title stringlengths 1 456 ⌀ | text stringlengths 1 143k ⌀ | label class label 2
classes |
|---|---|---|
Colombia's Senate approves peace tribunals for ex-rebels | BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia s Senate has backed a law to regulate transitional justice under the country s peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels, including special tribunals that will try guerrilla leaders for war crimes. The law, approved late on Wednesday, is considered the cornerstone of the agreement signed last year between the government and the FARC, known then as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The measure still needs approval from the lower house of Congress, which is likely to vote on it early next week. The special courts will mete out alternative sentences like landmine removal for ex-guerrilla leaders who are convicted of war crimes. Under the peace deal, those convicted will not serve time in traditional jails. The law can also apply to members of the military and civilians who funded illegal groups like paramilitaries. Congress has until the end of the month to approve the law using the court-approved fast-track mechanism to reduce the number of required debates in an effort to implement the peace accord as quickly as possible. In a move that invigorated the previously slow debate in the Senate chamber, the nation s top court ruled this week that the majority of the law, including provisions that allow former rebels to participate in politics, is constitutional. The court made several modifications however. A provision in the agreement prohibits extradition of former FARC members, but the ruling said that only applied to crimes that occurred before the deal. It said ex-rebels who commit crimes after demobilization would be subject to regular laws that include the possibility of extradition. That did not sit well with the FARC, which is now officially a political party. The extradition prohibition as it stands in the final accord is a right and not a benefit, senior FARC member Ivan Marquez told journalists on Thursday. Making the prohibition ineffectual constitutes a flagrant and very grave non-compliance with the deal. Under the agreement the FARC will have 10 guaranteed seats in Congress until 2026. The group has already announced a slate of candidates for elections next year. | 0fake |
Liberia's ruling party backs challenge to presidential result | MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia s ruling party, whose candidate finished runner-up in the first round of this month s presidential election, said on Sunday it would back a legal challenge to the result, accusing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of interfering in the vote. The extraordinary charge by Unity Party against Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, throws into question a second round run-off scheduled for Nov. 7 between its candidate Vice President Joseph Boakai and front-runner George Weah. Unity Party said in a statement that the Oct. 10 poll, meant to usher in Liberia s first democratic transition of power since 1944, was characterised by massive systematic irregularities and fraud . The statement, read to reporters by Unity Party Chairman Wilmont Paye, said Johnson Sirleaf had acted inappropriately by meeting privately with elections magistrates before the vote. Greed has resurfaced in its most callous form, sowing seeds of discord yet again with the intent of disrupting the fragile peace of Liberia, the party said in its statement. Unity Party officials said they were supporting a legal challenge by Liberty Party of the third-place candidate Charles Brumskine, which has petitioned the elections commission for a re-run of the first round. The All Liberian Party of businessman Benoni Urey also said on Sunday it was backing the complaint. It doesn t mean we will not take part in the (run-off), Augustine Ngafuan, Unity Party s national campaign chairman, told Reuters. We hope the court can rule before the run-off. If not, we will decide what next to do. An official from the elections commission said it expected to hear the formal complaint on Monday. The commission s findings can be appealed in the Supreme Court. At Johnson Sirleaf s residence, where she was celebrating her 79th birthday, her spokesman Jerolinmek Piah told reporters that he would comment on the accusations later as he did not want to overshadow the festivities. International observers from the European Union, the Carter Center and the National Democratic Institute have said they saw no major problems with the vote. Unity Party s statement cements a falling out between Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and her party s leadership after 12 years in power that saw the country consolidate a post-war peace but it also drew sharp criticism over alleged corruption and underdevelopment. Boakai has served as Johnson Sirleaf s vice president since the president s inauguration in 2006. However, Johnson Sirleaf declined to endorse him and he distanced himself from the last administration. Weah, a former soccer star in Europe, won the first round with 38.4 percent of the vote to Boakai s 28.8 percent and has momentum heading into the run-off. On Thursday he picked up the endorsement of former warlord Prince Johnson, who won 8 percent of the vote in the first round. Morluba Morlu, a senior official from Weah s CDC party, said those challenging the result were opting to stage trouble . But no matter what they do ... they cannot stop the election of Ambassador Weah, he added. Weah has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. | 0fake |
Obama says cautious about expectations for Syria deal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he was cautious about raising expectations regarding the agreement to pause hostilities in Syria. But, if some progress is made in Syria, then that will lead to a political process to end the five-year-old civil war in the country, Obama told reporters after a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Oval Office. Obama said the United States is committed to helping Jordan deal with the refugees who have fled to its borders to escape the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. | 0fake |
U.S. Targets $1 Billion in Assets in Malaysian Embezzlement Case - The New York Times | A $30. 6 million penthouse at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, overlooking Central Park. A $39 million mansion in the Los Angeles hills. A $17. 5 million in Beverly Hills. Each was bought anonymously, the source of its financing hidden. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice charged that these lavish properties were among the more than $1 billion in United States assets bought with money stolen from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund by people close to that country’s embattled prime minister, Najib Razak. The story line of sudden riches and lavish spending by people close to Malaysia’s prime minister has been told many times over the last year, amid rising discontent with his government and corruption investigations at home and abroad. But federal prosecutors offered the most scathingly detailed version yet as they filed a complaint to seize the assets in federal court in California. According to the complaint, the stepson, close friends and associates of the prime minister diverted more than $3 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund — called 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB. Some came from an international oil deal and some from bond deals managed by Goldman Sachs. Then, the complaint said, they transferred more than $1 billion of the embezzled funds into the United States using shell companies and the client bank accounts at the law firm Shearman Sterling. They rose up the social ladder, spending on parties, purchasing real estate, financing movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” and buying paintings by the likes of Picasso and Monet. “The money was raised by the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and it was supposed to be used for investments that would return profits that would be used to support the Malaysian people,” Leslie R. Caldwell, the assistant attorney general who heads the department’s criminal division, said in an interview. “What happened instead was corrupt officials within 1MDB and others siphoned off a very large percentage of the money that was raised to the tune of $3 billion and used it in ways that provided absolutely no benefit to people in Malaysia other than themselves. ” The forfeiture complaint, issued by a unit known as the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, represents the largest such case brought by the Justice Department. It comes at a time of heightened concern about secrecy, shell companies and illicit money flow around the world. In the spring, the leak of the Panama Papers cast light on secret offshore accounts held by politicians and other wealthy people from around the world. The Treasury Department announced recently that it would begin requiring banks to identify customers who use shell companies. And the department began a test program this spring requiring people who buy expensive properties in New York and Miami using cash and shell companies to report their actual identities. The United States is among several governments, including Malaysia, Singapore and Switzerland, that have investigated 1MDB. The inquiries began last year after an investigative report in The New York Times. As part of a broader examination of the use of shell companies in real estate in the United States, The Times traced the purchases of about $150 million in residential properties in New York and in the Los Angeles area, as well as several works of art, to relatives or associates of Mr. Najib. The Justice Department named three of those people in its filings. One, Riza Aziz, is the stepson of Mr. Najib and a Hollywood film producer. Another, a financier named Jho Low, is a longtime friend of Mr. Aziz and his family. The third is Mohamed Badawy a former official at a government fund in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, that participated in deals with Malaysia’s fund. Prosecutors also cited Khadem who was an official at a related fund in the United Arab Emirates, as well as another individual who was an associate of Mr. Low. The people named in the complaint have not been charged with crimes. The defendants in an asset forfeiture case are the properties that the government wants to seize. But an asset complaint does not preclude criminal charges. Mr. Aziz’s movie company, Red Granite Pictures, said in a statement that it was confident that “when the facts come out, it will be clear that Riza Aziz and Red Granite did nothing wrong. ” Mr. Low, Mr. Husseiny and Mr. Qubaisi did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, representatives for Mr. Aziz and Mr. Low have acknowledged that their clients own United States properties but have said that they did nothing improper. The complaint does not name Mr. Najib, but it does cite “Malaysian Official 1,” described as a government official who oversaw the fund and is a close relative of Mr. Aziz. Tengku Sariffuddin, Mr. Najib’s press secretary, said in a statement issued early Thursday that Malaysia would cooperate with “any lawful investigation. ” If any wrongdoing is proved, he said, “the law will be enforced without exception. ” He said the investment fund had been the subject of several investigations in Malaysia and that authorities found no crime was committed. The immediate effect of the Justice Department’s action is effectively to freeze the assets. The forfeiture process is lengthy. First, a court must make sure that no other interested party has a valid claim to the properties. Once true ownership is determined, the court must decide whether the money used to buy those assets was, in fact, earned illicitly. Only then can the government permanently seize the assets. In the nearer term, the government’s action may increase the political pressure on Mr. Najib, who has held on to power by halting investigations into the investment fund and by removing officials in his governing party who criticized him. The 1MDB fund was created in 2009 as a “strategic development company” to invest the Malaysian public’s money, primarily its oil wealth, in projects to benefit the country. Mr. Low helped set up an earlier version of the fund. The Times reported last year that Mr. Low was secretly involved in major transactions with a small oil company called PetroSaudi International and Malaysia’s public fund, which was led by Mr. Najib in his position as prime minister. Mr. Low then helped the prime minister’s stepson buy property in the United States using shell companies and finance his movie company. The Times investigation documented property transfers between Mr. Low and Mr. Aziz, including one on Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills that was done behind the veil of a shell company, with no property transfer filed in public records, as well as the role that Mr. Low played in helping to finance Mr. Aziz’ movie business. That transaction was one of several using shell companies that were detailed in the Justice Department complaint. The complaint minutely chronicled an odyssey of embezzlement, global money flow and lavish spending in the United States. Prosecutors described several crucial transactions involving 1MDB, including the one with PetroSaudi. In that transaction, the complaint said, 1MDB officials and their associates stole about $1 billion that was supposed to be used for oil exploration. In addition, more than $2. 5 billion was stolen through bond offerings for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013 that were managed by Goldman Sachs, the complaint said. Then, according to prosecutors, Mr. Low and the others involved in the embezzlement wired hundreds of millions of dollars into the escrow account of the Shearman Sterling law firm. Banks generally do not do due diligence on the clients of law firms, leaving that step to the law firms themselves. PetroSaudi, Goldman and Shearman were not accused of wrongdoing. Those firms did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. 1MDB, the sovereign fund, was also not accused of wrongdoing and said in a statement that it was cooperating with investigators. According to the complaint, from October 2009 to June 2010, more than $85 million of the stolen money was spent on gambling in Las Vegas, jet rentals, yachts and payments to other individuals. It said that the $150 million used for luxury properties in New York and California came from the PetroSaudi deal, as did $44. 8 million to buy a hotel in Beverly Hills and $35. 4 million for a jet. Money from the Goldman Sachs bond deals, prosecutors said, was used to purchase $130 million worth of artwork at auction, as well as an interest in the music rights of EMI. It also helped finance the production of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” they said. According to the complaint, money from the bond offerings was put into a shell company in the British Virgin Islands and then transferred in part to Red Granite Pictures. Mr. Aziz and Mr. Husseiny previously told The Times the financing for the movie had come from personal funds of Mr. Husseiny, the complaint notes, even though the money came from 1MDB. In New York, the funds for the purchase of the Time Warner penthouse originated with 1MDB and were siphoned off from the PetroSaudi deal, the complaint said. The money was transferred through accounts in numerous countries but eventually landed in an account that Shearman Sterling held for “client 37103 ( MISCELLANEOUS INVESTMENT MATTERS). ” The Justice Department has brought other kleptocracy cases against the children of heads of state, including one involving the daughter of the president of Uzbekistan. In many cases, Justice Department officials have found that shell companies have facilitated illicit money flow and made stopping it more difficult. The Malaysian case, Ms. Caldwell of the Justice Department said, was no exception. “This case is a perfect example of how shell companies can be used by criminals and kleptocrats and other people to steal money, hide money, launder money and make it very difficult for law enforcement to find out who controls that money,” she said. “It’s a big problem globally but it’s also a problem in the United States. ” | 0fake |
Obamacare Architect Tell’s CNN that Americans Should Receive Higher Penalty’s in Order for Obamacare to Work | Obamacare Architect Tell’s CNN that Americans Should Receive Higher Penalty’s in Order for Obamacare to Work Tweet
Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber – the bureaucrat who once bragged that the “stupidity” of the American people was crucial for passing the health care law in the first place – told CNN that the “fix” for Obamacare was to impose a “larger mandate penalty”.
This piece of sh*t should be stripped of his citizenship and immediately deported!
AC | 1real |
Trump LIVID After His Twitter Attacks HELP ‘Hamilton’ Break Broadway Sales Record (TWEETS) | It was just a few weeks ago that President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the cast of Broadway show Hamilton for giving a respectful speech about equality and diversity to his Vice President, Mike Pence. Despite the fact that Pence was not offended and did not want an apology, Trump railed against the cast for days, causing his rabid supporters to call for a boycott.It turns out, Trump and his supporters got a brutal reality check today. Hamilton, the Broadway show that Trump called overrated in one of his tweets, just broke a record for ticket sales. Guess the #BoycottHamilton movement didn t really have the effect Trump and his minions had hoped!TwitterHamilton shattered the Broadway record for the most money made in a single week, selling $3.3 million in tickets. The last time any Broadway show came close to this was in 2013, when Wicked sold $3.2 million in a nine-show week. Hamilton only had eight shows, and it still surpassed Wicked. And that s not all. According to the New York Times, whom Trump also attacks regularly, this also happened: [Hamilton] set a record for the highest premium ticket price charged by a Broadway box office $998 although some people have paid more buying tickets from resellers. TwitterTwitterIt just goes to show that although Trump, Pence and their moronic supporters want to set this country back several decades, that s not what the majority of the country wants. When the Hamilton cast spoke about freedom, diversity, and equality, those are the values that resonate with most of us. The outpouring of support that Hamilton has received since the #HamiltonBoycott proves that the majority of the country does not agree with Trump (after all, he lost the popular vote by MILLIONS) and his bigotry has no place in America.Featured image via Alex Wong and Facebook | 1real |
Anti-Trump forces seek last-ditch delegate revolt | Washington (CNN) The faction of the GOP that is unhappy with Donald Trump as the party's presumptive nominee has one last plan to stop the mogul: staging an all-out delegate revolt at the Republican National Convention.
The far-fetched idea is the latest reflection of a campaign cycle that has been anything but ordinary, and stems from a continuing dissatisfaction among some conservative stalwarts with how Trump is behaving and running his campaign. But two longtime GOP veterans says they wouldn't bet on the effort working.
The effort comes at a rough time for the GOP. As the Democratic Party's heaviest hitters, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, line up behind Hillary Clinton and against Trump, Republicans have been forced to criticize their own nominee. Recent comments from Trump about a federal judge's Mexican heritage have drawn widespread rebuke and put GOP leaders in a corner as they defend their endorsement of Trump while disavowing his comments.
One of the vocal advocates for a delegate revolt is conservative commentator and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, who has also been actively seeking a candidate to mount an independent bid against Trump, thus far to no avail.
Kristol tweeted late Thursday that the idea of a "conscience convention," where delegates are free to vote for whomever they want to, is also appealing.
"I've been focused on independent candidacy, & still am. But struck by sudden level of interest in possible delegate revolt at convention," Kristol tweeted. He added: "A Convention of Conscience in Cleveland would be quite something. Made easier by fact Trump only won minority of total primary votes anyway."
Bob Vander Plaats, the head of The Family Leader, an influential social conservative group in Iowa, told CNN's Kate Bolduan Friday morning that "everything does need to be on the table" at the convention, though he stopped short of calling for a revolt on the convention floor.
"We want a principled conservative and disciplined candidate who is the standard-bearer of this party," said Vander Plaats, who backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the primaries. He said Trump has time before the convention to "have the concerns laid to rest."
"All I'm doing is adapting to the circumstances," Kendal Unruh told ABC. "I certainly believe Trump's demagogic racist comments are hurting him."
The rules enacted by the previous convention, which govern in 2016 until delegates pass a new set of rules, state that even if a delegate casts a ballot for a candidate other than one they are bound to, the convention secretary will record their bound vote.
In order to change that rule, the 112 delegates (two from each state and territory) on the Rules Committee would have to pass different rules and bring those to the floor of the convention, where a majority of delegates present would have to approve them.
Rules expert and RNC veteran Jim Bopp, an Indiana delegate who serves as special counsel to the RNC Rules Committee, said he has spoken with people who want to "keep the option open to manipulate the rules in some way to deny Trump the nomination," but he said he wouldn't bet on any changes.
"I would put money on no rules changes that would affect the outcome of the nominating process," Bopp told CNN. "I think it's highly likely that no rules changes would be adopted that would affect the nomination."
Bopp said there's also a counter movement within Rules insiders to pass a rule that would prevent any other rules changes from going into effect until the close of the convention.
Rules Committee and Oregon RNC member Solomon Yue is behind that effort, and has been pushing the RNC this year to adopt rules that give less power to the party and more to the delegates. He tried but failed to get the party to adopt rules that would require bigger majorities to pass business at the convention.
Yue says with roughly 80% of the convention delegates being either Trump or Cruz backers, the anti-Trump forces don't have much strength.
"The common denominator of the delegates is anti-establishment, anti-Washington," Yue said. "And if you think about 'Never Trump' people, they are representing Washington and the establishment."
Part of the philosophy for a delegate revolt comes from longtime RNC veteran Curly Haugland, from North Dakota, and a book he co-wrote with public policy consultant Sean Parnell. "Unbound" uses the history of the RNC to make the case that RNC rules dictate that delegates be allowed to vote their conscience.
"What Curly and I are contending is that because of RNC rules, there is no such thing as binding," Parnell told CNN, saying the binding rules that currently are in place are in a part of the rules package that govern pre-convention during the delegate selection process.
But Parnell also acknowledged that any effort to make the interpretation stick would require at the very least a handful of state delegations if not a majority of delegates on the floor.
"It would be messy. Good television though," Parnell said. "I would not call it likely. My hope is that delegates are free to vote however they want to vote, and it's going to be up to the chair whether or not to allow that. But I think unless Donald Trump actually does go shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue, I don't think this is going to cost him the nomination."
Neither the Trump campaign nor Republican National Committee immediately responded to a request for comment on the chatter about a delegate revolt.
There has been intense focus on the Rules Committee for months, going back to when there was a possibility of no Republican candidate getting enough delegates to clinch the nomination outright. With the prospect of a contested convention, the Cruz campaign made a concerted effort to stock the Rules Committee and state delegations with loyalists who would support Rules that would benefit Cruz in a bid to win the nomination on multiple ballots.
But after Cruz lost Indiana soundly and suspended his campaign, the prospect of a contested convention vanished and Trump rolled to the magic number to clinch the nomination.
Meanwhile, the Cruz campaign urged supporters to continue to become delegates and earn leadership spots to influence the platform at the convention.
Though some in the party have never warmed to Trump, the intensity of finding a way to prevent his formal nomination has grown in recent days after Trump's comments about a federal judge inflamed even the leaders of his own party.
Trump questioned the impartiality of the district court judge overseeing a lawsuit related to his venture Trump University, saying the Indiana-born judge's Mexican ancestry could bias him against Trump. The mogul cited his campaign promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico in making the comments.
Though the presumptive nominee has repeatedly stood behind and doubled down on the comments, his stance has drawn outrage from the likes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called the remarks "the textbook definition of a racist comment."
Still, only a small handful of Republicans have withdrawn or withheld their endorsements of Trump. Vulnerable Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk disavowed Trump this week and said he could not endorse the party's nominee after all, but Ryan, McConnell and others have stood by their endorsements, saying Clinton would be a worse choice. | 0fake |
Trump, GOP Facing CATACLYSMIC Disaster In Nevada, Early Vote Tallies Show | Early voting has concluded in Nevada, and tallies don t really favor Trump. In fact, he and other Republicans may have already lost the state, given that Democrats currently have a 73,000 vote lead just in Clark County. That s more than the margin by which President Obama won in 2012.Democrats have a 45,000 vote lead overall in the state, not including rural counties, and that could spell doom for the entire Republican ticket statewide since it gives Democrats a six-point lead going into Election Day. It s not just Trump s chances bottoming out, it could also be the Republicans hopes to retain control of the Senate.In other words, there are currently 45,000 tiny blows killing the GOP s hopes for that state.Jon Ralston, Nevada s top political analyst, says that Trump needs a miracle to win at this point. So do Republicans this could cost them Harry Reid s Senate seat, as well as the state s two House seats and the state legislature.Nearly half of the state voted early, including higher numbers of Democrats than Republicans, and that just compounds the GOP s woes there. If voter turnout approaches 80 percent total on Tuesday, then two-thirds of the vote is already in. The remaining votes would almost all have to go to Trump and the GOP for them to win anything there.Nevada s diversity is a big part of what s giving Trump problems Latino voters kept the Cardenas market open until 10pm because they were turning out in such large numbers. In fact, in Clark County, Friday was the single largest early-voting day they ve seen.The funny thing is that Trump has been polling within just a few points of Hillary in Nevada, so this probably comes as a shock to Republicans. But Republicans were pretty sure of a Romney victory in 2012, and he lost badly. Their so-called autopsy report revealed significant problems that they totally ignored, and this is the result.Trump has almost no path to the White House without Nevada.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 1real |
Democrat Hassan declares victory in New Hampshire Senate race | BOSTON (Reuters) - New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, on Wednesday declared that she had won her race for the U.S. Senate, though local media and her rival, incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte, said the race remains too close to call. “It is clear that we have won,” Hassan said in a statement. “It will be my job in the U.S. Senate to make the best decisions for New Hampshire to work with President-elect Trump when it is in the best interest of New Hampshire and the country, and to stand up to him when it isn’t.” | 0fake |
Why Trump Won; Why Clinton Lost | Why Trump Won; Why Clinton Lost November 9, 2016
Exclusive: Hillary Clinton’s stunning defeat reflected a gross misjudgment by the Democratic Party about the depth of populist anger against self-serving elites who have treated much of the country with disdain, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
In the end, Hillary Clinton became the face of a corrupt, arrogant and out-of-touch Establishment, while Donald Trump emerged as an almost perfectly imperfect vessel for a populist fury that had bubbled beneath the surface of America.
There is clearly much to fear from a Trump presidency, especially coupled with continued Republican control of Congress. Trump and many Republicans have denied the reality of climate change; they favor more tax cuts for the rich; they want to deregulate Wall Street and other powerful industries – all policies that helped create the current mess that the United States and much of the world are now in. A sign supporting Donald Trump at a rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016 (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Further, Trump’s personality is problematic to say the least. He lacks the knowledge and the temperament that one would like to see in a President – or even in a much less powerful public official. He appealed to racism, misogyny, white supremacy, bigotry toward immigrants and prejudice toward Muslims. He favors torture and wants a giant wall built across America’s southern border.
But American voters chose him in part because they felt they needed a blunt instrument to smash the Establishment that has ruled and mis-ruled America for at least the past several decades. It is an Establishment that not only has grabbed for itself almost all the new wealth that the country has produced but has casually sent the U.S. military into wars of choice, as if the lives of working-class soldiers are of little value.
On foreign policy, the Establishment had turned decision-making over to the neoconservatives and their liberal-interventionist sidekicks, a collection of haughty elitists who often subordinated American interests to those of Israel and Saudi Arabia, for political or financial advantage.
The war choices of the neocon/liberal-hawk coalition have been disastrous – from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya to Syria to Ukraine – yet this collection of know-it-alls never experiences accountability. The same people, including the media’s armchair warriors and the think-tank “scholars,” bounce from one catastrophe to the next with no consequences for their fallacious “group thinks.” Most recently, they have ginned up a new costly and dangerous Cold War with Russia.
For all his faults, Trump was one of the few major public figures who dared challenge the “group thinks” on the current hot spots of Syria and Russia. In response, Clinton and many Democrats chose to engage in a crude McCarthyism with Clinton even baiting Trump as Vladimir Putin’s “puppet” during the final presidential debate.
It is somewhat remarkable that those tactics failed; that Trump talked about cooperation with Russia, rather than confrontation, and won. Trump’s victory could mean that rather than escalating the New Cold War with Russia, there is the possibility of a ratcheting down of tensions.
Repudiating the Neocons
Thus, Trump’s victory marks a repudiation of the neocon/liberal-hawk orthodoxy because the New Cold War was largely incubated in neocon/liberal-hawk think tanks, brought to life by likeminded officials in the U.S. State Department, and nourished by propaganda across the mainstream Western media. Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
It was the West, not Russia, that provoked the confrontation over Ukraine by helping to install a fiercely anti-Russian regime on Russia’s borders. I know the mainstream Western media framed the story as “Russian aggression” but that was always a gross distortion.
There were peaceful ways for settling the internal differences inside Ukraine without violating the democratic process, but U.S. neocons, such as Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, and wealthy neoliberals, such as financial speculator George Soros, pushed for a putsch that overthrew the elected President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
Putin’s response, including his acceptance of Crimea’s overwhelming referendum to return to Russia and his support for ethnic Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine opposing the coup regime in Kiev, was a reaction to the West’s destabilizing and violent actions. Putin was not the instigator of the troubles.
Similarly, in Syria, the West’s “regime change” strategy, which dates back to neocon planning in the mid-1990s, involved collaboration with Al Qaeda and other Islamic jihadists to remove the secular government of Bashar al-Assad. Again, Official Washington and the mainstream media portrayed the conflict as all Assad’s fault, but that wasn’t the full picture.
From the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, U.S. “allies,” including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Israel, have been aiding the rebellion, with Turkey and the Gulf states funneling money and weapons to Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and even to the Al Qaeda spinoff, Islamic State.
Though President Barack Obama dragged his heels on the direct intervention advocated by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama eventually went in halfway, bending to political pressure by agreeing to train and arm so-called “moderates” who ended up fighting next to Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and other jihadists in Ahrar al-Sham.
Trump has been inarticulate and imprecise in describing what policies he would follow in Syria, besides suggesting that he would cooperate with the Russians in destroying Islamic State. But Trump didn’t seem to understand the role of Al Qaeda in controlling east Aleppo and other Syrian territory.
Uncharted Territory
So, the American voters have plunged the United States and the world into uncharted territory behind a President-elect who lacks a depth of knowledge on a wide variety of issues. Who will guide a President Trump becomes the most pressing issue today. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking with supporters at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. March 21, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Will he rely on traditional Republicans who have done so much to mess up the country and the world or will he find some fresh-thinking realists who will realign policy with core American interests and values.
For this dangerous and uncertain moment, the Democratic Party establishment deserves a large share of the blame. Despite signs that 2016 would be a year for an anti-Establishment candidate – possibly someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders – the Democratic leadership decided that it was “Hillary’s turn.”
Alternatives like Warren were discouraged from running so there could be a Clinton “coronation.” That left the 74-year-old socialist from Vermont as the only obstacle to Clinton’s nomination and it turned out that Sanders was a formidable challenger. But his candidacy was ultimately blocked by Democratic insiders, including the unelected “super-delegates” who gave Clinton an early and seemingly insurmountable lead.
With blinders firmly in place, the Democrats yoked themselves to Clinton’s gilded carriage and tried to pull it all the way to the White House. But they ignored the fact that many Americans came to see Clinton as the personification of all that is wrong about the insular and corrupt world of Official Washington. And that has given us President-elect Trump.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com . | 1real |
Factbox: Catalonia crisis - What's next? | MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia s ousted leader Carles Puigdemont agreed on Tuesday to a snap election called by Spain s central government when it took control of the region to stop it breaking away, but he said the fight for independence would go on. Below are several scenarios of what could happen in the next few days. Puigdemont and his sacked cabinet have been ordered to testify before the Spanish High Court on Thursday and Friday after charges of rebellion, sedition and breach of trust were filed against them. Under Spain s legal system, a judge will then decide whether Puigdemont should go to jail pending a investigation that can sometimes take up to several years - and a potential trial. Puigdemont traveled to Brussels after the Catalan regional parliament issued a unilateral declaration of independence on Friday, and it was not immediately clear whether he would heed the call to appear before the court. He had said earlier on Tuesday he would return to Spain only when given unspecified guarantees by the Spanish government. The same charges have been drawn up against the Catalan parliament s speaker, Carme Forcadell, and other senior lawmakers but, given they have parliamentary immunity, they will testify before the Supreme Court, which is in charge of handling cases relating to lawmakers or members of the government. Prosecutors have asked the courts to order Catalan secessionist leaders to deposit 6.2 million euros to cover potential liabilities but they have not sought preventive jail against them. This could change however if Puigdemont and his associates did not show up at the High Court as the judge could deem them to be a flight risk and jail them. It is not clear whether a snap regional election will resolve the crisis. Two recent opinion polls showed support for independence may have started to wane. But an official regional survey published on Tuesday showed some 48.7 percent of Catalans believe the region should be independent, up from 41.1 pct in June and the highest since December 2014. Based on 1,338 interviews, the Centre d Estudis d Opinio poll was the first survey released since the independence declaration though the bulk of it was taken before then, between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29. Other opinion polls have also shown Catalonia is almost evenly split between pro- and anti-independence supporters. One key thing to watch will be if pro-independence parties run on a joint ticket or on separate platforms. If they ran separately, they could find it more difficult to reach a parliamentary majority. They must say whether they intend to run together before Nov. 7 and then put forward their candidates by Nov. 18. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sacked Catalonia s government including Puigdemont and his deputy Oriol Junqueras and assumed direct control over the region. Central government ministries assumed the powers of the Catalan administration until a regional election takes place on Dec. 21. That unprecedented step was implemented smoothly and calls for civil disobedience were widely disregarded. | 0fake |
WOW! Leftist Bully ROSIE O’DONNELL PUSHES Horrible Rumor On Social Media…Suggests Barron Trump Has Mental Disorder [VIDEO] | https://twitter.com/Rosie/status/800939338615824384 | 1real |
FBI DIRECTOR COMEY’S Decision On Hillary Clinton’s E-mail | Trump was right again! There will be NO CHARGES for Crooked Hillary Clinton! Comey says she was careless but recommends no charges so Hillary s home free. Loretta Lynch has already said she ll go by the recommendation of the FBI. FBI on Hillary Clinton's emails: 110 emails contained classified info; 8 chains were top secret when they were sent. https://t.co/owg94f3l8c ABC News (@ABC) July 5, 2016 FBI on Clinton emails: Although there was no intentional misconduct, "there's evidence they were extremely careless" https://t.co/0HPPv0ByoF ABC News (@ABC) July 5, 2016 | 1real |
Hillary Failing at Twitter Today: “Happy Birthday to This Future President” |
I know Hillary has probably never used a Twitter account personally in her entire life, but if she is, that would make this Tweet sent out on her official account even funnier.
Happy birthday to this future president. pic.twitter.com/JT3HiBjYdj
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 26, 2016
Not only does this woman obviously just know, with every fiber of her being, that’s she’s got the election in the bag, but now she’s wishing herself happy birthday?
Who does that?
Oh yeah, that’s right, no one.
@HillaryClinton Whomever is managing your social media account needs to be fired immediately. No one wishes themselves a happy birthday.
— Steve Peer (@everymahn) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton “when you wish a happy birthday to your self” pic.twitter.com/8Rnrjif5Fl
— seed (@seed30_Greek) October 26, 2016
What’s even more hilarious are the responses.
@HillaryClinton I’ve seen that look before. pic.twitter.com/TQ7FaW7Mnr
— Ian McKelvey (@mckelvey_ian) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton Last picture taken before she became corrupt.
— Everyday American (@NashRamblers) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton happy bday to the single most corrupt politician in the history of the USA! #NeverHillary
— Chuck Norris (@Chuck7817) October 26, 2016
Odd RT @HillaryClinton Happy birthday to this future president. pic.twitter.com/FpluGgnovD
— Marcus Hawkins (@HawkinsUSA) October 26, 2016
@HawkinsUSA @HillaryClinton Don’t you mean… pic.twitter.com/5nhQSSnVqT
— Truthstream Media (@truthstreamnews) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/80Kzpu0WwE
— Deplorable Lil Trump (@USAneedsTRUMP) October 26, 2016
@seed30_Greek @HillaryClinton hitler was a sweet little child once too
— First name here last (@Anodramazone66) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton happy birthday you cruel warmonger. pic.twitter.com/7pY5O6uudo
— Veronica (@PotluckPolitico) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton This IS a better birthday picture pic.twitter.com/V3bc4adfKL
— DeplorableHispanic (@bibi4Trump) October 26, 2016
@HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/JnPLNrLeFP
— Wes Stull (@WesStull) October 26, 2016
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ).
Contributed by Melissa Dykes of The Daily Sheeple .
Melissa Dykes is a writer, researcher, and analyst for The Daily Sheeple and a co-creator of Truthstream Media with Aaron Dykes, a site that offers teleprompter-free, unscripted analysis of The Matrix we find ourselves living in. Melissa and Aaron also recently launched Revolution of the Method and Informed Dissent . Wake the flock up! | 1real |
October Surprise! This Is Bad! Wow! Listen: Bill Clinton Tells Alleged Mistress to Deny He Got Her State Job (Video) | Alternative | (Before It's News) King of Shambhala
also see here for me…. I belong to an old Norwegian aristocratic ROYAL family including Count Tolstoy (Leon Tolstoy, the famous Anarchist theorician inspired the Russian Revolution but at the same time was the scion of the Chernigov Princes – 11th cent. – by far the oldest Russian royalty) , Henrik Ibsen, Papal and Royal Chamberlains, many Members of the Royal Household, (Mistresses of the Robe) barons and counts, ambassadors. All those who fail to heed heaven’s voice (the lottery draw of 666 below) will be thrown into hell in the end times says the Bible. Well, heaven has spoken. On the day after Obama’s election the lottery in his homestate drew 666. The 666 lottery-draw also reveals that Obama’s Mark of 666 means his money. Check the lottery numbers in Obama’s homestate here : the Pick 3 of Nov 5, 2008 was 666, less than 24 hours after Obama’s election!! Because I’m alone in revealing the lottery draw of 666, the Mark of the Beast that everybody knows is the Antichrist, that makes me the Messiah and Jesus’ Second Coming . Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is the highest form of culture in the world and I follow it’s Kalachakra creed. Buddhism and Hinduism never carried out war like Christianity and Islam (That’s the worst thing existing in the world.) I’m working on revealing myself and my message to the world fast now so the Apocalypse blows. My message of truth and that shows the way, must be revealed not only here at BIN (the only place in the world where speech is free), but worldwide! The lying Antichrist Camp is infesting my articles with trolling from such criminal orgs as “Organizing for Action” so don’t follow anyone opposing me here!
CAUGHT ON TAPE: Bill Clinton Tells Alleged Mistress to Deny He Got Her State Job
NEW YORK – Speaking in a series of recorded phone conversations in 1991 with his alleged mistress Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clinton can be heard telling Flowers to deny that he aided her in obtaining a state job. “If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no,” Clinton can be heard saying in the audio.
Listen to the audio here:
Clinton was referring to news media inquiries about Flowers’ alleged affair with Clinton and Flowers’ concern that the media could raise questions about how she landed her job as administrative assistant for the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.
Clinton can also be heard advising Flowers on how to handle a grievance filed by a woman who applied for the same position and alleged that she was more qualified that Flowers. The complainant implied that Flowers was only hired because of her alleged relationship with Clinton.
From December 1990 to December 1991, Flowers famously recorded a series of conversations with Clinton during the period he was Governor of Arkansas and considering a run for the presidency.
On October 1991, Clinton announced his bid for the Oval Office, with rumors of extramarital affairs threatening to derail his campaign.
Flowers recently provided this reporter with complete original cassette recordings of her taped conversations with Clinton, recordings that take on renewed significance as the issue of Clinton’s alleged treatment of women has reemerged during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The sections of the audio recordings related to the state job are not exclusive to Breitbart News. Those excerpts were played for the news media in 1992, one day after Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared side by side on 60 Minutes , where Bill denied a relationship with Flowers.
Clinton later admitted to one sexual encounter with Flowers in a 1998 deposition for the Paula Jones lawsuit.
The audio segments about the state job were widely reported by the news media in the 1990’s. However, the details may warrant revisiting amid numerous Clinton financial scandals that have since surfaced alleging pay-for-play, including those tied to the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.
In one section of the audio, which can be heard above, Flowers discusses the grievance filed against her and informs Clinton that she was being questioned about how she obtained the position.
Clinton says “Good for you,” when Flowers tells him that she found out about the job from a newspaper advertisement and pursued it from there.
Here is a transcript of that part of the audio:
GF – But anyway, then Wednesday, there was a grievance filed in my office when I got the job by a girl who felt like she should have gotten it, a black girl named (deleted). And they called me as a witness. So I go in and uh, nothing big came of it. It’s just that they were questioning me about how I found out about the job. And I said, “Well, that personnel said it that it was a possibility there would be a position,” and then uh, “they told me that it would be advertised in the newspaper. And it was and I pursued it from there.
BC – Good for you.
GF – Well, it caught me off guard ‘cause I… at first I just didn’t know… I just didn’t expect that for some reason. I thought about a whole lot of things about my qualifications and all that business, but I didn’t think about that.
BC – Yeah.
In the next section of the audio, Flowers expresses concern that the news media, which was asking her questions about the alleged affair, could find out about the state job.
GF: Yeah. We had a little bit of a scare recently because she had a spot on an X-ray. And she went and had it checked again and it wasn’t cancer. And it’s been almost, it’ll be two years in May that she’s now diagnosed cancer free. My stepfather has been through two angioplasties, but he’s doing good. And I am, I’m really, Bill what I’m afraid of is that if somebody in the press finds out that I’m working for the state.
BC – Yeah.
GF – They’re going to make a big deal of it.
BC – Yeah.
In a subsequent conversation, Clinton specifically counsels Flowers to say “no” if she is asked about whether she discussed the state job with him.
Here is a transcript:
GF – Well the only thing that concerns me, where I’m, where I’m concerned at this point is the state job.
BC – Yeah. I never thought about that, but as long as you say you’ve just been looking for one, you’d uh, check on it. If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no.
GF – Well and I would. But I’m… here is the thing I’ve got to consider, too, is I’ve gotta go in there to work every day. You know what I mean?
BC – Yep.
GF – And if, and if these people start talking or someone in the press…
BC – Well, have they been nice to you there?
GF – Yeah they have been. But I don’t, you know, I mean, I just want you to know what’s going on. And I’ll be glad to hang in there.
BC – Has the, has the…
GF – But if it gets real…
BC – Has the grievance committee ruled yet?
GF – No. Not that I am aware of. Uh, I forget the guy’s name that appeared to be the head of it. Dudley or Dewey. Is there a Dudley or a Dewy or somebody? Do you know?
BC – I don’t know.
GF – Don Barnes was there. And of course…
BC – Is he happy with you?
GF – Well sure. (Laughter.) I’m good. I’m good at what I do, Bill.
BC – I know.
GF – But Don was, you know. He… He pretty much… When this guy was trying to beat up on me a little, said, “hey, I don’t see the relevance of this” and dadada. And then the head of the grievance committee said “I don’t either and I think we need to go on and you know go, not go along with this line of questioning.” And then that was about it except for just some other minor questions. But I found that curious that he would ask me how I found out about the job.
BC – Yeah.
GF – Now maybe at this point I’m paranoid but I mean no one has mentioned anything about it to me at all but I just found that, that I found interesting.
BC – Yeah.
In another conversation, Clinton tells Flowers that he will “nose around” to see if he can find out more about the issue, and he asked her whether the person who filed the grievance was being represented by a lawyer.
BC – Alright. I’m gonna nose around, if I find out anything I’ll call you. And meanwhile, uh, I can understand this grievance thing. I’ll, I’ll run that down.
GF – Well I don’t think there’ll be any problem there from what I understand, you know, that her deal was to either have my job or for them to create a position equal to mine.
BC – Uh huh.
GF – But it’s my understanding that then it’ll go to… even if they say yes, created position for her.
BC – Uh huh.
GF – That’s the same as Gennifer’s. Don Barnes can always say, “No, I won’t” and period. That’s it.
BC – That’s right. I mean that’s my understanding. So…
BC- Yeah. And then she could sue, but I doubt if she will. Was she there with a lawyer or a representative of any kind?
GF – She had a guy that works for the tribunal represent her which I thought was very inappropriate.
BC – Uh huh. Well, I guess maybe they do that for people…
Contacted yesterday by Breitbart News, Flowers explained why she says she turned to Clinton for help securing the state job.
She stated:
I found out my Mom had cancer and decided I wanted a regular job so I would have my weekends to spend with her. I was performing six nights a week and wouldn’t of had time. I asked to get me the job and he did.
In her deposition for the Paula Jones case, Flowers detailed Clinton’s alleged involvement in helping her secure the state job.
Here is her affidavit on that matter:
In early 1990 I told Bill Clinton that I wanted a job with the state. Bill Clinton told me to contact his assistant Judy Gaddy who would assist me with the application for employment. I met with Judy Gaddy in her office and she provided me with the details of what needed to be on the application. Judy Gaddy also told me to contact Clara Clark who set up a job interview for me. I was eventually employed by the state as an administrative assistant for the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.
Shortly after I was employed by the state, another woman who had applied for my job filed a grievance or some sort of complaint in which she alleged that she was more qualified and implied that the only reason I got the job was because I had had an affair with Bill Clinton. I was called to testify before a panel in connection with this proceeding. When I learned that I would have to testify, I did not know what to do, so I called Bill Clinton. I told him that I had been called to testify and asked what I should say. He told me to deny that we had ever had an affair. During the proceeding, when questions came up about my relationship to Bill, Don Barnes, his appointee and head of the commission, stopped the questioning.
In 1992, Michael Isikoff reported at the Washington Post that Clinton’s office admitted that it helped Flowers obtain the job in June 1991, while denying allegations that Flowers was Clinton’s mistress. Clinton’s office maintained that Clinton only helped Flowers because the politician felt bad that she was being hounded by the media over the sex allegations.
Isikoff reported:
Gov. Bill Clinton’s office said today that Clinton assigned a member of his staff to help Gennifer Flowers find a state job in September 1990 after she asked for his assistance.
Michael Gauldin, Clinton’s press secretary, also released two handwritten notes he said Flowers had written to Clinton. The first, in 1986, said she would appreciate his help in finding a job. The second, dated Feb. 23, 1991, complained that the assistant assigned to help her was not being very “successful.” …
Gauldin said Clinton was interested in helping her in part because he “felt responsible for all the women” who were being hounded by reporters after they were named in an unsuccessful 1990 lawsuit in which a state employee alleged the governor had used state funds in furtherance of extramarital affairs.
In the 1986 letter, Flowers enclosed a resume, said she “certainly enjoyed speaking with you by phone,” and said “anything you can do” to help with employment would be “appreciated.”
In the 1991 “Dear Bill” letter, Flowers complained that the staff aide Clinton assigned to the matter, special assistant Judy S. Caddy, “has not been very successful in the job hunting area.”
“Bill, I’ve tried to explain my financial situation to you and how badly I need a job,” Flowers wrote. She said she was enclosing “some correspondence that will be of interest to you” – a letter written by a lawyer she had hired threatening to sue a local radio station for repeating the 1990 allegations. The letter, which had previously been released by Clinton, said the allegations were untrue.
“Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to pursue the law suit to hopefully, get some money to live on until I can get employment,” Flowers ended the note. “Please be in touch.”
In 1998, the Washington Post again reported on the matter:
Flowers said her affair with Clinton had been over for at least a year but that about the time of the Nichols suit, she was looking for a job and turned to the governor.
Clinton agreed to help find her a position at an Arkansas state agency, Flowers said, and enlisted a political appointee named Don Barnes. Efforts to contact Barnes last night were unsuccessful.
“I don’t know Vernon Jordan, and I don’t know whether he is or is not telling the truth,” Flowers said. “But it reminds me of [1990] in regard to a position that Vernon Jordan supposedly arranged for Monica Lewinsky.”
Flowers was hired by the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal, a state agency, after an interview Barnes arranged and sat in on, according to Flowers’ 1995 written account of her relationship with Clinton.
http://www.scoopnest.com/user/TPoliticmanager/791321070535966720
Trump threatened Hillary with bringing on Gennifer Flowers last month to the debate.
Mike Pence Gennifer Flowers Wont Be at Debate Trump Was Just Mocking Clinton Camp
All Stories By King of Shambhala Click Here! | 1real |
Congressman will not seek relection amid misconduct probe | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Ruben Kihuen announced on Saturday that he will not seek re-election, becoming the latest member of Congress to end his legislative career in the face of sexual harassment allegations. The first-term Nevada Democrat, who is the subject of an ethics investigation in the House of Representatives, denied the allegations against him but concluded that the charges would distract from “a fair and thorough discussion of the issues” on the campaign trail. “It is in the best interests of my family and my constituents to complete my term in Congress and not seek reelection,” Kihuen, 37, said in a statement issued by his campaign committee. The news website BuzzFeed has reported allegations that Kihuen sexually harassed a staff member of his 2016 political campaign. This week, there were also multiple reports of an anonymous lobbyist’s description of his unwanted advances. Reuters has not independently confirmed the reports. Kihuen is the latest in a growing roster of male lawmakers in Congress who have been accused of sexual misconduct amid a wave of such allegations against powerful men in entertainment, politics and the media. Lawmakers are working on legislation to update the body’s rules on sexual harassment. On Friday, Democratic Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia was accused of touching a former aide without permission and offering to advance her career in exchange for sex. The aide also said she was wrongfully dismissed from her job. Scott denied the charges. Republican Representative Blake Farenthold also said this week that he would not seek re-election after accounts surfaced that he created a hostile work environment. He denied allegations of sexual harassment but admitted allowing an unprofessional culture in his Capitol Hill office. Last week, Democratic Representative John Conyers and Republican Representative Trent Franks resigned, while Democratic Senator Al Franken said he would step down in the coming weeks. | 0fake |
2016 Asked What Its Fucking Problem Is | We Use Cookies: Our policy [X] 2016 Asked What Its Fucking Problem Is November 11, 2016 - BREAKING NEWS , ENTERTAINMENT Share 0 Add Comment
FOLLOWING the news that the year 2016 has added songwriting legend Leonard Cohen to its list of prominent homicides this year, the world has confirmed it wants to know what 2016’s fucking problem is.
“You’re just fucking taking who you like – a funk and pop God, a Glam hero and someone I played on vinyl when I needed a good cry, I don’t get it. It’s like you are trying to ruin every day of my life,” Colm Henry, a Dublin native, shared as part of furious temper tantrum.
“And don’t get me started on fucking Brexit and that shower in America,” Henry added while blocking out thoughts of whom 2016 might potentially take next.
2016, a 366 day calendar year has been consistently criticised throughout its reign of terror as its record of killing people and a penchant for batshit crazy happenings compares unfavourably with its peers 2015, 2014 and 2013.
“Raspberry Beret wasn’t supposed to make me sad, it was supposed to make me look like a fool on the dance floor at weddings, and 2016 has fucked that up for me, cheers, you complete bastard,” added Maggie Dunleahy, from Waterford.
Livid members of the public also pointed out that 2016, despite having an Olympics and European Championships, still managed to leave people feeling ‘incredibly sad, frustrated and annoyed’.
“It’s not too much to ask is it, for an explanation like, seriously, what the fuck is its problem?” added just about everyone. | 1real |
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS MOCKS WH PRESS: Lists All Clinton Russia Ties When Asked About TRUMP/Russia [Video] | Sarah Huckabee Sanders let the White House press have it when they kept asking about Russia, Russia, Russia This is AWESOME!THE TWITTER VERSION:.@SarahHuckabee: The only thing I see misleading is year s worth of stories that have been fueling a false narrative about Russia collusion. pic.twitter.com/BDzIaiHzNU Fox News (@FoxNews) August 1, 2017She s a keeper! She was so ready for the liberal media who were laser focused on Russia.SHE S GREAT AT MOCKING THE PRESS HERE S A PREVIOUS MOMENT OF HILARITY FROM SANDERS:The entire Russia hoax implodes just as the scandal of the year (the Awan brothers) breaks. Bad week for Fake News! pic.twitter.com/acjPqJs33b Newt-Trump Fan Club (@NewtTrump) July 27, 2017Sarah Huckabee Sanders has taken control of the media and is no longer allowing them to push a false narrative when it comes to President Trump and a non-existant Russian connection.Time and time again, Sanders has proven she s no pushover when it comes to the rabid leftist media who would love nothing more than to be able to sabotage her during her press briefings. Yesterday was no exception. With a smile on her face, Sanders called out the media for ignoring the biggest story of the day. The one day there might have been a question on Russia, there wasn t. Often, we have a lot of uh, media with Russia first , and uh, but today, there was public testimony that further discredited the phony dossier that s been the source of so much of the fake news and conspiracy theories. And we learned that the firm that produced it was also being paid by the Russians. This is yet the latest piece of evidence that vindicates what the president has said that this is just a witch hunt and a hoax . And its a shame that the president and the country have had to go through this charade. | 1real |
Social Media Awash With Anti-Semitism, New Post Up Every 83 Seconds | Social media platforms spewed more than 382, 000 posts over the course of 2016 — an average of more than 43. 6 posts per hour, or one post every 83 seconds, according to research by the World Jewish Congress (WJC). percent of all the content found a megaphone on Twitter. [“We knew that online was on the rise, but the numbers revealed in this report give us concrete data as to how alarming the situation really is,” World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer said in a statement. “We hope this serves as a call to all internet forums to maintain moral standards, rid themselves of offensive content, and make the digital world a safer place for all. ” The WJC research analyzed tens of millions of posts in 20 languages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, blogs and other forums. After Twitter, the highest number of posts online can be found on blogs, at 16 percent. Eleven percent of content online was posted to Facebook, followed by Instagram with 6 percent, YouTube with 2 percent, and 2 percent on other forums. The criteria used to determine whether a post was was based on International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s May 2016 definition that “ is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. The group’s analysis comes after more than 100 Jewish institutions across the U. S. received bomb threats this year alone, as Breitbart News reported. In Europe, top executives from the UK arms of Facebook, Twitter, and Google recently appeared in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee and were grilled about an apparent failure to tackle hate speech in general and in particular on their respective platforms. Breitbart News reported that the committee directed most of their scrutiny towards Google in regards to videos posted on YouTube that are “peddling hate,” according to Labour MP Chuka Umunna. Focusing on videos uploaded by the leader David Duke and the now proscribed extremist organization National Action, Umunna accused Peter Barron, the vice president of communications and public affairs at Google Europe of profiting off of these videos, along with allowing the individuals themselves to make money as well. “Your operating profit in 2016 was $30. 4 billion. Now, there are not many business activities that somebody openly would have to come and admit … that they are making money and people who use their platform are making money out of hate,” Umunna said. “You, as an outfit, are not working nearly hard enough to deal with this. ” | 0fake |
Here You Go: Every Bat Sh*t Crazy Thing That Came Out Of Trump’s Mouth In The First Debate | Donald Trump spent Monday night making a total ass out of himself in the first presidential debate. We were all waiting to see just what would happen tonight, and it was quite the spectacle. From lies to self-incrimination, watching the GOP nominee s performance was the equivalent of one facepalm after another.So here you go, a complete list of every batshit crazy thing that came out of Donald Trump s mouth during the first presidential debate: There s nobody in our government to fight them [China], and we have a very good fight, and we have a winning fight. They re using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild China and many other countries are doing the same thing. We have to stop these countries from stealing our companies. Our country s in deep trouble. We don t know what we re doing with devaluations Especially when it comes to China, they re the best. They re the best ever at it. What they re doing to us is a very very sad thing. That s called business, by the way. (referring to making money off of the 2007 financial collapse) I m a great believer in all forms of energy Our country is losing a so much in terms of energy, in terms of paying off our debt. I will bring back jobs. You can t bring back jobs. That s about all you ve got. (referring to Clinton s book We Are Stronger Together) You are going to approve one of the biggest tax cuts in history. You are going to approve one of the biggest tax increases in history. You are going to drive businesses out. I m going to cut taxes, big-league. You are going to raise taxes, big-league. And take a look at mine also. (referring to his campaign website) She tells us how to fight ISIS on her website. I don t think Douglas MacArthur would like that too much You re telling the enemy everything you want to do. No wonder you ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life. Well, I m really calling for major jobs, because the wealthy are going to create tremendous jobs. They re going to expand their companies. They re going to do a tremendous job. (hahahaha) I m getting rid of the carried interest provision, and if you really look, it s really not a great thing for the wealthy, it s really a great thing for middle class. (methinks thou dost protest too much) These people are going to put billions and billions of dollars into companies. And when they re going to bring 2.5 trillion dollars back from overseas, where they can t bring the money back because politicians like Secretary Clinton won t allow them to bring the money back because the taxes are so onerous and the bureaucratic red tape is so bad. (or because those companies are greedy and un-American, just saying) So, what they re doing is leaving our country, and believe it or not, they re leaving our country because the taxes are too high. Because some of them companies have lots of money outside our country, and instead of bringing it back and putting the money to work because they can t work out a deal. And everybody agrees it should be brought back, instead of that they re leaving our country to get their money because they can t bring their money back into our country, because of bureacratic red tape. Because they can t get together, because we have a President that can t sit them around a table, and get them to approve something. (maybe companies should just pay their taxes so we don t need to cut valuable public services) We have no leadership, and honestly, that starts with Secretary Clinton Why not [blame Clinton for everything]? We re in a bubble right now, and the only thing that looks good is the stock market. We have a FED that is doing political things the FED is being more political than Secretary Clinton When we have a country that s doing so badly, that s being ripped off by every single country in the world, it s the kind of thinking that our country needs. We have people that are political hacks negotiating our trade deals. (in response to a question about his taxes) I ve been under audit for almost 15 years. I know a lot of wealthy people that have never been audited. I say, Have you been audited? I get audited almost every year, and in a way I should be complaining. I m not even complaining. I don t mind it. It s almost become a way of life. I get audited by the IRS, but other people don t. We have a situation in this country that needs to be taken care of. I will release my tax returns against my lawyers wishes That makes me smart. (in response to paying zero dollars in federal income taxes) I could give you a list of banks, if that would help you. I would give you a list of banks. These are very fine institutions, very fine banks. I could do that very quickly. I have a tremendous income. The reason I say that is not in a braggadocios way. It s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money. Our airports are like from a third world country We ve become a third world country. The worst of all things has happened. And it s really a shame. And it s politicians like Secretary Clinton that have caused this problem. Our country has tremendous problems. We re a debtor nation. We re a serious debtor nation. And we have a country that needs new roads, new tunnels, new bridges, new airports, new schools, new hospitals. And we don t have the money, because it s been squandered on so many of your ideas. It would be squandered, too, believe me. (in response to not paying any federal income taxes) Maybe he didn t do a good job and I was unsatisfied with his work Which our country should do, too. (referring to not paying people who worked for him) But on occasion, four times, we used certain laws that are there. And when Secretary Clinton talks about people that didn t get paid, first of all, they did get paid a lot, but taken advantage of the laws of the nation. Now, if you want to change the laws, you ve been there a long time, change the laws. But I take advantage of the laws of the nation because I m running a company. My obligation right now is to do well for myself, my family, my employees, for my companies. And that s what I do. (referring to bankrupting four companies and not paying his business debts) But what she doesn t say is that tens of thousands of people that are unbelievably happy and that love me. I ll give you an example. We re just opening up on Pennsylvania Avenue right next to the White House, so if I don t get there one way, I m going to get to Pennsylvania Avenue another. When we look at the budget, the budget is bad to a large extent because we have people that have no idea as to what to do and how to buy. Well, first of all, Secretary Clinton doesn t want to use a couple of words, and that s law and order. And we need law and order. If we don t have it, we re not going to have a country. Now, whether or not in a place like Chicago you do stop and frisk, which worked very well, Mayor Giuliani is here, worked very well in New York. We have to be we have to know what we re doing. Right now, our police, in many cases, are afraid to do anything. No, you re wrong. It went before a judge, who was a very against-police judge. It was taken away from her. And our mayor, our new mayor, refused to go forward with the case. They would have won an appeal. If you look at it, throughout the country, there are many places where it s allowed. (referring to racial profiling becoming outlawed as unconstitutional) We need law and order. And we need law and order in the inner cities, because the people that are most affected by what s happening are African-American and Hispanic people. And it s very unfair to them what our politicians are allowing to happen. I have the endorsement of the NRA, which I m very proud of. These are very, very good people. But I think we have to look very strongly at no-fly lists and watch lists. And when people are on there, even if they shouldn t be on there, we ll help them, we ll help them legally, we ll help them get off. But I tend to agree with that quite strongly. But stop-and- frisk had a tremendous impact on the safety of New York City. Tremendous beyond belief. So when you say it has no impact, it really did. It had a very, very big impact. They ve been abused and used in order to get votes by Democrat politicians, because that s what it is. They ve controlled these communities for up to 100 years. You know, you ve seen me, I ve been all over the place. You decided to stay home, and that s OK. But I will tell you, I ve been all over. And I ve met some of the greatest people I ll ever meet within these communities. When I got involved, I didn t fail. I got him to give the birth certificate. So I m satisfied with it. And I ll tell you why I m satisfied with it But I was the one that got him to produce the birth certificate. And I think I did a good job Well, it was very I say nothing. I say nothing, because I was able to get him to produce it. He should have produced it a long time before. I say nothing. But let me just tell you. When you talk about healing, I think that I ve developed very, very good relationships over the last little while with the African-American community. I think you can see that. And I feel that they really wanted me to come to that conclusion And I think I did a great job and a great service not only for the country, but even for the president, in getting him to produce his birth certificate. First of all, I got to watch in preparing for this some of your debates against Barack Obama. You treated him with terrible disrespect. And I watched the way you talk now about how lovely everything is and how wonderful you are. It doesn t work that way. You were after him. Now, as far as the lawsuit, yes, when I was very young, I went into my father s company, had a real estate company in Brooklyn and Queens, and we, along with many, many other companies throughout the country it was a federal lawsuit were sued. We settled the suit with zero with no admission of guilt. It was very easy to do. And, you know, I also notice the very nasty commercials that you do on me in so many different ways, which I don t do on you. Maybe I m trying to save the money. But, frankly, I look I look at that, and I say, isn t that amazing? Because I settled that lawsuit with no admission of guilt, but that was a lawsuit brought against many real estate firms, and it s just one of those things. I ll go one step further. In Palm Beach, Florida, tough community, a brilliant community, a wealthy community, probably the wealthiest community there is in the world, I opened a club, and really got great credit for it. No discrimination against African- Americans, against Muslims, against anybody. And it s a tremendously successful club. And I m so glad I did it. And I have been given great credit for what I did. And I m very, very proud of it. And that s the way I feel. That is the true way I feel. In addition, I was just endorsed by ICE. They ve never endorsed anybody before on immigration. I was just endorsed by ICE. As far as the cyber, I agree to parts of what Secretary Clinton said. We should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we re not. I don t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She s saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don t maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? Now, whether that was Russia, whether that was China, whether it was another country, we don t know, because the truth is, under President Obama we ve lost control of things that we used to have control over. We came in with the Internet, we came up with the Internet, and I think Secretary Clinton and myself would agree very much, when you look at what ISIS is doing with the Internet, they re beating us at our own game. ISIS. So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is it is a huge problem. I have a son. He s 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it s unbelievable. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it s hardly doable. But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing. But that s true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better and certainly cyber is one of them. So she talks about taking them out. She s been doing it a long time. She s been trying to take them out for a long time. But they wouldn t have even been formed if they left some troops behind, like 10,000 or maybe something more than that. And then you wouldn t have had them. (speaking about the creation of ISIS) Or, as I ve been saying for a long time, and I think you ll agree, because I said it to you once, had we taken the oil and we should have taken the oil ISIS would not have been able to form either, because the oil was their primary source of income. And now they have the oil all over the place, including the oil a lot of the oil in Libya. Wrong Wrong. Wrong. The secretary said very strongly about working with we ve been working with them for many years, and we have the greatest mess anyone s ever seen. But you look at the Middle East, you started the Iran deal, that s another beauty where you have a country that was ready to fall, I mean, they were doing so badly. They were choking on the sanctions. And now they re going to be actually probably a major power at some point pretty soon, the way they re going. Number one, the 28 countries of NATO, many of them aren t paying their fair share. Number two and that bothers me, because we should be asking we re defending them, and they should at least be paying us what they re supposed to be paying by treaty and contract. And, number two, I said, and very strongly, NATO could be obsolete, because and I was very strong on this, and it was actually covered very accurately in the New York Times, which is unusual for the New York Times, to be honest but I said, they do not focus on terror. And I was very strong. And I said it numerous times. And about four months ago, I read on the front page of the Wall Street Journal that NATO is opening up a major terror division. And I think that s great. And I think we should get because we pay approximately 73 percent of the cost of NATO. It s a lot of money to protect other people. But I m all for NATO. But I said they have to focus on terror, also. And they re going to do that. And that was believe me I m sure I m not going to get credit for it but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO. And believe me, you were the ones that took out the troops. Not only that, you named the day. They couldn t believe it. They sat back probably and said, I can t believe it. But you were there, and you were secretary of state when it was a little infant. Now it s in over 30 countries. And you re going to stop them? I don t think so. That is a mainstream media nonsense put out by her, because she frankly, I think the best person in her campaign is mainstream media. Well, I have much better judgment than she does. There s no question about that. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know? I have a much better she spent let me tell you she spent hundreds of millions of dollars on an advertising you know, they get Madison Avenue into a room, they put names oh, temperament, let s go after I think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament. I have a winning temperament. I know how to win. She does not have a Wait. The AFL-CIO the other day, behind the blue screen, I don t know who you were talking to, Secretary Clinton, but you were totally out of control. I said, there s a person with a temperament that s got a problem. Wrong It s lies That line s getting a little bit old, I must say. I would like to It s not an accurate one at all. It s not an accurate one. So I just want to give a lot of things and just to respond. I agree with her on one thing. The single greatest problem the world has is nuclear armament, nuclear weapons, not global warming, like you think and your your president thinks. Nuclear is the single greatest threat. Just to go down the list, we defend Japan, we defend Germany, we defend South Korea, we defend Saudi Arabia, we defend countries. They do not pay us. But they should be paying us, because we are providing tremendous service and we re losing a fortune. That s why we re losing we re losing we lose on everything. I say, who makes these we lose on everything. All I said, that it s very possible that if they don t pay a fair share, because this isn t 40 years ago where we could do what we re doing. We can t defend Japan, a behemoth, selling us cars by the million. All I said was, they may have to defend themselves or they have to help us out. We re a country that owes $20 trillion. They have to help us out. Well, I have to say that, you know, for what Secretary Clinton was saying about nuclear with Russia, she s very cavalier in the way she talks about various countries. But Russia has been expanding their they have a much newer capability than we do. We have not been updating from the new standpoint. We are not we are not keeping up with other countries. I would like everybody to end it, just get rid of it. But I would certainly not do first strike. I think that once the nuclear alternative happens, it s over. At the same time, we have to be prepared. I can t take anything off the table. Because you look at some of these countries, you look at North Korea, we re doing nothing there. China should solve that problem for us. China should go into North Korea. China is totally powerful as it relates to North Korea. Why didn t you add other things into the deal? One of the great giveaways of all time, of all time, including $400 million in cash. Nobody s ever seen that before. That turned out to be wrong. It was actually $1.7 billion in cash, obviously, I guess for the hostages. It certainly looks that way. So you say to yourself, why didn t they make the right deal? This is one of the worst deals ever made by any country in history. And they re going to end up getting nuclear. I met with Bibi Netanyahu the other day. Believe me, he s not a happy camper. But I will tell you that Hillary will tell you to go to her website and read all about how to defeat ISIS, which she could have defeated by never having it, you know, get going in the first place. Right now, it s getting tougher and tougher to defeat them, because they re in more and more places, more and more states, more and more nations. And she doesn t say that, because she s got no business ability. We need heart. We need a lot of things. But you have to have some basic ability. And sadly, she doesn t have that. All you have to do is speak to them. Wait. You have so many different things you have to be able to do, and I don t believe that Hillary has the stamina. The world let me tell you. Let me tell you. Hillary has experience, but it s bad experience. We have made so many bad deals during the last so she s got experience, that I agree. But it s bad, bad experience. I never said that I didn t say that Where did you find this? Oh, really? You know, Hillary is hitting me with tremendous commercials. Some of it s said in entertainment. Some of it s said somebody who s been very vicious to me, Rosie O Donnell, I said very tough things to her, and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her. But you want to know the truth? I was going to say something extremely rough to Hillary, to her family, and I said to myself, I can t do it. I just can t do it. It s inappropriate. It s not nice. Wow. In hindsight, it would have probably been easier to list the things Trump said that weren t completely and utterly ridiculous. When it finally came time to face off with Hillary Clinton on the debate stage, Trump failed miserably and totally embarrassed himself. As Hillary said Monday night, Donald lives in his own reality, presumably a reality where he thinks he actually makes sense.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 1real |
HILARIOUS! Paul Joseph Watson DESTROYS Media For Bullsh*t Russian Collusion Propaganda [VIDEO] | Paul Joseph Watson nails it again. In the video below, Watson does a brilliant job of exposing the hypocrisy of the media and why they are not to be believed or trusted when it comes to offering actual news without a nauseating leftist bias.From Ned Ryan of Fox News You may have heard of the scandal brewing in Washington. Presidential advisers cutting sweetheart deals with a foreign power, signing million dollar lobbying contracts with that foreign power, bribes being proffered, and the foreign government gained unprecedented access to government agencies and crucial U.S. natural resources? And what if I told you that foreign power was Russia?Collusion you say? Perhaps. Collusion with Trump? Nope.I m talking about a news story that fittingly is coming back from the dead just before Halloween to scare a lot of Democrats, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Obama administration officials. If you want to take a deeper dive on this issue, read the book Clinton Cash, by Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute. But here are the basics.A decade ago, a long-time Clinton Foundation donor, Frank Giustra, sold his uranium company to another firm, Uranium One. With that deal, Uranium One now owned uranium mines in the western U.S., including Wyoming, with about 20 percent of U.S. uranium production capacity, and about ten percent of the actual uranium mined in the U.S.In 2009, Rosatom, Russia s nuclear agency, took a 17-percent position in Uranium One. A year later, in the summer of 2010, Rosatom bought majority control of the Uranium One, effectively giving the Russian government-controlled entity proprietary access to one-fifth of the U.S. uranium supply.And then there s that whole phony Trump-Russian dossier story Watch, as Paul Joseph Watson DESTROYS the liberal media for force-feeding their viewers with 24/7 phony Trump-Russian coverage, without having so much as ONE actual identifiable or legitimate source to back up their assertions. But when ACTUAL evidence is put forth about REAL collusion with the Russians by Hillary Clinton and the DNC for the purposes of affecting the outcome of the election, the media goes silent.Enjoy: | 1real |
Three Ways to Recharge Your Energy Using Crystals | by Tanaaz
Crystals are a great tool for healing, awakening and raising your vibration. When I first started out on my spiritual journey it took me a while to truly appreciate the power of a crystal.
When you find a crystal that really resonates with you and that you feel really attracted to, you know you have found the right one.
For years, I chose crystals based on the written metaphysical properties and for some reason they always felt “off” to me. When I started choosing crystals based on feeling alone, that is when I truly noticed their amazing abilities.
Crystals contain a powerful energy for helping you to recharge your own vibration and connection to Spirit.
Here are 3 ways to use your crystals to recharge: Mind, Body, Spirit Recharge
Perfect for an all-over recharge for your energy, best done just before bed.
1.) Choose 3 crystals that resonate with you- one for your mind, one for your body and one for your spirit. Make sure your crystals are cleansed.
2.) Hold the physical body crystal in your hand and set your intention into the stone. Whisper what outcome or feeling you would like to create in your physical body. Hold the stone close to you as you repeat and feel your intention. Repeat this process for the mind and spirit crystals as well.
3.) After setting your intention into your crystals, sleep with them under your pillow or by your bedside.
4.) Keep your crystals close to you whenever you need an energy recharge. Positive Energy Recharge
Perfect for recharging your energy after being around a negative person or situation.
1.) Choose 2 powerful, cleansed crystals that resonate with you and place them in each hand. Gently close your hand around the crystals and breathe.
2.) As your breathe feel the energy of the crystal moving up through your arms and travelling around your entire body. Feel the beautiful, vibes of the crystal cleansing and clearing your aura and energy.
3.) Keep breathing through the cleansing until the energy of the crystal has travelled to every part of your body.
4.) Cleanse your crystals if needed after you are done. Self- Empowerment Chakra Recharge
Perfect for when you are lacking confidence in yourself.
1.) Choose one crystal that resonates with you and place it out to be charged in the sunlight for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can choose 7 crystals – one for each chakra.
2.) Once the crystal has been charged, start rubbing it between your hands to generate heat and more energy.
3.) When you feel the heat or charge of the crystal, place your hands over your root chakra or pelvis area (touch your skin not your clothes). Allow the energy to sink in to this area of your body.
4.) When you feel the energy has gone in, rub the crystal again and place it on your next chakra. Keep repeating this process until you have done all 7 chakras.
Happy recharging! | 1real |
States look at hiking gas tax as fuel prices plunge | With gas prices dipping to their lowest level in years, lawmakers in state capitals throughout the USA are increasingly open to the idea of raising fuel taxes to help rebuild crumbling roadways and bridges.
The movement at the state level comes as House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last week that he's doubtful that there will be enough backing for a bi-partisan push to raise the federal gas tax, which has stood at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993.
The Obama administration has also declined to endorse raising the federal gas tax to finance road funding, but says it will take a look at anything Congress comes up with.
State legislators and governors, however, aren't waiting for Washington.
Republican leaders who typically find talk of raising taxes a non-starter are making the issue a priority in 2015, even though polling consistently has shown broad opposition among Americans to fuel tax hikes.
"The states have shown that they are more likely to act on the gas tax than the federal government is," said Carl Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group in Washington. "The states have to balance their budgets. If they see, their roads are in bad shape or their bridges are literally falling down—in some cases—they need to come up with a way to pay to improve that. And there's a limited number of things you can do at the state level."
The increased chatter in state capitals about raising fuel taxes comes after eight states (Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming) have done just that over the last two years.
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard noted in his State of State speech on Tuesday that when South Dakota last raised its fuel tax 16 years ago, the price of gasoline hovered around $1 per gallon, and about 22% of that went toward state fuel tax. The average price for regular unleaded gas in South Dakota is $1.99 per gallon, and the national average is $2.08.
Meanwhile, the price of road construction has ballooned. In 2003, the state could get buy about 7.8 miles of asphalt overlay for $1 million. In 2013, that same amount of money could pay for 4.5 miles of asphalt overlay.
"Our state highway system is the state's most valuable physical asset and if we want to maintain it, we must act now," said Daugaard, a Republican, who proposed raising the fuel tax by 2 cents per gallon in 2015 and an additional 2 cents each year going forward.
In Iowa, Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa lawmakers have tossed around raising the 22 cents per gallon fuel tax—which has remain unchanged since 1989—or potentially allowing voters in each county to vote for a 1% sales tax. The increased revenue would stay in the counties that levy such taxes to be used on road improvements.
"I think Iowans like the idea of having some say on this," Branstad told reporters last week.
Republican leaders in Utah's legislature have also signaled they will take a look at the state's gas tax, which hasn't been raised since 1998, as they try to grapple with a transportation funding shortfall there.
In Louisiana, the state's Transportation Funding Task Force has forwarded a number of ideas to lawmakers. Louisiana has a backlog of $12 billion in road repairs. Among the ideas are to replace the state gas tax with a sales tax on all fuels, direct more money in the construction budget to road work, and steer dollars to highways that would end up in the state's "rainy day" fund.
The intense debate on the gas tax in New Jersey could have ramifications for Gov. Chris Christie's potential 2016 White House bid. A Garden State trust fund that pays for road and bridge repair is on the verge of bankruptcy, and some lawmakers in Trenton are pushing for an increase in the state's gas tax to replenish it.
Going along with that idea is a tricky proposition for Christie, who could find himself trying to show his conservative bonafides with Republican donors and primary voters, many who see any increase in taxes as toxic.
The idea of raising the state gas tax is also unpopular with New Jersey motorists, who enjoy one the lowest gas taxes in the country. Fifty-six percent of residents said they oppose a raise in the state's gas tax, compared to 41% who support it, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll published in December.
One proposal that's been floated by Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski would increase the state gas tax by 25 cents per gallon, costing the average New Jersey motorist about $292 more per year.
Christie did not address the gas tax or transportation funding issues in his much-anticipated State of the State address on Tuesday.
In Georgia, lawmakers are taking a hard look at the state's 4% sales tax and the 7.5 cents per gallon excise tax as traffic congestion has become a bigger problem for the state.
A study committee recently found that the state needs to raise at least $1 billion more a year to repair bridges and roads in the Peach State.
Michigan is taking a different tact. The GOP-controlled legislature there approved a plan last month for a ballot initiative to boost the sales tax to help pay for road repairs.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation on Monday to spend $1.3 billion a year more to fix roads and other transportation infrastructure, but it's contingent on Michigan voters increasing the state sales tax from 6% to 7% in the May 5 ballot initiative.
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has warned that the state has to do something soon to deal with its crumbling infrastructure. The gas tax hasn't been raised there in nearly 26 years.
"At some point and time soon…I think there will be a bill about gas tax," Haslam recently told The Tennessean editorial board . "It's incumbent upon us as the administration to show here's what we would do with that money if you increased the fuel tax, and then it's also I think important for all of us not to just increase it so that ... three years from now we're back in the same position." | 0fake |
Trump Voter Yells ‘Kill Obama’ At Victory Speech, Only Barron Has Decency To Look Shocked (VIDEO) |
In what may be a disgusting sign of what is to come during a Trump presidency, a supporter took the opportunity during Trump’s victory speech to yell out “Kill Obama!”– and Trump said nothing.
While Trump harped on “rebuilding America’s infrastructure,” one of his supporters made the comment so loudly that Trump actually paused and looked over. His young son, Barron, heard it too. ABC News captured the moment the stunned child had to listen to a grown man advocate killing the current President of the United States. He then had to watch as his own father, the future President of the United States, pretend nothing had happened and simply move on. ” kill Obama ” is yelled out pic.twitter.com/b4wffPILEL
— Sheem (@SheemBville) November 9, 2016
While pundits and the Trump campaign claim this election was won by his appeal to the “working class” who are feeling economic anxiety, it’s clear that even Trump’s most fervent supporters don’t really believe that. At what could have been a celebratory moment for the Republican campaign and its voters, a Trump fanatic couldn’t help but scream about the only issue he really cared about: A violent bloodlust directed at the first black president.
And the fact that Trump couldn’t stand up to this man, even after being named “president-elect” speaks volumes. He’s not in control. The mob is. And the mob is demanding blood.
This is the reality America is waking up to today.
Featured image via Twitter | 1real |
Zimbabwe's ruling party set to sack Mugabe, sources say | HARARE (Reuters) - The leaders of Zimbabwe s ruling ZANU-PF party will meet on Sunday to approve the dismissal of President Robert Mugabe, the only leader the southern African nation has known since independence 37 years ago, two party sources have said. An extraordinary meeting of the party s central committee is expected to convene around 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) to consider removing the 93-year-old, four days after a military seizure of power ostensibly aimed at criminals within his entourage. Separately, state television said Mugabe would meet military commanders on Sunday, quoting the Catholic priest who has been mediating in negotiations with the president. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare, singing, dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at Mugabe s overthrow. ZANU-PF s central committee is also expected to reinstate Emmerson Mnangagwa as party vice-president, resurrecting the political career of the former security chief, nicknamed The Crocodile, whose sacking this month triggered the military s intervention. Mugabe s wife, Grace, will be fired as head of the ZANU-PF Women s League, the sources told Reuters, completing the demise of a 52-year-old former government typist who just a week ago stood in pole position to succeed her husband after Mnangagwa s dismissal. The pair s stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa, where a number of entrenched strongmen, from Uganda s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo s Joseph Kabila, are facing mounting pressure to step aside. In scenes reminiscent of the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, men, women and children ran alongside the armored cars and troops who stepped in this week to oust the man who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980. Under house arrest in his lavish Blue Roof compound, Mugabe has refused to stand down even as he has watched his support from party, security services and people evaporate in less than three days. His nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, told Reuters the elderly leader and his wife were ready to die for what is correct rather than step down in order to legitimize what he described as a coup. But on Harare s streets, few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a second liberation for the former British colony and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship. These are tears of joy, said Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag. I ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last. The crowds in Harare have so far given a quasi-democratic veneer to the army s intervention, backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power, which would help it avoid the diplomatic backlash and opprobrium that normally follow a coup. The United States, a long-time Mugabe critic, said it was looking forward to a new era in Zimbabwe, while President Ian Khama of neighboring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once. For a graphic on Zimbabwe struggles, click | 0fake |
Seven miners killed, one missing in coal mine collapse in Turkey | DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Seven miners were killed and another was missing after part of a coal mine in Turkey s southeastern province of Sirnak collapsed on Tuesday, government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said. Search and rescue teams were looking for the missing worker who was trapped at the site. Turkey s energy ministry said the coal mine was unlicensed and had been operating illegally. The activities of the mining field in Sirnak where the accident took place were stopped by the General Directorate of Mining Affairs in 2013 because it carried operational and security risks, the energy ministry said. Workplace accidents are not unusual in Turkey. Its rapid growth over the past decade has seen a construction boom and a scramble to meet soaring energy and commodities demand, with worker safety standards often failing to keep pace. Its worst ever mining disaster took place in May 2014 in the western town of Soma, where 301 workers were killed. | 0fake |
Clinton more likely to win U.S. presidency than Trump: PredictIt | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has a higher probability than her likely Republican rival Donald Trump of becoming the next U.S. president, but the gap between the pair narrowed this week, according to the online political stock market PredictIt. Clinton’s probability on Friday was 61 percent, down from 65 percent seven days ago, according to the site, which allows users to wager small amounts of money on “yes” or “no” predictions of future events. The probability that Trump will win the Nov. 8 election was 40 percent, up from 34 percent. Trump’s sweeping victory in this week’s Indiana primary prompted his remaining Republicans rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich to drop out of the race, cementing the businessman’s status as the party’s presumptive nominee. He is now testing out themes to use against Clinton to persuade disgruntled Republicans to get behind his campaign. On Friday, he criticized her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state. PredictIt is jointly run by Washington political consultancy Aristotle and Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. All of its users are registered U.S. voters. As with polls, predictions markets like PredictIt do not always accurately forecast outcome. Ninety days ago, its users gave Trump a 20 percent probability of winning the presidency, illustrating how the celebrity businessman’s momentum was underestimated. Clinton is in a fight with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination and holds a clear lead in delegates. (The story adds missing letter in last paragraph) | 0fake |
“They have guns, but we have flowers” Dad Unknowingly Exposes “Sitting Duck” Reality Of Gun-Free France In This Viral Video | Many people around the world are using this viral video as an example of a beautiful exchange between a father and son in Paris following the terrorist tragedy. Humanity in the face of inhumanity is how this exchange between a father, his young son and a reporter is being described.The young boy is asked by a reporter, Do you understand what happened? Do you understand what they (the terrorists) did? The boy replies, Yes, because they are very, very, very bad. The father then explains, There are bad people everywhere. The boy then replies, They have guns, they can shoot at us because they are very very bad, daddy. It is then the father tells the son, They have guns, but we have flowers. The boy then says something that is undeniable (except of course, to a progressive), But flowers do nothing, to which the dad responds that the flowers are there to fight against the guns.While the father is clearly making an effort to calm the fears of his toddler son, for us, it s a perfect example of the delusional progressive European mindset. Progressives live in a make-believe world where tolerance is the only way to address an evil ideology that is intent on murdering innocent people who refuse to convert to Islam. This caliphate is spreading like wildfire across an un-armed Europe, and flowers are not going to stop them.Less than one year ago, the entire world witnessed the blood bath that took place at the unarmed Charlie Hebdo headquarters in France. Make no mistake about it unarmed citizens are sitting ducks for terrorists period. Having a well armed citizenry is certainly not a guarantee that no one will ever be killed by terrorists or by some crazy mass murderer, but it sure could put a dent in their plans.No, we haven t missed the point of this video. We have small children and understand that you have to be careful about how you address these sensitive issues. Our point is, that telling your child the bad guys have guns, but we have flowers isn t just something toddlers naively believe in France and the UK, it s a commonly held belief progressives have had for quite some time now.Perhaps it s time for Europeans to revisit their radical gun-free laws. Most Americans understand the bad guys will always find a way to get the guns, and when all hell breaks loose, the good (unarmed) guys are always going to find themselves on the losing side. Maybe that s why Barack Obama hasn t been able to penetrate that pesky 2nd Amendment with his never-ending desire for gun-control, by attempting to convince Americans we should follow the European model. | 1real |
Factbox: Clinton's policies on economy, Islamic State, other issues | (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy, preserve the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Here are the proposals the former secretary of state has made as part of her argument that she is best qualified to occupy the Oval Office. (For a Factbox on Republican opponent Donald Trump’s proposals, please see) Clinton has said the rich, not the middle class, would see their taxes go up. She supports billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s eponymous tax proposal calling for those making more than $1 million a year to pay an effective tax rate of 30 percent. Clinton has also called for an additional 4 percent tax on those making more than $5 million annually. Clinton has pledged to raise the estate tax levied on property transferred from a deceased person to their heirs. She also supports a tiered inheritance tax structure, with a top rate of 65 percent on the wealthiest estates of more than $500 million for a single person or $1 billion for a couple. Clinton has pledged to unveil a plan to rebuild U.S. infrastructure during her first 100 days, saying this would create new jobs. She would use some of the revenue generated from her tax plan to pay for making community colleges tuition-free and ensuring students can graduate from public colleges and universities without incurring debt. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that independently scored Clinton’s proposals in their totality, estimated her policies would cost $1.8 trillion over the next decade and would be offset by $1.6 trillion, mostly generated by taxing high earners. The group said the remaining $200 billion could be covered by $275 billion in corporate tax revenue the Clinton campaign has called for but not yet spelled out in sufficient detail for them to credit as an offset at this time. Clinton has promised to propose broad legislation within her first 100 days in office to overhaul the immigration system and establish a process for undocumented workers to become citizens. Clinton has said she will defend executive actions taken by Democratic President Barack Obama to defer deportations of children brought illegally to the United States and the parents of children who are citizens or legal residents. She has said if Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform, she will similarly use executive action to defer deportations in “sympathetic cases.” A federal court has ruled that Obama did not have the authority to issue his executive orders on immigration, known as DACA and DAPA. The U.S. Supreme Court, currently short one member, split 4-to-4 on whether to hear the administration’s appeal, leaving the lower court’s ruling in place for the time being. Clinton has promised to preserve the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted after the financial crisis, and to pursue further measures to toughen Wall Street regulations. She has proposed a fee for large financial institutions based on their size and the level of risk they pose. She would also give regulators additional authority to force institutions that pose high risks to break apart or reorganize. Clinton has also urged strengthening the Volcker Rule, which restricts proprietary trading by commercial banks. She has called for a new tax on high-frequency trading and for stricter oversight of hedge funds, private equity firms and other players in the so-called shadow-banking system. She has promised stiffer policies on people who commit financial crimes, including an extension of the statute of limitations on such crimes and a requirement for bank executives to return bonuses if their institutions suffer major losses. Changes to Dodd-Frank have stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress, and it is unclear whether Clinton could get congressional backing to strengthen the law, unless Democrats win control of one or both chambers in the Nov. 8 election. Clinton has pledged to defeat Islamic State and has said the first step to fighting the militant group is to eliminate its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. In a departure from the Obama administration, she supports the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria and has called for an intensified air campaign by the U.S.-led coalition. Clinton has said she would send additional American special forces to help Arab and Kurdish forces already on the ground. She opposes sending additional U.S. ground troops to the region. Clinton has said the United States and European allies must share intelligence more effectively in order to thwart potential attacks. She has urged Silicon Valley companies to work with the government to track militant recruitment tactics on the internet. Current and former Obama administration officials have told Reuters they believe Clinton would take a harder line on Russia than either Obama or Trump. Clinton has said she believes Russian hackers are behind the breach of Democratic Party systems in an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election. Clinton has said Russia should play a role in fighting Islamic State in Syria, and her foreign policy adviser has said she would consider arming government forces in Ukraine, one of Russia’s neighbors, in a move to combat Russian “aggression in Europe.” Russia has backed ethnic Russian separatists in Ukraine. Clinton was a key player in Obama’s “pivot” to Asia when she served as his secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Clinton has said she will “aggressively pursue trade cases and impose consequences” against China when it commits trade abuses. She opposes granting China market-economy status, which China will be seeking when a World Trade Organization clause expires in December, and has said she would make sure a newly installed trade prosecutor would ensure that China is playing by the rules. Clinton has said she would treat cyber attacks from countries such as Russia and China “like any other attack” and that the United States “will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses.” | 0fake |
Ask Holly: What’s everyone’s problem? | Ask Holly: What's everyone's problem? 27-10-16 Dear Holly, Apparently hardly anyone wants to listen to me on the radio, even though I work so hard discussing pointless drivel with myself for hours on end interspersed with soul-destroying tracks by Coldplay and Michael Buble. What’s everyone’s problem? Chris London Dear Chris, My dad’s had a great idea for Channel 4’s new direction with Bake-Off. Instead of all this old lady nonsense about Victoria sponges and gingham and witty lesbians, the new version should be called ‘The Great British Man-Off’ and it’ll be a load of competitive middle aged blokes being bawdy and doing manly stuff like re-sealing the bath and shouting at the radio and getting frustrated with tools. Everyone on the show will be worried about going bald and every episode will end with an embarrassing scuffle in a pub car park. Hope that helps, | 1real |
Comment on AG Lynch told FBI Director Comey NOT to go public with the new Clinton email investigation by Ann Tenna | Daisy Luther
According to a report in the New Yorker, James Comey , Big Kahuna of the FBI, went full-on cowboy in releasing details of the new Clinton email inquiry. Apparently, the Department of Justice advised him not to release the information just days before the presidential election.
Gosh. I wonder if the same advice would have been given if it was Donald Trump who was being investigated by the FBI.
Comey explained his decision in a letter to FBI employees :
“We don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.”
The DoJ – and by DoJ I mean Attorney General Loretta Lynch , who famously had a secret meeting on an airport tarmac with Bill Clinton to talk about her non-existent grandchildren – is implying that Comey is not playing fair and that the move is inconsistent with the rules which have been designed to make it seem like they are not interfering in an election.
Here’s Comey’s letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee:
Really?
The DoJ thinks that the public shouldn’t know that the person they may be voting for is being investigated by the FBI?
That’s the most absurd thing I have heard for quite some time, and considering this election, that’s really saying something.
This is from the New Yorker report, emphasis mine.
On Friday, James Comey, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting independently of Attorney General Loretta Lynch , sent a letter to Congress saying that the F.B.I. had discovered e-mails that were potentially relevant to the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private server. Coming less than two weeks before the Presidential election, Comey’s decision to make public new evidence that may raise additional legal questions about Clinton was contrary to the views of the Attorney General, according to a well-informed Administration official. Lynch expressed her preference that Comey follow the department’s longstanding practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations, and not taking any action that could influence the outcome of an election, but he said that he felt compelled to do otherwise .
Comey’s decision is a striking break with the policies of the Department of Justice, according to current and former federal legal officials. Comey, who is a Republican appointee of President Obama, has a reputation for integrity and independence, but his latest action is stirring an extraordinary level of concern among legal authorities, who see it as potentially affecting the outcome of the Presidential and congressional elections. ( source ) Is this investigation the iceberg to HRC’s Titanic campaign?
Hillary Clinton has said she finds the development “unprecedented and deeply troubling.” (source )
Oh, I’ll bet she does.
I’ll bet if Trump had been the target of the investigation she would have been up on the stage, gripping the podium to stay upright , saying how wonderful it was that Comey decided to break the news so that voters could be aware that they might be voting for someone who was suspected of having broken federal laws. I’ll bet she’d be saying that the public has a right to know if a candidate was under investigation. I’ll bet she’d take the high road and say that those elected to the office of President of the United States have to be above and beyond reproach.
Of course, when it’s her, things are a little different, aren’t they?
We do have a right to know. We absolutely have a right to know that a person who could be elected to know all of the secrets was careless when she only knew some of the secrets. It seems like a no-brainer that the public should know that a candidate is being investigated for a second time for being criminally negligent with information entrusted to her.
And the fact that we know has severely damaged Clinton’s campaign. Although previous polls were incredibly skewed to the point of being outright fake , it looks like the mainstream is now trying to save face with a new batch of polls. A poll from ABC news and the Washington Post , both hotbeds of liberal voters, has shown that her lead has dropped to within a single point over Donald Trump due to the Clinton email scandal.
“About a third of likely voters say they’re less likely to support Clinton given FBI Director James Comey’s disclosure Friday that the bureau is investigating more emails related to its probe of Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. “
Finally, some people are actually paying attention to the character of Hillary Clinton.
But it may not be enough. There was one finding that was astonishing to me, even though it probably shouldn’t be:
“Given other considerations, 63 percent say it makes no difference.”
Meanwhile, on social media, the FBI emails are somehow not a trending topic. It certainly appears that Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Buzzfeed are blacking out the topic. My biggest question is this: Why now?
Why did James Comey, who has probably committed career suicide, along with a potential actual “suicide” via a shot to the back of his own head like others who have run afoul of the Clintons, feel the need to break the news, particularly after giving her a pass during the last investigation?
Opponents will jump on the fact that he’s a Republican and will say that he did it for political reasons.
They won’t admit that perhaps he felt guilty for being complicit in letting her off the hook in the first investigation into the Clinton email negligence.
They will never, ever admit that maybe his integrity and belief in the office he holds made it impossible for him to keep quiet until after the election and that, perhaps, when he was given a chance to right a previous wrong, he took it. Clinton isn’t taking it gracefully.
Clinton’s complaints, which have appeared in the press around the world, make her look even worse than she did before.
This is from The Telegraph , a UK publication:
Hillary Clinton was furiously fighting to keep her Presidential bid on track on Saturday night as her lead in the polls narrowed, after the FBI’s bombshell announcement that it had reopened its investigation into her emails.
James Comey announced on Friday afternoon that fresh evidence had emerged for his investigation into whether Mrs Clinton was criminally negligent in her handling of classified material.
On Saturday, the latest poll of polls by tracker site RealClearPolitics put Clinton 3.9 percentage points ahead of the Republican nationwide, down from 7.1 points just 10 days previously.
But wait – it gets better:
The Clinton campaign has responded with what amounts to a declaration of open warfare against Mr Comey, alleging that his actions are backed by a political motive. And Mrs Clinton herself called the decision “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling”.
“It’s pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election,” she complained, addressing cheering supporters at a rally in the must-win state of Florida.
Democrats questioned the timing of the agency’s decision, which comes as polls showed Mrs Clinton’s lead falling just 10 days before the presidential election.
“This is like an 18-wheeler smacking into us, and it just becomes a huge distraction at the worst possible time,” said Donna Brazile, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
“The campaign is trying to cut through the noise as best it can.
“We don’t want it to knock us off our game. But on the second-to-last weekend of the race, we find ourselves having to tell voters, ‘Keep your focus, keep your eyes on the prize.’”
Hillary’s campaign manager sounds pretty desperate to me. As for the complaints from HRC, they just make her sound like the out-of-touch, money-grabbing, power-hungry, deceitful | 1real |
American Medical Association Says GOP’s Make America Sick Again Bill Is ‘Unacceptable’ | The Congressional Budget Office released their assessment of the GOP s Obamacare replacement bill on Monday and the news was worse than many had even feared. According to the analysis of the nonpartisan group, the American Health Care Act would result in 24 million people losing their healthcare within the next ten years.Talking Points Memo reports that in response to the CBO report, the American Medical Association denounced the Republicans make America sick again bill as unacceptable. If this bill were to become law, CBO projects 14 million Americans who have gained coverage in recent years could lose it in 2018. For the AMA, that outcome is unacceptable, the group said on Monday.The AMA made their opposition to the AHCA crystal clear last week. In a letter written last Tuesday, the group said there was no way they could support the AHCA as drafted because of the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations. Critically, we urge you to do all that is possible to ensure that those who are currently covered do not become uninsured, the AMA begged lawmakers.The CBO assessment estimated that of the 24 million people who would lose their insurance over the next decade, 14 million would find themselves without coverage before the end of the year. When the number of people already uninsured is combined with those who would lose their healthcare under the AHCA, a total of 52 million people would have no coverage by 2026. Today s estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office underscore the AMA s concerns about the AHCA as it is written, the AMA said.The AMA conceded that the Affordable Care Act was admittedly an imperfect law, but they said there was no way to deny that Obamacare was a significant improvement on the status quo at the time. The AMA believes we need continued progress to expand coverage for the uninsured. Unfortunately, the current proposal as the CBO analysis shows would result in the most vulnerable population losing their coverage. Under the AHCA, the elderly and disabled would be hit with higher premiums than their younger, healthier counterparts. This means that they would also be the most likely to be unable to afford coverage even though they are the ones whose lives depend on healthcare the most.Featured image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images | 1real |
OBAMA USES WORLD STAGE To Announce Plans For Executive Action On Gun Control In U.S. | How very progressive And how very ironic that our tyrannical President would take the opportunity to address how he plans to implement gun control in the U.S. while standing in Paris, where only two weeks ago 130 unarmed people were slaughtered by armed terrorists.Gun control, man-made climate change, open borders, one-world order just a few of the topics our anti-American President feels right at home discussing with a few comrades Speaking from Paris, France, on December 1, President Obama criticized the lack of gun control in the U.S. and pledged to remain focused on using executive action to enact new controls where possible.Obama is in Paris for a conference on climate change.During a press conference, Obama was asked about the November 27 Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood attack that killed two civilians and a police officer. He responded by claiming mass shootings are a something specifically American a problem not witnessed in other countries then criticized Congressional inaction toward passing more gun control.According to Bloomberg, Obama said:In the United States we have the power to do more to prevent what is just a regular process of gun homicides, that is unequaled by multiples of five, six, [or] ten, and I think the American people understand that. So my hope is that, once again, this spurs a conversation and action.He said that Congress, states, and local governments need to act, and he made it clear he will continue to focus on what [he] can do administratively, which is something he has been threatening to do since a gunman opened fire in the gun free zone at Umpqua Community College on October 1.On November 12 CBS News reported that Obama has given a team of White House lawyers the job of finding a way that executive action can be used to expand background checks. And Breitbart News reported that part of what is being sought is an arbitrary threshold that can be set on private gun sales. Citizens who sell more than the allowable level will be forced to do background checks on every sale.Obama and the Democrat Party have been obsessed with expanding background checks since Adam Lanza attacked Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012. Yet it is interesting to note that expanded background checks would not have hindered that attack in the slightest, because Lanza stole the guns he used he did not buy them.Moreover, background checks are already expanded in Colorado. Breitbart News previously reported that expanded background checks and a high capacity magazine ban are the law of the land in Colorado, but neither were effectual in stopping the Planned Parenthood attack or the high profile public shooting that took place in CO Springs on Halloween day. Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
ACLU Threatens War Against President Trump | ACLU Threatens War Against President Trump The ACLU has a message for Donald Trump. They are not impressed with many of Trump's campaign promises, and threaten the new president-elect with court if he tries to implement them.
The ACLU has a message for Donald Trump.
NEW YORK — In response to Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union , had the following statement:
“For nearly 100 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has been the nation’s premier defender of freedom and justice for all, no matter who is president. Our role is no different today.
“President-elect Trump, as you assume the nation’s highest office, we urge you to reconsider and change course on certain campaign promises you have made. These include your plan to amass a deportation force to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants; ban the entry of Muslims into our country and aggressively surveil them; punish women for accessing abortion; reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture; and change our nation’s libel laws and restrict freedom of expression.
“These proposals are not simply un-American and wrong-headed, they are unlawful and unconstitutional. They violate the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. If you do not reverse course and instead endeavor to make these campaign promises a reality, you will have to contend with the full firepower of the ACLU at every step. Our staff of litigators and activists in every state, thousands of volunteers, and millions of card-carrying supporters are ready to fight against any encroachment on our cherished freedoms and rights.
“One thing is certain: we will be eternally vigilant every single day of your presidency and when you leave the Oval Office, we will do the same with your successor. | 1real |
Russian Intervention in American Election Was No One-Off - The New York Times | The intelligence agencies’ report on the Russian intervention in the American presidential election portrays it as just one piece of an propaganda campaign. But it was a campaign made enormously more powerful by the tools of the cyberage: private emails pilfered by hackers, an internet that reaches into most American homes, social media to promote its revelations and smear enemies. What most Americans may have seen as a effort — brazen meddling by Russia in the very core of American democracy — was, the report says, only part of a information war that involves not just shadowy hackers and websites, but also more conventional news outlets, including the thriving Russian television network RT. The election intervention to damage Hillary Clinton and lift Donald J. Trump was the latest fusillade in a campaign that has gone on under the radar for years. For the three agencies that produced the report — the C. I. A. the F. B. I. and the National Security Agency — this is a moment: They have just told their new boss that he was elected with the vigorous, multifaceted help of an adversary, the thuggish autocrat who rules Russia. “Putin and the Russian government aspired to help Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him,” the report says, in unusually blunt and sweeping language. Perhaps most arresting is the assessment that Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, sees the election attack as payback — not offense, but defense. He has borne a serious grudge against Mrs. Clinton, who he believes denigrated him when she was secretary of state and encouraged the protests in Moscow that erupted against him in 2011. Mr. Putin, the report says, sees the hidden hand of the United States in the leaking of the Panama Papers, files stolen from a law firm that exposed the wealth of his closest associates, secreted in offshore accounts. He even blames the United States for the exposure — carried out mainly by international sports authorities — of Russian athletes for their widespread use of drugs. “From the Russian perspective, this is punching back,” said Christopher Porter, a former C. I. A. officer who now studies cyberattacks at the firm FireEye. “We may not think that’s fair or justified, but that’s the way they see it. ” Mr. Porter said Mr. Putin had made no secret of his view that the United States, by promoting democracy in countries like Ukraine and Georgia, had interfered in Russia’s backyard and was trying to undermine its power. What is missing from the public report is what many Americans most eagerly anticipated: hard evidence to back up the agencies’ claims that the Russian government engineered the election attack. That is a significant omission: Mr. Trump has been expressing skepticism for months that Russia was to blame, variously wondering whether it might have been China, or a guy, or a guy from New Jersey. There is only a whisper of dissent in the report — the eavesdroppers of the N. S. A. believe with only “moderate confidence” that Russia aimed to help Mr. Trump, while their colleagues at the C. I. A. and the F. B. I. have “high confidence. ” While most of Congress and much of the public appears to accept the agencies’ findings, Mr. Trump’s prominent doubts, accompanied at times by scorn for the agencies’ competence, has rallied a diverse array of skeptics on the right and the left. Under the circumstances, many in Washington expected the agencies to make a strong public case to erase any uncertainty. Instead, the message from the agencies essentially amounts to “trust us. ” There is no discussion of the forensics used to recognize the handiwork of known hacking groups, no mention of intercepted communications between the Kremlin and the hackers, no hint of spies reporting from inside Moscow’s propaganda machinery. At the top of every page of the report is a disclaimer that acknowledges what is missing: “This report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment its conclusions are identical to those in the highly classified assessment, but this version does not include the full supporting information on key elements of the influence campaign. ” It offers an obvious reason for leaving out the details, declaring that including “the precise bases for its assessments” would “reveal sensitive sources or methods and imperil the ability to collect critical foreign intelligence in the future. ” The absence of any proof is especially surprising in light of promises on Thursday from the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr. that he would “push the envelope” to try to make more information public. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said that Mr. Obama had directed officials to “make as much of it public as they possibly can. ” That will not be enough for many, as the initial reaction showed. While some welcomed the scope of the report, many others were disappointed. “This is big: CIA, NSA FBI publish perhaps the most intelligence community assessment in US history,” Thomas Rid, a professor at King’s College London and an expert on cyberwarfare, wrote on Twitter. But Susan Hennessey, a former intelligence agency lawyer who is now the managing editor of the online journal Lawfare, wrote: “The unclassified report is underwhelming at best. There is essentially no new information for those who have been paying attention. ” Though the unclassified report is 25 pages long, counting the covers and several blank pages, the core analysis runs just five pages. That is less than the “annex” devoted to RT America, the television network. It is a description of the broadcaster from an intelligence report written in 2012, years before the hacking took place. The agencies “have taken an look at the broader Russian strategy,” said Mr. Porter, the former C. I. A. officer. The detailed description of RT’s tactics, though years old, he added, was included because they fit that strategy. Mr. Trump may have been persuaded by his classified briefing on Friday on the Russian attack, which included everything that the unclassified report leaves out, even if the statement he issued afterward seemed lukewarm. But this report is unlikely to change the minds of skeptics who, like the remember the intelligence agencies’ faulty assessments on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and fear being misled again. | 0fake |
J&F calls Brazil judge decision to freeze assets 'legally fragile' | SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A decision on Friday by a Brazilian federal judge to freeze the assets and companies of the billionaire Batista family is legally fragile because it is based on newspaper reports and not on prior judicial rulings, the lawyers representing the family s investment holding company J&F Investimentos SA said. In a statement, the lawyers said a decision by Federal Judge Ricardo Leite of the 10th District Court of Bras lia demanding the family deposits 1.6 billion reais ($506 million) to compensate state development bank BNDES is unjustified because J&F was to pay a slightly bigger fine as part of a May leniency accord. Earlier in the day, Leite ordered the assets of the Batistas be frozen as part of an investigation. ($1 = 3.1615 reais) | 0fake |
Trump, Asked Again About Putin, Suggests U.S. Isn’t ‘So Innocent’ - The New York Times | President Trump, asked by an interviewer on Saturday why he respected President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia even though he is “a killer,” seemed to equate Mr. Putin’s actions with those of the United States. “You got a lot of killers,” he told the interviewer, Bill O’Reilly of Fox News. “What, you think our country’s so innocent?” Mr. Trump has long expressed his admiration for the Russian leader’s strength. But his willingness to seemingly draw a moral equivalence to actions by Mr. Putin, who has brutally suppressed dissent by eliminating political enemies, led to an eruption on social media. Many asked how conservatives would have reacted had President Barack Obama, or other Democrats, compared American actions to Mr. Putin’s. The exchange surfaced on Saturday night in an excerpt from the interview, which is to be broadcast on Sunday before the Super Bowl. What Mr. Trump was specifically referring to or whether there was added context that came after his comment was not immediately clear based on the excerpt that was made available. In the interview, Mr. Trump was asked if he respected Mr. Putin. He said he did, adding that he respected “a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get along with him. ” Mr. Trump continued: “He’s a leader of his country. I say it’s better to get along with Russia than not. And if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS — which is a major fight — and Islamic terrorism all over the world — major fight — that’s a good thing. Will I get along with him? I have no idea. It’s very possible that I won’t. ” Mr. Trump’s campaign pledge to mend ties with Moscow has raised questions over his administration’s commitment to maintaining sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the fighting and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. He said he was willing to work with Kiev and Moscow to resolve a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, after a telephone call on Saturday with President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine, Reuters reported. The call was the first direct contact between the two leaders since Mr. Trump’s inauguration. “We will work with Ukraine, Russia and all other parties involved to help them restore peace along the border,” Mr. Trump said in a White House statement. His comments contrasted with those of Nikki R. Haley, the new American ambassador to the United Nations, who on Thursday condemned Russia for its “aggressive actions” in eastern Ukraine. She said the United States wanted improved relations with Russia, but added that American sanctions imposed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea would remain in place. She said “the dire situation” demanded “clear and strong condemnation” of Russia’s actions. In another excerpt from the Fox interview, Mr. Trump was asked whether it was irresponsible for him to say that three million illegal immigrants voted in the election while lacking the evidence to support that assertion. “When you see illegals, people that are not citizens and they’re on the registration rolls,” he started to say before shifting. “Look, Bill, we can be babies, but you take a look at the registration, you have illegals, you have dead people, you have this — it’s really a bad situation, it’s really bad. ” | 0fake |
Russia Begins Airstrikes In Syria After Assad's Request | Updated at 11:20 a.m. ET
In a new development that could change the dynamic of Syria's civil war, Russian military began carrying out airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday. Russia says it will target ISIS fighters as part of a plan to fight terrorism.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby says a Russian official informed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad about the missions and also requested that American military aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during Russian operations.
While Russia said the airstrikes would aim at ISIS elements, Syria's state news agency says many of the targets hit today were in western Syria, north of the city of Homs — an area known for anti-government sentiment that's also miles away from ISIS strongholds such as Raqqa or Palmyra.
Some towns that were hit today have large opposition contingents — including Talbisah, which Radio Free Europe calls "a stronghold of anti-Assad militants and the Free Syrian Army."
RFE adds that opposition sources in Syria claim that Talbisah suffered "tens of casualties, including to children and infants, and heavy damage."
The Islamic State's Areas of Influence, August 2014 to August 2015 ISIS has been forced out of parts of northern Syria and Iraq but still controls a wide swath of land, stretching from just outside Aleppo in Syria to Fallujah in Iraq and north to Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. The group also seized two provincial capitals this year: Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria. Russia has deployed dozens of warplanes, tanks and armored vehicles to a new base in Syria's Latakia province. But the Russian base is far from any ISIS-controlled areas. On Sept. 29, Russia launched its first airstrikes in Syria. Russian drones with a radius of about 75 miles have started flying reconnaissance missions in Idlib and Hamah provinces, where a mix of non-ISIS rebels are operating, including the al-Qaida affiliate Nusra Front. Other rebels include Free Syrian Army units that are allied with the U.S. There are also a number of Central Asian jihadi elements, including some from Chechnya, a particular foe of Russia. The fear among U.S. officials is that Russia will not discriminate and will bomb all rebel groups — including those with ties to the U.S. — to keep Syrian President Bashar Assad in power.
The Russian military involvement follows a request from President Bashar Assad to President Vladimir Putin, according to Syria's state news agency, which reports that Assad asked for Russia's intervention in a letter that cited Russia's efforts to fight terrorism.
Russia says it will provide only "aviation support" to Syria's army, according to the Tass news agency. Russia's Federation Council, the upper parliamentary house, gave Putin the authority to send a military force to Syria on Wednesday.
"A buildup of Russian air power began in Syria earlier this month," NPR's Alice Fordham reports. "Assad said in a previous speech that his forces are overstretched and has long counted on Russian support."
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko says Russia chose to involve itself in Syria after receiving a request from "legitimate Syrian authorities," according to Tass.
Matviyenko added, "In this situation, we could not refuse Syrian President Bashar Assad and continue watching how people die, how women and children die, how historical and cultural sites are being destroyed." | 0fake |
Trump, aiming to offset money disadvantage, escalates Clinton attacks | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump this week took his use of sordid accusations against Democrat Hillary Clinton to levels unprecedented in modern U.S. presidential campaigns, in the latest example of the Republican’s unorthodox playbook. The presumptive Republican nominee is working to gain stronger footing and offset a big advantage Clinton is likely to have ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election: a huge campaign war chest that she and her allies intend to use to launch a barrage of attacks against him. Trump is using the same strategy he used repeatedly during the Republican nomination fight against rivals like Ted Cruz: making incendiary statements that U.S. television networks cannot resist covering, giving him hours of free media and putting his opponents on the defensive. The strategy may already be working. Trump has raised more than a few eyebrows with his latest round of attacks against Clinton. He has turned history into headlines that play like a virtual reel in the 24-hour news world of cable TV and the internet. Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, said the strategy makes sense. “Clearly, she’s going to have massive amounts of money,” Lewandowski told Reuters. “The difference is Mr. Trump has funded his campaign. What we’ve been able to do in this campaign cycle is to generate earned media based on Mr. Trump’s ability to be a straight talker, and genuine and authentic, and I think that’s what drives the news cycle.” Trump’s latest salvos include a rape accusation against former President Bill Clinton dating to the 1970s and the suicide of an aide to the former president in 1993 - events that the campaign links to Hillary Clinton. An online video released by Trump has various women accusing the former president of rape or unwanted sexual advances. Trump accused Hillary Clinton of helping to silence the women. The Clintons and their supporters have dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated. Then, in an interview with The Washington Post, Trump suggested that the Clintons may have been involved in the 1993 death of Vince Foster, a former aide to Bill Clinton and a friend of Hillary Clinton, even though more than five investigations, including one conducted by Republican special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, concluded that Foster committed suicide in a Virginia park. Trump was alluding to theories over the years that have been circulated in tabloid publications, in the depths of the internet and in books by the Clintons’ foes. On Wednesday, Trump’s campaign accidentally sent an email to a reporter at Politico revealing that the Republican plans to next attack Clinton regarding Whitewater, a real estate scandal that plagued Bill Clinton’s administration. No wrongdoing by the Clintons was ever proven. The attacks have put Hillary Clinton on her back foot. Trump “just continues to gobble news cycle after news cycle,” said Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, who ran the Super PACs that backed Senator Ted Cruz in the primary and aggressively attacked Trump. “Clinton is spending less time campaigning about the future and more time explaining the past than she would probably like.” The barrage puts Clinton in a bind. So far, she has opted to ignore Trump’s personal attacks and her campaign has offered general pushback. But Clinton risks the negative onslaught dragging down her standing with the public and irreversibly damaging her general election hopes. “I played a lot of hardball in my life, but I don’t envy what the Clinton campaign is up against here. Trump himself has totally changed the political dynamic,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist who supports Clinton. “What they can’t afford to do is get in the gutter with the guy. He has absolutely no morals or scruples. Getting into the gutter with him is an absolute waste of time.” Clinton’s campaign and the Super PACs supporting her will not be without funds to try to combat the attacks and launch her own. At the end of April, she had $30 million in her campaign account, compared with Trump’s $2 million. And the PAC supporting her, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, had $46 million at the end of April - a total that is likely to grow over the summer. The PAC backing Trump is just getting off the ground. Clinton will also depend on an army of surrogates to try to combat Trump without having to respond to him herself. Trump has already proven he can dispatch opponents without spending much money by defining them to voters through aggressive appearances on news programs. Republican rival Jeb Bush had a more than $100 million advantage going into the primary. But Trump painted him as “low energy” and defined him as inept, a characterization Bush’s money was never able to overcome. The PACs backing Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz spent millions assailing Trump. Trump was able to leverage extensive coverage of his campaign by the media to combat their attacks while spending little money on advertising. Trump has been proven an expert at raising attack lines that have already been settled, but insisting that questions remain. He spent years demanding that President Barack Obama produce his birth certificate, despite myriad evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii, including government records of the president’s birth in Honolulu. For Trump, some of the attacks are targeted at young voters - those in their early 20s and 30s were too young to have been immersed in news about the scandals of the Clinton years. “You have a whole series of the population who either (a) don’t know anything about it, or (b) weren’t paying attention at the time,” Lewandowski said. A Clinton ally said Trump is simply trying to distract attention from his own liabilities - such as refusing to release his tax returns and his own history of problems with women. “The more he raises these outrageous and outlandish charges,” said U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra, of California, a Democratic leader in the House, “the more he keeps you pedaling in a different direction.” | 0fake |
Venezuela crisis enters dangerous phase as Maduro foes go militant | CARACAS (Reuters) - In a curious convergence of events on the same day last week, four Venezuelan provincial courts issued identical rulings, state governors quickly hit Twitter to celebrate, then the election board emailed a short but bombshell statement. Opposition hopes for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro were dashed, on grounds of fraud in an initial signature drive. The vote was off. For many in the opposition, that settled a years-old debate about the nature of Venezuela’s socialist government, uniting them in conviction they are now fighting a dictatorship. Their new militancy heightens the risk of unrest as the South American OPEC member of 30 million people grapples with a dangerous economic and political crisis. “Can anyone in the world now really doubt that Venezuela is living in tyranny?” said housewife Mabel Pinate, 62, dressed in white among thousands of protesters who took to the streets against Maduro on Wednesday. “We are sick of this. It’s time to toughen up and do what we must to save Venezuela,” added Pinate, whose husband was fired from state oil company PDVSA by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez and whose two children have gone abroad. After pinning its hopes on a referendum this year - which could have triggered a presidential election and put them in power after 17 years of leftist rule - the enraged opposition Democratic Unity coalition has taken its gloves off. It is holding a symbolic political trial of Maduro in the legislature, organizing daily street protests, and shunning talks with the government that had been announced by the Vatican for this weekend. Recalling tactics that led to a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002 and a shutdown of the oil industry, the coalition has also called for a general strike on Friday and a march to the Miraflores presidential palace next week. “We’ve reached the limit,” said Henrique Capriles, a usually moderate opposition leader, calling the government “Satan.” “Does the opposition have anything to negotiate with the government? Nothing. Why does the government want dialogue? Because the water has risen to its neck,” he said. Some hardliners, most notably veteran activist Maria Corina Machado and jailed protest leader Leopoldo Lopez’ wife Lilian Tintori, are calling for Gandhi-style civil disobedience. The government is vowing an iron fist. It says well-known troublemakers, who were behind the 2002 putsch, are again seeking a coup against an elected government, with the help of the United States and compliant foreign media. “I fear nobody and nothing!” Maduro told red-shirted supporters at one of his daily rallies and TV appearances this week. The ruling Socialist Party’s No. 2, Diosdado Cabello said any companies heeding the strike call would be seized by workers and the military. “We’re not going to allow craziness.” Long proud of its democratic credentials after winning numerous elections under Chavez, the ruling Socialist Party says it is the opposition flouting Venezuela’s democracy given that independent institutions shot down the referendum. Officials also argue that the very existence of protests and virulent public criticism of Maduro prove democracy is alive and well in Venezuela. Maduro insists the referendum decision was made by independent judges and electoral officials based on technical criteria, and denies the Socialist Party had any sway over the result. But critics say both the judiciary and electoral council have long been in the government’s pocket. The Supreme Court has repeatedly shot down legislation passed by the opposition-dominated Congress while interpreting the constitution to favor the executive branch and limit the reach of lawmakers. And the elections council has steadily shifted the requirements for requesting the recall vote. Maduro would have faced probable defeat and removal from power if the referendum had gone ahead. His challenge now is to contain street protests and respond to deep anger among all Venezuelans at the dreadful state of the economy. Food shortages, long shopping lines and runaway prices have eroded the ruling “Chavismo” movement’s popularity among the poor and seen Maduro’s ratings slide to just over 20 percent. But as unhappy as they are, disaffected former “Chavistas” are not yet ready to throw their lot in en masse with coalition leaders they still view with suspicion. “They are all from privileged families. How can they represent me?” said Orlando Diaz, 47, a mechanic and father of four from a slum in western Caracas who has seen work dry up and income tumble during a nearly three-year recession. “Do I hate Maduro? Yes. He has betrayed the comandante (Chavez), he is a fool. Will I join these people in their crying and marching? No way. Frankly, I don’t know where to turn. I don’t see a future, I just have to find bread for my family today and tomorrow. That’s all I think about.” The opposition’s challenge is how to incorporate people like Diaz and his neighbors from the gritty hillside Antimano “barrio”, into their street push. On Wednesday, they drew hundreds of thousands nationwide, but students and traditional supporters remained at the vanguard. Scores of people on both sides were killed during anti-Maduro protests in 2014 and there was new violence on Wednesday, with dozens of injuries and arrests. A policemen was shot dead in an incident the government blamed on demonstrators. “A recall referendum in 2016 would have meant the automatic exit from power of ‘Chavismo’,” said local pollster Luis Vicente Leon. “Eschewing democratic codes and values, the government preferred to assume ... the risk of a popular reaction.” The next presidential election is due at the end of 2018 and most Venezuelans assume another candidate will emerge from within “Chavismo” instead of Maduro. But given the events of recent days, opposition supporters are beginning to wonder if that election will even take place. | 0fake |
Merkel, Juncker discuss Catalan crisis: EU official | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have discussed the Catalan crisis in a phone call, an EU official told Reuters on Saturday, in a sign of growing unease over potential disruption across Europe. The call signals fresh concern over a possible declaration of independence next week by the Catalan regional parliament and the reaction of the Spanish government, which could exacerbate what is already Spain s worst political crisis for decades. Juncker spoke to Merkel from India on Friday on the sidelines of an EU-India summit. They discussed the situation in Spain, among other things, the EU official said, without adding details. Concern is growing in EU capitals about the negative impact of the crisis on the Spanish economy, the fourth largest in the euro zone, and on possible spillovers to other economies of the bloc. European finance ministers, gathering in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday for a regular meeting, could discuss the issue, although it is not formally on the agenda, EU officials said. The EU Commission has repeatedly urged Catalan and Spanish leaders to find a political solution. The support given in public statements by EU leaders to Spain s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is combined with concern expressed in private about how the Spanish government s use of police to prevent Catalans from voting last week in an independence referendum could backfire. The Spanish government apologized for the first time on Friday for the police use of violence.. Some EU states are worried that talk of Catalan independence could fuel secessionist feelings in other parts of Europe. | 0fake |
Turkey urges U.S. to review visa suspension as lira, stocks tumble | ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey urged the United States on Monday to review its suspension of visa services after the arrest of a U.S. consulate employee sharply escalated tension between the two NATO allies and drove Turkey s currency and stocks lower. Relations between Ankara and Washington have been plagued by disputes over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkey s calls for the extradition of a U.S.-based cleric and the indictment of a Turkish former minister in a U.S. court. But last week s arrest of a Turkish employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low. Turkey said the employee had links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016. Gulen denies any connection with the coup. The U.S. embassy in Ankara condemned Ankara s charges as baseless and announced on Sunday night it was halting all non-immigrant visa services in Turkey while it reassessed Turkey s commitment to the security of its missions and staff. Within hours, Ankara announced it was taking the same measures against U.S. citizens seeking visas for Turkey. The U.S. ambassador said the duration of the visa services suspension would depend on talks between the two governments about the reasons for the detention of local staff in Turkey. In a written statement late on Monday, Ambassador John Bass said the length of the suspension would also depend on the Turkish government s commitment to protecting our facilities and personnel here in Turkey . He noted that the move was not a visa ban on Turkish citizens, that valid visas could still be used and visa applications could be made outside of Turkey. The U.S. Embassy had been unable to learn the reasons for the arrest of its Turkish staff member last week or what evidence exists against the employee, Bass said, adding that he had not been allowed sufficient access to the employee s lawyer. Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said that if Washington had serious security concerns about its missions in Turkey, steps would be taken to address them. But if it s an issue regarding the arrest of the consulate employee, then this is a decision the Turkish judiciary has made, Gul told A Haber television. Trying a Turkish citizen for a crime committed in Turkey is our right. The Turkish foreign ministry summoned a U.S. diplomat to urge the United States to lift the visa services suspension, saying it was causing unnecessary tensions , and President Tayyip Erdogan also criticized the U.S. move. For the (U.S.) embassy in Ankara to take such a decision and implement it, it is upsetting, Erdogan told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine. State-run Anadolu news agency said another U.S. consulate worker had been summoned to testify over his wife and daughter s suspected links to Gulen - which it said had emerged during the questioning of Metin Topuz, the employee arrested last week. The diplomatic spat spooked investors. The lira dropped 3.4 percent and stood at 3.7385 against the dollar after being quoted overnight as touching a level of 3.9223. The main BIST 100 stock index fell as much as 4.7 percent, closing the day down 2.73 percent at 101,298 points. Airline shares were particularly hard hit, with flag carrier Turkish Airlines falling 9 percent. The central bank said it was following developments closely. This looks like a really serious situation, said Blue Bay Asset Management strategist Timothy Ash. He added that the central bank would need to move quickly to calm market nerves and possibly hike interest rates - something Erdogan has resisted. Turkey s leading business association, TUSIAD, warned that the dispute would harm bilateral economic, social and cultural ties, and called for disagreements to be settled calmly. The row with the United States coincides with deep strains in Turkey s relations with Germany, another key ally, and with Turkish military activity at the Syrian and Iraqi borders, though their market impact has so far been limited. U.S.-Turkish tensions have risen in recent months over U.S. military support for Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, considered by Ankara to be an extension of the banned PKK which has waged an insurgency for three decades in southeast Turkey. Turkey has also pressed, so far in vain, for the United States to extradite Gulen, viewed in Ankara as the mastermind behind the failed coup in which more than 240 people were killed. Friction with the United States has also arisen from the indictment last month by a U.S. court of Turkey s former economy minister Zafer Caglayan on charges of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. Sinan Ulgen, an analyst and former Turkish diplomat, said those underlying disputes had created a crisis of confidence which made this latest fall-out particularly bitter. This harshness is a result of a build-up, he said. We should not consider this as solely a reaction to the detentions of consulate employees . | 0fake |
Bernie Sanders Shows How To Properly Handle Hecklers As Trump Goon Interrupts His Rally (VIDEO) | A Donald Trump supporter came up with the worst idea ever when he got it into his head that it would be a good idea to try to heckle Bernie Sanders at a Massachusetts campaign rally. Clearly he did not know what he was getting himself into.The heckler was wearing a Trump shirt, and holding a sign that said Obama is as Christian as Bruce Jenner is a woman. As he started being an obnoxious twit, interrupting Bernie s speech and making a spectacle of himself, Bernie pointed right at him and said into the mic: Here s a Trump supporter worried about Mr. Trump s money. The crowd took over at that point and started chanting Bernie s name over and over completely denying the Trump goon s ability to speak.Waving his arms around and cheering for himself, the heckler was eventually escorted from the gathering by security while looking quite satisfied that he was immortalized on YouTube.After the interruption was over and without missing a beat, Bernie declared: I say to Mr. Trump and his supporters that the billionaires of this country will not continue to own this nation. Watch Bernie and his supports completely shut down the heckler below:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJD0yUgb4J4&w=560&h=315]Protesting during political speeches is nothing new. Ever since Obama became president it has gone mainstream as a way to get candidates to immediately address issues. However, let s contrast Bernie and his supporters reaction to your average Donald Trump rally.Bernie s people got a bit loud and drowned out the heckler while Bernie mostly stayed on topic without getting ugly towards him. When these same things happened at Trump rallies, the interrupters literally risked their lives. On one occasion, Trump encouraged his supporters to attack a black man, and on another yet another black man got ganged up on with Trump supporters saying Shoot him! Kick his ass, and Light the motherf -r on fire! Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
Trump vows to protect 'Made in America' products | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump promised on Monday he would take more legal and regulatory steps during the next six months to protect American manufacturers, lashing out against trade deals and trade practices he said have hurt U.S. companies. Trump climbed into an American-made fire truck parked behind the White House, took a swing with a baseball bat in the Blue Room, and briefly donned a customized Stetson cowboy hat in front of cheering manufacturing company executives from all 50 states gathered to hear him praise their products. “I want to make a pledge to each and every one of you: No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, steal our jobs and drain our wealth,” Trump said. He was speaking to a trade show - albeit one with a protectionist bent - organized by the White House to spotlight his efforts to revive the flagging manufacturing sector. Trump’s remarks came as his administration laid out its priorities for revising the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. Trump is also reviewing options to restrict steel imports. Trump did not give details about what his administration would do to protect manufacturers, but he railed against tariffs charged by other countries and unfair trade practices. “That includes cracking down on the predatory online sales of foreign goods, which is absolutely killing our shoppers and our shopping centers,” he said. “If you look at what is going on with shopping centers and stores and jobs and stores, it’s been very, very tough for them. They’ve have had a very hard time, closing at numbers and records that have never been seen before,” he said. It was unclear what Trump meant by stopping “predatory online sales,” and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for more information on that subject. Trump spoke in front of a panoply of iconic American-made products: Gibson guitars, Maryland crab pots, a Delaware-made NASA space suit and Cheerwine soda. “Your drivers are very good,” Trump said to a representative of Ping, the Arizona-based maker of golf clubs, noting that he had golfed with British pro golfer Lee Westwood, who is a fan. He discussed sales of Sikorsky (LMT.N) helicopters - “I have three of them!” he said, lifted horseshoes made with Nucor Corp (NUE.N) steel, and strolled past vacuum-sealed Omaha steaks. He told the manufacturers that he was working for a “level playing field” for their wares. “But if the playing field were slanted like a little bit toward us, I’d accept that also,” Trump said. | 0fake |
Popular Prostate Cancer Therapy Is Short, Intense and Unproven - The New York Times | After learning he had early stage prostate cancer, Paul Kolnik knew he wanted that cancer destroyed immediately and with as little disruption as possible to his busy life as the New York City Ballet’s photographer. So Mr. Kolnik, 65, chose a type of radiation treatment that is raising some eyebrows in the prostate cancer field. It is more intense than standard radiation and takes much less time — five sessions over two weeks instead of 40 sessions over about two months or 28 sessions over five to six weeks. The newer therapy is surging in popularity, but no one knows whether it is as effective in curing prostate cancer, or how its side effects compare. The rise of radiation is an example of the evidentiary blind spots that bedevil the treatment of prostate cancer. It is second only to lung cancer in men, striking 180, 000 patients a year. But treatments for lung cancer, and for other common cancers like those of the breast and colon, have been evaluated in randomized clinical trials more often than those for prostate cancer. The number of men getting the short, intense treatment, called stereotactic body radiation therapy, or S. B. R. T. more than doubled to 1, 886 in 2013 from 716 in 2007, according to the most recent Medicare data. The number of men getting standard radiation therapy fell over that same time period, according to Medicare, to 47, 512 from 66, 549. The National Cancer Institute has just agreed to fund a clinical trial that researchers hope will settle which treatment is better. It will randomly assign 538 men to have either a short course of five intense radiation sessions over two weeks or 28 treatments over five and a half weeks, comparing outcomes for quality of life as well as survival. But it will be at least eight years before the answers are in. In the meantime, men and their doctors are left with uncertainty. “Ideally, we want to show five treatments is better,” said Dr. Rodney J. Ellis, a radiation oncologist at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland and the principal investigator for the trial. One reason for the dearth of data is that prostate cancer usually grows slowly, if at all, so it can take many years to see if a treatment saved lives. It is expensive and difficult to follow patients for such a long time, and the treatments given to the men often change over a decade, making doctors wonder if the results are relevant. Also, researchers who have tried to conduct studies comparing treatments often failed because specialists were already convinced that the method they used was best and were reluctant to assign men to other treatments. Dr. Ian Thompson of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, said he was involved with several clinical trials that withered for that reason. When clinical trials succeed, though, they can provide important information. For example, a recent one showed that drugs can prolong life for men whose prostate cancer recurs after surgery to remove the prostate. The researchers on the new study think recruitment will not be a major problem because they are comparing different courses of radiation, rather than entirely different approaches — for example, surgical removal of the prostate versus implantation of radioactive seeds in the prostate. A study to investigate those two approaches closed because investigators were able to enroll only 20 patients, Dr. Thompson said. For men, quality of life is often pivotal in choosing a treatment, weighing which possible side effects sound worse: with surgery, urinary incontinence and impotence or, with radiation, bowel problems including diarrhea and rectal leakage, and impotence. With the shorter radiation treatment, there is also a possibility that scarring can block the urethra, an effect that might not emerge until years after the treatment. In the absence of a broad base of solid evidence, men often make decisions based on personal preferences or on the advice of a trusted doctor. Like Mr. Kolnik, some want as short a recuperation as possible and find the newer kind of radiation treatment appealing. But prostate cancer specialists worry about the lack of data. Dr. James Yu, a radiation oncologist at Yale, who will lead the quality of life assessment for the new clinical trial, says crucial unanswered questions are, “How fast can you give it and how fast is too fast?” Very high dose radiation was studied in the treatment of lung cancer, said Dr. Anthony V. D’Amico, a radiation oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. For lung cancer patients with small tumors that are not near sensitive structures, like large blood vessels, it appears to be just as curative as surgery. But lung cancer is easier to treat because, with properly selected patients, doctors can avoid sensitive tissues — all the oncologist has to worry about is hitting the cancer. Not so with prostate cancer. “The urethra is within the prostate and the bladder neck is literally touching to top of the prostate,” Dr. D’Amico said. Also, the rectum is directly behind the prostate. Radiation can damage those other tissues, he said. Injuries to the urethra and bladder neck might not show up until five or 10 years after the treatment, Dr. D’Amico noted. Those structures can scar and close, limiting the flow of urine. It also can take years before rectal scarring produces symptoms like bleeding. A few years ago, Dr. Yu and his colleagues looked at Medicare data and reported that men who had more intense radiation therapy were more likely to have urinary problems after two years than those who had the therapy. Dr. Yu noted that his study was not a randomized trial, the gold standard, but he said the results were not reassuring. Now, though, he is not so sure the intense therapy is worse. “In my own experience, these men have done really well,” he said. “That tells us that techniques improved, or the medical claims we evaluated were not indicative of major toxicity, or the way we and others at centers deliver radiotherapy is different. ” The lack of solid data bothers Dr. Daniel W. Lin, chief of urologic oncology at the University of Washington. When men ask him about the shorter radiation course, he tells them, “It probably can work but it doesn’t have results and it hasn’t been tested against standard radiation. ” At centers like Sloan Kettering, doctors are relying on their own experience. Dr. Michael J. Zelefsky, a radiation oncologist who treated Mr. Kolnik there, said that several years ago, 90 percent of his patients had the standard course of treatment. Now 90 percent choose the shorter course. On the basis of Sloan Kettering’s experience with several hundred men who had the intense radiation therapy over the past three years, the treatment, he said, “is emerging as a very exciting form of therapy. ” Mr. Kolnik is more than satisfied. During his treatment, he said, “I totally kept up with my schedule. ” He did not even tell anyone other than a few close friends that he was having radiation therapy. “The treatment begins and it finishes before you even realize it,” Mr. Kolnik said. | 0fake |
Trump Aide Stephen Miller: The U.S. ’Has an Absolute Sovereign Right to Determine Who Can and Cannot Enter the Country’ - Breitbart | STEPHEN MILLER: In a world with 7 billion people, the U. S. has an absolute sovereign right to determine who can and cannot enter the country pic. twitter. Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox Friends,” Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller defended President Donald Trump’s executive order halting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Miller explained there was precedent for Trump’s action and that the United States is a nation with an “absolute sovereign right” to determine who can come to the United States and who can’t. “This is an authority that has been used repeatedly in the past,” Miller said. “One of the more recent examples is President Obama suspended the Iraqi refugee program for six full months after two Iraqi refugees were implicated in an al Qaeda plot in Bowling Green, KY. There’s been hundreds and hundreds of foreign nationals and naturalized citizens who have been implicated in terrorism in the United States since . This is a matter of national security. It’s a matter of keeping the public safe. And the reality is in a world with 7 billion people, the United States has an absolute sovereign right to determine who can and cannot enter into the United States. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 0fake |
Should America Pardon the National Security State? | Written by Jacob G. Hornberger Thursday October 27, 2016 Several weeks ago, contemporaneously with the release of Oliver Stone’s excellent movie Snowden, friends and admirers of Edward Snowden launched a campaign to have President Obama pardon him for disclosing the NSA’s super-secret illegal surveillance scheme to the American people and the world. The reasons for the pardon request were excellently summarized in an op-ed that appeared in the New York Times entitled “ Pardon Edward Snowden ” by Kenneth Roth and Salil Shetty. Not surprisingly, the US national-security establishment and its assets within the mainstream press oppose a pardon for Snowden because, they say, he endangered “national security” with his disclosure of the NSA’s top-secret illegal surveillance programs. But notice something important: Every time someone discloses “national security” state secrets, the east coast doesn’t fall into the ocean, California isn’t hit by earthquakes, and the federal government isn’t taken over by communists, terrorists, Muslims, illegal immigrants, or drug dealers. Nothing ever happens! That’s because, as I point out in my ebook “ The CIA, Terrorism, and the Cold War: The Evil of the National Security State , ever since the federal government was converted into a national security state in the 1940s, the term “national security” has been nothing more than a way to shield criminal wrongdoing on the part of the national-security establishment. Remember MKULTRA? It was a highly classified operation on the part of the CIA. It involved drug experimentation on unsuspecting Americans. It was enveloped within the concept of “national security.” It was also a criminal operation. Once it came to light, the CIA ordered the destruction of all MKULTRA records so that the American people would never discover all the dark and sordid details of this Nazi-like program. The United States remained standing notwithstanding the revelation of the CIA’s national-security state secret. Consider the CIA’s assassination attempts, in partnership with the Mafia, against Cuba’s president Fidel Castro during the 1960s. Those assassination attempts were national-security state secrets. They were also criminal in nature. In fact, they were no different, in a criminal sense, from the assassination of Orlando Letelier by Chile’s DINA, the Chilean CIA-NSA type organization with which the US partnered in the aftermath of the US national-security state’s coup that brought military strongman Augusto Pinochet into power in 1973. Did the United States collapse when the CIA’s assassination plots were revealed to the world? No more so than Chile collapsed when DINA’s assassination plots were revealed to the world. Speaking of DINA, for years the US national-security establishment kept its role in orchestrating the coup in Chile secret from the American people. CIA Director Richard Helms even knowingly lied to Congress when asked about the CIA’s activities in orchestrating the coup. Why did Helms intentionally lie to Congress? To protect “national security,” of course. The CIA’s position was that if people were to discover the role that the US government played in orchestrating the Chilean coup, “national-security” would be threatened. But when the US role in the coup was ultimately disclosed, what happened? Nothing! Well, except for the fact that Helms got convicted for lying to Congress. He was lucky though. They let him off the hook with a misdemeanor plea and probation. When he returned to the CIA, he was hailed by his subordinates for his heroic effort to protect “national security.” Of course, he wasn’t as lucky as DNI Chief James Clapper, who didn’t get prosecuted at all for lying to Congress about the existence of the NSA’s illegal surveillance scheme. Why did Clapper lie to Congress? To protect “national security,” of course. But when the super-secret illegal scheme ultimately came to light, what happened to the United States? Nothing! Another false and fraudulent use of the meaningless term “national security.” It was no different with respect to the CIA’s kidnapping-murder of Rene Schneider, the overall commander of Chile’s armed forces. The CIA felt that it needed to keep its plot against Schneider secret on grounds of “national security,” including its smuggling high-power guns into the country and later its paying off the killers to keep them silent. Once again, they maintained, “national security” dictated secrecy. But when the CIA’s role in Schneider’s kidnapping-murder was ultimately discovered, nothing happened. The United States continued standing. Interestingly, not one single US official was ever charged in the felony-murder of Rene Schneider, whose only “crime” was standing in the way of the US national security establishment’s illegal and unconstitutional (in both Chile and the United States) plot to replace a democratically elected president with a brutal unelected US-supported military general whose forces proceeded to round up, incarcerate, torture, rape, execute, or assassinate tens of thousands of innocent people — that is, people whose only crime was believing in socialism. It was the same with the murder during the coup of two American men, Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, a murder in which US national-security state officials were complicit. Of course, they kept their involvement in the murder secret under the principle of “national security.” Horman’s “crime” was that he had learned of US complicity in the coup and planned to disclose it to the world. In the eyes of Chilean and US national-security state officials, that obviously constituted a threat to “national security.” Teruggi’s “crime” was that he was a socialist who had opposed the US government’s war in Vietnam. Despite the fact that a top-secret US State Department investigation revealed that US intelligence had played a role in their murder, not one single US official has ever been indicted, much less summoned to appear before Congress to explain why they murdered two innocent American citizens. In a moral sense, it’s not Snowden who needs a pardon. It is the US national-security state that needs a pardon from him … and from the American people for converting our nation into a charnel house of secret, dark, illegal, nefarious actions under the guise of the sham term “national security.” Reprinted with permission from Future of Freedom Foundation . Related | 1real |
Flynn, Kushner targeted several states in failed U.N. lobbying: diplomats | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn admitted on Friday that he asked Russia to delay a U.N. vote seen as damaging to Israel, but diplomats said it was not the only country he and presidential adviser Jared Kushner lobbied. In the hours before the vote by the 15-member United Nations Security Council on Dec. 23, Flynn also phoned the U.N. missions of Uruguay and Malaysia, and Kushner spoke with Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the United States, according to diplomats familiar with the conversations, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The lobbying took place before Republican President Donald Trump, who was known for his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, took office on Jan. 20. It failed, with the Security Council adopting a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for an independent state. The vote was 14 in favor and one abstention by the United States. The efforts made on Israel’s behalf capped several days of unusual diplomacy. In a surprise Dec. 21 move, Egypt had called for a vote the next day on the draft resolution, prompting both Trump and Israel to urge Washington to veto the text. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Israeli officials contacted Trump’s transition team at a “high level” to ask for help after failing to persuade Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration to veto the draft U.N. resolution. According to court documents made public on Friday, a member of Trump’s presidential transition team, later identified by sources as Trump’s son-in-law Kushner, told Flynn on Dec. 22 to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, to convince them to delay the vote or veto the resolution. Flynn spoke with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak that day, and again the following day, according to the court documents. Also on Dec. 22, Trump discussed the resolution with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt withdrew the text from a council vote the same day. The 1799 Logan Act bars unauthorized private U.S. citizens, which Trump, Flynn, and Kushner all were at the time, from negotiating with foreign governments. However, only two Americans have ever been indicted for allegedly violating it – in 1802 and 1852 – and neither was convicted. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Kushner, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Friday about Israel or other issues. A SECOND GO-ROUND After Egypt withdrew the resolution, its co-sponsors, New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Senegal, put it forward again for a Dec. 23 vote. In Washington, Kushner was in contact with Britain’s Darroch, and Flynn spoke with Kislyak - lobbying to delay the vote or veto the resolution. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the council’s five permanent members - China, Britain, France, Russia, and the United States - to be adopted. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who died in February, signaled to colleagues behind closed doors on Dec. 23 that he was unhappy with the haste with which the draft resolution was being put to a vote, but he did not ask for the vote to be delayed, diplomats said. Flynn also tried to speak to Malaysian U.N. Ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, but Ibrahim did not take the call. He also called the Uruguayan U.N. mission, eventually getting through to Deputy Ambassador Luis Bermudez – who was the charge d’affaires - minutes before the vote. | 0fake |
Russia names replacement for Sergei Kislyak as envoy in Washington | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s next ambassador to Washington will be Anatoly Antonov, a former defense official who is subject to European sanctions over his role in the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced on Monday. Antonov takes over from Sergei Kislyak, whose contacts with members of President Donald Trump’s campaign team made him a central figure in the row over Russian influence over the U.S. presidential election. The incoming ambassador, 62, is a diplomat by training and is currently a deputy foreign minister. Between 2011 and 2016, he served as deputy defense minister, a period which coincided with Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. The European Union added him two years ago to its list of officials who are subject to Ukraine-related sanctions, citing his involvement in supporting the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine. Since becoming deputy foreign minister last year, Antonov has acted as a liaison between the foreign ministry and the military. The armed forces have growing influence over foreign policy, especially since Moscow launched its military operation in Syria. A person who has dealt with Antonov said that he was a tough, military-style man. The name of outgoing ambassador Kislyak has emerged in relation to several of Trump’s associates as a special counsel and congressional panels investigate Russian meddling and possible ties with the Trump campaign. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself in March from matters connected to an investigation by the FBI following his admission he had talked to the Russian envoy. Michael Flynn, a former White House national security adviser, was forced to resign in February after it became known he had failed to disclose the content of conversations he had with Kislyak and had misled the vice president about their meetings. Jared Kushner, a White House advisor and Trump’s son-in-law, met Kislyak on two occasions in 2016, the White House has disclosed. Kushner also had phone calls with Kislyak between April and November 2016, Reuters reported. Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump has said his campaign did not collude with Russia. | 0fake |
Clinton Campaign Paid Beyonce and Jay Z $62 Million For Cleveland Concert to Secure Black Votes | Empire Herald | Clinton Campaign Paid Beyonce and Jay Z $62 Million For Cleveland Concert to Secure Black Votes SHARE tweet
Cleveland, Ohio – Beyonce and Jay Z performed for “free” at the Get out the Vote concert last night for Hillary Clinton. However, sources revealed that the power couple was paid $62 Million to perform.
According to sources closely connected with the power couple, Clinton and her campaign flew Beyonce and Jay Z out to a private meeting to discuss the election. With Hillary lacking the African-American voting numbers that Barack Obama had during his 2008 presidential, the Clinton campaign made a quick and desperate move in their final efforts to secure African-American votes.
“Jay and Beyonce got a call a few weeks ago from Clinton. She invited them for a weekend stay at a luxury hotel to meet regarding the election. Before Jay Z or Beyonce could voice any concerns or ask questions, Hillary pulled out a check. Beyonce saw the check first and her eye lit up like Christmas lights. On the last day of the meeting, Hillary told said to everyone, including Jay Z and Beyonce, “We definitely got the black vote now.” MUST READ: Nvidia moves into your living room with a device not just for gaming
On the flight back to New York, Jay Z said, “You know what, Black Lives Matter, they matter because we got paid $62 Million to represent them.”
Hillary Clinton can officially add Beyoncé and Jay Z to her list of devoted supporters. The musical power couple headlined a free get-out-the-vote concert in Cleveland on Friday night. MUST READ: Puppy Monkey Baby Ad Scares Little Girl Into Gouging Her Own Eyes Out
J. Cole, Chance The Rapper, and Big Sean were also among the list of artists who performed, offering their support to the Democratic nominee for president.
As the concert’s official main headliner, Jay-Z kicked off the event with “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “F—WithMeYouKnowIGotIt,” and a couple of his older hit records. Shawn “Jay Z” Carter also brought out Big Sean to perform “Clique”. SCROLL DOWN AND CLICK NEXT TO CONTINUE READING EmpireHerald Warren Stallings
I dont believe this one iota, yet why isnt the media covering the “ghetto music comments and the “why do they have to dress so negro” comments hillary spouted on a live lapel microphone?
It seems you will believe anything. csh
You know why…. They are nothing more than Soros puppets, just like Hillary. Deb Anker
If she really said that, don’t you think the audio would be released, just as the audio of Trump bragging about committing sexual assault was? Warren Stallings
suck the koolaid dear…….you think a jew owning the ny times is gonna report it. Darcy Lewis
It’s ok, Hillary brought along her hot sauce! Weekdaygirl
Just more delusion republicans Beyonce is not that kind of star she would do it for free because she just would if they knew her before they wrote this article. She is rich filthy rich she don’t need no money not even Jay z he got his own millions. Barney
except that most rich people want even more money.. Jonathan Miller
You would be like Madonna and give head for a vote, wouldn’t you? Beyonce would screw the Devil for 62 million dollars… SecedeTexas
try and denounce this on Truth or Fiction. If it wasn’t true they would be all over it. Cjarmaine
If you recall many many people left after everyone was done performing and Hillary started talking. So i guess the money doesn’t matter that’s why they did it, they knew the crowd would dwindle once they were done…. LMAO!!!! bubbaclinton
You know she is crooked to the bone. Lawrence Hodge
Yea totally. Because the key to Black Votes is Jay Z and Beyonce. That’s like saying Trump paid Bruce Springsteen $50 million to secure White votes. Ken Adams
Except Springsteen is another liberal idiot, so your logic fails, you moron. TomAZUSA
Total bullshit. I don’t believe this. Noli Timere
Think of the POVERTY and Student Loans they could wipe out with that JACK! Liam Kelly
62 million, sure, unnamed sources claims. Not one respectable news organization has verified that number. These guys are playing Gawker Roulette. pitriver
Might want see if the 62 million came from the foundation. Liam Kelly
Might want to see if that 62 million number is anything close to real. All stories use this as their source. This has no source. So in other words its a bunch of lies.
Yes Empire Herald I am calling you out on your obvious and flagrant lie. SecedeTexas
the fact that Truth or Fiction is not commenting tells me that this true. Liam Kelly
Any source to back up your 62 million dollar claim? I mean remember what happened to Gawker. I’m sure Jay Z and Beyonce could take you to the cleaners. Weather | 1real |
Migrants in Serbia's north brave winter to cross to EU | SID, Serbia (Reuters) - Mudassir, 18, from Pakistan s city of Peshawar has tried to enter the European Union 30 times but was always caught and sent back to his starting point in Serbia. Now, he and dozens of other migrants are braving near-freezing temperatures in shrubs and fields near Sid, a northwestern Serbian town just outside European Union s member Croatia, hoping to make another border run. They spend nights in tents and makeshift shelters in a shrub they call - the jungle. I have tried 30 times, I am in Serbia for 16 months, ... I am tired of sleeping in the jungle , said Mudassir, dressed in a black hooded jacket. Meanwhile, other migrants, all young males, huddled outside an abandoned printing factory in the outskirts of Sid, waiting for a meal delivered by an international volunteer group, the No Name Kitchen. The so-called Balkan route for migrants was shut last year when Turkey agreed to stop the flow in return for EU aid and a promise of visa-free travel for its own citizens. But people mainly from the Middle East, Africa and Asia continued to arrive in Serbia, mainly from Turkey, via neighboring Bulgaria, attempting to enter Croatia and the EU. According to official data there are as many as 4,500 migrants in government-operated camps in Serbia. Rights activists say that hundreds are scattered in the capital Belgrade and towns along the Croatian border. Muhammad, 22 from the Moroccan town of Oujda, said he has tried to reach the EU 26 times. Three times he made it to Slovenia, but was caught and deported back to Serbia. I will try again ... my family is in France and my girlfriend is in Italy, Muhammad said. Bruno Alvares of the No Name Kitchen said migrants are given two meals a day, water, clothes, footwear and tents. Even if it is cold, it doesn t matter, they will keep on trying because there s ... no evolution in their lives in camps, Alvares said. Migrants who cannot afford to pay smugglers, often hide in passing trucks and freight trains or ride on the top of them. Recently an Afghan girl was killed by a train as she and her family attempted to cross into Croatia. | 0fake |
OBAMA LIES ABOUT Number Of Troops On Ground In Iraq…FLASHBACK, OBAMA 2009: [Video] “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.” | It was more important for Obama to keep a pledge to his leftist donors, than to secure the nation of Iraq before pulling out our troops. And then there s that one little detail rarely discussed in liberal circles, Obama wanted to leave troops behind but the Iraqi government threatened Our Pansy In Chief that they would not give our US troops immunity in their courts. Thus, the master negotiator put his tail between their legs and scooted out of Iraq, bringing our brave men and women in uniform with him Oct. 2011- The U.S. is leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government. -Barack Huessein ObamaObama claimed it was a moment of success. The U.S. military has around 5,000 service members in Iraq, officials said on Monday, far more than previously reported, as the Obama administration quietly expands ground operations against the Islamic State.The number of American forces in Iraq has come under increased scrutiny following the death over the weekend of a Marine staff sergeant, the second combat casualty in renewed U.S. operations in Iraq. He was killed when militants launched rockets at a small U.S. base around the city of Makhmour. The existence of the Marine detachment had not been known prior to Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin s death.Officials at the Pentagon have declined to specify how Marines are serving at the outpost in northern Iraq, which they described as a satellite base positioned to protect American trainers at a nearby, larger base. Their presence in Iraq highlights the use of forces from Navy ships already in the Middle East. Via: Washington PostObama, Oct. 21, 2011:In a brief appearance at the White House, Mr Obama said: Today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America s war in Iraq will be over. The remaining 40,000 US troops in Iraq, would, he said, definitely be home for the holidays .He conspicuously declined to repeat the mistake of his predecessor George W Bush, who started the war in March 2003 and displayed a Mission Accomplished banner six weeks later, only for Iraq to descend into years of insurgency and sectarian violence that has claimed at least 100,000 civilian lives.Mr Obama however asserted that the United States is moving forward from a position of strength . The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their head held high, proud of their service, he said.The president stressed that he was meeting a withdrawal deadline reached earlier with the Iraqis, as well as keeping a pledge made as a candidate in 2008 to wind down the controversial war as fast as possible.But his statement masked the fact that his administration had wanted to keep a residual force of 4-5,000 beyond the end of the year in a training capacity that would also have acted as a prohibitive presence to neighboring Iran.Despite months of discussions however, it failed to win a continued guarantee of immunity for US troops from prosecution from the Iraqi government. Via: Telegraph | 1real |
Pugnacious New Yorkers hit back at presidential candidate Cruz | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ted Cruz - be careful who you mess with. Never shy in defense of their city, New Yorkers came out swinging - via social and traditional media - on Friday after the Texas Republican’s comments about “New York values” during a presidential debate. Cruz’s remarks, aimed as a put-down of campaign rival Donald Trump during Thursday evening’s sour-toned Republican debate, sparked a backlash from city and upstate dwellers, politicians and ordinary citizens alike. James Smith, husband of Moira Smith, a New York police officer who was killed on 9/11, wrote in a Facebook post: “I invite you to come to the National 9-11 Memorial and Museum and see for yourself, and perhaps learn something about, the values of New Yorkers and the Heroes who defended American values on September 11th, 2001.” One theme emerged in particular as New Yorkers piled in: the idea that the senator may be less fastidious when it comes to financing his campaign to be his party’s nominee for the November presidential election. “I’m sure Ted Cruz was very negative about New York money,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan, calling on Cruz to apologize to all New Yorkers. “I’m sure he’s not going to accept any money from any New Yorker. I’m sure if he has, he’s going to return all of those contributions,” said Cuomo, a Democrat. Cruz, top challenger to front-runner Trump in the Republican race, has lately been denouncing “New York values” to try to connect the real estate mogul to the city’s liberalism and to reinforce his own standing as a conservative. During Thursday evening’s debate, Cruz said on the values issue, “And listen, there are many, many wonderful, wonderful working men and women in the state of New York. But everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay-marriage, focus around money and the media.” Trump responded with an emotional tribute to the resilience his home city showed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. According to Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) data, that exchange between Cruz and Trump was the second-most tweeted moment during the debate. Among tweets shared on Friday was the cover of the New York Daily News, which curtly told Cruz: “Drop Dead, Ted.” Michael Bruno (@MikeJBruno) tweeted on Friday: “@tedcruz you, sir, wouldn’t last 2 minutes in New York. We don’t take kindly to people like you. And that’s our #NewYorkValues.” Nicholas Dyer (@NicholasDDyer), who identifies himself as a Comedy Central producer on Twitter, said: “@tedcruz is the kind of guy who takes his family to the Times Square Applebee’s for dinner. #NewYorkValues.” He was referring scathingly to a chain restaurant that is normally filled with tourists from out of town. “My #NewYorkValues: Tolerance, eccentricity, sleaze, pizza, bagels, dancing, not making eye contact,” tweeted Lindsay Goldwert (@lindsaygoldwert). Many on Twitter perceived Cruz as having targeted the city’s Jewish and gay communities. Zack Ford (@ZackFord), the LGBT editor at the progressive blog Think Progress, tweeted, “So...#NewYorkValues...Do you just pick a state you know you probably won’t win and belittle everyone from it?” He added, “Cruz knows Trump’s not Jewish, right?” Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) said, “As a Jewish conservative born in Brooklyn, I proudly have #NewYorkValues. Some local businesses piggybacked the theme to advertise. Drama Book Shop, a theater book store in midtown Manhattan, tweeted: “The #DramaBookShop is proud to have had #NewYorkValues for 99 years.” Others sought to distinguish the politics of the city, which is liberal and overwhelmingly votes Democratic in presidential elections, from the rest of the state. Josephine (@notmyname02) said on Twitter, “Unshackle Upstate New York. We have nothing to do with New York City values. We have mid-West values. #NewYorkValues.” To be sure, some thought the backlash against Cruz was not warranted. Wesley23 (@50th_President) tweeted: “I still think people are overreacting to #TedCruz and his #NewYorkValues line. He clearly meant it was a blue (Democratic) state (and) not very conservative.” It appeared that neither Cruz nor Trump may have benefited from the exchange. Overall, conversations about the Republican candidates during the debate were negative on social media, according to analytics firm Zoomph. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus; Editing by Dan Burns, Frances Kerry and Andrew Hay) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 0fake |
Top Conservative Tries To Define ‘Alt-Right’ And Gets It INSANELY Wrong | One of the problems that Republicans have is what to do about the white nationalists that are taking over the conservative movement, including the KKK and the Neo-Nazis that have come out of the woodwork since Trump began his run for the White House. Some of them are just trying to ignore it, and some are trying to claim that these groups aren t all that bad when you consider that Democrats were once the party of slavery (today s Republicans are those Democrats, actually), so they re the true racists here.And then you have idiots like the executive director of the American Conservative Union, Dan Schneider, who says that the so-called alt-right is really the fascist left.Speaking at CPAC, he told an audience full of conservatives: There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks and we must not be duped. Just a few years ago, this hate-filled left-wing fascist group hijacked the very term alt-right. That term has been used for a long time in a very good and normal way. He s right, it s a sinister organization trying to worm its way into their ranks. But it s really a fascist left wing movement?Well, let s look at this. The alt-right has always been a conservative movement. It was actually conservative opposition to George W. Bush over his foreign policy. These were people who believed that W. was a liberal in conservatives clothing who had betrayed them with his policies.They originally had some of everything Reagan Republicans, anti-immigration hawks, libertarians, and even monarchists, and yes, white nationalists. But it wasn t like the left saw an opening, or saw cracks in the movement, and took advantage of them. It was Richard Spencer himself who, during his evolution from a conservative into one of the worst white supremacists we ve got, ultimately hijacked the term and turned it into an anti-Semitic, white nationalist movement.But since this movement now has the door it needs to shove itself into the mainstream via President Asterisk, increasing numbers of Republicans are trying to find ways to distance themselves from that kind of hate. At the same time, some obviously see an opportunity to use it to demonize the left, which riles up a different kind of hate.Schneider also said: They are anti-Semites. They are racist. They are sexist. They hate the Constitution. They hate free markets. They hate pluralism. They hate everything and despite everything we believe in. All of that is true, but they grew out of the conservative right. Not the left, but maybe he s another one of the many ignorant conservatives who believe that today s Democrats are the Democrats who fought for slavery.When you have an entire movement willing to tolerate people like Steve Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos, Steve Miller and even Trump himself, shucking responsibility for that movement is antithetical to the conservative idea of personal responsibility. The GOP needs to look in a mirror if they want to find an answer to the so-called alt-right. Featured image by Kirk Irwin via Getty Images for SiriusXM | 1real |
Mary Rodwells New Book The New Human | Mary Rodwell's New Book The New Human page: 1 link Go ahead and spout this is Project Camelot it's BS. You'll be wrong. Go ahead and call Mary Rodwell a liar she's just doing this for the money. You'll be wrong. This is what I have to say to open-minded individuals reading this: Put your seat belt on! In this interview, hypnotherapist and regressionist Mary Rodwell talks about the contents of her new book, The New Human , which apparently is soon to be released: For experiencers looking for a resource where you'll be treated with respect and have a chance to communicate, the organization Mary talked about in the interview is FREE, for Foundation for Research into Extra-terrestrial Encounters. link a reply to: ConnectDots No offense but these people just sound completely full of sh*t. They present no evidence of anything but talk wildly about stuff that I don't even think they understand and use words that just sound interesting but are totally made up BS. They just talk to other crazies and kids and believe anything they hear and then repeat it. Gee, some little kids tell you they don't like school or don't get along with other kids so that makes them multidimensional space kids with mental powers???? Come on They love to drop cool sounding phrases built from psudo scientific jargon but I don't think they even understand what the words mean. They talk about telepathy and mental powers and stuff but do they have any evidence of it or just a bunch of stories made up from kids and crazies??? | 1real |
BREAKING: [Video] DIRTY BOMB FEARS, As NYC Police Officers With Targets Placed On Their Backs By Obama And DeBlasio Wear Nuclear Bomb Detectors July 4th Weekend | Not knowing how many members of ISIS and other terrorist groups have slipped undetected into our country is yet another serious consequence of Obama s open borders Several thousand New York City uniformed and plain clothes officers will patrol the city this weekend.7,000 closed circuit security cameras will be closely watched.Air and water patrol will be equipped with radiation detection.Police officers will also be equipped with special radiation detection monitors to be put on their belts to detect for dirty bombs. America faces the highest threat level ever this year for the 4th of July.https://youtu.be/Zflo1wizClUVia: Gateway Pundit | 1real |
Uganda postpones bill to extend Museveni's rule after protests | KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan authorities postponed a bill to extend leader Yoweri Museveni s rule after protesters took to the streets against it on Thursday, confronting police who fired teargas. Parliament speaker Jacob Oulanyah told lawmakers during a raucous session that the legislation due to be introduced on Thursday afternoon was bringing tension and would come back on another, unspecified date. Activists, campaign groups, religious leaders and even some members of Museveni s own ruling party have objected to the proposed change to the constitution, saying it is undemocratic. Groups of students at Makerere, a public university in the capital Kampala, rallied to start marching toward parliament before police dispersed them with teargas. Protesters regrouped through the morning, throwing stones back at police. We are not going to allow anybody to hold protest marches. The teargas was to deter that, police spokesman Asan Kasingye said. Museveni, aged 73, has already been in power for more than three decades. The change to the constitution would have removed a rule banning anyone older that 75 running for president that currently bars him from running for re-election at polls in 2021. The move to amend legislation mirrors similar tactics used in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic Congo to extend limits, a trend that has alarmed democracy watchdogs. Museveni won plaudits in the early years of his rule for restoring stability after years of turmoil, and became a key Western ally who sent Ugandan troops to fight Islamist militants in Somalia. But accusations of rampant rights violations, entrenched graft and dysfunctional public services have since fueled opposition to his rule. Police have also raided the premises of at least two pro-democracy organizations in Kampala, including that of the local unit of Johannesburg-based ActionAid International. Security personnel blockaded staff inside their offices late on Wednesday and conducted searches, staff members of the organizations told Reuters. There was intelligence that we got that they received funding for people who are planning to cause chaos and violence, police spokesman Kasingye said. Local media said Kampala s mayor Erias Lukwago - an opposition party member - was detained early on Thursday, though Kasingye said he was unaware of the reports. Museveni s bid has also met increasing denunciation from some members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party, exposing cracks. The NRM counts about three-thirds of all parliament members. Ultimately... Museveni has ample patronage at his disposal and, when push comes to shove, few lawmakers will be prepared to risk political exile by not backing the president, said Charlotte King, a Uganda analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. The U.S. Embassy in Kampala condemned the raids on pro-democracy groups. The United States is deeply concerned that recent arrests and raids stifle the Ugandan people s right to free expression and tarnish Uganda s global image, it said in a statement. | 0fake |
After U.N. veto, Russia moves against chemical weapons watchdog | THE HAGUE (Reuters) - After blocking U.N. Security Council action against Syria, Russia has proposed changing the rules for inspectors at the world s chemical weapons body in The Hague, a move Western diplomats and experts said would undermine its work. It is the latest confrontation between Russia, a close ally and military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the West over an international inquiry established to determine who is behind ongoing chemical attacks in Syria s civil war. It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Assad late on Monday for talks aimed at ending a conflict that has now raged for nearly seven years. [L8N1NR3VO] At the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a draft Russian-Iranian decision circulated among the 41 members of the body s executive council, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, sought to overturn procedures on how OPCW inspectors work and how their findings are shared. The proposal was to be discussed by the OPCW s decision-making executive council, which was meeting on Tuesday, but had little chance of obtaining sufficient support to pass. Russia s ambassador to the OPCW, Alexander Shulgin, said in an interview that Moscow remained committed to the OPCW and efforts to prosecute perpetrators of attacks. But Russia is not convinced by some of the findings implicating the Syrian government, he said, defending the effort to change the mandate. He also questioned the decision not to send OPCW inspectors to Khan Sheikhoun, where nearly 100 people were killed with sarin on April 4, based on the pretext of the security conditions . The head of the OPCW said at the time the team was not deployed to Khan Sheikhoun due to genuine security risks they were ambushed and shot at during investigations in 2013 and 2014. The team confirmed sarin poisoning by testing the blood of victims across the border in Turkey. The Russian draft says the OPCW should withhold findings that are not based on the results of on-site investigations , but experts said this was an attempt to scupper the investigations. (Russia s) supreme goal is to compromise the ability of the (OPCW) fact-finding mission to do its job professionally and without political interference, said Gregory Koblentz, a non-proliferation expert at George Mason University, in the U.S. state of Virginia. This draft resolution has to be seen as part of a Russian strategy to undermine all international investigations into the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, he said. Last Friday, Moscow blocked a proposal to extend the mandate of a joint investigation by the United Nations and the OPCW, saying it was seriously flawed. Under a 2013 U.S.-Russian deal, Assad agreed to hand over his toxic stockpile following a sarin attack in a Damascus suburb. Dozens of countries helped to remove and destroy the lethal chemicals, but attacks have continued. Investigators have already concluded that Syrian government forces were behind later attacks with nerve-agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs, while Islamic State militants had used sulfur mustard gas. Syria denied using chemical weapons. Sweden and Uruguay are pushing for the U.N. Security Council to revive an international inquiry, but without the support of Russia, which holds a veto, there can be no further U.N.-backed inquiries. | 0fake |
Catalonia parliament cancels meeting after Spain takes control: source | MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia s parliament has canceled a meeting on Tuesday following the Spanish government s takeover of the region, a parliamentary source said on Monday, confirming the regional legislative had accepted Madrid s order for it to dissolve. On Friday, Spain fired the Catalonian regional government and dismissed the Catalan parliament after political leaders defied Madrid and made a unilateral declaration of independence. The central government s authority in the region was to be tested on Monday after prominent members of the Catalan administration had said they did not accept the move and a civic group called for civil disobedience to the ruling. | 0fake |
France, Germany concerned about Trump's moves to limit refugees | PARIS (Reuters) - France, Germany and Luxembourg voiced disquiet on Saturday over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to limit immigration and refugees from some Muslim countries, with Berlin and Paris also reaffirming a firm line on Russian sanctions. Speaking at a joint news conference in Paris with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said many of Trump’s decisions worried the two U.S. allies, including new immigration restrictions. Trump on Friday signed an executive order that will curb immigration and refugees from some Muslim-majority countries and he separately said he wanted the United States to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war there. “This can only worry us, but there are many subjects that worry us,” Ayrault said, adding that he would soon invite his future American counterpart Rex Tillerson to Paris to explain Europe’s interests, values and vision of the world. “Welcoming refugees who flee war and oppression is part of our duty,” Ayrault said. Germany has taken in more than one million refugees and migrants, mainly from the Middle East, since 2015. Although traditionally open to asylum seekers, France has taken in far fewer refugees than Germany since the migrant crisis erupted. Some in the French government, mostly ex-premier Manuel Valls, criticizing Berlin’s open-door policy, as has Trump. “The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbor is a major Christian value, and that includes helping people,” said Germany’s Gabriel, who was on his first trip abroad since his nomination as foreign minister. “I think that is what unites us in the West, and I think that is what we want to make clear to the Americans.” Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Trump’s order would have negative consequences. “The American president is dividing the Muslim world into good and evil with this,” Asselborn told the Tagesspiegel German newspaper. “The decision is also bad for Europe because it will increase the Muslim world’s mistrust and hatred of the West.” The two countries also reiterated their position on Russian sanctions, saying they could only be lifted if progress was made in the peace process for eastern Ukraine, where a pro-Russian separatist insurgency began in 2014. They joined British Prime Minister Theresa May in cautioning Trump against premature moves on the issue. “Let’s not forget there was a war, that Russia sought to take over parts of Ukraine,” Ayrault said. Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia, but insisted he wanted to follow through on his campaign pledge to pursue better relations with Russia. The French and German ministers also said the United Nations remained the best framework to lead peace talks about Syria in the aftermath of Russian-led efforts in the Kazakh capital Astana that some diplomats say might undermine the UN process. Separately, Germany and France are also continuing to work on creating a joint tactical airlift pool of Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J military transport planes, a spokesman for the German defense ministry said on Saturday. He could not confirm a report in Der Spiegel news magazine that the two countries expected to complete work on the deal and present it to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels next month. The magazine said German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen hoped to present the joint airlift as evidence of Germany’s willingness to contribute more to NATO. Trump has criticized many European countries for not meeting a NATO target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. | 0fake |
SHOCKING TAXPAYER TAB FOR OBAMA’S GOLF Trips And Fundraisers In February And March 2015 | Meanwhile, most Americans can t afford to take a single vacation Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Barack Obama s February and March 2015 travel for golf vacations and fundraisers totaled $4,436,245.50 in taxpayer-funded transportation expenses. The documents regarding the Obama travel expenses came in response to two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by Judicial Watch.To date, the Secret Service has not provided requested information, as required by FOIA, regarding security costs.Using the Air Force s official cost estimate of $206,337 per hour, the newly released records obtained by Judicial Watch show:Obama s February 14, 2015, golf outing to Palm Springs required a five-hour flight, costing taxpayers a total of $1,031,685. Transportation for Obama s February 19 day trip to Chicago cost taxpayers $619,011.00. Transportation for Obama s March 2015 fundraising trip to Los Angeles cost taxpayers $1,980,835.20. Obama s March 28, 2015, golf outing to Palm city required a 3.9-hour flight, costing taxpayers $804,870.30. In Palm Springs, Obama played golf at the luxurious Sunnylands country club, located on the former estate of the late ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Obama reportedly spent the weekend on the exclusive, gated property, where he has twice stayed before.Obama s February trip to Chicago was billed by the White House as a non-political event to declare the Pullman Historic District a national monument. But, press reports indicated that the trip was heavily political. In a CNN story entitled, Obama gives Emanuel re-election boost: President Barack Obama went to Chicago bearing gifts Thursday for his former chief of staff, Mayor Rahm Emanuel But the day had all the trappings of a campaign and Obama even made an unannounced stop at a Kenwood campaign office for Emanuel on his way out of town. I m glad he s my mayor, and I m glad he s going to be my mayor for another four years, Obama told volunteers.Obama s travel to California was solely to raise money for the Democratic National Committee and to show his support for fellow Democrats nationwide. His visit to Los Angeles began with an appearance on ABC s late night comedy program Jimmy Kimmel Live, and continued on to include a roundtable discussion fundraiser hosted at the Santa Monica home of ICM Partners cofounder Chris Silbermann and his wife Julia Franz. Guests paid up to $33,400 per couple for attendance, donations that will be used to aid DNC activities during the approaching 2016 election cycle. Obama s March 12 fundraising trip to Los Angeles was his 32nd fundraiser in L.A. County since he became president.In Palm City, Obama played golf at the spectacular Floridian National Golf Club, where members pay a $50,000 initiation fee and $15,000 in annual dues. According to the resort s website, This stunning, yet formidable par 71 will certainly impress. At 7,114 yards, the 18-hole course offers perfectly manicured rolling fairways and greens, demanding hazards, breathtaking views of the St. Lucie River, and is surrounded by natural preserve and native wildlife. Taxpayers should be outraged that Barack Obama s wastes 4.4 million of their precious tax dollars on golf vacations and political fundraising, said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. And to make matters worse, the Secret Service has simply refused to respond to our requests for documents about the security costs of these controversial trips. The Obama travel scandal is about abuse of office, abuse of the taxpayer, and contempt for the rule of law. Records released earlier this year by Judicial Watch showed that Michelle Obama s 2014 trip to China cost more than $360,000 in air transportation costs. Judicial Watch uncovered an expensive combination of trips by the Obamas to Africa and Honolulu, which cost taxpayers $15,885,585.30 in flight expenses. The single largest prior known expense for accommodations was for Michelle Obama s side-trip to Dublin, Ireland, during the 2013 G-8 conference in Belfast, when she and her entourage booked 30 rooms at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel, with the first lady staying in the 1500 square-foot Princess Grace suite at a cost of $3,500 a night. The total cost to taxpayers for the Obamas Ireland trip was $7,921,638.66. To date, the known travel expenses of the Obamas and Vice President Joe Biden exceed $61million. Via: Judicial Watch | 1real |
BREAKING: Federal Court Rules For Religious Freedom In Veterans Memorial Lawsuit | It s a win for the American Legion! Atheists wanted to take down the cross but a Maryland judge ruled against it. Thanks to the Liberty Institute for fighting the battles for conservative Americans. Great job!The U.S. Constitution allows a large Latin cross to stay as the centerpiece of the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial, a federal court in Maryland ruled Monday.In 1925, the American Legion erected the Bladensburg cross as a memorial honoring 49 men in Prince George s County, Maryland, who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in World War I.But in 2014, the American Humanist Association attacked the memorial, filing a lawsuit against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The atheists argued to the federal district court that a memorial in the shape of a cross violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which forbids the government from establishing an official religion.Liberty Institute, the largest law firm in the country that focuses exclusively on religious freedom, took up the case and intervened on behalf of the American Legion, which became a full party to the case. Liberty Institute then brought in a top global law firm, Jones Day, to lead the case, with Noel Francisco as lead counsel.Today, U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled in favor of the American Legion, and against the American Humanist Association.In her 36-page opinion, the Clinton-appointed Chasanow held that while a Latin cross is a symbol often associated with Christianity, it does not violate the Constitution in this context. The judge noted that courts disagree over what test they are supposed to use in these cases, but that under any of the tests modern federal courts apply, Bladensburg s cross passes muster.Read more: Breitbart News | 1real |
Fox News ‘Expert’ Will Now Be A Prison Expert For The Next Three Years | He has been tried. He has been convicted. And now he has been sentenced for lying about his expertise and background to the United States Government.Fox News often brought Wayne Simmons aboard the channel to deliver his expert analysis on terrorism as a former CIA operative whenever a terrorist attack occurred somewhere in the world.Most notably, he appeared on the network after the terrorist attack in Paris last year that killed 130 people. Not only did he claim that there were hundreds of Muslim-controlled no-go zones across Europe, which Fox had to apologize for, he claimed that Muslims had 19 paramilitary training facilities in the Unites States.In January, Simmons appeared on Fox and called for surrounding these non-existent no-go zones with razor wire and shutting off utilities until all the Muslims surrender to be categorized by authorities. That s how you close these no-go zones, he said before using his false expertise to scare Americans with lies. It is incomprehensible that anywhere in the United States, these types of things would be allowed and, yet, my friend Ryan Mauro, as you probably know, reported that through the Clarion Project that we ve got at least 19 paramilitary Muslim training facilities in the United States. Are you kidding me? What are, what are they gonna do, go hunt deer during deer season? No. They re using paramilitary exercises to plan and execute these types of operations all over the United States. Here s the video via YouTube.But Simmons was soon outed as a fraud and now he gets to become a real expert at how to survive in prison.On Friday, Simmons was sentenced to serve 33 months behind bars portraying himself as an Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer for the CIA for nearly 30 years to get jobs within and outside of the government, which included his stint on Fox News and being sent to Afghanistan as an intelligence adviser.The 62-year-old was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III to three years of supervision after his eventual release. He must also surrender two firearms and pay $176,000. Wayne Simmons is a fraud, U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said. Simmons has no military or intelligence background, or any skills relevant to the positions he attained through his fraud. Simmons frightened Americans for years through his appearances on Fox News and he put the lives of our troops in danger because of his lies.It makes one wonder how many other Fox News experts should be in prison right next to him.Featured Image: Screenshot | 1real |
Comment on 10 Nutritious Foods That Help Reduce Asthma Attacks & Boost Your Health by 10 Nutritious Foods That Help Reduce Asthma Attacks & Boost Your Health - Health Alternative Solutions | Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Over 25 million Americans are affected by asthma, one of the most common allergy-triggered diseases of our time. By incorporating these anti-asthma super foods into your diet, you may be able to reduce unexpected asthma attacks. Here are 10 amazing asthma-friendly foods that boost your health. 1. Apples Studies show that apples possess anti-asthmatic properties. One study revealed that drinking apple juice could reduce the chance of wheezing by up to 50%. Apples provide many beneficial effects that may be linked to their high concentration of quercetin, known to possess strong antioxidant, anti-histamine, and anti-inflammatory properties. But be sure to buy organic, as apples are among the worst culprits for pesticide-laden foods. Other quercertin-rich foods include yellow and red onions, capers, broccoli, lovage, red grapes, cherries, citrus fruits, tea, and many berries, including lingonberries , raspberries, and cranberries 2. Avocados Avocado are listed as one of the healthiest foods to eat, thanks to their high concentration of L-glutathione. They are an amazing anti-asthma food that helps protect cells from free radical damage. Avocados also detoxify the body of harmful substances like pollutants, and enable other antioxidants to function. The L-glutathione helps fight inflammation and repair gut health. 3. Bananas Bananas are naturally rich in fiber, which helps prevent respiratory conditions from developing. According to a study conducted in 2011 by researchers from the Imperial College London, having just one banana a day could keep asthma away. Studies found that children who consume a single banana a day reduce their risk of developing symptoms of asthma such as wheezing by more than 30%. 4. Cantaloupe Cantaloupe is rich in vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that can fight free radicals and ward off lung damage. A recent study in Japan observed that preschool children with a low intake of vitamin C were more likely to suffer from asthma that those with a high intake. 5. Flax Seeds Give your asthma-friendly diet a boost by adding flaxseeds to your meals. Flaxseeds are filled with asthma-relieving minerals such as magnesium and potassium as well as omega-3 fatty acids. They are also an excellent source of selenium, as just one cup provides more than 60% of the daily recommended intake. 6. Turmeric Turmeric is an active ingredient that has proven to be one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory nutrients available. This yellow spice has been used for centuries in traditional Asian medicine to treat asthma and other ailments. Recently, western medicine has also started to take notice of this spice, as studies reveal that turmeric contains strong anti-inflammatory properties. You can use turmeric in curry or to add flavor and color to seafood, fish, rice, meat, pasta, and vegetable dishes. 7. Kale Kale is a great source of vitamin C, and this nutritional powerhouse helps block the free radicals that are responsible for sudden contractions in airway passages. Kale also contains beta-carotene, another powerful antioxidant phytochemical that is capable of relieving existing symptoms of asthma while preventing future signs of formation. Your Inbox Will Never Be The Same Inspiration and all our best content, straight to your inbox. It is one of the top vegetables with the highest rating in ORAC, or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which measures the food’s ability to fight free radicals that cause constriction of airway muscles. 8. Ginger Ginger is loaded with anti-inflammatory nutrients that process through the entire body. Its root is another rich anti-asthma herb that is said to work better than antihistamine drugs like Benadryl, as it stops inflammation and clears up airways. Ginger also does not cause any harmful side effects, making it safe for you to consume with your everyday diet for good health. 9. Spinach A recent study involving over 68,000 women found that high spinach intake was related to a lower risk of asthma. This may be due to the high vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and magnesium content in spinach. Spinach is also high in potassium, which is said to exacerbate symptoms of asthma when deficient. Asthma is strongly related to magnesium deficiency, as treatments with magnesium have been revealed to help stop an asthma attack. 10. Tomatoes Tomatoes are known for providing lycopene, which helps alleviate symptoms of asthma. Raw tomatoes also contain beta-carotene and vitamin C, with a high amount of potassium in their calorie content. The key to living a long, healthy life is to eat well and stay active. Add these powerful asthma-friendly foods to your diet and see how well your body starts to feel. | 1real |
United Airlines Pilot Calls For Hillary Clinton To Be ‘Hung’ (IMAGE) | Months before the potential inauguration of Hillary Clinton, we are beginning to see some of the same types of attacks against her that President Obama has been dealing with for eight years.Michael Folk is a West Virginia Republican in the House of Delegates and he s a pilot for United Airlines. He s also under fire for tweeting that Hillary Clinton should be hung. But of course, it was a joke, or something like that.The exact tweet was from Friday and it s since been deleted (likely by Twitter), but thank goodness for screen shots. It said, Hillary Clinton, you should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the US Constitution then hung (sic) on the Mall in Washington, DC. Folk claims to have tweeted it in a moment of petulance (my word, not his) after Clinton was acquitted of any legal wrongdoing in handling classified emails.Through a phone call with Folk Saturday, he says that he wrote the tweet after watching a video of Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, who is Head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Chaffetz asked a question to the inspector general of the Intelligence Community Charles McCullough, to see classified emails Clinton is alleged to have had on a private email server on CSPAN3.McCullough said that he couldn t show the emails to Congress without getting permission from the agency that owns that information, which frustrated Folk.Folk said if a private person had done what Clinton did, then they would be put in prison, which contradicts the FBI decision to not charge Clinton for the email scandal, and related the case to the scandal involving former Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus back in 2012.Source: WOWK.comHis employer isn t happy. United Airlines released a statement saying, we are appalled by comments advocating harm to any person. They do not represent United Airlines and we are looking further into the matter. That s not good enough for many:And @united has pulled @MichaelFolk34 from future flights as of now! Great first step to ensure safety of all of us. https://t.co/DhynIukB1g Karl S. Johnson (@karljohn) July 17, 2016 Unless United fires this unbalanced individual, their words are empty rhetoric. @MichaelFolk34 @united https://t.co/yv9fKy7tWC Mike Williams (@drummike2012) July 17, 2016I hope @united deals w/ @MichaelFolk34 so I can fly them again. I won t fly any airline that employs pilots who promote political violence. PolitixDude (@politixdude) July 17, 2016 If @united thinks someone like @MichaelFolk34 is mentally fit to be a pilot I know I cannot trust them with my safety. Kevin Griffin (@Kevin4HRC16) July 17, 2016.@united Fire that pilot @MichaelFolk34 or I will never feel safe flying United again. Only sociopaths fantasize about lynching in the mall. Sigmundine (@HoffmannRandi) July 17, 2016Since the election of Obama, the right has become completely unhinged. He has been the target of over 30 death threats per day. Judging by the rhetoric in this presidential election, where even delegates receive death threats for not toeing the line, things could be even worse for Clinton, who has wrongly been accused of being a criminal for more than 20 years. Of course, to the right, complaints about death threats are just political correctness. Featured image via Facebook. | 1real |
OBAMA’S MUSLIM DHS Advisor REFUSED To Videotape Fellow Muslim During Investigation…But Wants Every American Gun Owner To Be FORCED To Do THIS | When a Muslim man with dual citizenship in Egypt and America tells his fellow agents: A Muslim doesn t record another Muslim and gets a promotion, every American should be concerned. When that same Muslim is in an advisory role in our government and is advocating for a federal gun registry, every American should be very concerned A Muslim doesn t record another Muslim, said Gamal Abdel-Hafiz (shown). This might not have been noteworthy except that Abdel-Hafiz was an FBI agent at the time and was refusing to do his duty, which at that moment involved taping a Muslim suspect. That was 2002, and this is now. And now the Cairo-born Abdel-Hafiz has moved on to bigger and perhaps better things he s a homeland-security advisor to Barack Obama. And while recording a single Muslim is a problem for him, putting every single American firearm owner on a gun-registry he fancies a good idea. WFAA.com reports on his idea: A former FBI counter-terrorism agent says lawmakers could make mass murders less likely. What we need to do is keep the ownership of guns known to the government, so we know who has what, said security consultant Gamal Abdel-Hafiz. And I know a lot of people are against that. He shouldn t have been able to buy a gun legally. He shouldn t, said Abdel-Hafiz about 29 year-old Omar Mateen [the Orlando jihadist]. He says 3 FBI interviews should have been enough to keep Mateen on the radar, but he also knows why he wasn t. Once you investigate someone and clear them, you have to remove them from the watch list by law, he explained Monday from his office in Dallas.And even if Mateen had been on a terror watch list, or no-fly list, that would not have prohibited him from legally buying weapons That means the list is useless then, the former agent said.Responding to this, PJ Media notes, Remarkably, he [Abdel-Hafiz] admits that the various terror watch lists and no-fly lists are useless. Moments after suggesting another list. He doesn t explain how a national gun registry yet another government list targeting millions of law-abiding Americans would prevent another terror attack. For sure. All car owners are registered, but that doesn t guarantee they re all sane and doesn t stop me, if I am unhinged, from plowing my vehicle into a group on a sidewalk. Likewise, let s say all legal firearms in America were registered. Then what? Given that the lists Mateen already was on ultimately had no remedial effect in his case, how would the FBI having knowledge of his weapons purchases have stopped his Orlando malevolence? We don t have to wonder, though, because the FBI already knew about them. As Breitbart reported last week: Robbie Abell, owner of a Florida gun shop, says he alerted authorities that a suspicious man had come in asking about body armor. The Wall Street Journal quotes Abell as telling them that his store, Lotus Gunworks of South Florida, shut him down on all sales after he began asking bizarre questions about body armor and bulk ammunition. The questions he was asking were not the normal questions a normal person would be asking . He just seemed very odd, Abell said. The armor Mateen asked about is not traditionally available to civilians.In addition, Abell witnessed Mateen talking on a phone in what the gun dealer believed was Arabic. In other words, Mateen fit the terrorist profile like a glove, yet this wasn t enough to inspire the FBI to take the gloves off. And now we re supposed to believe that somehow, some way, information about innocent American gun owners will help an agency that lacked the wisdom to act on already available information about a dangerous, un-American gun owner?Shockingly, Abdel-Hafiz was never fired by the FBI. This is despite allegations he perpetrated insurance fraud and then lied about it to the agency; despite his I won t record another Muslim remark; and despite the fact that a colleague of his, FBI special agent Robert Wright, and Chicago federal prosecutor Mark Flessner both attest that the Muslim agent seriously damaged the investigation inspiring the remark. Instead, here s what did transpire, as reported by ABC News in 2002:Wright said he was floored by Abdel-Hafiz s refusal and immediately called the FBI headquarters. Their reaction surprised him even more: The supervisor from headquarters says, Well, you have to understand where he s coming from, Bob. I said no, no, no, no, no. I understand where I m coming from, said Wright. We both took the same damn oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic, and he just said no? No way in hell. Far from being reprimanded, Abdel-Hafiz was promoted to one of the FBI s most important anti-terrorism posts, the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia, to handle investigations for the FBI in that Muslim country.Of course, there are no allegations that Abdel-Hafiz who has dual American/Egyptian citizenship has commissively aided terrorists. But given his infamous 2002 refusal to perform his duty, some questions must be asked. In what other ways did/does Abdel-Hafiz s Muslim faith constrain or even warp his actions with respect to Muslim terrorists? How is it influencing his advice? And how many of his theological soul mates are today working in intelligence agencies? Note here that Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is himself a Muslim.And we should also ask, is this possible Fifth Column corruption responsible for something else Agent Wright complained of: FBI ineptitude? As he also told ABC News in 2002, September the 11th is a direct result of the incompetence of the FBI s International Terrorism Unit. No doubt about that. Absolutely no doubt about that. And as he related to another source prior to 9/11:Knowing what I know, I can confidently say that until the investigative responsibilities for terrorism are removed from the FBI, I will not feel safe. The FBI has proven for the past decade it cannot identify and prevent acts of terrorism against the United States and its citizens at home and abroad. Even worse, there is virtually no effort on the part of the FBI s International Terrorism Unit to neutralize known and suspected terrorists residing within the United States. Unfortunately, more terrorist attacks against American interests, coupled with the loss of American lives, will have to occur before those in power give this matter the urgent attention it deserves.And the rest is in the past. Unfortunately, unless political correctness is purged, it will also be prologue. Via: InfoWars | 1real |
EU's Tusk proposes opening internal preparations of next phase of Brexit talks | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday noted promising progress in Brexit talks and said he would propose to 27 EU leaders to open internal preparations for the second phase of negotiations about ties between London and the bloc after Britain leaves in March, 2019. | 0fake |
CATHOLICS SHOULD BE Singing Donald Trump’s Praises After He Boldly Defended Life, While Hillary Was Forced To Admit Support For Barbaric Partial-Birth Abortion | Rush Limbaugh was cheering for Trump and how he handled the abortion question that was asked in last night s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump. Do Catholics and other pro-life groups truly understand the significance of this election? Do they know how many Supreme Court Justices our next President will likely replace in the next 4 years? In addition to the abortion issue, our religious freedoms are at serious risk. The Left has been attacking Christianity and Judaism for years, while protecting the Muslim faith like their lives depend on it. Rush mentioned on his radio show today how shocked he was by Trump s unabashed support for the life of the unborn. He said that there has never been a presidential candidate in history who has so bravely stood up for life during a debate with the Democrat opponent, like Donald J. Trump did last night. Here is his brilliant analysis Rush: Let me ask you a question. When Chris Wallace asked this abortion question, did you people start cringing? Oh, no, jeez, every time this comes up we get smoked, oh, my God. And he turned it to partial-birth abortion on a dime, which was either brilliant or instinctive or combination of the two, because she had no defense for what he was alleging, and she didn t even try. Her only defense, when he brought up, They want rip babies out of the womb a day before they re born, a week before they re born. And she doesn t deny it. All she can say is, I have seen these women. I have met these women, and I m telling you it is one of the hardest things, I m telling you it is one of the most difficult things. She s therefore on record as supporting partial-birth abortion last night. I will guarantee you that s the last thing anybody on the Democrat Party side ever factored would happen. That s why she wasn t prepared for it.And it was, I don t know, as I say, either brilliant or instinctive or a combination of the two, but to take that question on abortion, which has traditionally been a nail in the coffin for a Republican candidate, turn that around to a winning issue for him, a losing issue for her, and you ll note that nobody in the Drive-Bys is talking about that exchange. They don t want to go anywhere near it.And then she lied about Planned Parenthood and all these mammograms they do and all these precancer checks. They don t do a single mammogram, folks. They do not do them. They don t do checks for cancer. Their solution to everything at Planned Parenthood is an abortion. She lied through her teeth. I don t know if Trump knows that or not. Most people who, Oh, great work, mammograms, care for women. They don t do anything of the sort. They harvest baby parts and sell them! We now know that.But the partial-birth abortion thing, he turned it around on her. She didn t have a denial and the Drive-Bys aren t talking about it, and it s things like that in a debate you ll never hear any public reaction, no polling on it, but could have a huge impact. We ll never know. We won t know until the elections. Via: Rushlimbaugh.com | 1real |
Белый дом усиленно прячет свидетельства своих преступлений | Новое восточное обозрение | Регион: США в мире Как отмечает в своей новой статье американский журналист Мартин Бергер, с учетом все громче раздающихся требований международной общественности по привлечению представителей нынешней американской администрации к ответственности за гибель тысяч мирных жителей по вине Вашингтона на Ближнем Востоке, в Африке и Азии в последнее десятилетие, в Белом доме стали проявлять паническое опасение, что конкретные свидетельства этих преступлений могут быть раскрытыми. В этих условиях Белый дом через своих публичных представителей, подконтрольные СМИ и значительно усиленную в последнее время пропагандистскую машину США стремится всячески замалчивать о фактах гибели по вине военных США мирных жителей в Ираке, Сирии и других странах, где осуществляется с участием Вашингтона вооруженная агрессия и военные действия. Журналистам и обозревателям Белым домом «рекомендуется» переводить акценты на действия вооруженных сил противников США на Ближнем Востоке, в том числе использовать для этого и явно надуманные и ложные обвинения в адрес России, Ирана, официального Дамаска для создания у обывателей мнения о вине именно военных этих стран, а не США, в гуманитарных катастрофах, якобы гибели только по их вине мирных жителей региона. В Пентагоне демонстративно занижают количество погибших мирных жителей в результате атак ВВС США в Ираке и Сирии, предлагая общественности цифру в 64 человек убитых и восемь раненых за период с ноября 2015 года по сентябрь 2016 года из-за авиаударов ВВС США в Сирии и Ираке. С неимоверно заниженными Вашингтоном приводимыми сведениями о гибели мирных граждан не согласна Amnesty International и многие эксперты , предполагающие, что за время возглавляемых США авианалетов было убито до 2 750 мирных жителей, но не менее 300. Поэтому, считает автор, усиленно раскручиваемая Белым домом истерия о якобы виновности России и Дамаска в гибели мирных жителей Алеппо, без предъявления каких-либо конкретных документальных свидетельств, является прямым свидетельством стремления нынешней администрации искусственно сместить акценты и путем распространяемой лжи попытаться уйти от собственной ответственности за военные преступления. Но, как показывает последний доклад МУС о военных преступлениях США в Афганистане, виновные в них все равно будут найдены и им не удастся уйти от ответственности перед международной общественностью. С полным содержанием статьи вы можете ознакомиться здесь . Популярные статьи | 1real |
‘UFO’ Spotted Over Vienna, Frightened Onlookers Call Police | posted by Eddie Startled residents in the Austrian cities of Graz and Vienna were so spooked by an apparent UFO hovering in the skies, they called the police. Footage was uploaded on social media showing the bright object flying through the skies and while many people were skeptical of the sightings, others thought an alien invasion was imminent. In one clip, an object can be seen flying through the sky as bystanders stand in shock.
This isn’t the first time a flying object has created such hype in Austria. During the 2016 New Year festivities, another UFO was spotted reportedly being hit by lightning in Lower Austria. For now, though, “the truth is out there.” From Around the Web Founder of WorldTruth.Tv and WomansVibe.com Eddie ( 8922 Posts )
Eddie L. is the founder and owner of WorldTruth.TV. and Womansvibe.com. Both website are dedicated to educating and informing people with articles on powerful and concealed information from around the world. I have spent the last 36+ years researching Bible, History, Alternative Health, Secret Societies, Symbolism and many other topics that are not reported by mainstream media. | 1real |
STUNNER: Donald Trump is Next President of United States | 21st Century Wire says Republican candidate Donald J Trump will be the 45th President of the United States.History has been made, as he will be the first person ever to hold office despite having no previous political or military experience Trump s victory was definitive. By breaking through the seemingly impregnable Blue Wall in the northern rust belt of Wisconsin and Michigan, Trump effectively ran the table on Democrat favorite Hillary Clinton in what pundits are calling one of the biggest political realignments in decades. It s time for America to bind the wounds of division, said Trump in front on a crowd of thousands at his acceptance speech at the Hilton in downtown Manhattan.Trump s victory over Clinton is now regarded as the most stunning upset in US political history upending the establishment s false polling and the mainstream media s collusion with the Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign. Neither the polls or the pundits saw this coming.It s reported that Hillary Clinton called Trump to concede the race before he addressed his supporters. I ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton, said Trump. She congratulated us, it s about us, on our victory. And I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a very long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. And I mean that very sincerely. Earlier this week, Trump predicted his victory, likening it to the UK s surprise BREXIT vote this past summer, saying it would be Brexit Plus Plus. After being written off by the media and the party establishment in the GOP primaries, and then again in the general election, Trump still managed to capture the imagination of one of the biggest insurgent voting blocks in electoral history. Before the results came in, yesterday 21WIRE editor Patrick Henningsen commented on the key to Trump s success, explaining: Granted, half of the American population have been conditioned to hate Trump for various reasons. But many of them are missing the key point in the Trump story, just like they did in the Sanders story. Trump offered millions of voters something profound: the idea that even in today s insulated political fortress that is Washington DC, anything is still possible in American politics where an outsider can come in and shake up a stale and corrupt ruling class. Stay tuned for more updates.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Trump taps ex-Bush official Bossert to counter domestic threats | PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday selected former Bush administration official Thomas Bossert as a counterterrorism adviser who will focus heavily on cyber threats. As assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, Bossert will concentrate on domestic security issues and help craft the administration’s cyber security policies, the transition team said. “We must work toward cyber doctrine that reflects the wisdom of free markets, private competition and the important but limited role of government in establishing and enforcing the rule of law ... and the fundamental principles of liberty,” Bossert said in a statement. Cyber security has been a hot button issue in recent weeks as Trump, a Republican, has lashed out against assertions that Russia directed hacks of U.S. Democratic Party emails to influence the U.S. presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia was behind the hacks. In a departure from the current administration, Bossert will report directly to Trump and will have his own staff that is not under the National Security Council, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said. The structure is similar to the approach of Republican President George W. Bush, who set up a Homeland Security Council in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington. Bossert served as deputy homeland security adviser under Bush. Democratic President Barack Obama merged the Homeland Security Council staff with the National Security Council staff. Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University who served on the National Security Council during the second Bush administration, said that making Bossert report to the president was not a large change. “You could not call this a radical departure. This is the kind of evolutionary change that always happens with administrations,” Feaver said. | 0fake |
Merkel on track for fourth term after German election: exit poll | BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives secured a fourth consecutive term in office on Sunday in an election that brought a far-right party into the German parliament for the first time in more than half a century, exit polls indicated. After shock results last year, from Britain s vote to leave the European Union to the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, many look to Merkel to rally a bruised liberal Western order and lead a post-Brexit Europe. Merkel s conservative bloc - her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU) - won 32.5 percent of the vote, making them by far the largest parliamentary group, according to an exit poll for the broadcaster ARD. Their closest rivals, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), slumped to 20.0 percent - a new post-war low. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) stunned the establishment by finishing third and entering parliament for the first time with 13.5 percent. Merkel, Europe s longest-serving leader, joins the late Helmut Kohl, her mentor who reunified Germany, and Konrad Adenauer, who led Germany s rebirth after World War Two, as the only post-war chancellors to win four national elections. She must now form a coalition government - an arduous process that could take months as all potential partners are unsure whether they really want to share power with her. | 0fake |
MIKE PENCE BOOED By Bitter Liberals At Broadway Show Hamilton…Lectured To By Lead Actor [Video] | Here s Pence getting booed as he gets to his seats at Hamilton pic.twitter.com/IRQG68x1sB David K (@dkipke12) November 19, 2016Yes #MikePence was at @HamiltonMusical here s what we had to say pic.twitter.com/YIjt7JZ3gF G R E G O R Y (@ghaney22) November 19, 2016 | 1real |
Whose Side Is Russia On In Syria? | in: War Propaganda , World News (image credit: ALEXEY DRUZHININ / RIA NOVOSTI / Kremlin pool / AFP) In September 2015, at the behest of its legitimate government, Russia began aerial operations to combat ISIS and al-Nusra terrorists in Syria. Numerous other likeminded groups are involved, just as cutthroat, just as ruthless, just as extremist, masquerading as “moderate rebels” when none exist – supported by Washington, NATO , Saudi Arabia, Qatar, other Gulf States, Jordan, Israel and Turkey. They’re massacring civilians, killing government soldiers defending them, using chemical and other banned weapons, committing gruesome atrocities. Why does it pretend “moderate” fighters are involved when none exist? Why does it insist on separating nonexistent “moderates” from terrorist groups it’s combating when all anti-government forces are the same? Why isn’t it targeting all armed groups wanting Assad toppled and Syrian sovereign independence destroyed? It’s the only way to free the country from the scourge its facing – supported by Washington and its rogue allies, NATO and regional ones. Why did it halt its aerial operations to liberate eastern Aleppo, declaring a unilateral ceasefire, a so-called humanitarian pause – a major blunder, accomplishing nothing? Ongoing since October 18, it’s letting US-supported terrorists infesting the city replenish their ranks, regroup and mobilize for heavy attacks, largely harming civilians Moscow says it wants protected. Last Saturday evening, Russia ended its humanitarian pause because US-supported terrorists in eastern Aleppo prevent civilians from leaving, holding thousands hostage as human shields, including the sick and wounded. Yet it ceased aerial attacks, yielding the advantage to dark forces it’s sworn to eliminate. What kind of strategy gives them the upper hand? It gets worse. On October 26, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov issued the following statement: “The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force have been sticking to a moratorium on air strikes for the past eight days. They are staying out of a 10-km (six-mile) zone around Aleppo.” “Six humanitarian corridors, field kitchens and first aid stations are open for civilians leaving eastern Aleppo 24 hours a day.” “Russia and the Syrian government are ready to resume ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Aleppo if they receive guarantees from international organizations confirming readiness to evacuate the sick and the wounded as well as civilian population from the rebel-held areas.” Fact: Maintaining an airstrike moratorium aids Washington, its rogue allies and terrorists in eastern Aleppo they support. Fact: What good are humanitarian corridors if eastern Aleppo residents are prevented from using them, risking death or serious injury if they try. Fact: International organizations have no control over terrorists in eastern Aleppo – or anywhere else in the country. So what good are their “guarantees” if made? Fact: As long as Russia continues making the same mistakes repeatedly, the struggle to liberate Syria will likely go on interminably without resolution – a forever war, while countless thousands more civilians will die, be seriously injured and endure hardships people in Western societies can’t imagine, victims of US imperial ruthlessness. A handful of eastern Aleppo civilians alone escaped via a humanitarian corridor. According to one now free, their relatives were seized, imprisoned and tortured. The only way to liberate thousands of others is by relentlessly smashing their terrorist captors, eliminating them – not giving them breathing room to mobilize for greater attacks. Washington is delighted with Moscow’s ceasefire and humanitarian pause, serving US imperial interests, State Department spokesman admiral John Kirby saying: “We welcome the stated intention to extend this pause, and we hope that this extension will be more successful…than it has been thus far” – meaning the longer it continues, the greater the benefit to US-led dark forces, the worse off trapped Syrians in eastern Aleppo will be, the longer the struggle to liberate Syria will go on. Submit your review | 1real |
Here’s Why Everyone On Facebook Is Checking Into Standing Rock, North Dakota | By Carey Wedler When it comes to brute force, law enforcement and private security currently have the upper hand on the ground in Standing Rock,... | 1real |
Sanders calls Trump 'political coward' over voter suppression report | Politics US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event at University of New Hampshire September 28, 2016 in Durham, New Hampshire. (Photo by AFP)
Former US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders has denounced Republican nominee Donald Trump as a “political coward” over a voter suppression report.
Sanders condemned Trump after a report that the Republican's presidential campaign has three "voter suppression" drives intended to lower turnout for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, and to help Trump winning the White House.
"Anybody who is suppressing the vote because they know that those people will vote against them is a political coward," the Vermont senator tweeted.
“If you don’t have the guts to run for office on your ideas @ realDonaldTrump , then you shouldn’t run for office at all,” he said in another tweet.
A senior adviser to Trump acknowledged in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that the Republican team has "three major voter suppression operations underway."
Sanders – a former primary rival of Clinton – suspended his campaign in July and endorsed the former secretary of state, despite leaked emails that showed top officials at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) privately planned to undermine Sanders’s presidential campaign.
Sanders had earlier said that he would not endorse Clinton for president until they meet and he could measure her commitment to combating wealth inequality, and other issues that powered his presidential campaign.
Sanders’ emphasis on US income inequality and the influence of corporate money on elections and the government helped him attract millions of voters to his campaign. Loading ... | 1real |
Republican senator criticizes Trump tax plan | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a conservative maverick who helped kill the latest Republican effort to overturn Obamacare, took issue with President Donald Trump’s tax plan on Monday, asking in a tweet if it was really Republican. “This is a GOP tax plan? Possibly 30 percent of middle class gets a tax hike? I hope the final details are better than this,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement on Twitter. He cited the results of a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center think tank. Paul’s message could signal difficulties for tax reform in the Senate, where Republicans hold only a 52-48 majority over Democrats and have failed this year to overturn the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. Last week, Republican Senator Bob Corker told reporters he would not vote for tax legislation if it raises the deficit. Trump and top Republicans in Congress say the tax plan they released last week will deliver a big tax cut to middle-class families and to businesses, and simplify the law by doing away with myriad deductions, loopholes and tax breaks. But the Tax Policy Center found that many upper middle-income professionals and business people would see their tax bills go up from the loss of deductions. Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have also acknowledged that some people could see a tax hike. Republican Kevin Brady, chairman of the tax-writing House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, pushed back on the center’s analysis and said Paul was basing his opinion on a report the U.S. representative dismissed as incomplete. “Look, I love Rand Paul. He and I play baseball together as well, and he’s a friend,” Brady said on Monday. “(But) this is not the group you go to ... they have none of the key details that would allow an objective, complete analysis.” Brady, a member of the “Big Six” tax negotiators from Congress and the Trump administration who produced the framework, declined to say whether every American would see a tax cut from the plan. But he added: “I will guarantee we are going to work hard to lower taxes on every American, increase their paychecks and dramatically simplify the code for them.” | 0fake |
Sabotaging Common Core | The president-elect hasn't made clear how he will avoid conflicts between his vast empire and his official duties. | 0fake |
Smog chokes Indian capital as emergency measures fail to bring relief | NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A thick cloud of toxic smog 10 times the recommended limit enveloped India s capital, New Delhi, on Monday, as government officials struggled to tackle a public health crisis that is well into its second week. A U.S. embassy measure showed levels of poisonous airborne particles, known as PM 2.5, had reached 498 on Monday afternoon, compared with the upper limit of good quality air at 50. India s weather office said rain was forecast over the next three days which could help clear the smog. Light rainfall is likely in states surrounding Delhi and in Delhi over the next three days, and this could result in a change in wind pattern in the region, Charan Singh, a scientist at India Meteorological Department, told Reuters. Smog will start to abate starting tomorrow. But Skymet, India s only private weather forecaster, said dense smog would continue over Delhi and the surrounding area for at least the next two days. The Supreme Court is due to hear a petition filed by a New Delhi lawyer to direct government authorities to tackle the intolerable and unbearable air pollution . The Delhi state government declared a public health emergency last week after pollution levels spiked, a yearly phenomenon blamed on a combination of illegal crop burning in northern states, vehicle exhaust and dust. Over the weekend, authorities began using fire trucks to spray water in parts of the capital to keep the dust and other air particles down, but it has had little effect. A senior federal government official said there was little more that could be done. We can only do this much, and now we will have to wait for rains to clean the atmosphere, said Prashant Gargava, an official at the Central Pollution Control Board. Gargava, who is in charge of monitoring air quality, said Delhi s air has been consistently in the hazardous zone, despite measures such as a halt to construction and increasing car parking charges four-fold to encourage people to use public transport. The PM 2.5 airborne particles are about 30 times finer than a human hair. The particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs, causing respiratory diseases and other ailments. Hospitals have seen a surge of patients coming in with respiratory complaints, according to media reports. Every second we are damaging our lungs, but we cannot stop breathing, said Arvind Kumar, the head of the chest and lung surgery department at the Sir Ganga Ram hospital. United Airlines said it had resumed flights from Newark, New Jersey, to New Delhi on Sunday, after suspending the service temporarily over concern about the bad air. Authorities decided to reopen schools on Monday after closing them temporarily for a few days last week, but the decision is likely to add more vehicles on the road. Enforcement agencies said they were unable to impose a blanket ban on the movement of commercial trucks. Primary school teacher Aarti Menon said her family had been wearing face masks, even when indoors. Not everyone can afford an air purifier or air-conditioned car. We are all living in hell, said Menon, a mother of two teenage daughters. The National Green Tribunal, an environment court, has directed the city government and neighboring states to stop farmers from burning crop stubble. But the governments have not been able to do so. New Delhi-based non-government group TARA Homes for Children, which supports 60 poor children, said it was seeking donations to buy at least five air purifiers. Some of the children have breathing issues and couldn t go to school, said a volunteer at the group. | 0fake |
Top US Spy Agency Refuses to Endorse CIA’s ‘Russian Hacking’ Assessment Due to “Lack Of Evidence” | 21st Century Wire says If anyone still thinks this whole Russian hacking plot is not motivated by internal US politics think again Tyler Durden Zero HedgeWhen the WaPo posted last Friday s story about a secret CIA assessment that Russian cyber attacks were aimed at helping Republican President-elect Donald Trump win the 2016 election, the readers of the Bezos-owned publication took it as gospel, despite, as we promptly noted, there being no evidence provided by the CIA, and as we learned today, the FBI openly resisting the CIA s assessment. It now appears that once again the WaPo may have been engaging in partial fake news , as it did with its Nov. 24 story about Russian propaganda fake media. According to Reuters, the so-called overseers of the U.S. intelligence community as it supervises the 17 agency-strong U.S. intelligence community, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), while not disputing the CIA s analysis of Russian hacking operations something which would be unprecedented for the US spy industry and would telegraph just how partisan and broken the country s intelligence apparatus has become has refused to endorse the CIA s assessment because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Moscow intended to boost Trump over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.As Reuters conveniently notes, the ODNI position could give Trump fresh ammunition to dispute the CIA assessment, which he rejected as ridiculous in weekend remarks, and press his assertion that no evidence implicates Russia in the cyber attacks. The ODNI s position confirms that Trump was once again, you guessed it, right. ODNI is not arguing that the agency (CIA) is wrong, only that they can t prove intent, said one of the three U.S. officials Continue this story at Zero HedgeREAD MORE RUSSIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Russia Files | 1real |
Experts: Britain’s National Security at Stake Infiltrated by EU | Home | World | Experts: Britain’s National Security at Stake Infiltrated by EU Experts: Britain’s National Security at Stake Infiltrated by EU By Guy Fawkes 05/11/2016 11:17:32
Corruptio optimi pessima est
LONDON – England – The High Court decision to quash Brexit is proof that there are clandestine operatives within the system who only hold allegiance to Brussels and not to the United Kingdom.
Only a purge of the political, judicial, and defence sectors can save Britain from the mass infiltration of EU operatives working within the British governmental institutions.
These people have been identified during the EU referendum and must be purged from the system otherwise these treasonous operatives of the EU could cause further harm to the British constitution and Britain’s national security.
We have seen the damage already committed within the judicial system when EU operative judges were allowed to preside over the Brexit ruling and attempted to thwart the vote of the electorate on the EU referendum.
The blatantly biased decision by these EU judges, one of which is Lord Carnwath, 71, who was one of four co-founders of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment and served as the forum’s secretary general from 2004-05. The body exists to “promote the enforcement of national, European and international environmental law”.
L ord Reed, began his career as an advisor to the Scottish education department, served as a judge in the European Court of Human Rights, who also acted as an expert adviser to the European Union Initiative with Turkey on Democratisation and Human Rights between 2002 and 2004, and the following year he became chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee.
The other EU judge is Lord Kerr, 68, who also sat as a judge in the European Court of Human Rights, ruling on a case in 2001 involving aircraft noise from Heathrow.
Additionally we have L ord Mance, 73, who began his career working for a law firm in Hamburg, before qualifying as a barrister in 1965. His time in Germany gave him a taste for international legal affairs, and he has represented the UK on the Council of Europe’s Consultative Council of European Judges, which was set up in 2000 to advise the Council of Europe on the “independence, impartiality and competence” of judges. He has also served as a member of a seven-person EU panel that helps select judges and advocates-general of the European Court of Justice and General Court.
These elements within the panel were clearly not impartial in their decision purely on their heavily entrenched links with the EU.
Impartiality within law regarding key national security decisions like Brexit should be paramount to the judicial system within Britain therefore in justice terms, their decision to thwart Brexit, and the EU referendum result, voted for by 52% of the electorate, is wholly unjust and biased, bordering on corruption at the highest levels.
The question of corruption should be implemented with a full public inquiry into how these judges were selected and how they were allowed to come to their obviously biased non impartial decision. We must as a democracy look into any form of clandestine payments given to the judges prior to their decision, and if any discrepancy is found it must be put right.
Britain’s national sovereignty is at stake, and treachery, corruption at the highest judicial levels must be eradicated to conserve our constitution. To purge the institutions of EU collaborators and clandestine operatives should be of paramount import in order to solidify Britain’s national security and overall sovereign status. Share on : | 1real |
Senate clears way for $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate cleared the way for a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, defending a frequent partner in the Middle East recently subject to harsh criticism in Congress. The Senate voted 71 to 27 to kill legislation that would have stopped the sale. The overwhelming vote stopped an effort led by Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy to block the deal over concerns including Saudi Arabia’s role in the 18-month-long war in Yemen and worries that it might fuel an ongoing regional arms race. The Pentagon announced on Aug. 9 that the State Department had approved the potential sale of more than 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armored recovery vehicles and other equipment to Saudi Arabia. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said General Dynamics Corp would be the principal contractor for the sale. Paul, Murphy and other opponents of the arms deal were sharply critical of the Riyadh government during debate before the vote, citing Yemen, the kingdom’s human rights record and its international support for a conservative form of Islam. “If you’re serious about stopping the flow of extremist recruiting across this globe, then you have to be serious that the ... brand of Islam that is spread by Saudi Arabia all over the world, is part of the problem,” Murphy said. The criticism came days before lawmakers are expected to back another measure seen as anti-Saudi, a bill that would allow lawsuits against the country’s government by relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. President Barack Obama has promised to veto that bill, but congressional leaders say there is a strong chance that lawmakers will override the veto and let the measure become law. Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. In Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Iranian-allied Houthis, the Houthis have accused the United States of arming and supporting the Saudis, who intervened on the side of Yemen’s exiled government. The war has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than 3 million. But backers of the deal said Saudi Arabia is an important U.S. ally in a war-torn region, deserving of U.S. support. “This motion comes at a singularly unfortunate time and would serve to convince Saudi Arabia and all other observers that the United States does not live up to its commitments,” Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. | 0fake |
Trump’s Proposed Student Loan Program Makes Him Look More Liberal Than Obama; Republicans Fuming | Share on Facebook
Republicans in Congress and perhaps across the nation are suffering today from a case of buyers remorse after Trump begins back peddling on several of his campaign promises, before he even takes office.
Over the last few days, he backed off on his claim that he’ll repeal Obamacare by saying he’d just tweak it. He’s seemed to have changed his mind on prosecuting Hillary Clinton and he’s no longer talking about banning Muslims. While “drain the swamp,” which referred to Washington’s culture of corruption, was one of his later campaign slogans, he’s filling his cabinet posts with Washington insiders and corporate lobbyists. He’s even appearing to change his mind about his signature issue, the wall between the United States and Mexico .
One piece of Trump’s campaign rhetoric was actually something that would make people’s lives better and it’s something that Republicans are going to hate. His proposal for student loans is radical, in that it’s not a gift to Wall Street and it’s even more liberal than anything President Obama has proposed. In a rally just a month ago, Trump said about student loans:
“We would cap repayment for an affordable portion of the borrower’s income, 12.5 percent, we’d cap it. That gives you a lot to play with and a lot to do,” Trump said at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday. “And if borrowers work hard and make their full payments for 15 years, we’ll let them get on with their lives. They just go ahead and they get on with their lives.”
“Students should not be asked to pay more on the debt than they can afford,” Trump said. “And the debt should not be an albatross around their necks for the rest of their lives.”
Source: Washington Post
Trump’s proposed debt forgiveness program is actually pretty similar to Obama’s . Instead of a 12.5 percent cap, Obama introduced a cap of 10 percent of a graduate’s income. Trump’s program, though, would leave graduates with five fewer years of debt. Trump’s would forgive debt after 15 years while Obama’s would forgive after 10. In that one significant way, Trump’s program is even more liberal than Obama’s and if he carries it out, Congressional Republicans may have no choice but to turn on their party’s President.
The American Enterprise Institute is a Washington think tank who issues a lot of the marching orders of Republicans. They were the driving force behind the Iraq war and of failed trickle down economics. This is what they have to say about student loan debt forgiveness:
“They are way off on their numbers,” said Jason Delisle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. “If you were going to give loan forgiveness in 15 years, you’re going to forgive a lot more debt than you’re going to make up for in the form of the higher payments they’re proposing, by a lot. I don’t even need to run the numbers. It’s so obvious.”
Really, it’s not obvious. Forgiving student debt would be a big boost to the economy because it would 1.) incentivize people to become more educated and 2.) put more money back into the economy because graduates would be free to buy more. Not that Republicans care about that, though. They prefer that graduates owe their lives to Wall Street banks and in turning his back on that, Trump is violating literally everything his party stands for. | 1real |
Iran bans U.S. wrestlers in retaliation to Trump's visa ban - TV | (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it had barred a U.S. wrestling team from the Freestyle World Cup competition in retaliation for an executive order by President Donald Trump banning visas for Iranians, state television reported. The Freestyle World Cup, one of the sport’s most prestigious events, is scheduled for Feb. 16-17 and USA Wrestling had previously said it would send a team to the competition in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah. Tehran has already announced it will stop U.S. citizens entering the country following Washington’s decision to ban refugees and citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries including Iran. “A special committee in Tehran reviewed their cases and decided to oppose the visit by the U.S. freestyle wrestling team,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by state television as saying. “The visa policy of the new American administration gave us no other option but to ban the wrestlers.” USA Wrestling said that neither they nor United World Wrestling have been officially notified that these reports are accurate. “We have no official documentation that the USA Wrestling team will be denied the opportunity to participate at the Freestyle World Cup,” USA Wrestling said in a statement. “The Freestyle World Cup is the annual World dual meet championship, one of the most important events that United World Wrestling hosts each year. “If these reports are true, USA Wrestling is extremely disappointed about this, which we believe would be an unacceptable situation. Wrestling is about competition and goodwill through sport, and is no place for politics.” USA Wrestling said on Monday the United States would send a team to Iran, where U.S. freestyle wrestlers have participated in competitions since 1998. Nenad Lalovic, president of United World Wrestling, the sport’s international federation, said it was working towards a solution. “Though we had hoped for a different outcome from Iran’s Foreign Ministry, we appreciate the complex nature of this decision. We are currently working to find a solution for the Freestyle World Cup as soon as possible,” he said in a statement. “Despite the travel restrictions between their countries I’ve been encouraged this week by the cooperation and friendship of the Iranian Wrestling Federation and USA Wrestling. “As we’ve seen over the years, wrestling is a sport that unites people and nations. United World Wrestling hosts a full calendar of events every season and we’re certain to see American and Iranian wrestlers on the same mat again in the very near future.” Trump has adopted an aggressive stance towards Tehran since Iran’s ballistic missile test-launch, saying it was now “on notice”. The new U.S. administration is expected to impose fresh sanctions on multiple Iranian entities. | 0fake |
Uruguay vice president quits amid probe into use of public funds | MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay s Vice President Raul Sendic presented his resignation on Saturday amid accusations that he misused public funds while heading state oil company Ancap. He first made the announcement at a special meeting of the Frente Amplio (FA) governing party. I presented to the plenary of the FA my irreversible resignation from the vice presidency. I also told President Tabare Vazquez, he wrote in a tweet. The party s ethics committee has ruled that Sendic used his Ancap credit cards to buy personal items including books and furniture. He headed the oil company from 2008 to 2009 and 2010 to 2013. No criminal charges have been filed against Sendic. | 0fake |
“THANK YOU BABY”…YES, FEMINISTS WILL GO NUTS: President Trump Uses Endearment To Refer to Kellyanne Conway In Thank You Speech [Video] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LNyx_DWzzA | 1real |
ABC Producing Comedy Involving Illegal Alien Family…That’s Funny? | ABC just announced that it s developing a comedy series about an illegal alien family. This is an attempt to normalize criminal illegal behavior, Yes, you broke the law when you crossed our border! There s nothing funny about that!The sitcom, tentatively titled Sanctuary Family, centers on a husband and wife who constantly clash over the chaos created when they provide sanctuary for their undocumented nanny and her family, Deadline reports. The two families slowly come to learn that their similarities far outweigh their differences.The ABC comedy joins a growing number of network and cable projects that take on the hot-button political issue of immigration and illegal aliens in America.CBS IS GETTING INTO THE ILLEGAL GAME TOO:Two undocumented immigrant-focused dramas are in the works at CBS and The CW from Golden Globe Award-winning actress and activist Gina Rodriguez (PICTURED BELOW)The CBS project, Have Mercy, follows a Latina doctor who, after being unable to practice when she immigrates to Miami, begins running a makeshift clinic in her apartment to serve the community. The CW series, titled Illegal, is a lighthearted hourlong undocumented family sitcom centered on a 16-year-old boy struggling to come to grips with his and his family s undocumented status.READ MORE: BREITBART NEWS | 1real |
Donald Trump, Delta Air Lines, Michael Phelps: Your Monday Evening Briefing - The New York Times | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Donald Trump offered details of his economic policies in a speech in Detroit. He promised to ease or freeze regulation, limit business income tax to 15 percent, and tear up the Paris climate agreement. He also said he would renegotiate trade agreements, end the estate tax, create jobs and exempt expenses from taxes. Protesters interrupted sporadically. Watch excerpts here. On the same day, 50 senior Republican national security officials issued a warning that Mr. Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history. ” _____ 2. Hillary Clinton’s campaign criticized Mr. Trump’s economic plans on Twitter: “1. Lower wages 2. Fewer jobs 3. More debt 4. Tax breaks for the 0. 1%. ” She will lay out more of her economic ideas in Detroit on Thursday. Mrs. Clinton is starting the week in Florida, where her campaign is opening more than a dozen offices in hopes of cementing her lead and denying Mr. Trump a state crucial to his own strategy. _____ 3. At the Olympics, the enthusiasm of Brazilian fans has been straining the boundaries of sportsmanship. Still, world records continue to fall. And there was a quieter groundbreaking moment. A fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad of New Jersey, was the first U. S. Olympian to compete at a Games in a hijab. And a new athletic fad emerged: Michael Phelps and other swimmers are mottled with circular purple bruises because they are undergoing “cupping,” a technique used in Chinese medicine. It’s reputed, but not scientifically proven, to increase circulation. Our full coverage is here, and you can stream the Games here. _____ 4. Delta Air Lines canceled about 450 flights after the failure of a piece of electrical equipment at one of its Atlanta facilities caused its computer systems to crash worldwide. Aside from the toll on passengers, the airline is grappling with refunds, emergency accommodations and other expenses as yet untallied. Below, handwritten boarding passes. Southwest Airlines estimated its costs from a similar problem a few weeks ago at “tens of millions of dollars. ” _____ 5. Emperor Akihito of Japan raised the possibility of stepping down, a challenge to the cult of emperor worship created in the 19th century. At 82 and with a history of health problems, Akihito effectively urged the country to return to the temporal and temporary leadership of past centuries. _____ 6. Scores of people were killed and many others were seriously wounded in the latest burst of violence in the restive Pakistani city of Quetta. In an attack claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, a suicide bomber struck a hospital where dozens of lawyers had gathered to condemn the fatal shooting of a prominent colleague. _____ 7. Scientists are getting worried about how climate change is drying out peat bogs, making them more vulnerable to fire. Such bogs make up only about 3 percent of the earth’s land surface — mostly in northern Canada, Alaska, northern Europe and Russia. But, surprisingly, they contain more carbon than all the world’s trees and plants. _____ 8. Mexico has counted more than three dozen deaths and is still digging out from landslides after rains from Tropical Storm Earl. One town was hit with a month’s worth of rain over 24 hours. And another big storm is heading toward Baja California and Mexico’s Pacific Coast. _____ 9. One of our most popular stories today looks at the troubling frequency with which corporate consultants double as scholars with think tanks that shape government policy across the political spectrum. For instance, Carol Browner, above, a former top environmental adviser to President Obama, was a paid consultant to the nuclear power industry while she held an unpaid position as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. _____ 10. Finally, a wedding in Pennsylvania included a very special guest. The father of Jeni Stepien, the bride, was killed in a robbery 10 years earlier, so she invited the man who received his heart to walk her down the aisle. When the recipient, Arthur Thomas, arrived from New Jersey, he held out his wrist. “I thought that would be the best way for her to feel close to her dad,” he said. “That’s her father’s heart beating. ” _____ 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 the Weekend Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Christie Laughed When Told of 2013 Bridge Plot, Former Ally Testifies - The New York Times | NEWARK — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was told about the George Washington Bridge lane closings — and that they were done to punish a mayor who had declined to endorse him for — during a Sept. 11 memorial service two days after they began, a former ally who orchestrated the scheme testified in federal court here on Tuesday. Mr. Christie, the witness recalled, laughed at the news. The closings of the access lanes in September 2013 continued for two more days, creating a catastrophic traffic jam that created gridlock for emergency vehicles, school buses and commuters in Fort Lee, N. J. But Mr. Christie made no effort to reopen the lanes and end the gridlock. Instead, his former ally said, the governor was clearly delighted and seemed to savor the scheme. And after learning that the Fort Lee mayor’s persistent and urgent calls for help were being ignored, Mr. Christie said in a sarcastic tone, “I imagine he wouldn’t get his calls returned. ” The former ally, David Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to being the culprit behind the lane closings, testified as prosecutors showed a series of photographs of him, Mr. Christie and Bill Baroni, then the governor’s top staff appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, at a service in Lower Manhattan on the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The photos showed the three men in a loose huddle outside the governor’s official vehicle on a dirt roadway between the Sept. 11 memorial and the World Trade Center construction site. Mr. Christie, who has previously said he did not recall the conversation, appears engaged and animated, looking directly into Mr. Baroni’s eyes, raising his eyebrows and laughing in some of the frames and reaching out to touch the other men’s arms. “We were all very relaxed,” Mr. Wildstein testified. “Were you and Mr. Baroni bragging?” asked Lee Cortes, an assistant United States attorney. “Very much so,” Mr. Wildstein said. “This was our one constituent. I was pleasing my one constituent. I was rather happy that he was happy. ” Mr. Wildstein’s testimony narrating the set of photographs was the first detailed accounting of how the governor learned about the closings — which would ultimately become a scandal damaging his presidential ambitions. Mr. Christie is not charged in the case. Prosecutors have declined to explain their decisions on whom to charge, but the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, has said that simply knowing is not a federal crime. He noted that when Ms. Kelly and Mr. Baroni were charged that there were unindicted but said his office had brought only charges it believed it could prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr. Baroni began, Mr. Wildstein testified on Tuesday, by telling Mr. Christie in a sardonic tone that there was a “tremendous amount of traffic” in Fort Lee and told Mr. Christie, a Republican, he would be “very pleased to know” that the mayor, a Democrat, was “very frustrated,” Mr. Wildstein testified. Mr. Christie joked about Mr. Wildstein’s role, he testified, using the name Mr. Wildstein had used in his past life as an anonymous political blogger, Wally Edge. “Mr. Baroni said to Governor Christie that I was monitoring the traffic, I was watching over everything,” he recalled. “Governor Christie said in the sarcastic tone of the conversation, ‘Well, I’m sure Mr. Edge would not be involved in anything that’s political. ’” Mr. Wildstein testified that Mr. Christie had not known about the lane closings before they happened. But the governor did know that the mayor, Mark Sokolich, had fallen out of favor with the Christie team for refusing to endorse him despite nearly three years of wooing with gifts and favors from the administration. And Mr. Christie did not signal disapproval. “From this conversation, were you concerned about continuing the lane reduction?” the prosecutor, Mr. Cortes asked. “No, not at all,” Mr. Wildstein said. Beginning with a marathon news conference in January 2014 after the lane closing scheme had become public, Mr. Christie has insisted that he had nothing to do with planning or executing the shutdown of two of the three access lanes from Fort Lee to the bridge, the world’s busiest. At an event in Trenton on Tuesday, he denied Mr. Wildstein’s allegations that he knew about the closings as they were happening. “All kinds of stuff is going on up in a courtroom in Newark,” Mr. Christie said. “I want to be really clear: I have not and will not say anything different than I’ve been saying since January 2014. No matter what is said up there, I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments. ” But here, where Mr. Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, are on trial in United States District Court on charges including fraud and conspiracy, prosecutors and defense lawyers alike have said Mr. Christie understood what was going on while the lanes were closed. Mr. Wildstein testified that he and Mr. Baroni had looked forward to telling the governor, seeing it as “a curtain call. ” Ms. Kelly, he said, had told him, “The governor is going to love this. ” “I remember the quote,” Mr. Wildstein added. “‘The governor is going to love this. ’” Mr. Wildstein also named other members of Mr. Christie’s inner circle who he said had known well before it became public that the lane closings had been intended as retaliation against the mayor. Among them was a confidant of the governor’s, David Samson, then the chairman of the Port Authority. He came later to the conversation at the Sept. 11 memorial, according to the testimony and photographs presented in court. As he did, Mr. Samson told Mr. Christie that another Democratic mayor, Steven Fulop of Jersey City, was pressing him to meet to discuss Port Authority business, Mr. Wildstein recalled. But the Christie administration was mad at Mayor Fulop as well, for not endorsing the governor. The governor, Mr. Wildstein said, had previously ordered his administration to cancel a day’s worth of meetings intended to help introduce the mayor to administration officials who could help him. “Governor Christie said no, no meetings with Mayor Fulop,” Mr. Wildstein testified. “He’s not getting any responses from the administration, just like Mayor Sokolich wasn’t. ” Two days later, Mr. Wildstein testified, Mr. Samson reassured Mr. Baroni that he would help “retaliate” against a New York official who had ordered the lanes reopened. Two months later, when Mr. Christie had won but reporters were continuing to pose questions about the lane closings, Mr. Wildstein met with Michael DuHaime, the governor’s political strategist. Mr. Wildstein testified that he told Mr. DuHaime that he had directed the scheme, and that Mr. Baroni was involved, along with Ms. Kelly and Bill Stepien, the governor’s campaign manager. He also told Mr. DuHaime that he had told Mr. Christie about it on Sept. 11. “I told him that we had discussed it with Governor Christie and that Governor Christie seemed to be enjoying it,” Mr. Wildstein testified. “Mr. DuHaime was upset with me,” he added. “He thought this had been a very bad idea. ” He recalled Mr. DuHaime’s saying, “I wish you had spoken with me I would have told you not to do it. ” Mr. Wildstein said he told Mr. DuHaime that he was willing to resign “so the story might go away” and others would not get in trouble. “Mr. DuHaime did not think the story would reach that level,” Mr. Wildstein testified. “He did not think the story would go as bad as it did. ” | 0fake |
Venezuela's Maduro strips rival of U.N. post amid corruption purge: sources | CARACAS/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela has ordered the removal of Rafael Ramirez, once a powerful oil minister and head of state oil company PDVSA, from his post as representative to the United Nations in New York, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Though the decision will not affect the OPEC nation s struggling oil industry, it may help President Nicolas Maduro shore up his position in crisis-stricken Venezuela as the country heads toward presidential elections in 2018. Ramirez, an increasingly vocal critic of Maduro in recent months, was seen by some as angling to be a presidential candidate as Maduro s unpopular government and an economic crisis have fueled divisions with the ruling Socialist Party. He was fired last night, said a source with knowledge of the information, who asked not to be identified. Maduro sent Ramirez to the U.N. in 2014 in a major demotion from his decade-long roles as oil minister and head of PDVSA. Venezuela s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United Nations has not received formal notification of Ramirez s removal, a U.N. spokesman said. Vice President Tareck El Aissami said on Wednesday that he hoped that Maduro will be re-elected in 2018, the clearest indication yet that the former bus driver will seek another term despite the economic crisis. A separate source said that Ramirez had been summoned to present himself in Venezuela in coming days. That source said Ramirez had not been formally removed and that he was working at the United Nations on Wednesday. However, he was not present when his turn to speak at a meeting on the rights of the Palestinian people came up, according to diplomatic sources at the meeting. Two sources said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza traveled to New York this week. Another source said Ramirez tried to fight back and negotiate but was unable to. Ramirez has published several online opinion pieces this year criticizing the management of PDVSA for allowing oil production to plummet and admonishing the government for not taking measures to improve Venezuela s tanking economy. In one piece this month entitled the The Storm, he described his efforts in 2014 to help stabilize the economy, which Maduro s allies perceived as an attack on the president, according to one source. The article played up his close relationship with late President Hugo Chavez, who tasked Ramirez with leading oil sector nationalizations that began in 2007. Chavez s deity-like status in the Socialist Party makes any relationship with him a commodity that officials often use when vying for influence or jockeying for position. Maduro, who calls himself the son of Chavez, this week named a military officer to head PDVSA and promised to break up mafias that have stolen from the nation s coffers. Some of his comments in a speech on Tuesday appeared aimed at Ramirez tenure. We ve witnessed the rise of mafias that controlled important areas of our oil industry, Maduro said in the speech during the swearing in of Major General Manuel Quevedo. They didn t just steal from the country ... they believed themselves to be the owners of the oil industry. Venezuelan authorities last week arrested the acting president of its U.S.-based refiner Citgo and five of the subsidiary s top executives as part of the corruption probe. Since August the authorities have ordered the arrest of around 50 oil industry managers as part of the anti-corruption sweep. | 0fake |
NYPD SLAPS Trump Down Cold For Trying To Politicize Them Following Dallas Shooting | There is nothing that Donald Trump, our resident Narcissist-in-Chief, loves more than promoting himself following a tragedy. To that end, he contacted the NYPD to address a roll call following the shootings in Dallas, presumably to get pictures that show just how much he supports our law enforcement officers, and garner more support and donations to send back to his own businesses. NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton, though, said they slapped him down hard for that: We don t allow the department to be politicized, and inasmuch as he is engaged in a political campaign, that would be a politicizing of the department. But he s Donald Trump! The real-estate magnate! He s the bestest, strongest, most leader-y candidate we ve got. A photo-op isn t politicizing, it s publicly showing support. He probably would want them to throw a ticker-tape parade for him afterward, too, to properly display their gratitude for his amazing, ongoing support.To be sure, Bratton would have turned Hillary Clinton down, too, if she d asked for the same thing. She did call the NYPD to speak to them following Dallas. Unlike King Donnie, however, she just wanted to speak with them she didn t also want to grandstand with them as her personal props.Bratton also spoke to the press on Friday about the Trumpeter-in-Chief s request: Our interest is staying out of the politics of the moment, and not to provide photo ops, he told reporters. If Mr. Trump wants to speak to me, I would be happy to brief him on what we re doing. If Sen. Clinton wants to speak to me, I would very happy to brief her on what we re doing. But we are not in the business of providing photo ops for our candidates. Of course, King Dunce s campaign is denying that they ever sent the request, probably to cover for the horrible embarrassment of being rejected. You just don t reject King Dunce for anything if you want to be treated fairly after he becomes President Dunce.Photo of Bill Bratton by Kena Betancur/Getty Images. Photo of Donald Trump by Drew Angerer/Getty Images. Images cropped and merged by Rika Christensen | 1real |
Your Local 1-Percenters May Not Be as Rich as You Think - The New York Times | At the Democratic National Convention this summer, Hillary Clinton said were due for a tax increase. “This is not because we resent success,” she said. “But when more than 90 percent of the gains have gone to the top 1 percent, that’s where the money is. ” But defining America’s 1 percent — and finding out “where the money is” — has become an increasingly subjective endeavor. As wealth becomes more concentrated in certain states and even counties, the gap between the national 1 percent and the local 1 percent is growing, creating wealth clusters that are pulling away from the rest of the country. To be in the top 1 percent of incomes nationally, families need to take in a minimum of $389, 436. The average income of America’s is $1, 153, 293, according to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute. Yet when incomes are measured state by state, the study shows wildly diverging fortunes for . in the New York metro area (which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania) earn at least $673, 000. Those in the Conn. area make at least $1. 4 million. Both are eclipsed by the of Jackson, Wyo. who earn at least $1. 7 million. Why Jackson? Billionaires have been flocking to Wyoming, attracted by its outdoor lifestyle and low taxes. Teton County, Wyo. is the richest in America when it comes to 1 percent incomes, with earning more than $2. 2 million. New York County, or Manhattan, ranks second, with a $1. 44 million threshold, followed by Fairfield County, Conn. with just under $1. 4 million. The tech boom has helped the 1 percent in San Mateo County and Marin County, Calif. where they earn at least $1. 1 million. By contrast, you need only $97, 000 to be a in Holmes County, Miss. or Lamar County, Ala. or $108, 000 in Grayson County, Va. “All high incomes are going up, but they’re going up much faster in places like New York, Maryland and California,” said Mark Price, a labor economist at the Keystone Research Center and of the Economic Policy Institute study. It’s no surprise that the most expensive states have the highest incomes at the top. And wealth, by nature, has always been relative. Yet economists and wealth experts say the economic distance between in rich states and the in middling or even affluent states has widened drastically, creating a new national landscape of the 1 percent. “We have a growing concentration of wealth and income by locality,” said Edward N. Wolff, an economics professor at New York University. “The localities and those top earners are moving away from the rest of the country. ” Regionally, the Northeast has been pulling away the fastest. The income threshold of the top 1 percent surged 101 percent in the Northeast from 1979 to 2013, according to Mr. Price. In the South and Midwest, the threshold has grown by about half that. In Massachusetts, ’ incomes jumped 130 percent from 1979 to 2013 they’ve increased by 112 percent in New York and 113 percent in New Jersey. In New Mexico, they’ve grown only 22 percent over the same period, and in Nevada, only 15 percent. Yet the rich are also moving beyond the traditional hubs of the Northeast and California, creating some unlikely enclaves, such as Wyoming. North Dakota also moved up the ranks — from 45th to ninth from 1979 to 2013 — as the oil boom lifted the fortunes of its fortunate. The new peaks and valleys of America’s elite have made national definitions less and less useful. The 1 percent is no longer the very top layer of the national economy, but a much deeper slice of residents in states like New York, Connecticut and California. The shift has important policy and cultural implications. Calls to tax the 1 percent nationally are really calls to tax the top 5 or 10 percent in the richest states — while missing the top 1 percent in many Western and Southern states. “A tax on the 1 percent is increasingly a regional tax,” Mr. Price said. “On average, more folks will be touched by higher rates in New York than, say, West Virginia. ” Many economists say that’s as it should be — people making more than $389, 000 should pay higher tax rates, regardless of where they live. “They should pay more,” Mr. Wolff of N. Y. U. said. “It shouldn’t matter where they live. They’re earning large amounts of money. ” Yet they may not feel like top earners. People making $389, 000 in New York or Connecticut, for instance, are only in the top 10 percent for their states. They may not feel like since so many people around them are far richer. “I have friends who may be in the 1 percent nationally but say they don’t feel rich because they have friends who are richer,” Mr. Wolff said. “Psychologically they don’t feel like a . They don’t feel rich. But they really are. ” | 0fake |
5 Things You Need to Know About 'Sanctuary Cities' | Daily Wire | 5 Things You Need to Know About 'Sanctuary Cities' By: Aaron Bandler November 16, 2016
With Donald Trump elected to the presidency, one of the policies that will likely come under fire is sanctuary cities, cities with policies that make them safe havens for illegal aliens. The issue became front-and-center during the early portion of the Republican primary when Trump decried the murder of Kate Steinle by an illegal alien in San Francisco, a sanctuary city.
In response to the election of Trump, leftist city leaders are digging in, officials in Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston signaling that they will not cooperate with the federal government's deportation efforts. Here are five things you need to know about sanctuary cities.
1. Sanctuary cities are a blatant violation of federal law. Some on the left have tried to claim that they're perfectly legal, but this is clearly false. As James Walsh , former associate general counsel of Immigration and Naturalization Services, explains, 8 USC section 1324 "deals with those persons who knowingly conceal, harbor, or shield undocumented aliens and could apply to officials in sanctuary cities and states."
The fact that leftists are digging their heels in on sanctuary cities means they're supporting a form of nullification, an irony not missed by Victor Davis Hanson :
Much of the rural West opposes the Endangered Species Act. Can Wyoming declare that federally protected rats and bugs are not protected inside its state borders, when such pests obstruct construction of dams or highways? Many conservatives oppose federal restrictions on gun sales. Could Oklahoma City declare hand-gun purchases within its city-limits free of federal firearms statutes? Perhaps Little Rock could ignore a Supreme Court ruling and announce that gay marriage is not legal within its jurisdiction. On what rationale would liberals in California object to such nullifications -- that neither state nor city had the right to ignore a federal law or to obstruct the law enforcement duties of federal officials?
Trump and the GOP can fight against sanctuary cities by cutting off federal funding and sending in federal agents to mandate the cities to follow the law.
2. Sanctuary cities undermine law enforcement. Not only do they refuse to cooperate with federal agents in deporting illegals, sanctuary cities make it more difficult for police officers to do their job. Some police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) expressed their frustration with the city's sanctuary city policy to Heather Mac Donald in 2004:
“We can’t even talk about it,” says a frustrated LAPD captain. “People are afraid of a backlash from Hispanics.” Another LAPD commander in a predominantly Hispanic, gang-infested district sighs: “I would get a firestorm of criticism if I talked about [enforcing the immigration law against illegals].”
In that 2004 piece, Mac Donald documents how members of the LAPD were able to recognize known gang members, but couldn't do anything to apprehend them until they had committed a crime – despite the fact that they were illegals who repeatedly snuck back into the country. This is the case with other sanctuary cities as well.
3. Sanctuary cities are "akin to roulette." "The odds suggest that most illegal aliens detained by officials are not career felons and thus supposedly need not be turned over to ICE for deportation," writes Hanson. "On the chance that some of their 10,000 released criminals will go on to commit further crimes in the manner of Juan Lopez-Sanchez, officials then shrug that the public outcry will be episodic and quickly die down, or will at least not pose political problems as great as would come from deporting aliens."
But the odds don't suggest this. Hanson notes that according to Mac Donald, "Two-thirds of all outstanding felony warrants in the city of Los Angeles involved illegal aliens -- as well as 95% of outstanding murder warrants."
Additionally, Jessica Vaughn of the Center for Immigration Studies found that in a nine-month timeframe in 2014, sanctuary cities shielded 9,265 illegals from deportation, 62 percent of which "had significant prior criminal histories" and 2,320 of them were subsequently rearrested for new crimes, according to Daniel Horowitz at Conservative Review.
"There is no telling how many have committed crimes and were never caught," writes Horowitz. "This is just a nine-month snapshot of the devastation from sanctuary policies. As of last year, 69% of them were still at large. So much for not being a flight risk."
According to Vaughn , from January 2014 to September 30, 2015, sanctuary cities rebuked over 17,000 detainers, 68 percent of which involved "individuals with a prior criminal history."
Based on these statistics, it would seem that the odds are against the cities' residents who could be harmed by criminal aliens, which makes it no surprise that...
4. Crime has surged in sanctuary cities. The Daily Wire 's Hank Berrien reported on the following from Louisiana attorney general Jeff Landry:
According to Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, crime has risen in "sanctuary cities" across the nation.
Landry told the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, that sanctuary city policies "allow illegals to commit crimes, then roam free in our communities." Landry’s appearance was prompted by the changed status of New Orleans, where city police are now banned from asking an individual's immigration status.
Using recent statistics from Los Angeles, another sanctuary city, Landry asserted, “Los Angeles saw all crime rise in 2015: violent crime up 19.9 percent, homicides up 10.2 percent, shooting victims up 12.6 percent, rapes up 8.6 percent, robberies up 12.3 percent, and aggravated assault up 27.5 percent … (sanctuary cities) encourage further illegal immigration and promote an underground economy that sabotages the tax base."
This would make sense given the aforementioned statistics and the fact that there is a clear link between illegal immigration and crime .
5. There are an estimated 300 sanctuary cities, counties, and states, according to Vaughn. The full map on such jurisdictions can be seen here . Do you live in a sanctuary city? | 1real |
U.S. lawmaker probed on sex reports, second congressman denies charges | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee said on Friday it had begun an investigation into public reports that Democrat Ruben Kihuen engaged in sexual harassment, and a second lawmaker denied a former aide’s allegations of sexual misconduct. The ethics panel said that announcing the probe was not a sign the committee already had determined the Nevada representative violated any rules. “As I’ve said previously, I intend to fully cooperate, and I welcome an opportunity to clear my name,” said Kihuen in a statement provided to Reuters. The news website Buzzfeed has reported that Kihuen, currently finishing his first year in Congress, harassed a staff member on his 2016 political campaign, and on Thursday there were multiple reports of an anonymous lobbyist’s description of his unwanted advances. Reuters has not independently confirmed the reports. Lawmakers from both U.S. political parties have recently been ensnared in allegations of sexual misconduct, prompting the committee to launch a probe this month of all House members and their staffs. On Friday a second Democratic congressman, Bobby Scott of Virginia, was accused by former legislative aide Macherie Reese Everton of touching her leg and back without permission in 2013 and offering to advance her career in exchange for sex and said she was wrongfully dismissed from her job. Scott, who has served 25 years in Congress, rejected Everton’s charges and said he had never sexually harassed anyone. “I absolutely deny this allegation of misconduct,” he said in a statement. “I am confident that this false allegation will be seen for what it is when the facts are adequately reviewed.” Reuters has not independently verified the claims. This week Republican Representative Blake Farenthold said he would not seek re-election after accounts surfaced that he created a hostile work environment. In a Facebook post, Farenthold denied allegations of sexual harassment by former staff members but admitted he allowed an unprofessional culture to flourish in his Capitol Hill office. Members of Congress are working on legislation to update the body’s rules on sexual harassment. Representative Carolyn Maloney said she will introduce a bill on Friday that says companies cannot block sexual harassment victims from publicly disclosing the details of their allegations, which often are included in settlement agreements. Allegations of misconduct in recent weeks have also been made against movie-makers, television interviewers and other men in the private sector. | 0fake |
NYT: Dissecting Bannon’s Worldview from ‘The Fourth Turning’ | Jeremy Peters of the New York Times analyzes a generational theory book titled The Fourth Turning, which has played a significant role in shaping the worldview of White House strategist Steve Bannon. [In the book, amateur historians William Strauss and Neil Howe argue that American history can be charted in a cycle of four stages — growth, maturation, entropy, and destruction — with the concluding crisis period emerging every 80 years. According to this theory, the last crisis was nearly 80 years ago with World War II and hence, the next crisis will soon be upon us. Peters provides excerpts from the book and then suggests what they might mean for our current political climate. From the New York Times: The ‘Deconstruction of the Administrative State,’ and Much More, Is Inevitable, “The Fourth Turning will trigger a political upheaval beyond anything Americans could today imagine. New civic authority will have to take root, quickly and firmly — which won’t be easy if the discredited rules and rituals of the old regime remain fully in place. We should shed and simplify the federal government in advance of the Crisis by cutting back sharply on its size and scope but without imperiling its core infrastructure. ” The rhythmic, seasonal nature of history that the authors identify foresees an inevitable period of decay and destruction that will tear down existing social and political institutions. Mr. Bannon has famously argued that the overreaching and ineffective federal government — “the administrative state,” as he calls it — needs to be dismantled. And Mr. Trump, he said, has just begun the process. As Mr. Howe said in an interview with The Times: “There has to be a period in which we tear down everything that is no longer functional. And if we don’t do that, it’s hard to ever renew anything. Forests need fires, and rivers need floods. These happen for a reason. ” Read the rest here. | 0fake |
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith: Kaepernick Ending Protest Is ’Incredibly Opportunistic’ - ’He’s Not Fooling Anybody’ - Breitbart | During Thursday’s “First Take” on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith reacted to the report that quarterback Colin Kaepernick is ending his national anthem protest for the 2017 season. Smith said Kaepernick is “not fooling anybody” with his “incredibly opportunistic” decision now that he is no longer employed in the NFL. “Colin Kaepernick is looking at himself and saying, ‘My career might be in jeopardy. I’m looking for a new contract to prolong my NFL career, and this is the stance I need to change.’ It’s incredibly opportunistic, it’s flagrantly so. He’s not fooling anybody this way,” Smith stated. He later added, “[B]ecause of the timing of it all, as it appears to be flagrantly opportunistic, I’m not buying it one bit, and more importantly, I don’t give a damn. ” Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent | 0fake |
LIBERAL HACK KATIE COURIC Says Fake News Is “Tearing [America] Apart”…Doesn’t Mention $12 MILLION Dollar Lawsuit Against Her For Producing Edited Story To Push Gun Control [VIDEO] | Katie Couric is a wolf in sheep s clothing. Dan Rather, Brian Williams and Katie Couric will forever be known as some of the worst liars at CBS and NBC, two of the three major news networks where most Americans used to go to get their news.Katie Couric, who still faces a $12 million defamation lawsuit stemming from a deceptive edit in a film she produced, decried the effect of fake news on America during an interview on Thursday.Couric told the New York Daily News she believes fake news is tearing [America] apart at the seams while discussing her latest effort cohosting a music and politics event in New York City. I remember I got sent a lot of stories from friends who were quite educated and were like, Did you see this?' Couric said. And I would say, Come on, you re kidding, right? This is BS.' She did not mention the controversy surrounding a deceptive edit included in her 2016 film Under the Gun. During one scene in the movie Couric is shown asking a group of gun rights activists from the Virginia Citizens Defense League a question about background checks. The group is then shown sitting in silence for nine seconds with nobody offering a response to the question. WFBListen to Rush Limbaugh explain why Katie Couric is not a good person and not a nice woman :The makers of a new Katie Couric documentary on gun violence deceptively edited an interview between Couric and a group of gun rights activists in an apparent attempt to embarrass the activists, an audio recording of the full interview shows.At the 21:48 mark of Under the Gun a scene of Katie Couric interviewing members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights organization, is shown.Couric can be heard in the interview asking activists from the group, If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from purchasing a gun? The documentary then shows the activists sitting silently for nine awkward seconds, unable to provide an answer. It then cuts to the next scene. The moment can be watched here:However, raw audio of the interview between Katie Couric and the activists provided to the Washington Free Beacon shows the scene was deceptively edited. Instead of silence, Couric s question is met immediately with answers from the activists. A back and forth between a number of the league s members and Couric over the issue of background checks proceeds for more than four minutes after the original question is asked.LISTEN HERE:John Lott, Jr. explains to The Blaze s Dana Loesch how this documentary was rigged from the outset:Under the Gun has been labeled dishonest politicking in the guise of media coverage, loose with the facts, and a full-length assault on guns and the Second Amendment by those in the gun community since its debut on May 15.The Virginia Citizens Defense League labeled the deceptively edited segment featured in the film unbelievable and extremely unprofessional. Philip Van Cleave, the organization s president, said the editing was done deliberately to make it appear that league members didn t have a response to Couric s question. Katie Couric asked a key question during an interview of some members of our organization, he said. She then intentionally removed their answers and spliced in nine seconds of some prior video of our members sitting quietly and not responding. Viewers are left with the misunderstanding that the members had no answer to her question. Nora Ryan, the chief of staff for EPIX, the cable channel that is airing the documentary, told the Free Beacon in an email, Under the Gun is a critically-acclaimed documentary that looks at the polarizing and politicized issue of gun violence, a subject that elicits strong reactions from people on both sides. EPIX stands behind Katie Couric, director Stephanie Soechtig, and their creative and editorial judgment. We encourage people to watch the film and decide for themselves. Via: WFB | 1real |
BUSTED! MEDIA Caught Red-Handed Trying To Demoralize Trump Supporters With Phony Polls | In their desire to push Hillary Clinton across the finish line, the mainstream media and RINO pundits continue to ignore that one little important factoid; like the massive turnout for Trump in almost every state during the primaries. They also intentionally ignore the parallels between Ronald Reagan and Donald J. Trump going into the general election. Most Americans however, are unaware of the tricks our media plays so it s up to us to make sure we share these facts and inform friends, family, neighbors and co-workers about the truth. A new Reuters poll has many Republicans worried about the outcome of the 2016 presidential race and many on the Democratic side ready to pop the champaign corks.The poll shows presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading by a shocking 14 percent over her Republican rival Donald Trump: 47 percent to 33 percent.Unfortunately there s one problem with the poll. It is heavily skewed.The Gateway Pundit reports that of Reuters 1,201 respondents, 626 were Democrats and only 423 were Republicans.In other words, 52 percent of Reuter s respondents were Democrats and only 35 percent were Republican a huge 33% advantage for Democrats!According to AllenBWest.com, Reuters isn t the only misleading presidential poll. A new ABC News/ Washington Post survey found voters preferred Hillary 51 percent to 39 percent. In that sample, 36 percent of respondents were Democrats and only 24 percent were Republicans.The skewed polls are made less believable by the fact that Republican turnout in 2016 is likely to be higher than in previous years. As NPR noted in March, Republicans far outstripped Democrats in primary turnout, due in part to the insurgent nature of the Donald Trump candidacy. Hannity.comIt s not just the leftist media who is beating the drum of doom for Trump, while (falsely) pushing the narrative that he can t beat Crooked Hillary in the general election. FLASHBACK: You hear the establishment types talk about it nearly every day on the FOX News Channel.For his part, Donald Trump says he has not even started on Hillary Clinton.The elites also worried about Ronald Reagan s chances back in March 1980. Ronald Reagan was down 15 points in the polls in March. Here is the map showing how many states he won in the general election compared to Jimmy Carter who was polling at 15 points ahead of Trump:The CSMonitor reported, via Free Republic:The nation s Republicans are working against the clock to answer two key questions: Can conservative Ronald Reagan possibly attract enough independent and Democratic votes to win in November?An if he is likely to lose, has former President Gerald Ford time enough to challenge him for the GOP nomination?The consensus among political experts is that time has probably already run out for Gerald Ford, though he still appears the stronger choice to beat Jimmy Carter in November.But some experts caution: Don t count Ronald Reagan out as a national candidate for the fall. He is not, they say, a McGovern or a Goldwater fringe candidates who led their parties to one-sided defeats in 1972 and 1964. Intellectuals don t want to take him seriously, but he does well with working-class voters. He would take the West, challenge President Carter in the South, and do well in the pivotal Midwest states like Ohio and Illinois, whose southern regions titled toward Carter in 1976, they say.Back in March 1980 the establishment the establishment said the same thing about Ronald Reagan.They said he could never defeat Jimmy Carter.He was too divisive. Gateway PunditHere are a few inconvenient facts you won t see in the mainstream media:The Republican Party started the year with 17 bona fide candidates for President. This was more candidates than any major party in history.Trump has more wins than any other Republican or Democrat candidate in this year s race with 36. He also has more primary wins with 33 and leads all candidates in percent of overall wins and in percent of primary wins.Trump surpassed the number of delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for President a couple weeks ago.This may be more delegates than any other Republican candidate and a higher percentage of delegates than any Republican or Democrat candidate in the race.Trump received 13,406,108 votes to date in the elections according to www.thegreenpapers.com.As a result Trump has more votes than any candidate in Republican history.Trump shattered the previous record by 1.4 million votes and that was with 17 candidates in the raceGeorge W. Bush had 12 million votes in 2000. The Republican Party also set a party record this year in pre-convention state election turnout with over 28 million votes to date which is 139% of the record high voter turnout in 2008. This increase in votes can be attributed to Donald Trump.Via: Gateway Pundit | 1real |
Trump says he doesn't want House Speaker Ryan's support: Fox News | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not want House Speaker Paul Ryan’s support after Ryan broke with the Republican presidential nominee over a leaked recording of Trump making lewd comments about women. “I don’t want his support, I don’t care about his support,” Trump said, according to excerpts of an interview with Fox News. Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, told party lawmakers on Monday he would not campaign for Trump and would instead concentrate on retaining Republican control of Congress in the Nov. 8 elections. | 0fake |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.