title stringlengths 1 456 ⌀ | text stringlengths 1 143k ⌀ | label class label 2
classes |
|---|---|---|
Huckabee Appearing at Trump Event in Iowa | Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has announced plans to attend Donald Trump's fundraising rally for wounded warriors, slated to take place in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday night - the same time as the Republican debate.
"He'll do the undercard debate on Fox News and then head over to the Trump rally, which is about 10 minutes away from the debate site," CBN's David Brody said.
Read more about Huckabee's appearance at the Trump rally at The Brody File.
The news comes as Trump reaffirmed his decision to boycott the GOP debate. That event will be hosted by Fox News, which he has accused of unfair treatment.
"I don't like being taken advantage of," Trump said in an interview Wednesday on Fox, signaling he wasn't boycotting the highly rated network completely.
Trump threatened to boycott the debate if Fox kept Megyn Kelly as debate moderator, but it was statement from Fox News that led him to make his final decision.
That statement said the leaders of Iran and Russia "both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president" and that "Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings," reports The Associated Press.
The other GOP candidates are hoping they can emerge Thursday night from the shadow Trump has cast over the race.
"I think it'll hurt him that he's not showing up in the Iowa debate four days before the Iowa caucuses," former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told CNN.
Trump's absence will likely bring more attention to Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is hoping for a third place finish in Iowa.
Rubio said Republicans "don't have time for these kinds of distractions." | 0fake |
White House calls Senate override of veto of September 11 bill 'embarrassing' | ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday slammed the Senate’s nearly unanimous vote to reject President Barack Obama’s veto of legislation allowing relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia’s government. “This is the single most embarrassing thing this United States’ Senate has done possibly since 1983,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing, referring to the last time when the chamber so overwhelmingly overrode a president’s veto. Earnest said some lawmakers had only recently been informed about potential drawbacks to approving the legislation. “For those senators to then move forward in overriding the president’s veto that would prevent those negative consequences is an abdication of their basic responsibilities as elected representatives of the American people,” he said. | 0fake |
Senate to vote on just two Trump national security picks on Friday | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate is due to vote on Friday on two retired Marine generals who are President-elect Donald Trump’s choices as secretary of defense and secretary of homeland security, but Democrats promised fights over several other nominees. Both retired General James Mattis, Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, and retired General John Kelly, his choice for the Department of Homeland Security, are expected to be confirmed easily. The Senate will begin debate on a third prospective member of Trump’s national security team, U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo, his choice for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said on Thursday. Schumer did not guarantee a vote on Pompeo on Friday. “There are a good number of members” who want to make statements about Pompeo or ask him questions, Schumer told a news conference. Republicans had hoped to confirm as many as seven of Trump’s nominees on Friday, the day he becomes president. However, Democrats balked at what they described as efforts by Republicans, who hold a 52-seat majority in the 100-member Senate, to jam through nominees before they had filed all their financial and ethics paperwork. There have been 15 hearings for Trump nominees in the past two weeks. Republicans accuse Democrats of playing politics, using stalling tactics and overstating ethics concerns about some of Trump’s selections. Schumer called for an investigation of the healthcare stock investments of Representative Tom Price, the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Price has denied any inappropriate actions. Schumer said the Senate might also confirm a few of Trump’s other “noncontroversial” nominees quickly, but declined to name any. “Over the last few weeks, Republicans have made a mockery of the confirmation process,” Schumer said. Most of Trump’s nominees will eventually be confirmed. Under a rules change orchestrated by Democrats when they held a Senate majority, his selections need just 50 votes to pass the Senate, not the 60 that used to be required for a nomination to advance in the chamber. Seven members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet were confirmed the day he took office, a number Republicans hoped to match for Trump. Schumer said the Obama nominees had completed their paperwork and ethics reviews while all of Trump’s choices had not. Underscoring the bitterness over the confirmation process, Schumer also said Democrats wanted roll call votes on Mattis and Kelly, rather than allowing their confirmation by voice vote. | 0fake |
MEDIA FREAK OUT! Watch MSNBC Cut Mic Of Black Trump Supporter…Mention Bogus KKK Scandal 6 TIMES In 3 Minute Segment | A recent poll showed that 40% of black voters support Donald Trump. The media is in full panic mode over the very real possibility that Trump could win the general in a landslide. The only hope they have of stopping him from winning with the black voter is by somehow effectively tying him to the KKK. MSNBC did their best to do just that in this ridiculous discussion where collectively, the hosts made 6 attempts to tie Donald Trump to the KKK in a span of 3.5 minutes. Lyin Brian Williams opened up the the segment with an immediate tie in to Donald Trump and the KKK.MSNBC Republican pundit, and fired host of The View, Nicolle Wallace mentioned the KKK in relationship to Donald Trump FOUR times in less than 2 minutes, where she was actually part of the conversation: Listen, I talked to folks today who ve been involved in previous presidential campaigns. Ken Mehlman a former campaign director and former RNC director put out the and they put out the same message about the KKK. I don t know that we ve ever gone into a Super Tuesday where someone was going to clinch the nomination on the heels of his KKK scandal. Right? There s a lot of hope in the sort of, in the midwest, where his support is very robust that he would actually bring new voters into the electorate. But you can t do that if you re acting ambivalent about just how abhorrent the KKK endorsement would have been. I think the party could grapple with a policy debate. That s not what we re having. We re having a wall-to-wall twenty-four-seven scandal where the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader has to go before cameras and disavow the KKK. WATCH MSNBC cut the sound off when black Trump supporter tries to say We re all Americans we need to stop the race stuff : | 1real |
Koala gets so excited it runs head-first into a tree | Next Swipe left/right Koala gets so excited it runs head-first into a tree Mason, a baby Koala at the Port Stephens Koala sanctuary in Australia, gets so excited he runs head-first into a tree. | 1real |
Trump Had THIS Black Republican Removed From A Campaign Event | There aren t very many black Republican Party officials in the United States, but somehow one was too many for Donald Trump s presidential campaign at an event in Atlanta.Buzzfeed reports that Michael McNeely, the first vice chair of the Georgia Republicans, was given the heave-ho by Team Trump.Michael McNeely, the first vice chair of the Georgia Republicans, was escorted out of Atlanta s Fox Theatre by Secret Service after being told there was no more room for you by Trump campaign state director Brandon Phillips, according to a party official briefed on the incident. The official requested anonymity said they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the party.McNeely was stopped while trying to enter an area where Trump had been greeting supporters, the sources said. Neither Phillips, the Trump campaign, nor the Georgia Republican Party returned messages seeking comment.Trump s campaign has been continually plagued with racial problems, largely brought on by the candidate and his belligerent attitude towards everyone who isn t a white male. Trump recently caused heads to shake when he singled out a black man at a rally as my African-American, and again prompted furrowed brows by indicating that only blacks in America were in dire financial straits.Over his media career, Trump has had racist incidents. He argued in favor of the death penalty for The Central Park Five, a group of black men accused of rape who were eventually all proven innocent after serving time in prison for most of their lives. Even when the men were found innocent, Trump took out ads calling for them to be executed.Trump was also accused by the federal government of engaging in discriminatory housing practices when operating his apartment buildings.The candidate also has an odd verbal tick in which he often refers to the blacks, rather than blacks, black people, or African-Americans. He is also the most well-known practitioner of the racist conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the United States, and even financed a birther posse that supposedly investigated Obama (but found nothing).Featured image via YouTube | 1real |
BRAVE Fiancé of Victim Asks BLM To Protest “In A Peaceful Way” After Accused St. Louis Cop Found NOT GUILTY In Death Of Man Fleeing From Cops…Leftist Agitators, Media Stir The Pot Anyhow, Increasing Tensions [VIDEO] | ST. LOUIS Former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley was found not guilty Friday of murdering a man while on duty.St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson s highly anticipated verdict found the white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the December 2011 shooting death of a black drug suspect after a high-speed pursuit and crash.Activists, with support from some of the city s black clergy, had pledged disruptive protests ahead of Wilson s verdict.Wilson addressed such statements in his order: A judge shall not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism. Immediately after the verdict was issued, protesters gathered downtown near Tucker Boulevard and Market Street. They blocked a ramp to Interstate 64 off Clark Street, but were blocked by police from entering the highway. Protesters then headed to police headquarters.St. Louis Police reminded protesters that blocking traffic is illegal and is not protected by the First Amendment: Per Ord. 17.16.275, it is unlawful for a person to obstruct & impede the reasonable movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic. #STLVerdict St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 15, 2017As the protests grew, Wells Fargo and Nestle Purina PetCare sent their nearly 7,000 employees home for the day.Police officers were seen preparing for potential riots:Bike cops are seen amassing in #DowntownSTL. #JasonStockley has been found NOT GUILTY https://t.co/eLmJAKkagx pic.twitter.com/Kvd7aThPZe KMOV (@KMOV) September 15, 2017Damone Smith, 52, an electrician headed to work, was among the motorists being rerouted from the protest area. I think the verdict is disgusting, said Smith, who is black. I m proud of these people protesting. If you look like me, then you feel like there is no other way to express yourself in the face of this kind of verdict. Time and time again, African American men are killed by police and nobody is held accountable. The judge explained his rationale for the verdict in a 30-page document filed about 8:30 a.m. Friday. No one promised a rose garden, and this surely is not one, he wrote of the case. This court, as the trier of fact, is simply not firmly convinced of defendant s guilt. Agonizingly, this court has pored over the evidence again and again This court, in conscience, cannot say that the state has proven every element of murder beyond a reasonable doubt or that the defendant did not act in self-defense. Because the state did not prove Stockley did not act in self-defense, Wilson wrote that he could not address lesser charges of homicide or manslaughter. St. Louis Police Department called for peace:We know emotions are running high, however we ask that those who choose to protest, do so peacefully. #STLVerdict St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 15, 2017The fiance of the victim Anthony Lamar Smith, Christina Wilson, bravely stood in front of a microphone just prior to the court s announcement and asked for protesters to not resort to violence. Inspired by your courage, Christina. Honored to stand with you and call for peace in #STL. https://t.co/ucUlKuWorO pic.twitter.com/4HjKvPtIwJ Eric Greitens (@EricGreitens) September 15, 2017Meanwhile, on social media, people who have become famous for doing absolutely nothing but race-baiting, like Tariq Nasheed, are stirring the pot, and totally disrespecting the wishes of Smith s fiance. The unconstitutional #JasonStockley verdict is further proof that LE & the court systems have been fully infiltrated by white supremacists Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 15, 2017The Mayor of St. Louis used her opportunity to call for peaceful protests in her city to instead, stir the pot by suggesting that justice was not served, potentially leading angry protesters to believe it is now their responsibility to deliver justice:Mayor Lyda Krewson released a statement following the verdict saying, I am appalled at what happened to Anthony Lamar Smith. I am sobered by this outcome. Frustration, anger, hurt, pain, hope and love all intermingled. I encourage St. Louisans to show each other compassion, to recognize that we all have different experiences and backgrounds and that we all come to this with real feelings and experiences, she wrote.Krewson s comment drew a rebuke from Neil Bruntrager, Stockley s lawyer. How do you promote all those things by creating distrust in a system that clearly worked under these circumstances? Bruntrager said. It is irresponsible and a disservice to the community to make statements like that. It s an insult to Judge Wilson to make statements like that. And it falsely encourages the belief that an injustice was done here when in fact justice was done. St. Louis Dispatch | 1real |
Comment on Sweden on the brink? Police force pushed to breaking point by violence amid migrant influx by Paul Blake | DCG | 5 Comments
Ain’t multiculturalism grand?
From Daily Express : The Scandinavian country is facing an existential crisis with on average three police officers handing in their resignations a day. If the alarming trend continues, and police officers continue to resign more than 1,000 officers will have quit the service by New Years.
Since the migrant crisis began last summer, Sweden has been hit by a series of brutal crimes and violent incidents . In 2015 alone Sweden, with a population of 9.5million, received over 160,000 asylum applications and the country is expected to take as many as 190,000 refugees, or two per cent of the population, by the end of 2016.
Since the Second World War Sweden has prided itself on helping migrants who cross their borders despite some moves to the political right in recent years.
But police have now admitted the force has reached breaching point as more than 50 areas in the country have now been placed on a “no-go zone” list .
In February a report from Sweden’s National Criminal Investigation Service announced there were 52 areas where officers would not cope with the levels of crime being committed . Sex assaults , drug dealing and children carrying weapons were just some of the incidents mentioned in the report. In September, Swedish officials were forced to add another three areas to the list.
Now the Police Association have said they need at least 200 new officers to regain control in the south-east of the country.
Thomas Stjernfeldt, from the region’s police association, told SVT : “We are missing extremely many officers in the operational sector, right now we need 200 more officers to be added to the force to establish a reasonable working environment in the southeast of Götaland .” Götaland is one of the regions in the country that has been hit hard by the car fire attacks, which have been occurring throughout Sweden.
On Monday, Express.co.uk reported a number of the arsonist attacks in the city of Växjö, in Götaland, had been committed by frustrated migrants . Currently there are more than 6,000 suspected crimes that are unsolved in the area and 400 of these cases are suspected to be rapes, murder or attempted murder.
Mr. Stjernfeldt said the figures are alarming and police officers are constantly forced to work overtime in an attempt to solve the reported crimes.
The Police Association admitted it fears the public will lose faith in the force and their ability to protect citizens if the situation is not resolved.
The union’s call for more resources echoes National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson’s February warning, where he said he needed a further 4,100 officers and specialist staff to reestablish law and order in Sweden.
DCG | 1real |
Trump says to spend extra day in Philippines during Asia trip | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he would spend an extra day in the Philippines during his trip to Asia, which the White House confirmed would be to attend the East Asia Summit taking place there. We re actually staying an extra day in the Philippines. We have a big conference, the second conference, and I think we re going to have great success, Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for his trip. | 0fake |
History Teacher Forces Students To Watch Film Depicting Violent Crucifixion Of Jesus (VIDEO) | A history teacher who openly ranted in the classroom about how much he hates Democrats and liberals forced his students to watch a film depicting the crucifixion of Jesus.Wilbur D. Mills High School in Little Rock, Arkansas has suspended Greg Hendrix after he intentionally brought his political and religious beliefs into his classroom in an effort to indoctrinate the students under his supervision.As students walked into the class to learn about American History since 1890, they soon realized the lesson for the day had nothing to do with the last 126 years, but would instead be on a controversial event that allegedly occurred over 2000 years ago.Hendrix played Mel Gibson s The Passion of the Christ, which included scenes of Jesus being violently tortured and nailed to a cross. In protest, some students walked out rather than have religion shoved down their throats.Kristina Coffman was one of those students and she expressed discomfort over what Hendrix did. It was weird, she told THV11. He shouldn t have done it because there are a lot of students that have different religions. It just didn t feel right. One student even recorded Hendrix whining about Democrats and liberals and political correctness.In all, five students walked out of the classroom and some students who watched the film bullied others after doing so. Hendrix also made students take a quiz about the movie afterwards. Not only are parents angry, the ACLU isn t very happy about the situation either.Arkansas ACLU executive director Rita Sklar said the organization is considering filing an ethics complaint. It s religious proselytization. It has nothing to do with the class, which is history since 1890, Sklar said. Kids having the religious liberty in school means they can express their religious views. It doesn t mean the teacher can. Here s the video via THV11:Indeed, by forcing students to view the film Hendrix clearly endorsed Christianity and violated the rights of every student in his classroom as well as failing to do his job protecting students and teaching the correct subject matter. By showing this film, he also exposed the students to R-rated material that included graphic violence. Many consider the film to be anti-Semitic and scholars have criticized the film for historical and biblical inaccuracies.Clearly, this film should never have been shown to students at all, and Hendrix should have focused on history after 1890. Now he faces termination, and rightfully so.Featured image via Patheos | 1real |
History Is Made: Physicists Prove Einstein’s Theory Was Right 100 Years Later! | After more than 100 years, an international team of physicists has confirmed that Einstein’s gravitational waves do in fact exist and that he was right all along. This is one of the biggest astrophysical discoveries of the in history.
Via UsualRoutine
About one month ago American theoretical physicist, Lawrence Krauss tweeted that the discovery was being peer-reviewed and that we would soon confirm tha light-speed ripples in the Universe actually exist. The gravitational wave signal were first detected by physicists at LIGO on September 14 last year, experts expect that the discovery will win the Nobel Prize.
The discovery confirms Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos. This is the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the spacetime theory called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. And the event that triggered it was likely to have been caused by the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. Physicists say that the two black holes merging had been predicted but never observed.
Credentials provided by Australian Science Media Centre: The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and MIT.
The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (which includes the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy (ACIGA) and the GEO600 Collaboration) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.
Australian scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), the University of Adelaide, The University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia (UWA), Monash University and Charles Sturt University, contributed to the discovery and helped build some of the super-sensitive instruments used to detect the gravitational waves. source
| 1real |
FIREWORKS: TREY GOWDY Confronts Jeff Sessions at Congressional Hearing: ‘How do you restore people’s trust?’ [Video] | Trey Gowdy railed against the erosion of trust between the American people and the DOJ during a hearing before Congress today: I want to start with something that s very important to me, Gowdy began, and I think it s important to all people in this country of good conscience, irrespective of their political ideation, and that s the independence of the Department of Justice. In my judgment, 2016 and 2017 have been challenging years for the Department of Justice. Gowdy then went into the various legal procedures for charging citizens, including political players like Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey. Mr. Conyers asked you whether or not it was appropriate for the president to weigh in on an ongoing investigation, Gowdy said. And of course, the answer to that is no. It is not appropriate. It s not appropriate in 2017. It wasn t appropriate when President Obama did it in the IRS targeting scandal. It wasn t appropriate when President Obama did it in the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton s server. It is never appropriate for a president to tell a Department of Justice what outcome it would reach. I just wish my friends on the other side of the aisle would have the same kind of outrage when President Obama did it as they do now. Then Gowdy asked a last question. How do you restore people s trust Republicans and Democrats confidence in a Department of Justice when it seems like different rules apply depending on who s in power? he asked.Attorney General Sessions gave a direct answer. Well, it s a good question and important question, Sessions responded. We intend to do our work, according to the established principles of the Department of Justice. We will not be infected by politics or bias. We will only make decisions we believe are right and just. We re not going to unlawfully use the department to advance a political agenda I am determined that when the years go by, that people will say this Department of Justice did not crumble. Read more: bpr | 1real |
Sudan, Africa and the Mosaic of Horrors | Sudan, Africa and the Mosaic of Horrors 27.10.2016 "What could be the most striking image, one that would clearly illustrate the destructive involvement of the United States in Sudan?" I ask. "In short, what should I photograph, that could show the suffering of the Sudanese people?" "Let's go and photograph what is left of the Al-Shifa factory," I am told. "It is terrible, and truly symbolic." It is actually close to impossible to photograph just about anything in Sudan. For right or wrong reasons, the government is paranoid. Elaborate permits have to be issued for traveling outside the main urban areas, and for taking photos and videos even inside the capital city of Khartoum itself. If one dares to at all, one has to work fast and clandestinely, even if one is not planning to do anything damaging to Sudan. by ANDRE VLTCHEK Print version Font Size Why was I here? After making my films, after covering the horrid wars of the African Great Lakes, after witnessing the awful devastation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I had to finally come to Sudan, which for me represented that remaining, that last piece of the 'puzzle'; a part in the mosaic of the horrors which are now covering almost the entire continent of Africa. I thought that I had to be here, in order to understand all the subtle nuances of how Western imperialist designs have been fragmenting and ruining this entire continent. I convinced one of my friends in Khartoum to accompany me, and on my third day in Sudan, we drove towards the 'legendary' sight of the former Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Bahri, Khartoum North. The path we took led through relatively affluent neighborhoods, full of large houses, even villas, some of which, I was told, belong to Omar al-Bashir himself, and to his relatives. Our car passed near the bizarre complex of Al-Noor Mosque, which is built in a Turkish style. "This may be the only mosque in the world, which has a supermarket behind its walls," my guide explained, smiling sarcastically. "The investment and idea came from our President; from al-Bashir himself." A few minutes later we see what we came here for: the site, the rubble, the devastation . A surviving chimney of the factory is right in front of us. On the left-hand side of the road, it is just pure destruction. 18 years after the 'event', nothing grows here, and nothing, no structures have replaced what has been converted into debris. I work fast. I don't want to get caught. I came here in order to document the brutality of the Western global regime, but somehow here I feel like a thief, like an intruder. At this point I still don't know why. US missile destroyed factory: Clinton The Al-Shifa factory was hit and destroyed by US Tomahawk cruise missiles in 1998, just a few days after the terrorist attacks on the American embassies in both Kenya and Tanzania. President Bill Clinton ordered the attack, arguing that the compound was storing nerve gas, something that was strongly denied by both the Sudanese government and the owner of the plant. On October 20 th , 2005, The New York Times reported in its uncommonly critical article: " American officials have acknowledged over the years that the evidence that prompted President Clinton to order the missile strike on the Shifa plant was not as solid as first portrayed. Indeed, officials later said that there was no proof that the plant had been manufacturing or storing nerve gas, as initially suspected by the Americans, or had been linked to Osama bin Laden, who was a resident of Khartoum in the 1980's... no apology has been made and no restitution offered, which has Sudan's government steaming, even seven years after the ground shook and the dark sky over Khartoum turned light as the plant was hit. On the most recent anniversary of the bombing, Sudanese authorities did what they always do and repeated their call for a United Nations investigation of the American attack on the factory, which, if nothing else, was a major provider of medicines for humans and animals at the time it was destroyed. Mustafa Osman Ismail, who was foreign minister until recently, also raised the issue at the United Nations summit meeting in New York last month, saying the bombing "damaged the development efforts of my country and deprived my people of basic medicines."" "It is thoroughly paradoxical," I am told, as we are driving away. "The Americans ruined Sudan's most important medicine supply. They bombed a private factory that actually belonged to a person with extremely close business ties to the United States." But this is not the only paradox that I will encounter in this country. And it is not the only paradox in its relationship with the arch tormentor - the United States. *** In Khartoum, I met dozens of people: Sudanese people, Eritrean people, Europeans as well as Asians. I kept putting the same questions to everyone: is Sudan really at odds with the West, particularly with the United States? Or is 'the game' actually much more complex than that? Western media again distorts the truth If Sudan is really a brutal dictatorship, then Sudanese people are shockingly outspoken. Those who are opposing the government are speaking against it openly, even in front of a total stranger like myself. This would be unthinkable even in today's Egypt or Turkey. "But no names, please, no names," I am told. I understand. I take notes, but do not write down any names. A man working for an international organization is laughing, as we are having dinner: "In Sudan, people can meet and say whatever they want. Nobody cares. But god forbid if they begin to organize." He is talkative and friendly. But later I find out that he thinks (and tells his colleagues) that I am a 'spy', which, in turn, is explained to me, is quite the usual way of looking at each other here. It is enough to be half Eritrean or Ethiopian to be suspected of spying. All Westerners are flatly considered to be professional spies, no matter how strong their anti-imperialist credentials are. This constant suspicion is what made me uncomfortable in Sudan, from the first moment I stepped off the plane. I never felt like this in Eritrea or in Zimbabwe. There, they knew who I was and what I do: they read my books and have watched my films, and consequently they trusted me. Here, one paradox piles on top of another. There is this brutal embargo, and open confrontation between the West and Sudan. Already, many years ago, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against the President. It is almost impossible to get a Sudanese visa with a US passport. But, as I am told, half of the Sudanese parliamentarians are holding US citizenship and regularly 'commute' between Sudan and North America. Bizarre? Yes, thoroughly. Is it even possible? Apparently it is: welcome to Sudan! In the meantime, over one of the tastiest steaks I have ever had in my life, my acquaintance spills his heart out to me (allegedly a foreign spy): "We have some of the best meat in the world... The embargo means, no chemicals, everything is organic. Sudanese are herders... Beef, sheep... Such a rich land! We have plenty of water below the ground. Our people are nice, they are peaceful, welcoming... We want to be friends with everybody in this world." At the end, he helps to arrange a car for me, for the following day. He is not supposed to, as I am not allowed to drive anywhere in this country. Especially if he thinks that I'm a spy. Things are slightly confusing. But I am quickly getting used to it. *** Several African and foreign analysts now believe that the events in Sudan, the West's desire to destabilize it, to overthrow its government and ultimately to break the country into pieces, are closely linked to the horrific past and present of the rest of Central Africa, particularly to Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC. Others dispute it. The disagreements are often only over whether the main booty of the West was actually supposed to be the Democratic Republic of Congo or Sudan. In his legendary work, first published in 2004, CENTRAL AFRICA: 15 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR. THE INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT, Dr. Helmut Strizek, a German academic, argues: " Most people expected that Clinton with his "leftist" leanings would pressurize the Bashir-Turabi regime into a process of democratization in line with the Bush-Mitterrand approach that had been adopted after the end of the Cold War. But things took a different course. Clinton and Madeleine Albright, the new American Ambassador to the U.N., considered Sudan to be a "rogue state" and the number one enemy in Central Africa. They therefore opted for a proxy approach ("get others to fight your war"), a well known strategy that had been applied during the Cold War. Mitterrand was unlikely to comply with the intended "regime change" in Khartoum. He was apparently not informed about Washington's Sudan policy and could not understand the effects this new policy had on the Rwandan problem. After the Somalia disaster of 3 October 1993, Madeleine Albright used all the tricks in the book to minimize a U.S. contribution to the UNAMIR peacekeeping force envisaged in the Arusha Agreements. These activities were the first signs that the U.S. wished to reduce its commitment in favour of power sharing in Rwanda, help Museveni and his friend, Paul Kagame, to win the Rwandan war, and find other anti-Khartoum allies." The horrors in Rwanda occurred in 1994 and then the US-backed Tutsi RPF took power almost immediately there (or one could say almost simultaneously), the same year. One year later, Rwanda and Uganda began one of the most brutal and genocidal wars in the history of the 20 th Century - the one against the people of the DRC. The war continues until now, and is fought on behalf of several Western powers and business interests. By the recent count, at least 10 million people have already lost their lives. The West was interested in chipping off several resource-rich parts of Sudan, including the then so-called southern Sudan. Neighboring Uganda was extremely interested in the 'project', too. It was enjoying full impunity and was clearly emerging as a brutal regional power. It had already supplied, trained and hardened the RPF cadres, (before the RPF took power in neighboring Rwanda). It was already helping with plundering the DRC, and it felt suddenly ready to play and to think big. Not everyone was impressed. But the stakes were extremely high, and rebellious heads, those that did not want to support the West's Machiavellian designs, began to roll. Helmut Strizek continues: " UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali was considered in Washington to be a "French and Sudanese sympathizer". He became a prominent victim of the approach to Sudan. Richard Clarke reveals a strange deal: "Albright and I and a handful of others (Michael Sheehan, Jamie Rubin) had entered into a pact together in 1996 to oust Boutros-Ghali as Secretary-General of the United Nations, a secret plan we had called Operation Orient Express (...). The entire operation had strengthened Albright's hand in the competition to be Secretary of State in the second Clinton administration." (CLARKE 2004:201/202). This pact was forged after an attempt - attributed to the Khartoum regime - to kill Egypt's President Mubarak during a conference of the Organization for African Unity in Addis Ababa in June 1995. "Following that event, Egypt and we (joined by other countries in the region) sought and obtained the United Nations Security Council's sanctions on Sudan." Well, Egypt was always on the side of the British colonialists, when it came to the wars against Sudan. Similar to his predecessors, Mubarak faithfully served the Empire. In 1998, Bill Clinton organized a 'meeting' in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, in order to amalgamate a group of the proxies - those willing to launch a war against Khartoum. Helmut Strizek again: " Rather than promoting democracy the meeting was intended to prepare for war against Khartoum with the help of this so-called "new generation of African leaders". But the war never took place. Shortly after Clinton left Africa, an absurd war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Laurent Kabila, whose anti-democratic record - according to different reports in the press - had made Clinton feel very uneasy in Entebbe, used this war as an excuse to leave the anti-Khartoum alliance and try to get rid of his Rwandan "protectors" in late July 1998. As a result the anti-Khartoum alliance collapsed." " While the planned war failed to materialise, the joint U.S.-U.K. policy initiative to topple the Sudan government continued. Although Richard Clarke would like to make the world believe that the bombing of a chemical plant in Khartoum on 20 August 1998 in retaliation for the Al Qaida attacks on the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam was a success story, in fact it was a failure. This attack only exacerbated anti-American feelings, because the Sudan government had apparently not supported Osama bin Laden after he left Sudan in 1995. The failed attempt to kill bin Laden the same day in Afghanistan reinforced his belief that he was protected by "providence" and so he stepped up the fight against the "American devil"." " Despite the improved relations between Sudan and Egypt, there was no change in the policy to bring about a regime change in Khartoum before the end of the Clinton era. Even Jimmy Carter, who cannot be suspected of excessive sympathy with Muslim fundamentalism, disapproved of this inflexible approach in 1999. "The people in Sudan want to resolve the conflict. The biggest obstacle is U.S. government policy. The U.S. is committed to overthrowing the government in Khartoum. Any sort of peace effort is aborted, basically by policies of the United States. Instead of working for peace in Sudan, the U.S. government has basically promoted a continuation of the war." What Jimmy Carter said is definitely correct, but it does not, of course, apply exclusively to Sudan. It could be traced to almost all the conflicts in which the Empire has some involvement (therefore, to almost all of them), from those in Africa to those in the Middle East, including Syria. Helmut Strizek believes that the wars in the African Great Lakes Region were directly connected to the US attempt at destabilizing Sudan, that they were actually ignited by the West, for Sudan to be destroyed or conquered in the end. But many others, including a legendary Canadian international lawyer, Christopher Black, who has been deeply involved in the events of the region (where he was working for the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania), disagree. Chris wrote to me, shortly after I sent to him Strizek's report: " Strizek... He testified for the defense in our trial at the ICTR and put forward this thesis about Sudan. I think most of what he says is correct but found then and still find his theory that the war in Rwanda was about Sudan a little difficult to accept. It may have been one of the considerations for Museveni and the US and UK etc. but it was not the primary one. The primary one was the war on Zaire, to kick out Mobutu and break Congo into pieces, That was the central plan for the RPF, US, UK, Belgium etc. re Rwanda and I have a letter from Kagame saying so. Strizek was used by an opposing defense team in my trial to try to make it look like I forged that letter from Kagame and I went after him about that. I think he fell into a trap about that - that is that other defense team, who I am sure were working for the prosecution, tricked him into doing. We discussed it later and he admitted perhaps he had been wrong but would not totally retreat. But we are in touch still... So in my opinion, the rest of his paper is basically correct re the geopolitical situation and he is correct on who invaded Rwanda and is responsible for that war, but I disagree that Sudan was the central objective of that war - that objective was Zaire. I agree re Sudan's importance but I fail to see how the take over of Rwanda had any effect on the attempt to break up Sudan. It is not on Sudan's border, Uganda is. No doubt Museveni etc. wanted that result - but I could never quite see how Rwanda fitted into that picture except in general terms - that is the US etc. wanting to take over all central Africa which would make them stronger further north in Sudan etc. But it is clear from all the other evidence at the trial and that of the French expert Dr. Bernard Lugan and others that the main objective of the Rwanda war was to take over Rwanda so they could use it to attack and break up Zaire, which is what they did." My comrade, a Ugandan opposition politician Arthur Tewungwa, agrees with Christopher Black, but he also thinks that the West 'drenched in blood' the entire region, whatever have been its 'primary goals': "Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC have all been the victims of a cross-Atlantic foreign policy that has left the region disfigured and drenched in blood. While the motives have been presented as altruistic, the net result has been dreadful. Loud Western propaganda based on simplistic interpretations has been the order of the day. Sadly this approach has drawn celebrities and other well-intentioned individuals who have contributed to suffering equaled only during WWII. Darfur, Luwero, Eastern Congo and Rwanda have narratives built that don't stand the test of objective scrutiny. Who will repair the damage visited on these places? The only answer is the victims. The do-gooders have done enough bad to warrant their exit left of stage!" *** I then asked my close friend and a dedicated internationalist, Mwandawiro Mghanga, Chairperson of (Marxist) Social Democratic Party of Kenya (SDP), to comment on the situation in Sudan. He expressed, in his letter, a strong opinion and his support for the Sudanese people, against the sanctions and against Western imperialism in general: "The economic and political sanctions imposed against Sudan by Western countries have existed for many years. However, despite disrupting the development of the country they have not succeeded into forcing the people with a long and proud history and culture to surrender its freedom to Western imperialism. Western countries imposed the sanctions against Sudan ostensibly for its violation of the human rights of South Sudan which until recently was part of Sudan. But even after the government of Sudan participated in the democratic process that gave birth to the Republic of South Sudan (RSS), still the West continued with its hostilities and sanctions against Sudan. Sudan is now accused by the West of gross violations of human rights in Darfur. Yet despite its propaganda, the West is not actually interested in solving the problem of Darfur but in undermining the government of Sudan, compromising its sovereignty and carving another country out of Sudan. After RSS and Darfur the West will encourage another region of Sudan to demand to split and so on until Sudan is left into a tiny country like Rwanda. In fact, until the RSS was created, Sudan was the largest country in Africa in terms geographical size and ethnical diversity. This did not please Western imperialism that was imposed into Africa through the partition and balkanization of the second largest continent in the World and sharing it among the European colonial powers. Colonialism then existed in Africa through the notorious tactic of divide and rule that it continues today. The goal of Pan - Africanism and African Union for regional integration and eventual political union of African countries has always been seen as a threat to imperialist's interests in Africa. In this context, Sudan like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with it rich natural resources is seen to be too big by the West to dominate and therefore all means possible are used to balkanize it. They do not even care that the creation of RSS from Sudan has escalated inter-ethnic violence, violations of human rights and undermined real freedoms. The national liberation hero of Sudan and leader of South Sudan John Garang was assassinated by the West ´with the connivance of the Ugandan government under President Yoweri Museveni because he was leading the struggle for the liberation of the whole of Sudan and not the creation of RSS. In the meanwhile, the sanctions against Sudan have only made the country more determined to safeguard its freedom and independence, to explore and implement self - reliance strategies and to search for alternative development partners - Russia and China. And so Sudan struggles and lives on." Not everyone in Africa feels deep solidarity with Sudan, though. The country has an extremely complex history and relationships with its neighbours. My close colleague from Eritrea, usually very outspoken and passionate about the West's devastating involvement in Africa, this time just commented, simply and dryly: " The only thing I can say is that in Sudan it's not similar to Eritrea - ours is a clear case of economic sabotage, injustice, and double standards." *** The last day before my departure, I ended up working with a lady, an acquaintance of mine, who spent a long year working in Darfur. Are things there really as they are described by the Western mass media? We sit in the lobby of my hotel, drinking coffee, and I'm taking notes. No names, of course, no names here... But she speaks freely, confidently, and what she describes is actually not much different from the nightmares occurring in many other parts of Africa: " It is extremely tiring working in Darfur. You don't realize it when you are still there; at some point it all becomes somehow 'normal', but then when you leave the place, it all comes back to you, and it is hard to keep living a normal life afterwards. You are asking whether it is it as horrible there, as we are told? Yes it is, and perhaps worse... Killings and rapes, refugees and despair, and great suffering of the people... But it is not happening, honestly, just because of this government, and the state-backed Janjaweed militias... although they can be blamed for many terrible acts, of course. But the other side is not blameless either. And local people almost never report crimes committed by the rebels, and the Western media hardly mentions them..." What I want to know is what role the West is actually playing in Darfur? " The West is definitely trying to encourage Darfur to leave Sudan. The West, even Israel, is supporting Abdelwahid rebels from Fur African tribe. It is not unlike what it did in South Sudan. Darfur is rich in uranium and other raw materials. The conflict in Darfur, and brutality of it, is actually being fuelled from outside. The UN peacekeeping force UNAMID is thoroughly ineffective in Darfur. It hardly interferes on behalf of the local people. One has to wonder, what are their mandates and true goals there. I asked and was told that they are there 'to report'. It often appears that the so-called international community is doing everything for the conflict to continue, so it could justify its push for separation. In the meantime, the refugees are flowing into neighbouring Chad, and elsewhere. In the camps in Chad, they are often screened and interviewed, by foreigners, even Israelis... I don't know what happens there, in those camps, afterwards." As we speak about Chad - its top military brass is having a joint meeting with local, Sudanese commanders. The entire hotel lobby is filled with men in various uniforms. Some are armed. I then ask to be taken to the so-called 'open areas' outside Khartoum; places inhabited by the South Sudanese refugees. Like Darfur now, South Sudan had been, in the past, destabilized and encouraged to leave the Republic of the Sudan. The West did its best to create this the 'youngest country on Earth', rich in oil and many other resources. As I was already explained to on several occasions by foreigners who have been based in South Sudan, the place has been, from the beginning, an ungovernable, and an artificial country, ruled by local warlords but above all, by countless international organizations and NGOs. That was actually the plan of the West from the outset. The situation in South Sudan is now so terrible, that people are fleeing across the newly marked border, to the Republic of the Sudan. Before the breakup, the exiles would be processed simply as IDP's, but now they are 'true refugees', as they are technically coming from a different country. We drive slowly to one of the 'open areas' called Altakamul, in Alhag Youseif town. My acquaintances are feeding me with the latest data from UNHCR and other sources: "there are now 7 camps for South Sudanese refugees in White Nile State, with a population of 101,495. And there are 35,507 refugees located in the open areas, in and around Khartoum." How are they treated here? "Right after the separation, there was a lot of talk about South Sudanese people being our 'brothers and sisters'. We were told to treat them exactly as we would treat our own people. Some actually have relatives here, even houses. But now, with the economical difficulties that Sudan is facing, things are becoming very problematic." Altakamus is a tough, miserably poor area, covered by sand and dust. As with everywhere else, I am not supposed to photograph here. And as with everywhere else, I do. Garbage covers almost entire alleys and the sides of roads. The whole area consists almost exclusively of only two colours with some varieties of shades: yellow and grey. Only very few economic activities could be detected. At this hour, children should be in school, but many are not. So this is where the increasing number of South Sudanese people are now ending up; this is the result of yet another 'glorious' Western experiment on human beings: of mingling with the borders, creating new states that should serve the Empire's political and economic interests. How many more are 'planned' for this area? We know of at least of some others: Goma (the DRC), Darfur (Sudan), Jubaland (Somalia). *** I don't know where Sudan is heading. Despite many problems, despite its clearly capitalist leaning, corruption and economic troubles, I am impressed with many things here. Khartoum looks definitely much cleaner and safer than Nairobi or Kampala, two cities in countries that are fully supported and often loudly glorified by the West. In Nairobi, more than half the people live in desperate, deadly, even 'toxic' slums. In Khartoum, poverty has a much gentler face. Despite sanctions, despite everything... Sudanese leaders have many new grand plans for their country: new housing developments, a new international airport, new office towers, hotels, riverfronts, office buildings and shopping malls. Some of these projects are now delayed, or even cancelled, but others are ongoing and on target. Life is tough here, and much tougher in the provinces. Because of the sanctions, many goods and basic equipment (even those for the hospitals) are missing. No credit cards are accepted here. Inflation is mounting. Goods and services are often calculated in dollars, but there are two parallel exchange rates in place: official and the black market one. Several times a day I hear the same question: "Do you like Sudan?" I don't know. It is a complex place, but inhabited by warm, courteous people. Honestly, this is not my fight. Here I don't see a struggle, an attempt to build an egalitarian country based on social justice. But Sudan is, to a great extent, a victim. A place which has been placed on that horrid hit list of the Empire and selected for demolition. And as such, I feel, it deserves to be supported. I wandered through the National Museum, with its exquisite artefacts. Two local schoolgirls wearing headscarves approached me, demanding to take selfies with me, on their phone. At times, life appears to be almost 'normal', but there is always some tension. As we drive through the city of Omdurman, I ask my friend: "Is it true what one reads in Western press; that they amputate hands for theft, that they are nailing people on the cross?" She laughs, mockingly: "Of course not! They got rid of these practices a long time ago! If they kept up with them, half of the government would be running around without hands!" *** But who is who here, and who works for whom? I am told that imaginary 'spies' are really everywhere. One day, I was sitting with a friend and with a local filmmaker in a cafe, discussing the possibility of my returning here and making a documentary film. The filmmaker was offering to drive me to Port Sudan if I come back, even to arrange my visa and all the necessary permits. At one point, we began discussing my latest novel "Aurora" . He asked about the plot. I told him that the book is about the European cultural institutions, which are funding young artists and thinkers in almost all developing countries, then using the arts and 'culture' as a vehicle for spreading capitalist and pro-Western propaganda, silencing almost all rebellious voices. At first interested, the filmmaker became gradually very edgy, and towards the end of my explanation, he apologized and ran away from the cafe, faster than the speed of light. I never heard from him again. "You hit the nail on its head," my friend began laughing, right after he vanished. "He is funded by all those organizations that you mentioned. You scared him witless." Before I left the country, all my notes 'mysteriously' disappeared. Someone entered my hotel room and took both notepad and my Mont Blanc pen, which was attached to it. The Mont Blanc had been, for many years, one of my dearest writing tools. Practically, it was not easy to depart Sudan. At the airport, my passport was endlessly scrutinized, and in the end I was ordered to produce my 'registration paper'. I was told that registration is not required for stays under 30 days. I began expecting the worst. But in the end, the security apparatus allowed me to leave. But which security apparatus was harassing me, really? Who is in charge in this country? I will most likely never find out. In 1898, during the Battle of Omdurman (and later in 1899 during the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat), British imperialism debilitated, and eventually ruined the entire Sudan. British forces relied on their alliance with the Egyptians. In modern history, the West has never really left this proud nation in peace. All the terrible attacks came in the name of higher principles. The West has always claimed that it has been liberating Sudan from someone or something. In the end, the Sudanese people have suffered immensely. Those who were supposed to be 'freed' were actually mercilessly sacrificed. Some things never change!
Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are revolutionary novel "Aurora" and two bestselling works of political non-fiction: " Exposing Lies Of The Empire " and " Fighting Against Western Imperialism " . View his other books here . Andre is making films for teleSUR and Al-Mayadeen. After having lived in Latin America, Africa and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter . Sent to Pravdareport by the author | 1real |
No, Conservatives, The ‘Golden Showers’ Trump Story Isn’t An Elaborate 4Chan Hoax | This one s going to hurt, conservatives, so be prepared for it. You know how you have been triumphantly celebrating reports on Gateway Pundit (the same site that created a fake story about Michael Brown fracturing Officer Darren Wilson s eye socket) and other right-wing propaganda farms that the entire story about Trump s campaign colluding with Russia directly and Trump hiring a couple of nice ladies to pee on his bed was manufactured by trolls on 4Chan? Sorry, guys, no such luck.Lying sh*tbag and dumbest man on the internet (Google it) Jim Hoft writes:According to 4Chan these documents were created by a 4Chan user and sent to anti-Trumper Rick Wilson knowing he would act on this tip:4Chan discussed this tonight:** Political hacks emailed documents to #NeverTrump jackass Rick Wilson about Trump making people piss on a bed. ** Rick Wilson thought it was real and gave it to leftists at the CIA ** The CIA of the USA put this in their official classified intelligence report on Russian involvement in the US election ** Donald Trump and Obama were both given private sessions with the CIA to discuss this. ** The CIA concluded that the Russians plan to blackmail Trump with this story we made upThe 4Chan users then link to this:So they took what I told Rick Wilson and added a Russian spy angle to it.They still believe it. Guys, they re truly fucking desperate there s no remaining Trump scandal that s credible.Then there s this If these journalists were real journalists and not fake journalists then they would have found that the original documents did not conform to CIA or UK intelligence requirements. It looks like the liberal mainstream media got punked again, Hoft celebrates in his latest drivel. If this is how easy it is to fool the liberal media then I m going to have my niece start sending them her Harry Potter fan fictions as long as she writes Confidential / Sensitive Source at the top. The right-wing journalist s fans chimed in, almost as ecstatic as Donald Trump watching some nice ladies pee upon hearing the news that the liberal media had fake newsed the Benghazi or whatever their current lingo is. But not so fast, conservatives!If the header is an issue, let s keep in mind that it has been made clear from the beginning that this report was not issued by MI6. It was issued by someone who is former MI6 and probably has his own style of header. That entire argument is dead from the get-go. But the post is from November 1, you might say. Yes, this is true that the post predates the full release of the information, but Mother Jones has been reporting on this for longer than that. In fact, it seems that the post in question was meant to discredit that much lighter report and has simply been repurposed as a matter of convenience. Mother Jones previously did not release the full details including the golden showers bit because it had not been confirmed, but has since done so as the information has been released elsewhere. But how could they know the source, then, if he was confidential, you ask as your eyes dart rapidly back and forth searching for something anything to salvage your ridiculous claim that internet trolls fooled multiple intelligence agencies. Here s the thing the post didn t identify the source. The post identified who the poster thought was the source, but Wilson has been very clear he is not the source.You're wrong if you believe1. What we had came from /pol.2. That I was Buzzfeed's source.Try again, boys. Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 11, 2017 I ll settle it this way; if arguendo I had been their source, I hereby release the authors of the story, its editors, and BuzzFeed generally from any off-the-record/background protections of anonymity I would have asked for, Wilson wrote in a long post regarding the allegations. No one has updated the story to name him as the source, so that s pretty well settled. Naturally, he included a stab at conservatives for calling this fake news while believing actual fake news:The real shame of this entire situation is that we re wasting valuable time Trump could be using to uncover the real secrets of John Podesta and Hillary Clinton s PizzaGate global child kidnapping and cannibalism ring. You know, the important stuff. But, but, but, you stammer in desperation? Fine. We ll just ask you to consider that the intelligence community does know the identity of the source, has worked with him in the past, and considers him to be credible.Will this stop you, conservatives, from sharing your ridiculous claims that this is FAKE NEWS and a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT as Donald Trump put it? Of course not but you re going to look even more stupid when you do.Featured image via Getty Images/Alex Wong | 1real |
Wall St. Regulators Propose Stricter Pay Rules for Bankers - The New York Times | Regulators released rules on Thursday morning that aim to restrict how big financial institutions can pay their top executives. The new limits on banker bonuses would make the employees at the biggest banks wait at least four years to receive parts of their annual pay. If the proposals are completed in the coming months, banks would also have to reclaim bonuses from bankers who take risks that lead to big financial losses. The regulators are responding to an uproar of criticism over Wall Street’s pay practices after the biggest American banks had to take government bailout money during the 2008 financial crisis. That public anger has been rekindled during the 2016 presidential campaign season, putting pressure on regulators to tighten their oversight of Wall Street. The new rules on executive pay grew out of the 2010 financial overhaul, but it has taken years to put them into practice, even though President Obama has pushed regulators to complete them. The administration is running out of time to get rules approved before a new president is elected. Rick Metsger, the vice chairman at the National Credit Union Administration — one of six agencies responsible for drafting the rules — said on Thursday that politicians and the public “want senior executives at large financial institutions held accountable if their desire for personal enrichment leads to that results in material losses. ” The structure of executive pay packages before the financial crisis was blamed for encouraging bankers to take unnecessary risks. In some cases, pay was set up in ways that motivated bankers to seek gains even if their actions led to losses over the longer term. The new rules will force many banks to withhold pay for longer than they have in the past, to ensure that top employees can be held accountable for the consequences of their . The proposals leave many financial firms, including large asset managers and hedge funds, shielded from the new restrictions because of the way the regulators have defined which institutions are subject to them. Young Wall Street workers, and potential recruits who might once have aspired to jobs in the industry, are already decamping for less regulated corners of finance and corporate America, including Silicon Valley. For those institutions subject to the rules, the new restrictions are broadly in line with changes that many banks have already been making since the financial crisis. For instance, it is already an industry standard to wait three years to release bonuses. The new rules aim to push that to four years. There has been less consistency in how banks have approached seizing pay from employees if their actions lead to losses. The new proposal makes bankers’ pay vulnerable to clawbacks for seven years after the pay is received, if they are found to have engaged in misconduct or taken actions that led to big losses. Steven Eckhaus, an expert on executive compensation at Cadwalader, Wickersham Taft, said he did not see the new rules “having a big impact except around the margins. ” “This largely codifies the practices that have evolved over the last eight years,” he said. The regulators were supposed to propose the new rules within 90 days of ’s passage. Instead, the regulatory agencies delivered a first draft of the rules in 2011, but that draft was widely panned as being too weak. In the previous draft, the largest banks had to hold back at least 50 percent of all pay for three years. Under the new proposals, the same banks will have to withhold 60 percent of that pay for four years. The new draft also applies the limits to a broader set of “material ” at big banks, not just top executives. Marcus Stanley, the policy director at the advocacy organization Americans for Financial Reform, said the new version was stronger than the 2011 proposal, but did not push the banks to go far enough beyond already accepted practices. He said, for instance, that he had hoped that banks would have to hold back pay for more than four years because big losses on bank investments can often take longer than that to materialize. In Britain, by contrast, banks are now forced to hold back some pay for at least seven years. European countries have generally imposed stronger restrictions on executive compensation since the financial crisis, including some hard caps on salary and bonuses. The new American rules would apply only to compensation — generally bonuses — which varies according to the performance of the bank and the individual executive. Even without the rules, banks have faced steady pressure from regulators and shareholders since the financial crisis to change the way they pay their employees and tie more compensation to a firm’s rather than success. JPMorgan Chase, for instance, recently announced that it was altering the pay package of its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, so that he is compensated primarily with stock that he will receive only if the firm achieves certain levels of future profitability. Mr. Dimon will get the stock after five years, which is longer than the new rules propose. Banks and other financial institutions have generally been cutting pay in recent years because of their lagging performance, and other parts of the legislation have limited their ability to take big risks and earn the big profits that were common before the financial crisis. This week, Goldman Sachs said that the pool of money it had put aside so far this year for employee compensation is 40 percent smaller than it was at the same time last year. The new rules were debated and described for the first time at a meeting on Thursday of the National Credit Union Administration, the first of the six agencies to take up the proposal. The public will have until July to comment on the new rules, and it will likely be months after that before they go into effect. | 0fake |
McConnell, after his no-shutdowns pledge, quickly finds himself boxed in | Less than six weeks on his powerful Capitol Hill perch, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is on the verge of watching one of his most important promises — to never again shut down the government — go up in smoke.
Lawmakers on Friday began a 10-day hiatus, leaving them just four days when they return to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security to avoid the shutdown of a key federal agency. The DHS budget fight follows an effort among GOP conservatives to roll back President Obama’s recent executive orders on immigration.
Conservatives are adamant that the security agency should be funded only if the legislation also overrules Obama’s orders, which prevent the deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. But Senate Democrats, even the few who oppose Obama’s moves, have blocked the House-passed legislation with repeated filibusters.
That has left McConnell trapped inside a legislative box that he had vowed to avoid — and one that for the previous four years his close ally, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), frequently wandered into without an exit strategy.
McConnell was determined not to repeat those mistakes.
“Let me make it clear: There will be no government shutdowns,” McConnell said the day after he won reelection and a Republican rout gave his party the Senate majority.
But this week, McConnell declared the Senate stuck, and in need of Boehner’s help. The speaker was not in a helping mood. Boehner said he has no interest in passing legislation through the House that could draw Democratic support in the Senate.
“The House has done its job,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “We’ve spoken. And now it’s up to the Senate to do their job.”
A shutdown of one agency would not cause nearly the same disruptions as the October 2013 shutdown of the federal government, which resulted in national parks closing, furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and a general sense of disgust with Washington dysfunction. If no deal is reached, the Department of Homeland Security would deem many workers essential — particularly those overseeing border security, airline safety, disaster responses and domestic terror assessments — but even those federal workers would be going without an assurance of being paid.
Many Republicans fear that public reaction would mirror October 2013, when Republicans tried to force Obama to accept a funding plan that would have gutted his landmark health-care law. That shutdown cratered public support for Republicans, leaving them in a hole that took them almost a year to climb out of and McConnell adamant about not repeating the mistake.
In an interview just before he formally took over as majority leader, McConnell said his biggest political goal was a productive governance that was “not scary” to the public. He said his aim was to boost the Republican 2016 presidential nominee’s chances. Some Republicans fear that Democrats would win a DHS-shutdown fight by portraying the GOP majority as recklessly endangering national security over a political fight with Obama.
“I don’t think a shutdown of the department whose purpose is to secure our homeland is a good idea for anybody,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the most outspoken critic of the 2013 strategy that led to a 16-day shutdown, said Thursday.
Some McConnell advisers suggest that a brief lapse in funding for one federal agency would not break his no-shutdowns promise. McConnell made no public mention of the DHS showdown, sticking to his comments that Boehner will have to make the next move.
“I think it’s clear we can’t go forward in the Senate unless you all have heard something I haven’t,” McConnell said. “And so the next move, obviously, is up to the House.”
The year-end funding showdown in December was built around the principle of avoiding this kind of brinkmanship, with Boehner and McConnell scuttling the possibility of a broad shutdown by agreeing to pass 11 of the 12 annual bills that fund the federal agencies.
The DHS was left out because of opposition to the executive action Obama announced deferring deportations of millions of illegal immigrants. The DHS, the agency in charge of immigration and border policy, was given a short-term extension of funds until Feb. 27, buying time for McConnell and Boehner to come up with an escape plan — one that has yet to appear.
“I have every confidence we will meet the deadline, one way or the other,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), McConnell’s top lieutenant on the leadership team. “Just how, I can’t tell you right this minute.”
Democrats said even a small-scale shutdown so soon on McConnell’s watch would hurt him politically. They believe it would set a precedent, with the far right wing pushing him around in the same manner that House conservatives have backed Boehner into corners he wanted to avoid.
“I think it’s a big problem,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber. “They said: We’re going to show we can run the trains on time and we are, quote, not scary. So if they start off by jeopardizing funding for the premier agency for America’s defense against terrorism — not a good start.”
There is time to avert a shutdown, but it almost certainly involves capitulation to the Democrats.
One possibility is to remove the language on immigration and pass a “clean” funding bill, which would probably prompt the biggest revolt from conservative activists. A second option is to pass another short-term extension of DHS funding for a few more weeks or months.
The latter idea, more palatable to conservatives, puts off for another day the same predicament the leadership finds itself in now.
A third option is to dig in for a fight and let funding dry up for an agency that is seen as essential to protecting the nation.
Although that is anathema to many Republicans, the idea has gained traction among leading establishment conservatives.
“Both sides run a risk here,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said. He argued that Republicans should leave in place Obama’s order that protected children from deportation but instead dig in against the more expansive 2014 order that extended the protections to several million adult illegal immigrants, even if it means a lapse in funding for DHS.
“The Democrats are wrong here to say, ‘I’m not going to fund DHS, because I insist that President Obama get all he wants when it comes to executive amnesty,’ ” Graham said. “I think that is a huge mistake.”
McConnell, stoic in public, is the same way in private, senators say. He has not betrayed any worry about the pending deadline.
“I think everybody’s worried about it,” said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who is the longest-
serving member of the GOP caucus and has served with McConnell for 30 years. “McConnell’s a pro. He doesn’t show his feelings.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), the conservative Democrat who opposes Obama’s immigration orders, said McConnell needs to convince Boehner that they have to pass the funding bill without any of the policy conditions and instead send over a discrete piece of legislation that would repeal the presidential orders.
“If they don’t have me, where do they go?” said Manchin, the Democrat who most frequently partners with Republicans.
“The bottom line,” he said, “is they could probably clean this up very quickly.” | 0fake |
Doesn’t Matter WHO Hacked Podesta, If Emails are TRUE | It only takes a few moments to share an article, but the person on the other end who reads it might have his life changed forever Today's Top Stories | 1real |
LEAKED: Hillary Would Completely BAN The Most Popular Guns In America | Share This
There are so many reasons Americans should not vote for Hillary Clinton, but one of those reasons is this woman’s tyrannical plans to strip us of our Second Amendment rights. What many people do not realize is that if she becomes president, Hillary would ban many of our favorite guns, as revealed in a bombshell report that was just leaked.
In a recent WikiLeaks dump, we got an inside glimpse into Hillary’s diabolical plans to trample all over our gun rights if she becomes president. If you thought Obama’s tyranny with bypassing Congress and enacting his will via executive orders was obnoxious, it won’t hold a candle to this woman’s plans. She blatantly expressed how she would impose massive gun control through executive fiat in a manner “more aggressive than Obama,” while chipping away at our Second Amendment with a myriad of new regulations and gun laws.
While Hillary likes to pump us full of crap, claiming that “law-abiding Americans wouldn’t be targeted” with her tyranny, her broad and evasive gun control measures would directly affect Americans with no criminal records, while having zero impact on the behavior of violent criminals.
One example is Hillary calling for the “reinstatement of the national assault weapons ban and a prohibition on high-capacity magazines.” However, the result of her “assault weapons” ban would essentially take up a massive category of firearms, including the popular AR-15, while making “high capacity” magazines illegal to even possess.
We all know these types of regulations are completely ineffective in preventing gun violence since criminals have no regard for laws in the first place and are obviously not going to turn over their guns just because Hillary decides to pass a law.
Her other Constitution-subverting plan is to pass a law making it legal for “victims of gun violence” to sue gun manufacturers, which would quickly bankrupt these companies. However, Hillary’s ultimate goal is to ban all guns in America completely by utilizing the Supreme Court. With her hand-picked justice filling Antonin Scalia’s vacancy, she would have the SCOTUS revisit the District of Columbia v Heller (2008) ruling. If successful, the court would eliminate it’s previous affirmation that it is an individual’s Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
When you put all the pieces together, Hillary’s plans for America is nothing short of chilling. History taught us the brutal lesson about what happens when a populace is unarmed — images of corpses from Nazi concentration camps come to mind. Add Hillary’s gun-grabbing plan to her dream of turning America into a borderless society and flooding our country with Muslim refugees, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.
God help us if this woman is elected. Continue to share stories like this and tirelessly work to expose this woman before election day. Once she’s in office, the America that we know and love will be drastically transformed into a third-world country crap hole, and Hillary’s life-long plans will be complete. | 1real |
Over 100 Arrested In Brutal Police Crackdown On Standing Rock ‘Water Protectors’ | | October 28, 2016 Be Sociable, Share! Police arrest an elder in ceremonial garb who was praying near Cannon Ball, N.D. (Photo: Unicorn Riot/Creative Commons)
STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, North Dakota — Law enforcement commenced a violent crackdown on Native American activists blocking construction on the Dakota Access pipeline on Thursday, resulting in over 100 arrests and multiple injuries.
At least 107 people were arrested and both Native American “water protectors” and members of the media were harmed when hundreds of militarized riot police, accompanied by armored vehicles and the National Guard, stormed a blockade on North Dakota Highway 1806 and an accompanying encampment.
Among the injured was Derrick Broze , an independent journalist reporting for MintPress News from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation this week. He was shot with pepper spray and shocked with a “less-lethal” taser. Police also took his smartphone, which he had been using to document the day’s events via Facebook Live.
“Today was filled with tense moments as the Morton County Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement moved to destroy the frontline camp in a militarized fashion,” Broze told MintPress News, using a borrowed smartphone. He continued: “The water protectors chose to set fire to several barricades on [county road] 134 and [North Dakota Highway] 1806 in an attempt to hold their line. Despite identifying as press several times, the police tasered and pepper sprayed myself and several others.” http://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Broze-Standing-Rock-2.mp4
Two members of Unicorn Riot, an independent media collective, were also attacked by police, and Native American livestreamers reported being hit by rubber bullets. Report from the frontlines of the police suppression of #NoDAPL water protectors. @HennepinSheriff 's beating & macing ppl (incl our journos) pic.twitter.com/mop4pZQQwO
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) October 27, 2016
Police claim that one of the arrests came after a woman fired a gun at police , but the water protectors continue to insist that they’ve remained nonviolent and unarmed throughout their months of activism. UPDATE: Police confirm "one woman has been arrested for firing a weapon at the police line near Highway 1806." #DAPL https://t.co/10gbqmvS0e pic.twitter.com/YZvlwsUj0Y
— RT America (@RT_America) October 28, 2016
In addition to pepper spray and stun guns, law enforcement used rubber bullets and an LRAD “sound cannon” on the assembled activists, which can cause permanent hearing damage at close range. An activist posted a picture of severe facial bruising reportedly caused by a rubber bullet. Other injuries of varying severity were reported via social media and confirmed by sources at the scene. Broken ribs head injures broken arms wrists leg injuries shrapnel wounds many youths brutalized as well as elders
— Thunder Walks About (@notaxiwarrior) October 27, 2016
Law enforcement agencies at the scene included representatives of the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, as well as reinforcements from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department, a Minneapolis-area force which continues to assist in North Dakota despite a rally at Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday demanding their withdrawal from the state. #nodapl protest at Minneapolis city hall pic.twitter.com/gdrL5YjUeY
— Fibonacci Blue (@FibonacciBlue) October 25, 2016
Construction on the pipeline continued throughout the day, and is reportedly rapidly nearing completion. As police move-in w LRAD & hyper-militarized forces, #DakotaAccessPipeline construction continues unabated, nears sacred sites. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/egKhilg4NE
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) October 27, 2016
“This is modern-day genocide against my people,” Wiyaka Eagleman, a Native American citizen journalist, said while broadcasting the events on Facebook live . Live feeds of the police raid frequently cut out, and on-the-ground sources reported that cellular phone signals appeared to be jammed. Often reported by journalists and activists at protests, cell-jamming by police is technically possible but remains unproven . "This is modern day genocide to my people," declares Native livestreamer as #police attack water protectors. https://t.co/Tlfp20uZnI #NoDAPL
— Kit O'Connell (@KitOConnell) October 27, 2016
Broze reported that a group of buffalo, herded by Native riders, stampeded toward police. Police fired on the horses and their riders, reportedly injuring some of each. Cops assaulting water protectors @ Standing Rock boy shot off horse and Atsa E'sha Hoferer himself shot | #NoDAPL https://t.co/e0aT0NoSUX
Over the weekend and throughout the beginning of the week, Native activists had expanded their encampments from Standing Rock Sioux territory onto land claimed by the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners . The water protectors, however, claim that the land belongs to the Sioux under the terms of an 1851 treaty . The new encampments also bordered on a sacred burial ground where Dakota Access pipeline security personnel used attack dogs on activists on Labor Day.
By Thursday evening, police, security and National Guard had completely overrun the region, pushing water protectors back onto the reservation and onto land claimed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In one of the most disturbing reports, confirmed by Broze and social media reports, a Dakota Access pipeline security guard reportedly drove his truck onto tribal lands, threatening to run down protesters, then brandished what appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle in the Oceti Sakowin camp. A source in the camp told MintPress that the situation was eventually de-escalated by police under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. My friends on scene say this is the civilian who almost ran down at least 30 Natives with a car. It's open season on our people. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/W2lWyZlYAn
— Kelly Hayes (@MsKellyMHayes) October 27, 2016
Teepees, a sweat lodge, and other sacred items were also destroyed by police.
“Police showed no respect for the native people or their culture,” Broze said. http://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Broze-Standing-Rock.mp4
As night set in, the situation appeared to be escalating further. Broze reported : “Riot police have raided resistance camps and are still firing tear gas at protesters north of Red Warrior camp on 1806. Protesters have set an SUV on fire as a barricade on the bridge there. They are also setting the bridge on fire.” Be Sociable, Share! | 1real |
This Hilariously Brilliant Commentary On White Privilege Is Something Everyone Needs To See (VIDEO) | White privilege is a thing. There are many white people who will deny this all day long, though. They think that once slavery was over and Jim Crow laws were abolished, that racism was over. Even the white people who acknowledge white privilege often forget to check said privilege. It s infuriating to white people who actually get it, and especially to people of color. However, it is always refreshing when a white person speaks out about it intelligently, and that is just what Louis CK did on an appearance on Jay Leno s nightly comedy program.It all started with Leno asking how Louis CK s kids were doing. Louis CK responded: My kids are good. I mean, on paper they re great. They re two little white girls in America. Sometimes I look at it that way. I look at them like, you can t say anything. You re doing awesome. Just boiler plate great lives. He then goes on to talk about giving one of his daughters bubble gum flavored medicine, and how she said: Ew! and he told her Fuck you ew! You can t say ew! I m sorry. It s medicine. Most children don t have medicine. Most children in the world they get sick, they die on a rock with a bear eating them. That s how they handle it. After a bit more banter in the little white girls in America vein, Louis CK then goes on to say that you can t take people s historical context away from them. He continues: White people are always like, come on, it wasn t us! Like they want black people to forget everything. Like, every year, white people add 100 years to how long ago slavery was. I ve heard educated white people say slavery was 400 years ago. No it very wasn t. It was 140 years ago. That s two 70 year old ladies living and dying back to back. That s how recently you could buy a guy. The comedic truth continues, and it is truly refreshing to hear a straight white man recognize just how privileged he is because of being born, well, a straight white man.If only the rest of white America was this enlightened.Watch this must-see clip below, via Shaun King s Twitter:3 brilliant minutes from Louis CK on white privilege. Wrapping ugly truths is comedy is a gift.https://t.co/bND8oBTMN4 Shaun King (@ShaunKing) May 20, 2016Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
WATCH: Army Vet WRECKS Trump – Here’s the REAL Reason He Gave Generals More Control Over Bombing | Trump was supposed to be a non-interventionist, but, allegedly as soon as he saw videos of poisoned children on cable news (the same children he doesn t want coming here because other videos that were edited showed him that refugees were all big, burly, 20-something men and not mothers and children), he decided we had to intervene in Syria. And he attacked. Then he attacked Afghanistan with the biggest bomb we have.Then he was lauded for both moves, and also lauded for giving more control over this kind of thing to his generals. But Army vet Jason Kander, speaking on CNN s State of the Union, has hit the nail on the head for why Trump really gave that control to his generals: I believe he wants to take credit for good things when they happen, and blame generals when bad things happen. Kander also explained that there were only two acceptable answers to why Trump would make such a move: He s the commander-in-chief, and he also needs to defend the reasoning behind why a commander on the ground actually made the decision to bomb Afghanistan with the biggest one we ve got.Had the MOAB failed to do anything at all, Trump would definitely have blamed the general who actually authorized dropping it. Kander backed his position up by explaining how Trump blamed the generals who were in charge of the failed Yemen raid, where we lost Navy SEAL Ryan Owens. Instead of saying, We lost him, Trump said, The generals lost him. Kander also used Trump s own pseudo-explanation of whether he authorized the MOAB drop to back that truth bomb up: If you think back to when he was asked whether or not he approved the dropping of the MOAB in Afghanistan, his answer was something along the lines of, it started with Uh, and then it went from Uh, to Everybody knew exactly what was going on, which was, of course, the opposite of true. I mean, he was giving that answer because he didn t want people to know exactly whether he approved it or not. Trump won t take responsibility for failures, even military ones.Watch Kander savage Trump over it below:Featured image via screen capture from embedded video | 1real |
الجيش اليمني يهاجم قوات الحوثيين في محافظة مأرب - RT Arabic | الجيش اليمني يهاجم قوات الحوثيين في محافظة مأرب
تاريخ النشر: 26.10.2016 | 17:52 GMT | قوات موالية للرئيس هادي يهاجمون مواقع للحوثيين في محافظة مأرب - أرشيف A+ الحكومة اليمنية تتحفظ على مبادرة ولد الشيخ أحمد
وذكرت رويترز أن القتال في المحافظة اندلع غداة تسليم مبعوث الأمم المتحدة اقتراحا لإحلال السلام إلى الجماعات المسلحة التي تسيطر على العاصمة اليمنية.
وانهار هذا الأسبوع اتفاق لوقف إطلاق النار مدته 3 أيام يهدف إلى تمهيد الطريق أمام تسوية سياسية لأزمة اليمن تزامنا مع تجدد القتال، ما يهدد جهود الأمم المتحدة لإنهاء حرب مستمرة منذ 19 شهرا أدت إلى وصول الملايين في البلد الأفقر في شبه الجزيرة العربية إلى حافة المجاعة.
وذكرت وكالة الأنباء السعودية الرسمية أن القوات اليمنية قصفت بالمدفعية مواقع الحوثيين وطردتهم من بلدات في محافظة مأرب شرقي صنعاء يوم الأربعاء. Reuters Mohamed Al-Sayaghi مسلحون حوثيون في صنعاء
وقال الحوثيون الذين يسيطرون على معظم العاصمة صنعاء منذ انقلابهم على حكومة عبد ربه هادي عام 2015 إن الطائرات السعودية ضربت مصنعا للثلج على مقربة من مدينة المخاء اليمنية المطلة على البحر الأحمر فضلا عن منازل ومزارع في منطقة صرواح في محافظة مأرب ليل الثلاثاء.
ولم يتسن الحصول على تعليق من المتحدث باسم التحالف العربي بقيادة السعودية.
وتنقسم ولاءات سكان محافظة مأرب وهم في معظمهم من القبائل الجيدة التسليح والذين باتوا حلفاء لدول الخليج وبين أصدقاء للحوثيين وموالين للرئيس السابق علي عبدالله صالح.
وأعلنت الأمم المتحدة، الثلاثاء، أن إسماعيل ولد الشيخ المبعوث الخاص للأمم المتحدة إلى اليمن زار صنعاء وسلم الحوثيين وحلفاءهم من مؤيدي صالح خارطة طريق تتطرق إلى "الأمن والخطوات السياسية" ودعا طرفي النزاع إلى تمديد الهدنة والسماح بدخول المساعدات الإغاثية إلى البلاد. وقال الحوثيون إنهم سيدرسون الاقتراحات. Reuters Khaled Abdullah Ali Al Mahdi المبعوث الدولي إلى اليمن إسماعيل ولد الشيخ
وأشار راجح بادي، المتحدث باسم حكومة هادي، في حديث لرويترز، إلى أن أي اقتراح للسلام يجب أن يتوافق مع الخطط السابقة لتأمين مستقبل اليمن أي المبادرة الخليجية التي تخلى بموجبها صالح عن الحكم ومقررات مؤتمر الحوار العام بين الأحزاب السياسية عام 2014 وقرار مجلس الأمن الدولي عام 2015 الذي يدعو الحوثيين إلى تسليم سلاحهم والانسحاب من المدن الكبرى.
وقال بادي إن أي "رؤية" يجب أن تتطابق مع المراجع الثلاث مشيرا إلى أن الحكومة لم تتلق بعد أي خطة من مبعوث الأمم المتحدة أو من المنظمة نفسها بعد.
المصدر: رويترز تعليمات استخدام خدمة التعليقات على صفحات موقع قناة "RT Arabic" (اضغط هنا) العناوين | 1real |
US Media Hyped ‘Active Shooter’ Drill at Andrews Base As Real Event | 21st Century Wire says Yesterday, we were told by US media that one of the country s key military installations, Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, home of the president s Air Force One airliner, was in lockdown following reports of an Active Shooter situation.While the entire US media went into orange alert mode for over 2 and a half hours, 21WIRE recognized exactly what it was, a drill, and called it correctly while the news was breaking. We re told that initial reports of a active shooter were prompted by an emergency 911 call to outside law enforcement about a gunman seen on the base. The fact that this alleged distress call came from a staff member at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility located inside Andrews (one of the country s most secure closed military facilities) should have raised some pertinent questions like why base security were not informed first, as one would expect. Furthermore, any reports by the US mainstream media characterizing the event as a genuine active shooter crisis should have been immediately squashed by the fact that Joint Base Andrews was also running a no-notice Active Shooter Exercise scheduled for 9 am that morning. Sadly, this did not happen, and all US media outlets began their crisis reporting complete with the usual panel of security experts and justice correspondents on CNN and other mainstream networks.21WIRE Calls it CorrectlyWhile the US media was reporting the base was in full lockdown and appeared confused about what to make of the situation, 21WIRE analyst Patrick Henningsen appeared on RT International while the story was breaking, offering a very different take on the event than what was being reported at the time throughout the US media. Here s what he said:PART 1: PART 2: Finally, 1 hour later, US authorities finally admitted that it was only a drill and that the dramatic lockdown had been lifted.Some might say this was not a hard event to call, and in fact was a no-brainer and in this case they would be correct. For any keen student of false flags and high-profile mass shootings in recent years, it was overtly obvious what kind of drama was playing out.The real story however, is how the entire US media transformed into one giant web of media disinformation amplification from the moment the false media reports and official Tweets from the US military hit the news wires without even pausing to consider that they were all knowing, or unknowing (but certainly willing) participants within their media/press compartment of the so-called Active Shooter drill.JBA is currently on lockdown due to a report of an active shooter. All personnel are directed to shelter in place. More info as it comes. Joint Base Andrews (@JBA_NAFW) June 30, 2016The mainstream media did their level best to use this falsely presented nonevent in order to reinforce the federal government s prime PR compliance directives; a running list of mindless Orwellian police state throw away slogans like, See something, say something, and Shelter in place. The end result of all this is a public who are unnecessarily traumatized, or subjected to psychological stress, in effect terrorizing the public, as a result of poor media reporting and dereliction of journalism by a media profession who are all too happy to go along with a high TV ratings draw of a Active Shooter narrative.Rather amazingly, one reporter from CBS News even admitted that the national lockdown scare did not even interrupt that day s drill and that their on-base Active Shooter exercise would continue throughout the day. This should provide as much evidence as one would need to deduce that the media scare was indeed part of the drill itself, although this concept might prove just too difficult to grasp for any US mainstream news anchor or reporter. Watch the CBS report here: What happened is a common thing, it s just, you know, it s sort of the times we live in there were two personnel carrying rifles, long guns, someone in the medical center saw that and phoned in there was a shooter on the base Williams then brushed the misreporting off as normal, before also parroting the tired mantra, When you see something, say something. Watch as a confused Williams tries to rationalize the day s over-the-top media debacle: Luckily, it did not, but yesterdays event does raise some very crucial questions about the highly reactionary and irrational nature of our security-obsessed media, and a police state fusion apparatus which spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds each year in order prepare for some ubiquitous threat which statistically does not actually threaten very many Americans and yet seems to overly-dominate media coverage, as well the operating budgets government agencies and first responder cohorts nationwide.The following is a short video which every American should watch, which explains some of the more worrying aspects of America s new obsession with domestic hyper militarized responses in preparation for what seems like an endless stream of mass shooting and domestic terror events: Support our work and Become a Member @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Canada and E.U. Sign Trade Deal, Bucking Resistance to Globalization - The New York Times | BRUSSELS — The European Union and Canada signed a trade agreement on Sunday that commits them to opening their markets to greater competition, after overcoming a political obstacle that reflected the growing skepticism toward globalization in much of the developed world. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, had been forced to call off an earlier trip to sign the deal after Wallonia, the region of Belgium, used its veto to withhold Belgium’s approval of the deal. The pact required the support of all 28 European Union countries. On Friday, Wallonia, which has been hit hard by deindustrialization and feared greater agricultural competition, withdrew its veto after concessions were made by the Belgian government, including promises to protect farmers. Hours later, the European Union announced that the deal was back on track. Mr. Trudeau signed the pact on Sunday, joined by Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents the leaders of the member states Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, which holds the rotating presidency of the body that runs the bloc’s ministerial meetings and Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. The deal will help to demonstrate that “trade is good for the middle class and those working hard to join it,” Mr. Trudeau said at a news conference in Brussels. Mr. Trudeau said he wanted to “make sure that everyone gets that this is a good thing for our economies but it’s also a good example to the world. ” But the Walloon intransigence has underlined the extent to which trade has become politically radioactive as citizens increasingly blame globalization for growing disparities in wealth and living standards. Across Europe and the United States, opposition to trade has become a rallying point for populist movements on the left and the right, threatening to upend the established political order. A compromise among the regions of Belgium, which persuaded Wallonia to drop its veto, called for language to clarify the handling of trade complaints brought by Canadian or European companies. Belgium pledged to refer the arbitration system to the Court of Justice of the European Union, where judges can assess its legality. Nonetheless, several dozen activists held a rowdy protest on Sunday outside the building where Mr. Trudeau signed the pact, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The protesters splashed red paint on the forecourt of the building and condemned a planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between Europe and the United States. That much larger deal, known as T. T. I. P. has already stalled amid opposition from large numbers of Europeans, including many Germans and Austrians. The protesters see the Canadian deal as a for a much larger battle. The spectacle of tiny Wallonia, with just 3. 6 million people, holding up a deal that affects more than 500 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians and prompting European Union leaders to delay a summit meeting has rattled Western leaders. “In the end, people who favor free trade survived to fight another day,” said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “Now that we see the Canadian deal has made it over the finish line, the Atlantic trade deal still has a fighting chance,” he said. “But it won’t be easy. T. T. I. P. could similarly threaten traditional farming interests and arouse European suspicions about common health and environmental standards. ” As a legal matter, the member states’ legislatures still need to ratify the Canadian agreement. That could mean more hiccups before it goes into effect. Mr. Tusk, of the European Council, said he was cautiously optimistic that the deal would survive the ratification process and could send a positive message about globalization. “Today’s decisions demonstrate that the disintegration of the Western community does not need to become a lasting trend,” Mr. Tusk said. “Free trade and globalization have protected hundreds of millions of people from poverty and hunger. The problem is that few people believe this. ” “The European Union is not yet in the group of hard protectionist and economies like China or Russia,” said Hosuk the director of the European Center for International Political Economy, a research organization in Brussels. “Instead, the E. U. is carving out a new middle ground between those two countries and the United States. ” Europe, Mr. said, is pivoting to a position as “neither an ally of East nor West. ” Once ratified, the Canadian deal would cut many tariffs on industrial goods and on farm and food items, according to the European Commission. The deal also would open up the services sector in areas like cargo shipping, maritime services and finance to European firms, the commission said. The Canadian deal is also regarded by trade advocates as a template for advanced, industrial economies by making it easier for their regulators to recognize one another’s rules, and by updating the rules on how companies can make sure governments protect their investments. If the Obama administration has its way, the next major regional trade accord to make it over the finish line will be the Partnership, which includes the United States, Canada, Japan and Vietnam. The Pacific deal — largely because it involves a number of emerging economies — is a more traditional trade accord aimed mainly at cutting tariffs and knocking down impediments to trade. But like the Europeans, many Americans do not want to make concessions that would lower wages or threaten jobs at home. The deal has become a hot issue in the United States presidential election both nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump, oppose it. Mr. Funk Kirkegaard, the senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, said he gave the Pacific deal about a 30 percent chance of being concluded while President Obama is still in office. “Beyond January,” he said, “it’s all dependent on the results of the election and who’s the next president. ” | 0fake |
DEADBEATS BEWARE: Trump’s Food Stamp Reform Is Your Worst Nightmare | All we re hearing from the left is fear mongering about President Trump s budget. We love what welfare to work is coming back after Obama stripped it out of requirements to receive benefits. Food stamp enrollment exploded during Obama s 8 years in office to be 44 million recipients.The American taxpayers are footing the bill for those who take advantage of the system. Here s the TRUTH about what the Trump administration has proposed for food stamps:WORK REQUIREMENTS: In reality, the president s proposed policy is based on two principles: requiring able-bodied adult recipients to work or prepare for work in exchange for benefits, and restoring minimal fiscal responsibility to state governments for the welfare programs they operate.The president s budget reasserts the basic concept that welfare should not be a one-way handout. Welfare should, instead, be based on reciprocal obligations between recipients and taxpayers.SHIFTING MORE RESPONSIBILITY ON STATES:Why should the federal government pay for almost all of the freebies? Shifting the responsibility to the states will help with accountability. Perhaps some of the states will make a better effort to clean up the fraud that s so rampant in the system.Read more: Daily Signal | 1real |
This Collage of Corrut Presstitutes Making Fools of Themselves Is a Keeper | This Collage of Corrupt Presstitutes Making Fools of Themselves Is a Keeper
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-12/martin-armstrong-exposes-real-clinton-conspiracy-which-backfired-dramatically
The financial media can equally wallow in its incompetence and dishonesty. Instead of collapsing as predicted, the stock market rose 800 points on Trump’s victory.
The post This Collage of Corrut Presstitutes Making Fools of Themselves Is a Keeper appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org . | 1real |
Anti-Vaxxer Parents Let Toddler Die Of Meningitis After Maple Syrup Fails To Cure Him | A Canadian couple is facing charges after their plan to avoid harmful medicine in favor of maple syrup and other home remedies failed to cure their young son of his meningitis. The 19-month-old died after two weeks of rapidly worsening illness without medical attention.The couple, David and Collet Stephan, are Mormons who run a nutritional supplement company in the United States. They were charged with the death of their child and face up to five years in prison if convicted.Sadly, the death of this toddler didn t come from ignorance, but from the malicious anti-vaccination movement, which deliberately spreads false information about medical practices and advocates in favor of unproven natural cures that alternate between the effectiveness of a placebo and down-right harm. Tapes played for the court featured Collet Stephan telling officers that a nurse friend pleaded with the couple about their son s illness, telling them it was a life-threatening case of meningitis. Rather than heed the nurse s warnings, the couple opted for home-brew concoctions.In a bid to boost his immune system, the couple gave the boy who was lethargic and becoming stiff various home remedies, such as water with maple syrup, juice with frozen berries and finally a mixture of apple cider vinegar, horse radish root, hot peppers, mashed onion, garlic and ginger root as his condition deteriorated.Court heard the couple on tape explaining to the police officer that they prefer naturopathic remedies because of their family s negative experiences with the medical system.Perhaps most disturbingly, the couple continues to maintain that they did nothing wrong. On social media and in comments to the court, the Stephans have shown nothing but contempt for the judicial process. In the aftermath of his son s death, David has accused the government of attempting to force families like his to vaccinate their children. The fact that the child died because the government didn t force him to vaccinate his children is a point that seems to have eluded him.As other cases have done in the past, the plight of the Stephans and the victimization of their children (yes, they have other unvaccinated children still living with them), reminds us that this is not just an intellectual exercise or an example of the government overstepping its role. The anti-vaxxer movement, and its supporters, are putting the lives of real children at risk when they opt for maple syrup remedies over scientifically-tested medical care. No child should have to die because of their parents bad decision-making. And the parents should be held accountable for those decisions as well.Featured image via CBC/Facebook | 1real |
NASA Announces Solar Probe Which Will ’Touch the Sun’ - Breitbart | At a press conference on Wednesday, NASA announced the “Parker Solar Probe,” which will be sent on a mission to examine and research the Sun up close. [The mission, which is being launched next year, “will gather data about the sun’s outermost atmosphere known as the corona where temperatures can reach up to 500, 000C, much higher than those in the sun’s core,” according to The Telegraph, and is named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker. “This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a living individual,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “It’s a testament to the importance of his body of work, founding a new field of science that also inspired my own research and many important science questions NASA continues to study and further understand every day. I’m very excited to be personally involved honoring a great man and his unprecedented legacy. ” Eugene Parker himself also expressed excitement about the mission, declaring, “I’m sure there will be some surprises. There always are. ” “The solar probe is going to a region of space that has never been explored before,” he explained. “It’s very exciting that we’ll finally get a look. One would like to have some more detailed measurements of what’s going on in the solar wind. ” Nicola Fox, a scientist involved with the Parker Solar Probe project, claimed that the probe “is going to answer questions about solar physics that we’ve puzzled over for more than six decades. ” “It’s a spacecraft loaded with technological breakthroughs that will solve many of the largest mysteries about our star, including finding out why the sun’s corona is so much hotter than its surface,” she claimed. “And we’re very proud to be able to carry Gene’s name with us on this amazing voyage of discovery. ” According to NASA’s official website, “NASA missions are most often renamed after launch and certification. ” “In this case, given Parker’s accomplishments within the field, and how closely aligned this mission is with his research, the decision was made to honor him prior to launch, in order to draw attention to his important contributions to heliophysics and space science,” they declared. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. | 0fake |
Trump officials under fire over vague tax proposals | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Missing from President Donald Trump’s budget proposal this week was an annual report, known as the Green Book, that presidents have issued for many years to spell out their tax goals in detail, an omission that tax experts called telling. The Green Book, named for the color of its cover in recent years, is not that big a deal as a document, but its absence this year shows that the Trump White House lacks a clear vision for what to do about overhauling the tax code, experts said. “I think it’s as simple as no tax plan equals no Green Book,” said Donald Marron, director of economic policy initiatives at the Urban Institute, a liberal think tank. Democratic lawmakers on Thursday in two Senate hearings criticized the president’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal, released on Tuesday, and some of its core tax components. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen called the budget proposal and its tax assumptions “fantasy flim-flam.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, appearing at one of the hearings, said the budget proposal did not consider how new tax laws would impact government revenues and the deficit because the Trump administration did not have a detailed tax proposal. “When the president’s budget was done, we were not ready to have a full-blown tax reform plan,” Mnuchin said, adding that tax details would be worked out with Congress, then made public. A Treasury Department official said separately it would not help to publish details while talks with Congress were underway. “Releasing a Green Book of tax policy proposals as we work towards comprehensive tax reform would contradict that effort,” the Treasury official said in an email. The last Green Book was issued by the Obama administration in February 2016 and ran 283 pages. Past Green Books going back to 1990 are available on the Treasury Department website. As a candidate, Trump, in his 125th day in power, promised voters that he would work with Congress and seek passage in his first 100 days of “massive tax reduction and simplification.” He has not yet offered any tax legislation. On April 26, the administration released a one-page list of tax proposals summarized in 12 bullet points. Tuesday’s budget repeated the one-page summary, including a proposal to end the estate tax on inheritances paid by a few wealthy Americans. Despite this policy position, the Trump budget included a projection of $328 billion in estate tax revenues for 2018-2027. “I’ve seen lots of tricky budgets before, but this may take the cake,” said Democratic Senator Mark Warner. “You assume abolishment of the so-called death tax, estate tax, but ... you still count the revenues from the estate and gift tax, which is kind of a tricky thing. I would call that double-counting.” | 0fake |
WOW! BLACK PROF Delivers Truth Bomb About Black Voters To Race Baiting Obama [Video] | 1real | |
Why ISIS's reign of fear has worked, and how it can be countered | The Islamic State is brutal, but for a purpose. It can succeed in the short term because locals don't appear to have any other options.
Why is Angela Merkel calling for a ban on the full Islamic veil?
This undated file image posted on a militant website last year shows fighters from the Islamic State marching through Raqqa, Syria.
In the early days of the Islamic State, back when it was still taking shape from the remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Muslim scholars advised the group to take a page from the United States military’s playbook.
During the Sunni Awakening of 2008, American troops had successfully nurtured tribal councils and militias as partners to eject murderous insurgents from their homeland in western Iraq.
Al Qaeda in Iraq failed because of its “brutality, zealotry, and arrogant belief that it was a state,” said critics – both jihadi and non-jihadi – according to Will McCants, director of the Project on US Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
So what did the Islamic State do? It doubled down.
By 2014, “those were the very qualities that made the Islamic State so successful,” says Dr. McCants, author of the new book, “The ISIS Apocalypse.”
It is well known that the Islamic State is now governing a wide swath of Syria and Iraq through a modern-day reign of terror. What is less well-known is why that approach has been so successful – even attracting tens of thousands of foreigners.
The answer appears to be in how that brutality takes shape.
Toward local populations that have little choice but to obey, the Islamic State can promise – and carry out – untold savagery. On Sunday, the Islamic State killed some 70 members of a tribe in Iraq that had tried to rise up against the group. To the foreign fighters who pledge their lives to the cause, by contrast, the Islamic State promises lakeside homes in Raqqa, Syria, and high salaries.
The campaign of fear and intimidation that hangs over locals works largely because there are no other options. Sunni Muslims in IS-held territory trust the Syrian and Iraqi governments – which are run by other religious groups – even less than they trust the Islamic State. And no foreign power is likely to step in and tip the power balance toward local tribes, as the US did in the Sunni Awakening.
The result is a pseudo-state that breaks all the modern rules – governing through a very calculated mix of opportunism and oppression.
“It was a tough thing for me to see, because I had bought into the idea, put around by the western analytical community – but also by [former Al Qaeda leader Osama] bin Laden himself – that if you’re going to wage an insurgency and create a long-lasting state, you need to win over popular support,” says McCants.
“The Islamic State has done the exact opposite.”
For all its wanton spectacle, the brutality of the Islamic State is not random. It is part of a carefully calibrated state-building strategy that the group has been ramping up for years.
The group’s approach to establish control “began with infiltration and ended with conquest,” as a Rand Corporation report released this month put it. “Time after time, place after place, the group would establish an intelligence and security apparatus, target key opponents, and establish extortion and other criminal revenue-raising practices,” it noted. “Clandestine campaigns of assassination and intimidation have been part of the group’s playbook for more than a decade.”
Reports from groups on the ground, as well as social media, show that “ISIS does rely on brutality much more than Al Qaeda,” says Harleen Gambhir, a counterterrorism analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, using a common acronym for the Islamic State. This includes “intentionally inspiring terror, pushing the bounds so that it can intimidate those under its control.”
Sunday’s slaughter was a typical example, Ms. Gambhir says. “These sorts of mass executions come frequently for those even vaguely hinting at rebellion.”
This summer, an uprising in Libya was brutally put down by an IS affiliate, which “mass executed those in local tribes,” she adds. This in turn “eliminated all hints of social rebellion.”
What the Islamic State has shown is that, in the short term, “brutality … can be much more effective than worrying about others,” McCants says. “If you look at what IS has done, you can see examples where control has been established by extreme brutality and kept up by extreme brutality.”
The question is whether the Islamic State can maintain such a state over the long term. Al Qaeda has long argued that its vision of establishing an Islamic caliphate is more sustainable.
“It thinks ISIS is going to burn out, because of the way it treats locals,” Gambhir says.
The Islamic State instead has put a priority on bringing in foreign fighters.
“ISIS fighters … are given preference in obtaining food and basic needs of living,” she adds.
There are clear signs that locals are chafing mightily under Islamic State rule, says McCants. But “unless they get help from the outside,” they are going to have trouble throwing off the group.
That help is not likely to come from the US. “I have no doubt we could do it, should we choose to,” says McCants, but such an operation would necessarily include troops on the ground and embroil the US in the Middle East again.
Moreover, it would “let the local governments off the hook,” especially in Damascus and Baghdad, McCants says. As a result, the problems that allowed the rise of the Islamic State in the first place, including Sunni disenfranchisement by Shiite-dominate governments, would continue.
“This leaves us in the unsatisfying position of not having terrific options in the near term for destroying the IS,” McCants says.
In some ways, the US might have more options in Syria, McCants says, because it is not working with the government. “Syria is always seen as the hard case, but we also have greater freedom of choice.”
The US could work with Kurdish forces to clear areas, then build up local Sunni militias to hold them. Yet Turkish officials balk at the idea of empowering Kurdish forces, given the large Kurdish minority in Turkey.
As in 2008, the most promising center of gravity for the fight against the Islamic State is the Sunni tribes. “Many Sunnis support the group either because of intimidation or because they view it as their only protection against other groups,” the Rand report notes. “Although this will be difficult, Iraq, at least, can start by ensuring fair treatment of the population when towns are recovered, and by speeding the reconstruction of those towns.”
The question becomes how to empower them, given the limited tools the US has at its disposal.
In theory, Iraqi government officials agree with the plan to engage Sunni tribal militias to some extent, “but there’s been a lot of foot dragging,” he adds. “We could start arming the tribes ourselves, but if they are not part of the Iraqi central government, we’re kind of pushing the state of Iraq in a particular direction of a more federal state.”
Still, McCants says, the Sunni tribes “should be our center of gravity, too.” | 0fake |
Trump’s misleading claim that 58 percent of black youths are unemployed | “Look at how much African American communities are suffering from Democratic control. … Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed, what the hell do you have to lose?”
“He’s [Trump] saying, ‘How in the world can we abide a 58 percent unemployment rate among African American youth?’ ”
Regular readers of The Fact Checker know we have written about this figure in some of our round-up fact checks of Trump’s speeches.
But Trump continues to use it, and his new campaign manager has now adopted it as a talking point. Since we haven’t explored it in depth, we decided to take a more thorough look at what this figure means, and explain exactly why it doesn’t hold water.
The official Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate for black youth is 19.2 percent — about one-third of the rate Trump uses.
A Trump campaign official previously told us that they calculated the 58 percent using this data set from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, calculating the number of people classified as “unemployed” and “not in the labor force” as a percentage of the total civilian population.
“Unemployed” refers to people who are available for work and actively looking for a job, but don’t have one. “Not in the labor force” refers to people who are not looking for jobs because they have given up looking, or are not interested — such as students. Students working part time while going to school are counted in the “employed” category.
That means Trump is counting students who are not looking for work as a part of the “unemployed” population. Technically, those students don’t have jobs. But that does not fit the definition of “unemployed” and is especially problematic for this age group, because the number of people who aren’t looking for jobs includes people who are in school full time.
Consider a 16-year-old high school sophomore, who is going to school full time and engaged in extracurricular activities when not in school. The student doesn’t have a job but isn’t looking for one. Counting the student as “unemployed” — defined as a person who’s looking for a job but can’t find one — doesn’t tell you anything about the labor market.
“No economist, I would think, would feel comfortable using that because it’s counting people who may have no interest in having a job,” said Adam Millsap, research fellow for the State and Local Policy Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.
The BLS did not come up with the definition of “unemployed” out of thin air. It actually reflects an internationally embraced definition set by the International Labor Organization in 1982.
If you apply Trump’s definition to white youth, 49 percent are “unemployed.” That’s five times the official BLS unemployment rate (10 percent) for white youth.
Asians fare worse than blacks using Trump’s fuzzy math. The BLS youth unemployment rate for Asians is 9.6 percent, lower than the rate for white youth. But under Trump’s calculation, the Asian youth unemployment rate jumps to 63.6 percent — seven times the official rate, and even worse than the 58 percent figure for black youth.
See how the calculations for Asian, black and white youth compare in this graphic below. (Thanks to Millsap for helping us with the calculation.)
The difference in Asian youth rates may reflect a cultural factor, Millsap said. Fewer Asian youths may be in the labor force because they are more devoted to school and work less, even part time. But their BLS unemployment rate may be lower because Asian youth are more successful at finding a job if they look for one.
A campaign official previously told the Fact Checker that its calculation “is a more comprehensive reflection of disengagement from the labor force than the unemployment rate,” as it includes those who are not finding work because they are discouraged from previous attempts at employment. But the campaign did not respond to our latest inquiry, specifically for this fact check, for an explanation of why the campaign includes those who are not interested in looking for work (i.e., students).
If Trump really is interested in the rate of disengagement among black youth, there is an academically accepted measure he can use. It’s called NEET, which stands for “Neither Employed nor in Education or Training.” This measure factors out students altogether, and measures the share of disconnected youth aged 16 to 24.
Pew Research Center’s Drew DeSilver, who has written about youth unemployment and NEETs, calculated a 2015 NEET rate among black youth 16 to 24 at 20.9 percent of the total civilian non-institutional population, compared with 14.7 percent among white youth of the same age range.
Youth unemployment is higher among blacks than whites, regardless of the method you use. But Trump’s figure doesn’t show how it’s a persistent problem for black youth compared with white youth, and fails to accurately reflect the state of the labor market for black youth 16 to 24 years old.
Per Trump’s math, a 24-year-old college graduate who is actively looking for a job but can’t find one is in the same situation as a 16-year-old high school sophomore who is in school full time and going to band practice or playing on a school sports team when not in class.
And per Trump’s math, more Asian youth are unemployed than black youth — even though Asian youth have a lower official BLS unemployment rate than whites or blacks. So Trump ends up using a calculation for black youth that greatly exaggerates the actual number of people who can’t find a job even though they are trying, while minimizing their rate in the context of Asian youth.
We previously awarded Four Pinocchios to Trump’s absurd calculation that the “real unemployment rate” is 42 percent — about eight times higher than the official BLS rate. He applies the same junk analysis for the black youth unemployment rate, which defies internationally accepted measures of unemployment while ignoring an actual measure of disengaged youth that could prove his point. We award Trump Four more Pinocchios.
Send us facts to check by filling out this form
Sign up for The Fact Checker weekly newsletter | 0fake |
Howard Dean Thinks FISA Court Was Set Up After 9/11...It Was Not - Breitbart | Former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean apparently thinks the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was set up by President George W. Bush after the terrorist attacks. [But Dean is completely off the mark with regard to the FISA Court, which was set up in 1978, during the Carter administration, to oversee surveillance warrant requests against foreign spies inside the United States. In a tweet responding to President Donald Trump’s accusation that the Obama administration his phones during the election, Dean made this observation via Twitter: “@realDonaldTrump For those who may not know, a FISA warrant is issued by a court to catch terrorists. Set up after by Bush” @realDonaldTrump For those who may not know, a FISA warrant is issued by a court to catch terrorists. Set up after by Bush https: . — Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) March 4, 2017, Among the major Democratic presidential contenders in 2004, Dean was the most vociferous against Bush’s Iraq War and domestic legislations enacted as a result of the attacks. His campaign, however, folded quickly after a series of gaffes, including the infamous “Dean Scream” following his finish in the Iowa caucuses. While Dean erred in his timeline of FISA Court’s establishment, the use of the court did spike after and the Obama administration’s use of massive surveillance through FISA warrants was exposed by Edward Snowden in 2013. Follow Samuel Chi on Twitter @ThePlayoffGuru. | 0fake |
NBC Takes Over Thursday Night Football Amid Promising Signs in TV Ratings - The New York Times | NBC Sports will take over the “Thursday Night Football” franchise this week at a suddenly promising point in an N. F. L. season that has seen viewership plummet by percentages in games. The decline has concerned league and network officials and has prompted questioning over its causes. Had the contentious presidential election kept viewers away from football, especially when games competed with debates between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton? Were there too many bad matchups and too few star turns? Were fans fed up with long commercial breaks? Were they ignoring games for online highlights? N. F. L. Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested last week that the league was considering ways to improve the pace of games, from running fewer advertisements to speeding up video reviews. So, Sunday was a litmus test. If the election had diminished football audiences, then the conclusion of the campaigns might lure fans back. The results suggested that a cloud had begun to lift, and that compelling games played by marquee teams would keep fans engaged. Seattle’s exciting win over New England on Sunday night on NBC drew an average of 22. 5 million viewers, up 16 percent from the comparable game last season. Until then, NBC’s viewership had fallen by 18 percent this season, to 19. 3 million. Fox’s late afternoon broadcast of Dallas’s victory over Pittsburgh generated a preliminary overnight rating of a 17. 8, the highest for any N. F. L. game this season (although it fell 3 percent from the comparable game on CBS last year). But CBS’s slate of games Sunday afternoon tumbled 28 percent from last year. NBC takes over the Thursday night games starting with New Orleans playing Carolina, teams with . 500 records that might not give the network a lift to start its schedule. But with the election over — as well as the baseball postseason that ended with 40 million people watching the Chicago Cubs clinch the World Series in Game 7 — NBC is hoping to fare better than CBS and NFL Network did earlier this season. In five games through Oct. 20, CBS and NFL Network’s total viewership of 14. 7 million fell 16 percent from a year ago. CBS and NBC are paying the league a combined $450 million a year to carry five games apiece that they broadcast and NFL Network simulcasts. This is NBC’s first season on Thursday night games. CBS had carried eight games a season for two years. “I think we have very good games,” said Sam Flood, the executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN. “But we all know the back half of the season can be a bit of a crapshoot. You’re not sure who’s going to be great and who’s not going to be great. Who would have thought the Dallas Cowboys would be the best team in football right now, by their record? Minnesota started as the best team in the N. F. L. and has lost a few in a row. ” The Cowboys and the Vikings will play Dec. 1. NBC’s Thursday night schedule is a bit different from CBS’s, which took a break during Week 4. But NBC’s goes for six straight weeks because the Thanksgiving night game is part of its Sunday night package. “Our excitement is to have this run until the end of the season and into holiday shopping, which has a lot of advantages for our ad sales people,” Flood said Monday during a media gathering at a Manhattan restaurant. The N. F. L. has tried hard over the years to turn Thursday night games into an attraction that would bolster NFL Network and rival the older Sunday and Monday night franchises. The league has increased the number of Thursday night over the years, but it has found its biggest success in selling some of the games, first to CBS, and now to CBS and NBC, because broadcast networks reach larger audiences than a channel like NFL Network. But Thursday night games have been less attractive to players, who dislike the short week of preparation time after Sunday, and to fans who see that the mostly divisional matchups don’t generally rival those of other packages. The Thursday broadcasts have also become part of a discussion about whether the N. F. L. is overwhelming fans with too many games. Rodney Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s pregame show, said that he was looking less at the election as a factor in shrinking audiences than quality games. “The problem is you have to go back to earning the right to be on television rather than saying, ‘We have all these slots, on Sunday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday.’ ” The remark was targeted largely at the Thursday night package. teams play at least one game on the Thursday night package that is being carried by CBS, NBC and NFL Network. The other three play on Thanksgiving. | 0fake |
Suicide bomb near cricket stadium in Afghan capital kills at least three | KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint near the main cricket stadium in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least three people as a tournament was under way, officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said two police and one civilian were killed and five people wounded. Local Tolo News Television quoted the Afghan Cricket Board as saying all players were safe. The blast outside Kabul International Cricket Stadium took place during a match in Afghanistan s Shpageeza Cricket League, a T20 franchise tournament on the lines of the Indian Premier League and similar 20-over tournaments. A statement in Bosnian on Islamic State s Amaq news agency said a suicide attack had been carried out on members of the Afghan security forces in Kabul , although it was not immediately clear whether the statement referred to the same incident. The Shpageeza tournament, now in its fifth season, is one of a small number of Western-style sports competitions along with Afghan Premier League football that have grown up since a U.S.-led campaign toppled the Taliban in 2001. A small number of foreign players are also taking part in the competition. Cricket, which spread from refugee camps in Pakistan, has become one of Afghanistan s most popular sports and the national team has become increasingly successful, raising the profile of the game. | 0fake |
White House calls for Malaysian transparency in wake of fund scandal | WASHINGTON/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The White House urged Malaysia on Thursday to demonstrate good governance and a transparent business climate, a day after U.S. prosecutors sued to try and seize $1 billion in assets they said were bought with money stolen from a state development fund. The civil lawsuits present a potentially thorny issue for the two countries that have grown closer during the administration of President Barack Obama, who has visited the southeast Asian nation twice in the last two years. The lawsuits will likely affect relations, but they did not come as a surprise, said a U.S. congressional aide. “It has been a concern of a lot of people for a long time. Corruption in Malaysia is a huge problem,” the aide said. No criminal charges have been filed in the scandal surrounding Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, which was overseen by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Obama spoke generally with Najib on a visit to Malaysia last year about the need for transparency and good governance, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. “For business interests who are considering doing business in Malaysia, they’re going to be looking for signs that there is good business climate,” Earnest told reporters. The Malaysian government “should be conspicuous about making clear that they’re committed to transparency and good governance, and the kind of rules that will encourage people who are considering investing in Malaysia’s fast-growing economy to have confidence that they can do so fairly,” Earnest said. Najib said in response to the lawsuits that his government would give its full cooperation to international investigations of the 1MDB case. Malaysia’s foreign minister Anifah Aman met the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun on Thursday to discuss the lawsuits. “Malaysia highly values its bilateral relations with the United States and calls on the U.S. to recognize the various steps taken by the Government of Malaysia to address the 1MDB issue,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday night. Malaysia’s Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali, however, expressed “strong concerns at the insinuations and allegations” of wrongdoing against Najib in the lawsuits. He said in a statement that none of the probes conducted by law enforcement agencies across the globe over the past year show that any funds were misappropriated from 1MDB. The U.S. investigation is the largest set of cases brought by the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of foreign corruption. Targeting assets ranging from valuable paintings and a private jet to the 2013 hit movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” and rights to popular songs, the civil lawsuits said $3.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. 1MDB said in a statement that it was not a party to the lawsuit, did not have any assets in the United States, “nor has it benefited from the various transactions described.” | 0fake |
THEY LAID THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR US….We Give Them Hospitals With Rats Dropping From The Ceiling And Cockroaches In Their Food | Unimaginable unforgivable It s not the sort of email the infection control director of a veterans hospital wants to find in their inbox a message with photos of dead rats found in a hospital kitchen.Workers at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center reported 3 large dead rats that fell through the kitchen ceiling at the hospital during renovation work Wednesday night, according to emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.They then sent color photos of the rats to the facility s infection prevention coordinator, Miriam Ruisz, and also told her about a cockroach infestation, emails show. I have . . . been made aware that there is a major roach problem in the kitchen and that some roaches have been found on patients trays, Ruisz wrote in an email Thursday to the Haley enviro team, which handles pest control.Ruisz said she was told workers replacing a canteen ceiling two months ago filled multiple buckets with roaches, dead rats and feces. . . . Please let me know if there is an ongoing problem with this infestation and what is being done about it. . . . We could possibly end up on the news, not to mention risk patient safety. After patient safety, Ruisz ended the sentence with an emoticon showing a frowning face.The infection control chief may not have know about the rat infestation until this week. But other Haley employees did. In fact, emails show that workers have been putting rat traps above ceiling tiles in a kitchen where food is prepared for veterans who are hospital patients.Haley spokeswoman Karen Collins said in a statement emailed to the Times that the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, one of the nation s busiest, works hard to provide the safest and best experience possible for veterans. Being in a tropical, urban environment, we are keenly aware of the potential of, and continually monitor for, any pest control issues, Collins said. Recently, we observed an uptick in reported pest-related activities. . . . We have developed an aggressive and proactive plan to address it. That included recently awarding a new five-year contract to a pest control firm, she said. If an issue is identified, the pest control team responds to eliminate it, Collins said.The Times reported in 2013 that rat droppings had been found in a Haley storage area containing nursing supplies. But hospital officials said at that time the droppings were from old rodent activity and that no ongoing pest problem existed.Internal emails and other documents indicate Haley officials now face a pest problem in at least two areas of the hospital.The first is in the facility kitchen on the first floor of the main hospital building that prepares food served to veterans. This is where the rats were found. The second area involves a smaller kitchen on the second floor at the hospital canteen, where veterans, employees and visitors can buy food.In an email to Ruisz and other hospital officials Thursday, Ellen Tolson, who works in Haley nutrition services, said the hospital had hired new pest control contractors who treated for roaches on June 10. Tolson said they were going to be back at the facility Thursday night after the latest reports of problems.A pest control contractor insisted to Tolson that he did not see evidence in the main kitchen of an active roach infestation due to a lack of roach droppings, according to Tolson s email. The email did not appear to address the canteen kitchen. Initially, he did not feel there was feces at all, Tolson said. But I continued to ask him about every speck I could find until we possibly found one that was feces-like. Despite finding this possible feces-like dirt, he still did not think there is an active issue because there was no shine to the questionable dirt we found. As for the bigger pests, Tolson wrote in the email, the three dead rats and a dead mouse were all found in the ceiling above our ingredient control room in the main hospital kitchen.Tolson said she asked employees who work on Haley s ceiling fire sprinklers about rodent issues in the main kitchen. They reported seeing, she said, live rats inside the traps. They told me, while working in the kitchen since June 4, they have found multiple rodent traps in our ceiling, and they also told me that they have seen eyes looking back at them when up in the ceiling in the corner of the kitchen looking back toward the vending area, Tolson said.The basement crawl space under the kitchen appears to be filthy and strewn with bugs and debris, according to photos of the area obtained by the Times that were taken in December by VA contractors.Haley safety and infection control officials warned VA employees in late 2014 via email that anyone entering this basement area should wear gloves, a full-face respirator and a full-body protective suit.Via: Tampabay.com | 1real |
From an Anchor’s Lips to Trump’s Ears to Sweden’s Disbelief - The New York Times | PALM BEACH, Fla. — On Friday night, Fox News aired an alarming segment in which the host, Tucker Carlson, interviewed a documentary filmmaker about a crisis of violence in Sweden ignited by the recent wave of Muslim migration. “The government has gone out of its way to try to cover up some of these problems,” declared Ami Horowitz, the filmmaker. “That is grotesque,” Mr. Carlson responded. One of his viewers agreed, and in that moment was born a diplomatic incident that illustrates the unusual approach that President Trump takes to foreign policy, as well as the influence that television can have on his thinking. After watching the program, Mr. Trump threw a line into a speech the next day suggesting that a terrorist attack had occurred in Sweden the night before. Just like that, without white papers, intelligence reports, an interagency meeting or, presumably, the advice of his secretary of state, the president started a dispute with a longtime American friend that resented his characterization and called it false. The president’s only discernible goal was to make the case domestically for his plans to restrict entry to the United States. The Swedes were flabbergasted. “We are used to seeing the president of the U. S. as one of the most persons in the world, also well aware of the importance of what he says,” Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said by email on Monday. “And then, suddenly, we see him engaging in misinformation and slander against a truly friendly country, obviously relying on sources of a quality that at best could be described as dubious. ” While aides sought to clarify that Mr. Trump’s remarks were about a rising tide of crime in general, rather than any particular event or attack, the president chose to escalate. In a Twitter post on Monday, he accused American journalists of glossing over a dark and dangerous situation in Sweden. “Give the public a break,” he wrote. “The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!” Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Lofven, responded hours later at a news conference, noting that Sweden ranks highly on international comparisons of economic competitiveness and human development. “We have challenges, no doubt about that,” he allowed. But he added pointedly, “We must all take responsibility for using facts correctly and for verifying anything we spread. ” Sweden is hardly the first American friend to find itself uncomfortably at odds with the new president. Mexico’s president canceled a meeting with Mr. Trump over his plans to build a border wall and bill the United States’ southern neighbor for it. Mr. Trump reportedly lit into Australia’s prime minister over refugees in a telephone call that was said to have ended abruptly. But the episode underscored that Mr. Trump obtains, processes and uses information differently from any modern president. He watches television at night and tends to incorporate what he sees into his Twitter feed, speeches and interviews. “It begs the question of where the president gets his information as he articulates his administration’s global approach,” said Mark Brzezinski, the ambassador to Sweden under President Barack Obama. “To do so in an improvisational way, based on snippets picked up from cable news, is a major mistake. ” Immigration is a hotly debated issue in Sweden, Germany and many other European countries. Sweden, which prides itself as a humanitarian leader, processed a record 163, 000 asylum applications in 2015. But statistics in Sweden do not back up the suggestion that immigrants have created a major crime wave. Preliminary data released last month by Sweden’s crime prevention council found no significant increase in crimes from 2015 to 2016, even with the influx of migrants. The council did note an increase in assaults and rapes last year, but it also recorded a drop in thefts and drug offenses. Still, a Pew Research Center survey last year found that 46 percent of Swedes said refugees were more to blame for crime than other groups. Manne Gerell, a doctoral student in criminology at Malmo University in Sweden, said in an interview that immigrants were disproportionately represented among crime suspects, particularly in more serious and violent offenses. But he noted that many of the victims were other immigrants, whether members of criminal networks or simply residents of poor neighborhoods. “Immigration will come with some cost, and we will likely have a bit more crime — but that’s in a society with low crime rates and in a society that works really well, so in my opinion, it’s something we can live with,” he said. “I know everybody won’t agree with that. But immigration will not double the crime rate, make everybody go broke or turn Sweden into a living hell. ” Although terrorism is a concern for Sweden — an Swede blew himself up in central Stockholm in 2010 — the authorities say they are equally worried about racist hate crimes, including attacks on migrants. The Fox News segment featured an interview with Mr. Horowitz, whose short film, “Stockholm Syndrome,” depicted Sweden as a place where rape and violence have been on the rise since it began accepting more refugees from Muslim countries. In the Fox interview, Mr. Horowitz acknowledged that most Swedes do not see the situation as he does. “They’ll make excuses for it,” he said. “The majority of the population in Sweden still wants to have an policy. It’s confounding. ” Mr. Trump was clearly struck by the interview, and he cited Sweden at a rally in Melbourne, Fla. on Saturday as he argued for stronger borders. “You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden,” he said. “Sweden! Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible. ” Aides later said “last night” referred to the Fox program, not to an episode the night before. Mr. Carlson argued on Monday that although “the president ought to be precise in what he says, there should be no confusion about what he means. ” Mr. Carlson said that assimilation had failed and that immigration was “in the process of totally changing these ancient cultures into something different and much more volatile and much more threatening. ” Critics of Sweden’s migration policies have pointed to a Facebook post on Feb. 3 by a police officer, Peter Springare, who said that migrants were taxing Sweden’s pension, education and health systems and that they were the principal culprits in assaults. “Half of the suspects we cannot even be sure of because they don’t have any valid papers,” he wrote. “Most often this means they are lying about their country of origin and identity. ” But the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Monday quoted two police officers interviewed by Mr. Horowitz, Anders Goranzon and Jacob Ekstrom, as saying that the filmmaker had selectively edited and distorted their comments to prove his thesis. They said that Mr. Horowitz had asked them about neighborhoods and that they did not agree with his argument about links between migration and crime. “We don’t stand behind what he says,” Mr. Goranzon said. “He is a madman. ” Mr. Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment, but he went back on Mr. Carlson’s show on Monday night to defend his work, citing crime statistics and asserting that the police officers had recanted because they were under pressure. “My record stands for itself,” he said, “and what you saw on that video clear as day stands for itself. ” | 0fake |
Republicans ask Clinton Foundation to produce correspondence | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Republican National Committee asked the charity of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s family on Monday to produce all correspondence its staff had with the U.S. State Department while Clinton served as America’s most senior diplomat. Clinton’s campaign to win the Nov. 8 presidential election has been dogged by criticism that donors to the Clinton Foundation may have expected special favors from the U.S. government in return. She says donors to the global charity receive no preferential treatment. “The Clinton Foundation can play a vital role in filling important gaps in the public record by demonstrating its commitment to transparency and making public all correspondence its officials had with the State Department during Secretary Clinton’s tenure,” Reince Priebus, the RNC chairman, said in a letter to the foundation’s president, Donna Shalala. The RNC provided a copy of the letter to reporters. Spokesmen for Clinton and the foundation, which is known for its work to widen access to HIV medicines in developing countries, did not respond to a request for comment. Some emails have already emerged that show Clinton Foundation officials seeking meetings with Clinton and other diplomats on behalf of supporters who have made large donations to the foundation. Foundation officials also sought other favors, including help with visa issues or urging the government to hire certain people, emails show. Spokesmen for Clinton have noted that in several cases the requests from foundation officials were unsuccessful. Thousands more emails from Clinton’s tenure are still in the process of being released as public records. Their release was delayed in part because of Clinton’s decision to use an unauthorized private email server for her work without informing record-keeping officials. In his letter, Priebus said the foundation’s own records have “the unique ability” to establish whether donors received special treatment. Clinton promised President Barack Obama that her family’s charities would annually disclose all their donors and seek prior approval from the State Department for any additional money given by foreign governments when Obama made her his most senior diplomat in 2009. The charities said last year they failed to comply with the promises, blaming oversights. The foundation has said it will no longer accept foreign or corporate funding for at least some of its work if Clinton is elected. Her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, will remain on the board. | 0fake |
BREAKING: #UnfitHillary Told FBI She Couldn’t Remember Answers To Questions Because Of CONCUSSION…Used 13 Mobile Devices…Hillary’s Lawyers Couldn’t Locate Any Of Them | Dirty, lying, rotten to core Hillary is either lying about not remembering or lying about having fully recovered from the blood clot on her brain. Which one is it Hillary?What a great role model for young girls and women everywhere Clinton was interviewed by the FBI on July 2 but the meeting wasn t tape recorded or conducted under oath The only surviving account of the grilling was released Friday by the FBI She also said she couldn t recall receiving any emails that she thought didn t belong on an unclassified system Said she was concussed in 2012 when she was receiving guidance so couldn t rememberHillary Clinton told the FBI she could not recall answers to some of their questions about her secret server scandal because she had been concussed in 2012.The extraordinary disclosure was made as the FBI published details of its agents interview with the former secretary of state which was conducted days before the agency s director ruled out any charges against her.Agents noted that Clinton could not recall being trained to handle classified materials as secretary of state, and had no memory of anyone raising concerns about the sensitive information she received at her private address.The Democratic presidential nominee also did not recall receiving any emails she thought should not be on an unclassified system, the FBI s report declared.She did not recall all of the briefings she received on handling sensitive information as she made the transition from her post as secretary of state, due to a concussion she suffered in 2012. Clinton said she received no instructions or direction regarding the preservation or production of records from (the) State (Department) during the transition out of her role as Secretary of State in 2013, the FBI files say. However, in December of 2012, Clinton suffered a concussion and then around the New Year had a blood clot (in her head).And the FBI files also showed how she passed the buck to her former State Department underlings, saying she relied on their judgment when deciding what was and wasn t appropriate to send through her homebrew private email server while she was America s top diplomat. She relied on State [Department] officials to use their judgment when emailing her and could not recall anyone raising concerns with her regarding the sensitivity of the information she received at her email address, the FBI s account reads.Clinton told investigators she was unfamiliar even with basic markings of confidential materials, such as the (C) markings that denote confidential material portions of emails.Clinton stated she did not know what the (C) meant at the beginnings of the paragraphs and speculated it was referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order, according to the documents.The FBI documents state that on February 9, 2016, the Justice Department asked Clinton s lawyers at Williams & Connelly to turn over the 13 mobile devices she used over the time period. The lawyers couldn t locate any of them, and the FBI was unable to acquire or forensically examine any of these 13 mobile devices. Via: Daily Mail | 1real |
Post-election conundrum awaits Germany's Merkel | BERLIN (Reuters) - Barring an upset, the main uncertainty surrounding Europe s most important election this year is not whether Angela Merkel will continue to lead Germany after this weekend s vote, but who with and how long they will take to get going. Although a surprise cannot be ruled out in the wake of any Russian interference, pollsters say they are confident about their surveys, which show Merkel s conservatives winning the most seats in the Bundestag lower house. The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) is set to enter parliament for the first time, and some experts have said it may gain more support than the roughly 10 percent polls suggest, an alarming prospect for many at home and abroad. But all the other parties have ruled out joining it in a coalition - an inherent part of Germany s electoral system - and the most likely scenario is probably a repeat of Merkel s grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). She will start sounding out partners right after the Sept. 24 vote, but coalition building is a protracted process, which could paralyze policy for months at a time when Brexit has shaken Europe s foundations. The process is especially complex this time as the number of parliamentary groups could rise to six from four. Informal soundings and then exploratory talks precede formal coalition negotiations and party leaders may also seek approval from their members before signing off on any deal. Depending on the shape of the coalition, the main issues at stake are the integration of the more than 1 million migrants who have arrived in Germany in the last two years, and investment in Europe s biggest economy as well as Merkel s leading role in talks on reform of the European Union and relations with Russia and Turkey. Here are the main scenarios: CONSERVATIVES, SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ( GRAND COALITION ) The most likely option, according to opinion polls. Merkel s parliamentary party, made up of her Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) has governed with the SPD for eight of the 12 years that Merkel has been chancellor, including the last four. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: Merkel, who has steered the conservatives towards the political center ground, looks comfortable ruling with the SPD. Such a coalition would likely have a large majority, provide continuity and broadly agree on Europe, Turkey, foreign policy, migration and security issues. HURDLES: It is a last resort for both sides, especially the SPD, which fears it will lose out as junior partner. It wants more emphasis on investment, education, tackling inequality and fair pensions while conservatives are more focused on tax cuts. The SPD is also reluctant to back planned defense spending hikes. CONSERVATIVES, FREE DEMOCRATS ( BLACK-YELLOW ) The conservative block and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) are traditional partners, especially on financial and economic policy, having ruled together for almost half of post-war Germany s seven decades. If they win sufficient votes, this is the most likely scenario. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: The pro-business FDP has rebounded this year, winning enough votes in a vote in Germany s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, in May to share power with the CDU there. A repeat at federal level would herald tax cuts and deregulation and possibly tighter laws on immigration, asylum seeking and security. HURDLES: The FDP was wiped out of parliament in 2013 after four chaotic years ruling with Merkel. It has more radical tax reduction and privatization plans, opposes deeper EU integration and wants EU countries to be able to quit the euro zone. Party leader Christian Lindner has also suggested Germany accept Russia s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, something Merkel has ruled out. CONSERVATIVES, FDP, GREENS ( JAMAICA - REFERENCE TO PARTIES COLORS: BLACK, YELLOW, GREEN) As yet untested at a federal level, this combination rules in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE - If Merkel s bloc can t form an alliance with the FDP or the Greens alone, it may try a three-way deal. Both smaller parties have played down this option but may be lured by the prospect of power. HURDLES - The Greens and FDP are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Policy clashes would be likely on tax, energy, the EU and migrants. CONSERVATIVES, GREENS ( BLACK-GREEN ) Untested at a federal level, this has been mooted as an option under Merkel, who has pushed renewable energy. The CDU and Greens have worked together at regional level, including in a Greens-led coalition in the rich southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: The Greens leaders are pragmatic, worlds away from the eco-warriors who founded the party. The prospect of power may persuade them to compromise. Such a coalition would promote a strong Europe and focus on fighting climate change. The Greens would push for a phaseout of coal-fired power stations. HURDLES: Doubtful they would win a majority. Conservatives want lower taxes while Greens want to tax the super rich. Greens have a more liberal migrant policy which could pit them against the CSU, and they oppose plans to increase defense spending. Clashes are also likely on some aspects of energy policy and auto emissions regulation following the diesel scandal. A minority government would be a first and stability-craving Germans would not like it but may prefer it to new elections. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: If Merkel fails to find a partner, she may feel she has a mandate to rule given her personal popularity. She would probably get support for individual policies from the FDP, SPD and Greens. HURDLES: Merkel s natural caution coupled with Germans fear of instability, a legacy of the fragmentation in the years that preceded the rise of Hitler s Nazi party. SPD, LEFT, GREENS ( RED-RED-GREEN or R2G ) Highly unlikely. Never tested at a federal level, a tie up between the SPD and Greens, preferred partners, and the radical Left party, could be the only way for the SPD to take the chancellery. It is being tested in the state of Berlin under SPD leadership and, with a Left premier, in the state of Thuringia. WHAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE: For the first time, the SPD has not excluded the possibility of joining the Left. Such a coalition would probably focus on boosting investment and tackling inequality and adopt a more Russia-friendly stance. HURDLES: The Left s links with Communists in former East Germany and painful SPD memories of an exodus to the Left over deep labor market reforms more than a decade ago. While the SPD and Greens could rule together relatively easily, the Left wants a top tax rate of 75 percent, a 30-hour week and to replace NATO with an alliance including Russia. For an interactive on German elections, click: tmsnrt.rs/2fv8Yqv | 0fake |
Collective Consciousness – The Individual is Gone | Waking Times
“In the middle of all the brain-research going on, from one end of the planet to the other, there is the assumption that the individual doesn’t really exist. He’s a fiction. There is only the motion of particles in the brain. Therefore, nothing is inviolate, nothing is protected. Make the brain do A, make it do B; it doesn’t matter. What matters is harmonizing these tiny particles, in order to build a collective consensus, in order to force a science of behavior.” ~The Underground, Jon Rappoport
Individual power. Your power.
It stands as the essence of what the founding documents of the American Republic are all about, once you scratch below the surface a millimeter or so.
Therefore, it stands to reason that colleges and universities would be teaching courses in INDIVIDUAL POWER.
As soon as I write that, though, we all fall down laughing, because we understand the absurdity of such a proposition. Can you imagine Harvard endowing a chair in Individual Power?
Students would tear down the building in which such courses were taught. They’ve been carefully instructed that the individual is the greatest living threat to the planet.
If you can’t see that as mind control, visit your local optometrist and get a prescription for glasses.
So we have this astonishing situation: the very basis of freedom has no reflection in the educational system.
You can say “individual” within certain limited contexts. You can say “power,” if you’re talking about nuclear plants, or if you’re accusing someone of a crime, but if you put “individual” and “power” together and attribute a positive quality to the combination, you’re way, way outside the consensus. You’re crazy. You’re committing some kind of treason.
In order to spot the deepest versions of educational brainwashing, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME STANDARD AGAINST WHICH YOU CAN COMPARE WHAT IS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE INTO THE MINDS OF STUDENTS.
If you lack that standard, you miss most of the action.
If you lack that standard, you have already been worked over by the system.
And in this case, the standard is INDIVIDUAL POWER.
Clean it off, hose off the dirt, polish it, look at it, think about it, remember it.
Then you’ll see some Grade-A prime mind control. Everywhere. Because schools either don’t mention it, or they discredit it.
Back in the days when I was writing on assignment for newspapers and magazines, I pitched a story about individual power to an editor. I wanted to trace its history as an idea over the past ten years.
He looked at me for a few seconds. He looked at me as if I’d just dropped some cow flop on his desk. He knew I wasn’t kidding and I had something I could write and turn in to him, but that made it worse. He began to squirm in his chair.
He laughed nervously.
He said, “This isn’t what we do.”
For him, I was suddenly radioactive.
I had a similar experience with a high-school history teacher in California. We were having lunch in a cafe in Santa Monica, and I said, “You should teach a course in individual power. The positive aspects. No group stuff. Just the individual.”
He frowned a deep intellectual frown, as if I’d just opened my jacket and exposed a few sticks of dynamite strapped to my chest. As if he was thinking about which agency of the government to report me to.
Now, for the schizoid part. The movies. Television. Video games. Comics. Graphic novels. They are filled to the brim, they are overflowing with individual heroes who have considerable power. These entertainment businesses bank billions of dollars, because people want to immerse themselves in that universe where the individual is supreme. They want it badly.
But when it comes to “real” life, power stops at the front door and no one answers the bell.
Suddenly, the hero, the person with power is anathema. He’s left holding the bag. So he adjusts. He waits. He wonders. He settles for less, far less. He stifles his hopes. He shrinks. He forgets. He develops “problems” and tries to solve them within an impossibly narrow context. He redefines success and victory down to meet limited expectations. He strives for the normal and the average. For his efforts, he receives tidbits, like a dog looking up at his master.
If that isn’t mind control, nothing is.
Once we enter a world where the individual no longer has credibility, a world where “greatest good for the greatest number” is the overriding principle, and where that principle is defined by the elite few, the term “mind control” will have a positive connotation. It will be accepted as the obvious strategy for achieving “peace in our time.”
At a job interview, a candidate will say, “Yes, I received my PhD in Mind Control at Yale, and then I did three years of post-doc work in Cooperative Learning Studies at MIT. My PhD thesis? It was titled, ‘Coordination Strategies in the Classroom for Eliminating the Concept of the Individual.’”
From Wikipedia, “Cooperative Learning”:
“Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another’s resources and skills…Furthermore, the teacher’s role changes from giving information to facilitating students’ learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds.”
That is a towering assemblage of bullshit.
“Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds.” You could use that quote on the back cover of Orwell’s 1984 or Huxley’s Brave New World . Everyone does not succeed—because the individual never finds out what he can do on his own. That avenue is cut off. He only knows what he can achieve in combination with others. He only knows what he can understand when he borrows from others. He may never glimpse what he truly wants to do in life.
This is a tragic situation, but the tragedy is concealed, because the memory of shifting from individual independence to group dependence is gone. There is no such memory. A child is brought up without independence. Therefore, how can he recall losing it?
He only knows the group and the team and the participation and the praise. He only knows the organizing of his life within a synthetically produced context.
He is taught that this is good and necessary.
So, one day, when a bolt comes out of the blue and he recognizes he is himself, what will he use to grasp that revelation and build on it?
Yes, there are productive groups and teams, and one is always working with others, to some degree. But the core and the starting point is one’s self. That is where the insight and the magic begin. That is where the great decisions and commitments are made. That is where the world is born, every day.
I see no end of writing about this magic, because civilization has been turned upside down by treacherous people who have been fabricating a counter-tradition that will sink the ship. About the Author
Jon Rappoport is the author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29 th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine .
(To read about Jon’s mega-collection, Exit From The Matrix , click here .)
This article ( Collective Consciousness – The Individual is Gone ) was originally created and published by Jon Rappaport’s Blog and is re-posted here with permission.
~~ Help Waking Times to raise the vibration by sharing this article with friends and family… | 1real |
Dallas, Euro 2016, Wimbledon: Your Weekend Briefing - The New York Times | Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. 1. A retaliatory attack on white police officers shocked the nation and reshaped the anguished debate over race and criminal justice. A black Army veteran with a troubled history opened fire on officers patrolling a protest in Dallas against police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. He killed five officers and wounded others in a standoff that ended only when the police sent an robot to blow him up, a tactic of war. _____ 2. President Obama interrupted meetings with NATO leaders in Warsaw to condemn the attack on officers and try to bridge the national divide. “There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps,” he said. “But there is unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans. ” Some critics, like the executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, accused his administration of appeasing violent criminals in ways that “led directly to the climate that has made Dallas possible. ” Mr. Obama is cutting his European trip short to head to Dallas early in the week and plans to invite activists, police officials and others to the White House to seek “constructive actions that are actually going to make a difference. ” _____ 3. The violence reverberated through the presidential campaign, but neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton appeared to find a message that could unify the country. Above, Mrs. Clinton at an African Methodist Episcopal Church conference in Philadelphia. Earlier in the week, the focus was on the end of the federal investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s emails — which only deepened partisan wrangling and did little to improve her low ratings on trust. She may get a boost this week. Confidants of the Bernie Sanders campaign say he will endorse Mrs. Clinton on Tuesday. _____ 4. Mr. Trump’s running mate should be announced within days, and his list of speakers for the Republican National Convention is also expected. Even before the Dallas attack, his campaign had been suffering a tumultuous week. He angrily rejected accusations of . And he unnerved fellow Republicans on multiple fronts, including by lashing out during meetings with congressional representatives, praising Saddam Hussein for “killing terrorists,” and declining to reject the idea that he might abdicate if he wins the presidential election. _____ 5. Surprisingly good news on health: Major diseases are inexplicably waning in the U. S. and other wealthy countries. Improved diagnosis and treatment cannot fully explain the plunge in overall rates of colon cancer, dementia, heart disease and hip fractures. Our science reporter writes, “The leading killers are still the leading killers — cancer, heart disease, stroke — but they are occurring later in life, and people in general are living longer in good health. ” _____ 6. In sports, it’s France versus Portugal for the Euro 2016 soccer title (3 p. m. Eastern, ESPN and streaming). Andy Murray prevailed over Milos Raonic to win his second Wimbledon title, and Serena Williams won the women’s final for a 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Lydia Ko is aiming for her third major title at the U. S. Open golf tournament. Coming: The M. L. B. game on Tuesday and the British Open golf tournament on Thursday, with the American Zach Johnson as the defending champion. The most discussed sports story this week was the decision by Kevin Durant, a top N. B. A. scorer, to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. One writer observed, “It’s hard not to see Silicon Valley triumphalism behind his decision to abandon the only professional team he has played for. ” _____ 7. Britain’s next prime minister will be a woman, though which — Theresa May, the home secretary, above, or Andrea Leadsom, the junior energy minister — won’t be decided until September. The two are the final candidates to take leadership of the Conservative Party after David Cameron, who opted to step aside following the country’s vote to withdraw from the European Union. Whoever wins will be the first woman to lead Britain since Margaret Thatcher, and could be an outsider among the current clique of leading personalities in the Brexit drama. _____ 8. The implications of the Brexit vote also hung over the NATO summit meeting in Warsaw, where President Obama sought to dismiss fears that the alliance could similarly unravel. But fissures among the members were evident over how to handle Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, the migrant crisis and terrorism fears. _____ 9. A lawsuit accusing Roger Ailes, the powerful Fox News chairman, of gender discrimination and sexual harassment sent shock waves through the media world. Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox host, says she was forced out of the network after rebuffing Mr. Ailes’s sexual advances — allegations he denies. Regardless of the legal outcome, the lawsuit signals a big shift for a network whose commentators have often rebuked ideas of political correctness and feminism. _____ 10. “The Night Of,” a new series, debuts tonight on HBO (9 p. m. Eastern, with repeats at 10:30 p. m. and midnight). The show, depicting a fictitious murder case in New York City, follows the template of procedurals like “Law Order” but philosophically lines up more with stories like the podcast “Serial. ” If you tune in, our critic has some advice: “Mind your armrests when you watch it all unfold you may clutch them right through the upholstery. ” Here is a rundown of the latest films. _____ 11. Finally, NASA scientists are jubilant over the possibility that the next 20 months could crack open the mystery of the origins of the solar system. NASA’s Juno space probe completed a nearly 1. voyage and entered into orbit around Jupiter, thought to be the oldest planet. That triumph is just the latest for the world’s space programs, which include missions to Mars, the moon, Saturn, and Venus. Here’s a selection of the action on the final frontier. And here on Earth, have a great week. _____ Karen Workman contributed reporting. _____ Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Evening Briefing, weeknights at 6 p. m. Eastern. Want to look back? Here’s Friday’s Evening Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Does Putting Three Dots And A Question Mark At The End Of A Headline Make People Curious Enough To Click…? | 0 Add Comment
STUDIES have shown that websites which fill their pages with headlines that end with three dots and a question mark have to do very little else to attract thousands of clicks from unsuspecting web users.
The findings come after a year-long internet study, which found that content hosting sites can survive simply by exploiting the human brain’s natural tendency to seek the answer to a question that is seemingly directed straight at them, even if they have very little interest in the subject at hand.
Web users are just as likely to click through on headlines such as ‘Did Amy Huberman show too much flesh at last night’s event…?’ as they are on headlines such as ‘Can this tractor pull this other tractor up a hill…?’, meaning that little or no effort is required to run a thriving media empire.
“Can this kitten reach his food…? Does this grandmother know all the words to Lose Yourself…? Who cares, it’s all clicks” said one entertainment website owner.
“Once we worked out the old three dots and a question mark formula, then we knew we were set for life. People just can’t help but click on that. It’s like catnip for the bored mind”.
It is believed that the success of the formula is so great, that all news will come in that format in the near future. Already, Brian Dobson is working on his delivery of news headlines such as ‘Were there many people killed in the Middle East today…?’ and ‘Did the government get the 8th amendment sorted out…?’. | 1real |
Trump Fan Drives Jeep Through Crowd Of Protesters (VIDEO) | Saturday afternoon, a group of protesters gathered on the main road leading into Fountain Hills, the location of Donald Trump s latest hatefest, and set up a Quarrantine of the rally. Traffic was backed up for miles as the demonstrators peacefully protested the rally but many Trump fans were displeased that people chose to act in opposition to their leader s wishes.On social media, some fanatical supporters of The Donald called for the protesters to be tear gassed and shot, while others had another idea run them over. Some even began inquiring as to the legality of pancaking peaceful demonstrators with one s car. While it might seem unbelievable that someone would take these insane fringe-nuts up on their suggestion,WKBW reports that one Jeep-driving Trump fan wanted to get to the rally so badly that he plowed into the protesters with his vehicle.Video of the scene shows the unnamed driver pushing his way through the crowd with zero regard for the safety of the human beings in front of his vehicle. The demonstrators can be seen moving out of the way, some obviously panicked, while others attempt to stop their assailant from moving any further.It might be expected that the police who were present would wish to stop the driver, but they can clearly be seen on the video providing an escort, even shoving around people who are attempting to stop the driver whose appointment with Trump was more important than the safety of the demonstrators.Fortunately, no one was injured, though this incident makes it clear that the cops were there for one purpose: to protect Donald Trump rather than the people.In 2014, a vehicle moving at a similar speed plowed through a crowd of Michael Brown supporters. While it was not moving quickly, one protester s leg became trapped by the wheel and she was dragged at least 20 feet before she was able to free herself. Like the operator of this Jeep, the driver kept going with zero regard for the assembled crowd.It is unclear why police chose not to intervene, but it is noteworthy that law enforcement reaction to the protest is managed by anti-Hispanic bigot, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who recently endorsed The Donald. Is it any wonder that his men did not care about the safety of anyone who was not there to worship Trump?Watch the video below:Featured image via screengrab | 1real |
Syria, U.S. Presidential Race, Tulsa: Your Evening Briefing - The New York Times | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. U. N. officials suspended all humanitarian convoys in Syria, a day after a deadly aerial attack on a convoy of 31 aid trucks authorized to travel in the country. “Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the bar of depravity sinks lower,” the United Nations secretary general, Ban said at the opening of the General Assembly in New York. Syria, Russia and the United States denied responsibility, but the U. S. officials said Russia may have carried out the attack. _____ 2. New details emerged about Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect in weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey, including that he was turned in as a terrorist to the F. B. I. two years ago — by his father, an Afghan immigrant, above. But officials said that the father had recanted, and that agents did not interview Mr. Rahami himself, who was in jail, accused of stabbing his brother. Friends said Mr. Rahami seemed to change after traveling abroad. He went to Pakistan several times, staying for nearly a year in Quetta, the headquarters of exiled Afghan Taliban leaders as well as generations of Afghans who fled the violence in their country. The woman he married there has been detained. Our reporter retraced his likely path from the train station in Elizabeth, N. J. to the doorway of a bar where he was found sleeping on Monday morning. _____ 3. The bombings came at a critical point for the presidential campaign, pushing national security to the forefront with the first presidential debate a week away and Election Day in just seven weeks. But it’s likely that neither Hillary Clinton’s counterterrorism plan nor Donald Trump’s would have prevented the attacks, and neither addresses the most common trajectory of radicalization in the U. S.: personal demons that morph into ideologically driven violence. At a time when polls are being intensely scrutinized, our statistical expert examines how different pollsters starting with the same data can make very different conclusions. _____ 4. Donald Trump’s campaign once again drew derision from critics, this time for Donald Trump Jr. ’s comparison of Syrian refugees to a bowl of skittles with a scattering of poisoned candies. And Samantha Bee clobbered NBC and her fellow TV host Jimmy Fallon for a friendly interview with Mr. Trump. “Network execs, and a lot of their audience, can ignore how very dangerous Trump is because to them, he isn’t,” Ms. Bee said. “They’re not going to be deported. ” _____ 5. President Obama, making his final address to the U. N. Nations General Assembly, said that globalization needed to make a “course correction. ” “A world in which 1 percent of humanity controls as much wealth as the other 99 percent will never be stable,” he said. He also cautioned against insularity, saying, “Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself. ” Here is our full coverage of the General Assembly. _____ 6. Our book reviewer got an advance copy of Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, “Born to Run,” which he compares to one of Mr. Springsteen’s shows: “long, ecstatic, exhausting, filled with peaks and valleys” and “part séance and part keg party. ” And there’s even news: The singer has suffered depressions so deep that he’s turned to the powerful drug Klonopin. _____ 7. Senator Elizabeth Warren led a bipartisan chorus of censure against John Stumpf, the chief executive of Wells Fargo, for protecting senior managers’ jobs and his own compensation after revelations that workers had opened millions of unauthorized accounts in customers’ names. She accused him of driving workers “to the breaking point” with aggressive goals of “ ” — persuading customers to avail themselves of more bank services. “And when it all blew up,” she said, “you kept your job, you kept your bonuses. ” _____ 8. Video of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Okla. has prompted federal and local investigations. The victim, Terence Crutcher, was shot after walking to his vehicle with his hands up. The view from a patrol car’s dashboard camera and a helicopter flying overhead was obstructed in the moments before he was Tasered and then shot. His family held a news conference, calling for charges to be filed against the white officer who shot him, Betty Shelby. _____ 9. We’ve been following the uproar over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines in the weeks since the new president, Rodrigo Duterte, inaugurated a war on drugs. One of Mr. Duterte’s most outspoken critics, Senator Leila de Lima, above, was just stripped of her post as head of a panel investigating the hundreds of killings and put under investigation over allegations that she had received payoffs from drug lords. She said she was the victim of a “new McCarthyism. ” _____ 10. A celebrity breakup doesn’t usually qualify as top news, but this one involves a Hollywood powerhouse and an influential international philanthropy. Yes, Brangelina is fracturing back into Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. No explanations were offered, and both individuals asked the media to respect the family’s privacy. _____ 11. Finally … enough. Just don’t. Play Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah. ” Anymore. _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
SOUR GRAPES? Whatever happened to the ‘smooth transition of power’ that Obama vowed? | Andrew Malcolm McClatchy News You better stop stealing money from your mother s purse, young man, or I will punish you late this year or perhaps sometime in 2018, said no parent who was serious about punishment.Yet that s pretty much what President Obama did with his old-fashioned expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over alleged political hacking by Moscow interests going back 18 months.A very strange retro-response from a president who mocked Mitt Romney for suggesting in 2012 that Russia was America s worst strategic threat. Obama said: The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War s been over for 20 years. As has often happened when Obama shoots from the lip sans teleprompter (think his red line in Syria, ISIS is a JV squad), the aloof one is wrong.Obama s been golfing and snorkeling in Hawaii since mid-December. But he left orders for a number of last-minute steps, including more ineffective sanctions against Russia and a stunning historic break with Israel. Indeed, these measures smell more of vengeance than practical policy.Petty political ploys are standard operating procedure back in the Chicago wards that spawned Obama s career. They re less expected at the presidential level. In fact, Russia s president declined to retaliate Continue this story at McClatchy Newspapers READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21WIRE 2016 Files | 1real |
Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against Netanyahu, corruption | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - About 20,000 Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday against government corruption and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is under criminal investigation over allegations of abuse of office. The demonstration was by far the largest of weekly anti-corruption protests sparked by corruption allegations against Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing. The four-term leader is suspected of involvement in two cases. The first involves receiving gifts from wealthy businessmen and the second involves negotiating a deal with a newspaper owner for better coverage in return for curbs on a rival daily. Saturday s protest was prompted by a draft law expected to be ratified by parliament next week, which would bar police from publishing its findings in two investigations of Netanyahu. A Reuters cameraman and Israeli media put the number of demonstrators at about 20,000. Police would not provide an official estimate. Critics say the draft law is a blatant attempt to protect Netanyahu and keep the public in the dark about his investigation. Supporters of the legislation say it is meant to protect suspects rights. Netanyahu has said he has no interest in promoting personal legislation but he has not ordered its two sponsors, close confidants in his Likud party, to withdraw the bill. Netanyahu has described himself as a victim of a political witch hunt and said of the cases against him: There will be nothing because there is nothing. If charged, he would come under heavy pressure to resign or could call an election to test whether he still had a mandate. | 0fake |
Palestinian reconciliation spells cheaper prices for Gaza consumers | GAZA (Reuters) - Gaza s merchants and consumers are reaping early rewards from reconciliation moves by the enclave s dominant Hamas Islamists and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli border restrictions, including a nearly blanket ban on exports from Gaza, and three wars since 2008 have imposed severe hardship in the territory. Israel says its rules are driven by security concerns, accusing Hamas of having used imported material to build weapons including rockets that have been fired at its cities. Since Hamas ceded Gaza s border crossings with Israel - the main gateway for commercial imports - to the Authority on Nov 1 under an Egyptian-brokered unity deal, many prices in the territory have dropped. The main reason for the decrease: the Authority has canceled surcharges, sometimes as high as 25 percent, that Hamas collected in cash from merchants in Gaza. Businesses, in turn, have passed on some of those savings to customers: a 2017 Kia Picanto compact car, for example, now sells for $20,000 instead of $22,500, and a kilo of beef costs 40 shekels ($11), down from 50 ($15). And this week, the PA, which takes its own tax in an arrangement agreed with Israel, allowed the import of cigarettes costing eight shekels a pack compared with the usual 21 shekels for other brands, through Israel s Kerem Shalom commercial crossing for the first time. Cigarettes used to come in only via smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border but the PA is seeking understandings with Hamas and Cairo to choke off that channel. (Hamas s fees) led to a weakening of sales power because the people in Gaza live under bad economic conditions and because of the Israeli blockade and the loss of jobs, said Tareq Al-Saqqa, who owns an electrical goods company in Gaza, where unemployment tops 40 percent. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt maintain tight restrictions at their Gaza borders. Hamas, regarded by the West as a terrorist group, seized the enclave in fighting in 2007 against forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel s limits on Gaza s import of so-called dual use material, such as steel and cement, that it fears could be used by Hamas to make weapons or fortifications are unlikely to change soon. But hundreds of truckloads of food and a wide variety of consumer goods move into Gaza daily via Israel. Hamas, which handed administrative control of Gaza to the Authority under the reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo on Oct. 12, has spurned Israel s demand it disarm. Israel said it would deal with the new administration in Gaza but in the way that would not allow Hamas and other factions to develop their military capabilities, which means it will continue to ban essential materials, said Mohammad Abu Jayyab, a Gaza economist. He and other local economic experts cautioned against any hopes of a rapid revival of Gaza s economy unless Israel s restrictions were fully removed. Responsibility for security in still an open issue in Gaza, where Hamas, which is still policing the territory, has what analysts say are at least 25,000 well-equipped fighters. Further unity talks are scheduled for Nov. 21 in Cairo. Keeping pressure on Hamas, Abbas has yet to lift economic sanctions he imposed in Gaza in June that included a cut in salaries the Authority paid to 60,000 civil servants. Abbas recently sent nearly 15,000 of them into early retirement. (This version of the story corrects spelling of surname, paragraph 12) | 0fake |
Trump says China tried but failed to help on North Korea | WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese efforts to persuade North Korea to rein in its nuclear program have failed, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, ratcheting up the rhetoric over the death of an American student who had been detained by Pyongyang. Trump has held high hopes for greater cooperation from China to exert influence over North Korea, leaning heavily on Chinese President Xi Jinping for his assistance. The two leaders had a high-profile summit in Florida in April and Trump has frequently praised Xi while resisting criticizing Chinese trade practices. “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!” Trump wrote on Twitter. It was unclear whether his remark represented a significant shift in his thinking in the U.S. struggle to stop North Korea’s nuclear program and its test launching of missiles or a change in U.S. policy toward China. “I think the president is signaling some frustration,” Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, told MSNBC. “He’s signaling to others that he understands this isn’t working, and he’s trying to defend himself, or justify himself, by saying that at least they tried as opposed to others who didn’t even try.” China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that China had made “unremitting efforts” to resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula, and that it had “always played and important and constructive role”. “China’s efforts to resolve the peninsula nuclear issue is not due to any external pressure, but because China is a member of the region and a responsible member of the international community, and because resolving the peninsula nuclear issue is in China’s interests,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing. On Tuesday, a U.S. official, who did not want to be identified, said U.S. spy satellites had detected movements recently at North Korea’s nuclear test site near a tunnel entrance, but it was unclear if these were preparations for a new nuclear test - perhaps to coincide with high-level talks between the United States and China in Washington on Wednesday. “North Korea remains prepared to conduct a sixth nuclear test at any time when there is an order from leadership but there are no new unusual indications that can be shared,” a South Korean Defense Ministry official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Seoul was in close consultation with Washington over the matter, the official added. North Korea last tested a nuclear bomb in September, but it has conducted repeated missile test since and vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, putting it at the forefront of Trump’s security worries. U.S.-CHINA DIALOGUE The Trump statement about China was likely to increase pressure on Beijing ahead of Wednesday’s Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, which will pair U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis with China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and General Fang Fenghui, chief of joint staff of the People’s Liberation Army. The State Department says the dialogue will focus on ways to increase pressure on North Korea, but also cover such areas as counter-terrorism and territorial rivalries in the South China Sea. The U.S. side is expected to press China to cooperate on a further toughening of international sanctions on North Korea. The United States and its allies would like to see an oil embargo and bans on the North Korean airline and guest workers among other moves, steps diplomats say have been resisted by China and Russia. In a sign that U.S.-Chinese relations remain stable, a White House aide said Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, were invited by the Chinese government to visit the country later this year. Trump has hardened his rhetoric against North Korea following the death of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who died on Monday in the United States after returning from captivity in North Korea in a coma. In a White House meeting with visiting Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, Trump criticized the way Warmbier’s case was handled in the year since his arrest, appearing to assail both North Korea and his predecessor, President Barack Obama. “What happened to Otto is a disgrace. And I spoke with his family. His family is incredible ... but he should have been brought home a long time ago,” Trump said. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the United States holds North Korea accountable for Warmbier’s “unjust imprisonment” and urged Pyongyang to release three other Americans who are detained. Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times, published by the official People’s Daily, said Chinese officials must be wary that Warmbier’s death might push Washington to put greater pressure on Beijing. “China has made the utmost efforts to help break the stalemate in the North Korean nuclear issue. But by no means will China, nor will Chinese society permit it to, act as a ‘U.S. ally’ in pressuring North Korea,” the Global Times said in an editorial. If Washington imposes sanctions on Chinese enterprises, it would lead to “grave friction” between the two countries, said the paper, which does not represent Chinese government policy. Trump’s tweet about China took some advisers by surprise. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States had limited options to rein in North Korea without Chinese assistance. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is less likely following Warmbier’s death. Spicer said Trump would be willing to meet Kim under the right conditions, but “clearly we’re moving further away, not closer to those conditions.” For graphic on Americans detained by North Korea, click: tmsnrt.rs/2r5xYpB | 0fake |
Even on NBC, Rio’s Colors Can’t Be Airbrushed Out - The New York Times | Brazil’s signature contribution to world culture is its popular music, and the characteristic mood of that music is the melancholy yearning called saudade. That is not the mood NBC wants you in while you’re watching its coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics, however. In its broadcast of the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday night — meant to set the tone for more than 6, 500 hours of television and digital coverage over the next weeks — the network was intent on getting the party started. During NBC’s long introduction to the ceremony, the emphasis was on the physical beauty of the Brazilian landscape and its often scantily clad Brazilian bodies, and on the many styles of dancing abandon the country’s music inspires. Despite the controversies and fears that have dogged the Rio Games, the city was ready to throw “a massive party,” said Meredith Vieira, one of three “Today” hosts recruited to narrate the ceremony, along with Matt Lauer and Hoda Kotb. Ms. Kotb, the designated fun one, squealed, “Did somebody say party?” When the canned intro ended, more than an hour after the ceremony had actually started, a nearly subliminal string of words on screen painted the clichéd picture of (sanitized) hedonism that NBC wants as a background for its broadcast: music, color, flavor, passion, beaches, samba, carnival, futbol. The hosts did not ignore the scandals — economic, political, health and doping — that have dominated the to the Games, but their references were predictably few and faint. About the absence of the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, who faces an impeachment trial, “It’s complicated” was as direct as it got. But NBC couldn’t airbrush out the parts of the ceremony itself that took on larger concerns. Less visually and choreographically impressive than Zhang Yimou’s spectacular show in Beijing in 2008, and less than London in 2012, the production Friday night had a winning earnestness. A long, powerful section represented Brazil’s history of slavery, and the culmination of the ceremony was a bald warning of the dangers of global warming to coastal cities like Rio de Janeiro. NBC’s decision to the broadcast of the ceremony by an hour — starting at 8 p. m. Eastern — probably had little or no effect on what we saw. There did not appear to be any significant disturbances or glitches at the stadium that needed to be smoothed over. What the network really gained by delaying the ceremony was more viewers for its nakedly promotional introductory . NBC featured the American athletes it is counting on for story lines, like the swimmer Michael Phelps and the sprinter Allyson Felix and an intrusive, embarrassing promo touted NBC’s most prominent announcers. The nadir of the evening was a segment, positioned just before the start of the opening ceremony, that was ostensibly about Olympic golf but was really a plug for the Golf Channel. The ceremony, when it arrived, was firmly in the approved international style that combines elements of Cirque du Soleil, “The Lion King,” American football halftime shows, political conventions, film (particularly the director Terrence Malick) and the fireworks of the artist Cai . An irregularly shaped section of the floor of the Maracanã stadium served as stage and screen. Watching theatrical effects that are scaled for a large stadium in the confines of a television screen is always problematic — you’re too close to the action and at the same time you’re missing the immersive effects of lights and sound. The opening act, a countdown to the ceremony involving lots of mylar, looked like hundreds of giant bags of Jiffy Pop popcorn getting ready to burst. During a tribute to the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto in which white boxes were tossed from hand to hand, the cameras were too close to capture the cascading effect. But other segments, like the sprouting of a rainforest from the stadium floor, and the slave march — for which dancers wore large blocks, like parking boots, on their feet — probably came across better on the screen, communicating some of the wonder that the stadium spectators must have felt. The ceremony’s most striking moment, however, involved a lone figure on a bare stage: the Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, taking the longest catwalk ever, along the length of the Maracanã floor. Then there were the parts that were completely inexplicable without a program, like a wild number with masses of dancers in a multicolored, mosh pit. NBC thoughtfully cut in a prerecorded interview with Daniela Thomas, one of the ceremony’s creative directors, explaining that it was a representation of Brazil’s divides of class and race, as well as a celebration of diversity. Eventually, NBC’s cameras found and kept returning to Ms. Bundchen dancing in the stands, an image they clearly preferred. The strange fate of Olympic opening ceremonies is that they inevitably segue into the visually monotonous parade of nations, two hours of waves, hideous national costumes and rampant selfie taking. Rio tried to put its stamp on the parade by having the teams led into the stadium by bicycle carts of the kind that ferry supplies around big beach resorts. The parade requires more of the announcers, and the “Today” crew, unusually subdued during the ceremony, nimbly recited demographic and historical facts. These skewed toward American interests: “Roots” opens in Gambia. Alexander Hamilton was born in St. Kitts and Nevis. As long and featureless as the parade may be, it is also inspiring and heartwarming, the loud cheers for a new team representing refugees (and for the very well muscled and oiled Tongan flag bearer) balancing the occasional cuts to American team members chanting “U. S. A. !” Conveniently for NBC, the home nation danced in last, a samba line bouncing along to the best music any nation has offered. With her mind on those 6, 500 hours of actual athletics still to come, the rights to which cost NBC north of $1 billion, Ms. Vieira cautioned: “This is not the party. You haven’t seen anything yet. ” | 0fake |
White House seeks quick vote on healthcare overhaul but hurdles remain | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top aides to President Donald Trump on Monday predicted the House of Representatives would move this week to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, though Republicans remained divided on how to protect sick Americans from insurance price hikes. The White House is eager to move forward on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, to make good on a key campaign promise. Republicans tried but failed to pass a replacement bill in March in an embarrassing setback for the Trump Administration. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow states to opt out of Obamacare protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions - provisions that force insurers to charge sick people and healthy people the same rates. It was unclear when or if a vote would be scheduled. Trump told Fox News Channel that he would not set a deadline for the vote, and indicated he was open to improvements. “We’re either going to have a great plan or I’m not signing it,” he said in the interview. In a separate interview with Bloomberg News, Trump insisted that the new bill would maintain protections for pre-existing conditions. “I want it to be good for sick people. It’s not in its final form right now,” he told Bloomberg. “It will be every bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.” Ten major patient advocacy groups said they opposed the reworked healthcare bill, including the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association. Other major medical groups such as the American Medical Association have also expressed concerns over coverage losses and unaffordable insurance for those with pre-existing conditions. Republican lawmakers have struggled to unite around legislation, with moderates and conservatives within the caucus divided over key provisions. Once a plan passes the Republican-controlled House, it is expected to face a tough fight in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrower majority and where some party senators have expressed misgivings about the House bill. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn on Monday said in separate interviews with CBS’ “This Morning” that they thought there were enough votes to pass the bill this week. House Republican leaders were more cautious. As of Monday afternoon, no vote had been scheduled and backers of the healthcare proposal had not released legislative language. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican conference, said Republican members needed time to understand new tweaks to the bill. “We are having those member-to-members conversations right now,” McMorris Rodgers told Fox News. Vice President Mike Pence made his way to Capitol Hill late on Monday to make the case to members who are on the fence, a Republican aide said on condition of anonymity, noting leaders are believed to be within five or six votes of having enough support to pass the bill. The Freedom Caucus, which brought down the previous effort to pass a healthcare bill, has endorsed the new measure. The Republican aide told Reuters all but one or two members of the group will support the reworked plan. “This bill doesn’t get all the way there but it’s a good step and is ... the best we can get out of the House right now,” Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the group, told CNN. But several moderate Republicans were either undecided or opposed the bill for fear that it would not protect those with pre-existing conditions and cause millions to lose health insurance. Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, said he still had problems with the latest plan and suspected there were not enough votes to pass it. “Too many Americans are going to be without coverage,” Dent told MSNBC, adding that the plan could make things even worse for vulnerable Americans. | 0fake |
'Where are the others?': Somalia praises 'genuine brother' Turkey for bombs response | MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Turkey s swift response to Somalia s deadliest truck bombing drew praise from survivors and officials who called Ankara their only genuine international partner. It is an implicit challenge to Western backers that spend billions on security but have not, in the view of many Somalis; jumped to help. Whenever there is a problem, Turkey helps us. Where are the other countries? runs a popular cartoon circulating on Somali social media. Within 48 hours of the huge twin explosions that hit Mogadishu on Saturday, a Turkish air ambulance had landed in the battle-scarred capital and picked up dozens of wounded Somalis to transport them to Turkey for free medical treatment. Its health minister also pitched up with surgeons who set to work at once in hospitals alongside Somali doctors and nurses. Ankara has invested heavily in Somalia over the past five years, with one eye on rich economic pickings should stability ever return and the other on burnishing President Tayyip Erdogan s image of Turkey as a global promoter of compassionate Islam. Turkey is the best friend to Somalia and they were the first supporter to us after the blast, said Abdiasis Ahmed, a jobless university graduate who said four friends had been airlifted out, one with a broken back. At least 300 people were killed in the blasts and more than 400 injured. Although Islamist al Shabaab militants were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011, Saturday s attack - which al Shabaab has not claimed - shows the dangers still facing the capital. Many Somalis contrasted Ankara s response with that of the European Union, which has a naval force including combat ships equipped with emergency medical systems off Mogadishu s shore to deter piracy, but which did not take in casualties. I ve heard a lot of complaints from Somalis saying There s a huge Western navy on our shores - why can t those people come to help us? , said Rashid Abdi, a Nairobi-based Somalia analyst at International Crisis Group, a think-tank. A spokesman from the naval force said the force had diverted its nearest vessel, a Spanish ship, that delivered equipment and medical supplies once it reached the Somali coastline. He said the maritime area the force covers is vast but the ship arrived Mogadishu as quickly as possible. A tweet from the naval force earlier on Wednesday said it was providing vital medical aid for the victims. Senior officials also compared the speed and scale of Turkey s assistance with that of Somalia s foreign partners, including neighbors Kenya and Djibouti and the United States and the United Nations. Mogadishu mayor Thabit Mohamed tweeted on Monday that he was grateful for Turkey s immediate response and relief for victims , compared with a Thanks for standing with #Mogadishu tweet 24 hours later aimed at the U.S. Embassy. Turkey is always first to help us. They are our only genuine brother, Information minister Abdirahman Omar Osman told Reuters, recalling a personal visit by Erdogan in 2011, when Somalia was in the grip of famine. Their support is visible to everyone. They build hospitals, they build schools, and that s why they are different than others, he said. Others might give more money but Turkey is perceived by the people to be the ones really helping Somalia. | 0fake |
Gowdy and Cummings duke it out over Benghazi | Top Dems want White House to call off Part B demo — The next cancer drug shortage | 0fake |
GREAT JOB! WILBUR ROSS Destroys Pro-Paris Accord Argument With Brilliant Talking Points [Video] | Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is one smart man when it comes to making an economic argument against the Paris Accord. He appeared on Neil Cavuto right before President Trump spoke and brilliantly discussed why we need to get out of this boondoggle that will drain America of trillions of dollars. We re so lucky he s our Commerce Secretary! He s apolitical and strictly looking at what s best for America financially.BACKGROUND ON THE AWESOME WILBUR ROSS AND STEVE MNUCHIN: I did this because I believed in him Steve MnuchinIsn t that all you need to know about the private sector picks for Commerce and Treasury? Steve Mnuchin is stepping up because he wants to help Donald Trump Make America Great Again. Fantastic!Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross was picked for Commerce Secretary. Does he need a boss? No! He s also doing this for all the right reasons!These two men are brilliant picks and have said they will coordinate and work to bring America roaring back. Private sector nominees for these two positions couldn t be better! No more bureaucrats!They both want responsible tax cuts and want trade to be front and center Hedge fund manager Steve Mnuchin said this morning that president-elect Donald Trump had selected him to lead Treasury Mnuchin told CNBC.Mnuchin spent 17 years working at Goldman Sachs, an investment firm that has produced multiple secretaries of the Treasury, and went on to produce Hollywood blockbusters, before taking the helm of Trump s fundraising operation this year. His selection is the latest example of Trump tapping an insider as he staffs the government and attempts to keep his pledges to drain the swamp and Make America Great Again. In another move to fill out his economic team, Trump tapped billionaire Wilbur Ross to serve as the next secretary of Commerce.Read more: Daily Mail | 1real |
Clinton campaign blames FBI director for loss to Trump | Politics FBI Director James Comey (AFP file photo)
Hillary Clinton’s top advisers blame FBI Director James Comey for the Democrat’s bruising loss to President-elect Donald Trump.
Navin Nayak, the head of the Clinton campaign’s opinion research division, sent an email to senior staffers Thursday, outlining “early signals” as to why the candidate lost the November 8 presidential election, POLITICO reported on Friday.
“We believe that we lost this election in the last week,” said Nayak’s email, which was published by POLITICO. “ Comey’s letter in the last 11 days of the election both helped depress our turnout and also drove away some of our critical support among college-educated white voters — particularly in the suburbs.”
“We also think Comey’s 2nd letter, which was intended to absolve Sec. Clinton, actually helped to bolster Trump’s turnout,” he continued.
The letter also highlighted several other challenges the Clinton team faced throughout the campaign, including a desire for change after two terms by a Democratic president and the reluctance of some Americans to vote for a female candidate. Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Donald Trump in New York on November 9, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
Despite those challenges, Nayak said, Clinton was on course to win until the last week, when “everything changed" and the momentum began to shift in favor of Trump.
“Voters who decided in the last week broke for Trump by a larger margin (42-47). These numbers were even more exaggerated in the key battleground states,” he said.
The FBI director angered Democrats late in October by announcing in a letter to Congress that the agency had uncovered new emails connected to the Clinton email investigation.
Just over a week later, Comey notified Congress that Clinton would not face charges over the newly discovered messages.
Nayak said Comey’s letters encouraged Trump supporters and depressed the turnout for Clinton on Election Day.
“There is no question that a week from Election Day, Sec. Clinton was poised for a historic win. In the end, less than 110K votes out of tens of millions cast on Election Day made the difference in this race,” he wrote.
“In the end,” Nayak concluded, “late breaking developments in the race proved one hurdle too many for us to overcome.”
Clinton had been leading Trump throughout the campaign in most of the polls except for the last week of the election when she lost ground to Trump. | 1real |
South Korea's Moon tries K-Pop and TV stars in China charm offensive | BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in will unveil an array of TV talent and K-Pop celebrities at events, including a state dinner, in China on Thursday as he attempts to smooth out a year of difficult diplomacy with a star-laden charm offensive. South Korean celebrities, including some of those accompanying Moon, had been shut out of Chinese television and concert halls as relations cooled between the East Asian neighbors as they faced the threat posed by North Korea s missile and nuclear programs. The thorniest issue was South Korea s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system that China sees as a threat to its security. Moon is hoping to use his first visit to China since taking office in May to build support for a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis that has grown steadily through the year. Pyongyang tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29, which it said could put all of the United States within range, in defiance of international pressure and U.N. sanctions. Meeting in Beijing s Great Hall of the People, Moon told Chinese President Xi Jinping he would be discussing North Korea with him. I expect to reaffirm and discuss specific cooperation with President Xi about our common position that we ll address the North Korean nuclear issue, which is threatening peace and security of not only the northeast Asia region but the entire world, in a peaceful manner and establish eternal peace on the Korean peninsula, Moon said in comments in front of reporters. Moon also oversaw the signing of a memorandum on follow-up negotiations about services and investments under a South Korea-China Free Trade Agreement. Top South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, star of 2016 s hit drama Descendants of the Sun and the face of many South Korean cosmetics brands, will join Moon and Xi in a state dinner later on Thursday. Song will be joined by married South Korean and Chinese actors, Choo Ja-yeon and Xiaoguang Yu. Boy band EXO, one of the top-earning artists of major K-Pop talent agency S.M. Entertainment, joined Moon and Song at a bilateral business event earlier on Thursday. The presence of such celebrities reflects Seoul s hope to break the ice after the row over its deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. China complains that the THAAD system s powerful radar can see far into its territory and does nothing to ease tension with North Korea. The THAAD deployment cost South Korean firms such as K-Pop businesses dearly as China retaliated. Concerts in China by major K-Pop artists have been halted since the second half of 2016, South Korean celebrities dropped from advertisements and South Korean dramas all but disappeared from Chinese TV channels this year, Korean entertainment industry officials said. Xi told Moon that relations between their countries had experienced some setbacks - likely a reference to the THAAD dispute - but that he hoped his visit would be an important opportunity to improve them. As friendly neighbors and strategic partners, China and South Korea have broad common interests in keeping the region peaceful and promoting mutual developments, Xi said. South Korea and China share the goal of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and stop testing its increasingly sophisticated long-range missiles, but the two have not seen eye-to-eye on how to achieve this. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered on Tuesday to begin talks with North Korea at any time and without pre-conditions, but a White House official later said no negotiations could be held until North Korea improved its behavior. Moon, whose trip ends on Saturday, has been accompanied by the largest business delegation ever to accompany a South Korean leader abroad. The THAAD disagreement is estimated to have knocked about 0.4 percentage points off expected economic growth in South Korea this year and resulted in lost revenues of about $6.5 billion from Chinese tourists in the first nine months of 2017, according to the Bank of Korea and Korea Tourism Organisation. | 0fake |
Anarchists Respond to Trump’s Inauguration, by Any Means Necessary - The New York Times | The videotaped sucker punch that staggered the white nationalist Richard Spencer on Inauguration Day quickly inspired mockery on social media. But it echoed loudly in an escalating confrontation between extreme ends of the political spectrum. With groups edging into the mainstream with the rise of President Trump, and anarchists are vowing to confront them at every turn, and by any means necessary — including violence. In Berkeley, Calif. on Wednesday night, masked protesters set fires, smashed windows and stormed buildings on the campus of the University of California to shut down a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, an inflammatory Breitbart News editor and a provocateur already barred from Twitter. Five people were injured, administrators canceled the event, and the university police locked down the campus for hours. That followed a bloody melee in Seattle on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, when demonstrators — their faces concealed to minimize the risk of arrest — tried to prevent a speech by Mr. Yiannopoulos at the University of Washington, and a was shot and seriously wounded by a supporter of Mr. Yiannopoulos. The outbreaks of destruction and violence since Mr. Trump’s inauguration have earned contempt from Republicans — including Trump supporters who say it is exactly why they voted for his promises of law and order — and condemnation from Democrats like Berkeley’s mayor, Jesse Arreguín. He called Wednesday’s display “contrary to progressive values” and said it “provided the ultranationalist far right exactly the images they want” to try to discredit peaceful protesters of Mr. Trump’s policies. But anarchists and who often make up a small but disproportionately portion of protesters, defend the mayhem they create as a necessary response to an emergency. “Yes, what the black bloc did last night was destructive to property,” Eric Laursen, a writer in Massachusetts who has helped publicize anarchist protests, said, using another name for the demonstrators. “But do you just let someone like Milo go wherever he wants and spread his hate? That kind of argument can devolve into ‘just sit on your hands and wait for it to pass.’ And it doesn’t. ” Anarchists also say their recent efforts have been wildly successful, both by focusing attention on their most urgent argument — that Mr. Trump poses a fascist threat — and by enticing others to join their movement. “The number of people who have been showing up to meetings, the number of meetings, and the number of plans for future actions is through the roof,” Legba Carrefour, who helped organize the Disrupt J20 protests on Inauguration Day in Washington, said in an interview. “Gained 1, 000 followers in the last week,” trumpeted @NYCAntifa, an Twitter account in New York, on Jan. 24. “Pretty crazy for us as we’ve been active for many years with minimal attention. SMASH FASCISM!” The movement even claims to be finding adherents far afield of major population centers. A participant in CrimethInc, a anarchist network, pointed to rising attendance at its meetings and activity cropping up in new places like Omaha. “The Left ignores us. The Right demonizes us,” the anarchist website It’s Going Down boasted on Twitter. “Everyday we grow stronger. ” Little known to practitioners of mainstream American politics, militant make up a secretive culture closely associated with anarchists. Both reject social hierarchies as undemocratic and eschew the political parties as hopelessly corrupt, according to interviews with a dozen anarchists around the country. While some anarchists espouse nonviolence, others view property damage and even physical attacks on the far right as important tactics. While extreme groups have been enthusiastic supporters of Mr. Trump, express deep disdain for the Democratic Party. And it is mutual, by and large: They amount to the left’s unwanted revolutionary stepchild, disowned for their tactics and ideology by all but the most radical politicians. Anarchists came to the fore in 1999, when they mounted a huge demonstration in Seattle against the World Trade Organization, which they denounce — along with Nafta and other pacts — as a plutocratic group that exploits the poor. Enthusiasm for the movement dipped after the election of President Barack Obama. But it revived as they played a role in some of the most consequential protests during his two terms, starting Occupy Wall Street and serving as foot soldiers in demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock in North Dakota and in Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Mo. and elsewhere. “We’ve had an enormous cultural and political impact,” said David Graeber, a professor at the London School of Economics who helped organize the Occupy protests and has been credited with coining its “we are the 99 percent” slogan. He said the movement had elevated income inequality to the top of the Democratic political agenda, despite not electing anyone or enacting any legislation. But he said Mr. Trump’s victory had proved that anarchists’ diagnosis of society’s ills was correct. “We tried to warn you, with Occupy,” Dr. Graeber said. “We understood that people were sick of the political system, which is fundamentally corrupt. People want something radically different. ” Mr. Trump’s tirades against trade deals, globalization and a Washington elite he views as corrupt mirror arguments that anarchists have been making for decades. But his claim that he alone can fix America’s problems flies in the face of anarchists’ conviction that only direct action by ordinary people can produce a fair system. “Fascism fetishizes having a strong leader who is decisive and tells everyone what to do,” Mr. Laursen, the writer, said. “That’s what we are seeing with Trump. ” Fueled in part by Mr. Trump’s political success, violent clashes between the far right and far left erupted several times during the presidential campaign. In Anaheim, Calif. last February, three people were stabbed in a brawl after disrupted a Ku Klux Klan rally. And in Sacramento in June, at least five people were stabbed and eight wounded when hundreds of counterprotesters, including clashed with skinheads at a rally. But the confrontations seemed to shift into a new gear on the eve of Mr. Trump’s inauguration. On Jan. 19, tried to block the entrance to the “DeploraBall,” a party for Trump supporters. The next day, 230 people were arrested after anarchists dressed in black broke the windows of a bank with baseball bats and set a limousine on fire. (Mr. Spencer, the white nationalist, whose assailant was not arrested, was not the only person struck: A videographer was struck in the chest with a flagpole — he was unharmed — as he tried to interview marching anarchists about what the word “community” meant to them.) One of those arrested, a anarchist who insisted on anonymity to avoid aiding in his own prosecution, said the goal of the protests — to get television stations to cut away from the inauguration, even for a moment — had been met. “Certainly, it has brought more attention to people who were against Trump and what he stands for,” the man said by telephone. The question now is whether anarchists’ efforts against Mr. Trump — whether merely colorful and spirited, or lawless and potentially lethal — will earn their fringe movement a bigger presence in the battle of ideas in years to come. “It’s true that a lot of people who consider themselves liberals or progressives still cling to the idea that you can effect social and economic change in the context of the state, through electoral politics,” Mr. Laursen said. “But more and more, it is going to become necessary for people on the left to think like anarchists if they are going to get anywhere. ” If the Berkeley disturbances have invited widespread denunciations, the punch of Mr. Spencer inflamed emotions on both the left and the right wing. Mr. Spencer has offered a reward for anyone who can identify his attacker, who wore the telltale clothing and of the anarchist “black bloc. ” But anarchists in Philadelphia have already begun raising funds for the man’s legal defense should he ever be caught. Under the hashtag #PunchRichardSpencerAgain, and anarchists across the country are vowing to continue the fight. “May all your punches hit Nazis,” read a headline on It’s Going Down on Sunday. A few days earlier, the website gleefully announced on Twitter that Mr. Spencer was planning a tour of college campuses, adding, “Everyone will get their chance!” | 0fake |
Daesh executing civilians as Iraqi forces advance | Iraq Federal police forces launch a rocket during clashes with Daesh militants south of Mosul on October 26, 2016. (Photos by Reuters)
Daesh executes over 230 civilians in Mosul as the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from the Takfiris gains momentum.
"Daesh militants continued to commit atrocities in the province of Nineveh, they executed 190 people in the area of Hammam al-Alil after taking them hostage in different areas of Mosul," saidthe chairman of the Iraqi parliamentary human rights committee, Abdel Rakhim Shamri, on Wednesday.
He added that another 42 people were taken from the village of Arij and executed after they refused to cooperate with the terrorists. Federal police forces take part in an operation against Daesh militants south of Mosul on October 26, 2016.
Shamri also called on Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to facilitate the airlifting of civilians from Daesh-held areas in Mosul as the terrorists are using them as human shields.
On Tuesday, the UN human rights office said it had preliminary reports about scores of mass killings by Daesh around Mosul in the past week. Federal police forces take part in an operation against Daesh militants south of Mosul on October 26, 2016.
UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a regular UN briefing in Geneva that the bodies of 70 civilians with bullet wounds had been discovered by Iraqi security forces in Tuloul Naser village on October 20, and 50 police officers being held outside the city had also reportedly been killed.
Daesh employing scorched earth policy
On Wednesday, the commander of the Mosul operations, Major General Najm al Jabouri, announced that government forces had liberated the villages of Saf al Tuth and Nana after engaging enemy snipers stationed close to the villages.
Locals report that Daesh militants are employing a scorched earth policy destroying buildings, farms, detonating explosives, torching industrial plants and kidnapping and killing civilians as they are forced to retreat.
"My brother was killed by Daesh, because he wanted to join the security forces. Anyone who wanted to join the security forces would be killed. They took a lot of people, they carried them in pickup trucks, and I have no idea what their fate will be," said a resident of Nana village.
Regional officials have confirmed the terrorists are kidnapping and executing people as they are forced to retreat by advancing Iraqi forces.
A member of the Nineveh provincial council, Abdul Rahman al-Wagga, noted that the executions were carried out "to terrorize the others, those who are in Mosul in particular."
"Daesh was taking families from each village it left," he added. Iraq army forces drive a military vehicle during the operation against Daesh militants in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, on October 26, 2016.
Earlier, military sources announced that Peshmerga fighters had established control over Dirik village near the town of Bashiqa, which lies 12 kilometers northeast of Mosul.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command also announced that Iraqi counter-terrorism units were only two kilometers away from Mosul.
Since the beginning of the operations, the Iraqi army, backed by volunteer forces, has been engaged in a large military offensive to cleanse Mosul of Daesh terrorists. The city fell in 2014 when the terror group started ravaging the country, naming Mosul as its so-called headquarters in Iraq. Loading ... | 1real |
China rules out military force as option to resolve Korean peninsula issues | BEIJING (Reuters) - The use of military force to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula is never an option, China s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told a daily news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. | 0fake |
MORE WINNING! After 14 Year Ban, China Welcomes Back US Beef To Their Multibillion-Dollar Market | You re gonna be so proud of your country. We re gonna win so much. We re gonna win at every level. We re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. You may even get so tired of winning, and you ll say, Please, please it s too much winning! We can t take it anymore. Mr. President, it s too much! Candidate Donald Trump, May, 2016President Trump tweeted about an exciting new opportunity for US cattle farmers, as China lifts 14 year ban on American beef imports: After 14 years, U.S. beef hits Chinese market. Trade deal an exciting opportunity for agriculture. During his Senate hearing to be confirmed as ambassador to China, then-Gov. Terry Branstad said he would prefer to serve Iowa beef not cuts from Australia at the U.S. Embassy there.He won t get that wish yet, but the prime rib he slices into Friday when joined in Beijing by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Chinese government officials to ceremonially mark the return of U.S. beef to China after a 14-year ban will be from closer to home Nebraska.The meat shipped last week by a South Omaha meatpacker was reported to be the first shipment of U.S. beef to China since 2003 after officials sealed a long-sought trade deal this month. This is a big deal. It s definitely very positive news, said Lee Schulz, an Iowa State University Extension livestock economist.But Schulz cautioned overcoming the political hurdles that had prevented U.S. beef exports to China over fears associated with mad cow disease are only the first step. It will be some time before American beef becomes it s what s for dinner for nearly 1.4 billion Chinese.He described the Chinese market for U.S. beef as in its infancy in terms of its impact on Iowa and U.S. producers and processors.The market today is very different from 2003, according to Chris Freland, executive director of the Iowa Beef Industry Council. Still, what she saw while visiting China earlier this year makes her believe U.S. beef producers have an exciting opportunity to move into the Chinese market. There are a lot of people there and a rising middle class who can add beef to their diet, she said.China is projected to become the largest beef market in the world and a major destination for U.S. beef products, according to American Farm Bureau Federation economist Katelyn McCullock. Adding to the market potential is China s changing taste, McCullock said.In 2003, much of the market there was offal tongues, kidneys and livers, for example. Today, there has been demand for higher-value muscle cuts or steak.Before China closed the door on U.S. beef, it imported $70 million worth of beef annually, with the United States supplying 80 percent of that. Today, China imports about $2.6 billion worth of beef every year. Last year, Chinese beef imports totaled 601,000 tons and demand is expected to increase ninefold in four years. So if we can even have a portion of that coming back for Iowa producers, that s a celebration for producer profitability, Freland said.For entire story: The Gazette | 1real |
Lower Back Pain: How to Treat It Efficiently | Arthritis(inflammation of one or more joint) Illness A spine problem you were born with. Fibromyalgia (a disorder that causes fatigue and muscle pain) Compression fractures
To get quick and effective relief from back pain, you can follow some tips mentioned over here to get rid of this irritating pain.
Sometimes back pain is serious. In such conditions, it’s obvious that you will call your doctor. But for routine and mild back pain, you can do some home remedies for quick relief .
Ice & Heat to the Rescue In first 24-48 hours of an injury, ice is best as it reduces inflammation. Use ice for about 20 minutes on your back then take it off to give your back skin rest. If pain persists, talk to a doctor. After 48 hours you can switch to heat if you prefer. But in first 48 hours when you have acute pain, an ice pack is only recommended.
Move Your Spines
Our body is made to move, so does our spine. Keep doing your daily life activities to feel better. Go to work, make the beds, walk the pet. If you are in a state to do aerobic exercises such as bicycling, swimming and walking then carefully do them. Just don’t overdo it. You can keep your back pain in mobile by doing so.
Exercise and Stretch
Regular physical activity keeps you away from this types of pain. A simple exercise like walking, running can be proved very helpful in healing such pain. It is advisable to consult your physician for a list of exercises suitable for your age and health conditions.
Stretch: Apart from exercise, stretch helps you recover from back pain quickly. Always stretch before any physical activity or exercise to warm up yourself. Also, stretch for 10-15 minutes before going to bed. Sitting for long hours in a desk chair all day and bending forward after every other minute to see monitor or file is the reason of back pain in office goers. If you are among those people, then don’t forget to stretch your legs and do office yoga to get rid of this pain.
Massage Your Back
Heat some sesame oil or coconut oil on a low flame with eight cloves of garlic in it. Apply the mixture on the affected area and massage it thoroughly for at least 10-15 minutes . Leave it for 3-4 hours then wash it off with warm water or if you wish you can take a bath of warm water.
If you do not want to do so much effort, then mix some camphor in your massage oil and apply it to your back.
To help keep your back healthy and avoid further pain:
Sleep Well
Bad posture while sleeping often causes back pain. Always sleep on your side and firm surface rather than on soft mattresses like an amerisleep mattress. If you feel back pain on a regular interval, then t here are mattresses available in the market, especially for back pain patients.
Always sit in a chair that is designed to keep your back straight and practice good posture when you stand.
Healthy Weight
It has often seen that overweight is the cause of back pain. Our ribs and area above the legs already bear most of the body’s weight, and when you are overweight, it puts extra weight on that part of our body. So, eat fruits and green vegetables and avoid eating processed food. Hit gym regularly to get your body lean and toned.
Also, avoid lifting heavy weights.
Calcium
As you know, calcium makes our bones strong. It also protects your spine from osteoporosis. Eating calcium-rich foods in your diet such as milk and dairy products, finger millet, green leafy veggies, sesame, small fish with bones, etc. reduce the chances of getting serious lower back pain. So, increase your calcium intake.
Change Your Lifestyle
If you work in an office , bend forward after every few minutes and sit for longer hours then keep stretching and doing office yoga at work to avoid getting lower back pain.
Author – This post is written by Jane who has written reviews about mattresses available in the market for back pain . You might also like… | 1real |
VA secretary asks Iraq War veteran: 'What have you done?' | Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Wednesday asked a Republican lawmaker who served in both Iraq wars, "What have you done?" as the two men sparred over huge cost overruns at a troubled Denver VA hospital.
McDonald was defending the VA's budget at a hearing when he and Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman tussled over construction delays and cost increases at the long-delayed hospital project.
After a few minutes of arguing, McDonald snapped at Coffman: "I've run a large company, sir. What have you done?"
Coffman, an Army veteran, did not respond at the hearing. But the four-term lawmaker said in a statement later that he could tell McDonald a few things he hasn't done.
"I have never run a federal agency that tolerates corruption the way the VA has. I've never built a hospital that's years behind schedule and hundreds of millions over budget. And I've never been a shill for inept bureaucrats who allowed American heroes to die on a medical waiting list," he said.
The last comment was a reference to a wait-time scandal that cost former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki his job. McDonald, a former Procter & Gamble CEO, took over as VA secretary in July. He has vowed to improve VA's delivery of services such as health care and disability benefits and make it a "model" for other government agencies.
The dust-up started when Coffman criticized the VA for citing its legal efforts to defend the Denver hospital project as a major accomplishment.
"How is that a success?" Coffman asked. "You lost that case on every single point for the hospital in my district that is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule."
"I think that that's just characteristic of your glossing over the extraordinary problems confronted by your department," Coffman added. "This is a department mired in bureaucratic incompetence and corruption."
McDonald said he was offended by Coffman's remarks and noted that he had only been on the job for six months.
"You've been here longer than I have. If there's a problem in Denver, I think you own it more than I do," he told Coffman.
McDonald then offered to give Coffman his cellphone, "and you can answer some of the calls and see if I'm making a difference for veterans." | 0fake |
WOW! Rebel Media Finds Shocking Evidence Implicating Son of DEM APPOINTED Judge In “Hate Crime” Trump Supporter Was FALSELY Charged With [VIDEO] | Rebel Media: Attacking someone for their politics could be expected from private citizens acting out against each other, but what about government and law enforcement officials?The Rebel has investigated the case of Mark Feigin, a California Trump supporter who was wrongfully accused of and charged with an anti-Muslim hate crime.On October 19, 2016, Feigin was arrested and charged with making a criminal threat and annoying phone calls against the Islamic Center of Southern California by the Los Angeles Police Department, and then by California Attorney General Kamala Harris.LAPD officers accused Feigin of making two threatening phone calls and claimed that they had traced the phone calls back to him, later labeling the calls a hate crime against Muslims.On October 19th, 2016, Feigin s home was raided by the LAPD and his weapons were confiscated and placed on display for the media during a press conference where the California Media and LAPD were complicit in portraying Feigin as a potential mass murderer.Cmdr. Horace Frank with the Los Angeles Police Department stated in a press conference in October 2016: The male caller threatened to kill the person who answered the phone along with other members of the center because of the caller s hatred for Muslims and his belief that Muslims will destroy the United States. The Rebel has obtained new documents and evidence through police disclosure surrounding the case which proves that the first phone call made to the Islamic Center came from the phone of a different California man, Michael Slawson.Michael Slawson is the son of Democratically appointed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Slawson.In other words, Slawson s father is a judge in the same justice system under which Feigin was charged. | 1real |
‘Squeaky Clean’ Super Bowl Champ And GOP Poster Boy Peyton Manning Buried A Sex Scandal In College | Denver Broncos Quarterback and two-time Super Bowl Champ Peyton Manning makes a great commercial. His boyish looks and unassuming southern drawl combined with a squeaky clean image make him the perfect poster boy for just about any product.Aside from being a Papa John Schnatter loving, Jeb Bush supporting Republican who sends maximum donations to GOP campaigns regularly, Peyton Manning has what appears to be a polished past with nothing but daisies, rainbows and NFL records dotting it. As with most Republicans, however, the illusion at some point comes crashing down. As it turns out, the already-famous Manning was reportedly responsible for an assault of a sexual nature and subsequent cover-up that changed the course of a woman s career while he was in college at the University of Tennessee.The woman, Dr. Jamie Ann Naughright, wasn t a random female student who could be bullied into silence the way so many in the twisted world of men s college sports are. She was a student volunteer on the training staff and a pioneer in a field where only men had previously prevailed.According to court records recently uncovered by The New York Daily News, a 74-page scandal was swept under the rug and a great woman was forced to leave a campus and a job she loved because Peyton Manning was a foolish and vulgar scumbag. After months of abuse by the misogynist coaching staff, who joked that she must be a lesbian and called her c*nt bumper, Dr. Naughright s glass ceiling was raised to impossible heights by none other than number 18.The story begins with Manning suffering a typical football injury and Naughtright, whose name was Whited at the time, attending to him. She said that Manning had first asked her personal questions, including if she hung out with people she worked with. Then things got infinitely worse.After turning down his advances, Manning decided to drop trou while Dr. Naughright had her head down. When she hears chuckles from the others in the room, she looked up to see Manning s privates in her face. According to the court documents, Naughright said: It was the gluteus maximus, the rectum, the testicles and the area in between the testicles. And all that was on my face when I pushed him up. To get leverage, I took my head out to push him up and off. Such blatant lewd behavior and disrespect for a woman who was trying to help him shows a different character than the one the NFL has sold its fans for nearly two decades. Not only did Manning stick his privates in this woman s face, he and the coaching staff tried to blame the incident on a black player, according to documents, and went on to downplay it as mooning. They went so far as to involve yet another player, who was supposedly the target of said mooning, who rebuffed the theory that Naughright accidentally placed her own face in the path of Manning s ass. Yes, it really did get that ridiculous. The other player rebuffed the claim, telling Manning in a letter that he should take responsibility for what he did.After the incident was reported, Manning was punished with the removal of his privilege to eat at the athletic facilities dining room, and requiring him to run at 6:00 a.m. for two weeks. The dining room ban was then reduced to two weeks as well. Dr. Naughright ended up being forced out of the University with a $300K settlement and a confidentiality agreement. For her, the incident was over.For Manning, however, the incident needed to be put into his own context, most likely as a pre-emptive strike against the truth ever coming out. In a book released by him and his father, Archie, Manning tells a completely different story of a woman he called vulgar. While he admitted his behavior was inappropriate, he placed most of the blame on Dr. Naughright, claiming she had a foul mouth and that she yearned to be one of the guys. In his book, Manning described his feelings towards women in the manly man s world of football: Never mind that women in the men s locker room is one of the most misbegotten concessions to equal rights ever made, Manning wrote. When Dad played, there was still at least a tacit acknowledgment that women and men are two different sexes, with all that implies, and a certain amount of decorum had to be maintained. Meaning when it came to training rooms and shower stalls, the opposite sex was not allowed. Common sense tells you why. Misogyny is what tells you why. Peyton Manning s need to display his superiority over a woman who had halted his advances tells you why.At the time, Naughright was working at Florida Southern College and while she wasn t named, it became common knowledge that she was the trainer Manning was referring to in his book. She ended up leaving the school and filing a defamation lawsuit against Manning, which is where the 74 pages of documents came from.USA Today picked the story up in 2003 but didn t release the documents they obtained that incriminated Manning. Instead, they ran a piece about an unnamed woman who took a mooning incident the wrong way, clearing the way for Manning s squeaky clean image to move forward.Here we are, on what seems to be the waning days of manning s career, and lo and behold the truth comes out. Consequences at this point for Manning will probably be non-existent, because even though what he did and how he treated this woman were disgusting, he has two Super Bowl Rings and the undying admiration of millions of fans.To those of us keeping score, Manning belongs in another club of players: The ones who got away with something horrible. Featured image via biography.com | 1real |
Erdogan says Turkey will destroy those in Syria linked to Kurdish militants | ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey will very soon completely destroy those in Syria linked to Kurdish militants. Turkey has been angered by U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters who have spearheaded the Western-backed military campaign against Islamic State. Ankara says the YPG is an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). | 0fake |
Western QLD Drovers Show Solidarity With C.U.B Workers By Only Drinking Sauv Blanc – The Betoota Advocate | Follow on Facebook Print This Post
CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The nationwide boycott of all Carlton United Brewery products reached new heights over the weekend, after it was revealed that a camp of ringers in Queensland’s Channel Country have only been drinking Sauvignon Blanc for the last five weeks.
They join a growing political movement of punters that are abstaining from drinking any of Australia’s highest-selling beer brands, in a showing of support for 55 workers who lost their jobs at Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) in June. These men and women are also known as the #CUB55.
The maintenance workers lost their jobs after CUB terminated a machine maintenance contract with employer Quant, they were then offered their jobs back again at a 65% lower wage, after penalty rates and other entitlements.
E.H Pearson Cattle Company ‘s head stockman, Ronnie Austin says although he and his mates often punch on with the unionised Betoota shearing contractors, joining the CUB Boycott was a “no fucking brainer”.
“I’m usually not a big supporter of the Unions, but you can’t carry on the way these blokes have been”
“It’s fucking crook, mate”
Austin says it’s been hard work trying to avoid getting stuck into a few green demons at knock off after pushing cattle all day, but it’s their duty as fellow workers to support the CUB 55.
“It’s been tough. But we are all starting to get around the lively fruit flavours of the Jacob’s Creek Sauvignon Blanc”
“The passionfruit and citrus prevail across the palate, which is pretty much enhanced by the fresh natural acidity which provides vibrancy and length on the finish”
With the Mount Isa New Years Eve Rodeo as the next big event pencilled in on their calendars, Austin says the Betoota boys are prepared to throw down with anyone who questions their choice of drink.
“If CUB haven’t sorted this mess out by then, well yes of course we will still be drinking white wine on New Years Eve”
“If anyone has problem with it then they can come and talk to me and Rocko. It won’t be the first time we’ve had to bust heads in the Isa”
“In fact anyone who wants to drink VB around me better have a note from their doctor because It’s just bloody unaustralian”
It seems the CUB boycott has travelled across all cultures and state borders in Australia, with workers unions in Brisbane marching as well as hipster musicians now being forced to choose between supported the workers and drinking Melbourne Bitter ironically.
| 1real |
Hollywood Writers Trash Trump at Politically-Charged WGA Awards | Sunday night’s Writer’s Guild of America awards show turned into a exercise in as Hollywood’s top writers repeatedly skewered the president during presentations and acceptance speeches.[ Patton Oswalt took on hosting duties for the Los ceremony and began the night by introducing his event security, two men dressed as “soldiers from armed forces of the Russian Federation. ” “People here tonight are angry about two things — that Deadpool is nominated for Best Screenplay and that Trump is President,” Oswalt joked. “Donald Trump, I want to be very careful about making jokes about. I don’t want to be kicked to death tonight by James Woods,” at which point the conservative actor hopped onstage, snatched off Oswalt’s shoe, and chided him: “This is an awards show, get some shoes, Jesus. ” The impromptu bit was not scripted, Oswalt assured his social media followers. Regaining control of the show, Oswalt continued: “I feel bad for Trump. Here’s what happened: They had the [White House] Correspondents’ Dinner, Obama went up and made fun of Donald, and Donald said, ‘I’m taking his job. ’” “Now he’s sitting there saying: ‘This job sucks! My life before this was amazing! ’” he added. “Donald Trump taking Obama’s job would be like if the head of linguistics at Rutgers made fun of David Lee Roth … and he said, ‘I’m the head of linguistics at Rutgers. Bring on the hookers and cocaine! ’” Later, Chelsea Handler took her own shot at Trump by ridiculing his claim that millions of people may have illegally voted in the 2016 general election, though the talk show host’s jokes didn’t appear to land with the audience. “If you win this award tonight I want everybody to remember not to get a big head because there are millions of illegal voters in California. Not to mention the ones in Massachusetts who took a bus and voted in New Hampshire,” Handler joked. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who was awarded the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement, went on a fiery tirade during his acceptance speech. The West Wing creator condemned Trump as being “out of touch” and urged the room full of writers to combat the administration by writing stories that help heal the country. While accepting the WGA West’s Laurel Award, director Oliver Stone broke from the night’s bias and instead bashed both major political parties. “It’s fashionable now to take shots at Republicans and Trump and all that and avoid the Obamas and Clintons,” Stone said, according to Deadline. “But remember this: In the 13 wars we’ve started over the last 30 years and the 14 trillion dollars we’ve spent and the hundreds of thousands of lives that have perished from this Earth, remember that it wasn’t one leader but a system — both Republican and Democrat. ” Introducing Stone was actor and rare Hollywood conservative James Woods. “So my publicists says ‘Whatever you do don’t talk politics.’ I say, ‘Ok.’ And I show up and 15 minutes later I’m Darth Vader,” Woods joked. Back in New York at the WGA Awards East, which were taking place simultaneously, host Lewis Black also took shots at Trump. “We’re living at the intersection of satire and reality,” Black joked. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson | 0fake |
MILO Slams ’Commie Sleazebags’ Of DisruptJ20 - Breitbart | In his speech at Washington University, MILO condemned the “commie sleaze bags” who today tried to disrupt Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States.[ The protests, which operated under the name #DisruptJ20, involved blockading streets, burning cars and even organising a gay dance party outside Mike Pence’s house. Police have also been injured as over 200 arrests have been made over the course of the day. “You’re all familiar with a protest movement that started up calling itself Disrupt J20. What you might not have realized is they are a meritocracy. All of the really good commie sleazebags got trips to Washington DC to try to cause problems at the inauguration. ” “All of the losers were left back here in Seattle, and they are violent tonight. So violent in fact, that they assaulted my cameraman,” he continued. Before the beginning of MILO’s event, protesters were caught wielding baseball bats and sharp weapons, as riot police, an FBI bomb squad and two helicopters were deployed in order to control violence. MILO wears jeans by True Religion, $200. Shirt by Pam Gela, $220. Sneakers by Gucci, $750. Glasses by Givenchy, $350. Louis Vuitton belt, $450. Topshop fur coat, $140. Huf socks, $15. 99. Chains, jewels, pearls n shit: more than your tuition. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 0fake |
Spanish court orders release on bail for Catalan parliament speaker: court source | MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish Supreme Court judge on Thursday ordered the Catalan parliament speaker be released on bail of 150,000 euros ($174,615) pending an investigation into her role in Catalonia s banned push for independence, a court source said. The speaker, Carme Forcadell, will be held in custody until she pays the bail, the source said. Forcadell and five regional lawmakers testified on Thursday on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds. Four other lawmakers would also be released on 25,000-euro bail, while a fifth would be freed on certain conditions without bail, the source said. Spain s prosecutor had previously requested jail for Forcadell and three lawmakers summoned to the Supreme Court and the release of two others on certain conditions. | 0fake |
BREAKING: “Al Jazeera America” Shuts Down | Some good news for today! Al Jazeera is dead, gone, kaput Remember Al Jazeera bought Al Gore s Current TV:Al Gore said Al-Jazeera shared Current TV s mission to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling. AMERICANS AREN T BUYING IT Al Jazeera America s brass decided suddenly Wednesday to shut down the network, concluding that the three-year-old cable-news channel simply did not have a sustainable business model.According to Politico, employees were told of the decision at a meeting in its Manhattan offices on Wednesday afternoon. Broadcasting will cease April 30.The American arm of the Qatar-based news network had been having a hard time attracting an audience, While the operations were independent, most Americans were first exposed to the name al Jazeera during the Iraq war, when the Arabic branch published stories that seemed sympathetic to Islamist insurgents. A series of sex-discrimination suits and, most recently, a widely criticized report on doping in pro sports, also damaged the company.The Intercept has this to say about Al Jazeera:AJAM has been losing staggering sums of money from the start. That has become increasingly untenable as the network s owner and funder, the government of Qatar, is now economically struggling due to low oil prices.Was Al Jazeera America s downfall due to it trying to be inoffensive and too American?Via: WT | 1real |
Danish inventor had murder videos on his computer: prosecutor | COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - (This October 3 story has been refiled to Corrects detention period to four weeks, not four months, in seventh paragraph.) A Danish inventor charged with murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall in his home-made submarine had video footage on his computer showing women being violently killed, a court heard on Tuesday. A police prosecutor said officers found images which we presume to be real of women being strangled and decapitated on the hard drive on Peter Madsen s computer in a laboratory he ran. That, together with new post-mortem evidence showing Wall was stabbed in her ribcage and genitals around or shortly after her death, was adding to the case against Madsen, the prosecutor, Jakob Buch-Jepsen, told the Copenhagen court. DNA tests from Madsen s nails, face and neck showed a clear match with Wall s, Buch-Jepsen said, though the exact cause of death remained unknown. Our suspicion hasn t changed, it has been strengthened since (the last hearing on) September 5, he added. Madsen, who denies murdering Wall and another charge of mutilating her body, appeared in court via video link dressed in a green boilersuit. He said the computer searched by police was not his. They are the space laboratory s tools which have been used by everyone in the laboratory, he said. The court heard he had been working on building a space rocket in the lab. He remained calm during the pre-trial session, sitting with his hands folded most of the time. The court ordered him detained for another four weeks as investigations continued. Wall, a 30-year-old freelance journalist who was researching a story on Madsen, went missing after he took her out to sea in the 17-metre (56-foot) craft in August. Madsen has told the court in past hearings Wall died accidentally, saying she was hit by a heavy hatch cover on his UC3 Nautilus submarine. On August 23, police identified a headless female torso washed ashore in Copenhagen as Wall s. Madsen has also denied amputating her limbs, saying he tried to bury her whole body at sea. | 0fake |
When a Senator Passes Judgment on a Chief Justice - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — The other day, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, decided to lecture Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Senate Republicans, Mr. Grassley said, were not to blame for the partisan deadlock over President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. The real culprits? The chief justice and his colleagues. Mr. Grassley’s delivered on the Senate floor, was in response to an analysis in this column last month of the chief justice’s stance as Senate Republicans refuse to consider the nomination. Chief Justice Roberts has said, for instance, that partisan confirmation hearings feed a false public perception that justices cast their votes “as Democrats and Republicans,” rather than as neutral arbiters of the law. Mr. Grassley offered a different take. “The chief justice has it exactly backwards,” he said. “The confirmation process doesn’t make the justices appear political. The confirmation process has gotten political precisely because the court has drifted from the constitutional text and rendered decisions based instead on policy preferences. ” “Physician, heal thyself,” Mr. Grassley told the chief justice. Mr. Grassley did not list the decisions that troubled him. But he did say that only two members of the court, presumably Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. “stick to the constitutional text and vote in a consistently conservative way. ” Mr. Grassley’s logic, if that is the right word, was that conservative decisions are apolitical but that liberal ones are partisan. As for Chief Justice Roberts, Mr. Grassley said, “a number of his votes have reflected political considerations, not legal ones. ” Again, the senator did not say which votes he was talking about, but they probably included ones rejecting challenges to the Affordable Care Act. Chief Justice Roberts has said that the president’s two previous nominees, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, were “extremely well qualified for the court. ” Yet they were confirmed almost strictly along party lines, he said in remarks in Boston 10 days before Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13. “That doesn’t make any sense,” Chief Justice Roberts said. “That suggests to me that the process is being used for something other than ensuring the qualifications of the nominees. ” There is truth on both sides, said Lee Epstein, a law professor and political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. “I think Grassley may be right,” she said, “to blame the court for the increasing role of ideology, as opposed to qualifications and other factors, in Senate confirmation proceedings. ” She added that politics had played a significant role in Supreme Court decisions since at least the 1950s. “But Chief Justice Roberts is also right,” Professor Epstein said. “Political science research shows that Americans are less likely to support the court when it is portrayed as a political body — as it is during confirmation proceedings — and not a legal body. ” Chief Justice Roberts has said nothing in public about the confirmation process since Justice Scalia died. He has been silent on the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland. Mr. Grassley’s remarks, made on April 5, seemed calculated to make sure that Chief Justice Roberts stays quiet notwithstanding exhortations from constitutional scholars that he speak up. “That’s a political temptation that the chief justice should resist,” Mr. Grassley said. But there is precedent for measured intervention by a chief justice in a clash over the nature and future of the Supreme Court. Consider another chief justice’s response to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan. In 1937, unhappy with Supreme Court decisions striking down New Deal programs, Roosevelt announced a plan to add justices, saying the current ones were overworked. The plan was defeated after a letter from Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes to the Senate rebutted Roosevelt’s charges in mild language backed by detailed figures. “The present number of justices,” Chief Justice Hughes wrote, “is thought to be large enough so far as the prompt, adequate and efficient conduct of the work of the court is concerned. ” Chief Justice Roberts may also have views about whether the present number of justices on his court — eight — is adequate. He certainly admires Chief Justice Hughes, as he made plain in remarks in November at New York University’s law school. “One of the greatest crises facing the Supreme Court since Marbury v. Madison was F. D. R. ’s plan,” Chief Justice Roberts said, “and it fell to Hughes to guide a very unpopular Supreme Court through that showdown against America’s most popular president since George Washington. ” “There are things to learn from it,” Chief Justice Roberts said. James F. Simon, the author of “F. D. R. and Chief Justice Hughes,” said he saw parallels between the two historical moments. “I think Hughes would have been frustrated and annoyed by the present Senate Republicans’ vow to ignore their constitutional obligation to consider Garland’s nomination,” Mr. Simon said. “I suspect that Roberts shares those feelings. Both Hughes and Roberts put great value in protecting the court’s integrity. ” The key difference, Mr. Simon said, is that senators had asked for Chief Justice Hughes’s views. “Should the Senate Judiciary Committee make a similar request to Roberts, I think he would probably respond, giving a carefully worded nudge to the committee to consider Garland,” Mr. Simon said. “But I don’t see Grassley reaching out to the chief justice. ” | 0fake |
Progressives Outraged Over Beyonce “So White” Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds | American liberal activists still struggling with the concept that a wax figure is not meant to be real.21st Century Wire says The progressive culture police are on the march again this time to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York City. The recent unveiling of the new Beyonc wax statue sent activists into a frenzy when it was claimed that the celebrity pop singer was too white. America s unofficial cultural Stasi slammed the museum for purportedly whitewashing the singers skin tone.The liberal outcry on social media prompted the museum to withdraw the statue temporarily to avoid any further uproar, confirming that it will be off the floor until further notice. Lindsay Lohan. Jessica Simpson. Maybe even Britney at the right angle but this darling is NOT Beyonc . https://t.co/aVxAfSK2ml morgs (@hotbeansmorgan) July 19, 2017However, Madame Tussauds issued a statement reassuring liberal activists that nothing untoward had happened and that they only needed to readjust the lighting of their new exhibition: We love, respect and enjoy a working relationship with Beyonc We have adjusted the styling and the lighting of her figure and she is on display at New York. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight museum spokesperson added, Our talented team of sculptors take every effort to ensure we accurately color match all of our wax figures to the celebrity being depicted. Lighting within the attraction combined with flash photography may distort and misrepresent the color of our wax figures, which is something our sculptors are unable to account for at the production stage. And now for other more important news READ MORE HOLLYWOOD NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Hollywood FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Donald Trump Tweets He Is Ready To Hand Putin The Keys To Our Electoral System | Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning about his visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While most were his standard complaining about the media and trying to bolster his controversial meeting with the Russian strongman, one, in particular, stood out. According to Trump, he s ready to partner, yes, partner, in cyber security. No, that s not a joke.I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election. He vehemently denied it. I ve already given my opinion .. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017Um, sure. We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017The most notable tweet, though, was this one, which essentially said he s giving the fox the key to the hen house:Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017And then more deflection: and safe. Questions were asked about why the CIA & FBI had to ask the DNC 13 times for their SERVER, and were rejected, still don t . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017 have it. Fake News said 17 intel agencies when actually 4 (had to apologize). Why did Obama do NOTHING when he had info before election? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017The irony of partnering with Putin on securing the electoral system he s accused of hacking hasn t even escaped some Republicans. Sen. Marco Rubio is raising alarms:While reality & pragmatism requires that we engage Vladimir Putin, he will never be a trusted ally or a reliable constructive partner. 1/3 Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017Partnering with Putin on a Cyber Security Unit is akin to partnering with Assad on a Chemical Weapons Unit . 2/3 Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017We have no quarrel with Russia or the Russian people. Problem is with Putin & his oppression, war crimes & interference in our elections 1/3 Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher agrees:Coordinating w/ Russia also risks glossing over serious US concerns re: Russian behavior, such as Ukraine invasion & cyber aggression. 6/10 Rep. Mike Gallagher (@RepGallagher) July 9, 2017John McCain handled with snark:During an interview on CBS s Face The Nation, McCain was asked about President Trump s earlier tweet in which the president said he talked with Putin during their meeting about creating an impenetrable Cyber Security unit to guard against election hacking. I m sure that Vladimir Putin could be of enormous assistance in that effort since he is doing the hacking, McCain said, laughing.It is somewhat comforting to know that elections are run by states, not the federal government and they are VERY reluctant to hand over that power. That doesn t mean, though, that Trump isn t going to do everything in his power to assist Putin in taking over our government and our internet.Featured image via Getty Images. | 1real |
World Heaves Sigh of Relief after Trump’s Victory | Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Many of his recent articles appear on the renowned Canadian-based news website Globalresearch . He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in journalism. He specializes in Middle East and East Africa issues and has also given several American radio interviews as well as TV interviews on Press TV and Russia Today. His interests include capitalism, imperialism and war, socialism, justice and peace, agriculture and trade policy, ecological impact, science and technology, and human rights. He is also a musician and songwriter. Previously, he was based in Bahrain and witnessed the political upheavals in the Persian Gulf kingdom during 2011 as well as the subsequent Saudi-led brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protests. The author and media commentator was expelled from Bahrain in June 2011 for his critical journalism in which he highlighted many human rights violations by the Western-backed regime. For many years, he worked as an editor and writer in the mainstream media, including ,The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, he is now based in East Africa where he is writing a book on Bahrain and the Arab Spring. World Heaves Sigh of Relief after Trump’s Victory By Finian Cunningham on November 9, 2016 A reflection of how disconnected the Western political class are from their own people.
by Finian Cunningham
SPUTNIK
The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the US certainly sent shockwaves around the world. But perhaps the uppermost sense is one of huge relief that Hillary Clinton was kept out of the White House.
For most ordinary citizens around the world, Clinton, her multi-billion-dollar election campaign and the fawning corporate media coverage represented everything that is perceived as fundamentally wrong in Western politics.
Her cronyism goes so far that she would not hesitate to start a world war with Russia, or whoever, in order to appease her corporate sponsors and indulge her deluded notion of “exceptional liberalism”.
Trump’s stunning victory is a victory for common people and common sense. Despite the Western media’s systematic shielding of Clinton from criticism, a good number of ordinary Americans and other nationals around the world could clearly see her irredeemable flaws.
She is a self-enriching puppet for Big Finance and the military-industrial complex. And, as her email scandal shows, a consummate liar on top. Donald Trump is a billionaire property tycoon with a big mouth and uncouth manner. He has never held an elected office before. It is unprecedented that he should become the president of the US.
Donald Trump is a billionaire property tycoon with a big mouth and uncouth manner. He has never held an elected office before. It is unprecedented that he should become the president of the US.
Will he really “make America great again”? Will he really deliver on massive infrastructure investments to regenerate impoverished working-class communities across America? We don’t know if he just an opportunist conman, or if he really does have a humble heart to reach out to all the “forgotten people” that he speaks about. One can hope.
But one thing is for sure. Trump is no warmonger. And he doesn’t seem to be a puppet that can be pushed around.
“We will deal fairly with everyone”
In one of the live TV debates with Clinton during the campaign, Trump surprised many viewers when he said, apparently sincerely, that he would never commit a first-strike nuclear attack against any nation. It took a lot of guts and moral integrity to say that. Clinton didn’t answer the question, but her past record as Secretary of State shows that she has no hesitation about launching illegal wars and murdering foreign heads of state.
Trump has also spoken several times about restoring friendly relations with America’s biggest nuclear rival Russia. He took a lot of heat for that from the Clinton campaign and the biased US media, who accused him of being a “stooge” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. To his credit, Trump did not cave in to the anachronistic “Russian baiting”, which has been a staple of American politics for decades. During his acceptance speech as President-elect, Trump repeated his oft-mentioned desire for the US to base its foreign relations on “partnership” instead of “hostility and conflict”.
Notably, Russia’s Vladimir Putin was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on winning the White House. Reciprocating goodwill, Putin said he hoped to work with Trump so that Russia and the US can “restore relations from their current critical condition”.
Surely, this is the point. To replace outmoded ideological stereotypes and animosity with a pragmatic mutual respect to cooperate. Russia and its leader are not the enemy of the US, Europe nor the rest of the world – unless you are a terrorist network seeking illicit regime change. Architects of Endless “Regime Change” wars
Russia and its leader are not the enemy of the US, Europe nor the rest of the world – unless you are a terrorist network seeking illicit regime change.
The people who have demonized Russia are ideologues in Washington and their surrogates among European governments and the Western corporate media. That negative image of Russia does not match reality as ordinary people perceive it, including many ordinary Americans. Russia did not destabilize Ukraine. It did not annex Crimea. Russia was not involved in shooting down a civilian airliner. It is not massacring civilians in Syria. In Syria, it is helping a sovereign state defeat terrorist mercenaries in a US-sponsored covert war for regime change. Russia is not a sports-drug pariah. It is not hacking computer systems nor subverting foreign democracies. These are all just false ideological constructs manufactured by the Western establishment and its subservient media.
Ordinary citizens around the world, especially those in the US, know that. Their real-world concerns are dealing with poverty, unemployment and crumbling societies. This stuff about “Putin being the new Hitler” and “threatening the free world” is just so much baloney.
Maybe because Trump is not a career politician or a Washington insider he knows all that too. And he knows that ordinary Americans are not being listened to by the establishment. That’s why Trump’s victory comes as such a shock.
The political class have been so wrong on almost every issue, whether it was the Brexit and discontent with the European Union, or foreign relations with Russia, or Trump’s chances of winning the presidency.
The Western political class have gotten it so wrong on so many issues because it is divorced from the reality as it affects most people. Aloof, elitist, out of touch and undemocratic.
Yet this Western ruling class, as embodied by Hillary Clinton, would be prepared to start even more wars around the world than they already have, based on their own twisted self-serving logic.
Consider these figures just released by the Pentagon. Under President Obama – who advocated for Clinton – US military exports to Saudi Arabia and other Mideast despots are double the amount under George W Bush. This weapons supply has gone towards arming jihadi terror groups. Clinton approved of this arms bazaar for terrorists when she was in office as part of Washington’s regime-change schemes. Fooling the masses – Defeated
Yet these people like Obama and Clinton spout all sorts of “humanitarian” and “moralistic” mumbo-jumbo. They are liars. And they are the most cynical of corrupt politicians. The very breed of politician-puppets that ordinary decent people around the world have come to despise.
Trump, for all his personal flaws, is in a different category. He is astute enough to know that the pain of ordinary citizens stems from a badly broken economic system. Can an arch capitalist like Trump fix chronic capitalism? It’s doubtful, unless he radically shifts to a new form of socialist policy.
But the main good thing about Trump is that he is a pragmatist who at least appears to be on the side of ordinary people and on the side of restoring peaceful relations with other nations, Russia in particular.
The prominent people dejected about Trump are the political class both in the US and Europe and their media echo chambers. It is notable that Germany’s Merkel and France’s Hollande both affected an air of disapproval over Trump’s victory – unlike Putin who magnanimously congratulated. Hollande said he would be “vigilant” in his future dealings with Trump. What is he talking about?
That’s why Merkel and Hollande will be next to get kicked out of office in forthcoming elections. Like Obama, Clinton and the American establishment, the pro-US European ruling parties are so out of touch with reality.
The demonization of Russia is a reflection of how disconnected the Western political class are from their own people. Ordinary people around the world want jobs, prosperity and peace. They know they can’t afford futile hostilities with Russia as have been foisted on them by their rulers, while such urgent social needs go neglected. Crazy as it may seem, Trump’s win may be a chance for the US to redeem. And for the world to heave a huge sigh of relief.
See: | 1real |
Canada works to counter protectionist mood of U.S. campaign | OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian diplomats are fanning out across the United States to talk up the benefits of trade with state and local leaders and counter what senior officials see as a worrying mood of protectionism swirling through the U.S. election campaign. Amid voter anger about the supposed harm done by international trade deals, both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton have talked about altering the three-nation North American Free Trade Agreement. That could have calamitous results for Canada, which sends 75 percent of all its exports to the United States. From trade forums in Kentucky, California and Illinois addressing state legislators and small-business owners to meetings with mayors, labor unions and interest groups, a team of diplomats has gone coast to coast to explain how important Canada is as a trading partner. The diplomatic offensive comes amid concerns in Ottawa about both candidates, who opinion show are in a tight race ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Trump has talked about renegotiating the NAFTA treaty with Canada and Mexico to secure more favorable terms for the United States. But he has also said he would revive TransCanada Corp’s cross-border Keystone XL pipeline project, which Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration blocked over environment concerns. Clinton has said she opposes Keystone XL. Current and former government officials in Ottawa said a Clinton presidency posed its own challenges for Canada. They see the Democrat as tough on trade and more hawkish than Democratic President Barack Obama, who quickly struck up a warm relationship with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While tough talk on trade has occurred in previous U.S. election campaigns, “there is an undercurrent and a mood here which is concerning me,” said David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to Washington. A Clinton campaign representative declined to comment when asked about her approach to Canada if she were elected. Trump’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment. MacNaughton, who took up the job in March, has already visited Denver, Colorado Springs and Boston and plans trips to Massachusetts, Michigan and California next month. An embassy spokeswoman said diplomats were intensifying their outreach effort and doing more events than usual. At every meeting, they hand out tip sheets showing Canada is the top export destination for 35 U.S. states and that 9 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada. Trudeau will not say which candidate he favors, stressing he is happy to work with whomever U.S. voters elect. But his center-left Liberals have more policies in common with U.S. Democrats. Elected last October, he and Obama have become close, exchanging visits to each other’s countries. “Some of the issues that we are going to be facing will be very much the same regardless of who wins. ... I think we have to prepare to deal with some pretty difficult situations on the trade front,” said MacNaughton, adding that some Americans had little idea about the size of the U.S. trading relationship with Canada. Roland Paris, who served as Trudeau’s foreign policy adviser until late June, said Trump had tapped into some very strong anti-trade sentiment. “Those feelings aren’t going away any time soon ... we may be heading into some protectionist headwinds, even with a Hillary Clinton presidency,” he said. Trump and Clinton also oppose a proposed Pacific trade deal that could benefit Canada. One person with day-to-day knowledge of the U.S.-Canada trade file also predicted strains over Canadian exports of softwood lumber, as well as Canada’s system of protection for its dairy industry, which U.S. producers strongly dislike. Another potential area for concern is Canada’s defense spending, which is 0.98 percent of gross domestic product, far below the 2 percent commitment agreed on by NATO members. MacNaughton said that in his talks with Republicans and Democrats, both had raised the issue of “U.S. allies stepping up to the plate” in military terms. Trump stirred concerns among allies and even some Republicans earlier this year by saying he would decide whether to come to the aid of Baltic NATO allies in the event of Russian aggression only after reviewing if they “have fulfilled their obligations to us.” Former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, who had several postings in the United States, also predicted hard discussions with Clinton administration officials over defense. “We will be circled because we are at 0.98 percent,” said Robertson, vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. That may not sit well with Trudeau’s government, which is pledging to run large budget deficits for at least the next five years to fund investment in infrastructure and social programs. A government source said Canada had taken part in a number of high-profile NATO missions and was ready to push back on demands to increase spending in the military. “We’re quite prepared and proud to stand up on our record and explain why there might be a discrepancy between numbers ... and our actual contribution,” said the source, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the topic. | 0fake |
Artist Charged With Trespassing in ‘Hollyweed’ Sign Prank - The New York Times | A man who admitted changing the Hollywood sign to “Hollyweed” has turned himself in to the authorities. Zachary Cole Fernandez, a artist, surrendered on Monday with his lawyer at his side, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was booked on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and released on bail. The sign was changed about 3 a. m. on Jan. 1, when two O’s were partly obscured by sheets and turned into E’s. It remained that way throughout the morning before the sign was restored. In a phone interview, Mr. Fernandez said he considered the results more of an art installation than a prank. “Yeah, I broke the rules, but I broke it with good spirit and good intentions,” he said on Tuesday. “It was just to bring light and positivity and happiness. ” But David Ryu, a Los Angeles councilman, remained unamused. “Pranks of this nature deplete the resources of our valuable public safety personnel, in both responding to the prank and in responding to the increased crowds and copycat attempts that these incidents generate,” he said in a statement on Monday. “My office has urged the city attorney and L. A. P. D. to investigate and prosecute this case, as well as all attempts to trespass near, alter, or vandalize the sign. ” Mr. Fernandez is expected to appear in court on Feb. 15. He said he had been inspired by a similar alteration in 1976, and that he had used clamps and sheets so as not to damage the sign. “I don’t want to destroy anything,” he said. “I’m about peace and love and respect and integrity and a lot of things that in some ways are missing these days. I wanted to show there’s a light in the world. ” A father of four children ranging in age from 3 to 9, Mr. Fernandez said he had been told he could face up to six months in jail. He said he saw that as excessive for a “harmless” art project, but would accept any consequences. “I’m a person of integrity,” he said. “If I do something wrong, I will own up to it. ” | 0fake |
“LIE” WITNESS NEWS: JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW Asks People What They Thought Of Debate…DAY BEFORE Debates Happened [VIDEOS] | It s hard to imagine so many people would lie to the this reporter about a debate they never saw. But we are living in the Age of Hillary where lying is perfectly acceptable if you re attempting to reach a lifelong goal of breaking a glass ceiling (or 13 cellphones) with a hammer!Not that we re keeping score, but only one of these liars was a Trump supporter.Enjoy! | 1real |
History Tells Us What Will Happen Next With Brexit And Trump
| It seems were entering another of those stupid seasons humans impose on themselves at fairly regular intervals.
My background is archaeology, so also history and anthropology. It leads me to look at big historical patterns. My theory is that most peoples perspective of history is limited to the experience communicated by their parents and grandparents, so 50-100 years. To go beyond that you have to read, study and learn to untangle the propaganda that is inevitable in all telling of history. In a nutshell, at university I would fail a paper if I didnt compare at least two, if not three opposing views on a topic. Taking one telling of events as gospel doesnt wash in the comparative analytical method of research that forms the core of British academia. (I cant speak for other systems, but theyre definitely not all alike in this way.)
So zooming out, we humans have a habit of going into phases of mass destruction, generally self-imposed to some extent or another. This handy list shows all the wars over time. Wars are actually the norm for humans, but every now and then something big comes along. I am interested in the Black Death, which devastated Europe. The opening of Boccaccios Decameron describes Florence in the grips of the Plague. It is as beyond imagination as the Somme, Hiroshima or the Holocaust. I mean, you quite literally cant put yourself there and imagine what it was like. For those in the midst of the Plague, it must have felt like the end of the world.
[Trump is] a charismatic narcissist who feeds on the crowd to become ever stronger, creating a cult around himself.
But a defining feature of humans is their resilience. To us now, it seems obvious that we survived the Plague, but to people at the time it must have seemed incredible that their society continued afterwards. Indeed, many takes on the effects of the Black Death are that it had a positive impact in the long term. Well summed up here:
By targeting frail people of all ages, and killing them by the hundreds of thousands within an extremely short period of time, the Black Death might have represented a strong force of natural selection and removed the weakest individuals on a very broad scale within Europe, ...In addition, the Black Death significantly changed the social structure of some European regions. Tragic depopulation created the shortage of working people. This shortage caused wages to rise. Products prices fell too. Consequently, standards of living increased. For instance, people started to consume more food of higher quality.
But for the people living through it, as with the World Wars, Soviet Famines, Holocaust, it must have felt inconceivable that humans could rise up from it. The collapse of the Roman Empire, Black Death, Spanish Inquisition, Thirty Years War, War of the Roses, English Civil War... its a long list. Events of massive destruction from which humanity recovered and move on, often in better shape.
At a local level in time, people think things are fine then things rapidly spiral out of control until they become unstoppable, and we wreak massive destruction on ourselves. For the people living in the midst of this, it is hard to see happening and hard to understand. To historians later, it all makes sense and we see clearly how one thing led to another. During the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme I was struck that it was a direct outcome of the assassination of an Austrian Arch Duke in Bosnia. I very much doubt anyone at the time thought the killing of a minor European royal would lead to the death of 17 million people.
My point is that this is a cycle. It happens again and again, but as most people only have a 50-100 year historical perspective they dont see that its happening again. As the events that led to the First World War unfolded, there were a few brilliant minds who started to warn that something big was wrong, that the web of treaties across Europe could lead to a war, but they were dismissed as hysterical, mad, or fools, as is always the way, and as people who worry about Putin, Brexit and Trump are dismissed now.
A little thing leads to an unstoppable destruction that could have been prevented if youd listened and thought a bit.
Then after the War to end all Wars, we went and had another one. Again, for a historian it was quite predictable. Lead people to feel they have lost control of their country and destiny, people look for scapegoats, a charismatic leader captures the popular mood, and singles out that scapegoat. He talks in rhetoric that has no detail, and drums up anger and hatred. Soon the masses start to move as one, without any logic driving their actions, and the whole becomes unstoppable.
That was Hitler, but it was also Mussolini, Stalin, Putin, Mugabe and so many more. Mugabe is a very good case in point. He whipped up national anger and hatred towards the land owning white minority (who happened to know how to run farms), and seized their land to redistribute to the people, in a great populist move which in the end unravelled the economy and farming industry and left the people in possession of land, but starving. See also the famines created by the Soviet Union, and the one caused by the Chinese Communists last century in which 20-40 million people died. It seems inconceivable that people could create a situation in which tens of millions of people die without reason, but we do it again and again.
But at the time people dont realize theyre embarking on a route that will lead to a destruction period. They think theyre right, theyre cheered on by jeering angry mobs, their critics are mocked. This cycle, the one we saw for example from the Treaty of Versaille, to the rise of Hitler, to the Second World War, appears to be happening again. But as with before, most people cannot see it because:
1. They are only looking at the present, not the past or future
2. They are only looking immediately around them, not at how events connect globally
3. Most people dont read, think, challenge or hear opposing views
Trump is doing this in America. Those of us with some oversight from history can see it happening. Read this brilliant, long essay in the New York magazine to understand how Plato described all this, and it is happening just as he predicted. Trump says he will Make America Great Again, when in fact America is currently great, according to pretty well any statistics. He is using passion, anger and rhetoric in the same way all his predecessors did a charismatic narcissist who feeds on the crowd to become ever stronger, creating a cult around himself. You can blame society, politicians, the media, for America getting to the point that its ready for Trump, but the bigger historical picture is that history generally plays out the same way each time someone like him becomes the boss.
On a wider stage, zoom out some more, Russia is a dictatorship with a charismatic leader using fear and passion to establish a cult around himself. Turkey is now there too. Hungary, Poland, Slovakia are heading that way, and across Europe more Trumps and Putins are waiting in the wings, in fact funded by Putin, waiting for the popular tide to turn their way.
We should be asking ourselves what our Archduke Ferdinand moment will be. How will an apparently small event trigger another period of massive destruction. We see Brexit, Trump, Putin in isolation. The world does not work that way? ? all things are connected and affecting each other. I have pro-Brexit friends who say, Oh, youre going to blame that on Brexit too?? But they dont realize that actually, yes, historians will trace neat lines from apparently unrelated events back to major political and social shifts like Brexit.
We are entering a bad phase. It will be unpleasant for those living through it, maybe even will unravel into being hellish and beyond imagination.
Brexit a group of angry people winning a fight easily inspires other groups of angry people to start a similar fight, empowered with the idea that they may win. That alone can trigger chain reactions. A nuclear explosion is not caused by one atom splitting, but by the impact of the first atom that splits causing multiple other atoms near it to split, and they in turn causing multiple atoms to split. The exponential increase in atoms splitting, and their combined energy is the bomb. That is how World War One started and, ironically how World War Two ended.
An example of how Brexit could lead to a nuclear war could be this:
Brexit in the UK causes Italy or France to have a similar referendum. Le Pen wins an election in France. Europe now has a fractured EU. The EU, for all its many awful faults, has prevented a war in Europe for longer than ever before. The EU is also a major force in suppressing Putins military ambitions. European sanctions on Russia really hit the economy, and helped temper Russias attacks on Ukraine (there is a reason bad guys always want a weaker European Union). Trump wins in the US. Trump becomes isolationist, which weakens NATO. He has already said he would not automatically honor NATO commitments in the face of a Russian attack on the Baltics.
With a fractured EU, and weakened NATO, Putin, facing an ongoing economic and social crisis in Russia, needs another foreign distraction around which to rally his people. He funds far right anti-EU activists in Latvia, who then create a reason for an uprising of the Russian Latvians in the East of the country (the EU border with Russia). Russia sends peace keeping forces and aid lorries into Latvia, as it did in Georgia, and in Ukraine. He cedes Eastern Latvia as he did Eastern Ukraine (Crimea has the same population as Latvia, by the way).
A divided Europe, with the leaders of France, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and others now pro-Russia, anti-EU, and funded by Putin, overrule calls for sanctions or a military response. NATO is slow to respond: Trump does not want America to be involved, and a large part of Europe is indifferent or blocking any action. Russia, seeing no real resistance to their actions, move further into Latvia, and then into Eastern Estonia and Lithuania. The Baltic States declare war on Russia and start to retaliate, as they have now been invaded so have no choice. Half of Europe sides with them, a few countries remain neutral, and a few side with Russia. Where does Turkey stand on this? How does ISIS respond to a new war in Europe? Who uses a nuclear weapon first?
This is just one Arch Duke Ferdinand scenario. The number of possible scenarios are infinite due to the massive complexity of the many moving parts. And of course many of them lead to nothing happening. But based on history we are due another period of destruction, and based on history all the indicators are that we are entering one.
It will come in ways we cant see coming, and will spin out of control so fast people wont be able to stop it. Historians will look back and make sense of it all and wonder how we could all have been so nave. How could I sit in a nice caf in London, writing this, without wanting to run away. How could people read it and make sarcastic and dismissive comments about how pro-Remain people should stop whining, and how we shouldnt blame everything on Brexit. Others will read this and sneer at me for saying America is in great shape, that Trump is a possible future Hitler (and yes, Godwins Law. But my comparison is to another narcissistic, charismatic leader fanning flames of hatred until things spiral out of control). Its easy to jump to conclusions that oppose pessimistic predictions based on the weight of history and learning. Trump won against the other Republicans in debates by countering their claims by calling them names and dismissing them. Its an easy route but the wrong one.
Ignoring and mocking the experts, as people are doing around Brexit and Trumps campaign, is no different to ignoring a doctor who tells you to stop smoking, and then finding later youve developed incurable cancer. A little thing leads to an unstoppable destruction that could have been prevented if youd listened and thought a bit. But people smoke, and people die from it. That is the way of the human.
We need to find a way to bridge from our closed groups to other closed groups, try to cross the ever widening social divides.
So I feel its all inevitable. I dont know what it will be, but we are entering a bad phase. It will be unpleasant for those living through it, maybe even will unravel into being hellish and beyond imagination. Humans will come out the other side, recover and move on. The human race will be fine, changed, maybe better. But for those at the sharp end for the thousands of Turkish teachers who just got fired, for the Turkish journalists and lawyers in prison, for the Russian dissidents in gulags, for people lying wounded in French hospitals after terrorist attacks, for those yet to fall, this will be their Somme.
What can we do? Well, again, looking back, probably not much. The liberal intellectuals are always in the minority. See Clay Shirkys Twitter Storm on this point. The people who see that open societies, being nice to other people, not being racist, not fighting wars, is a better way to live, they generally end up losing these fights. They dont fight dirty. They are terrible at appealing to the populace. They are less violent, so end up in prisons, camps, and graves. We need to beware not to become divided (see: Labour party), we need to avoid getting lost in arguing through facts and logic, and counter the populist messages of passion and anger with our own similar messages. We need to understand and use social media.
We need to harness a different fear. Fear of another World War nearly stopped World War 2, but didnt. We need to avoid our own echo chambers. Trump and Putin supporters dont read the Guardian, so writing there is just reassuring our friends. We need to find a way to bridge from our closed groups to other closed groups, try to cross the ever widening social divides.
(Perhaps Im just writing this so I can be remembered by history as one of the people who saw it coming.) | 0fake |
76ers Send Clear Message Over Anthem Singer's Shirt: Keep Politics Off the Court & Just Do Your Job | Share on Twitter
Minutes before singer Sevyn Streeter was supposed to perform the national anthem at the Philadelphia 76ers game Wednesday night, she was told by the organization there was a change of plans.
Streeter took to social media to express her frustration behind the 76ers' decision to cancel her performance, which was prompted by the statement on her clothing:
“I'm at the 76ers game singing the National Anthem and the organization is telling me I can't because I'm wearing a 'We Matter' jersey.” Was suppose to sing the anthem at @sixers & @okcthunder game but mins b4 @sixers said I couldn't because I was wearing a "We Matter" jersey pic.twitter.com/wjoJN3rq0r — Sevyn (@sevyn) October 27, 2016
In an interview with the Associated Press , Streeter said she was never told there was a certain wardrobe to adhere to:
“I'd say two minutes before we were about to walk out...the organization told me that I could not wear my shirt while singing the national anthem at their game. I was never given any kind of dress code. I was never asked beforehand to show my wardrobe.”
The 76ers issued the following statement , essentially saying that they understand the fact Streeter can wear her “Black Lives Matter”-related jersey, just not in their house:
“The Philadelphia 76ers organization encourages meaningful actions to drive social change. We use our games to bring people together, to build trust and to strengthen our communities. As we move from symbolic gestures to action, we will continue to leverage our platform to positively impact our community.”
Americans were quick to voice their support for the 76ers' decision: @KyleNeubeck @sevyn - People were there to watch the game, not you and your "protest". Just sing the song and walk off the court. — Vince Rosetta (@VinceRosetta) October 27, 2016 @sevyn @Sixers @okcthunder They made the right decision. Fans aren't interested in your invented crisis. — Phillip McGuire (@PhillipCMcGuire) October 27, 2016 @marclamonthill @sevyn Seriously what? A professional organization doesn't want to risk the person singing anthem turning it into a fiasco?
But others felt the 76ers violated her First Amendment rights by not allowing her to perform: I don't understand what's happening to the First Amendment. @allanjohnson14 @sevyn @Sixers @okcthunder — Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) October 27, 2016 @MTTHWBRK @sevyn @Sixers @okcthunder So she can't wear what she wants? That's a right we have in this country isn't it or is that against the law ???? — Honestly, Truly (@_RavenCamille) October 27, 2016
And demanded answers: so... @Sixers wont let @sevyn perform the national anthem because she has a "We Matter" shirt on? ???? answers are needed ???? — Nellium (@_cornbread_) October 27, 2016
76ers dancer Jemila Worley ended up singing the national anthem instead and, apparently, did an outstanding job. 76ers guard Gerald Henderson told ESPN he was a bit confused when he first saw her step on the court, but Worley “killed it.”
Henderson added his two cents about the singer switch up, too:
“There's a lot going on man. People care about these things that are happening, as well as they should. And they are going to express themselves in different ways...People are trying to make statements, I guess.”
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has not commented on the matter. | 1real |
THE LOST VIDEO: Watch MSNBC’S Mika Shamelessly Flirt With Donald Trump [VIDEO] | With all the anger and nasty comments coming from Mika and Joe of MSNBC, the video below makes you wonder if the nasty Mika is just an act Ya think? These two media wh*res couldn t be happier that now they re in the spotlight.The change has been huge Mika has called President Trump every nasty thing in the book:Hour one of the MSNBC morning show began typically enough with Mika and Joe. The assembled gang could barely contain their glee at the prospect of damning testimony from James Comey. That all set the stage for a typical Mika Brzezinski tirade that was honestly one of the most disgusting assaults on President Trump yet. It s unhinged hate!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZoUCHs22Aw I think Trump is such a narcissist, it s possible he is mentally ill in a way and this is on the table, I said it months ago and now everyone is starting to say it like it s new, and it s ok to say. He s not well, she said. At the very least, he s not well. And he s so narcissistic he does not believe the rules apply to him, and that s where the ignorance label may apply because this is a man who says he can grab women anywhere because he s famous. Then something very curious happened.Scarborough looked off camera and can be heard saying, What s that? Wow, Then Willie Geist showed him something and the two started laughing. Then a clearly not listening Scarborough, banged the table. Stop right there, he laughed I need an eject button. He posted it? Scarborough appeared to ask someone else?Brzezinski finally realized that nobody was listening to her and demanded an explanation. Nothing I have said is crazy, she said. We ll talk about it in the break, said Scarborough barely able to get it out through his own laugher.The show soon went to break. When it returned Scarborough joked about keeping it in the guard rails. Brzezinski appeared to offer an explanation of her actions. I am keeping it in the guard rails. Everything I ve said you all have thought and you know and you ve said in your own way. You re going to talk to me about a filter? she snapped at Scarborough. | 1real |
ABOVE THE LAW: Obama Goes Around Congress (Again) To Place Gag Order On Reporting About Firearms | Ultimate gun control is the end game of Barack Obama and his regime period.On June 1 Breitbart News reported on Obama s Spring 2015 Unified Agenda. The gun control measures contained therein which were to be passed by executive fiat.Since that time Representatives like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)91% (R-KY-4th) have placed riders on a DOJ appropriations bill to stop portions of the executive gun control push in its tracks. Now the NRA-ILA is revealing that the Obama administration is working behind the scenes to stifle reporting on firearms.From the NRA-ILA:Even as news reports have been highlighting the gun control provisions of the Administration s Unified Agenda of regulatory objectives, the Obama State Department has been quietly moving ahead with a proposal that could censor online speech related to firearms.How can this happen?Like this: The administration is reworking the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). One of the many things regulated by ITAR are technical data tied to defense articles. This includes, but is not limited to, detailed design, development, production or manufacturing information about ammunition and firearms.More specifically, this kind of technical data would be blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation related to ammunition and firearms.While ITAR and its regulations have not been a concern in the past, as far as constraining or limiting material posted on publicly available websites, there are some within the current State Department arguing that anything published online in a generally-accessible location has essentially been exported, simply by virtue of being posted, and is therefore under the purview of ITAR.Moreover, last week the State Department put forth a proposal clarifying how to handle releases containing technical data which are posted online or otherwise distributed into the public domain. Ultimately, the proposal would require those releasing technical data on ammunition or firearms to first seek government approval.Here s how the NRA-ILA summed it up:The proposal would institute a massive new prior restraint on free speech. This is because all such releases would require the authorization of the government before they occurred. The cumbersome and time-consuming process of obtaining such authorizations, moreover, would make online communication about certain technical aspects of firearms and ammunition essentially impossible.Public comments on the proposed changes to ITAR will be accepted until August 3, 2015. You can submit those comments at regulations.gov or e-mail them to DDTCPublicComments@state.gov with the subject line indicating the comments concern the ITAR Amendment Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage. Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
OBAMA’S A SELLOUT: Speech For Wall Street Pays Big Bucks [Video] | Obama made Wall Street out to be the enemy during his presidency. He bashed them on one hand then supported them with the other Speaking out of both sides of his mouth is a true talent Obama has. He counts on the people to forget and forgive his misdeeds and they do. Who else could get away with so many lies? Remember when he called Wall Street every bad name in the book? Fat Cats?He also said, At some point you ve made enough money We d like to know what enough money means to Obama who s taking 400K for his speech at a Cantor Fitzgerald event in September. We think it s time for Obama to practice what he preaches and spread the wealth . It s only fair, right?OBAMA WANTS TO GET IN ON THE ACT THE CLINTONS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR DECADES BIG MONEY SPEECHES ARE THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER: OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON SPEECHES THE CLINTONS HAVE GIVEN: Thank God she has a vagina, otherwise her blatant hypocrisy might be an issue with voters Hillary Clinton is facing more questions about her close ties to Wall Street financial institutions. Last week, the New York Times urged Clinton to release transcripts of her highly-compensated speeches to Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs.The paid speeches are just a slim chapter of her relationship with financial titans. According to Clinton Foundation records, Wall Street financial institutions have donated around $40 million to the eponymous family foundation.As a non-profit, the Clinton Foundation isn t legally required to disclose its donors or contributions. The Foundation has publicly disclosed some contributions on its website. It only provides ranges for contributions, e.g. $1-5 million, and doesn t detail when the contribution was made or for what purpose, if any.Four major Wall Street institutions stand out; Barclays, Barclays Capitol, Goldman Sachs and Citi. Each are listed as given between $1 million and $5 million to the Foundation. Citigroup, UBS, Banc of California and Bank of America are listed as giving up to $1 million to the Foundation.[/buttonAll together, contributions from readily identifiable Wall Street institutions to the Foundation total somewhere between $11 million and $41 million in contributions. If we assume the donations fall in the middle of the ranges disclosed by the Clinton Foundation, the contributions would total just under $30 million.As with most things involving the Clintons, the devil is in the details. This total of contributions does not include those made by individuals with strong Wall Street ties. It also does not necessarily represent the total amounts contributed to the Foundation from those donors listed. It only accounts for the donations which the Foundation has chosen to disclose.The failure of the Foundation to include any information on the timing of the donations is especially worrisome. In terms of donor relationships, there is a real difference between a one-time gift of $1 million and an ongoing gift of $200,000 for 5 straight years. The total dollar amount may be the same, but an ongoing gift usually requires a more substantive relationship between the Foundation and the donor.There is, of course, an added dimension to the timing issue with the Clintons. During the life of the Foundation, Hillary Clinton has been a US Senator, Secretary of State and two-time candidate for President.When the Clinton Foundation discloses that the Friends of Saudi Arabia contributed $1-5 million, it begs the obvious question of when that donation was made. The specific date of that donation is particularly important, given Clinton s considerable focus on the Middle East while she was Secretary of State.It is also important to note that these contributions are completely seperate from the paid speeches made by Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 2013 alone, Hillary earned just over $3 million in paid speeches to financial firms and institutions.These contributions, obviously, also don t include direct contributions made by Wall Street institutions and individuals to either of Clinton s Presidential campaigns.For entire story: Breitbart News | 1real |
Having Won, Some ‘Brexit’ Campaigners Begin Backpedaling - The New York Times | LONDON — Freed from the shackles of the European Union, Britain’s economy would prosper and its security would increase. Britain would “take back control” of immigration, reducing the number of arrivals. And it would be able to spend about 350 million pounds, or about $470 million, a week more on health care instead of sending the money to Brussels. Before Thursday’s referendum on the country’s membership in the bloc, campaigners for British withdrawal, known as Brexit, tossed out promises of a better future while dismissing concerns raised by a host of scholars and experts as “Project Fear. ” But that was before they won. With financial markets in turmoil, a big drop in the pound and the prospect of further chaos, some supporters of Brexit are backpedaling on bold pronouncements they made just a few days earlier. “A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again,” Liam Fox, a former cabinet minister, told the BBC, including when and how Article 50 — the formal process for leaving the European Union — should be invoked. Perhaps no promise was more audacious — and mendacious, critics say — than the £ claim. Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London who was the frontman of the Brexit campaign, toured Britain in a bus emblazoned with the slogan: “We send the E. U. £350 million a week, let’s fund our N. H. S. instead,” a reference to the country’s widely revered National Health Service. Hours after proclaiming “independence day” for Britain, Nigel Farage, the leader of the fiercely U. K. Independence Party, conceded that the £350 million figure was a “mistake. ” Asked by the BBC on Sunday about the spending pledge, Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader who campaigned for Brexit, said the Leave side had merely promised “to spend the lion’s share of that money” on the health service. The shift was perhaps unsurprising, since the £350 million “independence dividend” never stood up to scrutiny. It excluded money returned to Britain through rebates and money that Britain spent to subsidize its farmers and poorer regions, according to the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies. The institute put the true figure at about £150 million. Supporters of the “Remain” side have angrily attributed the victory for “Leave” to a campaign of misinformation and even deception. In Cornwall, in the southwest corner of England, where a majority voted to leave, the leader of the county council, John Pollard, demanded that the government provide “investment equal to that provided by the E. U. program. ” (The county has gotten about $1. 3 billion in European Union assistance over the past 15 years, and was counting on about $550 million more by 2020.) A Financial Times chart showing that the Leave vote was strongest in the parts of Britain that are the most economically dependent on the European Union was widely circulated online. Promises to quickly reduce immigration levels are also being played down. Migration was the cornerstone of the Leave campaign, which objected to the European Union’s insistence on the free movement of labor, capital, goods and services. Since 2004, when 10 more countries joined the European Union, large numbers of eastern and southern Europeans have moved to Britain for work. Mr. Johnson argued that it was impossible for the government to reduce immigration while in the European Union. His ally Michael Gove, the justice secretary, said a leave vote would “bring down the numbers” by 2020. Experts have long said that would be very hard to pull off. The European Union has demanded from nonmember states — Norway, for example — free movement of workers in exchange for access to the bloc’s single market. On Friday, the day after the referendum, Daniel Hannan, a member of the European Parliament and one of the most knowledgeable advocates of Brexit, stunned some viewers of the BBC by saying: “Frankly, if people watching think that they have voted and there is now going to be zero immigration from the E. U. they are going to be disappointed. ” Mr. Hannan wrote on Twitter, “I was for more control, not for minimal immigration. ” Facing a backlash, he observed that a lot of Remain voters “are now raging at me because I *don’t* want to cut immigration sharply,” adding, “There really is no pleasing some people. ” He then announced that he would “take a month off Twitter. ” Mr. Farage took the most position on immigration, unveiling a poster depicting a long stream of refugees under the headline “Breaking Point” and raising the prospect of Turkey’s joining the European Union (even though any of the 28 member states has veto power over accepting new members). Many Brexit campaigners expected to lose — even Mr. Farage said on the night of the referendum that he did not think his side had won — and for some the fight was as much about internal Conservative Party politics as the future of the country. Having now ousted Prime Minister David Cameron, they face a political vacuum, with their base demanding that promises be kept. Mr. Johnson, the to replace Mr. Cameron, has not made any further pronouncements since a subdued statement on Friday that was restricted to generalities. If he does become prime minister, Mr. Johnson will face the task of carrying out a British withdrawal without provoking a backlash from those who believed campaign slogans or sentiments that he certainly appeared to endorse. “In voting to leave the E. U. it is vital to stress that there is now no need for haste,” Mr. Johnson told reporters. Standing alongside him, Mr. Gove promised, “We can have democratic consent for an immigration policy that is fairer and more humane. ” He did not explain how. | 0fake |
Air strikes in Syria's rebel-held Idlib kill 28: Observatory | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Overnight air strikes killed 28 people, including four children, in a village in rebel-held Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday. Rescue workers have said Syria and Russia have killed scores of civilians in air strikes that began after insurgents launched an offensive against government-held areas in the north west of the country on Sept. 19. The Russian and Syrian militaries say they only target militants and deny killing civilians. Dominated by the jihadist group formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Idlib region had seen a six month lull in air strikes until the latest escalation. However, the overnight air strike targeted the village of Armanaz a few kilometres (miles) from the Turkish border. The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, put the preliminary death toll at 26. Turkey said this week that recent Russian bombing in Idlib had killed civilians and moderate Syrian rebels, saying this violated an agreement concluded with Iran and Russia. Turkey, Iran and Russia to create a de-escalation zone in Idlib. Under the agreement, Turkey will deploy troops in Idlib, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said. | 0fake |
Donald Trump Rings In The New Year With A Vicious Twitter Rampage (TWEETS) | Donald Trump s insane ways are no longer surprising but have become very predictable. He rung in the new year with yet more Trump negativity and the usual antics we ve all become accustomed to. Unabashed, like a spoiled baby that constantly gets reinforcement from the few people that actually like him, Trump went on another tantrum that he thinks will garner him yet more support. He let loose on his Republican opponent Jeb Bush and on Hillary Clinton. Take a look at his Twitter posts. First comes his rant against his Republican rival, the squirmy Jeb Bush:.@JebBush is a low energy "stiff" who should focus his special interest money on the many people ahead of him in the polls. Has no chance! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2016.@JebBush is a sad case. A total embarrassment to both himself and his family, he just announced he will continue to spend on Trump hit ads! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2016I don t know about this one. George Bush takes the cake for the biggest embarrassment, not only to his family, but to the nation. After all, he s a certified war criminal. As Americans, we have to constantly explain how we elected him once in the first place. Yes, once. His daddy helped him steal the first election.The next rant comes against former president Bill Clinton. Harking on allegations that he s a sexist, Trump immediately took the opportunity to attack Hillary by going after Bill:I hope Bill Clinton starts talking about women's issues so that voters can see what a hypocrite he is and how Hillary abused those women! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2016Low blow by Trump. After all, Bill s escapades have nothing to do with Hillary. In fact, one can argue that she s shown both class and courage in the face of her husband s alleged extra-marital affairs.Here s another attack on Hillary. This time it s against her alliance with Israel:Hillary Clinton said that it is O.K. to ban Muslims from Israel by building a WALL, but not O.K. to do so in the U.S. We must be vigilant! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2016This one is difficult to argue. The bipartisan support for anything Israel is quite disturbing. Trump is referencing Israel s illegal apartheid wall that has made islands of Palestinian towns and villages, cutting them off from each other and creating a situation in the West Bank that South African anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu has said is worse than anything he witnessed under the white regime that exploited blacks for decades. We know how that system crashed, so the hope is that Hillary can change her ways and be on the side of justice and help end Israel s crazy experiment. Former president Jimmy Carter even wrote a book about Israel s insanity.However, Trump gets no credit for this tweet since he s advocating a similar approach for Muslims in the United States and he s arguing that Hillary is a hypocrite since she supports walling the Palestinians, the majority of whom are Muslims (a large Christian Palestinian population including Bethlehem is walled as well).Donald Trump has received lots attention not only from his supporters but from those opposed to his stances. He s an expert at generating attention by entertaining people. But, just like a long running sitcom that slowly yet surely fades, many people are looking forward to the day when Trump is canceled.Featured image via Gage Skidmore | 1real |
Seth Meyers’ Reaction To Trump’s ‘Morning Joe’ Misogyny Is Something The Whole World Should See (VIDEO) | There have been many reactions to Donald Trump s Thursday morning Twitter meltdown that led to unbelievably misogynistic and disgusting attacks on one of the show s co-hosts, Mika Brzezinski. People from across the political spectrum have expressed outrage, frustration, and disgust, but perhaps the best reaction came from Seth Meyers, host NBC s Late Night.The first reaction came in a beginning monologue, in which Meyers recounted Trump s tweets for those who somehow missed them, and resulted in a new segment called, I Can t. That was literally Meyers speechless reaction: He just couldn t deal with the bullshit coming from the so-called president s Twitter account. Watch that reaction below:Tonight, we introduce a new #LNSM segment responding to Trump s tweet this morning. pic.twitter.com/Diq8LK8Ypx Late Night (@LateNightSeth) June 29, 2017Later in the segment, Meyers found his voice, and took on Trump s tweets head-on, and actually responded, doing what we re all doing, which is questioning Trump s mental health. During his nightly in-depth segment, A Closer Look, Meyers first talked about Trump s ignorance of his own GOP healthcare bill, and then turned back to the disgusting tweets. He referenced Trump s insistence that he told the Morning Joe hosts he was attacked No! when they supposedly wanted to go to his party on New Year s Eve, saying: Said no to what? Your fucking meds?! Watch the entire monologue below:That s the thing. Trump is mentally ill, and his currently our so-called president, and thinks he s leader of the Free World (though I think we all know that it s a toss up for that title now between Germany s Angela Merkel, Canada s Justin Trudeau, and France s Emmanuel Macron).It s time for the Republican Party and Americans at large to realize what many of us have been saying since Trump first announced he is running for president: That he is unfit for the office he holds, no matter how much his mouth-breathing, ignorant base and his White House mouthpieces defend him. He is a disgusting, bigoted misogynist who does the nation harm on an hourly basis.Cut the cord, GOP. For once in your miserable, craven lives, put your country before your party, and do something about this man and his nation-destroying, sorry excuse for an administration. | 1real |
China repeatedly hacked US, stole data on nukes, FBI & war plans | China repeatedly hacked US, stole data on nukes, FBI & war plans 10/31/2016
RUSSIA TODAY Chinese intelligence repeatedly targeted US national security agencies and email accounts of US officials, a soon-to-be-released report says, adding that Beijing spies targeted info on nuclear weapons, FBI investigations and war plans.
“Chinese intelligence has repeatedly infiltrated US national security entities and extracted information with serious consequences for US national security, including information on the plans and operations of US military forces and the designs of US weapons and weapons systems,” a draft annual report for 2016 said, as cited by the Washington Free Beacon.
The final version of the report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission is to be released November 16.
The hacks allowed Beijing to gain “insight into the operation of US platforms and the operational approaches of US forces to potential contingencies in the region,” it goes on.
According to the document, China applied efforts at “cyber and human infiltration” of national security sectors, including the FBI and the US Pacific Command. The report says that Washington “faces a large and growing threat to its national security from Chinese intelligence collection operations.”
Chinese spies reportedly hacked into secret US war plans, gaining information about nuclear weapons, and snooping into electrical power grids and financial networks. US Diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial sectors have also been the targets of China.
“US critical infrastructure entities are a major target of Chinese cyber operations, and China is capable of significantly disrupting or damaging these entities,” the report said.
The Chinese allegedly hacked into secret data of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which has been a staple of US airstrikes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past 9 years.
US academics who work for the groups involved in China studies have also been reportedly targeted by Beijing. The document names an American student in China, Glenn Duffie Shriver, as a target. Shriver was convicted of conspiracy to spy for China in 2010. He was released in 2013.
Obama administration officials have not escaped China’s alleged digital predation.
“Among the information extracted were 5.6 million fingerprints, some of which could be used to identify undercover US government agents or to create duplicates of biometric data to obtain access to classified areas,” the report said.
Several organizations allegedly contribute to China’s intelligence operations, including the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and Communist Party military, as well as the PLA General Political Department and the Party’s United Front Work Department. | 1real |
U.S. flies bombers over Korea as Trump discusses options | SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military flew two strategic bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force late on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump met top defense officials to discuss how to respond to any threat from North Korea. Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test in recent weeks as it fast advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. The two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers were joined by two F-15K fighters from the South Korean military after leaving their base in Guam, South Korea s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Wednesday. After entering South Korean airspace, the two bombers carried out air-to-ground missile drills in waters off the east coast of South Korea, then flew over the South to waters between it and China to repeat the drill, the release said. The U.S. military said in a separate statement it conducted drills with Japanese fighters after the exercise with South Korea, making it the first time U.S. bombers have conducted training with fighters from both Japan and South Korea at night. The U.S. bombers had taken off from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. In August, Pyongyang threatened to fire intermediate-range missiles toward the vicinity of Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory that is frequently subjected to sabre-rattling from the North. South Korean and U.S. government officials have been raising their guard against more North Korean provocations with the approach of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of North Korea s ruling party, which fell on Tuesday. Trump hosted a discussion on Tuesday on options to respond to any North Korean aggression or, if necessary, to prevent Pyongyang from threatening the United States and its allies with nuclear weapons, the White House said in a statement. Trump was briefed by Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford at a national security team meeting, the statement said. U.S. and South Korean wartime operational plans, including a plan to wipe out the North Korean leadership, were stolen by North Korean hackers last year, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday. Some 235 gigabytes of military documents were taken from South Korea s Defense Integrated Data Center in September last year, Democratic Party representative Rhee Cheol-hee said in radio appearances on Wednesday, citing information from unidentified South Korean defense officials. In May, an investigative team inside the defense ministry announced the hack had been carried out by North Korea, but did not disclose what kind of information had been taken. The United Nations Security Council, which has imposed a series of ever tighter sanctions on North Korea, has banned four ships from ports globally for carrying coal from North Korea, including one vessel that also had ammunition. The vessels are the first to be designated under stepped-up sanctions imposed on North Korea by the 15-member council in August and September over two long-range ballistic missile launches and Pyongyang s sixth and largest nuclear test. China, North Korea s main ally and trading partner, has consistently argued sanctions alone will not work, urging Washington and Pyongyang to lower their rhetoric and return to the negotiating table. China s influential Global Times tabloid expressed alarm at how far the rhetoric on both sides had gone and how it had increased the risk of a fatal misjudgment . The international community won t accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea needs time and proof to believe that abandoning its nuclear program will contribute to its own political and economic advantage. This positive process is worth a try, the paper said in an editorial late on Tuesday. War would be a nightmare for the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions. We strongly urge North Korea and the U.S. to stop their bellicose posturing and seriously think about a peaceful solution, it said. | 0fake |
Heroic Mom Battling Cancer Caught On Camera Rescuing Four Boys From A Cliff (IMAGES) | Cancer can take a lot out of a person, especially once treatments begin. Lelania Chapman was hiking through the woods after seven months of cancer treatments when she stumbled upon four teenage boys who were stranded on a cliff. I ve never been in a situation like that before and you never know what you are going to be like, Chapman, who had stayed home during the bulk of her treatments, told TODAY. No matter what, you are a lot stronger than you think you are. For the bulk of her treatments, this amazing woman stayed home, only leaving to go to the doctor. But after her final treatment, she took her 9-year-old son and three neighborhood children on a waterfall hike near her home outside of Vancouver, Canada despite receiving bad news from doctors that more tumors had appeared and her cancer had spread. Instead of focusing on the negatives she not only was able to show her son and the other children a good time, but she became an unlikely hero when an 11-year-old girl in her group thought she heard someone shouting. Chapman didn t hear it at first, but after investigating they found the teens trapped on a rock by the falls, their lips purple from the cold.Chapman tried to call for help, but there was no cellular service. She started to walk back to her truck to attempt to get service but she heard one of the boys cry I just want my mom. Deciding that she couldn t leave them there and despite being weakened from months of cancer treatments, Chapman leaped into action. Some people say it s a mother s instinct, she told TODAY. Chapman grabbed a rope from her backpack and climbed down the ravine to get closer to the boys. They then tossed her a length of their own rope, which she tied to the biggest tree she could find, wrapped it around her waist, and tossed it back to the boys. The biggest of the teens, who stands about 6 feet tall and weighs about 160 pounds climbed up first to help rescue the others. Despite her smaller frame due to losing weight from the cancer treatments, Chapman (who had difficulty lifting a watermelon at this point) managed to pull him up. I don t know how I picked him up by myself, she said. I don t really know to this day. Chapman bashed her knee and some of the radiation burns and scars from her treatment tore open from the strain, but the heroic mom gave into her mama bear instincts and pulled the boys up one by one. When only the smallest of the boys was left, she feared her rope might break. But Chapman didn t give up. She laid on her belly and talked to the final teen, who told her he was just going to jump. I told him it wasn t a good idea and if he jumped, I would have to jump, and he just really needed to trust me, she said. Ultimately, the team was able to pull him up. She walked with the teens to the parking lot, where she called their mothers.As Chapman made dinner later, a 7-year-old girl from her group said something incredibly inspirational: Yep, that s just what we do. We fight cancer and save boys. This experience has greatly impacted her son, Gwindin. Though Chapman has a long battle ahead of her, Gwindin is no longer scared: He said You know what, mom? You are going to [beat] cancer because you are the strongest mom around,' she said. That is probably one of the most important lessons that I learned that day. I do have the strength. Here are some photos of Chapman proving that a mother s ability to transform into an almost superhuman protector is not at all a myth: A GoFundMe page set up to help pay for expenses related to Chapman s future cancer treatments has raised half of its $15,000 goal. If you have some spare loot, help her out!Featured image via TODAY | 1real |
White House communications director Scaramucci leaves in order to 'clean slate' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday that Anthony Scaramucci, named by President Donald Trump as communications director only 10 days ago, was leaving the post. The change comes days after Scaramucci delivered a profanity-laced tirade against other top Trump aides - and hours after Trump swore in John Kelly, a new chief of staff, to bring discipline to his West Wing. “Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team,” the White House said in a statement. | 0fake |
OUTRAGE OVER BARE CHESTED GAYS COMPARING GAY MARRIAGE VICTORY TO MARINES IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING | Because according to the left, the brave men who gave their lives for our nation are apparently the equivalent of a battle to make the perversion of marriage legal A gay rights inspired adaptation of the famous image of Marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima in 1945 is sparking outrage following the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nation-wide.The image of four muscular, skin-baring men raising the rainbow flag posed like the Marines at Iwo Jima was taken some ten years ago and appeared on a gay magazine, but was recirculated last week following the Supreme Court decision.And dont compare gay marriage to the Marines who fought and died in Iwo Jima. The two events are not comparable pic.twitter.com/rqwtR2eoHh Paulie Walnuts (@PAULme_maybe69) July 1, 2015Replacing the soldiers on Iwo Jima standing up the American flag with the gay pride flag is disrespectful Mitchell Moyers (@m_moyers8) July 1, 2015They really recreated the Iwo Jima flag with the gay flag. Just stop Evan Moriyama (@AsMoriyama) July 1, 20156821 people died in Iwo Jima,over 19,000 wounded.Apparently that ain t nothi compared to gay people s struggle huh AmericanMuscle (@MrFakeDope) July 1, 2015#gay #TCOT this is offensive how dare you besmirch Marines at Iwo Jima who gave their lives so there is a supreme ct pic.twitter.com/ARRqXwJC0u Rosebud (@Murba1515) June 30, 2015The Washington Post highlighted the outcry Wednesday, recalling the bloody operation that spurred to the first iconic photo taken on February 23, 1945 by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. Three of the Marines pictured were killed in combat, among the nearly 7,000 other Americans who died on Iwo Jima. Another 20,000 American troops were wounded.The photographer of the gay rights image, Ed Freeman, The Post reports, has received hate mail, backlash on social media, and at least one death threat since the image went viral. He said if he ever saw me, he d kill me, Freeman told The Post. I got swamped with vitriolic hate mail. Freeman received disapproving responses to his when he posted on Facebook that Friday, When I took this picture almost ten years ago, it never, never occurred to me that it would someday come to symbolize the victory we are celebrating today. Congratulations to all of us! Love to you all. Freeman told The Post that he did not intend for the image to be disrespectful and chalked the outrage up to people s frustration with the Supreme Court decision. The principle complaint that people have is that I am equating the gay struggle with the contribution and sacrifice of American servicemen, Freeman said. But there is no equal sign here. This is not meant as a sign of disrespect. For God sake, no. I totally support people in uniform. There is no comparison going on here. The comparison is going on in people s heads, and they re spoiling for a fight. They re already on edge because of the gay marriage decision. Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
Comment on Trump’s election will be the biggest F-you in history by Dr. Eowyn | Posted on October 27, 2016 by Dr. Eowyn | 10 Comments
If we go by most of the MSM/corporate polls, Hillary Clinton will win on November 8.
But there are dissenting voices. Among them is Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams , who’s still predicting a 98% chance of not just a Trump win, but a landslide. Interestingly, the dissenters also include a flaming leftist — docu-maker Michael Moore.
Moore is loathsome, but I don’t think anyone has captured or articulated the reasons why so many Americans resonate to Trump’s anti-globalism as well as Moore.
Below is an excerpt from a recent speech Moore delivered, followed by my transcription:
“I know a lot of people in Michigan that are planning to vote for Trump…. They don’t necessarily like him that much and they don’t necessarily agree with him. They’re not racists and rednecks certainly; they’re actually pretty decent people. And so I wanted to, after talking to a number of them, I wanted to write this.
Donald Trump came to the Detroit Economic Club and stood there in front of the Ford Motor executives and said, ‘If you close these factories you’re planning to do in Detroit and build them in Mexico, [when I’m President] I’m going to put a 35% tariff on those cars when you send them back and nobody’s gonna buy them.’
It was an amazing thing to see. No politician, Republican or Democrat, had ever said anything like that to these executives, and it was music to the ears of people in Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania, in Wisconsin, the Brexit states. You live here in Ohio, you know what I’m talking about.
Whether Trump means it or not is kind of irrelevant because he’s saying the things to people who are hurting. That’s why every beaten-down, nameless, forgotten working stiff — what used to be part of what was called the middle class — loves Trump. He is the human Molotov cocktail that they’ve been waiting for, the human hand grenade that they can legally throw into the system that stole their lives from them. And on November 8th, Election Day, although they lost their jobs, although they’ve been foreclosed on by the bank, next came the divorce, and now the wife and kids are gone, the car’s been repo’ed, they haven’t had a real vacation in years, they’re stuck with the shitty Obamacare plan when you can’t even get a fucking [inaudible]. They’ve essentially lost everything they had, except one thing. The one thing that doesn’t cost them a cent and is guaranteed to them by the American Constitution — the right to vote.
They might be penniless, they might be homeless, they might be fucked over and fucked up. It doesn’t matter because it’s equalized on that day. A millionaire has the same number of votes as the person without a job — one. And there’s more of the former middle class than there are in the millionaire class.
So on November 8th, the dispossessed will walk into the voting booth, be handed a ballot, close the curtain and take that lever or felt pen or touchscreen and put a big fucking X in the box by the name of the man who is threatening to upend and overturn the very system that has ruined their lives: Donald J. Trump.
They see that the elites who ruined their lives hate Trump. Corporate America hates Trump. Wall Street hates Trump. The career politicians hate Trump. The media hates Trump, after they loved him and created him and now hate him. Thank you, media.
The enemy of my enemy is who I’m voting for on November 8. Yes, on November 8, you, Joe Blow, Steve Blow, Bob Blow, Billy Blow, Billy Bob Blow — all the Blows get to blow up the whole goddamn system because it’s your right. Trump’s election is going to be the biggest fuck-you ever recorded in human history, and it will feel good.”
Perversely, after articulately so beautifully the profound alienation of so many Americans and why Trump speaks for them, Michael Moore then proceeded to make a whole-hog defense and endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
Here’s a screenshot from a video showing “Jabba the Hut” Michael Moore making the speech you heard and read above.
What if Trump loses?
Below are excerpts from a powerful essay, “ The Elite ‘Have No Idea’— Society is Near the Breaking Point ,” written by a guy who calls himself Chindit13 for ZeroHedge :
“What I find most surprising today is that the insiders and the elite have no idea what is percolating just beneath the surface . Okay, maybe their arrogance actually produces its own fog, so it should not come as a surprise that they are blinded. They do not look at the calendar, which, if one really looks, says ‘1788’ on it. Something is close. Very close. Society is near the breaking point.
My own experience is that Hillary’s so-called Deplorables are actually the most reserved, most polite, and most honest demographic in the country . They are more informed, more self-reliant, and among other things, better armed. Regarding their arms, they are incredibly responsible, and not the source of the violence for which the implement, and not the person, is too often blamed. The Deplorables have the longest fuse. It is, however, a fuse. […]
The Deplorables, however, are not possessed of infinite patience. Like a capacitor, there is a charge building, and at some point it will be released into the circuitry of society.
The media and other insiders believe themselves to be immune. That thought no doubt results from being immersed inside a cocoon where dissonant voices are not allowed. When the levee breaks, or the capacitor releases its charge, they are going to be gob smacked.
Precious few of them are anywhere near as immune as they believe themselves to be. Additionally, what they might think, or hope, is their support, their security, their safe space, doesn’t really exist.
Most of society’s guardians, whether they are law enforcement or military, are card-carrying members of the Deplorables.
France was similarly constructed in the late 1780s. The elite were isolated only in thought, not in reality. Their protection was of a Potemkin Village nature: not actually there, but merely a facade that gave them false comfort.
They paid dearly for their arrogance and ignorance.
History may not repeat, but it does rhyme. The calendar really does seem to say 1788, so 1789—and 1792–are not as far off as some would like to believe.
This is not a call to arms, but it is a call to reality. Ignore it at your own peril.
Some may see these words as a threat. They are not. They are, however, a warning, and a warning from someone who is a student of history.
Every society eventually reaches a breaking point. Ours is nearly there. Some of those who might feel threatened, the so-called elite and insiders, think that they can buy protection as easily as they can buy a Gulfstream. How naïve! Who are the private security contractors? Who are the various SOGs? Like law enforcement and the rest of the military, they are the Deplorables. The Deplorables will take your money, but you will not take their lives. Better said, they won’t give up their lives for you or your family. The security you believe you have purchased is an illusion. Make that delusion. Best to get that out front here and now.
Some might think this is all Trump’s fault. Again, that shows a degree of ignorance and naïveté which characterizes the elite. Trump is a symptom, not a cause. He might even be a salve, as the changes he could bring might defuse some of the current anger.
On the other hand, Hillary is a lit match in a room of dynamite. She, like many of the self-important, thinks her very existence is a favor to the rest of us. She epitomizes the absolute worst of what America has become. Above the law, wealthy not through accomplishment, but through influence peddling only, and a bull in a china shop in terms of her effect on both the country and the world—and I apologize to bulls for that analogy. The world is more unstable because of her.
America is less safe because of her. Russia and the US—the two largest nuclear powers—are more at odds because of her. With her in power, we will reach the breaking point at home and internationally, perhaps leading to ‘accidental’ nuclear war, as the heightened rhetoric impacts clear thinking. Society is more stratified because of her. Race relations have deteriorated because of her (and Obama).
There are few current ills in society and in geopolitics that cannot be laid at her feet, at least to some extent. The Great Deceiver to many, who exhibits an astonishing aversion to truth telling, is enough to make even an agnostic wonder if the anti-Christ hasn’t finally arrived for its three and a half years of rule.
A recently hacked email of John Podesta finds him saying ‘she (Hillary) has begun to hate everyday Americans’. No doubt the same feelings were voiced by [Romania dictator] Nicolas Ceaucescu. It turned out the feeling was mutual. […]
Elect Hillary, and continue with business as usual, and it is likely this warning will become an epitaph for the America we know. Society may collapse regardless, because the rot is already very great, but she will hasten the day of reckoning. […]”
See also: | 1real |
Kremlin says in touch with France over possible Macron visit to Russia | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it was in touch with the French government over a possible visit to Russia next year by President Emmanuel Macron, but that nothing had yet been confirmed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a report in the Kommersant daily newspaper which said that Paris was ready to accept an invitation for Macron to visit the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in May. The participation of the French side (in the forum) is in Moscow s interests, said Peskov. As you know, France is a very important partner of the Russian Federation. Peskov said that Putin s first meeting with Macron, at the Palace of Versailles in May this year, had been characterized by a very positive momentum. Proceeding from this, we of course would be glad to see French businesses at the St Petersburg forum ... And there are contacts regarding high-level participation, but I wouldn t run ahead of myself for now. | 0fake |
Russia Has Called the War Party's Bluff : | Russia Has Called the War Party's Bluff
A hot war is not going to break out after Nov. 8th - thanks to shrewd moves and preparation by Moscow
By Pepe Escobar
" RI " - Cold War 2.0 has reached unprecedented hysterical levels. And yet a hot war is not about to break out before or after the November 8 US presidential election.
From the Clinton (cash) machine supported by a neocon/neoliberalcon think tank/media complex to the British establishment and its corporate media mouthpieces, the Anglo-American, self-appointed leaders of the free world are racking up demonization of Russia and Putinism to pure incandescence.
And yet a hot war is not about to break out before or after the November 8 US presidential election. So many layers of fear and loathing in fact veil no more than a bluff.
Lets start with the Russian naval task force in Syria, led by the officially designated heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, which will be stationed in the eastern Mediterranean at least until February 2017, supporting operations against all strands of Salafi-jihadism.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is fully equipped with anti-ship, air defense, artillery and anti-submarine warfare systems and can defend itself against a vast array of threats, unlike NATO vessels.
Predictably, NATO is spinning with alarm that all of the Northern Fleet, along with the Baltic Fleet, is on the way to the Mediterranean. Wrong; its only part of the Northern Fleet, and the Baltic Fleet ships are not going anywhere. The heart of the matter is that when the capabilities of this Russian naval task force are matched with the S-300/S-400 missile systems already deployed in Syria, Russia is now de facto rivaling the firepower of the US Sixth Fleet.
To top it off, as this comprehensive military analysis makes clear, Russia has basically made their own no-fly zone over Syria; and a US no-fly zone, viscerally promoted by Hillary Clinton, is now impossible to achieve.
That should be more than enough to put into perspective the impotence transmuted into outright anger exhibited by the Pentagon and its neocon/neoliberalcon vassals.
Add to it the outright war between the Pentagon and the CIA in the Syrian war theatre, where the Pentagon backs the YPG Kurds, who are not necessarily in favor of regime change in Damascus, while the CIA backs further weaponizing of moderate, as in al-Qaeda-linked and/or infiltrated, rebels.
Compounding the trademark Obama administration Three Stooges school of foreign policy, American threats have flown more liberally than Negans skull-crushing bloody baton in the new season of The Walking Dead.
Pentagon head Ash Carter, a certified neocon, has threatened consequences, as in potential strikes against Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces to punish the regime after the Pentagon itself broke the Kerry-Lavrov ceasefire. President Obama took some time off weighing his options. And in the end, he backed off.
So it will be up for the virtually elected by the whole US establishment Hillary Clinton to make the fateful decision. She wont be able to go for a no-fly zone because Russia is already doing it. And if she decides to punish the regime, Moscow already telegraphed, via Russias Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov, there will definitely be consequences for imposing a shadow hot war.
Sun Tzu doesnt do first-strike
Washington, of course, reserves for itself a first-strike nuclear capability, which Hillary Clinton fully supports (Donald Trump does not, and for that hes also demonized). If we allow the current hysteria to literally go nuclear, then we must consider the matter of the S-500 anti-missile system which effectively seals Russia's air space; Moscow wont admit it on the record because that would unleash a relentless arms race.
A US intel source with close connections to the Masters of the Universe but at the same time opposed to Cold War 2.0 as counter-productive, adds the necessary nuance: The United States has lost the arms race, indulging in trillions of dollars of worthless and endless wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and now is no longer a global power as it cannot defend itself with its obsolete missiles, THAAD, Patriot and Aegis Land Based Ballistic Defense System, against Russian ICBMs, even as the Russians have sealed their airspace. The Russians may be as much as four generations ahead of the US.
Moreover, in the deep recesses of shadow war planning, the Pentagon knows, and the Russian Defense Ministry also knows, that in the event some
Dr. Strangelove launched a nuclear preemptive strike against Russia, the Russian population would be protected by their defensive missile systems as well as nuclear bomb shelters in major cities. Warnings on Russian television have not been idle; the population would know where to go in the terrifying event of nuclear war breaking out.
Needless to add, the ghastly possibility of US nuclear first-strike turns all these WWII-style NATO war games in Eastern Europe into a pile of meaningless propaganda stunts.
So how did Moscow plan for it all? According to the US intel source, they took out almost all the military budget from their stated federal budget, lulling the West into thinking that Russia could not afford a massive military buildup and there was nothing to fear from Russia as they were finished as a world power.
The [stated] military budget was next to nothing, so there was nothing to worry about as far as the CIA was concerned. If Putin showed publicly his gigantic military buildup, the West could have taken immediate remedial actions as they did in 2014 by crashing the oil price.
The bottom line then would reveal the Pentagon as totally unprepared for a hot war even as it threatens and bluffs Russia now on a daily basis; As Brzezinski has pointed out, if this is the case it means the US has ceased to be a global power. The US may continue to bluff, but those that ally with them will have nowhere to go if that bluff is called, as it is being now called in Syria.
The US intel source is adamant that one of the greatest military buildups in history has taken place right under the nose of the Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina and the Russian Ministry of Finance while the CIA awaits what they think will be the inevitable Russia collapse.
The CIA will be waiting forever and eternity for Russia to collapse. This MGB maneuver is sheer genius. And demonstrates that the CIA, which is so drowned by data inputs that they cannot connect the dots on anything, must be completely reorganized. In addition, the entire procurement system of the United States military must also be reorganized as it cannot ever keep up if new weapon programs as the F-35 take twenty years to develop and then are found obsolete before they even enter service. The Russians have a five-year development program for each new weapons system and they are far ahead of us in every key area.
If this analysis is correct, it goes against even the best and most precise Russian estimates, according to which military potential may be strong, asymmetrically, but still much inferior to US military might.
Well-informed Western analysts know that Moscow never brags about military buildups and has mastered to a fault the element of surprise. Much more than calling a bluff, its Moscows Sun Tzu tactics that are really rattling loudmouth Washington. | 1real |
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Pentagon Chief Mattis Discuss ’Confronting Iran’ | Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Thursday following what the Saudi government proclaimed to be a successful meeting with President Donald Trump. The two reportedly discussed tensions in the Middle East with a focus on “confronting Iran’s destabilizing regional activities. ”[According to Gulf news network Salman and Mattis held a discussion for “over three hours” and created an “atmosphere of consensus” regarding the Islamist threats facing both countries in the region. The Pentagon statement confirmed that containing the influence of Iran — whose terror proxies are playing major roles in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen — took up much of their conversation. The prince, who also serves as Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, told reporters, “Saudi Arabia is ready to send its troops to Syria as the country would do all it takes to eradicate terrorism,” according to . The network adds that Mattis and Salman were joined by “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, the National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, the President’s senior counselor for economic initiatives Dina Powel, the White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, and senior defense and foreign ministry officials. ” The conversation followed a meeting with President Trump Wednesday, after which a spokesman for the prince issued a glowing statement of the U. S. president. “Prince Mohammed considers his Excellency [Trump] as a true friend of Muslims who will serve the Muslim World in an unimaginable manner,” the statement read in part, “opposite to the negative portrait of his Excellency [Trump] that some have tried to promote. ” The prince also appeared to support President Trump’s plans to build a wall on the American southern border: “Both sides discussed the Saudi successful experience in building a fence on the border, which led to preventing illegal entrance of individuals, as well as preventing smuggling operations. ” The prince also appeared to support President Trump’s plans to build a wall on the American southern border: “Both sides discussed the Saudi successful experience in building a fence on the border, which led to preventing illegal entrance of individuals, as well as preventing smuggling operations. ” Mohammed bin Salman’s meeting with President Trump occurred as King Salman attended scheduled meetings with senior Communist Party officials in China, seeking further investment into the Saudi economy. The emphasis on containing Iran highlights Saudi tensions with the largest Shiite Muslim country in the world, which it regularly accuses of playing a key role in exporting terrorism worldwide. Saudi Arabia itself has a checked history of exporting Wahhabism, an extremist strain of jihadist Islam, and Saudi government officials have been implicated in some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the world. Saudi Arabia is currently seeking to overturn a law that allows the victims of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks to sue the kingdom for damages, citing ’s communications with Saudi government officials. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has taken the opportunity of the meeting between Mattis and the prince to condemn Saudi Arabia once again, calling his visit to Washington “deluded and fallacious” and accusing Saudi Arabia of war crimes. Mohammed bin Salman, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, was “one of the main directors of the Saudi war on the innocent and defenseless Yemeni nation, and the manifestation of terror and horror in Syria, Bahrain and other regional and world countries. ” “The history of the Middle East will teach all, especially states who have through the fantasy and illusion [of being able] to buy security moved to offer a green light to the intervention of foreign players, that they are making a huge mistake because previous interventions by powers have only led to insecurity in countries and the states that have summoned the foreign powers,” Qassemi warned. | 0fake |
German police arrest suspect over alleged supermarket extortion attempts | BERLIN (Reuters) - German police said on Saturday they had arrested a suspect in the case of an alleged extortionist who attempted to force supermarkets into coughing up tens of millions of euros by slipping a potentially lethal poison into baby food. Police in the south-western lakeside city of Konstanz said they would ask a judge to approve an extension of custody for the 55-year-old German man arrested by police special forces late on Friday, after concluding he was a prime suspect. The suspicions have solidified, they said in a statement. In mid-September, a suspect was recorded on security cameras placing quantities of poison in products for sale in some southern German supermarkets. He told the police via email that he done so, and threatened to do it nationwide and elsewhere in Europe unless given money. Police said they had found some baby food spiked with ethylene glycol, a colorless, odorless liquid used in the manufacture of antifreeze, which can be deadly if consumed. Police added that, despite the arrest, the public should remain vigilant for signs of tampering when buying food. | 0fake |
Three Kurdish fighters killed, five wounded in blast south of oil city Kirkuk | ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Three Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and five wounded on Saturday when an explosive device blew up near their vehicle south of the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, security sources said. The explosion happened in Daquq, a region bordering Islamic State-held areas, the sources said. It took place as the Kurdistan Regional Government prepares for a referendum on Monday on independence for the region under its control in northern Iraq, including Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic region also claimed by the central government in Baghdad. | 0fake |
U.S. in position to stop military support for some groups fighting Islamic State | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to reduce military support for groups fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria but that does not mean Washington will stop all aid to those groups, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday. Sanders said with Islamic State s territory shrinking we re in a position to stop providing military equipment to certain groups but that doesn t mean stopping all support of those individual groups. On Friday, Turkey said President Donald Trump told President Tayyip Erdogan he had issued instructions that weapons should not be provided to the Syrian Kurdish fighters, which Ankara views as threat. | 0fake |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.