamacare’s mandates and taxes. It puts health care decisions back in the hands of patients and doctors. ” The Budget Committee endorsed a Republican proposal suggesting that the bill could be improved by imposing work requirements on certain Medicaid beneficiaries — adults without minor children. Representative Glenn Grothman, Republican of Wisconsin, said that Medicaid in its current form was “a seductive entitlement” that encourages people “not to work at all, or to work less. ” That change would have to be made later in the legislative process the committee approved a motion directing Ms. Black to seek an amendment authorizing work requirements. Republican leaders acknowledged that they did not yet have the votes to ensure that the full House would pass the repeal bill, but Mr. Ryan said he was “working hand in glove” with Mr. Trump to achieve that goal. Mr. Trump “knows how to connect directly with people,” Mr. Ryan said House passage, Mr. Trump’s aides believe, would force the Senate Republican holdouts to consider whether they would be willing to vote against repeal of a law they have been pledging to undo for seven years. To make opposition even harder for Senate Republicans, Mr. Trump’s aides plan to deploy him to states he won where Republican senators may be uneasy about the current legislation. With no hope of winning support from Democrats, Ms. Black appealed to members of her party. “To my Republican colleagues who have doubts,” Ms. Black said, “I encourage you: Don’t cut off discussion. Stay in this effort and help us enhance this proposal by advancing it out of committee and pushing for further conservative reforms. Members who desire to see this bill improved have every right to make their voices heard. ” Last week, Mr. Ryan appeared to reject major changes sought by conservatives, saying, “It really comes down to a binary choice” between the repeal bill and that status quo. But on Wednesday, after a meeting of the House Republican Conference where Vice President Mike Pence tried to rally support for the legislation, Mr. Ryan opened the door to changes, saying, “We can make some necessary improvements and refinements to the bill. ” The bill would eliminate tax penalties for people who go without insurance and create a new system of tax credits to help people buy private insurance. It would roll back the expansion of Medicaid authorized by the Affordable Care Act and give each state a fixed allotment of federal money to provide health care to people on Medicaid. Beyond the faster end to the Medicaid expansion and work requirements for some Medicaid beneficiaries, some conservatives are still pressing to limit the size of the tax credit for the purchase of insurance to no more than the amount of federal income taxes a recipient owes. That would further hurt consumers who may owe little or nothing in income taxes, and under the current proposal would receive financial assistance from the government to help offset insurance costs. Democrats on the Budget Committee found support for their case in a report issued this week by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The report estimated that the House Republican bill would increase the number of people without insurance by 14 million next year and by 21 million in 2020. “In just three years,” said Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, “the entire gains under the Affordable Care Act will be wiped out. ” Some 20 million uninsured people have gained coverage under the law, which was signed by Mr. Obama seven years ago. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, said: “This is a bill. It is not a health care bill. ” Representative John J. Faso, Republican of New York, had previously raised questions about a provision of the bill that would cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood clinics. But on Thursday he said the overall bill was needed to protect people against potential harm from the health law. “Many people across the country are happy with the Affordable Care Act,” Mr. Faso said. “But just as many, if not more, are seeing extraordinary increases in premiums, extraordinary increases in deductibles. They can no longer afford it. ” | 1 |
381 | Atlantic’s Goldberg: I’m ‘Not Confident’ Trump Can Handle ‘Matters of Life and Death’ - BreitbartSunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” while discussing the Trump administration’s position on North Korea, The Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg said he was “not confident yet” that the administration could handle a crisis. Goldberg said, “I come back to this general conversation about the way the Trump administration does things. On some levels, on Gorsuch, it is smooth, on healthcare they are having a reasonable debate, but the question is, on matters of life and death I am not confident yet that these guys can and a crisis because remember nothing really has happened yet in the Trump administration. There has been no terror attacks, nothing of North Korean magnitude so remains to be seen. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
382 | Why this Orthodox rabbi supports TrumpPrint
I am an Orthodox rabbi. I am also an attorney and an adjunct professor of law. I clerked 20 years ago for the Hon. Danny J. Boggs in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Boggs, one of the most brilliant minds I ever have known in any of my walks of life, soon thereafter served as chief judge of the Sixth Circuit.
Of course, I am disgusted by the stories that dominate the election campaign. I am disgusted as a law professor, an attorney, a father of daughters, and as a rabbi. Women making accusations that they have been sexually abused — Paula Corbin Jones who received an $850,000 settlement from Bill Clinton; Kathleen Willey who went to Bill Clinton in the White House, desperate for a job after her husband killed himself; Juanita Broaddrick, a Clinton volunteer who insists he raped her; the new list of women whose names I am only now learning who say that Donald Trump groped or kissed them against their will. | 0 |
383 | Nuclear tensions between US, Russia reach ‘dangerous’ pointNuclear tensions between US, Russia reach ‘dangerous’ point 10/31/2016
PRESS TV
US-Russian relations have slipped to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War, with tensions now spilling over to nuclear pacts and each side accusing the other of cheating, experts say.
“I would have to say that, without question, this is the low point in US-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War,” Steven Pifer, an arms control expert at the Brookings Institution, told NPR.
The relationship took a turn for the worse two years ago with the conflict in Ukraine and slid lower last year with Russia’s air campaign in Syria, noted Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine.
This year, tensions have continued to mount with Russian and US aircraft buzzing each other over the Baltic and Washington accusing Moscow of trying to interfere in the US presidential elections, he added.
Bickering over nuclear issues has also increased markedly in recent months.
Early this month, Russia moved a battery of nuclear-capable missile launchers within range of three Baltic states, in what US officials said was a gesture to express displeasure with NATO. A Russian serviceman walks past Russian Iskander-M missile launchers before a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade, with the Moscow International Business Center also known as ”Moskva-City” seen in the background, at a range in Moscow, Russia, May 5, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)
In late October, Russia unveiled images of a new intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed the Satan 2, which, it says, can carry up to 15 separate warheads powerful enough to destroy an area the size of Texas.
The US, in September, flew three long-range nuclear bombers over Eastern Europe to participate in NATO military exercises.
These developments have worried nuclear arms experts.
“We are in a dangerous situation,” Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told NPR. “Certainly a situation that is much more dire or tense than it was 10 years ago.”
In 1987, four years before the Soviet Union collapsed, Washington and Moscow signed a long-negotiated treaty – known as the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – to eliminate their arsenals of nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
“Since May 2013, the Obama administration has repeatedly raised concerns with Russia regarding its lack of compliance with the INF Treaty,” a senior administration official told NPR on condition of anonymity.
The official said Washington has called for a rare meeting of the treaty’s Special Verification Commission “in the coming weeks” to try to resolve the matter.
“I actually think this is a good step,” Pifer said of the decision.
The US claims that an intermediate-range missile being developed by Russia is not in line with the INF Treaty and wants clarification from Moscow.
“What the administration has said is that they provided enough information to the Russians so that the Russians could identify the missile in question. The Russians thus far have said no, they haven’t got enough information, so you’re in that kind of war of words,” Pifer added. President Putin speaks during a news conference. (File photo by AFP)
The war of words further escalated in early October when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of a Cold War deal with the US to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium.
“That, I believe, was a little bit of a poke at President Obama, who attaches a lot of importance to the nuclear nonproliferation agenda,” Pifer said.
Tensions are bound to mount even further over the next few months as the US and its NATO allies prepare to move thousands of troops as well as heavy military equipment to countries along and near Russia’s border, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. A US Army convoy rolls through Liepupe, Latvia, on its way from Estonia to Germany. (Photo by European Pressphoto Agency)
“This is a gradual sort of escalation of tensions between the two sides that goes beyond discourse and just disagreements over a treaty,” Kristensen said. “It’s getting pretty deep now.”
The rising tensions between the two nuclear powers have other experts worried.
“We could head into a nuclear conflict which would devastate humanity,” American writer and retired professor James Petras told Press TV earlier this month.
“We need to move away from this saber-rattling from Washington into a position that could come to terms with peaceful co-existence, but I don’t see that on the horizon in present or the near future with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as presidential candidates,” he said. | 0 |
384 | Geo-Engineering Unlikely to Work, Conservation Group SaysGeo-Engineering Unlikely to Work, Conservation Group Says Posted on Nov 3, 2016
By Alex Kirby / Climate News Network Biofilm used in research into carbon capture: Doubts persist about geo-engineering. (ENERGY.GOV via Wikimedia Commons)
LONDON—The global watchdog responsible for protecting the world ’ s wealth of species, the UN ’ s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), has looked at the hopes for reining in climate change through geo-engineering. Its bleak conclusion, echoing that reached by many independent scientists, is that the chances are “highly uncertain”. “Novel means”, in this context, describes trying to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by removing them from the atmosphere, and altering the amount of heat from the Sun that reaches the Earth. Some scientists and policymakers say geo-engineering, as these strategies are collectively known, is essential if the world is to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement . This is because current attempts to reduce emissions cannot make big enough cuts fast enough to keep global average temperatures from rising more than 2°C above their pre-industrial levels, the Agreement’s basic goal. But the CBD says in a report that geo-engineering, while it could possibly help to prevent the world overheating, might endanger global biodiversity and have other unpredictable effects. Many independent analysts have raised similar concerns.Attempts to increase the amount of carbon in the oceans, in order to remove GHGs, have so far shown disappointing results. One report doubted that geo-engineering could slow sea-level rise . Another said it could not arrest the melting of Arctic ice . A third study found that geo-engineering would make things little better and might even make global warming worse . Transboundary impacts The lead author of the CBD geo-engineering report is a British scientist, Dr Phillip Williamson, of the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council . He is an associate fellow in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia , UK. The CBD originally became involved in climate geo-engineering in 2008, because member governments were concerned that experiments to fertilise the oceans could pose unknown risks to the environment (they were then unregulated when carried out in international waters). The CBD’s concern expanded to include other geo-engineering techniques, especially atmospheric methods which could have uncertain transboundary impacts. Some scientists argue that “geo-engineering” is a hazily-defined term and prefer to speak instead simply of “greenhouse gas removal”. Dr Williamson and his colleagues say assessment of the impacts of geo-engineering on biodiversity “is not straightforward and is subject to many uncertainties”. On greenhouse gas removal they warn that removing a given quantity of a greenhouse gas would not fully compensate for an earlier ‘overshoot’ of emissions. New risks In some cases, they say, the cure may be worse than the disease: “The large-scale deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) seems likely to have significant negative impacts on biodiversity through land use change.” When it comes to attempts to reflect sunlight back out into space or to manage solar radiation, a familiar theme recurs: “There are high levels of uncertainty about the impacts of SRM [solar radiation management] techniques, which could present significant new risks to biodiversity.” Time and again, it seems, a potential advance is liable to be cancelled by an equally likely reverse: if SRM benefits coral reefs by decreasing temperature-induced bleaching (as it may), in certain conditions “it may also increase, indirectly, the impacts of ocean acidification.” There could even be a risk in some circumstances of loss to the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Dr Williamson and his colleagues believe that geo-engineering is essential—if it can be made to work—because of the diminishing chances that anything else will. “I’m sceptical. That’s not to say bio-energy with carbon capture and storage is impossible, but it seems extremely unlikely to be feasible” They write: “It may still be possible that deep and very rapid decarbonisation by all countries might allow climate change to be kept within a 2°C limit by emission reduction alone. However, any such window of opportunity is rapidly closing.” Repeatedly, those two words recur: a suggested technique or development will be “highly uncertain”. Most of the report amounts to a very cautious call for more research, coupled with an implicit acceptance that in the end geo-engineering is unlikely to prove capable of contributing much to climate mitigation. Dr Williamson told the Climate News Network: “I’m sceptical. That’s not to say bio-energy with carbon capture and storage is impossible, but it seems extremely unlikely to be feasible (for all sorts of reasons)” at the scale needed. When the CBD member governments meet in December they are expected to call for more research: a safe option in most circumstances, but far from a ringing endorsement of a technology once seen as very promising.
Alex Kirby is a former BBC journalist and environment correspondent. He now works with universities, charities and international agencies to improve their media skills, and with journalists in the developing world keen to specialise in environmental reporting.
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385 | Gambia Joins South Africa and Burundi in Exodus from International Criminal CourtGambia Joins South Africa and Burundi in Exodus from International Criminal Court AFP, October 26, 2016
Gambia has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the Hague-based tribunal of the “persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans”.
The announcement late Tuesday comes after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to try the world’s worst crimes.
Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said in an announcement on state television that the court had been used “for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders” while ignoring crimes committed by the West.
He singled out the case of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who the ICC decided not to indict over the Iraq war.
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The withdrawal, he said, “is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans”.
The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States, which has signed the court’s treaty but never ratified it.
Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the European Union for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores.
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South Africa’s decision followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite being the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.
Earlier this month, Burundi said it would leave the court, while Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.
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386 | Peyton Manning Golfed with President Trump on SundayWhat Peyton Manning does on Sunday morning has become an intense topic of conversation, at least since Lionel Richie serenaded the Hall of Famer while he purchased groceries from an unimpressed cashier in his bathrobe. [However, wisely, Manning didn’t wear his bathrobe this past Sunday. That’s because the Super Bowl champion had a tee time with President Trump. Manning played with the president at the Trump National Golf Club, along with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, and also visited the White House. Rumors have swirled around Manning and his potential political future for some time, specifically about what will happen in 2020 if the other Volunteer State senator, Lamar Alexander, decides to retire. Manning, a man who could probably invent an office for himself in Tennessee and get unanimously elected to it, is a likely choice to fill the seat. Though, in the past, Manning has denied reports that he’s considering a life in politics, saying, “I don’t know where that came from. Last week I was going to run a team, this week I going to apparently run for Senate, and next week I’ll be an astronaut. I have no interest in the political world, but would like to continue serving communities. ” Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn | 1 |
387 | Obama Urges Donald Trump to Send ‘Signals of Unity’ to Minority Groups and Women - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — President Obama said on Monday that he had urged Donald J. Trump to reach out to minority groups, women and others who were alienated by his campaign, during the president’s first news conference since Mr. Trump won the election in a stunning upset that has imperiled Mr. Obama’s legacy. “There are certain things that make for good sound bites but don’t always translate into good policy, and that’s something that I think that he and his team will wrestle with,” Mr. Obama said in the White House briefing room. “I did say to him, as I’ve said publicly, that because of the nature of the campaigns and the bitterness and the ferocity of the campaigns, that it’s really important to send some signals of unity, and to reach out to minority groups, or women, or others that were concerned about the tenor of the campaign, and I think that’s something that he will want to do. ” Mr. Obama also said he thought that Mr. Trump was entering office with fewer set policy ideas than other . “I don’t think he is ideological,” Mr. Obama said. “I think ultimately he is pragmatic. ” Mr. Obama, who during the campaign called Mr. Trump temperamentally unfit and dangerously unqualified to be president, has since said his priority is to lead an orderly transition of power to help Mr. Trump succeed for the good of the country. He sidestepped a question about Mr. Trump’s actions since his victory, including his selection on Sunday of Stephen K. Bannon, a media mogul whose website, Breitbart. com, has promoted white nationalist, racist and views, as his chief White House strategist and senior counselor. “Without copping out, I think it’s fair to say that it would not be appropriate for me to comment” on Mr. Trump’s personnel decisions, Mr. Obama said. The president remarked last week that Mr. Trump’s comments and behavior had been more statesmanlike since the election, saying that he had been “encouraged” by the change in tone. Since then, the has used Twitter to complain about postelection protests against him and object to the way The New York Times has covered him. Mr. Trump’s elevation of Mr. Bannon, who was a top adviser to the campaign, has drawn scathing criticism from Democrats and some Republicans who warn that the is placing a divisive figure with fringe views deep inside the West Wing. White House officials say Mr. Obama has not changed his view of Mr. Trump since the campaign this fall, when he condemned Mr. Trump as a bigot who had cozied up to white supremacists and could not be trusted with the nuclear codes. But Mr. Obama has told the American public that he believes the will of the voters should be respected. During a meeting on Thursday in the Oval Office, the president tutored Mr. Trump, who has no government policy or elective experience, on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy matters he will have to deal with on his first day in office. Mr. Obama held the news conference just before departing for a weeklong trip to Greece, Germany and Peru — his final scheduled trip abroad as president — where he expected to face questions from anxious American allies. For months, Mr. Obama assured the allies that Mr. Trump would not win the White House. Now, he said on Monday, he will tell European allies that they should not fear for the future of NATO under a Trump presidency. In the Oval Office conversation on Thursday, Mr. Obama said, Mr. Trump “expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships, and so one of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO and the alliance. ” | 1 |
388 | Russian companies to be unable to use LinkedIn services — company - Russia News NowThis post was originally published on this site
MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Russian companies won’t be able to use the services of LinkedIn to look personnel and business development after Roskomnadzor (the Federal Supervision Agency for Information Technologies and Communications) ruled to block the website, a representative with the company said
The representative added that LinkedIn is still interested in a meeting with the regulator to discuss the storage of personal data.
“LinkedIn strives for creation of economic opportunities for workers all over the world. We are receiving messages from Russian users who cannot use their accounts on LinkedIn any longer. The decision of Roskomnadzor to block the service closes the access to the website for millions of our users and companies from Russia that use LinkedIn for the development of their businesses. We are still interested in a meeting with Roskomnadzor so as to discuss the storage of personal data,” the representative of LinkedIn said.
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389 | ‘It’s Like a Miracle’: Woman Gives Birth Using Ovary Frozen Since Childhood - The New York TimesLONDON — A woman has made medical history by giving birth after having had an ovary removed and its tissue frozen at age 9, before reaching puberty. Moaza now 24, was born with beta thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder that was treated with chemotherapy and a transplant when she was a child. Because chemotherapy damages ovaries, her parents had authorized the removal of her right ovary in advance at the University of Leeds. The medical community celebrated the birth of Ms. Matrooshi’s baby boy on Tuesday in London at the Portland Hospital for Women and Children, saying the event could pave the way to restoring fertility to women who suffer cancer and other illnesses at an early age. Until now, many prepubescent girls who have undergone chemotherapy have had to abandon hopes of bearing children as adults. Professor Helen Picton, who leads the division of reproduction at the University of Leeds and who oversaw the preservation of the tissue, said that the outer part of the ovary that contained eggs was cut into pieces. The pieces were then placed in liquid nitrogen, she said in a telephone interview, and gradually cooled to a temperature of minus 320 Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius) where they remained for 14 years. The technology was unproved at the time. It would be another three years before the first live birth from preserved adult ovarian tissue, and the prospect of its working in a girl well before puberty was even more uncertain, Professor Picton said. Last year, surgeons in Denmark transplanted five slivers of the thawed ovarian tissue back into Ms. Matrooshi’s body. Four slivers were grafted onto her failed left ovary, which had been damaged by the chemotherapy, and one sliver was grafted onto the side of her uterus. “We waited and the ovarian tissue started to get revascularized,” Professor Picton said. The cryopreservation had protected the tissue’s integrity, she said, “and when the tissue was thawed, it was alive. ” After the procedure, eggs started to grow in the transplanted tissue, and as Ms. Matrooshi’s hormones returned to normal she began ovulating. Until then, she had been in menopause. Doctors stimulated the ovary with hormone for in vitro fertilization and retrieved eight eggs, ultimately implanting two embryos in her womb earlier this year. “It’s like a miracle,” Ms. Matrooshi told the BBC. Sue Matthews, a gynecologist, treated Ms. Matrooshi at Portland Hospital. “The pregnancy was totally uncomplicated and a healthy boy Rashid was delivered by ” Dr. Matthews said via email. “Mum and baby ecstatic and all well. ” She said she still had one embryo in storage and kept two pieces of tissue “in the freezer so we can repeat the process if we need to. ” More than 60 women have so far given birth after having preserved ovarian tissue reimplanted in their bodies, Professor Picton said. But Ms. Matrooshi is thought to be the first to have had her tissue frozen before she reached puberty. In Europe alone, thousands of girls and women have had their ovarian tissue frozen and stored, Professor Picton said. The latest breakthrough, she said, “significantly increases our understanding of fertility preservation and how freezing ovarian tissue from a little girl can safeguard the future fertility of young girls. ” In another case, British regulators have cleared the way for doctors to offer a procedure to create a baby from the DNA of two women and one man. The purpose is to overcome flaws in a parent’s mitochondria that can lead to incurable diseases. As the genetic flaw is passed through the mother, DNA from an egg of the mother replaces the DNA in the egg of a healthy donor, yielding an egg with the mother’s DNA and the donor’s mitochondria. That egg is then fertilized. The procedure, performed successfully in New York earlier this year, is controversial because it involves combining genetic material from two different people. | 1 |
390 | UConn’s Recipe for Success Is to Run, Run and Run Some More - The New York TimesSTORRS, Conn. — After losing to Connecticut by 61 points in the first round of the N. C. A. A. tournament, Albany’s coach suggested that the Huskies were not only the best women’s basketball team in the country but also the fittest. “I think we’re as in shape a team that you’re going to come across,” said the coach, Joanna . Yet, she added, “At times they just made us look bad in the way they pushed the ball. ” Robust conditioning is a particular imperative, and a stealth weapon, for a UConn team ( ) that rotates only seven players — five starters and two reserves — as it seeks a fifth consecutive national championship. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, UConn has won 109 consecutive games with an approach that is, in some ways, decidedly . For instance, the Huskies do not use devices like monitors, GPS tracking systems or other wearable technology designed to gauge fitness, enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury. “I’m not a big data guy,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said, adding with a laugh, “I’m not smart enough. ” Instead, the most dominant team in basketball places a premium on rigorous and varied preseason workouts, nutrition, sustained weight training through the season and, especially, on intense practices meant to simulate game conditions. The team relies heavily on the experience and intuition of Auriemma, UConn’s coach of 32 seasons, a Hall of Famer with nearly 1, 000 career wins, in knowing when to push hard in training and when to ease up. He firmly believes that, while weight training and conditioning are vital, “nothing gets you ready to play basketball like playing basketball. ” Auriemma has 11 national championships — and is four victories shy of his 12th — to validate his theory. UConn faces U. C. L. A. on Saturday in the semifinals of the Bridgeport (Conn.) Regional. “The reason we’re fit is that we practice at an intensity that no one else does,” said Amanda Kimball, the team’s longtime strength and conditioning coach. “To maintain that intensity, it’s important to make sure we’re doing the right things in the weight room. ” UConn’s brisk, practices are designed to prepare the regulars to play 30 or more of a game’s 40 minutes and to make quick and correct decisions when they are tired — to be able to hit a shot, make an intricate pass and guard the opponent’s top scorer in the closing minutes. “Their expectations are what you think you can’t do,” said Kyla Irwin, a freshman forward. To speed the pace of practices, a shot clock is sometimes used instead of the version used in games. Other times, four defenders hustle to guard six or seven shooters stationed around the perimeter and in the lane. One drill, involving three players at a time, requires each to run the length of the court, make a shot and return to the opposite baseline within 10 seconds. A similar drill, which includes an additional sprint to midcourt and back, must be completed within 17 seconds. As do other top women’s teams, UConn also trains against male players who are not of varsity caliber but who might have had college careers at smaller programs. And there is much less stopping for instruction than when Auriemma, 63, was a younger coach. He now prefers continuous movement, comparing his practices to preparing a car for racing. “We’re going to push this car to the limit so that when race day comes, we know what the limit is,” he said. “We do that every day. ” In the drill UConn calls Kansas, five players run the length of the court four times, rehearsing plays and fast breaks, and when they are winded, they conclude the exercise against a live defense. The drill can be repeated for 15 or 20 minutes. The drill is a exercise that lasts for five minutes as players rotate in and out. Afterward, the team runs from sideline to sideline for 30 or 60 seconds and immediately proceeds to a shooting drill called “35,” where the ball is not allowed to touch the court. “We do things to get us tired, and then when we get tired, we do things that require us to be mentally smart,” said Kia Nurse, a junior guard who has hit a remarkable 15 of 19 attempts in this N. C. A. A. tournament. Compared to practice, Nurse said, “The game is much easier. ” As the fourth quarter begins, she added: “That’s when your kicks in that we’re not tired. The other team might give up, but there’s no chance that we are. ” Ideally, Auriemma would use eight players in his regular rotation, to keep his team operating efficiently and his stars satisfied with their playing time. A pet saying of his, attributed to Red Auerbach, the legendary Boston Celtics coach, is, “If you can’t win with eight, you can’t win with 88. ” For various reasons, including an N. C. A. A. rule that has required two transfers to sit out this season before becoming eligible, the current UConn team has only seven players whom Auriemma trusts to play regularly. Several began fall practice recovering from injury or surgery. None had been asked until this season to regularly make decisive plays at critical moments. So proper fitness has become even more urgent. Chris Dailey, Auriemma’s top assistant coach for three decades, said the Huskies once tended to lift weights in the preseason and stop when the regular season began. Now, the players lift at least twice a week through the season to build or maintain strength. At this time of year, given the inevitable wear and tear after games, weight training shifts from a focus on squats to dead lifts, using a chassislike device called a trap bar, to ease the stress on the players’ backs. “That’s why we always look so good at the end, because we’re still getting stronger, or at least maintaining, where other teams are not lifting, possibly, or they’re backing off because they want to stay fresh for the tournament,” said Kimball, the strength and conditioning coach. Because UConn’s season regularly extends to the Final Four in April, Kimball said, “I can’t detrain them the whole month of March. ” Twice a day, at breakfast and dinner, players are required to answer a brief questionnaire on an iPad. How much did you sleep? Are you sore? Where? Did you eat lunch? How difficult was practice? Are you fatigued? Meals are designed by Kimball and catered so that she can make sure players are getting the right nutrients. An hour before each game, players drink a shake with carbohydrates it is designed to bolster their energy and stabilize levels. For recovery after weight training, Kimball is a proponent of tart cherry juice to help reduce joint and muscle pain. She is also a massage therapist, which gives her additional interactions with players, and more chances to gauge their fitness. “All this sports science is going on, but a lot of what we do is art,” Kimball said. “It comes from basically communicating with players. I see them multiple times a day. ‘Hey, how are you doing? You feel good? Not so good?’ It’s just a lot of communication, a lot of trust. ” For training in the and preseason, Kimball also has devised a diverse set of workouts: sprints using weighted sleds, spin classes, yoga and pool exercises that include running, plyometrics and relay races. At some point, Kimball wants to incorporate GPS technology, she said, but she noted that it “doesn’t measure heart and intensity and passion to win. ” “It doesn’t measure,” she said, “that these girls might want it more than the other guys. ” | 1 |
391 | IOM says 5,238 refugees have died worldwide in 2016EU Refugees wait to disembark from a ship on October 24, 2016, in Palermo, Italy. (Photo by AFP)
More than 5,200 refugees have died across the world since the beginning of 2016, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The organization, which is based in Geneva, said on Friday that of a total of 5,238 deaths, 3,930 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat, indicating a 170-person increase compared to 2015.
On Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a different account with more than 3,800 deaths in the Mediterranean since January, also noting that it was a new record compared to 2015.
Over 280 asylum seekers trying to reach the European Union died off the Libyan shores recently, according to the IOM.
The EU said on Thursday it had begun training the Libyan coast guard how to curb the influx of asylum seekers.
“Today we are starting the training of the Libyan coast guard in Operation Sophia which is a very important step,” said the EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, as she arrived for a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance had just launched its own Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean to help support Operation Sophia.
The EU launched Operation Sophia last year after hundreds of asylum seekers died when their rickety boats sank off southern Italy.
The central Mediterranean route has seen more asylum seekers risk their lives in recent months after the EU reached an accord with Turkey in March to halt an influx of refugees crossing the Aegean to reach Europe.
Stoltenberg further said within two weeks ships and aircraft would be provided by NATO allies to help back up Operation Sophia. Loading ... | 0 |
392 | Assange ‘finally afforded opportunity’ to give statement over rape accusation4 hours ago 2 Views 0 Comments 0 Likes 'I today.' 'I wrote in Arabic - 'The republic will never be down'. COURTESY: RT's RUPTLY video agency, NO RE-UPLOAD, NO REUSE - FOR LICENSING, PLEASE, CONTACT http://ruptly.tv RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air Subscribe to RT! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=RussiaToday Like | 0 |
393 | Hillary’s Puppet Shows Just How Much Hillary Cares About God With Omission of 2 Words“I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am a Methodist. I have been raised Methodist,” she said.
She didn’t fail to bring it to a political point, however.
“My study of the Bible, my many conversations with people of faith, has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself, and that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do, and there is so much more in the Bible about taking care of the poor, visiting the prisoners, taking in the stranger, creating opportunities for others to be lifted up, to find faith themselves that I think there are many different ways of exercising your faith,” she said.
It is not for me or anyone else to question someone’s faith, but that statement and her permitting “under God” to be omitted from a Pledge of Allegiance reference at her rally certainly seem contradictory.
H/T QPolitical
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394 | The Stock Market Has Gone So High, It’s a Problem - The New York TimesIt’s a nice problem to have, but it’s still a problem. Stocks have soared so high that a cautious person might start worrying about oxygen supply. In January, the Dow Jones industrial average reached 20, 000 for the first time. It crossed the 21, 000 mark on March 1, and while it slipped on Thursday and then had a late surge on Friday, it still seems to have plenty of power left in it. That means that if you’ve been in the market for a while, you are likely to be perching on a mountain of profits. Should you stay where you are and hope for further gains, or is it time to declare victory and move your money to safer ground? That’s an eternal question, one that returns whenever the market rises spectacularly. The answer depends, of course, on your analysis of two very different issues: the current situation in the markets, and the one in your own life. The raw numbers for the stock market are astonishing: Even without counting dividends, the Standard Poor’s index has risen more than 6 percent since New Year’s Day, nearly 20 percent in the last 12 months and roughly 250 percent since the start of the bull market in March 2009. Market history shows how remarkable that performance is. The current bull run is now the second longest since 1928, according to Bespoke Investment Group, a research firm. It is surpassed in duration only by one that ran from December 1987 to March 2000. In terms of strength, it ranks third, well behind that bull market, which had an gain of 582 percent, but not very far from one that lasted from June 1949 until August 1956, in which the market rose 267 percent. The current rally has lasted so long and has gone so far that precedents from past markets may not be very helpful in understanding it. “My attitude is, the market is likely to continue to do better, though I can’t point to historic metrics to prove my case the way I usually can,” said Laszlo Birinyi, president of Birinyi Associates, a stock market research and money management firm in Westport, Conn. Mr. Birinyi is a veteran strategist and a longtime bull. Back in 2009, he told me that we were at the very start of a classic bull market, and he reiterated his bullish view periodically, particularly in 2013, when many investors were growing pessimistic about the prospects for stocks. In a telephone conversation, he said that while some of the market’s recent action has been very strong — “a huge move” upward on Wednesday after President Trump’s speech to Congress, for example — the stock market’s path since 2009 has generally “been a series of slow, grinding moves” with little evidence of irrational exuberance. Clearly, though, market fundamentals are less auspicious than they were eight years ago, when stocks had been battered in the ferocious downturn of the great financial crisis, and investors with foresight and audacity could buy at prices. For example, one widely followed metric, the ratio of the Standard Poor’s index — which tells you how much money is being paid, on average, for $1 of corporate earnings — has become much less favorable. It has climbed to 22, well above its average of 18. 2, according to data from Bloomberg. Consider that in February 2009, the ratio plummeted to 12. 1, a paltry level reflecting widespread fear that both corporate earnings and stock prices would plunge. That moment was a turning point for the market, which has surged upward ever since. It may not be at a peak now, but investors are inhaling rarefied air, whether they know it or not. Yet it can be argued, as Mr. Birinyi does, that corporate earnings are rising, the economy is expanding nicely, and investors have been reacting fairly cautiously, keeping valuations within reasonable, if not optimal, bounds. On the other hand, prices have certainly leapt since Election Day in response to the possibility that the Trump administration and Congress will agree on legislation that could enrich American companies: corporate tax cuts, defense and infrastructure buildups, and changes in the Affordable Care Act. But, Mr. Birinyi says, the market hasn’t risen all that much, and if earnings keep rising, stock prices probably will, too. “It makes sense to stay involved in the stock market and to be positioned for the possibility that it will rise a lot further,” he said. The increasing likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase would have been a problem a year ago, Mr. Birinyi said, but it is a positive portent at this stage, because it signals that the central bank is convinced that the economy is in good shape and will keep expanding. That said, he also warned that in the current market, restraint and agility are important. “I wouldn’t go all in on stocks,” he said. “I’d be careful. ” Mr. Birinyi sits in front of a terminal all day, trading individual stocks whenever the prices tell him it makes sense to do so, which most people couldn’t and shouldn’t attempt. “We get out of a stock if the price is no longer right,” he said, “and we will buy it again when it’s better. We’re ready for whatever happens. ” Most of us aren’t steady stock traders, and need to be prepared for downturns in other ways. And if little is accomplished in Washington to fulfill investor expectations — or if there is an external shock, such as an international crisis — the market could fall sharply, Mr. Birinyi acknowledged. Furthermore, if the economy falters in such situations, the long rally in stocks could end violently. One way to deal with this is to try to take a cosmic view, as I suggested in a recent column, ignoring the market’s ups and downs entirely and remaining a consistent investor for a horizon that lasts decades. That can be accomplished by allocating your portfolio appropriately between stocks and bonds, depending on age and tolerance for risk, perhaps using diversified, mutual funds or funds, in which professional managers do the work for you, merely by tracking broad indexes or by picking a variety of individual securities. If you don’t need the money for a long while and are able to retain your equanimity in a protracted crisis, you may be able to avoid paying attention to the stock and bond markets. But even if you’re a very investor, it’s smart to take inventory. If, for example, you will need a chunk of your portfolio for a down payment on a house or to pay a tuition bill or to replace a roof or buy a car, you may want to liquidate some of it now, congratulating yourself on your gains. In addition, even if you don’t need to use the money, selling securities that have incurred losses may be a good move, Mr. Birinyi said. Losses will offset gains when it’s time to pay your taxes, and many investors these days are fortunate in having plenty of gains. In any case, it is surely wise to make sure, after a remarkable run in the stock market, that you will be able to handle a sharp downturn when it eventually comes. Personally, I’ve salted away my savings in broad stock and bond indexes with money that I don’t expect to need for years, and I’m careful to limit my own stock allocation. I don’t ignore the market. I examine it daily, and if I become convinced that it is shaky, I will reduce my own holdings — and say so — but haven’t taken much off the table lately. We all have to live with our own choices. I’m choosing to celebrate but also to be very careful. | 1 |
395 | John Kerry Rejects Suggestions of U.S. Involvement in Turkey Coup - The New York TimesLUXEMBOURG — Signs of testy relations between Turkey’s embattled government and the United States continued Sunday, as Secretary of State John Kerry denounced any suggestion of American involvement in Friday’s coup. “We think it’s irresponsible to have accusations of American involvement,” Mr. Kerry told CNN Sunday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has accused Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive cleric now living in Pennsylvania, of orchestrating the violence, and Mr. Erdogan demanded that Mr. Gulen be extradited. Mr. Gulen has denied the charge, and Mr. Kerry said the Justice Department would examine any evidence Turkey presented as part of an extradition request. Suleyman Soylu, Turkey’s labor minister, had accused the United States of being behind the coup. In a phone call on Saturday with the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Mr. Kerry urged restraint by the Turkish government and said that “public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations,” according to a description of the call released by the State Department. On Sunday, Mr. Kerry expressed concerns that Mr. Erdogan might use the coup to undertake a purge within the government of those who may disagree with him. “Obviously, there are coup plotters, and the coup plotters need to be held accountable and they will be,” Mr. Kerry said on ABC. “But I think we’re all concerned, and we have expressed that concern, that this not fuel a reach well beyond those who engaged in the coup but that they strengthen the democracy of the country, strengthen the process, and use it as a moment to unite the nation. ” On NBC, Mr. Kerry said an extensive purge “would be a great challenge to his relationship to Europe, to NATO and to all of us, and we have urged them not to reach out so far that they’re creating doubts about their commitment to the democratic process, and I hope it won’t result in that. ” | 1 |
396 | Trump Aide Stephen Miller: The U.S. ’Has an Absolute Sovereign Right to Determine Who Can and Cannot Enter the Country’ - BreitbartSTEPHEN MILLER: In a world with 7 billion people, the U. S. has an absolute sovereign right to determine who can and cannot enter the country pic. twitter. Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox Friends,” Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller defended President Donald Trump’s executive order halting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Miller explained there was precedent for Trump’s action and that the United States is a nation with an “absolute sovereign right” to determine who can come to the United States and who can’t. “This is an authority that has been used repeatedly in the past,” Miller said. “One of the more recent examples is President Obama suspended the Iraqi refugee program for six full months after two Iraqi refugees were implicated in an al Qaeda plot in Bowling Green, KY. There’s been hundreds and hundreds of foreign nationals and naturalized citizens who have been implicated in terrorism in the United States since . This is a matter of national security. It’s a matter of keeping the public safe. And the reality is in a world with 7 billion people, the United States has an absolute sovereign right to determine who can and cannot enter into the United States. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 1 |
397 | 4-year old Russian girl speaks 7 languages. How did she do this?education , children , RBTH Daily Bella Devyatkina Source: Rossia One TV Channel
Earlier this month Bella instantly became famous thanks to "Amazing People," a show on the Russian television. The video with the girl answering questions, singing songs and talking about herself in different languages went viral.
"Compared with this child, I feel like an idiot," users wrote in the comments section.
Video by YouTube
Yulia Devyatkina, Bella's mother, said her daughter is not a child prodigy; they just invested a lot of time and effort in her development. "Not every child needs to speak six languages, but any kid can master two or three," the mother said.
Bella's parents understand that their daughter will not be using all these languages in every day life.
"When school starts we will focus on English, French and Chinese," the mother said. "We also don't worry that Bella will not be interested in her classes. She has the same knowledge that any four-year-old child should have, but she is able to discuss these topics in different languages." French baby talk
Bella's mom is a linguist and has been teaching English to children for seven years. Her father works at the Radio Research and Development Institute based in Moscow. The family has an average income, but the parents decided that their daughter's development is their main priority. Italian polyglot: ‘To understand Russians you must speak Russian’
Initially, the parents wanted Bella to speak English like a native speaker, and the mother spoke with Bella in English and Russian from birth, alternating every other day. She made sure that the languages were not mixed, not allowing the girl to insert Russian words during a conversation in English.
When Bella was 10-month-old, her parents added French. She could not talk but could point her finger at things when adults referred to them. Bella mastered reading even before she began to talk, and her parents taught this using special cards from the age of five months. For example, when ten-month-old Bella was shown the word "hand" written in Russian or English, she showed her little hand. By the age of one, she and her parents mastered 60 such cards. Bella began to read easily at the age of two. Chinese cartoons
By the age of two Bella learned to speak in short sentences and read fluently in three languages. When she was just under three, her parents added Chinese to her program. According to the mother, Bella showed great interest in the new language, and she asked to watch cartoons in Chinese.
At the age of three years and two months, little Bella showed an interest in learning Spanish and German, as well as dancing, violin and vocals. Then Arabic was also added. Bella walks, plays hide and seek, and reads ordinary books for children – she just does it in different languages. All her classes are held in the form of a game.
The parents organize small educational excursions with native speakers for Bella, she also attends an English theater club, studies drawing in French, dancing in Spanish, and attends figure skating lessons with a native German speaker. In addition, the parents regularly organize joint language classes for Bella and her friends who are also brought up in a multilingual environment. Brain power
Scientists confirm that the ability to speak in different languages, and switch from one to the other, depends on the interaction of different areas of the brain. They are activated depending on the language's phonetic characteristics, its grammatical system, imagery and even tonality.
"Every new experience is reflected in the brain by the emergence of new nerve connections," said psychologist Tatyana Dyachenko. "The hippocampus, responsible for memory, stimulates the growth of new neurons. The volume of certain parts of the brain literally grows.''
"Multilingualism has a positive effect on a child's overall development, though it may cause a lag in the development of speech at an early stage in comparison with children who grow up with only one language," said Kira Ivanova, an expert at the Institute of Linguistic Studies (ILS) in the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Early training, however, does not guarantee that the child will be fluent in the language in the future.
"I know one mom who spoke with her child only in English until he was three," said Maria Molina, a researcher at the ILS. "Now this boy struggles with the curriculum at an ordinary Russian school." Subscribe to get the hand picked best stories every week Subscribe to our mailing list Facebook | 0 |
398 | This Powerful Corporate Lobby Is Quietly Backing Hillary — and Nobody’s Talking About ItCarey Wedler | ANTIMEDIA
Over the course of the 2016 presidential election, Americans who rail against Hillary Clinton have condemned the media’s bias in her favor — and rightfully so. Clinton has effectively infiltrated the corporate news media — whose parent companies often donate to her — with the deliberate intent of bolstering her own chances at the presidency.
But as this nefarious behavior continues to come to light through hacks and leaks, another powerful sphere of media influence has quietly placed its resources behind Hillary Clinton – and hardly anyone is talking about it.
Though outrage over Clinton’s corporate sponsors usually focuses on her support from banking giants like Goldman Sachs , Citibank, JP Morgan, and other reviled companies, corporate Hollywood has collectively supplied her campaign with far more cash than these banks.
When people think of Hollywood’s support for a political campaign, their minds tend to focus on the entertainment industry’s most visible figures — celebrities. From George Clooney , Katy Perry, and Leonardo DiCaprio to Justin Timberlake, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce, and Jay-Z, the celebrity consensus this year has settled on Clinton.
But underneath the stars’ ‘progressive’ choice is an intentional, systematic machine working in Hillary’s favor, and it mirrors other conglomerated industries that have aligned behind her. Moguls with Millions (and Billions) Back Hillary and the Clinton Family
The first layer of Clinton’s corporate Hollywood allegiance is rather simple to peel back, simply because Hillary’s top industry donors make no secret of their support.
Earlier this year, George Clooney held a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Clinton, one that earned $15 million dollars — far more than Goldman Sachs has collectively donated to her campaign. The actor’s event raised money for the Hillary Victory Fund, which was recently revealed to be an avenue for maxed out donors to contribute more than the allowable amount. The Victory Fund has also been criticized for hoarding money for Hillary that was supposed to go to state Democratic parties.
Clooney teamed up with one of corporate Hollywood’s most powerful executives, Jeffrey Katzenberg, for this fundraiser. Katzenberg rose to prominence at Walt Disney in the 1990s, where he helmed some of the millennial generation’s favorite childhood films: Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , the Lion King , and the Little Mermaid were all products of Katzenberg’s leadership.
Several years later, he partnered with Steven Spielberg (also a longtime Clinton supporter) and David Geffen, a music mogul, to create Dreamworks Animation. Katzenberg was the top bundler for Barack Obama in 2012 and also funded him in 2008, so it’s unsurprising the president takes his phone calls. Further, Katzenberg’s right-hand man, Andy Spahn, visited the White House almost 50 times during Obama’s first term, Mother Jones reported at the time, enjoying a close relationship with the president — and some economic benefits.
Katzenberg, who recently earned $391 million on the sale of Dreamworks to Comcast, has donated at least $1 million to Clinton’s campaign this election season.
Then there’s billionaire Haim Saban, the staunchly pro-Israel entertainment mogul behind the original Power Rangers series. He is Clinton’s top individual donor, besting Katzenberg, with at least $6.4 million in donations to her campaign. He has contributed $15 million to the Clinton Foundation, and his wife, Cheryl, serves on the board.
Saban has supported the Clintons since the 1990s, and during Bill’s time in office, he enjoyed the business perks of being friends with the president of the United States, as Mother Jones has detailed . His investments are tied to Wall Street, and he has also enjoyed Clinton’s condemnation of Boycott, Sanction, Divest, a nonviolent, market-based global protest movement challenging Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Both men, therefore, know well the perks of having friends in high places — and both are some of the top donors of any candidate in the 2016 race. But their very public— and lavish — support barely scratches the surface of the real machinations taking place between Hollywood’s corporate underbelly and its stake in American politics. The Studio Lobby
Most people, if they’ve heard of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) at all, know it as the organization that rates films. It’s the familiar, almost comforting disclaimer that appears before a trailer or film, ranking it G, PG, PG-13, R, or in some cases, NC-17.
Though the organization has its roots in the 20th century, founded as an effort to self-regulate their content, more than anything, it is corporate Hollywood’s lobby. The MPAA represents 20th Century Fox (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.), Warner Brothers (owned by Time Warner), Disney, Universal (owned in part by Comcast), Sony Pictures, and Paramount Pictures (News Corp, Time Warner, and Comcast have all contributed to the Clinton Foundation).
For some, it’s difficult to place corporate Hollywood in the same category as more reviled industries like banking, weapons manufacturing, or pharmaceuticals . This is likely, at least in part, because they deliver one of America’s favorite pastimes — entertainment. Yet the revolving door is strong, as is the MPAA’s political foundation.
In fact, the MPAA’s longest running chairman was Jack Valenti , who served as an advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson before taking over the lobbying group. By 2011, former senator and presidential candidate, Chris Dodd, had taken the reins.
Dodd, who makes $3 million a year working as the organization’s top lobbyist, takes his job seriously. As the Los Angeles Times reported , Dodd has increased lobbying funds and efforts in Congress. “ We’ve had a hundred meetings with new members of Congress since November ,” he told the publication last year.
Dodd is a Clinton supporter. He officially endorsed her earlier this year.
Disney chairman Bob Iger is also a huge Clinton supporter and member of the MPAA. Alongside Saban, Iger hosted a Hollywood fundraiser for her in August and held a meeting with Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, in September.
On that same trip, Kaine met with Warner Brothers executive Kevin Tsujihara, who donated to Hillary Clinton’s Victory Fund this year. He met with Fox Television executive Dana Walden, who also donated to Clinton. He also met with Kevin Reilly, an executive at Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, which owns Warner Brothers and CNN , an outlet condemned for heavily favoring Clinton this election cycle. Perhaps these private meetings were about gun control and equal rights. Or, perhaps, Kaine and the executives discussed business interests.
Either way, the paper trail gets more decisive — and more revealing. What is the MPAA Hoping to Achieve?
MPAA members Disney and Sony have independently advocated for the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal , the globally loathed trade agreement criticized for granting carte blanche to corporations and stripping nations of their sovereignty. Disney has even prodded its employees to contribute lobbying funds in support of the agreement. Fox, Disney, Time Warner, Comcast, and other media companies have lobbied in favor of TPP .
One of TPP’s most dangerous provisions is its intent to regulate copyright and intellectual property in favor of corporations – one of corporate Hollywood’s main objectives.
Dodd is, unsurprisingly, a proponent of internet censorship legislation, which corporate Hollywood invariably backs in its attempts to preserve its copyright profits. Hollywood studios have been some of the biggest proponents of heavy internet regulation (with regard to copyright) and have waged campaigns against online piracy. The MPAA’s website claims “the most serious threat” to the film industry is online copyright theft.
It makes sense, then, that the MPAA would be a member of the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP . This massive trade group spent $658 billion dollars on lobbying in 2014, according to Common Cause, a left-leaning nonprofit lobbying organization. The coalition includes members like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Dow Chemical , Pfizer , GlaxoSmithKline , Boeing , and Viacom (another media behemoth). Interestingly, the coalition’s website no longer lists its members, though Anti-Media easily accessed an archived version of that information.
These corporations, or their employees, have also donated funds to Hillary Clinton in one way or another, often via the Clinton Foundation, which has been documented to issue favors to entities that contribute funds. Dozens of media corporations have donated to the foundation.
And — surprise, surprise — the only presidential candidate the MPAA has contributed to in 2016 is … Hillary Clinton.
While it’s certainly the case that Hollywood executives lean liberal and many undoubtedly support Clinton due to a misguided moral imperative to stop Donald Trump, it would be naive to presume this is the only dynamic at play.
This dynamic is evident in a letter from MPAA chief counsel Steven Fabrizio to Disney’s Alan Braverman, among others, assuring them of his efforts to pass the bill. “ Finally, in regard to trade ,” he wrote , “ the MPAA/MPA with the strong support of your studios, continue to advocate to governments around the world about the pressing need for strong pro-IP trade policies such as TPP and the proposed EU/US trade agreement (TTIP). ”
Braverman donated to Clinton this year. Infiltrating the DNC Platform Drafting Committee
Most damning is the fact that one MPAA lobbyist, former California congressman Howard Berman, ended up on the drafting committee for the Democratic platform this year (throughout the course of his political career, some of his top donors were Hollywood studios).
According to an email released by Wikileaks, Berman met with now-disgraced former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in May of this year — two months before he helped draft the platform. She appointed him to the platform drafting committee.
That platform was widely criticized for refusing to condemn and reject TPP outright, as Bernie Sanders and his camp attempted to do. Berman helped vote down language against TPP.
“But Hillary opposes TPP!” some might argue. Indeed, after claiming it was set to be the “gold standard” of trade agreements, she changed her mind and said she opposed it. But a leak from the recently released John Podesta batch showed there is a very strong chance she will change her mind, again, once elected. And considering Donald Trump’s anti-trade deal rhetoric against both NAFTA and TPP (not to mention his incendiary rhetoric), it makes little sense for corporate Hollywood to back Trump — even if they’re partly responsible for his meteoric rise via the Apprentice .
In a vein similar to Berman’s, a former MPAA (and Disney, and Dow, and Citigroup) lobbyist, Jose Villareal, now serves as the Clinton campaign’s treasurer.
Though there is no smoking gun proving corporate Hollywood is backing Clinton with the express intent of ensuring passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it’s telling that the MPAA’s homepage is a tribute to TPP (and, naturally, themselves). It’s telling that the organization donated to only one presidential candidate. It’s telling that executives within these corporations are supporting Clinton while the companies they represent heavily back TPP — and in many cases, Clinton. It’s telling that their parent corporations, like News Corp and Time Warner , are backing her — and the TPP.
Considering six corporations control 90% of media in the United States and Clinton continually proves her loyalties to big business, it’s hardly surprising she’s the choice of corporate Hollywood. And it’s likely they’ll expect favors in return.
As Dodd said following President Obama’s rejection of SOPA and PIPA following public outcry in 2012:
“Candidly, those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake…Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” | 0 |
399 | Controversial DNA search helps nab the 'Grim Sleeper' serial killerWed, 26 Oct 2016 20:35 UTC He roamed the streets of Sacramento for six years, raping women as they walked to work or headed home from parties in the dark. To keep them from fighting back, he smashed their heads with rocks and wrapped his hands around their necks. Sometimes he threatened them with a gun. Police became frustrated, unable to identify him even though they had his DNA from the crimes. Desperate for a break, they checked a database of convicted felons, but came up empty-handed. Finally, they searched for a partial match to see whether he had a relative in the database. They got lucky — the man had a brother in custody, which led authorities to the assailant. The "Roaming Rapist" is one of a handful of cases that California authorities have quietly solved in recent years using a controversial technique that scours an offender DNA database for a father, son or brother of an elusive crime suspect. The state's early success using familial DNA searches to identify the so-called "Grim Sleeper" serial killer led Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck to predict that the method would "change the way policing is done in the United States." Civil liberty groups expressed alarm, saying the searches raised significant ethical and privacy concerns. Some questioned their legality. Since then, familial DNA has made more modest progress than Beck predicted but has also gained wider respect. Eight other states have followed California's lead, formally embracing the technique as a crime-fighting tool. And though many opponents still express concerns, California's approach has won over some previous skeptics who say they are impressed with the state's strict policies limiting its use and the measured successes. Using the method helped detectives in the state identify two murderers, including the Grim Sleeper, and five men wanted for sexual assaults, according to the attorney general's office. Early last year, authorities arrested a San Diego County man accused of sneaking into children's bedrooms and cutting holes in their pajamas before molesting them. A few months later, a Vacaville man was arrested on suspicion of raping and sodomizing a woman along a bike path. A Santa Cruz County judge in 2013 sentenced a man to life in prison for raping a coffee shop employee then barricading her inside a walk-in refrigerator. Lab officials look for a relative by scanning genetic profiles in the offender database and looking for DNA samples that match with a suspect's along several, but not all, markers. From there, California's testing method focuses on part of the Y-chromosome passed down along the male line, identifying father-son or full brother relationships. As more genetic markers for people's DNA are entered into offender databases, the technology will become more precise, said geneticist Frederick Bieber, a professor at Harvard University 's medical school and a leading authority on the technique. That could help officials identify more distant relatives and track down criminals who aren't in the system, he said. "The technology is powerful...there's demonstrable success," Bieber said. Britain pioneered the use of familial DNA for crime solving more than a decade ago. In one of the earliest cases, detectives reopened the 1988 killing of a 20-year-old woman in Wales and compared DNA from the assailant to genetic profiles in Britain's database of known offenders. In 2002, they got a partial match to a 14-year-old boy. The teen wasn't alive at the time of the slaying, but detectives used the clue to focus on his uncle, who eventually pleaded guilty to the murder. Despite that conviction and others, the technology took some time to catch on in the U.S. and was used only sporadically. Among its earliest uses was the 2005 Kansas arrest of Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer, which came after officials subpoenaed a tissue sample from his daughter's Pap smear taken at a medical clinic. © Travis Heying / Los Angeles Times A familial DNA test led to the arrest of Dennis L. Rader, shown making a court appearance via video feed, in the BTK ("bind, torture and kill") serial murder case in Kansas. By 2007, an impassioned debate on the technology was percolating at the Capitol in Sacramento. Gov. Jerry Brown — then the state's attorney general — began fielding letters and visits from prosecutors, urging him to consider using familial DNA. His advisers, however, were concerned approving the method might cause federal judges to shut down the whole database on constitutional grounds. In 2008, Brown enacted a comprehensive familial DNA policy — making California the first state in the country to do so. Under the policy, familial DNA is only to be used as a "last resort" when all other investigative angles have been exhausted. So far, the state Department of Justice has run 156 familial searches, many of them repeat queries, such as in the Grim Sleeper case. An initial search turned up nothing, but state officials ran another scan in 2010. A partial match came back to a man added to the database after a 2008 arrest for firearm and drug offenses. Detectives zeroed in on the man's father, Lonnie Franklin Jr., who lived close to where many of the victims' bodies were dumped in South L.A. Detectives believe Franklin killed at least 25 women over more than two decades . He was sentenced to death in August. Nabbing Franklin changed things for now-UCLA Law School Dean Jennifer Mnookin, who once condemned using DNA to find suspects by searching for relatives. Mnookin argued that the method invades privacy rights and is racially discriminatory because African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately represented in DNA databases. Although she still worries about the racial disparity, she said her view shifted after seeing the effect on big cases, such as Franklin's, and how infrequently the technology is used. "If it's helping us solve big cases," Mnookin said, "it seems like a worthwhile trade-off." Eight other states — Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Michigan, Texas, Wyoming, Utah and Florida — have protocols for the use of familial DNA, and the technology has also been used informally by agencies elsewhere. But the growing popularity of the technique has raised alarms for some privacy advocates, such as Steve Mercer, chief attorney for the forensic division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Mercer successfully lobbied for his state's formal ban on familial searches. Washington, D.C., is the only other jurisdiction to prohibit them outright. Searching for relatives through partial matches is intrusive, he said, and raises concerns about the 4th Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure. "It is a slippery slope," he said. Critics also warn that partial matches can point authorities to innocent people. In 2014, the technology led police in an Idaho city to wrongfully suspect a New Orleans filmmaker of committing a notorious 1996 murder. Police homed in on him after examining an online database of genetic profiles. One profile, which was a near match to DNA left at the crime scene, belonged to a man who had donated his DNA years earlier to a hereditary studies project conducted by the Mormon church. An ancestry research company purchased the program's database, making it publicly available. Idaho Falls police obtained a court order compelling the company to turn over the identity of the man, who detectives thought could be related to the killer. Once they had his name, they scrubbed his family and focused on the man's son, Michael Usry. Detectives flew to New Orleans and interrogated him for more than three hours, before ordering him to provide a cheek swab. Usry asked whether someone he knew had committed a heinous crime. No, the detectives told him, they were looking at him. He waited anxiously for a month, wondering whether he'd be wrongfully arrested. Finally, an email came. "Mr. Usry," it read, "your DNA did not match with our case. Sorry for the inconvenience." The science is complicated and his experience shows it isn't the "perfect system" some supporters make it out to be, said Usry, now 37 and living in Colorado. "I'm still just scratching my head," he said. "Civil rights are being taken from us at an alarming rate." Still, supporters of familial DNA searches point to its successes. Sacramento's "Roaming Rapist," Dereck Sanders, spent 14 years on the loose, attacking women in the late-1990s and early-2000s. He sexually assaulted 10 victims, including two teenagers,14 and 15, who sneaked out one night to meet up with friends. Officials ran his DNA and began trailing Sanders, whose brother — a convicted rapist — was in the offender DNA database. Sacramento sheriff's deputies followed him to a McDonald's drive-thru, where he ordered a Happy Meal, and then to a park where he ate and threw away his trash. Detectives retrieved the garbage and took it back to the county's crime lab. There, officials tested the DNA from a straw Sanders had used. It was a match. "That was one of the happiest meals we ever had," said Rob Gold, the supervising deputy district attorney who prosecuted Sanders. "It would not have been solved without familial DNA." Sanders' 14-year-old victim, who is now 33, said the rape destroyed her for years. She obsessed over maintaining control in all situations and felt paranoid. She watched until her girlfriends walked into their homes and shut the door behind them, but still found herself texting them to double-check that they were safe. ( The Times generally does not identify victims of sex crimes.) She got counseling and tried to understand the different ways the rape had affected her. Still, the same two questions often came to mind. Is he hurting anyone else, she wondered? Will I ever get the chance to look him in the eye? The answer came in the fall of 2014 at Sanders' trial, where she testified against him. He was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault and sentenced to life in prison. To her, the question of whether to use the technology is almost silly. "It's out there, it's available," she said. "Do it." Authorities in California have used familial DNA searches to solve several murder and sexual assault cases: Lonnie Franklin Jr. The "Grim Sleeper" serial killer prowled the streets of South L.A. for more than two decades. After getting a partial DNA hit to his son in 2010, authorities charged Franklin with killing nine women and a teenage girl. He was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to death. Elvis Garcia A man sexually assaulted a barista in a Santa Cruz coffee shop in 2008, threatening her with a knife and barricading her inside a walk-in refrigerator. In 2011, a partial hit to the assailant's father led police to Garcia, who was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to 65 years to life in prison. James Brown The 1978 slaying of a 26-year-old woman in an Orange County parking lot remained unsolved for three decades until familial DNA helped lead authorities to Brown, who died in 1996 and had been cremated. Forensic scientists used a DNA sample from his son to confirm Brown was the killer. Dereck Sanders Beginning in the late 1990s, the "Roaming Rapist" sexually assaulted women and girls across Sacramento County. Sheriff's deputies arrested Sanders in 2012 after a crime lab got a partial hit to his brother, a convicted rapist. Sanders is serving life in prison. Michael Simpson In 2002, a man raped and beat a 55-year-old woman behind a store in Sunnyvale. Using a familial DNA search, police identified Simpson as a suspect. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Gilbert Chavarria During a heat wave in the summer of 2013, when many people left their windows cracked open, a San Diego County man snuck into the bedrooms of six children and cut holes in their pajamas before molesting them. Authorities said a familial DNA hit ultimately led them to arrest Chavarria. He has pleaded not guilty. Jeremy Delaunay In the summer of 2014, a teenager in Vacaville sexually assaulted a woman along a bike path before stealing her jewelry. A year later, authorities arrested Delaunay. He is serving six years in prison after pleading guilty to rape. | 0 |
400 | Maintaining a Sunny Spirit in the Face of Hardship - The New York TimesLaughter saved Linda Ragoo’s face. That is what a doctor told her after she had a stroke in 2003. It happened on a Sunday, at the end of an exhausting weekend of chores, errands and obligations. Ms. Ragoo felt part of her body go numb. “I sat down by the bed and I felt my leg, like it was sleeping,” Ms. Ragoo recalled. “It’s sleeping too long. ” She was able to call one of her sisters, who rushed to Ms. Ragoo’s Brooklyn apartment and found her on the floor, unable to move, the left side of her body paralyzed. While they waited for an ambulance, Ms. Ragoo asked to use the bathroom. Her sister fetched a long stick, presumably to prod her across the floor. Ms. Ragoo cracked up at the absurdity of the moment. “My sister said, ‘Stop this nonsense, stop this nonsense,’” she said. “And I keep laughing. ” She spent the next month in a hospital. Ms. Ragoo’s mobility is still restricted by partial paralysis. But her facial muscles, built up by years of laughter, are as they have always been. Ms. Ragoo, 78, credits her jocular spirit and easygoing sense of humor in part to her upbringing in Trinidad, with its tropical weather, way of life, and holiday and carnival celebrations. In the 1970s, Ms. Ragoo went to New York in search of an even better life. She settled in Brooklyn and found work as a nurse’s aide. Though hardships and tragedy have marked her life, “I can make a joke out of nothing,” she said. Just recently, she dozed off in her recliner and somehow managed to slide off it, flopping to the floor. For her, it was a rude, yet hilarious, awakening. “I laugh at my own self when I do stupid things,” she said. “I laugh at myself many times. ” Levity not only carried Ms. Ragoo through the setbacks after her stroke, but it also helped her cope with a more painful loss. Her son Satinus, 58, had a heart attack and died in 2014. He was a nurse’s aide, like his mother. “I’m telling you, things can’t put you down,” Ms. Ragoo said of staying positive through trying times. She lives alone in a apartment in Crown Heights, which is how she likes it. There is plenty of space just for her. And she does not need much of it to flourish. When it was time to get a new mattress, she willingly downgraded from a queen to a full. As much as she relishes independence, health problems drove her to seek outside help. Ms. Ragoo has arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis, as well as mobility issues caused by the stroke. Ms. Ragoo sought help from Heights and Hills, which offers support services for older adults, and has a home attendant. Each month, Ms. Ragoo receives $811 from Social Security and $612 from a pension. Because of her tight income, Ms. Ragoo could not afford an last summer. Usually a fan had been sufficient to keep her cool, but not last year. “When that heat took me, I couldn’t stand it,” she said. She mentioned her concerns to her social worker and made clear the severity of the problem. “I told her, ‘This is not funny. ’” Ms. Ragoo said. Her caseworker reached out to FPWA, formerly the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, one of the eight organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, and applied for a $600 grant in Neediest funds, which allowed Ms. Ragoo to buy an . Ms. Ragoo fondly recalls more youthful pleasures, like traveling, especially cruises, and taking trips to the casino. Ms. Ragoo has not done either in some time. But it is hard to keep her from a dance floor pulsating with salsa or calypso. Her coordination and energy are not what they once were, but she still has rhythm. “I dance with my cane,” she said. “I hold my cane and I move from side to side. Because they say if you don’t use it, you lose it. ” But she is quick to joke with people about her age. On a recent December afternoon, Ms. Ragoo declared she was just 16, despite the cane clutched to her side and dark glasses shielding her eyes after cataract surgery. “It’s the best therapy, to laugh,” she said. “You have to keep on laughing. ” | 1 |
401 | Rush Limbaugh: Comey Firing an ’Epic Troll’ by Trump on Dems - BreitbartWednesday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh said President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey was “an epic troll” on the Democrat Party. Partial transcript as follows: LIMBAUGH: Hi, friends. This is great. I have been laughing all morning long. I have been laughing starting with last night. Can we agree that Donald Trump is probably enjoying this more than anybody wants to admit or that anybody knows? So he fires Comey yesterday. Who’s he meet with today? He’s meeting with the Soviet, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov! I mean, what an epic troll this is. The Democrat Party is going bananas — completely, totally unhinged — on the road to literal insanity. Do you realize … ? Let me tell you what’s happened here. The Democrat Party has once again thrown Hillary Clinton overboard. Hillary Clinton is the most woman in America by people in her own party, and it’s happened again. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, stand by I’m gonna explain all of this. But they have just chosen sides and, once again, Hillary gets thrown under the bus. And not only that, the Democrats are rolling that bus backwards and forwards. She’s finished! She’s over with. The Democrat Party and the media have made it clear that she is fodder. She is irrelevant here. It is amazing. Two days ago, they were all talking about how Comey needs to be fired because of how he was mistreating Hillary, and the Hillary people were running around claiming that Comey’s a bad guy. And now Comey gets fired, and all of a sudden they do a 180! You know, my friends, I’ve often spoke of the connection Donald Trump has with his audience, with his supporters. I understand it because … Well, I just understand it. ( Right Scoop) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
402 | Twitter Sues the Government to Block the Unmasking of an Account Critical of Trump - The New York TimesSAN FRANCISCO — Twitter sued the federal government on Thursday to block the unmasking of an anonymous account that has posted messages critical of the Trump administration and has claimed to have ties to a government agency. The suit sets up a potential confrontation between the Trump administration and Twitter over digital privacy, a thorny issue that has driven a wedge between the technology industry and government in the past. Twitter disclosed in a federal court filing on Thursday that it had received a summons directing it to reveal the identity or identities of those behind @ALT_USCIS, one of several run by people purporting to be current or former federal employees. The @ALT_USCIS account, which quickly gained tens of thousands of followers, has frequently criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies and enforcement actions. Twitter said in its filing that it could not be compelled to disclose the identity or identities of whoever is behind the account. The company argued that the government’s directive and reasoning were unlawful, and that complying would have “a grave chilling effect” on the speech of that voice resistance to government policies. “A tradition of pseudonymous free speech on matters of public moment runs deep in the political life of America,” Twitter said in its filing. “These First Amendment interests are at their zenith when, as here, the speech at issue touches on matters of public political life. ” Jenny Burke, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security Department, which, with Customs and Border Protection had issued the summons, declined to comment. Even before this episode, previous presidential administrations have sought access the valuable digital information held by Facebook, Google, Twitter and other internet companies, in what some of the companies have said is an overreach of government power. Federal officials have typically said in such cases that they need the data at issue for national security or other reasons. Last year, for example, Apple, the world’s most valuable public company, squared off against the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a contentious case involving issues of privacy and national security. The F. B. I. asked Apple to unlock an iPhone that had been used by a gunman in a 2015 attack in San Bernardino, Calif. in which 14 people were fatally shot. Apple refused, citing its customers’ privacy concerns and the potential legal precedent. The F. B. I. dropped the matter after finding another way to open the iPhone without Apple’s help. The new case involving Twitter is more straightforward than Apple’s standoff with the F. B. I. which required the creation of new technology to circumvent the iPhone’s encryption. The Twitter case is centered instead on the protection of free speech, which is critical to the social media company’s platform. Twitter has a history of protecting its users’ First Amendment rights. In 2012, it filed an appeal in a New York State court to protect account information believed to have been used by an Occupy Wall Street protester. The company has also sued the federal government over rules related to whether it would be allowed to simply disclose requests for user data from federal agencies. Mr. Trump himself is a Twitter user, regularly sending out incendiary missives about the economy, politics and all manner of other topics from his @realDonaldTrump account. On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union said it planned to represent the anonymous user or users behind @ALT_USCIS. “To unmask an anonymous speaker online, the government must have a strong justification,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, an A. C. L. U. attorney involved in the case. “But in this case the government has given no reason at all, leading to concerns that it is simply trying to stifle dissent. ” The case stems from a wave of alternative government agency accounts that sprouted on Twitter after Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Upon being sworn into office, the president began to silence federal agencies from speaking out on the social media platform after the National Park Service’s official Twitter account posted images comparing the size of the crowds at Mr. Trump’s inauguration “to the apparently larger crowd size at President Obama’s 2009 inauguration,” according to Twitter’s court filing. In response, alternative accounts began to pop up, with many professing to be written by current or former employees of federal agencies. Accounts with handles like @Alt_Labor, @BadlandsNPS and @RogueEPAstaff had attracted tens of thousands of followers less than a week after Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Many of the accounts have since posted messages in opposition to the Trump administration’s views. The @Alt_CDC account, for instance, once called the prospect of a “vaccine review committee” — an idea that Mr. Trump had discussed with others — a “serious threat to global public health. ” The @ALT_USCIS account, which was created in January, has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies, among other topics. Messages posted by the account have referred to Mr. Trump’s executive order restricting travel to the United States by people from several mostly Muslim countries as the “#MuslimBan. ” The account has also described itself as “official inside resistance” and has said several times that the person or people using it to post messages is a current federal employee of Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department. Twitter said in its court filing that about 19, 000 employees and contractors work for Citizenship and Immigration Services. In March, Customs and Border Protection sent Twitter a summons that ordered the company to hand over information about the @ALT_USCIS account, including the names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and internet protocol addresses of the account holder or holders. The summons cited 19 U. S. Code 1509, a federal law that authorizes Customs and Border Protection to “obtain documents only for investigations and inquiries relating to the importation of merchandise. ” Twitter said the law was not relevant to the agency’s request and also that the summons violated the Stored Communications Act, which protects individuals’ privacy and proprietary interests. As for @ALT_USCIS, the account was particularly active on Thursday, posting more than a dozen messages after Twitter’s suit against the government became public. The account, which added 32, 000 followers within two months of being started, had ballooned to more than 77, 000 followers by early in the evening. Highlighted at the top of the account: a message featuring a screenshot of the Constitution and the First Amendment. | 1 |
403 | Warriors, Resilient at Home, Cruise Against the Cavaliers - The New York TimesOAKLAND, Calif. — Steve Kerr, the coach of the Golden State Warriors, is fairly open about the fact that he plays favorites. When it comes to shooting the basketball, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are allowed to do whatever they want. They can chuck shots from the bleachers. Bad shots do not exist for them. “That’s the rule,” Kerr said, adding, “I trust their judgment. ” Draymond Green has not earned the right to be included in their elite little group — not yet, anyway. But he was at his dynamic best in the Warriors’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night in Game 2 of the N. B. A. finals. He buried . He defended. He rebounded. And he helped carry the Warriors to a series lead at Oracle Arena. “I don’t come into the game saying, ‘Oh, I have to shoot a lot more,’ ” said Green, who finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. “Like, that’s not me. That’s not what I do for this team. But at the end of the day, if the game says shoot, you’re supposed to shoot. Because usually when you don’t, it turns into a disaster. ” The Cavaliers are in a world of trouble ahead of Game 3, which is scheduled for Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Warriors can sniff a second straight championship, can sense the final act in their season. After setting an N. B. A. record by winning 73 games in the regular season, they need two more for another title. “Everything changes when we go to Cleveland,” Kerr said. “We know that. We have unbelievable respect for this team, and we’ve got to go on the road and try to do it again. ” Curry scored 18 points, and Thompson added 17 — two more relatively muted efforts for them as defenders collapsed on them. But they found Green with so much open space on the perimeter, he could have been lounging on a beach towel and sipping a cool drink. “Tonight,” Thompson said, “he was one of us. ” Green relished his opportunities. He shot 11 of 20 from the field and 5 of 8 from range. Kerr was miffed about only one of Green’s attempts, when he pulled up in transition and did a little dance before he let the ball fly. It was not what Kerr considered a shot. Green made it anyway. “He becomes our safety valve when there’s pressure,” Kerr said. “He becomes an open shooter when they’re stepping out on Steph or Klay. So it’s a good situation for him. ” LeBron James collected 19 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds, but he said he was disappointed with his performance, citing his 7 turnovers. The Cavaliers committed 18 as a team, which led to 26 points for the Warriors. “It’s hard for me to kind of pinpoint what’s not working and what could work right now,” James said. “Obviously, not much work is working, especially offensively. ” But James did not benefit from much help. Kyrie Irving had 10 points, and Kevin Love scored 5 points before he departed for the locker room early in the second half with dizziness. He was placed in the league’s concussion protocol. The Cavaliers shot 35. 4 percent over all. It looked as if they were hoisting shots in a stiff wind. “They were tougher than us and more aggressive,” Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue said. While the Warriors are celebrated for their shooting, they also broke out their lunch pails and hard hats. When Love caught an inadvertent elbow to the back of the head midway through the second quarter, Green went straight at the rim for a layup. He punctuated the play by flexing his biceps as Love writhed in pain nearby. The victory was not without its challenges for Golden State. Curry picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and took a seat on the bench. But when the Cavaliers threatened, Green answered with another his fourth of the game. Curry returned at the start of the fourth quarter. He promptly swished a from another ZIP code. The lead was 23. Curry and Thompson had both struggled Thursday in Game 1, when they combined to score just 20 points on shooting. Propped up by their bench, the Warriors won by 15 — a result that portended danger for the Cavaliers. If they could not capitalize when Curry and Thompson were not playing good basketball, what did they expect to do once those two players started making shots? And rest assured, they would start making shots. Their problems would not persist forever. Ahead of Game 2, the Cavaliers said they wanted to operate with more pace, a familiar refrain for them this season. But playing fast is a dicey proposition against Golden State, which employs players with advanced degrees in transition basketball. The Warriors actually stumbled through a sluggish start, a Lamborghini stuck in second gear. After James went baseline for a spinning layup that put Cleveland ahead by 4 early in the second quarter, Kerr had seen enough. He called a timeout so he could share some words of wisdom with his players. They promptly hit the gas. Green sank a . Curry buried a jumper. And the Warriors continued to apply pressure, building a lead late in the second quarter. Golden State’s lead grew and grew over the course of the second half, each possession feeling more like a celebration for the fans at Oracle. Outside the visiting locker room, a mountain of luggage was waiting for the Cavaliers by the start of the fourth quarter. They could not leave town fast enough. | 1 |
404 | Comey Letter on Clinton Email Is Subject of Justice Dept. Inquiry - The New York TimesWASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general said Thursday that he would open a broad investigation into how the F. B. I. director, James B. Comey, handled the case over Hillary Clinton’s emails, including his decision to discuss it at a news conference and to disclose 11 days before the election that he had new information that could lead him to reopen it. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, will not look into the decision not to prosecute Mrs. Clinton or her aides. But he will review actions Mr. Comey took that Mrs. Clinton and many of her supporters believe cost her the election. They are: the news conference in July at which he announced he was not indicting Mrs. Clinton but described her behavior as “extremely careless” the letter to Congress in late October in which he said that newly discovered emails could potentially change the outcome of the F. B. I. ’s investigation and the letter three days before the election in which he said that he was closing it again. The inspector general’s office said that it was initiating the investigation in response to complaints from members of Congress and the public about actions by the F. B. I. and the Justice Department during the campaign that could be seen as politically motivated. For Mr. Comey and the agency he heads, the Clinton investigation was politically fraught from the moment the F. B. I. received a referral in July 2015 to determine whether Mrs. Clinton and her aides had mishandled classified information. Senior F. B. I. officials believed there was never going to be a good outcome, since it put them in the middle of a bitterly partisan issue. Whatever the decision on whether to charge Mrs. Clinton with a crime, Mr. Comey, a Republican former Justice Department official appointed by President Obama, was going to get hammered. And he was. Republicans, who made her use of a private email server a centerpiece of their campaign against Mrs. Clinton, attacked Mr. Comey after he decided there was not sufficient evidence she had mishandled classified information to prosecute her. The Clinton campaign believed the F. B. I. investigation was overblown and seriously damaged her chances to win the White House and resented Mr. Comey’s comments about Mrs. Clinton at his news conference. But the campaign was particularly upset about Mr. Comey’s two letters, which created a wave of damaging news stories at the end of the campaign, when Mrs. Clinton and her supporters thought they had put the email issue behind them. In the end, the emails that the F. B. I. reviewed — which came up during an unrelated inquiry into Anthony D. Weiner, the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide, Huma Abedin — proved irrelevant to the investigation’s outcome. The Clinton campaign said Mr. Comey’s actions quite likely caused a significant number of undecided voters to cast ballots for Donald J. Trump. F. B. I. officials said Thursday that they welcomed the scrutiny. In a statement, Mr. Comey described Mr. Horowitz as “professional and independent” and promised to cooperate with his investigation. “I hope very much he is able to share his conclusions and observations with the public because everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency,” Mr. Comey said. Brian Fallon, the former press secretary for the Clinton campaign and the former top spokesman for the Justice Department, said the inspector general’s investigation was long overdue. “This is highly encouraging and to be expected, given Director Comey’s drastic deviation from Justice Department protocol,” he said. “A probe of this sort, however long it takes to conduct, is utterly necessary in order to take the first step to restore the F. B. I. ’s reputation as a nonpartisan institution. ” Mr. Horowitz has the authority to recommend a criminal investigation if he finds evidence of illegality, but there has been no suggestion that Mr. Comey’s actions were unlawful. Rather, the question has been whether he acted inappropriately, showed bad judgment or violated Justice Department guidelines. It is not clear what the consequences would be for Mr. Comey if he was found to have done any of those things. The Justice Department and the F. B. I. have a longstanding policy against discussing criminal investigations. Another Justice Department policy declares that politics should play no role in investigative decisions. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have interpreted that policy broadly to prohibit taking any steps that might even hint at an impression of partisanship. Inspectors general have investigated F. B. I. directors before, but rarely. The most example was the investigation of William S. Sessions, who was fired by President Bill Clinton after an internal inquiry cited him for financial misconduct. In recent years, the inspector general has investigated accusations of wrongdoing by the F. B. I. involving some of its most sensitive operations, including a number of surveillance and counterterrorism programs. As part of the review, the inspector general will examine other issues related to the email investigation that Republicans have raised. They include whether the deputy director of the F. B. I. Andrew G. McCabe, should have recused himself from any involvement in it. In 2015, Mr. McCabe’s wife ran for a State Senate seat in Virginia as a Democrat and accepted nearly $500, 000 in political contributions from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a key ally of the Clintons. Though Mr. McCabe did not assume his post until February 2016, months after his wife was defeated, critics both within the agency and outside of it felt that he should have recused himself. The F. B. I. has said Mr. McCabe played no role in his wife’s campaign. He also told his superiors she was running and sought ethics advice from F. B. I. officials. Mr. Horowitz said he would also investigate whether the Justice Department’s top congressional liaison, Peter Kadzik, had improperly provided information to the Clinton campaign. A hacked email posted by WikiLeaks showed that Mr. Kadzik alerted the campaign about a coming congressional hearing that was likely to raise questions about Mrs. Clinton. Investigators will be helped in gathering evidence by a law that Congress passed just last month, which ensures that inspectors general across the government will have access to all relevant agency records in their reviews. The law grew out of skirmishes between the F. B. I. and the Justice Department inspector general over attempts by the F. B. I. to keep grand jury material and other records off limits. The new law means Mr. Horowitz’s investigators should have access to any records deemed relevant. Mr. Trump has not indicated whether he intends to keep Mr. Comey in his job. When he cleared Mrs. Clinton of criminal wrongdoing during the campaign, Mr. Trump accused him of being part of a rigged system. Although the president does not need cause to fire the F. B. I. director, a critical inspector general report could provide justification to do so if Mr. Trump is looking for some. | 1 |
405 | Trump and Clinton Choice Impacting Global MarketsTrump and Clinton Choice Impacting Global Markets November 08, 2016 Trump and Clinton Choice Impacting Global Markets
Stocks and the dollar were little changed on Tuesday as global investors trod carefully, readying for the outcome of one of the most contentious U.S. presidential elections in history. Trade was largely driven by cautious expectations of a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton, but some sharp swings in recent days across all asset classes meant big bets were relatively thin on the ground as Americans started voting. Wall Street's S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq markets were expected to open a touch lower having enjoyed their best day since March on Monday, while the dollar held steady as bonds and gold made ground. "While the market is broadly pricing in a Clinton victory, we are well away from the final results," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group. "It is certainly too early to speculate. The least we can say is that the risk appetite is quite firm for such a high event-risk day."
Europe's index of leading 300 shares, which posted its biggest gain in two months on Monday, was flat ahead of U.S. trading. A modest 0.15 percent gain for Britain's FTSE 100 was balanced by 0.1 percent dips in both Germany and France
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had ended up 0.6 percent overnight though Japan's Nikkei 225 ended flat. MSCI's global index of world shares was up 0.1 percent. Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles | 0 |
406 | Chinese J-20 stealth fighter debuts in skies of ZhuhaiChinese J-20 stealth fighter debuts in skies of Zhuhai November 01, 2016 China unveils its J-20 stealth fighter on an air show in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, November 1, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS
China publicly debuted the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter on Tuesday, a 21st century comparable to the US F-22 and F-35 fighter jet. J-20 was shown at Airshow China in southern city of Zhuhai. J-20’s swept over dignitaries, hundreds of spectators and industry executives gathered at the show's opening ceremony. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pushed to toughen the armed forces amid South China Sea row. Bradley Perrett of Aviation Week: "It is clearly a big step forward in Chinese combat capability.” State-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) estimates Chinese market will need 6,865 new aircraft worth $930 billion over the next 20 years. Boeing Co and Airbus Group matched the COMAC forecast: China would make up almost 1/5 of global demand, 40,000 planes over the next two decades. Analysts: Brief and relatively cautious J-20 routine answered few questions, pilots did not open weapon bay doors, or perform low-speed passes. Sam Roggeveen, a senior fellow at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute: "It's a change of tactics for the Chinese to publicly show off weapons that aren't in full squadron service yet and demonstrates a lot of confidence in the capability, and also a lot of pride." Also displayed: Latest Chinese weapon systems, radar and drones, included the Xian Y-20 strategic airlifter, and what organizers say is the largest amphibious plane now in production - the AG600. 150-seater COMAC C919 passenger jet was absent from the airshow schedule. COMAC: China Eastern Airlines will be the launch customer for the C919, which may take first test flight late 2016 or early 2017. COMAC secured 23 new orders for C919 at Airshow, taking total orders to 570.
(ZHUHAI, CHINA) China showed its Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter in public for the first time on Tuesday, opening the country's biggest meeting of aircraft makers and buyers with a show of its military clout.
Airshow China, in the southern city of Zhuhai, offers Beijing an opportunity to demonstrate its ambitions in civil aerospace and to underline its growing capability in defense. China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world's top aviation market in the next decade.
Two J-20 jets, Zhuhai's headline act, swept over dignitaries, hundreds of spectators and industry executives gathered at the show's opening ceremony in a flypast that barely exceeded a minute, generating a deafening roar that was met with gasps and applause and set off car alarms in a parking lot.
Experts say China has been refining designs for the J-20, first glimpsed by planespotters in 2010, in the hope of narrowing a military technology gap with the United States. President Xi Jinping has pushed to toughen the armed forces as China takes a more assertive stance in Asia, particularly in the South China and East China seas. | 0 |
407 | Spain, Malta, under U.S./UK pressure, refuse to allow Russian carrier group to refuel in their portsPrint
[Ed. – This passive-aggressive BS Obama is so fond of is nauseating. What, like Russia can’t find another way to refuel in the Med? If we’re going to oppose Russian policy, then frigging oppose Russian policy. Do something real. Don’t just skitter around like the village idiot tagging Russia and then running away.]
On Thursday, Malta withdrew permission for a Russian Navy replenishment tanker to refuel at its port. UK and American diplomats had applied pressure to the Maltese government to deny access to the tanker, as they believed the fuel would be used to replenish the Admiral Kuznetsov battlegroup. The carrier and seven accompanying vessels are believed to be headed to Syria to support the siege of Aleppo.
Earlier this week, Spain cancelled permission for the Kuznetsov’s auxiliaries to take on fuel at the North African port territory of Ceuta. The Spanish government had come under intense diplomatic pressure to deny access to the Russian vessels.
Russian officials say that the Kuznetsov battlegroup carries enough supplies to be self-sustaining for at least 45 days, and several military spokespeople denied that they had ever asked for formal permission to call at Ceuta or Malta. | 0 |
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