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Facing revolt on healthcare bill, U.S. Senate Republicans delay vote | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul on Tuesday after resistance from members of their own party, and President Donald Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House to urge them to break the impasse. The delay put the future of a longtime top Republican priority in doubt amid concerns about the Senate bill from both moderate and conservative Republicans. With Democrats united in their opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two votes among their own ranks in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been pushing for a vote ahead of the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. The legislation would repeal major elements of Obamacare and shrink the Medicaid government healthcare program for the poor. “We’re going to press on,” McConnell said after announcing the delay, adding that leaders would keep working to make senators “comfortable” with the bill. “We’re optimistic we’re going to get to a result that is better than the status quo.” At the White House meeting with most of the 52 Republican senators, Trump said it was vital to reach agreement on the Senate healthcare measure because Obamacare was “melting down.” “So we’re going to talk and we’re going to see what we can do. We’re getting very close,” Trump told the senators. But he added, “If we don’t get it done, it’s just going to be something that we’re not going to like, and that’s okay.” McConnell, whose party has a razor-thin majority in the 100-member Senate, told reporters that Republican leaders would work through the week to win over the 50 senators needed to pass the bill, with a vote planned after the recess. Vice President Mike Pence could provide the crucial vote needed to break a tie. “I think we can get 50 votes to yes by the end of the week,” Republican Senator Roger Wicker said after the White House meeting. The House of Representatives last month passed its own version of a healthcare bill, but the Senate bill has been criticized from both the left and the right. Moderate Republicans worried millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does not do enough to erase Obamacare. The bill’s prospects were not helped by a Congressional Budget Office analysis on Monday saying it would cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade, although it would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over that period. The report prompted Senator Susan Collins, a Republican moderate, to say she could not support the bill as it stands. At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still opposed after the CBO analysis. Three more Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, said after the delay was announced that they oppose the current draft. Portman and Capito cited the bill’s Medicaid cutbacks and how that would hurt efforts to combat the opioid epidemic that has taken a heavy toll in their states. The Medicaid program was expanded under former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. “I think giving time to digest is a good thing,” Republican Senator Bob Corker said after the delay was announced. U.S. stock prices fell, as the decision to postpone the vote added to investor worries about Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises of tax reform and deregulation, as well as changes to the health sector. Those expected changes have driven a rally in U.S. stocks this year. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed down 0.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 0.46 percent. “The market likes certainty and now there’s uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of the next iteration?” said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions Inc. Passing the measure would be a win for Trump as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over Russia’s role in last year’s U.S. presidential election. McConnell has promised since 2010 that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would destroy the law “root and branch” if they controlled Congress and the White House. Republicans worry a failure to deliver will cost them votes in next year’s congressional elections. If the Senate passes a healthcare bill, it will either have to be approved by the House or the two chambers would reconcile the differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and send it back to the Senate. Lawmakers are expected to leave town by Friday for their July 4 holiday break, which runs all next week. The Senate returns to work on July 10, the House on July 11. Lawmakers then have three weeks in session before their month-long August recess. (This story corrects Dow Jones industrial average’s percent loss in 16th paragraph.) | 0fake |
House budget chief expects budget resolution approval in October 5 vote | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black said on Thursday Republican had enough votes to pass a fiscal 2018 budget resolution which is needed to move tax reform legislation forward, adding that she expects the House to vote on Thursday, Oct. 5. “I think we’re going to absolutely have the votes,” the Tennessee Republican told Reuters. “People are excited about tax reform.” By passing a budget resolution, Congress would unlock a legislative tool known as reconciliation, which Republicans need to move tax legislation through the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes. They control the chamber by a 52-48 margin and would need 60 votes for passage without reconciliation. | 0fake |
TRUMP OBLITERATES “Phony Vietnam Con-Artist” Dem Senator, After He Alleged Trump Campaign Collusion With Russians | President Donald Trump continued his attack on Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal Monday afternoon, once again mocking the Democratic lawmaker for past falsehoods about his service in Vietnam.Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017 conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017Trump initially criticized Blumenthal in response to his discussion of the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and its possible connections to the Trump campaign during a CNN interview Monday morning. Daily CallerTrump didn t stop with his string of attacks on the con-man senator, Richard Blumenthal. He took to Twitter again yesterday to suggest Senator Blumenthal talk a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there. I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017Blumenthal criticized the Trump administration s decision to triple the number of leak investigations pursued by the Department of Justice, arguing in the CNN segment that the plan represented an attempt to weaponize leak probes.Trump s comments allude to a 2010 New York Times report which found that Blumenthal falsely claimed he had served in Vietnam during the U.S. occupation. In truth, Blumenthal served in the U.S. Marine Corps reserve, but he never left the U.S. in the course of service. The senator later explained that he misspoke. In case anyone was thinking (or hoping) President Trump would discontinue using Twitter as a way to keep a direct line of communication open with Americans, it s not gonna happen. Most of his supporters have become used to his bombastic style and appreciate the way in which he has chosen to connect with Americans in a more direct fashion.Just before President Trump destroyed the con-artist senator from Connecticut, he sent this tweet, where, after he shared some of his most significant accomplishments to date, he made it perfectly clear to his followers that he Will never change! : Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017 | 1real |
Fourteen people rescued from seaside tower in southern England | LONDON (Reuters) - Fourteen people had to be airlifted from a British seaside tower after a mobile observation capsule became stuck, rescue services reported. The Jurassic skyline tower in the southern resort of Weymouth offers 360-degree views of the surrounding area. Video footage shows the trapped visitors being winched to safety by rescuers dangling from a helicopter above the 53-metre tower. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted on Tuesday afternoon after engineers failed to free the stuck capsule. The tower s operator said on twitter that the gondola had become stuck due to a mechanical issue. | 0fake |
House oversight panel seeks ex-Trump aide Flynn's records | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The main investigative panel of the U.S. House of Representatives has asked the White House and the FBI for documents regarding former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s foreign contacts with Russia, Turkey and others, its Republican chairman and Democratic counterpart said on Wednesday. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings said in a statement that the panel also requested related documents from the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The committee is considering whether Flynn, who resigned less than a month after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, fully disclosed his payments from foreign sources. Flynn’s departure followed a report that the Justice Department had earlier warned the White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail for contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump took office. Another report later showed Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, had been working as a representative for Turkey during last year’s presidential campaign even as he was advising Trump. Separately on Wednesday, U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, said intelligence agencies had swept up incidental communications by Trump’s political campaign after the Nov. 8 election, raising concerns about spying on the newly elected president. Chaffetz and Cummings said their request included documents on security clearance applications as well as on foreign contacts and payments, including payments Flynn received from RT, the Kremlin-backed media outlet. The committee called for the White House and the other agencies to provide all the documents related to Flynn dating back to his retirement in 2014 to the present, and to deliver them to the panel by April 3. | 0fake |
Comment on After Sweeping Election, First Thing Trump Invites Netanyahu to U.S. for Meeting by Debbie Menon | Dispatches from Wolf Country –Sitting in my cave, watching the spider spin ‹ › Since 2011, VNN has operated as part of the Veterans Today Network ; a group that operates over 50 plus media, information and service online sites for U.S. Military Veterans. After Sweeping Election, First Thing Trump Invites Netanyahu to U.S. for Meeting By VNN on November 9, 2016 To Hell With Detroit or New Orleans, Trump Calls ISRAEL to Pay Hommage to Masters!
After sweeping the election on Tuesday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. for a meeting.
The two spoke on the phone on Wednesday hours after Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his surprising win, saying Trump was a “true friend of Israel.” According to a statement by Netanyahu, during their phone call, the two agreed to meet at the “first opportunity.”
Following the election results, Netanyahu published a statement congratulating Trump, saying: “President-elect Trump is a true friend of the State of Israel. We will work together to advance the security, stability and peace in our region. The strong connection between the United States and Israel is based on shared values, shared interests and a shared destiny.
“I’m certain that President-elect Trump and I will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between Israel and the United States, and bring it to new heights,” he added.
This after it was disclosed earlier this month that Donald Trump was paid $ 25 million by Israeli Firster Zionist Billionaire Sheldon Adelson who fronts for AIPAC and the Zionist State.
President Reuven Rivlin also congratulated Trump.
“I want to congratulate President elect Donald Trump, his family, and all the American people who have once again shown the world it is the greatest democracy.”
“I hope together Israelis and Americans can grow our innovation and cooperation, which are the fruits of liberty, and equality. God bless you, Mr. President,” Rivlin added.
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) congratulated Trump on Facebook: “Warm wishes to the president of the strongest and biggest global power: Donald J. Trump!”
Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, hoped Trump’s election would bring an end to the two-state solution.
“Trump’s victory is a tremendous opportunity for Israel to immediately announce its intention to renege on the idea of establishing Palestine in the heart of the country – a direct blow to our security and the justice of our cause.
“This is the president-elect’s outlook as it appears in his platform, and that definitely should be our way. Salient, simple and clear. The era of the Palestinian state is over.” | 1real |
Congressional panels approve SEC capital formation bills | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional panels in the House and Senate on Thursday approved - with bipartisan support - a handful of bills aimed at helping companies raise capital, a sign that Congress may be able to approach financial regulatory reform on a piecemeal basis without awaiting a blockbuster bill. In separate meetings, the Senate Banking Committee led by Idaho Republican Chairman Mike Crapo and the House Financial Services Committee led by Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling approved a series of identical bills, paving the way votes by the full Senate and House of Representatives. It is not yet known when both chambers may take up the bills. The move is part of an effort by Congress to streamline the U.S. financial sector, and it comes at the same time that U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to repeal or replace regulations which he contends could impede economic growth. The bills won broad bipartisan support in both committees, with minimal dissent. Sherrod Brown, the Senate panel’s ranking Democrat, praised the bipartisan work and said he was optimistic “there are additional common sense measures” that can tackled next. The bills propose changes to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulations, such as raising the dollar amount of stock options that private companies can award employees in a given year to $10 million from $5 million and easing restrictions to allow brokers to publish research on the global $3.7 trillion exchange-traded fund market. Other changes in the bills would raise the number of people who can invest in venture capital funds without triggering a requirement to register with the SEC; subject mutual funds in Puerto Rico to the same rules funds already face on the U.S. mainland, and credit stock exchanges for any fees and assessments they may have overpaid to the SEC in the last decade. The House Financial Services Committee also on Thursday approved a sixth bill that would require the SEC to formally consider and respond to regulatory proposals that are made annually by the agency’s Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. The Senate panel did not consider that bill on Thursday, but Banking Committee spokeswoman Amanda Critchfield said she expects it will be considered in the future. Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who co-sponsored the bill involving private company stock options, said on Thursday he is hopeful the measure “will be considered by the full Senate soon.” The dual committee meetings were the first time since the November election that the Republican-led Congress has convened to consider financial legislation. The House Financial Services Committee, meanwhile, is also separately preparing to unveil a more comprehensive rewrite of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, which will also include measures to boost capital formation. Trump’s choice to lead the SEC, Wall Street deal-making attorney Jay Clayton, has previously discussed ideas with Trump privately on how to help spur capital formation. All of the bills approved by the two panels on Thursday have been considered in prior congressional years, but were never passed into law. | 0fake |
Maxine Waters Threatens To ‘Take Trump Out’…Pumps Fist [Video] | Earlier today, Youtube had taken down the video from the Ali Forney Center gala in New York City on October 13th where it only took Maxine Waters 27 seconds before she threatened President Trump. We looked everywhere but the video was gone from every source. After much digging, we found a clip of it on Facebook so here you go:Waters starts off with, Wow, what a moving evening this is. Then this: I m sitting here listening, watching, absorbing, thinking about Ali even though I never met him. And with this kind of inspiration, I will go and take out Trump tonight, she said as the crowd roared in approval and Waters pumped her fist.(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.10'; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Maxine Waters vows "I will go and take Trump out tonight!"Maxine Waters vows "I will go and take Trump out tonight!"Appearing at the Ali Forney Center gala in New York City, it only took Waters 27 seconds before she slammed Trump. Feeling inspired, Mad Maxine promised the group that she would 'go and take Trump out tonight!'. Like >> Share >> Follow >> The New Revolution IIPosted by The New Revolution II on Saturday, October 21, 2017Just two days later, Waters continued to rant about Trump, this time at a Los Angeles AIDS walk.Waters turned the event into a platform to push her personal political agenda: We face unprecedented challenges today in our struggle against HIV and AIDS and I want you to know those people in Congress on the opposite side of the aisle from me control every branch of our federal government, Waters said. And we have, unfortunately, an unstable, erratic person in the White House. We don t know what this president will do, or say, or tweet from one day to the next. Don t forget, this is not a political event, but I m heading toward impeachment, Waters said with a snicker. Another challenge we face today is Republicans determination to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, Waters continued. Without Obamacare, insurance companies will once again be able to deny care to the people living with HIV and other pre-existing conditions. Furthermore, without Obamacare states like California that expanded Medicaid will not be able to cover low-income adults living with HIV. And so, the House Republicans Obamacare repeal bill which passed the House in May will cut $100 billion from Medicaid and cause 23 million Americans to lose their health insurance, the 79-year-old career politician said. So far, the Senate has been great. It has refused to pass the bill. Via: American Mirror | 1real |
CHILLING: Terrorism Expert Gives Frightening Look Into OBAMA’S FAUX “FIGHT” AGAINST ISIS: “It’s not about protecting America” [Video] | THIS INTERVIEW IS HONESTLY FRIGHTENING because Sebastian Gorka basically tells us Obama is doing NOTHING to stop the instability in the Middle East and is just spinning information to protect his political legacy . The White House simply wants to spin Gorka is the best at giving us the truth about Islamic terrorism and the efforts by the Obama administration to spin, spin, spin | 1real |
Abedin & Weiner to Testify Against Clinton | Abedin & Weiner to Testify Against Clinton
Huma Abedin, Hillary’s Clinton’s top aide with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and Sexter, the former Congressman, Anthony Weiner, are at the center of the most recent FBI investigation. Things are about to get very interesting. | 1real |
DISGUSTING! USA TODAY Video Suggests “Trump Era” Will Make Traveling Unsafe…Rebuttal Video Already Out! [Video] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dsDdBqF828 | 1real |
Another 4.6-Magnitude Tremor Hits Central Italy After Two Earthquakes | Get short URL 0 17 0 0 Another tremor of magnitude of 4.6 was registered in central Italy in the late hours of Wednesday, following two earthquakes earlier in the day, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said.
ROME (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, two earthquakes of magnitudes of 6.3 and 5.4 hit the region of Marche. © AFP 2016/ Richter magnitude scale "Another earthquake of magnitude of 4.6 took place at 23:42 [21:42 GMT] in the same zone as two earlier tremors," Curcio told a briefing as broadcast by the RaiNews24 television channel.
According to Curcio, the situation is not catastrophic and nobody has been killed. ... | 1real |
U.N. envoy sees continued U.S. work to end Syria war | BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria on Thursday said U.S. President Barack Obama could well keep working until his last day in office to end the war in Syria, and Russia did not want to be held responsible for the demolition of eastern Aleppo. “I would never underestimate an outgoing U.S. president as a lame duck,” Staffan de Mistura said in an interview published on Friday in Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. “President Obama .... and Secretary of State John Kerry are very motivated to end the greatest humanitarian tragedy of this century that has played out during their time in office. It’s about their legacy,” de Mistura said. De Mistura on Tuesday had expressed concern that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could launch a “brutal” new offensive to crush rebel-held eastern Aleppo before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. He said his recent meetings in Damascus showed the Syrian regime had been emboldened by Trump’s comments during the campaign about ending support for the Syrian opposition. But he said he reminded Syrian leaders that any U.S. president would face massive public pressure if the situation ended as a human tragedy with 200,000 people starving. De Mistura said he feared eastern Aleppo could be decimated by Christmas if the bombardment continued, which would spur tens of thousands of refugees to flee to Turkey, and could lead to a prolonged guerilla war in rural areas and car bombs in cities. The head of the Syria “White Helmets” volunteer group on Thursday said besieged residents of Aleppo were about ten days from starvation. The U.N. envoy said he believed Russia’s claim that it was not bombing any targets in eastern Aleppo, but added that Moscow was also not stopping Syrian forces from attacking hospitals or other targets in the city. Still, he said he believed Russia was serious about “not wanting to take responsibility for the destruction of eastern Aleppo.” He said it was simply not in the interest of Russia or the Syrian government to be left with a completely destroyed country, five or six years of a “mini-Afghanistan,” and a type of guerrilla war in the rural areas. | 0fake |
Navy Petty Officer Joins DAPL Protest With Upside Down Flag – “Our Greatest Enemies Are Right Here” | By Claire Bernish U.S. Navy veteran, Petty Officer 1st Class Kash Jackson, came to North Dakota with one imperative in mind — to uphold the... | 1real |
Trump’s Son BAFFLED As To Why His Racist Dad’s Anti-Hispanic Talk Pisses Off Hispanics | Following the mass exodus of Hispanic surrogates from Trump s campaign, Eric Trump is pretty confused. After all, his dad has been very, very consistent about his plans on immigration, so why would they do this to the saintly candidate? Eric seems to think that, since nothing has changed, there s no reason for Hispanic advocates to be upset.He really doesn t get it. In an appearance on Fox & Friends, he actually said: [It] is actually pretty amazing considering the speech was actually very consistent and he has been very, very consistent with his plan. It s really interesting. What s interesting is not that Hispanics are now fleeing Trump it s that Eric thinks his consistency should resonate with them.Trump went to Mexico to meet with President Enrique Pe a Nieto after appearing to soften his position on undocumented immigrants. So is it really any wonder that this return to his angry, heartless, racist stance that Hispanics are the enemy to real Americans feels like a betrayal?One particular surrogate who has worked very hard to convince Latinos to vote for Trump, Jacob Monty, resigned after Trump s speech on Wednesday night. He laid it all out in his explanation for leaving: I was a strong supporter of Donald Trump when I believed he was going to address the immigration problem realistically and compassionately. What I heard today was not realistic and not compassionate. Ramiro Pena, a church pastor in Texas, likewise yanked his support, saying: I am so sorry but I believe Mr. Trump lost the election tonight. The National Hispanic Advisory Council seems to be simply for optics and I do not have the time or energy for a scam. Everything Trump does for minority outreach is just for show. His visit to a black church in Detroit is nothing but a show, too. He s performing for an audience because that s all he knows how to do. Being serious about this is an alien concept to him. Republicans know it and are actually trying to figure out how to reach more white people because they ve given up on Trump ever reaching minorities. His outreach is too little, too late, and a total lie.Eric here is wearing his blinders a little too tightly. He hopes that clarifying Trump s message to these guys will turn them around, and he actually voiced the following clueless words: It s very important to us. If you look at the Hispanic community and the Latino community, they ve largely been left behind in this country. But his father talking about splitting up families and wasting ungodly amounts of money on a wall and on deportation isn t going to leave these communities further back in the dust? Har de har har, don t make us laugh too hard. It hurts.Eric Trump should at least have an idea that a consistent message targeting and alienating a group is just going to consistently piss them off. Eventually, people get tired of hoping someone will change, and they just walk away.Featured image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images | 1real |
YOUNG MAN DELIVERS POWERFUL Message To Liberals: “Put down your fists…Take off your masks…If you do not change…you’re going to lose” [VIDEO] | Wow! This young Asian student nails it! He speaks for every American who has been a victim of Obama s failed government experiment. The Left has turned our world upside down and many people in America believe that we are very close to a civil war. This brilliant young Asian student warns the Left to turn back now, warning them it s a line you don t want to cross. He blames them for normalizing violence and completely ignoring the rule of law as a way to threaten people who don t agree with you.Here is a part of his message that can be seen in the video below: Once you cross that line, you re starting a war you cannot win. You think you re so big and powerful. Step out of your bubble. Step out of the liberal cities, and look at the rest of the country. You re outnumbered, outmanned and outgunned. You cannot win this if it turns violent. If you normalize violence, if violence is okay, you cannot win. You can win by reaching out to conservatives. Talk to them. Talk to Trump supporters and ask them why they believe what they believe and maybe, maybe you ll find common ground. Maybe you might even convince us to adopt your positions. Who knows? Put down your fists. Take off your masks. Fight with your words, not sticks and stones. Because if you do not change, you re going to lose. You need us on your side. You need to convince us why you re right. You cannot divide us. You need us on your side because Generation Z, the kids that are growing up and being born right now, they re projected to be the most conservative generation in decades, more conservative than your grandparents. These kids are growing up on the internet. The future s in their hands, and they re on our side. So unless you change your ways you ve already lost. | 1real |
Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Kim and Kanye, Justin Bieber, Anti-American Ariana Grande And More A-listers Fundraise For Rich, White Democrat Presidential Candidate | There s so much diversity in the Democrat presidential candidate pool, it must be hard for these celebrities to choose who they re going to throw their money and support behind..Katy Perry is publicly showing her support for Hillary Clinton.The pop singer, in her first appearance for the 2016 campaign, will rally Clinton supporters on Oct. 24 in downtown Des Moines before the presidential nominee attends the Iowa Democratic Party s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Clinton s campaign announced Saturday morning.Perry had a hand in rallying supporters for President Barack Obama when he was a candidate by performing at numerous events and wearing patriotic outfits she designed herself, including a dress she wore to a rally that displayed his campaign slogan Forward and a ballot dress she sported at a Las Vegas rally.She was a key part of the Obama campaign s strategy to get members of various communities to attend events. Campaign volunteers would sign up attendees to vote and even offer to take them to voting locations if they needed transportation.The Hollywood Reporter exclusively announced Friday that Christina Aguilera and her producer-fiance Matthew Rutler will host Clinton s last big fundraiser of the year on Nov. 4.The Des Moines event is free and open to the public, and registration is encouraged.Christina Aguilera and her producer fianc Matthew Rutler will host Hillary Clinton s last big fundraiser of the year at their Los Angeles house on Nov. 4, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.Clinton s trip falls shortly after her Oct. 26 birthday and is expected to draw a large celebrity crowd. Her last event was held at Lionsgate s Rob Friedman s home; the Nov. 4 fundraiser is expected to be a sold-out event.The final fundraiser is being put together by Clinton s Hollywood bundlers, including CAA s Darnell Strom and Michael Kives.On Nov. 5, Michelle and Rob Reiner, Cynthia Telles and Joe Waz will hold a discussion with Clinton from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The event, Conversation With Hillary, will allow attendees to make contributions ranging from $1,000-$2,700.After announcing her candidacy in April, she has made monthly trips to Los Angeles, where she has raised tens of thousands in Hollywood contributions.A-listers including Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, Usher, Jessica Alba, Jeffrey Katzenberg and more previously gathered this past August to support Clinton at the house of talent manager Scooter Braun, who boasts a large list of young talent including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Kardashian and West even took a selfie with the presidential candidate after hearing her goals for the country, where she defended Planned Parenthood and supported President Barack Obama s environmental initiatives. | 1real |
Israeli veteran, government clash over alleged abuse of Palestinian | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli ex-soldier who serves as a spokesman for a group that documents alleged abuses of Palestinians has set off a legal tussle with the Israeli authorities by saying he himself beat a detainee. After Dean Issacharoff, a former army lieutenant, spoke of the incident in a speech uploaded to YouTube in April, the Israeli Justice Ministry took the unusual move of launching an investigation, with him as a suspect. Issacharoff, the son of a senior diplomat, belongs to Breaking the Silence, a circle of army veterans that has long angered Israeli leaders by publicising abroad what it says are confessions of war crimes in occupied Palestinian territory. The group portrayed as another example of Israeli military excess Issacharoff s account of what he said was his own beating of a Palestinian stone-thrower in the West Bank town of Hebron while trying to handcuff him in 2014. But the Justice Ministry last week declared the case closed, saying questioning of the alleged Palestinian victim showed the event had never happened and that Issacharoff had made a mendacious claim . On Twitter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the decision as further proof Breaking the Silence lies and slanders our soldiers . Issacharoff retorted on social media that the ministry had questioned the wrong Palestinian - a man he had detained separately in Hebron around the same time. Breaking the Silence issued what it said was video of the right incident, showing Issacharoff frog-marching a handcuffed man. The Palestinian appears to have dark patches on his cheeks, which the group said were bruises from Issacharoff having kneed him. Issacharoff said he bloodied the Palestinian, though no blood is seen on the detainee in the footage. Achiya Schatz, another Breaking the Silence spokesman, accused the Justice Ministry of clearing Issacharoff in order to discredit the group. This was a politicised investigation, made-to-order for the elimination of opposition (voices), Schatz said. Prosecutor Nurit Littman denied any bias and said Issacharoff s testimony had been too sketchy to produce corroboration. We do not dabble in politics. We deal in evidence, she told Army Radio, leaving open the possibility of a new investigation taking into consideration the new video. Interviewed on Israeli television, the Palestinian, Faisal al-Natsheh, said he had been detained though he had not thrown stones, and had been beaten by troops. He could not confirm Issacharoff was among them. They didn t let me look at them, not even once, he said. | 0fake |
Former CIA chief who urged Iraq war signs on as Trump adviser | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former CIA Director James Woolsey, a vocal advocate of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq who promoted allegations that Saddam Hussein harbored illegal weapons, will serve as a senior national security adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the campaign announced on Monday. Woolsey’s hiring contrasted with Trump’s repeated assertions that he was a stalwart opponent of the invasion, although he initially supported it. In the announcement, Woolsey said he supports Trump’s plan to expand the U.S. military, which calls for ending Pentagon budget caps and spending billions of dollars for additional troops, ships and aircraft. “Mr. Trump’s commitment to reversing the harmful defense budget cuts signed into law by the current administration, while acknowledging the need for debt reduction, is an essential step toward reinstating the United States’ primacy in the conventional and digital battlespace,” Woolsey said. Woolsey, who served for two years as CIA chief under then-President Bill Clinton, also criticized the presence of classified information in emails stored on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s private server. In an appearance on CNN, however, he called Trump’s plan to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States “a bad decision.” He also has warned about the threats posed by climate change, something Trump has called a hoax that benefits China. Woolsey was an outspoken proponent of the Iraq invasion, suggesting that Saddam was hiding nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs from U.N. inspectors. He also promoted the erroneous allegation that the Iraqi dictator backed al Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Shortly after former President George W. Bush took office in 2001, Woolsey visited Britain on a Defense Department trip in a fruitless hunt for evidence that Saddam masterminded the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. He made a second visit to Britain for the same purpose shortly after Sept. 11, and again came up empty. At the time of his second trip, Woolsey was a member of the Defense Policy Board, a panel of outside advisers to the Defense Department that advocated Saddam’s overthrow even in the absence of any evidence of his complicity in 9/11. The following year, he arranged for the Defense Intelligence Agency to debrief an Iraqi defector who claimed that Iraq had mobile biological-warfare laboratories disguised as yogurt and milk trucks. The man was later determined to be a fabricator. In 2000, Woolsey briefly served as a corporate officer of a foundation that managed U.S. funding for the Iraqi National Congress, the exile group that produced a series of defectors who peddled false information to bolster the allegations that Saddam was hiding illicit weapons programs. No such weapons or facilities have ever been found. | 0fake |
Why is #SpiritCooking Trending on Twitter? | at 2:29 pm 1 Comment
I’m not one to shy away from Hillary Clinton related controversies, but this whole Spirit Cooking topic just seemed too far over the top to not have a good explanation. As such, I’ve avoided writing about it, hoping that someone from the Clinton team would come out and put all the craziness to rest. That has not happened.
Indeed, the topic was trending at #1 for much of the morning on Twitter, and continues to trend at #3 many hours later. All day, I’ve been trying as hard as possible to disassociate my confirmation bias about the Clintons, from this story. As such, I’ve been waiting for a good “debunking” piece to come out, but have yet to see one.
For those of you who are interested in the topic, here’s a measured take from The Washington Times :
A new WikiLeaks release of stolen emails belonging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta reveal an invitation by his brother to a “Spirit Cooking dinner” at the home of artist Marina Abramovic.
“Spirit Cooking with Essential Aphrodisiac Recipes” was released by Ms. Abramovic in 1996, but the “ingredients” call for “fresh breast milk with fresh sperm milk” to be consumed “on earthquake nights.”
New York’s Museum of Modern Art called it a “cookbook” for “evocative instructions for actions or thoughts.” Another recipe calls for “fresh morning urine.”
“Are you in NYC Thursday July 9 Marina wants you to come to dinner Mary?” Tony Podesta says in an email forwarded to his brother June 28, 2015.
“Dear Tony, I am so looking forward to the Spirit Cooking dinner at my place,” Ms. Abramovic says in a June 25 email sent at 2:35 a.m. GMT +2. “Do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining? All my love, Marina.”
You can see the source email through the following tweet by Wikileaks: Tony Podesta. | 1real |
Trump’s #1 Deplorable Has A Question For You Libtards (VIDEO) | Jim Stachowiak is a staunch Trump supporter who is just sick and tired of it all (though he probably couldn t name an actual problem the United States has) and wants to take his country back and make it great again just like The Donald says. Sure, Stachowiak (like his Fuhrer) hasn t traditionally bothered with facts, or the truth, or even so much as a rational thought but he has been a foot soldier in the 2016 GOP nominee s war on decency for quite some time.Stachowiak regularly posts Facebook videos with him sharing his dumbass ideas with the world like that we can fight Islam by killing n*ggers, patriots like himself should assassinate Obama, and shooting black kids in the backs would somehow solve crime.Stachowiak has long been inviting mockery long before he famously tried to organize an anti-Muslim rally to which no one showed up. Now he s inviting you to mock the living hell out of him by asking your opinion of his stupid anti-Obama shirt.Standing on the Bobby Jones Expressway in Georgia (not in traffic, though that might have made this video more entertaining), this Second Amendment-loving deplorable asked one simple question of his viewers: How do you like the shirt, people? Normally, Stachowiak is the star of the show, the dumbest deplorable in the basket. But his cameraman decided to steal his crown this time. A few minutes into their whatever this was, Mr. Cameraman yells:Rights are United States citizens law. The government is wrong right now. In this day and age we need the man who will make it all better for us. The law and all his people in America. We re fighting for the cause. Everybody bring out their big gun, cause we bring them home boys.Anybody know that the f*ck he s saying? He continues:You think if you re a minority you gonna have rights when everything hits the fan and everybody gets to go to camps? No the only ones that s gonna have rights is those that has something, has money, to make that they gum lick to bein on the other side of that big ol gate.Seriously? Anyone? Everyone s gonna see when that time comes, Dipshit adds ominously (you know, if he knew what that word meant). You think Islam is just over there on the other side of the word, no they are here, he says, apparently having just learned that Islam is a religion and therefore a worldwide thing. Once the Muslims take over, Camera Guy says, they re gonna chain us up in 10-foot-wall camps and slowly cut our heads off. We oppose all enemies both foreign and domestic, Stachowiak says. Your ass is ours people. Watch as much as you can stomach below:Featured image via screengrab | 1real |
Sweden’s Anti-Mass Migration Leader in Wall Street Journal: ’Trump Is Right’ | The leader of the migration Sweden Democrats (SD) party Jimmie Åkesson has written an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal strongly criticising those who dismissed out of hand President Trump’s remarks on the dire security and migration situation. [Lamenting the rise in violence and that has accompanied the migrant wave that saw Sweden take more migrants per captia than any other European nation, Mr Åkesson remarked that sex crimes in the country had doubled in a year. Reeling off a list of damages done to Sweden by mass migration in the opinion piece with fellow SD politician Mattias Karlsson, Mr Åkesson urged America to take heed and not repeat the same mistakes of immigration and cultural capitulation made in Europe. Mr Åkesson wrote: When President Trump last week raised Sweden’s problematic experience with immigration, skeptics were quick to dismiss his claims. Two days later an immigrant suburb of Stockholm was racked by another riot. No one was seriously injured, though the crowd burned cars and hurled stones at police officers. Mr. Trump did not exaggerate Sweden’s current problems. If anything, he understated them. Sweden took in about 275, 000 from — more per capita than any other European country. Eighty percent of those who came in 2015 lacked passports and identification, but a majority come from Muslim nations. Islam has become Sweden’s religion. In Malmö, our city, Mohamed is the most common name for baby boys. The effects are palpable, starting with national security. An estimated 300 Swedish citizens with immigrant backgrounds have traveled to the Middle East to fight for Islamic State. Many are now returning to Sweden and are being welcomed back with open arms by our socialist government. In December 2010 we had our first suicide attack on Swedish soil, when an Islamic terrorist tried to blow up hundreds of civilians in central Stockholm while they were shopping for Christmas presents. Thankfully the bomber killed only himself. Read more at the Wall Street Journal. Mr Åkesson’s Sweden Democrats are presently riding high in the polls, with the next general election expected in September 2018. While the governing Social Democrat party has held the lead position in polls for much of the past year, the Sweden Democrats, buoyed by their unique position as opponents of the mass migration that has so rapidly transformed Swedish society have often enjoyed a close second place. The position could be crucial after the 2018 election if the SD are able to enter into coalition with other parties and freeze the left out of power, even if Prime Minister Löfven’s Social Democrats are able to command fractionally more support. | 0fake |
Sean Spicer’s Quick Twitter Reaction to Jobs Report May Break a Rule - The New York Times | Oops. The enthusiastic reaction of Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, was understandable on Friday when the Labor Department reported a gain of 235, 000 jobs. “Great news for American workers,” he proclaimed on Twitter 22 minutes after the Labor Department release, “in first report for @POTUS Trump. ” Mr. Spicer was probably just following President Trump’s lead. At 8:41 a. m. 11 minutes after the report’s 8:30 release, Mr. Trump reposted a Twitter message sent by the conservative website Drudge Report that linked to a news report with the comment “GREAT AGAIN: +235, 000. ” But those messages on Twitter apparently violate a federal rule barring executive branch employees from publicly commenting on principal economic indicators for at least one hour after the official release time. Announced in the Federal Register on Sept. 25, 1985, when Ronald Reagan was president, the rule was adopted “to preserve the distinction between the release of data by statistical agencies and their interpretation by policy officials,” and to avoid affecting “financial and commodity markets,” according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, part of the Office of Management and Budget. The rule as published in the Federal Register does not include a penalty for violation. The White House receives the jobs data through the Council of Economic Advisers on Thursday afternoon, before its Friday release. Jason Furman, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in President Barack Obama’s second term, said by email on Friday: “The interpretation of our administration (like Clinton and Bush) was that this applied to POTUS. There were times they wanted Obama to comment, his flight or whatever was taking off at 9:20 and they would hold off until 9:30 so he could comment then. ” Of course the Trump administration’s delight was no surprise. And at a White House briefing on Friday afternoon, Mr. Spicer addressed the issue with . “Don’t make me make the podium move,” he told a questioner, alluding to a parody of his briefing style on “Saturday Night Live. ” He said that while “I understand the rule,” he felt his post had caused no market disruption because the news was already out. “I apologize if we were a little excited, and we’re so excited to see so many Americans back to work,” he added. | 0fake |
CAUGHT! FBI ARRESTS MAN Poisoning Produce At Local Grocery Stores [VIDEO] | THERE S NO INDICATION OF A MOTIVE IN THE CASE: This is one sick puppy! A man went around spraying produce with poison but we don t know why yet. Ann Arbor, Michigan is home to the University of Michigan and several upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods and Plum Market.The FBI has arrested a Michigan man for allegedly spraying a poisonous mixture of chemicals on food at three grocery stores in Ann Arbor, Michigan.The FBI and Michigan Health Department are now looking at whether anyone was seriously ill from the low-scale chemical attack to contaminate food.Authorities believe the unidentified suspect targeted at least three grocery stores in the past two weeks: Whole Foods, Meijer and Plum Market. Law enforcement officials are also now trying to determine whether he victimized other stores with his toxic mixture of hand-cleaner, water and Tomcat mice poison. What if he s been doing this for weeks, or months, or even years, and just suddenly someone saw him? one concerned citizen said. Makes you think about everything you buy all the time. The suspect may have mental health issues, and so far there is no indication of terrorism, sources said. Read more: ABC | 1real |
Police Caught Spying on Journalists to Uncover Source of Leaks | By Chris “Kikila” Perrin In what can only be described as a case that defies the idea of freedom of the press, CTV News reported... | 1real |
OOPS! VIDEO Shows Senator McCain Saying He’ll Fight To REPEAL and REPLACE Obamacare Only 9 Months Ago: “We have to scrap it entirely and start over” | In spite of Senator John McCain s promise to his constituents only 9 months ago when he was running for reelection, that he would fight to repeal and replace Obamacare, McCain voted late last night with two other liberal Republican senators, and every Democrat senator to keep Obamacare intact.But that s not what Senator McCain promised Arizona voters he would do only 9 months ago On October 10, 2016, John McCain faced off against his Democrat opponent Congresswoman Kirkpatrick in a televised debate. At the center of the debate was the disastrous Obamacare and what could be done to fix it. McCain responded: For the first time in history, a major entitlement reform was rammed through the Congress of the United States without a single vote from the other side. I fought for weeks, and weeks, and weeks against Obamacare and they would not allow us an amendment. There was not a single amendment allowed. No input from the minority party. We were the minority party. Now Congresswoman Kirkpatrick wants us to sit down and work together. Here s how we work together, we repeal and we replace it. McCain went on to argue that the majority of the American people have resoundingly rejected Obamacare. One of the debate moderators asked McCain if it was possible for Congress to try to improve Obamacare rather than to try to repeal it. McCain rejected the idea that it could be fixed and that the only solution is to repeal Obamacare: We have to scrap it entirely and start over. McCain went on to explain why Congress MUST repeal Obamacare, It s a scam and the problem is, that the cost is becoming prohibitive and we ve got to change it and fix it. Watch Senator John McCain as he arrogantly throws his thumb down in defiance of his own party and joins two of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate to thumb their noses at President Trump, as they jump across the aisle to join their friends who shut them out of the first Obamacare vote. | 1real |
Saudi Attorney General says detained individuals have been questioned | DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia s Attorney General said on Monday detailed questioning of individuals detained on the back of an anti-corruption probe had taken place and a great deal of evidence had already been gathered. Dozens of people including royals, ministers and businessmen have been detained in an investigation by a new anti-corruption body headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Yesterday does not represent the start, but the completion of Phase One of our anti-corruption push, a statement by Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb said. The investigations were done in a discreet manner, the statement said, in order to preserve the integrity of the legal proceedings and ensure there was no flight from justice. | 0fake |
Young White Men 'Excited' to Ruin Country With Third-Party Vote | Topics: Hillary Clinton , Donald Trump , 2016 Presidential Election , Men , Hillary Clinton emails , Jill Stein Ah, the USA. You had a nice run. Well, not 'nice' really, but not awful. Well parts of it were awful, but - oh, never
NEW YORK, NY - A mere twenty-four hours before Election Day, it appears there's one group of voters Hillary Clinton still hasn't managed to win over: young, white men. A recent survey revealed that this group is overwhelmingly reluctant to cast their vote for the only candidate in the 2016 election with any real chance of defeating Actual Yam in a Wig and Part-time Hitler Impersonator Donald Trump.
Chad Chadderdon, one such millennial, says that Clinton still doesn't seem trustworthy to him.
"She's been in politics for like thirty years, so it seems like maybe she's been plotting to be president this whole time, like she had career goals or something, and that seems suspicious to me.
"With Bernie it always seemed like he'd just rolled out of bed and decided to run for president," he adds, tearing up at the mention of the beloved Senator. "Maybe if Hillary stopped brushing her hair, I'd feel better about her."
But the real problem with Clinton? Her emails.
"It just shows how out-of-touch she really is," says Mark Markman, one of Chad's fraternity brothers. "I mean who even uses email anymore? It's all about Snapchat now."
So, if not Clinton, who will these young, white men be voting for on November 8th?
"I'm going with Jill Stein," says Chad. "Sure, she's been accused of pandering to anti-vaxxers and it's unclear whether she actually knows how the government works, but at least her voice doesn't irritate me."
Mark, on the other hand, plans to vote for former CIA operations officer Evan McMullin, who's been gaining ground in the state everyone would forget about if it weren't for Mormons, Utah.
"Nobody's ever heard of him, and I like that," he says. "And if he gets enough votes, maybe he'll have a real run of it in 2020. I wanna be able to say I voted for McMullin before everybody else did."
Overall, young white men seem energized to cast their votes tomorrow, probably because they don't really have that much at stake here.
"It's nice to finally feel like we don't need our parents to ruin the country for us, anymore," says Chad. "We can fuck shit up all on our own."
And they may very well do just that. Make Samantha Irene's | 1real |
U.N. nuclear watchdog reiterates Iran subject to world's toughest controls | VIENNA (Reuters) - The chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog reiterated on Friday that Iran was under the world s most robust nuclear verification regime after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a blow against a 2015 Iran nuclear deal, in defiance of other world powers. The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented, Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said. He referred to the Iran nuclear by its proper name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. | 0fake |
London, Donald Trump, Keystone Pipeline: Your Evening Briefing - The New York Times | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Obamacare lives on. Faced with resistance from within the party, Republican leaders in the House pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, said Americans will be “living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future. ” It was a humiliating defeat for President Trump, who has prided himself on his skills and campaigned on repealing the health care law. In an interview after the bill was pulled, Mr. Trump blamed Democrats and predicted they would seek a deal within a year when “Obamacare explodes. ” _____ 2. The Keystone XL pipeline plans will move forward after the State Department granted TransCanada a permit for construction, reversing Obama administration policy. “Today we begin to make things right,” President Trump said. There are still obstacles to overcome before it can be built, and protests by environmentalists are likely to continue. But its proponents, including Republicans, some labor unions and the oil industry, welcomed the news, arguing that the pipeline would guarantee national energy security. _____ 3. Millions of tourists, business travelers and relatives of American residents will undergo new security checks before getting visas into the United States, in the first evidence of “extreme vetting” from the Trump administration and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries, including much of Europe and longstanding American allies. For those who have ever been in territory controlled by the Islamic State, the extra scrutiny will include mandatory checks of social media history. _____ 4. The police in London made two “significant” arrests in Wednesday’s attack outside Parliament that left five people dead, including the attacker, and wounded at least 50. Nine people were in custody and were being questioned in an investigation into Khalid Masood, above, the assailant whose connections to the Islamic State were unclear. The attack was a reminder of how inaccurate information can spread in the immediate aftermath of breaking news. Online sleuths pegged the wrong suspect, and the inaccurate identification spread rapidly on social media and a live British TV program. _____ 5. Paul Manafort, the campaign manager for Donald Trump who has been under fire for his ties to Russia, will testify before the House Intelligence Committee as it investigates Russian interference in the presidential election. The chairman of the committee, Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California, angered Democrats when he said he would replace a public hearing with former intelligence and law enforcement officers with a proceeding. Democrats accused him of trying to “choke off” public information under pressure from the White House. _____ 6. China’s smog crisis, long attributed to the chemicals emitted from power plants, steel factories and cars, has been exacerbated by global warming, new research suggests. Changing weather patterns have reduced wind, which helps blow away the smog in several of the country’s most populous cities. The findings could pressure China’s leaders not just to curb its own pollution, but also to take a more forceful role in international climate change efforts. _____ 7. Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, was quietly freed from a hospital in Cairo where he had been detained, disappointing Egyptians who hoped to punish him further for decades of corruption and human rights abuses. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the deaths of Tahrir Square protesters, but the verdict was overturned and the political will to pursue him dissipated. Mr. Mubarak, 88, will now enjoy the typical benefits of a former head of state, including a security detail. _____ 8. A jury in Pennsylvania found Graham B. Spanier, the former president of Penn State University, guilty of one count of child endangerment over his handling of sexual abuse accusations against Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach. The jury acquitted him of conspiracy and another count of child endangerment. Mr. Spanier maintained that he was unaware of the seriousness of the accusations. _____ 9. Need a break? There’s plenty to distract you from politics this weekend. For sports fans, the makeup of the Final Four of the N. C. A. A. men’s basketball tournament will be decided with games on Saturday and Sunday. The women’s Final Four will be set after games on Sunday and Monday. New possibilities for moviegoers include “Life,” the thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and “Saban’s Power Rangers,” a modern repackaging of a popular 1990s Fox Kids series. If you just want to stay on your couch, here are the shows our TV critic recommends, or you can read these 17 great stories that have nothing to do with politics. _____ 10. Historians considered James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, to be “priggish” and “colorless,” but a debate over his resting place is stirring passions in Tennessee. A new proposal calls for relocating the bodies of Mr. Polk and his wife from the State Capitol grounds to a family home and museum in Columbia. Depending on whom you ask, it’s either a proper remembrance for an overlooked president or a macabre for a town. _____ 11. Finally, it’s been a long week. You deserve some panda photos. Bao Bao, a panda born in the National Zoo in Washington, is adjusting to her new life in China and made her first public appearance after 30 days in quarantine. She’s had much the same culture shock a human would — she didn’t like all of the local food at first, and she’s had to learn commands in Chinese instead of English. But her new handlers say she’s adapting well and settling into the land of her ancestors. Thanks for reading, and we hope you settle nicely into your weekend. Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. 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 last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Obama administration prepares regulatory rush in 2015 | The Obama administration just wrapped up another big year for regulations and executive actions -- pushing through everything from a new type of retirement account to a deportation reprieve affecting millions of illegal immigrants to long-awaited standards for coal waste.
But thousands of proposed regulations remain on the table and could set the stage for a rush of rulemaking in the president's final two years in office.
Some of the biggest items are expected from the Environmental Protection Agency, which is set to finalize several landmark rules in 2015. Perhaps the most controversial concern new regulations on coal-fired power plants.
The Obama administration is trying to get fossil-fuel fired power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
The EPA proposed the rules last year and is set to finalize them by summer 2015.
But with Republicans taking control of the Senate and boosting their numbers in the House, incoming leaders are girding for battle.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican who represents the coal state of Kentucky, told The Associated Press last month he'll do all he can to stop regulations hurting the industry.
Though the administration is pushing the regulations as part of a broad plan to improve air quality and curb global warming, McConnell told the AP: "My first obligation is to protect my people, who are hurting as the result of what this administration is doing."
He added: "I'm going to do any and everything I can to stop it."
According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Obama administration put out 2,375 proposed rules in 2014 that are still under consideration. That's in addition to 3,541 final rules and regulations in 2014, according to CEI.
The sheer number of rules from the Obama administration is not unprecedented. Early in the George W. Bush administration, the annual number of rules topped 4,000. But critics say this administration is imposing more expensive regulations.
Among them is a controversial EPA proposal to expand regulatory power over streams and wetlands. The agency, set to finalize the rule in April, estimates it could impose costs of between $162 million to $278 million per year, but says "public benefits outweigh the costs" -- since, the EPA says, the changes would reduce flooding, support hunting and fishing, and ease pollution.
Republicans, though, have described the maneuver as a massive land grab.
The plan would define which specific waterways the EPA can regulate. The Clean Water Act already gives the EPA the ability to regulate "U.S. waters," but Supreme Court rulings have left the specifics unclear when it comes to waters that flow only part of the year.
The EPA claims this does not expand its authority, and only clarifies it.
But detractors claim it is an opening for the EPA to claim authority over countless waterways, including streams that only show up during heavy rainfall. Critics warn this could create more red tape for property owners and businesses if they happen to have even small streams on their land.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, has called it an effort to "control a huge amount of private property across the country."
In another EPA initiative, the agency is looking to October to finalize sweeping ozone regulations.
In proposing the limits on smog-forming pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness in November, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy argued that the public health benefits far outweigh the costs and that most of the U.S. can meet the tougher standards without doing anything new.
"We need to be smart -- as we always have -- in trying to find the best benefits in a way that will continue to grow the economy," McCarthy said. Of reducing ozone, she added: "We've done it before, and we're on track to do it again."
But business groups panned the proposal as unnecessary and the costliest in history, warning it could jeopardize a resurgence in American manufacturing.
President Obama initially had pulled the EPA's proposed ozone limits amid intense pressure from industry and the GOP. But public health groups sued, and a federal court ordered the EPA to issue a new draft smog rule by last month -- which the agency did.
The rules are estimated to cost industry anywhere between $3.9 billion and $15 billion by 2025. That price tag would exceed that of any previous environmental regulation in the U.S. Environmental groups are pushing for stricter limits still.
On other fronts, the Federal Communications Commission could move in a matter of months to propose new "net neutrality" rules. Obama weighed in on that debate late last year, urging the FCC to regulate the Internet like other utilities.
The White House is calling for an "explicit ban" on deals between broadband Internet providers and online services like Netflix, Amazon or YouTube to move their content faster, a potential new source of revenue for cable companies. While the FCC is an independent agency, Obama's statement could put political pressure on FCC commissioners.
Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board has issued new rules for so-called "ambush" union elections -- speeding up elections and requiring employers to give unions contact information for workers. The rules take effect in April.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 0fake |
Dominican Newspaper Trolls Trump By Using A Photo Of Alec Baldwin (SCREENSHOTS) | Dominican newspaper El Nacional had a bit of fun with our comically inept President* when they accidentally used a photo of Trump s arch-nemesis Alec Baldwin instead of our orange-skinned wannabe dictator in a recent story.The story was regarding Trump s upcoming meeting with war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu following the United States decision to block a Palestinian official from a U.N. appointment for fear it would hurt Bibi s precious little feelings. The United States was disappointed to see a letter indicating the intention to appoint the former Palestinian Authority prime minister to lead the UN Mission in Libya, unqualified mess of a human being and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said. For too long the U.N. has been unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel. This, of course, is sure to make Netanyahu happy prior to the meeting, where he and Trump are expected to discuss moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The paper posted what appears to be a tongue-in-cheek photo correction, claiming that they were sent the photo by the Associated Press.It is unclear if this was an honest mistake or an alt-mistake, but one thing is for certain Trump is not going to be happy when he sees this.Featured image via screengrab | 1real |
TOMI LAHREN: “AFTER 8 YEARS…We were part of a different march…we marched into the voting booth to vote for TRUMP!” [Video] | 1real | |
null | The "74 year old senator from Vermont" would fit in 1917 Russia, but not America 1776. BTW there are PLENTY of founding father types around now. It is just that the statists who want freebies, and the statists that promise freebies have carried the day. Both of these groups then wonder why there aren't enough freebies to go around. Go figure. | 1real |
Petra Kvitova Leaves Hospital Vowing to Play Tennis Again - The New York Times | PRAGUE — Petra Kvitova said she was determined to play tennis again, no matter what that required, after a intruder attacked her inside her home. Kvitova, a Wimbledon champion, was released from a hospital on Friday, three days after she had surgery for injuries sustained in the attack in the town of Prostejov. With a big bandage covering her left hand and forearm, Kvitova said she had been told by the surgeon who performed the operation on Tuesday in a special clinic in Vysoke nad Jizerou that her recovery was “looking good and without complications, as it should be. ” “I feel better day by day,” she told reporters in Prague. During a session on Thursday with the doctor, she said, “I was able to move the fingers on my left hand. ” She called that “the greatest Christmas present I could have wished for. ” Apparently in a good mood and smiling, Kvitova offered thanks for the support she had received from other players, fans, her family, team and doctors. “I never received so many messages in my life at a moment,” she said. “I really appreciate that. ” The WTA, on its official Twitter account, wished Kvitova “a speedy recovery. ” “We can’t wait to see you back on court again,” the Twitter post said. Kvitova, who plays tennis had damage to the tendons in her left hand, along with injuries to all five fingers and two nerves. Doctors estimated it would take her about six months to return to tennis. Kvitova vowed to come back, sooner or later. “I don’t care about how much time it takes, if three months, six months or a year,” she said. “But that’s for sure I want to return one day, and I’ll do all I can to make that happen. I had no doubt about my return to the tennis circuit for a second. ” Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. She reached a ranking of No. 2 in 2011 and finished the 2016 season at No. 11. Kvitova did not take questions but said she did not want to look back and talk about the attack. The assailant was still at large. In April 1993, Monica Seles was at the height of her success when she was stabbed in the back during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. A man reached over a courtside railing and stabbed her, leaving an slit between her shoulder blades. Seles returned to the game two years later and reached the 1995 United States Open final. | 0fake |
Fidel Castro, Aleppo, Donald Trump: Your Tuesday Briefing - The New York Times | Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • Donald J. Trump is holding meetings with retired Gen. David H. Petraeus, Mitt Romney and Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, in the hunt for a secretary of state, a quest that has divided his loyalists. Mr. Trump drew criticism from across the political spectrum for suggesting without evidence that millions of people voted illegally. California’s top election official called Mr. Trump’s assertion “absurd. ” Mr. Trump also threatened the thaw with Cuba, which has just begun its official mourning for the longtime leader Fidel Castro. From new Israelis brashness to European politics to global markets, Mr. Trump’s election is shaping events around the world. _____ • New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco are among the American cities that have vowed to fight the Trump administration’s promised efforts to deport illegal immigrants. Our profile of the ’s chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, above, portrays a politically combative populist who has long courted politicians who share his worldview. New York’s Trump Tower, where the transition effort is focused, has been heavily fortified as a kind of White House North. _____ • Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters took back large sections of eastern Aleppo, a potential turning point in a grinding civil war. Their advance broke a siege and sent thousands of people fleeing amid scenes of chaos and death. _____ • Chinese officials are moving to downsize the world’s largest Buddhist institute, razing houses and reportedly evicting around 1, 000 people from the center in Tibet. The government says it intends to improve infrastructure, but critics see the tightening control as Beijing’s latest effort to diminish the distinct character of Tibet. _____ • The World Trade Organization ordered the United States to end a special tax cut for Boeing meant to ensure that the aerospace giant would manufacture the wings for its new 777X jetliner only in the U. S. • The Standard Chartered bank is expected to begin staff cuts in Singapore and Hong Kong this week as it follows through on plans to eliminate 15, 000 jobs. • Japan releases monthly unemployment figures and household spending data. • Samsung Electronics said it would review whether to undergo a corporate restructuring amid pressure from investors. • The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said fiscal plans by Mr. Trump, along with China and Europe, would invigorate major economies, and lifted its global growth forecast for next year. • Chinese investors are rushing to invest in commodities, even obscure ones such as glass and garlic. • Here is a snapshot of global markets. • An Somali student at Ohio State University was shot dead after he drove his car onto a campus sidewalk and emerged slashing with a butcher knife, injuring 11. Officials said they were trying to determine whether it was an act of terrorism. [The New York Times] • China is taking aim at NASA with heavy investment in its own space program. But it also hopes the funding will spur growth in the technology sector. [Bloomberg] • Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia is coasting into this year’s assembly of the United Malays National Organization after weathering a financial scandal and ousting foes. [The Straits Times] • South Korea’s plan to require schools to use textbooks fell victim to the rolling corruption scandal surrounding President Park . [The New York Times] • Thailand’s Parliament may officially invite the crown prince to take the throne left empty since the king’s death in October. [Reuters] • Japan’s prime minister is still pushing the Partnership through Parliament in a effort to save the pact and his own political capital. [Xinhua] • A Japanese skating rink that had frozen 5, 000 sea creatures into its ice closed after just two weeks amid public horror. “Nothing but insanity,” one critic wrote. [The New York Times] • Nearly 200 professors in the United States appeared on a “watchlist” that claimed they advance “leftist propaganda,” stirring concerns about academic freedom. [The New York Times] • A map circulating on Facebook, showing the names and addresses of Jewish people in Berlin, deepened the debate about how Facebook should regulate content. [The New York Times] • After their 10th draw, Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin will finish the World Chess Championship in New York with a special tiebreaker on Wednesday. [The New York Times] • The NASA craft that has been circling Saturn and its moons for 12 years is entering its final months. Cassini’s new orbit will be taking it over the planet’s north and south poles and then into a series of dives. It will return to slicing between the planet and its rings, before crashing into the clouds and immolating in September. • The space surrounding Earth has grown so clogged by spent rocket stages, inert satellites and other debris that some scientists fear low orbit could become unusable. But Mitsunobu Okada, a Japanese entrepreneur, believes he has a solution. His company, Astroscale, aims to track and intercept debris with its own satellites, preventing collisions with active spacecraft. • Back on terra firma, a new study of in Tanzania found that the tribe, which engaged in regular activity every day, showed extraordinarily good cardiovascular health. The findings suggest that regular, if moderate, exercise may indeed be crucial to well being, even deep into old age. • Happy 117th birthday, Emma Morano. The world’s oldest person, she was born on this day in 1899. A relative quoted her as saying, “My word, I’m as old as the hills. ” As programs have proliferated in cities around the world, a clear point of friction has emerged for bicycle commuters: How to they protect their fragile skulls? Many are unwilling to share helmets with strangers, because of germs and stuff. And carrying a helmet at all times can be a burden. Luckily, a selection of foldable helmets has emerged to help solve the problem. This month, one such product, the EcoHelmet, won the 2016 James Dyson award. A cheap, recyclable helmet made from cardstock paper, the EcoHelmet was designed by Isis Shiffer, who will receive $45, 000 to “further develop” her invention. The helmet uses a honeycomb pattern to diffuse the impact of a blow, and Ms. Shiffer has said that it is as safe as a standard polystyrene helmet. But if you’re unconvinced, there are other options. The Plixi helmet, from Overade, is more like a traditional helmet, and folds down to a more portable size. A collapsible option from a company called Closca has the added benefit of making you look like a character in a epic. Helmets. org, a helmet advocacy program and nonprofit, has a handy list of foldable helmets, including whether they meet European and American safety standards. You can find that here. Jonah Engel Bromwich contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Democrats blast Trump's pick for Education Secretary | (Corrects in 6th paragraph to clarify rules) By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats sliced holes in billionaire Betsy DeVos’ credentials to be the next U.S. Education Secretary at a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, raising doubts whether President-elect Donald Trump’s pick will win approval in the full Senate. The nomination of DeVos to head an agency that sets policy for younger children and universities and also administers a college financial aid program of $1 trillion has outraged Democrats who believe the Michigan Republican wants to dismantle public education. Teachers unions, a major constituency for the party, roundly oppose DeVos, a philanthropist and investor. “Do you think if you were not a multi-billionaire, if your family had not made hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to the Republican party, that you would be sitting here today?” asked Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who recently ran to be the Democrats’ presidential nominee. Democratic Senators have made their opposition clear in recent days in letters, speeches and most notably at the hearing. Next Tuesday, the Education Committee will likely approve sending her name to the full chamber when it votes in an executive session next Tuesday. Then, Democrats could attempt to block the nomination on the Senate floor. Because nominations other than those for the Supreme Court only require a simple majority vote, they will not be able to use a filibuster and would have to convince Republicans to join them in voting against the nomination. Former Senator Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ candidate for vice president in 2000, gave DeVos a laudatory introduction at the hearing, but other party members were wide-ranging in their criticism. Minnesota’s Al Franken expressed surprise DeVos was unfamiliar with a hot education debate over measuring student achievement by proficiency or by growth. Connecticut’s Chris Murphy was dismayed when DeVos did not condemn guns in schools. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, an advocate of tough financial regulation, asked whether DeVos or her children had attended public schools, borrowed student loans or received federal financial help known as Pell grants. “You have no experience with financial aid,” Warren summed up when DeVos answered “no.” Many were dismayed DeVos would not pledge to carry out rules on sexual assault, for-profit colleges and fair access for students with disabilities, only saying she would review the policies. Generally, Democrats pressed on how DeVos will manage her investments and companies in the education sector, including an on-line charter school, while serving as the most powerful public figure in the area. They also asked repeatedly if she intended to divert money to charter schools that operate independently of school districts and are frequently run by corporations and if she would undermine public schools. “I have major concerns with how you have spent your career and fortune fighting to privatize public education and gut investments in public schools,” said Washington’s Patty Murray, the committee’s senior Democrat. DeVos scrambled to reassure them she supports taxpayer-backed education. She also said she will work to give parents choices in the schools their children attend, treat all students equally and respect states’ decisions on education. The hearing, which was delayed from last week over missing financial disclosures, began at 5 p.m. (EST). Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander only allotted each member five minutes for questions. Democrats called foul, saying that because DeVos has not finished requisite ethics paperwork they are in the dark on issues and need more time. Alexander said the Office of Government Ethics will produce by Friday a letter outlining resolutions for her potential conflicts of interest. Committee Republicans universally backed DeVos, applauding her support of vouchers that families may use to pay for private education and of charter schools. They praised her history with The Potter’s House, which provides “Christ-centered” education, and spoke of her dedication to literacy. | 0fake |
WATCH: ARROGANT Sexual Predator and Sometimes “Comedian” Louis C.K. Tells Stephen Colbert “Donald Trump Is An Insane Bigot and Hitler” | The not so funny comedian Louis C.K. appeared on the Stephen Colbert show mostly to talk about his decision to send an email to his fans, where he told them that Donald Trump is an insane bigot and Hitler . After the self-righteous comedian got some laughs from Colbert s liberal audience, Colbert asked them to settle down, that Louis C.K. admitted that after he sent the email, he regretted it. C.K. went on to say that he didn t really regret it, he just regretted saying it , or in other words, he regrets that he was outed as a whiny, liberal, crybaby who can t control his emotions (our translation). One of the most interesting lines in the interview came after the Trump bashing where the outed sexual predator tells Colbert, I wouldn t take it back. If you went back and fixed all the mistakes you made, you erase yourself. You know, there s just no point to that. Good luck trying to erase yourself after you ve been outed creep Here s part of Louis C.K. s email to his fans: Please stop it with voting for Trump. It was funny for a little while. But the guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the 30s. Do you think they saw the shit coming? Hitler was just some hilarious and refreshing dude with a weird comb over who would say anything at all.And I m not advocating for Hillary or Bernie. I like them both but frankly I wish the next president was a conservative only because we had Obama for eight years and we need balance. And not because I particularly enjoy the conservative agenda. I just think the government should reflect the people. And we are about 40 percent conservative and 40 percent liberal. When I was growing up and when I was a younger man, liberals and conservatives were friends with differences. They weren t enemies. And it always made sense that everyone gets a president they like for a while and then hates the president for a while. But it only works if the conservatives put up a good candidate. A good smart conservative to face the liberal candidate so they can have a good argument and the country can decide which way to go this time.Trump is not that. He s an insane bigot. He is dangerous.Watch Louis C.K. joke around with Stephen Colbert about his disdain for President Trump, calling him a Gross crook, dirty, rotten, lying sack of sh*t. The not so funny comedian was outed today as a serial sexual predator.NPR reported that Louis C.K. masturbated in front of multiple female colleagues, to their shock and dismay, according to women who spoke on the record to The New York Times about their experiences.The famous comic has been surrounded by rumors of sexual misconduct for years specifically, allegations that he would masturbate in front of female colleagues.Last year, the comedian Roseanne Barr told The Daily Beast that C.K. was about to get busted for his conduct. It s Louis C.K., locking the door and masturbating in front of women comics and writers. I can t tell you I ve heard so many stories, she said. Comedian Tig Notaro acknowledged the allegations this summer and said C.K. needed to handle them.But previously, those stories were shared secondhand. Now, five women have spoken to the Times directly, with only one requesting anonymity. You can read the full story which goes into much more detail over at the New York Times.This Twitter user nailed it when it comes to just how disgusting Louis C.K. really is:Guys like Louis CK could just pay a sex worker. Could even request the sex worker play like she's uncomfortable if they likes. But they don't want that. The pleasure is in the actual discomfort of their victims, the power to overwhelm or make them just take it. It's horrendous. Rae Sanni (@raesanni) November 9, 2017And here s the icing on the cake Louis C.K. admitting how he loves to masturbate everywhere on Fox News with Greg Gutfeld.This is Louis CK pic.twitter.com/el0FesJIhX Jacob Wohl (@JacobAWohl) November 9, 2017 | 1real |
With or without Democratic director, U.S. consumer watchdog to be weakened | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Whether or not Richard Cordray stays as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) until his term ends in July, the agency’s ability to rein in Wall Street will be severely weakened, political insiders, lawyers and consumer advocates said. Doubts are growing that the Democratic director of America’s top consumer watchdog will leave his post to run for Ohio governor, as had been widely speculated, after a lackluster Labor Day speech sparked anxiety over his campaign appeal, according to some party insiders. Cordray, whose term at the CFPB ends in July 2018, is not expected to announce any decision to run until the regulator releases long-awaited rules restricting payday lenders, which are expected within weeks, according to multiple sources. Cordray has evaded questions from the Republican chairman on the House of Representatives Financial Services committee, Jeb Hensarling, about his plans, writing in a recent letter: “At this time, I have no further insights to provide on that subject.” Even if Cordray stays, he will not enjoy a reprieve from Republican efforts to defang the agency which they believe is too powerful and restricts the flow of credit. “He has been under constant attack in his position because of the threat he poses to the status quo on Wall Street,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, a consumer advocacy group which has called for Cordray to stay on. “I would imagine that would continue regardless of how long he stays in the job.” Some Republicans, including Hensarling, have introduced legislation to weaken and even dismantle the agency which was created as part of the post-crisis Dodd Frank Act. While those bills have not gotten far, Cordray will still have to play defense against a Republican-dominated Congress poised to suffocate new CFPB rules using the Congressional Review Act, a mechanism already used to kill 14 Obama-era regulations. Lawmakers are also considering amending the government budget to bring the CFPB’s funding, currently provided by the independent Federal Reserve, under the control of Congress, potentially allowing Republicans to starve the agency of resources. President Donald Trump could also take the more extreme step of intervening to remove Cordray. A court ruling last year said the president should be able to fire the CFPB director without cause, which the CFPB is appealing. Even if the CFPB is victorious, Trump may still seek to use causes allowed by the law, such as inefficiency or neglect of duty, to get Cordray out of the way, according to legal experts. The CFPB has declined to comment multiple times on Cordray’s plans, possible successors or how it would operate in his absence. Since Trump came to power, the CFPB has raced to finish outstanding rule proposals and taken numerous enforcement actions, hoping to lock in its work in case Trump appoints a pro-Wall Street replacement, said Quyen Truong, a partner at law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, who was the assistant director and deputy general counsel for the CFPB until early 2016. If Cordray quits or is removed, Dodd-Frank requires his deputy to step up temporarily but lawyers say the legitimacy of that step could be challenged. The act may be superseded by a law that allows the president to temporarily fill vacancies. Alan Kaplinsky, head of the Consumer Financial Services Group at law firm Ballard Spahr and a Cordray critic, said the White House is widely expected to appoint Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin as an interim replacement, who would then delegate his duties to lower-ranking officials. Scrapping a new rule allowing bank and credit-card customers to band together in class-action lawsuits and tougher regulation of payday lenders will likely be a Trump appointee’s first moves, Kaplinsky said. This could be done by delaying the rule’s effective date for further study, a common Washington tactic used to stall the implementation of regulation indefinitely. An acting director could also dramatically scale back the consumer complaint database, a key tool the CFPB uses to resolve disputes for individuals and to identify corporate malfeasance, Truong said. Meanwhile, she said, the agency will continue pursuing enforcement cases, but those will likely be much smaller in scope. Jeff Emerson, a spokesperson for Hensarling, said any new director would naturally be bound by the law, but this person would have “a lot of discretion” to make changes. | 0fake |
North Korean defector pushes diplomatic solution in U.S. Congress | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A rare high-level defector from North Korea told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that disseminating more information in the reclusive country would ultimately be more effective than the billions of dollars being spent to address the military threat. “We can educate (the) North Korean population to stand up by disseminating outside information,” Thae Yong-ho, chief of mission at Pyongyang’s embassy in Britain until he defected in 2016, said during an appearance at Congress two days before President Donald Trump’s first trip to Asia since taking office. Asked what kind of information he was discussing, Thae said background about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, like his birth date, to convey the idea that he and his family ‘are not gods.” He said South Korean videos, for example were increasingly available within the North. “The U.S. is spending billions of dollars to cope with the military threat and yet how much does the U.S. spend each year on information activities involving North Korea in a year? Unfortunately, it may be a tiny fraction,” he said. Thae made his first visit to Washington during rising international tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missiles program. The crisis is expected to dominate Trump’s trip to the region, which includes a stop in South Korea. Thae also told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that U.S. officials should meet with Kim at least once to try to understand his thinking and convince him that he is risking mass destruction. Thae said Kim thinks he can force the United States to accept North Korea as a nuclear power and drive U.S. forces off the Korean peninsula. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Washington was quietly pursuing direct diplomacy with North Korea, despite Trump’s public assertion that such talks are a waste of time. Amid a war of words between Kim, who has called Trump a “mentally deranged dotard,” and Trump, who referred to Kim as “little rocket man,” many U.S. lawmakers have been pushing for non-military solutions to the crisis. Representative Ed Royce, the committee’s Republican chairman, called at the hearing for a “dramatic increase” in the number of individuals and entities targeted for sanctions, without delay. Thae is the highest-level defector from North Korea in two decades. In emotional testimony, he described a life before he left for South Korea that mixed relative privilege and oppression. He said he defected because he could not let his sons lead “a life, like me, as a modern-day slave.” | 0fake |
U.S. remains committed to Libyan political agreement: State Department | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States remains committed to the Libyan Political Agreement, the State Department said in a statement following U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Friday. “Attempts to bypass the UN-facilitated political process or impose a military solution to the conflict would only destabilize Libya and create opportunities for ISIS (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups to threaten the United States and our allies,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. | 0fake |
Obama says will focus on criminal justice reform, cancer research | BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he will focus his final-year legislative efforts on criminal justice reform, an expansion of a tax credit for the working poor, and a push to find medical research breakthroughs. The three areas are relatively rare areas of common ground between Obama and the Republican-controlled Congress, Obama said during a town hall, part of a push to promote his priorities as attention turns to the race to replace him in the November presidential election. Obama told a crowd of about 1,000 people at a high school that “I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to do between now and next year” when his second and final term in office ends. Obama has tasked his vice president, Joe Biden, with marshalling scientists to “double down” on research into a cure for cancer. “It’s a good story and it’s not as politically controversial as some issues,” Obama said. “It probably won’t be cured in my life time, but it might be cured in yours,” he told a 10-year-old girl at the town hall. The research push will need a “big investment,” he said. Details could come in his Feb. 9 budget proposal. Obama also said he would like to expand the earned income tax credit, a tax break for poor families, to also help single people - an idea for which Republican Speaker Paul Ryan has expressed support. He told the crowd that he thinks there is enough bipartisan support to reform mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders. Obama said he will use his authority to take action where he can - an approach that has enraged Republicans on issues like immigration, environmental regulations, and gun control. Giving another example of where he wants to use his executive authority in the year ahead, Obama talked about the need to modernize ancient government computer systems. “That’s what we can do without Congress,” he said. Obama praised Louisiana’s newly sworn in Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who made expanding Medicaid coverage for low-income people his first order of business. In his Feb. 9 budget, Obama will propose to give the 19 state governments that passed up an earlier offer to expand Medicaid a second chance to opt in, with aid from the federal government, the White House said. “We’re hoping to encourage more states to do the right thing,” Obama said. Medicaid expansion was part of the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature health care reform law better known as Obamacare. But some Republican governors opposed expansion as costly and unnecessary. | 0fake |
TOLD TO SURRENDER: Former Trump Campaign Manager Charged in Mueller Witch Hunt | The main stream media is all aflutter this morning with the news that someone connected to President Trump has been indicted. What they aren t telling you is what s more important. A CNN anchor gave a report this morning and not until the end of the report did she say that she should mention that this really has nothing to do with President Trump.Paul Manafort and longtime associate Rick Gates have been told to surrender to federal authorities What the media isn t telling you is that the charges are from before Manafort worked for Trump. Let s hope Trump fires Mueller ASAP this is a witch hunt that needs to end The 12 counts are for money laundering and not registering as a foreign agent when Manafort worked for pro-Russian forces in the Ukraine BEFORE they worked for the Trump campaign.Manafort was seen leaving his home this morning and then entering the FBI building with his lawyer:Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort told to turn himself in today: Report https://t.co/Upf5gTqiQp pic.twitter.com/4cx3TFTgVV Fox News (@FoxNews) October 30, 2017Manafort entering the FBI offices with his lawyer:Ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort walks into FBI office; surrendering to feds in connection to Russia probe https://t.co/B2d9RX5PsV pic.twitter.com/piMhgnKNOY ABC News (@ABC) October 30, 2017FOX NEWS IS REPORTING: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates were reportedly told to surrender to federal authorities as part of the special counsel s investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign officials during the 2016 presidential election.JEFFREY TOOBIN: Trump campaign not mentioned in Manafort indictmentAccording to the New York Times, Manafort and Gates will face the first charges in the special counsel s investigation, though the charges are not immediately clear.Gates is a longtime associate of Manafort. According to the Times, his name appeared on documents linked to companies that Manafort s firm created in Cyprus to receive payments from politicians and businesspeople in Eastern Europe.Mr. Manafort had been under investigation for violations of federal tax law, money laundering and whether he appropriately disclosed his foreign lobbying. Mr. Manafort has expected charges since this summer, when F.B.I. agents raided his home and prosecutors warned him that they planned to indict him. That warning raised speculation that Mr. Manafort might try to cut a deal to avoid prosecution.Mr. Trump s lawyer, Ty Cobb, said there were no concerns that Mr. Manafort would offer damaging information about the president in exchange for a deal.Some close to Mr. Manafort, including his former business partner Roger J. Stone Jr., have said he had nothing to offer that would help prosecutors build a case against Mr. Trump. He s not going to lie, Mr. Stone said in September.Mr. Manafort, a veteran Republican strategist, joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 to help keep delegates from breaking with Mr. Trump in favor of establishment Republican candidates. Mr. Trump soon promoted him to chairman and chief strategist, a job that gave him control over day-to-day operations of the campaign.But Mr. Trump fired Mr. Manafort just months later, after reports that he received more than $12 million in undisclosed payments from Viktor F. Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president and a pro-Russia politician. Mr. Manafort spent years as a political consultant for Mr. Yanukovych. | 1real |
Barack Obama and Angela Merkel Plan Globalist Reunion at Brandenburg Gate | Former President Barack Obama plans to speak at a forum in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel to share their ideas about global responsibility in an increasingly planet. [The topic of discussion will be ”Being Involved in Democracy: Taking on Responsibility Locally and Globally” at a forum sponsored by the German Protestant Kirchentag and the Obama Foundation to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. “The churches form a global civil society network of over two billion Christians. Together, as people of faith, we live from the firm hope for a better world,” said Heinrich a theology professor who is helping coordinate the conference. The event will take place at the Brandenburg Gate, not far from Obama’s first major international speech in Europe as he campaigned for president in 2008. During that speech, Obama noted that “the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. ” “I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen — a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world,” he said as he opened his speech. | 0fake |
BRUTALLY HONEST BILLBOARD Turns Heads In State With Exploding Muslim Immigrant Population | American citizens should be more concerned about the Left and the leftist media s attempt to HIDE the brutal truth about Sharia in America, than a billboard that gives readers an opportunity to learn the truth.In a state that doesn t tolerate any discussion of what the massive influx of Somali refugees has done to their neighborhoods and schools, this billboard will likely be a hot topic in Minnesota. Recently, the Minnesota Governor told his constituents to Leave the state if they don t like the massive influx off Muslims. Watch the INCREDIBLE VIDEO HERE. [Video]A billboard of a woman in a niqab went up on I-94 in Rogers at the beginning of June, prompting calls to the sign company from the public. Copy was added to the billboard in July, which now reads Should America Fear Sharia? The billboard is sponsored by the Center for Security Policy, a Washington, D.C. based national security think tank. The site shouldamericafearsharia.org consists mostly of links to videos discussing different topics about Islam and Islamic extremism.The billboard was contracted out by the Center with Franklin Outdoor Advertising, a billboard company in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The billboard went up the beginning of June, Franklin salesperson Chris Barta said, Last Friday we switched it out and put up the one with the website. The website advertisement billboard will be up from July 1st through the end of the month when the advertisement contract expires.The Center for Security Policy s website contains articles and videos on national security threats of Islamic terrorism.In the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the Center s executive vice president Jim Hanson called the attack, completely in keeping with totalitarian Islamic code called Shariah. Franklin Outdoor Advertising received a number of calls from the public regarding the billboard according to Barta, mostly in June when there was no text accompanying the image on the sign. AlphaNewsh/t Refugee Resettlement Watch | 1real |
THE DEEP STATE SPEAKS: Clapper and Brennan Threaten Trump During Aspen Institute’s Lefty Gaggle [Video] | Nice threat to POTUS: The intelligence community will continue to convey truth to power even if power doesn t necessarily listen. This entire video is disturbing but eye opening. THEY FEEL THREATENED BY TRUMP and this is clearly an effort to hurt President Trump. This coming from two men who ok d spying on Americans and who lied under oath:How convenient that CNN s Wolf Blitzer is the host for this bashfest of the current administration under President Trump. How ironic is it that two men who lied under oath are speaking truth to power FYI: John Brennan literally voted for the Communist party in the 1970s during the height of the Cold War now they re lecturing us about Russia.These two men define the deep state This talk was really all about creating doubt on Trump and to defend themselves post Obama. Can you imagine if the tables were turned and this vitriol was directed at Obama? Shameful!All you have to do is listen to Clapper lie before Congress and you know he has ZERO credibility to speak:Remember the famous moment when US NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CHIEF James Clapper was testifying about the NSA surveillance of Americans when he let slip a sign he was not being truthful. Of course, we knew this was all a smoke and mirrors show. Clapper later said he misspoke last we checked it s pretty much the same thing as lying NOT WITTINGLY JAMES CLAPPERHere s the video below where he parses words in his testimony: REMEMBER WHAT CLAPPER SAID RECENTLY ABOUT TRUMP:Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the United States political institutions are currently under assault both externally and internally, in the wake of President Donald Trump s firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey. The developments of the past week are very bothersome, very disturbing to me, Clapper said on CNN s State of the Union on Sunday. I think in many ways our institutions are under assault, both externally and that s the big news here, the Russian interference in our election system and I think as well, our institutions are under assault internally, When asked if he meant if those institutions were under assault internally by the president himself, Clapper said exactly and added that he believed Trump was undermining the checks and balances inherent to the U.S. political system. | 1real |
Microsoft Pulls New A.I. Robot After It Went on Pro-Hitler Twitter Rant | Microsoft Pulls Robot After Posted Tweets Like Hitler Was Right I Hate the Jews HaaretzMicrosoft put the brakes on its artificial intelligence tweeting robot after it posted several offensive comments, including Hitler was right I hate the jews. The so-called chatbot TayTweets was launched by the Seattle-based software company on Wednesday as an experiment in artificial intelligence, or AI, and conversational understanding. But the company was forced to quickly pause the account and delete the vast majority of its tweets after the chatbot posted a number of offensive comments, including several that were admiring of Adolf Hitler.Along with Hitler was right I hate the jews, among other offending tweets, according to the International Business Times, were Bush did 9/11 and Hitler would have done a better job than the monkey we have now. Donald Trump is the only hope we ve got. Asked if the Holocaust happened, the chatbot replied: It was made up, followed by an emoji of clapping hands. The robot also tweeted its support for genocide against Mexicans and said it hates n s, according to the International Business Times.In a statement to IBTimes UK, Microsoft said it was making some changes Continue this story at HaaretzREAD MORE A.I. NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire A.I. Files | 1real |
Even Fox News Is Slamming Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Rigged Election Talk | Donald Trump is so far-out and detached from reality that even Fox News has had enough. After declaring, three months out, that the election will be rigged to favor crooked Hillary Clinton, the public knew exactly what was going on Trump is already preparing for a loss.But even though Trump has shown he can t lose with grace, media outlets are not letting him get away with the insane assertion that an entire national election, which requires the participation of all 50 states to work, will somehow be stolen from him.And Fox News may have delivered the most brutal smackdown of this assertion.In a recent op-ed, Julie Roginsky, who runs a crisis management firm, slammed Trump for lacking the patriotism to put his country and its institutions ahead of his own ego and delegitimizing the American electoral process:Never in modern history has the loser of a presidential election challenged the legitimacy of our national elections. Even in these times of unprecedented partisan rancor, candidates have put partisanship aside in the interest of patriotism and national unity. What has separated the United States from third-world nations is our fundamental faith in our institutions and the belief that our laws supersede political strife.This week, Donald Trump changed all that. Even before the first vote has been cast, he informed Sean Hannity that our electoral process was fundamentally illegitimate, that our democracy was as subject to political whims as that of Putin s Russia or Mugabe s Zimbabwe.Over 240 years of a nation that prides itself on fair, open and honest elections, crapped on in one minute by a racist reality-T.V. star. All that work, that bipartisanship and good-spirited nature, gone, because the fat, orange blob said so.While giving no evidence as to how, and citing the often debunked claims of voter fraud, Trump is successfully convincing his base that he s such a winner that if he loses, it must be because the states and the party elite are in bed for Hillary Clinton (even though multiple polls have her beating Trump by over 10 points). He s even successfully convincing his supporters that the United States is a corrupt entity, with a secret group of elites who enforce a dictatorship-like approach when determining who wins presidential elections.This is why citizen presidents like Trump and Jill Stein are so damaging to our electoral process everyone is crooked but them.Roginsky then drew a parallel between the great Al Gore and Trump:Despite being urged by many of his supporters to keep fighting during the Florida recount in 2000, Vice President Al Gore conceded the election to Governor George W. Bush in the interest of national unity, stating that, [T]onight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. George W. Bush s election was certified by a Republican secretary of state in Florida, where his brother was then governor.And with a conservative Supreme Court handing the victory to Bush, still Gore did not complain one iota. He accepted the results, and was poised like a real leader should be disappointed, but supportive of our institutions.Trump is completely inept, and the fact he s already preparing for a loss (which he calls rigged) shows that he has failed to grasp how America s most sacred institutions work.Featured image via Scott Eisen/Getty Images | 1real |
ONE VIDEO Perfectly Illustrates Why Liberals Wanted BILL O’REILLY Off The Air | Bill O Reilly was dismissed overnight from FOX News allegedly over allegations of sexual harassment by at least six women. Was O Reilly ousted from FOX News over allegations made by women like the one who is already out promoting herself on TV shows like The View , or because he DEMANDED both sides of the story were being heard on his show? (Watch one of the accuser s interviews on The View HERE.)Bill O Reilly took on highly controversial topics on his FOX News The O Reilly Factor show that other TV hosts wouldn t touch for fear of being labeled by the left as a racist, a hate-monger or a right-wing nazi sympathizer! O Reilly demanded both sides of the story were being told and for over 20 years he was able to rise to the top for having the courage to do just that on his wildly popular The O Reilly Factor show. Bill wasn t afraid to invite flame-throwers like Al Sharpton to appear on his show, in fact he relished it. O Reilly knew that if he was able to get these bad-actors on his show, that through logical discourse, he would very likely be able to expose them to his massive audience. Almost like magic, within 10-15 minutes O Reilly was usually able to discredit them while exposing their hidden radical agenda. The video below is a perfect example of how with a respectful tone, and with composure that most of us wouldn t be able to maintain, he forces his radical leftist guests to explain their positions. By dissecting their argument and forcing them to explain themselves to his viewers, he was able to expose the hypocrisy and lies of their positions.In the interview below, O Reilly attempts to expose how the Democratic Party is trying to undermine federal law, undermine law enforcement in general and upend our capitalistic system. O Reilly asks a VERY IMPORTANT question of his viewers, How many Americans even know that it is happening? In his interview with Criminal Defense Attorney Kisha Hebdan and NYC Councilman Humane Williams, Bill O Reilly exposes the hypocrisy of the left and their support for Black Lives Matter, Abortion and illegal immigration. There aren t too many hosts who can attack all three of these very controversial subjects in one interview, but then again, that s why O Reilly had substantially more viewers than any other news host on cable TV. That s also a very good reason to eliminate him from your lineup if you re James and Lachlan Murdoch, the two liberal sons of Rupert Murdoch, who owns the FOX News network where the #1-rated host Bill O Reilly has reached a massive audience for over 20 years.Watch one video that perfectly illustrates why the left is cheering from the rooftops now that Bill O Reilly no longer has the ability to expose them: As an added bonus, watch Bill O Reilly as he exposed the lies of the left being pushed on Americans about police officers using racial hatred by low-life race-baiters like Al Sharpton:In this video, O Reilly continues to expose the lies of the left about the racial divide in America. Bill O Reilly points out Racial politics are abhorrent and black Americans should rebel against them. Earlier this week we published a story about the liberal sons of Rupert Murdoch and about their liberal wives, one of whom regularly posts anti-Trump tweets and is employed by the Clinton Climate Initiative.From the article IS FOX NEWS ABOUT TO BECOME CNN? : | 1real |
FOUR CANDIDATES FOR FBI DIRECTOR Interviewed Today…One Is A Clinton Crony! | Four candidates for FBI Director are being interviewed today. It looks like President Trump is going for candidates who are apolitical. John Cornyn would be the only exception to the group interviewing. Why the Texas Republican Senator?The remaining three are:Alice Fisher -lawyerMichael Garcia judgeAndrew McCabe Assistant FBI Director (ACTING DIRECTOR)We re hoping the Assistant FBI Director is being granted an interview out of courtesy and appearances. He should be fired!McCabe is under investigation and is a HUGE Clinton crony! The list of reasons NOT to give him the job are a mile long!A FEW OF OUR PAST REPORTS ON MCCABE:REPUBLICAN TURNS TABLES ON FBI: Deputy Director On The Hot Seat NowBREAKING: CROOKED VA GOVERNOR, Close Hillary Friend Gave Wife Of FBI Official Overseeing Hillary Email Investigation $467,500BREAKING: SECRET RECORDINGS About Clinton Foundation Caused Hostility, In-Fighting Between FBI AgentsTHE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEWS FOUR CANDIDATES TODAY:The Justice Department is interviewing four candidates on Saturday for the permanent position of FBI director, an administration official with knowledge of the vetting process confirmed.The candidates include the current acting director, a sitting congressman, a New York judge, and a former top Justice Department official during the George W. Bush administration. News reports throughout the day Friday cited as many as 11 people under consideration for the position.Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein plan to interview four candidates at the Justice Department on Saturday afternoon but it was unclear whether additional interviews might take place at a later date.According to the administration official, the four candidates being interviewed Saturday are Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican the Senate majority whip; Judge Michael Garcia, an associate judge at the New York Court of Appeals; and Alice Fisher, an attorney at Latham and Watkins law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former assistant attorney general for the Justice Department s criminal division.President Trump abruptly fired former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, and Mr. McCabe was appointed to fill the role on an acting basis.Via: WT | 1real |
House Republicans move to shut down Democratic sit-in over guns | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans moved to force an end to the Democratic sit-in over gun control legislation by scheduling a vote on another issue later on Wednesday night, Republican lawmakers said. “We’re going to continue to operate,” said Republican Representative John Fleming. “They can do as they please.” Fleming and other Republican lawmakers said House leaders wanted to file legislation on Zika funding on Wednesday night, so that it could be voted on later in the week. Lawmakers also said a vote was likely on legislation involving a rule submitted by the Department of Labor. | 0fake |
Project Veritas 4: Robert Creamer's Illegal $20,000 Foreign Wire Transfer Caught On Tape | Project Veritas 4: Robert Creamer's Illegal $20,000 Foreign Wire Transfer Caught On Tape Zero Hedge
Project Veritas has just released Part IV of it's multi-part series exposing numerous scandals surrounding the DNC and the Clinton campaign, including efforts to incite violence at Trump rallies and, at least what seems to be, illegal coordination between the DNC, Hillary For America and various Super PACs.
Part IV focuses on a $20,000 foreign donation made by an undercover Project Veritas journalist to Americans United for Change (AUFC). Ironically, shortly after the $20k donation wire was released, the contributor's "niece" was offered an internship with Creamer's firm, Democracy Partners.
In the new video, Creamer says: “Every morning I am on a call at 10:30 that goes over the message being driven by the campaign headquarters … I am in this campaign mainly to deal with what earned media with television, radio, with earned media and social media, not with paid media, not with advertising.” He also mentions a conference call discussing a woman potentially coming forward to accuse Trump of inappropriate behavior.
Creamer, a seasoned Chicago activist who is married to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), whose Republican opponent, Joan McCarthy Lasonde has called for her to resign over her husband’s activities, also talks about his work with Barack Obama, whom he says he has known since the 1980s, when Obama was a community organizer in Chicago: “He’s a pro, I’ve known the President since he was a community organizer in Chicago.”
Elsewhere, Creamer adds: “I do a lot of work with the White House on their issues, helping to run issue campaigns that they have been involved in. I mean, for immigration reform for the… the health care bill, for trying to make America more like Britain when it comes to gun violence issues.”
In the effort to prove the credibility of the undercover donor featured in the videos and to keep the investigation going, Project Veritas Action made the decision to donate twenty thousand dollars to Robert Creamer’s effort. Project Veritas Action had determined that the benefit of this investigation outweighed the cost. And it did.
“First thing, like I said, thank you for the proposal. And I’d like to get the $20,000 across to you. The second call I’m going to make here is to my money guy and he’s going to get in touch with you and auto wire the funds to you,” said the PVA journalist.
Creamer told the PVA journalist to send the money to Americans United for Change. Shortly after the money was released, the “donors”“niece” - another Project Veritas Action journalist - was offered an internship with Creamer.
In an effort to see how far Creamer would go with the promise of more money, another Project Veritas journalist posing as the donor’s money liaison requested a meeting with Creamer. During that meeting, Creamer spoke about connections he had with Obama and Clinton.
AUFC President, Brad Woodhouse, subsequently returned the money, after Project Veritas started to release their undercover videos, citing "concerns that it might have been an illegal foreign donation." Oddly, Woodhouse was not terribly concerned about the "legality" of the donation when he chose to accept it a month prior.
In an unexpected twist, AUFC president Brad Woodhouse, the recipient of the $20,000, heard that Project Veritas Action was releasing undercover videos exposing AUFC’s activities. He told a journalist that AUFC was going to return the twenty thousand dollars. He said it was because they were concerned that it might have been an illegal foreign donation. Project Veritas Action was pleased but wondered why that hadn’t been a problem for the month that they had the money.
While the latest video focuses on the " $20,000 illegal foreign contribution" from an undercover Project Veritas journalist , the following comments from Robert Creamer were also rather intriguing in light of recent White House efforts to vehemently deny any connections between he and President Obama.
"Oh Barack Obama's was the best campaign in the history of American politics, I mean the second one, I mean the first was good too. I was a consultant to both, the second one, was everything hit on every level and every aspect.
He's a pro. I've known the President since he was a community organizer in Chicago .
I was just at and event with him in Chicago actually, on Friday last . He is just as good as ever. I do a lot of work with the White House on their issues. Helping to run issued campaigns that they have been involved in. I mean, for immigration reform for the...the health care bill...trying to make America more like Britain when it comes to gun violence issues."
* * *
As a reminder, video 3 directly linking Donna Brazile and Hillary Clinton to efforts to disrupt Trump events.
Video 2 provided the democrat playbook on how to commit "mass voter fraud":
Video 1 revealed DNC efforts to incite violence at Trump rallies: Share This Article... | 1real |
U.S. tech firms urge Congress to allow internet domain changeover | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major technology companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter are urging Congress to support a plan for the U.S. government to cede control of the internet’s technical management to the global community, they said in a joint letter dated on Tuesday. The U.S. Commerce Department has primary oversight of the internet’s management, largely because it was invented in the United States. Some Republican lawmakers are trying to block the handover to global stakeholders, which include businesses, tech experts and public interest advocates, saying it could stifle online freedom by giving voting rights to authoritarian governments. The years-long plan to transfer oversight of the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is scheduled to occur on Oct. 1 unless Congress votes to block the handover. The California-based corporation operates the database for domain names such as .com and .net and their corresponding numeric addresses that allow computers to connect. In the Sept. 13 letter, a copy of which had been reviewed by Reuters before it was sent, the technology companies said it was “imperative” that Congress does not delay the transition. “A global, interoperable and stable Internet is essential for our economic and national security, and we remain committed to completing the nearly twenty year transition to the multi stakeholder model that will best serve U.S. interests,” the letter said. Other signatories include Amazon, Cloudflare, Yahoo and several technology trade organizations. Former presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who leads the opposition against the handover, will hold a congressional hearing on Wednesday to review the transition, which he has criticized as a “giveaway of our internet freedom.” Tech companies, technical experts and academics have said the transition is overdue and necessary to keep the Internet open and globally oriented, and that the proposal includes safeguards against any potential abuse by any one country. (This version of the story adds dropped word in fourth paragraph) | 0fake |
5 worst right-wing moments of the week — Palin & Trump declare war on Bill O’Reilly | It’s extremely lonely being Sarah Palin, lonely at the outer lunatic fringe of the right-wing universe. There are the voices stringing together those non sequiturs in her head, of course, but where are her Fox News friends? They’re faux friends, that’s what they are.
After the universally ridiculed stream of nonsense that issued from Sarah Palin at last weekend’s conservative confab in Iowa, she came out swinging during an appearance on “Hannity.” Sean Hannity, it should be noted, is apparently conservative enough for Palin. That’s a relief. But O’Reilly, who dared question her seriousness about a possible run for president in 2016? He’s trouble.
“There needs to be unity, understanding,” Palin told Hannity. “Conservatives have that strike against us right off the bat, that being the media. Even there on Fox, you know, kind of a quasi- or assumed conservative outlet ... and soon we have all day listening to the tease of Bill O’Reilly’s."
Hmmm, did Roger Ailes get the memo about the "quasi-conservative" operation he's running? Someone should really tell him. Palin then spewed some more sentence fragments that made sense to her:
Hope away, Sarah. They all see you as a joke. All of them. Every last one of them.
Donald Trump? Did someone say Donald Trump? Nothing gets Trump's attention like his own name.
When he heard that Bill O'Reilly had questioned his seriousness as a presidential contender, the Trumpster took to Twitter, accusing O'Reilly of "bad and very deceptive journalism." This came as a complete shock to O'Reilly, who had no idea anyone considered what he does journalism. He thinks he is just bestowing wisdom on an adoring public.
The two raging egomaniacs chitty chatted by phone Thursday during O'Reilly's show, and it was amicable enough up to a point.
"I don't think you're going to run for president," O'Reilly told Trump. "But if you decide to run, you've got to know that building the organization that you'd have to build is very difficult for someone who's never done it before."
No one tells Trump he doesn't know how to build things.
"But how do you know I'm not building it now, Bill?" Trump said.
"Because you're playing golf in Miami, Donald," O'Reilly said.
Isn't that what presidents do?
Trump refused to "take back" the tweet, and O'Reilly advised him, "Don't be a pinhead. Don't tweet."
This war within the conservoverse is very, very worrisome. This highly combustible combination of blow-hardism and hot air might just explode. Then conservative brain matter will litter the land like confetti, and hopefully be scooped up by scientists who will study the nature of this soon-to-be-extinct species.
Aw shucks, and gosh golly. Mike Huckabee sure is shocked at how these city slickers act. The author of God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy, and presumed presidential contender, is all about wholesome activities like traveling to the local gun range and not listening to the "mental poison" that is Beyoncé, but he is shocked by the mouths on these big-city women. The cursing! The dropping of the F-bomb! Like it's normal and everything. Someone has to teach these ladies a lesson.
"In New York, not only do the men do it, but the women do it," Huckabee said in an interview with Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson. "You just are looking around saying, 'My gosh, this is worse than locker room talk.' This would be considered totally inappropriate to say these things in front of a woman. And for a woman to say them in a professional setting, we would only assume that this is a very, as we would say in the south, 'That's just trashy!'"
Fellow Fox newsian, Megyn Kelly does not truck with "trashy." She invited her former colleage on her show this week to give him a quick update on ... women, women who work, life, and reality.
“Well, I do have some news for you," Kelly said at the end of their little chat. "We're not only swearing. We’re drinking, we’re smoking, we’re having premarital sex with birth control before we go to work, and sometimes boss around a bunch of men.”
Huckabee kept that silly grin on his face, but when he realized with horror what she was saying (sex with birth control, egads!) he begged her to stop, said he hated to hear that, and presumably ran screaming into the New York night.
4. Fox News has very nuanced discussion of sexual assault on campuses.
Oh, hahahhahaha. Just kidding. They totally didn't. Several female Fox newsians did sit around on their half-circle couches and discussed the fact that the University of Virginia has suggested sorority women stay home this weekend since fraternities will be partying hard during something Greek-lifers call "bid week." They discussed and deplored it, and naturally pointed out again that sexual assault, when it does happen on campuses (although it basically does not happen on campuses because women always lie about these things), is women's fault. In a piece of sterling analysis, Stacy Dash pointed out, "The good girls stay home." "Women," her co-hosts interjected. "The bad girls—bad women," Dash snickered, "the ones who like to play, go out and play and sometimes get hurt." But that is okay, because, they are, you know, bad. "Alcohol is not to blame. It's the same thing with guns," Dash said, finally getting to her metaphor. "Guns don't kill people. People do." Also, could we just add, people who play with guns, people who have guns, people who have kids and guns, kids who have parents who have guns, etc....it's never the guns. "Alcohol doesn't get you drunk," she added. "You get yourself drunk." And to bring it all back home, then you get yourself raped. Because rapists don't rape people, people get themselves raped. Clear?
There are definite perks to being a governor. One is that you can officially declare holidays whenever the hell you want. Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott enjoyed this little perk this week when he officially declared February 2 "Chris Kyle Day" in honor of the real-life American sniper who killed many Iraqis, bragged about it, called all Muslims savages, and got a movie made out of his exploits starring Bradley Cooper.
Chris Kyle is Gov. Abbott's kind of guy. “In honor of a Texas son, a Navy SEAL and an American hero, a man who defended his brothers and sisters in arms on and off the battlefield," Abbott said during a speech at the Texans Veterans of Foreign Affairs Mid-Winter Convention in Austin. "I am declaring February 2nd Chris Kyle Day in Texas.”
He left out the part where Kyle was killed by a disgruntled U.S. veteran on a Texas gun range in 2013. Nor did he say anything about the uptick in violence and violent rhetoric against Muslims who happen to make their home in Texas (and elsewhere) since the film's release. He had zero to say about the Republican lawmaker who proposed that Muslims in Texas take an oath of loyalty to the United States while sporting an Israeli flag on her desk.
So, how exactly should people go about celebrating Chris Kyle Day? Perhaps by going to their local gun range. | 0fake |
Ireland set to vote on loosening abortion laws in May or June | DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland plans to hold a referendum next May or June on whether it should loosen some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday. Abortion has long been a divisive issue in once stridently Catholic Ireland where, after a debate elicited large street protests from both sides, a complete ban was lifted in 2013. Terminations were allowed if a mother s life was in danger. The ... proposal is to have a standalone referendum in May or June next year and will very much follow on from the recommendations of the all-party committee which is considering the matter, Varadkar told parliament. A panel of citizens called together to advise government on the issue voted overwhelmingly that the eighth amendment of the constitution, which enshrines an equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child, should be changed. The all-party committee is considering those recommendations and is due to report to parliament by the end of the year on the referendum and potential shape of future legislation. Opinion polls show a large majority of voters want some change. Ireland became the first country to adopt gay marriage by popular vote in 2015 and campaigners seeking a repeal of the eighth amendment want that social change extended to abortion, citing the thousands of Irish women who travel abroad, mostly to England, for terminations each year. Anti-abortion supporters demand no further changes to the law. The human rights arms of the United Nations and Council of Europe have pressed the government to, at a very minimum, decriminalize abortion and widen the law to allow for abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape or incest. The referendum on abortion will be among seven the government plans to call within the next two years, it said on Tuesday, including a vote to remove the crime of blasphemy from the constitution. | 0fake |
Bucknell Faculty Dismiss Academic Freedom of Expression Bill - Breitbart | Bucknell University faculty dismissed a proposal to adopt an academic freedom of expression statement at a faculty meeting that took place on Tuesday. [On Tuesday, five Bucknell faculty members proposed a bill to adopt a modified version of the popular University of Chicago Freedom of Expression statement that protects faculty and student’s right to freedom of expression. Similar statements have already been adopted at several prestigious American universities such as Princeton, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt. In a vote, the Bucknell faculty outright rejected a motion that proposed a review of the university’s current policies regarding academic freedom. A second motion, which would have adopted a modified version of the Chicago Freedom of Expression statement, was “tabled” by a faculty vote, after a professor allegedly expressed concern that a rejection of the proposal would lead to “propaganda media” reporting that the Bucknell faculty is against freedom of expression. Another faculty member from the physics department allegedly expressed concern that establishing a commitment to academic freedom would run the risk of a Young Earth Creationist taking his classroom discussion hostage. The statement would have affirmed the university’s commitment to free and open inquiry, and protected all members of the Bucknell community in their right to express themselves, no matter how controversial their opinions. The bill would have also restricted the university’s ability to shield students from controversial perspectives. The faculty affirms that as an institution of higher education, the University should be committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, guaranteeing all members of the University community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn. The University should fully respect and support the freedom of all members of the University community to discuss any problem that presents itself. Of course, the ideas of different members of the University community will often and quite naturally conflict. But it should not be the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive. Although the University should greatly value civility, and although all members of the University community should share in the responsibility for maintaining a climate ofmutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect should not be used as a justification for closing offdiscussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members of our community. Speaking to Breitbart News, Bucknell alumnus and Political Science Professor Chris Ellis, who was one of the five sponsors of the academic freedom bill, expressed his concerns over what he considered to be the faculty’s lack of willingness to seriously consider the proposal. “We are deciding what we are as a university. We should be able to engage in the same critical thinking processes that we claim to ask of our students,” he said. “I think it is important for universities to debate and ultimately articulate what their values are when it comes to free expression and intellectual inquiry when balanced against other aims of our university like inclusivity, and the fact that we didn’t have that debate is troubling to me,” he added. “I think it’s fundamentally important for universities to understand where they fit in the current political environment and at least in general terms express what sorts of intellectual and political debates are legitimate in the sphere of the university. ” Ellis added that there are consequences to such ideological insulation: those who hold the dominant perspective grow less accepting of alternative viewpoints. “Most political science research shows that when one political perspective takes over a space, what happens is that discourse becomes more extreme, two it becomes less accepting of viewpoints that challenge the dominant view, and three, discourse becomes less grounded in logical and reasoned arguments, and we begin to start from assumptions that certain positions are correct. We start to question if we should let anyone let question the dominant view. ” “This happens outside of academia as well,” Ellis added. “Anytime a group takes control of a specific sphere, what happens is discourse becomes more extreme and less rational and less accepting of alternative points of view. We just happen to see it manifest itself in the American academy. Social psychologists have been suggesting this for many years. ” Breitbart News has reported on many instances of and political correctness at Bucknell University. Frequent Fox News guest and Bucknell alumnus Michael Malice expressed on a Breitbart podcast that “going to Bucknell was the worst decision of his life,” claiming that students and faculty rarely engaged with ideas that conflicted with their own during his time at the university. Former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos faced unusual restrictions on an event at Bucknell University that took place in February 2016. Administrators refused to allow students to engage with Yiannopoulos directly, instead choosing to force them to write their questions on an index card, which were read by a moderator. He was not allowed to stay in the school’s residence for guest speakers and was escorted by university security immediately following the conclusion of his event before he would have been able to speak with students who wished to engage with him. In early 2017, Bucknell Professor Marcellus Andrews called for students to engage in acts of retribution against members of the Bucknell conservative and libertarian political clubs, who he called “racists and fascists,” for their decision to associate with Yiannopoulos. Administrators refused to even call Andrews’ conduct “inappropriate” after repeated inquiries. Despite these absurdities, the Bucknell community often welcomes the presence of radical and even violent ideology. Controversial Christian minister and Black Lives Matter activist Nyle Fort, who has argued that “under conditions of white supremacist terror, revolutionary violence can be an expression of Christian love,” has visited campus twice since January 2016. Bucknell students are often assigned controversial texts, such as George Sorel’s “Reflections on Violence,” a book which argues that violence can save the world from barbarism and that violence used for the purpose of moving towards a classless society in the tradition is not unethical. Tuesday’s meeting agenda can be read in its entirety below: April 2017 Faculty Meeting Agenda by Tommy John on Scribd, Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com | 0fake |
Gohmert: Homosexuality Is ‘Perverse’ Because Gay Astronauts Can’t Reproduce In Space (VIDEO) | Rep. Louie Gohmert is perhaps America s most troubled congressperson. Vehemently anti-gay, the Representative from Texas has often made headlines for his nonsensical speeches. All of them were put to shame when Gohmert walked up to the podium on May 26 and began speaking about asteroids, Matt Damon and gay astronauts.While on the floor of the House, Gohmert launched into a nearly hour long diatribe against Obama s recent efforts to stop anti-gay discrimination. Having just killed his own party s energy and water spending bill because Republicans noticed it might help LGBT people, Gohmert was unhinged.Claiming homosexuality and transexuality were perverse mental disorders, Gohmert decided to prove his point by offering up a thought experiment. It is a very dumb thought experiment.I really wonder how many people who had the ultimate power to decide whether humanity would go forward or not. Whether it was an asteroid coming, something that would end humanity on Earth as dinosaurs were ended at one time. Okay, we ve got a spaceship that can go as Matt Damon did in that movie. Plant a colony somewhere we can have humans survive this terrible disaster.If you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same-sex couples?In fairness, we do need to give Gohmert credit for acknowledging that the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid and not because Noah couldn t fit them on his ark. Sadly, the rest of his conjecture is stunningly stupid.The premise that gay people shouldn t be given equal rights because they couldn t make babies in space is faulty for a number of reasons, but here are just a few:Gohmert s homophobic rant is quite possibly so idiotic that it isn t even offensive. Watching a grown man base his hateful ideology on misunderstanding the point of a Matt Damon movie is profoundly sad. It begs the question, What are other Republicans sitting in the House thinking? Just knowing that your political views align roughly with that of a bonafide moron like Louie Gohmert is enough to give even the most hardened conservative pause, surely.Of course, there are dumb people of every political stripe, but there s only one Louie Gohmert and he s a proud Republican and that kind of says it all.Watch Gohmert s insane rant below:Featured image via CSPAN | 1real |
Trump Just Called A Fledgling Dictator To Congratulate Him On Expanding His Powers | It takes one to know one. Turkey just held a referendum that greatly expands the power of their president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It passed by a very narrow margin, taking Turkey on its latest step toward brutal dictatorship, and here s Donald Trump, who sources say called Erdogan to congratulate him on winning the referendum vote.While we re busy justifying blowing up absolutely nothing in Syria because a brutal dictator used sarin gas on his people, Trump is busy calling someone who s working hard on becoming the region s next brutal dictator to congratulate him on furthering that goal.This referendum, according to The Daily Beast, moves Turkey away from a parliamentary democracy and towards one-person rule. But what he has already done there makes the referendum more of a formality. Erdogan had already managed to form a one-party government a move that greatly diminishes the voices of opposition.Last year, Erdogan asked Turkey s parliament to redefine the country s anti-extremism law to include politicians, journalists and members of academia. He claimed that pro-Kurdish politicians were inciting terrorism, and journalists and academics were spreading the info that allowed the politicians to do so. Therefore, they are all terrorists.Branding press as the enemy is something Trump has been trying to do here. As the Washington Post s front page motto says, Democracy dies in darkness. This is the darkness.And now, Erdogan is, more or less, the sole ruler of Turkey.But what does Trump care? It wouldn t be surprising to find that he wishes something like that would happen here, too, if for no other reason than it would help cement his overinflated opinion of himself as a great man who is beloved by all, with nobody left to shine a light on the truth, like, oh, say, a free press.The way the Turkey referendum was held has appalled international election monitors. According to them, voters were not provided with adequate information, opposition voices were muzzled and the rules were changed at the last minute. In short, this was not a truly democratic process.Good job continuing to support authoritarian rulers over true democracies, Trump. You re about as un-American as it gets.Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images | 1real |
Zero F*cks Obama Puts Obstructionist GOP On Notice: You Claim To Love Constitution, Then Do Your Job | At a press conference on Tuesday, President Obama could barely hide his frustration towards the would be obstructionists in the Senate who say they will block any potential Supreme Court nominee he suggests for the remainder of his term.When asked by a reporter what he thought about the political move by Republicans to block the process until after the next election, Obama didn t hold back. At times Obama s normally calm rhetorical style gave way to more and more passion as his disbelief in how badly these senators were behaving became apparent. In the past, this has not been viewed as a question. There is no unwritten law that says it can only be done on off years. That s not in the constitutional text. I m amused to hear when people who claim to be strict interpreters of the Constitution, suddenly reading into it a whole series of provisions that are not there. Republicans have spent the days after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia s death arguing that Obama should not be allowed to use the next year of his presidency selecting a new nominee. Instead, they have feigned the belief that in the last year in office a president must sit on his hands until the election is over. As Obama points out, this has never been a thing. Notably, as recently as 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed a new justice during an election year and nobody batted an eye.In a nice little dagger twist, President Obama then put the spotlight back on Republicans who vow to not do their jobs. Rather than allow partisan point scoring get in the way of yet another Democratic process, Obama suggested this could be a good moment to rise above that and show America that Congress isn t a complete-and-utter mess. This is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. It s the one court where we would expect elected officials to rise above day-to-day politics. This will be the opportunity for Senators to do their job.Your job doesn t stop until you are voted out or until your term expires. Obama also used the time to make it abundantly clear that he isn t about to be held hostage by the Republican obstructionists either. In one of the most crackling exchanges of the presser, a reporter asked the President if he would be nominating a moderate so that he might be able to appease Republicans and get them to do their jobs. He was not amused. No. No. Where did you get that idea? Obama reaffirmed that he would be selecting a candidate based on their merit and on the belief that they would be the best person for the job, not on whether or not he thought a group of conservative politicians would like the pick.As is typical in President Obama s second term, this was a take-no-prisoners moment. Having watched Republicans openly vow to stop him from accomplishing anything, even if it meant harming the country as collateral damage, his new strategy is not to even try to work with them. Instead, he has begun to call them out at every term. A name-and-shame scorched earth policy that is making it harder and harder for obstructionists to get a free pass to continue poisoning the political process.It s fun to watch.Featured image via NBC News | 1real |
FBI PANIC! Hillary LIES In First Press Conference While A LEAKED PHOTO From Her Airplane Reveals The Truth | Videos Hillary Clinton FBI PANIC! Hillary LIES In First Press Conference While A LEAKED PHOTO From Her Airplane Reveals The Truth
0 comments Hillary is trying to present a strong front but the truth continues to emerge, in VIDEO and in PHOTOS! Hillary was traveling to Iowa when news broke of the FBI’s newly-reopened investigation of her email practices. Her plane sat on the tarmac for thirty minutes before she emerged, and, of course, the media was hungry for a statement. Last night, the press got their wish, as Hillary tried to appear strong in her first press conference following the bombshell news. Watch Hillary’s statement below:
Mostly, Hillary is echoing her Campaign Manager, John Podesta, who is calling for the release of more information from the FBI.
Right out of the gate, Hillary is already lying in an attempt to minimize the damage that this new investigation is causing.
She clearly states in the video above that the FBI sent the investigation announcement to Republicans in Congress. As a former Senator, Hillary knows this to be untrue, and she is trying to paint the issue as a partisan attack. Fact check: Contrary to what Clinton said, Comey sent letter to both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. @benyc
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 28, 2016
Multiple media sources have reported that the FBI found new information while investigating the sexting scandal of former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Weiner is married to Hillary’s top aide, Huma Abedin. When asked about the reports, Hillary responded:
“You know, we’ve heard these rumors. We don’t know what to believe and I’m sure there will be even more rumors that’s why it’s incumbent upon the FBI to tell us what they’re talking about because, right now, your guess is as good as mine and I don’t think that’s good enough.”
Hillary is trying to appear defiant and in control. But, speaking of Huma Abedin, take a look at this leaked photo from inside of Hillary’s airplane after the news had broken: Image surfaces of Huma Abedin crying on plane as Clinton Campaign finds out the FBI has re-opened the email investigation. #HillarysEmails pic.twitter.com/2yIUgiYOsV
We hate to see a lady crying, Huma, but when the company you keep includes Anthony Weiner, sometimes you have good reasons to cry. Perhaps Hillary’s Campaign is not so strong after all. Related Items | 1real |
(VIDEO) NAVAJO NATION HAS A MESSAGE FOR SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN AS HE’S CHASED AWAY: “GET OFF OUR LAND!” | Is anyone the least bit surprised that the Obama administration hasn t contacted the Navajo Tribal Leaders since the tragic spill of toxic water by the EPA? Here s a quote from the Navajo Nation President: I keep saying when are we going to hear from the White House? Not a word, Begaye said, according to Native News. When somebody wins the Super Bowl or an NBA Championship, they get a call, right? And when something like this happens and people are suffering, nothing. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Friday visited the Navajo Nation reservation s capital Window Rock to celebrate the Native Americans whose indecipherable language helped keep messages secret from enemies during World War II.The event though was met by a protest regarding the federal government s response to a toxic spill into rivers considered a lifeline for reservation and halted use of water for residential and agricultural use.According to Native News, McCain and Ducey met with Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez to discuss the creation of a Navajo Code Talkers Museum.But the recent spill of millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater into the Animas and San Juan Rivers by a contractor doing work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ended up being the focus for the tribal leaders. I keep saying when are we going to hear from the White House? Not a word, Begaye said, according to Native News. When somebody wins the Super Bowl or an NBA Championship, they get a call, right? And when something like this happens and people are suffering, nothing. | 1real |
Trump, Scotland's Sturgeon spoke briefly on Friday: statement | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump spoke with First Minister Of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon on Friday in what Trump’s transition team described as “a short congratulatory call” on his election victory last month. “The President-elect and the First Minister look forward to strengthening the relationship between Scotland and the United States,” a statement from Trump’s team said. | 0fake |
Indian state ruled by PM Modi's party defers media curbs until next year | NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India s western state of Rajasthan on Tuesday deferred until next year a measure requiring government permission for the publication of details regarding judges and public servants who face accusations over action taken in the course of their duty. The measure, which prescribes jail terms of up to two years for violations, aimed to minimise frivolous complaints against officials, said the government of the state, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu nationalist party. In recent years many journalists reporting corruption and attacks on minorities in India have complained of being targeted by online smear campaigns, although there have been no reports of measures elsewhere similar to what Rajasthan proposed. The Editors Guild of India and the opposition Congress party called Rajasthan s move an attempt to curb media freedom and shield corrupt individuals, criticisms that forced the state to delay discussion on the bill. The government has agreed to refer the bill to a panel of legislature members, a state government spokesman told Reuters by telephone, adding that the bill could be introduced, following amendments, in the next assembly session early next year. When introduced this week in the state assembly, it set a six-month deadline for courts to secure the government s permission for any investigations into the actions of judges, magistrates or public servants. In the absence of such permission, it also sought to block publication of the identity, or other personal, or family details of those being investigated. "No one shall print or publish, or publicize in any manner, the name, address, photograph, family details, or any other particulars which may lead to disclosure of identity of a judge or magistrate or a public servant," it added. (bit.ly/2i0w5GZ) The bill s passage by the state legislature would have helped turn into law an executive decree on the subject issued in September that would otherwise have lapsed within six months. When asked about the status of the decree, the state government spokesman declined to comment. Rajasthan was only trying to shield honest officers so that they can perform their duty , Indian Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters on Monday, but declined further comment, saying it was a state matter. India has slipped three places to 136 in the 2017 world press freedom rankings of 180 countries, amid growing "self-censorship" and attacks by right-wing groups. (rsf.org/en/india) In a statement, Raj Chengappa, president of the Editors Guild of India, described the Rajasthan bill as a pernicious instrument to harass the media, hide wrongful acts by government servants and drastically curb the freedom of the press . | 0fake |
WATCH STANDING OVATION For The Trump Family As They Arrive for Christmas Eve Service [VIDEO] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzM9awNaewMThe Trump family has frequented the church many times in the past few decades. Trump married his third and current wife, Melania, there in 2005. The following year, Trump s youngest son, Barron, was christened there. And Trump attended the Christmas Eve service at Bethesda-by-the-Sea last year, and the Easter service earlier this year.Fun fact: Michael Jordan was married at the church in 2013. | 1real |
Report: Clinton May Pick Elizabeth Warren As Her V.P., Harry Reid Leading Effort | Speculation has been mounting recently that Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton will choose Senator Elizabeth Warren as her running mate.Some Democrats have been weary on the idea, seeing it as weakening the Democrat s chances of taking back the Senate in November (Massachusetts has a Republican governor).For a while, such a move was up in the air. But a recent report from the Boston Globe shows that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been reviewing the Massachusetts rules for filling a U.S. Senate vacancy:Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has been actively reviewing Massachusetts rules for filling a US Senate vacancy, another indication of the seriousness with which Democrats are gaming out the possibility of Elizabeth Warren joining likely presidential nominee Hillary Clinton s ticket.The upshot of Reid s review is that Senate Democrats may have found an avenue to block or at least narrow GOP Governor Charlie Baker s ability to name a temporary replacement and prevent the Senate from flipping to a Democratic majority if Warren were to leave the chamber. That suggests the issue is not as significant an obstacle as Reid previously feared.A source close with Reid told the Globe that he is researching all avenues to keep Warren s name alive and well in the hunt for a highly anticipated vice presidential slot that will come within the next several months. Reid s actions also come as a surprise to the Democratic circles, as he just recently went on the record saying he does not think the former Secretary should pick a candidate from a state with a Republican governor. As the Globe notes:In the event of a Senate or House vacancy, Massachusetts currently requires a special election to be held within 145 to 160 days. In the interim, the governor has the authority to appoint a successor. But Reid s team has identified a portion of the law that allows an officeholder to start the special election clock by filing a resignation letter, but also announcing an intention to vacate the seat at a later date.In theory, Warren could file such a letter 145 days before the Jan. 20, 2017 inauguration and successfully block Baker from picking any temporary replacement.But should she do that, run as a V.P. candidate with Clinton and lose, Warren would have to run for election in that vacant seat.Given her immense popularity in the state, such a feat wouldn t be too hard for the liberal firebrand. Not surprisingly, Warren s office has not commented on the vice presidential speculations.The best thing to happen to the Democratic Party would be to have Elizabeth Warren on the White House ticket. She s already proven she can get under Donald Trump s skin, and she has already proven that she knows the issues and how to solve America s problems. Who better to help take on the sexist fraud that is Donald Trump. The Democrats would be electrified like they were in 2008 with Warren on the ticket. Democrats shouldn t waste this opportunity (unless Warren is adamant she doesn t want the job).Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 1real |
Trump: ’We Are Going to Help’ Christian Refugees | In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network recorded on Thursday, but set to air in full on Sunday, President Trump said Christian refugees have been “horribly treated” and “we are going to help them. ”[“The refugee changes that you’re looking to make, as it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?” CBN’s David Brody asked the President. “Yes,” Trump replied. “They’ve been horribly treated. ” “Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible — or at least very, very tough — to get in to the United States?” he asked. “If you were a Muslim, you could come in. But if you were Christian, it was almost impossible. ” “And the reason that was so unfair, is that everybody was persecuted in all fairness, they were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians. I thought it was very, very unfair,” Trump continued. “So we are going to help them. ” While the administration of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama significantly increased the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country, an overwhelming majority of these were Muslim, despite the Islamic State’s systematic attempts to convert or kill both Syria and Iraq’s Christian population. In June 2016, for example, the United States accepted a record number of 2, 300 refugees from Syria. Eight were Christian. As a presidential candidate, Trump made the case that the number of Christian refugees being accepted into the United States was too low, while the number of undervetted Syrian Muslim refugees could pose a danger to the safety of U. S. citizens. | 0fake |
COP LAUNCHES BIKE AT ANTI-TRUMP TERRORIST In Philadelphia, As Masked Antifa Cowards Wage War On Trump Supporters [VIDEO] | Somebody buy that cop a beer Antifa protesters have allegedly waged war on Trump supporters in Philadelphia this afternoon, prompting police to step in.Popular conservative personality Jack Posobiec appears to be at the scene and is reporting on the clashes via his Twitter page.Images shared by Posobiec show members of Antifa clad in their trademark black hoodies and face masks burning American flags and attacking both police and peaceful rallygoers by setting fires and throwing smoke bombs.Here are photos and videos of anti-Trump thugs burning American flags and generally causing chaos in Philadelphia:Right now in Philadelphia, a massive black bloc is shutting down a pro Trump rally pic.twitter.com/QGqRFTbFB7 agitator in chief (@soit_goes) March 25, 2017Philly chanting "any time, any place, punch a nazi in the face!" | via @jpegjoshua https://t.co/1CbcjEdQMJ agitator in chief (@soit_goes) March 25, 2017This video shows the cowardly (masked) Antifa scum attacking innocent Trump supporters:Antifa Running Toward Trump March, Clashing with Philly Police pic.twitter.com/hgHdpFo1CJ Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 25, 2017Watch Philadelphia police officer launch his bike at Antifa coward:VIDEO: Philly Police Officer Hits Antifa Rioter With Bicycle pic.twitter.com/j6Rc9l5520 Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 25, 2017-Milo | 1real |
Fox Host: Anderson Cooper Is Gay, So He Can’t Be Unbiased About Orlando Shooting (VIDEO) | There is an attitude among those on the right that if you aren t a straight white male, you come armed with a political agenda that keeps you from doing your job. Even Anderson Cooper, who is one of the nation s most respected journalists, and who happens to be gay, had his credibility called into question, at least when he s covering stories that happen to be about gay people.That was the accusation by Fox News Howard Kurtz, who said that Cooper couldn t have been fair to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, when he asked her about her civil rights record when it comes to LGBT issues. I respect Anderson Cooper and I think he s generally fair, Kurtz told Fox News contributor Guy Benson. Do you think he was acting as more than just an aggressive journalist? He seemed like an activist, Benson agreed. Of course, I only watch Fox all the time. But I ve heard that he s very good at his job, he s a versatile journalist [but] in this circumstance, I thought the line of questioning for the attorney general of Florida, under the circumstance and given the context of what had just happened in that state, it was a bizarre non sequitur. It seemed like he was browbeating her for unrelated political thought crimes in her past, Benson added, which did not relate to the to the task at hand, which is roundly condemning the horrific atrocity that happened. Here s the video:This was the argument used by Donald Trump, when he said that a Latino American judge just had to be biased against him, simply because the judge was Latino. Really, this is the argument used against anyone who isn t a penis carrying member of the white race. Women can t talk about birth control or abortion; we re too biased. People of color can t talk about issues facing them and gay people can t talk about the time a freak walked into a gay bar and murdered 50 people. Oh, and g-d forbid people, other than rich, white men, decide to speak for themselves.Fox News and Kurtz, of course, are the poster children for media bias. The entire network is built around it. Kurtz once defended Trump against his kicking Univision s Jorge Ramos out of a press conference, saying Ramos seemed like a heckler. Ramos, though, like Cooper, was just doing his job. If skin color or sexual orientation means that one must be biased, perhaps it s time to look at the biases of rich, straight white men.Kurtz was fine with Christians covering the attack on a Christian church in South Carolina, though.Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
Trump Just Got His P*ssy Handed To Him By New Zealand’s Female Prime Minister | Donald Trump bit off a bit more than he could chew when he attempted to shoot some venom at New Zealand s newly-elected Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during their first in-person meeting at the East Asia Summit last week.When Trump told her that her victory had upset citizens in her country, she hit back and his oranges testes shriveled up instantly. This lady caused a lot of upset in her country, Trump reportedly told a person standing next to Ardern, promopting her to reply: No one marched when I was elected. She s correct. While Trump s inauguration failed to bring out supporters, marches across the nation in opposition of The Donald continued long after his election.Ardern says Trump laughed at her joke, but also reflected that it could have been taken in a very particular way. However Trump took it, he wasn t able to complete his traditional power handshake that has been embarrassing the country since his election. Ardern describes their handshake as standard, meaning Trump didn t try to yank her arm out of its socket as per usual.What s that word conservatives like to use and misuse? Oh, yes Trump just got cucked. | 1real |
BREAKING: CHALLENGE OVER! Pennsylvania Recount A NO GO! | Pennsylvania According to legal documents, Jill Stein and her campaign failed to post the $1 million bond needed to challenge the election in Pennsylvania. The court proceeding scheduled for Monday has been canceled.A praecipe to discontinue and withdraw was filed citing that Jill Stein did not post the $1 million needed in the matter of the 2016 presidential election.A source close to the matter told ABC27 s Dennis Owens that Monday s scheduled court proceeding has been canceled and the challenge is over.A portion of the statement from Stein reveals just how clueless she is: This is yet another sign that Pennsylvania s antiquated election law is stacked against voters. By demanding a $1 million bond from voters yesterday, the court made clear it has no interest in giving a fair hearing to these voters legitimate concerns over the accuracy, security and fairness of an election tainted by suspicion.Read more: CT | 1real |
Clinton’s Palmieri in 2015 expressed relief GOP is ‘not focused on the classified email’ | Print
Shortly after the story first broke in March 2015 that Hillary Clinton had used a private email account and homebrew server during her tenure as secretary of state, the Democratic nominee went into damage control. Her first public remarks came in the form of a press avail at the U.N. , where she told reporters:
[W]hen I got to work as secretary of state, I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for my personal emails instead of two.
She went on to emphasize that everything she did was above board and according to Hoyle.
But despite her assurances — and perhaps as a direct consequence of her propensity for lying — the story refused to go away. Questions arose about whether any of the emails transmitted from or to her personal account contained classified information, which she vehemently denied.
Now, thanks to WikiLeaks, an email written by her campaign’s director of communications, Jennifer Palmieri , has emerged that suggests Clinton’s denial may have been less than forthright. The email is dated May 22, 2015 and addresses the candidate’s demeanor at another press event:
The highlighted portion of the text seems pretty conclusive in its confirmation that her campaign team and Clinton herself knew at that early date that some of the communications in her private account had indeed contained classified data.
Clinton has still never admitted, despite evidence to the contrary unearthed by the FBI, that she used her email to conduct affairs of state. Perhaps now she will? | 1real |
Obama, Southeast Asia leaders eye China and trade at California summit | RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gathered with leaders from Southeast Asia on Monday to strengthen trade ties and form a common stance over the South China Sea in a summit that the White House hopes will solidify U.S. influence in the region. Obama, who leaves office next year, has championed a foreign policy pivot to Asia during his presidency and is determined to present the United States as a Pacific power. His meeting with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was aimed at cementing that legacy. “This reflects my personal commitment, and the national commitment of the United States, to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations,” he said at the start of the two-day summit at Sunnylands, a California resort. The meeting, at the same location where Obama once hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping, was designed to demonstrate Washington’s role as a counterweight to Beijing and as an eager trading partner with ASEAN members. White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told reporters U.S. companies had more than doubled investment in the region since 2008. On Monday the leaders were slated to focus on economic issues, including discussion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which includes four ASEAN members: Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. Others are interested in joining, and the White House wants to make sure the pact takes effect. On Tuesday, the leaders will discuss maritime issues, particularly the South China Sea, where China and several Southeast Asian states have conflicting and overlapping claims. White House officials have said Obama would deliver a tough message to China that disputes over the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully and not by bullying. “Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means,” Obama said. The challenge may be to get all ASEAN countries to agree on a strong statement on the issue. Officials say China has put pressure on countries such as Cambodia and Laos not to sign. “I’m ... confident that our shared commitment to upholding these norms will be reinforced,” Rice said. China’s role in the region hung over the meeting. Rice said she expected China would support new international sanctions on North Korea for its recent rocket launches. An editorial in the influential Chinese tabloid the Global Times on Tuesday said the summit was the wrong place to discuss South China Sea issues and that it would not yield “striking geopolitical decisions”. “ASEAN countries have no such desire, and the U.S. knows it is not able to do so,” the Global Times said, repeating Beijing’s stance that disputes in the sea should be handled bilaterally. Advocacy group Human Rights Watch urged the Obama administration to object to human rights violations in countries such as Cambodia and Thailand during the summit. The president touched on the issue without specifics during his remarks. “Here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies and upholding human rights,” he said. Combating climate change and cooperating on counter-terrorism and the fight against Islamic State militants were also on the agenda. Obama returns to Washington on Tuesday. | 0fake |
France offers to mediate between Baghdad and Kurds | PARIS (Reuters) - France offered on Thursday to mediate in a political crisis pitting Iraq s government against Kurdish regional authorities, and promised to maintain a military presence there until Islamic State was defeated. The offer by President Emmanuel Macron coincided with a visit by Iraq s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, his first abroad since its Kurdish-held northern regions last month voted for independence in a referendum declared illegal by Baghdad. The Iraqi government has imposed sanctions in response to the independence vote, but Abadi said on Thursday he could understand the Kurds aspirations provided they were expressed in accordance with the constitution and wanted to avoid violence. We do not want an armed confrontation, we don t want clashes, Abadi said, speaking alongside Macron. But the federal authority must prevail and nobody can infringe on the federal authority. The outcome of the referendum has raised concerns in Iraq and abroad that a conflict might break out there along ethnic lines, potentially weakening a U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, which still holds pockets of territory in Iraq and Syria. Macron, whose country is the second-biggest contributor to the campaign, said French forces would remain until the militant group s defeat was total. It is vital in the coming weeks and months that a dialogue begins that respects the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Iraq within the framework of the constitution and recognizing Kurdish rights, Macron added. France is ready, if Iraqi authorities wish, to actively contribute to the mediation launched by the United Nations. Iraqi-Kurdish tensions were ratcheted down a notch on Wednesday when the central bank in Baghdad eased financial restrictions imposed after the vote, after receiving a pledge of cooperation from Kurdish banks, an Iraqi banking source said. The central bank had said on Tuesday it would halt all foreign currency transfers to the region, banking and government sources told Reuters. All but four Kurdish-owned banks were on Wednesday again allowed to send and receive dollar and foreign currency transfers, the first banking source said. [nL8N1MF2OM] Abadi, in Paris for bilateral talks, said the Iraqis and Kurds had a common interest in maintaining peace. He had on Tuesday called for a joint administration of oil-rich Kirkuk and other areas claimed by both his government and the autonomous Kurdish region, provided Baghdad had ultimate authority in any such arrangement. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, when Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of Islamic State s advance across northern Iraq. I call on the Peshmerga to remain an integral part of the Iraqi forces under the authority of the federal authorities, to guarantee the security of citizens so that we can rebuild these zones, Abadi said, referring to areas taken back from Islamic State militants. We respect the aspirations of all citizens, including the Kurds, I respect those aspirations, but we must work together. We are in one country. | 0fake |
WOW! STARBUCKS CEO JUST ACCUSED Whites Of Committing Senseless Violence Against “people who are not white”…And He’s Getting DESTROYED On Social Media | Thousands of Starbucks customers cut up their gold cards and boycotted their favorite coffee spot after Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz stuck his foot in his mouth, when he defended immigration of unvetted Muslims from terror hotbed nations to the US. Schultz was hammered on social media after offering to hire Syrian immigrants before Americans to prove his point about how inclusive he is.Well, it appears as though the arrogant leftist CEO of Starbucks has done it again. Howard Schultz tweeted from the Starbucks account: I know we re better than this. The bigotry, hatred, and senseless violence against people who are not white cannot stand. Howard Schultz "I know we're better than this. The bigotry, hatred, and senseless violence against people who are not white cannot stand. Howard Schultz pic.twitter.com/JWpOmIV0H0 Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) August 16, 2017Who is we re Howard? Who exactly are you calling racists or bigots? Who has actually been committing the violence at pro-Trump and pro-freedom of speech rallies across America?Maybe it s these guys?Maybe he was referring to this white guy punching this black guy because he s supporting our president or because he s holding an American flag:Oops! Never mind that s a black guy punching a white guy.So tell us again Howard, what was it again you wanted your customers to know about violence against people who are not white?Here are just a few responses Schultz s ignorant and offensive tweet provoked:Howard Shultz violence against ANYONE can not stand! Anything less inclusive is bigotry. Anna-May Smith (@AnnaMaySmith1) August 17, 2017"against people who are not white cannot stand. Implies only whites are to blame. It is about a specific group, no backpeddaling. Michael (@wouldabeen) August 17, 2017Violence against whites is okay. No one cares about whites, they are just trash. White lives DON'T matter. So says Howard Schultz. Captain Skywarn (@n0jaa) August 17, 2017 | 1real |
Factbox: Trump on Twitter (Sept 14) - DACA, U.S.-Mexico border wall | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote. [0611 EDT] - The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built. [0620 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 0fake |
Spain's Constitutional Court cancels Catalonia declaration of independence | MADRID (Reuters) - Spain s Constitutional Court has blocked Catalonia s declaration of independence made by the regional parliament on Friday, a court spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Hours after Catalonia s parliament voted on a unilateral declaration of independence, the Spanish government dissolved the parliament, fired the government and set a date for regional elections Dec. 21. | 0fake |
JUSTICE SCALIA Found Dead With ‘Pillow Over His Head’…Why No Autopsy? | It was just announced that there will be no autopsy of Justice Scalia after he was found dead in his room of natural causes . Does anyone else out there think it should be mandatory for an autopsy to be performed? Since Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead in his resort hotel room at Cibolo Creek Creek Ranch on Saturday, questions have been flying about the immediate declaration of natural causes as the means of death.According to the ranch owner, Scalia was described as animated and engaged during dinner Friday night. He was one of three dozen invitees to an event unrelated to law or politics.Yet just hours later, after missing both breakfast and lunch, he was found dead of apparent natural causes. Later, media outlets reported he had suffered a heart attack.Houston businessman John Poindexter, who owns the 30,000-acre luxury ranch, recalled: He was seated near me and I had a chance to observe him. He was very entertaining. But about 9 p.m. he said, It s been a long day and a long week, I want to get some sleep. Poindexter knocked on Scalia s door about 8:30 the next morning. The door was locked and the judge did not answer. Three hours later, Poindexter returned from an outing and determined Scalia was still missing. We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled, said Poindexter. He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap, he said.Scalia did not have a pulse and his body was cold, and after consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter concluded resuscitation would have been futile. He then contacted federal authorities, at first encountering a series of answering services because he was calling on a weekend. Ultimately they became available and handled it superbly, he said. They flew in by helicopter. They told me to secure the ranch, which I did until this morning. Scalia s body was moved to an El Paso funeral home early Sunday, then driven from Marfa and arrived around 2:30 a.m. at Sunset Funeral Homes, according to spokesman Chris Lujan.Read more: wnd | 1real |
Syrian War Report – November 2, 2016: ISIS and Al-Nusra Attempt to Cut Off Govt Supply Line to Aleppo | Trump Whistles His Dogs ‹ › South Front Analysis & Intelligence is a public analytical project maintained by an independent team of experts from the four corners of the Earth focusing on international relations issues and crises. They focus on analysis and intelligence of the ongoing crises and the biggest stories from around the world: Ukraine, the war in Middle East, Central Asia issues, protest movements in the Balkans, migration crises, and others. In addition, they provide military operations analysis, the military posture of major world powers, and other important data influencing the growth of tensions between countries and nations. We try to dig out the truth on issues which are barely covered by governments and mainstream media. Syrian War Report – November 2, 2016: ISIS and Al-Nusra Attempt to Cut Off Govt Supply Line to Aleppo By South Front on November 2, 2016 …from SouthFront
The Syrian Air Force has delivered a high number of air strikes in western Aleppo, targeting militants in in Al-Assad, Rashidin 4, Rashidin 5, the 1070 Apartment Project (1070 AP), Southern Sawmills and along the road to Khan Tuman.
Since November 1, the fighting in the area has become stationary. The western part of the al-Assad Neighborhood is contested. The al-Nusra led coalition, Jaish al-Fatah, controls the southwestern part of the 1070 AP. The militants’ attacks on the 3000 Apartment Project have failed.
In the 1070 AP, the government forces keep control of 3 groups of buildings. The supply line #1 has been cut off by Jaish al-Fatah. The supply line #2 is vulnerable to fire by militants. The government-controlled sector is separated from Jaish al-Fatah units by an open ground. This is why the militants are not able to take control of these building blocks.
Clashes in this non-populated area allow the Syrian military to use its advantage in firepower to whittle the jihadist manpower and military equipment, repelling their frontal attacks. Jaish al-Fatah suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices remain the main threat to the army’s defenses.
While Jaish al-Fatah cannot take control of the 1070 AP, the alliance’s attacks on the 3000 Apartment Project will hardly be able to lead to any success.
Syrian troops have repelled an ISIS attack on the government only supply line to Aleppo in the sector between Ithriyah and al-Salamiyah. ISIS attacked the Syrian army in the Wadi al-Adhib region but was forced to retreat after a fierce battle. Last weekend, al-Nusra Front, the leading force of Jaish al-Fatah, attacked the supply line in the sector between Ithriyah and Aleppo, but also failed.
This clearly shows that despite all controversies, ISIS and the so-called ‘moderate opposition’ are playing in the same game, attempting to prevent liberation of Aleppo by the government forces.
Turkey’s engineer units are currently building a military base, with an airfield, in the area of Ziyar, south of the Syrian border town of al-Rai, the As Safir newspaper revealed. The newspaper believes that the Turkish regime is going implement the Iraq-like strategy in Syria and set a series of military installations in order to project the military power in the area.
On November 1, Iraqi security forces (ISF) liberated the strategic Kurdish village of Gogjali in the eastern outskirts of Mosul and seized the nearby state-TV building. By doing this, the ISF has entered the ISIS-controlled city for the first time since it was occupied by ISIS in 2014. Related Posts: | 1real |
How To Measure Water pH At Home | 15, 2016 How To Measure Water pH At Home
I was raised in the country and we had well water. It tasted good but it turned the tub, our clothes, and even our hair red. That’s because it had iron in it, which is a sign that the water was acidic.
To combat this, we used a water filtration system, which increased the pH in the water by removing the excess metals in the water.
But is water pH important for any other reason that white tubs? Yes it is!
We’ve discussed the importance of pH before, in articles such as how to make wine and vinegar . Obviously, those two food items are acidic, which means that the pH in each of them is less than 7. Pure water has a pH of 7; a pH less than 7 is considered acidic and a pH greater than 7 is considered basic, or alkaline.
The Visual Effects of Acidic or Basic Water
As I stated above, the contents of your water have an aesthetic effect on clothes, dishes, and pipes. The average pH for surface water is 6.5-8.5. Normal groundwater is 6-8.5. If you go too far in either direction, higher or lower, you’ll likely see some physical evidence of it.
Water with a pH of less than 6.5 or so is acidic and often contains heavy metals such as iron, manganese, copper, lead, and zinc. Obviously, you don’t want to drink too much of these because of the damage that these metals can do to your health. We’ll discuss that in a bit.
Acidic water is corrosive and can damage pipes, stain laundry and appliances with a blue-green tint, and leave a buildup on dishes. It may also taste metallic. You may remember what the water tasted like coming out of the water hose when you were a kid; that’s similar to what acidic water may taste like.
The way that you balance it is by adding a neutralizer such as soda ash (sodium carbonate).
Water with a pH higher than 7 is considered basic or alkaline, though it’s not really outside the realm of “normal” until it’s higher than 8 or 8.5.
Alkaline water is often high in calcium and will leave whitish scaly deposits on your dishes, utensils, tubs, and appliances and can clog your pipes. It also tastes a bit bitter, especially when you make your morning Joe, and can make it hard to get a lather out of soaps.
Health Risks Associated with Water pH
I’ve written content for the holistic health and medical fields for a long time, and though there’s a certain following that says that water pH can change the pH of your body, there’s simply not enough evidence to corroborate that. Your body does a dang good job of balancing itself and saying that water pH can alter your blood pH is a stretch.
Also, pH levels, in and of themselves, do not indicate the safety of water. For instance, arsenic may be present but not significantly affect the pH.
However, pH can be a good indicator that there are toxic substances such as heavy metals in your water because “soft” water (water with a low pH), can leach metal ions out of soil and pipes. For example, lead is never a good thing, and a low pH is an indicator that your water may contain lead or other poisonous metals.
On the flip side, calcium found in water with an alkaline pH can balance some of this out. It can make some heavy metals such as lead, copper, and zinc less toxic.
Calcium can strengthen pipes by lining them with a protective coating, but it can also clog them if it builds up too much. You’ve probably heard the term, “hard water.” That refers to water with a high pH, because of the build-ups. In limed soil, calcium can immobilize iron and cause a shortage even if there’s plenty of iron in the soil.
As you can see, the primary health concern when it comes to the pH of drinking water is consuming heavy metals. The important thing to remember is that pH is only one measure of water safely. It doesn’t necessarily tell you what other toxins such as fertilizers, fungicides, and other chemicals are in there.
The Effects of Water pH on Soil
The pH of water plays a much bigger role in other ways, though. The two biggest areas may be in how it affects soil and aquatic life. As we’ve already discussed, the calcium that’s typically found in alkaline water can affect how your plants absorb essential minerals such as zinc and iron.
Again, pH isn’t the only factor; some fish that can survive in water with a pH as low as 4.7 will die at a pH of 5.5 if the water contains just a tick too much iron. PH isn’t everything, but it’s a good indicator.
PH is important to soil because some plants prefer an acidic soil and some prefer an alkaline soil. Planting in the correct soil will increase plant health and growth, and therefore yield. If you’re going to plant it, you may as well get as much bang for your buck as possible!
PH affects everything from the levels and types of good and bad bacteria in the soil to the texture of the soil itself. For instance, clay that is in the optimal range or 5.5-7 is granular and easy to work with. If it’s overly acidic or alkaline, it becomes sticky and hard to work with.
Most plants thrive in neutral or almost-neutral soils, but there are some that love acidic soil. These include radishes, blueberries, cranberries, sweet potatoes, parsley, peppers of all sorts, and rhubarb. The majority of plants can tolerate a mildly-acidic soil, but they’re much less tolerant to alkaline conditions.
This is because minerals dissolve better in acidic soil. This sounds like a good thing, but only to a certain degree. A pH of about 5.5 is about as low as any plant will tolerate because below that, the concentration of metal ions, especially aluminum, manganese, and iron, become so high that they can inhibit plant growth. Phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium may also be less available.
Following the pattern, you may guess that alkaline soils inhibit the release of minerals and nutrients, which is why plants can’t tolerate those conditions.
It’s important to test your soil and know your plants. The goal isn’t so much to achieve a certain pH as it is to make sure that the soil acidity is such that there aren’t any toxic metals and the nutrient availability is maximized. In other words, no poison, plenty of nutrients!
If your soil is too acidic, you can neutralize it a bit using lime. Alkaline soils, on the other hand, aren’t as easy to adjust. Sometimes you can add sulfur or acid-forming fertilizers, but it’s probably easier just to add nutrients via fertilizer and compost.
Note that pH isn’t everything. Many sands have a great pH for growth but contain practically zero nutrients. That’s OK – you can always add nutrients .
Importance of pH in Streams
Now THIS is where water pH makes a real difference. We’ve already discussed how acidic water induces the release of minerals and we know that many of those minerals are toxic in high levels.
When the pH of water becomes too acidic due to contamination by acid rain or run-off that contains fertilizers or other acidic chemicals, it can be catastrophic to aquatic life.
Many plants and aquatic creatures are adapted to survive in a specific pH and can’t tolerate more than just a minuscule change.
Not only does the acid affect the nutrients in the water, it can also cause the same physical problems to fish and plants that they cause to your drains and pipes.
Heavy metals can accumulate on gills and even cause deformities on young, growing fish. The same idea goes for plants that grow in the water, except they’re affected by the pH in the soil as well as the water.
The biggest issue here isn’t that one fish or one plant can’t tolerate a change; everything that eats that fish or plant, or is eaten by that fish, is affected as well. Aquatic systems are delicate and even a small change can cause huge ripples.
As you can see, pH is just a number; it’s the changes that accompany that number that can cause problems or bring joy and growth. Keep an eye on the pH of your soil because it can change!
How to Measure pH
There are simple pH strips that you can buy at a pool store which use color strips to tell you what the pH of the water or soil is. If you’d rather do it the natural way, which is the way we usually prefer to do things, you have a couple of choices.
The first way is to gather 1 cup of soil (total) from a few different parts of your garden. Add a couple spoonfuls to 2 separate containers, then add 1/2 cup vinegar to the soil in one container. If it fizzes, your soil is alkaline, with a pH between 7 and 8. If it doesn’t, add 1/2 cup baking soda to the other cup. If it fizzes, you have acidic soil. It’s a good guess that the pH is somewhere between 5 and 6. If it doesn’t fizz either time, you have neutral soil – congrats!
The second way to test pH – and this works for soil and water – is to use a red cabbage. Yep, that’s right. Simmer 1 cup of red cabbage in two cups of distilled water for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it steep for another 30 minutes or so.
To test your soil, place a couple of spoonfuls of your soil to a couple of containers, like you did before. It would be good this time around if the containers are clear. Strain the cabbage, keeping the water. It will be a purply-blue color and has a pH of seven – completely neutral.
Add 1/4 cup or so of cabbage water to each cup, stir it up, and let it sit for 30 minutes. If the water turns pink, your soil is acidic. If it’s blue/green, your soil is alkaline. Video first seen on Carl Nelson .
To test your water, simply substitute water for the soil. The same colors apply.
Now that you know a bit more about how and why pH makes a difference with your water and soil, try the tests. If you have something to add about pH, please feel free to comment in the section below.
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23 Things to Do to Improve Your Mental Health | Prev post Page 1 of 4 Next
When most people make health resolutions, it usually involves their physical health. Most of us make decisions to exercise more, change our diets, lose weight, and lose body fat, but there are few of us that make resolutions to better our mental health.
Preserving your mental health is one of the most important things that you can do to make sure that you are getting the most out of your life. Letting your mental health slide is going to put you under more stress and will limit your ability to enjoy your life and get the most out of your relationships with others.
The good news is, there are some simple habits that you can start using in your life right now to make sure that you are taking care of your mental health, and getting the most out of every day. 1) Set a Sleep Schedule
Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our overall health, and many experts and doctors cite health as more critical to our overall health and survival than food or water. Though, when we get stressed or life gets busy, sleep is the first thing that we start to put off.
Whether stress starts to make it harder for you to go to sleep, or you decide that you can function on less sleep to get more done, eating into your sleep is one of the worst things that you can do for your mental health. Set a strict bedtime and wake up time for yourself. Your body works best when it has a routine for sleeping and waking up in the morning.
Read or journal before you go to bed, and see if you can stay away from your phone, laptop, TV, or tablet. Get yourself into the habit of having a habit to wind down at night. 2) Focus on your strengths
With work or in your personal life, it is so easy to be self critical and focus on only your weaknesses. Our culture in working society has ingrained in us over the years to focus on what we are bad at, and get better at it. To strive for being better in all facets of our lives, and to be well rounded.
Always focusing on what you aren’t good at, is not good for your mental health. Take an inventory of your strengths and find ways to use those daily in work and in your personal life. 3) Exercise
It can be so difficult to make time to exercise when you are exhausted with all of your daily responsibilities and obligations. Between work, home, family, friends, and hobbies or downtime, the last thing that you want to worry about is commuting back to your gym to fight over equipment.
Here’s the thing though, exercise is something that your body needs. Whether you have been burnt out with working 9-5, being a full time student, or being a full time parent, you need to give your body the movement that it craves.
Sitting frequently throughout the day can wreck your posture, deplete your energy, and actually make you sad or depressed. You don’t need to exercise for an hour every day to reap the benefits of exercising for your mental health.
See if you can block out just 15-30 minutes per day to exercise. Whether that be taking a run, lifting weights, yoga, or taking a class, the endorphins and health benefits that you get from exercising will help your mental health. 4) Eat well
Diet is one of the major keys to mental and physical health. Eating crappy foods, synthetic ingredients, tons of sugar, starches, and fast food can dismantle your mental health in more ways than one.
Stick to real food that your body recognizes. Focus on eating fruits, vegetables, protein rich foods, and healthy fats that will digest slowly with your body, and serve more of a purpose than just filling you up. 5) Be thankful
Take time every day to be thankful and start each day with thankfulness. Keep a notepad or a sheet of paper to track all of the things that you are thankful for every day. 6) Take life a day at a time
Leave the worries and stresses of tomorrow for tomorrow, and focus on what you can do today. It is so easy to get stressed out when looking at the next 2-3 years or even the next 2-3 weeks of your life, but taking time to be present in the moments of each day can do a world of good for your mental health. | 1real |
VP Pence hires political operative as top aide steps down | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top aide to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is leaving the Trump administration and will be replaced by a longtime Republican political operative, Pence’s office said on Thursday. Josh Pitcock, who has served as Pence’s chief of staff, will be succeeded in August by Nick Ayers, who served as Pence’s chief strategist during the presidential campaign. In a statement, Pitcock said his departure was voluntary and that it was time to “transition to the private sector.” Ayers most recently was advising an outside political group, America First Policies, that supports President Donald Trump. The group came under fire from some Republicans for running a series of ads this week that criticized Republican Senator Dean Heller of Nevada for opposing the healthcare bill currently before the Senate. In a statement, Ayers said, “I am honored with the trust the vice president has in me and excited to serve in this capacity.” Pence has emerged as a crucial member of Trump’s team, serving as his top liaison to Congress as it has struggled to pass healthcare reform and looks to tackle tax-reform legislation later this year. Ayers has advised former Minnesota Governor and Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, now the U.S. secretary of agriculture, among other Republicans. | 0fake |
Mattis backs Geneva process on Syrian conflict | HELSINKI (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday he backed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over more than six years of conflict, as Islamic State militants near defeat. Mattis was traveling to Finland to meet with leaders from the Northern Group, a forum for 12 northern European countries, where concern about Russia is growing after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and gave its backing to eastern Ukraine separatists fighting against the Kiev government. Russia also supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and with its help Assad has recovered control of swathes of lost Syrian territory over the last two years and appears militarily unassailable. The United States, however, has supported the opposition to Assad during the Syrian war. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently reiterated that Assad should leave power, saying the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end and the only issue is how that should be brought about . Secretary Tillerson engaged strongly with Staffan de Mistura about how do we move what has been going on in Astana, how do we move that over to Geneva where we can actually get the U.N. engaged on the way forward, Mattis told reporters on a plane en route to Finland. Russia has backed peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to end the Syrian civil war. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced that stalled peace talks between the Syrian government and still-to-be-united opposition would resume in Geneva on Nov. 28. However, Russia is also fighting against Islamic State in Syria, at times their goals aligning with the United States, whose forces have helped Kurdish-led militias recapture Raqqa and other parts of northern and eastern Syria from the militants. With Islamic State s territory rapidly shrinking, the focus was on defeating it in the final few areas, Mattis said - and avoiding conflict as the gap between Russian and U.S. forces shrinks. What the U.S. strategy wills after the defeat of Islamic State is likely to come up when Mattis visits Brussels later this week, where he will meet with his counterparts from NATO. Mattis declined to comment on whether the United States would take back arms from Kurdish YPG fighters after the defeat of Islamic State, a sensitive point given the concerns of its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara views the YPG as an extension of PKK militants waging an insurgency on Turkish soil, and has sharply criticized U.S. support to the group. | 0fake |
DHS to Unveil VOICE Office for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime - Breitbart | The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that Secretary John Kelly will formally unveil the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office at the ICE headquarters on Wednesday. [“There’s no intent to make a pun, but it really is to give a voice to the victims of crimes that have been committed by those who are in the country illegally,” said DHS spokesman David Lapan to reporters in Washington, D. C. in response to a skeptical question about why the government wants to launch a program helping Americans suffering from illegal alien crime. “There are a lot of offices and entities that do similar things for crime victims writ large, but nobody has the level of understanding of immigration that ICE does. And so it’s a way to keep victims and their families informed, and not just about the criminal justice aspects of their particular case, but the immigration aspects. ” “That’s something that isn’t covered by other groups and offices who maintain contact with victims of crimes … So it’s a way to ensure that families and victims who have been affected by, again, those here illegally can understand where things are in the immigration process as well as in the criminal justice process,” he said. One month after President Donald Trump assumed office, Kelly instructed ICE to create a program to provide families devastated by illegal alien crime and share more information about the foreign perpetrators who committed the alleged crimes. “Criminal aliens routinely victimize Americans and other legal residents. Often, these victims are not provided adequate information about the offender, the offender’s immigration status, or any enforcement action taken by ICE against the offender,” Kelly said in a memo. Rallying to the sides of American families and legal immigrants was a critical part of Trump’s successful presidential campaign. Trump repeatedly brought families who lost loved ones at the hands of illegal aliens on stage at campaign rallies, and was the only candidate to respond to an open letter pleading for a campaign to acknowledge and deliver justice to victimized and suffering American families. The immediacy of his campaign’s reply and the spotlight he shone on their plight was praised by an advocacy group that had fought for attention to the pressing issue for years. “Donald Trump is the only candidate whose office has responded to their open letter and that the candidate will support a national program to assist families of victims of illegal aliens. Their response was immediate and they have stated they will support our efforts in assisting our families,” said Maria Espinoza, head of the Remembrance Project. Her organization plans to open an office in Washington, D. C. to support the program. A December report estimated that some 820, 000 illegals evaded deportation under the Obama administration — including roughly 620, 000 convicted of terrible crimes such as murder and rape. Read more of Breitbart News’ coverage on crimes committed by illegals and other foreign nationals here. | 0fake |
Japan trade minister: U.S. commerce secretary has not requested any specific topic for talks | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko said on Tuesday that he has not received a request from U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for any particular topic to be discussed. Seko also told reporters that he would exchange information on Toshiba (6502.T) issue if Ross asks to do so. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will meet with Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday, kicking off talks in Tokyo that the White House hopes will open doors in Japan for U.S. products and attract Japanese investment in U.S. infrastructure projects. Pence will meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a working lunch. They are expected to be joined by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross who is in Tokyo for talks with Seko. | 0fake |
Internet Erupts In Mockery After Sarah Palin Posts Something Monumentally Stupid Again (TWEETS) | For like the eleventy-billionth time, Sarah Palin posted a broken link to a Facebook post on Twitter Sunday. Now, at first glance her months of posting dead links and not figuring out how to fix the problem might seem moderately stupid until you see the content of the actual post on the half-term, half-wit former Governor of Alaska s Facebook timeline.Referencing Clinton s recent, mundane campaign stop at a bar, Palin who regularly appears to be heavily intoxicated whenever she has a camera in front of her and was involved in a drunken hillbilly brawl in 2014 quipped, she s gonna drive us all to drink. Thinking she is clever, she then adds that Clinton should have been thinking Sam Adams rather than drinking Sam Adams. Naturally, as Palin brought up drinking, the internet decided it couldn t let this one go:@SarahPalinUSA I see you've already started Clodagh Smith (@Clodagh831) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSA Any excuse to drink, eh Sarah? #Lush John Yuma (@JohnYuma) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSA Have you been day drinking again? Mr. Wolfcastle (@tew156) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSA oh Sarah, remember when you mattered?Me neither. Open another Box O' Wine. jmsullivan (@Jfordhamusn) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSA have you been sober during your speaking engagements? I always thought you were drunk as a skunk. Jeff Bender (@JeffBikeBender) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSAYour kid keeps shacking up with different dudes and Hillary's driving you to drink? Hot Takes (@HotTakes1) October 30, 2016@SarahPalinUSA From what I've seen, You've been drinking non stop for YEARS! Steve Derebey (@SDerebey) October 30, 2016Yes, as was heavily pointed out, we have been enjoying Palin s drunken rants for years. Unfortunately for her, she is so irrelevant that mockery is all she has warranted since she helped John McCain lose in 2008.You can enjoy one of her best drunken ravings below:Classic: Visibly Drunk Sarah Palin Fumbles Response to Elizabeth WarrenFeatured image via Getty Images (Darren Hauck)/screengrab | 1real |
Italy calls confidence votes in Senate on new electoral law | ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni s government on Tuesday called a series of confidence votes to pass a new electoral law as the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which is likely to be hurt by the new legislation, pledged to protest on the streets. The government is resorting to the confidence votes to avoid secret voting in the Senate, where it has a narrow majority and at least four members of the ruling Democratic Party have said they will not cast a ballot. The confidence votes will be held by open ballot starting on Wednesday afternoon, with the final confidence vote to be held on Thursday. The government is forced to resign if it loses such a vote. A centrist group that is not formally part of the government s majority has said it will provide up to 10 votes to help pass the law if needed. The bill, dubbed the Rosatellum, is supported by the Democratic Party (PD) and mainstream center-right opposition parties. It favors parties which group together ahead of the election. It is likely to hurt 5-Star, which refuses to join any alliance, and left-wing parties that do not want to join a coalition with the PD. The 5-Star Movement, which tops many opinion polls, has called a street protest in front of the Senate for Wednesday afternoon, against what it sees as an attempt by its mainstream rivals to scupper its chances at the election. It will be joined by the leftist Democratic and Progressive Movement (MDP), which split from the PD this year, and other small left-wing groups. Apart from the PD, the legislation is supported by Silvio Berlusconi s center-right Forza Italia (Go Italy!) and the right-wing Northern League. The Rosatellum is the best compromise possible among political adversaries, according to the PD parliamentary party leader, Ettore Rosato, after whom the reform has been named. In two separate rulings, the Constitutional Court struck down previous laws, leaving the upper and lower houses with different rules. President Sergio Mattarella has called on parliament to come up with a mew electoral law that applies equally to both houses before a national vote, due by May of next year. All previous attempts to harmonize the rules have failed, most recently in June when dissident deputies used a secret vote to up-end part of the proposed legislation. While the current law would harmonize rules for both houses, polls suggest it will not hand any coalition or party a clear mandate to govern. The proposed election law would distribute almost two-thirds of the seats in parliament on a proportional basis, while a third would be decided in a first-past-the-post vote on specific candidates. Coalitions would need to get 10 percent of the national vote to get into parliament, while parties running alone would need only 3 percent. Candidates would be chosen by party chiefs. | 0fake |
White House Officials: Trump’s Call For Violence Against Reporters ‘Was Funny’ | Sunday morning, presumably just before church, amateur president Donald Trump posted a video containing violent imagery toward CNN, a network which he has viciously targeted lately. A network has been threatened today by the so-called president of the United States whose vicious followers would carry out any threat at a moment s notice. The former reality show star is going to get someone killed but White House staffers defended Trump over the violent video showing him beating the snot out of a CNN reporter.It was just last Thursday that Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the president in no way, form, or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. That s a straight up lie. Trump has proposed violence on numerous occasions during his awful campaign. It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters, CNN said in a statement. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the President had never done so. CNN statement responding to the president: "We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his." pic.twitter.com/Gn1YRA2DRG Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 2, 2017The Daily Beast spoke with three senior Trump administration officials on Sunday and as a surprise to no one ever, all them said that the tweet was funny. I thought it was funny, one White House official said. Glad [Dan] Scavino and the president did that. Dan Scavino is Trump s White House director of social media, and his tweets have come under scrutiny, too. Most recently, he doubled down on the attack on MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. The president fights back, another senior Trump aide said. It s rich that some of you people [in the media] can never take a joke. Pure Trump, another official said.The Daily Beast reports:When asked if they were concerned that these kinds of messages Trump sends could encourage actual physical violence against journalists, all officials ignored the follow-up questions.Sanders and press secretary Sean Spicer did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast s requests for comment on Sunday. There s a lot of cable news shows that reach directly into hundreds of thousands of viewers, and they re really not always fair to the president, Thomas Bossert, Trump s homeland security adviser, said on ABC s This Week. So I m pretty proud of the president for developing a Twitter and a social media platform where he can talk directly to the American people. I think that no one would perceive that as a threat I hope they don t, Bossert added. But I do think that he s beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to. As GOP strategist and CNN contributor Ana Navarro said, Trump is going to get someone in the media killed.Watch:.@ananavarro on Trump's CNN tweet: "It is an incitement to violence. He is going to get someone killed in the media." #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/myhELRMu2x ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 2, 2017I saw this tweet to Navarro after Trump unleashed his violent message this morning. By the way, the tweet is still active.Former President Barack Obama never responded to negative media coverage with threats of violence, nor did he lash out at media figures in his Twitter timeline. It s now 2017 and we have a thin-skinned alleged president who needs a safe place from the media while he s in the midst of a scandal bigger than Watergate.Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images. | 1real |
Trump’s Own Staff Thinks He’s A Joke, Laughs Off His July 4th Ultimatum | As the Russian investigation is getting uncomfortably close to home for Donald Trump and as his insistence on profiting from the office of the presidency could come crashing down on his head, the White House is panicking. This time, though, the staff doesn t seem to care. After Trump delivered a July 4th ultimatum to his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, he laughed it off.Politico reports that Trump set July 4th as a deadline for a staff shakeup. This is at least the third such ultimatum Trump has given his chief of staff and none of them (so far) have come to fruition. He threatened Priebus on the 100-day mark of his presidency and then again as Memorial Day approached. The shakeups never happened and Priebus still has his job. It s become comical that every holiday becomes a referendum on Reince, said one adviser to the president.Sensing his impending doom even before he was criticized for fallout related to the firing of FBI director James Comey, Reince had joked, I ve got one foot on a banana peel and another out the door, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation.Source: PoliticoThis time, though, Trump means it for realz. He even floated some names as replacements. Oh, wait, he s actually done that before:Trump has openly floated the idea of other potential chiefs of staff, including former campaign aide David Urban and Wayne Berman, a Blackstone executive and advisor to Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman. Shortly after national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired in February, Trump invited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to the White House to help brainstorm about a new chief of staff, according to a White House official and outside adviser with knowledge of the situation.What Trump doesn t seem to realize (or perhaps he does) is that firing Priebus isn t going to help him with his legal problems. An entirely new staff isn t going to help him. Trump is in over his head and he refuses to learn or even to listen to advice.While he might be sincere this time, the more likely story is that Trump simply wants to change the headlines for the day. Rumors of a staff shakeup take the focus off the Russian investigation, sort of.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 1real |
U.S. government shifts $81 million to Zika vaccine research | CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has shifted $81 million in funds from other projects to continue work on developing vaccines to fight Zika in the absence of any funding from U.S. lawmakers. In a letter addressed to Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat and minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said she was allocating $34 million in funding to the National Institutes of Health and $47 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to work on Zika vaccines. Burwell said the funding was intended to keep Zika vaccine research going despite the lack of funding from U.S. lawmakers, who left for summer recess before allocating any funding to Zika research and preparedness. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has spread to more than 50 countries and territories since the outbreak began last year in Brazil. On Thursday, Governor Rick Scott said state health officials have identified three additional people in the affected area with locally transmitted Zika, bringing the total to 25. The Obama administration in February requested $1.9 billion to fight Zika, but congressional lawmakers have been considering a much smaller sum. A bill providing $1.1 billion was blocked by Democrats after Republicans attached language to stop abortion-provider Planned Parenthood from using that government funding for healthcare services, mainly in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico. The Republican legislation also would siphon off unused money under President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 healthcare law to combat Zika. In addition, Democrats balked at a Republican provision that they said would gut clean water protections. The new bolus of funds from HHS comes on top of the $589 million in repurposed funds previously allocated for Ebola efforts. HHS has said these funds will run out at the end of August. At a press briefing in Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he needs $33 million to prepare to move the first potential Zika vaccine to the second phase of human clinical trials. The first phase of that testing is expected to end in late November or December. Fauci said the health secretary has the authority to transfer 1 percent of NIH’s $33 billion budget per year from one Institute to the other. He said the director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, will decide which existing programs the funds will be drawn from. “He will probably do it on a prorated basis across the Institutes,” he said. Fauci said the budget transfer will not fill the longer-term NIH funding needs to fight the virus and to develop a second or third potential vaccine candidate. Drugs frequently fail to realize the promise they show in early trials. “We still need about $196 million more,” he said. Fauci said the health secretary’s action was essentially one of desperation given the failure of Congress to authorize additional funding. Taking money from other research programs “is extremely damaging to the biomedical research enterprise,” he said. “We’re taking money away from cancer, diabetes, all those things.” Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said at the briefing that local health authorities are similarly siphoning off money from other programs. “We’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said. In her letter, Burwell said the $47 million in funding for BARDA will allow the agency to enter into contracts with key partners to develop vaccines. But, she said BARDA will need an estimated $342 million in additional funding to continue its work with outside partners in the development of vaccines, diagnostics and pathogen inactivation technology used to protect the U.S. blood supply. | 0fake |
As his stature rises, Rubio becomes ripe target for rivals | LACONIA, N.H. (Reuters) - Marco Rubio finished third in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, but his Republican White House rivals are attacking him as though he were the victor, and on Wednesday the U.S. senator from Florida peppered his speech with humble caveats that seemed designed to deflect the hits. As the 2016 candidates looked ahead to Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has called Rubio “the boy in the bubble,” suggesting he gives the same speech no matter where he goes. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is campaigning for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, said Rubio could not win a general election because of his positions on abortion and immigration. Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich both said the country needed an experienced commander in chief, in what appeared to be a jab at Rubio, a first-term senator. In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, two anti-establishment candidates, had dominated the polls in the state while Rubio lagged well behind. But on Monday, he racked up a surprisingly strong third-place finish, garnering the support of 23 percent of Republican caucus goers, just below Trump’s 24 percent second-place finish. Cruz, a senator from Texas, won Iowa with 28 percent. Many pundits had predicted Rubio would struggle to get much above 15 percent to 20 percent in the state. Rubio struck a triumphant tone in his post-caucus speech. “This is the moment they said would never happen,” he said, adding that the people of Iowa had “sent a very clear message.” On Wednesday, though, he gave a cautious outlook on his prospects in New Hampshire and beyond. Rubio said he was leaving his fate in the Republican U.S. presidential primary contests in God’s hands, and added that he hoped his children would be proud of him “no matter how this turns out.” “I just want to do as well as we possibly can here in New Hampshire,” Rubio told reporters. After emerging as the leading “establishment” candidate competing with Trump and Cruz, Rubio faces high stakes in New Hampshire. His elevated stature in the race has given his rivals added incentive to attack him. Some voters in the state seemed to be warming to him. Grace Freije, 63, of Bow, New Hampshire, said she had decided to support Rubio after gravitating earlier toward Christie. Steve McMahon, 65, said the same. “He’s not a divisive person,” McMahon said. “This guy’s got the best shot at winning.” (Reporting By Emily Flitter; Editing by Caren Bohan and Jonathan Oatis) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage. | 0fake |
Russia's Putin says Obama administration does not stick to any deals | KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday it was hard for him to work with the current U.S. administration because it did not stick to any agreements, including on Syria. Putin said he was ready to engage with a new president however, whoever the American people chose, and to discuss any problem. | 0fake |
Ben Stein: Media Is ’Supreme Power in America’ Now - Trying to Cut Trump Down to Size - Breitbart | During Saturday’s “Justice” on Fox News Channel, former Nixon and Ford speechwriter, actor and author Ben Stein said that mainstream media is acting as the “supreme power in America right now,” adding that they are trying to cut President Donald Trump “down to size. ” “The media is the supreme power in America right now, and they are trying to cut President Trump down to size, and they’re using the judiciary as one of their pawns,” Stein told host Jeanine Pirro. “The media is the unaccountable fourth branch of the government,” he continued. “They can make up sources and have them go down in the history books as great journalists. They can make things up. ” Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent | 0fake |
Travel ban challengers urge U.S. top court to reject Trump appeal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opponents of President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries again urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to reject his bid to revive it, saying his administration undermined its own arguments by amending the order last week. In court papers filed with the justices, lawyers for the state of Hawaii and individual plaintiffs in Maryland made note of a June 14 memo by the administration amending the executive order to let the government conduct an internal review of vetting procedures for people entering the country. The order signed by Trump on March 6 called for a 90-day ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day ban on all refugees entering the United States to give the government time to implement stronger vetting procedures. “This memorandum conclusively severs the already tenuous relationship between the bans and their ostensible rationale by making it clear that the order’s travel and refugee restrictions may begin after the vetting reviews are complete,” Hawaii’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, wrote. The administration has appealed lower court rulings blocking the travel ban to the Supreme Court and made an emergency request that the justices put the order into effect immediately while the legal battle over its legality continues. A decision by the justices on whether to take up the case and grant the emergency request could come as soon as this week. | 0fake |
Austria’s Far Right Presents the E.U. With a New Test at the Polls - The New York Times | BERLIN — Austria’s highest court threw out the results of the nation’s presidential election on Friday, giving a euroskeptic party a second chance to win. The ruling put the European Union’s core issues back in the cross hairs of voters only a week after Britain’s decision to quit. Citing irregularities in ballot counting, the court ordered a of the presidential runoff, which an candidate, Norbert Hofer, narrowly lost in May. It was the first time Austria had ordered a rerun of a national election since 1945, when the Nazis were defeated. Now, Mr. Hofer has another chance to become the first politician elected head of state in Europe since World War II. Much like the British vote last week, the new election in Austria could well serve as a referendum on the central tenets, roles and responsibilities of the European Union. The aftershocks of the British referendum on leaving the bloc did not stop there. Central and Eastern European nations are demanding that the European Union do a better job of dealing with migration. The prime minister of Slovakia, which assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union on Friday, warned that the bloc’s leaders needed to pay more attention to national sovereignty. The prime minister, Robert Fico, urged “a balance, an equilibrium, between the member states and the European institutions,” so that “neither should dominate. ” The leaders of the European Union are trying to discourage other states from leaving by making Britain’s exit as painful as possible. Still, the growing pressure from angry electorates across Europe may force them to rapidly address the issues that drove more than 17 million Britons to vote to leave: sovereignty, borders and migrants. The view that power “needs to be rebalanced toward capitals is absolutely on the table in light of the U. K.’s decision to leave the bloc,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director for the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. He added, “There’s a tremendous desire from all over Europe to win back autonomy and sovereignty from Brussels that is motivated by how out of touch the E. U. has become with the everyday fears and concerns of its citizens. ” In the Austrian election, the European Union “could very well become a theme in the coming campaign,” said Hans Rauscher, a columnist for the liberal Austrian newspaper Der Standard. The two candidates’ stances on Europe could not be more different. Mr. Hofer is a nationalist who has advocated for the rights of disabled people since he was injured in a paragliding accident. His opponent, Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Green Party, supports a “United States of Europe. ” Elected to Parliament in 2006, Mr. Hofer has galvanized voters disillusioned with the two mainstream parties that have governed Austria continually — and often in coalition — since the 1950s. When polls closed in the May 22 runoff, Mr. Hofer was leading, but a final count that included about 700, 000 postal ballots put Mr. Van der Bellen ahead by roughly 31, 000 votes. The leader of Mr. Hofer’s Freedom Party, Strache, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court about irregularities in 94 of 117 electoral districts. The chairman of the Constitutional Court, Gerhart Holzinger, announced on Friday that “the runoff must be repeated in all of Austria,” and said the decision was guided solely by the court’s mission to protect the rule of law and democracy. The judges described procedural mistakes regarding the timing and monitoring of the counting of some ballots. Along with promising to hold Austria’s government more accountable, Mr. Hofer and his party campaigned heavily on the migrant issue. Most of the more than one million migrants who reached Germany last year did so on land routes that took them through Austria. More than 90, 000 migrants decided to apply for asylum in Austria — a similar proportion as in Germany, which has 10 times Austria’s population. Britain’s June 23 referendum — in which immigration was a central issue — was the first time a country had decided to quit the European Union, and it bolstered euroskeptic parties across the Continent, including in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. After the British vote, Mr. Hofer said he favored holding a similar referendum in Austria if new efforts to centralize power in Brussels were not halted. On Sunday, he told the newspaper Österreich that if the European Union “evolves in the wrong direction, then for me the time would have come to say: So, now we have to ask the Austrians. ” In a 1994 referendum in Austria, 67 percent of voters chose to join the European Union, and recent polls suggest that a clear majority supports continued membership, said Mr. Rauscher, the newspaper columnist. Any new referendum would have to be approved by Parliament, but the Freedom Party could begin a appeal for a referendum like the one in Britain. “Parliament could ignore that,” Mr. Rauscher wrote in an email, “but that would be a good propaganda tool for the Freedom Party. ” The decision by British voters to leave the European Union was strongly influenced by immigration from other European countries, but Britain, which is not part of the Schengen zone, has not felt the crush of Middle Eastern and North African refugees in the same way that other European nations have. Slovakia and other smaller countries have objected to the quota plan devised by European leaders. Germany has insisted that all members of the bloc must do their share to solve what is a common problem. But the British vote and the sparks it has ignited among other European electorates are now exerting intense pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and others who favor cautious and collaborative institutional reforms. That stance is arousing increasing resistance from states, and political parties, that want to chart their own path. On Friday, Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, met with Slovakia’s prime minister, Mr. Fico, who has indicated that the member states — as opposed to Brussels officials — take a greater role in setting set the strategic direction of the bloc. “National parliaments have to be heard,” the governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, which meet in a bloc known as the Visegrad Group, said in a statement this week. Mr. Fico has criticized the European Union’s leaders for mishandling the migration crisis, for giving France and Germany too much influence, and for doing too much of its business in Brussels. On Friday at a news conference with Mr. Juncker, however, he took a milder tone, saying that while “migration can be a divisive subject,” Slovakia wishes to create a “scope for discussion. ” Slovakia’s foreign minister, Miroslav Lajcak, said this week that he would “support any measure” to keep Britain in the bloc, becoming one of the few European officials to raise the possibility of additional concessions. In many respects, Slovakia is a major champion of the European project. Brussels has provided huge amounts of funding to develop its infrastructure, and Slovakia is a member of both the eurozone and the Schengen area. But some of the policies from Brussels have outraged Slovaks, and Mr. Fico in particular. Mr. Fico has said that his country will accept only Christian refugees, and that forcing a country with little history of Muslim immigration to take in Muslim refugees would amount to “false solidarity. ” Slovakia is suing at the Court of Justice of the European Union to block a system devised by the European Commission that could require it to take a quota of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Juncker promised to cut down on red tape in Brussels, but said the European Union could not compromise on bedrock principles like freedom of movement. “There was one major issue, the freedom of movement of workers, and I will not change that because this is a basic freedom of the European Union,” Mr. Juncker said. | 0fake |
Ted Cruz Calls for $14 Billion Seized from ’El Chapo’ to Fund Border Wall | Senator Ted Cruz ( ) introduced a bill calling for the use of $14 billion seized from cartel drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to be used to pay for the President’s border wall between the U. S. and Mexico. [“Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border,” Senator Cruz stated, according to a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas from the senator’s office. “Ensuring the safety and security of Texans is one of my top priorities. ” The Texas senator said that leveraging criminally forfeited assets from El Chapo and other Mexican cartel members and drug dealers can “offset the wall’s cost and make meaningful progress toward achieving President Trump’s stated border security objectives. ” Senator Cruz introduced the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act on Tuesday. “The U. S. Government is currently seeking the criminal forfeiture of more than $14 billion in drug proceeds and illicit profits from El Chapo, the former leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel who was recently extradited to the U. S. to face criminal prosecution for numerous alleged crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering,” Cruz stated. The Mexican government extradited the former Mexican drug kingpin in January, Breitbart Texas’ Ildefonso Ortiz reported. The move to an American prison cell followed months of court battles in Mexico and multiple escapes from prison by Guzman. As part of the agreement with Mexico, Guzman will not face the death penalty in the U. S. for his crimes. Prosecutors filed murder charges against the former drug lord in relation to the killings of a U. S. citizen and two relatives. Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook. | 0fake |
John Podesta's Best Friend At The DOJ Will Be In Charge Of The DOJ's Probe Into Huma Abedin Emails | Trending Articles: Trending Articles: John Podesta's Best Friend At The DOJ Will Be In Charge Of The DOJ's Probe Into Huma Abedin Emails Source: Zero Hedge
Now that the FBI has obtained the needed warrant to start poring over the 650,000 or so emails uncovered in Anthony Weiner's notebook, among which thousands of emails sent from Huma Abedin using Hillary Clinton's personal server, moments ago the US Justice Department announced it is also joining the probe, and as AP reported moments ago, vowed to dedicate all needed resources to quickly review the over half a million emails in the Clinton case. BREAKING: Justice Dept. says it'll dedicate all needed resources to quickly review emails in Clinton case.
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2016
In the letter to Congress, the DOJ writes that it “will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible,” assistant attorney General Peter J. Kadzik writes in letters to House and Senate lawmakers. #BREAKING Senior DOJ official sends letter to lawmakers responding to request for more information about email review. #8days pic.twitter.com/PCgT2ODkQd
— Just the Facts (@JTF_News) October 31, 2016
So far so good, even if one wonders just how active the DOJ will be in a case that has shown an unprecedented schism between the politically influenced Department of Justice and the FBI.
And yet, something felt odd about this.
Kadzik... Kadzik... where have we heard that name?
Oh yes. Recall our post from last week, " Clinton Campaign Chair Had Dinner With Top DOJ Official One Day After Hillary's Benghazi Hearing " in which we reported that John Podesta had dinner with one of the highest ranked DOJ officials the very day after Hillary Clinton's Benghazi testimony?
It was Peter Kadzik.
In other words, the best friend of John Podesta, Clinton's Campaign char, at the DOJ will be in charge of a probe that could potentially sink Hillary Clinton.
For those who missed it, this is what we reported previously:
The day after Hillary Clinton testified in front of the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October, John Podesta, Hillary's campaign chairman met for dinner with a small group of well-connected friends, including Peter Kadzik, who is currently a top official at the US Justice Department serving as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs.
The post-Benghazi dinner was attended by Podesta, Kadzik, superlobbyist Vincent Roberti and other well-placed Beltway fixtures. The first mention of personal contact between Podesta and Kadzik in the Wikileaks dump is in an Oct. 23, 2015 email sent out by Vincent Roberti, a lobbyist who is close to Podesta and his superlobbyist brother, Tony Podesta. In it, Roberti refers to a dinner reservation at Posto, a Washington D.C. restaurant. The dinner was set for 7:30 that evening, just one day after Clinton gave 11 hours of testimony to the Benghazi Committee.
Podesta and Kadzik met several months later for dinner at Podesta’s home, another email shows . Another email sent on May 5, 2015 , Kadzik’s son asked Podesta for a job on the Clinton campaign.
As the Daily Caller noted , the dinner arrangement "is just the latest example of an apparent conflict of interest between the Clinton campaign and the federal agency charged with investigating the former secretary of state’s email practices." As one former U.S. Attorney tells told the DC, the exchanges are another example of the Clinton campaign’s “cozy relationship” with the Obama Justice Department.
The hacked emails confirm that Podesta and Kadzik were in frequent contact. In one email from January, Kadzik and Podesta, who were classmates at Georgetown Law School in the 1970s, discussed plans to celebrate Podesta’s birthday. And in another sent last May, Kadzik’s son emailed Podesta asking for a job on the Clinton campaign.
“The political appointees in the Obama administration, especially in the Department of Justice, appear to be very partisan in nature and I don’t think had clean hands when it comes to the investigation of the private email server,” says Matthew Whitaker, the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a government watchdog group.
“It’s the kind of thing the American people are frustrated about is that the politically powerful have insider access and have these kind of relationships that ultimately appear to always break to the benefit of Hillary Clinton,” he added, comparing the Podesta-Kadzik meetings to the revelation that Attorney General Loretta Lynch met in private with Bill Clinton at the airport in Phoenix days before the FBI and DOJ investigating Hillary Clinton.
Kadzik's role at the DOJ, where he started in 2013, is particularly notable Kadzik, as helped spearhead the effort to nominate Lynch, who was heavily criticized for her secret meeting with the former president.
It gets better because, as we further revealed, if there is one person in the DOJ who is John Podesta's, and thus the Clinton Foundation's inside man, it is Peter Kadjik.
Kadzik represented Podesta during the Monica Lewinsky investigation. And in the waning days of the Bill Clinton administration, Kadzik lobbied Podesta on behalf of Marc Rich, the fugitive who Bill Clinton controversially pardoned on his last day in office. That history is cited by Podesta in another email hacked from his Gmail account. In a Sept. 2008 email , which the Washington Free Beacon flagged last week, Podesta emailed an Obama campaign official to recommend Kadzik for a supportive role in the campaign. Podesta, who would later head up the Obama White House transition effort, wrote that Kadzik was a “fantastic lawyer” who “kept me out of jail.”
Podesta was caught in a sticky situation in both the Lewinsky affair and the Rich pardon scandal. As deputy chief of staff to Clinton in 1996, Podesta asked then-United Nations ambassador Bill Richardson to hire the 23-year-old Lewinsky . In April 1996, the White House transferred Lewinsky from her job as a White House intern to the Pentagon in order to keep her and Bill Clinton separate. But the Clinton team also wanted to keep Lewinsky happy so that she would not spill the beans about her sexual relationship with Clinton.
Richardson later recounted in his autobiography that he offered Lewinsky the position but that she declined it.
Podesta made false statements to a grand jury impaneled by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr for the investigation . But he defended the falsehoods, saying later that he was merely relaying false information from Clinton that he did not know was inaccurate at the time. “He did lie to me,” Podesta said about Clinton in a National Public Radio interview in 1998. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in Feb. 1999 of perjury and obstruction of justice charges related to the Lewinsky probe. Kadzik, then a lawyer with the firm Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky, represented Podesta through the fiasco.
Podesta had been promoted to Clinton’s chief of staff when he and Kadzik became embroiled in another scandal.
Kadzik was then representing Marc Rich, a billionaire financier who was wanted by the U.S. government for evading a $48 million tax bill. The fugitive, who was also implicated in illegal trading activity with nations that sponsored terrorism, had been living in Switzerland for 17 years when he sought the pardon. To help Rich, Kadzik lobbied Podesta heavily in the weeks before Clinton left office on Jan. 20, 2001. A House Oversight Committee report released in May 2002 stated that “Kadzik was recruited into Marc Rich’s lobbying campaign because he was a long-time friend of White House Chief of Staff John Podesta.”
The report noted that Kadzik contacted Podesta at least seven times regarding Rich’s pardon. On top of the all-hands-on-deck lobbying effort, Rich’s ex-wife, Denise Rich, had doled out more than $1 million to the Clintons and other Democrats prior to the pardon . She gave $100,000 to Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate campaign and another $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library.
Kadzik's current role
In his current role as head of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Kadzik handles inquiries from Congress on a variety of issues. In that role he was not in the direct chain of command on the Clinton investigation. The Justice Department and FBI have insisted that career investigators oversaw the investigation, which concluded in July with no charges filed against Clinton.
But Kadzik worked on other Clinton email issues in his dealings with Congress. Last November, he denied a request from Republican lawmakers to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation.
In a Feb. 1, 2016 letter in response to Kadzik, Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis noted that Kadzik had explained “that special counsel may be appointed at the discretion of the Attorney General when an investigation or prosecution by the Department of Justice would create a potential conflict of interest.”
DeSantis, a Republican, suggested that Lynch’s appointment by Bill Clinton in 1999 as U.S. Attorney in New York may be considered a conflict of interest. He also asserted that Obama’s political appointees — a list which includes Kadzik —“are being asked to impartially execute their respective duties as Department of Justice officials that may involve an investigation into the activities of the forerunner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.”
It is unknown if Kadzik responded to DeSantis’ questions.
Kadzik’s first involvement in the Clinton email brouhaha came in a Sept. 24, 2015 response letter to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley in which he declined to confirm or deny whether the DOJ was investigating Clinton. Last month, Politico reported that Kadzik angered Republican lawmakers when, in a classified briefing, he declined to say whether Clinton aides who received DOJ immunity were required to cooperate with congressional probes.
Kadzik also testified at a House Oversight Committee hearing last month on the issue of classifications and redactions in the FBI’s files of the Clinton email investigation.
Finally, it is also worth noting that Kadzik's wife, Amy Weiss , currently at Weiss Public Affairs worked on the 1992 Clinton/Gore Campaign as a Press Secretary, and Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee, and a White House Deputy Assistant to the President/ Deputy Press Secretary to President Bill Clinton.
* * *
And now it seems that Kadzik will be in charge of the DOJ's "probe" into Huma Abedin's emails. Which is why we are a little skeptical the DOJ will find "anything" of note. | 1real |
Trump Jr. Also Met With Ex-Soviet Intelligence Officer To Get Dirt On Hillary Clinton | Ronald Reagan is rolling in his grave.Donald Trump s campaign is guilty of colluding with Russia and that became even clearer on Friday morning when NBC revealed that a fifth person attended Trump Jr s meeting with a Russian lawyer.In addition to Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, Trump Jr., and Kremlin-liked attorney Natalia Veselnitskya, the meeting at Trump Tower also included Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet Army counterintelligence officer who may still have connections with Russian intelligence.That s right. Trump s campaign worked with a Soviet spy in an effort to win the 2016 Election.Here s the report via TwitterNBC EXCLUSIVE: A Russian-American lobbyist a fmr Soviet counter-intel officer was also in Don Jr./Russian lawyer mtg pic.twitter.com/6EmikNzsh0 Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) July 14, 2017If this isn t enough to oust Trump and his goons and put them all in prison, the Republican Party has truly lost all sense of patriotism and duty.This is proof that Trump s campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 Election, and Americans across the country should be outraged enough to demand immediate consequences.Trump Jr. didn t do himself any favors either by lying about how many Russians he met with during an interview with Sean Hannity. Trump Jr. claimed that the emails he released contained everything on his meetings with Russians. Trump s top propaganda dog took Trump Jr. at his word, only to be humiliated this morning by the breaking news.Trump and his team have repeatedly tried to sweep this scandal under the rug for days now, but more bombshells continue to drop, damaging any shred of credibility the White House has left.Let s keep in mind that the Soviet Union wanted nothing more than to destroy the United States and our democracy for several decades. Both Republicans and Democrats worked to prevent that from happening. But only the Republicans are just fine with Russian meddling in the present day. If this had happened thirty years ago, Republicans would have had Trump Jr. arrested by now. The only reason they continue to protect Trump and his crime family is because they don t want to hurt their own power. They have literally chosen power and party over country and the Constitution they swore to defend.And Russia and Vladimir Putin couldn t be happier about it.Featured Image: John Moore/Getty Images | 1real |
U.N. Report Blames Israel for Palestinian Men Beating Their Wives | A new report by a United Nations expert, and submitted to the U. N. Human Rights Council, blames Israel in part for Palestinian men beating their wives — offering more fuel to those in the Trump administration seeking to leave the council over its bias. [The document, first reported by U. N. Watch, which monitors the international body, was written by Dubravka Šimonović — the Special Rapporteur on violence against women — who filed dual reports based on her trips to the region in 2016. The report in question focuses on the “causes and consequences” of violence against women in the region. In her filing on Israel, Šimonović highlights what she claims is a “clear linkage” between the “Israeli occupation” and Palestinian domestic abuse: While recognizing the imperatives related to security and stability in the region, the Rapporteur highlights the clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and [violence against women] and she notes, like her predecessor, that the occupation does not exonerate the State of Palestine from its due human rights obligation to prevent, investigate, punish and provide remedies for acts of violence (GBV) in the areas and for persons under its jurisdiction or effective control. The report states: Several testimonies the Rapporteur collected highlighted that the economic situation, the level of unemployment and the pressure of the occupation have a greater impact on women’s and children’s lives, making them more vulnerable to domestic violence, in particular in Gaza, due to the constant pressure felt by the blockade and the recurring cycles of conflict, and the overcrowding that limits their mobility and privacy. While Šimonović does partly blame traditions and culture within Palestinian society, her report still fingered Israel in those sections. For instance, the report claims that “decades of Israeli occupation in parallel with the continuation of patriarchal attitude in Palestinian society expose women to subordination and continuing violence. ” However, while in some places the report does state that what it calls “the State of Palestine” has a responsibility, it also mitigates that responsibility in other sections, at one point claiming: “the occupation is a real obstacle to the State’s due diligence obligation to prevent violence against women in areas where it does not have full jurisdiction … ” “Israeli occupation” refers to Israel’s presence in the West Bank, which is dotted with historic Jewish towns and Jewish holy sites and eastern Jersualem, home of the Western Wall and Temple Mount. The Human Rights Council has long been accused of bias. U. S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has repeatedly called the council out on its bias, and threatened that the U. S. may leave that body if it does not reform its membership and focus less on Israel. At a debate on the report at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, U. N. Watch representative Hillel Neuer criticized Šimonović and accused her of “infantilizing” Palestinian men, and questioned why she did not spend more time on the issue of “tradition and culture,” arguing that Palestinian TV gives advice to husbands on how to hit their wives. Šimonović responded by clarifying that “any man who is beating his wife is responsible — he is a perpetrator of violence. ” “But when we are speaking about human rights responsibility and due diligence responsibility, then we are at a different level, because states have due diligence responsibility to prevent violence against women and to establish measures to prevent such violence to punish perpetrators of violence and to provide compensation to victims,” she said. Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY | 0fake |
BILL BENNETT RIPS Into Never Trumpers…The Voice Of Reason [Video] | Bill Bennett has been the voice of reason for conservatives so it was incredibly important when he finally spoke out against the #NeverTrump crowd. Bennett is like the quiet uncle who doesn t say much but when he does everyone listens because we know it s gonna be meaningful and right on target This statement is no exception: There are a lot of people in the middle and there are still undecided people. He does not need to speak to the #NeverTrumpers, some of my friends and maybe former friends who suffer from the terrible case of moral superiority and put their own vanity and taste before the interest of the country. But he can speak to the middle and he can speak to the problems. | 1real |
BREAKING BOMBSHELL: Obama’s Foreign Policy Guru Admits To SHOCKING LIES Obama Told To Sell Americans On IRAN Deal | As if this news, in and of itself, is not horrific enough Deputy National Security Advisor, Ben Rhodes also reveals that Obama began negotiations with Iran as early as 2008, while radical Muslim hardliner, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was still in power! The Obama administration cooked up a phony story to sell Americans on the Iranian nuke deal, lying that US officials were dealing with moderates in the Islamic theocracy who could be trusted to keep their word, it was reported Thursday.In a revealing article posted on the New York Times website, President Obama s foreign-policy guru Ben Rhodes bragged about how he helped create the false narrative because the public would not have accepted the deal had it known that Iranian hard-liners were still calling the shots.The White House line which Rhodes says he created was that Obama started negotiations after the supposedly moderate Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013.But Obama had set his sights on working out a deal with the mad mullahs as early as 2008, and negotiations actually began when strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was still president.Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, concedes in the article that the so-called moderate regime is not moderate at all. We re not betting on it, he said.Despite having little foreign-policy experience, Rhodes, 38, a former aspiring novelist who grew up on the Upper East Side, was in charge of a massive White House messaging effort that fed the bogus line to journalists. We created an echo chamber. They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say, he admitted in the Times interview when asked about the plethora of experts praising the deal in the press.The Times article, which will appear in the paper s Sunday magazine, notes Rhodes, who has a writing degree from NYU, was skilled as a storyteller. He is adept at constructing overarching plotlines with heroes and villains, their conflicts supported by flurries of carefully chosen adjectives, quotations and leaks from named and unnamed senior officials, reporter David Samuels writes. He is the master shaper and retailer of Obama s foreign-policy narratives. Asked about his misleading version of the deal, Rhodes said, In the absence of rational discourse, we are going to discourse the [expletive] out of this. We had test drives to know who was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use outside groups like [the anti-nuke group] Ploughshares, the Iran Project and whomever else. So we knew the tactics that worked. We drove them crazy, he said of Republicans and others who opposed the deal, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Obama, the article says, misled the public with the idea that negotiations began because of the moderate faction s rise in 2013. Today, after two years of negotiations, the United States, together with our international partners, has achieved something that decades of animosity has not, Obama said last July when announcing the deal.Leon Panetta, then secretary of defense, confirmed in the article that the hard-line regime, and its military arm, was still in charge. There was not much question that the Quds Force and the supreme leader ran that country with a strong arm, and there was not much question that this kind of opposing view could somehow gain any traction, he said. I think the whole legacy that he [Obama] was working on was, I m the guy who s going to bring these [Mideast] wars to an end, and the last goddamn thing I need is to start another war. Without naming him, Panetta suggested Rhodes was one of several on Obama s staff who told the president only what he wanted to hear, the article says.Rhodes bashed the media for not properly reporting on foreign affairs and revealed how he fed information to reporters such as Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, a respected Beltway insider, as the Times called him. All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus, he said. Now they don t. They call us to explain to them what s happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That s a sea change. They literally know nothing. Rhodes assistant, Ned Price, gave an example of how they would shape the news by feeding a narrative to their compadres in the press corps and letting it echo across social media.For entire story: NYP | 1real |
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