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SHOCKER: Public School Turns Computer Lab Into Mosque…Bars Non-Muslim Students [Video] | 1real | |
A Solo Traveler’s Guide to Meeting People - The New York Times | When you are traveling solo, it’s not always a breeze to strike up a conversation with a stranger. In fact, how do you meet other single travelers or locals in the first place? And if you’re looking for friendship — or even something more — how do you ensure that amid all the fun you don’t neglect to take safety precautions? Before we get to tactics, it’s helpful to know that you are likely to be rewarded for overcoming apprehensions about approaching someone new when you’re on the road. “Its easy to imagine all the ways things will go badly or believe that this person doesn’t want to connect,” said Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. But if you reach out, he continued, “almost everybody reaches back. ” Social scientists have found that making such connections, whether traveling or not, boosts happiness, and yet strangers in proximity “routinely ignore each other,” as Dr. Epley and his colleague Juliana Schroeder put it in the Journal of Experimental Psychology last year. During a series of nine experiments, they saw again and again that we underestimate other people’s interest in connecting. How to break the ice then? Dr. Epley suggests simply saying to that stranger on the bus or in the cafe: “Hi, I’m visiting. Can you tell me what I ought to see in town?” “Everybody loves to brag about their city,” he said. Or offer a compliment, he suggested. “I think you’re just best off in your relationships if you’re transparent with people. ” (This is not to gloss over any genuine concerns about talking to strangers, Dr. Epley said. But we’ll address those in a bit.) As experienced solo travelers know, opportunities for pleasurable connections are everywhere: trains, planes, parks, bars, museums, walking tours, group hikes. Yet should all that fail, technology provides seemingly innumerable ways to increase the odds. Obviously dating websites and apps like OkCupid and Tinder can facilitate around the world. Yet the travel industry has its own tools, designed not specifically for romance, but for friendship. I’ve previously written about some of these websites and apps, including Highlight and Planely. The app Skout enables travelers to meet locals or one another wherever they are, be it a concert in London or a soccer game in Barcelona. More recently there’s Tripr, which allows travelers to find others who will be in the same place. But if you’re seeking a companion, a couple of veteran sites deserve another look. Unlike a lot of aimed at connecting travelers, Couchsurfing. com was founded in 2004 and has grown to some nine million members. You may know it as the purview of frugal travelers who see the world by sleeping on the couches and air mattresses of strangers, but it’s also a great way to meet other solo travelers and locals — even if you don’t crash on their couches. Some 120, 000 cities worldwide offer weekly Couchsurfing art gallery tours, hikes, dinners or gatherings in coffee shops and bars. (Becoming a member of the site is free.) In addition to joining events, you can also reach out to other members who have set their “hosting availability” status to “wants to meet up,” meaning that while their couch is unavailable, they’re happy to meet for coffee or be a resource while you’re visiting their city. Another digital stalwart is VirtualTourist. com, which offers tips and reviews from fellow globe trekkers and has been around since 1999. That means you’ll find a true online community, a deep well of people with whom to interact. Members have profiles that may include photos, their hometown, travel interests and where they’ve been. Each member’s travel tips are tied to his or her profile, and should you like what you read or have questions, you can message the user. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get together offline. Once you’re on the ground in a city, you can meet dozens of people at once by attending a cocktail hour, group run, or tour through the worldwide events site Meetup. com. While meeting someone new is exciting and can be deeply fulfilling, such overtures must be balanced with safety measures. Even Couchsurfing, which refers to strangers as “friends you haven’t met yet,” has a page devoted to safety, warning members to trust their instincts (“If a person, situation or profile seems unsafe for any reason, move on. Don’t worry about seeming rude”) and know their limits (“Partying like a rock star might be fun, but it puts your safety and in the hands of others”). For women, especially, the site advises being educated about your destination’s cultural and religious norms and to “be clear about your boundaries and don’t be shy about stating them. ” At the same time, Dr. Epley said most people are not interested in taking advantage of you. “The person who wants to take advantage of you wants to find you immediately,” he explained. It’s different when you’re the one who decides to initiate a conversation. “When there’s random selection, you don’t have that risk of being targeted,” he said. Solo travelers are often told to keep friends and loved ones informed about where they’re going and when (including the time they expect to return) know which neighborhoods to avoid, and learn local emergency numbers. Additionally, consider registering with the nearest United States Embassy or consulate at Step. state. . This allows the embassy to reach you in an emergency (natural disaster, civil unrest) and family and friends to contact you if there’s an emergency. You may also want to memorize words such as “help,” “police” and “fire” in the local language, and have a plan for how you’ll get back to your hotel anytime you’re out after dark. If you are in a place where there’s no mass transit or if mass transit is not safe at night, have the number of a taxi service with you. If you use Uber, make sure the photo of the driver that appears on the app matches the face of the person who picks you up. Also, the Uber app has a “Share my ETA” option that allows you to send someone your whereabouts and estimated arrival time. (Before I even get into a car I send the driver’s name, car make and my destination to a friend or family member.) The fear of strangers has deep evolutionary roots. Do not, Dr. Epley said, disregard your intuition. “Our research does not suggest that you should talk to everybody that you meet or that you should have the volume turned up to 11 in all your social interactions,” he said. It’s just that for most of us, “the dial for engaging others seems set a little too low. Nudge it up. ” | 0fake |
Mexico ruling party hopeful 14 points adrift in presidential poll | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The newly unveiled presidential contender of Mexico s ruling party, Jose Antonio Meade, lags his main rival, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, by some 14 percentage points, an opinion poll showed on Thursday. The voter survey, by daily newspaper Reforma, showed Meade, who resigned as finance minister on Nov. 27 to seek the nomination of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), polling 17 percent support against Lopez Obrador s 31 percent. Mexico elects a new president in July 2018, and though the PRI will not formally choose its candidate until Feb. 18, the party is already swinging behind Meade, even though he is not a member. The credibility of the PRI, which has dominated Mexican politics for most of the past century, has been seriously undermined by graft, gang violence and accusations of electoral fraud. Meade has, however, avoided corruption scandals in office, and part of his appeal rests on his status as an outsider. Meade also held ministerial posts in the 2006-2012 administration of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), and the PRI hopes his pedigree will enable him to pick up votes from rival parties. The poll, conducted Nov. 23-27, surveyed 1,200 Mexicans and had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points, Reforma said. The dates suggest it was carried out largely before Meade announced his intention to succeed President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election. The poll put Meade two points behind a third possible contender, Ricardo Anaya, head of the PAN, assuming the latter runs in a cross-party alliance with the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), as the two parties have proposed. The PAN has been beset by infighting since it lost power and has yet to agree on a candidate with the PRD. Some inside the PAN have already indicated they could support Meade. In a scenario in which Anaya ran for the PAN alone, he and Meade each drew 16 percent of the vote, with Lopez Obrador out in front at 32 percent, the poll showed. Meade said on Tuesday he was good with numbers and expressed certainty he would win the presidency, but some of the figures in the Reforma poll underlined the challenge he faces. Seven out of ten voters said they did not know Meade, and negative opinions of him were five percentage points higher than positive ones. Only 13 percent of voters did not know Lopez Obrador and the balance of opinion was neutral. | 0fake |
Keith Olbermann Lashes Out At Trump For Whining About Leaks With One Perfect Tweet | Keith Olbermann just fired an angry tweet at Donald Trump that will almost certainly leave him seething in fury.Last week, Trump gave highly classified intelligence to Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office in which Russian state media was allowed but American journalists were banned.Spilling the intel puts the source of the information in jeopardy and hurts our national security.The Russians can even use the information in order to silence the source from revealing their own activity in Syria. In short, American intelligence gathering efforts against ISIS and Russia have just been seriously compromised.Outrage immediately ensued after the story broke, with both Democrats and Republicans expressing concern over Trump s actions. The optic are also terrible in light of the fact that Trump is embroiled in a growing scandal involving Russia and had fired FBI Director James Comey the day before the meeting.Of course, Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend his actions, ending his rant by whining about leakers despite the fact that he leaked highly classified information to the Russians.As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017 to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community .. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017GQ special correspondent Keith Olbermann was NOT impressed, especially after reading the last tweet. So he lashed out at Trump with words every American wants to say to him right now.YOU are the leaker, you stupid, pea-brained, motherfucking traitor. RESIGN. https://t.co/ZRXevAonG9 Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 16, 2017Donald Trump is a traitor. He violated his oath of office and violated the trust of an ally by sharing this intel with the Russians, who interfered with the 2016 Election by hacking into our political institutions. Was this the price the Russians demanded in exchange for helping Trump win? Because if it is, our national security is at serious risk. Russia would love nothing more than know everything we know. What s next? Will Trump share NATO strategies with Russia? How about the nuclear codes?Clearly, Trump is willing to give his Russian buddies anything, whether or not they actually ask for it. This is a violation of the American people s trust and there should be consequences. He should either resign in disgrace or be impeached and put behind bars where traitors belong. The Russians have a mole in the White House. His name is Donald Trump.Featured Image: Screenshot | 1real |
Snowden and WikiLeaks Clash Over How to Disclose Secrets - The New York Times | They may both support the dissemination of government secrets, but Edward J. Snowden and WikiLeaks seem to disagree on how best to do it. On Thursday, Mr. Snowden, the former government contractor who released a trove of National Security Agency documents and now lives in exile in Russia, credited WikiLeaks, a clearinghouse for similar disclosures, with furthering the cause of transparency but also criticized its unfiltered approach. His words prompted a swift and cutting reply from WikiLeaks, which had once come to his aid. Mr. Snowden, it suggested, was trying to ingratiate himself with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, just days after WikiLeaks had released embarrassing emails showing that Democratic Party officials had derided the campaign of her main rival in the primary, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. WikiLeaks is often criticized for releasing documents without editing or regard for the sensitive information they may contain. Mr. Snowden, on the other hand, has said that he chose to work with journalists in 2013 to selectively release the N. S. A. documents in order to limit the harmful consequences of exposing what he called the abuses of government surveillance. The exchange on Thursday was all the more striking in light of the past collaboration between Mr. Snowden and the group, which helped him as he sought to find a place to settle into exile. In June 2013, a WikiLeaks activist accompanied him as he made his way from Hong Kong to Moscow, a week after WikiLeaks’ founder, Julian Assange, encouraged the government of Ecuador to accept Mr. Snowden’s asylum request. “Mr. Snowden requested our expertise and assistance,” Mr. Assange said at the time. “We’ve been involved in very similar legal and diplomatic and geopolitical struggles to preserve the organization and its ability to publish. ” | 0fake |
WHY CHRISTIANS ARE ASKING THEIR FELLOW CHRISTIANS TO WEAR ORANGE TO CHURCH #orangejumpsuit | It s about time Rev. Patrick Mahoney, of Church on the Hill in Washington, D.C. says that Christians in America cannot afford to be silent about what s going on.Speaking with Fox News on Friday, he discussed the persecution of Christians worldwide. Every five minutes, a Christian dies for their faith around the world. That s over 100,000 a year, he said.Mahoney started the #orangejumpsuit project to raise awareness, encouraging supporters to wear orange in a show of support for Christians being murdered for their faith. The color represents the jumpsuits worn by captives of ISIS, including the 20 Egyptian Copts beheaded in Libya in February.As Christians around the country embrace the campaign by wearing orange to church, Mahoney argued that it is not a strictly Christian movement. Americans need to realize we are seeing a genocide the likes we have not seen in a generation, he said.And for women, forced into marriages and sold into sex trafficking operations, he said, it is especially horrifying. Mahoney has been working with religious leaders of many faiths including Muslims to be more vocal in condemning the persecutions.He recently stood outside the White House personally wearing an orange jumpsuit bearing the name of Saeed Abedini, an American pastor jailed in Iran.Via: Biz Pac Review | 1real |
Art Cashin | 36447 Views November 13, 2016 BROADCAST King World News FOR DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PLAY OR DOWNLOAD AUDIOS: CLICK HERE
Art Cashin: Director of Floor Operations for UBS Financial Services & CNBC Market Commentator – UBS has over $650 billion under management. Art has over 50 years of Wall Street experience, which gives him the ability to offer valuable insights to investors and traders. When he started in the industry, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was actually in the 700-800 range. He shares his analysis and gives the pulse of the market from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Art is one of the most respected people in the world when it comes to analyzing the action in the US stock market and provides an objective and unbiased view of the current market situation. His daily market commentary is read internationally by clients and peers. Biography from cnbc.com Art Cashin, CNBC Commentator & Director of Floor Operations for UBS Financial Services Art Cashin is the Director of Floor Operations for UBS Financial Services and a regular markets commentator on CNBC. Each trading day from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, he shares his analysis and pulse of the market with CNBC viewers. About author | 1real |
Sean Hannity Accidentally Makes The Case For Media’s Scrutiny Of Trump’s Vets Fundraiser (VIDEO) | It s no secret that Sean Hannity is one of Donald Trump s biggest bootlickers. Following Trump s most recent press conference, in which he slammed the media and even called ABC reporter Tom Llamas a sleaze to his face, Hannity spoke with Trump about the so-called liberal media, and what they ve been doing to the poor guy.During the back-and-forth (Hannity is so far up Trump s rear that this can hardly be called an interview), Hannity demonstrated his complete ignorance of the media s coverage of The Donald s veterans fundraiser by asking: Do they think you need the money? Do they think you re gonna steal it? Yes, and yes. That s the whole issue right there. Apparently, Hannity hasn t been paying attention or he d have known not to ask that question.First of all, Trump s campaign is hardly self-funded and is low on money. He had to have known his self-funding scheme couldn t last forever. We re also talking about the liar of liars here who in their right mind wouldn t be suspicious when money goes missing?In addition to the campaign s financial woes, the Washington Post contacted every one of the 24 charities that Trump listed as beneficiaries of his largesse, back in March, to find out what had happened to that $6 million that he said he raised. They could only account for $3 million of it.There was also Sandra Miniutti, the vice president of Charity Navigator, who said that it s not uncommon for some fundraisers to vet beneficiaries after the fact, such as when they re raising funds in times of emergency. That makes sense, because they need to work quickly under those circumstances. Raising the money and then vetting potential beneficiaries is the fastest way to do it.Miniutti also said, though, that it was fair to question why it was taking so long to distribute the money. Trump already had a list of potential beneficiaries ready, and his fundraiser was ridiculously public. His groups should have been vetted beforehand.Furthermore, Trump received heavy criticism from some veterans groups who were angry at him for using them as a political stunt, and who were angry because they hadn t yet received the money they were promised. It wasn t just the press that was trying to figure this out. Hannity, however, has his blinders firmly in place and is likely blissfully unaware that he just made the liberal media s case for them.Watch the whole debacle of an interview below:Featured image via screen capture from embedded video | 1real |
BOOM! JULIAN ASSANGE OF WIKILEAKS Drops A Truth Bomb On Hillary…”Disturbing That FBI Director Comey Goes Along With That Game” [Video] | 1real | |
Virginia GOP sues governor over restoring voting rights to felons | RICHMOND (Reuters) - Virginia Republicans on Monday sued to nullify Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons, a move that could affect the November presidential election. The lawsuit in the Virginia Supreme Court asked justices to require the voting registrars not to sign up felons based on McAuliffe’s April 22 order and to cancel felons’ registrations since the order was issued. Republicans argued that McAuliffe’s order was unconstitutional. The lawsuit was headed by leaders of the Republican-controlled state legislature. “The Governor is authorized to restore the voting rights of any convicted felon through an individualized grant of clemency, but he may not issue a blanket restoration of voting rights,” the lawsuit said. Virginia is considered a key swing state in the 2016 election. The governor’s order could tip the balance in favor of the Democratic candidate who wins the party’s nomination. House Speaker William Howell said in a statement that McAuliffe’s order violated 240 years of practice. “Governor McAuliffe’s executive order defies the plain text of the Constitution, flouts the separation of powers, and has no precedent in the annals of Virginia history,” Howell said. McAuliffe and other Democrats have hailed the restoration of rights to felons who have served their sentences and completed probation as being long overdue. Since signing the order, McAuliffe has said that nearly 80 percent of the felons whose rights were restored are nonviolent offenders who have been free for more than a decade. Caucasian felons made up 51.5 percent of the total whose rights were restored, and African-Americans 45.9 percent. Before McAuliffe’s order, felons had to petition the governor individually for restoration of their voting rights. About two dozen states have eased restrictions on felons casting ballots over the past two decades, according to the Sentencing Project, a prison reform advocacy group. | 0fake |
Flynn did not initially disclose income from Russia-linked companies | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, failed to disclose payments from a Russian television network and two other firms linked to Russia in a February financial disclosure form, according to documents released by the White House. In a form signed by Flynn on March 31, the former White House official listed speaking engagements to Russian entities, including the Kremlin-funded RT TV, Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Kaspersky Government Security Solutions Inc, a U.S. subsidiary of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab. The form, released on Saturday, does not say how much Flynn was paid but the speeches are in a section titled “sources of compensation exceeding $5,000 in a year.” The speeches were not included in a form that Flynn signed electronically on Feb. 11, which the White House also released. The discrepancy on reporting income linked to Russia could add to the scrutiny the retired general, who was forced to resign his White House post after only 24 days, is already under for his contacts with Russian officials. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Trump’s candidacy. Multiple congressional committees and the FBI are looking into Russia’s involvement. Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, said his client was in the process of submitting his financial disclosures forms in the days before he left the White House. “That process was suspended when he left. When asked this week to resume the process and finalize the form, he did,” Kelner said in an email. He added that it had been “far from clear” that Flynn was required to itemize each speech.The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Flynn was forced out on Feb. 13 for misrepresenting conversations he had with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak before Trump took office and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about them. Flynn has requested immunity if he testifies before the intelligence committees of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, Kelner said last week. Trump, a Republican, has said Democrats were pursuing investigations because they were upset about his Nov. 8 victory over their party’s candidate, Hillary Clinton. The Russian government has denied the allegations that it interfered in the U.S. election and released hacked emails of Democratic groups to tip the election toward Trump, who has called for better U.S. relations with Moscow. | 0fake |
Trump Team Says Elton John Is Performing At Inauguration, Elton John Tells Trump To Go F*ck Himself | If Donald Trump thought he d be seeing Elton John sing his praises on Inauguration Day he was sorely mistaken.During an interview with BBC, Trump transition team member Anthony Scaramucci claimed that openly gay singer Elton John will be performing at Trump s inauguration on January 20th. Elton John is going to be doing our concert on the mall for inauguration, Scaramucci said, adding that John s appearance shows our commitment to gay rights. This will be the first American president in US history that enters the White House with a pro-gay rights stance, Scaramucci continued.There s just one problem. Apparently, Trump and his team failed to ask Elton John first.Because after hearing about this claim, Elton John told Trump to go f*ck himself.First a representative for John made it crystal clear that the openly gay artist isn t going anywhere near Trump s inauguration. Elton will not be performing at Trump s inauguration, the rep said.Then John s publicist Fran Curtis rejected the claim more emphatically. Incorrect. He will NOT be performing. Donald Trump may be a fan of Elton John, but the feeling is far from mutual. John supported Hillary Clinton for president and said of Trump just last month that, We need a humanitarian in the White House, not a barbarian. Just because Donald Trump said on 60 Minutes that same-sex marriage is settled law, it doesn t mean that the LGBT community believes him. After all, Trump s running mate is Mike Pence, a man who is vehemently anti-gay. Plus, conservatives expect Trump to nominate anti-gay judges to the Supreme Court, which puts gay rights in serious jeopardy.So while Trump is claiming that he s pro-gay rights, his actions need to speak louder than his words if he wants the LGBT community to stand behind him. Because Elton John is not going to be used as a propaganda tool.Featured Image: Wikimedia | 1real |
ATTENTION: IF YOU LIVE IN THESE STATES, DEMAND A PAPER BALLOT! YOUR VOTING MACHINE IS RIGGED! | ATTENTION: IF YOU LIVE IN THESE STATES, DEMAND A PAPER BALLOT! YOUR VOTING MACHINE IS RIGGED! by IWB · October 27, 2016 Tweet
Lindsey Bruce for Liberty Writers reports, This is NOT a hoax! Early voting is in full effect and reports of voting machine “malfunctions” are rampant. Texas, North Carolina and Maryland have all had complaints of voting machines switching votes from Trump to Clinton. Read more: | 1real |
Pentagon to send about a dozen Guantanamo inmates to other countries soon | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon plans to transfer about a dozen inmates of the Guantanamo military prison to at least two countries that have agreed to take them, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, the latest move in President Barack Obama’s final push to close the facility. The first of the transfers are expected in the next few days and the others will take place in coming weeks, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Among them will be Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni man who has been on a long-term hunger strike and has lost about half of his body weight. There are now 91 prisoners at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Most have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation. Obama, who last month presented Congress with a blueprint for closing the prison, is seeking to make good on his long-time pledge before he leaves office in January. But he faces stiff opposition from many Republican lawmakers, as well as some of his fellow Democrats. The Pentagon has notified Congress of its latest planned transfers from among the 37 detainees already cleared to be sent to their homelands or other countries, the official said. U.S. officials have said they expect to move out all members of that group by this summer. Obama’s plan for shuttering the facility calls for bringing the several dozen remaining prisoners to maximum-security prison in the United States. But U.S. law bars such transfers to the mainland, and Obama has not ruled out doing so by use of executive action. “I do not have a timeline on when particular detainees will be transferred from Guantanamo,” Commander Gary Ross, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a statement. “However, the administration is committed to reducing the detainee population and to closing the detention facility responsibly.” The most prominent of those to be resettled over the next several weeks is Bah Odah, a 37-year-old Yemeni who has been force-fed by nasal tube since he stopped eating solid food in 2007. His weight had dropped to 74 pounds from 148 and his legal team feared he could die of starvation, according to an account in a Reuters report at the end of December. Lawyers for Ba Odah, who was cleared for transfer in 2009, had tried unsuccessfully to win his release on health and humanitarian grounds, but Pentagon officials said he was receiving proper care. The plan to resettle about a dozen inmates was first reported by the Washington Post. The U.S. official declined to name the countries ready to take them in. Ten Yemeni men were sent to Oman in January. Others were recently sent to Ghana, Bosnia and Montenegro. The Obama administration has ruled out sending Yemenis, who make up the bulk of the remaining prisoners, to their homeland because it is engulfed in civil war and has an active Al Qaeda branch. Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up overseas when the United States became embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The facility, opened by Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush, came to symbolize aggressive detention practices that opened the United States to accusations of torture. (This story has been refiled to insert dropped words in paragraph 9 attribution) | 0fake |
The Pope Flat Out Called Fox News Type Journalism ‘Terrorism’ | Someone had to say it. Okay, liberals have been saying it for years. Fox News (and increasingly, the other news channels) have been promoting fear for so long that they have become the terrorists. Pope Francis agrees. Channeling Franklin Delano Roosevelt s infamous line, we have nothing to fear but fear itself, the Pope chastised fear-based media.Journalism based on gossip or rumors is a form of terrorism and media that stereotype entire populations or foment fear of migrants are acting destructively, Pope Francis said on Thursday.Spreading rumors is an example of terrorism, of how you can kill a person with your tongue , he said. This is even more true for journalists because their voice can reach everyone and this is a very powerful weapon. Source: ReutersNow, to be fair, Pope Francis was in Italy and he was talking to Italy s press, which has its own problems with nationalism, but I m sure he was hoping his words would hop the pond. After all, Fox spreads little but fear and that s what has given us Donald Trump.Crime in the nation is down. An American s odds of being killed by a terrorist is 1 in 20 million. Those are roughly the same odds as being killed by your own furniture. Still, Trump, prompted on by Fox News, is scaring the crap out of Americans:Fear is in the air, and fear is surging. Americans are more afraid today than they have been in a long time: Polls show majorities of Americans worried about being victims of terrorism and crime, numbers that have surged over the past year to highs not seen for more than a decade. Every week seems to bring a new large- or small-scale terrorist attack, at home or abroad. Mass shootings form a constant drumbeat. Protests have shut down large cities repeatedly, and some have turned violent. Overall crime rates may be down, but a sense of disorder is constant.Source: The AtlanticSure, that s about Donald Trump and the Pope wasn t directly talking about him, but Fox is the fear network. Forward Progressives lists several examples of Fox trying to scare the s*it out of people, and if this election and polls are any indication, they ve succeeded.Featured image via Franco Origlia/Getty Images. | 1real |
Clinton warns against complacency, Trump warns of World War Three | COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned her supporters on Tuesday against complacency as opinion polls show her holding a clear lead over Republican rival Donald Trump with two weeks left until the Nov. 8 election. Clinton told voters in Florida, one of the battleground states where the election will likely be decided, that Democrats could not afford to relax. “I hope you will come out and vote because it’s going to be a close election. Pay no attention to the polls. Don’t forget, don’t get complacent, because we’ve got to turn people out,” she told a rally in Coconut Creek, standing in front of a large sign reading: “Vote Early.” Trump also campaigned in Florida on Tuesday. He blasted recent spikes in premiums for health insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Trump promised to repeal and replace the healthcare law as soon as he takes office. “This is why we have to drain the swamp and repeal and replace Obamacare immediately, and I’m the only candidate running for president who will do it,” Trump said. On Monday, the U.S. government said the average premium for insurance plans sold on Healthcare.gov for 2017 rose by 25 percent compared with 2016. But with polls showing Trump trailing Clinton, Trump has asked his campaign to cut back on work identifying candidates for jobs in his future administration and focus instead on bolstering his chances on Nov. 8, according to two people familiar with the campaign’s inner workings. An average of national polls on the RealClearPolitics website since mid-October gives Clinton a lead of more than 5 percentage points, as Trump fights off accusations that he groped women and faces heavy criticism for suggesting he might not accept the result of the election if he loses. Trump denies the accusations of sexual misconduct and says the election is rigged against him, although he has not cited widely accepted evidence to back that up. On Tuesday, Trump told Reuters that Clinton’s plan for fixing the Syrian civil war would “lead to World War Three,” because of the potential for conflict with military forces from nuclear-armed Russia. In an interview focused largely on foreign policy, Trump said defeating Islamic State was a higher priority than persuading Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, playing down a long-held goal of U.S. policy. Clinton has called for the establishment of a no-fly zone and “safe zones” on the ground in Syria to protect noncombatants. Her campaign responded in a statement later on Tuesday noting that both Republican and Democratic national security experts had deemed Trump ill-prepared to be commander in chief, and accusing Trump of “parroting” Russian President Vladimir Putin and playing on Americans’ fears. Colin Powell, who served as Republican President George W. Bush’s secretary of state and was chairman of the U.S. military’s joint chiefs of staff under his father, Republican President George Bush, said on Tuesday he would vote for Clinton. The two candidates have sparred in recent days over the U.S.-backed Iraqi military push to take the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State, which Trump described as a “total disaster.” “He’s declaring defeat before the battle has even started,” Clinton, who was secretary of state during Obama’s first term, said on Tuesday. She urged supporters to participate in early voting, which began this week in Florida. “Nobody should want to wake up on Nov. 9 and wonder whether there was more you could have done,” Clinton said. Clinton also appeared on Tuesday at the Univision studio in Doral, Florida, on “El Gordo y La Flaca” (“The Fat Man and the Skinny Woman”), a long-running entertainment show aimed at Latinos. The appearance underscored the importance of Latino voters in the battle for Florida’s 29 electoral votes. Clinton maintained a commanding lead in the race to secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, according to Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project results released on Saturday. | 0fake |
Putin says Trump should be respected | SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday President Donald Trump should be respected because he has a democratic mandate. He has been elected by the American people and at least because of this he should be respected, even if we disagree with his position , Putin said at a forum with scholars. | 0fake |
Wreck of WWI German 'U-boat' submarine found off Belgium | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The well-preserved wreck of a World War One German submarine, possibly still containing the bodies of its 23 crew members, has been found off the Belgian coast. The use of submarines, often referred to as U-boats, in World War One to disrupt British trade routes in the English Channel and the North Sea was a key part of German tactics. The 93 German U-boats stationed in Belgian ports downed more than 2,500 ships but were also a target themselves, with 70 of them lost at sea, killing 1,200 sailors. It was not yet clear which of the 11 known wrecks of the German submarines had been found, and authorities said they would not give the exact location of the wreck to deter looters. Of the 11 downed U-Boats in Belgian waters, this one is the best preserved example, the province of West Flanders said. Belgium s North Sea minister said he would investigate whether the wreck could be recognized as a heritage site. | 0fake |
HILLARY CLINTON PROVES SHE DOESN’T “PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS” WHEN SHE NAMES HER GREATEST WEAKNESS | It s all about Hillary and Bill in their world. It s also about how much they can skim off the top or gain monetarily in the political world. Just a couple of grifters Hillary Clinton s greatest strength, the candidate explained in an interview with the morning newsletter The Skimm, is her passionate commitment to helping people. The passion was on display in 2009, for example, when Clinton personally intervened to help Swiss bank UBS settle a lawsuit with the IRS and thus protect the identities of tens of thousands of Americans who may or may not be evading U.S. taxes through Swiss bank accounts.Clinton was also asked about her greatest weakness. Here s what she said:Got that? Clinton s biggest fault is her inability to deal with you idiots who can t comprehend why Hillary Clinton should be president. You already rejected her once in 2008, and God help you if it happens again. You wouldn t like her when she s angry.This weakness was on display in 2008 during the Democratic primary, when Hillary was brought to tears upon realizing that Democratic voters might reject her in favor of an inexperienced celebrity like Barack Obama.Via: WFB | 1real |
Just Another Day In the Life of the Clinton Crime Family |
In the past 24 hours, some very stunning pieces of information have leaked out regarding the Clinton Crime Family. I am shocked about how pervasive the criminality is in what has been only a 24 hour news cycle.
Assange’s Lawyers Are Dead There are two lawyers who represented WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who died and their deaths were in very close proximity, only a  mere month apart.
Assange attorney, John Jones, suicide was committed by the top lawyer  when he jumped in front of a train in West Hamstead, in which the police did not even consider the possibility of foul play. The authorities, courtesy of the Clinton Foundation, found nothing suspicious about the manner of Jones’ death.
Michael Ratner made a career out of defending government whistle-blowers and detainees, something that one could argue was right inside of Assange’s  wheelhouse. Ratner’s death was shrouded in mystery. It is important to note that Ratner had actually sued three sitting US Presidents and tried to get George W. Bush impeached for lying America into the Iraq war. Certainly, when someone like  Ratner who had begun to represent Assange, was a terrible threat to the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation and had to be dealt with.
Chief Investigator for Bill Clinton’s Impeachment Trial Lives In Fear of His Life Aaron Klein, yes the same Aaron Klein who released emails, before they were purged, which demonstrated that Clinton was sending out, through her personal server the travel plans of Ambassador Stevens prior to his death at Benghazi, recently interview Dave Shippers the Chief Investigator of Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. Shippers professed that he still lives in fear of his life.
“Today, I am still terrified of Hillary. Absolutely I am terrified. Because if she gets into office. In fact, I’ve told my wife, I said, ‘If Hillary gets elected, look for the FBI or somebody to come and pick me up the next day.’
“And I think I’m the only one left. [Former Congressman] Henry Hyde is dead. [Independent Counsel Kenneth] Star didn’t really hurt her. Yeah. I was scared when I was out there‌ I’ve been terrified ever since. Because things happen. Things happen.â€
Klein allowed his interview to drift into the area of Vince Foster’s alleged suicide which Shippers was convinced that his event was a murder designed to cover up Hillary Clinton’s criminal behavior. Shippers also mentioned the impeachment investigation, centering around Clinton lying about his affair with Monica Lewinski, uncovered evidence of at least three murders connected to Hillary Clinton. However, as Shippers stated, the investigation was limited to to the Lewinski angle. This is really ashame because of the fact that Hillary Clinton could have been stopped in the 1990’s and this nation would not, today, be fighting for its life under the threat of an extinction level event such as the specter of a Clinton Presidency.
Anthony Weiner Fears for His Life At the Hands of Hillary Clinton The perverted Congressman, who could not stop sexting grossly inappropriate images of himself to underage girls, may have unwittingly put another very large nail in the political coffin of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
According to sources , we now know that the FBI accidentally discovered that Weiner had several emails that were suspiciously marked “life insurance† and the FBI found that these email were directly related to the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton. Disturbingly, these same sources indicated that the sources were turned over to the FBI over  a month ago while the FBI was still running interference for the Clinton Crime Family. It is very concerning that Comey never mentioned these damning emails.
The NYPD had the same information and they planned to leak the information despite intense pressure not to do so. This information not only shows that Anthony Weiner was in extreme fear of his life, from the Clintons, that he actually created his Julian Assange’s style of a dead man’s switch in the event of his death. I would add, that Huma may want to avoid subway trains and airplanes for awhile for her own safety. I predict that Weiner will become a star witness in either the immediate take down of Hillary, or her impeachment trial should George Soros be able to steal the election for her.
Conclusion For the good of the country, Hillary needs to step down immediately. She has made our justice system and nation, as a whole, a complete laughing stock. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who would vote for Hillary Clinton, needs to take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself what kind of person are you. How can you face your kids and claim to be a moral authority in their lives and vote for this evil monster?
This is just another day in the life of the Clinton Crime Family.
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WATCH: Trump Says That Women Actually ‘Like’ Him And His Reason Why Is Dumber Than He Is | Donald Trump has said many degrading and reductive things about women. Most recently, he said that women who have abortions should be punished and as a result, female voters have been repulsed by his comments. Polls show that only a small number of women support the bombastic billionaire and if last night s loss in Wisconsin is any indication, Trump is slipping in his bid for the GOP nomination. So, Trump at this point is inn damage control mode, and he s seeking to endear himself with female voters. In a recent interview, Trump rejected the notion that women dislike him because they know he can protect them from terrorists. You know, I have so many women that really want to have protection from the standpoint and they like me for that reason, said Trump. He added: | 1real |
SECOND MAJOR MAKEUP MANUFACTURER Chooses Man With Razor Stubble To Be Face For Their Products | Makeup Artist Manny Gutierrez is the first man to be chosen to rep for the Maybelline make up brand.Gutierrez is following in the footsteps of James Charles, who was chosen last year by CoverGirl to be its first-ever male spokesperson.Maybelline chose Manny as one of the new faces of its Colossal Big Shot mascara campaign for his VERY ON-POINT EYE MAKEUP LOOKS. Also because he s already amassed more than 3 million Instagram followers. BuzzfeedBecause it s probably pretty difficult to find beautiful women to use in their ads geared towards women right?Here s what Maybelline ads used to look like when they used women to showcase products they were marketing to women. | 1real |
Inquiry Launched As Smashed Pint Glass In Pub Receives No Sarcastic Cheer | 0 Add Comment
THE GOVERNMENT has used emergency powers to launch an immediate and wide ranging inquiry into reports that a pint glass was accidentally smashed by bar staff in a Waterford pub but no one in attendance raised a sarcastic cheer.
“This is the cornerstone of our culture, the bedrock of civil Irish society,” Taoiseach Enda Kenny explained on the steps of Leinster House this morning, sharing the troubling news that Waterford pub The Rusty Jocks bore witness to a terrifying ‘anti-Irish’ occurrence, “cheering after glass shatters on the floor of a pub is as Irish as ham and cabbage and voter apathy”.
News of an inquiry was greeted warmly by a shocked public, with many auld lads at the end of bars volunteering to take part in the investigation.
“They say you can lose the soul and essence of a Nation in a fleeting, seemingly small, inconsequential moment, well here it fucking is folks. What pathetic excuses for Irish men and women were in that pub last night at all,” livid elderly man Tommy Cranley shared with WWN.
Some online news outlets had claimed that perhaps the barman who dropped the pint was in an empty pub at the time, which could explain the absence of a sarcastic jeer. A claim rubbished by many an Irish pub expert.
“Nonsense, sure if a pub is empty, there will always be someone passing by who hears it, and then cranes their neck in around the door, to slag the clumsy fucker. This is Ireland, not some cannibalistic wasteland,” Rusty Jocks regular Vincent Clarkin added.
The inquiry is said to also include a disturbing incident in Dublin when a barmaid ironically cheered herself as she smashed a glass, something which frowned upon in Irish pubs. | 1real |
Meet the Republicans who ousted John Boehner. They're just getting started. | Several Republicans started the House Freedom Caucus earlier this year to push House leadership to fight harder. They're feeling emboldened at a crucial moment.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) of Utah hopes to be the choice of conservatives in his run for House speaker in a longshot challenge to majority leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
When the House broke for its August recess, Republican Rep. John Fleming went home to Louisiana to connect with voters. He got an earful.
He traveled the state, and whether he spoke with a lowly company employee, a middle manager, or a business owner, they all said the same thing: “They are very disappointed in how we Republicans are doing in Washington,” says Rep. Fleming, a physician elected in 2008.
Fleming says his constituents see a GOP-controlled Congress failing to check President Obama, even as federal regulations are hurting them personally. It doesn’t matter to them that the president has veto power, or that Democrats can still block Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate.
“They just don’t want to hear that. That’s an excuse to them,” he says in an interview. “They at least want a fight.”
Fleming is doing his darndest.
In January, he and eight other hard-line Republicans formed the House Freedom Caucus to challenge the GOP leadership, which they claim is not fighting hard enough for Republican priorities. Now they’re bigger and they're emboldened. They just succeeded in driving out Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio, who recently stunned Washington with the news that he will retire from Congress on Oct. 30.
In the weeks ahead, the Freedom Caucus will have plentiful opportunities to push the fight further – from the speaker's race to a combustible mix of fiscal deadlines this fall. Though members say they have not yet settled on a strategy, one thing is certain: They are not afraid of government shutdowns, fiscal cliffs, or any other hardline tactics that typically made Boehner wince.
Republicans have not gotten what they wanted, they say, not because these gambits failed, but rather because leadership didn't commit to them, heart and soul.
And they want that to end now.
For this invitation-only group of about 40 members, which meets regularly at a Capitol Hill restaurant called the Tortilla Coast, the fight starts with the GOP's election for the speakership and other GOP leadership offices, which will take place in a secret ballot on Thursday.
Mr. Boehner said he wanted to spare his members and the institution the “turmoil” of an expected attempt to oust him. But to many conservatives, like the members of the Freedom Caucus, turmoil is not the problem. They want real change in the top-down way the House is run and are making demands.
That pressure bubbled over Sunday when Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) of Utah suddenly joined the race, challenging Boehner’s presumed successor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) of California. Congressman Chaffetz says he was "recruited" as an alternative to majority leader McCarthy. He doubts Boehner’s right-hand man can get enough conservatives to win a final floor vote for speaker without having to rely on Democrats. That vote will occur at the end of the month.
"You don't just give an automatic promotion to the existing leadership team," Chaffetz said on "Fox News Sunday." Voters “want us to take that fight to the Senate. They want us to take that fight to the president.”
Beyond the race for the speakership, the House has a to-do list chock full of pressure points for the Freedom Caucus, including debt, budget, and tax deadlines. Many in Washington are quaking over the deadlines. They remember previous cliff-hanger negotiations between the Obama administration and Republicans in Congress. They wonder whether the Freedom Caucus will trigger a government shutdown over federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the way hardliners did over Obamacare in 2013.
Caucus members see the coming weeks as an opportunity. Exactly what their fight will look like “is kind of fluid,” says Rep. Matt Salmon (R) of Arizona, another caucus founder. But “as we go forward, we’re going to consider anything and everything,” he said last week.
Whether Republicans are fighting hard enough for their priorities is a matter of opinion, and forms a dividing line in the party that runs from voters, to Congress, to the presidential race.
Sixty percent of Republican voters say they feel “betrayed” by their political party, according to a September Fox News poll. Two-thirds of GOP primary voters do not believe Republican majorities have done enough to block Obama’s agenda, the poll finds.
“It’s somewhat subjective, 'Did you fight hard enough for your priorities?' With Boehner, the answer is, ‘No, you didn’t,’ ” says Matt Kibbe, the former head of the tea party advocacy group Freedom Works.
Mr. Kibbe is the kind of person Boehner means when he rails against “false prophets” who gin up the base with unrealistic promises. The speaker blames outside groups such as Freedom Works and Heritage Action for egging on the 2013 shutdown, a strategy he says was doomed to fail. He and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky have since vowed not to repeat a shutdown.
But Kibbe says it is Boehner who is the false prophet, promising in the 2010 GOP “Pledge to America” to roll back spending to 2008 levels and to repeal Obamacare if the Republicans won the House.
“You have to believe that they never meant it,” says Kibbe, who is now a senior adviser to Concerned American Voters, a super political action committee for GOP presidential candidate and libertarian, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
“This idea that shutting down the government is a fundamental loser for Republicans – I just don’t buy it,” Kibbe continues. He notes that it was only after the shutdowns of 1995 and early ’96 that Republicans, under the leadership of Speaker Newt Gingrich, were able to strike a deal on welfare reform with President Clinton.
“Clinton took Gingrich seriously; Obama has never taken Boehner seriously.”
Fleming couldn’t agree more. He points to the stunning midterm election of 2014, which returned a historic number of Republicans to the House and handed the Senate to GOP control – despite the shutdown the year before.
Republicans rarely put a bill on the president’s desk that he doesn’t like, Fleming complains. Indeed, the president has only vetoed four bills in his seven years in office – though he’s made plenty of veto threats.
“We could be getting more than we’re getting now,” Fleming says. “By raising the white flag before the discussion debate even begins, we’ve already lost.”
Other Republicans – hardly moderates – don’t see it that way.
Take Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. He’s famous for his Taxpayer Protection Pledge to oppose tax increases. Most Republicans in Congress have signed it.
Ideologically, Republicans are more united today than ever, he says. What Republican is for Obamacare? Or for tax increases?
Under Boehner’s leadership, he notes, the House scrapped earmarks. Republicans negotiated permanent tax cuts for most Americans. They got budget caps and the first real spending cuts since the end of World War II. They reformed a part of Medicare in what’s known as the “Doc Fix.” They even sued the president.
“People take progress for granted,” says Mr. Norquist. “What you would like is not the question. I would like rubies and diamonds.... It's, 'What can you accomplish?’ ”
In Congress, a backlash may be building against Freedom Caucus hardball tactics. Last month, a caucus member quit, saying tactics were harming, not helping, the GOP cause. Over in the Senate, Republican colleagues shouted down tea party favorite Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas last week over his procedural move related to spending and Planned Parenthood.
“There’s a lot of frustration. In some sense, this group treats Republicans like they’re their enemy,” says Rep. Tom Cole (R) of Oklahoma, a Boehner supporter. “It’s always inappropriate to try and blackmail your teammates.”
The Oklahoman understands the anger of Freedom Caucus members. The political roadblocks to the GOP agenda frustrate him, too, but anger clouds their judgment, he says. The caucus pursues things that “demonstrably don’t work,” such as threatening to shut down the Department of Homeland Security over the president’s immigration policy.
Cole hopes that a new speaker can help calm the waters. “I think we’ve got an opportunity for a little bit of a new beginning.” | 0fake |
FLASHBACK MEMORIAL DAY 2016: Donald Trump Speech With Rolling Thunder: “We’re gonna knock the h*ll out of ISIS!” [Video] | Donald Trump addressed thousands of motorcyclists, many of them military veterans, attending the annual Rolling Thunder gathering to honor the nation s soldier missing-in-action. The bikers have been great supporters of Trump as he mentioned last week: I am doing it in honor of the great bikers who have been totally supportive of my campaign and now I want to be supportive of them. I look forward to it! GREAT! WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE AMERICA! | 1real |
Trump Assaults Writer Covering His Anniversary: ‘He Was Forcing His Tongue Down My Throat’ | Natasha Stoynoff, a writer who covered Donald Trump for People, just published a shocking account of sexual assault at the hands of the real estate mogul turned presidential contender.Her disturbing account was published by the same magazine who assigned her to the Trump beat ten years ago. Stoynoff writes that in 2005 she went to Trump s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to cover his one year anniversary with Melania. Our photo team shot the Trumps on the lush grounds of their Florida estate, and I interviewed them about how happy their first year of marriage had been. When we took a break for the then very-pregnant Melania to go upstairs and change wardrobe for more photos, Donald wanted to show me around the mansion. There was one tremendous room in particular, he said, that I just had to see. I just start kissing them, he said to Billy Bush. It s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don t even wait. And when you re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.' We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat. Stoynoff describes how the assault affected her and compares his actions during that closed-door encounter a decade ago to what he said on the bombshell tape from Access Hollywood that has rocked his campaign. He may have claimed at the debate that this was just locker room talk and he had never actually assaulted a woman in this way, but he did to Stoynoff exactly what he bragged about to Billy Bush, he just started kissing her, consent be damned. I m not sure what locker room talk consists of these days. I only know that I wasn t in a locker room when he pushed me against a wall. I was in his home, as a professional, and his beautiful pregnant wife was just upstairs, Stoynoff concluded. Talk is talk. But it wasn t just talk in my case, it was very much action. And, just for the record, Mr. Trump, I did not consent, she added.At least three other women have come forward this week to say that they were sexually assaulted by Donald Trump. A tape of him leering at a 10-year-old girl and talking about how he would be dating her in 10 years has also surfaced.Featured image via Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images | 1real |
A BRUTALLY HONEST MESSAGE TO BLACK AMERICAN MEN FROM A CONSERVATIVE BLACK AMERICAN | ****STRONG LANGUAGE Warning****You have lit a fuse, and it s burning and when it explodes negro, you re nowhere near prepared to deal with it, with that destruction | 1real |
Rand Paul drops out of White House race | Killing Obama administration rules, dismantling Obamacare and pushing through tax reform are on the early to-do list. | 0fake |
WATCH HILLARY LIE About Libya To Supporters: ” We Didn’t Lose A Single Person” | The families of the four dead Americans you left behind beg to differ. Not that you care, but Benghazi was kind of a big story for the rest of America Hillary During a town hall meeting in Illinois on Monday Democrat Hillary Clinton said the United States didn t lose a single person. The remark was made in defense of the NATO invasion in 2011 following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.Via: InfoWars | 1real |
Trump, Cruz tensions may provide liveliest Republican debate yet | CHARLESTON, S.C./MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - Flaring tempers and sharp elbows may turn a debate of seven Republican presidential candidates into a seven-car pileup on Thursday with tensions between Donald Trump and rival Ted Cruz leading the way. The sixth Republican debate, at the North Charleston Coliseum in the swing state of South Carolina, takes place at a tense time for the Republican field with the clock ticking toward Feb. 1 in Iowa, the first contest in the race to choose the party’s nominee for the Nov. 8 general election. “Everybody has to avoid making mistakes,” said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. “If you mess something up in this debate you’re going to have almost no opportunity to correct it.” The 9 p.m. EST debate features the top seven candidates ranked by Republican voters: New York real estate businessman and reality TV star Trump, Texas Senator Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Nearly every candidate has had a bone to pick with one or more of the others this week. Beyond the Trump-Cruz theatrics, Bush has blasted Trump and Rubio, Rubio has slammed Bush as well as Cruz and Christie, and Christie has attacked most everyone else. If Fox Business Channel moderators Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo focus on these disputes, the debate could be one of the liveliest of the series. But whether the bickering helps is questionable. “I think the Republicans have to stop beating up each other and let their opponents do that in the Democratic Party,” said Republican voter J.P. Marzullo of Deering, N.H. Front-runner Trump has put Cruz, his main obstacle to an Iowa victory, on the defensive by suggesting Cruz may not qualify to be a candidate because he was born in Canada (to a U.S. citizen mother and a Cuban father). This was a change in posture by Trump on the issue, however, after saying in an interview with ABC News last September that he had heard that lawyers believed it was not a problem for Cruz. Trump and Cruz have been friendly over the past year, until now. Being targeted by Trump is a new position for Cruz, who has taken the lead in some polls of Iowa Republican voters in part by avoiding tangles with Trump. In the Reuters rolling national poll on Jan. 12, Trump had 39 percent of the vote, Cruz 14.5 percent, Bush 10.6 percent, Carson 9.6 percent and 6.7 percent favored Rubio, once viewed by the Republican establishment and many donors as a rising star. Cruz told reporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday that Trump is relying on a judgment on the birthright question from Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, who Cruz described as “a liberal, left-wing, judicial-activist” and a supporter of Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton. “The past couple of elections we saw the Democrats thrilled that they got the nominee they wanted to run against in the general election, and it seems the Hillary folks are very eager to support Donald Trump,” Cruz said. Trump, who has proved to be a master at finding a perceived weakness in an opponent, insisted Cruz’s Canadian birth violated the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that only native-born Americans can be president. “Sadly, there is no way that Ted Cruz can continue running in the Republican Primary unless he can erase doubt on eligibility. Dems will sue!” he tweeted on Wednesday. Mudslinging abounds elsewhere in the field as a grouping of other candidates fight to be the alternative to Trump with battles over national security and immigration. “Given all the attacks that are taking place and the counter attacks, I think it will be a more lively debate than we’ve seen at this point,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, who was a top adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. “Donald Trump is still in complete command and the race is still about who will become his main challenger.” For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, “Tales from the Trail” (here) | 0fake |
California Today: Your Voices - The New York Times | Good morning. Welcome to California Today, a morning update on the stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the state). California Today will also rely on, and amplify, your voices. Tell us about the issues that matter to you — and what you’d like to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. Want to receive California Today by email? Sign up. Let’s get to it. I just moved back to California after a long exile on the East Coast. I’m a Californian — born outside Sacramento, where lawmakers come and go, and raised in San Juan Capistrano, where swallows do the same. I wanted to dive right in. So I’ve been asking as many people as possible: What should California Today be paying attention to? Five answers that stood out: • We hear a lot, rightly, about drought and wildfires, but Californians should also be alarmed about another threat, said Steven Hackett, a Humboldt State economist who has focused on natural resources. The Pacific has been soaking up enormous amounts of carbon dioxide from human emissions, a process known as ocean acidification. Professor Hackett said, if left unchecked, it could set off “tremendous cascading effects,” devastating California’s marine ecosystems. “There are a lot of questions about, ‘What can we do about that? ’” he said. • Specialists see no end in sight to California’s housing shortage, which promises to worsen homelessness and fights over gentrification. Lateefah Simon, a Bay Area activist, said we should be talking more about another of its effects: the punishing commutes that people face as they are priced out of urban centers. With spotty public transportation, and rising fares, they endure hourslong trips into San Francisco and other cities. “Infrastructure is not a sexy thing for young millennials. It’s not something you talk about everyday,” said Ms. Simon, who is running for a seat on BART’s board of directors. “We need to change that. ” • Carson Bruno, a fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, warned that unless a solution appears to the housing crisis, which he blamed in part on the misuse of environmental law, Bay Area businesses would begin to flee the state. “California faces a lot of challenges,” he said. “But this one has the potential to eliminate the California dream entirely. ” • Camille Rose Garcia, an artist in Northern California, talked about a of the gallery scenes of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The spread of digital culture has led to “a circumventing of the galleries that is making some of them irrelevant,” Ms. Garcia said. The shift can be empowering for artists, especially younger ones, who increasingly connect with buyers directly online and through social media. “There is no more of the gallery holding the golden key to the kingdom,” she said. • Finally, Mona Field, a political scientist in Los Angeles, talked about another this one on the near horizon. Californians are facing a November ballot with, count them, 17 measures. To name a couple: marijuana legalization and the repeal of the death penalty. “It’s preposterous that they are all on one ballot,” she said, suggesting that California Today do a series that analyzes each proposition. Challenge accepted, Ms. Field. (Stay tuned.) • “Amazing,” “” “riveting. ” That’s how readers are reacting to “Framed,” a true crime saga involving a PTA mother in Irvine. [Los Angeles Times] • In reliably Democratic California, the action through Election Day is going to be in the voter initiatives, not the presidential race. Analysts expect close to $100 million in ad spending, writes Adam Nagourney, our Los Angeles bureau chief. [The New York Times] • President Obama on Monday waded into the debate over Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem. He said he did not doubt the sincerity of the 49ers quarterback’s protest. [The New York Times] • Santa Ana is on edge over its booming homeless population. One encampment has spread out along the dry bed of the Santa Ana River. A student journalist captured intimate photos of life in “Skid River. ” [Voice of OC] • Among the Silicon Valley elite, meanwhile, so few homes are on the market that buyers are getting more aggressive in approaching owners who haven’t officially decided to sell. [The New York Times] • How do Uber drivers decide when to call it a day? Many newer ones do the opposite of what economic rationality would seem to dictate. [The New York Times] • Hugh O’Brian, who played a peace officer on “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” from 1955 to 1961, died in Beverly Hills on Monday. He was 91. [The New York Times] • Vin Scully, the Dodgers’ broadcasting great, will call his last game on Oct. 2. Richard Sandomir, a Times columnist, said it would be a shame if TBS does not give him a national audience. [The New York Times] • Workers have installed the final piece of the spire atop the Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles, making it the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River. [Los Angeles Times] • Burning Man, the yearly carnival of in the Nevada desert, wrapped up over the weekend. Jim Urquhart, a Reuters photographer, caught the pageantry. [The Atlantic] Craig Claiborne at The New York Times invented the modern restaurant review. Since 1963 the newspaper’s reviews have been confined to the New York region. Now, Pete Wells is taking The Times’s starred review on the road, visiting Cassia, an Asian restaurant in Santa Monica. Even after a wary moment with gnarled pig tail, Mr. Wells praised the chef’s skill in creating big flavors without resorting to extremes. • On Wednesday, Apple will hold its annual fall event in San Francisco. It’s expected to unveil its next iPhone. Are they going to ditch the headphone jack? • The 1995 crime drama “Heat” had three big stars, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro — and Los Angeles. All will be on hand Wednesday night when the Academy screens an ultra restoration in Beverly Hills. A Q. and A. will follow. • With the potential for a huge new market in California, marijuana entrepreneurs will gather to talk business Wednesday through Friday at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition in Los Angeles. • The San Francisco Fringe Festival kicks off Friday. The theater world’s answer to the bar crawl, the festival will present 38 shows over 16 days. • Fall is coming, folks. The Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival will greet the season beginning Friday and culminating with a wine contest on Sunday. There will be cooking demonstrations, mixology courses and a kids’ zone. When I told Kevin Starr, one of the state’s historians, about the California newsletter, he kindly offered to share his contacts. Then came an admonition. “Please also pay attention not just to where California screwed up, but on things that are going well here,” he said. “Somebody has to explain why we are the sixth largest G. N. P. on the planet. ” Asked if he could explain it, he laughed. “Because of the interaction of all sort of things,” he said, “a talented population, of very educated people, the ascendancy of the entertainment business, the ascendancy of the digital business . .. ” He went on to mention biotech, agriculture and California’s role as an arbiter of good design. James Canton, a futurist in San Francisco, described California as the nation’s engine of innovation. We face serious problems. But, he said, there’s no better population to tackle them. “Californians are constantly inventing the future,” he said. “And that future inevitably translates into jobs and wealth creation and opportunity, particularly for immigrants. ” California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended Cal Berkeley. On Twitter, follow Mike McPhate (@mmcphate) and reach us using #CAToday. | 0fake |
“REVEREND” AL SHARPTON Makes Up Lie About Jesus On Social Media To Push Refugee Invasion | Hey Al you do realize that Obama was more than happy to give jobs that should have gone to the black communities to refugees, don t you? Before you head to church today, remember to thank God for his son, Jesus a refugee who fled to Egypt. Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) January 29, 2017Here are a few responses to Sharpton s lie on Twitter:@Wargs77 @jccolange @StephenKing umm, his parents weren't refugees. They traveled to pay their taxes. Please Al MC (@mcolange) January 29, 2017This one is our favorites:He paid his taxes unlike you. Different times, no comparison. He also returned to his home. Bryan K. Davis (@BryanDavis2014) January 29, 2017This guy REALLY owned Sharpton with this response:You are no Reverend. You're a viper who spews poison. An angel of the Lord commanded Joseph to flee to Egypt. Repent, Al. Chef Michael Perry (@lcbchefperry) January 29, 2017This guy isn t holding anything back:Wrong mr race baiter. Jesus never fled to Egypt, His mother and father did but only for a short time, then they went back #Butch52 Davaughn Wistrom (@Butch452) January 29, 2017And finally the fake news slam! LOL! get your facts Egypt is not on the list more fake news from a guy who has made it a career of not telling the whole story Mb (@mkb09876) January 29, 2017 | 1real |
URGENT: Hillary Clinton's Best Friend Just Sold Her Out! The Doctors were Right... * LIBERTY WRITERS NEWS | 10
Well folks, it looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost. Karma is a b*tch, ain’t it Hillary?
Hillary Clinton thought if there was one person in the world that she could trust, it was her “friend” Huma Abedin.
Thanks to a new drop of emails from Wikileaks, it looks like even Huma has turned on Hillary. Her and John Podest apparently sent a ton of emails right before her campaign started about Hillary Clinton’s brain damage.
The most damning of all the emails from Huma read: “She (Hillary Clinton) is still not perfect in the head.” Email from Huma Abedin
The message was sent as a warning to Hillary Clinton’s campaign staffers to stick to the notes since Hillary still couldn’t think clearly.
Now, I am no doctor, but I’ say if even your closest friends are talking behind your back about you having head problems, that is probably a sign you are sick. Too sick, in fact, to run for president.
However, I can guarantee you that the second this email got released, Hillary gave the kill order to her media goons to bury this story so deep that it will never see the light of day.
If you want the world to see how Broken Hillary Clinton really is, then do us all a favor and share this out to everyone you know on Facebook. This is our ONLY way to get the truth out there! | 1real |
Getting 10 Minutes of Sunlight Per Day Can Stop Depression | Getting 10 Minutes of Sunlight Per Day Can Stop Depression Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins your body needs Image Credits: Michael Pollak/Flickr .
Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins you can give your body.
This vitamin can affect nearly 2,000 genes in your body, and the best part of it is that you don’t even need a supplement to get your full recommended amount of vitamin D – you only need to get out in the sun for a few minutes a day.
Vitamin D is beneficial for staving off depression. Without the required amount of vitamin D in your diet (or the necessary amount of time spent in the sun), you can experience and excessively low mood and other signs of depression.
And one of the most well-known and important benefits of vitamin D is the effect it has an calcium absorption and building healthy bones.
This is especially important for children, as the vitamin helps with bone growth as well as developing strong teeth. Those who do not have enough vitamin D may find themselves at risk for fractures or soft bones.
Thus, vitamin D is not only important for children, but also women who can be susceptible to brittle bones as they age.
The vitamin may also play a crucial role in helping your body ward off disease. Studies suggest that getting in enough vitamin D can help ward off multiple sclerosis, heart disease and help your body steer clear of the dreaded flu.
If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you may find yourself feeling tired or experiencing general aches and pains. If the deficiency is severe enough, you may also find yourself developing stress fractures.
So how do you get enough vitamin D in your diet?
You can always purchase supplements, most of which contain enough, or in some cases, more than enough of your daily recommended allowance.
It is also naturally found in salmon, sardines, egg yolk and shrimp. Milk, cereal, yogurt and orange juice are often fortified with vitamin D to ensure that you get the recommended amount.
For those who live in a sunny climate, spending 10 minutes outside per day can actually give you the required amount of vitamin D. Although it is not advisable to spend too long outside without protection from the sun in the form of sun block or extra layers of clothing, it is recommended that you do get outside for at least a small part of the day to soak up those rays.
You can, however, get all of the benefits of vitamin D in your diet or by taking supplements during the winter months when the sun takes a rest, or if you happen to live in a colder climate. NEWSLETTER SIGN UP Get the latest breaking news & specials from Alex Jones and the Infowars Crew. Related Articles | 1real |
Evergreen State Spokesperson Lies to Press, Says Weinstein has Returned to Campus - Breitbart | A spokesperson for Evergreen State College falsely told a reporter that Bret Weinstein, who was forced off campus due to concerns for his safety, has returned to campus to teach in his regular classroom. [College Spokesperson Zach Powers told the Olympian on Tuesday that Bret Weinstein returned to his campus classroom “just over a week ago,” despite Weinstein’s Monday appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program, during which he claimed that he was forced to relocate his family and class sessions away from campus due to safety concerns. “The college has never acknowledged the danger that they put us in, and therefore I have no way of knowing whether it’s safe for me to return,” Weinstein said on Carlson’s program. “Their assurances that it is safe don’t mean anything, not that they’ve offered them. ” “I understand faculty member Bret Weinstein returned to campus just over a week ago to teach in his normally assigned classroom,” Evergreen Spokesperson Zach Powers claimed. “He has been notified by Evergreen Police Services of additional law enforcement present on campus. Weinstein quickly swatted down the Powers’ claim that he had returned to campus. “If college administrators say I was on campus last week, they are lying,” Weinstein told the Olympian. “I left campus when it was evacuated on the morning of June 1. I held my afternoon class in a downtown park that day, and left the state with my family that evening. We have not been in Washington since, and some administrators know that. ” Weinstein’s brother, Eric, who is the Managing Director at Thiel Capital, claimed that Evergreen State is “nakedly lying to the press about” Bret Weinstein. He called Evergreen the “1st failed US College,” before claiming that its president, George Bridges is “nuts. ” The @EvergreenStCol now openly nakedly lying to the press about @BretWeinstein. This is the 1st failed US college its President is nuts. https: . — Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) June 14, 2017, Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com | 0fake |
Trump lays out non-interventionist U.S. military policy | FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump laid out a U.S. military policy on Tuesday that would avoid interventions in foreign conflicts and instead focus heavily on defeating the Islamic State militancy. In the latest stop on a “thank you” tour of states critical to his Nov. 8 election win, Trump introduced his choice for defense secretary, General James Mattis, to a large crowd in this city near the Fort Bragg military base, which has deployed soldiers to 90 countries around the world. “We will stop racing to topple foreign regimes that we know nothing about, that we shouldn’t be involved with,” Trump said. “Instead, our focus must be on defeating terrorism and destroying ISIS, and we will.” Trump’s rhetoric was similar to what he said during the election campaign when he railed against the war in Iraq. In Fayetteville, he vowed a strong rebuilding of the U.S. military, which he suggested has been stretched too thin. Instead of investing in wars, he said, he would spend money to build up America’s aging roads, bridges and airports. Even so, Trump said he wants to boost spending on the military. To help pay for his buildup, Trump pledged to seek congressional approval for lifting caps on defense spending that were part of “sequestration” legislation that imposed cut spending across the board. “We don’t want to have a depleted military because we’re all over the place fighting in areas that we shouldn’t be fighting in. It’s not going to be depleted any longer,” he said. Trump said any nation that shares these goals will be considered a U.S. partner. “We don’t forget. We want to strengthen old friendships and seek out new friendships,” he said. He said the policy of “intervention and chaos” must come to an end. While U.S. armed forces are deployed in far-flung places around the globe, they are only involved currently in active combat in the Middle East, specifically Iraq and Syria for the most part. “We will build up our military not as an act of aggression, but as an act of prevention,” he said. “In short, we seek peace through strength.” Trump described Mattis as the right person for the job and urged Congress to approve a waiver to let him take on the civilian position. Under U.S. law a military leader must be retired for seven years before becoming eligible to become defense secretary. Speaking to the crowed, Mattis said, “I look forward to being the civilian leader as long as the Congress gives me the waiver and the Senate votes to consent.” “We’re going to get you that waiver,” Trump said, returning to the microphone. “If you don’t get that waiver there are going to be a lot of angry people.” | 0fake |
A una chica se le sincroniza el Mac con la regla | A una chica se le sincroniza el Mac con la regla DURANTE EL PERIODO, EL ORDENADOR DESACTIVA LA CÁMARA PORQUE NO QUIERE VER A NADIE Siri
A Marisa Puertas, una joven de 27 años natural de Torrelodones, se le ha sincronizado el Mac con la regla. Esta vecina de la Comunidad de Madrid, clienta de Apple desde hace dos años, comenzó a sospechar que algo raro pasaba en sus últimas menstruaciones cuando Siri empezó a responderle con escuetos monosílabos. “Noté que tenía menos paciencia y que estaba muy irritada, como yo”, explica la joven.
Marisa, acostumbrada ya a que su regla se sincronice con la de todos sus dispositivos, agradece sentirse más acompañada en esos días del mes. “Nunca me quedo sin tampones porque Siri me recuerda que los compre ya que ella también los necesita”, explica encantada.
Reconoce, eso sí, que los días que tiene la regla el Mac funciona mucho más lento y es mejor no agobiarlo con demasiadas peticiones. “Se pasa todo el día en modo hibernación”, lamenta Marisa. “Es como tener un PC durante cinco días al mes”, añade. Durante la menstruación, el sistema operativo sufre desarreglos en sus procesos de ejecución y también desactiva la cámara porque no quiere ver a nadie.
“A veces rescata fotos de mi ex pareja y me recuerda que hay que comprar helado de chocolate”, explica Puertas. “Y se pone a buscar en Google a qué huele la nube”, dice.
Apple ha admitido esta semana que la menstruación de sus dispositivos “es un proceso natural del que no hay que avergonzarse” y que puede traducirse en una mayor sensibilidad de la pantalla táctil y un mayor consumo de batería. La compañía recomienda que, durante el periodo, se guarde el dispositivo en el sofá, sin enlazar con otros dispositivos “y bien tapadito con su funda”. | 1real |
Activists to appeal new South African nuclear plant decision | CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Greenpeace Africa and other NGOs intend to appeal against South Africa s decision to grant an environmental permit for a new 4,000 megawatt nuclear plant close to Cape Town, the activists said on Monday. Last month South Africa s department of environmental affairs granted authorization to state-owned power utility Eskom to build the new plant at Duynefontein, close to the continent s only existing nuclear site Koeberg. South Africa s nuclear regulator said in October that an installation site license for the plant would likely be granted in June, despite the finance minister saying construction of a new plant was unaffordable in a stagnant economy facing further credit downgrades. If this project goes ahead, it will infringe the environmental rights of both present and future generations. This authorization can and must be challenged, Penny-Jane Cooke, climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Africa, said in a statement. South Africa s nuclear plans are shrouded in controversy and uncertainty, with local activists and the media raising concerns about transparency and costs as well as safety and environmental risks at a time when Pretoria is trying to reduce the economy s heavy reliance on coal power. Nuclear reactor makers including Rosatom, South Korea s Kepco, France s EDF and Areva, Toshiba-owned Westinghouse and China s CGN are eyeing the South African project, which could be worth tens of billions of dollars. | 0fake |
Survivors of Syria Gas Attack Recount ‘a Cruel Scene’ - The New York Times | REYHANLI, Turkey — After an airstrike on his village, a Syrian farmer hurried to rescue the initial victims of the attack, the residents of a home. But as Mohammad Nejdat Youssef neared the site, he ran headlong into what he described as “a winter fog — not quite yellow and not quite white. ” He started to lose his balance, he said. His eyes began to sting. His nose started to stream. Finally, Mr. Youssef said, he started to foam at the mouth. Mr. Youssef had been poisoned, one of the victims of Tuesday’s chemical attack in northern Syria, one of the deadliest chemical weapons attacks in years in the country, which killed dozens of people. A tall and burly man, Mr. Youssef, 23, was able to recover after being treated locally. But when the toxic cloud that had sickened him was blown downwind toward his farm outside the village, his pregnant wife, 20, and a nephew, 9, had a far more serious reaction and were evacuated by ambulance to a hospital in Turkey, said Mr. Youssef, who accompanied them. At the hospital in Reyhanli, a small Turkish border town that took in many of the victims, the mourners gathered outside mostly came from just two extended families, Mr. Youssef’s and the Abu Amash family. The families are connected by marriage and both come from Khan Sheikhoun, the village in Idlib Province that residents said had been hit with chemical weapons earlier that morning. “Just look at this!” Orwa Abu Amash, 33, said as he held up his phone. On the screen was a long WhatsApp message listing what he claimed were the names of 46 relatives who had died that day in Khan Sheikhoun. As Mr. Youssef paced around the parking lot outside the hospital, he said he was scared not just for his wife on the other side of the hospital wall, who had arrived lying motionless on a stretcher, but for his relatives on the other side of the border. Many of them had also been poisoned by the gas but had not been deemed sick enough to be treated in Turkey, whose border is closed to most Syrians. Earlier Tuesday, witnesses reached by phone in Syria described similarly traumatic scenes at the site of the attack. Warplanes had roared overhead just before 7 a. m. when many people in the town were sleeping after a night of intense sounds of bombing, said Othman an activist in Khan Sheikhoun who was reached via phone at a first aid station. He spoke after fleeing Rahmeh Hospital in Khan Sheikhoun, where many victims were being treated, after an airstrike hit part of the hospital. While he was speaking, another loud boom sounded, and the line went dead he called back to say it had been another nearby strike. The area’s minister of health, Mohamad Firas said in an online video that hospitals and clinics were overwhelmed. He said he had been in a field hospital at 7:30 a. m. when over 100 people arrived injured or sickened many others, he said, were sent to other clinics, with some left lying in the corridors. Symptoms, he said, included suffocation, fluid in the lungs with foam coming from the mouth, unconsciousness, spasms and paralysis. “It’s a shocking act,” he said. “The world knows and is aware of what’s happening in Syria, and we are ready to submit evidences to criminal laboratories to prove the use of these gases. ” Yasser Sarmani, a rebel fighter reached by phone in Idlib, said he collapsed while driving to the scene on his motorcycle to help the victims. “It became a routine for us that when we hear an airstrike to rush to the scene and try to rescue people,” he said. “I woke up to the sound of an explosion, but it was not as loud as usual. ” “Driving against the wind, my eyes started burning and I felt I was being suffocated,” he added. “People were running away from the site and falling on the ground. It was a cruel scene. At that point I fainted. ” He said he woke up an hour later at a clinic, after receiving injections and oxygen. “Kids were all over the floor, some dead and others struggling to breathe,” he said. “The noise of them trying to breath was loud, with foam all over their faces. ” As they watched the ambulances come and go outside the hospital in Reyhanli, Mr. Youssef and several of his relatives wondered what President Trump might make of all this. On Monday, Mr. Trump’s administration signaled that it no longer saw the departure of President Bashar of Syria as a priority. On Tuesday, Mr. Assad appeared to unleash one of the worst chemical attacks of the war. “If Donald Trump is happy for this to happen to his own people and his own children,” said Mr. Youssef, “then we’re happy to keep Bashar . ” Shuffling around in the hospital parking lot, several of Mr. Youssef’s relatives buried themselves in their phones, watching the videos of the morning’s atrocities over and over. The clips have been widely circulated on the internet. They show the pale corpses of dead toddlers, or the retching bodies of men who appear to be close to death. One woman lay on her back, her purple leggings exposed. A young boy, perhaps 12, lay motionless except for his mouth, gasping for air. None had visible marks of injury. Some of the sickened and dying were nearly naked, as rescuers, many with their bare hands, stripped them and hosed them down. A man narrating a video of motionless children, lined up as if sleeping, was able to come up only with sentence fragments. “A whole family,” he repeated. Unlike the people around the globe who found these videos on social media, several of those watching them outside the hospital in Reyhanli had witnessed the scenes in real life. You wouldn’t have known it, however, by looking at their blank faces. “We’ve seen so much of this,” Mr. Abu Amash said. “It’s normal. We see this every day. We had six years of it. ” | 0fake |
Tumult in Turkey: What We Know and Don’t Know - The New York Times | Military forces in Turkey attempted a coup on Friday, plunging the country into a long night of violence and intrigue. Hundreds of people were killed, and the embattled president’s location was unknown for hours. He later emerged, and by Saturday morning, the coup appeared to be unraveling. • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to Istanbul early Saturday. Speaking at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, he blamed “a minority within the armed forces” for the coup attempt and said those responsible would “pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey. ” He suggested that the plotters had tried to assassinate him on Friday with a bombing in the Turkish Mediterranean resort town of Marmaris. • Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 265 people had been killed and 1, 440 had been wounded. Seventeen police officers were killed in a helicopter attack on the outskirts of Ankara, and 12 people were killed after a bomb was detonated at Parliament. • Thousands of soldiers and officers linked to the coup were arrested on Saturday. “All of these guys will go to prison for life,” said Ilnur Cevik, an aide to Mr. Erdogan. • The White House said there were no indications that Americans were killed or injured in the violence. President Obama reiterated the United States’s “unwavering support for the democratically elected, civilian government of Turkey,” according to a statement. • Mr. Erdogan called on the U. S. to arrest or extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, whom Mr. Erdogan accused of plotting against him. Mr. Gulen denied any role in the coup attempt, saying in a statement that he condemned it “in the strongest terms. ” Secretary of State John Kerry said the U. S. would listen to any inquiries. • It was not clear to what extent the coup forces had managed to gain control of important state facilities and institutions. • It was not clear who was behind the coup attempt, how much of the Turkish military supported it or why it had been mounted now. • It was not clear how the coup would affect strike missions against the Islamic State from the Incirlik air base. The Pentagon said on Saturday that Turkish authorities had at least temporarily halted flights. • Turkish Armed Forces The country’s military is a trusted institution, seen as the guardian of the secularist principles on which modern Turkey was founded. It has intervened in national politics a number of times, including three previous coups since 1960, and it maneuvered to oust an Islamist prime minister in 1997. The military has historically opposed interventions abroad, but it is not known how senior officers, many of them appointed by Mr. Erdogan, feel about his recent interventions in Syria. • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan An Islamist and populist who has been the dominant figure in the country for more than a decade, Mr. Erdogan came to power promising to overhaul the economy and give the country’s rural, more religious majority a bigger voice in the capital. More recently, he has grown increasingly autocratic and alienated many Turks as he cracked down on protests, took control of the news media and renewed war with Kurdish militants in the country’s southeast. • Fethullah Gulen Mr. Gulen is a former imam and onetime ally of Mr. Erdogan who now lives in exile in the United States, with an extensive following in Turkey. He has promoted a more liberal stream of Islam, and his ideas are popular with the country’s police and intelligence establishments, though not necessarily the military. Mr. Erdogan accused Mr. Gulen and his supporters, whom he has called terrorists, of being responsible for the coup he has repeatedly accused Mr. Gulen of plotting against him in the past. The Gulen movement denied involvement in the coup attempt and denounced any military intervention in Turkey’s domestic affairs. • Republican People’s Party The leftist main opposition party is considered not as as the governing Justice and Development Party. It has been trying to find a way to break Mr. Erdogan’s political grip, but it would not be likely to benefit from a coup in the past, the military has tended to sideline leaders of all political parties when it took power. • NATO and the United States Turkey has been an American ally and a NATO member since 1952. Though the Obama administration has criticized Mr. Erdogan’s crackdown on civil society in Turkey, the United States sees him as a stabilizing and mainly leader in a volatile region. The coalition fighting the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq makes heavy use of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. | 0fake |
Hillary Arrives At Rally, Makes One Weird Move That Left Onlookers Puzzled | Hillary Arrives At Rally, Makes One Weird Move That Left Onlookers Puzzled Posted on October 27, 2016 by Alisha Rich in Politics Share This
As Hillary Clinton makes her last few rounds of appearances before election day, the presidential hopeful will feel a little bit of the pressure that the presidency will demand. However, when she arrived at her rally in Lake Worth, Florida, she attempted to make one move that she hoped no one would notice.
There have been many questions over the course of Hillary Clinton’s campaign regarding her health. As a result of her age and her lifestyle, there’s no doubt that her body is starting to feel the effects of aging – whether she likes to admit it or not.
However, video footage of her recent rally in Florida shows how desperate she is to keep her health problems hidden, but her attempt was met with failure the moment she hit the stage. In fact, the Democratic presidential candidate struggled to climb one single step. The video captures one of her aides rushing towards her side as she attempted to climb up the riser.
“She needed assistance to get onto it as she could be seen reaching her hand out for a boost or some added steadiness,” according to The American Mirror . “The aide extended his hand and Clinton held on tightly as she made her way up the 18 inches.”
Although Hillary Clinton insists that her health isn’t an issue, the number of incidents she has had paints quite a different picture. If you take a close look at the video, the aide can even be seen standing behind her, reaching for her waist – probably preparing for the event of her falling.
We have said it time and time again – she’s not fit to be president. Although her health is a major concern considering how demanding the presidency can be on a person, it’s her disastrous political history that raises, even more, concerns. | 1real |
Video: Islamic State Tears Down Statues, Burns Cathedral Down in Philippines | Islamic State jihadis fighting to establish a caliphate in Marawi, the Philippines’ only “Islamic city,” released a video this week showing the complete destruction of the city’s St. Mary’s Cathedral. [Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists affiliated with the local jihadi outfits, Maute group and Abu Sayyaf, overran the city in May, taking Christians hostage, killing anyone who could not recite Quranic verses, and flying the Islamic State flag over the city’s mosques. President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a martial law period over the entire island of Mindanao, where Marawi is located, and has launched an airstrike offensive against the terrorists. Philippine authorities believe that many of those fighting in Marawi are not indigenous jihadis but foreigners who have traveled to the Philippines to help establish an ISIS caliphate there. ISIS’s Amaq News Agency has helped bolster this belief by releasing two propaganda videos from Marawi. The latest, released this week, shows ISIS jihadis within St. Mary’s Cathedral. Shot in a style similar to videos that showed the destruction of the Mosul Museum in Iraq, the terrorists tore down all the statues within the Roman Catholic church, breaking them apart with hammers and stomping on them. They took down the large cross that adorns the church, as well as trampling the baby Jesus and tearing apart a photo of Pope Benedict XVI. The terrorists then set the building on fire: “That is blasphemy! It’s unacceptable. It’s obvious that their actions are really out of this world. It’s demonic,” Bishop Edwin de la Peña of Marawi said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, according to the Philippine Inquirer. “We are angered by what happened. Our faith has really been trampled on. ” De la Peña had previously confirmed the abduction of Vicar General Father Teresito Soganub, along with a number of other church officials and believers in the church at the time. “It happened in fact on the eve of Mary’s feast: we ask her for help” because “only she can come to our aid,” de la Pena said in a statement. “We also make an appeal to Pope Francis to pray for us and to ask the terrorists to release the hostages, in the name of our common humanity. ” The terrorists featured Soganub in a video released last week, in which the priest stands before a pile of rubble and implores Duterte to cease the airstrike campaign against ISIS or they will kill all the hostages. Following the release of that video, Amaq published another short film showing terrorists fighting on the streets of Marawi, greeting each other with “Allahu akbar. ” The Inquirer notes that some of those seen in the latest video appear to be teens and young adults, fitting the profiles of the terrorists that eyewitnesses have provided the media. Philippine police and military officers tell reporters their intelligence suggests that they have no plans of fleeing and have stockpiled weapons and food in the city, expecting an extended battle. “There are underground tunnels and basements that even a (bomb) cannot destroy,” Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez, head of the military command in Western Mindanao, told the BBC. While the struggle to liberate the city of its ISIS presence continues, police announced one major breakthrough on Tuesday: the arrest of senior leaders of the Maute group who had attempted to flee to Davao, the Mindanao city where President Rodrigo Duterte governed as mayor for 22 years and continues to call home. Among those arrested was Cayamora Maute, the father of the Maute brothers who gave the terrorist group its name. Duterte is now offering a five million peso ($101, 040. 75) reward for each of the Maute brothers, Abdullah and Omar, the leaders of the local terrorist group. The government is also offering twice that for the capture of Isnilon Hapilon, the head of Abu Sayyaf. The United States has also placed a $5 million bounty on Hapilon. Both Maute and Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to ISIS caliph Abu Bakr and appear to be working together in Marawi. One Islamist group that has not joined forces with the ISIS affiliates, however, is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its affiliate, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Both are Muslim separatist groups that have supported Duterte since his presidential candidacy was announced, largely due to his regard for Muslims in the nation’s south. The MNLF has offered to fight alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against ISIS. The MILF has called for the release of Father Soganub, citing his efforts to foster interfaith trust. | 0fake |
JUST IN: UK LEADER Who Criticized President Trump For Tweeting About ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS Is Victim Of Assassination Plot By ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS | According to CNN UK Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a rare public admonishment to US President Donald Trump on Thursday, declaring that he was wrong to share anti-Muslim videos posted online by a hateful British far-right group.May, facing intense pressure to cancel a planned state visit by Trump, was forced to address the controversy in person after the President criticized her on Twitter. But she insisted the US-UK relationship would survive the storm, and suggested the visit by Trump would go ahead.As the extraordinary diplomatic clash stretched into a second day, the British ambassador to the US revealed he had expressed concerns to the White House about the affair. Trump also faced an unprecedented barrage of criticism in UK Parliament, where MPs variously called him racist, fascist and evil. Some suggested he should quit Twitter.Donald Trump responded to Theresa May s criticism of his Britain First retweets by tweeting back to her: Theresa@theresamay, don t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine! Many, including us, wonder if British Prime Minister Theresa May is still feeling the same way about Islamic extremists in the UK after her own life was threatened by the same group of people she attempted to defend last week.Less than one week later, British Intelligence announced that they ve foiled a plot by Islamic extremists to assassinate Prime Minister Theresa May.The disrupted plot against May included an explosive device that terrorists planned to detonate in front of May s residence on Downing Street, according to Sky News. It is in essence an extreme Islamist suicide plot against Downing Street, Sky correspondent Martin Brunt said. Essentially police believe that the plan was to launch some sort of improvised explosive device at Downing Street and in the ensuing chaos attack and kill Theresa May, the Prime Minister. Sky s Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: It s the latest in a number of terror plots that police and MI5 believe they ve foiled this year. I understand that the head of MI5, Andrew Parker, briefed Cabinet ministers today, such is the seriousness of what they believed they have uncovered. It is in essence an extreme Islamist suicide plot against Downing Street. Essentially police believe that the plan was to launch some sort of improvised explosive device at Downing Street and in the ensuing chaos attack and kill Theresa May, the Prime Minister. This is something which has been pursued over several weeks at least by Scotland Yard, MI5 and West Midlands Police. It came to a head last week with the arrest of two men, by armed police, who were charged with preparing acts of terrorism. Naa imur Zakariyah Rahman, 20, from north London and Mohammed Aqib Imran, 21, from south-east Birmingham are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on terror charges on Wednesday morning.On Tuesday MI5 revealed that it had prevented nine terror attacks in the UK in the past year but several attackers have still got through.The plot was just one in a number of planned attacks this year that cops and British security services have been able to prevent, Sky said.It was not clear Tuesday night what stage the plot was in or if any suspects have been arrested. NYP | 1real |
U.N. warns against any hasty returns of Rohingya to Myanmar | GENEVA (Reuters) - Peace and stability must be restored in Myanmar s northern Rakhine state before any Rohingyas can return from Bangladesh, under international standards on voluntary repatriation, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday. Some 20,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in November, and at least 270 so far in December, bringing the total since violence erupted on August 25 to 646,000, according to the UNHCR and International Organization of Migration (IOM). The two countries have signed an agreement on voluntary repatriation which refers to establishing a joint working group within three weeks of the Nov. 23 signing. UNHCR is not party to the pact or involved in the bilateral discussions for now. It is critical that the returns are not rushed or premature, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a briefing. People can t be moving back in into conditions in Rakhine state that simply aren t sustainable. Htin Lynn, Myanmar s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said on Tuesday that his government hoped returns would begin within two months. He was addressing the Human Rights Council, where the top U.N. rights official said that Myanmar s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. The UNHCR has not been formally invited to join the working group, although its Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements is holding talks in Bangladesh, Edwards said, adding that discussions were still at a very preliminary stage . He could not say whether UNHCR was in talks with Myanmar authorities on its role, but hoped the agency would be part of the joint working group. Edwards, asked whether the two-month time was premature, said: The return timeline of course is something that we are going to have to look closely at ... We don t want to see returns happening either involuntarily or precipitously and before conditions are ready. In all, Bangladesh is hosting a total of more than 858,000 Rohingya, including previous waves, IOM figures show. We have had ... a cycle of displacement from Rakhine state over many decades, of people being marginalized, of violence, of people fleeing and then people returning, Edwards said. Now this cycle has to be broken, which means that we have to find a way to ensure that there is a lasting solution for these people. WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said that it had distributed food to 32,000 people in northern Rakhine in November. Everybody agrees that the situation is very dire on ground, that all of the U.N. agencies need more access, that the violence has to stop and that these people can live in safety where they want to live, she said. | 0fake |
Trump’s New Travel Ban Blocks Migrants From Six Nations, Sparing Iraq - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order on Monday blocking citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, the most significant hardening of immigration policy in generations, even with changes intended to blunt legal and political opposition. The order was revised to avoid the tumult and protests that engulfed the nation’s airports after Mr. Trump signed his first immigration directive on Jan. 27. That order was ultimately blocked by a federal appeals court. The new order continued to impose a ban on travelers, but it removed Iraq, a redaction requested by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who feared it would hamper coordination to defeat the Islamic State, according to administration officials. It also exempts permanent residents and current visa holders, and drops language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities, a provision widely interpreted as favoring other religious groups over Muslims. In addition, it reversed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, replacing it with a freeze that requires review and renewal. But the heart of the sweeping executive action is still intact, reflecting Mr. Trump’s “America first” pledge to safeguard against what he has portrayed as a hidden influx of terrorists and criminals — a campaign promise that resonated deeply with white voters. The new order retains central elements of the old one, cutting the number of refugees admitted to the United States each year to 50, 000 from about 110, 000. Mr. Trump is also leaving open the possibility of expanding the ban to other countries, or even putting Iraq back on the banned list if the country’s leaders fail to comply with a requirement that they increase intelligence sharing, officials said. “Unregulated, unvetted travel is not a universal privilege, especially when national security is at stake,” said John F. Kelly, the homeland security secretary, appearing alongside Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Washington on Monday. Mr. Kelly said the order was now “prospective” and applied “only to foreign nationals outside of the United States” who do not have a valid visa. None of the men took questions. The Trump administration quickly tried to break the legal logjam, filing papers in United States District Court in Washington late on Monday seeking to lift an order blocking the fulfillment of the initial ban. But the president’s revisions did little to halt criticism from Democrats and immigrant rights advocates, who predicted a renewed fight in the courts. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, described the new order as a “ ban” that was still “meanspirited and . ” Margaret Huang, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that the new order would “cause extreme fear and uncertainty for thousands of families by, once again, putting hatred into policy. ” The new measure will be phased in over the next two weeks to avoid the frenetic, execution of the order in January, which prompted protests across the country and left tearful families stranded at airports abroad and in the United States. The redrafted order, delayed by a week so it would not overshadow Mr. Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday, represented a recognition that the rushed first attempt at the ban did not pass muster legally or politically. Administration officials privately conceded that the initial version of the order was a political debacle that damaged Mr. Trump’s nascent presidency. But they were much more sanguine about the second order, arguing that the new, multiagency review process could be used in the future to bend Mr. Trump’s uncompromising messages toward Washington’s bureaucratic realities. Mr. Trump signed the first ban with great fanfare, in front of reporters, at the Pentagon. “We don’t want them here,” Mr. Trump said of Islamist terrorists. “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people. ” This time, the White House issued a photograph of the president signing the order alone at his desk in the Oval Office. Justice Department lawyers said the revisions rendered moot legal cases against the original travel ban. But opponents said the removal of a section that had granted preferential treatment to victims of religious persecution was a cosmetic change that did nothing to alter the order’s prejudicial purpose. Immigrant rights lawyers had argued that the provision was intended to discriminate against Muslims, pointing to recent statements by Mr. Trump. “This is a retreat, but let’s be clear — it’s just another run at a Muslim ban,” said Omar Jadwat, the director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that sued to stop the first order. “They can’t unring the bell. ” Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York and a plaintiff in a suit seeking to block the first order, said his office was reviewing the new ban, adding, “I stand ready to litigate — again — in order to protect New York’s families, institutions and economy. ” Congressional Republicans, who were split over the first travel ban, had a more muted reaction. But Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who backed the first order, issued a statement saying the revised order “advances our shared goal of protecting the homeland. ” Citizens of Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya will face a suspension of visa processing as the administration analyzes how to strengthen vetting procedures, according to a homeland security summary of the order. The removal of Iraq from the list came after talks with security officials in Baghdad and at the urging of Mr. Mattis and State Department officials, who have been in communication with Iraqi officials alarmed that the ban will turn public sentiment in their country against the United States. “On the basis of negotiations that have taken place between the government of Iraq and the U. S. Department of State in the last month, Iraq will increase cooperation with the U. S. government on the vetting of its citizens applying for a visa to travel to the United States,” homeland security officials wrote in a fact sheet given to reporters. The timing of the ban seemed intended to reset the White House political narrative, after a turbulent week that began with Mr. Trump’s address to Congress. That success was quickly overshadowed by the controversies over Mr. Sessions’s failure to inform the Senate of his contacts with the Russian ambassador and Mr. Trump’s unsupported accusation that President Barack Obama tapped Mr. Trump’s phones during the 2016 campaign. Critics say that Mr. Trump’s vow to impose “extreme vetting” on migrants, especially those fleeing the war in Syria, disregards already stringent screening measures, and the fact that none of the recent terrorist attacks or mass shootings on American soil were perpetrated by people from the nations listed in the ban. Last week, The Associated Press reported that it had obtained a draft homeland security assessment concluding that citizenship was an “unlikely indicator” of a threat. Homeland security officials, speaking to reporters by telephone on Monday, pushed back against that news report, arguing that it was culled from public sources and excluded classified information that paints a more dangerous picture. An official speaking on the call said the Justice Department had identified 300 “refugees” who were being investigated for their links to Islamist terrorist groups or for holding State positions. Some of those people already have permanent resident status, the official said. But homeland security and Justice Department officials declined to provide further details, and would not say how many of the 300 people being investigated came from the countries covered by the revised travel ban. | 0fake |
John McCain and The Cancer of Conflict | Patrick Henningsen 21st Century WireThis week some devastating news befell John Sidney McCain III.On Wednesday, his staff announced that the US Senator had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called glioblastoma discovered during recent testing at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.Since then warm wishes and tributes have been pouring in for the former Republican Presidential candidate. Both the US media and political establishment have closed ranks and are rallying around the Senator to help soften the blow.Putting previous feuds aside, President Donald Trump was magnanimous and cordial to the Arizona Senator, wishing him and his family the very best. Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family, said Trump. Get well soon. Even former electoral rival President Barack Obama pitched in a little love for the 80 year old:John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I've ever known. Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John. Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 20, 2017Regarding McCain s diagnosis, we all can acknowledge the difficulties and risks involved with various cancer treatments, especially with brain cancer. Likewise, nearly everyone these days can attest to losing a friend, a loved one or family member to the disease.As with anyone suffering from this terrible condition, we wish the Senator well, along with a successful treatment and recovery.Still, McCain has a lot in his favor. Unlike most Americans, he will not have to worry about his medical care, and will be receiving the best cancer treatment money can buy, if not the best in the world, and with absolutely no expense spared. In this way, the Senator is extremely fortunate.And for those reasons, this is not an easy article to write. For fear of appearing too cruel in the face of his dramatic medical disclosure, one would be expected to suspend any political critique for now. Hence, the media has placed an unofficial moratorium on any negative coverage of McCain.That said, he is a special case. As much as any political leader he deserves to be panned, even under the present circumstances, because his geopolitical handiwork continues to cause havoc in certain corners of the world.Cancer Treatment in SyriaImmediately after McCain s major health announcement, the US mainstream media and Republicans began fretting over the prospect that his extended absence from the legislature might jeopardize his party s ability to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare).With that in mind, maybe it s worth asking: how many innocent Syrians have been denied basic medical treatment, supplies and pharmaceuticals as a result of the harsh US-led regime economic sanctions imposed on Syria? This brutal campaign of collective punishment has been led by US Senator John McCain.Of course, the idea of sanctions as a form of economic warfare hardly registers in the West as being at all harmful to the population of Syria. Sanctions? They re not against the people of Syria, only against Assad. That s the general mainstream phantasm when it comes to sanctions, even though the official numbers show a vivid tale of devastation.One can only imagine how many among Syria s population of 20 million are no longer able to receive cancer treatment in Syria as a result of McCain s insistence on punitive sanctions. Before the conflict in Syria began in 2011, citizens were able to get free medical treatment including high-end state-of-the-art cancer treatment (consider that one simple aspect of this war, as men like John McCain still claim to be delivering freedom to the Syrian people by backing armed terrorist factions).Before the terrorist forces occupied the eastern part of the city, Aleppo was home to one of the Middle East s top cancer treatment centers, Al-Kindi Hospital. This is important because after McCain s secret trip to the Aleppo area in May 2013, the very same rebels he was cavorting with and supplying weapons to the Free Syrian Army (under the command of Jabbat al Nusra aka al Qaeda in Syria) would later order the bombing on this cancer treatment hospital.Professor Tim Anderson explains the destruction of Al Kindi Hospital in December 2013, including the shameful spin applied after the fact by BBC and western mainstream media:In an Orwellian revision of events the BBC (21 December 2013) reported the destruction of Al-Kindi with the headline: Syria rebels take back strategic hospital in Aleppo . The introduction claimed the massive suicide lorry bomb had managed to seize back a strategic ruined hospital occupied by Assad loyalists. Al-Kindi was said to have been a disused building and according to an unconfirmed report, 35 rebels died in the attack . In fact, these rebels were a coalition of Free Syrian Army and Jabhat al Nusra, while the Assad loyalists were the staff and security guards of a large public hospital.Watch as McCain s freedom fighters in Syria drive a suicide truck bomb into the ground level of Al Kindi Cancer Treatment Center in Aleppo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCwWgTUpGpE . How many Syrian lives were needlessly cut short as a direct result of that bombing carried out by McCain s own Free Syrian Army? For the cost of McCain s treatment at the world-famous Mayo Clinic, who knows how many Syrians could have received desperately needed treatment at Al Kindi or other similarly crippled facilities in Syria? One hundred, or possibly one thousand?Add to this, how many have died or suffer permanent health afflictions as a direct result of US economic sanctions which have crippled Syria s own National Health Service? One hundred thousand, or maybe five hundred thousand? One million? One day, those figures will be recorded and we will have the answer.The other piece of US legislation currently on the table which Republicans are desperate to pass is the $1-trillion US infrastructure spending package. Juxtapose that scene next to the systematic destruction of Syria s infrastructure by US Coalition and IDF airstrikes and destruction by proxy militant forces on the ground. Estimates for the cost to Syria range from $180 billion to $275 million. If the conflict continues past 2020, then these numbers could easily double.In spite of all this, John McCain claims to have no regrets about the damage that he and his fellow war hawks have inflicted on Syria.The Cancer of ConflictAt the same time that political figures like Barrack Obama dutifully respect the official Washington line on John McCain as the consummate Vietnam War hero , very few in the establishment would dare to criticize the powerful Arizona Senator for his central role in engineering instability and violent conflict in foreign countries.John McCain sneaks into Syria illegally in May 2013 to meet with known terrorists, promising them weapons and regime change by way US bombs would drop in the Fall of 2013.. Americans should be reminded that more than any other single US official, John McCain has been the driving force behind the training and arming of violent jihadist and terrorists fighting groups in Syria, and that those same terrorists have slaughtered tens of thousands of innocent civilians including women and children in Syria and beyond all sacrificed at the altar of a US-led geopolitical power play in the Middle East, and in the name of Israeli security interests. Back in 2012, a delusional McCain, along with another dotty war enthusiast, Connecticut Senator Joe Liberman, insisted that the US needed to arm the rebels in Syria in order to save lives. Their statement read: The bloodshed must be stopped, and we should rule out no option that could help to save lives. We must consider, among other actions, providing opposition groups inside Syria, both political and military, with better means to organize their activities, to care for the wounded and find safe haven, to communicate securely, to defend themselves, and to fight back against Assad s forces. From the onset of hostilities in 2011, the bold-faced lie that McCain and partner Lindsey Graham have promulgated is that violent jihadists were nothing more than affable moderate rebels. That piece of Washington fiction has been widely discredited by now.Later on in 2015, McCain announced that the US should be supplying stinger missiles to the so-called rebels in Syria: We certainly did that in Afghanistan. After the Russians invaded Afghanistan, we provided them with surface-to-air capability. It d be nice to give people that we train and equip and send them to fight the ability to defend themselves. That s one of the fundamental principles of warfare as I understand it, said McCain.Soon after that statement, thousands of US-made TOW Missiles were smuggled into Syria and used by terrorists groups under the command umbrella of Al Nusra.In her recent expos for Trud Newspaper, Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed the massive scale and scope of the illegal US-NATO weapons trafficking operation to arm thousands of terrorist fighters in Syria.Despite the overwhelming destruction in Syria and the abject failure of his policies, McCain has never given up on the policy of illegal weapons trafficking in Syria. Just this week, McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, openly protested against the Trump Administration s latest announcement to bring an end to the CIA s failed program of illegally arming and training anti-Assad terrorists in Syria. Rather than admitting what everyone else in the world seems to know already that the US train and equip program has been a debacle instead he feigns defiance, while demonstrating a breathtaking level of ignorance by accusing the White House of being part of a Russian conspiracy: If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin. Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted. When promoting their latest war, McCain is normally part of a tandem act, accompanied by his geomancing interest, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who arguably views the world through an even more deranged, albeit binary comic book prism: Breaking Syria apart from Iran could be as important to containing a nuclear Iran as sanctions. If the Syrian regime is replaced with another form of government that doesn t tie its future to the Iranians, the world is a better place. Like a world view gleaned straight from Ian Fleming s Goldfinger.In his seminal 2008 interview with McCain heading to the GOP presidential nomination, The Atlantic magazine s Jeffrey Goldberg asked, What do you think motivates Iran? . to which McCain replied: Hatred. I don t try to divine people s motives. I look at their actions and what they say. I don t pretend to be an expert on the state of their emotions. I do know what their nation s stated purpose is, I do know they continue in the development of nuclear weapons, and I know that they continue to support terrorists who are bent on the destruction of the state of Israel. You ll have to ask someone who engages in this psycho stuff to talk about their emotions. McCain s views on Iraq were even more disturbing, essentially surmising that the invasion and occupation was a good thing, and that we shouldn t have left because leaving Iraq gave rise to al Qaeda. OK. Admittedly, it s a bit counter intuitive, but it works for neoconservatives.These statements by McCain and Graham are not admissions made by normal well-adjusted individuals, but rather by cold, dark hearted sociopaths who generally view the lives of Arabs (along with Slavs, Russians and others) as necessary cannon fodder in the pursuit of military industrial profits for a select cadr of transnational corporate defense contractors whose interests Senator John McCain represents in his home state of Arizona; Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and the list goes on, and on.The geopolitical hubris doesn t end there, as McCain still maintains even after 6 years of absolute implosion of his own foreign policy agenda that removing Syrian President Bashar al Assad from power is still a key pillar of the US strategy for Syria. The administration has yet to articulate its vision for Syria beyond the defeat of ISIL, let alone a comprehensive approach to the Middle East, said McCain this week.The reality, of course, is that ISIL/ISIS could have been defeated already had the US-led Coalition and Israel not illegally intervened in Syria territory. Far from doing much to defeat ISIS since they have invaded Syrian airspace since 2014, the US has conveniently stretched-out the ISIS problem through the extension of its own self-styled international mandate which was originally intended to serve as a precursor to the eventual break-up of Syria into federal states and ethnic cantons. This might explain McCain s rush to enact regime change in Syria before lording over the eventual break-up of the sovereign nation-state.All Things RussianThe other country which McCain is determined break is Russia. Vladimir Putin is a murder and a KGB thug, crowed McCain on CNN last year, as he protested against positive statements about Russia made by then candidate Trump.Suffice to say, he, along with the boards of Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, are all extremely happy about NATO pressing right up against the Russian border in eastern Europe.But 2013 was indeed a busy year for the Senator stirring up trouble internationally. As part of his opening gambit against Moscow, it was McCain who was the driving force behind the US-backed coup d etat in Ukraine in February 2014 which ultimately led to a bloody civil war which continues to this day in the Ukraine. Apparently, this was McCain s way of stopping Putin. His is a very dodgy track record; whether it s NeoNazis, or Jihadi Terrorists, McCain seems always ready to do a deal with the devil, and that s what makes him particularly dangerous.Below we can see McCain helping to whip-up Nazi-linked, neofascist street mobs in Kiev helping to bring the ensuing junta into power. Some mainstream US pundits have claimed that this never happened, and that it s just a conspiracy theory invented by Russian propagandists to discredit McCain. Unfortunately for them it is true, and here is the photo to prove it:Senator John McCain (AZ) shares the stage in Kiev with far-right, NeoNazi Right Sector strongman, Oleg Tyhanbock, ahead of violent street protests in Ukraine in December of 2013, in advance of the US-backed coup.. Looking back at his erratic and flippant behavior, attacking nearly anyone who even suggested d tente with Russia or that supplying lethal arms to militants in Syria was a bad idea, it s no surprise that cognizant onlookers have questioned whether or not McCain is in a normal frame of mind.Frankly speaking, how could any one in their right mind be so consistently on the wrong side of every issue? How could any politician s judgement be that poor? Unless there was something else going on below the surface The questions didn t stop there. McCain s performance during a recent Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on Russian Influence in US Elections was an embarrassment. Onlookers were stunned when McCain lost the plot during the hearing when asking former FBI Director James Comey: Well, at least in the minds of this member, there s a whole lot of questions remaining about what went on, particularly considering the fact that as you mentioned, it s a big deal as to what went on during the campaign, so I m glad you concluded that part of the investigation, but I think that the American people have a whole lot of questions out there, particularly since you just emphasized the role that Russia played. And obviously she was a candidate for president at the time. So she was clearly involved in this whole situation where fake news, as you just described it, is a big deal took place. You re going to have to help me out here. In other words, we re complete, the investigation of anything former Secretary Clinton had to do with the campaign is over and we don t have to worry about it anymore? to which Comey replied: With respect to I m a little confused. With respect to Secretary Clinton, we investigated a criminal investigation with her use of a personal email server. McCain then finished digging his own hole by responding: So at the same time you made the announcement there would be no further charges brought against then-Secretary Clinton for any activities involved in the Russia involvement and our engagement and our election. I don t quite understand how you can be done with that but not done with the whole investigation of their attempt to affect the out of come our election. It was clear McCain had no idea what was going on. At that point any reasonable person would have concluded that John McCain had in fact lost his mind and was no longer fit to serve in public office. In fact, 21WIRE made this very same case back in 2013 after McCain was caught playing video poker on his iPhone during a Senate Committee where lawmakers were debating the very war of which he is a chief architect. Here is the photo:As stunning displays of ignorance go, the video poker incident was one of McCain s greatest ever, and certainly should have been a warning to everyone that this man had no business making military decisions, let alone litigating war and peace between nuclear superpowers like the United States and Russia.Perhaps an announcement is forthcoming, but it s surprising after being diagnosed with brain cancer at 80 years old why McCain has not yet announced his resignation from office?It s fair to say that while this Senator is being treated in the world s leading medical facilities, thousands of innocents will have died needlessly because of US sanctions and support for terrorists all in the name of defense, energy and ever vast corporate profits. Strange as that might sound to some, for those who consider themselves members of a ruling elite and its mandarin management class, that is perfectly acceptable quid pro quo in 2017.After World War II, the military industrial complex and the international arms trade has spread conflict like a disease across the planet, metastasizing in ways, in places, and on a scale which no one could have previously imagined before. Undoubtedly, over the last decade, John McCain has played a key role in spreading that anguish. For the people of Syria, Afghanistan and the Ukraine, that will be his legacy, not the chimerical image of a maverick Senator or the war hero. Once again, we implore the Senator to do the right thing by the American people and for those innocents around the world who have suffered at the hands of an arms industry whose interests John McCain represents Please, just retire.*** READ MORE MCCAIN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire John McCain FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
WATCH HILLARY CLINTON Go Full On Socialist…Your Hard Earned Money Isn’t Yours! [Video] | The Death Tax is the hard earned money you have to pass on to the government when you die. Wouldn t you rather your children receive that money instead of the feds? Donald Trump thinks so but Hillary goes full on socialist describing what she would do with Trump s money when he dies. It s really disgusting! | 1real |
Modern Medicine Explains Why Your Desire To Punch Ted Cruz In The Face Is Completely Natural | Germans call it Backpfeifengesicht. It s a colloquialism which translated means a face that needs to be hit. However, you don t need to be German to want to punch Ted Cruz in the face. While there hasn t been any formal polling on the question, I personally would feel safe wagering money on it being over 50 percent of America. But what does this all mean? Are we a nation of unreasonable bullies for wanting this?Doctor Richard Cytowic has taken some time to explain to America why they are not a nation of bad people for their burning desire to smash a knuckle sandwich into Ted Cruz s jaw. It turns out this is all a very natural and very scientific thing we are experiencing.While I would never actually suggest someone would do something like punch Ted Cruz in the face (I m not suggesting they don t either), the feeling that you want to means you are operating at a normal mental state so just enjoy the feeling and embrace it within reason.Dr. Cytowic explained that humans learn to read facial expressions from the day they are born. It s one of our most rudimentary and instinctual means of communication. Our brains have had a million years of practice at reading facial expressions, generating an instant like or dislike of the person that they are attached to. To put it more simply, it s an evolutionary survival trait to determine friend from foe, and our brains are extremely good at it by now.With this in mind, it explains a lot about why practically everyone hates Ted Cruz. It isn t just his policy. There are oodles of idiot Republicans we could hate for that same reason. Ted brings out a more visceral and emotional reaction, unlike most others. Even among his fellow Republicans nobody likes him, and that says a lot.Dr. Cytowic goes on to describe how Cruz s facial expressions do not shift the way normal Human expression does. He has rarely observed a normal smile from Ted Cruz. In a normal smile the corners of the mouth go up, and the muscles circling the eyes contract making them narrow and forming crow s feet at the outside corners. When it comes to Ted, his mouth just tightens into a straight line, and on the rare occasion that it deviates from this, the corners bend downward. The outside of his eyes bend downward as well, which is completely opposite of what is normal, as the eyebrows typically bend upwards.To put it simply, Ted Cruz has a look of disgust on his face that only gets worse when he tries to look happy and smile. It s like he is some kind of anti-politician, because you would think that someone who has his kind of fan base would naturally be able to express themselves more pleasantly. So remember, when you see Ted on TV and you want to throw something at the screen, it means you re ok because it s only natural.Featured image from Twitter | 1real |
Survey: Majority of Trump Voters Turn Off Political Awards Shows | Two out of every three Donald Trump voters turn off awards show when actors, singers and other entertainers start preaching politics, according to new data published by the Hollywood Reporter. [The National Research Group surveyed 800 people — half who voted for Hillary Clinton and half who pulled the lever for Donald Trump. The data revealed that 66 percent of Trump voters changed the channel whenever an actor began to lecture about politics, compared to just 19 percent of Clinton voters. Another 44 percent of Trump voters said awards show speeches are “too political,” compared to Clinton backers who said they want more politics at the Academy Awards. About 39 percent of Clinton voters want to hear about women’s rights, while another 34 percent indicated they want to hear artists speak about Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending the United States’ refugee program. More than or 68 percent, of Trump voters say they “dislike” political speeches at the Oscars, while just 23 percent of Clinton voters said they felt the same. Interestingly, about 25 percent of Trump and Clinton voters stated that they don’t find awards show speeches to be persuasive. The survey also found that 79 percent of Clinton voters plan to watch this year’s Oscars, compared to just 66 of Trump voters. Asked if Trump should be invited to this year’s Oscars, 62 percent of Trump voters said yes, while 84 percent of Clinton supporters said no. Of the major awards shows so far this season, the Golden Globes, the Grammy Awards and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards all heavily featured speeches, with most centering on opposition to President Trump and his policies. The 89th Academy Awards airs Sunday, February 26 on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel set to host. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson | 0fake |
TRUMP CALLS OUT Washington Post #FakeNews Reporter For Posting Fake Pictures Of Rally Hours Before It Started…Posts Actual Pictures Of Packed Stadium | Washington Post reporter took to Twitter to post an image of the venue where Trump was to appear in several hours. The only problem is, the Washington Post reporter didn t say the image was taken several hours before President Trump appeared on stage.Here is Dave Weigel s #FakeNews post, that he has since deleted:As someone who attended Trump s final campaign rally, the night before the election in Grand Rapids, MI, I can attest to the incredible amount of security Trump supporters must go through before entering the venue. Trump supporters were lined up for miles to get into the event we attended, and after several hours, many of his supporters were seen trickling in, hours after the event started, after waiting to get through security..@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017Here are a few of the pictures Trump posted in his tweet above to show the actual size of the crowd: After the Washington Post reporter was outed by President Trump, for lying on Twitter about the size of Trump s crowd at his rally, he apologized:Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I'd gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner. https://t.co/fQY7GMNSaD Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017President Trump responded to Dave Weigel s apology on Twitter. Trump called for his firing for pushing #FakeNews on Twitter..@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017Many of Trump s supporters came to his defense on Twitter as well, posting images of a packed stadium for everyone to see:Here s what the line outside of the Trump rally actually looked like:HAPPENING NOW!Trump Rally Pensacola!pic.twitter.com/549Oq74upD TRUMP News 24/7 (@MichaelDelauzon) December 8, 2017Here are several shots of the Pensacola venue from inside:STADIUM PACKED at Trump Rally in Pensacola, Fl!We aren't going ANYWHERE! We are just getting started .again! Make America Great Again #ThingsITrustMorethanCNN #ResistanceIsImportant #TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/61RcSUG2dO Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) December 9, 2017For those saying Pensacola Bay Center was empty tonight for Trump Rally pic.twitter.com/zZqVYK8xIf Bard Law (@TwoLameDucks) December 9, 2017Crowds gather for Trump Rally in Pensacola today!! pic.twitter.com/eRJy92nz6m ssd (@Pismo_B) December 8, 2017A video view from inside the Pensacola Trump rally tonight, as the president talked about illegal immigration pic.twitter.com/VoPbEBqijE David Martosko (@dmartosko) December 9, 2017 | 1real |
Orlando, Donald Trump, Net Neutrality: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing - The New York Times | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. President Obama angrily responded to a speech Monday by Donald J. Trump in which Mr. Trump appeared to broaden his proposal to bar Muslim immigrants. Mr. Obama called the Republican presidential candidate’s comments about the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. “dangerous. ” Mr. Trump’s appeal to fear breaks with the way most American political leaders have reacted to this kind of crisis, but his stance on guns may help his outreach to Democrats. _____ 2. Harrowing accounts of the attack, which left 49 people dead, continued to surface: “I look over, and he shoots the girl next to me. And I’m just there laying down and I’m thinking, ‘I’m next, I’m dead,’ ” said Angel Colon, who was shot multiple times. Doctors spoke of bleeding patients lining hospital hallways after arriving in trucks and cars, and on foot. _____ 3. The F. B. I. investigation turned to the second wife of the Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, to determine whether she had been aware of his plot. The wife, Noor Zahi Salman, is not in custody, but indicated she had accompanied him on one trip to the club and to buy ammunition, and tried to talk him out of waging an attack, a senior law enforcement official said. _____ 4. In France, the killings of a police officer and his companion on Monday by a a assailant who swore allegiance to ISIS have raised new concerns about radicalization and the handling of people convicted of activities. The attacker was a Frenchman who was previously found guilty of aiding a group planning terrorist activities, but he was released immediately after his trial ended in 2013. _____ 5. As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders met privately amid the largely inconsequential primary contest in the District of Columbia, the Democratic Party confirmed that Russian hackers had breached the computers of the Democratic National Committee for roughly a year. The targets included the trove of opposition research against Donald J. Trump. _____ 6. internet can be defined as a utility, a federal appeals court ruled. The decision upheld net neutrality rules by the F. C. C. that signal a shift in how the government views broadband: as a service that should be equally accessible to all Americans, rather than as a luxury. Companies are banned from blocking or slowing the delivery of internet content to consumers, and they’ve indicated they may pursue their case all the way to the Supreme Court. _____ 7. Disney is sharing the keys to the Magic Kingdom with China’s Communist Party — at least in Shanghai, where a new resort that will be four times as big as Disneyland opens on Thursday. The Disney has given the country’s government an unusual role in running the park and, in doing so, has set the pace for how other multinational companies can do business in there. _____ 8. An influential critic’s refusal to review the new “Ghostbusters” film — starring women in the lead roles — drew more than a million views on YouTube and lots of comments essentially blasting him as a misogynistic jerk. But when our writer dug deeper, he found the reviewer’s positions to be less polarizing than he expected — a reminder that, in this age of speedy public judgment, withholding expectations can be worthwhile for all parties. _____ 9. Let’s take a moment to remember the beehive — not the insect nest, but the 1960s hairstyle made possible by hair spray, and lots of it. The do’s creator, Margaret Vinci Heldt, died on Friday at 98. Ms. Heldt was an hairstyling celebrity when she created the look, which was inspired by a black hat and has never really gone away, even making it onto the heads of Beyoncé and Adele. _____ 10. Lastly, here are a couple of weasels ( ferrets, specifically). They might look cute, but they are also remarkable predators. Badgers, ferrets and otters are part of the mustelid family: carnivores who are capable of competing for food with much larger predators like big cats, wolves and bears. Maybe it’s time to rethink what it means to call someone a weasel. _____ Jonah Engel Bromwich contributed reporting. _____ 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 |
Factbox: Republicans to watch in Senate tax bill fight | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some key U.S. senators still had concerns about the Republican tax bill in the Senate, as a procedural motion to formally open debate on the measure was approved on Wednesday. Here is a list of Republicans pivotal to the bill’s fate. The moderate senator from Maine has qualms about Republicans’ plan to include in the tax bill a repeal of a federal fee imposed on people who do not comply with Obamacare’s “individual mandate.” The fee is meant to encourage young, healthy people to get health insurance so that premiums are affordable for old, sick people. Collins and others fear repealing the fine would drive up insurance premium costs, canceling out tax-cut gains that many of their constituents might get from the tax bill. Collins said Republican leaders had promised her to take up two healthcare provisions before the end of the year to help mitigate the impact of repealing the fee. Those provisions would help insurers cover expensive patients and continue Obamacare subsidy payments for low-income people for two years. Collins has also prepared an amendment to the tax bill to make state and local property tax deductible up to $10,000, a provision that is part of the House of Representatives’ tax bill. Both the Senate and House bills end deductibility of state and local tax income and sales tax. Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill ends property tax deductibility too. Collins sidestepped a question on whether she would vote for the tax bill. She said: “We’re doing this one step at a time.” The senator from Alaska will vote for the tax bill, she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday evening. Murkowski said a number of the bill’s features were “very attractive,” noting that it would lower tax rates, double the child tax credit and double the standard deduction. She said it also included a provision she had written, to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, to oil and gas drilling. Murkowski said it was important to enact reforms separately to help stabilize the individual market in health insurance. The Montana Republican has concerns about the bill’s treatment of “Main Street” businesses. He said on Wednesday he had secured an agreement to increase a 17.4 percent deduction for owners of pass-through businesses to 20 percent. The senator from Wisconsin also has demanded more favorable treatment for “pass-through” businesses, which include sole proprietorships and partnerships, as a condition of his support. Corker, a deficit hawk from Tennessee, said on Tuesday he had the outlines of a deal adding a tax snap-back provision to the bill that would raise taxes automatically if economic growth targets are not hit in the future to offset a higher deficit. Corker said that arrangement would satisfy his concerns that the tax cuts could add too much to the national debt. As of Wednesday evening, the details had not been announced. The snap-back proposal also became a target of growing criticism among conservative Republicans and lobbyists. The tax bill was expected to add $1.4 trillion to the $20 trillion national debt over 10 years. The Arizona conservative said on Wednesday he was more comfortable with the tax bill because of indications there would be provisions in it to protect against ballooning the deficit. Flake told National Public Radio he was concerned about “gimmicks,” but liked other parts of the bill, especially the corporate tax cut. The Arizona maverick and former presidential nominee sidestepped questions on Monday about how he would vote on the tax bill, telling reporters in the hallway to “stay tuned.” Like Corker and Flake, Oklahoma’s Lankford questions whether tax revenues from economic growth will compensate for the expected increase in the national debt under the tax plan. He has been working with them to “trigger” more revenues if needed. The Kansas lawmaker is also wary of the impact on the national debt, pointing to his own state’s recent experience of fiscal problems following tax cuts. | 0fake |
Airbnb Adopts Rules to Fight Discrimination by Its Hosts - The New York Times | SAN FRANCISCO — For much of this year, Airbnb has been under fire over the ease with which its hosts can reject potential renters based on race, age, gender or other factors. The barrage of criticism began with a Harvard University study, snowballed with firsthand accounts of discrimination from Airbnb guests and has prompted a lawsuit. Airbnb, the rental website, has moved quickly to tamp down the controversy. It embarked on a review of how discrimination might creep into the site. It hired prominent advisers, including former United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to help formulate policies. And Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s chief executive, has repeatedly said that the company needed to do better in dealing with the issue. On Thursday, Airbnb took its most forceful actions yet to combat discrimination. It told its rental hosts that they needed to agree to a “community commitment” starting on Nov. 1 and that they must hew to a new nondiscrimination policy. The company also said that it would try to reduce the prominence of user photographs, which indicate race and gender, and that it would accelerate the use of instant bookings, which lets renters book places immediately without host approval. The moves were outlined in a report that serves as a blueprint for how Airbnb plans to fight discrimination on the site. Among the other changes is a new team of engineers, data scientists and researchers, whose job includes discerning patterns of host behavior. “Bias and discrimination have no place on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for them,” Mr. Chesky wrote in a message to Airbnb users and hosts that accompanied the report. “Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry. ” Airbnb’s response is designed to quiet the questions over discrimination that have threatened to cloud growth of the company, which is based in San Francisco. Founded in 2008, Airbnb has spread to more than 34, 000 cities and 191 countries, where people increasingly use the service as a replacement for hotels. The continued expansion of the privately held which is valued at $25 billion, depends partly on the idea that Airbnb can be a global company, providing a broad range of people with places to stay when they travel. That reputation was stained in December, when Harvard University researchers released a working paper that concluded it was harder for guests with names to rent rooms through the site. Several Airbnb users have since shared stories on social media saying they were denied a rental because of their race. In May, an Airbnb user filed a suit against the company, seeking status, saying he had been denied a place to stay because of his race. “There have been too many unacceptable instances of people being discriminated against on the Airbnb platform because of who they are or what they look like,” wrote Laura W. Murphy, a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office who was hired by Airbnb to compile its report. Diversity advocates said Airbnb’s actions were a notable first step, but wondered how some of the changes could be enforced and whether the moves went far enough. The biases of hosts can be cloaked — for example, one Airbnb listing in Washington states “we cannot accept guests arriving in D. C. by bus or motor coach,” without mentioning race, class or ethnicity — and may be difficult to eradicate. “The company isn’t saying that it will consistently ban hosts for discrimination, so it’s unclear whether this policy will be enough to deter bad behavior,” said Jamila an associate professor of law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. “I want more information on how the technology works and how the company will act when they identify discriminatory behavior. ” Professor said she was also concerned about potential unintended consequences of Airbnb’s new policies. If mainly minorities feel comfortable in using instant bookings to reserve rentals on Airbnb, for instance, that could end up creating a reservations system, she said. Airbnb was short on details about how some of the changes might work. Though the company said it planned to experiment with reducing the prominence of user photographs to fight discrimination, it does not intend to eliminate the photos. It did not provide specifics on what a user profile with a picture might look like. “Photos are an invitation to discriminate,” said Kristen Clarke, the president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an organization that advised Airbnb on best practices. Wade Henderson, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which also advised Airbnb on the report, said the company did not accept all of its recommendations on promoting diversity. But he called the report “an important first step that shows an openness to considering solutions to reducing discrimination on the Airbnb platform. ” To help with enforcement against discrimination, Airbnb said it was developing new tools to route discrimination concerns to a group of trained specialists, who will handle the complaints. The company also plans to begin training to address unconscious biases and is pushing for more diversity within its own work force. In the report, Ms. Murphy acknowledged that there were many difficulties to eliminating discrimination from Airbnb. “There is no one product change, policy or modification that can eliminate bias and discrimination,” she wrote. “Tackling these challenges requires a sustained and multifaceted approach. ” Ms. Murphy did not blame Mr. Chesky or his two Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk, for how the discrimination problems have mushroomed. When the three men, who are white, started Airbnb as a tiny enterprise eight years ago, they began “with the best of intentions,” she wrote. The founders “were not fully conscious of racial bias. ” | 0fake |
OBAMA REGIME Uses Image Of U.S. Constitution In Spanish Speaking Ad Encouraging Illegals To Become Citizens/Voters | A shameless promotion of amnesty by our Feds. Obama and the Democrats are willing to do whatever it takes It s all about the votes The Obama administration is encouraging the 8.8 million eligible lawful permanent residents to become U.S. citizen with efforts aimed at raising awareness about the process and pressing more immigrants to naturalize.Just for fun the Obama regime threw in this silly little reminder (see end of tweet where VOTE is prominently displayed in upper case letters. This tweet (featured in the Spanish speaking video) basically serves as a reminder: If you gain your citizenship through our efforts, you must vote to keep the Democrats (who were willing to sell out their nation) in office Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the agency responsible for overseeing immigration to the U.S. is out with a video composed of a compilation of six word entries via social media from citizens of any country, living anywhere about what U.S. citizenship means to them. Back in September, we asked you to share what U.S. citizenship means to you in six words using the hashtag: #citizenship6. You responded in ways that touched us, challenged us and showed us that one word has so many meanings, the agency explained.The agency released two versions of the video one in English and one in Spanish. We also created banners for our home page that we ll post over the coming months. Enjoy the video, and please share it with your friends and family! the agency added.In order to naturalize most applicants must demonstrate they can understand, read, write, and speak basic English. | 1real |
HEY BERNIE SANDERS! There’s No Such Thing As Equality…Ever! | Bernie Sanders likes to talk about how everyone will be equal using other people s money. It s the most asinine concept and it s not like it hasn t been tried before. We love Larry Elder s personal take on equality and the common sense reasons there will NEVER be total equality especially INCOME EQUALITY:Is there a more brain-dead concept than to empower the government to fight income inequality ? What sane, normal, rational human being thinks that human talent, drive, interests and opportunity can or should result in equal outcomes?Despite my love of athletics, I knew in third grade that my friend, Keith, could run much faster than I could. For two years I played Little League ball, and I got better at it. But no matter how hard I tried or how many hours I spent, I could not hit, run or throw as well as my friend Benji.Later in life, I started playing tennis, and I became quite passionate about it. But most of the people I played against had started playing years earlier, and most had taken lessons for years. I got better, but given my competitors head start, the gap remained.Financial planners advise clients to start early and stick to some sort of game plan. Is there any wonder that those who do so will have more net worth than those who started later, or who lacked the discipline to follow and stick to a plan? How is government supposed to address these unequal outcomes?Most entrepreneurs experience failure before hitting on an idea, concept or business that makes money. Even then, it takes 20 to 30 years of long hours and sacrifice, along with occasional self-doubt and a dollop of luck, to become a multimillionaire.I recently saw a movie starring Cate Blanchett. She is a very good actress, but she is also strikingly beautiful. Is there any doubt that her good looks, over which she had no control, are a factor in her success? Is it unfair that an equally talented actress, but with plain looks, will likely have an unequal career compared with that of Blanchett?Speaking of acting, most who venture into that field do not become successful, if success is defined as making a living as an actor. These overwhelming odds still do not deter the many young people who flock to Hollywood every year to make it. Had a would-be actor dedicated that same drive and personality to some other profession, success would have been more likely, if less enjoyable. Should the government intervene and take from the successful non-actor and give to those who unsuccessfully pursued a long-shot acting career? An ex-actor told me of her recent lunch with a friend she had met when they both left college and pursued acting. While the ex-actor moved on to a different, successful career, her friend stuck to acting, through thick and thin. The actor informed her friend that she recently turned down a commercial. Why? What struggling actor turns down this kind of work? Turns out, through some sort of assistance program, said the friend, the state of California is assisting with her mortgage. She has no obligation to repay the money, and she will continue to receive the assistance as long as her income is not above a certain level. How does this strengthen the economy? The ex-actor, through her taxes, subsidizes the lifestyle of the actor, who admits turning down work lest she be denied the benefits.But this is exactly the world sought by Bernie Sanders a government that taxes the productive and gives to the less productive in order to reduce income inequality. In the real world, two individuals, living next door to each other, make different choices about education, careers, spouses, where to live, and if and how to invest. Even if they make exactly the same income, one might live below his or her means, prudently saving money, while the other might choose to regularly buy new cars and fancy clothes and go on expensive vacations. Is there any question that the first person will end up with a higher net worth than the latter? Is their inequality something that government should address?Although Beyonce is a good singer, is there any question that there are others with superior voices? But Beyonce is also blessed with unequally good looks, charisma and perhaps better management maybe better than the other two ladies in her musical trio, Destiny s Child, whom she once sang with. Three singers, in the same group, have had unequal outcomes.Communism, collectivism and socialism rest on the same premise that government possesses the kindness, aptitude, judgment and ability to take from some and give to others to achieve equality. Karl Marx wrote, From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. And that s the problem. The statement implicitly acknowledges that some have more aptitude, drive, energy and ability than others. To take from some and give to others reduces the initiative of both the giver and the givee.This is the fundamental flaw with income redistribution, the very foundation of communism, socialism and collectivism. One would think that Bernie Sanders would have figured this out by now. But wisdom among 74-years-olds, like outcome, is not distributed equally.Larry Elder is a best-selling author and radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an Elderado, visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder.Via: Black Community News | 1real |
HOLLYWOOD WITCHCRAFT: The Dark Side Revealed in The Witch (2016) | Jay Dyer 21st Century WireJamie Hanshaw, author of Operation Culture Creation 1 and 2, and Hollywood Mind Control, joins me to break down the esoteric symbols and occult aspects of 5 films: The recent hit The Witch, horror classic Suspiria, Henson s The Witches, The Devil Rides Out and Disney s Hocus Pocus.From British Intelligence to Disney darkness, what is the secret message behind these films?To hear the second half of this podcast go to Jays Analysis.com for information about becoming a subscriber.Jay Dyer is the author of the forthcoming title, Esoteric Hollywood: Sex, Cults and Symbols in Film from Trine Day. Focusing on film, philosophy, geopolitics and all things esoteric, JaysAnalysis and his podcast, Esoteric Hollywood, investigates the deeper meanings between the headlines, exploring the hidden aspects of our sinister synthetic mass media matrix.READ MORE HOLLYWOOD NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Hollywood Files | 1real |
Britain in 'front seat' for U.S. trade deal, top Republican says | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will be in the “front seat” to negotiate a new trade deal with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, a top Republican in the United States Senate said, the BBC reported. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said after meeting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that a trade deal between the two countries would be a priority as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. Last year, ahead of the Brexit vote, President Barack Obama exhorted Britons to stay in the EU and warned that if they left they would be at “the back of the queue” for a U.S. trade deal. Corker said Johnson knows full well that “there is no way the United Kingdom is going to take a back seat”. “They will take a front seat and I think it will be our priority to make sure that we deal with them on a trade agreement initially but in all respects in a way that demonstrates the long-term friendship that we’ve had for so long,” Corker was quoted as saying by the BBC. Trump, while a candidate for the U.S. presidency, hailed Brexit as a “great thing” when visiting Scotland the day after the vote, though Britain cannot sign a trade deal until it leaves the EU which under current plans will likely be in 2019. After visits to see aides in Trump Tower in New York and meet members of Congress in Washington, Johnson said there had been a “huge fund of goodwill” towards Britain and a desire to move quickly on a trade deal. “They want to do it and they want to do it fast and that understanding was most vivid and most urgent on the part of the incoming administration,” he told parliament on Tuesday when asked about his trip. Speaking earlier, Johnson also described the incoming Trump administration as having a “very exciting agenda of change” and stressed that close relations between the two countries were not under threat. “We are America’s principal partner in working for global security and, of course, we are great campaigners for free trade,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper. “We hear that we are first in line to do a great free trade deal with the United States. So it’s going to be a very exciting year for both our countries.” | 0fake |
Shanghai Dwellings Vanish, and With Them, a Way of Life - The New York Times | China’s Communist Party celebrated its 95th birthday this summer with a lavish First of July gala at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. In Shanghai, where the First National Congress took place in 1921, the occasion was noted in a more subdued way, with the promotion of a digital map of the important sites of the party’s heroic early years in Shanghai. The map is a simple affair. Clicking on a man wearing scholar’s robes, for example, sends a cartoon icon toddling off to the brick building on Lane 163 of Zizhong Road, where Chen Wangdao, one of the party’s founding members, translated “The Communist Manifesto” into Chinese. (A and app version will soon be available for smartphones.) A problem for anyone contemplating a pilgrimage to the urban shrines of the Communist Party: Much of the historic city depicted on the virtual map has been wiped off the real map of Shanghai by two decades of breakneck development. The few remaining buildings, among them Dr. Sun ’s modest mansion in the former French Concession, stand in the shadows of or towers. On a recent visit, my quest to find Mao Zedong’s first address in Shanghai, on a street once known as the Alley of Benevolence and Kindness, ended in the Jing An Kerry Center, a 3. residential and office complex. The rowhouse, where the future Great Helmsman once folded laundry and ate rice in an attic room, now sits between a luxury mall and the Hotel’s steakhouse. Fortunately, enough examples of Shanghai’s historic architecture have survived to give visitors a sense of what life was like when the city gave birth to the Communist Party. To walk through Shanghai’s last remaining shikumen (alleyway complexes entered through a kumen, or gateway) is to return to the wicked, glamorous “Paris of the Orient” — and to get a glimpse of what has happened to Shanghai in the century since then. My first introduction to shikumen came 10 years ago, when Peter Hibbard, the former president of the Shanghai chapter of the Royal Asiatic Society China, took me on a tour of an alleyway complex near the riverfront Bund. “Up until the ’90s, 80 percent of the population lived in two or shikumen,” Mr. Hibbard told me then, as we wandered through an atmospheric maze of mostly vacant homes. “They were basically city blocks that functioned as gated communities, with guards manning the front entrance. The whole essence of old Shanghai was that life was lived horizontally — all the activity happened at street level. ” Though the complex Mr. Hibbard showed me has since been razed, you can get an idea of what shikumen were like by visiting Xintiandi, a reconditioned alleyway complex located in the Huangpu and Xuhui districts, which were until 1943 the city’s French Concession. The houses at 76 and 78 Xingye Road were saved from the wrecker’s ball only because they played host to the clandestine First National Congress of the Communist Party. Turned into a memorial 30 years later, by which time the private residences had become a noodle factory, they are now a museum and the cornerstone of Xintiandi (the name means “New Heaven and Earth”) a shopping and entertainment district. On the second floor of a thoroughly modern exhibition space, the Congress is commemorated in the orthodox Communist way — with starkly lit wax figures displayed behind glass. The skinny rowhouses that brought together two European members of the Comintern, 12 future party bigwigs and a Mao have been preserved intact. Visitors walk through a lacquered partition into a room with whitewashed walls. On a polished red floor, a dozen stools surround a long table, set with teacups and an open box of wooden matches — a staging meant to suggest the participants have just left. (The meeting was, in fact, cut short by the sudden appearance of a police informer. Mao and his colleagues fled before the police could raid, reconvening on rented sightseeing boats in the tourist town of Hangzhou.) Wandering the lanes of Xintiandi gives a hint of the magic of the typical shikumen. Faced with bricks and adorned with elaborately carved, lintels, the rowhouses call to mind a radically compacted version of the terraced workers’ housing found in northern English cities. The tributary lanes, some only eight feet wide, were built to accommodate rickshaws and bicycles, rather than cars, making shikumen tranquil oases in the heart of a city. Commissioned mostly by Western developers, the first shikumen appeared in the 1870s, designed to offer wealthy families refuge from the flooding, famine and unrest of the countryside. The local contractors who built them drew upon the interior floor plans of traditional Chinese courtyard homes and local decorative motifs. The Shikumen Open House Museum, a refurnished private residence in the north block of Xintiandi, demonstrates the beguiling collision of East and West that resulted. Leaving an exiguous forecourt — the equivalent of a front yard, generally used to wash and dry clothes — you take a big step over a wooden sill into a rectangular living room decorated with blackwood furniture and period photographs and paintings. As you walk over creaking floorboards, soft jazz emanates from the horn of a gramophone. A woman’s sleeveless silk qipao hangs from a hook a jade hair clip, a tube of lipstick and a jar of powder are neatly arranged on a dressing table. In the kitchen, bamboo baskets, colanders and a huge iron kettle are arranged around a potbellied coal stove. Halfway up a precipitous, dogleg staircase is the tingzijian, an unheated room often rented to bachelors. (Among them were the modernist writers Lu Xun and Yu Dafu, who eavesdropped on shikumen life from their pavilion rooms). The upper floor is occupied by bedrooms, some with impressive beds. The overall impression is of a luxurious, and surprisingly spacious, upper home. It’s all beautifully staged, and terribly misleading. By the late 1930s, when the Second War caused a wave of immigration to Shanghai’s zones, most shikumen homes became occupied by four families and sheltered an average of 20 people. As an idealized vision of rowhouse life, the Open House Museum is like Xintiandi itself. Until the 1990s, the area was home to 2, 000 families. Their homes were gutted, and often completely rebuilt, to make way for a shopping district where you can buy a latte at Starbucks, a mug of pilsner at the Paulaner Bräuhaus or an expensive silk scarf at the upscale clothing chain Shanghai Tang. “Xintiandi is fake vintage,” said Ruan Yisan, the director of the National Research Center of Historic Cities at Tongji University and an architectural preservationist. “There aren’t many shikumen houses left in the city. Those that remain are the living fossil of life in Shanghai. ” Professor Ruan remembers his teenage years in a Shanghai shikumen fondly. The day typically began with the “Cantata of the Alley,” the sound of night stools ( latrines) as they were cleaned with bamboo sticks after being emptied by night soil men. Then the first vendors would arrive, selling won tons, fried bean curd and fresh green olives, often delivered in baskets lowered from windows. The alleys echoed with the cries of children running off to school, often within the same complex. During unexpected cloudbursts, the grandma would rush to bring in clothes that absent neighbors had hung out to dry. In the summer, residents would gather after dinner to cheng fengliang (“enjoy the coolness”) trading gossip, playing and sharing slices of melon chilled in a water well. “Nowadays, our apartments in condominium towers have no public spaces,” he said. “We don’t even know our neighbors. ” The shikumen, Professor Ruan believes, forged the character of the Shanghainese. Contact with foreigners and people from all parts of China made them cosmopolitan, and living cheek by jowl with neighbors made them into subtle planners, capable of sidestepping disputes while quietly plotting to further their own interests. He tells me that when shikumen construction ended in 1949, Shanghai counted 9, 000 alleyway complexes, housing up to four million people. The entire spectrum of Shanghai’s life took place in them: Shikumen housed nurseries and coffin makers, universities and Buddhist temples, hotels and zones (the infamous Alley of Joint Pleasure was home to 171 brothels). Demolitions began in the 1990s, and intensified in the to Expo 2010. Most expropriated residents were offered — and accepted — relocation, usually to new residential towers up to an hour’s metro ride from their old homes. (Holdouts found themselves harassed, and in a few notorious cases even killed, by construction crews.) Professor Ruan believes that only 200, 000 Shanghai residents continue to live in alleyway complexes. “If you want to see what a typical shikumen is like,” he said, “you’d better hurry. ” I rode the metro to the Xinzha Road station and walked a few blocks to eastern Siwen Li (Gentle Lane). Built over a former cemetery by a Sephardic Jewish entrepreneur in 1914, it was once home to 11, 000 people now it’s down to 12 households. After I stepped through its threshold, the smell of exhaust was replaced by air redolent with frying garlic and stewing meat. Brownish exteriors were plastered with peeling posters for “anticorpulence tablets” or scrawled with cellphone numbers of plumbers or fake ID peddlers. Many of the doors were daubed in red paint with the Chinese character “Kōng” (“Vacant”). Between concrete sinks used for washing clothes, bicycles leaned against walls. Somewhere a rooster crowed. At the intersection of two alleys, a residents had gathered on stools to pass the time. When I told one of them, Ni Wei Ming, 57, a taxi driver, that I had never seen the inside of a real shikumen home, he invited me into his. Though its — forecourt for washing clothes, rectangular living room, steep rear staircase leading to bedrooms — mirrors the shikumen home in the Xintiandi museum, it lacked its idealized glamour. Room partitions were made of plastic sheets joined by duct tape cooking amenities were limited to a wok on a hot plate the bathtub was a wooden barrel. Though the government had offered to buy it for 7 million yuan (just over $1 million) Mr. Ni told me he was holding out for more. “That would be enough money to be comfortable,” he said. “But I’ll still have regrets. My primary school was here. I met my wife here — she lived on the same block. My children did their homework with the neighbors’ kids. There used to be a real feeling of community. Now there are only seven families left on my alley. ” Mr. Ni told me there was a rumor that a Hong Kong property developer planned to replace the complex with skyscrapers. Seeing me back to the laneway — beneath the asphalt lie the original cobblestones — Mr. Ni lit a cigarette and let his gaze run down the row of carved lintels that marked the entrance to each home. “You know, if they chose to save and restore this place, it would be better than Xintiandi,” he said. (Since my visit, the municipal government has earmarked 260 historic neighborhoods for conservation. The Shanghai office of Chipperfield Architects will oversee the preservation of eastern Siwen Li’s buildings — minus, unfortunately, the neighbors who made it into a neighborhood. The life stories of the shikumen’s residents have been collected in a beautifully illustrated book by the French architect Jérémy Cheval.) Other shikumen are scattered among Shanghai’s office and residential towers. Fude Li, where the Communist Party’s Second National Congress took place, is intact (Mao, who got lost in Shanghai’s back streets, failed to attend). The extraordinary Zhang’s Garden off West Nanjing Road, built by a Chinese merchant in 1882, has been saved from demolition because of its role as a community center for seniors. Less picturesque complexes, though, tend to be occupied by migrant workers, many of whom lack of residency permits, which makes the future of these homes tenuous. Perhaps the quickest way to get an idea of the vitality of a traditional alleyway complex is to visit Tianzifang, a walk from the Dapuqiao station. In the late ’90s, the small factories and shikumen homes along Lane 210 on Taikang Road were occupied by painters, sculptors and ceramists. Their tiny workshops eventually became a complex of 200 cultural and art sites, with older residents continuing to occupy apartments. Though local residents lament that cafes, restaurants and small businesses have begun to replace artists’ studios, the district retains its original architecture and charm. The narrow cobbled lanes, shaded by trees and potted plants, are filled with window shoppers and diners who have stopped at a terrace to enjoy exquisite Japanese coffee (Café Dan) or a chocolate milkshake or a smoked salmon bagel (Kommune). Unlike Xintiandi’s international chains, Tianzifang is home to such quirky local businesses as Pureland, which specializes in ceramic tile images of koi ponds, pagodas and other traditional Chinese landscapes, and Teddy Bear Family, a Thai restaurant where every surface is covered with plush toys. Wandering around Tianzifang is an antidote to the soaring Shanghai of magnetic levitation trains and . Like other shikumen, it’s free of cars, making it one of the rare places in Shanghai where you can stroll without having to watch out for a darting electric bike or a barreling Volkswagen taxi. It’s a gentle reminder, too, of an irony of Shanghai’s recent history. In tearing down shikumen, which fostered the canny interdependence of the Shanghainese, government officials are erasing the architectural form that saw the birth of the uniquely Chinese version of Communism. The condominium towers that are replacing them, where neighbors remain strangers, are breeding nothing but isolation. | 0fake |
“TRAITOR IN CHIEF” WARNS CONGRESS…Shut Down Prison With Muslim Terrorists Or I’ll Stop Funding Military [VIDEO] | Name one time this reckless Commander in Chief has put our men and women in uniform before the war on terror Just one.On Monday, the Obama administration announced that President Obama would veto a defense authorization bill if it did not close down Guantanamo Bay. White House press secretary Josh Earnest explained that the House funding bill would be vetoed principally because of the irresponsible way that it funds our national defense priorities, but also because of the efforts to prevent the closure [of] the prison at Guantanamo Bay. He added that Democrats would sustain Obama s veto, and defense authorization would die.Obama s strong stand on Gitmo underscores two vital points. First, President Obama does not fear defunding America s national security. Second, Obama does not fear Republicans in Congress.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has been authorized for five decades running. The current NDAA fully funds the military through a workaround measure, thanks to President Obama s demands that a huge chunk of sequestration cuts come from defense funding. Now Democrats complain that the workaround measure isn t good enough: Republicans should bust open the bank again.But that s not Obama s main criticism of the NDAA. He has long had a bug in his ear with regard to Gitmo, which he feels has strengthened terrorists feelings about the evils of the United States. Given his recent moves to parlay with the Cuban dictatorship as well, Obama may want to hand Gitmo in totality back to the Cuban government. The fact that Obama would be willing to dramatically cut America s military funding, even as Russia takes over Ukraine and Syria, as Iran gears up for a big regional military push, as China continues its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, demonstrates Obama s top priority is doing leftist work, not protecting the United States.In fact, Obama s choice to prioritize Gitmo above national security isn t a choice at all: Obama wants America s military slashed, and he wants Gitmo closed. Senator Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) agrees with Obama that Gitmo should be closed, but even he says that Obama has manipulated the process to create an impasse. According to Roll Call, McCain has said the White House promised him a plan to close the prison, but has yet to present one. Without that, he has said he wouldn t be able to find the votes to do what the White House wants. Now, normally, Obama s nasty priorities would pose little threat to military funding: after all, Obama would be stymied by Republicans in Congress. And Obama has threatened to veto the NDAA before over Guantanamo; each time, Congress has called Obama s bluff, and he has signed the bill into law.But this time, the feeling is that Obama could be more serious. After all, with the legacy of Republicans folding on executive amnesty, the Iran deal, and funding for Planned Parenthood, among others, Obama probably feels he can leverage Gitmo out of existence. He believes that Republicans fear defense defunding more than he must their constituents will hold them accountable, while he s in pure f*** it list mode. He also thinks that Republicans are unwilling to undergo a head-to-head matchup with him under almost any circumstances.And Obama is right. In his entire tenure as Commander-in-Chief, Obama has had to issue a grand total of four vetoes. Four. That s less than every president since Chester A. Arthur, who filled out James Garfield s term, serving less than four years. Obama has had a fully Republican Congress this year, and a Republican House since 2010. He has issued just two vetoes this year, one with regard to Keystone XL Pipeline, and the other with regard to a bill related to the National Labor Relations Board. All of his other major policy priorities have been guarded zealously by a Democratic minority or an unwilling Republican majority.So why wouldn t Obama try to hold Republicans feet to the fire on defense authorization?Obama s mastery of Congress is unprecedented in American history; the only other candidates for that title either held Congressional dominance within their own party (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) or ruled a Congressional rump (Abraham Lincoln). Shutting down America s defense funding would be a crowning achievement for a president who cares more about weakening America s role in the world than defending her citizens.Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
WHOA! Woman Born In NAZI GERMANY Says Trump Doesn’t Remind Her Of Hitler….Rioting Leftists Trying To Shut Down Free Speech Does | A woman who was born in Nazi Germany says that what reminds her of Hitler more than anything else isn t Donald Trump, but the rioting leftists who are attempting to shut down free speech on college campuses.Ing Andrews lived in Dusseldorf, Germany during the Second World War and spent time hiding in air raid shelters and helping to clean up rubble from destroyed buildings. InfowarsIf anyone is in a position to have an opinion on the left s hysterical comparison of Donald Trump and Hitler, it s Inga. Here s what she told the Independent Review Journal;For the entire letter go to : IJR | 1real |
J.P. Morgan Chase Pulls Ads from NBC News over Megyn Kelly Interview with Alex Jones | J. P. Morgan Chase has removed its television and digital ads from NBC News following controversy sparked by anchor Megyn Kelly’s upcoming interview with InfoWars founder and radio host Alex Jones, according to a report. [The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the bank has requested the network remove all of its advertising from Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly and from other news programs ahead of the anchor’s scheduled Father’s Day interview. Kelly — who left Fox News earlier this year to lead two news programs at NBC, including Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly — shared a preview of her interview with Jones on her Twitter account Sunday. In the clip, Jones takes exception to being called “the most paranoid man in the world” and reiterates his position that was an “inside job. ” Next Sunday, I sit down with conservative radio host @RealAlexJones to discuss controversies and conspiracies #SundayNight June 18 on NBC pic. twitter. — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 11, 2017, As Breitbart News previously reported, the preview clip stirred outrage on social media, including from relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. Jones has previously said he believes the Sandy Hook attack was a hoax. Twitter users called for a boycott of NBC News’ advertisers and urged others to tune out the interview when it airs June 18. Kristin Lemkau, chief marketing officer for J. P. Morgan Chase, tweeted Monday that she was “repulsed” that NBC News would give Jones a platform on its network. As an advertiser, I’m repulsed that @megynkelly would give a second of airtime to someone who says Sandy Hook and Aurora are hoaxes. Why? https: . — Kristin Lemkau (@KLemkau) June 12, 2017, According to the Journal‘s report, the bank could reinstate its advertising after the interview airs June 18. The company reportedly does not want its ads appearing next to promotional material for the interview. Kelly defended her with Jones in a tweet Sunday, saying President Donald Trump’s appearance on Jones’ show during the presidential campaign made the media figure newsworthy: “Many don’t know him our job is 2 shine a light,” she tweeted. Sunday’s episode of Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly will be the third broadcast of the new magazine show. Kelly kicked off her program earlier this month with a highly contentious interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The anchor is expected to begin hosting a 9 a. m. news show under NBC’s Today banner in September. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 0fake |
Russia to donate Kalashnikovs, trucks and munitions to Philippines | MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday announced that Russia would donate defense hardware to support the military s fight against pro-Islamic State militants, who he said could regroup and attack anywhere and everywhere . Duterte said Russia would provide about 5,000 assault rifles in a deal to be signed this month, and the Philippine military would no longer have to use second-hand arms. We will have the Kalashnikov, he said in a speech to troops, adding that Russia wanted to keep the donation secret. Moscow s gift would follow China s donation of more than 6,000 assault rifles and 100 sniper rifles, among the fruits of Duterte s efforts to form partnerships with two arms-producing powers that are rivals to the United States. The United States has for decades been the Philippines defense treaty ally and its biggest source or hardware and training, providing about $1 billion in equipment since 2000. Duterte has made no secret of his animosity toward Washington and his disdain for the U.S. military alliance. A senior defense official told Reuters the Russian weapons would arrive later this month, when Russia s defense minister attends a regional meeting. The rifles would be accompanied by millions of rounds of ammunition and dozens of army trucks. Five Russian warships were due to visit in Manila to deliver the equipment, the official said. Four have visited the country this year, in two separate visits. Duterte said the military needed to be properly equipped to handle Islamic State loyalists who had established a dangerous foothold in Mindanao in the south. They will not disappear, they will regroup anywhere and everywhere, Duterte said. | 0fake |
GOVERNMENT SANTA CANDIDATE Gets Another Huge Endorsement… Just In Time For Christmas | The USPS is drowning in debt, has lost every one of its life-lines and has mismanaged its funds for decades. No worries though, the US Postal Union is quite certain Socialist Santa Claus will fix everything Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the endorsement of the American Postal Workers Union on Thursday, giving the self-described democratic socialist a boost as he seeks more support from organized labor in the Democratic primary.APWU represents 200,000 U.S. Postal Service employees and retirees. It s the second major national union and member of the AFL-CIO labor federation to endorse Sanders over rival and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.Sanders stands above all others as a true champion of postal workers and other workers throughout the country, said Mark Dimondstein, the union s president, in a statement. The endorsement came from the union s 13-member executive board.The United States Postal Service (USPS) lost $5.5 billion last year. That is the eighth annual loss in a row and the third-highest ever. The only silver lining is that the loss was below the red-ink tsunami of $15.9 billion in 2012.Why does the federal government deliver the mail? Why does it have a monopoly over delivering the mail?Admittedly, the Postal Service is one of the few government programs with actual constitutional warrant. The Constitution authorizes Congress to establish post offices. And early American politicians rushed to take advantage of their opportunity, creating the Post Office Department in 1792.With politics rather than service as the post office s priority, Congress took the next step and approved the Private Express Statutes, which prevented anyone from competing with the government in delivering first-class mail. And Uncle Sam enforced his monopoly, fining would-be competitors, including celebrated libertarian author Lysander Spooner.The feds continue to prosecute anyone with the temerity to compete with the USPS, even threatening the Cub Scouts for once offering to deliver Christmas cards.Believing that Americans existed to serve the USPS left the system ill-equipped to adapt to changing circumstances. In 1971, Congress turned the Post Office Department into the semi-independent USPS. That removed its direct role in politics, but the USPS still is exempt from taxes and regulations, including local parking restrictions. Congress retained its control over postal policies and, of course, preserved the system s delivery monopoly.But banning competition could not preserve the postal market. The number of pieces of mail peaked in 2001 and continues to fall despite a rising population. Mail pieces dropped from 213 billion in 2006 to 155 billion last year, and the number is expected to decline to 130 billion by 2020. The USPS s last profitable year was 2006. Since then, losses have run between $2.8 billion and $15.9 billion. The Postal Service has maxed out its borrowing from Uncle Sam and missed four retiree program payments. With characteristic understatement, the Government Accountability Office observed, Given its financial problems and outlook, USPS cannot support its current level of service and operations. The postal unions insist that nothing is wrong at least, nothing that a federal bailout wouldn t solve. They reserve particular ire for the requirement that the USPS prefund workers retirement. Had this rule not been in place, noted former postmaster general Patrick Donahoe, the Postal Service would have earned money last year.But prefunding protects taxpayers. Washington s unfunded (government) retirement liability is about $800 billion and growing every year. That no other agency is required to prefund is unfair to taxpayers, not the Postal Service, since every agency should have to set aside sufficient money to fulfill its financial promises. With the Postal Service earning too little to pay and with nothing left of its federal credit line, the USPS has defaulted four times over the last three years on its mandated contributions.Sanders has long been a vocal backer of a robust postal service, particularly during the postal reform debate of recent years. APWU views itself as fighting a battle against postal service privatization, and it counts the Vermont senator as perhaps its leading defender.As the postal service bleeds millions in losses mostly due to unique funding mandates placed upon it by Congress Sanders has staunchly opposed the closure of postal facilities and cuts in postal service, such as Saturday delivery. He is also a leading proponent of the concept of postal banking, which would allow post offices to provide small loans and compete with payday lenders. Postal banking is a top issue for APWU, and Sanders has sought to make it a campaign issue.In his statement, Dimondstein noted Sanders long history of standing with workers on picket lines, as well as his support for a national $15 per hour minimum wage. Sanders spoke at a protest against Verizon last month that was held by the Communications Workers of America union, and he joined a Fight for $15 rally outside the U.S. Capitol building earlier this week.Via: Huffington Post | 1real |
Protesters face off as U.S. abortion debate heats up | WASHINGTON/MARIETTA, Ga. (Reuters) - Anti-abortion protesters rallied at scores of Planned Parenthood clinics on Saturday to urge Congress and President Donald Trump to strip the health services provider of federal funding, while supporters of the organization staged counter-demonstrations around the United States. With anti-abortion groups expecting protests at up to 225 clinics, Planned Parenthood supporters organized 150 protests of their own at parks, government buildings and other sites, including clinics. At some of those clinics, the counter-demonstrators outnumbered those demanding an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood. All told, rallies and marches were called in 45 states in cities large and small, from Washington and Philadelphia to St. Paul, Minnesota, and Orange, California As many as 6,000 people turned up for competing demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota, police said, but at other places, only a few dozen demonstrators turned out. “We expected that tens of thousands of pro-lifers will be out today sending a message that we want Planned Parenthood to be defunded,” Monica Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and one of the national organizers of the anti-abortion rallies, said in a telephone interview. “As long as they are going stay in the abortion business, that is an organization that shouldn’t be getting one red cent of federal tax money,” Miller said. The 100-year-old organization of about 650 health centers provides birth control and other women’s health services in addition to abortion, according to its website. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling but U.S. law prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions. Anti-abortion activists say funding for other purposes acts to subsidize abortions. In some cities, the two sides in the long-simmering issue positioned themselves along the same street. Initial reports indicate the rallies were vocal and peaceful. In the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups took opposite sides of a four-lane highway, waving signs at traffic and shouting slogans. “Trump is going to hear our trumpet call,” said anti-abortion activist Sandy Prescott, 61, a homemaker from Roswell, Georgia, who was part of a group of about 100 people demanding an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood. At the competing abortion-rights demonstration, about 50 people gathered and held signs that included: “Women’s rights are human rights.” Many wore the pink “pussy hats” that have became an anti-Trump symbol since the Republican’s inauguration on Jan. 20. David Daleiden, an anti-abortion activist who in 2015 targeted Planned Parenthood with surreptitiously filmed videos to try and show it was profiting from the sale of aborted fetal tissue, addressed a rally of nearly 500 people in rain-soaked Orange, a Los Angeles suburb. “I’m confident that together, if we keep the faith, take the next right step, at the end of the day we will soon see a day when there will no longer be a price tag put on human life,” said Daleiden, founder of the Center of Medical Progress. Daleiden and fellow activist Sandra Merritt were indicted in January 2016 for using illegal government identifications to secretly film a Planned Parenthood facility in Texas, but the charges were later dropped. A grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing. Anti-abortion activists have said they are energized by the election of Trump, who has promised to restrict abortions. He selected their long-time ally, Mike Pence, as vice president, and nominated conservative jurist Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two weeks ago, tens of thousands converged on Washington for the 44th March for Life, where Pence became the most senior government official to speak in person at the annual anti-abortion rally, organizers said. “We finally have someone in the White House who has the power and authority to save and defend lives,” said Margie Sznajder, one of 300 anti-abortion protesters at a rally in her hometown of Aurora, Illinois, outside Chicago. Planned Parenthood leaders say abortions rights supporters also have been energized by Trump’s election, as exemplified by the hundreds of thousands who flooded Washington a day after Trump’s inauguration in favor of women’s rights, including abortion rights. In Denver, hundreds gathered outside the office of U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, urging the Republican not to pursue funding cuts. Some in the energetic but peaceful crowd carried signs with slogans like “I refuse to go back to the 1950s,” and “If it’s not your body, it’s not your decision.” The pro-Planned Parenthood events on Saturday were organized spontaneously, without the group’s initiative, a spokeswoman said. “Saturday, and every day, Planned Parenthood advocates and activists show that they refuse to be intimidated and they won’t back down,” Kelley Robinson, a leader of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Support, said in a statement. Planned Parenthood receives federal funds from Medicaid reimbursements and Title X, a federal program that supports family planning and preventive health services. Planned Parenthood says cutting off those funds would make it more difficult for women to obtain birth control, Pap smears or testing for sexually transmitted diseases. At some points in Washington, Planned Parenthood supporters formed lines to block about 50 people marching from the Supreme Court to a Planned Parenthood clinic but police officers moved them aside. “Abortion, to me, is the greatest evil of our time,” said Delia Tyagi, 36, an accountant who lives in Arlington, Virginia. “Planned Parenthood has wronged women in a lot of ways. I feel like we have the momentum to finally defund them.” | 0fake |
Saudi coalition investigates own air strikes, clears itself | RIYADH (Reuters) - A panel set up by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen to investigate civilian casualties found a series of deadly air strikes largely justified, citing the presence of armed militiamen at the homes, schools and clinics that were targeted. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team said on Tuesday it had discovered mistakes in only three of 15 incidents it reviewed, and maintained the coalition had acted in accordance with international humanitarian law. Saudi Arabia and its allies have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen in 2015. The Houthis have in turn fired rockets toward Saudi cities and villages. They say their attacks are in response to Saudi strikes on Yemeni cities and villages. The war has killed more than 10,000 people. The coalition has been repeatedly criticized for civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch accused it on Tuesday of war crimes, saying air strikes that hit family homes and a grocery store were carried out either deliberately or recklessly, causing indiscriminate loss of civilian lives. The United Nations said on Monday it had verified 5,144 civilian deaths in the war, mainly from coalition bombardment, and an international investigation was urgently needed. The minimal efforts made towards accountability over the past year are insufficient to respond to the gravity of the continuing and daily violations involved in this conflict, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al Hussein said in Geneva. Speaking in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the panel s legal advisor, Mansour Ahmed al-Mansour, told journalists the coalition had made an unintended mistake in bombing a water well-drilling rig north of Yemen s capital Sanaa last year after confusing it with a ballistic missile launcher. The raid reportedly killed 30 people and JIAT recommended the coalition provide appropriate humanitarian assistance , without elaborating. It urged the same for strikes in Sanaa in June and September 2015 when bombs targeting military objectives mistakenly hit civilian buildings due to a technical malfunction in aircraft systems . Mansour denied the coalition hit a U.N. compound in Aden in June 2015, which the U.N. secretary general said at the time caused serious structural damage and one casualty. About a January 2016 attack near Saada which killed a Medecins Sans Frontieres ambulance driver and at least five other people, Mansour disputed the vehicle was clearly marked and said the coalition had legitimately targeted it and an ammunition depot it was parked beside. The vehicle was used for military purposes due to the secondary explosion in the vehicle, which was obvious, he said. The investigators also absolved the coalition of responsibility for attacks on a Coca-Cola factory in December 2015 and a centre for the blind the following month. | 0fake |
Oops: Ammosexual Playing With Gun During Benghazi Movie Shoots Woman (VIDEO) | Thinking about going to the movies? You might want to avoid 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, and not just because of the film s poor reviews.In case it s not obvious from the title, the film was created in hopes of drawing in a crowd of delusional right-wing nuts, whose hatred for Hillary Clinton is only surpassed by their passionate love for firearms. In that respect, at least, the film seems to have done what it set out to do.To illustrate the point, on January 21, as the Benghazi film flickered on the screen, a drunken ammosexual playing with his substitute penis handgun while seated in The Landing Cinema in Renton, Washington, accidentally shot the woman sitting in front of him.According to Renton police: Preliminary accounts indicate that an intoxicated suspect entered one of the theaters and was fumbling with a handgun he had in his possession when it went off, striking another patron seated in front of him. The victim was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition.The unidentified 29-year-old shooter ran out of the building, likely fearing a theater jammed full of good guys with guns, locked, loaded and ready to fire at anything moving in the darkened cinema.David Grushke, who was in the theater at the time of the shooting, described the shooting to KOMO News in Seattle, saying: There was a gunshot and we thought it was a light bulb exploding in the theater, so no one really reacted. Grushke said by the time he and other patrons realized that the woman was shot, the shooter was already disappearing through the exit.Grushke told KOMO News that it appeared the woman had been shot in the upper chest.The shooter s father later turned him into the police. He was arrested at his family s home in Newcastle.Considering how badly this incident might have turned out, the fact that only one person was shot, and no one was killed, seems almost fortunate.Here s more on the story from KING5.Featured image credit: video screen capture KING5 | 1real |
Ted Cruz BLASTS Trump For Alleged Mob Ties (VIDEO) | It s very hard to pick between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in terms of who would be worse for the country if either were to become the next president. Hopefully it won t come to that. but for now, what an embarrassment for the Republican party this must be to watch the candidates go after each other. In the latest attempt to attack his rival, Texas senator Ted Cruz claimed that Trump has ties to the mob.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyCfhtWK1k]On NBC s Meet the Press, Cruz attacked Trump over his tax returns, citing possible reasons why Trump is not making them public. Cruz went fishing on this one, saying that Trump is not revealing his taxes because he s supposedly worth less than Mitt Romney s few hundred million. Then there s the money he allegedly gives to liberal groups. He then threw in the mob tie allegation. He said: Maybe he s not s rich as he says he is. Maybe Mitt Romney is richer than Donald Trump. He can answer that by releasing his taxes. On the other hand maybe it s the case that he s given large sums of money to liberal left wing groups like Planned Parenthood. You know, he praises Planned Parenthood in the debates over and over again. Maybe he s a big financial supporter of that. All of those questions Donald Trump can put to rest. You know Chuck, maybe it s the case, there have been multiple media reports about Donald Trump s business dealings with the mob, with the mafia. Maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported regardless what the bombshell is. Chuck Todd seemed startled by the claim and asked if Cruz had any evidence. Cruz said: ABC, CNN, multiple news reports have reported about his business dealings with for example S&A Construction, which was owned by Fat Tony Salerno who is a mobster who is in jail. It is owned by two of the major New York crime families and that has been reported in multiple media outlets. It s interesting how Cruz, a lawyer, can be so dirty as to proclaim Trump s alleged mob ties simply because of reports. That s the type of dirty campaign Cruz has run thus far. However, there is no sympathy felt for Trump and the hope is that the Republican candidates can continue to make a mockery of one another.Featured image via video screen capture. | 1real |
Katastrophenschutz warnt: Werwölfe heute Nacht bis zu 15 Prozent größer | Montag, 14. November 2016 Katastrophenschutz warnt: Werwölfe heute Nacht bis zu 15 Prozent größer Berlin (dpo) - Der "Supermond" begeistert. Für viele Deutsche ist der größte Mond seit 1912 ein Spektakel. Doch das seltene Phänomen hat auch gefährliche Auswirkungen: So warnt der Katastrophenschutz davor, dass Werwölfe heute Nacht bis zu 15 Prozent größer und 33 Prozent stärker sind als normal. "Wir empfehlen allen Menschen dringend, sich heute Nacht zu Hause zu verbarrikadieren, wenn sie nicht von einem besonders großen und wilden Superwerwolf zerfetzt werden wollen", warnt Parazoologe Wolfgang Beckmess vom Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe. "Wer sich dennoch nach draußen wagen will - etwa, um den sogenannten Supermond zu beobachten -, sollte unbedingt mindestens eine Waffe aus Silber mit sich führen." Wer sich mit Silber-Kugeln ausrüstet, sollte daran denken, ein um 15% größeres Kaliber zu verwenden. Menschen, die selbst unter Lykanthropie leiden, rät der Katastrophenschutz, sich heute Nacht besonders fest an das Bett fesseln lassen, da sie mutmaßlich über erheblich größere Kräfte verfügen als in einer gewöhnlichen Vollmondnacht. Zudem sollte darauf geachtet werden, möglichst dehnfähige Schlafkleidung zu tragen. Beckmess, der als Koryphäe auf dem Gebiet der Werwolfforschung gilt, erklärte außerdem: "Achten Sie auch darauf, dass es in dieser Jahreszeit schon früh dunkel wird, wodurch der Supermond schon ab… ach du Scheiße, ist es schon so spät? U RGHHH! U RGH! h!" ssi, dan; Foto oben [M]: Shutterstock Artikel teilen: | 1real |
Mayor de Blasio Avoids Terrorism Label in Manhattan Explosion - The New York Times | It was on the minds of New Yorkers, who immediately drew comparisons to Sept. 11, 2001. It could be felt in the police response, which included teams of heavily armed officers stationed at key targets and the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Police Department. But for Mayor Bill de Blasio and top city officials, terrorism was the word that could not be spoken on Sunday. Seeking to project a responsible and measured reaction, the mayor pointedly avoided calling the bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday that injured 29 people — and the presence of a seemingly related but undetonated device a few blocks away — a possible act of terror, declining at several points on Sunday to do so. He emphasized that there would be no “easy answers” and that no suspect had yet been apprehended. Absent a motivation, Mr. de Blasio suggested the word terrorism should not be used, shaking his head in disapproval at the notion that the basic facts of the bombing could be described that way. “Here is what we know: It was intentional, it was a violent act, it was certainly a criminal act, it was a bombing — that’s what we know,” he said on Sunday, flanked by law enforcement officials at Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan. “To understand there were any specific motivations, political motivations, any connection to an organization — that’s what we don’t know. ” The approach appeared to be aimed at calming nerves in a city on edge, and at avoiding a rush to conclusions, both in New York City and across the country. Unlike other past events that were labeled terrorism, including a 2014 ax attack on police officers in Queens by a man said to have been inspired by the Islamic State, the authorities have yet to identify a suspect or suspects in the bombing that would allow them to determine — through interviews or a history of online activity — the underlying reason for the attack. The F. B. I. as of late Sunday, had not officially labeled the attack as terrorism, though Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president who is supported by Mr. de Blasio, released a statement that characterized it as among three “apparent terror attacks” on Saturday, including an explosion in New Jersey and a knife attack in Minnesota. “It could have been something personally motivated,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We don’t know yet. ” The approach by Mr. de Blasio at news conferences over the weekend appeared similar to the initial response to another recent explosion in Manhattan, in which a man from Virginia was seriously injured in July when he jumped on a device similar to a homemade firework in Central Park. City officials quickly tried to dissociate that explosion from any broad terrorism plot, instead labeling it the act of a hobbyist experimenting with fireworks. This drew criticism from some New Yorkers, who felt officials did so in haste simply to quell fears. No one has been arrested for placing or assembling the Central Park device, and the police have not wavered from their initial hypothesis about the explosion. The police later announced the device contained substances “which are commonly and legally available for sale in certain hardware stores. ” One of the chemicals was TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, which has been used to detonate bombs in terror attacks overseas and has become the Islamic State’s explosive of choice. On Sunday, police officials said there was no link between the Central Park explosion and the one in Chelsea. In striking a tone of deliberation on Sunday, Mr. de Blasio risked creating a dissonance between the dictionary definition of terrorism — violence with a political motive — and the creeping sense of inevitability that the terror attacks more common elsewhere in the world would find their way to New York. To some, Mr. de Blasio also appeared to conflate terrorism in general — a deadly tactic with many political motives — with terrorism motivated or carried out by the Islamic State and other radical Muslim groups. “I believe the mayor was saying there was no connection with international terrorism and that is correct,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, said on Sunday, referring to the mayor’s comments the night before, when he said there was no initial indication the bombing was terrorism. ”A bomb exploding in New York is obviously an act of terrorism,” Mr. Cuomo added. “But it’s not linked to international terrorism. In other words, we find no ISIS connection. ” The city has experienced bombings with a variety of motivations over the years, from the Weather Underground, which opposed the Vietnam War, to George P. Metesky, the Mad Bomber who in the 1940s and ’50s terrorized the city with bombs in subway stations, movie theaters and a Macy’s department store. His motive appeared to be anger at the electric company Consolidated Edison. Of late, however, many episodes later deemed terror attacks have been committed by homegrown extremists inspired by the Islamic State or Al Qaeda. Before the news conference at Police Headquarters on Sunday, Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo toured the bombing scene on West 23rd Street near Avenue of the Americas and spoke with residents and visitors at a diner, a barbershop and inside a Starbucks. The two men — bitter political rivals — embraced before their tour and offered words of reassurance to tourists and locals alike. “Don’t let them scare us,” Mr. Cuomo said to a woman from the neighborhood. Mr. de Blasio applauded a woman who made her regular Sunday trip to church in Chelsea. “We don’t even know what this is yet,” he told her. | 0fake |
The Shame, The Heartbreak- Another Day In America | - Advertisement -
Here's the thing:Today, October 27, 2016, I, like many of you, watched live feeds of the events going down at Standing Rock.I am at a loss to define my feelings. Anger, outrage, pity, fear
...One phrase kept going through my mind, like a mantra- This is not my America. This is not my America. This is not my America. protests at DAPL License DMCA
And then in counter-point was the thought- But it is. But it is. But it is.Over one hundred heavily armed cops in riot gear, supported by military assault vehicles and helicopters forced peaceful, prayerful water protectors from their own land, ceded to them in the Treaty of 1851. The police are nothing more than a mercenary army protecting the interests of the owners of the DAPL. There was the wail of sound cannons aimed at the protectors, there was tear gas. There were rubber bullets being fired into the crowd.And in my mind- This is not my America (But it is) This is not my America (But it is) This is not my America (But it is) This is about water. There's no political ideology here. We cannot live without water. Decisions are being made that effect the future, and the lives of our children and our grandchildren.This effects all of us. It's not just happening "out there" in the Dakotas or in Iowa or in Texas or in New Mexico. It's everywhere. For god sake, there are already over 2.5 million miles pipeline already installed in the continental United States. Just the other day, mere miles from where I live a Sunoco pipeline leaked over 55,000 gallons of gasoline into the Susquehanna River, endangering the water for over 6 million people down river. Where I live, in northeastern Pennsylvania, there are fracking wells all over the place. And an average of 2.8 million of gallons of clean water were filled with known poisons and toxins and pumped under pressure into the aquifer beneath my feet. There are places within miles of where I live that people can set fire to their water.It's too late for anyone to avoid the destruction, here where I live. We have to deal with the aftermath. The after the fact poisoning of our water and the inevitable leaks and the illnesses and the pockets of strange cancers. This is a shameful day, for all of us. I am sick, in heart, mind and spirit, but I have hope.The battle hasn't even started. Now is when decisions must be made. Hard decisions that will impact on our own sense of comfort and will demand that we risk that comfort, or lose the future. To do nothing is to accept that our children,and our grandchildren will have no clean water to drink, no clean air to breathe, no clean land to live on.This is not overstating the things. It is not alarmist. It is the simplest of truths. - Advertisement - | 1real |
OOPS! OBAMA Tells Troops No Foreign Terror Attacks Happened On His Watch: Here’s Complete List Of RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR Attacks On US Soil During His Presidency [VIDEO] | In a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday, President Obama declared that [n]o foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland. The claim earned perfunctory applause, but a closer look at the reaction of many of the servicemen and women there made clear what they really thought about the administration s handling of national security.Obama speaks to our troops at MacDill Air Force Base about foreign terror attacks on our homeland:The President s claim which he has repeated in some form or fashion over the last few years is an obvious rhetorical attempt to gloss over the reality of the threat of radical Islamic terror on American soil. The attempt to disconnect lone wolf terrorists from the terror organizations who often inspire them does nothing to alleviate the pain of those who have suffered at the hands of jihadists and only hurts prevention efforts. Rhetorical tricks aside, the reality is that during Obama s tenure scores of innocent Americans have been murdered on U.S. soil by jihadists, most of whom were inspired by or acting under the direction of foreign terror groups, particularly the Islamic state.Below is a list of the major, verifiable radical Islamic terror attacks successfully planned and executed on U.S. soil since Obama first took office in 2009 (the first section provided by Daily Wire s Aaron Bandler): Little Rock, Arkansas, June 1, 2009. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot and murdered one soldier, Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, and injured another, Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, at a military recruiting station in Little Rock. Muhammad reportedly converted to Islam in college and was on the FBI s radar after being arrested in Yemen a hotbed of radical Islamic terrorism for using a Somali passport, even though he was a U.S. citizen. In a note to an Arkansas judge, Muhammad claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, the terror group s Yemen chapter.Fort Hood, Texas, November 5, 2009. Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot up a military base in Fort Hood and murdered 14 people. Hasan was in contact with al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack and shouted Allahu Akbar! as he fired upon the soldiers on the Fort Hood base. After being sentenced to death, Hasan requested to join ISIS while on death row. It took six years for Obama to acknowledge the shooting as a terror attack instead of workplace violence. Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 2013. Tamerlan and Dhozkar Tsarnaev set off two bombs at the 2013 Boston marathon, killing three and injuring over 260 people. The Tsarnaev brothers later shot and murdered Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier. The Tsarnaev brothers were self-radicalized through online jihadist propaganda and through a mosque with ties to al-Qaeda.Moore, Oklahoma, September 24, 2014. Alton Nolen beheaded a woman, Colleen Huff, at a Vaughan Foods plant and stabbed and injured another person. While Nolen s motives are unclear, he appears to have been another radicalized Muslim who was obsessed with beheadings.Queens, New York, October 23, 2014. Zale Thompson, another self-radicalized Muslim, injured two police officers with a hatchet before being shot dead by other cops. Thompson reportedly indoctrinated himself with ISIS, al-Qaeda and al-Shabab a Somali jihadist terror group websites and was a lone wolf attacker.Brooklyn, New York, December 20, 2014. Ismaayil Brinsley shot and murdered two police officers execution-style and his Facebook page featured jihadist postings and had ties to a terror-linked mosque.Garland, Texas, May 3, 2015. Two gunmen shot up the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, where a Mohammed cartoon contest was taking place, and were killed by a police officer. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.Chattanooga, Tennessee, July 16, 2015. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez shot and killed four Marines and a sailor at a military base in Chattanooga and was believed to have been inspired by ISIS.San Bernardino, California, December 14, 2015. Two radical Islamists, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, shot and murdered 14 people and injured 22 others at an office holiday party.Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016. Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire at a gay nightclub, killing 49 and injuring 53. The FBI investigated Mateen twice before his rampage, but did not take any substantive action. Officials believe Mateen was self-radicalized but he pledged fealty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before his death. The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west, Mateen posted on his Facebook page after committing his heinous act at Pulse nightclub. I pledge my alliance to (ISIS leader) abu bakr al Baghdadi..may Allah accept me, he wrote.St. Cloud, Minnesota, September 17, 2016. Dahir Ahmed Adan, a 20-year-old Somali refugee, began hacking at people with a steak knife at a Minnesota mall, injuring nine people before he was shot dead by off-duty police officer Jason Falconer. The FBI said numerous witnesses heard Adan yelling Allahu akbar! and Islam! Islam! during the rampage. He also asked potential victims if they were Muslims before inflicting wounds in their heads, necks, and chests. The FBI believe he had recently become self-radicalized. (As the Daily Wire highlighted, the Minneapolis Star Tribune attempted to blame anti-Muslim tensions for his murderous actions.)New York City/New Jersey, September 17, 2016. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized citizen from Afghanistan, set off multiple bombs in New York and New Jersey. In Chelsea, his bomb resulted in the injury of over 30 people. Rahami wrote in his journal that he was connected to terrorist leaders, and appears to have been heavily influenced by Sheikh Anwar, Anwar al-Awlaki, Nidal Hassan, and Osama bin Laden. I pray to the beautiful wise ALLAH, [d]o not take JIHAD away from me, Rahami wrote. You [USA Government] continue your [unintelligible] slaught[er] against the holy warriors, be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Sham [Syria], Palestine Columbus, Ohio, November 28, 2016. Abdul Razak Ali Artan, an ISIS-inspired 20-year-old Somali refugee who had been granted permanent legal residence in 2014 after living in Pakistan for 7 years, attempted to run over his fellow Ohio State students on campus. After his car was stopped by a barrier, he got out of the vehicle and began hacking at people with a butcher knife before being shot dead by a campus police officer. He injured 11 people, one critically. ISIS took credit for the attack, describing Artan as their soldier. Just three minutes before his rampage, Artan posted a warning to America on Facebook that the lone wolf attacks will continue until America give[s] peace to the Muslims. He also praised deceased al-Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki as a hero. Daily Wire | 1real |
For Trump, challenging an election loss would be tough | (Reuters) - If Donald Trump were to challenge the outcome of next month’s presidential election, as he has hinted he might, he would face a difficult and expensive fight, according to election attorneys and a review of voting laws in key battleground states. Trump has said he is worried the Nov. 8 election might be rigged in favor of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and in Wednesday’s debate he refused to say he would accept the outcome. But before any court challenge, Trump probably would have to ask for a recount, said Donald Brey, a Republican election lawyer in Ohio. If the campaign did not pursue out-of-court options first, he said, a judge likely would dismiss the case. Recount rules vary from state to state. North Carolina, for example, doesn’t allow a presidential candidate to request a recount at all if one candidate has a lead of more than 0.5 percent of the total votes cast. In Wisconsin, the challenging candidate must pay the full expense of a recount if the vote in dispute is more than 0.25 percent, and in Colorado if it is more than 0.5 percent. That can be expensive. Officials in one Wisconsin village put the cost of a local recount, in which about 9,000 votes were cast earlier this year, at nearly $13,000, said Michael Maistelman, a Wisconsin election lawyer who represented the unsuccessful candidate. More than 3 million people voted in the 2012 presidential election in Wisconsin. Deciding where to challenge the election would be complicated. Trump, who trailed Clinton by 7 percentage points nationwide in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, is fighting tight battles in some key states. In Ohio, for example, an average of major opinion polls reviewed by the RealClearPolitics website found Trump to be leading by less than 1 percentage point. In Iowa, he is leading by nearly 4 percent. In some other battleground states, polls suggest support for Trump has eroded in recent weeks. According to the RealClearPolitics website’s poll tally, Clinton has substantial leads in Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin. She leads Trump by more than 6 percentage points in Pennsylvania, nearly 4 points in Florida and more than two points in North Carolina. To maximize his chances of overturning a Clinton win, Trump might need to challenge the results in several states, said Troy McCurry, a former Republican National Committee lawyer who was part of the party’s recount team in 2012. Trump could try to bring a legal claim without first asking for recount by alleging, for instance, that an abuse of power by an election official, said McCurry, who’s law firm represented Ted Cruz in the Republican primary before McCurry joined the practice. But if Trump’s lawyers were unable to muster specific facts to support that premise, he said, a judge would dismiss the lawsuit. Any lawsuit that withstood early challenges would face an uncertain future. With the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-to-4 between liberal and conservative justices, state supreme courts or federal appeals courts could well make the final ruling in any election dispute. In Pennsylvania, Colorado and Florida, where a majority of both state and federal appeals court judges have Democratic affiliations, Trump might face a more difficult road. Meanwhile, appeals courts in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa are more heavily Republican. Ohio election attorney Brey, who said he dislikes but will vote for Trump, believes a challenge in Ohio would be a last-ditch effort for the candidate. “Let’s put it this way,” he said. “If Ohio is close, Trump’s already lost.” Trump also might face obstacles from his own party, attorneys said, because it would be reluctant to challenge results in a state where, say, it lost the presidential race but won a close U.S. senate race. Numerous studies have shown U.S. elections, which are decentralized and run by the states, are basically sound. “Mr. Trump never mentions what criteria would be necessary for him to make a decision about a challenge,” said Stephen Zack, an attorney who represented Vice President Al Gore in the case that was brought to the Supreme Court over the election recount in Florida in 2000. “Basically it is left as, ‘I’ll see what it smells like and then I will surprise you,’” Zack said. “There are rule-of-law issues that pertain to elections that separate us from anywhere else in the world.” Election officials in several states rejected suggestions the balloting might be rigged. Eric Spencer, election director in Arizona, said that while isolated incidents of voter fraud might occur and should be investigated, election workers come from all political parties and work with integrity. “The notion that the election is rigged is preposterous if not insulting,” Spencer said. Some election watchers question how serious Trump is about a challenge. “A lot of this is just posturing,” McCurry said. “At the end of the day I don’t see how this happens.” | 0fake |
Tillerson warns region against using Lebanon as proxy for conflict | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday warned other countries and groups against using Lebanon as vehicle for a larger proxy fight in the Middle East, saying the United States strongly backed Lebanon s independence. Tillerson said he recognized Saad al-Hariri as Lebanon s prime minister and called him a strong partner of the United States. Hariri unexpectedly resigned his post at the weekend from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh and accused Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation thrust Lebanon into the front line of a regional competition between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi ite Iran that has also buffeted Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain. Tillerson s backing of Hariri and the Lebanese government contrasted sharply with the approach taken by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia which has lumped Lebanon with Hezbollah as parties hostile to it. There is no legitimate place or role in Lebanon for any foreign forces, militias or armed elements other than the legitimate security forces of the Lebanese state, Tillerson said in a statement. Lebanese authorities have said Hariri is being held against his will in Saudi Arabia, a charge that Riyadh has denied. Tillerson earlier said there was no indication Hariri was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will but that Washington was monitoring the situation. Tillerson s statement said there was no legitimate role in Lebanon for any foreign forces, militias or armed elements - an apparent reference to Hezbollah and its regional backer, Iran. But Tillerson also cautioned against any party, within or outside Lebanon, using Lebanon as a venue for proxy conflicts or in any manner contributing to instability in that country. | 0fake |
Watch Pres Jimmy Carter Go Beast Mode On Republican Candidates (VIDEO) | Former president Jimmy Carter denounced what he called the legal bribery afflicting our political system, turning the presidential race into one that is influenced by a few billionaires, lobby groups, and corporate oligarchs who sponsor candidates by giving billions in exchange for influencing the candidates policy platform. In an interview with the BBC, Carter said: The erroneous ruling of the Supreme Court, where millionaires and billionaires can put in unlimited amounts of money in to the campaign, it gives legal bribery a chance to prevail, because almost all the candidates, whether they are honest or not, Democrat or Republican, rely on these massive amounts of money in order to campaign. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZFc1QqRbbQ] President Carter has a very important point and one that should be taken into account: The democracy of the country is threatened and eroded when an elected official, especially a president, owes a handful of individuals who finance his/her presidential campaign favors.Take for example, the NRA. The NRA is a very well funded and organized lobby group that lobbies Washington officials in favor of lax guns laws. That, in turn, means easier access to guns, which translates into sales. Some people get rich as a result of gun sales, but the country collectively suffers, as has been documented, with record numbers of shootings around the country.Another example is individual donations. Republican candidate Marco Rubio s sponsor, the billionaire Norman Braman, has donated $15-25 million to Rubio s campaign. Braman is staunchly pro-Israel and has financed the building of settlements in the Palestinian West Bank. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and US policy condemns settlement building in the West Bank. Yet, you can bet that if Rubio should become president, Braman will cash in his chips by ensuring that Rubio goes along with Israel s illegal activities. In the end, we will continue to have a mess in the Middle Eat, which hurts the region and the United States.The bottom line is that billions of dollars are being spent by candidates to win the presidency and much of that money comes from a few individuals. The only way to change that is to create a constitutional amendment that overturns the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that allows individuals and corporations to contribute unlimited sums to political races. Until we do this, a small number of individuals and corporations will continue to exert undemocratic influence over our country. Featured image from YouTube via screenshot | 1real |
Trump high court pick Gorsuch shows conservative credentials | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In less than three months, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch, is already staking out ground on the court’s right, adding his voice to the biggest controversies including Trump’s travel ban targeted at six Muslim-majority countries, gun control, religious rights and gay rights. In a flurry of activity at the court on Monday, Gorsuch showed his inclination to rule from a spot occupied by fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. At a minimum, he is so far living up to Trump’s claim that he would be a conservative in the mold of the man he replaced, Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year. Thomas, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, is seen by legal experts as the most conservative of the nine justices and is known for his idiosyncratic views of some legal issues. The court has a 5-4 conservative majority. Two of the conservative majority, Anthony Kennedy, and to a lesser extent Chief Justice John Roberts, sometimes side with the liberals. Liberal groups and Democratic senators had vociferously opposed Gorsuch’s appointment, with the evidence so far suggesting their depiction of him as a dogged conservative was largely correct. “Justice Gorsuch has shown himself to be the conservative ideologue many predicted he would be and not the moderating check on the executive branch as others suggested he would be,” said Michele Jawando, a lawyer with the liberal Center for American Progress. Conservatives, meanwhile, are delighted. Their hope that Gorsuch, 49, would be a solid vote on the right, would appear to be well founded. “Gorsuch is rapidly becoming my favorite justice,” said Ilya Shapiro, a lawyer with the libertarian Cato Institute. The new justice, formerly an appeals court judge in Colorado, was sworn in on April 10 after Democrats made a concerted effort to block his confirmation by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Gorsuch has not been shy to make his voice heard since day one on the bench when, during three one-hour arguments, he sparred with attorneys no fewer than eight times. “I’m sorry for taking up so much time, I apologize,” he said, smiling, after one such lengthy exchange. Gorsuch has asserted himself on paper as well. His one opinion for the court, in a case about debt collection, was unanimous. But it’s not unusual for new justices to be assigned a first opinion to write where the court is in broad agreement. In the cases where the court has been divided, he has reliably stuck with the conservative wing while showing something of an independent streak similar to Thomas. Gorusch nailed his colors to the mast in a series of written opinions and votes on Monday. In the biggest dispute before the justices, the court handed a partial win to Trump by partly reviving his travel ban that he has said is needed for security reasons but opponents criticize as discriminatory. The ban was blocked by lower courts and the high court agreed to hear oral arguments in its next term starting in October. Gorsuch, with two of the court’s other conservatives, said they would have voted to allow the entire ban to go into effect. When the court also declined to hear what would have been a major gun rights case on whether the constitutional right to keep firearms for self-defense extends outside the home, only two of the nine justices dissented. One was Thomas. The other was Gorsuch. A gay rights case saw a similar pattern, with Thomas, Gorsuch and fellow conservative Samuel Alito the only dissenters as the court threw out an Arkansas court ruling that allowed the state to refuse to list both same-sex spouses on birth certificates. Gorsuch has also showed a willingness to quibble with his colleagues on what might seem minor points. In the court’s big ruling on Monday in a religious rights case, the justices were split 7-2 on allowing a church to apply for state funding to re-pave its school playground. Gorsuch wrote a separate concurring opinion, joined by Thomas, in which he explained in part why he agreed with all of the majority opinion, except for one footnote that limited it. “It could be that he is more similar to Thomas than Scalia. If he continues this pattern it might be significant,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian law professor at George Mason University. | 0fake |
Chinese state media takes praise for leader to new heights as Xi tightens grip | BEIJING (Reuters) - The official newspaper of China s ruling Communist Party has lavished unusually high levels of praise on President Xi Jinping s signature leadership, as China s strongest leader in decades consolidates his personal power. Xi s leadership was cast as having forged a new way of governance for China that the paper said had been applauded worldwide and had brought China to new heights of economic, political and diplomatic success. The paean, even more effusive than usual for the state mouthpiece, came in two parts written under the official nom de plume of the People s Daily for important commentaries and was carried on its front page on Tuesday and Wednesday. Billed as an exposition on the changes in leadership, thought, mission and rejuvenation for China revealed during a course-setting meeting of the top party leadership in October, it marked the latest assault in a propaganda onslaught vaunting Xi s contributions to China and the world. Xi has amassed positions and accolades at a level much higher than his immediate predecessors, being named the core of the party leadership last year and having his named theory written into the party charter in October. Such an honor has not been given to a sitting leader since Mao Zedong, communist China s founding leader. Chinese state media has taken praise for Xi to new levels since the twice-a-decade conclave. Xi was given Mao-like prominence with his portrait taking up nearly the entire front page of the People s Daily. A unique path, a unique theory, a unique system, a unique culture; Xi Jinping s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era has developed a rich path for China that has transcended Western-centric theory, and hugely excited many developing countries to confidently choose their own path, the paper said. Without Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, we would not have a party center that is moving closer daily to the center of the world stage, the People s Daily said. China has expanded the reach of its foreign policy and military under Xi, who has talked about the need for China to be confident in its own political system and to provide Chinese solutions and wisdom for global issues. However, concerns abroad about China using its influence to sway foreign business, academic, and political institutions have also grown. Xi told foreign political groups in Beijing on Friday that China would not export its political system and would provide more opportunities for the world through its development. He was speaking as he opened China s first ever high-level inter-party dialogue. | 0fake |
How the Grammy Awards Are Made: 4 Craftsmen and ‘Grammium’ - The New York Times | Adele and Beyoncé, should you happen to read this, consider including the following name in your acceptance speeches on Grammy night: John Billings. He’s not an engineer, producer or video director. But he has had a hand in every Grammy — literally — for the past four decades. Known as “the Grammy man,” Mr. Billings, 70, is a master mold maker who has been designing, crafting and delivering the awards to the academy for more than half of his life. “I’ve been around them forever,” he said in a telephone interview. “Every year they become more and more special to me. I’ve always been a music fan, and the Grammys have always turned me on to so much I wouldn’t hear if I just sat and listened to a radio station. ” For this year’s ceremony, airing on Sunday night on CBS, 350 trophies were made. And yes, they were all created equal. “When we’re making Grammys, we don’t know whose Grammy that’s going to be, so we don’t have one favorite,” Mr. Billings said, adding: “They’re all just like children. I really never try to question why someone is getting an award I do sometimes question why someone is not. ” Before artists can hoist the award onstage in front of their peers, a lot of work must be done, which starts when the nomination list comes in. Mr. Billings and his team review it and estimate the number of Grammys that need to be cast to cover the nominees receiving the awards. In his Ridgway, Colo. studio, the whirring of a polishing wheel and tapping of a hammer provide the soundtrack for his team of three, who tinker five days a week, . “We really don’t have an average day,” Mr. Billings said of the process needed to complete each trophy. “The guys who work with me really know what they’re doing. We don’t look at the clock, we don’t rush these things. ” The awards are made of a custom metal alloy called grammium (yes, really) and are cast from three molds: one for the base, one for the gramophone cabinet and one for the tone arm, which holds the bell. After the pieces are cast, they go through a series of filing, sanding and polishing processes, and the gramophone cabinet and tone arm are plated in gold. Once dry, the three pieces are assembled, and each award is with a unique serial number for authenticity. The Grammys used during the television broadcast are for show Mr. Billings and his team engrave the names of winners onto plates after the event. Mr. Billings’s relationship with the award began when he was 12, upon seeing his friend’s father, Bob Graves, make the first one in his garage. In 1976 Mr. Billings became Mr. Graves’s apprentice he took over production in 1983 after his mentor’s death. “It means a great deal to us — John is part of the family,” said Bill Freimuth, the vice president for awards at the Recording Academy. “It’s that personal service it’s not dealing with some sort of an anonymous corporation. It’s dealing with a person who is who deals with making these beautiful works of art many times over. ” Over time the trophy, like the Grammy Awards show itself, has evolved. Since the first ceremony, in 1959, five different designs have been created the last major came in the early 1990s, when Mr. Billings said he spent a year sketching and a few months fashioning three prototypes from scrap metal in his studio. The goal was simple: to keep the gramophone and its Art Deco influences but rework the tone arm, which was prone to breaking because of its thinness. Nearly 30 years later, Mr. Billings said he remains content with his design. “I think it’s going to stay exactly where it is,” he said of the current Grammy. “I don’t see a reason to change it. It’s become very iconic. People recognize it and understand what it symbolizes. ” Once Mr. Billings and his team have made the finishing touches on each set of Grammys, it’s time to send them to Los Angeles — but not via FedEx or U. P. S. “I’ve always just them,” he said. “I just think it would be a nightmare to try and ship these. In the old days, there weren’t so many Grammys, so I would put them in my truck and make several trips. ” These days, Mr. Billings attaches a cargo trailer to his truck for the journey. When the last Grammy is packed away and the trailer is locked, the team takes a moment to pause. “We open a bottle of champagne and write a date on the bottle and how many Grammys were made for that year,” he said. “That caps it off — the Grammys are done, now they’re on their way. Then we start making them all over again. ” | 0fake |
DISTURBING TRUTH ABOUT How The UN Decides Which Muslim “REFUGEES” Will Be Your New Neighbor [VIDEO] | Every American should know the corrupt UN has been, and will continue to be, the one organization who decides which Muslim refugees will be flooding your hometown Who picks the Syrian refugees that resettle in the U.S.? Homeland Security? No, the United Nations, in concert with a global Islamist group. And they re sending more than 15,000, not the widely reported 10,000.In fact, Washington has no role in selecting the thousands of Syrian refugees coming to your hometown. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is really behind the effort, and he s referred an additional 5,000-plus Syrian nationals here.A new State Department report reveals that the U.S. already has accepted at least 15,000 Syrian refugee referrals from the UNHCR. The United States is one of 28 countries that have agreed to accept referrals from UNHCR as part of its ambitious international effort to secure permanent or temporary resettlement for 130,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, the State Department said in Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2016. As of mid-2015, UNHCR has referred more than 15,000 Syrian refugees to the United States, the 71-page report adds. And these individuals are being screened to determine whether they are eligible. Of course, that security screening is a joke, as the FBI director and his top counterterrorism aide, as well as the Homeland Security and National Intelligence chiefs, have all testified.State notes in its report that security checks include biographic name checks for all refugee applicants and biometric (fingerprint) checks for refugee applicants. Only Syria is a failed state, and there are no fingerprint databases to check applicants against.The Islamic State has publicly vowed to use the refugee program to invade Europe and America, and allegedly has already infiltrated some 4,000 warriors among the flood of Syrian refugees.The Obama administration insists that it will catch any terrorist infiltrators through its interviewing process.But, the State Department report said, In some countries, such as Syria, Yemen and Eritrea, Department of Homeland Security adjudicators have been unable to travel to interview applicants for several years. That s not all. The UNHCR is working hand in hand with an international Islamist group of 57 Muslim nations the Organization of Islamic Cooperation whose founding charter seeks to propagate legitimate jihad and the norms of Islamic Shari ah. Saudi-based OIC, in fact, is tied to the radical Muslim Brotherhood. We are delighted to work with the OIC, said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.So it s really the U.N. and radical Islamists who are choosing your new Muslim neighbors.While the U.N. calls its project refugee resettlement, the Islamists call it hijra, or immigration jihad. Via: IBD | 1real |
Does Bernie Sanders really want to win? Three Democratic debate takeaways | To understand what ails Hillary Clinton, let’s rewind past Iowa and New Hampshire – two years back, in fact, to a speech in New Orleans before the National Auto Dealers Association and these words:
“The last time I actually drove a car myself was 1996. I remember it very well. Unfortunately, so does the Secret Service, which is why I haven't driven since then.”
That one passage underscores three of Clinton’s present-day woes: she’s lived in a cocoon for well over two decades; she’s not all that entertaining; there may be no limit to what she and her husband will do for a quick buck (that one appearance earned Hillary a $325,000 honorarium).
Speaking of Clinton’s motoring skills, there’s a fourth problem: rather than turn into the skid caused by alarming droves of young and women voters jilting her for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, she’s overcorrected – trying too hard to pawn herself off as a feverish progressive; leaning too hard on “Lean In” adherents to stay true to the sisterhood.
It’s one way to parse Thursday’s Democratic debate in Milwaukee: would Clinton continue her February fishtailing, or find a smarter way to pull out of the skid?
Here are three observations.
1. Did Hillary Alter Her Message? Yes – and it began with her opening statement.
Clinton noted voters’ anger toward the economy (isn’t it more like frustration?), singling out “young people” as those most furious, and sounded Bernie-lite in calling for “unaccountable money” to be taken out of the system and claiming that America’s economy is rigged “for those at the top” (but certainly not those industrious souls giving six-figure speeches).
Credit Clinton with waking up to 2016 reality. Which didn’t come easy – not until New Hampshire’s gobsmacking.
In 1992, Bill Clinton had the luxury of running in a pre-digital time when the Democratic hard left, beaten down after three presidential meltdowns, offered little in the way of resistance. In 2008, having voted for the Iraq war, Hillary was too late to wake up to liberal Sturm und Drang.
In 2016, Clinton understands the kooky old guy to the right of her on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee stage (physically, not philosophically) is on to something – and she wants in on his act.
And so it’s official: Hillary Feels the Bern . . . until Bernie’s out of the race.
2. Is Bernie Serious About Winning This? We can quibble over the small stuff – like the batch of spending ideas doubling the national debt. Or how he’d win a single vote in Congress.
Not unlike Donald Trump, Sanders is an implausibly electable candidate who’s cornered the market on “you’re being ripped off” simplicity: “The American people are tired of establishment politics, tired of establishment economics. . .”
The problem: preaching the (Democratic) socialist gospel isn’t a blueprint for victory beyond the most lilywhite of Democratic electorates. Sanders needs to call out Clinton in more glaring terms. Otherwise, he’s gum on her shoe – a protest vote that won’t win many states and, as we’ve already seen post-New Hampshire, will get rolled in the contest that counts most: the delegate count.
Take the issue of illegal immigration as an example of how Sanders falls short. In trying to clarify his 2007 Senate vote against a Senate reform plan, he opted to get all prickly about children’s lives rather than prick holes in Clinton’s record – beginning with not being consistent on immigration.
It wasn’t the only opening he missed.
Sanders could have asked how Clinton could credibly bemoan the state of Black America, having watched her husband sign welfare reform and federal sentencing laws, or why she now espouses gay rights having opposed same-sex marriage in 2008.
Sanders’ trump card – and Hillary’s Achilles heel – is authenticity; he believes what he says; she says what she believes will win the moment.
If Sanders wants to prevail beyond a random few states, he has to drive home that argument. Waiting until the debate’s closing minutes to remind Democrats that she ran against Obama, not him, doesn’t cut it.
3. On, Wisconsin . . . To Nevada and South Carolina. The drinking game only a fool would have accepted: imbibing whenever Clinton tossed a line to those voters she most immediately needs (well, that and Bernie saying “billionaires” or “Wall Street”).
For a Nevada that’s almost 28 percent Latino (50 percent above the national average) and votes on the Democratic side a week from Saturday: “[H]ard-working immigrant families, living in fear, who should be brought out of the shadows so they and their children can have a better future”.
For a South Carolina that’s almost 28 percent black (compared to 1% in New Hampshire) and holds its Democratic primary the following Saturday: “African-Americans who face discrimination in the job market, education, housing and the criminal justice system”.
Toss in a shout-out here or there to women (equal pay for equal work) and Hillary was the grizzliest of pander bears. Her jacket may have been acid-yellow; her intentions were transparently black and brown.
Milwaukee lays claim to several innovations – the first steel automobile frame and outboard gasoline engine (the latter courtesy of a local named Ole Evinrude), not to mention the ice-cream sundae.
The city’s also home to “sewer socialism” and the idea that the natural counter to the Industrial Revolution was to spruce up society with new sanitation systems, municipally-owned utilities, and better schools and parks.
Hillary Clinton’s challenge moving forward: convincing her party that Bernie’s socialism is a losing proposition for her party, even with the “Democratic” modifier.
And if that doesn’t work in Nevada and South Carolina?
This race will wind up in the sewer.
Bill Whalen is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he analyzes California and national politics. He also blogs daily on the 2016 election at www.adayattheracesblog.com. Follow him on Twitter @hooverwhalen. | 0fake |
Republicans win Obamacare legal challenge, add to insurer concerns | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday handed a victory to congressional Republicans who challenged President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, ruling that his administration overstepped its constitutional powers relating to government spending. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, based in Washington, ruled that the administration cannot spend billions of dollars in federal funds to provide subsidies under the law known as Obamacare to private insurers without the approval of Congress. At issue in the case, brought by the Republican-led House of Representatives, are reimbursements to insurance companies to compensate them for reductions that the law requires them to make to customers’ out-of-pocket medical payments. The ruling will not have an immediate effect on the law because the judge put the decision on hold pending an expected appeal by the administration. But it adds to uncertainty over the future of Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential and congressional elections, including whether enough health insurers will continue to participate in the program. Insurers have sustained losses from their Obamacare business, saying they have not attracted enough healthy customers to offset the costs of sicker members. Two of the largest players, UnitedHealth Group and Humana Inc, had already said they would not offer plans in many markets next year. “If you’re going to lose more money, why participate?” asked Steve Halper, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets. Shares in hospital operators such as Community Health Systems Inc fell sharply, while insurer stocks including Aetna Inc, which plans to remain in at least 15 Obamacare markets next year, also declined. In court papers, the administration had warned that a court victory for the House Republicans would lead to a spike in insurance premiums for Americans and force the government to pay more in tax credits to insurance policy-holders. As part of an appeal, the administration is likely to press its argument that the House lacks legal standing to sue. “This suit represents the first time in our nation’s history that Congress has been permitted to sue the executive branch over a disagreement about how to interpret a statute,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. “It’s unfortunate that Republicans have resorted to a taxpayer-funded lawsuit to re-fight a political fight that they keep losing,” Earnest added. “They’ve been losing this fight for six years, and they’ll lose it again.” Conservatives have mounted a series of legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act since it was passed by Congress in 2010 over unified Republican opposition. Collyer was appointed to the bench by Republican former President George W. Bush. The law has helped bring insurance coverage to millions of Americans who previously had none, subsidizing the cost of insurance through tax credits. In addition, the federal government helped defray consumers’ out-of-pocket costs. The House Republicans argued that the administration’s action violated the U.S. Constitution because it is the legislative branch, not the executive branch, that authorizes government spending. “BIG win for the Constitution,” House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote on Twitter. Jonathan Turley, the lawyer who spearheaded the lawsuit, in a blog post called the ruling “a resounding victory not just for Congress but for our constitutional system as a whole.” The appeals court in Washington may be more receptive to the administration’s arguments, in part because seven of its 11 active judges are Democratic-appointees, including four picked by Obama. The case focuses on a cost-sharing provision of Obamacare that requires insurers to reduce deductibles and co-pays. Insurers are supposed to be reimbursed for these costs by the federal government. Cost-sharing is determined by the income of the policyholder and is a mechanism for reducing healthcare costs for lower-income households. The Obama administration has interpreted the provision as a type of federal spending that does not need to be explicitly authorized by Congress. The House Republicans who filed the challenge disagreed. Collyer ruled that the cost-sharing provisions cannot be funded through the same permanent appropriation that covers tax credits made available under the law. The judge rejected the administration’s contention that the appropriation should be viewed as permanent because the alternative interpretation would lead to “absurd economic, fiscal and healthcare policy results.” The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2015, in a ruling authored by Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts, rejected a conservative challenge that could have gutted Obamacare, upholding nationwide tax subsidies crucial to the law. Roberts also wrote a major 2012 ruling preserving Obamacare. | 0fake |
WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING: Katie Couric Would Like Americans To Know That Gun Owners Actually WANT Gun Control | Beware of morning talk show hosts turned news personalities. The Katie Couric s and Matt Lauer s of the world are some of the most radical and dangerous propagandists in the media today. We are unknowingly being fed gun control with a cherry on top, while most Americans don t even realize the leftist drivel they re being fed During a May 13 appearance on NBC s Today, Katie Couric previewed her upcoming gun control documentary by claiming a silent majority of gun owners want more gun control.Couric said these things during an interview conducted by Matt Lauer, who began the interview by countering FBI statistics and claiming mass shootings are on the rise. In September 2014, the FBI released a highly politicized study claiming a rise in mass shootings, only to have the authors of the study recant months later and admit they created data to make the study outcome fit a preconceived conclusion.Yet Lauer claimed mass shootings are on the rise, and Couric played along without hesitation. In fact, she built on Lauer s mass shootings comment to suggest more gun control is needed, and a silent majority of gun owners support it.Couric said:Ninety percent of the public really favors universal background checks. And after Sandy Hook, everyone thought this was a watershed moment, something would be done. And then when Manchin/Toomey died in the Senate, I couldn t understand the disconnect between public opinion and our elected officials.So Couric undertook a gun control documentary, Under the Gun, and says that in interviewing people for the film, she came to the conclusion that the NRA really does not speak for the majority of gun owners. She said, The NRA only represents five percent of gun owners, so there s this huge silent majority, and they represent common ground. For entire story: Breitbart News | 1real |
Sudanese President Indicted for War Crimes Skips Saudi Islamic Summit - Breitbart | Sudanese President Omar indicated through his state media on Friday that he would not attend this weekend’s Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia, at which U. S. President Donald Trump will be a guest of honor. Trump is scheduled to deliver a major address on American relations with the Muslim world at the summit. [The Associated Press quotes Sudanese reports that Minister of State Taha will be sent to the summit in Riyadh instead. “President Omar has apologized to King Salman of Saudi Arabia for being unable to attend the Riyadh summit,” said a statement from Bashir’s office. Undefined “personal reasons” were given as the reason for his absence. The New York Times notes that Saudi Arabia’s invitation to Bashir “outraged human rights advocates, who called it a breach of longstanding United States policy. ” The policy in question calls for ostracizing accused war criminals with outstanding arrest warrants, of which Bashir boasts two, dating back to 2009 and 2010. The International Criminal Court describes him as a “suspect still at large. ” The list of charges is impressive: Five counts of crimes against humanity murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape two counts of war crimes intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction, allegedly committed at least between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan. According to the United Nations, up to 300, 000 people have been killed in the Darfur genocide, and another 2. 3 million displaced into refugee camps. The U. S. State Department said it was opposed to “invitations, facilitation or support for travel by any person subject to outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, including President Bashir. ” Bashir usually encounters little difficulty when he wishes to travel, despite the war crimes charges against him. The International Criminal Court has filed complaints against several nations, including South Africa and Uganda, for refusing to arrest him when he traveled to their jurisdictions. This week, Bashir’s government confidently stated he would attend the Saudi summit and “participate actively,” with a particular emphasis on lifting U. S. sanctions against Sudan. “On his agenda for the summit will be the removal of sanctions finally which were imposed by the US on Sudan. Also on the top of the agenda is to how to combat and how to fight terrorism. What we know is that President Bashir and President Trump will be in the same conference hall, but we don’t know whether he will meet President Trump,” Rabie Abdul Atti, a senior member of the ruling Sudanese party said on Wednesday. CNN notes that prior to President Trump’s inauguration, the Obama administration played up Sudanese opposition to the Islamic State, and was working to ease some sanctions against Sudan as a reward for humanitarian progress in Darfur. | 0fake |
SHOUT! POLL: Do the ‘White Helmets’ Qualify for a Nobel Peace Prize? | 21st Century Wire asks Currently throughout the western media exists a major public relations push to raise the profile of supposed NGO in Syria known as the White Helmets in advance of the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize award on Oct 7th in Oslo, Norway. Recently, streaming giant Netflix released a documentary film to much fanfare, about this alleged first responder group in Syria called the White Helmets. They produce many of the emotional images seen on western media about the Syrian conflict, and also claim to have saved 60,000 lives from Assad s bombs since 2013. What many people are not aware of, however, is that this group has been financed by NATO member states to the tune of at $60 million so far, and they are embedded exclusively in terrorist-held areas of Syria. All things considered, do they qualified for a Nobel Prize?Have your SHOUT! this week. Vote, comment and engage Useful reference links:WHO ARE SYRIA S WHITE HELMETS?The REAL Syria Civil Defence Expose Nato s White Helmets as Terrorist-Linked ImpostersWhite Helmets Staged Russian Bombing Scene Near Aleppo, Lapped-up by MediaGeorge Soros: Anti-Syria Campaign ImpresarioINTRODUCTION: Smart Power & The Human Rights Industrial ComplexHAVE YOUR SHOUT! AND VOTE ON THIS AND OTHER CURRENT EVENTS HERE | 1real |
Putin dismisses U.S. hacking allegations as campaign rhetoric | GOA, India (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday shrugged off new U.S. threats to retaliate against alleged Russian hackers, saying such statements only confirmed that Washington used cyber attacks for political ends. Speaking after a summit of developing economies in India Putin also said he believed that the hacking allegations were mainly election campaign rhetoric by the White House, and that he hoped bilateral ties could improve after the U.S. elections. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told NBC News television on Friday that “we are sending a message” to Putin, and that retaliation for Russia’s hacking attacks “will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact”. The U.S. government this month formally accused Russia for the first time of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. “You can expect anything from our American friends. But what did he say that was new? Don’t we know that official bodies of the United States are spying and eavesdropping on everyone?” Putin told reporters after the summit of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. “The only new thing is that for the first time the United States has recognized at the highest level ... that they themselves do it (cyber attacks).” Putin said that by “playing the Russian card” in the current election campaign, the outgoing U.S. administration sought to distract voter attention from its failures, which include huge state debt, weak diplomacy in the Middle East and strained relations with its allies in that region. “I would like to reassure everyone, including our U.S. partners and friends - we do not intend to influence the U.S. election campaign,” he said. Putin said he would work with any U.S. leader willing to work with Russia. “If someone wants confrontation, this is not our choice,” he said. “On the contrary, we would like to find common ground and cooperate in solving the global problems that confront both Russia and the United States.” On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the Obama administration of destroying bilateral relations in the run-up to the elections, saying that “the level of Russophobic propaganda coming from the very top is now starting to go off the scale”. | 0fake |
Head Of Homeland Security Destroys Ted Cruz For Asking Extremely Dumb Question At Hearing (VIDEO) | The head of the Department of Homeland Security was at a Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill when, after enduring a lengthy rant about Muslims from Sen. Ted Cruz, he finally had enough. As Cruz checked the boxes off on his Islamophobia checklist, he wound up asking the same stupid question repeatedly to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson: Why is the White House refusing to use the term radical Islam? As national security issues go, this one is somewhere around the bottom of the priority list. As has been repeatedly pointed out by military and foreign policy experts, the term radical Islam doesn t do a single thing to stop terrorism, while at the same time playing directly into the hands of terrorist groups like ISIS. As a rule, presidents don t like to engage in that terminology precisely because it works to undermine the fight against global terrorism. Ted Cruz might even dimly recall how the last Republican president, George W. Bush, also didn t like to lump all Muslims into the category of terrorists. Even he understood that it was self-defeating. Americans understand we fight not a religion, [George Bush] said. Ours is not a campaign against the Muslim faith. Ours is a campaign against evil. Although [Bush and Obama] have taken very different approaches to combating terrorism, it s strikingly hard to tell the difference between their statements on the divide between the majority of those who practice Islam and those who invoke the faith to carry out violence. There are thousands of Muslims who proudly call themselves Americans, and they know what I know that the Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion, Bush once said.Americans might understand that, but Ted Cruz apparently didn t.At the hearing, Cruz demanded to know if President Obama or anyone else in the White House had intentionally removed references to radical Islamic terrorism. After several times rebuking Cruz, Johnson finally snapped. Senator, I find this whole debate to be very interesting, but I have to tell you, when I was at the Department of Defense giving the legal sign off on a lot of drone strikes I didn t particularly care if the baseball card said Islamic extremist or violent extremist . I think this is very interesting, but it makes no difference to me in terms of who we need to go after. And who is determined to attack our homeland. As Secretary Johnson reminded Cruz, the war against groups like ISIS won t be won by semantics. The airstrikes are real. The fighting on the ground (often times most heavily supported by Muslim nations) is real. The words a blustering Ted Cruz wants to use aren t. But Johnson wasn t down twisting the knife. The other point I d like to make is that I have to think in practical terms in Homeland Security. I think this is all very interesting, makes for good political debate, but in practical terms, if we in our efforts here in the homeland start giving the Islamic State the credence that they want to be referred to as part of Islam or some form of Islam we will get nowhere in our efforts to build bridges with Muslim communities. In other words: Stop grandstanding, Ted. Take a seat and shut up.Watch Sec. Johnson make mincemeat of Cruz below:Featured image via YouTube | 1real |
Kurdish oil flows to Turkey resume after technical stoppage: shipping source | LONDON (Reuters) - Crude oil flows through an Iraqi Kurdistan pipeline to Turkey resumed on Monday after a technical stoppage for several hours, a Kurdish shipping source told Reuters. The source said the flows were still reduced at around 200,000-220,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the usual volume of 600,000 bpd. The next cargo to load at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan will be Santa Cruz that will exports volume from the November loading program, the source said. | 0fake |
Silent Counter-Coup by 17 Intel Agencies To Stop Crooked Clintons [Video] | Leave a reply
Bill Still – Good evening, I’m still reporting on an ongoing counter-coup being run by patriotic members of 17 U.S. intelligence agencies to stop the Clinton Crime syndicate from proceeding with the rigging of the coming election.
According to a 4 minute video, done by Dr. Steve Pieczenik, a Harvard and MIT-educated psychiatrist who has written 26 New York Times Best Sellers, the Clinton coup has been put down by an intelligence community counter-coup, effective at noon today.
Dr. Pieczenik has great contacts in the American intelligence community. He put the following video up on his YouTube channel at noon today and says that the channel was down twenty minutes later.
Currently, that channel is up, so perhaps our channel will not be harmed.
I believe what you are about to see is true because of the nature of the recent WikiLeaks revelations. To me, hackers could not have done this. To me, white hats at NSA had to have been involved.
Having spent my adult life working around the community, I knew that folks who were at most of these agencies – exempting DHS and CIA – are American patriots who would not allow this nation to be destroyed by the Clinton Crime Syndicate.
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This may well be the reason President Obama yesterday had his press secretary praise the work of Jim Comey, head of the FBI, at the very moment that Hillary Clinton was speaking in Florida deriding Comey. Let us all pray that Comey has actually turned away from being subservient to Obama and the Clintons and has now joined forces with the vast majority of the American military/intelligence community and Obama has decided – for his own preservation – to not fight them. I’m still reporting from Washington; good evening.
Bill Still is a former newspaper editor and publisher. He has written for USA Today, The Saturday Evening Post, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, OMNI magazine, and has also produced the syndicated radio program, Health News. He has written 22 books and two documentary videos and is the host of his wildly popular daily YouTube Channel the “Still Report”, the quintessential report on the economy and Washington. Share this: | 1real |
Cruz Touts Himself as Only Viable Conservative in Race | RealClearPolitics | BROOKLYN, Iowa - Ted Cruz has made a name for himself losing big political fights. Now, facing down his biggest battle yet as a candidate for president, Cruz is grappling with the new challenge of assuring voters that he can not only fight, but win.
That pressure on Cruz shone through Friday, as he presented himself for the small crowd at a town hall here as the only conservative in the Republican field who is also a viable candidate.
“There are sixteen Republican candidates. Of the sixteen, do you know which campaign raised the most hard money? We did,” Cruz boasted, to loud cheers. “Three months ago, if someone had suggested to you that Cruz was going to outraise Jeb Bush, you’d have told them, ‘Look, I think you need to lay off the bottle a little bit. That ain’t gonna happen.’”
Indeed, the latest round of campaign finance reports confirmed that Cruz raked in $14.3 million, not including an independent haul on the super PAC side. Although Jeb Bush brought in much more on the super PAC side, making him the undisputed GOP money leader, his campaign brought in $11.2 million - three million less than Cruz.
But the idea of the noted firebrand Cruz pushing political pragmatism can be jarring. He cemented his national reputation as a scorched-earth conservative in 2013, playing a leading role in shutting down the federal government over a quixotic bid to block funding for Obamacare.
In his campaign for president, Cruz isn't glossing over that and other bruising battles he has waged, even as he is being implicitly called out by other candidates for having consistently come up short.
“There are really two kinds of candidates,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told reporters in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday. “There are fighters in Washington who prefer fighting but have yet to win those fights largely, and then there are winners, people who have won elections but haven’t consistently been involved in the fights of the last few years that really matter.”
“What makes us unique is...we can do both,” Walker continued. “We can fight and win.”
When presented later Friday with these remarks, Cruz insisted: “Republican primary voters are going to ask of every candidate in the field: Show me where you’ve stood and led on the great battles of the day.” And he ticked off issues: Common Core, Obamacare, the Religious Freedom Act in Indiana, the president’s executive orders on immigration, the Iran deal, and more.
“There are many good people in this race who I like and respect. But there is a stark difference in the records of the candidates,” Cruz said. “There are campaign conservatives, who talk conservative when they’re on the campaign trail, and yet their record isn’t conservative. I am the candidate in this race who is the consistent conservative over and over again.”
Even Cruz’s steadfast, vocal conservatism is not without political calculation, of course. In a broad field of Republican candidates, he and his campaign team see a lane for a no-compromise conservative, in particular one who can harness grassroots support while cultivating larger donors.
Cruz’s model builds on what he sees as the mistakes of conservative candidates in 2012 to take advantage of deep misgivings about Mitt Romney during the Republican primary, which manifested in multiple candidates — Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum — having their moments in the spotlight and at the top of the polls.
“But none of them were in positions to be able to raise substantial sums of money,” Cruz said in an interview prior to his town hall Friday. “So, every time one of them popped up to the polls, they’d get hit with $10 million in attack ads, and they’d be road kill.”
To supporters and the press, Cruz is making the case that establishment Republicans hope to win in the primary by “splintering” the conservative vote — and that he, with his robust campaign infrastructure, is the antidote to that.
“The Washington establishment’s plan is simple. They want to divide conservatives,” Cruz added in the interview. “That is the only way the moderate establishment candidate sneaks up the middle with 23 percent of the vote and runs away with the nomination. If conservatives unite, it’s game over.” | 0fake |
Going Guava: Why Your Hair Needs Guava Leaves | You Are Here: Home » Latest Posts » Going Guava: Why Your Hair Needs Guava Leaves Going Guava: Why Your Hair Needs Guava Leaves Prev post Page 1 of 2 Next
Hair loss is becoming a more widely recognized condition in men and women across the country; by the time American men are 35 years old, about two-thirds will experience some degree of noticeable hair loss, with about 85 percent of men seeing a significant thinning of their hair by the time they are 50. The American Hair Loss Association notes that women, as well, experience hair loss, as a result of a number of different causes. As a result of these reasons, treatment for hair loss in women is not as readily available as it is for men.
To remedy this, many individuals have turned to home remedies to prevent and treat hair loss, with varying results. One that has caught the attention of both hair loss patients and researchers in the past 20 years is the use of guava leaves. The sweet fruit, native to Mexico, Central and South America is a nutritious and delicious fruit that is increasingly being called a superfood because of it’s incredible contents and components. Why Guava Leaves for Hair Loss?
Guava leaf is extremely high in a variety of different types of vitamin B, including many of the nutrients needed for hair health. Thiamine: A deficiency of thiamine, or vitamin B1, can lead to hair loss , so it’s important to make sure that your diet for healthy hair includes thiamine. It’s a water-soluble vitamin that is included in many different hair products to maximize absorption in the scalp. Riboflavin: Vitamin B2 or riboflavin, is a building block vitamin that finds and repairs damaged cells, including the DNA that causes hair to thin and fall out. Cooking riboflavin can damage some of it’s health benefits, so it’s important to include the cooking fluid when using this vitamin for hair health. Niacin: Vitamin B3 helps to convert food into energy, and helps to increase the blood flow to the scalp and provide better nutrient and oxygen flow to the scalp. It enhances circulation and improves the structure and shape of the blood cells. Folate: Folic acid, or vitamin B9, can cause hair loss in individuals who are deficient in the nutrient. It also helps to form red blood cells. Pantothenic acid: A lack of vitamin B5 can cause hair loss by weakening the hair follicles. When you have enough, your scalp can help the follicles work properly, relieve the flaking and itching that come along with dandruff, and can encourage new hair growth. Pyridoxine: Vitamin B6 is vital for converting testosterone into the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that attacks hair follicles. A deficiency of vitamin B6 can cause an increase in DHT and can cause hair loss. Vitamin A: This fat-soluble antioxidant protects hair follicles from damage done by free radicals, and helps cells reproduce — including the cells necessary for hair growth and maintenance. Deficiencies can cause your hair to become dry and brittle, and may be the reason for hair breaking at the ends or roots. Antimicrobial benefits: Guava leaves have been shown to have many different antimicrobial properties that can help to combat any infections or skin conditions that can cause hair loss. They clear up the remnants of the bacteria on the scalp and help to heal the skin, which allows healthy hair to grow.
Guava, also known as guyaba, also has high levels of vitamin C — more than in most citrus fruits. It’s got a rich content of flavonoids, like quercetin, polyphenols, and other important plant chemicals. It is often made into jams and jellies a process made easier because of the high levels of pectin, a dietary fiber, that may play a role in root hair growth and cellular function. Other Health Benefits of Guava Leaves: Diabetes: In east Asia, individuals are using guava leaves to treat diabetes due to the anti-hyperglycemic properties of the extract. In Japan, for example, Guava Leaf Tea, or Bansoureicha, has been approved as a Food for Specified Health Use and is commercially available to help individuals lower elevated blood glucose, along with other conditions. The approval in Japan took place in 2000 as a result of several studies showing the ability of the Guava Leaf Tea to effectively help to combat high blood glucose and sugar intake for individuals with Type 2 diabetes or experiencing pre-diabetic symptoms. High Cholesterol: A 1993 study shows that in a single-blind trial, 145 men ate a similar diet, with 72 taking a soluble fiber and increased-potassium diet that included guava. Following four months of monitoring, the individuals who consumed the guava experienced a reduced blood pressure and decrease in calcium and triglycerides. As a result of the high potassium and soluble fiber content of guava, the fruit may be an effective way to lower high blood pressure and blood lipids. Diarrhea: In some studies , guava has been shown to block some of the pathogens that cause diarrhea. While there hasn’t been extensive research done and published in peer-reviewed journals, there is some evidence that guava leaf extract has helped to improve the number of daily stools, the duration, pain, and spasms in patients with infantile viral enteritis. It’s believed that the components of guava leaf can smooth muscle fibers, which prevents the movement of the intestines and capillary permeability. Other health benefits: Many claims and studies have been done that show at least some positive effect in everything from weight loss and metastatic cancers to staph infections and common colds. Again, extensive research hasn’t been conducted, but these early studies show that there is at least some connection between guava leaves and improved health. Prev post Page 1 of 2 Next Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Comment | 1real |
Washington’s Criminal Activities Are Only Getting Messier | 21st Century Wire says It was a major scandal that broke out in 2009. Academi, formerly known as Blackwater, was accused of murdering civilians and smuggling weapons in Middle East ops.Further to the prosecution of four Blackwater employees five years later, guilty of killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad during one spate of violence, there has been a historical boom of private contractors occurring since Iraq and Afghanistan incursions began.More on this report from New Eastern Outlook Martin Berger New Eastern OutlookThe unpunished slaughter of thousands of civilians in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan carried out by the US over the course of the last decade is now being gradually replaced by new types of crimes committed by Washington s henchmen in the course of its ongoing instances of armed aggression against sovereign states.As it s been reported by Bloomberg with a special reference to AP, a well-known American contractor firm Sallyport Global has recently been engaged in a number of illegal operations in Baghdad s vicinity. According to the report, its employees would get engaged in alcohol smuggling and slave trade. It s curious that Sallyport Global s staff would overload cargo planes with illegal alcohol so hard that they could barely fly, while stealing generators and armored off-road vehicles from the Balad air base that they were dispatched to protect. Bloomberg would note that some of company s employees were also involved in selling local residents to sex slavery.Meanwhile, it is a well-known fact that Sallyport Global received 686 million dollars from the US government to fulfill a number of missions in the best interests of the American people. Or at least it was supposed to.One could also recall a major scandal that broke out back in 2009, when a military contractor firm Academi (that was called Blackwater back in the day) was accused of murdering civilians and smuggling weapons. Five years later the jury in the state of Washington found four employees of the Blackwater private company guilty of killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in just one instance of violence. After this attack Iraqi authorities demanded that Blackwater paid 8 million dollars in compensation to each of the 17 families whose relatives were murdered in the raid that its employers conducted. Additionally, local authorities demanded that a total of 250 both former and acting employees of Blackwater would leave Iraq within a week after the tragic event.As soon as the US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan began, along with an number of other military interventions across the globe, the number of private companies involved in providing so-called security services to the Pentagon started booming.In the absence of any independent audit, the actual number of military contractors deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries can only be guessed, since the official evaluation provided by the Pentagon is pretty misleading. The tangled web of contractors and subcontractors and the lack of any comprehensive control led to the situation when even the top US officials had no real information on the actual of number of US contractors deployed in a particular country. Thus, when the Congress demanded the Interim Coalition Administration (ICA) of Iraq to provide it with the exact number of military contractors deployed in the country back in 2004, it took the latter quite a lot of time to draft a list of 60 firms employing a total of 20,000 people. However, six year later the number of people employed by the Pentagon, the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development to carry out security related missions in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeded 260,000 people with only every fourth contractor being an American citizen. At times, the number of contractors deployed exceeded the total number of troops US Armed Forces had in these two countries.Private military firms carry out a wide range of missions in the areas controlled by the US military personnel, such as the participation in actual combat engagements, reconnaissance missions, special operations, carrying out security tasks and logistical support. They have also been training local army and police units that are loyal to the forces that Washington supports. Private contractor firms are playing an important role in ensuring that the situation in a certain country, occupied by the United States, remains under control. The best example of a wide range of activities that military contractors are engaged in is the fact that the people employed by the Anteon International have been maintaining communications systems that Pentagon is using for its operations.In Afghanistan, for example, such military contractor firms as MPRI, Sandline, Control Risk Group, Chilport, along with Israeli Golan Group and Beni Tal were deployed long before the actual invasion began. Back then the CIA was determined to send the maximum possible number of infiltration groups that were formed out of employees of private intelligence companies. Those groups were tasked with the mission of killing Osama bin Laden and other leaders of the Taliban movement. Additionally, they were demanded to get engaged in the bribing of local warlords, collecting operational data, conducting reconnaissance and carrying out acts of sabotage.To this date Washington relies heavily on the services that private intelligence companies would provide. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that Middle Eastern warlords are getting extremely violent when they find a snitch in their ranks, which results in his death and, quite possible, the deaths of all of his relatives, regardless of the degree of kinship, age and sex. This is the main reason behind the reluctance that most locals towards cooperating with the occupying force. So in a situation when the CIA cannot establish a comprehensive intelligence network, contractors are the only people that lend it a helping hand.The large-scale involvement of private contractor firms led to the practice of bribing local commanders, when money are being paid for the relative security that the employees of such a firm can enjoy in a certain territory. Thus, an impressive margin of all the money that such firms are getting end up in the pockets of the Taliban movement leaders, who are acting in the capacity of some sort of subcontractors. According to official data, the Taliban movement has received over 360 million dollars from the US budget for the services it has been providing to private contractor firms. This number constitutes the second largest sources of income for the mujahideen movement, with the proceeds from drug trade still occupying the top of the list.When the number of US troops in certain conflict zones of abroad decreases, it is usually accompanied by an increase in the number of employees of private contractor firms willing to risk their heads for a paycheck...Continue this report at New Eastern OutlookREAD MORE WASHINGTON NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire WASHINGTON FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
HILLARY “POWERED THROUGH” Is The Word Of The Day For The Lap Dog Media [VIDEO] | 1real | |
Factbox: Canada's immigration system and targets for 2017 | OTTAWA (Reuters) - The U.S. administration is putting its support behind a bill that would reduce the number of legal immigrants into the United States and prioritize high-skilled workers by setting up a merits-based system similar to those used by Canada and Australia. To bring in skilled workers, Canada uses a points system to assess immigrants’ ability to enter the Canadian workforce. The majority of Canada’s economic immigrants this year are expected to come from this so-called express entry system. Canada plans to allow 300,000 immigrants into the country this year. Applicants are ranked on their age, education, language ability, and work experience and earn points for each category up to 600. For example, people aged between 20-29 years get the maximum 100 points while those over 45 get zero for that category. Potential immigrants get additional points if they have a sibling who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Immigrants’ spouses are assessed on the same criteria if they are also applying to come to Canada. For a full list of points awarded under the ranking system, see here With a population of about 35 million, the immigration target for 2017 amounts to 0.9 percent of the population. According to the 2011 census, 20.6 percent of the population were foreign-born and immigrated to Canada. More recent numbers for 2016 will be released later this year. The following are Canada’s immigration targets by category for 2017. Economic 172,500 0.5 Family 84,000 0.2 Refugees, protected persons 40,000 0.1 Humanitarian, other 3,500 0.01 Canada (2011) 20.6 United States (2015) 13.5* *Source: Migration Policy Institute | 0fake |
HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER ON TRUMP: “This guy has guts and he’s got great people around him” [Video] | 1real | |
Israel's Sara Netanyahu may face indictment: attorney general | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel s attorney general is considering indicting the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara, on suspicion of using state funds for personal dining and catering services amounting to some $100,000, the justice ministry said on Friday. The ministry statement said the attorney general was considering prosecuting Sara Netanyahu for offences that include fraudulently procuring items, fraud and breach of trust. A post on the prime minister s Facebook page published late on Thursday in response to media reports about a forthcoming announcement by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, said the claims against Sara Netanyahu were absurd and will be proven to be unfounded . It was unclear what political impact Friday s announcement might have on Netanyahu, who himself is under investigation in two corruption cases. One of those, known as Case 1000, involves gifts that the prime minister and his family may have received from businessmen, while Case 2000 deals with alleged efforts by him to secure better coverage from an Israeli newspaper publisher. Netanyahu - who has been prime minister for 11 years over four terms - has denied any wrongdoing. Netanyahu leads a relatively stable coalition government and presides over a buoyant economy. His conservative Likud party has rallied behind him in the absence of clear rivals for the leadership, rebuffing calls for his departure from the center-left opposition. Likud s religious-nationalist coalition partners, seeing no threat to their agenda with Netanyahu as prime minister, are likewise sticking with him for now. In a case dubbed the meals-ordering affair by the Justice Ministry, Sara Netanyahu with help from an aide allegedly created a false impression between 2010-2013 that no cooks were employed at the prime minister s official residence, while indeed there were, according to the ministry statement. This was done, the statement said, to procure state funding for outside catering that would have been covered had there been no chef. In this way, hundreds of meals from restaurants and chefs worth 359,000 shekels ($102,399) were received from the state fraudulently, said the justice ministry statement. Sara Netanyahu has the option to plead her case in a hearing with the attorney general. | 0fake |
Here’s The Most Scathing Indictment Yet Of The Anti-LBGT Hate That Caused The Orlando Massacre | There are too many people in our society who find the idea of two people of the same gender kissing, holding hands, and even being in love just too disgusting for words. These would be our bigots the ones who are working feverishly on keeping the LGBTQ community down by dehumanizing them, and painting them as an evil in our society.These people s hatred led to Omar Mateen killing 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. A Facebook post, which ends with, You weren t the gunman, but you re the culture that built him. You re the bullets in his gun, is the sheer, naked truth of the situation.There are those who are angry about the politicization of Orlando. If those people would wake up to what s really happening, they d see that it was political from the start.Why? Because we have all of this bigotry coming from our very own lawmakers, pundits, and analysts, who want that bigotry codified in law so they can stay on top of their golden pedestals. We have pastors and other religious leaders who are celebrating what happened in Orlando. And they think they haven t contributed to this? Here are the faces of some of those people, complete with a simple phrase that adds to the power of the above post:Furthermore, the LGBTQ community has been assaulted over and over, by the same cold-blooded fuckery that caused Orlando, with GOP presidential candidates opposition to marriage equality, too: I support same sex civil unions but to me, and millions like me, marriage is a religious service not a government form. Ben Carson I have already introduced a constitutional amendment to preserve the authority of elected state legislatures to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and also legislation stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction over legal assaults on marriage. Ted Cruz Throughout the millennia and in every religion in the world, marriage has a very specific meaning. Marriage is a institution [sic] grounded in spirituality. It is the union of a man and a woman, and from that union comes life, and life is a gift from God. Carly Fiorina We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat. This ruling is not about marriage equality, it s about marriage redefinition. This irrational, unconstitutional rejection of the expressed will of the people in over 30 states will prove to be one of the court s most disastrous decisions, and they have had many. Mike Huckabee [Obergefell] will pave the way for an all out assault against the religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree with this decision. This ruling must not be used as pretext by Washington to erode our right to religious liberty. Bobby Jindal I am disappointed the Supreme Court today chose to change the centuries old definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. I m a firm believer in traditional marriage, and I also believe the 10th Amendment leaves it to each state to decide this issue. I fundamentally disagree with the court rewriting the law and assaulting the 10th Amendment. Rick Perry We have to reclaim marriage as an institution that s not about two adults or more than two adults. That it s about children. Marriage has always been about children. Rick SantorumAnd last, and we certainly wish least, Donald Trump: I would strongly consider [appointing justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage.] Then there s North Carolina s bathroom law, and Governor Pat McCrory, who defended it by saying it was a privacy issue. Yes, privacy for everyone except transgender people. One has to wonder if residents of North Carolina have to carry their birth certificates with them now.There was also Florida governor Rick Scott, who refused to acknowledge Orlando as an anti-LGBTQ hate crime in addition to an act of terrorism. He said Florida s LGBTQ community can engage in the oh-so-effective practice of prayer if they want to be safe.We had Kim Davis, who refused to abide by the Obergefell decision and who the religious community celebrated for standing up for the right to discriminate. The same is true of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. They re seen as champions of religious freedom, rather than the purveyors of hate they really are.What all of this does is tell ordinary citizens that it s just peachy keen for them to be hateful and evil towards the LGBTQ community. It also causes severe self-loathing in people who try to subscribe to those beliefs, but are LGBTQ and still in the closet. When these things reach the breaking point and explode, they do so violently, as they did in Orlando. You re the bullets in his gun. Yes, they all were. They don t have to be Mateen, or anybody else who commits a hate crime against the LGBTQ community, to be responsible for this.Featured image by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images | 1real |
Exclusive: Trump selects Washington lawyer Joe Simons to head FTC - official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has selected Joseph Simons, an antitrust attorney from a Washington law firm, to head the Federal Trade Commission, a White House official said on Wednesday. Trump is expected to nominate Simons to the agency, along with Noah Phillips and Rohit Chopra to be FTC commissioners, the White House official said. Upon confirmation, Simons will be designated chairman, the official said. The agency is currently headed by Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, with Democrat Terrell McSweeny the only other commissioner. The president has long been expected to name a permanent chair and fill the three empty commission seats, two Republican and one Democrat or independent. Simons, a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, was a director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition from 2001 to 2003. During Simons’ tenure at the FTC, the agency sued to stop Diageo PLC and Pernod Ricard from buying Seagram Spirits and Wine in 2001 to prevent a duopoly in rum. The FTC also filed a lawsuit in 2003 to stop Haagen-Dazs owner Nestle Holdings Inc from buying Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc, which makes also superpremium ice cream. The FTC later settled both cases. Noah Phillips, who graduated from Stanford Law School in 2005, is chief counsel for U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican. He is also a veteran of the law firms Steptoe & Johnson LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. To fill the empty Democratic seat on the commission, the president tapped Rohit Chopra, a financial services expert. Chopra, an ally of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, is currently at the Consumer Federation of America. The FTC works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law and pursues companies accused of deceptive advertising. It is an independent agency that is headed by a chairman and four commissioners. No more than three commissioners can come from any one party. | 0fake |
Trump wants $4 billion more for missile defense, citing North Korea | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump asked Congress on Monday for $4 billion to support missile defense to counter the threat from North Korea, just ahead of his first visit to South Korea since taking office in January. “This request supports additional efforts to detect, defeat, and defend against any North Korean use of ballistic missiles against the United States, its deployed forces, allies, or partners,” Trump wrote in a letter to Congress. Trump repeated his request that Congress provide $1.6 billion to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump’s plan to construct the wall was a centerpiece of his successful presidential campaign, but it has been questioned by some of his fellow Republicans, as well as most Democrats, in Congress. He made his request during his maiden trip to Asia as president, featuring repeated meetings with regional partners and others largely focused on how to address North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Trump had originally asked for $9.9 billion for the year ended Sept. 30, 2018, for missile defense, which some lawmakers had dismissed as too low. Trump’s request included $700,000 to repair damage to Navy ships after recent fatal collisions, and $1.2 billion for increased troop levels in Afghanistan and the administration’s South Asia strategy in his supplemental budget request. The budget request said the funds for South Asia would support the deployment of 3,500 more troops. The Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committees, Senator John McCain and Representative Mac Thornberry, said in a joint statement that they welcomed Trump’s request and looked forward “to giving it the serious consideration it deserves.” Members of the two committees are working on a final version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets out policy for the Pentagon. McCain and Thornberry said the submission of the budget amendment before that work was completed means that NDAA conferees will be able to consider whether to incorporate the additional funding into the final agreement. “This request also underscores the threat posed by the rogue North Korean regime and the urgent need to boost our missile defense capabilities to meet it,” McCain and Thornberry said in a statement. The $2.1 billion for missile defense makes up the bulk of the request. It would pay for 20 more missiles that could intercept incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched from North Korea, a network of radars, and other equipment designed to protect the United States. Boeing Co (BA.N) is the prime contractor for the anti-ballistic missiles, known as Ground-Based Interceptors, and Raytheon Co (RTN.N) makes the missile’s “kill vehicle,” which pops off the top of the defending missile above the earth’s atmosphere and seeks out and destroys the attacking missile’s warhead. The request also includes money for 50 Lockheed Martin Corp-made (LMT.N) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors. The United States has THAAD interceptors in Guam that guard against any intermediate-range ballistic missile attacks from North Korea. | 0fake |
This 2016 Hannity Tweet Is Now Like A Knife In The Back For Trump | No one on earth has been a bigger cheerleader for Donald Trump than Fox News Sean Hannity. In the wake of Monday s indictments of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, Manafort s top aide Rick Gates and with a guilty plea of former economic advisor to Trump, George Papadopoulos, it appears the house of cards is beginning to collapse.Hannity, though, is ready with the pro-Trump propaganda. Immediately after the news of the indictment hit, Hannity was ready with his defense of Trump which means he s blaming Hillary:Not that there wasn t Russian collusion with a 2016 presidential candidate. It s just that her name was not Trump. We now have real evidence that the FBI uncovered a Russian plot dating back to 2009 that involved bribery, extortion, blackmail, money laundering and racketeering. It all came a year before Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration approved the corrupt Uranium One deal. We have evidence of another Russia scandal, also involving a 2016 candidate not named Trump. We now know that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid over $9 million to help fund the discredited, Russia-linked dossier crafted to ruin then-candidate Donald Trump. This was nothing short of a collaborative effort with the Russians to manipulate the outcome of the last presidential election.Not surprisingly, Trump s statements are mirroring Hannity:Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus????? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017 Only, Manafort was part of the Trump campaign during many of these alleged crimes and Hannity knows it. In fact, in 2016, he tweeted it:While a Sean Hannity tweet certainly won t stand up in a court of law, Hannity has long been the media sycophant for the Trump administration. If he says Manafort was instrumental in Trump winning the White House, he was.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images. | 1real |
The Big Question for the U.S. Economy: How Much Room Is There to Grow? - The New York Times | The most important issue for the United States economy in 2017 and beyond is whether it’s near its speed limit. It has taken eight years of glacial expansion, but the nation is closing in on what economists believe to be its full productive capacity. It’s nearing that level of activity in which nearly everybody who wants a job has one, and factories and offices are cranking at full speed. If the economy grows just 2. 5 percent this year, gross domestic product will reach the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the nation’s economic potential by the end of the year. If the Trump administration succeeds at achieving the 4 percent growth the president has said he seeks, we’ll be there by the Fourth of July. If there is in fact more room to grow beyond the budget office’s estimate of “potential G. D. P. ,” an economic boom remains possible. If there isn’t, higher growth will translate into inflation, not higher output and incomes. The question for the Trump administration, the Federal Reserve and every American who wants a higher paycheck is how much slack there really is in the economy. Economic slack takes the form of empty warehouses and office parks of machines that run eight hours a day when they were built to run for 12 and, most important, millions of Americans who might be coaxed to work in a booming economy but who aren’t even looking for a job now. If there is a lot of slack, then the Trump administration’s ambitious growth targets look more plausible, and the Fed should move slowly on raising interest rates so as not to choke off the expansion just as it’s getting going. If there’s not very much — if this is about the best the nation can expect to do — then either the Fed will raise rates more quickly to choke off growth or inflation will burst higher, or both. Astronomers can’t observe a black hole directly they can determine where one is only by measuring how it affects nearby matter. Potential output is similar. For all the apparent precision of reports from government agencies, potential G. D. P. isn’t something that can be directly measured. It’s a judgment based on other evidence. How big is the population of prime people, and how many of them would be expected to seek work? How low in the past has unemployment gone before inflation became a problem? What is the recent record of productivity growth? In assessing how close we are (or aren’t) to full capacity, it helps to look at America’s industrial parks and office complexes. The Federal Reserve watches the industrial sector by measuring what is called factory capacity utilization. American companies were operating factories at 75. 7 percent of their potential in January. That’s roughly the rate they’ve been at for the last five years. Experience suggests it could go higher. In the spring of 2007, the rate was 79. 5 percent. It was above 80 percent for the better part of the 1990s. In other words, the manufacturing sector would seem to have room to produce more stuff even without expanding factory floors or adding equipment. At Caterpillar, the giant maker of heavy equipment based in Peoria, Ill. Jim Umpleby, the chief executive, told analysts last month that, even as it closely managed costs, “we’re also preserving capacity for a potential increase in business whenever that comes. ” Economic slack is trickier to measure in the service sector good luck judging whether, say, an insurance company is operating below or at its full potential. But one window into it is the office vacancy rate. Nationwide, 15. 8 percent of office space was vacant in the final months of 2016, according to the real estate information firm Reis. That was down from a recent high of 17. 6 percent in 2011 — but could still have room to fall. In the last expansion, it fell as low as 12. 5 percent, implying that millions of square feet of offices are sitting idle, ready for workers to fill them. “Vacancy has fallen, but there are still some large blocks of space out there,” said John Ferguson, president of the Southeast division of the commercial real estate firm CBRE. “A tenant can typically find a solution if they need to, even if it’s not perfect for the long term. ” One thing to keep an eye on: Development of new office space has been relatively depressed since the 2008 recession, which raises the possibility that the remaining vacant space could be filled up quickly with little new supply arriving to fulfill the demand. Mr. Ferguson sees it in Atlanta, where he is based, and in other Southern cities like Nashville and Charlotte, N. C. “In the last cycle 10 years ago, there were six new office towers added in Buckhead,” Mr. Ferguson said, referring to an affluent Atlanta neighborhood. “In this cycle, there’s one. ” The biggest factor that will determine how much room the United States economy has to grow is the supply of workers. The unemployment rate is the most common measure of slack in the labor market, and it suggests that full employment has very nearly arrived: The 4. 8 percent unemployment rate is roughly what Fed officials believe is the rate that won’t provoke inflation, and not far from the 4. 4 percent low in the last expansion. But there are important wrinkles. Millions of Americans left the labor force entirely in the aftermath of the last recession. And there are “missing” workers, people who do not count as unemployed because they are not looking for a job but might be available to work — and contribute to G. D. P. — if things were rosier. To people who work on employment issues, there is both good news and bad. “A third to a half of the people on the sidelines, it wouldn’t take much to employ tomorrow,” said Stefani Pashman, chief executive of Partner4Work, a work force development group in the Pittsburgh area. “The other half are much tougher to employ,” often facing challenges from drug use, criminal records and transience. That would seem to support the idea that there are meaningful numbers of workers out there — but not an unlimited number. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that there are 1. 85 million missing workers. In all these areas, the evidence points to an economy not being quite on the verge of overheating, but also not offering huge potential for growth. Perhaps the best argument for policy makers to be cautious about putting the brakes on economic growth with rapid Fed interest rate increases is how much we don’t know about why growth has been so disappointing over the past several years. Here’s a weighty fact: In 2007, the Congressional Budget Office published projections of potential G. D. P. that assumed the United States would grow around 2. 7 percent a year for the ensuing decade. It didn’t. Growth in both the labor force and worker productivity underperformed those projections. So the reality we’re living in underperforms that theoretical potential by $2. 2 trillion, or 14 percent. One possibility of what went wrong is that the damage of the deep 2008 recession had lasting effects, both pulling some Americans out of the work force and causing businesses to underinvest in innovations. Weak demand for goods and services damaged the capacity of the economy, producing a vicious cycle. If officials at the Fed and in the Trump administration try to run the economy a little hot — to keep pursuing faster growth even as the economy gets close to or above potential G. D. P. — it would be a chance to do the reverse, to create a virtuous cycle. Trying it carries risks of its own — of inflation, and perhaps new financial bubbles. The alternative is to take the world we’ve been living in as an immutable fact of life, and get used to it. | 0fake |
Trump EXPLODES In Morning Meltdown Accusing President Obama Of Treason | Donald Trump threw another temper tantrum on Twitter as the investigation closes in on him.You know that the investigation must be getting closer to nailing Trump to the wall by how he is acting right now.Over the last few days, Trump has been trying to blame his crimes on President Obama and Hillary Clinton while simultaneously insisting that no crimes were committed. Why did the DNC REFUSE to turn over its Server to the FBI, and still hasn t? It s all a big Dem scam and excuse for losing the election! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2017Hillary Clinton colluded with the Democratic Party in order to beat Crazy Bernie Sanders. Is she allowed to so collude? Unfair to Bernie! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2017It has been a hilarious circular firing squad that Trump can t seem to stop stepping in the middle of, which is exactly the reason why top law firms in this nation want nothing to do with him.And on Tuesday morning, Trump threw another hissy fit and accused President Obama of colluding with Russia.You heard that right. Trump just accused President Obama of committing treason against the United States and then he claimed that no collusion exists. Trump then demanded an apology.The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017 and did not want to rock the boat. He didn t choke, he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling. With 4 months looking at Russia Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017..under a magnifying glass, they have zero tapes of T people colluding. There is no collusion & no obstruction. I should be given apology! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017These are the rantings and ravings of a desperate man who knows that his time as president and a free man is running out. The reason why President Obama could not act at the time is because Trump was claiming that the election was rigged. Any move Obama made to stop Russia would have drawn cries of election rigging by Trump, especially had he lost due to Russia being stopped. Also, the extent of the meddling was still under investigation and Obama still retaliated by slapping sanctions against Russia prior to leaving office, the very same sanctions Trump is trying to remove.By accusing President Obama of treason, Trump has crossed yet another line, demonstrating once and for all that he is unfit to hold office and should be impeached.Featured Image: David Becker/Getty Images | 1real |
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