title stringlengths 1 456 ⌀ | text stringlengths 1 143k ⌀ | label class label 2
classes |
|---|---|---|
Russia's Lavrov and U.S. Tillerson discuss Syria: Russia | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call on the Syria crisis with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. Lavrov and Tillerson spoke late on Thursday and discussed cooperation in their attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis with an emphasis on de-escalation zones, the ministry said. | 0fake |
How America’s Elections Are Hacked, Missing Link Discovered | Source: Infowars
Vote fraud expert Bev Harris exposes electronic voting machines
October 31, 2016
Watch elections expert Bev Harris discuss the smoking gun behind voting fraud LIVE: Infowars.com/show
Smoking Gun In Massive Election Fraud Discovered By Investigators
Black Box Voting, founded in 2003, performs nonpartisan investigative reporting on elections in an attempt to stop vote rigging.
You may be wondering what the term "black box" means. A "black box" system is non-transparent; its functions are hidden from the public. Elections, of course, should not be black box systems.
Here is a link to a free copy of the book, Black Box Voting HERE.
Author Bev Harris became known for groundbreaking work on electronic voting machines, which can remove transparency of the vote count.
Please go to Infowars to read the entire article and view the video clips. | 1real |
Shocking Proof That The Mainstream Media Gives You More ‘Fake News’ Than Any Satire Site Ever Will | Shocking Proof That The Mainstream Media Gives You More ‘Fake News’ Than Any Satire Site Ever Will Our lead-off fake news story is a classic. Filmed during the first Gulf War, it shows CNN "journalists" Charles Jaco and his crew pretending to be giving a "breaking news" update on the fighting. The only problem is that the outtakes clearly show they are not on the front lines but in a poorly decorated television studio. CNN presented this as real-life, happening now news. Completely fake. 23, 2016 In short , the current news that there should be a campaign against ‘fake news’ is of itself a fake news story.
The progressive Left , spearheaded by the liberal media and Barack Obama, want you to be outraged over the current level of ‘fake news’ that is disseminating across the globe. What they mean when they say this is that they want satire sites, like The Onion , to be shut down. They attempt to make the laughable claim that satire sites “ changed the course of the presidential election .” But in point of fact, people are no more fooled by these sites than they are by ‘fake news’ broadcasting like SNL’s Weekend Update and The Daily Show . Sites like these fill the gap that magazines like MAD and National Lampoon did years ago. And while a random sampling of low information Americans may be fooled by these satire sites, the vast majority of intelligent, everyday people are not.
In short , the current news that there should be a campaign against ‘fake news’ is of itself a fake news story. But this is how they distract you, much like the streetcorner magician who has you looking off in one direction while he gins up his trick in the other.
So let’s take a look at a few times where the media and our government has deceived us with ‘fake news’ masquerading as an actual story. CNN Classic ‘Fake News’ Broadcast Pretending To Be On The Front Lines But Was Actually In TV Studio:
Our lead-off fake news story is a classic. Filmed during the first Gulf War, it shows CNN “journalists” Charles Jaco and his crew pretending to be giving a “breaking news” update on the fighting. The only problem is that the outtakes clearly show they are not on the front lines but in a poorly decorated television studio. CNN presented this as real-life, happening now news. Completely fake. The assassination of JFK and the ‘fake news’ of the Warren Report commission:
In 2016, there is so much information online regarding the Kennedy killing that no one seriously believes that Lee Harvey Oswald shot him or ever fired a shot at all. But J. Edgar Hoover insisted that Oswald take the fall , and the ‘fake news’ Warren Commission was hatched to advance that narrative 36 Times Obama Said You Could Keep Your Health Care Plan ‘Fake News’ Scam:
One of the greatest ‘fake news’ scams of the modern era is hoaxer-in-chief Obama saying that “ if you like your plan, you can keep your plan “. Not only did this turn out not to be true – but – Obama was fully aware he was lying each and every time he said it. Not only that, every single media outlet in America repeated the lie, knowing it was a lie. George Bush selling the ‘fake news’ lie that Saddam Hussein had ‘weapons of mass destruction’:
Hoo-boy, this was quite the ‘fake news’ whopper. Exactly what you would expect from the Bush Crime Family . Who helped Bush to sell this ‘fake news’ to the American public? Our old frenemies at the main stream media. How many US soldiers died as a result of this ‘fake news’ story? Right around 5,000 men and women were sacrificed for this. How our government and media use crisis actors to drive a narrative at staged horrific events:
Of all the ‘fake news’ stories out there , this is one of the toughest to talk about. No, we are not saying that people didn’t actually die at places like Sandy Hook and other places, because they did. But that does not mean that the event that killed them was not a staged event involving paid crisis actors. So for this one we are going you a couple of videos to consider. FBI’s own statistics reveal that no one died in the Sandy Hook shooting:
Before you go and accuse us of being “insensitive” to tragedy, take a look and see the official number of deaths in Newtown, CT, in 2012. Why are the “27 victims” of the Sandy Hook shooting not on the FBI list? Hmm…looks like the FBI agrees with us. CLICK TO VIEW THE OFFICIAL FBI WEBSITE FOR HOMICIDE STATS IN CONNECTICUT IN 2012
By now, you can clearly see who the real perpetrators of ‘fake news’ actually are. Its brought to you by our own government, and by the crooked and corrupt pretend news media who spend 24 hours per day broadcasting stories that are various degrees of falsehood.
And what they are so upset about this year is that because of WikiLeaks , they were unable to use their ‘fake news’ to elect Hillary Clinton as president. The American people rejected their nonsense and journalistic lies, and they were left swinging in the breeze.
As Kramer said so many years ago “ the only true news is the alternative media “. SHARE THIS ARTICLE | 1real |
U.S. probes Trump's former butler for urging Obama assassination | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service is investigating presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s former butler over a Facebook post calling for President Barack Obama’s assassination. The former butler, Anthony Senecal, 74, said in a Facebook post Obama should be hanged for treason. He made the statement in 2015, and the magazine Mother Jones wrote on Thursday about the post and other similar remarks by Senecal. Senecal worked for decades as a butler at Trump’s Palm Beach mansion, Mar-a-Lago. After reports of Senecal’s comments began to circulate, the Secret Service said in a statement, “The U.S. Secret Service is aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation.” The story broke as Trump, whose proposals to ban Muslims from entering the United States and build a wall along the Mexican border have drawn heavy criticism, concluded a charm offensive on Capitol Hill. He attended a series of meetings there on Thursday with Republican lawmakers to try to win the party establishment’s support for his candidacy. Senecal has not served as a butler to the billionaire candidate since 2009, but he was identified in a March 15 profile in the New York Times as a current employee of Mar-a-Lago, serving as the estate’s historian. Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, said in a statement, “Senecal has not worked at Mar-a-Lago for years, but nevertheless we totally and completely disavow the horrible statements made by him regarding the president.” She declined to comment on the Times report about Senecal’s recent role. Senecal did not respond to a call seeking comment and could not be reached by email. “It is time for our Military to drag that fraud out of the white mosque and hang his ass for treason and other high crimes against AMERICA !!!!!!!” Senecal wrote on Sept. 13, 2015, in reference to Obama. Mother Jones reached Senecal on Thursday. The magazine reported that Senecal said of his Facebook comments, including a private comment on Wednesday in which he said Obama should be shot: “I wrote that. I believe that.” | 0fake |
Stop fighting over Brexit and get real, Jim O'Neill tells UK | LONDON (Reuters) - The British government should stop dreaming about having its own way in Brexit negotiations and start to get more realistic about the likely outcome of divorce talks with the European Union, said Jim O Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist. Prime Minister Theresa May, who quietly opposed Brexit ahead of the referendum, has formally notified the bloc of Britain s intention to leave and divorce talks are under way. A botched gamble on a snap election in June undermined May s authority inside her own Conservative Party and some EU diplomats say the British negotiating stance remains both unrealistic and unclear. O Neill, who coined the term BRIC in 2001 to describe how the economic clout of Brazil, Russia, India and China would challenge the West s dominance, told BBC radio that divisions inside the Conservatives were driving Brexit policy. The divisions between our political parties, particularly inside the ruling Conservative one, continue to dominate the policy discussion and it is very unfortunate and I wish it would change, said O Neill. In the June 23, 2016 referendum, voters in the United Kingdom backed leaving the EU by a margin of 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent. O Neill, who resigned from his job as a Treasury minister in May s government a year ago, said that the British negotiators attempt to cherry pick an exit deal was unrealistic. The last thing the EU wants for a big country to leave and for there to be no consequences because at some point there would be others that might think: Well if it s that easy and you can get away from the worst bits but keep the good bits, then I ll have some of that too , he said. It frequently seems our negotiators don t seem to appreciate that, O Neill said. May says she will make Brexit a success and that she hopes the EU will agree to a deal that allows both sides to continue to trade as freely as possible. | 0fake |
Russia says Moscow visit by U.S.' Tillerson scheduled for next week: Interfax | MOSCOW (Reuters) - A visit to Moscow by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on the agenda for the coming week, Interfax news agency cited a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman as saying on Friday. Maria Zakharova said the ministry expected Tillerson to explain Washington’s stance in light of the U.S. missile strike on Syria. “Let him come (to Moscow) and tell what strange things they did”, she said, according to Interfax. | 0fake |
WOW! BLACK TRUMP SUPPORTER’S Epic Takedown Of Media Talking Heads Goes Viral [Video] | This wonderful lady is so right and so dead on in her description of Donald Trump s mission You will Love her! Democrats FAILED, they care about the inner city when its election time | 1real |
GOOD GRIEF! HILLARY TELLS ANOTHER WHOPPER Just Hours Before Iowa Caucus [Video] | Ed Henry of FOX News tells us tonight that Hillary Clinton lied again! Just hours before the very important Iowa Caucus, Hillary gives voters another reason not to trust her AND not to vote for her. | 1real |
Turkey, Iran agree to discuss Russia's Syrian congress proposal | ASTANA (Reuters) - Turkey and Iran have agreed to discuss within the UN-led Geneva process Russia s proposal to convene a Syrian national dialogue congress, the three nations delegations said in a joint statement after talks in Kazakhstan. Diplomats from the three countries will next meet in Astana, the Kazakh capital, in the second half of December, according to the statement. | 0fake |
Watch: Donald Trump is showing a side of the GOP that party leaders don't want you to see | Donald Trump is showing a side of the GOP that party leaders don't want you to see
Donald Trump's very loud entrance into the presidential race exposed an ugly truth about the party: anti-Hispanic bigotry plays well with the Republican primary electorate. That could be a big problem:
For more on Trump's epic trolling, Jon Allen has more here. | 0fake |
Trump was wrong to retweet UK far-right group: British PM May's spokesman | LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was wrong to have posted anti-Islam videos on Twitter that had originally been published by a leader of Britain First, a fringe, far-right party, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. It is wrong for the President to have done this, the spokesman said. Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people. British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency tolerance and respect. | 0fake |
Australian PM to force lawmakers to declare citizenship to end political crisis | SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced plans on Monday to force all lawmakers to declare they are not dual nationals as he seeks to defuse a political crisis that saw his deputy ejected from parliament. Turnbull s center-right coalition government was thrown into disarray last month when the High Court ruled that five lawmakers who were dual nationals, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, were ineligible for parliament. The Australian leader has been facing down calls since for a full audit of parliamentarians to ensure they comply with the country s constitution, which bars foreign nationals from sitting in parliament to prevent split allegiances. The High Court ruling expelled three members of the Liberal-National coalition government from parliament, while a fourth resigned days later after confirming he also had dual nationality. The other affected lawmakers were from minority parties, with the main opposition Labor Party yet to be ensnared. Turnbull said his plan, unlike an audit, would put the onus on lawmakers to check their own situation and anybody found to have made a false declaration would be in contempt of parliament. Lawmakers will be required to produce documents to prove any second citizenship has been renounced. Members and senators have been put squarely on notice now and so they will be turning their mind to their own affairs and the issues of citizenship, Turnbull told reporters in Canberra. The new laws would apply to both existing and prospective lawmakers. Those already in parliament would be given 21 days to make a declaration from the date it comes into force, while new lawmakers would have the same period of time from their swearing in. Turnbull said he hoped to push the changes through parliament in the last remaining sitting days this year. That will require support from the Labor Party, which suggested a similar plan last week. Turnbull has said previously that the court s interpretation of the constitution was very strict . He has flagged potential changes to the constitution, noting that more than half of Australia s population of 24 million was either born overseas or has a parent who was born overseas. A referendum would be needed to change the constitution. All seven lawmakers in the High Court case, two of whom were cleared to remain in parliament, accepted that they were dual nationals at the time of their election but claimed they were unaware of their status. Some were conferred a second nationality by birth, others by descent. | 0fake |
Britain will meet its Brexit financial obligations: minister | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will meet its financial obligations when it leaves the European Union, transport minister Chris Grayling said on Friday, hours before Prime Minister Theresa May makes a high-stakes speech to reset Brexit talks. May, weakened after losing her Conservative Party s majority in a June election, is hoping to move talks forward with the EU in a speech in Florence, Italy, on Friday. According to Grayling, the speech will set out the principles of a future relationship. It s not about the specific purpose of where we might end up at that point in the negotiations ... what she is doing is setting out today the principles of a future relationship, she is talking about how we move the negotiations forward, Grayling told BBC radio. Asked whether reports that Britain will offer a financial settlement to the EU are correct, Grayling said: We are a nation that meets its obligations. Of course we absolutely accept that Britain has obligations ... but what we are looking to do though, is not simply today to start talking about the nuts and bolts of negotiation. | 0fake |
Air France reopens U.S. flights to passengers hit by travel ban | PARIS (Reuters) - Air France said on Saturday it had reopened U.S.-bound flights to passengers affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, after the executive order was temporarily suspended by a federal court. “Starting today we are implementing this court decision,” Air France spokesman Herve Erschler said. “Nationals from the countries concerned are being authorized to fly once again to the United States, providing their papers and visas are in order.” Erschler said American government representatives in Paris had advised local airlines they could resume U.S.-bound services for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. A federal judge in Seattle on Friday suspended Trump’s week-old executive order barring their travel. | 0fake |
Golden Reaction: What Simone Manuel’s Historic Moment Looked Like - The New York Times | RIO DE JANEIRO — Simone Manuel won the freestyle on Thursday night, becoming the first woman to win gold in an individual swimming event. Here is a poolside view of her reaction, from the moment she realized she won until she received the gold medal on the podium, and her reflections on the race. “I was super surprised. . .. I don’t think there was a definitive point where I thought I had the race. I don’t remember much of it except the last 15 meters. I think I put my head down earlier than normal and just told myself to get my hand on the wall as fast as I possibly could. ” “The whole time I was trying not to cry. . .. But I think just hearing the national anthem and knowing you put your heart into that race and you represented your country in the best way you know how, I think that meant a lot because that was my first individual win at an international meet and it just felt great. ” “This medal is not just for me, it’s for some of the that have come before me, have been inspirations and mentors to me. ” “Just coming into this race tonight, I kind of tried to take the weight of the black community off my shoulders, which is something I carry with me just being in this position. But I do hope that it kind of goes away. I’m super glad with the fact I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully diversify the sport. But at the same time I would like there to be a day where there are more of us and it’s not Simone, the black swimmer, because the title black swimmer makes it seem like I’m not supposed to be able to win a gold medal or I’m not supposed to be able to break records. That’s not true because I work just as hard as anybody else and I love the sport and I want to win just like everybody else. “ .. | 0fake |
Comment on These Lifestyle Choices Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk, Even If You’re Genetically Predisposed To It by These Lifestyle Choices Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk, Even If You Are Genetically Predisposed To It - Everything you can imagine is real | Share on Facebook Share on Twitter According to a large new study , women who carry common gene variants that are linked to breast cancer can still reduce their risk of developing this disease by following a healthy lifestyle. The discovery marks a noticeable and important shift in the cancer conversation, offering hope for anyone who believes getting cancer is inevitable and also outlining the choices necessary to avoid it. advertisement - learn more Researchers found that even women who had a relatively high genetic risk for cancer could dramatically lower that risk based on their lifestyle choices. According to senior researcher Nilanjan Chatterjee, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, “Those genetic risks are not set in stone.” We can’t keep overlooking this essential aspect of cancer prevention. Key Lifestyle Factors To Avoid According to the study , there are four main lifestyle factors at play: maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and not taking hormone therapy after menopause. The researchers estimate that if all white American women followed those four guidelines, approximately 30% of breast cancer cases could be avoided entirely. Of that 30%, the vast majority would be women whose family history and genes make them more susceptible to the disease. This study did not include women who carry the BRCA gene mutations, which significantly increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Instead they focused on 92 gene variants that, individually, only make a small difference in a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer; collectively, they can add up to substantial risk, and they are much more common than the rare BCRA mutations. advertisement - learn more But, for the women who do have the BCRA mutation, how much does lifestyle affect their chances of developing cancer? “Lifestyle factors may be even more important for women at higher genetic risk than for those at low genetic risk,” Chatterjee said . The findings for the study, which were published online May 26 th in JAMA Oncology , were based on the records from over 40,000 women tested for 24 gene variants which were previously linked to increased risk of breast cancer. Chatterjee and his team created a model for predicting a woman’s risk of breast cancer using the genetic information provided and then assessing a few other factors, such as family history of breast cancer, the age menstruation started, and lifestyle. The researchers then added another component and estimated the effects of 68 other gene variations that the women weren’t tested for. According to the study, overall the average 30-year-old white woman has an 11% chance of developing breast cancer by the time she reaches 80 years old. That may seem relatively low, but breast cancer is only one of many potential cancers we may develop in our lifetime. And while the odds are steeper for those women whose genes and other factors out of their control place them at higher risk, according to Chatterjee, lifestyle choices still make the biggest difference for them. Your Inbox Will Never Be The Same Inspiration and all our best content, straight to your inbox. The study also suggests that even the women with the highest risks could bring their breast cancer odds down to average if they follow the four golden rules outlined above. William Dupont, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, concludes , “The bottom line is, this study provides evidence that, on a population level, a certain number of breast cancer cases would be prevented if women did these things.” “I don’t think women should take this to mean that they have to go ‘cold turkey’ after menopause,” he adds. He also stressed that the model created by the study’s researchers does have limitations, so it should not be used to predict any woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. If you’re wondering about the risk for non-white women, Chatterjee says the same general patterns would most likely apply to them as well. Of course, these 4 lifestyle tips are important for anyone to follow, not just those who are at risk for developing breast cancer. Other Factors That Can Lower Breast Cancer Risk Interestingly the study didn’t factor diet into this equation, despite the abundant evidence showing how diet can directly affect our chances of developing cancer and other diseases. Avoiding certain chemicals such as parabens and BPA is also important. Watch out for many personal care products, as they are often loaded with parabens. Specifically, women’s antiperspirant should be avoided, as it generally contains parabens and aluminum and prevents the natural detoxification process of the lymph nodes around the breast area via sweat. Avoid anti-perspirant if you can and switch to natural, paraben- and aluminum-free deodorant. For a simple armpit detox that can help prevent breast cancer, click here . Much Love
The Sacred Science follows eight people from around the world, with varying physical and psychological illnesses, as they embark on a one-month healing journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.
You can watch this documentary film FREE for 10 days by clicking here.
"If “Survivor” was actually real and had stakes worth caring about, it would be what happens here, and “The Sacred Science” hopefully is merely one in a long line of exciting endeavors from this group." - Billy Okeefe, McClatchy Tribune | 1real |
Comment on Many on Social Security Disability can but don’t want to work by DCG | Why are we demonized for speaking the truth? H/t FOTM’s Trail Dust
More than a year ago, in May 2012, Lance Roberts wrote that “ Without government largesse many individuals would literally be living on the street.” As much as 1/5 or 22.5% of the average American’s income is dependent on “government transfers.”
One of those “government transfers” are Social Security Disability benefits.
There are two types of Social Security Disability benefits: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): Earned disability benefits for those who have held jobs for significant periods of time and paid at least partially into Social Security before becoming disabled. Social Security Disability (SSI): Unearned disability benefits for individuals who have petitioned to be classified as disabled, although many of them have never worked and have never paid into Social Security.
Under Obama, t he number of Americans claiming disability has surged to the highest levels on record since the beginning of the last recession. What is most notable, however, is when the surge of disability claims began – exactly two years from the beginning of the financial crisis. This was when the 2 years of extended unemployment insurance began to run out.
Unlike welfare, disability isn’t term-limited, and in some cases it’s become permanent unemployment insurance for the unemployable or those who simply refuse to work.
Today, more than 28 million Americans who are of working age have a disability – a level higher than at any other time in recorded history. There are approximately 11 million SSDI or earned recipients and approximately 7 million SSI or unearned recipients.
But how many of those on disability are actually disabled?
Luke Rosiak reports for the Washington Examiner , July 30, 2013, that a study by the Social Security Administration found some disturbing, but unsurprising, attributes of disability recipients: Recipients of federal disability checks often admit that they are capable of working but cannot or will not find a job. Returning to work is not a goal for 71% of the SSDI recipients, and 60% of the SSI recipients. Most have never received significant medical treatment and not seen a doctor about their condition in the last yea r, even though medical problems are the official reason they don’t work. Those who acknowledge they’re on disability because they can’t find a job say they make little effort to find one. Of those who say they’re actually looking for a job, most say they’re looking only for part-time jobs that will allow them to keep their disability benefits. The unearned disability recipients are in less pain than their counterparts who had paid into the system. In other words, they are using SSD as a substitute for welfare. These individuals are typically overweight, uneducated and from broken homes. There are practical barriers to weaning recipients off the disability rolls. The jobs they’d be candidates for often don’t provide health insurance, which is essential for those with medical problems, and they’d rather receive the SSD benefits. Many also say they don’t have transportation to work. 72% of the small number of SSDI recipients who started a job while on disability got cash under the table , as did 70% of the small number of SSI recipients who started a job while on disability. 24% of the SSDI recipients lack even GEDs, as do 43% of the SSI recipients. Only 18% of SSDI and 15% of SSI recipients said, during the past 4 weeks, they could not do social activities with family or friends because of their physical health or emotional problems. As many as 96% of SSDI and 91% of SSD recipients admit whatever physical health or mental problems they have do not hinder or limit them from the kind or amount of work or other daily activities they do. In other words, they are not really so disabled they can’t work. 47% of SSDI and 41% of SSD recipients are obese ; 30% of both groups are overweight; only 21% of SSDI and 25% of SSD recipients are of normal weight. 28% of SSD recipients had never worked for pay, i.e., they never had a job! Most SSD recipients don’t bother to educate themselves about or avail themselves of government programs to wean them off disability, such as the Plan for Achieving Self-Support, Earned Income Exclusion, and Continued Medicaid Eligibility after they get off disability benefits. Many disability recipients also receive other government welfare benefits: 28% of SSDI and 81% of SSD recipients are on Medicaid; 80% of SSDI and 42% of SSD recipients are on Medicare; 18% of SSDI and 52% of SSD recipients are on food stamps. The lack of a spouse is a significant factor: 54% of SSDI and 88% of SSD recipients are not married. 11% of SSDI and 21% of SSD recipients have been receiving disability benefits for 20 years or more.
Source: Public use file round 4
America’s national debt now exceeds our GDP and is closing in on $17 trillion. It doesn’t take an Albert Einstein to know that our super-extended welfare state cannot continue as it is. Indeed the danger signs are already visible.
In three years, by 2016, the first of the Social Security funds — Social Security Disability — will be in full collapse.
Brian Faler reports for The Washington Post , May 30, 2012:
“ The disability program pays benefits averaging $1,111 a month, with the money coming from the Social Security payroll tax. The program cost $132 billion last year, more than the combined annual budgets of the departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, Commerce, Labor, Interior and Justice. That doesn’t include an additional $80 billion spent because disability beneficiaries become eligible for Medicare, regardless of their age, after a two-year waiting period. The disability program is projected to exhaust its trust fund in 2016, according to a Social Security trustees report released last month. Once it runs through its reserve, incoming payroll-tax revenue will cover only 79% of benefits, according to the trustees. Because the plan is barred from running a deficit, aid would have to be cut to match revenue.”
Lastly, since the American Medical Association recently declared obesity to be a “disease,” expect even more Americans to apply for and receive Social Security Disability benefits.
~Eowyn | 1real |
What a difference a year makes - EU warms to Britain's May | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - What a difference a year makes. A year ago, Prime Minister Theresa May was pictured standing alone at an EU summit, nervously playing with her sleeve as other leaders embraced and chatted around her - an image that summed up her isolation after Britain voted for Brexit. On Thursday, with the leaders of the other 27 states poised to agree to move Brexit talks forward to the decisive phase of discussing future ties, the 61-year-old was greeted with a show of support, including applause and a round of congratulations during a summit dinner. She needs it: the second phase of talks is likely to be even more difficult than the first and could widen divisions in her government, her party and the country over what Britain should become after Brexit. May also faces an emboldened parliament at home. Rebels in her Conservative Party joined forces with opposition lawmakers to vote against the government on her Brexit blueprint - something they may try to repeat next week when May plans to write Britain s departure date into law. But the change in atmosphere in Brussels improves the chances of a friendlier divorce, reducing the possibility of Britain crashing out without a deal. It may be a change born of necessity. A weakened May could be forced from office and the EU does not want to see a new, possibly hardline negotiator across the table half way through the talks. She is the best we ve got. She s all we got, said a senior EU official, comparing her positively with her Brexit minister, David Davis, whose comment that the initial deal was a statement of intent rather than a legal pact annoyed many in the bloc. For many Conservatives too, May is seen as the leading contender for securing Britain s exit in March 2019. I think the prime minister is certainly far and away best placed to do that, said British lawmaker and Brexit supporter David Jones, who was moved from his position as a Brexit minister earlier this year. She s done very well in connection with this first stage of the agreement against the odds ... What she has actually achieved is acceptance on the part of the European Union that not only are we leaving but we can leave without causing a problem to them internally. ACCIDENT-PRONE May was appointed prime minister shortly after Britain voted 18 months ago to leave the EU and she is committed to honoring that decision and unraveling four decades of EU membership. But the path has not been smooth. After losing her party s majority at a June election, May has been almost unnaturally accident-prone. An attempt to reassert her authority collapsed in a coughing fit during a speech at a Conservative party conference in October. Last week, a choreographed attempt to seal the deal to move on to the second phase of talks with the EU fell apart after her Northern Irish allies refused to sign off on it. That was when European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hailed May as a tough negotiator , one who is defending the point of view of Britain with all the energy we know she has . An embarrassing defeat in parliament on Wednesday has underlined her weakness in relying on the support of a small Northern Irish party to pass legislation. But after two failed attempts from within her party to oust her, May has proved many detractors wrong, pushing on with Brexit, which has sapped the government s ability to pursue other policies and will define her time in power. The government s defeat on the amendment will make our exit more complicated, and there is now an incentive for the EU not to negotiate a good deal, said Conservative lawmaker John Baron. However, this process was hardly ever going to be smooth, and we remain on course to honor the referendum result. So for now, she is carrying her divided party with her. But the agreement to move to phase two, which some Conservatives described as a compromise, has shown some fraying at the edges of the coalition. The key is for her to keep her cabinet ministers on board. It s a fudge to get to the next stage ... but Leave cabinet members have been reassured they will get the Brexit they want, said a senior Conservative source. That may mean keeping the possibility open of Britain moving away from EU regulations after it leaves, which could worry EU officials. The British people will be in control, environment minister Michael Gove said last week. If the British people dislike the arrangement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge. | 0fake |
HOW PUSSY RIOT ROBBED ME TO PROMOTE HILLARY CLINTON THIS ELECTION | We Are Change
In this video Luke Rudkowski talks about how the punk rock group that was persecuted in Russia by Putin Pussy Riot, steals from Luke in order to promote Hilllary Clinton this election. Don’t forget to support and continue our work donate on https://www.patreon.com/wearechange so we can expand our operations.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-bKF…
http://www.salon.com/2016/10/27/watch…
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles…
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-puss…
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/2…
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-puss…
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/st…
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2012/…
http://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-s…
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/…
http://joequinn.net/2014/02/26/pussy-…
—————————————————————————————-
Support WeAreChange by Subscribing to our channel HERE http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…
Visit our main site for more breaking news http://wearechange.org/
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/WeAreChange?a…
SnapChat: LukeWeAreChange
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LukeWeAreChange
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange
Instagram: http://instagram.com/lukewearechange
Rep WeAreChange Merch Proudly: http://wearechange.org/store
OH YEAH since we are not corporate or government WHORES help us out http://wearechange.org/donate
We take BITCOIN too
12HdLgeeuA87t2JU8m4tbRo247Yj5u2TVP
The post HOW PUSSY RIOT ROBBED ME TO PROMOTE HILLARY CLINTON THIS ELECTION appeared first on We Are Change .
| 1real |
Seth McFarlane BRUTALLY Mocks Kellyanne Conway’s Ridiculous ‘Microwave’ Theory (TWEETS) | Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane just couldn t resist having a bit of fun with Kellyanne Conway s absolutely batsh*t insane claim regarding Trump s unfounded allegation that President Obama spied on The Donald through his microwave. On Monday, the legendary comedy figure tweeted his own theory about what Conway meant and to him, it sounds a lot like the sort of thing you d expect from the furniture at PeeWee s Playhouse (those sneaky little bastards):So basically @KellyannePolls, you're saying this is how Obama spied on Trump: pic.twitter.com/8IeecMwa5E Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) March 13, 2017 There was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, through their certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways, Conway said over the weekend as she attempted to defend Trump s claim that Obama tapped his wires at Trump Tower. And microwaves that turn into cameras, et cetera. So we know that that is just a fact of modern life. Tech publication Wired explains that it is, contrary to her assertion, impossible to use a microwave oven to spy on someone (unless, of course, it really is the worst Transformer ever):First, let s take Conway s assertion literally. Microwaves (the waves) can be used for certain types of imaging, as in radar, but a microwave oven can t be used as a camera unless it literally has an outward-facing webcam onboard. No such microwave appears to exist. That s in contrast to the case of the spying Samsung TVs, referenced by Conway, that each come with a built-in, internet-connected microphone.But what if we were to take Conway not literally, but seriously? Asked whether a microwave could be turned into not a camera, specifically, but a listening device, Stephen Frasier, a microwave imaging and radar researcher at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, let out several seconds of sustained laughter. Unless it s a voice-activated microwave oven connected to the internet I can t think of a way, says Frasier. Outside of a failed smart microwave Kickstarter, no microphone-equipped microwaves appear to exist. In fact, a quick check of major appliance manufacturers including GE, LG, and Samsung shows that internet-connected microwaves are a rarity. Even those that might exist in early-adopting kitchens would be far more likely to be conscripted into a botnet than used as a listening device.To date, the Trump administration has not produced a shred of evidence to back Trump s claim though they did secure additional time to stall as they desperately search for something anything that will at least convince the most stupid among us that it happened.Featured image via Getty Images (Michael Tran)/screengrab | 1real |
TRUMP’S NATIONAL SECURITY SPEECH Reveals Policy Based on 4 Principles Focusing on ‘America First’ | President Trump delivered a speech on national security that ll knock your socks off. He plans on putting America first: America is in the game and America is going to win. His strategy involves four basic principles: protecting the homeland by restricting immigration, pressuring trading partners, building up the military and otherwise increasing U.S. influence globally.What s not to love about that? MAGA!Via Fox News: President Trump on Monday unveiled a national security strategy that enshrines his America First approach into U.S. policy, stressing American strength and economic security and putting rivals like China and Russia on notice. America is in the game and America is going to win, Trump said, making clear that the United States will stand up for itself even if that means acting unilaterally or alienating others on issues such as trade, climate change and immigration.In a 20-minute speech, Trump said the U.S. faces an extraordinarily dangerous world and one of his goals is to make sure the U.S. is leading again on the world stage. America is coming back, and America is coming back strong, he said.Trump, who released his 68-page national security strategy ahead of his speech, said he is making good on campaign pledges that he promised would revitalize the American economy, rebuild our military, defend our borders, protect our sovereignty and advance our values. Trump s national security strategy, a document mandated by Congress, is based on four principles: protecting the homeland by restricting immigration, pressuring trading partners, building up the military and otherwise increasing U.S. influence globally.Trump also took on the rise in North Korea s nuclear aggression and painted China and Russia as U.S. rivals despite his own relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which included two telephone calls last week.Bryan Llenas has the rogue regime s reaction. China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity, the strategy document says. They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence. The strategy accuses the two nations of developing advanced weapons and capabilities that could threaten our critical infrastructure and our command and control architecture. While Trump in his address did not mention Russia meddling in U.S. elections, the written strategy also calls out Moscow for using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies and says adversaries like Russia target media, political processes, financial networks and personal data. In a shift from the last administration, Trump s strategy also refers to the jihadist terror threat and Islamist terror groups. We will pursue threats to their source, so that jihadist terrorists are stopped before they ever reach our borders, it says.Further, the strategy backs off naming climate change as a major threat. The last such strategy document, prepared by then-President Barack Obama in 2015, declared climate change an urgent and growing threat to our national security. | 1real |
Saudi Arabia condemns Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel | CAIRO (Reuters) - The kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday condemned the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed with deep sorrow Trump s decision and warned of dangerous consequences of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem . The statement also urged the U.S. administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will. Saudi Arabia described the decision as an unjustified and irresponsible step and said it represents a bias against rights of Palestinian people . Saudi Arabia also said the move represents a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process and said it was a violation of the U.S. Neutral position regarding Jerusalem . | 0fake |
ANTIFA BEWARE! BIKERS FOR TRUMP Makes Huge Announcement On Tonight’s Phoenix Rally [VIDEO] | BIKERS FOR TRUMP announced their support for Pro-Trump attendees at tonight s Phoenix Rally for Trump. This just got more interesting because the bikers will not put up with the Antifa violence. Check out the announcement below:The statement released by bikers for Trump s Steven emery:This group of brave Patriots deserves our support! Please check out the Go Fund Me for bikers for Trump.Don t forget that violence against trump supporters has been over-the-top since last year. How could we forget the Chicago, San Diego and other cities that brought out the leftists who only wanted violence.It s a good thing Bikers for Trump will be a presence in Phoenix tonight. Please pray for their safety.IN CASE YOU FORGOT ABOUT WHAT THE LEFT DID LAST YEAR:When will the media report on this nice group of illegal aliens and racist American thugs SINCE THE MEDIA WON T REPORT ON ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE TRUMP SUPPORTERS, WE VE GOT THE LIST FOR YOU: Pro-Trump supporters have known the truth for a long time that conservatives are being attacked. Do you have any idea of the number of attacks? You might be shocked to see the list created by The Daily Caller.We feel like it s even more important to know who s behind the effort to attack and silence conservatives in America. There are groups like MoveOn.org and Black Lives Matter that have been instigating violence in a big way. Antifa is the worst with their tactics of extreme violence and destruction.Just as destructive as the violence is the left s effort to hijack the narrative anytime something happens between both sides. It s an Alinsky tactic that the left has been using long before President Trump came on the scene. The only difference now is that they re on overdrive with the attacks on Trump! It s downright scary!Take the The Huffington Post s recent article calling for the execution of Trump and everyone assisting his agenda. If you ve noticed a hijacking of the narrative on just about everything to do with President Trump then look no further than the attack on his comments yesterday. Trump s words were twisted, replaced and totally misinterpreted. So it shouldn t surprise anyone that you haven t heard much about physical attacks on conservatives what s the left got to gain by telling the truth? Suppression of information is right up there with lying A low as you can get!HERE S THE TRUTH AND IT S SHOCKING: Protesters jumped on cars, stole hats, fought with and threw eggs at Trump supporters outside a Trump rally in downtown San Jose, Calif. Trump supporters sued San Jose over the violence.July 2016:-A Hillary Clinton supporter lights a flag on fire and attacks a Trump supporter in Pittsburgh.August 2016:-Anti-Trump protesters attacked pushed, spit on and verbally harassed attendees forced to walk a gauntlet as they left a Trump fundraiser in Minneapolis, Minn., and beat an elderly man. Protesters also attacked Trump s motorcade. A Tennessee man was assaulted at a garage sale for being a Trump supporter.-A Trump supporter in New Jersey was attacked with a crowbar on the street.September 2016:-Protesters in El Cajon, Calif., chased and beat up a Trump supporter.October 2016:-A GOP office in North Carolina was firebombed and spray painted with Nazi Republicans get out of town or else. November 2016:-A high school student was attacked after she wrote that she supported Trump on social media. The perpetrator ripped her glasses off and punched her in the face.-The president of Cornell University s College Republicans was assaulted the night after Trump won the election.-Students protesting Trump punched and kicked a Maryland high school student wearing a Make America Great Again hat.-A high school student was arrested in Florida after he punched a classmate for carrying a Trump sign at school.-A group of black men in Chicago attacked a white man while raging against Trump.-Maryland high school students punched a student who was demonstrating in support of Trump, and then kicked him repeatedly while he was on the ground.- You support Trump. You hate Mexicans, a California high school student yelled at a Trump supporter, before viciously beating the girl.-An anti-bullying ambassador was arrested for shoving a 74-year-old man to the ground in a fight outside Trump tower where people upset over his win had gathered. The woman tied to Black Lives Matter caused the man to hit his head on the sidewalk.-A Texas elementary school student was beaten by his classmates for voting for Trump in a mock election.-Two men punched and kicked a Connecticut man who was standing with an American flag and a Trump sign.December 2016:-A Trump supporter was beaten and dragged by a car.January 2017:-A Trump supporter was knocked unconscious after airport protesters repeatedly beat him on the head.-A Trump supporter was attacked after putting out a fire started by anti-Trump protesters.-When Trump protesters encountered a driver with a pro-Trump flag on his car, they surrounded the vehicle, ripped off and began burning the flag, and pounded the car. They also punctured the tires.February 2017:-California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock had to be escorted to his car after a town hall because of angry protesters. The tires of at least four vehicles were slashed.-Protestors knocked a 71-year-old female staffer for California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher unconscious during a protest outside the representative s office.-Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the University of California-Berkeley was cancelled after rioters set the campus on fire and threw rocks through windows. Milo tweeted that one of his supporters wearing a Trump hat was thrown to the ground and kicked.March 2017:-Masked protesters at Middlebury College rushed AEI scholar and political scientist Charles Murray and professor Allison Stranger, pushing and shoving Murray and grabbing Stranger by her hair and twisting her neck as they were leaving a campus building. Stranger suffered a concussion. Protesters then surrounded the car they got into, rocking it back and forth and jumping on the hood.April 2017:-A parade in Portland, Ore.,was canceled after threats of violence were made against a Republican organization.-Fears of violent protests shut down Ann Coulter s UC Berkeley speech. Campus police had gathered intel on protesters who were planning to commit violence.May 2017: Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, his family and his dog were targeted by a series of repeated death threats deemed credible by authorities.-FBI agents arrested a person for threatening to shoot Republican Rep. Martha McSally over her support for Trump.-Police in Tennessee charged a woman for allegedly trying to run Republican Rep. David Kustoff off the road.-Police in North Dakota ejected a man after he became physical with Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer at a town hall.-A former professor was arrested after police said they identified him on video beating Trump supporters with a U-shaped bike lock, leaving three people with significant injuries. June 2017:-James Hodgkinson opened fire on a congressional GOP baseball practice, injuring five, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.-Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney received an email threat that read, One down, 216 to go, shortly after the shooting at the Republican congressional baseball practice.-A man driving a white Malibu reportedly fired several shots at a man driving a truck displaying a Make America Great Again flag in Indiana. | 1real |
The Vision Thing ’16 | Email That this election is an abysmal disgrace is nationally acknowledged; that it is absolutely unique is not, although it’s undeniable. Never before has virtuallly the entire mainstream media avidly, emphatically endorsed one Presidential candidate while furiously, contemptuously vilifying the other. Never has a sitting President joined in general denunciation of a candidate. With ten days to go it’s affirmed by most key sources that Donald Trump can’t win and Hillary Clinton will. Many pundits predict a landslide for her. Assume it. What then? The most hated President-elect ever will not be loved by the Congress she will confront. Even with a majority in the Senate–just possible–and in the House–not–prospects for a legislative agenda, should she have one, are non-existent. What Obama’s phony charm failed to achieve, Hillary’s lack of it will scarcely obtain. This presages four more years of stasis and nullity, of social and economic rot, financial chicanery, and national decay. As regards the composition of the Supreme Court–the panicky Liberal pitch for being “with her”–unless she nominates hidebound conservatives, which is probable, not a single selection will be confirmed during her term. So… paralysis in Congress, reaction in the Court; two limbs of government neutralized, gives us rule by a disliked, distrusted figurehead with the full power of Wall Street and the Imperial War-loving Establishment behind her. What then will be accomplished? First, the interests of The Empire will be promoted at least as robustly as in Obama’s eight years of sycophancy. Including his Rube Goldbergian Obamacare, still foundering and gouging, nothing of any benefit to Americans was achieved under this charlatan who perfected the skill of describing an airplane crash as a triumph of gravity. So what will she do in office? Well, start with what she won’t do. She won’t make any effort to restrain The Big Casino, the Gold Sacks Mafia. They made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. She won’t attempt any closing of the inequality gap. That would entail clipping her base–”Our Crowd” of the Hamptons, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. She won’t meddle with Sick Care–”fool me once…”–or, corporate tax enforcement. Her Big Donors don’t want to pay them and why should they, right? She can just let Labor die of its own raging leukemia. College grads have to stay in their parents’ basements and service their college debt via Macdonalds because Arbeit Macht Frei. No need to do anything about Global Warming so long as you denounce it boldly at international meetings. Best leave the environment in the hands of those who can turn idle nature into money. Besides, the solution to pollution is dilution and clearcuts grow back in a millenium or so. On the minor agenda, she knows there are still small poor countries who require our R2P and cluster bombs. Others have resources that, with the odd military coup or assassination, should come on line nicely. Africa, say, has low-hanging fruit, and the Latin American mess needs our firm hand to prevent Lefty dictators diverting perfectly good profits to their own societies. Turning to the major crises, Exceptionalism requires that they be made far bigger. Our Defense Industries can’t be expected to muck along forever on paltry brushfire wars: Iraq, Afghanistan–though in fairness they’ve profuced steady income streams–and Libya, no bonanza, and Syria, which Putin’s diabolical meddling prevented blossoming as we hoped. Still, there’s no earthly reason we can’t achieve a profitable Third World War simply by refusing to take the bait of Satanic Putin’s wimpy peace offers and calling them what they really are: a mortal threat to our Capitalist System. So much for her first Hundred Days. Beyond the panicked cheerleading of the Imperial Elite–those that the late, great George Carlin referred to as “your owners”–and their failing organs of crowd manipulation, and beyond the day Clinton takes office if their hopes are consummated, America faces a cataclysmic crisis of governance; one of the order of magnitude of the secession of The South under Lincoln. Clinton and Trump are the physical, mental and emotional symptoms of that crisis. Our dead system must, and will, have catharsis. Which of them precipitates it may not greatly matter. Or it may mean everything. As Brutus said at Philippi: “Oh, that a man might know the end of this days business ere it come; but it sufficeth that the day will end and then the end is known.” | 1real |
WATCH: Jorge Ramos Makes Sean Hannity Look Like A Complete A**hole | Univision anchor Jorge Ramos made Fox host Sean Hannity look like the angry Trump puppet that we all know him to be.Over a ten minute span, Hannity lost his temper with Ramos time and time again as he repeatedly tried to convince Ramos that Republican front-runner Donald Trump is not a racist and that he has confronted Trump about his hateful and bigoted rhetoric.Ramos relentlessly slammed Hannity for coddling Trump just as as he blasted Bill O Reilly for doing the same during an interview last week.Ramo pointed out that Trump is unfairly labeling all undocumented immigrants as horrible criminals who rape and murder. Hannity defended Trump by claiming that Trump only said some are rapists and murderers.However, Hannity is wrong as usual.When Trump delivered his announcement that he was running for president in last June, he characterized most Mexicans as rapists and criminals. Only some, he assumed, were good people. In other words, he did not say only some commit crimes. He said only some were good people and he only assumed that. When Mexico sends its people, they re not sending the best. They re sending people that have lots of problems and they re bringing those problems. They re bringing drugs, they re bringing crime. They re rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they re telling us what we re getting. He later doubled down on the racist remark. The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States, Trump said in a statement. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. Armed with truth on his side, Ramos refused to back down and continued criticizing Hannity until the Fox News blowhard shouted, I don t need any lectures from you, Jorge Ramos! Hannity accused Ramos of not reporting truthfully and just like when he took down O Reilly, Ramos smacked Hannity around with facts until he was forced to end the interview as Ramos got in the last word.Here s part one and two of the interview via Fox.Jorge Ramos once again bested a Fox News host in their own house and proved once again who the real journalist in the room is. Now if only Trump would agree to sit down for an interview with Ramos. We would really see fireworks then. Featured Image: Screenshot | 1real |
Janet Reno, First Female US Attorney General, Dies At 78 | Janet Reno, First Female US Attorney General, Dies At 78 11/07/2016
NPR
Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as attorney general of the United States, died early Monday from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Reno’s goddaughter Gabrielle D’Alemberte and sister Margaret Hurchalla confirmed her passing to NPR.
Reno spent her final days at home in Miami surrounded by family and friends, D’Alemberte told The Associated Press. She was 78.
Reno served longer in the job than anyone had in 150 years. And her tenure was marked by tragedy and controversy. But she left office widely respected for her independence and accomplishments.
She was not President Bill Clinton’s first choice to head the Justice Department, nor his second. But after his No. 1 pick went down in confirmation flames, and his second choice also proved controversial, Clinton finally turned to Reno.
She was an unexpected pick. She had no connections to Clinton or Washington. But Clinton wanted a woman, and Reno was a big-time prosecutor, holding the top prosecutor’s job in Miami-Dade County, a position she had been elected to four times over 15 years.
Jamie Gorelick, who would later become deputy attorney general, was assigned to prep Reno for her confirmation hearing. “She was the least air-brushed candidate we have ever had for a Cabinet-level position,” says Gorelick. “She was herself, and she didn’t change herself for Washington.”
Reno arrived at the Justice Department knowing no one, and was immediately plunged into the siege at the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas. Four federal agents had been killed and 16 wounded while serving a warrant to search for illegal guns. Seven weeks into the siege, pressed by the FBI, Reno authorized a raid on the compound, resulting in 76 deaths, including as many as 25 children and the Davidian leader David Koresh, who ordered his followers to set fire to the compound.
In two sets of Waco congressional hearings over the next two years, Reno would successfully quell critics on the right and left.
“What haunted me,” Reno explained at one hearing, “was that if I did not go in, I might be sitting there 10 days [later] … when [Koresh] came out with explosives, blew himself, some agents and the entire place up.”
Years later, however, in an interview with NPR shortly before leaving office, her regret was palpable. “We’ll never know whether it was a mistake or not, in one sense,” Reno admitted. “But knowing what I do, I would not do it again. I would try to figure another way.”
“Waco didn’t make her hesitant: It made her insistent about getting her own information,” observes Walter Dellinger, who served in two top Justice Department jobs under Reno.
Dellinger believes, for instance, that it may have been the Waco experience that led Reno to go personally to Miami in April 2000 to see if there was a way to avoid a forcible removal of 6-year-old Cuban refugee Elián González from the home of a great-uncle so the boy could be returned to his only living parent, in Cuba.
Elián had been rescued at sea after his mother and eight others drowned trying to get to the United States. Rescued by fishermen and brought to the U.S., he was soon turned over to his great-uncle. The Cuban community in Miami was in an uproar over the idea of returning the boy to his father, who lived in Cuba, and the furor soon bled over to Congress.
But when negotiations with the great-uncle failed, armed federal agents, acting on Reno’s orders, raided the home, removed Elián, and turned him over to his father, who had come to the U.S. to receive his son. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene, the two returned to their home in Cuba.
Janet Reno takes the oath as attorney general during a ceremony at the White House on March 12, 1993, while President Bill Clinton watches.
Barry Thumma/AP
Over the course of time, Reno would become embroiled in many controversies. She sought the appointment of a series of independent counsels to investigate four fellow Cabinet members and President Clinton himself. But she refused to authorize an independent counsel investigation of contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign after Justice Department lawyers concluded no crime had been committed by either the president or vice president.
The decision so infuriated Republicans that some called for her impeachment. “This is the most politicized Justice Department in the history of the United States,” railed Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of a key House oversight committee.
At 6 feet 2 inches, however, Reno stood tall in the political crosswinds. Gorelick observes that when members of Congress, like Burton, were unhappy with a government official, they threatened to call that official to testify. But Reno, who had served as a staffer in the Florida state Legislature, always said, “Fine, I’ll be there.” As a result, says Gorelick, “eventually all those who were threatening her with a hearing stopped doing that, because she prevailed in every outing that I can recall — she just went in there and laid out her views and bested those who would challenge her.”
The controversies that the Justice Department faced during Reno’s reign often eclipsed the many things that went well: the quick apprehension and successful prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers, for example; the pursuit of bombers of women’s health clinics that provide abortions; and the solving of the so-called Unabomber case.
After nearly two decades of fruitless pursuit, the FBI still had no idea as to the identity of the man dubbed the Unabomber, who had killed three people and injured 23. Then, in 1995, the bomber sent a letter to The New York Times offering to cease his terror campaign if the Times or the Washington Post would publish his 35,000-word manifesto against modern industry and technology. Neither newspaper was inclined to do that initially, but Reno, the daughter of two newspaper journalists, persuaded the newspaper owners to jointly publish the essay in the interests of public safety.
It paid off. The Unabomber’s brother recognized the style and ideas in the essay and tipped off the FBI, ending the bomber’s long reign of terror. Theodore Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, is now serving a life term in a maximum security federal prison.
In 1995 Reno was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She did not slow down, but her hands sometimes shook so hard you could hear them knocking against the table at a congressional hearing. She even joked about the disease, claiming that “shaking sometimes helps,” as in playing a steel drum or balancing her kayak.
That combination of toughness and self-deprecating humor, plus her determination to protect the Justice Department from improper influence, made her a hero to many who worked for her.
“Janet Reno led with her values,” says former Deputy Attorney General Gorelick, the department’s No. 2 official. “And that meant that if she decided that a certain path was the right thing to do, the people around her believed her and would charge up any hill behind her. … I’d never seen that before in quite the same way.”
Florida gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno speaks at the Florida Democratic Party State Conference on April 13, 2002, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. She lost the Democratic primary.
Reno won enormous respect inside the department as well, because of her work ethic and dedication to understanding issues in the many parts of the Justice Department — from national security, to environmental questions, to the generally obscure field of Indian law.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch called her “one of the most effective, decisive and well-respected-leaders in [the department’s] proud history” who “never shied from criticism or shirked responsibility.” And former Attorney General Eric Holder said that “in a city where too many compromise their values for short term political gain, Janet Reno stood out as a person of integrity and of enduring values.”
Former Solicitor General Dellinger believes that Reno was prepared for the attorney general’s job early in life by her intellect and ungainly height. “This is a woman that went to Cornell and Harvard Law School at a time when very few women went to Harvard Law School, went through junior high and high school being twice as tall as anybody else and probably twice as smart … and that’s really, really tough.”
There were, of course, ups and downs in the eight years of Reno’s reign. But she said she always took the long view of her job.
“If the end brings me out right, what people said about me won’t make any difference, and if the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels saying I was right won’t make any difference,” she said in an interview with NPR in 1997.
President Clinton made little secret of his frequent displeasure with Reno and the wall of separation she erected between the Justice Department and the White House. Still, he never asked her to resign. Reno was the last Cabinet member he reappointed after his re-election in 1996.
“It was actually quite wonderful,” said Dellinger. “She just decided to stay, and it turns out that nobody could fire her.”
The tension between Clinton and his attorney general was apparent even as Clinton’s time in office drew to a close. In an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes , Clinton went out of his way to praise friends and foes alike, but when it came to his evaluation of Reno, he was tepid, to say the least.
“Good woman,” he said. “Tried really hard to do a good job. She’s a good person.”
“At least he didn’t say I was a bad person,” replied Reno, with a laugh. “I’ll take what I can get!”
Indeed, by the end of her tenure, Janet Reno had outlasted her critics and earned such a reputation for integrity and independence that comedian Will Ferrell’s parody of her became one of the iconic skits on NBC’s Saturday Night Live . The recurring skit was inspired by reports that Reno had cut quite a figure dancing at a Justice Department party.
On the last episode of the “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” parody, Ferrell, wearing a blue dress and pearls, reminisces about past glories and laments that the end of the party is near. Then, suddenly, the real Janet Reno comes crashing through the wall of the set, wearing the same blue dress and pearls as Ferrell, to deliver one of Ferrell’s signature lines: “It’s Reno Time!”
“Oh, Janet,” he says to the real Reno, as he mourns the end of the skit’s run, “what do you do when you get sad?”
“I just dance,” Reno replies, commanding the orchestra, “Now, hit it!” as she breaks out her best moves to “Twist and Shout.” It was her last day in office. | 1real |
Britain to limit acid sales after steep rise in assaults | MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Britain will limit sales of sulphuric acid and outlaw the sale of such corrosive substances to children after a spate of assaults and its possible use to make bombs, interior minister Amber Rudd said on Tuesday. Much to public alarm, the number of incidents where assailants have used acid has risen sharply, with police figures suggesting there had been more than 400 corrosive substance attacks in the six months to April this year. Many victims were left with serious, life-changing injuries as a result. The proposed new laws will make it illegal to sell the most harmful corrosive substances to under-18s while the carrying of acid in public without good reason will be banned. Acid attacks are absolutely revolting, Home Secretary Rudd told party activists at the Conservative Party Conference in the northern English city of Manchester. You have all seen the pictures of victims that never fully recover; endless surgeries, lives ruined. Rudd said she also intended to drastically limit the public sale of sulphuric acid because of its use in making the highly volatile triacetone triperoxide (TATP), known as mother of Satan , which is often used as a detonator in home-made explosives. Police say TATP was used in an attempted bombing on a packed London underground train last month which injured 30 people. The bomb engulfed a carriage in flames but failed to explode fully. At the moment, businesses that sell sulphuric acid have to tell the police of any theft or loss, but the new law would mean anyone wanting to buy it above a certain concentration would have to have a Home Office license. Rudd also announced plans to further restrict the online sale of knives to under-18s following a significant increase in the number of stabbings. | 0fake |
Factbox: Trump on Twitter (September 18) - CIA, U.N., Macron, Netanyahu | 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 : - Happy 70th Birthday @USAirForce! [0914 EDT] - Happy 70th Birthday @CIA! [0916 EDT] - We commend SG @AntonioGuterres & his call for the UN to focus more on people & less on bureaucracy. #USAatUNGA #UNGA 45.wh.gov/K2mggs [1236 EDT] - Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @Netanyahu shortly. Peace in the Middle East would be a truly great legacy for ALL people! [1257 EDT] - Such an honor to have my good friend, Israel PM @Netanyahu, join us w/ his delegation in NYC this afternoon. #UNGA 45.wh.gov/Israel [1931 EDT] - It was a great honor to be with President @EmmanuelMacron of France this afternoon with his delegation. Great bilateral meeting! #UNGA [2301 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 0fake |
SCREAMING LEFTISTS Interrupt Trump Speech…Crowd Goes Wild! [Video] | Screaming leftists interrupted Donald Trump s speech today at the Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington DC. Trump blamed Democrats for the latest outburst. | 1real |
Trump calls Egypt's Sisi, says keen to overcome obstacles | CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday and said he was keen to overcome any obstacles in the way of cooperation, just days after the U.S. said it would withhold some financial aid to Egypt. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call tonight from U.S. President Donald Trump who affirmed the strength of the friendship between Egypt and the United States and expressed his keenness on continuing to develop the relationship and overcome any obstacles that might affect it, Sisi s office said in a statement late on Thursday. On Tuesday, two U.S. sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Washington had decided to deny Egypt $95.7 million in aid and to delay a further $195 million because it had failed to make progress on respecting human rights and democracy. Egypt, an important regional partner for the United States because of its control of the Suez Canal and its border with Israel, receives $1.3 billion in aid annually and was critical of the U.S. decision. Its foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the decision to withhold aid reflected poor judgment and that it could have negative implications on achieving common goals and interests between the two countries. The decision reflects a U.S. desire to continue security cooperation as well as its frustration with Cairo s stance on civil liberties. In particular, a new law regulating non-governmental organizations is widely seen as part a growing crackdown on dissent, said the U.S. sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Egyptian rights activists have said they face the worst crackdown in their history under Sisi, accusing him of erasing freedoms won in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak s 30-year rule. Egyptian lawmakers have said the NGO law was needed for national security. The Egyptian government has long accused human rights groups of taking foreign funds to sow chaos, and several are facing investigation regarding their funding. Sisi and his Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Trump s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner in Cairo on Wednesday but neither the presidency nor the ministry mentioned the aid issue in statements released after the meetings. | 0fake |
In Syria, Russia securing position as Assad presses war | BEIRUT (Reuters) - With the map of Syria s conflict decisively redrawn in President Bashar al-Assad s favor, his Russian allies want to convert military gains into a settlement that stabilizes the shattered nation and secures their interests in the region. A year after the opposition s defeat in Aleppo, government forces backed by Russia and Iran have recovered large swathes of territory as Islamic State s caliphate collapses. As U.N.-backed talks in Geneva fail to make any progress, Russia is preparing to launch its own political process in 2018. President Vladimir Putin declared mission accomplished for the military on a visit to Russia s Syrian air base this week, and said conditions were ripe for a political solution. Though Washington still insists Assad must go, a senior Syrian opposition figure told Reuters the United States and other governments that have backed the rebellion had finally surrendered to the Russian vision on ending the war. The view in Damascus is that this will preserve Assad as president. A Syrian official in Damascus said it is clear a track is underway, and the Russians are overseeing it . There is a shift in the path of the crisis in Syria, a shift for the better, the official said. But analysts struggle to see how Russian diplomacy can bring lasting peace to Syria, encourage millions of refugees to return, or secure Western reconstruction aid. There is no sign that Assad is ready to compromise with his opponents. The war has also allowed his other big ally, Iran and its Revolutionary Guard, to expand its regional influence, which Tehran will not want to see diluted by any settlement in Syria. Having worked closely to secure Assad, Iran and Russia may now differ in ways that could complicate Russian policy. Assad and his allies now command the single largest chunk of Syria, followed by U.S.-backed Kurdish militias who control much of northern and eastern Syria and are more concerned with shoring up their regional autonomy than fighting Damascus. Anti-Assad rebels still cling to patches of territory: a corner of the northwest at the Turkish border, a corner of the southwest at the Israeli frontier, and the Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. Eastern Ghouta and the northwest are now in the firing line. The Revolutionary Guards clearly feel they have won this war and the hardliners in Iran are not too keen on anything but accommodation with Assad, so on that basis it is a little hard to see that there can be any real progress, said Rolf Holmboe, a former Danish ambassador to Syria. Assad cannot live with a political solution that involves any real power sharing, said Holmboe. The solution he could potentially live with is to freeze the situation you have on the ground right now. The war has been going Assad s way since 2015, when Russia sent its air force to help him. The scales tipped even more his way this year: Russia struck deals with Turkey, the United States and Jordan that contained in the war in the west, indirectly helping Assad s advances in the east, and Washington pulled military aid from the rebels. Though Assad seems unbeatable, Western governments still hope to effect change by linking reconstruction aid to a credible political process leading to a genuine transition . While paying lip service to the principle that any peace deal should be concluded under U.N. auspices, Russia aims to convene its own peace congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The aim is to draw up a new constitution followed by elections. The senior Syrian opposition figure said the United States and other states that had backed their cause - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey - had all given way to Russia. Sochi, not Geneva, would be the focal point for talks. This is the way it has been understood from talking to the Americans, the French, the Saudis - all the states, the opposition figure said. It is clear that this is the plan, and there is no state that will oppose this ... because the entire world is tired of this crisis. Proposals include forming a new government to hold elections that would include Syrian refugees. But the time frame: six months, two years, three years, all depends on the extent of understanding between the Russians and Americans , the opposition figure said. If the Russians and Americans differ greatly, the whole table could be overturned. Russia is serious about accomplishing something with the political process, but on its own terms and turf, said senior International Crisis Group analyst Noah Bonsey. I am not sure they have a good sense of how to accomplish that and to the extent that they seek to accomplish things politically, they may run into the divergence of interests between themselves and their allies, he said. The Syrian Kurdish question is one area where Russia and Iran have signaled different goals. While a top Iranian official recently said the government would take areas held by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces, Russia has struck deals with the Kurds and their U.S. sponsors. From the start of the crisis, there s been a difference between the Russians and the Iranians and the regime, said Fawza Youssef, a top Kurdish politician. The Russians believe the Kurds have a cause that should be taken into account . Damascus, while issuing its own warnings to the Kurds, may continue to leave them to their own devices as it presses campaigns against the last rebel-held pockets of western Syria. The situation in the southwest is shaped by different factors, namely Israel s determination to keep Iran-backed forces away from its frontier, which could prompt an Israeli military response. There are still major questions and a lot of potential for escalating violence in various parts of Syria, said Bonsey. | 0fake |
Activist Mckesson releases platform in Baltimore mayoral race | (Reuters) - U.S. civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson released his full platform in the race for Baltimore mayor on Monday, proposals that include a $15-an-hour minimum wage and reforming the police department. Mckesson, who was instrumental in the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, was the last candidate to file paperwork before the campaign deadline this month. “It’s a plan to change Baltimore, to make Baltimore a place that works for people,” the 30-year-old activist said in announcing the plan on the Periscope video site. Baltimore, a majority African-American city, was torn by rioting after a black man, Freddie Gray, died from an injury in police custody in April. Six officers are facing trial in the case. Mckesson, the son of two now-recovered drug addicts, had released police reform proposals this month that included banning arrest and citation quotas. He also backs ending civil asset forfeiture and “rough rides” and chokeholds by police. The Teach for America alumnus and former school administrator called for free WiFi and broadband access for all residents. He backed reviving a proposed light-rail system scuttled by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan last year. Mckesson, who rose to prominence during the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of an unarmed black teenager, said he would hire more inspectors to reduce sources of lead poisoning in children and would expand opportunities for artists in Baltimore. Mckesson has called for a city minimum wage of $15 an hour, which would be among the highest in the United States. He backs a public bank and more requirements for companies to hire locally. Mckesson also is in favor of expanded pre-kindergarten classes. He advocates changing state funding formulas so that tax breaks for developers do not cut into school funding. His distinctive blue Patagonia vest has been seen everywhere from street demonstrations to the television show “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Twenty-nine candidates, including 13 Democrats, are running to replace Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is not seeking re-election. Primary voting for candidates will be held on April 26, with the actual mayoral vote being held on Nov. 8 alongside the presidential election. Baltimore has not elected a Republican mayor in more than 50 years. | 0fake |
Trump flops with Silicon Valley donors; Clinton falls short, too | (Reuters) - When Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman announced last week that she wouldn’t vote for her party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, she pledged to raise money for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, and to urge like-minded Republicans to follow suit. She won’t have to talk her fellow tech industry conservatives into spurning Trump: They already have. His campaign has pulled in less than 6 percent of what Republican nominee Mitt Romney had raised from tech donors by this point in the 2012 race. But raising money for Clinton may prove difficult. While the Democrat has raised 25 times more than Trump from tech donors so far, she has drawn less than half of what President Barack Obama had raised from tech employees by this point four years ago, and less than Bernie Sanders, her opponent in the Democratic primary, collected before he left the race. Tech industry employees – long a reliable source of presidential donations, especially for Democrats – have refused to open their wallets for Trump, and they’ve been stingier than usual with Clinton, too, according to an analysis performed for Reuters by Crowdpac, a nonpartisan political crowdfunding startup that analyzes campaign contribution data. Trump and Clinton together reported having received $3.5 million from tech workers as of June 30, compared with $11 million donated to President Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney through June 2012, according to the Crowdpac analysis. In 2008, more than $8.3 million in tech donations had gone to Obama and McCain by June 30. For a graphic tracking contributions from tech workers in the last three elections, see: tmsnrt.rs/2b3nEuk The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this story. The Clinton campaign asked for the methodology of the Crowdpac analysis but did not comment on its findings. To quantify the tech industry’s political giving, Crowdpac tallied contributions of more than $200 - the Federal Election Commission’s reporting threshold - from donors who listed technology companies as their employers, as well as individuals who work in related roles, such as software engineers and venture capitalists. Contributions to campaigns, Super PACs and joint fundraising committees were included. The analysis may have missed people who work at small technology companies not yet recognized by Crowdpac, as well as individuals who have given less than $200. Technology firms lobby the government on a range of issues, from privacy and encryption to immigration and trade, and they have a strong interest in who sits in the Oval Office. But this year, campaign finance records and interviews with more than two dozen people in the industry suggest that many would-be donors in Silicon Valley remain unwashed by either candidate. Matt McIlwain, managing director of Madrona Venture Group, gave money to Romney in 2011 and to Republican Marco Rubio in year’s presidential primary election. But he won’t support either Trump or Clinton in the general election. “Candidates need to have that embrace of innovation and articulate how it is a road for anybody in our society,” he said. “I’m not inspired by either of the major party candidates.” Democrats consistently draw more tech money than Republicans, but the giving is unusually lopsided this year. Trump has raised a mere $128,000 from 238 tech donors so far. Clinton, by contrast, has raised $3.4 million from 2,976 individuals in the industry, according to Crowdpac’s analysis. At this point in 2012, Romney had raised $2.3 million and Obama had raised $8.8 million. Silicon Valley Republicans say Trump’s paltry donation totals are no surprise given his public statements attacking the tech industry. Earlier this year, Trump called for a boycott of Apple products after the company stopped cooperating with federal law enforcement efforts to break into the password-protected iPhone of one attacker in the mass shooting in San Bernardino. Trump also accused Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos of orchestrating an online retail monopoly. Trump’s positions on limiting immigration and free trade run counter to some of the industry’s most basic interests. For Clinton, having a long track record in politics is a liability with some donors in an industry that reveres innovation. “She’s an incremental technocrat, and for people who are used to taking on the world, that is not very inspiring,” said Gregory Ferenstein, author of “The Age of Optimists,” a book about politics and Silicon Valley. To be sure, Clinton has many friends in Silicon Valley, and she has had considerably more success than Trump in wooing deep-pocket donors in the industry. Venture capitalist John Doerr, for example, has contributed $569,500 to the Clinton campaign and affiliate Super PACs and fundraising committees, and Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus has given $358,800, according to Crowdpac. Many in the valley reason that backing Clinton is the surest way to thwart Trump. “We want to make it clear what the risks are of a Trump presidency, but it’s much more energizing to get excited about a candidate,” Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie said in an interview. Some of Obama’s biggest Silicon Valley backers have yet to give money in this race, including Pandora Media Chief Executive Tim Westergren, who had donated $74,100 to Obama and to fundraising committees and affiliated Super PACs by June 2012, and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who had given $35,000, according to a Crowdpac analysis of donations. Reliable GOP donors, too, have held back. Tiger Global Management Founder Charles Coleman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen - both of whom had given $102,500 to Romney and affiliated Super PACs and fundraising committees by June 2012 - had yet to donate by June 30. Andreessen has endorsed Clinton. Westergren and Khosla did not respond to requests for comment; Coleman and Andreessen declined to comment. Carrie Sheffield, founder of multimedia company Bold, typically votes for Republicans and donated to Romney, but she says she won’t give to - or vote for - Trump. “I don’t think that he’s fit for office,” she said. Both Clinton and Trump have also struggled to convert many donors who gave to their opponents in the primary. Bernie Sanders raised far more in tech donations during the primary than Clinton, pulling in $6.2 million before leaving the primary race, most of it in small contributions. In the Republican primary, Marco Rubio drew $5.3 million in tech donations, thanks to a handful of large gifts from top tech executives, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Mark Hurd and Safra Catz. Josh Smith, a Sanders donor who does not plan to vote in the presidential election, said he was troubled by Clinton’s comments in a debate last year urging tech companies to work with law enforcement to prevent attacks. The remarks left some in the industry feeling that Clinton would not protect their livelihoods and did not share their beliefs about “the sanctity of information,” said Smith, founder of Code Corps, which helps developers work on public software projects for social good. Sanders donor Xiaohoa Michelle Ching said she will vote for Clinton, but has had trouble supporting a candidate who has been readying her path to the presidency for so long. “I am not going to go out of my way, even with the threat of a Trump presidency,” said Ching, who is chief executive of Literator, an educational technology startup. Ferenstein predicts that Silicon Valley donations to Clinton will pick up. “You’ll see much more money from Silicon Valley flow to Clinton toward the end of the race,” he predicted, “because people are scared of a President Trump.” | 0fake |
Donald Trump, Russia, Rodrigo Duterte: Your Thursday Briefing - The New York Times | Good morning. We’re trying something new for our readers in Asia and Australia: a morning briefing to your day. What do you like? What do you want to see here? Email us with your feedback at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. Here’s what you need to know: • The surprise election of Donald J. Trump, a real estate television star with no government experience, upended the political order in the United States and around the world. Global markets stabilized after an initial plunge. But uncertainty over Mr. Trump’s agenda, his embrace of the kind of white populism rising in Europe, and his distrust of trade pacts and climate change, raised international concerns. _____ • Mr. Trump marshaled white and voters disaffected by globalization and multiculturalism, waging a campaign that traded in derision and attacked the legitimacy of the political process. Both Hillary Clinton and President Obama were stung by the voters’ repudiation, but reinforced the importance of a peaceful, orderly transition of power. Mrs. Clinton, who said the loss was “painful, and it will be for a long time,” also insisted that the nation owed Mr. Trump “an open mind and a chance to lead. ” _____ • One party, the Republicans, will now control the White House and both houses of Congress, setting the stage for sweeping policy changes. The stunning outcome was unforeseen, undercutting the credibility of much of the American news media. Like the “Brexit” referendum, much of the polling, analysis and prominent coverage failed to capture the level of popular fury or foresee the coming revolt against the interests of what the British politician Nigel Farage derided as “big business and big politics. ” _____ • Both Russia and China have portrayed the tumultuous American election as a validation of their own authoritarian approaches. Vladimir V. Putin expressed hope for a “constructive dialogue” with Mr. Trump, whose lack of foreign policy experience and friendly positions toward Russia could play into the Kremlin’s hands. Asia greeted the election cautiously. China sent a short congratulatory note, but made no mention of Mr. Trump’s campaign promises to confront it on trade and currency issues. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, could meet with the as early as next week. • Newspapers across the globe scrambled to create front pages that conveyed the stunning upset. [The New York Times] • If Mr. Trump scraps the Trade Partnership, a proper counterweight to China’s expansion may never emerge. [The Straits Times] • Asian analysts fear that Mr. Trump will overhaul bilateral defense pacts with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia. [Nikkei Asian Review] • Mr. Trump has said he will “end forever” the use of the visa that is employed by American companies to hire skilled workers from India and other countries. [Times of India] • Weeks before the election, President Rodrigo Duterte named Mr. Trump’s business partner in Manila as a special envoy to the United States. [The New York Times] • Silicon Valley’s reaction to Mr. Trump’s victory was beyond grim. “We didn’t do enough,” said one tech leader. [The New York Times] • California and Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana use, reflecting a national shift in attitudes toward the drug. [The New York Times] • The one American institution that predicted Mr. Trump’s presidency: “The Simpsons. ” [Entertainment Weekly] • The markets have recovered from a wild ride, with stocks trading higher in the U. S. and in early trading in Asia. Gold pared earlier gains. Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • The Mexican peso took a beating, dropping more than 12 percent against the dollar before recovering to 8 percent. • In other news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India arrives in Japan today for a visit during which the two countries may complete negotiations on a nuclear energy deal. • Disney reports quarterly results today, which could offer a look into the performance of the massive new resort it opened in Shanghai this year. • In Hong Kong, highly competitive “cramming centers” for exam preparations are turning their tutors into celebrities, plastering their faces on buses and billboards. • Sharbat Gula, the Afghan who appeared as a girl on a National Geographic cover, was welcomed home by Afghanistan’s president after Pakistan deported her. She has come to symbolize the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants being forced to return. • President Xi Jinping’s attitudes toward law and sovereignty were apparent in China’s decision to target two politicians in Hong Kong who used the term “ ” in taking their oaths of office. • At least seven people died and dozens were injured when a tram derailed south of London. The cause was unclear, but the driver was arrested. • Roughly 50, 000 years ago, the Neanderthals and modern humans encountered one another and interbred. So why didn’t a hybrid prevail? Two new studies focus on this question and find that a principle of population genetics applies: In small populations, natural selection is less effective. We recently told you how autumn — or is it fall? — got its identity crisis. But what about summer, spring and winter? Where do their names come from? Etymologists link “winter” to the word wed, meaning “water. ” That gave way to the old German wintar, or “the wet season. ” Water also leads us to the source of spring’s name. In this case, the word was a verb before it was a noun. In the Middle Ages, “sprinc” was German for “leap” and it came to mean “source of water. ” Eventually “springing time” replaced the Old English “lent,” which had signified the entire spring season, not just the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter. It shrank down to “springtime,” then “spring. ” And while autumn now has two names, summer may originally have had none at all. Thousands of years ago, early cultures are thought to have divided the year into just three seasons. At some point, the Sanskrit “sáma,” or “season,” appears to have traveled north from the Indian subcontinent — a place that knows a thing or two about sweltering months — and became summer. P. S.: The storied firearm we told you about in our Back Story on Wednesday — an 18th century musket made for the Qianlong emperor — was sold by the Sotheby’s auction house to a private collector for more than $2. 4 million. Giovanni Russonello contributed reporting. _____ Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Trump backing from Christie opens access to donors, mainstream advisers | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s endorsement from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie opens up a wide network of donors, advisers and prominent elected officials whom the billionaire has not yet been able to attract to his unorthodox bid for the Republican presidential nomination. As Trump tries to lock up the Republican nomination on Super Tuesday, Christie advisers and supporters told Reuters in interviews that he could bring much-needed financial and strategic backing. Christie’s backing demonstrates that Trump will be able to bring establishment politicians into the fold, that he could raise the money necessary for a general election campaign and build a staffing operation that can rival a Democratic nominee. The nod from Christie comes at a critical moment. On Tuesday, 11 states will vote and if Trump is able to win all or most of them, he could pull so far ahead in the competition for delegates that none of his rivals will be able to catch him. In an interview with Reuters, Christie supporter Finn Wentworth, a real estate investor and former head of the company that owns the New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, said he is now seriously considering backing Trump. “I am a long-time supporter of Governor Christie. In that process, I have learned to respect his opinion and his judgment,” Wentworth said. “He’s a results-oriented person, and frankly I am now looking at Donald Trump because of Governor Christie’s endorsement today.” Maine Governor Paul LePage, who had backed Christie initially, quickly followed in the New Jersey governor’s footsteps and got behind Trump - making him the second sitting governor to endorse the New York real estate mogul. Maine votes on March 5. A senior Christie aide told Reuters he believes staff could move to the Trump campaign in the coming weeks, helping the Republican front-runner in his fledgling efforts to build a circle of advisers who could form the core of his general election campaign should he clinch the nomination. Wentworth said part of his decision-making process is that he is now convinced it is inevitable that Trump will clinch the Republican nomination. Dale Florio, a donor to Christie, said he, along with others, has a call scheduled with the New Jersey governor later on Friday. “If he says, I’d like you guys to support Donald Trump, I’ll be there for him,” Florio said. Trump has thus far avoided traditional fundraising. However, more than half of his campaign spending in 2015 was covered by money raised through the sale of his “Make America Great Again” hats and T-shirts, even though he told his supporters not to write donation checks. But as a nominee, that position may be impossible to stick to, especially if Clinton is the Democratic nominee and she is able to build a sizable arsenal. Christie’s endorsement could have the power to bring more establishment-aligned officials and donors into Trump’s camp. Christie could also serve as a surrogate fundraiser. Christie is no stranger to the nation’s top Republican donors. In 2014, he served as the head of the Republican Governors Association, a role that largely consists of traveling the nation and raising money for Republican gubernatorial candidates. Christie was one of the most successful heads the organization has ever seen. Rob Gray, a Republican strategist who had been advising Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who dropped out of the race last Saturday, called the endorsement a “stunning surprise.” “Christie’s endorsement is an indicator to me Trump is starting to mainstream his candidacy and that he’ll be able to attract a lot of mainstream experienced political leaders’ support if he gets the nomination,” Gray said. “I wasn’t as sure before this.” The biggest boost Christie may have offered Trump was a distraction from the coverage of Marco Rubio’s Thursday night debate performance and increased scrutiny in some of his business endeavors, like Trump University, a defunct venture that offered real estate investing seminars and which is currently the target of lawsuits. Both Rubio and Ted Cruz, Trump’s two biggest challengers, battered away at Trump in Thursday’s televised debate - the last before Super Tuesday. “I’m sure Rubio and Cruz at the very least had things that they wanted to do today to follow up from their narrative last night and this kind of sucked the air out,” said Tom Rath, who is advising the campaign of Ohio Governor John Kasich. | 0fake |
Historischer Erfolg: Donald Trump zieht als erster Clown ins Weiße Haus ein | Mittwoch, 9. November 2016 Historischer Sieg: Donald Trump zieht als erster Clown ins Weiße Haus ein New York (dpo) - Er hat es geschafft! Am Ende einer historischen Wahl in den USA steht Donald Trump als Sieger fest. Damit zieht erstmals in der Geschichte ein Clown ins Weiße Haus ein. Demografen hatten zuvor angezweifelt, ob die amerikanische Bevölkerung wirklich bereit für einen Clown als Präsident ist. Mit seiner lustigen Clown-Perücke, seiner bronze-roten Nase und zeitlosen Slapstick-Einlagen bringt Trump schon seit Jahren Groß und Klein zum Lachen. Vielleicht auch deshalb wurde seine Ankündigung, Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika werden zu wollen, zunächst von vielen als weitere brillante Performance des liebenswürdigen Milliardärs betrachtet. Doch nun konnte der Spaßmacher der ganzen Welt beweisen, wie ernst es ihm ist. Nicht zuletzt dank der Unterstützung der US-Clown-Community. Fizbo Simmons, der Vorsitzende der amerikanischen Clown Society ist immer noch wie im Rausch. "Wir haben das geschafft, was Comedians schon im Jahr 2000 mit George W. Bush geschafft haben. Jetzt wird niemand mehr über uns lachen!", so Fizbo begeistert. "Wollen Sie mal an meiner Blume riechen?" Hart trifft Donald Trumps Sieg seine unterlegene Widersacherin Hillary Clinton. Sie wollte ebenfalls Geschichte schreiben – doch für den ersten Roboter als Präsidenten waren die US-Bürger offenbar einfach noch nicht bereit. dan, ssi; Foto: Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com ; Hinweis: Erschien schon einmal so ähnlich. Artikel teilen: | 1real |
Senator Hatch to Healthcare Protesters: ‘If You Want a Hearing, You Better Shut Up’ [Video] | The Senate Finance Committee hearing for the Republican Graham-Cassidy health care bill became a screaming protest today. People in wheelchairs screamed and chanted in opposition to the bill One woman was removed for her disruption:Wow. pic.twitter.com/VOlQHBksPy Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) September 25, 2017 In what was clearly a manufactured protest with mostly people in wheelchairs, the disruption was enough to make a key senator yell back. Sen. Orrin Hatch responded to protestors whose shouting prevented the hearing s start, saying, If you want a hearing, you better shut up. I d like to welcome everyone, and I do mean everyone, Finance Committee Chairman Hatch said, referencing the large crowd of protestors.A protestor started screaming something unintelligible. Well if we re gonna, Hatch began before the chants grew louder. If you want a hearing, you better shut up, Hatch said, pounding his gavel. Let the police take care of it, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) quietly told Hatch. Oh, I will. I will, Hatch said.After a brief period of more chanting by protestors, Hatch turned to Grassley and asked, What are they saying? Don t touch the Medicaid, save our Grassley said before trailing off, clearly unsure of what the last part of the chant was supposed to be.The chant in question was, Don t touch the Medicaid, save our liberty. The Senate has been expected to vote on the latest Obamacare repeal effort before the end of the month. Opposition has mounted against the bill, however, and with Republican Sen. John McCain already a definite no, and others doubtful, the bill s future is uncertain.Read more: WFB | 1real |
Core Wounds, Soul Family Reunions, and Time Glitches [AUDIO] | Click Here To Learn More About Alexandra's Personalized Essences Psychic Protection Click Here for More Information on Psychic Protection! Implant Removal Series Click here to listen to the IRP and SA/DNA Process Read The Testimonials Click Here To Read What Others Are Experiencing! Copyright © 2012 by Galactic Connection. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpts may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alexandra Meadors and www.galacticconnection.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this website without express and written permission from its author and owner is strictly prohibited. Thank you.
Privacy Policy
By subscribing to GalacticConnection.com you acknowledge that your name and e-mail address will be added to our database. As with all other personal information, only working affiliates of GalacticConnection.com have access to this data. We do not give GalacticConnection.com addresses to outside companies, nor will we ever rent or sell your email address. Any e-mail you send to GalacticConnection.com is completely confidential. Therefore, we will not add your name to our e-mail list without your permission. Continue reading... Galactic Connection 2016 | Design & Development by AA at Superluminal Systems Sign Up forOur Newsletter
Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates, interviews, discounts, and more. Join Us! | 1real |
Thai rubber farmers plan protest over low prices, seek aid | BANGKOK (Reuters) - Rubber farmers in Thailand, one of the world s biggest exporters of natural rubber, threatened on Friday to protest in the capital Bangkok if the military government does not help to prop up falling prices of the commodity. Prices of Thai natural rubber have fallen from a peak of 179.25 baht ($5.41) per kg in 2011 to 47.75 baht on Friday. But Thai authorities said prices have similarly slumped in other major producers of the commodity. Protests are rare in the junta-ruled Southeast Asian country where a ban on public gatherings has been in place since a 2014 coup. The Natural Rubber Council of Thailand said farmers in the rubber-growing south were calling on the authorities for help. The price of rubber is now lower than the cost of production, Uthai Sonlucksub, president of the council, told Reuters. Some farmers from the south want to protest on Monday and accuse the Rubber Authority of Thailand, a government agency, of mismanagement, Uthai said. He did not give details on the kind of help the farmers want. Thailand, along with Indonesia and Malaysia, produce nearly 70 percent of the world s natural rubber. The three countries agreed last year to cut exports to boost market prices but their targets have not always been met. The Thai rubber authority denied the accusations of mismanagement. Rubber prices are currently low in all of the major rubber producing countries. We are doing our best, said Sunan Nuanphromsakul, the authority s deputy governor. Thailand s rubber farmers are politically powerful. In 2013, hundreds of farmers staged protests around the country, blocking roads and a regional airport in the south. Those demonstrations eventually turned into a bigger political movement that led to the ouster in 2014 of a civilian government led by then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Thai benchmark unsmoked rubber sheet was quoted at 43.60 baht per kg on Thursday, less than half of this year s peak reached in January. | 0fake |
null | joking that’s my mum | 1real |
If Donald Trump Wins, He Will Be 70 Years, 7 Months And 7 Days Old On His First Full Day In Office | The Vatican Is Controlling History Ξ [November 2, 2016] BLOG If Donald Trump Wins, He Will Be 70 Years, 7 Months And 7 Days Old On His First Full Day In Office posted by Eddie A couple of weeks ago, it looked like Hillary Clinton was all set to cruise to victory, but now the FBI has delivered an election miracle in the nick of time. A few of my readers had criticized me for suggesting that Trump might lose, but I don’t know who is going to win the election, and so all I had to go on was the cold, hard numbers. And a couple of weeks ago the cold, hard numbers were telling me that Hillary Clinton was going to win. Of course it is entirely possible that the national polls might have been seriously wrong, but even the state polls in the most important battleground states consistently had bad news for Trump. So things didn’t look good for Trump at the time, but now that the FBI has renewed their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails the poll numbers have shifted dramatically in Trump’s favor. As I write this article, the national polls have really tightened up. In fact, the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll puts Trump 1 point ahead of Clinton. Trump has all of the momentum at the moment, but that does not mean that he is going to win. As we have seen already in this race, one day can literally change everything. And as I noted yesterday, more than 23 million Americans have already voted, and most of that voting was done during a period of time when Hillary Clinton was doing very well in the polls. So we shall see what happens. But if Trump does win on November 8th, there is a fact about his birthday which will start to get a lot of attention. Donald Trump was born on June 14th, 1946. If you move ahead 70 years from that date, that brings you to June 14th, 2016. Moving forward another 7 months brings you to January 14th, 2017, and moving forward another 7 days brings you to January 21st, 2017. And if Donald Trump wins the election, January 21st will be his first full day in office. Of course Trump would be inaugurated on January 20th, but he would only be president for part of that day. So that means that Donald Trump would be 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old on his first full day as president of the United States. And this would happen during year 5777 on the Hebrew calendar. These amazing “coincidences” were first pointed out on Facebook by a user named Alyson Kelly. Some may take these numbers as a sign that Donald Trump is supposed to become the next president, but I want to make it exceedingly clear that I do not know what is going to happen, nor am I making any sort of prediction about what is going to happen. I just thought that this information was “interesting” and so I thought that I would share it. Someone that does believe that Trump is going to win is Glenn Beck. He was been virulently anti-Trump throughout this campaign, but now he is convinced that Clinton will be unable to overcome this new email scandal, and he is calling this renewed investigation by the FBI “the greatest gift given to any candidate of all time in the history of America.” Beck also says that if Clinton wins now it will be evidence that “magic exists”, and he is currently projecting that Trump should win the national vote by 5 points … “Let’s just say he was 8 points, that was fair to say, 8 points behind last week,” Beck said, according to a transcript posted on his website . “He should win by 5 points.” Beck later added: “How can the next president face a possible collapsing economy, possible war with Russia, and a current war with ISIS? Oh, and also, be under FBI investigation and indictment? Can’t. Can’t.” The conservative personality called the latest FBI revelation “the greatest gift given to any candidate of all time in the history of America” and added that if Clinton still managed to win, it would be akin to proof “magic exists.” Hopefully Glenn Beck is right, because none of us should want to see Hillary Clinton in the White House. She is the most evil, corrupt and scandal-ridden politician of this generation, and I can’t understand how any American in their right mind could possibly vote for her. And the hits just keep on coming. Wikileaks has just released an email in which John Podesta told Clinton “fixer” Cheryl Mills that they were “going to have to dump all those emails so better to do so sooner than later” … It was not entirely clear what Podesta meant by that phrase, but it could potentially be smoking gun evidence of obstruction of justice. Back in 2008, Barack Obama was new, intriguing and mysterious. We didn’t know a lot about him, and so one can almost understand how the American people could have been fooled by him. But in 2016, Americans know more about Hillary Clinton than they have ever known about any candidate in modern American history. The Clintons have a history of crimes and scandals that goes all the way back to the 1980s, but about half the country is choosing to ignore all of that history and vote for her anyway. I believe that this election is America’s final exam. Originally there were 17 Republicans and 5 Democrats running for the presidency. When you throw in the major third party candidates, that brings us to a total of approximately 25 people that the American public could have chosen from. If the American people willingly choose the most wicked candidate out of all of them after everything that has been revealed, I don’t think that anyone will be able to say that we don’t deserve the bitter consequences that follow that decision. The time for talking is almost over, and shortly we shall find out which path the American people have chosen. If that choice turns out to be Hillary Clinton after everything that we have seen during this election cycle, I truly believe that we will have reached the point of no return as a nation. source: | 1real |
BIRDS OF A FEATHER? HOW HARVEY WEINSTEIN Helped Bill Clinton Defend Himself In Monica Lewinsky Scandal | Harvey Weinstein was among a host of Hollywood actors and producers that donated $10,000 to former President Bill Clinton s defense fund during his 1998 impeachment trials.The Washington Post published a story in 1998 reporting Harvey Weinstein as one of 62 donors giving the maximum $10,000. Weinstein donated along with a number of other notable names, like Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Michael Douglas, Ron Howard, Norman Lear and Steven Spielberg.WaPo also reported that Clinton s defense fund collected $2.2 million in its first six months, tapping into the resentment against the attorney that investigated Clinton as to whether he committed perjury or obstructed justice in a sexual assault lawsuit. Daily CallerIn 2013, actress Jennifer Lawrence and serial sexual predator Harvey Weinstein gave former President Bill Clinton the GLAAD Advocate for Change award during the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Watch, as Weinstein gushes over Bill Clinton, calling him a hero for our time. : | 1real |
MEMBERS: EP #5 – DRIVE BY WIRE: ‘Taxi to the UN’ with Patrick and Matt Lee | MEMBERS can join host Patrick Henningsen and guest Matt Lee from Inner City Press for an unusual evening commute, another DRIVE BY WIRE , shown in full here at 21WIRE.TV .EPISODE #5 This special episode of DRIVE BY WIRE takes place in a unique location in the back of a New York City Yellow Cab, with 21WIRE s Patrick Henningsen and special guest from The United Nation press corp, independent correspondent Matt Lee from Inner City Press, who shares some behind the scenes stories from the UN, tales of institutional corruption and diplomatic avarice all hidden in plain sight WATCH THIS EPISODE HERESUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Baghdad Pans Kurdish Freedom Referendum as U.S. Warns Against Islamic State Distractions - Breitbart | Iraqi Prime Minister Haider issued a statement Friday rejecting the call by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani for a national independence referendum, declaring that the Kurdish people cannot “decide its fate unilaterally. ”[Iraqi News carried the statement by which followed Barzani’s declaration that the Kurds would hold a referendum vote in September. “Iraqi relies on the constitution as the reference for shaping the relation between the federal government and Kurdistan region,” the statement, issued by spokesman Saad read. “No party can decide its fate unilaterally. … All Iraqis should have their say regarding their homeland’s fate. ” A number of interested government parties have weighed in on the announcement, including the governments of Turkey, Germany, and the United States. The U. S. State Department issued its remarks on the matter on Thursday, warning against the referendum taking place before the ultimate defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq. A coalition including Kurdish Peshmerga forces, Iraqi Shiite militias, and the Iraqi military are currently fighting to eradicate the Islamic State completely from its final major stronghold in the country of Mosul. “We support a unified, stable and a federal Iraq. We appreciate and understand the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “We … encourage the regional authorities to engage with the government of Iraq on the full range of important issues, including the future of relations between Baghdad and Erbil, on the bases of the Iraqi constitution. ” Nauert added concern that the referendum could damage efforts to address “more urgent priorities” than a free Kurdistan, including the fight against the Islamic State. American officials have long expressed a belief that Kurdistan would become an independent state in the near future, however. “Kurdish independence is on a trajectory where it is probably not if, but when,” Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the head of Pentagon intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. “And it will complicate the situation unless there’s an agreement in Baghdad — an agreement that all of the parties can live with. ” The KRG, based in Erbil, cooperates with the United States on activities and maintains friendly relations with neighbors like Turkey, currently embroiled in a regional conflict with two other Kurdish entities, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The KRG has repeatedly demanded that both the YPG and PKK stay out of KRG territory. The Turkish government has, nonetheless, loudly opposed the KRG independence referendum, with officials calling the vote a “grave mistake. ” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım personally referred to the vote as “irresponsible. ” The Kurdish outlet Rudaw quotes a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member saying that Turkish officials also privately “threatened” Iraqi Kurds who sought to organize the referendum. Barzani announced through a Twitter statement on Wednesday that the referendum would take place on September 25. The presidential office also released an official announcement confirming that the KRG leadership had “decided that the date for the independence referendum shall be Monday, September 25, 2017. It will be on that day when the people of the Kurdistan Region, as well as those living in the disputed areas, will cast their votes on whether they accept independence for the Kurdistan. ” The announcement triggered mass exclamations of support from Kurds on social media, according to Kurdistan24, which notes that “Kurds are believed to be the largest stateless nation in the world, estimated to be over 40 million. ” Many added the Kurdish flag to their profile photos and expressed support for Barzani. Opinion polls among Kurds also corroborate the strong support for independence that appeared online. We crossed the Rubicon with that decision, there is no going back,” KRG senior adviser Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters Thursday. “A referendum is a democratic process, no democratic country can oppose having a referendum we are not talking about independence, we are talking about the referendum. ” The Kurdish outlet BasNews reports that Arab Iraqis also appear supportive of the move, with a Turkmen political leader expressing support for the “significant” measure, and a Yazidi leader stating, “Kurdish Yezidis support referendum and independence of Kurdistan Region. ” Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter. | 0fake |
WATCH: Kieth Scott’s Wife Drops Mic On Cops, Gives Video Of Husband’s Final Moments To Press | What you are about to see is disturbing. Keith Lamont Scott, the man killed by police in Charlotte, North Carolina had an awesome wife of 20 years who narrated and recorded the final tragic moments of his life. Mr. Scott suffered from a traumatic brain injury, and his wife repeatedly told the police this information in the minutes prior to the shooting. She also told them that he had no weapon, and that he had just taken his medication. Of course, the cops just kept shouting at the man to drop the gun that he didn t have, before taking his life for no reason.Well, the cat s out of the bag now. NBC News has the video, so, despite the fact that the cops and the City of Charlotte have been refusing to take the public s demands for transparency seriously, the information is now out there thanks to the bravery of Mrs. Scott. Here is the news report, via NBC:These cops have a whole hell of a lot of explaining to do on this one. They better release whatever information they have, and they better not try any funny business with cover-ups. This is a damning, disturbing, and heartbreaking video of yet another senseless death of a black man in America at the hands of the system that is supposed to serve and protect.At this point, there is just absolutely no reason to trust the police, period. They are clearly killing people with impunity and without consequence. The public is aware now, so somebody better be held accountable, or there will continue to be unrest, and more matches thrown on a powder keg that is surely soon to blow sky high.Featured image via screen capture from Twitter | 1real |
France condemns Idlib offensive, urges Russia to abide by de-escalation deals | PARIS (Reuters) - France on Thursday condemned bombings by Syrian government forces and its allies against civilian populations in Idlib and Hama province, and called on Russia to abide by commitments it had made to de-escalate violence in the area. These acts violate international humanitarian law, foreign affairs ministry spokeswoman Agnes Romatet-Espagne said in a statement. France calls on Russia and the allies of the Damascus regime to respect the commitments made in Astana and to prevent these air strikes from continuing, she added. The Russian Defence Ministry on Thursday denied allegations that Russian and Syrian jets had killed at least 150 civilians in over a week of bombing, saying it had been careful not to hit civilians. | 0fake |
President Trump Demands Investigation After Nancy Pelosi Lies About 2010 Meeting With Russian Ambassador - Breitbart | A photo published on the Politico website shows House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ( ) meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2010 — a direct contradiction to her telling reporters at the website she had not met with the diplomat. [After tweeting on Friday morning that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( . Y.) should be investigated for meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2003, President Donald Trump tweeted that a second investigation into Pelosi’s past should be launched. I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it. https: . — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017, “I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it,” Trump tweeted on Friday. “Not with this Russian ambassador, no,” Pelosi told Politico’s Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer during a Playbook interview, when asked if she’d ever met with the Russian envoy. “But a file photo from Pelosi’s 2010 meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev shows Kislyak at the table across from Pelosi — then House Speaker — and Rep. Steny Hoyer ( . ),” Politico reported. “Medvedev had been in the country for a meeting with President Barack Obama a day earlier and stopped in on Capitol Hill to meet with congressional leaders as well. ” “Asked to square Pelosi’s comments with the photo of the meeting, a spokesman said that Pelosi had simply meant she never had a solo meeting with Kislyak,” Politico reported. “Of course, that’s what she meant,” Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill said. “She has never had a private with him. ” Politico reported: Pelosi’s explanation is similar to one offered by Sen. Claire McCaskill Thursday, after she swiped at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for privately meeting with Kislyak in 2016 and failing to disclose it when asked about communications with Russians during his confirmation proceedings in January. Sessions has emphasized that meetings with ambassadors are common for lawmakers and that he met with Kislyak in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. McCaskill tweeted that in her 10 years serving on the Armed Services Committee she had never “ever” met with Kislyak, but walked back her comment by using the same reasoning as Pelosi, saying she had never met with him . | 0fake |
Healthcare bill not likely to get quick vote in U.S. Senate: senator | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Bob Corker said on Thursday there was no way the healthcare bill being considered by the House of Representatives would receive a quick up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate, predicting it would take “30 days or so.” “My guess is we’re going to spend at least a month looking at the issue, making sure that it passes the test of time,” Corker said in an interview on MSNBC. “I know it’s not going to be immediate,” he added. “I’m going to guess 30 days or so.” | 0fake |
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS Ends #PieGate…Makes April Ryan Eat “Humble” Pie [Video] | When CNN White House correspondent April Ryan challenged Sarah Sanders pie making skills during the Thanksgiving holiday (see below), Sarah was determined to prove she actually makes pecan pies that look that good.Fast forward: Sarah trolled April with a tweet showing the pie-making ingredients:Ingredients all mixed up and pies in the oven! @AprilDRyan let me know if you need further documentation #piegate pic.twitter.com/OVYLg1gBgO Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) December 14, 2017Sarah has handled this with great humor and grace: @PressSec is a TRUE role model Beautiful, Intelligent, witty & talented! Just like dad, @GovMikeHuckabee you bring us class, love & hope. This looks amazing Sarah! #SarahHuckabeeSanders#IAlwaysStandWithSarah#WHPressCorpsPotluck#PieGate NO @AprilDRyan#MAGA pic.twitter.com/pT0SmXKqBy FeistyChristine (@FeistyCovfefe) December 14, 2017So today, Sarah brought the cooked pies to give to April We call that Humble Pie While all indications point to extensive @FBI and DOJ POLITICAL CORRUPTION, the Media and @AprilDRyan are focused on #piegate, and questioning whether @PressSec Sarah Sanders can make homemade Chocolate pecan pie pic.twitter.com/hFiF83jEuP Boston Bobblehead (@DBloom451) December 14, 2017Press Secretary Sarah Sanders shares home made pecan pies with April and the press. #piegate pic.twitter.com/Fn7xQRp8pB TrumpSoldier (@DaveNYviii) December 14, 2017HOW PIEGATE STARTED:CNN political analyst just spent her Thanksgiving Day so consumed with hate for President Trump s White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that she removed any doubt her Twitter followers may have had about the possibility of having an objective bone in her body.CNN political analyst and American Urban Radio Networks White House correspondent April Ryan suggested, without any evidence, Friday that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders actually didn t actually cook the pecan pie Sanders said she did.Here is Sanders tweet that got under April Ryan s skin:I dont cook much these days, but managed this Chocolate Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving at the family farm! pic.twitter.com/rO8nFxtly7 Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 23, 2017Ryan responded by actually demanding that Sanders do more than post a picture of the pie with a white background, and that she show Twitter users the pie on her table!Show it to us on a table. https://t.co/ifeSBlSZW7 AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) November 24, 2017Ryan then took it a step further and doubled down, letting her Twitter users know that the legitimacy of Sanders claim that she baked the pecan pie was no laughing matter.I am not trying to be funny but folks are already saying #piegate and #fakepie Show it to us on the table with folks eating it and a pic of you cooking it. I am getting the biggest laugh out of this. I am thankful for this laugh on Black Friday! https://t.co/ifeSBlSZW7 AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) November 24, 2017Ryan is frequently praised by liberals for being a nuisance in the White House press briefing room, but she failed to present any evidence Friday, except for the claims of random Twitter users, that Sanders faked the pie. Ryan did not respond to this reporter when asked for proof.A reverse image search did not find any other pictures of the pecan pie that Sanders posted.The White House press secretary responded to Ryan s criticism and said that she will make the journalist a pie of her own.-Daily CallerDon t worry @AprilDRyan because I m nice I ll bake one for you next week #RealPie #FakeNews https://t.co/5W3mGbKs4J Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 24, 2017While hundreds of liberal Twitter users jumped on Ryan s thread, as a way to drum up hate for the brilliant and witty conservative Press Secretary, Sanders definitely got her fair share of support. Conservative actor James Woods didn t make any secret about how he is thankful on Thanksgiving Day for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the best thing to happen to modern American journalism. One final reason to be thankful today: @SarahHuckabee She is the best thing to happen to modern American journalism. The #CNN and other liberal minions melt before her intelligence, her wit, and her sheer fortitude like snowflakes in the desert. James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 24, 2017Twitter user, Vanessa Vega nailed it with her tweet in response to Sanders reply to Ryan s ridiculous claim:It burns them up. That a graceful intelligent woman like you holds the WH positions, rocks at it, is an amazing mother and baked a pie during a traditional American Holiday. keep doing you @PressSec !! We are grateful for you & the haters are entertaining to watch Vanessa Vega (@EscbrRoX2017) November 25, 2017 | 1real |
Profitable Pickups May Be in Cross Hairs of Trump Border Tax - The New York Times | DETROIT — There are many reasons for the steady success of the three major American automakers in recent years, but none are bigger than the surging sales of pickup trucks. General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler dominate the segment in the United States market, and they rely on pickups for a sizable portion of their earnings in North America as a whole. But President Trump’s proposed border tax on imported vehicles could throw a wrench in the profit machine, particularly for G. M. and Fiat Chrysler, which build a large percentage of their pickups in Mexico. At the same time, Ford — which makes all of its pickups in American factories — would most likely benefit at the expense of its rivals. The Trump administration has pledged to levy tariffs of up to 35 percent on vehicles imported from Mexico and possibly elsewhere, primarily to prod automakers to increase production and jobs in the United States. In response, all three of the Detroit companies have announced plans for new investments in their American operations. Ford went a step further by canceling plans to build a $1. 6 billion plant in Mexico that had been criticized repeatedly by Mr. Trump. Yet the possibility of tariffs on trucks overshadows the so far between a new president determined to expand the American economy and automakers that count on pickups as a huge source of income. “There is an awful lot at stake with a border tax on trucks,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader. com, a site. “These are the cash cows for Detroit. ” Pickup sales have been an important component of the consistent growth of the American auto market, which last year set a record with nearly 17. 5 million vehicles sold. The combination of low gas prices and a need by businesses to replace older trucks has stimulated demand, especially for pickups, more than 90 percent of which are made by the three Detroit companies. In January, the three vehicles in the nation were pickups: the Ford G. M.’s Chevrolet Silverado, and Fiat Chrysler’s Ram model. The companies earn an estimated $8, 000 to $10, 000 in profit on each truck sold — compared with $3, 000 on a passenger car — so Detroit’s financial fortunes inevitably rise and fall on the success of their truck products. Yet for G. M. and Fiat Chrysler, much of that success is dependent on truck production in Mexico, where labor costs are significantly lower than in unionized factories in the United States. Industry analysts estimate that of G. M.’s annual pickup production comes from its sprawling assembly plant in Silao, Mexico. And while Fiat Chrysler is expanding its American output of trucks, it still relies on its factory in Saltillo, Mexico, for 30 to 40 percent of its pickups, the analysts say. Ford, by contrast, makes its pickups at three plants in the United States. Automakers do not reveal profit margins on particular vehicles. But companies pay workers less than $10 an hour in Mexico, versus the top union wage of $29 in American plants. That differential makes Mexican trucks more profitable for G. M. and Fiat Chrysler than those produced in the United States. There are other costs associated with Mexican production, including shipping vehicles by rail or to American dealerships. But lower labor rates still make Mexico an attractive production option for automakers. A border tax would wipe out that cost advantage, and could prompt manufacturers to raise prices on vehicles. “Automakers could possibly eat the cost of a 5 to 10 percent tariff, but not a tax of 20 or 30 percent,” said Ron Harbour, an automotive analyst with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. “They would probably have to pass some of that on to consumers. ” Higher prices could cool demand for pickups made by G. M. and Fiat Chrysler. The companies could also try to make up the cost of a border tax by spreading price increases across the breadth of their product lineups. While it is not uncommon to reallocate production among factories — for example, to make more trucks in American plants and shift less profitable small cars to Mexico — it is expensive and to do so. G. M. is also vulnerable to potential tariffs on imported parts for pickups made in its factories in Flint, Mich. and Fort Wayne, Ind. About 38 percent of the parts for all G. M. pickups are made in the United States and Canada, and 55 percent are produced in Mexico, according to statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. About 56 percent of the parts in Fiat Chrysler’s pickups are made in the United States and Canada, and 29 percent are produced in Mexico. At Ford, about 70 percent of its pickup components are made in the United States and Canada, and 15 percent come from Mexico. For all three automakers, that mix of parts applies whether the truck is made in the United States or Mexico. It is not clear whether Mr. Trump’s vision of a border tax would apply to parts or only finished products. One industry analyst, Colin Langan of UBS Securities, singled out G. M. in a recent research report for its vulnerability to a tariff on pickups. “The border tax is a clear risk to G. M.’s pickup trucks,” Mr. Langan wrote. “The timing is also challenging as G. M. plans to retool its pickup facilities ahead of the 2018 pickup launch. ” G. M. executives declined to talk about the impact of a tariff on the company’s pickups during a conference call with analysts last week on its 2016 earnings. The company’s chief financial officer, Chuck Stevens, said it was premature to discuss the implications of a border tax. “There are a lot of moving parts,” he said. “We want to work with the administration to make sure what is best for the U. S. economy. ” G. M.’s chief executive, Mary Barra, stressed that about 80 percent of the products that the company sells in the United States are . As a member of Mr. Trump’s business advisory council, Ms. Barra said, she has outlined how difficult it is for an automaker to adjust production strategy on the fly. “I think that understanding has been well received,” she said of meeting with the president and his advisers. Other vehicles made in Mexico, such as Ford’s Fusion sedan and G. M.’s Cadillac SRX sport utility vehicle, could also be affected by a border tax. But because of their popularity and profits, pickups are the most vulnerable products. “A tariff on pickups would be a real challenge, especially for G. M.,” said Ms. Krebs of Autotrader. “Trucks are so important to their bottom line, and this is uncharted territory. ” | 0fake |
Debate fact-check: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's claims reviewed | “We will have a second amendment that is a very small replica of what it is now” in a Clinton administration
Trump is being reductive: Clinton has never called for abolishing the second amendment, the right to bear arms, though she does support gun control measures such as an assault weapons ban, increased background checks and greater liability for manufacturers.
As moderator Chris Wallace noted, Clinton has said she disagrees with the supreme court’s 5-4 decision in 2008 to broadly affirm the personal right to gun ownership. Her campaign has said Clinton would prefer states have the right to enact as strict gun control laws as they see fit.
“Chicago has the toughest gun laws and the most gun deaths”
Chicago police have pushed back on the notion that the city’s gun laws have proven ineffective, noting that a huge number of gun seizures were of firearms purchased outside the city or outside Illinois, where laws are more lax. Trump is largely correct about Chicago’s homicide problem: the city is on pace to have more than 600 gun deaths in 2016.
“If you go with what Hillary is saying in the ninth month you can rip the baby out of the womb of the mother … up to the last day.”
Clinton does not support such an extreme view on abortion, nor have courts ever ruled such a late term operation legal, or suggested that they would. States vary on how late they allow abortions – in some states there have been attempts to introduce very short time limits, including in North Dakota where a proposal in 2013 for a ban six weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period was ruled unconstitutional, but in most states the time limit is at the start of the third trimester or earlier. There are nine states without specific term prohibitions, but clinics do not abort at such late terms: only 1.2% of abortions occur after 21 weeks, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute.
Clinton does not want “open borders”: she supports reform to let people pass background checks and pay back taxes in order to stay in the US, and she supports Obama’s executive actions to shield some migrants, such as people who were brought to the US as children. Like Obama, she supports deportation for people with criminal records.
Trump is correct: Barack Obama has deported more than 2.5 million people, more than any other recent president, but he has prioritized migrants with criminal records. “Millions and millions”, however, is an exaggeration, and Obama also supports shielding millions of undocumented immigrants without criminal records, and reform for citizenship.
Obama “has thousands and thousands of people, they have no idea where they come from”
Ten thousand Syrian refugees have come to the United States in 2016, but Trump makes it sound misleadingly large.
He is patently wrong about the screening process. The US has among the most intensive screening process in the world for refugees: it requires they register and interview with the United Nations, which then must refer them to the US, refugees who pass this test then interview with state department contractors and have at least two background checks, then they have three fingerprint and photo screenings, then US immigration reviews the case, then Homeland Security interviews the refugee, then a doctor examines the refugee, and finally several security agencies perform one last check after the refugee has been matched with a resettlement agency.
The process takes 18 months to two years. The US has a very clear idea about which refugees it allows into the country.
“I don’t know Putin. He said nice things about me … He has no respect for our president.”
It’s not clear whether Trump has ever spoken with the Russian president. Putin was invited to but did not attend a 2013 beauty pageant in Moscow, according to one of the oligarchs who helped organize the event. “Will he become my new best friend?” Trump wondered beforehand.
The pair may have communicated through intermediaries. In 2014, Trump told a National Press Club luncheon: “I was in Moscow recently and I spoke, indirectly and directly, with President Putin, who could not have been nicer, and we had a tremendous success.” A year earlier, Trump told MSNBC: “I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today.”
Last November, Trump claimed in a debate that he “got to know him very well because we were both on 60 Minutes”. They appeared in separate, pre-taped segments and were not on set together.
Trump has repeatedly tried to do business in Russia, and his refusal to release tax returns prevents him proving that he has no assets there.
Putin has never called Trump “a genius”; he used the Russian word яркий, which means “colorful” or “flamboyant”. Trump likely heard the word translated as “bright” or “brilliant”, though its connotations are often more pejorative than not: bright in the sense of glaring and gaudy, brilliant in the sense of dazzling light. Putin also called him “talented, undoubtedly”.
“It’s not our business to decide his merits; that’s for US voters,” Putin said earlier this year. He did say, however, that he would welcome the rapprochement in Russian-American relations that Trump has suggested. You can read more about Putin’s remarks here.
“She has no idea whether it’s Russia, China or somebody else … Our country has no idea”
US intelligence officials have formally accused Russia of hacking Democratic organizations, saying they have “high confidence” that the Kremlin is behind cyberattacks on the US government, Democratic organizations and polling centers. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on this claim, despite personal briefings with US intelligence officials.
Even his running mate, Mike Pence, has accepted the briefings, and told NBC on Sunday: “I think there’s more and more evidence that implicates Russia.” Earlier Wednesday a Russian man suspected of involvement in the hacks was arrested in Prague.
“The border patrol agents, 16,500 plus, ICE, endorsed me. First time they’ve ever endorsed a candidate”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a government agency. It does not endorse political candidates. A union representing about 7,600 ICE officials endorsed Trump in September. A group representing 16,500 of 21,000 border patrol agents similarly endorsed Trump; this does not represent all the agents.
Clinton is correct that Trump took the quote out of context: she was talking primarily about trade to Banco Itau, a Brazilian bank that eventually became Unibanco. Here’s what she said, according to a hacked email released by Wikileaks:
Clinton has flip-flopped on free trade since 2013, most notably supporting and then rejecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“I’m a big fan of Nato but they have to pay up”
Trump is not necessarily a big fan of Nato, which he has called “obsolete”, and he’s wrong that allies do not pay for US military bases, though they do not pay perhaps as much as some Nato commanders want.
The US has urged its Nato allies to pay more for years, especially as eastern and central European allies have loudly warned about aggressive Russian action. The US currently pays about 22% of overall Nato spending, compared to Germany’s 15%, France’s 11%, the UK’s 10%, etc, and most Nato members fail to pay the 2% of GDP into defense as the alliance’s guidelines dictate. But the US does receive payments for military bases abroad from countries like Japan and South Korea, and takes profits from arms deals (sometimes to controversial clients, such as Saudi Arabia).
The US also benefits strategically through foreign military bases, which have acted as foundations for American influence abroad.
“I never said Japan should have nuclear weapons”
Trump has suggested Japan and South Korea should develop their own nuclear weapons. He told the New York Times in March: “Well I think maybe it’s not so bad to have Japan – if Japan had that nuclear threat, I’m not sure that would be a bad thing for us.”
Trump has the raw numbers just about right. When Obama took office on 20 January 2009, the federal debt was $10.63tn. As of 28 September 2016, it was $19.5tn. Trump omits, however, two key points: Congress controls the government’s wallet (ie Obama cannot spend or tax without approval from lawmakers), and Obama took office during the financial crisis, when Republicans, Democrats and most economists agreed that the US needed to spend in order to counteract the collapsing economy. Pence has the right numbers but imputes too much responsibility on the president.
“When you ran the state department, $6bn was missing! Maybe it was stolen … nobody knows”
This is not correct. Trump is alluding to a March 2014 alert, about contractor spending in the Middle East and Africa, by the state department’s inspector general, who was so perturbed by careless language around the $6bn figure that he wrote the Washington Post a letter that April. His alert did not conclude that the money was “missing” he told the Post, but rather that officials had failed “to adequately maintain contract files” that created “significant financial risk”. Files were missing or incomplete regarding several dozen contracts, not the money itself, and the state department agreed to his recommendations.
Trump is right: Clinton has not been consistent on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and her language from 2010 through 2014 suggests she was broadly in support of Barack Obama’s trade deal, before eventually opposing it as a presidential candidate. As secretary of state in 2012, she said: “This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field. And when negotiated, this agreement will cover 40 percent of the world’s total trade and build in strong protections for workers and the environment.”
She continued to praise it while she worked for the Obama administration, variously calling it “high quality”, “cutting edge”, “groundbreaking” and “high standard”.
The claim that Hillary Clinton “gave” the world Isis condenses and distorts a conservative view that, closer to its original form, says that that by withdrawing American forces from Iraq, Barack Obama created a power vacuum in which Isis could rise.
This argument ignores that Isis’s first segments formed out of Iraq’s civil war, while George W Bush was president, that the group gained strength in Syria’s civil war, where the US did not intervene until 2014, that Obama withdrew American forces in 2011 under the timeline agreed on by Bush and Baghdad, and that both Bush and Obama failed to come to an agreement with Baghdad over troops – in large part over a disagreement about whether American troops could be prosecuted by Iraq.
Trump supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and “surgical” intervention to remove Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, though he now claims otherwise. He also supported withdrawal from Iraq in 2007 and 2008.
The sexual allegations against Trump have not been “debunked”, though they have not been proven, either. For context, Jill Harth sued Trump in 1997 for “attempted rape” and earlier this year told the Guardian he “me up against the wall” of a child’s bedroom “and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress”. Jessica Leeds and Rachel Cooks recounted to the New York Times that Trump had groped the former “like an octopus” and kissed the latter without consent.
Reporter Natasha Stoynoff has said Trump cornered her in a room in 2005 and “within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat”. Mindy McGillivray told the Palm Beach Post a similar story, saying that Trump groped her 13 years ago, also at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant, has alleged that he groped and kissed her without consent in 2007. Temple Taggart accused Trump of advances at rehearsal for the 1997 Miss USA pageant, photographer Kirsten Anderson said Trump groped her at a nightclub in the 1990s, and Cathy Heller said he grabbed and kissed her at a Mar-A-Lago brunch in 1997.
The Trump campaign has denied the allegations. It has produced a self-professed witness, who has a history of making unproven claims, from the flight with Leeds, and a letter from the cousin of Zervos expressing doubt about her claim but not calling her a liar. “I can only imagine that Summer’s actions today are nothing more than an attempt to regain the spotlight at Mr Trump’s expense,” his letter said.
“I did not say that [women were not unattractive enough for him to advance on]”
Trump clearly suggested that he did not find at least one of his accusers attractive, saying “She would not be my first choice, believe me.”
“They hired people [to incite violence at rallies], they gave them $1,500 … she caused the violence, it’s on tape!”
Trump appears to be alluding to an edited video that suggests a few Democratic staffers had hired people to incite violence. One of those staffers has resigned, and said that “none of the schemes described in the conversations ever took place”. So far there is no proof that anyone was actually hired to cause violence.
“Criminally, after getting a subpoena by the United States Congress, [Clinton deleted emails]. One lie.”
Trump has the timeline correct, but not the criminality. He omits the FBI’s conclusion that there was no evidence of an intentional effort to conceal anything, and the FBI learned that a Clinton aide had asked for the emails unrelated to government work to be deleted in December 2014, months before the 4 March 2015 subpoena.
The emails were deleted at the end of March, according to the FBI, when an employee had what he called an “oh shit” moment about his previous order from Mills. The state department first agreed to produce records in July 2014.
“A four-star general who lied to the FB faces a worse deal than Clinton”
Trump did not specify a general’s name but appears to have been referring to James Cartwright. He has in the past referred to both Cartwright and General David Petraeus in his argument that Clinton benefits from some kind of double standard.
In 2015 Petraeus, a former CIA director and a four-star general, pled guilty to giving a large amount of classified information – including the identities of covert officers and war strategy – to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair. During the FBI investigation, Petraeus lied to agents, according to the plea deal. But the justice department only sentenced Petraeus to two years’ probation and a $100,000 fine, provoking accusations that this relatively lenient sentence was evidence of a double standard for the powerful. The justice department’s lenience toward Petraeus actually made it more difficult, in part, for prosecutors to recommend charges against Clinton.
This week Cartwright pled guilty to lying to the FBI in an investigation into leaking classified information about operations against Iran to journalists. Like Petraeus, though, the FBI found actual intentional wrongdoing in Cartwright’s case. Cartwright’s punishment could range from a $500 fine to six months in prison or, if the judge sees fit, a higher sentence.
There is no evidence that the Clinton Foundation is a “criminal enterprise”, or that its donors or the Clintons profit from the charity.
Trump appears to be alluding a garment factory built after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake in the town of Caracol, while Bill Clinton was the UN’s special envoy to Haiti and co-chairman of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), an organization that approved US government funded projects that added up to hundreds of millions of dollars. The IHRC approved a project between the US, Haiti’s government and Sae-A Trading, a South Korean clothing company, and it now provides 8,900 jobs to Haitians.
An eventual review by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found “mixed results” with the project, including “unrealistic initial timeframes”, delays, incomplete information in the feasibility study, and funding problems. Earlier in October, labor organizers alleged that factory managers were mistreating workers there, but an ABC News investigation found no evidence that Clinton Foundation donors profited from the project, though some were involved in the project. The US committed funding but did not participate in building the industrial park; a labor group that reviewed the factory found it had adequate oversight and had dealt with concerns, though the factory remains within the range of the often grueling garment industry.
He was correct, at least, that the Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from Middle East countries with records of repression of women and gay people.
“I don’t buy boats, I don’t buy planes [with money the Trump Foundation], we put up the American flag, and that’s it … We fought for the right in Palm Beach to put up the American flag”
Trump is not being wholly honest about his charitable foundation, at least according to the Trump Foundation’s own documents, which show that he used its money to pay for legal settlements and even self-portraits, as Clinton said and the Washington Post has reported at length.
Trump does not come from modest beginnings. In 1978 his father gave him a loan totaling almost $1m – about $3.7m today – and acted as guarantor for the young Trump’s early projects. A 1981 report by a New Jersey regulator also shows a $7.5m loan from the patriarch, and years later he bought $3.5m in gambling chips to help his son pay off the debts of a failing casino, a transaction found later found illegal. Trump also borrowed millions against his inheritance before his father’s death, a 2007 deposition shows.
Trump has not proven that he is worth $10bn, though his tax returns, which he has refused to release, could provide a clearer picture of his worth. His financial filings suggest he has less than $250m in liquid assets, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Trump has a history of overstating his properties: he has, for instance, told the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that a New York golf club is worth $50m but also argued in court that it is worth only $1.4m.
“These people have all left. The element of surprise … all she had to do was stay there”
Isis has not left Mosul: several thousand fighters remain there and are fighting the coalition of Iraqi and Kurdish troops, backed by US airstrikes and special forces. Isis leaders have known for years that Baghdad would try to retake the city, if they have not known since they took the city.
Trump did not support leaving a residual American force in Iraq, but actually called for a complete withdrawal from Iraq, despite the likelihood of civil war or an authoritarian coup. “You know how they get out? They get out. That’s how they get out. Declare victory and leave,” he told CNN in 2007. “This is a total catastrophe, and you might as well get out now because you’re just wasting time, and lives.”
The argument that Isis rose out of the vacuum of post-withdrawal Iraq also ignores that its origins were in the country’s civil war, while George W Bush was in office, and that the terror group concentrated strength in Syria’s civil war before Barack Obama began a bombing and special forces campaign there.
Trump, when told he was for the invasion of Iraq: “Wrong”
This is a lie. In the months before the Iraq war began, Trump mildly endorsed invasion to radio host Howard Stern, who asked him whether US forces should attack. “Yeah, I guess so,” Trump answered. A few weeks later he told Fox News that George W Bush was “doing a very good job”. Several weeks after the invasion, Trump told the Washington Post: “The war’s a mess.” In August 2004 he told Esquire: “Two minutes after we leave, there’s going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over.”
Even in an interview cited by the Trump campaign, Trump expressed impatience with Bush for not invading sooner. “Whatever happened to the days of the Douglas MacArthur? He would go and attack. He wouldn’t talk.”
About 10.7 million people have gained jobs since Barack Obama took office in 2009 (not 15 million as the Clinton campaign sometimes claims). Growth is not stagnant, though it is not significant, and it requires context: the 2008 financial crisis that nearly collapsed the economy. According to a 2015 nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus may have increased GDP buy up to 0.2 percentage points. US growth in the second quarter of 2016 was 1.4%.
“Their [the people of New Hampshire’s] single biggest problem is heroin that pours across our southern borders, just pouring and destroying their youth”
Trump is correct that heroin deaths have increased dramatically since 2007, in part because of the abuse of painkillers and the growth of a number of powerful heroin-related drugs, such as fentanyl. According to the DEA, 10,574 Americans died from heroin-related overdoses in 2014, more than three times the number in 2010.
“Next week [the healthcare premiums] are going to go up 100%”
Trump and Clinton both accept the reality that healthcare premiums have increased since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, but Trump appears to be exaggerating wildly. On average, premiums have risen by about 5.8% a year since Obama took office, compared with 13.2% in the nine years before Obama, Politifact found earlier this year. Trump, however, is cherry-picking data from various states and providers where rates have had higher jumps. The most common healthcare plans will increase 9% on average, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“We take care of illegal immigrants … better than we take care of our vets”
This claim flies in the face of evidence and logic. Like all US citizens, veterans enjoy the basic rights and benefits granted by US law (voting rights, social security, Medicaid, etc), while undocumented migrants (non-citizens) do not. Trump has in the past tried to justify this claim by saying the US spends more on undocumented people than on veterans, but has drawn a $113bn price tag from an explicitly anti-immigration foundation. He also inflated that number.
The campaign has said the US spends $2.8bn on housing migrants in prisons, combining an estimate on prison costs and the 2016 budget for the care and processing of children who came to the US without adults. The Veterans Affairs administration has a 2016 budget of $69.7bn. Veterans and undocumented migrants alike have access to K-12 education, though few veterans would likely seek it, and veterans have access to the Affordable Care Act, military benefits and health benefits, while migrants do not.
“Our inner cities are a disaster. You get shot walking to the store, you have no education, no jobs”
Trump’s repeated claim that “African Americans, Hispanics, are living in hell” defies most of American history, from antebellum slavery through the Jim Crow decades, great depression and segregation. Even if Trump is only referring the past half century, he is still wrong by most metrics.
Data on employment, education and health show empirical evidence for the persistent reality of discrimination against black Americans, but also show major gains in the last few decades. In 2015, black people earned just 75% as much as whites in median hourly earnings, whether full- or part-time, according to a Pew Research analysis. The black unemployment rate in August 2016 was 8.1%, compared with 4.4% for white people, but still lower than for most of the last 40 years. Black life expectancy has increased from the mid-30s around 1900 to the mid-70s in 2016, according to the CDC. Education rates have similarly increased in the last 40 years, according to the census.
“We have 33,000 people a year who die from guns”
Clinton is broadly correct. The Centers for Disease Control reported 33,636 firearm deaths in 2013, and similar figures in the years preceding it.
Clinton is not quite right. A Trump contractor hired undocumented Polish workers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in 1983 union members sued one of their organizers. Trump appeared in court in 1990 and blamed the contractor overseeing the project, which was for Trump Tower.
“I will not add a penny to the debt”
Estimates suggest Clinton is not wholly correct. Her proposed tax plan would add $191bn to the debt over the long term, according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget, a conservative thinktank. The Tax Policy Center, however, estimates that she would add $1.1tn in revenue in a decade, though much of that would be offset by increased spending. The Tax Foundation estimated that Trump’s plan would add $5.3tn to the debt.
“We at the Clinton Foundation spend 90% [of what’s given] and have the highest rating from watchdogs”
The Clinton Foundation does have high marks from charity watchdogs, which also show that the group does spend the vast majority of its donations on its own charitable programs.
Clinton says Trump has called the election ‘rigged’, while Trump says he won’t necessarily accept the election results
All available evidence shows that in-person voter fraud is exceedingly rare: you are more likely to be struck by lightning in the next year (a one in 1,042,000 chance, according to Noaa) than to find a case of voter fraud by impersonation (31 possible cases in more than a billion ballots cast from 2000 to 2014, according to a study by Loyola Law School).
Voter fraud would have to happen on an enormous scale to sway elections, because the electoral college system decentralizes authority: each of the 50 states has its own rules and local officials, not federal ones, run the polls and count the ballots. This complexity makes the notion of a “rigged” national election, at least in the US, logistically daunting to the point of practical impossibility. Thirty-one states have Republican governors, including the swing states of Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Nevada and Ohio; Pennsylvania only elected a Democratic governor in 2015. Polls show Trump losing even in some states where governors have strongly supported him. In Maine, for instance, the Real Clear Politics average shows him down five points.
About 75% of the ballots cast in federal elections have paper backups, and most electronic voting machines are not connected to the internet – though they have other flaws and may be vulnerable to tampering. But voter fraud to swing a major election, whether by tampering, buying votes or official wrongdoing, would quickly attract attention by its necessarily large scale.
If Trump loses the presidential election, it will be because American voters do not want him in the White House, not because of a conspiracy involving Republicans and Democrats alike at state and city levels around the nation – a conspiracy for which Trump has provided no evidence.
“Trump’s plan largely helps the wealthy and adds $20tn in debt”
Clinton is correct that although Trump’s tax plan would cut taxes for everyone, it would disproportionately help the wealthiest Americans, saving them millions of dollars and adding $5.3tn to the national debt, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a conservative thinktank. She seems to be citing another analysis, by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, about the debt, and possibly overstates its estimated consequences.
That center warned that without severe spending cuts, the plan would balloon national debt “by nearly 80% of gross domestic product by 2036, offsetting some or all of the incentive effects of the tax cuts”. According to that group, half of Trump’s tax cuts would go to the top 1% of earners, and most families below the top 20% of earners would have income gains of less than 1%.
• This article was amended on 21 October 2016. An earlier version said incorrectly that North Dakota had banned abortion six weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period and that the general referred to by Trump was David Petraeus. Two sections of the text have been corrected and clarified accordingly. | 0fake |
U.S.-backed Syrian forces seize Raqqa mosque: coalition | BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian militias have taken the historic old city of Raqqa and its ancient mosque as they press their offensive to defeat Islamic State, the U.S.-led coalition said on Monday. The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, said last week it had captured the final districts in Raqqa s old city from Islamic State. With the help of U.S.-led jets and special forces, the SDF has been battling to capture Raqqa city, which Islamic State used as a base of operations in Syria. The SDF pushed into the city in June after fighting for months to encircle it. The walled old city lies in the heart of Raqqa, but Islamic State militants still control districts in the west of the city. The SDF says it holds 65 percent of Raqqa in total. The SDF have made consistent incremental gains in the urban terrain of the city, fighting block by block, said U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the United States-led coalition against Islamic State. The statement said the SDF has cleared the Great Mosque of Raqqa, its oldest mosque, describing the advance as a milestone in the Raqqa battle. SDF fighters have waged fierce battles with slow progress against Islamic State in Raqqa s old city since early July, when the U.S. coalition breached its walls with air strikes. A war monitoring group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said last week that the SDF held more than 90 percent of Raqqa s old city. | 0fake |
Queen Elizabeth II’s Sapphire Jubilee Takes On Low-Key Tone - The New York Times | LONDON — To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire jubilee on Monday, marking 65 years on the British throne, there were new coins, a new stamp, gun salutes, and a reissued portrait taken by a famed photographer. The only thing missing? The queen, who, in keeping with past practice on the anniversary itself, planned to observe the day privately, with a quiet reflective commemoration at her estate in Sandringham, in eastern England. Grander celebrations are in the works for the platinum jubilee in 2022. Royal jubilees commemorate the life and reign of monarchs. Elizabeth, 90, the world’s monarch, is the first British sovereign to hold a sapphire jubilee. The events were relatively muted compared to the silver (25 years) gold (50 years) and diamond (60 years) jubilees, which were celebrated with festivities across Britain. There was a ruby jubilee to mark Elizabeth’s 40 years as queen, but that anniversary was also . Few British monarchs have reached the milestone. King George III and Queen Victoria marked their golden jubilees with huge celebrations. Elizabeth was expected to spend the anniversary at Sandringham, and there will be no broader celebrations in coming days, as there had been for previous jubilees. She was apparently in “good spirits” at a church service on Sunday, local news outlets reported. There have been concerns about the queen’s health ever since she missed church services on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day because of what Buckingham Palace described as a “heavy cold. ” Those absences were the first time in about 30 years that she had missed a holiday service. The queen made her first public appearance this year on Jan. 8, after a month’s absence. She celebrated her diamond jubilee, in 2012, with a series of events, including a floating pageant on the River Thames and a tour across Britain. A traditional royal salute was held at Green Park in London. That was followed by a salute at the Tower of London. A 2014 portrait of the queen, taken by the British photographer David Bailey, wearing sapphire jewelry given to her by her father, King George VI, as a wedding gift in 1947, was published as part of the commemoration. The Royal Mail issued a stamp worth 5 pounds, or about $6. 25, to mark her accession to the throne, and ranges of special jubilee coins have been cast by the Royal Mint to mark the occasion, with one worth about £50, 000. Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated the queen on behalf of the nation, calling her an “inspiration. ” “It is a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation that she is not marking becoming the first monarch to reign for 65 years with any special celebration, but instead getting on with the job to which she has dedicated her life,” Mrs. May said in a statement. | 0fake |
As Predicted, Google Fires Man Who Complained About Firm’s Repressive Political Culture | 21st Century Wire says Earlier in the week, 21WIRE reported about the Google employee who released a controversial 3,000 word memo which went internally viral complaining about the Silicon Valley tech giant s ideological echo chamber a repressive, intolerant corporate cultural where political correctness rules, and which only caters to the leftist progressive side of the political paradigm. Any other viewpoints or opinions will not be tolerated at Google. The man who wrote the memo as a Google engineer named James Damore, has since been fired for voicing his opinions on the company s politics.As a result of the employee blowing the whistle on this issue, other Google employees, like one Jaana B. Dogan (see tweet below), appear to have threatened to leave the company in protest if Human Resources did not retaliate against the political whistleblower:Google staffer Dogan then goes further, and mocks Damore, by hurling slurs based on racial identity politics:Of course, the irony (not surprisingly, unknown to those at Google) is that Dogan and others knee-jerk political reaction only proved James Damore s point that Google has fostered an insular, political and intellectual ghetto which does not tolerate any variance away for the prevailing group-think de jour. In the video released last weekend by YouTube gamer pundit, Mister Metokur, the commentator predicted that, the person who wrote that memo is probably going to be fired. Mister Metokur was right. But there s an even bigger aspect to this story Why is all this important? Because that same repressive political culture at Google is reflected in how it programs the new censorship algorithms of its search engine effectively disappearing political views and articles it does not like, and wishes to bury. Bloomberg Business reports:Alphabet Inc. s Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo blasting the web company s diversity policies, creating a firestorm across Silicon Valley.James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for perpetuating gender stereotypes. He said he s currently exploring all possible legal remedies. The imbroglio at Google is the latest in a long string of incidents concerning gender bias and diversity in the tech enclave. Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick lost his job in June amid scandals over sexual harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. Ellen Pao s gender-discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2015 also brought the issue to light, and more women are speaking up to say they ve been sidelined in the male-dominated industry, especially in engineering roles.Earlier on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a note to employees that said portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. But he didn t say if the company was taking action against the employee. A Google representative, asked about the dismissal, referred to Pichai s memo.Damore s 10-page memorandum accused Google of silencing conservative political opinions and argued that biological differences play a role in the shortage of women in tech and leadership positions. It circulated widely inside the company and became public over the weekend, causing a furor that amplified the pressure on Google executives to take a more definitive stand.After the controversy swelled, Danielle Brown, Google s new vice president for diversity, integrity and governance, sent a statement to staff condemning Damore s views and reaffirmed the company s stance on diversity. In internal discussion boards, multiple employees said they supported firing the author, and some said they would not choose to work with him, according to postings viewed by Bloomberg News. We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company, Brown said in the statement. We ll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul. Continue this story at BloombergREAD MORE GOOGLE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Google FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Brother of Clinton’s campaign chair is an active foreign agent on the Saudi Arabian payroll | VIDEOS Brother of Clinton’s campaign chair is an active foreign agent on the Saudi Arabian payroll The system isn’t rigged — it’s performing exactly as intended — and always will as long as the vote validates its existence By Clare Bernish - November 1, 2016
Tony Podesta — brother of the now-disgraced Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, whose files Wikileaks has been publishing — is not only a powerful Democratic Party lobbyist, but a registered foreign agent receiving a hefty monthly paycheck from the nefarious government of Saudi Arabia.
No — as tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist as it might sound — that scenario is the absolute truth.
In 1988, John and Tony Podesta formed the Podesta Group and have used their bigwig party-insider status to lobby and influence government policies — while, at various times, simultaneously holding positions of power — which has created a number of glaring conflicts of interest. According to the March 2016 filing made in accordance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, Tony Podesta is an active foreign agent of the Saudi government with the “ Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court ,” and acts as an officer of the Saudi Arabia account.
At this point, the web of pay-for-play between the Washington, political heavyweights, and foreign governments comes lurching into the spotlight.
For starters, the Podesta brothers’ lobbying firm receives $140,000 every month from the Saudi government, which, in no uncertain terms — and despite a status as privileged U.S. ally — wages a bloody campaign of censorship, murder, suppression, human rights abuse, and worse against its civilian population, while bombing hospitals, schools, and aid convoys in neighboring nations.
John Podesta previously served as President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, founded the think tank Center for American Progress (which oh-so-coincidentally touts the need to reframe Saudi Arabia’s hopelessly tarnished image), counseled President Obama, and now chairs Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Tony Podesta acts as a foreign agent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — lobbying to influence government policy in favor of the Kingdom — while also contributing to and bundling for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Think about that for a moment.
One brother uses the influence of money to both affect United States foreign policy and infuse the Clinton campaign with cash — while the other wields the influence of power as a political insider for the same entities.
As the Washington Post reported months ago in July, Tony Podesta’s lobbying efforts “raised $268,000 for the campaign and $31,000 for the victory fund.”
“The Saudis hired the Podesta Group in 2015 because it was getting hammered in the press over civilian casualties from its airstrikes in Yemen and its crackdown on political dissidents at home, including sentencing blogger Raif Badawi to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes for ‘insulting Islam,’” Alternet reported . “Since then, Tony Podesta’s fingerprints have been all over Saudi Arabia’s advocacy efforts in Washington DC. When Saudi Arabia executed the prominent nonviolent Shia dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, causing protests throughout the Shia world and inflaming sectarian divisions, The New York Times noted that the Podesta Group provided the newspaper with a Saudi commentator who defended the execution.”
Notably, the Saudis’ reputation has only worsened as further atrocities pile up — concerning not only a record number of barbaric beheadings this year, but suspiciously reckless and errant U.S.-backed coalition bombings of civilian sites in several regions of active conflict.
Additionally, Tony Podesta’s status as a registered foreign agent for Saudi Arabia is at least obliquely discussed in an email from April 15, 2015 — ironically revealed by Wikileaks’ publishing of his brothers personal communiques — in which former Clinton Foundation chief development officer and now campaign national finance director Dennis Cheng wrote to a small group of insiders:
“Hi all – we do need to make a decision on this ASAP as our friends who happen to be registered with FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] are already donating and raising.
“I do want to push back a bit (it’s my job!): I feel like we are leaving a good amount of money on the table (both for primary and general, and then DNC and state parties)… and how do we explain to people that we’ll take money from a corporate lobbyist but not them; that the Foundation takes $ from foreign govts but we now won’t. Either way, we need to make a decision soon.”
To which general counsel to the Clinton campaign, attorney Marc Elias, replied [all errors original and emphasis added],
“Responding to all on this. I was not on the call this morning, but I lean away from a bright line rule here. It seems odd to say that someone who represents Alberta, Canada can’t give, but a lobbyist for Phillip Morris can. Just as we vet lobbyists case by case, I would do the same with FARA. While this may lead to a large number of FARA registrants being denied, it would not be a flat our ban. A total ban feels arbitrary and will engender the same eye-rolling and ill will that it did for Obama.”
As the exchange continues, how to precisely handle the campaign’s image with potentially controversial donors — while, at all costs, maintaining the flow of cash — becomes even more apparent. As strategist and campaign manager Robby Mook responds,
“Where do we draw the line though?”
Elias suggests a particularly intricate solution:
“If we do it case by case, then it will be subjective. We would look at who the donor is and what foreign entity they are registered for. In judging whether to take the money, we would consider the relationship between that country and the United States, its relationship to the State Department during Hillary’s time as Secretary, and its relationship, if any, to the Foundation. In judging the individual, we would look at their history of support for political candidates generally and Hillary’s past campaigns specifically.
“Put simply, we would use the same criteria we use for lobbyists, except with a somewhat more stringent screen.
“As a legal matter, I am not saying we have to do this – we can decide to simply ban foreign registrants entirely. I’m just offering this up as a middle ground.”
Mook eventually decides plainly,
“Marc made a convincing case to me this am that these sorts of restrictions don’t really get you anything…that Obama actually got judged MORE harshly as a result. He convinced me. So…in a complete U-turn, I’m ok just taking the money and dealing with any attacks. Are you guys ok with that?”
All of this political wrangling appears to have had the desired effect — despite increasing calls for the United States to either rein in or sever completely its support for the bloody Saudi regime — the U.S. approved a stunning $1.29 billion sale of smart bombs to the Kingdom in November 2015.
Tony Podesta’s specific contract with the government-run Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, which will earn $1.68 million by year’s end, does, indeed, suggest the infusion of a pro-Saudi message into the U.S. media propaganda machine.
“Saudi Arabia is consistently one of the bigger players when it comes to foreign influence in Washington,” Sunlight Foundation spokesman Josh Stewart told the Washington Post . “That spans both what you’d call the inside game, which is lobbying and government relations, and the outside game, which is PR and other things that tend to reach a broader audience than just lobbying.”
That broader audience — the American public — has indeed been manipulated courtesy of at least the thoroughly-corrupt Clinton campaign if not surreptitiously by the Saudis, as well.
As The Free Thought Project has repeatedly reported , the evidence of collusion among the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and the mainstream presstitutes is indisputable — including no less than 65 so-called journalists listed by name in various leaks as darlings of the campaign.
Although this level of corruption and collusion would be considered intolerable in nearly any other nation on the planet. And yet, at the center of this shit storm of contention is an official nominee for the White House — who will not be held responsible for any number of questionable and criminal acts.
The system isn’t rigged — it’s performing exactly as intended — and always will as long as the vote validates its existence. | 1real |
Factbox: U.S. intel report on Russian cyber attacks in 2016 election | (Reuters) - A declassified report by U.S. intelligence agencies said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an effort to help Donald Trump’s electoral chances by discrediting Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign. The following quotes are some highlights of the report, which was drafted by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency, and released on Friday: - “Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.” - “We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.” - “We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence.” - “Moscow’s approach evolved over the course of the campaign based on Russia’s understanding of the electoral prospects of the two main candidates. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency.” - “We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election.” - “Further information has come to light since Election Day that, when combined with Russian behavior since early November 2016, increases our confidence in our assessments of Russian motivations and goals.” - “Moscow’s influence campaign followed a Russian messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operations — such as cyber activity — with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or ‘trolls’.” - “Russia’s intelligence services conducted cyber operations against targets associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major U.S. political parties.” - “We assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release U.S. victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks.” - “We assess with high confidence that the GRU relayed material it acquired from the DNC and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks. Moscow most likely chose WikiLeaks because of its self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity. Disclosures through WikiLeaks did not contain any evident forgeries.” - “Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign.” - “Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards. DHS (Department of Homeland Security) assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.” - “We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the U.S. presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies and their election processes.” - “Immediately after Election Day, we assess Russian intelligence began a spearphishing campaign targeting U.S. Government employees and individuals associated with U.S. think tanks and NGOs in national security, defense, and foreign policy fields. This campaign could provide material for future influence efforts as well as foreign intelligence collection on the incoming administration’s goals and plans.” | 0fake |
HAWK OR NOT? Is Trump Expanding the Wars? | So once again, here we are. A new President must deal with the old war. President Donald Trump must decide on whether to send thousands of additional American troops overseas into the longest-running US combat theatre on the planet, Afghanistan.Back in March of 2016, 21WIRE s Shawn Helton penned a insightful piece entitled, HAWKISH DOVE: The Enigma of Donald Trump in Volatile Race to the White House. In this article, Helton describes how then GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was putting forward a populist, alomist Paulist image among a bevy of warhawk and Neocon rivals.Back then, Helton described the media and political pressure placed on Trump: Recently, Trump was pressed again on matters concerning the Middle East and his response has been surprisingly diplomatic with a non-interventionist platform. Trump s open condemnation of the Bush administration for the Iraq war and the Obama White House for the destruction of Libya, has resonated across the board for voters on both sides of the political spectrum. Trump has asserted that 2003 s invasion in Iraq and the blitzkrieg in Libya via NATO members in 2011, is further evidence of failed US foreign policy throughout the world.Doubling down, the GOP frontrunner Trump, has also refused to pick a side between Israel and Palestine and in true form to his business pedigree, stating that he would rather attempt to broker a peace deal in the ages old conflict, rather than tow the party line. Onlookers wondered how this stance would play if Trump ever made into office. Back then it was immpossible to know, but now after 6 months in office, we have something to work with. We saw how fast Trump reacted to the alleged chemical weapons attack at Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria on April 4, 2017. His errant, knee-jerk cruise missile strike days later might go down in history as one of the biggest fumbles in US history (if that s even possible to measure).Is Trump continuing down Obama s proven path of juggling multiple conflicts while engaging in illegal proxy wars?Vanity Fair explains a possible fait accompli:On the campaign trail, Donald Trump pitched Americans on an immiscible foreign-policy agenda, combining elements of staunch isolationism and a rejection of Bush-era interventionism with promises to bomb the shit out of ISIS. But in his four months as president, Trump, characteristically, has done something of a 180-degree turn. He turned over much of his military policy and decision-making to the same embarrassing generals he previously claimed to know more than; he authorized a missile strike and boots on the ground in Syria, a country he had repeatedly warned against getting involved with; and he increased troop levels in Iraq, doubling down on a tactic he had called a horrible mistake. Now, the Trump administration is considering sending more troops into the war in Afghanistan, which he previously called a complete waste. On Tuesday, the president gave Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to determine the number of troops in Afghanistan, The New York Times reports, a rejection of the management levels adopted by the Obama administration.Then there s the issue of rogue dinosaur John McCain, who refuses to retire and seems happy as ever to take down various and sundry nation-states, in order to quench his own desire for chaos and conflict:This dynamic has left some lawmakers frustrated. During a meeting last week in which Mattis conceded to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. is not winning in Afghanistan right now, John McCain derided the delay of a broader strategy. We are now six months into this administration; we still haven t got a strategy for Afghanistan, the Arizona senator said. It makes it hard for us to support you when we don t have a strategy. We know what the strategy was for the last eight years don t lose. That hasn t worked. Mattis responded, We are putting it together now, and there are actions being taken to make certain that we don t pay a price for the delay, he said. We recognize the need for urgency, and your criticism is fair, sir. It may be too early to tell, but getting the White House to decouple from Pentagon group-think may prove to be too hard a task for a President who is desperate for poll rating and a win, any win.Time will tell.***READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire SYRIA FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
HUCKABEE NAILS IT: Says Obama’s Radical List Of Invited Guests To Meet Pope Proves His Fake Christianity | Welcoming a pro-life, pro-marriage leader at the White House with a crowd of abortion and gay rights activists, is as classy as hosting an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with an open bar. Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that Barack Obama pretends to be a Christian, after the president s guest list for Pope Francis White House welcome ceremony included a short list of Catholics and other Christians who haev visibly parted with Church doctrine. Huckabee told Newsmax TV that he is concerned about a guy that believes he s a Christian, and pretends to be and then says he is, but does things that makes it very difficult for people to practice their Christian faith. I m disappointed if a person says, I m a Christian, but you invite the Pope into your home and then you invite a whole bunch of people who are at odds with the Catholic Church policy. I think there s something very unseemly about that. The guest list for Wednesday morning s pomp and circumstance on the South Lawn of the White House included a pro-choice nun, a transgender woman and an openly gay retired Episcopal bishop plus a Roman Catholic teacher from suburban Philadelphia who was fired this year for marrying her girlfriend.Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, divorced his partner last year after previously divorcing his first spouse, a woman.Margie Winters, the suburban Philadelphia educator, said Monday that she hoped the pontiff would address issues facing gay Catholics during his visit to the U.S.The 50-year-old Winters lost her job as religious instruction director at Waldron Mercy Academy in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in June over her 2007 same-sex marriage.Winters says the school principal knew she was gay and married to Andrea Vettori, clinical director at a health center for the homeless, when she was hired eight years ago.Her invitation to join a crowd of 11,000 on Wednesday morning came via the Human Rights Campaign, an gay-rights activist group.Huckabee was answering a question Tuesday night about whether Muslim politicians should be disqualified from running for president. There is no religious test for a person to hold public office in America, he said. I m less concerned about what faith a person has. I m more concerned about the authenticity of their faith and how that plays out in their policies. Huckabee lashed out at Obama on Tuesday in an essay published by The Daily Caller, saying he shows total disrespect to millions of Americans by transforming Pope Francis White House visit into a politicized cattle call for gay and pro-abortion activists. Via: UK Daily Mail Online | 1real |
Russian ex-minister Ulyukayev jailed for eight years over $2 million bribe | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev was found guilty of soliciting a $2 million bribe and sentenced to eight years in jail on Friday, in a case that has shone a rare light on infighting among the elite ahead of a presidential election. Ulyukayev, the most senior serving official to be arrested in decades, was found guilty of accepting the bribe last year from Rosneft (ROSN.MM) chief executive Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Sechin took part in an elaborate sting operation on Nov. 14 2016 involving Russia s FSB security service which ended in the arrest of Ulyukayev, 61, the latest twist in what several sources said was a Kremlin turf war. People have ambitions and they are fighting over them, said one senior source who knows several of the people involved in the case. Ulyukayev, who denied the charges, said he d been set up. He said he thought the bag with the bribe was a gift of expensive alcohol. He said he would appeal and a source close to Ulyukayev said his lawyers hoped Putin might pardon him if that failed. The case s denouement comes just months before a March presidential election which incumbent Putin is expected to win. If, as expected, he is re-elected he will be 71 at the end of his new term and is barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term. With that deadline looming, turf wars take on extra importance because they could help decide who runs Russia after Putin. The verdict and the harsher-than-expected sentence Ulyukayev was widely forecast to get a suspended sentence is likely to be interpreted as a sign that Sechin s place at Putin s side is safe and that he is increasingly influential, something that has alarmed other members of the elite. We re dealing with a court that has been hijacked by personal interests, Gleb Pavlovsky, an ex-Putin adviser, wrote on social media. State prosecutors had said that Ulyukayev had asked for the bribe in exchange for approving the sale of the state-controlled oil company Bashneft (BANE.MM) to Rosneft, something he initially opposed. Boris Neporozhniy, a state prosecutor, hailed Friday s verdict as a sign of the supremacy of the law, while a spokesman for Rosneft, the oil firm Sechin runs, said Ulyukayev had been caught red-handed and that the evidence against him had been rock solid. Before his arrest, Ulyukayev had been one of the leading figures in a faction of economic liberals who argued for less state control over the economy. Sechin is widely seen as the main champion of the opposite view, that the state should consolidate its grip, particularly over the energy sector that provides a large share of Russia s state revenue through its two biggest companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. He is backed by others, many of them with a background in state security, who share his view. Two sources said the way Ulyukayev s trial had been conducted showed that his rivals for influence in the ruling elite had used the trial to try to push back against him. They did that by lobbying officials for the trial to be held in public, and by leaking elements of the prosecution case to the media, the two sources said. Sechin has publicly opposed the court s decision to release audio tapes of the sting operation. The fact that the trial has been held in public and not behind closed doors showed the limits of Sechin s influence, the sources said. Ulyukayev, who was handcuffed and placed in a courtroom cage after the verdict, looked shocked and said he had been treated unfairly. Of course it s unjust, he told reporters. When one reporter pointed out he d received the minimum custodial sentence for the charges, Ulyukayev held up his handcuffed hands and said: You call this the minimum? When asked about the case on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment. Former Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin, an adviser to Putin and a strong advocate of less state control over the economy, strongly criticised the verdict. It s a terrible, groundless verdict, Kudrin said on social media. It s weak work by the investigation... Many face such injustice these days. | 0fake |
Factbox: Global carmakers' operations in Mexico | (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned German car companies he would impose a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported to the U.S. market from Mexico, singling out luxury carmaker BMW for criticism following previous broadsides aimed at General Motors, Ford and Toyota. Mexico accounts for a fifth of all vehicle production in North America and has attracted more than $24 billion in auto investment since 2010, according to the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research. Auto assembly is projected to more than double in size between 2010 and 2020 as carmakers invest around $13 billion to move 3.3 million units of capacity from Japan, Germany and South Korea. Carmakers are attracted by Mexico’s unique free trade position as well as lower labor costs. Below are some facts on the operations of the main global carmakers with plants in Mexico. Production figures are according to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. NISSAN (7201.T) 2015 production: 822,948 vehicles Nissan is the largest automaker operating in Mexico. It built its first overseas plant in Mexico 50 years ago and now produces mainly its entry-level Versa and Sentra sedans there. It exports roughly half of its output to the United States, where it also has production plants. Nissan and Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said this month he was watching the incoming Trump administration closely and would respond to whatever policies it adopts. GENERAL MOTORS (GM.N) 2015 production: 690,446 Trump has criticized GM for building cars in Mexico while laying off workers in the United States. GM said in 2015 it would invest $350 million to produce its next-generation Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in Mexico, as part of a $5 billion investment in its Mexican plants announced in 2014, creating 5,600 jobs. It has defended the arrangement as part of its strategy to serve global customers. In November, GM said it planned to lay off 2,000 employees at two U.S. auto plants in early 2017. When asked earlier this month about the company’s plans for investments in Mexico, GM CEO Mary Barra said she could not comment, but emphasized a willingness to cooperate with the incoming Trump administration. FIAT-CHRYSLER (FCHA.MI) 2015 production: 503,589 Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said this month that uncertainty over Trump’s trade and tax policies could lead automakers to delay investments in Mexico, and confirmed plans to create 2,000 jobs at his company’s U.S. factories with an investment of $1 billion. He said he had not made a decision on whether to move production of certain Ram heavy-duty pickups from Mexico to the Unites States. “If tomorrow morning President-elect Trump decides to impose a border tax on anything that comes up from Mexico, then we’ll have to adjust,” he said. VOLKSWAGEN (VOWG_p.DE) 2015 production: 457,517 Volkswagen has had a plant in Mexico for 50 years and is not shifting any jobs to Mexico from the United States. It has around 16,500 employees in Mexico, who built 345,000 engines as well as cars in 2015. In the United States, it has around 3,200 workers at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee which built 87,000 cars in 2015. It plans to invest $7 billion in the United States between 2015 and 2019. Its Audi luxury car brand opened a $1.3 billion factory in Mexico last year, its first in the country and eventually slated to be its only source globally for its Q5 SUVs. It plans initial production of 150,000 cars a year. FORD (F.N) 2015 production: 433,752 Ford scrapped a planned $1.6 billion Mexican car factory this month and added 700 jobs at a cost of $700 million in Michigan following criticism by Trump. It said it was a response to a decline in North American demand for small cars like those that would have been made at the plant, and CEO Mark Fields said Ford would have made the same decision even had Trump not been elected. Ford still plans to shift production from Michigan of its Focus compact car to an existing plant in Mexico. HONDA (7267.T) 2015 production: 203,657 Honda has two auto plants in Mexico, which together build around 100,000 motorcycles a year as well as cars. Vehicles made in Mexico comprise less than 10 percent of Honda’s total U.S. vehicle sales. Honda said in October it was shifting production of the new generation of its CR-V sport utility vehicle to the United States from Mexico. But its president said it had no immediate plans to curb production in Mexico, preferring to wait until after Trump’s inauguration. MAZDA (7261.T) 2015 production: 182,357 Mazda began producing cars in Mexico in 2014, with production of the Mazda3 sedan for the United States. Vehicles made in Mexico comprise around 30 percent of Mazda’s total U.S. vehicle sales. TOYOTA (7203.T) 2015 production: 104,810 Toyota plans to raise output from its plant in Baja California, Mexico to around 160,000 units by 2018. It is also building a plant in Guanajuato city which will have an annual capacity of 200,000 when it comes online in 2019. Trump took on Toyota earlier this month, warning the world’s largest automaker that it would face a “big border tax” if it exported Mexico-built cars to the U.S. market. Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in response: “We’re always considering ways to increase production in the United States, regardless of the political situation.” Vehicles made in Mexico comprise less than 10 percent of Toyota’s total U.S. vehicle sales. But it has said its Guanajuato plant under construction in Mexico will produce the entry-level Corolla sedan, a vehicle segment currently produced at its plants in Mississippi, Missouri, and Ontario, Canada. Toyota plans to invest $10 billion in the United States over the next five years, the same as in the previous five years. KIA (000270.KS), HYUNDAI (005380.KS) Kia is building a $1 billion plant in Mexico, with a capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year, to cater for demand from North and South America. Affiliate Hyundai also plans to build its Accent small car at the Kia factory this year, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters, shifting output out of high-cost South Korea. It will be the first Hyundai car to be made in Mexico. BMW (BMWG.DE) BMW is building a new plant in Mexico, where it plans to invest $2.2 billion by 2019 for annual production of 150,000 cars, with the output intended for the world market. It also has sizeable factories in the United States, where it builds higher-margin SUVs for export to Asia and Europe. DAIMLER (DAIGn.DE) Daimler has said it plans to begin assembling Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2018 from a $1 billion facility shared with Renault-Nissan (RENA.PA), (7201.T) in Aguascalientes in Mexico. | 0fake |
CIA says mistakenly 'shredded' Senate torture report then did not | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency thought for months that it had mistakenly shredded a massive U.S. Senate report on its use of waterboarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques” before suddenly discovering that its copy had not been lost after all, an agency official said on Tuesday. “It’s embarrassing and I have apologized,” Christopher Sharpley, the acting CIA Inspector General, told the Senate Intelligence Committee during his confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the position. Championed by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein when she chaired the Senate panel, the “torture report,” as it is known, is the result of a six-year investigation into so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. The report has been the subject of disputes between the agency and committee Democrats, as well as Democrats and Republicans, over issues including whether it should be declassified and whether investigators broke the law as they assembled it. Feinstein wants the 6,700-page document declassified. But Republican Senator Richard Burr, her successor as committee chairman, has resisted its release and asked for the return of copies distributed to government agencies under Democratic President Barack Obama. Sharpley said the CIA received the report in December 2014 on a computer disk, which was then uploaded into a classified system. Shortly thereafter, he said, the agency was told to delete it because of ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation. An email was sent saying the disk should not be destroyed, but Sharpley said he was told months later it could not be found and that an employee said it had been shredded. But he said the disk was discovered later, after the FOIA litigation concluded that the report was a “congressional” document not subject to FOIA requests. Sharpley said around that time, Burr asked him to return the disk and he did so. The committee’s Democrats appeared frustrated by Sharpley’s account. “The point of distributing it to the departments was in the hope that they would read it - not look at it as some poison document - and learn from it,” Feinstein said, noting that to her knowledge, not a single fact in the report has been refuted. Sharpley said he had not read the report, only an unclassified executive summary. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden announced after the hearing that he would not support Sharpley’s nomination because he had handed the report over to Burr, although there was no legal requirement to do so. Sharpley also would not commit to protecting any future reports, such as one related to the committee’s probe of potential links between Trump’s campaign and Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. “I think your highest duty here is to follow the law. The notion that the chairman asked for it and that’s all that governed your judgment isn’t acceptable to me,” Wyden said during the hearing. Obama ended the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” via executive order in January 2009. Led by Feinstein and Republican Senator John McCain, Congress has since passed legislation outlawing their use. Burr said he planned a vote on Sharpley’s nomination next week and looked forward to supporting him. | 0fake |
Watch Texas Biker Hit By Car – Was It On Purpose? [Video] | Do you believe the driver who hit the motorcycle guy did it on purpose?The man shown on video swerving his car into a passing motorcycle on a North Texas rural road has been arrested, police said.William Crum has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The crash, recorded on another motorcyclist s helmet camera, shows Crum s car veering into a passing motorcycle, throwing two people from the bike and injuring them. Motorcycle driver Eric Sanders said he and his girlfriend were riding on a county road about five miles north of Granbury when he crossed a double-yellow line to pass a driver who had slowed to 40 mph in the 65 mph zone. He said as he began to overtake the car, Crum intentionally swerved and clipped his bike. Read more: nbcdfw | 1real |
WOW! TUCKER CARLSON TAKES ON OBAMACARE ARCHITECT Who Thinks “Americans just don’t understand what it’s done for them” [Video] | 1real | |
England players controversially allowed to wear three lions | England players controversially allowed to wear three lions 02-11-16 FIFA has turned down a request to stop the England team disrespecting the England crest by wearing it. Many fans believe the current team’s wearing of the three lions shows a lack of respect to those who had gone before them and managed to pass a ball ten yards. England supporter Wayne Hayes said: “Is this what Terry Butcher ran around with his head pissing blood for? Is this why Gazza cried? Is this why Geoff Thomas shanked that shot against France? “To see the crest besmirched by Wayne Rooney wearing it while wandering around the pitch like he’s in IKEA is a disgrace.” England manager Gareth Southgate said: “The decision whether to wear the three lions should be a personal one, unless you fuck up a vital penalty you’re inexplicably taking in a major tournament, in which case you should be allowed nowhere near them.” Funds raised by the sale of England shirts with the crest help to fund various causes, such as firing managers and staging doomed bids to host the world cup.
Share: | 1real |
A Young Syrian Torchbearer Highlights Brazil’s Embrace of Refugees - The New York Times | SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The Olympic torch relay certainly endured its share of indignities this summer as it wended across this vast country on its way to Rio de Janeiro. Government employees protesting unpaid wages sought to disrupt its progress. Pranksters tried to extinguish the flame by tossing buckets of water. In one especially embarrassing episode, a soldier shot dead a jaguar — the Rio Games’ official mascot — after it escaped its handlers during a ceremony in the Amazonian city of Manaus. But the antipathy many Brazilians feel toward the Olympics briefly vanished when onlookers cheered Hanan Dacka, a Syrian refugee, as she jogged through nation’s capital, Brasília, with the Olympic flame in her hand. “Today I don’t feel like a refugee, but like any other Brazilian girl carrying the torch,” Hanan, who moved here last year from a refugee camp in Jordan, told reporters during her leg of the relay in May. At a time when Europe and the United States have angrily debated calls to take in greater numbers of refugees, the decision to make Hanan a torchbearer has highlighted Brazil’s role as a haven for Syrian asylum seekers. Brazil has admitted about 2, 300 Syrian refugees, according to the National Committee for Refugees, a government agency. And with nearly 6, 400 humanitarian visas issued to Syrians, the numbers are expected to rise significantly, officials say. Unlike in the United States, where the prospect of resettling Syrian refugees has become politically polarizing, in Brazil, also a nation of immigrants, the influx has largely been welcomed. Some three million Brazilians can trace their ancestry to Syrian migrants who began arriving at the start of the 20th century. It also helps that Brazil has been spared the Islamist extremist violence that has traumatized Europe and the United States. Hanan, a bubbly, girl with a smile, has become something of a darling of the Brazilian news media, a bright spot in an otherwise troubled national dash to prepare for the Games. Still, her first few months in Brazil were anything but easy. “To be honest, before I came here I didn’t know there was a country called Brazil,” Hanan said. “And even when I found out we were coming here, I assumed people would speak Arabic. ” She attended a local school, but was ostracized by classmates who could not understand why she did not speak Portuguese. After two months, she quit. But six months later, her Portuguese now nearly fluent, she returned to class. She said that after a teacher explained that Hanan was a refugee, the other students were smitten. “Now I have lots of Brazilian friends,” she said, her patter flecked with adolescent slang. She sings in a choir and dreams of becoming a doctor or a hairstylist — or, on this day, a newspaper reporter. In June, just before leaving office, Justice Minister Eugene Aragon said Brazil would be open to receiving up to 100, 000 Syrian refugees, in groups of 20, 000 per year, although the future of that plan is uncertain. And there has been little public opposition to a program that directs Brazilian embassies to issue humanitarian visas to Syrians. Soon after their arrival, refugees receive work permits and the national identification cards that give them access to Brazil’s health care system. But at a time of increasing unemployment and crushing budget deficits, Brazil’s magnanimity has its limits. Visa recipients must pay their own airfare to Brazil, and the government provides little support once they arrive. Although they are reluctant to complain, Hanan and her family have encountered a welter of hardships since arriving 18 months ago. Eleven relatives, including her parents and two siblings, share a apartment in Glicério, a fraying, neighborhood in downtown São Paulo. Many of the adults sleep on the flotilla of four sofas that clots the apartment’s small living room. Her father, Khaled Dacka, 40, who worked in a currency exchange office in Syria, spends his day tending a furnace at an auto parts factory. Her brother, Mustapha, works seven days a week peddling cellphone accessories. But her mother, Yusra, 35, said, “If we had stayed in Syria, all of us would be dead. ” The Rev. Paolo Parise, director of Migration Studies at Missão Paz, an organization that provides temporary housing for newly arrived refugees, said many Syrians encounter similar barriers when they make it to Brazil. Though highly educated, they often struggle to find jobs that match their skills. It is also hard for them to find the financial guarantor and three months’ rent that many landlords require before signing a lease, he said. “Once they leave the shelter, refugees cannot count on any federal program to help them find a place to live,” he said. Many end up sharing dingy, cramped apartments with other refugees, and they rely on nonprofit organizations to help guide them through a world that bears little resemblance to the one they left behind. Even so, Luiz Fernando Godinho, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said, “All the refugees I have talked to feel extremely grateful for having left the dismal situation where they lived, and having established themselves in a peaceful country where interreligious coexistence is possible. ” At the start of Syria’s civil war, the Dacka family lived in Idlib, a northeastern city that was the scene of fierce fighting between rebels and forces. Early on, Mr. Dacka helped friends escape the growing violence. At one point, he was arrested and tortured by security forces, who accused him of human trafficking. A judge released him after nearly a year in custody. He decided to flee with his family after learning that both the authorities and militants wanted him dead. Three months after leaving, they found out that a Syrian government bombing campaign had leveled their former neighborhood, killing dozens of residents. Over its more than five years, the conflict claimed two of Hanan’s uncles and a grandfather. The family set out by car, and after passing 16 military checkpoints, crossed the border into Jordan. For two and a half years, their home was a shack in Zaatari, a squalid camp for refugees. Adults were not allowed to work, and Hanan would trudge 40 minutes to a school that provided little education. “When the teacher wasn’t hitting us, she sat in the front of the classroom putting on her makeup,” Hanan said. The family eventually applied for Brazilian visas in the Jordanian capital, Amman, following Mr. Dacka’s younger brother who had come here earlier. “When I heard we were moving to Brazil I was super excited, but mostly because it would be my first time in an airplane,” Hanan said. Like Hanan, her mother has come to love Brazil. Although many are unfamiliar with Islam or Syria, curious sometimes stop her in the street to ask about her hijab. “Here you can go to a mosque or a church and no one cares, and no one looks funny at you,” she said. “In Brazil, you can do anything you want. ” Hanan was chosen to be a torchbearer after the United Nations refugee agency forwarded her name to the Olympic organizing committee. “I hope that the world can know that we refugees are good people,” she said. But her sunny disposition turned dark when she was asked what she missed about her former home. “I can’t remember anything good about Syria,” she said, looking away. Then she pulled a box from behind a tattered sofa, unwrapped the torch and grinned broadly as she waved it around while recalling her sudden turn at stardom. “I’m never going back to Syria,” she announced. “I can see myself growing up here and becoming Brazilian. ” | 0fake |
GUESS WHO PAID FOR FAMILY OF GOV DEPENDENT MUSLIM TERRORISTS’ Security And Travel Expenses To U.S. | It s worth noting that the victims of this horrible terrorist bombing are responsible for their own court parking fees, food and any potential travel and lodging expenses they incur as a result of this trial. Muslim terrorists first it s the Obama way The family of the convicted marathon bomber is in America, on your tax dollars, and survivors are outraged after learning the news.As of Thursday, family members of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been staying at the Hampton Inn in Revere under very tight security, just one of the things tax dollars are paying for. FOX25 s Sharman Sacchetti investigated how much this trip is costing you.Sources say these family members are being called as witnesses and not only that, at least three agencies are working around the clock to protect and transport them. This is all part of the defense team s strategy to save Tsarnaev. While it s unclear when their flight started, we know the last part of it came through Amsterdam and landed at Logan Airport and cost nearly $2,500 per person.The cost to put them up at the Hampton Inn at the government rate: almost $200 per night, per person. And a source says at least three agencies, the FBI, US Marshal s and Revere Police are involved in constant protection. I think you re probably talking about $100,000 plus in that neighborhood in terms of security and out of pocket costs associated with travel, former US attorney Michael Sullivan said.And that s just for this trip.Lawyer fees or even what all witnesses during the trial cost is still unclear. One defense witness, Mark Spencer of Arsenal Consulting, charged $375 per hour and billing taxpayers for $150,000.Governor Charlie Baker said, It s a federal trial, it s a federal case, the feds ultimately need to make the decisions about this. Baker was non-committal about how resources are being used, even state ones.Sullivan told Sacchetti that while he understands taxpayer outrage, the whole point is to make sure it s done right. The court wants to make sure that at the end of the day, the defendant gets a fair trial and would not want to add any potential issues on appeal in the penalty phase, prosecutors finished making their case yesterday, he said.JUDGE JEANINE HAS A POWERFUL MESSAGE for Jihadi Mom:Marathon survivor Marc Fucarile reached out to us Friday night, reacting to this news, saying that he s outraged that Tsarnaev s family s expenses are being paid for when myself and some of the other survivors and our families have to pay for our own parking at court, lunch, and we were told that if the trial was moved out of state, we d have to pay for our own travel and lodging, there. The statement went on to say: Why should our country pay for them when that family committed a violent act against our country? Not to mention, all of the free government services this family previously enjoyed on the backs of the taxpayers including government assistance and a free ride to UMass Dartmouth. In contrast, I was denied housing assistance I sought after the bombings, even though I needed a handicapped accessible apartment, and my wife lost her job as a result of the events. He ended by saying he feels badly for the taxpayers that have to pay for this after they were so generous to all the survivors and the One Fund. The defense team is up next. And the penalty phase picks up again Monday.Via: MyFOXBoston | 1real |
US Hostage Survives Terrorist Ordeal in Syria to Deliver a Stunning Message to US-UK ‘Regime Change’ Crowd | 21st Century Wire says A small miracle a rare moment of truth on the mainstream media. Buried below all of the salacious and sensational headlines and faux Russian intrigue in Washington over the last week, FOX News host Tucker Carlson delivered a stunning short interview with Theo Padnos, an American journalist who was held captive for two years (2012 2014) by US-UK and GCC-backed terrorists from Al Nusra Front aka Al-Qaeda in Syria.During the last 6 years under president Barack Obama, failing US officials like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have been whitewashing the true nature of the co-called moderate rebels in Syria repeatedly attempting to characterize them as righteous freedom fighters striving for an embryonic democracy in Syria. Padnos obliterates the institutional US government and media deception on this subject, and sets the record straight about the wanton savagery of so-called rebels , many of whom are not even from Syria: They re murdering people in the streets, they re employing children as torturers. They are destroying the society over there. Some of them are interested in money, some of them are interested in power, some of them love their guns. They re having a wonderful time during the Jihad ( ) They have the keys to these cool pick-up trucks, they have free food They re constructing a real prison archipelago over there full of prisoners, and full of anyone they really don t like. Survivor: Theo Padnos An incredible axis of power to many young men who have had none for most of their lives it s a dangerous scenario that s unfolding over there in parts of the country that the government doesn t control. The host then asked Padnos what he thought of the Assad government in Syria. The answer was not something you will ever hear from any of the experts on CNN or NBC who have been all-out for regime change since hostilities broke out in 2011: The Assad regime? Right now, there is approx 16 million people who are living in safety. The schools function, the universities function, hospitals function, there s traffic police in the streets. Listen, it s not Switzerland it s not a perfect society I think they themselves recognize this. Anybody who wants peace in Syria will acknowledge and respect the peace that they have at the moment and not degrade and damage it somehow which the Obama Administration has done by sending missiles and all kinds of weaponry to the rebels which I thought was disgraceful because it destroyed such peace, as there was. There remains a situation in which there are rebel enclaves and these rebel enclaves are not peaceful, of course not. They are being destroyed. Look, it s a civil war. The rebel enclaves just a minority of the population lives there, the majority of Syrians are living a relative peace under the Assad regime. Yes, that is preferable to the bombings and the crucifixions in the streets that we are seeing, and the murdering of citizens, the torturing and the imprisoning of random which is what they [the rebel terrorists] are doing. Watch Tucker Carlson stunning segment with Theo Padnos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dksPBRg5tGQ . READ MORE WIKILEAKS AT: 21st Century Wire WIKILEAKS FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Showing Confidence, Hillary Clinton Pushes Into Republican Strongholds - The New York Times | Hillary Clinton’s campaign is planning its most ambitious push yet into traditionally states, a new offensive aimed at extending her growing advantage over Donald J. Trump while bolstering candidates in what party leaders increasingly suggest could be a sweeping victory for Democrats at every level. Signaling extraordinary confidence in Mrs. Clinton’s electoral position and a new determination to deliver a punishing message to Mr. Trump and Republicans about his racially tinged campaign, her aides said Monday that she would aggressively compete in Arizona, a state with a growing Hispanic population that has been ground zero for the country’s heated debate over immigration. Mrs. Clinton is “dramatically expanding” her efforts in Arizona, her campaign manager, Robby Mook, told reporters on Monday. She is pouring more than $2 million into advertising and dispatching perhaps her most potent surrogate, Michelle Obama, for a rally in Phoenix on Thursday. In Indiana and Missouri, Mr. Mook said, the campaign will spend a total of $1 million to drive voter turnout, despite what he acknowledged was an “uphill battle” for Mrs. Clinton in two states that could determine control of the Senate. Mrs. Clinton is also directing more money to a series of presidential battleground states with competitive House races. The maneuvering speaks to the unexpected tension facing Mrs. Clinton as she hurtles toward what aides increasingly believe will be a decisive victory — a pleasant problem, for certain, but one that has nonetheless scrambled the campaign’s strategy weeks before Election Day: Should Mrs. Clinton maximize her own margin, aiming to flip as many red states as possible to run up an electoral landslide, or prioritize the party’s congressional fortunes, redirecting funds and energy down the ballot? Thanks to an infusion of contributions in recent weeks, and what aides describe as a war chest they had maintained in case the opportunity arose, Mrs. Clinton is in effect trying to do both. The assault illustrates her priorities three weeks before Election Day. She hopes to hand Mr. Trump a loss so humiliating that it jars him and Republicans, removing any doubt about the wisdom of running on a platform. But she also is demonstrating to the congressional Democrats with whom she may soon be working that she is also is dedicated to expanding their ranks. “I think it’s an act of good will, because her numbers look good and some of our races are tighter,” said Representative Dina Titus of Nevada, one of the states receiving cash. “But it’s also an important move, because she’s going to need friends to get her appointments approved, to have our help breaking through the obstruction on the other side to get legislation through. ” After nearly eight years in which Democrats on Capitol Hill grumbled about a lack of such support from President Obama, Mrs. Clinton has taken care to stay in frequent contact with Senator Chuck Schumer, her former New York colleague, about races. Mr. Schumer, poised to be the incoming Senate Democratic leader, and the current leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, met with Mrs. Clinton’s top campaign aides in Washington last month and pressed them to offer financial support for the Senate races, according to a Democratic official briefed on the meeting. And Mr. Schumer has not been shy since about his hope that if Mrs. Clinton clearly appeared on her way to winning the race, she would redirect some money to congressional races. “This is one of many things that the Clinton campaign is doing to help us win a majority in the Senate,” Mr. Schumer said through a spokesman. While party strategists are glad to have the money that Mrs. Clinton is directing from the Democratic National Committee to efforts in Indiana and Missouri, they have little appetite for Mrs. Clinton to visit those states, where she is likely to lose, because that would make it easier for Republicans to tie Democratic Senate candidates to her. Mrs. Clinton is also pouring money into two congressional districts, in Nebraska and Maine, that both apportion their own presidential electoral vote and have competitive House races. And she is sending an additional $6 million to seven presidential battleground states with hotly contested Senate and House campaigns. Democrats are also attempting to unseat Senator John McCain of Arizona from the seat he was first elected to in 1986, but Mrs. Clinton’s late decision to swoop into that state is not related to his race, which few Democratic leaders believe they can win. Her incursion there is about her own campaign — and the Democrats’ desire to focus attention on the damage Mr. Trump has done to Republicans with Hispanics. In particular, Democrats hope to make an example of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an ardent Trump supporter, by defeating the Phoenix lawman, whose incendiary comments about Hispanics and aggressive tactics with immigrants have garnered attention far beyond his jurisdiction in Maricopa County. “If Democrats were going to win in Arizona in 2016, you’d need a Republican who turns off Republican women, who really energizes Latinos, and you’d need other races on the ground that can really drive engagement — and we have all that,” said Andrei Cherny, a former state Democratic chairman. Alexis Tameron, the current state Democratic chairwoman, said Republican stumbles had allowed local Democrats to “jump our own timeline” for when officials expected to make the state competitive on the presidential level. “I give credit where credit is due,” Ms. Tameron said. “And I have been thanking a lot of people, including Donald Trump. ” Mr. Trump’s campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment on Mrs. Clinton’s plans. Mrs. Clinton’s team had weighed for weeks how seriously to look beyond core battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina, another state that Republicans carried in 2012. Eager to torment Mr. Trump, and the Republicans straining to navigate his erratic bid, her team has also planned at least faint, plays in other states with little history of Democratic success. In Texas, the campaign has prepared an ad highlighting Mrs. Clinton’s endorsement from The Dallas Morning News. And Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, has begun sitting for local media interviews in Utah, where Mr. Trump has struggled to break away from Mrs. Clinton and an independent candidate, Evan McMullin, in recent polls. (On a conference call with reporters on Monday, Mr. Mook mentioned Mr. McMullin by name.) The most brazen push, though, is in Arizona, where the campaign has also scheduled appearances on Mrs. Clinton’s behalf from her daughter, Chelsea, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Mr. Mook added that Mrs. Clinton may appear there herself in short order. “We certainly hope to get her there,” he said. Mrs. Clinton’s aides were intrigued by both Arizona and Georgia, and they surveyed voters in each state. Arizona appeared more promising, officials said, because of its combination of Mormons, Hispanics and Native Americans and because the officials found white voters in Georgia to be more resistant to Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Clinton has more conspicuously emphasized congressional and state races during campaign appearances, taking particular care to mention fellow Democrats on the ballot. Some Republicans seem inclined to capitalize on the attention. A email on Monday from Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican in a competitive race in Florida, went out under the subject line “Hillary wants me gone. ” “Hillary Clinton’s campaign has SO much money on its hands,” the message read, “that they are now focusing on races instead of her own campaign. ” | 0fake |
Clinton Campaign Demands Intelligence on Possible Russian Efforts to Elect Trump - The New York Times | ■ Donald J. Trump is postponing until January his announcement about how he will handle his private business interests. ■ The Clinton campaign breaks its silence and demands declassification of the intelligence on Russian election meddling. ■ Mr. Trump takes to Twitter to deny Russian involvement in his victory. ■ Senator John McCain says there is no doubt about Russian hacking, which he called “warfare. ” ■ Carly Fiorina for director of national intelligence? She certainly took the ’s line on China. For those waiting to see Mr. Trump hold a news conference to discuss the ethical concerns about conflicts with his business, you’ll have to wait a little longer. Transition officials said on Monday evening that they were postponing a news conference scheduled for Thursday at which Mr. Trump had said he would reveal his plans to avoid conflicts of interest with his sprawling real estate business. The instead will make that announcement in January — likely before his inauguration and after an extended vacation at his resort in Florida — officials said, confirming a report in Bloomberg News. Officials said the focus on building a cabinet had consumed more of Mr. Trump’s time than expected. And they said that it was taking time to address how to address the large, iconic real estate holdings that are part of the global Trump business. As the swirl of allegations around Russia’s efforts to elect Mr. Trump roils Washington, one voice has been absent: Hillary Clinton’s. John D. Podesta, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, broke the silence on her behalf, demanding the declassification of all information about Russia’s meddling as well as an explanation from the Obama administration of what it knew and when it knew it. “We now know that the C. I. A. has determined Russia’s interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump,” Mr. Podesta wrote in a statement. “This should distress every American. Never before in the history of our republic have we seen such an effort to undermine the bedrock of our democracy. ” “This is not a partisan issue, and we are glad to see bipartisan support in the Congress for an investigation into Russia’s role,” he continued. “We believe that the administration owes it to the American people to explain what it knows regarding the extent and manner of Russia’s interference and this be done as soon as possible. To that end, we also support the request from members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to declassify information around Russia’s roles in the election and to make this data available to the public. ” Thrown on the defensive, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that the White House did not announce a major probe of Russia’s interference before the election partly because many voters would have seen such an announcement as political meddling. He said Russia did not hack the electoral process or the counting of votes. “But what is also clear is that the results of the hack and leak effort carried out on the orders of Russia were extensively discussed prior to the election,” Mr. Earnest said. With evidence mounting that Russian intelligence promoted his election, the continued his denial, via Twitter. That second post is a head scratcher. The United States government formally accused Russia of trying to sow discord in the democratic process through its hacking in early October. It stopped short of saying the goal was to elect Mr. Trump. And forensic analysis does allow experts to trace the source of a hack. Oh, and fresh off his shot at Boeing over the cost of an Air Force One upgrade, Mr. Trump took a jab at another expensive military program, the stealth fighter. On that one, he will have bipartisan support — just not in congressional districts where the fighter is built. Mr. McCain said on Monday that there was “no doubt about the hacking” by Russian intelligence services into Democratic campaign accounts, which he called “another form of warfare. ” Appearing on “CBS This Morning” with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the next minority leader, Mr. McCain said the investigation of Russian meddling in the election would include his committee as well as the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees. He said a Senate investigation would be necessary despite President Obama having already ordered up an inquiry, as that one would not be completed before the end of the Obama administration. The implication was that the new Trump administration would not follow through. “We don’t want to point a finger, and I don’t want this to turn into the Benghazi investigation,” Mr. Schumer added, referring to the House investigation into the attacks on an American compound in Libya, which he said had been partisan. “This is serious stuff. ” One week before the Electoral College meets to ratify Mr. Trump’s election victory, 10 electors — including a Texas Republican who has turned on Mr. Trump, and Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Representative Nancy Pelosi — have demanded their own intelligence briefing on Russian efforts to elect Mr. Trump. Their request: Ms. Fiorina, the former chief executive, emerged from a meeting with the at Trump Tower on Monday to talk tough, not on Russia but on China, which she called “our most important adversary and a rising adversary. ” Ms. Fiorina was called in to discuss the job of director of national intelligence, a senior transition official said. And Ms. Fiorina, once a bitter foe of Mr. Trump’s, was effusive. “We talked about hacking, whether it’s Chinese hacking or purported Russian hacking,” she said. “We talked about the opportunity that the has to literally reset things, to reset the trajectory of this economy, to reset the role of government, to reset America’s role in the world and how we’re perceived in the world. And I think it’s why he’s getting such fantastic people in his administration. ” Mr. Trump and Ms. Fiorina clashed bitterly when she ran against him for the Republican nomination. Mr. Trump denigrated her appearance last year in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying, “Look at that face!” Ms. Fiorina briefly agreed to be Senator Ted Cruz’s running mate before he, too, was vanquished by the eventual nominee. All appears to be forgiven. “First I want to say, he has really cool stuff in his office,” she said. “All of these athletes have given him all this incredible memorabilia. I was particular taken by Shaq O’Neal’s shoe, which is huge. I guess it takes a champion to know a champion. ” Three days ago, an image calling for the extermination of Muslims was posted on former Representative Allen West’s Facebook page. The outrage prompted an aide to Mr. West, a former Army lieutenant colonel, to claim credit and take the image down. The outrage wasn’t too great to deny Mr. West another audience with the on Monday at Trump Tower. Nor was it enough to prompt a question from the reporters in the Trump Tower lobby, though they did ask Mr. West about Russian efforts to elect Mr. Trump president. Reporters: Should there be a bipartisan investigation of Russia hacking? Mr. West: “I think there are more important things. We’re about to see a collapse in Syria, Iraq is falling apart. the Iran nuclear deal is horrific. China and Russia are expanding. I think that’s where we need to focus your intelligence efforts. ” The Trump transition team officially named Gary D. Cohn, the longtime president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, to be the director of the White House National Economic Council. After a campaign full of attacks on Wall Street — and Goldman Sachs in particular — Mr. Trump will have Goldman’s No. 2 in the West Wing and a former Goldman partner, Steven Mnuchin, next door at Treasury, if he is confirmed. But the transition team tried to find something inspirational in the latest multimillionaire: That is one of the rare moments where Shaker Heights, an affluent suburb of Cleveland, is mined for inspirational struggle. Mr. Trump is looking at appointing a rising Republican star from South Dakota, Representative Kristi Noem, as his secretary of agriculture, a senior official working on the transition said Monday. The transition team is vetting Ms. Noem now, and she is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week. Ms. Noem, 45, would be one of the younger members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet — a group that so far consists mostly of older men. She has been planning to leave Congress at the end of her next term in 2018 to run for governor of South Dakota. Another name floated for the agriculture job, Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, is being considered for a variety of jobs, including energy secretary. Because she is a Democrat — and would likely be replaced in the Senate by a Republican — the transition official said she could essentially have “whatever job she wants. ” Speaking of roles, the former Texas governor, Rick Perry, who wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy but could not remember its name on live television, has emerged as a leading candidate for energy secretary. Although Texas is rich in energy and Mr. Perry is big on extracting it, he cannot afford too many “oops moments” if he is named to that post. The Energy Department’s primary role is to design nuclear weapons and ensure the safety and reliability of the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal — through a constellation of scientific laboratories. The two men who served as President Obama’s energy secretaries were scientists, one with a Nobel Prize, the other from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Trump is also looking at two other possibilities for energy secretary. He likes Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — both Democrats — for the job. Both are under tremendous pressure from fellow Democrats not to accept a cabinet job. | 0fake |
A Positive Outlook May Be Good for Your Health - The New York Times | “Look on the sunny side of life. ” “Turn your face toward the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you. ” “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. ” “See the glass as not . ” Researchers are finding that thoughts like these, the hallmarks of people sometimes called “cockeyed optimists,” can do far more than raise one’s spirits. They may actually improve health and extend life. There is no longer any doubt that what happens in the brain influences what happens in the body. When facing a health crisis, actively cultivating positive emotions can boost the immune system and counter depression. Studies have shown an indisputable link between having a positive outlook and health benefits like lower blood pressure, less heart disease, better weight control and healthier blood sugar levels. Even when faced with an incurable illness, positive feelings and thoughts can greatly improve one’s quality of life. Dr. Wendy Schlessel Harpham, a author of several books for people facing cancer, including “Happiness in a Storm,” was a practicing internist when she learned she had ’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, 27 years ago. During the next 15 years of treatments for eight relapses of her cancer, she set the stage for happiness and hope, she says, by such measures as surrounding herself with people who lift her spirits, keeping a daily gratitude journal, doing something good for someone else, and watching funny, uplifting movies. Her cancer has been in remission now for 12 years. “Fostering positive emotions helped make my life the best it could be,” Dr. Harpham said. “They made the tough times easier, even though they didn’t make any difference in my cancer cells. ” While Dr. Harpham may have a natural disposition to see the hopeful side of life even when the outlook is bleak, new research is demonstrating that people can learn skills that help them experience more positive emotions when faced with the severe stress of a illness. Judith T. Moskowitz, a professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, developed a set of eight skills to help foster positive emotions. In earlier research at the University of California, San Francisco, she and colleagues found that people with new diagnoses of H. I. V. infection who practiced these skills carried a lower load of the virus, were more likely to take their medication correctly, and were less likely to need antidepressants to help them cope with their illness. The researchers studied 159 people who had recently learned they had H. I. V. and randomly assigned them to either a positive emotions training course or five sessions of general support. Fifteen months past their H. I. V. diagnosis, those trained in the eight skills maintained higher levels of positive feelings and fewer negative thoughts related to their infection. An important goal of the training is to help people feel happy, calm and satisfied in the midst of a health crisis. Improvements in their health and longevity are a bonus. Each participant is encouraged to learn at least three of the eight skills and practice one or more each day. The eight skills are: ■ Recognize a positive event each day. ■ Savor that event and log it in a journal or tell someone about it. ■ Start a daily gratitude journal. ■ List a personal strength and note how you used it. ■ Set an attainable goal and note your progress. ■ Report a relatively minor stress and list ways to reappraise the event positively. ■ Recognize and practice small acts of kindness daily. ■ Practice mindfulness, focusing on the here and now rather than the past or future. Dr. Moskowitz said she was inspired by observations that people with AIDS, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses lived longer if they demonstrated positive emotions. She explained, “The next step was to see if teaching people skills that foster positive emotions can have an impact on how well they cope with stress and their physical health down the line. ” She listed as the goals improving patients’ quality of life, enhancing adherence to medication, fostering healthy behaviors, and building personal resources that result in increased social support and broader attention to the good things in life. Gregg De Meza, a architect in San Francisco who learned he was infected with H. I. V. four years ago, told me that learning “positivity” skills turned his life around. He said he felt “stupid and careless” about becoming infected and had initially kept his diagnosis a secret. “When I entered the study, I felt like my entire world was completely unraveling,” he said. “The training reminded me to rely on my social network, and I decided to be honest with my friends. I realized that to show your real strength is to show your weakness. No pun intended, it made me more positive, more compassionate, and I’m now healthier than I’ve ever been. ” In another study among 49 patients with Type 2 diabetes, an online version of the positive emotions skills training course was effective in enhancing positivity and reducing negative emotions and feelings of stress. Prior studies showed that, for people with diabetes, positive feelings were associated with better control of blood sugar, an increase in physical activity and healthy eating, less use of tobacco and a lower risk of dying. In a pilot study of 39 women with advanced breast cancer, Dr. Moskowitz said an online version of the skills training decreased depression among them. The same was true with caregivers of dementia patients. “None of this is rocket science,” Dr. Moskowitz said. “I’m just putting these skills together and testing them in a scientific fashion. ” In a related study of more than 4, 000 people 50 and older published last year in the Journal of Gerontology, Becca Levy and Avni Bavishi at the Yale School of Public Health demonstrated that having a positive view of aging can have a beneficial influence on health outcomes and longevity. Dr. Levy said two possible mechanisms account for the findings. Psychologically, a positive view can enhance belief in one’s abilities, decrease perceived stress and foster healthful behaviors. Physiologically, people with positive views of aging had lower levels of protein, a marker of inflammation associated with heart disease and other illnesses, even after accounting for possible influences like age, health status, sex, race and education than those with a negative outlook. They also lived significantly longer. | 0fake |
MH370: If debris is part of missing plane, what's next? | (CNN) If confirmed to be from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, could a small portion of plane wing discovered on an Indian Ocean island be the clue investigators need to unlock one of aviation's biggest mysteries?
On the surface, the discovery on a Reunion Island beach is just what investigators have been waiting for -- the first physical piece of evidence since the flight vanished en route to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people aboard.
According to a source close to the investigation, Boeing investigators are confident the debris comes from a 777 aircraft -- although no one is yet saying the part came from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
"It's only a very small part of the aircraft, but it could be a very important piece of evidence," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said Friday
Because Reunion Island is a French territory, the debris has been flown to France, where aviation safety bureau the BEA has taken responsibility for its testing and analysis.
The flaperon arrived in Toulouse over the weekend, but the fact that so many different countries and groups are involved in the search for the missing flight has complicated and delayed the situation somewhat.
Aviation experts are not expected to begin examining the part until Wednesday, and it is unclear how long their analysis will take.
Teams from each of the nations taking part in the search are expected to attend. Malaysia Airlines is sending investigators to France and a second team to Reunion, an airline official said.
Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said those involved would be careful to make sure all tests were carried out scientifically, and completely by the book.
She said that while "everyone knows that it most likely is from MH370," investigators do not want to jump to conclusions.
"They're going to do a lot of analysis on the part, everything from X-rays to sonograms," Schiavo said. "Then when they finally cut it open (looking for serial numbers and part numbers), it has to be filmed, all the parties to the investigation -- there are seven nations in this investigation -- they all need to be present."
David Gallo, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, agreed: "That's the way the BEA -- the French version of the NTSB -- works; they will be very careful about what they say and don't say.
"It's going to be scientific. It's a piece of evidence in a criminal investigation at this point, so they're going to take it apart bit by bit."
Planes are stamped with serial numbers to allow parts to be identified and matched to a specific model and aircraft.
A source close to the investigation said Boeing investigators feel confident the piece comes from a 777, based on photos that have been analyzed, and a stenciled number that corresponds to a 777 component.
Another source told CNN's Rene Marsh that Boeing engineers have seen a part number in photos. A parts supplier confirmed 10-60754-1133 is a part number on a seal associated with 777s.
Images of the debris also appear to match schematic drawings for the right-wing flaperon from a Boeing 777. A flaperon helps the pilot control the aircraft.
"If the part numbers that are stamped on the pieces of the plane still survive, it literally could be a phone call to Boeing or the parts indices to see if it belongs to a 777. And if it belongs to a 777, it is MH370," said Schiavo.
Of the five accidents involving Boeing 777s, MH370 is the only one in which debris hasn't been recovered, Schiavo said.
If the identifying numbers are missing, more tests will need to be conducted on the part to determine its origin.
A French laboratory that the BEA could use has the capacity to "identify very quickly" which plane the debris belongs to, and what happened to it, a source close to the French investigation said.
Australian investigators, heavily involved for some time in the search, said they are looking at the barnacles attached to the discovered part that could allow marine biologists to tell how long it has been floating.
Truss said that he understood "the photographs that are available are of such detail that it may be possible to make an identification without further physical examination."
What does the condition of the debris indicate?
Through the French laboratory near Toulouse, "engineers would be able to identify quickly whether the plane exploded in the air or whether it broke when hitting the water," the source close to the French investigation said.
Images of the component appear to show a small amount of damage to the front of the flaperon and a ragged horizontal tear across the back.
One group of independent observers has said that the damage to the flaperon should give authorities a good indication that the piece came off while the plane was still in the air.
The rear damage could have been caused if the airliner had its flaperon down as it went into the ocean, some members of the group, led by American Mobile Satellite Corp. co-founder Mike Exner, wrote in a preliminary assessment.
But the lack of damage to the front makes it more likely the plane was in a high-speed, steep, spiral descent and the part fluttered until it broke off, the group said.
If the flaperon were still on the wing when the plane hit water, the front would have been damaged by hitting the part of the wing to which it was attached, the group says.
However, Tom Ballantyne of Orient Aviation magazine said the condition of debris could indicate if the plane met a catastrophic end. Charring, for example, could indicate an explosion, he said.
Sciavo said investigators would be on the look out for tell-tale signs of what caused the crash: "It's possible to find positive evidence of a criminal act, or, of course they could find the absence of that.
"If they find characteristic pitting in the wing structure, in the metal or the composite, that indicates there was some sort of explosive device, or if they find residue, which is not likely (after) this long in he ocean," she said.
"But they'll probably not be able to tell why the plane went down -- only that it did, and the manner in which it did."
To learn more, the flight data recorders -- or so-called black boxes -- will be crucial.
If it is from MH370, will the main search area move?
Truss told a press conference Friday that the discovery of the debris in Reunion was "consistent with some of the modeling we've done."
"We remain confident that we're searching in the right place," he said.
He said authorities would "continue to concentrate our efforts on seeking to locate the aircraft in the identified area."
The current search is focused deep in the ocean off Western Australia, along an arc considered by investigators to be the most likely area the plane went down if it turned back toward Malaysia, as indicated by data, and stayed in the air before running out of fuel.
The southern end of the search area was the main focus, Truss said, but during the winter months weather conditions at that latitude were poor.
Once that search was completed, he said, searchers would focus efforts on a second identified area of interest.
If it's part of the plane, is it more likely the main section will be found?
Truss said that if the flaperon is proven to be from MH370, its discovery did not "provide a great deal of help in specifically identifying where the aircraft is."
If confirmed, however, the find is likely to give investigators further belief that other pieces of the plane have been carried by currents to the same region.
Will debris lead to a rethinking of past theories?
Thomas said, if anything, the location of the potential debris confirms modeling from the University of Western Australia that showed material from the plane could wash up around Reunion between 12 to 24 months after the plane's disappearance.
Despite the modeling, no one had been searching in that area, he said, because of the vast nature of the Indian Ocean and the multitude of factors that meant finding anything would be matter of luck and time.
"It was a matter of waiting for something to wash up," he said.
However, Truss said, a positive identification with MH370 would rule out the some of the more left-field theories that the aircraft was "secretly parked in some hidden place" on land. | 0fake |
TRUTH! Sara Carter is a Gem of a Reporter: “No Evidence of Trump or Trump Team Collusion and Russia or Russia Hacking” [Video] | 1real | |
Mark Zuckerberg Supports Vaccinations, And Anti-Vaxxers Are Super Pissed About It (IMAGE) | Mark Zuckerberg has a daughter, and unlike parents involved in the anti-vaxxer movement, he s a responsible parent who cares about the health of his kid and those around her.The Facebook founder posted a photo of himself holding his daughter Max in a doctor s office waiting for vaccinations. Doctor s visit time for vaccines! Zuckerberg wrote.// < ![CDATA[ (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 = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>Doctor s visit time for vaccines!Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, January 8, 2016Because of this responsible act, Zuckerberg is protecting his daughter from diseases such as measles and rubella, the former of which has come roaring back as a threat because anti-vaxxers refuse to vaccinate their damn kids.But while most people praised Zuckerberg, anti-vaxxers were quick to attack him and demonize the vaccines and science that has saved hundreds of millions of people around the world since the MMR vaccine became available in 1971.According to Raw Story, a woman named Amy Smith claimed in a comment that one of her family members allegedly had a seizure because of vaccines. We all care about our kids. Growing up, my mom s best friend had a perfectly healthy daughter. She received MMR and had a grand mal seizure and suffered brain damage. Her dr diagnosed her with vaccine injury. She was left unable to talk or walk for the rest of her life. So that was MY first personal experience with vaccines. Bottom line A pharmaceutical that carries at least a risk of harm to some, should never be mandated. Because, in the end, no one seems to care about the sacrifices made for the common good. Another woman named Colleen Kennedy wrote furiously that herd immunity is a myth and proceeded to try and scare people by listing the ingredients of the vaccine as if this has not been public knowledge for years.Others attacked the pharmaceutical industry for allegedly created epidemics so that they can sell more vaccines. You know, crazy ravings from paranoid people.As we all know, measles became a national story once again as the virus became an epidemic in this country, especially in California where many parents send their unvaccinated kids to school. Measles had been largely wiped out in this country by 1997, but because of anti-vaxxers, measles made a comeback and killed an American for the first time in 12 years.The MMR vaccine is one of the most successful preventive measures a parent can take to keep their kids healthy. Not only is measles the eighth leading cause of death worldwide, it s deadlier than the Ebola virus that sent Americans over the edge with fear in 2014. Even Fox News own medical expert strongly endorsed vaccines and ripped anti-vaxxers a new one when asked about the new epidemic.Mark Zuckerberg is being a responsible parent and leading by example that he doesn t fear vaccines and trusts science. Other parents would be wise to follow suit for the sake of their own children.Featured Image: Raw Story | 1real |
Trump to release JFK files, subject to 'further information' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that, subject to receipt of further information, he planned to allow the opening of long-secret files on the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy due for release next week. Politico magazine earlier quoted Trump administration and other U.S. government officials as saying the president would almost certainly block the release of information from some of the thousands of classified files, which the U.S. National Archives is scheduled to make public by an Oct. 26 deadline. “Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened,” Trump said in a tweet. “The president believes that these documents should be made available in the interests of full transparency unless agencies provide a compelling and clear national security or law enforcement justification otherwise,” a White House official said. The Nov. 22 1963 assassination cut short “Camelot,” as the 1,000 days of the Kennedy presidency became known. Kennedy was 46 and remains one of the most admired U.S. presidents. Thousands of books, articles, TV shows, movies and documentaries have been produced about the assassination and surveys have shown a majority of Americans still distrust official evidence pointing to Lee Harvey Oswald as the sole killer. Despite serious questions about the official inquest, and theories purporting that organized crime, Cuba or a cabal of U.S. security agents was involved, conspiracy theorists have yet to produce conclusive proof Oswald acted in consort with anyone. Over the years, the National Archives has released most documents related to the case, but a final batch, amounting to tens of thousands of pages, remains and only Trump has the authority to decide whether some should continue to be withheld or released in redacted form. The Washington Post and other media have quoted officials as saying that government agencies have lobbied Trump to withhold some of the documents, arguing that they could expose relatively recent intelligence and law enforcement operations. Philip Shenon, the author of the Politico article and of a book on the assassination, said he did not think the last batch of papers contained any major bombshells, but may shed light on the activities of Oswald while he was traveling in Mexico City in late September 1963, and courting Cuban and Soviet spies.”From the record we already have, we know he met there with Soviet spies and Cuban spies and other people who might have wanted to see Kennedy dead,” Shenon said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see what else the government knew about the threat Oswald might pose – how much more they learned about his trip in Mexico City and whether or not they bungled evidence to suggest he was a threat.” Shenon said it would be interesting, too, to see if there was anything in the documents to substantiate comments Trump made during his election campaign linking Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s father to Oswald. “It’s the president’s favorite conspiracy theory about the Kennedy assassination ... but I don’t think there is,” Shenon said. Cruz’s father Rafael has called Trump’s allegations that he was pictured with Oswald in New Orleans before the assassination “ludicrous.” | 0fake |
The Internet Lights Up After The Pentagon Accidentally Retweets A Call For Trump To Resign | On Thursday, the Pentagon s official Twitter account retweeted a post from @ProudResister calling for Donald Trump to resign, then quickly deleted it, saying later that it was in error and we totally believe them.Proud Resister tweeted about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore s scandal, then touched on Al Franken s, then moved on to Donald Trump s. Resister called on all of the aforementioned to resign from office.The solution is simple Roy Moore: Step down from the race.Al Franken: Resign from congress.Donald Trump: Resign from the presidency.GOP: Stop making sexual assault a partisan issue. It s a crime as is your hypocrisy. PROUD RESISTER ? (@ProudResister) November 16, 2017Here s a screen capture of the retweet which has since been deleted. Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning explained the retweet in a statement saying that an authorized operator of the Defense Department s official Twitter site erroneously retweeted content that would not be endorsed by the Department of Defense. The operator caught this error and immediately deleted it. Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White tweeted the same explanation.An authorized operator of the @DeptofDefense s official Twitter site erroneously retweeted content that would not be endorsed by the Department of Defense. The operator caught this error and immediately deleted it. Dana W. White DoD (@ChiefPentSpox) November 16, 2017One Twitter user suggested giving the Pentagon employee a raise.Give them a raise Jake Smail (@BiggieSmails72) November 16, 2017Too bad. It was the only good tweet ever to appear on this feed. kmd | ??? | no more nazis please. (@KiraOfTheSea) November 16, 2017I'm not mad at em' ??? ((VETERAN)) (@VETERANUSA1) November 16, 2017"erroneously"..sure, sure. #ResignTrump Usagi Tsukino (@SailorDemocracy) November 16, 2017LOL don't lie jordanlarae (@jordanlarae) November 16, 2017It was your most honest twit in a very very very long time. Maybe ever spencer (@SpencerH8sTwitr) November 16, 2017Bwaaaahaaaa stephanie bullen (@TabbyChaps) November 16, 2017Trump supporters are calling for the person who operated the account to be fired. We, on the other hand, would like to buy him or her dinner and drinks.While many Twitter profiles contain a disclaimer saying that retweets do not constitute an endorsement, the Pentagon account, @DeptofDefense, does not.As for the Al Franken scandal, his accuser, Leeann Tweeden, accepted his apology. Roy Moore has tried to compare his scandal to Franken s inappropriate behavior, but only one of the men admitted they were wrong, called for an investigation, and apologized. Only one man perved on high school girls, one as young as 14-years-old. We re not justifying Franken s behavior. We re simply saying that Moore, a staunch right-wing Christian, has failed to admit to any wrongdoing, despite the fact that there are nine accusers and at least 30 people to corroborate the alleged victims stories. At least Franken admitted what happened and he took the steps to immediately address the accusations.Photo by Molly Riley-Pool/Getty Images | 1real |
UK Prepares For War, Sends Tanks & Soldiers To Russia’s Border | Posted on October 26, 2016 by Edmondo Burr in News , UK // 0 Comments In a show of force against Russia, the UK is sending 800 soldiers with tanks and drones to take up a “serious military presence” near Russia’s western border with Estonia.
It comes just days after Russian ships sailed through the English Channel testing British defences on their way to the Mediterranean for possible offensive operations in Syria.
International tensions are mounting as communications between America and Russia over their operations in Syria break down.
The Daily Express report:
British soldiers will travel to Estonia in what is one of the biggest build-ups of foreign firepower on Russia’s border since the Cold War.
The move will take place next spring, with Denmark and France also taking part in the huge military exercise.
The project was revealed by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who said the UK’s forces will be “fully combat-capable”.
He said: “That battalion will be defensive in nature, but it will be fully combat-capable.
“This is about two things: reassurance, and that needs to be done with some formidable presence, and deterrence.
“This is not simply a trip-wire. This is a serious military presence.”
Cold War-style tensions between Moscow and Washington took a further dip this week after the US revealed plans to station marines in Norway – just a few hundred miles from the border with Russia.
Officials in Norway and the US said they were considering a deal for extra equipment and training for the Scandinavian country.
Russia has reacted angrily to the plans, saying there was “the absence of threat from Russia to Norway”.
Mr Putin made a similar show of force last month, when he orchestrated a military evacuation drill including a staggering 40 million people.
The huge four-day “civil defence” drill set alarm bells ringing in Washington and London, with tensions already high over disagreements in Syria.
Russia’s Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disaster revealed 40 million civilians, 200,000 emergency rescuers and 50,000 units of equipment were involved in the war game, which ran from October 4 to October 7.
And last month two RAF jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers which had flown threateningly close to British airspace.
While the two Russian Blackjack bombers did not enter British airspace, authorities were alarmed when they passed to the west of the Shetland Islands.
The Ministry of Defence revealed jets from RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Coningsby were eventually launched as a “precautionary measure”.
The Russian planes, which had travelled from the direction of Norway, then continued their route away from Britain.
A similar incident occurred again last, when the RAF were twice forced to scramble jets to intercept Russian bombers.
Putin’s aircrafts flew in an “area of interest” off the coast of Scotland on October 12 and October 16, the MoD revealed. This latest development comes amid a massive break-down in communication between America and Russia over their operations in Syria.
A spokesman for the US State Department said earlier this month: “Extremist groups will continue to exploit the vacuums that are there in Syria to expand their operations.
A spokesman for the US State Department said earlier this month: “Extremist groups will continue to exploit the vacuums that are there in Syria to expand their operations.
“This could include attacks against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities.
“Russia will continue to send troops home in body bags, and will continue to lose resources, perhaps even aircraft.” | 1real |
A picture and its story: tear gas in Nairobi | NAIROBI (Reuters) - In a dramatic picture, Kenyan opposition lawmaker Caleb Amisi Luyai leans through the window of his car as tear gas billows out, police having fired it at a convoy of opposition politicians in Nairobi on Oct. 13. Police acted to prevent the politicians from entering the center of the capital to enforce a ban on staging political protests there ahead of a repeat presidential election. Kenya is holding a re-vote on Oct. 26 after the Supreme Court threw out the result of an election in August won by incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta. His opponent, Raila Odinga, is boycotting the repeat, arguing that it should not be held until wide-ranging reforms are adopted to prevent another failed vote. For Reuters photographer Baz Ratner, who took the image, the main challenge is how to cover the story when the protests are moving very fast in a few different focal points around Nairobi . Ratner had ridden just ahead of the opposition convoy on his motorcycle when tear gas canisters were fired. I stopped on the side of the road and put on my gas mask when I noticed one of the cars was engulfed in smoke. It was moving forward slowly, while I ran towards it as I took a few photos. Ratner did not recognize the driver, Luyai, an opposition member of parliament, but saw him leaning out of the window and gesturing. I helped him open the door. I walked to the other side where other people who were in the car were lying on the floor. Very quickly, the car drove away, Ratner said. | 0fake |
Bali's rumbling volcano spurs travel warnings from Australia, Singapore | Karangasem, INDONESIA (Reuters) - Fears that a volcano could erupt imminently on the holiday island of Bali prompted several countries to issue travel warnings, while Indonesian authorities raced to evacuate tens of thousands of people living in the danger zone . Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States and the U.K. issued advisories on Monday and at the weekend warning that increased volcanic activity at Mount Agung in eastern Bali could disrupt flights at one of the world s most popular tourist destinations. Given the possible eruption of Mount Agung, Singaporeans should defer non-essential travel to the affected areas at this juncture, the foreign ministry said in an online statement. Bali s international airport was operating normally on Monday, as were tourist spots across the island. Indonesian authorities have imposed a 12-km (7.5 miles)exclusion zone around the crater. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said on Monday that around 62,000 people lived within the danger zone around the volcano and that they all needed to evacuate, though so far only 50,00 had moved to the temporary shelters provided in neighboring villages. There are some who are staying behind because the volcano hasn t erupted yet or because of religious beliefs, said BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. Our staff are combing the area and urging everyone to evacuate, he said, speaking at a news conference in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Nugroho said Mount Agung has entered a critical phase , meaning magma has risen closer to the surface, as indicated by hundreds of shallow volcanic tremors that have rattled the area in recent days. Evacuees are being housed in makeshift shelters like town halls and school gyms. Host communities were providing food and water, while the central and local governments were providing tents, blankets and other relief. Officials have urged the public to remain calm amid false reports and videos circulating online of an eruption. Indonesia, which sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. Many Indonesians live near volcanoes because lava flows can make the surrounding soil and land fertile for farming. | 0fake |
WHAT WAS THAT? NANCY PELOSI Calls Trump’s Budget “Stupid”…Bursts Into Giggles…Repeats Words [Video] | This isn t the first time Pelosi has lost it in front of the mic: | 1real |
North Korea says new U.N. sanctions an act of war | BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - The latest U.N. sanctions against North Korea are an act of war and tantamount to a complete economic blockade against it, North Korea s foreign ministry said on Sunday, threatening to punish those who supported the measure. The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Friday for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile test, seeking to limit its access to refined petroleum products and crude oil and its earnings from workers abroad. The U.N. resolution seeks to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year and, in a last-minute change, demands the repatriation of North Koreans working abroad within 24 months, instead of 12 months as first proposed. The U.S.-drafted resolution also caps crude oil supplies to North Korea at 4 million barrels a year and commits the Council to further reductions if it were to conduct another nuclear test or launch another ICBM. In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, North Korea s foreign ministry said the United States was terrified by its nuclear force and was getting more and more frenzied in the moves to impose the harshest-ever sanctions and pressure on our country . The new resolution was tantamount to a complete economic blockade of North Korea, the ministry said. We define this sanctions resolution rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region and categorically reject the resolution , it said. There is no more fatal blunder than the miscalculation that the U.S. and its followers could check by already worn-out sanctions the victorious advance of our people who have brilliantly accomplished the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force , the ministry said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Nov. 29 declared the nuclear force complete after the test of North Korea s largest-ever ICBM test, which the country said puts all of the United States within range. Kim told a meeting of members of the ruling Workers Party on Friday that the country successfully realized the historic cause of completing the state nuclear force despite short supply in everything and manifold difficulties and ordeals owing to the despicable anti-DPRK moves of the enemies . North Korea s official name is the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK). South Korea s foreign ministry told Reuters it is aware of the North Korean statement on the new sanctions, again highlighting its position that they are a grave warning by the international community that the region has no option but to immediately cease reckless provocations, and take the path of dialogue for denuclearization and peace . The North Korean foreign ministry said its nuclear weapons were a self-defensive deterrence not in contradiction of international law. We will further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at fundamentally eradicating the U.S. nuclear threats, blackmail and hostile moves by establishing the practical balance of force with the U.S, it said. The U.S. should not forget even a second the entity of the DPRK which rapidly emerged as a strategic state capable of posing a substantial nuclear threat to the U.S. mainland, it added. North Korea said those who voted for the sanctions would face its wrath. Those countries that raised their hands in favor of this sanctions resolution shall be held completely responsible for all the consequences to be caused by the resolution and we will make sure for ever and ever that they pay heavy price for what they have done. The North s old allies China and Russia both supported the latest U.N. sanctions. Tension has been rising over North Korea s nuclear and missile programs, which it pursues in defiance of years of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with bellicose rhetoric coming from both Pyongyang and the White House. In November, North Korea demanded a halt to what it called brutal sanctions , saying a round imposed after its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3 constituted genocide. U.S. diplomats have made clear they are seeking a diplomatic solution but proposed the new, tougher sanctions resolution to ratchet up pressure on North Korea s leader. China, with which North Korea does some 90 percent of its trade, has repeatedly called for calm and restraint from all sides. China said on Saturday the new resolution also reiterated the need for a peaceful resolution via talks and that all sides needed to take steps to reduce tensions. Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said on Saturday the tougher resolution was aimed at preventing war. It suggested the United States had wanted an even harsher resolution, and noted there was no indication in the resolution that the United Nations could grant the United States permission for military action. The difference between the new resolution and the original U.S. proposal reflects the will of China and Russia to prevent war and chaos on the Korean Peninsula. If the U.S. proposals were accepted, only war is foreseeable, it said in an editorial. | 0fake |
WATCH: Eric Trump Gets Called Out On Fox News For Claiming His Dad Started With Nothing | Eric Trump tried to spin a tale on Fox news about how his father started with nothing to build a business empire, only to be smacked down with a reminder that Donald Trump started out as a millionaire.The Republican nominee s demon spawn appeared on Outnumbered on Friday and attempted to portray his dad as just a normal guy who started with nothing in his journey to live the American dream.After trashing Hillary Clinton as not being relatable to millennial voters, Eric Trump was asked to explain how his father is relatable to them. And his answer was an effort to rewrite the reality of his dad s life. He s built an amazing company. He s become the epitome of the American dream. Eric Trump said. He s gone from practically nothing to a man who s just But that was a total lie and Julie Roginsky didn t let the younger Trump get away with it.Roginsky cut Eric Trump off and reminded him that his father got $1 million from his father Fred Trump to start out with.Nothing? Roginsky said. He got a million bucks. Come on, Eric. Indeed, Donald Trump grew up the son of one of the richest men in America. He has never known poverty in his entire life. In 1978, he was given $1 million by his father, an amount that Trump called a small loan moments after he claimed that life hasn t been easy for me during a town hall event in October 2015.Of course, that s an insult to the millions of Americans who live in poverty daily and can t even get a real small loan to lift themselves out of it. They struggle to put food on the table and to pay the bills, but Donald Trump had everything he could ever want and all the opportunities money could buy. Trump s dad also started a million dollar trust fund for him and left him a multi-million dollar inheritance when he died. In other words, Donald Trump knows absolutely NOTHING about starting from nothing.But Eric Trump didn t address Roginsky s reminder and just continued trying to sell his dad as a man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps. He epitomized what America s all about: Opportunity and working hard and being able to achieve your dreams and what you want to succeed, right? Eric Trump continued. It s no different than a Zuckerberg, right, who went out with a great idea like a Facebook and developed this idea and built it and grew it and grew it and grew it. That is achieving something, right? And I think it s very different than a person who has been a career politician. Here s the video via VidMe.Can no member of Trump s family actually refrain from lying about their past?Because it s clear that Donald Trump and his children do not understand what it is like to grow up poor. They have had everything given to them on a golden platter and they ve never had to work a real job a day in their lives. But for some reason, they think $1 million is the definition of starting with nothing.Featured image via screen capture | 1real |
Atlantic City mayor terms N.J. takeover plan 'fascist dictatorship' | ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Reuters) - Atlantic City’s mayor has called a state plan to cede control of the fiscally distressed gambling hub a “fascist dictatorship,” a sharp reversal of his previous position on the proposed takeover. Details of the proposed legislation, released last week, would deny residents their civil rights by stripping municipal powers from locally elected officials, Mayor Don Guardian said on Monday, echoing previous concerns from community activists. “The final piece of legislation that the state presented to us was far from a partnership,” Guardian said, addressing hundreds of residents and city workers at an outdoor news conference next to City Hall. “It was much worse. It was absolutely a fascist dictatorship.” The plan calls for the state to appoint an official who would have the power to make unilateral decisions about canceling collective bargaining agreements, selling city-owned assets, entering contracts, terminating employees and vetoing city council minutes, Guardian said. The mayor’s comments marked a fiery change of tone from just one month ago, when Guardian stood next to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and state Senate President Steve Sweeney in support of the intervention. However, that was before the bills had taken shape. City officials previously threatened to file for a municipal bankruptcy. But such a move would likely not be approved by the state, which already oversees the city’s budget. Nevertheless, officials raised the subject again on Monday, saying they might petition the state for a bankruptcy declaration if they cannot negotiate a settlement with the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa. Atlantic City owes the Borgata, its most profitable casino, at least $160 million of property tax appeals. The city missed a recent deadline to pay a $62.5 million portion of that, prompting the Borgata to skip its $7.5 million tax payment for the first quarter of 2016. The parties are in 45-day court-ordered negotiations, Guardian said, but if there is no settlement the city could try to seek out bankruptcy. Atlantic City is on track to run out of money within two months. The latest legislative package would also include a less divisive bill that allows casinos to make fixed payments in lieu of taxes. That bill is aimed at stabilizing the city’s property tax base, which has shrunk dramatically because of gambling competition from neighboring states. Four of the city’s 12 casinos that shut in 2014 remain closed. | 0fake |
Former Macedonian rightist PM resigns party leadership | SKOPJE (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, head of the opposition rightist VMRO-DPMNE party, resigned on Monday following an election defeat last year and unrest that rocked the small Balkan country in April. Gruevski, 47, led the ex-Yugoslav republic for almost a decade, and his party bloc since 2003, until January 2016 when a wiretapping scandal brought down the ruling VMRO-DPMNE bloc. A snap election in December 2016 ended inconclusively and a long parliamentary stalemate ensued, ending in May when Social Democrat Zoran Zaev formed a coalition with ethnic Albanian parties that represent a third of the 2 million population. VMRO-DPMNE said its Central Committee had scheduled a leadership congress for Dec. 22-23 after Gruevski s irrevocable resignation. Gruevski said that ... his resignation was a moral act, as it is natural that the person in whom everyone had confidence should take the responsibility for the (electoral) defeat, a party statement said. In April, protesters including VMRO-DPMNE supporters stormed parliament and assaulted Zaev as Social Democrats and its ethnic Albanian allies elected an ethnic Albanian as parliament speaker. Dozens were injured in riots. The VMRO-DPMNE suffered a further setback last month when police arrested Mitko Cavkov, a former interior minister, and a number of its lawmakers and activists on charges related to the disturbances in April. The April unrest marked the worst crisis in Macedonia since 2001 when Western diplomats narrowly averted a full-scale civil war arising from an ethnic Albanian insurgency, promising Skopje a pathway to membership of the European Union and NATO. Macedonia, which won independence in 1991 from then-federal Yugoslavia in 1991, has made little progress towards EU and NATO membership due to a name dispute with Greece. | 0fake |
Sean Spicer Just Said Something About Trumpcare That Will Make Trump PISSED (DETAILS) | When Donald Trump fails, his team sure doesn t help make it any better.On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer decided to pour salt in the gaping wound that was left when Trump and the GOP suffered a massive failure in gaining approval for their disastrous plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. The American Health Care Act, also known as Trumpcare, not only failed to get enough votes, but Trump pulled it from the House floor because it was such an obvious, humiliating defeat.In speaking to reporters during his daily briefing, Spicer likened Trumpcare to a bad deal which was a pretty odd thing to say, considering how much Trump has bragged about what a good negotiator and dealmaker he is. To diss something that Trump supported full-heartedly is definitely not going to make Trump happy. Spicer said: The president also recognizes that when there s not a deal to be made, when to walk away. It s not just about making deals. It s knowing when to walk away from deals and knowing [that] when there s a bad deal, that s the only solution. I think the president understood that where we were, that while you can get a deal at the time, that sometimes a bad deal is worse than getting a deal. And I think he smartly recognized that what was on the table was not going to be keeping with the vision that he had, and so he decided that this was not the time and that a deal was not at hand. Really, who needs critics when you have Spicer? It should also be noted that even after the bill failed, Trump was still praising the GOP s awful plan, stating that it just needed some improvement. Yet Spicer pretty much trashed Trumpcare, and said that the GOP s plan to do away with Obamacare (which they ve been bragging about for the last seven years) was a devastating fail. Looks like Trump really doesn t have a talent for making deals after all.Featured image via Ninian Reid / Flickr | 1real |
White Supremacist Kills Black Man, Planned On Murdering More (VIDEO) | James Harris Jackson, 28, eventually surrendered to police in New York City to admit to fatally stabbing a 66-year-old black man in the chest with a 26-inch sword that has an 18-inch blade. The sword exited the victim s back after being plunged into his chest. Jackson, an army veteran from Baltimore, held a long-time hatred of black people and had traveled to Manhattan with the goal of killing black men.This is an attack you won t see amateur president Donald Trump tweeting about.Timothy Caughman, 66, the white supremacist s victim, stumbled into a police station bleeding from stab wounds to his chest and back, Assistant Chief William Aubry, the commander of Manhattan South detectives, told reporters at Police Headquarters, according to the New York Times.After taking down his first victim, Jackson set his sights on another black person just blocks away but something reportedly spooked him. He appeared to be very close, following a black guy, a source said. He slows down and at one point he turned around and came back. It s clear he was really focused on the guy for some time. Then, he falls out of camera view and doesn t attack the guy. He made statements that he was following the guy but something spooked him. Jackson was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder, but the chief said they wanted to upgrade the charge by classifying it a hate crime.Watch:.@NYPDMTS walk James Harris Jackson, an army veteran & member of a hate group in Maryland, accused of killing a #NYC black man @NYDNVideo pic.twitter.com/DWwGxM0GgG Edgar Sandoval (@edjsandoval) March 22, 2017Surveillance video of Jackson near the scene:Jackson admitted to police that he was a member of a white supremacist group and said that he detailed his racist views on his laptop computer, according to the Daily News.Jackson told the authorities that he initially wanted to stab a black man, then grab a police officer s gun and shoot some people, a police source said.Aubry said, He wanted to make a statement. Jackson told police that he has been harboring (racist) feelings for quite some time, and it s believed he had these feelings for over 10 years, police said. He knew what he was doing when he was coming up here, Aubry said at a press conference. It is believed he was specifically intending to target male blacks. It s been well over 10 years that he has been harboring his hate towards blacks. Jackson reportedly said he doesn t like interracial relationships. More than an unspeakable human tragedy, this is an assault on what makes this the greatest city in the world: our inclusiveness and our diversity, Mayor de Blasio said Wednesday. Now it s our collective responsibility to speak clearly and forcefully in the face of intolerance and violence here or across the country. We are a safe city because we are inclusive. We are a nation of unrivaled strength because we are diverse. No act of violence can undermine who we are. The last words Caughman said to his attacker were, What are you doing? Good question.Image via screen capture. | 1real |
Rubio, Cruz, Christie Improve Their Standing In Third GOP Debate | Rubio, Cruz, Christie Improve Their Standing In Third GOP Debate
The Republican presidential race entered a new phase Wednesday night as the outsider candidates, who dominated the first two debates, were upstaged by several of their office-holding rivals — and by a budding controversy over the conduct of the third debate itself.
Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina were all on hand and all had their moments. But the featured performer of the night was Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida who, at 44, is the youngest contestant in the field. Also acquitting themselves well were his Senate colleague, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Chris Christie, the oft-embattled governor of New Jersey.
Christie's much-maligned campaign had barely qualified for inclusion in this debate, but he seemed revivified by the questions and the interchange — especially the contretemps with the CNBC moderators.
"Even in New Jersey what you're doing would be called rude," said Christie, referring to CNBC moderator John Harwood.
Rubio became the debate's focus largely because of tough questions from the CNBC moderators that he deftly turned into recitations of his talking points. When other rivals tried to probe the same vulnerabilities, Rubio was quickly able to flip the polarity and deliver a put down in response.
Questioned about his missed votes in the Senate (the most of any senator this year) and his stated lack of interest in that position, Rubio noted how many votes had been missed by senators in both parties pursuing the presidency in the past.
When Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor sometimes described as Rubio's mentor, renewed the criticism ("What is it in the Senate, a French work week, where you only have to show up for three days?") Rubio wondered why Bush had never spoken out about such things before.
"The only reason why you're doing it now," Rubio charged, "is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
Bush was not able to establish much momentum after that, finishing near the bottom of the list in speaking time. It was his third flat performance in the debate series to date, and the most damaging in its timing. His campaign had highlighted the evening, calling it Bush's chance to rebut suggestions he lacks real enthusiasm for this campaign. In recent weeks, he has seemed diffident and off-message at times in public appearances. He has laid off staff, as his standing in the polls has continued to decline.
Rubio, by stark contrast, was both sharp with a cutting remark and adept at the charming aside. Talking about a program for older people, he beamed boyishly as he said, "I'd never vote for anything that would hurt my mom."
Rubio has been locked in the single digits in national polls and surveys in the early voting states as well. But many who watched the third debate expected that to change. And if the current front-runners should fade, leaving their voters up for grabs, the contest could become between Rubio and Cruz.
The night's peak energy point came when Cruz fielded a typically truculent question from one of the CNBC moderators and hit it out of the park.
"The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media," Cruz said.
The debate audience, clearly a sympathetic crowd, roared its approval, nearly drowning out Cruz as he continued.
"This is not a cage match," Cruz added. "And, you look at the questions — 'Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?' 'Ben Carson, can you do math?' 'John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?' 'Marco Rubio, why don't you resign?' 'Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?'"
Cruz contrasted these questions with those at the Democratic debate, even though that event was put on by CNN. He said all the Democrats were asked was, "Which of you is more handsome and why?"
Several of the other Republican candidates tried to get in on the crowd's appetite for media criticism before the evening was over. Their staffs were also complaining about the in-your-face tone of the CNBC crew. After the debate, Carson's campaign manager talked about renegotiating the terms of the remaining debates.
Reince Priebus, the GOP national chairman who took control of the debates this year and made deals with the various news outlets, also expressed dismay after the debate and said changes would be made to future formats.
Meanwhile, the man who has been proud of leading in polls among Republicans since July, Donald Trump, held his own Wednesday night despite a disappointing slide to No. 2 in some of the most recent tests both nationally and in Iowa. Trump delivered his stock lines about taxes, immigration and badly negotiated deals on trade and foreign relations. But the Trump presence was a measure less effervescent than on the stump or in earlier debates.
The new leader in some polls, Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, reprised his role as the quiet man on stage. He had less speaking time than almost any other candidate, and when he had the spotlight, he did little to hold it. Asked for a weakness, he cited his failure to think of himself as presidential material ("until hundreds of thousands of people began to tell me that I needed to do it"). He also seemed unsure of his footing at times when describing his tax rate plan and other economic matters.
But Carson, too, took the opportunity to push back on the CNBC journalists. When Carl Quintanilla asked about Carson's association with a controversial maker of nutritional supplements, Carson flatly denied any involvement and called the assertion "pure propaganda."
In fact, Carson starred in a promotional video for the company and may face more questions about his statement in the days ahead. But when Quintanilla tried to follow up, the crowd booed and Carson took the out: "See," he said, "they know."
Carly Fiorina, regarded by many as the standout performer in the Sept. 16 debate, managed to get more speaking time this time than any of her rivals — in part, by resisting the moderators. But while she came across as self-assured and offered one of her best defenses of leadership at Hewlett-Packard a decade ago, Fiorina did not have a memorable exchange with Trump or any of the candidates.
The other four candidates who took part may have experienced more frustration than fulfillment. Rand Paul, a senator from Kentucky, was one of the three candidates with fewest minutes of airtime. His efforts to climb into the tax debate were largely unsuccessful. Mike Huckabee had his usual moments of folksy humor but few scoring opportunities.
The man who had the highest hopes for this round may have been John Kasich, the governor of Ohio who has tried to go after the non-politician front-runners, attacking the unrealistic promises of lower taxes and an end to illegal immigration. Kasich kicked off the evening with thinly veiled criticisms of Carson and Trump as potential occupants of the Oval Office.
"My great concern is that we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job," he charged, adding, "We need somebody who can lead."
Trump promptly fired back with a withering rebuttal about Kasich's Ohio success being a windfall from oil produced by fracking, and about Kasich's partnership at Lehman Brothers shortly before that Wall Street firm collapsed and set off the worst of the 2008 financial panic.
Kasich had a comeback, but his offensive came up short. | 0fake |
BREAKING: TRUMP ANNOUNCES Nominee For Secretary Of State…Liberal Heads Explode! | Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about Tillerson, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying that Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential election to help turn the tables Trump s way. FOX NewsThe RINOs will certainly join in with their concerns just like Marco Rubio did in a tweet: Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState. Sen. Marco RubioPresident-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he intends to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State.Tillerson impressed Trump during the two meetings he had with him. Trump had high praise for the energy titan, calling him a world class player . He s in charge of an oil company that s pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor, Trump told host Chris Wallace. It s been a company that s been unbelievably managed, and to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia, he does massive deals for the company. Not for himself, for the company. Trump pointed to Tillerson s relations with Moscow and other political hot spots as a selling point. As ExxonMobil s chief, he maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, a high honor for a foreign citizen.Read more: FOX | 1real |
WATCH: Elizabeth Warren MOCKED Trump So Hard He’ll Be Throwing A Temper Tantrum Any Second Now | Elizabeth Warren went on the attack against Donald Trump again on Sunday and you can bet that the Republican nominee is fuming about it.During a rally in Colorado, the Massachusetts Senator called out the alleged billionaire for bragging about sexual assault, being a failed businessman, and for being too scared to release his tax returns. In this election, I am proud to be a Democrat, Warren began. I am proud that we are a party that doesn t debate who has the smallest hands. Warren talked about the years between 1935 and 1980 when the economy worked for all Americans before Ronald Reagan became president and helped Republicans push through an agenda that reversed that prosperity and gave it to the wealthy.Then she turned her ire back on to Trump, calling him a small insecure moneygrubber who only cares about himself because when the housing crash happened he rooted for it because he wanted to swoop in like a vulture and buy the properties on the cheap.Warren then took aim at Trump for stiffing the people he made contracts with to build his resorts, people like plumbers and painters who didn t get paid because Trump is a pathetic cheapskate who screws over the little guy when it suits him.Then she brought up Trump s refusal to release his tax returns, which could confirm that he paid no federal income taxes for 20 years. The big brave Donald Trump is too chicken to release his tax returns, she said before clucking like a chicken daring Trump to not be a coward.But she saved most of her anger for the way Trump has treated women and how he has bragged about sexually assaulting women. Some people say it makes them sick to hear Donald Trump talk like that, Warren told the crowd. Well not me. Donald Trump s words don t make me sick anymore. They make me furious. Here s the full speech via YouTube.Donald Trump has never been able to pick a fight with Elizabeth Warren and win so it would be inadvisable for him to attack her on social media again. But because Trump is so thin-skinned, we should be expecting a temper tantrum any time.Featured Image via screencap | 1real |
IT’S NOT A “MUSLIM BAN” You Big Dummies! [VIDEO] | 1real | |
Internet Porn Nearly Ruined His Life. Now He Wants to Help. - The New York Times | Alexander Rhodes sat along a stretch of grass, looking out over the Allegheny River. The two of us were sitting in a quiet space on the outskirts of Pittsburgh where we had planned to spend the night in tents camping out. “The key thing to consider is that I am not a very good businessman,” he said. “I’m not really anything but a guy who was addicted to internet porn. ” A few years ago, Mr. Rhodes, 26, founded a website as an online space meant to help others who share his particular problem. It has about one million unique visitors each month, he said, and nearly breaks even. Mr. Rhodes, who grew up in western Pennsylvania and worked at Google until recently, is now hoping to make his site into something larger. With the help of his father and other family members, he is transforming part of an abandoned church into a base of operations for his fledgling company. “It’s one thing to look back and regret what happened in terms of growing up, being addicted to internet porn,” he said. “You might look back and be like: ‘Oh, man. I was a loser. And if I never watched it, my life would be so much better.’ And maybe that’s true. But at the same time, the fact that I was addicted to internet porn, the fact that I was so mediocre, makes me uniquely qualified to help humanity. ” In recent years, Mr. Rhodes has emerged as a spokesman against a “disease” that hasn’t been officially recognized by the medical establishment. He seemed uneasy with his new status. He was careful with every word and asked to go off the record more than a government official. He would not confirm whether he was involved with someone, saying only that, since giving up pornography “for good” in 2013, he has been able to have meaningful relationships with women. In some ways, his story is that of the digital age. His father was a computer programmer, and he was exposed to digital technology from early on. He gravitated to Nintendo Game Boy and eventually moved to the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation. At 11 or so, he said, he clicked on a banner ad by mistake and found an image depicting rape. By the time he had reached adolescence, so had the internet, and Mr. Rhodes came to rely on pornography that was easy to find and often free. By college, he was masturbating while watching it up to 14 times a day, he said. “I would say, ‘O. K. I have to take a few days to recover from this, like physically recover,’” he said, “and I couldn’t last for even a day. ” Mr. Rhodes’s seeming dependence on porn didn’t help matters with his first girlfriend, whom he started dating when he was a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. It was his first real chance for sustained intimacy, and he blew it. “I don’t think it was all due to internet porn,” he said. “But I can tell you that the sex life didn’t go very well. I had erectile dysfunction — a very mild form, and this is all very because doctors won’t diagnose this — but I was able to maintain an erection by fantasizing about pornography. That was the only way. ” In 2011, Mr. Rhodes was lost and in search of support. He created a discussion forum on Reddit on the topic of abstaining from masturbation and pornography. He realized he was far from alone and began his site soon after. After college, he continued to build the site while working as a contractor for Google, specializing in data analysis. He said he earned good money and was able to put a good amount into the website (called NoFap. com, from a slang term for masturbation). But he was still using the supposed vice he was railing against. It took another failed relationship to get him to quit. “I think I was relying on pornography as some kind of emotional crutch,” he said. “If anything bad would happen, you would go to porn, because it would always be there. “I knew it was bad for me,” he said. “But I also realized it was bad for women I was involved with, and that was the moment that I said: ‘I need to leave this thing behind. It is completely distorting my sexuality to the point where it could actually be harmful or at least not enjoyable for other people who I am involved with. ’” Mr. Rhodes came to believe he had a calling greater than his work in data analysis at Google. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” he said of his leaving the job last year. “But ultimately it was what was best for humanity. ” The website serves as an online umbrella for men looking to escape pornography. It has advertisements for software and online programs that promote the idea of steering clear of pornography and masturbation. The site also has discussion forums and includes testimonials by men sharing stories of their successes and failures. And it helps match men with “accountability partners” meant to serve as Alcoholics sponsors, to keep a person on the right path. The site generates revenue through subscriptions and advertising, Mr. Rhodes said. To make it into something more robust, Mr. Rhodes needed to “come out” as a spokesman of sorts. After he appeared in a New York magazine article in 2013 about men who had quit masturbating, he told his mother what was going on, much to her horror. Other interviews followed. While his family remains supportive, there are limits. When he showed his mother a recent article in Time magazine in which he was quoted, she said, joking, “I shouldn’t be reading these types of things about my son,” Mr. Rhodes said, recalling his mother’s reaction. On the first day I visited Mr. Rhodes, we climbed the stairs of the former St. Clement Church in Tarentum, Pa. The structure, built in 1906, had long since been abandoned, its pews, confessional and attached school crumbling and gathering dust. His father, Phillip Rhodes, had recently bought the sprawling complex at auction for $50, 000. While the church is likely to house other businesses, the younger Mr. Rhodes sees a future there for him and a fully staffed operation. He sat on one side of the church confessional while I sat on the other. “Tell me the last time you watched porn,” I said, joking. Despite the location, he has largely kept away from religious people, especially evangelicals wanting to team up with him, even though such a relationship could help fund his work. “I have viewpoints that don’t mesh with their viewpoints,” Mr. Rhodes said. “I’m very . I’m not a religious person. I’m not someone who supports religion. I’m not against religion, but I don’t support it. And I completely, firmly believe in premarital sex. ” Mr. Rhodes said he has also endured the wrath of those on the other end of the ideological spectrum. People have tried — and failed — to hack the site’s servers, and its forums have been bombarded with pornographic images, he said. His father received pornography in the mail, Mr. Rhodes said, and he himself has gotten death threats. “It’s just something you have to deal with and let the proper authorities follow up on anything,” he said. Soon it would grow terribly cold, making for a terrible night of sleep in spite of a tent and a supposedly insulated sleeping bag that I bought at a suburban Target. On the morning of our second day, Mr. Rhodes sat near the extinguished campfire from the night before, laptop on his knees. Soon we’d be departing the campsite, heading back to the city, to “civilization. ” But first he had to present a webinar for another outfit. During the chat, he spoke with people who asked about avoiding triggers. As the session continued, he spoke less about pornography than about the need to take care of oneself, both physically and emotionally. He talked about developing good habits and routines, about changing one’s life in general. When a health care worker asked about fatigue and how he believed it often led him to pornography, Mr. Rhodes told the man that he needed to take care of his own health as well. “It’s like if you’re on an airplane flight,” Mr. Rhodes said, “and they say, ‘Oh, you have to put your oxygen mask on before assisting others with theirs.’ It’s because you’ll pass out trying to get a mask on to somebody else. You have to make sure you’re in a balanced spot in order to best serve other people, in order to best serve the world. ” | 0fake |
WOW! Sheriff Clarke DESTROYS Lie That Obama Is Helping Black Community With BRUTALLY HONEST Commentary On This Photo-Op | Sheriff Clarke better beef up his security detail after Obama and his Democrat friends sees this truth bomb! Kid, I got everything ready for you, food stamps, failing pubic schools, inescapable poverty, unemployment, crime. pic.twitter.com/Le2KyibUvP David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) August 6, 2016 | 1real |
MICHELLE OBAMA To Host “Iranian Festival” At White House | The Obama s have not yet revealed if they ll be invited to celebrate Death To America Day in Iran Once again, the Obama White House will embrace and celebrate the Iranian holiday of Nowruz -the single most important holiday for Iran, signifying the Iranian New Year. So our First Lady is celebrating the New Year of a country that commits atrocities like killing gays and treating women like sub-human species. Sure! Let s celebrate horrific place and its customs Valeria Jarrett must be so happy! | 1real |
MI5 Chief Presents Russia as Growing Threat to British Interests | Insists Russia Defines Itself by Opposition to the West
The first time a top British spy has ever given a newspaper interview, MI5 chief Andrew Parker has spoken with the Guardian , playing up the “growing threat” posed by Russia against British interests around the world.
Parker claimed a “whole range of state organs and powers” in Russia are being brought to bear against Britain and the US, claiming that the advent of cyberwarfare has increased the number of ways in which Russia can move against them.
Parker went on to claim that Russia defines itself by opposition to the West and, despite being a “covert threat for decades” has been increasingly hostile, citing their operations in Ukraine and Syria as proof that they are acting to just spite the West.
This has been a common western talking point, but in practice Western (read: US) policy in both Ukraine and Syria appears to have itself been built with an eye toward being on the opposite side from Russia in the first place, and Russia is then condemned for acting in their own interests.
This was particularly glaring in Syria, where Russia’s interest was obviously in the survival of a friendly Syrian government to host their naval base, and where “countering” Russia has brought the US “anti-ISIS coalition” into increasingly overt support for al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, simply because they’re the ones most directly fighting against Russia. | 1real |
October boomerang | Posted on October 31, 2016 by Gilad Atzmon
Over the years, American governments have invested in building a huge infrastructure designed, in the name of public safety and national security, to spy on each and every one of us.
It was the whistleblower Edward Snowdon who taught us about the extent of the cooperation between the NSA, telecommunication companies and European governments. Some of us were extremely concerned about these revelations while others learned to live with them—but very few of us realised that sooner rather than later, it would be we the people who actually gained such free access to the secrets of our big brothers.
Just a week or so before the American presidential election, it has become clear that, rather than them looking at us and making us feel vulnerable and exposed, it is actually us, the people, who are sitting in front of our TV screens being entertained by Clinton’s emails and the revelations about her ties with the most horrible people on the planet.
It seems as if us ‘little brothers’ are growing tired of our ‘big brother’ and such a realisation points to a shift in consciousness that could lead to complete social revolution. The awareness is certainly here already.
Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli jazz musician, author and political activist. His new book, “The Wandering Who,” may be ordered from amazon.com or amazon.co.uk . | 1real |
Nancy Pelosi Blasts Republicans For Hypocritically ‘Denouncing’ Trump | There s an old saying: pot, meet kettle. Republicans have become renowned for their absolute hypocrisy in recent years, especially their vile, hateful rhetoric towards anyone who isn t a white, straight Christian. But now that Donald Trump is the party s de facto leader and presidential frontrunner, Republicans all across the country are now distancing themselves from him and his hateful remarks.But Nancy Pelosi is not letting Republicans get away with their pathetic softer image shtick. Saying there isn t a dime worth of difference between Trump and the other Republicans, Pelosi blasted the GOP leadership for stoking racial demagoguery: Some Republicans, including members of their leadership, have said they cannot support the vile rhetoric and radical proposals of the Republican front-runner. Today, we have gathered to ask, since when? Since when have the House Republicans been so concerned about intolerant statements and discriminatory ideas? She then added, Year after year, Republicans have enthusiastically turned their intolerance and their discrimination into legislation. Pelosi then lambasted the GOP for their constant attacks on women s reproductive health, which has become synonymous with Trump s call to punish women who get abortions.Along with Reps. Jim Clyburn and Xavier Beccara, both Democrats, the minority leadership went all in on the GOP, and rightfully so.Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer echoed the Minority Leader s words, saying: The Republicans have created an environment in radicalism, fear and exclusion. The presumptive nominee is the result of their work, and what they have sowed is what they are reaping. Pelosi and Hoyer, as usual, are on the money.While Republicans are working overtime trying to soften Trump s vile image, the Democrats are doing their job of reminding the American people that there really is no difference between the new leader of the GOP and those in current power.With Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi revving up their attacks on the GOP frontrunner (and indeed the whole party), 2016 may be the year of women in politics.And if that s the case, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans should be very afraid.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 1real |
Former Colorado GOP Leader Who Said Only Dems Commit Voter Fraud Charged With Voter Fraud | Just last year before the 2016 presidential election, conservative radio host and former Colorado Republican chairman Steve Curtis said, It seems to me that virtually every case of voter fraud I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats. The state s prosecutors on Tuesday accused Curtis, 57, of voter fraud for allegedly filling out and mailing in his ex-wife s 2016 ballot for president, KDVR reports.Curtis has been charged with one count of misdemeanor voter fraud and one count of forgery.The Washington Post reports:The case is the only voter fraud investigation related to the 2016 election that has resulted in criminal charges in the state, the Colorado secretary of state s office told Denver s ABC affiliate.Curtis has not entered a plea. If convicted, he could face more than a year of prison time and a $5,000 fine.Watch: His ex-wife, Kelly Curtis, said, I was livid over the whole situation, definitely. Curtis said that she left her husband after being married for just nine months. I didn t feel it was an equal partnership, I ll just leave it at that, she said. It was demeaning and presumptuous, and I had no idea what would go on in someone s mind to cast my ballot for me illegally, actually to go to all the trouble to forge my ballot, Ms. Curtis said.The forgery was discovered by Weld County prosecutors when Kelly Curtis called the county s Elections Office in October to ask how she could vote because she had just moved to South Carolina and explained that she was still registered to vote in Colorado. Kelly was told by an election worker that she had already voted by mail and the elections office already had her ballot. I was just completely stunned. I thought there had to be some kind of mistake, Kelly Curtis said.In 2011, Steve Curtis oversaw the advisory board for the Denver Tea Party Patriots.While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump alleged that the election would be rigged and claimed that there was widespread voter fraud. Without offering evidence just as with his recent wiretap claims Trump said after the election that between 3 to 5 million votes were cast illegally. Trump said that to prove that he really won the popular vote (he did not win the popular vote).Following the election, it was found that the few who were charged with voter fraud, were in fact, Republican voters.As for Steve Curtis, he certainly excels at projection.Image via screen capture. | 1real |
Koch network launches effort to kill Republican border tax plan | INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is launching a campaign to sink a border tax under consideration by Republican leaders in Congress, a move that could complicate the lawmakers’ efforts to find a way to pay for President Donald Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group founded by Charles Koch and his brother David, plans to use its network of wealthy political donors and activists to kill the proposal, which aims to raise $1.2 trillion over 10 years on goods coming into the United States, according to officials from the group, which gathered this weekend for a conference. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing the tax as part of a broader overhaul of the U.S. tax code. The White House has given mixed signals on whether Trump supports the approach, but proponents say revenue collected from the border tax could finance Trump’s drive to build a wall along the southwestern U.S. border. Proponents also say it would discourage U.S. manufacturers from moving abroad. On Thursday, AFP sent a letter expressing its opposition to the border tax to a House panel in charge of writing tax legislation. AFP Chief Executive Officer Luke Hilgemann, in an interview, called the measure “a massive tax increase” on U.S. consumers, who would pay more for foreign goods. He urged Ryan to “go back to the drawing board.” AFP and its offshoot organizations have become a powerful force in U.S. politics, bolstering candidates and issues on federal and state levels. Besides defying Republican leaders on the border tax, the Koch-led organization on Sunday challenged Trump on a policy he implemented on Friday to stop the movement of people from countries with large Muslim populations from traveling to the United States. “The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” said an official of the Koch network. Koch refused to endorse Trump during his presidential campaign, differing with the candidate over his positions on immigration and trade policy, and his practice of singling out companies for possible retribution if they move jobs abroad. Nevertheless, Hilgemann said AFP had a “developing relationship” with the Trump White House, which he said had reached out to his organization to discuss some policy matters. At the same time, former AFP officials have landed high-level jobs in the Trump administration, giving the group a conduit for airing its policy wishes. Looking toward the 2018 congressional and gubernatorial elections, AFP officials said they planned to boost the network’s spending on policy and political activities to between $300 million and $400 million, up from an estimated $250 million for the 2016 campaigns. Hilgemann also said AFP was laying plans to mobilize activists to help win Senate confirmation of Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court nominee. The White House said Trump was planning this week to announce his pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. | 0fake |
This Mainstream News Organization Thinks Trump Is So Awful They’ve Done Something Shocking | We have always known that the Republican Party is filled with xenophobic, racist, misogynist, Islamophobic, everythingphobic imbeciles. When President Obama was elected in 2008, this became very, very obvious as right-wingers went full-on racist because an African-American man was suddenly the most powerful leader in the world. However, while we saw this hate all across the internet and sometimes on bumper stickers, they managed to sort of keep it under wraps. Donald Trump changed that all last year when he skyrocketed to first place in the GOP primary by running on a platform made solely of the hate mentioned above. In fact, he is so vile and divisive that the Huffington Post reminds their readers of it on every single article they publish about him.I was recently reading an article about Trump on the HuffPo s website when I noticed this at the bottom of the piece:Editor s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims 1.6 billion members of an entire religion from entering the U.S.This struck me as odd, so I investigated it a little further and saw the Trump disclaimer on every article about the billionaire.While HuffPo has always been left-leaning, it is a well-respected news organization that is read by people across the political spectrum, that s what makes this editor s note so shocking. When POLITICO asked the organization about their decision to add this to their articles, a spokesperson responded: Yes, we re planning to add this note to all future stories about Trump. No other candidate has called for banning 1.6 billion people from the country! If any other candidate makes such a proposal, we ll append a note under pieces about them. There is no doubt that this disclaimer will make some Republicans declare the Huffington Post biased, but that s because they can t face the fact that it is true. Trump is a serial liar, he lies seventy-six percent of the time. He is a rampant xenophobe, just listen to what he has to say about Mexicans and refugees. The frontrunner hates women, his feuds with conservative, Fox mouthpieceMegyn Kelly shone a bright, glaring spotlight on that. And we all know that his proclamations about President Obama not being a real American is what originally made Trump so popular.The Huffington Post should be commended for this decision, they are the only mainstream media organization to do something this bold.Bravo, HuffPo, bravo.Featured image via Scott Olson/Getty Images | 1real |
Mavs Fans Got Mad At Mark Cuban For Bashing Trump. His Response Is Perfect | Comments
Mark Cuban has been vocally outspoken about the 2016 election after learning the dark truth about Republican nominee Donald Trump. Initially, Cuban actually supported Trump’s candidacy as someone independent from politics as usual, but as he (and we all) learned more about the dark past of The Donald’s dirty dealings , sexual predations and more, the Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner threw himself wholeheartedly into the political arena, culminating with front row seats to the last presidential debate.
Cuban sat down with local radio broadcasters to discuss rumors that his anti-Trump stance might cost him ticket sales for his NBA franchise. Mark Cuban probably, literally dropped the mic after this response:
“You know what, when it’s all said and done, I’d rather lose every penny than have Trump as president because I care more about the future of my family, my children than I do about my pocketbook. And so if it means we play to empty arenas, I’m down with that.”
“Maybe I pick up some fans. Maybe I lose some fans. I don’t know,. I’ve heard it from both. I’ve had people say ‘there’s no way I can support you. I can’t go to another Mavs game.’ And I’ve had people say ‘you know what? We’re buying Mavs tickets.’ What I’ve heard more often than anything is, ‘are you gonna be this way once the election’s over?’ And the answer is no. You’ve known me forever Newy and I’ve been apolitical my entire adult life and only because I know Donald and I know my feelings about what he would be like as president have I gotten this involved but come November 9, it’s all Mavs all the time.”
Mark Cuban is a shining example of how any American should approach the political arena, which he does by placing integrity over ideology and the good of the country in his viewpoints above the simple view of his bank account’s short term health. Luckily, Cuban is a franchisee in the NBA, which is far and away America’s most progressive major sports league, which doesn’t guarantee ongoing success, but does mean that the typical NBA fan values tolerance and diversity over racial segregation and hatred. | 1real |
Military op to retake Mosul from ISIS | 17 mins ago 2 Views 0 Comments 0 Likes Check Keiser Report website for more: http://www.maxkeiser.com/ In this episode of the Keiser Report Max and Stacy discuss howls at the moon as the Bank of Japan attempts to taper the Tokyo condo market ponzi. They also discuss the newly announced interventions by the UK government in the nation’s deflating property pyramid. In the second half Max interviews journalist and comedy writer, Charlie Skelton, about his observations on the US elections. He concludes that Hillary is the face in the machine of the Matrix and that the craziness is the system. WATCH all Keiser Report shows here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL768A33676917AE90 (E1-E200) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC3F29DDAA1BABFCF (E201-E400) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPszygYHA9K2ZtV_1KphSugBB7iZqbFyz (E401-600) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPszygYHA9K1GpAv3ZKpNFoEvKaY2QFH_ (E601-E800) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPszygYHA9K19wt4CP0tUgzIxpJDiQDyl (E801-Current) Subscribe Like | 1real |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.