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During a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar grilled Trump administration official Elliott Abrams, accusing the diplomat of being a liar and pressing him on his involvement in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair and killings in Central America during the Reagan administration – WITHOUT ALLOWING HIM TO RESPOND.
“I don’t understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful,” she said.
Meanwhile, many are still demanding Omar’s removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her anti-Semitic tweets.
Abrams, the Trump administration’s Special Envoy to Venezuela, told the committee he believes increasing international pressure will eventually lead to the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.
Abrams testified comes about a month after the U.S. took the unusual step of recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.
This wich can not put one word in front of the next. Iran corta and farthered values.
While it may not have been the most appropriate way to ask the question (I’ve heard worse from both parties), she was asking a legitimate question.
Antisemitic, American-hating radical Muslim can come to US from hostile country, get into Congress and start dictating US foreign policy? Something wrong with this picture.
Bad decision on her part to go in front of a camera. Now the country knows that she is functionally illiterate, as well as a racist. Not a single grammatically correct sentence in the bunch! Without the notes that one of her aides wrote for her, she would have had nothing to say.
This women is a poison for the Jewish Community. The US Democrats did open largely the door for her and for Islam.
It corresponds to the new (black) face of the antisemitism all around the World.
Nikki Haley would have answered her so perfectly, Ms Ilhan Omar would have been speechless, and tuned blue (and white, Israeli flag colors).
Abraham Mansson- you are a racist and you it very comfortably in the Republican party.
rabbiofberlin, stop preaching us your phony virtue signalling “morality”. If your are a real “rabbi” of berlin, please stay there and preach your love for all Jew-haters there.
Abrams is a convicted war criminal. Has everyone forgotten that fact?
Mrs. “Israel has hypnotized the word” Omar shows her true feelings about America in this attack on Abrams. What chutzpah for her to proclaim that whatever he will answer will not be truthful before questioning him! Her evil nature came out right after the word “massacre” when she asked “Do you think that massacre [smirk] was a fabulous achievement?” He answers “no” and she takes it as a yes! Shame on the Democrats for allowing her to remain on the Foreign Affairs Panel.
Two arrested Muslim women who said the New York police department forced them to remove their religious head coverings and pose for mugshots sued the city on Friday to try to change the practice.
“Requiring a Muslim woman to remove her hijab in public is akin to demanding that a secular person strip naked in front of strangers,” said the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and a declaration that the city’s handling of police photographs is unconstitutional.
The city’s law office said it would review the lawsuit. “But we are confident that the police department’s religious head covering policy passes constitutional muster. It carefully balances the department’s respect for the customs of all religions with the legitimate law enforcement need to take arrest photos,” the office said in a statement.
According to the lawsuit, the New York police department policy failed miserably to protect the rights of Jamilla Clark, of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and Arwa Aziz, of Brooklyn. Clark was arrested on 9 January 2017, and Aziz was arrested on 30 August 2017.
“Like many Muslim women whose religious beliefs dictate that they wear a hijab, Ms Clark felt exposed and violated without hers — as if she were naked in a public space,” the lawsuit said, adding that a police officer openly mocked the Muslim faith.
Clark faces a hearing on 16 April. A hearing for Aziz was held on 28 February.
TUSKEGEE — All the pregame chatter revolved around the top-20 matchup of Tuskegee’s rush defense and Lane College’s potent rushing attack, but Golden Tigers quarterback Kevin Lacey quickly changed the subject.
The senior orchestrated a game-opening touchdown drive and muted the talk with three total scores as the Golden Tigers, ranked 12th in the AFCA Division II poll, pulled away from the Dragons 38-7 Saturday afternoon in both teams’ Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at Cleve L. Abbott Alumni Memorial Stadium.
“We knew we had to start fast,” Lacey said. “Lane, they were 3-0 for a reason. They’ve played three good teams. We knew we had to get at them fast. We went out and scored in the first six plays, and that’s how you get at them.
The Golden Tigers’ offense kept the Dragons’ defense on their heels on their next drive, capitalizing on an unsportsmanlike penalty on third-and-13 at the Tuskegee 48 as Lacey capped the 4:40 drive on a 10-yard touchdown run.
Tuskegee (4-0, 1-0) racked up 312 total yards on offense in the first half, led by the signal caller, who amassed 234 yards passing and rushing. Lacey found Ladarell Pettway for his third score in the first half on a 29-yard deep ball, putting the Tigers (3-1, 0-1)ahead, 21-7, with 5:39 left before the break. For the game, Lacey in three quarters finished with a team-high 61 rushing yards on six attempts and went 16-for-24 for 218 yards with no interceptions.
Coming into the SIAC Western Division showdown, junior running back Marcus Holliday led Lane’s 12th-best run game in the country with 147 yards per contest. But the Golden Tigers’ 17th-ranked rushing defense in the nation, surrendering 84 yards a game, reduced the Dragons’ ace back Holliday to just 47 yards on 10 carries and limited the SIAC’s top ground game team’s attack to 86 yards, its lowest output this season.
Lane’s lone touchdown came through the air on a 29-yard Ahmad Isaac catch on a pass from Marcus Reynolds at the 9:23 second-quarter mark.
To stop Lane’s run-option scheme ran by Reynolds alongside Holliday, junior Osband Thompson, a preseason first-team All-Conference selection at linebacker, said the game plan required sound defense. And the Golden Tigers delivered in their home opener.
Lane managed just 156 yards and 11 first downs against a Tuskegee defense that’s given up less yards each week — it gave up 261 yards to Football Championship Subdivision member Florida A&M in Mobile last Saturday.
Artist’s conception: ARES will parachute down to above the surface of Mars, unfolding on the way, then cruise over the surface of the Red Planet under rocket power, collecting important data.
William & Mary might become the base for a mission to Mars.
The mission is called ARES—the Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Surveyor. Joel Levine explains that the idea is to send an airplane to Mars.
Here’s the plan: The Mars flyer will begin its mission as payload on an Atlas launch vehicle, travel hundreds of million miles from the Earth to Mars, enter the atmosphere of Mars at a speed of about 18,000 miles per hour, then parachute down to near the surface of the Red Planet, unfolding on the way and beginning its historic flight—the first flight of an airplane on another planet. Once deployed, the robotic, rocket-powered craft will obtain observations that will yield new and important insights into some of Mars’ greatest mysteries, such as a strange, unexplained area of high magnetism and the source of the methane found in the Martian atmosphere.
If selected for the mission, federal funding in the neighborhood of $500 million would be needed to support the ARES project, not counting the $150 million dollar Atlas launch vehicle.
For the ARES project to happen, a lot of things have to go right, but Levine stresses that it’s not as much a long shot as you might imagine. For one thing, ARES is substantially designed and tested, including sessions in the wind tunnels at NASA Langley. The flyer also has been tested in the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of over 100,000 feet (about 20 miles high), where the density and pressure of the Earth’s atmosphere is comparable to the density and pressure of the Mars atmosphere near the surface, where ARES will fly.
For another thing, Levine says that NASA already likes the project. About 10 years ago, ARES was on a short list of four potential future NASA Mars missions, but NASA selected Phoenix, a stationary lander developed by the University of Arizona.
In July 2011, Levine returned to William & Mary as a research professor in the Department of Applied Science after a long career (“41 years and one day”) at NASA. He started teaching at the College in 1990—while still working at NASA Langley—setting up a graduate-level program in atmospheric science within applied science.
His colleagues at NASA Langley and NASA headquarters in Washington urged Levine to continue to pursue the ARES mission from his new base at William & Mary. He is developing a proposal for the Mars airplane, to be submitted by William & Mary in conjunction with NASA Langley.
He explained that involving university undergraduate and graduate students in NASA missions is an excellent opportunity to inspire and develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for NASA recruitment. In addition, working on a NASA mission provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to pursue master’s and doctoral dissertations by conducting state-of-the-art science and engineering research. In spring 2012, Levine has two geology undergraduates working on ARES-related research for their senior theses.
Levine says he anticipates the announcement of opportunity to propose ARES and other Mars missions for funding will come no earlier than mid-2013. The chances of the ARES Mission are difficult to predict, Levine says—if NASA funds any Mars missions at all. “NASA’s funding for planetary missions is in flux,” he notes.
In NASA’s judging, ARES will compete against unmanned Martian orbiters, landers and rovers, but Levine points out that a flyer offers a number of advantages. To begin with, a flyer is best way to investigate a mysterious region on Mars that has the strongest surface magnetic field of any planet in the solar system. Levine notes that the National Academy of Sciences has listed the discovery of this ultra-strong magnetic region as one of the five most important discoveries of the space age.
He said ARES could also be used to investigate the 2009 discovery of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. In the Earth’s atmosphere, methane is produced mainly by biological activity. The third area of study is potentially vital for human missions to Mars—a scientific goal embraced as a national goal by the past two presidential administrations.
Calls for an imminent recession flared at the end of 2018 amid troubling signs of slowing economic growth.
Jim Paulsen, the chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, explains why the US economy dodged a recession — at least for now.
He expects the stock market to rally sharply in 2019, and he laid out five core strategies for investors who want to take advantage.
As the stock market endured a turbulent final quarter of 2018, cries of an imminent economic recession grew louder.
One of the main reasons stocks hit such a bumpy patch was that the economy had, by many metrics, heated up to an unsustainable degree. Readings of measures like core producer price inflation and wage inflation hit their highest levels of the current cycle.
Such economic fervor was expected to prompt the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates, lessening the appeal of equities versus their fixed-income peers. And investors didn't wait for the hikes to come. They sold stocks and asked questions later.
But at least one Wall Street expert is ready to call off the dogs. That would be Jim Paulsen, the chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, who recently argued that a "recession will be avoided in the foreseeable future."
For one, he doesn't buy a flattening yield curve as a recession signal. Paulsen notes that while junk yield spreads have widened, they're still tight compared with the periods before previous recessions.
Beyond that — and perhaps most important — Paulsen says private balance sheets are "remarkably healthy" for an economic recovery that has lasted almost a decade. He cites US household net worth, which is now 60% above its previous all-time high, and falling household debt relative to disposable income.
And then there's the matter of consumer and business confidence. Paulsen says the latest financial crisis left people so scarred that they only recently regained their old level of conviction.
"Consequently, it is difficult to find 'extremes or excesses' today which would normally be more obvious in a recovery this old," he wrote in a recent client note. "Lending and borrowing have not been excessive, consumers have not overused their credit cards or over-stretched into mortgages, and they have not run through their savings."
These developments have Paulsen looking ahead at a potential stock-market rally — and a sharp one at that. He's even gone to the extra length of declaring that the market has bottomed.
One big reason for that is the arrival of investor panic. While it may seem counterintuitive to view this as a positive, a healthy dose of skepticism can benefit the market in the longer term and keep traders from being blindsided by sudden selling.
In terms of the Fed — which is always the elephant in the room when discussing the stock market in 2019 — Paulsen says it's been "almost ensured" the central bank will not raise rates further anytime soon. He notes that overheating conditions have cooled off considerably, which has been coupled by a large decline in 10-year Treasury yields.
So the path has been cleared for a stock-market rebound. Paulsen has made that much clear. As for how much he thinks the S&P 500 can rally, he says it will most likely reach anywhere from 2,800 (a 9% increase) to 3,000 (17%).
With all of that established, Paulsen has five distinct stock-trading strategies to help investors take advantage of a 2019 rally. They are as follows. All quotes attributable to Paulsen.
"Both international developed and emerging stock markets are a better relative value compared to the US stock market. Overseas stock markets are under-owned in most portfolios. While US economic growth may be slowing, growth may already be accelerating again abroad. And finally, a weak US dollar would augment foreign investment returns."
"Materials, energy, and industrials sectors should be bolstered by dollar weakness. It would not only raise commodity prices but also improve the competitiveness of US industrial activities."
"Last year, financials were pounded by Fed tightening, a flatter yield curve, wider credit spreads, and rising recession anxieties. If the recovery slows, but persists, all of these negative influences should pause, if not reverse."
"They significantly underperformed the S&P 500 in 2018 and should have greater upside leverage to a period of renewed optimism."
"The FAANGs remain too popular and widely owned as most investors still hope for a sharp recovery once the stock market improves. Small-cap tech stocks have been matching the performance of their larger brethren, many without facing the thorny and unresolved issues which currently challenge the FAANGs."
The ruling on Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s amnesty by Judge Andres Soriano, Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148, seemed superbly Solomonic. But it actually follows our most famous Supreme Court decision on presidential proclamations.
On Feb. 24, 2006, Proclamation No. 1017 declared a “state of national emergency” due to an alleged plot to oust then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Inquirer columnist Randy David was arrested at Edsa, at a people power rally. Police seized draft layouts from the Daily Tribune’s offices at midnight.
In the legendary 2006 David vs Arroyo hearing, then UP College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan debated then Chief Justice Reynato Puno mano a mano for three hours.
But any claimed legal effects are always subject to judicial adjudication. Under the David ruling, Proclamation No. 1017 was generally constitutional. But David’s arrest and the Tribune seizures were unconstitutional and the “state of national emergency” alone could not activate emergency powers in the Constitution.
In 2018, Proclamation No. 572 declared Trillanes’ 2011 amnesty void allegedly because he never applied for this. It ordered use of “all lawful means” to arrest him.
Implicitly following the David ruling, Soriano rejected Trillanes’ numerous arguments to nullify the proclamation itself, which agrees with my previous column.
Congress must concur to repeal an amnesty proclamation, but Proclamation No. 572 did not claim to do this. Nor was it a “bill of attainder,” an “ex post facto” law or discrimination.
Like my previous column, Soriano framed the issue as factual: Did Trillanes in fact apply for the 2011 amnesty?
Soriano meticulously documented the evidence down to intense cross-examination.
Lt. Col. Thea Andrade certified that her office had no copy of Trillanes’ application for amnesty. On cross-examination, she clarified the only record her office had for Trillanes’ and 276 other amnesty grants was a final memorandum from the secretary of defense.
Various eyewitnesses testified they saw Trillanes apply, including Col. Josefa Berbigal, who received his application and administered his oath. She added applicants were not given duplicate application forms, and “loose records were no longer taken seriously” after deliberations.
The amnesty committee chair, former defense undersecretary Honorio Azcueta, testified he and the committee reviewed Trillanes’ application.
Finally, there were photos of Trillanes with Berbigal and of his received application form.
Soriano argued the issue is whether Trillanes actually submitted an application, not what this contained. In this case, the “best evidence” rule does not apply and the actual form is not required.
Soriano also argued based on soldiers’ testimony that the original amnesty records were lost after the deliberations, another exception to the best evidence rule.
Interestingly, in a separate case, Judge Elmo Alameda of Branch 150 required Trillanes to present his actual application form, invoking the best evidence rule. Alameda and Soriano appear to have reviewed similar evidence.
Note that although the Supreme Court is not a trier of fact, it determines how to interpret them, such as use of the best evidence rule. It also resolves conflicting appraisals of facts.
But for the meantime, everyone won under Soriano’s Solomonic decision.
Both the executive’s power to make proclamations and Trillanes’ 2011 amnesty were respected.
Soriano himself also won; eager students of constitutional, criminal and evidence law nationwide are surely dissecting his well-argued, thorough work.
conviction of Gen. Jovito Palparan.
This not only promotes fact-checking of news reports, it recognizes judges who produce quality rulings.
React: oscarfranklin.tan@yahoo.com.ph, Twitter @oscarfbtan, facebook.com/OscarFranklinTan. This column does not represent the opinion of organizations with which the author is affiliated.
SAN ANTONIO - Automobile technology continues to improve, but, when asked about their car's infotainment systems, not all consumers were impressed.
Infotainment systems in new cars have Bluetooth, touch screens, and many of the same functions as the most advanced smartphone.
A consumer reports survey of 58,000 people showed which systems were consumer favorites and which ones consumers think aren't worth it.
"Some systems require too many steps to do simple things," said Tom Mutchler, a consumer reports auto engineer. "Others don't have a basic volume knob. And other systems can be hard to figure out and unreliable to respond."
The survey reported that Infiniti's InTouch system is the most disliked system among consumers.
Another strongly disliked system was the CUE system in Cadillacs. One consumer said drivers need passengers with IT degrees to make the system work properly. Another called it "stupid and unintuitive."
Some systems received positive reviews from consumers. Many were pleased with the Hyundai infotainment system, especially the voice command feature.
Chrysler's U Connect 8.4 system was the most-liked system in the survey, with one consumer saying the manual isn't needed to operate the system. Some users gave stronger praise, including one person who said, "This sounds cheesy, but we love it."
Close to Waubee Lake. Lots are +/- 1/2 acre sites, Wawasee Schools, Cement Streets, etc. Stick Built, Modular or Manufactured Designed permissible. Great Subdivision to Build In. Pond Front Lots Available.
Paul McCartney found himself at the centre of a fracas last night after paying a midnight visit to illusionist DAVID BLAINE’s ‘starvation stunt’.
The former Beatle became embroiled in a row with London Evening Standard photographer Kevin Wheal at 1am this morning (19 September) after Wheal approached Paul McCartney with a camera on what had been intended to be a ‘private visit’.

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