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Factbox: Most Democrats oppose Trump Supreme Court pick, but not all | (Reuters) - Many U.S. Senate Democrats are seeking to block a confirmation vote on Neil Gorsuch, the federal appellate judge nominated by President Donald Trump to become a Supreme Court justice, but it is unclear whether they will get the necessary votes. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on sending the nomination to the Senate floor. Republican Senate leaders hope to confirm Gorsuch on April 7. As of Friday morning, 37 of the 46 Democrats and the two independents who align with them in the 100-seat Senate have publicly announced opposition to Gorsuch. Of those, 35 have said they would back an effort to block a confirmation vote via a procedural hurdle called a filibuster. Democrats need 41 votes to sustain a filibuster. Two Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have announced support for Gorsuch. Republicans control the Senate 52-48, meaning they need to win over eight votes to block a filibuster. The confirmation vote itself would require a simple majority of 51 votes. Eight Democrats and one independent, Angus King of Maine, have yet to announce whether they would vote against Gorsuch or support a filibuster. Here is a look at these senators: Michael Bennet of Colorado. Gorsuch is a fellow Coloradoan. Bennet introduced Gorsuch last week at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. In the introduction, Bennet criticized Republicans’ refusal last year to consider former President Barack Obama’s nominee to the same Supreme Court seat Gorsuch would occupy if confirmed. But Bennet said that “two wrongs never make a right.” Chris Coons of Delaware. He has indicated he may support a deal to avoid a filibuster. Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won in 2016. Position unclear. Dianne Feinstein of California. The senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversaw Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing. Angus King of Maine. The senator is an independent who normally votes with Democrats. Position unclear. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. Up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won in 2016. Position unclear. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Position unclear. Jon Tester of Montana. Up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won in 2016. Position unclear. Mark Warner of Virginia. Position unclear. | 0fake |
Trump Is ACTIVELY Working To RIP Families Away From Military Members | A letter to the editor appeared in The New York Times yesterday about how devastating Trump s immigration policy is. It s not only going to destroy immigrant families and further harm our deteriorating relationship with Mexico; it s also going to rip apart military families. The families that keep our soldiers grounded when they re overseas in combat zones. And Trump doesn t care.David Kubat, a member of the Minnesota National Guard and also an immigration lawyer, wrote the short letter, where he said: I have personally experienced the hardship of deployments to combat zones, and know the incredible importance of family stability during that trying time. This week, this administration rescinded the Parole in Place program, harming thousands of military families across the country. This is another example of the careless excess of the administration s immigration policy. Parole in Place protects military spouses, parents and children from deportation and was put in place by President Obama. It gives servicemembers peace of mind that their families will still be here when they get home. Now they don t have that because to Trump, it seems that soldiers should have to suffer if they were dumb enough to be involved with someone who could be subject to deportation.The GOP is supposed to be the family values party, and they love claiming that they re the only party that cares about the military. It s not bad enough that they say that and then turn around and cut funding for the VA and other helpful programs. Now their standard-bearer, their leader, is actively working to destroy the very thing that keeps our military grounded.Kubat went on to say: It is unconscionable to reverse a policy that strengthens our military and our veterans. That the program was not even named in the memo demonstrates either a lack of awareness, or worse, a casual disregard of the effect that this will have on those most vulnerable members of our military. Nice job, Republicans, for allowing this shitshow to make it all the way to the White House. When we start seeing a spike in severe mental problems in our fighting men and women, we ll know exactly where to point the finger.Kubat s full letter is below:Now #Trump can deport spouses & families of US military personnel. Letter: https://t.co/F6oaGYdW3D h/t @NinaBernstein1 pic.twitter.com/pCyc9Vg7DD David Beard (@dabeard) February 23, 2017Featured image by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images | 1real |
Could the latest solar storm warnings bring an end to civilization as we know it? | VIDEOS Could the latest solar storm warnings bring an end to civilization as we know it? Here are 5 catastrophic consequences of a major CME hitting the Earth and changing life as we know it By Ryan Banister - November 2, 2016
Did you know that the White House is currently coordinating with Homeland Security to make preparations for a possible solar storm that could bring an end to civilization as we know it? An Executive Order published on October 13, by the Obama administration shows an increasing concern among White House officials about “solar flares, solar energetic particles and geomagnetic disturbances,” following a solar event which generated a Category G2 geomagnetic storm on October 8. This action could likely mean that we have an imminent solar threat in our near future. A solar discharge of great magnitude could mean entire countries could be without electricity, civil unrest and countless lives lost. If federal officials are preparing for this sort of disaster, we have enough reason to arm ourselves with the knowledge of what we might face. What are CMEs?
Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are violent explosions of plasma originating from the Sun’s corona, out of which energized particles and powerful magnetic domains emerge as fast as 3,000 kilometers per second. A CME has an associated shock wave and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can travel toward the Earth and interrupt satellites and power grids around the planet. There are currently no public disclosures of CMEs being detected, but there is a significant geomagnetic storm event beginning, combined with the Executive Order previously mentioned, gives cause for concern about the possibility of a CME striking our planet in the near future. A recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center predicts a Category G2 geomagnetic storm from October 24 – 26. An aurora borealis is projected to be seen in the skies above New York to Wisconsin to Washington state, and interruption to satellites and power lines are expected.
It is possible that this particular storm is not the result of a CME, but in order to be prepared, one must first know what disasters may lie ahead and plan accordingly. Here are 5 catastrophic consequences of a major CME hitting the Earth and changing life as we know it: Satellite Disruption
If there was a high-magnitude impact of solar energy and particles, we would see an immediate response on low-Earth orbiting weather, communications, and military satellites. Some satellites could be crippled for up to a decade . The first sign that a major CME is about to strike will be a loss of connection with or permanent failure of a portion of low-Earth orbiting satellites and their associated infrastructure. The shock wave, in combination with an EMP, would likely cause significant disruption of GPS signals, possibly creating long-term failures across the global navigation satellite system. This would have disastrous implications for commercial airplanes and ships, many of which rely on GPS guidance systems for landing and docking, and a failure of timing on either of these systems could put countless lives at risk. Seismic stations, computer network synchronization and many electric power grids across the world rely on GPS clocks. Geomagnetic disturbances associated with CMEs are known to disrupt GPS clocks through interference of high frequency radio signals in both air and ground transmission. Here is some more information on EMPs. Build Your Own Faraday Cage Out of an Ammo Can Power Grid Failure
A large-scale geomagnetic storm generated by interactions between Earth’s magnetic field and magnetic domains originating from the Sun could cause geomagnetically induced current (GIC), where transformers and power lines can experience a large flux in power from changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. The transformers and associated infrastructure may overheat and the power grid across more than half of the U.S. and many other industrialized countries could fail and cause a widespread blackout scenario if there was a large enough solar event. A study by Metatech corporation shows that a GIC with comparable magnitude to that of the 1921 geomagnetic storm would be projected to destroy more than 300 extra high voltage transformers and adjacent power lines across the U.S., leaving approximately 150 million people without power. The study highlights the risk to the power grid saying, “In 1921, a geomagnetic disturbance of approximately 5000 nT/min, ten times the magnitude of the 1989 storm, is believed to have occurred. A storm of this magnitude today would cause widespread damage to the electric grid of unprecedented proportions.”
This means that all streetlights and stores could lose power without warning. Hospitals could lose power, causing failure of equipment and countless lives could be lost. Computers, cell phones, electric cars and anything else that requires a charge would die and be rendered unusable for the duration of the power grid failure. Credit card transactions and ATM machines will not work. A prolonged failure of even one-third of the grid could potentially require at least ten years for the repair and replacement of fried transformers, capacitors and power lines across the country. The end result of such a sudden and extreme loss of electricity would result in a cataclysmic loss of life, with projected human casualties at almost 100 million as a result from one major geomagnetic disturbance. Hurricanes & Tornadoes
Hurricanes and tornadoes are thought to be closely associated with solar activity, according to Dr. Vladimir I. Merkulov, a Russian physicist who is well-known for his research into gravitational waves in the atmosphere and in vortex chambers. Merkulov has developed the Electro-gravitational Dynamic Concept of Hurricanes and Tornadoes based from observations of the physical structure of vacuum domains originating from the Sun. In his book, Amazing Hydromechanics , he says that tornadoes and hurricanes are caused by increased solar activity, including CMEs, from which vacuum domains emerge that have both electrical and magnetic properties. According to Merkulov, this means that a large CME event could be closely associated with an inestimable increase in the occurrence of tornadoes and hurricanes. While satellite communications fail and the power grid shuts down, residents of the Midwest may be dealing with multiple tornado strikes and coastal areas could have a hurricane fast-approaching the shoreline. Many of them may not realize the immediate threat that is heading toward them due to failing emergency communications being disrupted. Nearby hospitals may be unable to help those who are injured due to the failure of large portions of the power grid. Economic Collapse
The economic collapse that would result from this event would create a poverty never before seen in North America. Losing electricity would mean that ATM machines will not work and banks will be closed. Losing access to electronic currency will cripple many who have become reliant on credit cards and other forms of digital currency. Grocery store shelves will be left entirely empty and supply trucks would likely be unable to resupply stores. If there are gas stations able to process transactions, gas supply will be severely limited. There is no reason to expect that the Federal Reserve Note will survive such a collapse; stored precious metals might become an alternative form of currency and bartering may become a primary means of exchange. Here are six ways to prepare for this type of disaster. Social Upheaval
When people starve and are unable to get what they need for survival, you can expect that a certain amount of them will end up looting homes or stores . Those who do not live near a river or stream may entirely lose access to clean water, which could likely mean that millions of people would be forced to relocate within days of the initial event. Having firearms for self-defense will be necessary amidst the social upheaval resulting from a CME and the associated events mentioned above. There is no reason to expect that police and military will have the desire nor capability to help those who may fall victim to looters; everyone will have their own family and loved ones to look after.
Knowing the risks to life and property that may lie ahead is only a part of the battle. Each of the likely future scenarios mentioned above should be planned for in conjunction with the others. | 1real |
Trump: Being friends with North Korea's Kim is possible | HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that it was possible he could be friends with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un one day and that it would be very, very nice but he was not sure that it would happen. Asked at a news conference in Vietnam if he could see himself being friends with Kim, Trump said: That might be a strange thing to happen but it s a possibility. If it did happen it could be a good thing I can tell you for North Korea, but it could also be good for a lot of other places and be good for the rest the world, Trump said. It could be something that could happen. I don t know if it will but it would be very, very nice. | 0fake |
Republicans Block Young Voters From Participating In Ohio Primary | In Ohio, the District of Columbia, and 21 other states this election year, 17-year-old citizens are allowed to vote in their state s caucus or primary as long as they turn 18 by the time of the general election in November.The rule allows thousands of 17-year-olds to participate in the Democratic process of voting for the very first time in their lives, but Ohio s Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted reversed the rule, revoking the rights of the 17-year-olds from voting in the state s primary on March 15th. It will be a key battleground state between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary, and among the Republican presidential candidates, as current Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich will try to make his mark on the primaries by winning his home state.His argument was the primaries were electing delegates who will eventually elect a nominee for their party at a the party conventions later this year. Husted is distorting the language surrounding the rule which allowed 17-year-olds to vote early by alleging the 17-year-olds can nominate a candidate, but not elect one for office.The Secretary of State before Jon Husted, Jennifer Brunner, allowed 17-year-olds to participate in the 2008 primary election. Ohio s pro-voter practice that welcomes young adults into the process has been on the books since 1981, said State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) in a statement on Husted s recent change in the rules. Secretary Husted s latest underhanded, backroom attack on our most fundamental freedom should have us all concerned about this and about his repeated claims he has made it easier to vote in Ohio when in fact he continues to find ways to make it harder. This is not the first time Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has tried to restrict voter access in Ohio. He was sued last year by students for restricting voter rights, put restrictions on early voting in the state, and continues to impede on voters rights in the state of Ohio. The right to vote should be facilitated, not restricted, but leave it up to the Republicans to try to make distorted arguments and reasoning for making what should be a no brainer of opening up young people to the Democratic process and encouraging voting, an issue legislators have to waste time arguing over.Featured image via Addicting Info | 1real |
Jordan signals escalation vs. Islamic State | Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed Wednesday that his military forces would hit Islamic State militants with “relentless” strikes upon “their own homes,” an escalation that could place Jordan in the middle of the Syrian civil war.
The king huddled with his security cabinet and top generals Wednesday just hours after Jordan hanged two convicted terrorists in retaliation against the Islamic State, which posted a video Tuesday of its fighters burning alive a captured Jordanian pilot in a cage.
The immolation prompted harsh condemnation from leaders across the Middle East and in the United States, with the White House speaking of Jordan’s “strength and commitment” to the international coalition against the Islamic State “in the face of this barbaric act.”
[The chilling reason the Islamic State burned the pilot alive]
In Jordan, the killing mostly silenced critics of the U.S.-led offensive against the Islamic State, the heavily armed al-Qaeda offshoot also known as ISIS or ISIL. It was used by the government to stoke patriotic sentiment, with billboard-size posters in Amman reading “We Are All Jordan” and a rally of flag-waving supporters greeting the king at the airport as he arrived back in the country from a visit to the United States.
“We will be on the lookout for these criminals, and we will hit them in their own homes,” Abdullah declared, according to the state news agency Petra. “We are fighting this war to protect our faith, values and our humanitarian principles. Our fight will be relentless.”
The hangings underscored the hardening stance by the monarch and his military in Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State, amid street protests calling for revenge against the militant group.
The backlash from the video — released while Abdullah was in Washington to sign a deal boosting the amount of U.S. aid to Jordan — appears to have drawn the usually cautious monarch into a direct confrontation with radical Islamists.
The king, who claims to be a descendant of the prophet Muhammad and was educated in Britain and the United States, has previously avoided direct threats against the Islamic State and has sought to keep secret the number of bombing missions his air force has flown over Syria.
But according to Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), Abdullah — who met with members of Congress before he left Washington — quoted the Clint Eastwood character William Munny, an aging gunslinger in the Oscar-winning film “Unforgiven” who exacts vengeance when his friend is tortured to death.
Abdullah did not elaborate on where or how Jordan’s retaliation would be carried out.
It is unlikely that Jordan would fly strike missions in Syria outside those coordinated by the U.S-
directed coalition. Out of about 1,000 strikes in Syria since September, the vast majority have been by U.S. aircraft. But “the coalition is not going to turn their nose up at additional kinetic activity by one of the members,” said a senior U.S. defense official in Washington. “If they want to do more, we welcome it.”
Overall, the coalition strategy and the pattern of strikes will not change, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. But outside of coalition operations, “we can’t speak for Jordan,” the official said. “They might feel that for their own sense of national pride, they need to do something.”
The Obama administration declined to join with the European Union — where there is no death penalty — in criticizing the rapid Jordanian executions. White House press secretary Josh Earnest noted that both individuals “had gone through the Jordanian justice system” and were “sentenced to death.”
The administration did not immediately respond to a letter sent to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John F. Kerry by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which wrote that Abdullah, in a meeting with the panel in Washington before his departure Tuesday for Amman, had complained of “complications and delays” in providing defense items such as aircraft parts and munitions.
Jordan’s chief government spokesman said the two prisoners executed Wednesday included Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for her role in a deadly 2005 terrorist attack in Amman. The Islamic State had sought her release as part of a possible prisoner swap. Jordan had offered to free Rishawi in exchange for the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, and a Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, held by the Islamic State.
The other inmate was Ziad al-Karbouli, who was linked to a terrorist attack against Jordanians in Iraq in 2005 and whose freedom was also demanded by the Islamic State.
The two were hanged less than 12 hours after the video of the pilot’s killing was posted online.
Across Jordan, voices that recently called for the country to withdraw from the U.S.-led offensive against the Islamic State fell silent as Jordanians came together to denounce the militants.
“This terrible act has created tremendous unity in Jordan,” said Jawad Anani, a senator and former foreign minister. “Ordinary Jordanians now see the threat to their own security.”
Anani, who is close to Abdullah, suggested that airstrikes by Jordan and the coalition would intensify, and he said it was possible that Jordanian ground troops or special forces might be deployed in Syria.
“The next logical step, you can intensify the conflict,” Anani said.
But others doubt that the backlash will stir major changes in Muslim participation in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.
“The killing’s impact on the coalition will not really be a game-changer, because the participation of countries depends on a variety of issues that are specific to each country,” said Elias Hanna, a retired Lebanese general who teaches geopolitics at the American University of Beirut.
“We won’t see Arab boots on the ground,” he predicted. “That’s for certain.”
In his first public statement since the video, Safi al-Kaseasbeh, the pilot’s father, said Wednesday that he expects Jordan and the U.S.-led coalition to avenge his son’s death. Just last week, the elder Kaseasbeh had appealed for Jordan to pull out of the coalition.
“I urge the government, I expect the government, to seek revenge, severe revenge, for the blood of Muath against this horrid organization, this criminal organization, this organization that is far from Islam and the spirit of Islam,” the pilot’s father said Wednesday.
[Related: The Islamic State was dumped by al-Qaeda a year ago.]
Members of the extended Kaseasbeh clan greeted a stream of visitors at their mourning tent outside the city of Karak, south of Amman. The family had no body to bury. In the video, Islamic State fighters are shown dumping a bulldozer load of cement rubble over the pilot’s body.
Mosques across Jordan held prayers for the pilot at noon, with government-supported imams denouncing the Islamic State. Meanwhile, churches in Amman pealed their bells in interfaith solidarity. After noon prayers, Royal Jordanian Air Force fighter jets flew over Amman and Karak.
But Jordan also faces tests on whether it can build on the displays of unity and resolve. There have been past signs of support for the Islamic State in Jordan — especially in poorer regions — although relatively few people have waved Islamic State flags or endorsed the group on the Internet.
Labib Kamhawi, an Amman-based political analyst, said Abdullah is in “a difficult position” on how to frame the response.
“The issue is whether he can transform this into a national issue that affects Jordanians, or whether it becomes a tribal matter with mounting calls for revenge and eye-for-an-eye attacks,” he said.
Hugh Naylor in Beirut and Karen DeYoung, Brian Murphy and Greg Jaffe in Washington contributed to this report. | 0fake |
Did Hillary Insult Sanderistas as ‘Basement Dwellers’? No—Just the Opposite | The far left is up in arms again, this time over a hacked tape of Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser in a wealthy Virginia suburb.
There I was, watching college football and the Ryder Cup as my daughter sat next to me on the couch drawing Rapunzel and Ariel. Halftime of the game I was watching came so I moseyed over to my office to look in on the political world, expecting not much new at 5 o’clock on a Saturday. Didn’t see much at first. And then... oh, what’s this? Something about basement dwellers. And Hillary. Making fun of people living in basements? What? Oh Christ. Here we go again.
Backstory: The Intercept, the (I think it’s fair to say) anti-Clinton-though-by-no-means-pro-Trump web site, got a tape of a talk Clinton gave at a private fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, back in February. No, check that. It looks like the Washington Free Beacon got it first and posted it Tuesday. But the conservative Beacon, reflecting house priorities, led with the fact that Clinton evidently said on the tape that she wouldn’t upgrade the nuclear arsenal, which for the Beacon indicates of course that she wants America to lose.
After that I’m not certain what happened but it seems as if after the Beacon published the audio, a couple Intercept reporters were the first people on the left who got around to listening to it. The Intercept account, as you might guess, didn’t give a rat’s pooper about the nuclear arsenal but led with the fact that Clinton said, somewhat unfortunately—but in context only somewhat, for reasons I’ll explain—that she occupies the “center-left to the center-right.”
That was a responsible and, for the Intercept, predictable and understandable way to play the story. But then, by the time it got to the Twittersphere, Clinton was somehow making fun of Sanderistas, mocking them for being such losers that they’re living in their parent’s basements. The hashtag #basementdwellers was trending like mad when I checked in, and I’d imagine it’ll be going strong all night. I read a few of them, which boiled down to fuck you, Hillary, you corporate hack, this is why we need the revolution and you’re going to be the first to face the firing squad (although I thought I smelled a lot of trolling from the deplorable caucus too).
Of all the arrant bullshit I’ve seen on Twitter this election, this is easily the bullshittiest. She insulted no one. In fact quite the opposite—for someone speaking behind closed doors to ardent supporters, she was not only restrained, but she openly and directly asked her supporters to be patient with the impatient; that is, to understand the views and motivations of the younger people who wanted more radical change.
It is important to recognize what’s going on in this election. Everybody who’s ever been in an election that I’m aware of is quite bewildered because there is a strain of, on the one hand, the kind of populist, nationalist, xenophobic, discriminatory kind of approach that we hear too much of from the Republican candidates. And on the other side, there’s just a deep desire to believe that we can have free college, free healthcare, that what we’ve done hasn’t gone far enough, and that we just need to, you know, go as far as, you know, Scandinavia, whatever that means, and half the people don’t know what that means, but it’s something that they deeply feel. So as a friend of mine said the other day, I am occupying from the center-left to the center-right. And I don’t have much company there. Because it is difficult when you’re running to be president, and you understand how hard the job is—I don’t want to overpromise. I don’t want to tell people things that I know we cannot do.
Some are new to politics completely. They’re children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parents’ basement. They feel they got their education and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves. And they don’t see much of a future. I met with a group of young black millennials today and you know one of the young women said, “You know, none of us feel that we have the job that we should have gotten out of college. And we don’t believe the job market is going to give us much of a chance.” So that is a mindset that is really affecting their politics. And so if you’re feeling like you’re consigned to, you know, being a barista, or you know, some other job that doesn’t pay a lot, and doesn’t have some other ladder of opportunity attached to it, then the idea that maybe, just maybe, you could be part of a political revolution is pretty appealing. So I think we should all be really understanding of that and should try to do the best we can not to be, you know, a wet blanket on idealism. We want people to be idealistic. We want them to set big goals. But to take what we can achieve now and try to present them as bigger goals.
All right. Let’s parse them. In the first quote, the first sentence is just an opener, and the second critiques the Trump movement. The third sentence critiques the Sanders people, but there’s nothing condescending in it. Maybe that “whatever that means” after the mention of Scandinavia is a little dismissive. But really. Now we’re at the point where we’re not permitting people speaking in private the occasional verbal tic of the sort we all employ?
Then comes center-left and center-right. It’s the mention of “center-right” that the Intercept meant to rub in her face, and in a perfect world I’d rather she’d not said it. But it’s quite obvious that she is contrasting herself with the movements to her left and to her right—the very two movements she had just described. So she was really just saying, I’m in between those two. And who knows—there were probably Republicans in the room. It was McLean. She may have been trying to reassure them and get them to tell their friends, “You know, we can live with her.” No, that’s not pandering. It’s politics. If she weren’t chasing responsible Republican votes, she’d be an idiot.
Now, the second and “offending” graf. How in the world these words can offend anyone is just absurd. OK, baristas. But I’m sure even most baristas have higher aspirations in life. But the main thing is that when she says “they are living in their parents’ basement,” she’s obviously not making fun of them. She’s just describing them. Indeed, she is explaining to these rich people in one of America’s richest towns, hey, take a minute to understand where these folks are coming from. And she’s doing so the week after Sanders throttled her in New Hampshire—a point in time when, if anything, she’d have been prone to lash out at them.
There’s nothing patronizing about any of this. I also saw a bunch of people on Twitter saying in effect for the life of me, I don’t see what the big deal is here. I retweeted a guy who said the #basementdwellers “controversy” is proof enough of the reason why she didn’t release her speech transcripts. Amen to that. | 0fake |
Major Garrett spots trouble at Trump rally but swears it’s ‘not a metaphor’ | Major Garrett spots trouble at Trump rally but swears it’s ‘not a metaphor’ Posted at 8:11 Sarah D. @MajorCBS @realDonaldTrump Probably wasn’t… rigged properly.
🙂…🕶…😎.
— Jeremy Cays (@jwcays) October 27, 2016
A bit of bad luck for the Trump campaign today, as captured by CBS’ Major Garrett: Part of the @realDonaldTrump rally backdrop collapsed here in Geneva, Ohio. Being repaired. #notametaphor #iswear pic.twitter.com/n4AWLKIyHO
— Major Garrett (@MajorCBS) October 27, 2016
But even though Garrett says it’s not a metaphor, others can’t help but see one: | 1real |
MIKE ROWE SENDS A BRUTAL MESSAGE To The Media Trying To Label TRUMP Supporters As “Uneducated” | An electrical contractor wrote to the 54-year-old host of Dirty Jobs to say that he finds it offensive when the media constantly refers to majority of the Republican nominee s supporters as uneducated white men. If the media is referring to Trump supporters who happen to be male caucasians suffering from a lack of knowledge brought about by an absence of formal or practical instruction, than I guess uneducated white men is a fair description, Rowe responded in a lengthy Facebook post. However, if the Trump supporters in question are being dubbed uneducated, simply because they didn t earn a four-year degree, I d say the media s slip is showing. Let s assume that Donald Trump is indeed popular among white men who didn t graduate from college. The first question is, so what? Is this information newsworthy? Obviously, thousands of journalists think it is. To your point, the words uneducated white men now appear in hundreds of articles about Trump. But if this is truly important information, where were these reporters four years ago? In the last election, an even greater majority of African-American males who voted for President Obama had no college on their resume. Maybe I missed it, but I don t recall any headlines or articles that delved into Obama s popularity among uneducated black men. If the media didn t care about the lack of college among black men supporting Obama, why do they care so much about the lack of college among white men supporting Trump? Moreover, when exactly did a lack of college become synonymous with a lack of education? There are many ways to become educated that don t involve the purchase of a diploma. Why would the media ignore thousands of apprenticeship programs, on-the-job-training opportunities, and all the other alternative educational options that have led so many people into so many successful careers? The answer is obvious many in the press are looking for ways to impact the election. If a biased reporter can get away with labeling Trump supporters who didn t graduate from college as uneducated, he can simultaneously imply that any ballot cast for Trump is the hallmark of an uneducated voter. It s impossible for me to have this conversation and not think of my grandfather. Pop never made it to college. In fact, he never made it out of the 7th grade. But he never stopped learning or studying. He started as an electrician s helper, became an apprentice, a journeyman, a master electrician, a contractor, and then a small business owner. Later, as an electrical inspector for the state, he was responsible for guaranteeing the safety of hundreds of buildings in Maryland, as well as all the rides on the carnival midway at the State Fair. He was a modest man of real intelligence, admired and respected by everyone who knew him. But today, he d be right there with you, Albert swelling out the ranks of uneducated white men. Closing the skills gap and making college more affordable is beyond my pay grade, but it seems like we could start by reminding the media that a college degree is not the only path to success. It s well and good to promote higher education, but it s crazy to suggest the most expensive road to enlightenment is the best path for the most people. And it s equally nuts to pressure our kids to keep borrowing vast sums of money to become educated in careers that no longer exist. The media has minimized your work, insulted your intelligence, and ignored your contribution to civilized life. Try not to take it personally. Just keep doing what you do. Run your business. Vote your conscience. Keep the lights on for the rest of us. Read more: Daily Caller | 1real |
STUNNING DISREGARD FOR LAW: 11 CA Counties Have More Registered Voters Than Voting Age Citizens…Look Who They Voted For In Last Election | But..b but it isn t fair to ask for voter ID says the party that dominates the states that refuse to cooperate with Trump s election commission. The more corruption that s exposed through post-election voting investigations, the more we begin to understand why so many Democrat pundits and liberal media outlets were so sure Hillary had the election in the bag..Eleven counties in California have more registered voters than voting age adults in the county.Judicial Watch announced it sent a notice-of-violation letter to the state of California and 11 of its counties threatening to sue in federal court if it does not clean its voter registration lists as mandated by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Both the NVRA and the federal Help America Vote Act require states to take reasonable steps to maintain accurate voting rolls. The August 1 letter was sent on behalf of several Judicial Watch California supporters and the Election Integrity Project California, Inc.In the letter, Judicial Watch noted that public records obtained on the Election Assistance Commission s 2016 Election Administration Voting Survey and through verbal accounts from various county agencies show 11 California counties have more registered voters than voting-age citizens: Imperial (102%), Lassen (102%), Los Angeles (112%), Monterey (104%), San Diego (138%), San Francisco (114%), San Mateo (111%), Santa Cruz (109%), Solano (111%), Stanislaus (102%), and Yolo (110%).In the letter, Judicial Watch noted that Los Angeles County officials informed us that the total number of registered voters now stands at a number that is a whopping 144% of the total number of resident citizens of voting age. Remember when the Huffington Post denied voter fraud was an actual thing in America, while calling Hillary Clinton, (the candidate who clearly benefitted from illegal voting practices) the legitimate President-Elect? Under Section 8 of the NVRA, states are required to make a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from official lists due to the death of the registrant or a change in the residence of the registrant, and requires states to ensure noncitizens are not registered to vote.There is strong circumstantial evidence that California municipalities are not conducting reasonable voter registration list maintenance as mandated under the NVRA, Judicial Watch wrote in the notice letter sent to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Via: Judicial Watch | 1real |
Florida Keys hit by near-hurricane winds from Irma - NHC | (Reuters) - Wind gusts near hurricane force were occurring in the Florida Keys, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday in an update on Hurricane Irma. The storm was about 105 miles (170 km) southeast of Key West with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour (205 kilometers per hour), the center said. Irma was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph). The center said a weather station in Vaca Key reported sustained winds of 48 mph (77 kph) with a gust to 66 mph (106 kph). Marathon, Florida, in the Keys reported sustained winds of 51 mph (81 kph) with a gust to 71 mph (115 kph). On the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, sustained winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) are classified as hurricane strength. Irma s maximum sustained winds of 125 mph were classified as a Category Three storm. | 0fake |
CHER TELLS TWITTER Followers To Open Their Homes To “DREAMERS”…Conservative Twitter User Shares Her Address To Make It Easier For “Dreamers” To Find Her | Two days ago, Cher, a leftist agitator, and Trump-hater extraordinaire told followers of her Twitter account that they MUST take a DREAMER into their home and protect them . The has been entertainer took it one step further and told her followers that she was Ready 2 Do This and that Others in MY BUSINESS WILL DO THE SAME!! She ended her tweet with the word SANCTUARY , indicating that she and the people employed by her would be offering aid and comfort to illegal alien strangers.Those Who Can Must Take a DREAMER In2 Their Home & Protect Them I m Ready 2 Do This & Others in MY BUSINESS WILL DO THE SAME SANCTUARY Cher (@cher) September 5, 2017The one thing Cher neglected to do was to provide and address or a map to her residence. How in the world does she expect 800,000 ILLEGAL ALIENS to find their new home without an address?Well, thanks to the kindness and generosity of a conservative Twitter user and Trump supporter extraordinaire, illegal aliens who are looking for SANCTUARY can now find it in Cher s massive mansion on the ocean. What a lucky break!DREAMERS : 27423 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu Ca. Not a Joke, You Are Welcome Yours truly, Cher pic.twitter.com/pSeRD0aKgm brooks brown (@bbusa617) September 6, 2017And to think all they needed to do was illegally cross our borders, and without even lifting a finger, they ll be living in the lap of luxury in Cher s mansion on the coast of California in Malibu, where the 1% who advocate for the little guy live. According to this report from Zillow, Cher had her 13,000 sq. ft. home listed with Hilton & Hyland for a mere $45 million in 2010, at which time it did not sell. The home has 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. She clearly has enough room for hundreds of illegal aliens.From Zillow:Last August, we reported that Cher s Malibu home was up for sale for $45 million. The place didn t sell and according to the LA Times, Cher withdrew the listing in May, spending the past few months re-doing the interior.Well, it looks like Cher is satisfied with the re-do; her home at 25142 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA is back on the market this time for $41 million. So, in three months time, Cher s house comes with a new interior and a price whack of $4 million. Anyone in the market for a 13,000+ sq ft home with 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a theater and a gym that sits on a 1.7 acre-Malibu bluff with a tennis court, an infinity pool and a guesthouse?It is being listed by Hilton & Hyland.In the meantime, Cher had better luck on the Big Island of Hawaii, selling her home in an auction on Jan. 18, 2010, for $8.72 million. | 1real |
THIRD DEGREE “BERN!” Why Denmark Is Telling Marxist, Bernie Sanders To Stop LYING To Voters | Lying? If Bernie can successfully convince tens of thousands of college students to believe in unicorns, and pots of gold at the end of rainbows, why not convince them how well stealing from hard working Americans utopian forms of government work in other countries? Who needs facts when Bernie s got unicorns?The Danes apparently have grown weary of Sen. Bernie Sanders insulting their country. Denmark is not a socialist nation, says its prime minister. It has a market economy. Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate who calls himself a socialist, has used Denmark as the example of the socialist utopia he wants to create in America. During the Democrats first debate last month, he said we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people. While appearing in New Hampshire in September, Sanders said that he had talked to a guy from Denmark who told him that in Denmark, it is very hard to become very, very rich, but it s pretty hard to be very, very poor. And that makes a lot of sense to me. So because something makes sense to him, he has the right to force that system on people who don t want it? Isn t that what he s saying?But we digress. This is about Danes being offending by Sanders using the word socialist to describe their form of government. And who can blame them, especially when the free world has had enough of national socialists and Soviet socialists and North Korean socialists and Cuban socialists?While speaking at Harvard s Kennedy School of Government, the center-right Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he was aware that some people in the U.S. associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism. Therefore, he said, I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy. Rasmussen acknowledged that the Nordic model is an expanded welfare state which provides a high level of security to its citizens, but he also noted that it is a successful market economy with much freedom to pursue your dreams and live your life as you wish. To that we ll add that Sweden, another of Sanders inspirations, has for decades quietly moved away from its cradle-to-grave form of government welfare. And the Swedes are better off for having done so, just as the Danes will continue to be better off as their government overhauls its welfare state.If Sanders is going to continue to use these nations to guide his governing philosophy, he should base his policy positions on what they really are, not what he thinks they are or wants them to be. These countries have learned a harsh lesson. They don t deserve to be Berned again. Via: IBD | 1real |
MUST WATCH VIDEO: DO YOU REALLY WANT FOUR YEARS OF THIS? | 1real | |
China says it will make efforts on Syria reconstruction | BEIJING (Reuters) - China hopes Syria can show flexibility in promoting peace talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday in a meeting with an adviser to Syria s president, adding that China would help with its reconstruction. Syria s six-year-old civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced millions to flee in the worst refugee crisis since World War Two and embroiled regional and world powers. For years, Western and Arab countries backed an opposition demand that President Bashar al-Assad quit power, but since Russia s 2015 entry into the war, his government has won back major cities and now looks militarily unassailable. Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on Wednesday to help support a full-scale political process in Syria and announced an agreement to sponsor a conference in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to try to end the war. Syria is looking chiefly to Russia, China and Iran for help with reconstruction. Western states say recovery and reconstruction support for Syria depends on a credible political process leading to a genuine political transition that can be supported by a majority of the Syrian people . Wang told Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior aide to Assad visiting China, that engagement over the future of Syria s political arrangements had intensified, and that he believed it would contribute to a formal peace process talks in Geneva. China hopes the Syrian side can seize the opportunity, display flexibility, and promote dialogue and negotiation to achieve substantive results, Wang said, according to a statement from China s foreign ministry. The international community should emphasize and actively support Syria s reconstruction. China will put forth its own effort for this, Wang said, without elaborating on what those efforts would be. Shaaban welcomed China playing a greater role in Syria s political resolution process, the ministry said. While relying on the Middle East for oil supplies, China tends to leave the region s diplomacy to the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has been trying to get more involved, including sending envoys to help push for a diplomatic solution to the violence there and hosting Syrian government and opposition figures. China hopes a peaceful Middle East will also help end the involvement of ethnic Uighurs, a Muslim people from the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, with militant groups in Syria and Iraq. | 0fake |
Holocaust must be bigger part of migrant courses: German minister | BERLIN (Reuters) - More emphasis should be placed on the Holocaust in integration courses for migrants, Germany s justice minister said, reflecting heightened unease among leading politicians about a spate of anti-Semitic acts including Israeli flag burnings. More than a million migrants have arrived in Germany in the last three years, many of them fleeing conflict in the Middle East, causing concern that anti-Semitism could increase. German police have reported protesters setting Israeli flags ablaze and using anti-Semitic slogans in Berlin and other cities in demonstrations against U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital. In a piece for weekly magazine Der Spiegel, Justice Minister Heiko Maas wrote that the Holocaust, in which the Nazis killed six million Jews, and its significance needed to become an even more important part of integration courses and migrants should be tested on it in the examination at the end of their course. The lessons from the Holocaust need to be one of the guiding ideas in those lessons and not just some chapter of German history, he said. Racism has no place in Germany, so everyone who wants to stay in Germany for the long term needs to be clear that we fight the Neonazis anti-Semitism and we won t tolerate any imported anti-Semitism from immigrants either, Maas added. Jens Spahn, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU), told Der Spiegel he thought immigration from Muslim countries was one of the causes of recent anti-Semitic demonstrations in Berlin. Spahn said incidents in recent days were related to immigration from a culture in which people are not prissy about how they deal with Jews and homosexuals . Speaking at an event marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday Germany needed to remember its historical responsibility, including the lessons of two world wars, the Holocaust, ensuring Israel s security and rejecting any form of racism and anti-Semitism. There s no end to this responsibility for people born afterwards and no exceptions for immigrants, he said, adding that those who burned Israeli flags did not understand or respect what it meant to be German. In an interview with the Funke newspaper consortium, Israel s ambassador in Berlin Jeremy Issacharoff called for a ban on burning flags. Anyone who burns flags questions Israel s right to exist, he said. Stephan Kramer, the head of a state intelligence agency in the eastern region of Thuringia, warned in Der Spiegel that anti-Semitism was becoming ever more uninhibited and many Jews were too scared to identify themselves as such. | 0fake |
Hillary Arrives At Rally, Makes One Weird Move That Left Onlookers Puzzled | Hillary Arrives At Rally, Makes One Weird Move That Left Onlookers Puzzled Posted on October 27, 2016 by Alisha Rich in Politics Share This
As Hillary Clinton makes her last few rounds of appearances before election day, the presidential hopeful will feel a little bit of the pressure that the presidency will demand. However, when she arrived at her rally in Lake Worth, Florida, she attempted to make one move that she hoped no one would notice.
There have been many questions over the course of Hillary Clinton’s campaign regarding her health. As a result of her age and her lifestyle, there’s no doubt that her body is starting to feel the effects of aging – whether she likes to admit it or not.
However, video footage of her recent rally in Florida shows how desperate she is to keep her health problems hidden, but her attempt was met with failure the moment she hit the stage. In fact, the Democratic presidential candidate struggled to climb one single step. The video captures one of her aides rushing towards her side as she attempted to climb up the riser.
“She needed assistance to get onto it as she could be seen reaching her hand out for a boost or some added steadiness,” according to The American Mirror . “The aide extended his hand and Clinton held on tightly as she made her way up the 18 inches.”
Although Hillary Clinton insists that her health isn’t an issue, the number of incidents she has had paints quite a different picture. If you take a close look at the video, the aide can even be seen standing behind her, reaching for her waist – probably preparing for the event of her falling.
We have said it time and time again – she’s not fit to be president. Although her health is a major concern considering how demanding the presidency can be on a person, it’s her disastrous political history that raises, even more, concerns. | 1real |
Homeland Security says will 'comply with judicial orders' | (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late on Saturday it would “comply with judicial orders” but that President Donald Trump’s executive action restricting entry into the country from seven Muslim-majority nations remains in place. The statement was issued hours after a federal judge in New York blocked the deportation of dozens of travelers and refugees from those countries who were stranded at U.S. airports. “These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders,” the Homeland Security statement said. | 0fake |
Clinton’s Emails. Again - The New York Times | How is it that with seven days left until the election, we are consumed anew by emails, Hillary Clinton’s private server, the F. B. I. and an investigation that was supposed to be closed? In the latest episode of The we examine the most recent surprise twist in a campaign that never ceases to shock. We break down this development into three parts. First we sift through the essential, facts of the case with two reporters who have covered the investigation since it emerged, Amy Chozick and Michael S. Schmidt. Second, we examine why the F. B. I. director, James B. Comey, decided to make the new findings public, by talking with Carrie Cordero, a former attorney at the Department of Justice who worked closely with the F. B. I. And to close out, we explain what impact this could have on the outcome of next Tuesday’s election, with insight from Nate Cohn of The Upshot. He says that, as with so many of the major news events in this contest, this one is not likely to be a game changer. “All those things did move the polls, but they didn’t fundamentally reshape the race,” Mr. Cohn says. “The core underlying dynamic of this election hasn’t ever changed, and that’s that a majority of voters don’t really believe Trump is qualified to be the president, they don’t like either candidate, so when the news is good or bad for their candidate they become more or less likely to indicate their support, but there has never been a time in this race when Trump has been able to assemble a clear path to victory. ” COMING UP! The is doing a show for Nov 8. Ask us anything about the election, the candidates, the polls — or about the reporters on the show. We’ll respond on air. Leave us a message at (347) or send us an email at therunup@nytimes. com. Be sure to leave us a your full name, the state where you live, and a number where we can reach you. From a desktop or laptop, you can listen by pressing play on the button above. Or if you’re on a mobile device, the instructions below will help you find and subscribe to the series. On your iPhone or iPad: 1. Open your podcast app. It’s a app called “Podcasts” with a purple icon. (This link may help.) 2. Search for the series. Tap on the “search” magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen, type in “The ” and select it from the list of results. 3. Subscribe. Once on the series page, tap on the “subscribe” button to have new episodes sent to your phone free. You may want to adjust your notifications to be alerted when a new episode arrives. 4. Or just sample. If you would rather listen to an episode or two before deciding to subscribe, tap on the episode title from the list on the series page. If you have an internet connection, you’ll be able to stream the episode. On your Android phone or tablet: 1. Open your podcast app. It’s a app called “Play Music” with an icon. (This link may help.) 2. Search for the series. Click on the magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen, search for the name of the series and select it from the list of results. You may have to scroll down to find the “Podcasts” search results. 3. Subscribe. Once on the series page, click on the word “subscribe” to have new episodes sent to your phone free. 4. Or just sample. If you would rather listen to an episode or two before deciding to subscribe, click on the episode title from the list on the series page. If you have an internet connection, you’ll be able to stream the episode. | 0fake |
WHOA! NEW SHOCK POLL Shows Iowa Voters Are Shifting To A New GOP Candidate By A WIDE Margin | According to the latest Des Moines Register Poll, (full pdf below) of 400 Republican caucus goers, candidate Ted Cruz has surged into the lead with 31% support a gain of 21 points since DMR s previous polling.It looks like there s a new #1 in town Thank God it s a true conservative! American s have had it with the RINO candidates According to the Des Moines Register Cruz s ascent is the largest and fastest rise in the history of Iowa Caucus polling.DMR 2130 methodology-Saturday Dec 12Via: Conservative Treehouse | 1real |
United Arab Emirates says to announce government reshuffle on Thursday | DUBAI (Reuters) - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, said in a tweet a government reshuffle will be announced later on Thursday. | 0fake |
TAXPAYER FUNDED OPERATION CONSERVATIVE TAKE DOWN : DOJ Awards MI State Univ Huge Grant To Study ‘Far Right” Groups Use Of Social Media | How many American taxpayer dollars have already been used by the Obama regime to spy on, discredit and dismantle conservative groups like the Tea Party? Is anyone else beginning to feel like the Obama regime is one big union who forces members to pay dues that are used to fund, and ensure the success of the Democrat party? The Department of Justice is concentrating on far-right groups in a new study of social media usage aimed at combatting violent extremism.The Justice Department s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded Michigan State University $585,719 for the study, which was praised by Eric Holder, the former attorney general, earlier this year. There is currently limited knowledge of the role of technology and computer mediated communications (CMCs), such as Facebook and Twitter, in the dissemination of messages that promote extremist agendas and radicalize individuals to violence, according to the NIJ grant. The proposed study will address this gap through a series of qualitative and quantitative analyses of posts from various forms of CMC used by members of both the far-right and Islamic extremist movements. The study draws more upon right-wing forums than upon the corners of the web inhabited by Islamist extremists. We will collect posts made in four active forums used by members of the far-right and three from the Islamic Extremist community, as well as posts made in Facebook, LiveJournal, Twitter, YouTube, and Pastebin accounts used by members of each movement, the grant said. The findings will be used to document both the prevalence and variation in the ideological content of posts from members of each movement, the grant continued. In addition, we will assess the value of these messages in the social status of the individual posting the message and the function of radical messages in the larger on-line identity of participants in extremist communities generally. The project will also identify the hidden networks of individuals who engage in extremist movements based on geographic location and ideological similarities. The results will be used for a public webinar, and for presentations for counterterrorism experts in the United States.Holder highlighted the study in remarks this February at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, as an example of the new methods the Justice Department is using to combat terrorist threats.Holder said the study will help us develop more effective techniques and partnerships for counter-messaging. While the grant does not name the far-right groups that would be examined, other federal agencies have devoted their energy to the sovereign citizen movement.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report on the movement, whose members believe that U.S. laws do not apply to them, just as the White House held its summit on violent extremism. The administration did not use the phrase Islamist extremism at the summit.DHS stirred controversy in 2009 when it issued a report on right-wing extremism, which included veterans returning from combat as a potential terrorist threat.The Justice Department and Michigan State University did not return requests for comment by press time.Via: Washington Free Beacon | 1real |
Two more Trump campaign officials met Russian envoy: USA Today | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least two additional officials in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said they spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyan at a conference on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention last July, USA Today reported on Thursday. The newspaper said J.D. Gordon, who was the Trump campaign’s director of national security, and Carter Page, another member of the campaign’s national security advisory committee, both said they met the ambassador. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who also met Kislyan at the conference of diplomats in Cleveland that coincided with the Republican convention to select Trump as the party’s presidential candidate. | 0fake |
Central African Republic risks return to major conflict: U.N. report | GENEVA (Reuters) - Deadly ethnic fighting in Central African Republic could descend into a much larger-scale conflict if nothing is done to disarm combatants and defuse tensions, a U.N. report said on Friday. With a fifth of the population displaced since the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted the president in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias, U.N. peacekeepers are struggling to contain simmering violence. The U.N. human rights working group on mercenaries and foreign fighters said it strongly senses that the possibility of another armed conflict is likely, if foreign armed actors, along with local armed groups, are not effectively dismantled and suppressed. National security forces are too weak to tackle armed groups and counter the spillover from conflicts in neighboring countries, and U.N. military personnel, who number just over 10,000, have failed to convince locals that they can protect them, the report said. Ugandan and U.S. forces pulled out earlier this year, declaring success against the Lord s Resistance Army, a regional militia notorious for two decades of abducting children to use as fighters and sex slaves. On Thursday, Amnesty International issued its own report detailing what it said was the systematic rape and murder of civilians in ethnic fighting. If the U.N. s mandate in the Central African Republic is to mean anything, civilians must be better protected, the rights group s Joanne Mariner said. U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the U.N. mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) had to make changes and was slightly short of the necessary personnel. We have currently a troop ceiling which we think is slightly under what we would need, he said on Friday. MINUSCA s mandate authorizes it to have 10,750 military personnel, a recent U.N. report said there were 10,098 on the ground. We are seeing a surge in ... very negative and antagonistic messages to the effect that foreigners should be eliminated, putting one ethnic or religious component of this country against the other, Lacroix told reporters in Geneva. The working group report said the word foreigners was constantly used to label Muslims. | 0fake |
Author’s Daughter Donating Royalties for Book as Sales Soar Following Steve Bannon Plug | Sales have skyrocketed for famed journalist David Halberstam’s book The Best and the Brightest after it was reported that President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon is reading it and encouraging White House staffers to do the same. [What’s more, Julia Halberstam, David Halberstam’s daughter, is donating the royalties from the books sold in 2017 to investigative journalism ProPublica. “Julia Halberstam told us she was moved to do this by reaction to a story in the New York Times reporting that White House assistant Stephen Bannon was reading the book during the presidential transition and recommending it to colleagues,” the New York group reports. News of Bannon’s interest in The Best and the Brightest broke after New York Times sports reporter Marc Tracy spotted Trump’s top adviser holding the 1972 book at Atlanta Georgia’s International Airport. “Mr. Bannon was carrying a book, and when an incoming president’s guru is reading a book, you should find out what it is,” Tracy wrote in a Times article titled, “Steve Bannon’s Book Club. ” “I walked by and peeked. It was The Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam’s 1972 history of the strategic errors and human foibles that birthed the disastrous American involvement in the Vietnam War. ” ProPublica, says “we agree with Bannon that the book is ‘great for seeing how little mistakes early on’ in an administration ‘can lead to big ones later. ’” “If you have not read The Best and the Brightest, or have not read it recently, we join Steve Bannon in urging you to do so. ProPublica will benefit, to be sure, but we believe anyone seeking to be an informed citizen will as well. ” Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson | 0fake |
YOUNG DANISH COUPLE BEATEN, Woman Punched In Head, After “ETHNIC” Gang Attacked Them For Eating Pork On Pizza | Danish police are looking for a gang who beat up a young couple over a pizza slice with ham. The woman now risks permanent damage to her hearing after being punched in the head.Saturday night a young couple were attacked by up to five people of other ethnic origin in Silkeborg, reports BT.The attack took place outside a pizza restaurant in Silkeborg, where a 24-year-old woman and her boyfriend sat while eating a pizza.The perpetrator took one of her pieces of pizza and threw it on the ground, which developed into a scuffle, and soon after the perpetrator got help from a group of friends who ganged up on the couple and attacked them with several punches and kicks.Midtjyllands Avis writes that the young couple were asked if there was pork on their pizza, which they answered yes to. And it was apparently what triggered the brawl. Suddenly a young man of other ethnic origin rushed towards the young woman and hit her in the head, so that she has subsequently lost the hearing on one ear. Right now we do not know whether it is a permanent hearing damage! He then takes a stranglehold on her and shouting that she sure as hell should not eat pork on her pizza, writes the mother of the young man in a post on Facebook that the newspaper has seen.Mid and West Jutland Police describe the main offender as about 175 cm high, ethnic origin other than Danish, and wearing dark clothing. Police are also looking for four other persons who participated in the attack. So basically they are looking for a Muslim gang. Speisa | 1real |
Cruz’s Attempt To Act Tough Hilariously Backfires When Reporter Asks Him Brutal Follow-Up (VIDEO) | Poor, poor Ted Cruz. He just can t catch a break.Having endured repeated attacks on his wife by Republican front-runner Donald Trump, Cruz practiced his best tough guy face in the mirror, found the nearest camera and told Trump: Donald, you re a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone. And it almost would have worked if it weren t for a meddling NBC reporter who pointed out the massive elephant in the room.Without missing a beat, NBC s Hallie Jackson stepped up to ask the one question Cruz didn t want to hear: Are you more loyal to the Republican Party or your wife? His flailing response speaks volumes.A clearly unimpressed Jackson asks Cruz to explicitly say whether or not he would support Donald Trump as president if he got the nomination. Cruz was left temporarily speechless, before weakly saying the question was irrelevant because Trump was going to lose. Jackson didn t let up:Jackson: That s not answering the question, Senator.Cruz: I am answering the question. Donald Trump will not be the nominee.Jackson: He s leading right now and you just looked into that camera and said he was a coward. Will you support him as the nominee?Cruz: Donald Trump will not be the nomineeWhat makes Jackson s questions so brutal is that for Cruz, he s always struggled to distance himself from Trump while at the same time copying many of his ideas. And like many Republicans, Cruz has repeatedly said he would support the eventual nominee whoever it was, even as he publicly attacked Trump. Just earlier this month, Cruz was still adamant that party loyalty meant everything. My answer is the same. I committed at the outset. I will support the Republican nominee, whoever it is, Cruz said.Making things even more awkward, Cruz and Trump spent the early part of the election praising each other. Cruz would live to regret tweets like this one.In the end, with Trump s sizable lead in the primaries, Cruz will need to decide what he will do if Trump wins. As he calls Trump a sniveling coward on camera, he may soon be faced with having to grovel at Trump s feet (just as his former fellow candidates Chris Christie and Ben Carson have already done). No doubt when that happens, Cruz is going to wish he never met Hallie Jackson.Featured image via Twitter | 1real |
PELOSI FEEDS LIES TO CBS ANCHORS: Claims That Comey has ‘Spoken Out’ on Trump’s Wiretap Claim | He s created nothing except chaos Delusional Nancy Pelosi | 1real |
Mika: Trump Has ‘No Credibility Where We Stand Right Now’ - Breitbart | Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” while discussing President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn working as a foreign agent during the presidential campaign, Mika Brzezinski said declared the Trump presidency as having “no credibility where we stand right now. ” Brzezinski said, “It’s staggering … They have made a joke of the entire transition process, and this presidency has no credibility where we stand right now. I don’t say that with hysteria. I don’t say that with shrillness. I say that with a deep sense of concern for how we often cover this story because there are people who believe Trump from start to finish and he’s not telling the truth. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0fake |
SHOCKING SUMMARY Of The DNC Convention So Far…Did We Leave Anything Out? | What a crazy group of professional agitators and political scumbags this has been REALLY entertaining and a bit creepy too | 1real |
Bundy Militant Files $666 BILLION Lawsuit Against Government For ‘Damages From The Works Of The Devil’ | The moment the initial members of the Bundy militants were arrested, effectively ending the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, one thing was for certain: as paranoid, anti-government conspiracy theorists, these people could be counted on for some absolute batsh*t crazy legal defenses. But no one could anticipate the sheer stupidity of their other legal filings.Shawna Cox, the woman who falsely claimed that LaVoy Finicum was executed with his hands in the air when in actuality he was attempting to pull a gun on law enforcement, filed a lawsuit against the big, bad federal government. Cox is seeking a whopping $666,666,666,666.66 in damages because she says the government harmed her in performing works of the devil including her attempted execution.KATU reports that Cox, who managed to convince the court to do her a special favor in allowing her to attend Finicum s funeral, quickly found her lawsuit tossed out because her claims are not cognizable in this criminal proceeding and will not be addressed in this case. Cox maintains that she did not interfere with public employees when she and her friends undertook an armed occupation of the Refuge because it was their choice not to come to work out of guilt, that federal employees were secretly extending the boundaries of Malheur, and says that she is being maliciously prosecuted by the State and Federal Bar Association members because they do not want to be held accountable for their subversive activities against the people of the United States of America. No one is safe from her wrath. Cox says she will be asking the jury to render civil and criminal charges against a number of public officials, including All of the Oregon State Bar members, and public employees who were involved in the persecution, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective council involving the incarceration of the Hammonds, including each and every one of them who violated the separation of powers and held offices in the judiciary and / or legislative and /or executive branches at the same time, anyone who interfered with the militia s attempt to form an illegal and unrecognized Grand Jury to prosecute public officials, and all involved in the ambush that attempted to execute myself and others and executed LaVoy Finicum. She also says she wants charges against all state, public, and federal officials involved in organizing and authorizing the ambush execution of myself and others including LaVoy Finicum as well as all of the state employees involved in the ambush that attempted to execute myself and others, and resulted in LaVoy Finicum s murder. Cox specifically names Judge Grasty, Senator Cliff Bentz, Harney County Prosecutor Tim Calhoun, Governor Kate Brown, U.S. prosecutors Dwight Holton, Kirk Engdall, Kelley Zusman, S. Amanda Marshall, Judge Hogan, and Judge Ann Aiken as well as officials who committed crimes against the Hammond family and myself by omissions and misprision [sic] pf felony s [sic], Sheriff David Ward and Special Agent Katherine Armstrong.She says she is seeking the $666 billion in damages because these individuals subjected her to damages from the works of the devil. If this seems nuts to you, you re probably right. These armed and crazed individuals declared war on the federal government, openly, and have essentially received a slap on the wrist for their anti-government efforts.Words can not describe the insanity of this woman s claims, so read them for yourself. Shawna Cox's claim for damagesFeatured image via Oregon Live | 1real |
Trump Kills The GOP With The Lowest Score In History Of Presidential Leadership Poll | In a major omen of potential election disaster for Republicans, Donald Trump has scored the lowest rating in the history of Gallup’s presidential leadership poll.
Gallup released their presidential leadership survey, and the results were historically bad for Donald Trump:
Voters rate Trump worse than any other presidential candidate in Gallup’s records on having the personality and leadership qualities a president should have. Previous readings were taken in late October in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 campaigns. In those years, between 52% and 61% of registered voters said the two major-party candidates had the right personality and leadership qualities — a sharp contrast to Trump’s current 32%. Clinton’s rating of 51% is one percentage point below the previous low score.
Clinton’s score, while low, was one point of the range for previous presidential cycles going back to 2000. Trump’s score was twenty percent below the lowest score in the history of the poll.
Voters aren’t going to elect a man to be the next president who they view as lacking the basic qualities of presidential leadership. The popular vote total in 2016 may reflect the nation’s political polarization, but there is a reason why electoral map projections continue to look very good for the Democratic candidate.
Donald Trump has failed the most elemental test for any presidential candidate. He doesn’t look, act, or behave like a person who has the qualities needed to occupy the Oval Office and lead the United States of America.
The last week before election day tension that is in the air is normal, but the fundamental motivating factors of this contest haven’t changed. Democrats are holding on to their electoral map advantage, while Donald Trump has become the central issue and question on the ballot.
Republicans look to be heading for a major ballot box disaster because voters do not believe that Donald Trump is fit to be president. | 1real |
China's most-wanted fugitive jailed for eight years for graft | BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court on Friday jailed the country s number one most wanted fugitive for eight years for graft and taking bribes, state media said. Yang Xiuzhu, a former deputy mayor of Wenzhou city in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, gave herself in to Chinese authorities late last year, returning from the United States after spending 13 years in hiding. China ranked Yang top in a 2015 list of its 100 most wanted graft suspects who were targeted with Interpol red notices. Many on the list had fled to the United States, Canada or Australia. Some 48 have since returned to China. Yang s prison sentence and a fine of 800,000 yuan ($121,500) was announced by the People s Intermediate Court in Hangzhou, the official Xinhua news agency said on social media. The court gave Yang a reduced sentence as she had expressed regret, pleaded guilty and actively returned her illegal gains, as well returned to China, Xinhua reported. In under three years in her position at the construction bureau, Yang had embezzled nearly 20 million yuan in public funds and had accepted over 7 million yuan in gifts. Just under 27 million yuan of this had been recovered, the court said. It was not possible to reach Yang or a representative for comment. President Xi Jinping s war on graft has spread beyond China s borders with overseas searches dubbed Operation Fox Hunt and Sky Net hunting down officials and business executives who fled overseas with their assets. Wary that suspects might not get a fair trial and that accusations may be politically motivated, some developed nations have been hesitant to comply with Beijing s requests to return people to China. Yang told Reuters in 2015 that she was innocent and called the most-wanted list a political document targeting enemies of the current regime rather than a roster of criminals. | 0fake |
Emergency Survival Food Sales Soar as We Get Closer to Election Day | Sales of emergency survival food are increasing as we approach election day, and rightfully so. With Hillary Clinton and other democrats hellbent on resuscitating a non-existent Cold War and the violent riots we’ve seen by so-called protesters at Donald trump rallies, many preppers are seeing the signs and preparing for post-election unrest by storing large amounts of non-perishable food.
Although it is quite normal to see long-term storable foods rise in sales around election time, but survival food companies are seeing a particularly large spike in business this year as we approach election day.
“This is more intense than what we saw in 2012,” Keith Bansemer, marketing VP for My Patriot Supply, a survival food company, told NBC news. He says that last election season doubled their sales, and this time around they have seen their sales triple.
“We have everyone we can on the phones. We are overwhelmed,” said Bensemer.
Those who expect Trump to win fear a revolt from violent anti-Trump protesters, such as the riot seen in San Jose , California outside of a Trump rally. Others who expect Hillary Clinton’s coronation to the presidency are preparing for a possible World War 3 scenario, which may be a very well-founded concern considering Clinton’s war-driven rhetoric about Russia’s involvement in Syria and the establishment of no-fly zones in air space around Aleppo.
However, not everyone is preparing for war with another country. Many are preparing for government-related threats to their life and liberty. One of the major threats we face is the ever-increasing desire of politicians to take away our guns and the resulting chaos that would ensue. Hillary Clinton completely disregards the second amendment, and the possibility that she would enact gun confiscation across the country should not be discounted. This would mean a declaration of war on the people, or at least those who cherish freedom.
Bansemer does not think his customer base is fearing for any specific election outcome. He thinks that many just want to be prepared for whatever may come as a result of either of these candidates’ policies.
“You hear them saying, no matter who wins, I know I could take a positive step myself and secure what’s important,” he explained. “They’re securing their food supply.”
A number of other long-term food suppliers are seeing an increase as well.
Legacy Foods is predicting that sales will jump in the weeks following the election, said owner Phil Cox. Legacy sells a $2,000 package of a year’s worth of storable food, containing nearly 1,100 meals and sealed in military-grade Mylar packs.
Retailers are noticing the increase of sales of long-term food and they are serving the market. Costco is also getting into the emergency food market with a 390-serving bucket, or one month’s supply of food, for $115. Store owner Larry Friedman is unsure what to make of the increased presence of preppers at his military surplus supply store, M&G. “Some are regulars in here,” said Friedman. “They come in, seem perfectly normal, and then suddenly, they’re talking about the apocalypse. You do a double-take.”
Friedman recalled seeing an increase of sales like this nearly two decades ago, after the original invasion of Iraq:
“It really started in ’91 with Desert Storm. People were worried about Scud missiles and chemical weapons from Iraq. We had so many people waiting we almost couldn’t close the doors. We sold every gas mask we could get our hands on. That was off the hook.”
Whatever reason one may have for preparing, there is no question that if disaster strikes and food becomes scarce, food will become a primary currency , and storable food will become highly valuable. There’s no good reason to pass up the opportunity to prepare.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 6th, 2016 Sign of the Times: Riot Control Gear Sales Are Soaring… Could the Next World War be Initiated with an EMP Weapon… Four Current Events that Could Challenge the Prepper… 14 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy’s Bubble Of False… Silver Bullion or Junk Silver for Long-term Bartering? | 1real |
According To Employees, Trump Often Spied On Mar-A-Lago’s Guest’s Phone Calls | If the way Donald Trump reportedly ran the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach is any indication, if he wins, he will be taking full advantage of every spy agency in his charge, just for his own agenda.According to six former employees at the resort, Trump had a telephone console in his room that allowed him to tap into every single phone in the place. He often listened in on staff calls, but he could also listen in on guest calls, although the GOP frontrunner s spokeswoman denies it.According to Buzzfeed, who spoke to six former employees, four of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity because of non-disclosure agreements, this is indeed true. Those four said he listened in, from the private room he keeps, during the mid-2000s.They said he listened in on calls between club employees or, in some cases, between staff and guests. None of them knew of Trump eavesdropping on guests or members talking on private calls with people who were not employees of Mar-a-Lago. They also said that Trump could eavesdrop only on calls made on the club s landlines and not on calls made from guests cell phones.Each of these four sources said they personally saw the telephone console, which some referred to as a switchboard, in Trump s bedroom.None of the four supports Trump s bid for president. All said they enjoyed their time working at Mar-a-Lago.The two other employees did not wish to remain anonymous. They are Trump s former butler (the one who wants Obama killed) and Trump s former security director, both of whom support Trump s run for president, said that the console was only to make phone calls.Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is running at a time when Americans are increasingly concerned about surveillance both by the government and by their employers. Some of his own campaign staff feared that their offices in Trump Tower in New York might be bugged, the New York Times reported last month. Trump has backed the NSA s bulk collection of metadata, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that I tend to err on the side of security. Trump added, I assume when I pick up my telephone people are listening to my conversations anyway, if you want to know the truth. If Trump was listening in on guests calls, that was certainly a violation of Florida law. The law is less clear on calls involving employees, but since both parties in Florida need to be notified, if the second party is not an employee, that is legally murky at best.This accusation is frightening. I have always been of the opinion that Trump is running for the job of dictator, hence his admiration of Putin and Kim Jong Un. This does not bode well. All I can say is I hope Hillary Clinton s offices are locked down tight or we ll have another Watergate on our hands.Featured image via John Moore at Getty Images. | 1real |
Trump defends attacks on Mexican-American U.S. federal judge | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defended his attacks on a Mexican-American judge on Friday, resisting pressure from top Republicans to moderate his tone out of concern he is hurting his chances to win the White House. Trump’s bomb-throwing rhetoric helped him defeat 16 Republican rivals for the party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 election. But facing a tough fight with expected Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, many Republicans want him to present a more disciplined image. Feeling confident his method has been a winner, Trump so far has waved off some of the advice from Republicans who support him but want less loose talk. In a CNN interview, Trump escalated his attacks on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the son of Mexican immigrants who is the presiding judge in lawsuits involving fraud allegations against Trump University, the New York businessman’s defunct real estate training school. Trump suggested Curiel’s Mexican heritage was influencing the judge’s opinion about the case because Trump has campaigned on a platform of building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration. “He’s proud of his heritage,” Trump said. “He’s a Mexican. We’re building a wall between here and Mexico. The answer is, he is giving us very unfair rulings, rulings that people can’t even believe. This case should have ended years ago on summary judgment,” Trump said. The judge a week ago unsealed documents related to the case. Comments from the two top elected U.S. Republicans, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, reflected continued worries among establishment Republicans about Trump. Ryan, who endorsed Trump on Thursday, said the comments from Trump about the judge were “out of left field.” “He clearly says and does things I don’t agree with. And I’ve had to speak up ... (from) time to time when that has occurred. And I’ll continue to do that if that’s necessary. I hope it’s not,” Ryan told a Milwaukee radio station. McConnell, speaking on MSNBC, raised concerns about Trump’s criticism of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, a rising star in the Republican Party who can appeal to Hispanic voters. After attacking her record last week, Trump on Thursday moderated his tone and said he would like her endorsement. “We ought to be trying to unify, he ought to be trying to unify the party behind him,” McConnell said of Trump. “Most of us are committed to supporting him and trying to bring the party together, and I think he needs to play his role on all of that as well.” Trump received 32 percent support from Latino voters in an NBC News/Survey Monkey poll this week, a respectable number given his critical comments throughout the campaign about illegal immigrants, most of whom come from Mexico and other Latin American countries. But the specter of Trump as the nominee has worried some Hispanic Republicans. This week, Ruth Guerra, who is a Mexican-American, resigned as the Republican National Committee’s chief of Hispanic media relations. A source familiar with her departure said she was not comfortable with Trump as the nominee. More broadly, Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has been trying to persuade Trump to moderate his tone as a way to heal fissures in the party, at a time when Trump will need to rely on deep-pocketed Republican loyalists to finance a $1 billion campaign. “He needs one thing and one thing only: discipline,” said a senior party official, speaking on condition of anonymity. But if a Trump rally in Redding, California, was any indication, the candidate feels his method is working. “Temperament is a very important word,” Trump said, referring to Clinton’s charge that he is temperamentally unfit for the White House. “We need toughness in tone. We need toughness in temperament.” Stung by attacks on him from Clinton on Thursday, Trump dredged up scandals from the 1990s to hit her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying they are dishonest. He cited Bill Clinton’s affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. “First of all, she’s always got problems: Whitewater (a controversial real estate deal), impeachment, lies. He ‘didn’t have sex with that woman,’” Trump said. “These are lying people. We don’t need, folks, another four years of the Clintons.” | 0fake |
Donald Trump, François Hollande, Tiger Woods: Your Thursday Evening Briefing - The New York Times | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Donald J. Trump began a victory lap, heading to Indiana to celebrate both his win and his seeming success at preventing some manufacturing jobs in the state from moving to Mexico. The deal with Carrier, best known for its saves 1, 000 jobs through a $7 million incentive package — just the kind of corporate giveaway he knocked on the campaign trail. Afterward, he went to a rally in Ohio, where he announced the selection of James Mattis, an with a tough stance on Iran, to be his defense secretary. _____ 2. Some of Mr. Trump’s supporters say he is risking charges of hypocrisy for filling his cabinet with people of wealth and power — the very kinds of people he vowed to drive out of Washington. The consideration of Mitt Romney, above, for secretary of state has been the most infuriating to conservative leaders who wanted to see Mr. Trump shake up the party establishment. Some have mounted a vigorous lobbying campaign to try to usher David H. Petraeus, the former C. I. A. director, into the job. _____ 3. The first recount of the 2016 presidential election is underway in Wisconsin, above. Few people expect the effort, initiated by Jill Stein, to reverse the election’s outcome. Another recount will begin Friday in the neighboring battleground state of Michigan. _____ 4. A measure to extend sanctions against Iran for a decade was passed by the Senate and will now go to President Obama, who has not said whether he intends to sign or to veto the legislation. The vote showed the desire of lawmakers to maintain a tough posture toward Iran amid uncertainty over the future of the nuclear agreement with the country, which Mr. Trump railed against during his campaign. Iranian officials have threatened to respond if the United States goes through with the extension. Above, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader. _____ 5. The United Nations apologized for its role in the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti that led to the deaths of about 10, 000 people. Secretary General Ban in his address to the General Assembly, implicitly acknowledged that the disease was not present in the country until the arrival of U. N. peacekeepers from Nepal, where cholera is common. _____ 6. President François Hollande stunned France, announcing he would not run for a second term in next year’s election. Mr. Hollande, a Socialist, has had some of the worst approval ratings in France’s modern history. He has struggled to cut unemployment and has had to grapple with agonizing terrorist attacks. _____ 7. The process to demobilize FARC rebels in Colombia can begin now that a revised peace accord ending the country’s civil war has been ratified. This time the government bypassed voters, who had turned down the accord by a narrow margin on Oct. 2. In coming weeks, the rebels will leave their camps and relocate to a set number of sites, where they’ll disarm under the watch of United Nations inspectors. _____ 8. Psilocybin, an ingredient found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, can significantly reduce anxiety and depression in cancer patients, according to a study published today. The drug has been illegal in the United States for more than 40 years. “I have a greater sense of peace of what might come,” one cancer survivor said. “I’m very grateful, beyond words, for this trial. ” _____ 9. Jim Delligatti, above, the McDonald’s franchise owner who created the Big Mac, died on Monday. He was 98. In the Mr. Delligatti’s initial proposal to add a hamburger to the menu was met with resistance. Today, the company sells about 550 million Big Macs in the United States every year. “All I got was a plaque,” Mr. Delligatti said in 2007. _____ 10. Tiger Woods made his comeback to golf at the Hero World Challenge, his first competitive round in more than a year — 466 days, to be exact. He had been sidelined by back injuries, watching his ranking plummet to 898th while he was away. Woods, now 40, showed flashes of his old self on the course Thursday, but finished over par. _____ 11. One of our stories is about a fortune that went missing when a wealthy businessman set out to divorce his wife. The quest to find it would reveal the depths of an offshore financial system used by the richest people in the world for one main purpose: to make it appear that they own as little as possible. “Dictators use it to loot their own countries. Drug lords use it to launder money,” our reporter wrote. The system “is a darkness that shields the businessman and the criminal alike. ” _____ 12. Finally, we have reached the last month of 2016. December will usher in holiday decorations, party invitations, airport congestion and, most likely, an overwhelming number of lists. Here’s one to kick things off: the 10 best books of 2016, selected by editors of The New York Times Book Review. Enjoy. _____ Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
Iraq says ruling against Trump travel ban is move in right direction | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is satisfied with a U.S. appeals court ruling against a travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, a government spokesman said on Sunday. The ruling given late on Saturday denied a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately restore Trump’s order, which a judge in Washington state had blocked on Friday. “It is a move in the right direction to solve the problems that it caused,” the Iraqi spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, told Reuters. Trump’s executive order last week put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from seven majority Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Religious minorities persecuted by the Islamic State group, and other Iraqis fleeing violence, were among those affected. The ban would have prevented a total of 20,000 people in “precarious circumstances” in the seven countries targeted from resettling in the U.S. during the 120 days covered by the suspension, according to the United Nations. Baghdad protested against the ban, calling it unfair and saying that no Iraqi had been involved in attacks on U.S. soil. But it refrained from retaliating as it seeks to maintain U.S. support for Iraqi forces battling Islamic State in Mosul. The U.S. has more than 5,000 troops deployed in Iraq, providing critical air and ground support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting the militants, who declared a self-styled caliphate over parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. | 0fake |
U.N. seeks to rally foreign backing for new Libyan peace plan | TUNIS (Reuters) - The United Nations is seeking to marshal international support this week for a new push to break a political stalemate in Libya and end the turmoil that followed the country s 2011 uprising. The world body s Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, is expected to set out an action plan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday that will propose amending a 2015 peace deal that quickly stalled. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) set up under the December 2015 deal has never fully established itself in Tripoli, leaving Libya with three competing governments aligned with rival armed alliances. Hamstrung by internal splits in its nine-member leadership, or Presidency Council, the GNA has been unable to tackle Libya s acute liquidity crisis, save collapsing public services or bring powerful militias to heel. Though oil production has partially recovered and local forces ousted Islamic State from their North African stronghold of Sirte last year, security vacuums in central and southern Libya persist and armed groups control the informal economy. Eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar has gradually strengthened his position on the ground, with support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Lauded by allies for his anti-Islamist stance, Haftar is accused by foes of seeking to reimpose military rule that they fought to overthrow when they toppled veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi six years ago. The most important thing is to convince Haftar that a peaceful solution is better than a military one, said Karim Mezran of the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think-tank. You have to convince the Egyptians and the Emiratis who are his main supporters to reduce that support. Salame, who took up his post in August, is expected to propose reducing the unwieldy GNA Presidency Council to three members and it would then nominate a new transitional government, diplomats and analysts say. But securing changes to the 2015 deal would need the approval of a barely functional eastern-based parliament. The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on the head of that parliament, Agila Saleh, accusing him of stalling Libya s political process. A delegation from the eastern parliament is expected to start negotiating with members of its Tripoli-based rival assembly. They are under pressure to reach an agreement before Dec. 17, when opponents of the 2015 deal say it expires. Salame must also balance calls for new elections with the need to prepare a legal framework in which they can take place, diplomats say. Before elections you need a timetable to do the necessary preparation ... but at the same time you need a government that can govern and unify the political, economic and social and military institutions of the country and deliver services in that interim period, said a senior Western diplomat. Some armed groups have cemented their positions since 2015, while political factions across Libya have become even more splintered. Now the problem is that those factions have fragmented internally, said Claudia Gazzini, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group. It s even more difficult to solicit representative views. Elections would require an electoral law, and possibly a referendum to endorse a new constitution. In 2014, elections were challenged, leading to a major escalation of conflict and the division of Libya s key institutions. Of course it s not going to be easy, and once (Salame) makes the announcement there ll be some who will not see advantage out of it, said the Western diplomat. | 0fake |
Дырка от рублика: Украина не получит штрафы с авиакомпаний РФ за полеты в Крым | 0 комментариев 1 поделились
Как заявили в Государственной авиационной службе Украины (Госавиаслужба), в связи с нарушением запрета на полеты над полуостровом ведомство вынесло более пяти тысяч постановлений.
Штрафы, в частности, были наложены на "Аэрофлот", после того как перевозчик запустил рейсы по маршруту Сочи — Симферополь. Представители Госавиаслужбы признались, что пока ни одна российская компания не заплатила требуемую от нее сумму.
Насколько правомерны такие штрафы, Pravda.Ru поинтересовалась у генерального директора Ассоциации аэропортов гражданской авиации Виктора Горбачева.
Эксперт заявил, что Россия не должна и не будет платить. "Крым является российской территорией, какие могут быть штрафы? — объяснил он. — Более того, Россия не осуществляет полеты через Украину (российские летчики пролетают через Краснодарский край), соответственно, поводов производить выплаты нет абсолютно никаких".
По его словам, не стоит относиться к подобным требованиям серьезно: "Они могут делать, что угодно, даже предъявить претензии к президенту. Ну, предъявляйте, а дальше что?", — сказал собеседник Pravda.Ru.
На вопрос о том, сможет ли Украина добиться выплат через международные инстанции, Виктор Горбачев пояснил, что у этих штрафов нет юридических, правовых оснований. "Это проблема даже не Украины, а каких-то отдельных служб, деятелей. Украина может предъявлять все, что угодно, но это никак не повлияет на отсутствие правых оснований для выплат за полеты над российской территорией", — заявил эксперт.
При этом Виктор Горбачев напомнил, что один раз такое получилось, но не Украины, а у европейцев, когда те загубили нашу авиакомпанию "Добролет". "В тот раз это была наша вина, и мы должны были понимать, чем это может обернуться", — сказал эксперт. Он заверил, что теперь мы такого не допустим.
Напомним, в сентябре 2014 года взамен подпавшего под санкции ЕС лоукостера "Добролет" "Аэрофлот" создал компанию "Бюджетный перевозчик", которая работает под брендом "Победа". При этом все руководящие должности были сохранены.
Стопроцентная "дочка" "Аэрофлота" - "Добролет", в июне 2014 года начавшая деятельность с перелетов в Симферополь, была вынуждена прекратить работу 4 августа 2014 года из-за введенных против нее санкций ЕС. Ряд европейских контрагентов сообщили об отказе выполнять обязательства перед российским авиаперевозчиком, аннулировав действие договоров лизинга, технического обслуживания и страхования лайнеров, а также предоставления аэронавигационной информации.
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Life in the Lights - The New York Times | Hillary Clinton has lived most of her life in the public eye — and in front of cameras. Staff photographers for The New York Times have documented her career since her husband, then the governor of Arkansas, ran for president in 1992. They covered her during her sometimes turbulent tenure as first lady and over the course of her own political career. Four of those photographers reflect on their experience covering Mrs. Clinton and their impressions of the 2016 presidential election. Covering a campaign is like taking a photograph through a window. The challenge is to see beyond the reflected image — what the campaign is trying to project — and to capture what is really there. I was with Mrs. Clinton on and off during the 2016 campaign and her first presidential run. Her image has always been carefully managed, and our access to activity is rare, making it a challenge to capture the candidate in more unguarded moments. I see no point in showing what anyone can see from the audience or on television. For me, a successful campaign photo allows you to step back and give a fuller sense of the scene. I have taken tens of thousands of pictures of Mrs. Clinton and covered her first presidential run. This campaign feels very different from the 2008 race, and I have wanted to make sure our images reflect that. This time around, Mrs. Clinton has shown more confidence as a candidate and seems more energized on the trail. The crowds at her events are far more diverse and much younger than those during her last run — they look a lot like the ones Barack Obama had in November 2008. Many of the best photos I take of Mrs. Clinton are at the moment she arrives onstage or when she is on the rope line talking to voters. Mrs. Clinton was the in this race, just as she was in the 2008 campaign. But she seems to have enjoyed this one more. There are a couple of moments that have stuck with me as I covered Mrs. Clinton over the course of her political career. At the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion during the 1992 transition, Mrs. Clinton appeared at a news conference with a group of her husband’s senior advisers. It was a quiet signal that she would wield significant power in his administration, and a hint of her political ambitions. In October 2015, I was at the Dinner, an annual Democratic in Des Moines, where I watched as Mrs. Clinton’s primary opponents took sharp jabs at her for her policy positions and her ties to big banks. But as Mrs. Clinton entered the room, the mood turned from political gathering to rock concert as ecstatic supporters reached across bicycle gates, trying to touch her. Mrs. Clinton was a superstar who was expected to cruise to the nomination and enjoy clear advantages in the general election. But very few people — possibly including Mrs. Clinton herself — had an inkling that she was about to take part in the most searing presidential campaign in modern history. I have been photographing Mrs. Clinton since the 1992 presidential campaign, and have spent so much time watching her that I can sometimes predict her gestures and actions at campaign events. While Mrs. Clinton is often described as guarded and hyperaware of how she is perceived, she has frequently projected a sense of ease with who she is during this campaign. She refers to her age unapologetically, often talking about being a grandmother, and seems more comfortable interacting with voters on the trail, at times appearing to take genuine delight in it. Though she rarely deviates from her script, I am always looking for those real and telling moments that show her as a private person rather than just a public figure — though in Mrs. Clinton’s case, those two roles are deeply intertwined. | 0fake |
JUST IN: FBI Supervisor Fired For Anti-Trump Texts Oversaw Michael Flynn Interviews | A supervisory special agent who is now under scrutiny after being removed from Robert Mueller s Special Counsel s Office for alleged bias against President Trump also oversaw the bureau s interviews of embattled former National Security advisor Michael Flynn, this reporter has learned. Flynn recently pled guilty to one-count of lying to the FBI last week.FBI agent Peter Strzok was one of two FBI agents who interviewed Flynn, which took place on Jan. 24, at the White House, said several sources. The other FBI special agent, who interviewed Flynn, is described by sources as a field supervisor in the Russian Squad, at the FBI s Washington Field Office, according to a former intelligence official, with knowledge of the interview.Strzok was removed from his role in the Special Counsel s Office after it was discovered he had made disparaging comments about President Trump in text messages between him and his alleged lover FBI attorney Lisa Page, according to the New York Times and Washington Post, which first reported the stories. Strzok is also under investigation by the Department of Justice Inspector General for his role in Hillary Clinton s email server and the ongoing investigation into Russia s election meddling. On Saturday, the House Intelligence Committee s Chairman Devin Nunes chided the Justice Department and the FBI for not disclosing why Strzok had been removed from the Special Counsel three months ago, according to a statement given by the Chairman.The former U.S. intelligence official told this reporter, with the recent revelation that Strzok was removed from the Special Counsel investigation for making anti-Trump text messages it seems likely that the accuracy and veracity of the 302 of Flynn s interview as a whole should be reviewed and called into question. The most logical thing to happen would be to call the other FBI Special Agent present during Flynn s interview before the Grand Jury to recount his version, the former intelligence official added.The former official also said that Strzok s allegiance to (Deputy Director Andrew) McCabe was unwavering and very well known. Flynn, a retired three-star general, issued a statement on Dec. 1, saying, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts. Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for. But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. According to another source, with direct knowledge of the Jan. 24 interview, McCabe had contacted Flynn by phone directly at the White House. White House officials had spent the earlier part of the week with the FBI overseeing training and security measures associated with their new roles so it was no surprise to Flynn that McCabe had called, the source said.McCabe told Flynn some agents were heading over (to the White House) but Flynn thought it was part of the routine work the FBI had been doing and said they would be cleared at the gate, the source said. It wasn t until after they were already in (Flynn s) office that he realized he was being formerly interviewed. He didn t have an attorney with him, they added.Flynn s attorney Robert Kelner did not respond for comment. A former FBI agent said the investigation into Strzok and the reported text messages between him and Page, shows a bias that cannot be ignored particularly if he had anything to do with Flynn s interview and his role in it. The former U.S. intelligence official questioned, how logical is it that Flynn is being charged for lying to an agent whose character and neutrality was called into question by the Special Counsel. According to an anonymous source in The Washington Post, Strzok s and Page had exchanged a number of texts that expressed anti-Trump sentiments and other comments that appeared to favor Clinton. For entire story: Sara Carter, Hannity.com | 1real |
Russia, Turkey hope Astana peace talks will lead to congress on Syria in Sochi | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday they hoped the current round of Syria peace talks in Astana would lay the groundwork for a Syrian national dialogue congress in Sochi, the Kremlin said. Speaking over the phone, the two leaders also confirmed their readiness to assist the settlement of the Palestine-Israeli conflict on the basis of international law and help implement the right of the people of Palestine to create an independent state , the Kremlin said in a statement. | 0fake |
Saudi anti-graft detainees will get due process: Saudi U.N. envoy | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Saudi royal family members, officials and businessmen arrested in an anti-corruption crackdown this month will be granted due process, Saudi Arabia s U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said on Monday. Authorities have detained dozens of top Saudis including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in a move widely seen as an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to neuter any opposition to his lightning ascent to power. Those held face accusations of money laundering, extortion, bribery and exploiting public office for personal gain. A Saudi anti-corruption committee has been given the power to seize companies, funds and other assets ahead of criminal inquiries. I can assure you there will be due process for anybody who is detained, Al-Mouallimi told reporters at the United Nations. When asked how many people had been detained, he said: I do not have a figure to share with you. This is something that the security authorities will announce in due course. U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed the crackdown, saying some of those arrested have been milking Saudi Arabia for years, though the State Department has urged Riyadh to carry out prosecutions in a fair and transparent manner. Human Rights Watch has also called on Saudi authorities to immediately reveal the legal and evidentiary basis for each person s detention and make certain that each person detained can exercise their due process rights . (This version of the story corrects Saudi U.N. ambassador s name in paragraphs 1 and 4) | 0fake |
New U.S. environmental chief says agency can also be pro-jobs | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday that America need not choose between jobs and the environment, in a nod to the energy industry, as the White House prepares executive orders that could come as soon as this week to roll back Obama-era regulation. “I believe that we as an agency, and we as a nation, can be both pro-energy and jobs, and pro-environment,” Scott Pruitt said in his first address to staff. “We don’t have to choose between the two.” Critics of the agency have complained that regulations ushered in by former Democratic President Barack Obama have killed thousands of energy jobs by restricting carbon emissions and limiting areas open to coal mining and oil drilling. Democrats, environmental advocates and many of the EPA’s current and former staff worry President Donald Trump’s appointment of Pruitt signals a reversal in America’s progress toward cleaner air and water and fighting global climate change. Both Trump and Pruitt have expressed doubts about climate change, and Trump vowed during his 2016 presidential campaign to pull the United States out of a global pact to fight it. The Republican president has promised to slash environmental rules to help the drilling and mining industries, but without hurting air and water quality. Pruitt sued the agency he now leads more than a dozen times while attorney general of Oklahoma to stop federal rules. He did not mention climate change in his 12-minute speech at the EPA’s headquarters in Washington. He struck a conciliatory tone in the address, saying he would “listen, learn and lead” and that he valued the contributions of career staff. Trump is expected to sign executive orders aimed at reshaping environmental policy as early as this week. Those orders would lift a ban on coal mining leases on federal lands and ease greenhouse gas emissions curbs on electric utilities, according to a report by the Washington Post. They would also require changes to Obama’s Waters of the United States rule that details which waterways fall under federal protection, the report said. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Washington Post story. Pruitt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week after contentious hearings that focused on his record as the top prosecutor of the oil- and gas-producing state of Oklahoma. Democrats had sought to delay Pruitt’s confirmation over questions about his ties to the oil industry. Some 800 former EPA staff also signed a letter urging senators to reject him, and about 30 current EPA staff joined a protest set up in Chicago by the Sierra Club environmental group. In Oklahoma, a state judge ruled last week that Pruitt would have to turn over emails between his office and energy companies by Tuesday after a watchdog group, the Center for Media and Democracy, sued for their release. The judge will review and perhaps hold back some of the emails before releasing them, a court clerk said. Nicole Cantello, a representative of the union that represents EPA workers, said that despite Pruitt’s record, she was hoping for the best. “One would hope that the administrator would learn about what we do and would then not treat as lightly the EPA’s mission and accomplishments, and what it is required to do under the statutes,” she said. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said it looked forward to working with Pruitt, the administration and Congress “on policies that will keep energy affordable, create jobs, and strengthen our economy.” | 0fake |
U.S. wants stronger India economic, defense ties given China's rise: Tillerson | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before a visit to India next week that the Trump administration wanted to dramatically deepen cooperation with New Delhi, seeing it as a key partner in the face of negative Chinese influence in Asia. Speaking on Wednesday, less than a month before President Donald Trump is due to make his first state visit to China, Tillerson said the United States had begun to discuss creating alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing in Asia. In another comment likely to upset Beijing, he said Washington saw room to invite others, including Australia, to join U.S.-India-Japan security cooperation, something Beijing has opposed as an attempt by democracies to gang up on it. The remarks coincide with the start of a week-long Chinese Communist Party congress at which President Xi Jinping is seeking to further consolidate his power. The United States seeks constructive relations with China, but we will not shrink from China s challenges to the rules-based order and where China subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries and disadvantages the U.S. and our friends, Tillerson told the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. India and the United States should be in the business of equipping other countries to defend their sovereignty, build greater connectivity, and have a louder voice in a regional architecture that promotes their interests and develops their economies, Tillerson added. The U.S. decision to expand relations with India almost certainly will upset India s rival, Pakistan, where Tillerson also will stop next week, said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pakistan was the main U.S. ally in South Asia for decades, but U.S. officials are frustrated with what they charge has been Pakistan s failure to cut support for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, where the administration wants India to play a bigger role in economic development. As part of a South Asia strategy unveiled by Trump in August, Tillerson is expected to press Islamabad, which denies aiding the Taliban, to take stronger steps against extremists and allied groups and intensify efforts to pressure them to agree to peace talks with Kabul. We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region, Tillerson said. Trump has threatened further cuts in U.S. aid to Pakistan if it fails to cooperate. China, a strategic rival to the United States and India, is also vital to Trump s efforts to roll back North Korea s efforts to create nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching the United States, an issue expected to top the agenda in Trump s Nov. 8-10 Beijing visit. A senior State Department official defended the timing of the speech, saying Tillerson also said he wanted a constructive relationship with China. For many decades the United States has supported China s rise, said the official. We ve also supported India s rise. But those two countries have risen very differently. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China hoped the United States could abandon bias when viewing its actions overseas. China will never develop itself at the expense of other countries, Lu told a regular briefing on Thursday. At the same time we will never give up our justly deserved rights and interests. Healthy relations between China and the United States are good for the people of both countries and are expected by the Asia-Pacific region, he added. Tillerson did not say what he meant by creating an alternative to Chinese infrastructure financing, but said the Trump administration had begun a quiet conversation with some emerging East Asian democracies at a summit in August. He said Chinese financing was saddling countries with enormous debts and failing to create jobs. We think it s important that we begin to develop some means of countering that with alternative financing measures. We will not be able to compete with the kind of terms that China offers, but countries have to decide what are they willing to pay to secure their sovereignty and their future control of their economies and we ve had those discussions with them as well, he said. | 0fake |
Are You Successful? If So, You’ve Already Won the Lottery - The New York Times | Chance events play a much larger role in life than many people once imagined. Most of us have no difficulty recognizing luck when it’s on conspicuous display, as when someone wins the lottery. But randomness often plays out in subtle ways, and it’s easy to construct narratives that portray success as having been inevitable. Those stories are almost invariably misleading, however, a simple fact that has surprising implications for public policy. Consider the history of the Mona Lisa, perhaps the most famous painting in the world. After having languished in obscurity for most of its early existence, Leonardo da Vinci’s work was pushed into the spotlight in 1911 when it was stolen from the Louvre. The widely publicized theft remained unsolved for two years until Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian maintenance worker at the Louvre, was apprehended after trying to sell the painting to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. His arrest provoked a second wave of publicity, with images of the Mona Lisa splashed around the world. In the years since, the painting has come to represent Western culture itself. Yet had it never been stolen, most of us would know no more about it than we do of the two obscure Leonardo da Vinci canvases from the same period that hang in an adjacent gallery at the Louvre. Like Kim Kardashian, apparently, the Mona Lisa is famous largely for being famous. As in the art world, so too in the world of work. Almost every career trajectory entails a complex sequence of steps, each of which depends on those preceding it. If any of those earlier steps had been different, the entire trajectory would almost surely have been different, too. Inevitably, some of those initial steps will have been influenced by seemingly trivial random events. So it is reasonable to conclude that virtually all successful careers entail at least a modicum of luck. One’s date of birth can matter enormously, for example. According to a 2008 study, most children born in the summer tend to be among the youngest members of their class at school, which appears to explain why they are significantly less likely to hold leadership positions during high school and thus, another study indicates, less likely to land premium jobs later in life. Similarly, according to research published in the journal Economics Letters in 2012, the number of American chief executives who were born in June and July is almost lower than would be expected on the basis of chance alone. Even the first letter of a person’s last name can explain significant achievement gaps. Assistant professors in the 10 American economics departments, for instance, were more likely to be promoted to tenure the earlier the first letter of their last names fell in the alphabet, a 2006 study found. Researchers attributed this to the custom in economics of listing ’ names alphabetically on papers, noting that no similar effect existed for professors in psychology, whose names are not listed alphabetically. To acknowledge the importance of random events is not to suggest that success is independent of talent and effort. In highly competitive arenas, those who do well are almost always extremely talented and . As Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Warren E. Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has said, “The safest way to get what you want is to try and deserve what you want. ” Perhaps the most useful advice for someone who aspires to material success is to develop expertise at a task that others value. Such expertise comes not from luck but from thousands of hours of assiduous effort. But talent and effort are not enough. Luck also matters. Even the most able, industrious people in South Sudan have little chance at success. Success is not guaranteed for deserving people in wealthy countries with highly developed legal and educational institutions and other infrastructure, but it’s substantially more likely. Being born in a good environment is one of the few dimensions of luck we can control — that is, at least we can decide how lucky our children will be. But as a nation, we’ve been doing a bad job of it for at least a generation. The luckiest are getting luckier even as their numbers shrink. The unlucky population is growing, and its luck is getting worse. These changes have stemmed in part from sharply diminished public support for education. According to a 2015 report by the nonpartisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, for example, state spending per student averaged about 20 percent less in than in the school year. More than 70 percent of students who graduated from colleges in 2015 had student loans that averaged $35, 000. It’s no surprise, then, that access to the benefits of a college degree continues to depend heavily on family income. According to a study from the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, 77 percent of offspring of families in the top income quartile had earned college degrees by age 24 in 2013, compared with only 9 percent of those from families. More troubling, the disparity persists even when controlling for precollege academic aptitude scores. The human tendency to underestimate luck’s role has contributed to this troubling state of affairs by reducing the electorate’s willingness to support the public investments that make economic success possible. But the taxes people want to avoid need not be personally painful. Evidence from the social sciences demonstrates that beyond a certain income threshold, people’s sense of depends much more on their relative purchasing power than on how much they spend in absolute terms. If top tax rates were a little higher, all homes would be a little smaller, all cars a little less expensive, all diamonds a little more modest and all celebrations a little less costly. The standards that define “special” would adjust accordingly, leaving most successful people quite satisfied. Happily, there is a simple remedy: Merely prompting people to reflect on their good fortune tends to make them more willing to contribute to the common good, according to a 2010 study published in the journal Emotion. So try to engage your successful friends in discussions about their experiences with luck. In the process, you may increase their willingness to support the kinds of public investments that will enhance the next generation’s odds of success. And you will almost surely hear some interesting stories. | 0fake |
Youngstown, Ohio, mayor gets probation in corruption plea deal | CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, was sentenced on Monday to a year of probation for his role in a public corruption case involving a property deal made while he was a county commissioner, a county prosecutor’s office said, but he will remain in office. Youngstown Mayor John McNally, a Democrat, was sentenced in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland after pleading guilty to four misdemeanor counts, said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor spokesman Joe Frolik. The plea deal allows McNally, who was elected mayor in 2014, to remain in office. The charges stemmed from his nine years as Mahoning County commissioner, from 2005 until he was elected mayor. McNally had faced multiple felony charges, including bribery, record tampering and money laundering. But as part of the agreement with prosecutors he pleaded guilty to two counts of falsification, one count of attempted unlawful use of telecommunications and one count of attempted restrictions on present or former public officials, all misdemeanors, officials said. Under Ohio law, a felony conviction bars anyone from holding most public offices for seven years. Also on Monday, former Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino was sentenced by Judge Janet Burnside to one year of probation after pleading guilty to one felony count and three misdemeanors for his role in the matter, Frolik said. Based on the plea deals, McNally had faced a maximum of 36 months in prison and Sciortino a maximum of 2-1/2 years. Both McNally and Sciortino were initially charged for taking part in a scheme to inflate the cost of moving the Mahoning County jobs and family services office from a rental property to benefit a local business owner, prosecutors said. In addition to the plea in the Cuyahoga County court, Sciortino agreed to plead guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor in Mahoning County court on Thursday, according to court records. Youngstown attorney Martin Yavorcik, 42, was convicted on eight felony counts in the Cuyahoga County court on Friday as part of the 83-count indictment brought against the three men in 2014 by the Ohio Attorney General’s office alleging a pattern of corruption. Sentencing for Yavorcik is scheduled for April 22. He faces up to 29 years in prison, Frolik said. | 0fake |
LT GEN JOHN KELLY’S INCREDIBLE SPEECH Just Days After His Own Son Was Killed In Action: “Brave Men On Watch All Over the World Tonight—For YOU” | Just days after the death of his own son in combat, Lt Gen John Kelly eulogized two other sons in an unforgettable manner:Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 The Walking Dead, and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour.Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines.The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island.They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America s exist simultaneously depending on one s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. You clear? I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: Yes Sergeant, with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, No kidding sweetheart, we know what we re doing. They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way perhaps 60-70 yards in length and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck s engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped.Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn t have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different.The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I d have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing. The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion.All survived. Many were injured some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, They d run like any normal man would to save his life. What he didn t know until then, he said, and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal. Choking past the emotion he said, Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did. No sane man. They saved us all. What we didn t know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. The two Marines had about five seconds left to live. It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines weapons firing non-stop the truck s windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers American and Iraqi bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber.The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God.Six seconds.Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight for you. | 1real |
Sarah Palin May Have To Bust Out The Crayons And Draw Her Own Invitation To The RNC | Sarah Palin knows she s a political outcast. She s proud of it. She thinks because nobody cares what she thinks besides a handful of dense Trump supporters who are at his rallies to listen rather than wait for the chance to beat someone up that she qualifies as some kind of revolutionary.She actually qualifies as a has-been as well as a never-should-have-been, but I digress. There is nothing revolutionary about Sarah Palin. Assuming that she ll be able to just walk into a secure facility without an invite because you can see Russia from a remote island off the coast of Alaska or because your ever-so-pure Christian family are pros at losing custody battles, beating women and having children out-of-wedlock is a bit naive.Palin says she s going, however, and not even Paul Revere ringin those bells and warning the British that they r uhhh not gonna take our guns will stop her. In an interview with the Associated Press, Palin said she may have to invite herself. I can t see any of them inviting me, she said, adding that the leaders of the RNC are afraid of what I might say. Ya think? Every time this woman opens her mouth yet another round of inane rambling comes out. She has no clue how to prepare for a successful public appearance, which is why she s had so few. She doesn t deserve a stage or a microphone, even if it the Republican clown convention we re talking about.Palin also warned that the RNC had better not mess with Trump, who she called so reasonable and full of common sense. She says the people will rise up if they deny their candidate the nomination: How dare they these arrogant, arrogant political operatives. Under the wisdom of the people, we will rise up, and we will say our vote does count, our activism does count. And for those who would try to warp that, those are the ones who need to leave we don t need to leave. Looks like Sarah Palin is gonna jump onto the Trump train as it crashes into Cleveland, which will be nothing short of hilarious especially if they tell her to beat it.Time will tell. I wonder if the grandkids will be helping her forge an invitation with construction paper and crayons.Featured image from Aaron Bernstein/Getty Images | 1real |
Report: Hamas Leader Heads to Egypt for Rare Talks | GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas’s newly chosen leader in the Gaza Strip on Sunday traveled to Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials, in the first meeting between the sides in months, a Hamas official said. [The delegation left through the Rafah border crossing, which was opened Sunday for the group to cross. The border is mostly closed for the 2 million residents of Gaza, part of an Israeli and Egyptian blockade. Israel and Egypt have enforced the blockade, citing security reasons, since the Hamas terror group seized control of Gaza a decade ago. Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas spokesman, said the delegation will discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza under the blockade, Egypt’s role in improving conditions and the need to open Rafah crossing for Palestinian travelers. Bardaweel said the delegation was led by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s newly chosen leader in Gaza, the group’s stronghold. Sinwar, a member of the terror group’s military wing, is second in rank only to the new supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who also is based in Gaza. Hamas and Egypt have had cool relations since Egypt’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, was overthrown by the military in 2013. Morsi came from Hamas’ parent group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas has been trying to convince Egypt that it is a reliable security partner. It has deployed more troops along the border with Egypt’s northern Sinai region, where the Egyptian military is battling Islamic extremists. But over the past month, at least four Gaza residents were killed while fighting alongside the Islamic State terror group’s Sinai affiliate, complicating Hamas’ reconciliation attempts. Hamas made a gesture toward Egypt last month with a new policy document that dropped its longtime association with the Muslim Brotherhood and identified itself as a Palestinian movement fighting only against what it calls Israeli occupation. | 0fake |
Hillary Clinton Made History, but Bernie Sanders Stubbornly Ignored It - The New York Times | Revolutions rarely give way to gracious expressions of defeat. And so, despite the crushing California results that rolled in for him on Tuesday night, despite the insurmountable delegate math and the growing pleas that he end his quest for the White House, Senator Bernie Sanders took to the stage in Santa Monica and basked, bragged and vowed to fight on. In a speech of striking stubbornness, he ignored the achievement of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who became the first woman in American history to clinch the presidential nomination of a major political party. Mr. Sanders waited until 15 minutes into his speech to utter Mrs. Clinton’s name. He referred, almost in passing, to a telephone conversation in which he had congratulated her on her victories. At that, the crowd of more than 3, 000 inside an aging airport hangar booed loudly. Mr. Sanders did little to discourage them. Tuesday was, undeniably, Mrs. Clinton’s night, a milestone for women in politics and civic life 95 years after the 19th Amendment guaranteed their right to vote. But by Wednesday morning, all eyes were on Mr. Sanders. Would he be generous or petulant? Would he let go or keep battling? At almost every turn, he was grudging toward Mrs. Clinton, passing up a chance to issue the kind of lengthy salute that many, in and out of the Democratic Party, had expected and craved. “It’s a blown opportunity to build bridges that are going to be extremely important in the fall,” said David Gergen, an adviser to four presidents, both Democratic and Republican. He worried that Mr. Sanders was becoming “a grumpy old man. ” The raw math is brutal and indisputable: Mrs. Clinton has not just crossed the threshold of 2, 383 delegates needed to secure the nomination. As of Tuesday night, she had succeeded in winning a majority of pledged delegates, a majority of the states that have held primaries, and the popular vote. This would be the time, under normal circumstances, for a primary rival to acknowledge insurmountable odds, pay tribute to a prevailing opponent and begin the work of stitching together a divided political party. That was the conciliatory message that a vanquished Mrs. Clinton delivered eight years ago to the day, on June 7, 2008, four days after Barack Obama had sealed his party’s nomination — a contest that was mathematically closer than the one with Mr. Sanders now. “We all know this has been a tough fight,” Mrs. Clinton said at the time. “But the Democratic Party is a family. And now, it’s time to restore the ties that bind us together. ” On Tuesday, she was effusive in her praise of Mr. Sanders and in her outreach to his supporters, mentioning him by name three times in her victory address in Brooklyn. “Let there be no mistake,’’ she said. “Senator Sanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate that we’ve had about how to raise incomes, reduce inequality, increase upward mobility have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America. ’’ But Mr. Sanders, who calls himself a revolutionary, is openly skeptical of the traditions and expectations that govern the party whose nomination he covets. Throughout his campaign, he has regarded the Democratic Party itself with suspicion and distrust. Party unity, it seems, is the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. Far from backing down, Mr. Sanders promised to take his campaign to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia this summer, raising the possibility that he could remain in the race, without ever conceding defeat, until July. “We will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we can get,” Mr. Sanders thundered. Declaring that the movement he has begun is “more than Bernie,” Mr. Sanders sounded at times messianic. “Our vision,” he said, “will be the future of America. ” Inside the airport hangar in Santa Monica, anger at Mrs. Clinton, and at the establishment she exemplifies, was visceral and abundant, overshadowing her electoral advantage and night. Freddie Paull, a filmmaker from Glendale, Calif. was not interested in milestones. He said he thought Mrs. Clinton was a crook. “She could be indicted literally tomorrow if the system is not corrupt,” he said. “I would love to see a woman in office,” he added. “But I do not want to see Hillary Clinton in office, because she has no honor. ” Should Mr. Sanders drop out, he said, he was prepared to vote for Mr. Trump. Amid chants of “Bernie or Bust” and loud boos as election results rolled in, Alison Bacon, an actress living in Los Angeles, assailed Mrs. Clinton for having proclaimed victory before the Democratic Party had formally bestowed it on her at the convention. “I think it’s absolutely unjust, undemocratic, ” she said. “What kind of example is that setting?” Of course, ending a campaign is always painful, especially one that so consistently defied expectations and openly challenged the political order. From its humble start in April 2015 outside the Capitol in Washington, in a sparsely attended and hurried announcement speech (“We don’t have an endless amount of time,” he warned the gathered reporters, “I have to get back”) Mr. Sanders built a rollicking national movement whose crowds, and devotion upended the Democratic race. And Mr. Sanders was not merely a candidate to his supporters. With his Everyman appearance and unvarnished anger, he embodied the message that thrilled his followers: that it was time for working Americans to rise up and reclaim a country that was being corrupted by elites and their wealth. “When we began this campaign a little over a year ago, we were considered to be a fringe campaign,’’ Mr. Sanders said on Tuesday, adding wryly: “I think that has changed, just a little bit. ” But even as he acknowledged a “very, very steep fight” to winning his party’s nomination, he did not signal an end for now — still electrified, it seemed, by the crowds chanting his name. Howard Dean, a Democrat and a former governor of Vermont, can sympathize. “It’s very hard to concede,” he said. “You are tired. You are cranky. You’ve worked your butt off for two years. ” Nobody, Mr. Dean said, resisted ending a presidential campaign more than he did. Once a he had a string of setbacks that left him feeling, by February 2004, much as Mr. Sanders does today: furious at an unfair system and determined to fight on. Then Al Gore called. Mr. Dean fulminated, uninterrupted, for 10 minutes, “ranting and raving,” he recalled. But Mr. Gore, schooled in the art of painful concessions, was blunt. “You know, Howard,” he said, “This is not really about you. This is about the country. ” Mr. Dean, taking the advice to heart, quit the campaign a few days later. “The minute he said it,” Mr. Dean recalled, “I looked like an idiot to myself. ” He said he wonders whether Mr. Sanders will heed the warning. “Bernie has changed politics, but his changes are not going to be realized unless he leads — and leading is not going to mean tilting at windmills at the convention,” Mr. Dean said. “He has to switch into the mode of a statesman. ” “You don’t get any points for carrying on or complaining about it,” Mr. Dean added. “You get points for sucking it up. ” | 0fake |
DIRTY HARRY REID DECLARES VICTORY ON IRAN DEAL AS MORE DEMS GIVE SUPPORT | Three more Senators threw their support behind Obama s Iran deal to further seal a victory for the Democrats. My Senator just announced he s backing the deal which doesn t surprise me he does what he s told to do. Wouldn t it be nice if these goofballs had the strength to reject this deal instead of the saying it s better than no deal at all . Really? What a joke! They obviously aren t listening to the American people:Less Than a Quarter of Americans Approve of Nuclear Agreement with IranDick Chaney and other foreign policy experts are warning the Democrats that this deal is not a good one: The deal with Iran will have profound consequences. Dick ChaneyDem Sen. Joe Manchin: Iran Nuclear Deal Endangers American SecurityHARRY REID CLAIMS VICTORY WITH THE IRAN DEAL: The deal President Obama and other world leaders struck with Iran is the best chance to stop the Islamic Republic s nuclear program, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in a speech setting the stage for the intense floor fight over the agreement.Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, will be the key figure in leading support for Mr. Obama, and he has now mustered enough backers to mount a filibuster, which would deliver an early victory and prevent the deal from even having to go back to the White House for a final veto showdown. This agreement will stand, Mr. Reid said in a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Three new senators declared support for the deal Tuesday morning, giving Democrats 41 backers of the agreement. That is enough to guarantee they can sustain their filibuster and bottle the debate up in the Senate.Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Gary Peters of Michigan all threw their support behind the deal.Mr. Blumenthal called the agreement better than no deal at all, while Mr. Peters said he was only reluctantly backing it, and still had serious reservations. Read more: Washington Times | 1real |
Jamie Dimon ventures beyond Wall Street to have a say in Washington | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is starting to look like Corporate America’s shadow president. The 61-year-old banker has made more than a dozen trips to Washington so far this year to press a broad agenda with a range of influential policymakers, people who attended the meetings or are familiar with his schedule said. Dimon has already visited the nation’s capital four times as much as he does in a typical year. His ramped-up presence comes after taking the helm of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents CEOs of large U.S. companies, in December. “We couldn’t ask for a more engaged or more effective Business Roundtable chair,” said Joshua Bolten, former chief of staff for President George W. Bush, whom Dimon installed as the organization’s president and CEO. The frequency of his trips, and the wide range of policies he has been discussing, have started chatter among power brokers in Washington and on Wall Street about how much energy Dimon is devoting to issues beyond JPMorgan. At times, they said, Dimon carries himself more like someone running the country than someone running a bank. “If you’re Jamie Dimon, you’ve always had access,” said Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, a Wall Street trade group. “The difference is, now he wants it. He wants to play a role in policy more broadly than just representing his company.” Dimon has said in the past that the only big job he would want would be U.S. president, but also said running for office would be impractical. Associates told Reuters he has abandoned the idea entirely, and only became more active in Washington because he was worried about his bank, the economy and the future of the country. A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment or make Dimon available for an interview. Reuters spoke to over a dozen people who have interacted with Dimon in Washington or were briefed on his meetings. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss his activities. Those who have met Dimon recently include Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Mark Warner, Rep. Patrick McHenry, who is a member of House Republican leadership, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. He was around so much during the summer that Washington regulars said it was no longer surprising to see Dimon pop out of the Capitol Hill subway system or leave a lawmaker’s office. He has joked with staff about getting a condominium in Washington because of how often he travels there, one person said. Although Dimon’s meetings typically center on topics like tax reform or financial rules, he is not shy about weighing in on issues ranging from immigration to education and criminal justice reform, those familiar with the discussions said. In meetings, he has been using an app he asked Business Roundtable staff to build. It allows member CEOs to show how many voters in a district work for their companies, and how many facilities the companies have there, to persuade lawmakers that their priorities are aligned. During his interactions with lawmakers, Dimon can be brash and expresses annoyance with Congress’s inability to advance legislation, people who attended the meetings said. Sometimes he would show his lighter side. One day in July, Dimon spotted his Democratic Senator Richard Durbin, an old foe who championed a rule that slashed debit card fees and which Dimon has called “downright idiotic.” Durbin was withdrawing money from a non-Chase ATM when Dimon approached from behind and quipped: “We welcome competition.” A Durbin representative confirmed the interaction, first described by a Politico reporter in a tweet, took place but declined to elaborate. Those who have followed Dimon through his career are not surprised that the straight-talking New York banker has become even more outspoken during Donald Trump’s presidency. Associates say he has been shocked by some of Trump’s actions, such as abandoning the Paris climate accord, threats to tear up free trade deals, a call for a ban of transgender people from the military and ending a program that protects people who were brought into the United States illegally as children from deportation. Dimon is not the only corporate boss venturing outside his usual terrain. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) CEO Lloyd Blankfein has criticized Trump in tweets, while others including Apple Inc CEO (AAPL.O) Tim Cook and Merck & Co (MRK.N) CEO Ken Frazier have condemned the president’s actions in public statements. But Dimon, who often refers to himself as a “patriot,” differs in tone and demeanor, sources said. The table of contents for his April letter to shareholders includes categories such as “The United States of America is truly an exceptional country,” and devoted more space to public policy prescriptions than in prior years. After Trump said “both sides” were to blame for the violence between white supremacists and left-wing protesters in Virginia, Dimon offered unsolicited advice on how a president should carry himself. “It is a leader’s role, in business or government, to bring people together, not tear them apart,” he wrote in an employee memo. (The story changes headline to clarify Dimon is not leaving his bank) | 0fake |
BBC Targets Kids with Fake ’Islam Means Peace’ Claim Following Finsbury Park Attack | The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has published a story entitled “What is Islamophobia?” containing misleading information such as the common trope that “Islam means peace”. [Published just hours after the terrorist attack outside Finsbury Park mosque, the BBC’s article is hosted on their CBBC (Children’s BBC) website. It begins: “Following recent events in the news you might have been hearing a lot about Islam and maybe the term ‘Islamophobia’ — but what does this mean?” It states: Islam is over 1, 400 years old, dating back to the 7th Century. The Islamic word for God is Allah. The word “Islam” comes from an old Arabic word meaning “peace. ” UPDATE 21 June 2017: Following the publication of this article, the BBC has changed its copy to state: Islam is over 1, 400 years old, dating back to the 7th Century. The Islamic word for God is Allah. The word “Islam” means submission to God’s will and obedience to God’s law. It comes from an old Arabic word meaning “peace. ” In reality, the word “Islam” actually means “submission” implying submission to Allah. There has been a broader discussion on the matter in recent years, but while “Salam” means welcome or peace, the root of the word Islam is grounded in the idea of submission to Allah. This has been confirmed by a number of Quranic scholars, as well as Muslims on the Ummah Forum website. One writes: “i would sum it up as, islam means submission, one who submits is a muslim, and submission to Allah will bring peace to your heart insha Allah. ” Even Britain’s most notorious Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary concurred, in an interview with CBN: “You can’t say that Islam is a religion of peace,” Choudary told CBN News. “Because Islam does not mean peace. Islam means submission. So the Muslim is one who submits. There is a place for violence in Islam. There is a place for jihad in Islam. ” CBBC adds, with no evidence: “ … many people say those terrorist groups have extreme beliefs of hatred and violence that have little to do with what most Muslims believe. ” In reality, vast numbers of Muslims, even in the Western world, hold views and ideals that fit well with the modus operandi of terrorist groups. While indeed there is some discrimination all around the world, and Muslim Brotherhood affiliated groups created and seized upon the word Islamophobia in order to promote the ideas of fitna and fasad: effectively the idea of standing in the way of the spread of Islam. Quran 2:191 commands: “And kill [the unbelievers] wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them such is the recompense of the unbelievers. ” Quran 5:32 says: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment. ” Following the London Bridge terrorist attack, CBBC wrote: A white van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at about 10pm on Saturday, then three men got out and attacked people in nearby Borough Market. Police arrived within a few minutes and the three men believed to be responsible for the attack were killed by the specially trained police. Dozens of emergency service workers were sent to the scene and the injured were taken to five London hospitals to be treated. Police investigations into what happened are continuing. A group called Islamic State has said it was behind the attack, but police haven’t confirmed if that is true. Under an article entitled “What is the Islamic State?” the BBC’s children’s website says: “IS are a group based in the Middle East, mainly in Iraq and Syria, who have extreme religious beliefs. They use brutal violence against anyone who doesn’t agree with their views. “They claim to follow the religion of Islam, but many people say their beliefs of hatred and violence have little to do with what the majority of Muslims believe. ” | 0fake |
Kerry Meets Egypt’s Leader, and Where Are Reporters? Corralled at the Airport - The New York Times | Times Insider delivers insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times. In this piece, David E. Sanger, a national security correspondent, tells why he didn’t travel to Egypt to cover Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit with President Abdel Fattah . VIENNA — When Secretary of State John Kerry traveled on Wednesday to the presidential palace in Egypt, ostensibly the United States’ closest Arab ally and the recipient of billions of dollars in American aid, the reporters traveling with him were left behind at the airport. The Egyptian authorities made clear, State Department officials said, that reporters like myself would not be welcome at the presidential palace, apparently out of fear we might ask President Abdel Fattah a question or two about the dissidents he has jailed. Instead, only photographers and videographers would be permitted inside, to record the ritual handshakes between Mr. Kerry and Mr. Sisi — images that will suggest all is right between the authoritarian former general who leads Egypt and the nation that provides him with helicopters and tanks, as well as riot control equipment that human rights groups say may be used to facilitate Egypt’s crackdown against activists. In fact, this meeting comes against a backdrop of increasing tension over Washington’s $1. 3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt, which in recent years has been dwarfed by inflows to the country from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The State Department has lately been unable to obtain answers to its questions about whether any equipment bought with American dollars has been used by Egyptians to violate human rights, according to a blistering report issued last week by the Government Accountability Office. After more than two decades of traveling with American presidents and chief diplomats — on visits to places that have included some of the world’s most repressive nations — I am used to watching leaders disappear behind closed doors. But not even being allowed to see the doors close sets something of a new standard. State Department officials said that once they learned reporters would be barred from the palace, they never even requested visas for us so we could, as is customary, follow Mr. Kerry into the capital for his to visit. Instead, those who made the long trip were stuck in a lounge at the airport. I decided to stay behind in Vienna and meet up with the secretary’s entourage this weekend in Myanmar, where he is meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has emerged from a long house arrest to become a leader of the new government. (There have been hints that we will have some access.) The contrast between Myanmar, once one of the world’s most closed societies, and Egypt made me revisit my recent travels with Mr. Kerry in terms of what restrictions were placed on us journalists. In November, Mr. Kerry zipped through Central Asia on a tour of some of the world’s most repressive states, including Turkmenistan, whose leadership shares Mr. Sisi’s approach to anyone who utters a thought the government finds distasteful. Still, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov allowed international reporters to record his encounters with Mr. Kerry, though local Turkmen journalists were kept at a far remove. The King of Bahrain, who knows a thing or two about clearing the streets of critics, invited reporters in for the start of his meeting with Mr. Kerry last month, and, with a deep understanding of how to keep them docile, fed them at the palace before they were packed off. Even China’s leaders routinely let the news media pool in, though they do their best to ignore them. Egypt used to do the same — in what now looks, by comparison, like the days of openness when Hosni Mubarak was still president. Mr. Mubarak was not known for tolerating much criticism before he was deposed, and would never have won an award from Transparency International. But he let reporters record his meeting with President Obama in 2009, when Mr. Obama made a trip to Cairo for a landmark speech about the future of the Arab world that reads today like a trail of broken dreams. Even as the aging Mr. Mubarak fell from power — pushed partly by Mr. Obama in phone calls during the Tahrir Square protests — he showed some savvy about the Western news media. During one of his last visits to Washington, Mr. Mubarak invited me and afew other reporters to his hotel suite to talk about the Middle East’s future — and about his differences with the Obama administration. For those of us trying to divine the workings of American foreign policy, there are certain accepted rituals that make up the everyday fabric of diplomatic reporting. The journalists on Mr. Kerry’s small plane — an older Boeing 757 that he despises — usually depart from the rear door, hop into a van that joins the back of his motorcade, and catch a glimpse of the start of most meetings. Sometimes, after these private chats, we are ferried back into a ceremonial room to ask questions, even uncomfortable ones. On rare occasions, we even receive answers. Tuesday in Vienna, where Mr. Kerry held talks on Syria, was typical: Two old American adversaries, happily or not, subjected themselves to our inquiries. First came Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia, who answered, and avoided, questions at a news conference. Then Mr. Kerry traveled to the Coburg Palace, where he had negotiated the final stages of the Iran nuclear deal for a month last summer, to see Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. I arrived there before the secretary, and Mr. Zarif came over for a handshake and a few jokes. He then answered a question about Iran’s complaints that companies and banks around the world are not returning to Tehran now that many sanctions have been lifted. Mr. Sisi took power in Egypt in 2013, after what was viewed by many around the world as a coup against Mohamed Morsi — who had been elected after Mr. Mubarak’s ouster — and led a crackdown in which more than 1, 000 Egyptians were killed and thousands more imprisoned. After the meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Kerry’s spokesman, Mark Toner, emailed State Department reporters with an official “readout. ” The two men had “discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues, including recent developments in Libya and Syria,” the statement said. Mr. Kerry had “also stressed the importance of Egypt’s role as a regional partner and reiterated U. S. commitment to help Egypt fight terrorism, increase economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions and bolster regional security. ” Such anodyne descriptions of these meetings, making no mention of the hard questions in the relationship, are exactly why reporters are expected to press American and foreign officials. But Mr. Sisi’s government seems to be avoiding questions even from its American benefactors. In its report, the Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department had been unable to conduct “ monitoring” on missiles and devices before 2015. And even though the checks were done in 2015, the report said, the State Department had been unable to vet the training and equipping of the military for possible human rights violations. “State deemed G. A. O. ’s estimate of the percentage of Egyptian security forces that were not vetted to be sensitive but unclassified information, which is excluded from this public report,” it said. That made it difficult to know if the military aid the United States was now giving Egypt violated the Leahy amendment, which links human rights performance to the delivery of American security equipment and training. I would have loved to ask Mr. Kerry and Mr. Sisi about that estimate at the presidential palace on Wednesday. If only reporters had been allowed in. | 0fake |
Kellyanne Conway Laughs Off Trump’s Pending Child Rape Case Because Hillary Sent Some Emails (VIDEO) | Can we all finally agree that Donald Trump s campaign is just ridiculous at this point? On Monday, Kellyanne Conway showed up on CNBC to do what she does best: embarrass the human race with her stupidity.Apparently satisfied with Trump s ability to latch on to the next-to-no information referenced by FBI Director Comey s unethical, unprecedented, and likely illegal letter to Republicans. Comey hasn t reviewed the emails discovered on a computer owned by renowned pervert and husband to unfortunate Clinton aide Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner, who is currently being investigated for allegedly sexting a 15-year-old girl.The emails likely contain nothing new and have likely already been disclosed, but the Right is in the midst of a feeding frenzy over the non-information contained in the letter, declaring that the investigation into Clinton s emails had been reopened and ramping up the criminal rhetoric.Conway condemned Clinton s suggestion that all the emails be released to the public in other words, an effort to fully inform the public as she called the Clinton campaign sneaky for demanding the facts be released. Just ask Huma what s on there, just ask Anthony Weiner what s on there, she said during the interview. They are now trying to politicize the FBI. Conway accused Clinton of encouraging supporters to boo Comey, who has such a reaction coming for his unethical behavior in the eyes of pretty much anyone who doesn t consider red trucker hats fashionable. It s a very dangerous precedent to have somebody that was secretary of state, first lady, U.S. senator, wants to be president of the United States and be commander-in-chief encouraging people to boo, she said, apparently forgetting a time not so long ago when Trump and his illiterate, inbred fans also booed the FBI (and Comey specifically). And where are we now? Conway said after host Andrew Ross Sorkin pointed out that Trump has called for Clinton s imprisonment multiple times. She is going to be in her second FBI investigation. One FBI investigation, let alone two, do we think this is normal? I think people have been asking the right questions about the wrong candidate. Who s really unqualified? Who s unfit to be president? Who has shown what they would do with their national security information? Who has shown it s always about her and her petty peevish political self? Then Sorkin struck a nerve by stating facts namely that Trump has been named in a rather damning child rape lawsuit that is due to start in December. The girl in question is 13 just one year older than Paris Hilton when Trump says she was hot and two years younger than the models he used to creep on in their dressing rooms. My understanding is that no matter who wins, we re going to be dealing with the email issue after this if she s the president, Sorkin told Conway. If Donald Trump is the president, he s got the child rape case that s going to happen that was just given a date. Naturally, Conway snorted and attempted to deflect, calling any question about the child rape case exactly as legitimate as questions about Trump s taxes, which he has not released: Oh, come on, that you would analogize the two. Give me a break, she seethed. Next you are going to ask me where his taxes are. That s a whole separate issue, but we re going to have legal cases for each candidate, Sorkin countered. But to Conway, a little child rape is unimportant when Hillary sent some emails and Anthony Weiner is a bit pervy, too: That s such a ridiculous conflation. To just throw the rape word in there when we ve got 650,000 emails based on an active investigation of Huma Abedin s pedophilia husband because he s sexting pictures of himself to some 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, I think that s just ridiculous. Don t worry though Conway s pervert is going to Make America Great again by building a wall to keep brown people out, banning and rounding up members of religions he doesn t like, and attempting to resist banging his daughter like he has said he wants to do for all these years starting at around the time he said Paris Hilton was hot when she was 12.Watch the segment below:Featured image via screengrab | 1real |
GRASSLEY DEMANDS ANSWERS ON TRUMP JR SETUP: Russian Lawyer Tied to DNC Firm…Who Allowed Russian Lawyer Into US After Denied Visa Entry? [Video] | Republican Senator Charles Grassley wants answers on why the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. was allowed in the US after her visa had been denied. Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Fox & Friends that she magically appeared in the US. Grassley has written to the Secretary of State and DHS Secretary in an effort to get to the bottom of this mystery.The second curious connection is that the DNC opposition research firm, Fusion GPS, is connected to the Russian Lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Remember that Fusion GPS is responsible for the Trump-Russia Dossier that made scurrilous claims against President Trump including the golden showers incident:Circa News Reports: Fusion has been a major focal point of the FBI and Congress because it hired a former British intelligence agent named Christopher Steele to produce a salacious intelligence dossier that made wild and still unsubstantiated claims about Trump ties to Russia.Does anyone else find it curious that this woman claimed to have dirt on Clinton but never produced a thing. Was she told to just say that to get Donald Jr. to meet with her in a set up? Her Facebook profile shows anti-Trump leanings so why would someone anti-Trump want to deliver information to Donald Trump Jr? Also, once they met, she talked about foreign adoption and had nothing on Clinton go figure Sara Carter of Circa News reported:Russian lawyer who got inside Donald Trump s inner circle had been denied US visa https://t.co/d3Dg59CRM8 Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) July 9, 2017The US government s immigration policy prevented this woman from coming here but how did she get into the US after being denied? Is our immigration policy that full of holes or is this just more monkey business from the Obama administration and the DNC? One key clue is that the three lawyers arguing in court for the lawyer s entry to the US are all known anti-Trump guys. In particular is the lawyer that Trump had to fire. Remember this guy:Preet Bharara: I was fired after refusing to step down https://t.co/tm6Raj0LvI via @Newsday Catherine (@RealAliCat) July 2, 2017We smell a big setup! | 1real |
Farenthold should resign if misconduct accusations true: senior House Republican | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the fourth-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, on Friday told Fox News Channel that fellow Republican Representative Blake Farenthold should resign if an ethics investigation finds that sexual misconduct accusations against him have merit. “If these allegations are proven to be true ... I would hope that he would step aside,” said McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican Conference. Farenthold’s office was not immediately available to comment on her remarks. The House Ethics Committee said on Thursday it was investigating Farenthold, 55, over allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation involving a former female staff member. It said it was also looking into whether the Corpus Christi, Texas, congressman made inappropriate statements to other members of his staff. Farenthold said on Thursday he was relieved that the ethics panel was going to look into the accusations. “Once all the facts are released, I‘m confident this matter will once and for all be settled and resolved,” he said. Politico reported last week that the congressional Office of Compliance had paid $84,000 from a public fund on behalf of Farenthold for a sexual harassment claim. In 2014, Farenthold’s former communications director Lauren Greene sued him, alleging a hostile work environment, gender discrimination and retaliation, court documents showed. Farenthold and Greene reached a mediated agreement in 2015 to avoid costly litigation, but the settlement’s details were confidential, according to a statement released at the time in which Farenthold denied engaging in any wrongdoing. A number of lawmakers have been accused of sexual misconduct. This week, Democratic Representative John Conyers and Republican Representative Trent Franks resigned, while Democratic Senator Al Franken said he would be stepping down in the coming weeks. | 0fake |
SEAN SPICER CALLS OUT Race Baiting Journalist: “Stop Shaking Your Head Again” [Video] | 1real | |
Russia may seize U.S. property if its own compounds not returned: Kommersant | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia may seize U.S. diplomatic property in Moscow and complicate life for an Anglo-American school unless Washington hands back two diplomatic compounds in the United States before July, the daily Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday. In December, then U.S. president Barack Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russians over what he said was their involvement in hacking last year’s U.S. presidential election, allegations Moscow flatly denies. The U.S. authorities seized two Russian diplomatic compounds, one in Maryland and another on Long Island, at the same time. Moscow did not retaliate, saying it would wait to see if relations improved under the incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump. Kommersant, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, said on Friday that Moscow wanted the compounds back before a possible meeting at the G20 in Germany in July between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump. If that did not happen, the newspaper cited the sources as saying Russia could retaliate by seizing a U.S. diplomatic dacha, or country house, in Serebryany Bor in north-west Moscow and a U.S. diplomatic warehouse in Moscow. It said that Russian authorities could also complicate life for Moscow’s Anglo-American school by altering its legal status. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that Moscow was still waiting for the return of its U.S. compounds and could retaliate in kind if that did not happen. | 0fake |
Pence: World Will Know America Stands with Israel | CBS News reports: LAS VEGAS — Vice President Mike Pence assured the Republican Jewish Coalition that he and President Donald Trump will work tirelessly on foreign and domestic issues important to the group, such as enacting policies at home and supporting Israel abroad. [“If the world knows nothing else, the world will know this: America stands with Israel,” Pence told the group Friday night. The Republican administration is “assessing” whether to move the U. S. Embassy to Jerusalem, he said, and has put Iran “on notice. ” Pence’s words served as evidence of the fruits of years of the politically active group’s labors. Its annual conference at billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson’s casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip has become a de facto campaign stop for Republican presidential candidates over the past few years. The RJC also drew the entire GOP presidential field to its December 2015 forum in Washington. Read more here. | 0fake |
We’re So Confused: The Problems With Food and Exercise Studies - The New York Times | Nearly everything you have been told about the food you eat and the exercise you do and their effects on your health should be met with a raised eyebrow. Dozens of studies are publicized every week. But those studies hardly slake people’s thirst for answers to questions about how to eat or how much to exercise. Does exercise help you maintain your memory? What kind? Walking? Intense exercise? Does eating carbohydrates make you fat? Can you prevent breast cancer by exercising when you are young? Do vegetables protect you from heart disease? The problem is one of signal to noise. You can’t discern the signal — a lower risk of dementia, or a longer life, or less obesity, or less cancer — because the noise, the enormous uncertainty in the measurement of such things as how much you exercise or what exactly you eat, is overwhelming. The signal is often weak, meaning if there is an effect of lifestyle it is minuscule, nothing like the link between smoking and lung cancer, for example. And there is no gold standard of measurement, nothing that everyone agrees on and uses to measure aspects of lifestyle. The result is a large body of studies whose conclusions are not reproducible. “We don’t know how to measure diet or exercise,” said Dr. Barnett Kramer, director of the National Cancer Institute’s division of disease prevention. His division is working on ways to sort out inconsistencies in research used to generate health advice, hoping to improve what has become a real mess: “You can ask people how many times a week or how many times a month they eat bread or berries or ask them to keep a diary of what they ate in the last 24 hours. ” But, he said, it should be no surprise that people misremember or give researchers an answer they think makes them sound good. “I can’t remember what meals I ate a week ago,” Dr. Kramer said. “Now ask me what meals I had as an adolescent, or how much I exercised. ” David Allison, director of the nutrition obesity research center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says the same problems plague obesity research, with only two things known with certainty. All other things being equal, if you eat more calories, you will gain weight. And all other things being equal, if you exercise enough, you will lose a small amount of weight. Adding to the confusion is a cacophony of poorly designed research, the tendency for different researchers studying the same effect to use different measurements and report outcomes differently, and researchers’ tendency to selectively report positive or “interesting” results. The result is what Dr. Kramer calls whipsaw literature. “One week drinking coffee is good for you, and the next week it is lethal,” he says. The situation is so bad that what gets published tends to be what the scientists believe ahead of time, says Dr. John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford University’s medical school. “There are so many nutrients and so many diets,” he said. “So many outcomes — heart disease, cancer, stroke. What kind of data do you collect? A at two months, six months, two years, 10 years? You end up having millions of choices. ” And the scientists get to pick the one they want. “I can get you any result you want in any observational data set,” he said. There have been rigorous lifestyle studies, but they are few and far between. A large diet study in Spain found that a Mediterranean diet, with fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil or nuts, decreased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Two large federal studies looked at a diet but failed to find evidence it protects against colon cancer. Then there are the seemingly contradictory but studies. One large federal study found that — contrary to all assumptions — diet and weight loss did not prevent heart attacks and strokes in people with Type 2 diabetes. Another large federal study found that people at risk for Type 2 diabetes could stave it off by losing a modest amount of weight and exercising. A few years ago, two researchers decided to ask just how crazy the cancer and diet literature was. They began with a cookbook, “The Boston Cookbook,” and randomly selected recipes, listing the ingredients, until they had 50 distinct ingredients. Then they did a literature search asking if those ingredients were associated with cancer. Four out of five were linked to cancer, the researchers reported, either increasing or decreasing the risk. Often the same ingredient that increased risk in one study decreased it in another. Those ingredients not associated with cancer risk tended to be odd, like terrapin, and had not been studied by nutrition researchers. But when the authors, Dr. Jonathan Schoenfeld, a radiation oncologist at the Cancer Institute, and Dr. Ioannidis, looked at of the ingredients, which combined data from all the studies, the effects generally went away. They titled their paper, “Is everything we eat associated with cancer?” That study is no surprise to a group that puts together an authoritative guide, the Physicians Data Query, for the National Cancer Institute. The group’s screening and prevention board wants to make some sort of statement about whether diet affects cancer risk. But the studies are just so unreliable that it is hard to draw conclusions. The board’s feelings about whether diet has any link to cancer “are pretty consistently negative,” said Dr. Donald Berry, a biostatistician at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who is a member of the board. “Were I to write a paper on the subject, I might use this variant of their title: ‘Is anything we eat associated with cancer? ’” Dr. Berry said. “And my answer would be ‘No. The preponderance of the evidence is either negative or unreliable and subject to conclusions. ’” Some medical experts say the problems with lifestyle studies are so overwhelming — and the chance of finding anything reproducible and meaningful so small — that it might be best to just give up on those questions altogether. “They may not be worth studying,” said Dr. Vinay Prasad, a cancer researcher at Oregon Health and Science University. “People want certainty, but, boy, we have no good answers. ” As for Dr. Kramer, he has not given up on rigorous research. What is needed at this point, he says, is a little more humility among researchers in interpreting and reporting the implications of their own evidence. | 0fake |
Catalonia's leaders fight off direct rule from Madrid | MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia s leaders said on Saturday they would not accept direct rule imposed on the region by the Spanish government, as a political crisis that has rattled the economy and raised fears of prolonged unrest showed no signs of easing. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced earlier on Saturday he would invoke special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force a new election to counter the region s move towards independence. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who made a symbolic declaration of independence on Oct. 10 after a referendum to secede, called Rajoy s moves the worst attacks against the people of Catalonia since Spain s military dictatorship. It is the first time since Spain s return to democracy that the central government has used its powers to seize control of a regional administration. Rajoy said it was necessary to end a crisis that has fractured the country and prompted Spain to reduce growth forecasts for the euro zone s fourth-largest economy. After taking party in peaceful demonstration, Puigdemont expressed his rejection of Madrid s move, but stopped short of saying he would make good his threat to push ahead with the independence bid before direct rule takes effect. I ask the (Catalan) parliament to meet in a plenary session during which we, the representatives of the citizens sovereignty, will be able to decide over this attempt to liquidate our government and our democracy, and act in consequence, Puigdemont said in a televised address. Rajoy, who acted with backing from the main opposition party in Madrid and King Felipe, needs the authorization of Spain s upper house of parliament to impose direct rule. Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality, he said. The Senate vote that would give Madrid full control of Catalonia s finances, police and public media and curb the powers of the regional parliament for up to six months is scheduled for next Friday. That could give the independence movement room to maneuver. The regional parliament s speaker, Carme Forcadell, said she would not accept Madrid s move and accused Rajoy of a coup. Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen, Forcadell said in a televised speech. The assembly is expected to decide on Monday whether to hold a session to formally proclaim the republic of Catalonia. Catalan media have said Puigdemont could dissolve the regional parliament and call elections by next Friday. Under Catalan law, those elections would take place within two months. That would enable Puigdemont to go the polls earlier than envisaged by Rajoy, who spoke of a six-month timetable, and to exploit the anti-Madrid sentiment running high in the region. Pro-independence groups have previously mustered more than 1 million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid s refusal to negotiate a solution. Puigdemont and his cabinet colleagues joined a demonstration in Barcelona, wearing yellow ribbons in support of two senior independence campaigners who have been jailed on charges of sedition. Freedom! Freedom! tens of thousands of protesters chanted as they waived independence flags and signs reading Defending our land is not a crime, and Let s proclaim the republic. (Rajoy) triggering this article will not resolve anything, said 38-year-old builder Abel Fernandez, attending the demonstration with a pro-independence flag tied around his neck. They won t be able to keep quiet the half of Catalonia that is in favor of independence and those who favor the right to decide. Catalan authorities said about 90 percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. 1 voted for independence. But only 43 percent of the electorate participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home. The independence push has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain and divided Catalonia itself. It has also prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters out of the region. Rajoy on Saturday urged them to stay. His center-right People s Party (PP) government has insisted that Puigdemont has broken the law several times in pushing for independence. It received unequivocal backing from the opposition Socialist Party. Differences with the PP on our territorial unity? None! said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez. Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down the referendum were condemned by human rights groups, and secessionists accused Madrid of taking political prisoners . | 0fake |
The Toxic Science of Flu Vaccines | By Richard Gale and Gary Null Progressive Radio Network, October 31, 2016 Joshua Hadfield was a normal, healthy developing child as a toddler. In the midst of the 2010 H1N1 swine flu frenzy and fear... | 1real |
LOL! WATCH HILLARY Explain Hilarious Reason She Bought House Next Door To Chappaqua Home, After She Was Sure She’d Beat Donald Trump | America s biggest loser, Hillary Clinton was seen in her first televised interview on CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley since being pummeled by voters who overwhelmingly chose Donald J. Trump over her in the 2016 presidential election. Hillary, who isn t capable of letting her hair down, attempted to pretend to be forthcoming about how she dealt with the embarrassing thumping she took at the polls in an election pollsters insisted she d win.In typical Hillary fashion, she blames her loss to Donald J. Trump on Russians and Americans who elected a White Nationalist , while never once accepting responsibility for her flawed character or the enormous amount of distrust Americans have for her and for her sexual predator husband and the slush fund (the Clinton Foundation) the two of them, along with their dishonest daughter, have been operating for years.Watch Hillary tell Jane Pauley how she was so sure she was going to win the election, that she actually bought a house next to her and Bill s Chappaqua mansion in New York to house her staff servants. She also explains how painful it was to watch Trump s inauguration.lol | 1real |
Bernie Sanders Just Dropped A Bomb On Debbie Wasserman-Schultz That Could End Her Career | Debbie Wasserman-Schultz hasn t exactly been kind to the Bernie Sanders campaign. As Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, Wasserman-Schultz has a duty to see that the party s primaries are fair and just and that the candidates are treated equally. The Sanders campaign has long complained that they have been treated anything but.Many of the rules the Sanders campaign doesn t like aren t new and certainly shouldn t have come as a shock, such as the use of superdelegates and closed primaries in states like New York, but there have been other things the campaign harped on that were met with a brick wall, such as the debate issue. It was almost as if the DNC didn t want anyone to watch they were scheduled so poorly. At a time when people were tuning in to watch the Republicans tear beach other to pieces in primetime, the Democrats looked like they were almost hiding their candidates, scheduling debates on Saturday nights during college and pro football s playoff season.The campaign has little recourse, as they are bound by the rules of the DNC, but Sanders on a personal level has dropped the bomb that he is supporting Wasserman-Schultz s opponent, Tim Canova, in his primary run against her in Florida s 23rd congressional district. Canova, a Sanders supporter, is a much closer fit to the senator s platform than Wasserman-Schultz, especially where dark money is concerned. She has repeatedly voted to keep that money flowing through the halls of corruption, where Sanders and Clinton both have called for it to end.There was a time when an endorsement from Bernie Sanders may not have seemed like that big a deal. Those days are over. Sanders has amazing influence with young people, and if enough in the Miami-Dade area come out to vote for the guy Sanders supports, Wasserman Schultz could very well be out of a job. Asked about Sanders endorsement of her opponent, she said: I am so proud to serve the people of Florida s 23rd district and I am confident that they know that I am an effective fighter and advocate on their behalf in Congress. Even though Senator Sanders has endorsed my opponent, I remain, as I have been from the beginning, neutral in the presidential Democratic primary. I look forward to working together with him for Democratic victories in the fall.The congresswoman will have to a little bit better of a job convincing people she s neutral. Actions speak louder than words.Featured Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images | 1real |
U.S. House members ask EPA not to lower biofuels requirements | NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of 22 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter on Thursday not to lower some requirements for mixing biofuels into the country’s fuel supply, but also not to let ethanol exports qualify for renewable fuel credits, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters. The members of Congress are part of a bipartisan voting bloc dedicated to supporting the biofuels industry called the House Biofuels Caucus. They represent districts in states such as Iowa and Illinois where farmers grow corn for ethanol and other biofuels. They urged the agency to increase biomass-based biodiesel requirements and not to decrease the amount of advanced biofuels required to be added to the fuel supply. “Our farmers and biofuels producers need greater certainty from the EPA,” the letter said, adding recent proposals the agency said it was considering “create unnecessary angst.” “We will respond to the House Biofuels Caucus through the proper channel,” said EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox in an email to Reuters. Midwestern politicians and industry representatives have been pressuring the EPA not to reduce renewable fuel standards. Fuel companies, meanwhile, want to change certain rules for complying with the standards to make it easier and cheaper for them to meet their renewable fuel requirements. They want ethanol exports to count as tradable credits toward their renewable fuel requirements, a proposal the Biofuels Caucus members condemned. “This proposition would upend infrastructure investments needed to blend ethanol into our fuel supply and pick winners and losers in a manner inconsistent with the Congressional intent of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” they wrote. Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds said that President Donald Trump told her on a phone call on Wednesday that he was committed to renewable fuels, though advocates say they won’t be satisfied until the EPA reverses recent steps it has taken to lower renewable fuel requirements. Last month, the EPA said it was looking to cut 2018 biodiesel blending requirements, roiling markets and drawing criticism from the country’s farm belt. In July, it proposed cutting total volumes of all renewable fuels use for next year. | 0fake |
Trump Already Going Ballistic Over Maddow Getting His Tax Returns – Releases Unhinged Statement | Trump has long claimed that he was legally not allowed to release his tax returns because of an alleged audit that required him to keep them a secret. This has been repeatedly debunked by legal experts and tax experts and now Trump himself. After learning Rachel Maddow had obtained his 2005 tax returns and was planning on breaking it on live television, Trump s White House freaked out and released the tax returns themselves. So much for the audit lie.The statement, like many of Trump s reactionary tantrums, was light on culpability and focused mostly on whining about how unfair it was that his taxes would be released this way.You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago.Ironically, the question of whether the current president is in violation of the law specifically conflict of interest laws is exactly why Rachel Maddow and other investigative journalists are looking into Trump s taxes in the first place. And because he is the first president in decades to flatly refuse to release them, leaking the documents to the public is the only way they ll come to light.WH responds to MSNBC report on Trump tax returns: "you know you are desperate when you willing to violate the law " pic.twitter.com/DCedFdxWCc Jim Acosta (@Acosta) March 15, 2017Trump s statement which appears to have been hastily written, in part, by Trump himself claims he paid around $38 million in taxes while pulling in around $150 million in income. The document, as summarized by the Daily Beast, goes into more detail:The documents show Trump and his wife Melania paying $5.3 million in regular federal income tax a rate of less than 4% However, the Trumps paid an additional $31 million in the so-called alternative minimum tax, or AMT. Trump has previously called for the elimination of this tax.So in Trump s ideal world, he would like billionaires like himself to pay a 4% tax while using loopholes and tax havens to avoid paying the lion s share of what he owes. That s pretty pathetic coming from a person who has been using his time in office to dismantle welfare programs and cut spending in the arts and sciences.There is an alternative theory about the tax returns: Trump leaked them himself, all so he could freak out about it later.Johnston: possible POTUS leaked returns "Donald has a long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it's in his interest." Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) March 15, 2017What would his interest be: One could argue that this might be the very best tax return he has. As reporters get closer to his more recent filings, he may have leaked this document to placate journalists, be seen throwing a tantrum, and hope that everyone moved on. If that s the case, reporters should be encouraged to dig even harder. They have clearly struck a nerve.Featured image via Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images | 1real |
Trump could find Democratic allies on tax reform: lawmaker | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the looming tax reform and infrastructure spending fight on Capitol Hill, President-elect Donald Trump may find unlikely allies among Democrats, says the lawmaker soon to be the party’s top tax-law writer in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts, who is in line to become the top Democrat on the House tax committee, said that in some crucial ways, Trump was more closely aligned to Democrats on tax issues than to his fellow Republicans. Citing the example of tax cuts for the middle class, Neal said Democrats were “more likely to be allies” to Trump than Republicans in Congress. A House Republican “blueprint” for overhauling the tax code “still overwhelmingly favors people at the top. ... I am open to a middle-class tax cut that we should pay for,” Neal said in a recent interview. The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, said Trump’s tax plan would give middle-class households an average tax cut of $1,010, or 1.8 percent of after-tax income. The center said Trump’s plan would give much larger tax savings to high-income taxpayers. Trump’s advisers have said that lower tax rates for the wealthy in the Trump plan are offset by loophole closures, resulting in no net tax cut for high earners. The center said that House Republicans’ tax “blueprint” would give middle-class households an average $260 tax cut, much smaller than Trump’s. It added that three-quarters of the blueprint’s tax cuts would go to the top 1 percent. On infrastructure spending, another component of the emerging fiscal policy debate, Neal said he did not accept the $1 trillion price tag on Trump’s plan or its emphasis on revenue-producing projects. He said, however, that he saw infrastructure spending as an important job creator for blue-collar constituents that Democrats should back. “We traditionally have been the party of infrastructure investment and it tends to be investment that puts our people to work,” said Neal. “We need to do something that’s conducive to more investment and more job creation.” The Trump team and Republicans in Congress are trying to hammer out an agreement on tax reform by early 2017. Trump advisers have called for bipartisan legislation. Representative Kevin Brady, the Republican chairman of Neal’s tax committee, said on Wednesday he had invited Democrats to offer their best ideas on tax reform. With Trump due to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and Republicans in control of the House and Senate, hopes are running high for the biggest tax overhaul in 30 years. Businesses are eager to see a cut in the 35 percent corporate income tax rate. Trump wants it down to 15 percent, while House Republicans want it cut to 20 percent. Neal has been in Congress since 1989 and is known in the business community as a moderate. He is replacing Michigan Democrat Sander Levin as the committee’s ranking member. He said the odds of a tax reform deal were “at best 50-50” given the range of political and economic interests involved. It would be hard to cut the corporate rate below 28 percent, he said, without endangering tax breaks popular with the middle class, including deductions for home mortgages and charitable donations and the employer-sponsored health insurance deduction. Lower rates and infrastructure spending should be paid for with revenues raised from repatriation of $2.6 trillion in U.S. corporate profits now stashed overseas, Neal said. The repatriated profits should go to capital investments and infrastructure, not stock buybacks or dividends, as happened after a Bush-era tax holiday more than a decade ago. “It strikes me that there is some room to talk about how that money might be invested in America, and then we can argue about the rate once we’ve decided the parameters of what we think it might be moved for,” he said. | 0fake |
Pentagon: No Plan ‘So Far’ For US Troops to Enter Mosul | Officials Concede Plan Could Change, as Could Definition of 'Mosul' by Jason Ditz, November 03, 2016 Share This
The US has made much of its troops involved in the Mosul invasion not being “combat” troops, even though one of the troops was killed in a roadside bombing while embedded with Kurdish combat troops. As the troops near Mosul, however, Pentagon spokesman Col. John Dorrian insists there are no plans so far for troops to enter Mosul.
Col. Dorrian insisted that Iraq’s government has said “it’s just gonna be their forces.” He did, however, say he didn’t want to say US troops would “never” be involved, insisting that the plans could change at any time.
Other officials, quoted anonymously by Reuters , suggested that the definition of Mosul could also change, saying that suburbs and parts of the city’s outskirts could easily be redefined as not Mosul, allowing US troops to enter those areas without having to technically “enter Mosul.”
The Obama Administration initially promised “no boots on the ground” in Iraq, but with some 6,000 such troops in Iraq, they’ve seen been trying desperately to claim they are in “non-combat” roles. This too has been difficult to sell, with a number of those troops embedded in combat units. Those troops are nominally “advisers,” but are regularly being put into combat areas. Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz | 1real |
NEW YORK GOVERNOR Pardons 18 CONVICTED Illegals Waiting for Deportation…Cut Off Fed Funds Now! | DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR Andrew Cuomo just pardoned 18 illegals who were facing immigration enforcement actions because of prior criminal charges. He says his pardon was based on their rehabilitation efforts. Cuomo blasted what he called President Trump s hard-line immigration efforts. Is following the rule of law a hard line ?IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR CUOMO SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER IGNORING IMMIGRATION LAW?Yesterday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order barring law enforcement officials from inquiring about the citizenship status of suspects during investigations. It would also apply to other state agencies outside of law enforcement in most cases. In other words, rather than just refusing to cooperate with ICE when they seek to deport illegal aliens, Cuomo is raising the bar and basically pretending that we don t even have any immigration laws.IS THIS ABOUT VOTES, VOTES, VOTES? YOU BET IT IS! While the federal government continues to target immigrants and threatens to tear families apart with deportation, these actions take a critical step toward a more just, more fair and more compassionate New York, Cuomo said in a statement.WE SAY THAT TRUMP SHOULD CUT OFF INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS!IGNORING CRIMINAL HISTORIES:Among those pardoned Wednesday was Lorena Borjas, 57, who had been convicted of criminal facilitation in 1994 as a result of being a victim of human trafficking. Borjas, a transgender woman from Mexico, has worked as an advocate for the transgender and immigrant communities since her conviction, the governor s office said. Freddy Perez, 53, was convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance in 1993. Perez, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, said he hopes to become a U.S. citizen, according to the governor s office.Prior to Wednesday s pardons, Cuomo had issued seven pardons for immigrants in an effort to postpone their deportation, The New York Times reported.Read more: The Hill | 1real |
Roland Martin: Trump ’Hoodwinked, Bamboozled’ White Working-Class Voters - Breitbart | Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” while discussing the current House Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, News One Now host Roland Martin said President Donald Trump ” hoodwinked,” “bamboozled” and “led astray” white voters. Partial transcript as follows: STEPHANOPOULOS: He is working it hard because they know the cost of losing in the House. The president can’t lose … MARTIN: And he can work it as hard as he wants to, but as I’m watching the town halls. I’m thinking about Malcolm X, you’ve been had, you’ve been took, you’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok. To watch these white, voters upset and mad saying, I voted for you. And I’m going ‘we tried to tell you this is what the man said he was going to do.’ Now they’re faced with the backlash of, now they love the Affordable Care Act and now Republicans are in a box. The number has gone up 20 points this last year. STEPHANOPOULOS: Even though the numbers don’t work, they want to believe the president on this. Follow Pam Key On Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0fake |
Congressional Republicans declare Obama’s budget dead on arrival | Republican members of Congress on Tuesday declared President Obama's $4 trillion budget plan to be a legislative nonstarter, as they decried new taxes it would require to pay for an ambitious slate of proposed programs.
"It's dead on arrival," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Obama's plan, which includes calls for new early-education programs and free community college tuition, among other things, would require new tax revenue from the wealthy Americans and large corporations to fund the initiatives.
"There's no greater contrast than showing what this new American Congress is for and what the president supports. His new budget will give the federal government an 11 percent raise by taking more out of the economy in taxes," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Addressing reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast earlier Monday, Club for Growth president David McIntosh said: "I think the president's proposal for essentially massive tax increases on corporate America is a nonstarter."
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, are expected to unveil their own budget plans in the coming weeks.
"We believe in growing America's economy, not growing Washington," said McCarthy. | 0fake |
Hillary Clinton Hits Unfavorability High of 60%, Higher Than Trump | Hillary Clinton Hits Unfavorability High of 60%, Higher Than Trump October 31,
Remember last week when Hillary Clinton was shopping around for White House drapes and the "popular" wisdom was that she was inevitable? That was fun. Wasn't it. Now she hit an unfavorability rating high of 60 percent. That's higher than Trump.
It also means that the candidate who claims she's going to bring Americans together is disliked by most of the country .
Clinton is seen unfavorably by 60 percent of likely voters in the latest results, a new high. Trump is seen unfavorably by essentially as many -- 58 percent. Marking the depth of these views, 49 percent see Clinton "strongly" unfavorably, and 48 percent say the same about Trump –- unusual levels of strong sentiment.
The extent of partisan antipathy in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, is remarkable: Ninety-seven percent of Trump supporters see Clinton unfavorably; 90 percent, strongly so. Ninety-five percent of Clinton supporters see Trump unfavorably -– again, 90 percent strongly so.
But remember Hillary is "inevitable".
Now the Clinton campaign has decided to go after the FBI under the assumption that people like Hillary more than the FBI. That may be a slight misjudgment. And by slight, I mean huge. Because not only is the FBI more popular than Hillary, so are major landfills, UFO cattle mutilations and a number of international war criminals. | 1real |
Text: Mitt Romney speech slamming Donald Trump | (Reuters) - The following is the full text of the speech delivered on Thursday by former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 Republican nominee for U.S. president Mitt Romney to the Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. I am not here to announce my candidacy for office. I am not going to endorse a candidate today. Instead, I would like to offer my perspective on the nominating process of my party. In 1964, days before the presidential election which, incidentally, we lost, Ronald Reagan went on national television and challenged America saying that it was a “Time for Choosing.” He saw two paths for America, one that embraced conservative principles dedicated to lifting people out of poverty and helping create opportunity for all, and the other, an oppressive government that would lead America down a darker, less free path. I’m no Ronald Reagan and this is a different moment but I believe with all my heart and soul that we face another time for choosing, one that will have profound consequences for the Republican Party and more importantly, for the country. I say this in part because of my conviction that America is poised to lead the world for another century. Our technology engines, our innovation dynamic, and the ambition and skill of our people will propel our economy and raise our standard of living. America will remain as it is today, the envy of the world. Warren Buffett was 100% right when he said last week that “the babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.” That doesn’t mean we don’t have real problems and serious challenges. At home, poverty persists and wages are stagnant. The horrific massacres of Paris and San Bernardino, the nuclear ambitions of the Iranian mullahs, the aggressions of Putin, the growing assertiveness of China and the nuclear tests of North Korea confirm that we live in troubled and dangerous times. But if we make the right choices, America’s future will be even better than our past and better than our present. On the other hand, if we make improvident choices, the bright horizon I foresee will never materialize. Let me put it plainly, if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. Let me explain why. First, the economy: If Donald Trump’s plans were ever implemented, the country would sink into a prolonged recession. A few examples: His proposed 35% tariff-like penalties would instigate a trade war that would raise prices for consumers, kill export jobs, and lead entrepreneurs and businesses to flee America. His tax plan, in combination with his refusal to reform entitlements and to honestly address spending would balloon the deficit and the national debt. So even as Donald Trump has offered very few specific economic plans, what little he has said is enough to know that he would be very bad for American workers and for American families. But wait, you say, isn’t he a huge business success that knows what he’s talking about? No he isn’t. His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didn’t create it. And what ever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there’s Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks, and Trump Mortgage? A business genius he is not. Now not every policy Donald Trump has floated is bad. He wants to repeal and replace Obamacare. He wants to bring jobs home from China and Japan. But his prescriptions to do these things are flimsy at best. At the last debate, all he could remember about his healthcare plan was to remove insurance boundaries between states. Successfully bringing jobs home requires serious policy and reforms that make America the place businesses want to plant and grow. You can’t punish business into doing the things you want. Frankly, the only serious policy proposals that deal with the broad range of national challenges we confront, come today from Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich. One of these men should be our nominee. I know that some people want the race to be over. They look at history and say a trend like Mr. Trump’s isn’t going to be stopped. Perhaps. But the rules of political history have pretty much all been shredded during this campaign. If the other candidates can find common ground, I believe we can nominate a person who can win the general election and who will represent the values and policies of conservatism. Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state. Let me turn to national security and the safety of our homes and loved ones. Trump’s bombast is already alarming our allies and fueling the enmity of our enemies. Insulting all Muslims will keep many of them from fully engaging with us in the urgent fight against ISIS. And for what purpose? Muslim terrorists would only have to lie about their religion to enter the country. What he said on “60 Minutes” about Syria and ISIS has to go down as the most ridiculous and dangerous idea of the campaign season: Let ISIS take out Assad, he said, and then we can pick up the remnants. Think about that: Let the most dangerous terror organization the world has ever known take over a country? This is recklessness in the extreme. Donald Trump tells us that he is very, very smart. I’m afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart. I am far from the first to conclude that Donald Trump lacks the temperament of be president. After all, this is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporter’s questions to her menstrual cycle, who mocked a brilliant rival who happened to be a woman due to her appearance, who bragged about his marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity. Donald Trump says he admires Vladimir Putin, while has called George W. Bush a liar. That is a twisted example of evil trumping good. There is dark irony in his boasts of his sexual exploits during the Vietnam War while John McCain, whom he has mocked, was imprisoned and tortured. Dishonesty is Trump’s hallmark: He claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into Iraq. Wrong, he spoke in favor of invading Iraq. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11. Wrong, he saw no such thing. He imagined it. His is not the temperament of a stable, thoughtful leader. His imagination must not be married to real power. The President of the United States has long been the leader of the free world. The president and yes the nominees of the country’s great parties help define America to billions of people. All of them bear the responsibility of being an example for our children and grandchildren. Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics. We have long referred to him as “The Donald.” He is the only person in America to whom we have added an article before his name. It wasn’t because he had attributes we admired. Now imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does. Will you welcome that? Haven’t we seen before what happens when people in prominent positions fail the basic responsibility of honorable conduct? We have, and it always injures our families and our country. Watch how he responds to my speech today. Will he talk about our policy differences or will he attack me with every imaginable low road insult? This may tell you what you need to know about his temperament, his stability, and his suitability to be president. Trump relishes any poll that reflects what he thinks of himself. But polls are also saying that he will lose to Hillary Clinton. On Hillary Clinton’s watch at the State Department, America’s interests were diminished in every corner of the world. She compromised our national secrets, dissembled to the families of the slain, and jettisoned her most profound beliefs to gain presidential power. For the last three decades, the Clintons have lived at the intersection of money and politics, trading their political influence to enrich their personal finances. They embody the term “crony capitalism.” It disgusts the American people and causes them to lose faith in our political process. A person so untrustworthy and dishonest as Hillary Clinton must not become president. But a Trump nomination enables her victory. The audio and video of the infamous Tapper-Trump exchange on the Ku Klux Klan will play a hundred thousand times on cable and who knows how many million times on social media. There are a number of people who claim that Mr. Trump is a con man, a fake. There is indeed evidence of that. Mr. Trump has changed his positions not just over the years, but over the course of the campaign, and on the Ku Klux Klan, daily for three days in a row. We will only really know if he is the real deal or a phony if he releases his tax returns and the tape of his interview with the New York Times. I predict that there are more bombshells in his tax returns. I predict that he doesn’t give much if anything to the disabled and to our veterans. I predict that he told the New York Times that his immigration talk is just that: talk. And I predict that despite his promise to do so, first made over a year ago, he will never ever release his tax returns. Never. Not the returns under audit, not even the returns that are no longer being audited. He has too much to hide. Nor will he authorize the Times to release the tapes. If I’m right, you will have all the proof you need to know that Donald Trump is a phony. Attacking me as he surely will won’t prove him any less of a phony. It’s entirely in his hands to prove me wrong. All he has to do is to release his back taxes like he promised he would, and let us hear what he said behind closed doors to the New York Times. Ronald Reagan used to quote a Scottish philosopher who predicted that democracies and civilizations couldn’t last more than about 200 years. John Adams wrote this: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” I believe that America has proven these dire predictions wrong for two reasons. First, we have been blessed with great presidents, with giants among us. Men of character, integrity and selflessness have led our nation from its very beginning. None were perfect: each surely made mistakes. But in every case, they acted out of the desire to do what was right for America and for freedom. The second reason is because we are blessed with a great people, people who at every critical moment of choosing have put the interests of the country above their own. These two things are related: our presidents time and again have called on us to rise to the occasion. John F. Kennedy asked us to consider what we could do for our country. Lincoln drew upon the better angels of our nature to save the union. I understand the anger Americans feel today. In the past, our presidents have channeled that anger, and forged it into resolve, into endurance and high purpose, and into the will to defeat the enemies of freedom. Our anger was transformed into energy directed for good. Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants, he calls for the use of torture and for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists. He cheers assaults on protesters. He applauds the prospect of twisting the Constitution to limit first amendment freedom of the press. This is the very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss. Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat. His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill. America has greatness ahead. This is a time for choosing. God bless us to choose a nominee who will make that vision a reality. | 0fake |
null | Wait till you see what happens to the valuation when they release the feature that puts the bear face and the hamster face on you. | 1real |
School Official Fired from Social Media Job for Correcting a Student’s Spelling over Twitter - Breitbart | A Maryland school official was fired from her job after she corrected a student’s spelling over Twitter. [Frederick County Public Schools has fired employee Katie Nash after she stirred up attention on how she ran the district’s Twitter feed last week, the Frederick News Post reported. On Jan. 5, a student tweeted to the FCPS Twitter account @FCPSMaryland and said, “close school tammarow PLEASE. ” Several hours later, Frederick County Public Schools Social Media Manager Katie Nash replied, “but then how would you learn how to spell ‘tomorrow?’ :)” The response drew lots of attention and backlash over social media as thousands of people liked and retweeted the post. She eventually became the subject of a hashtag, #KatiefromFCPS, and later #freekatie when WHAG reported that her Twitter was taken away from her. Nash said she understands why she was fired and said she doesn’t want to be a “distraction” to the school system, but thought her employer would have provided some suggestions on how to improve her job. “As a new employee, I think I sort of would have expected that there would have been some counseling or some suggestions on how to improve,” she said. Nash had decided to take a more playful tone on the school’s Twitter account, citing student feedback. “We had received feedback from some students in a focus group that our tweeting was a bit flat, they were looking for some more engagement,” Nash said. “They were looking for us to tweet back at them and I really took that to heart because I know that I am a little bit older and maybe not as hip as some of the students are, so I took that to heart and I took that feedback in. ” The student later said that he didn’t take the tweet personally, WGHP reported. Michael Doerrer, the Director of Communications, Community Engagement and Marketing with FCPS, said the school gave a personal apology to the student, WHAG reported. | 0fake |
California Today: With Trump’s Rise, a Return to the ‘Rebel State’ - The New York Times | Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up.) With Jennifer Medina, a national correspondent based in Los Angeles. As the nation delivered Donald J. Trump a stunning victory, California went the other direction, embracing a progressive agenda. The state resoundingly backed Hillary Clinton, delivering her its 55 electoral votes, but it wasn’t enough to stem the wave of battleground states that lined up for Mr. Trump. “Probably no state is going to be more shocked by tomorrow morning’s headlines than California,” Bruce E. Cain, a professor of political science at Stanford University, said late Tuesday. Still, he noted, large parts of California did support Mr. Trump — mostly rural areas in the Central Valley and northern counties. Mindy Romero, the director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the University of California, Davis, said some state leaders err in seeing California as wholly blue. “We’re not,” she said, “and people do feel left out or marginalized. ” She added, “There will be areas of the state that are very glad to see Donald Trump win and I think we should recognize that. ” When California makes choices as a whole, however, as it did on 17 ballot propositions, the results tend to reflect the more populous liberal side. On Tuesday, voters did away with prohibitions against marijuana, raised taxes on cigarettes, extended an income tax on the wealthy, toughened gun control laws, loosened parole rules and overturned a law that restricted bilingual education in schools. Californians also sent the first black woman to the United States Senate since Carol Moseley Braun in 1999. Attorney General Kamala Harris easily defeated Representative Loretta Sanchez in the state’s first race, the result of the primary system. “I intend to fight for a state that has the largest number of immigrants, documented and undocumented,” Ms. Harris told a crowd of supporters. “Our ideals are at stake right now — and we need to fight for our ideals. ” California will join four other states and the District of Columbia where recreational marijuana is allowed, and the decision could open the door to federal legalization. The passage of the measure will allow residents older than 21 to grow up to six cannabis plants at home and an ounce of marijuana. It also allows the state, county and city government to regulate and tax the growth and sale of marijuana. Voters also passed a measure supported by Gov. Jerry Brown that would increase the number of nonviolent inmates eligible for parole and allow the inmates to earn credit for good behavior. The measure was aimed at reducing the state’s prison population and rolling back some of the measures Governor Brown once championed. Showing just how much the state’s attitude toward immigrants has changed over the last two decades, voters approved Proposition 58, repealing a measure that passed in 1998 and expanding bilingual education for the state’s 1. 4 million English language learners. Buyers of gun ammunition will now have to undergo criminal background checks, and magazines are illegal, after the passage of Proposition 63, a measure brought by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. The measure will also create new requirements for lost or stolen firearms and ammunition. Voters approved a $2 tax increase per pack of cigarettes, an initiative that prevailed despite more than $70 million spent by tobacco companies to defeat it. earners — individuals earning more than $250, 000 a year — will continue to pay more in taxes, as voters approved a measure that extends the tax increase passed in 2012 by an additional 12 years, till 2030. The revenue will primarily be used to fund public schools. Initiatives that would abolish the death penalty and impose price controls on pharmaceutical drugs were both behind in early vote counts. A plastic bag ban was ahead. In closely contested House races, Republican incumbents appeared to be holding on. In the Central Valley, the Republican David Valadao kept his seat, which was thought to be so endangered that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan came to the district to campaign for him. The Republicans Darrell Issa, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham were all leading in early vote counts. Dr. Cain, the Stanford professor, suggested that after the shock felt by many Californians over Mr. Trump’s ascendance subsides, the state would enter familiar territory. “California will be in mourning tomorrow,” he said. But, he added, “We will go back into the mode that we were in during the Bush administration, which is we were the kind of the rebel state. ” Want to make sure your vote was counted? You can look it up. And check official election results. See comprehensive maps and charts with projections and results, including breakdowns of the presidential and Senate races. Also, results from contests for the House of Representatives and the State Legislature, the statewide ballot propositions and other races across the state. • California and Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana use, reflecting a national shift in attitudes toward the drug. [The New York Times] • What you can and can’t do now that marijuana is legal. [Orange County Register] • Three San Francisco Bay Area cities approved a tax on sodas and other sugary drinks to fight diabetes and obesity. [SFGate. com] • “Not my president”: Mr. Trump’s victory set off protests across California. [Los Angeles Times] • Disbelief, hope and a plan for California’s secession: How the tech industry is reacting to Trump’s win. [Los Angeles Times] • A fatal shooting in the San Gabriel Valley temporarily closed two polling places. The suspect was later found dead. [The New York Times] • Two ballot measures that could have brought a Chargers stadium to downtown San Diego were soundly defeated. [San Diego ] • Who will Jerry Brown appoint to replace Kamala Harris as California attorney general? [Sacramento Bee] • If Tesla’s bid for SolarCity wasn’t a Silicon Valley deal, it would have been dead on arrival, says Steven Davidoff Solomon. [The New York Times] • Elisabeth Prueitt, the pastry queen of San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery, explores the sweet world beyond wheat. [The New York Times] With the election behind us, how about a palate cleanser? Research has shown that the company of animals can do wonders for people in ill health. With that in mind, the San Diego Zoo has been partnering with children’s hospitals across the country to show programming of its animals on televisions in patients’ rooms. The television channel, known as San Diego Zoo Kids, features footage from the zoo’s live cameras as well as hosts who tell stories about the animals. Since the initiative’s debut in 2013 at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, it has spread to nearly 80 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses, a charity for sick children, across 26 states and three countries. On Tuesday, the zoo announced its latest partnership with a children’s hospital in Phoenix. Erin Rice, the director of U. C. L. A’s Connection program, said scientists have found evidence that animal therapy can help lower blood pressure and raise oxytocin levels in patients. The San Diego Zoo program was a “wonderful idea,” she said. “Just bringing the outdoors into a very sterile environment is helpful. ” California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U. C. Berkeley. | 0fake |
CNN Got Complete List of Questions for Trump Interview from DNC |
CNN asked the Democratic National Committee to prepare questions for Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Donald Trump, according to emails released by Wikileaks.
In an April 25 email entitled “Trump Questions for CNN,” the DNC’s Lauren Dillon asked fellow Democrats for questions Blitzer could ask Trump.
“Wolf Blitzer is interviewing Trump on Tues ahead of his foreign policy address on Wed,” she wrote. “Please send me thoughts by 10:30 AM tomorrow. Thanks!”
The DNC came up with a lengthy set of questions for CNN :
– Who helped you write the foreign policy speech you’re giving tomorrow? Which advisors specifically did you talk to? What advice did they give you? Did they give you any advice that you chose not to take?
– CIA Director Brennan and former CIA Director Hayden have both said that our military and intelligence officers might refuse to follow some of your orders if you were president. What would you do if the military refused to listen to you? Should they be court-martialed if they refuse to follow orders?
– You’ve said you look to Ambassador John Bolton for military advice and called him “terrific,” but he was one of the architects of the Iraq war. How do you explain your praise for Bolton if you also claim the war was a mistake? What advice have you taken from him?
You can read the rest here , but there’s a few other gems:
– Do you think American victims of 9/11 should be able to sue Saudi Arabia in court? What role, if any, do you think Saudi Arabia had in the 9/11 attacks?
– You’ve said we should have bombed the “right people” after 9/11 and have suggested that the government has evidence Saudi Arabia was involved. Do you think we should have instead bombed Saudi Arabia?
This is smoking gun, undeniable proof that CNN is in the tank for Hillary Clinton – and the rest of the mainstream media is no different.
In fact, the Clinton campaign is acting as an assignment editor for the establishment media by telling reporters what to cover – and what to bury from public view that would otherwise hurt Hillary.
Previous Wikileaks emails revealed that campaign staffers are directly working with mainstream “journalists” to develop news stories favorable to the campaign – before they’re published!
“Huffington Post is doing a piece on our treasurer Jose Villareal — will likely focus at least partially on him sitting on the Walmart board,” said campaign communications staffer Jesse Lehrich in a 2015 email , which reads like a reporter assignment list at a major newspaper. “Other outstanding stories include: [Buzzfeed correspondent] Ruby Cramer on our grassroots organizing, Anita Kumar (McClatchy) on where we have organizers and how we’ve spent our money during Q2, and [Washington Post reporter] Phil Rucker on HRC talking about gun violence prevention.”
Source
| 1real |
[VIDEO] RUDY GIULIANI: “OUTRAGEOUS” Beyoncé Gets Police Escort To Super Bowl…Uses Halftime Show To Trash Cops And Promote Racial Tension | Are the people who pay to see Beyonc perform and buy her music even smart enough to figure out she s waging war against many of them? From her lip-syncing of the National Anthem at Obama s inaugural celebration, to her trip to Cuba with her radical husband Jay Z, they just can t help themselves when it comes to injecting themselves in Obama s race war.Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted Beyonc s halftime performance at the Super Bowl accusing her of using her platform to attack police officers. This is football, not Hollywood, Giuliani fumed Monday morning on FOX & Friends. At Sunday night s big game, the singer used her moments in the spotlight to highlight racial tension with her dancers wearing berets similar to those worn by the Black Panthers.Prior to the performance, some of Beyonc s dancers posed for a picture with their fists raised to the sky, evoking the black power salute by two prominent athletes during the 1968 Olympic Games.They also snapped a similar shot while holding a sign that said Justice 4 Mario Woods, referring to the 26-year-old man shot dead in December by San Francisco police. I thought that she used it as a platform to attack police officers, who are the people who protect her and protect us and keep us alive, Giuliani said. And what we should be doing, in the African-American community and in all communities, is build up respect for police officers and focus on the fact that when something does go wrong, OK, we ll work on that. Via: NYP | 1real |
Nursing Textbooks Recalled And Apology Issued For Racial Stereotypes Related To Pain Management | Pearson, an educational publishing company, issued an apology on Thursday in regards to culturally insensitive material published in their textbook Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning. The section in question was titled Focus on Diversity and Culture: Cultural Differences in Response to Pain and contained theories on how to treat patients from different racial and religious backgrounds in regard to their ability and willingness to tolerate pain,The segment catagorized patients, or clients as they are referred to in the textbook, into six groups; Arabs/Muslims , Asians , Blacks , Jews , Hispanics , and Native Americans. If the categories weren t cringe-worthy enough, it then gave the reader tips on how a client s culture influences their response to and beliefs about pain. Or, in other words, racial stereotypes. Among the shameless theories included in the piece were that Blacks will often report higher pain intensity than other cultures and that Jews can be more vocal and demanding of assistance, not a particularly scientific approach when the patient s feedback is the only way of evaluating and treating their suffering. Furthermore, if there were any truth to these allegations, which there is not, the textbook s approach would still be flawed, as many patients would fit into multiple categories, such as people from predominately Muslim countries in Asia.The material came to light after a Facebook user by the name of Onyx Moore posted a photo of the page in question and outrage ensued:(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.10'; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));CN: Racism across the boardThis is an excellent example of how not to be even remotely culturally sensitive. These Posted by Onyx Moore on Monday, October 16, 2017In response to the attention and overall negative feedback Ms. Moore s Facebook post received, Scott Overland, Pearson s communications director issued the following statement on Thursday: While differences in cultural attitudes towards pain are an important topic in medical programs, we presented this information in an inappropriate manner. We apologize for the offense this has caused and we have removed the material in question from current versions of the book, electronic versions of the book and future editions of this text. In addition, we now are actively reviewing all of our nursing curriculum products to identify and remove any remaining instances of this inappropriate content that might appear in other titles. We will continue to provide updates on our progress. This material does not reflect our values as a company and how we want to serve students. We always welcome feedback and we appreciate the concern shown by the students who raised this issue. The company also stated that they will recall all books with this particular segment printed in them, but as to how the material was published to begin with, Mr. Overland was less than certain. We are working with our editorial teams as we speak to determine that, he added.Featured image via Facebook | 1real |
Prayer, principle guide women voters in Roy Moore's Alabama hometown | GADSDEN, Ala. (Reuters) - In a U.S. Senate race rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Republican candidate Roy Moore, some women in his hometown said they were sticking by the embattled nominee while others said prayer would guide their votes on Tuesday. Caroll Norman, a retired middle school teacher in Gadsden, said she did not know if she would vote for a Democrat for the first time in her life or write in another name on her ballot. Perusing a candle shop downtown Monday evening, the Trump supporter said not even the president’s vocal backing of the embattled Republican nominee had swayed her. “I’ll have to pray about it and make a decision in the morning,” the 64-year-old Republican said. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen women in the religious, working-class city of about 36,000 people an hour from Birmingham. Gadsden landed in an unwelcome spotlight after multiple women came forward last month to accuse Moore of pursuing them when they were teenagers and he was a local prosecutors in his 30s. One accuser said he tried to initiate sexual contact with her when she was 14. Moore denounced the allegations as political attacks and refused to heed national Republicans’ calls to leave the race. Reuters has not independently confirmed any of the accusations. Norman said there were inconsistencies in the women’s stories, as well as in some of Moore’s responses. Nearby at a bus stop downtown, where Christmas music played from speakers on light poles, Republican Sara Teet, 35, said she also remained conflicted. “I just don’t know what to believe,” she said. “I don’t know what to do.” But at the Gadsden Mall, Republican Debbie Handy said she was voting for “the judge,” as many locals refer to Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice. “I’ve known him a long time and he’d never have anything to do with those women,” Handy, 40, said. “He’s a man of integrity. He’s a strong Christian.” Handy said she also liked Moore because he supports Trump, who last year won 73 percent of the presidential vote in Etowah County, where Gadsden is the county seat. “Trump and Moore will bring America back to what it should be,” she said. Robin Gibson, 61, a store clerk and self-described liberal Democrat, said she knew one of Moore’s accusers and she believed the allegations against him. Her vote on Tuesday for Democrat Doug Jones would have nothing to do with thwarting Trump or trying to erode the slim margin Republicans hold in the Senate, she said. “This isn’t a race about Trump’s plans for our country. It’s about who represents my state,” Gibson said. Around town, where there were noticeably few campaign signs for either candidate, many voters echoed the sentiments of Pat Miller in the final hours of the race. “We’ve had CNN and the Washington Post and some fellas from New York City all over the place,” said Miller, 54, as she walked out of the Gadsden Variety Café with a bowl of hot chili. “All I can say is that we all can’t wait for this to be over.” | 0fake |
China labels Trump call 'petty action' by Taiwan: Phoenix TV | BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was a “petty action” by Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television reported. The conversation was the first such contact with Taiwan by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of “one China”. “This is just the Taiwan side engaging in a petty action, and cannot change the ‘one China’ structure already formed by the international community,” Wang said at an academic forum, the station said. “I believe that it won’t change the longstanding one China policy of the United States government. The ‘one China’ principle is the cornerstone of the healthy development of Sino-U.S. ties, and we hope this political basis is not interfered with or damaged in any way.” Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of a civil war with the Communists in 1949, and Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring under its control what China views as a wayward province. Taiwan is one of China’s most sensitive policy issues, and China generally lambastes any form of official contact by foreign governments with Taiwan’s leaders. China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, who won election in January, and believes she wants to push for the island’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing. Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo with China and wants peaceful relations. | 0fake |
Mnuchin says no regrets over government plane use | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday he does not regret using a government plane to travel to Kentucky in August with his wife to view the solar eclipse and speak to business leaders, calling it “completely justifiable.” Mnuchin’s use of the plane at taxpayers’ expense prompted an outcry from Democratic lawmakers and interest groups and spurred a government watchdog to begin examining whether it violated travel or ethics policies. “It was approved by the White House and there were reasons why we needed to use that plane that are completely justifiable,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. Cabinet members rarely use government planes or chartered aircraft for domestic travel, but the practice has received significant attention in the wake of Mnuchin’s trip. On Friday, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after an outcry over his use of private charter planes for government business at a cost of nearly $52,000. Mnuchin told NBC that he would only use a private plane for government purposes “if either there was a national security issue or we couldn’t get somewhere.” The Treasury Department has described Mnuchin’s trip in August as official government travel. Mnuchin spoke to business leaders in Louisville and visited Fort Knox, the site of significant U.S. gold reserves. Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, also viewed the Aug. 21 solar eclipse in Kentucky with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others. Public uproar over the trip began to mount after Linton posted a photo of herself deboarding the plane on social media and listed the expensive designer brands she was wearing in the caption. | 0fake |
North Korean women suffer discrimination, rape, malnutrition: U.N. | GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korean women are deprived of education and job opportunities and are often subjected to violence at home and sexual assault in the workplace, a U.N. human rights panel said on Monday. After a regular review of Pyongyang s record, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women also voiced concern at rape or mistreatment of women in detention especially those repatriated after fleeing abroad. North Korean women are under-represented or disadvantaged in tertiary education, the judiciary, security and police forces and leadership and managerial positions in all non-traditional areas of work , the panel of independent experts said. The main issue is first of all the lack of information. We have no access to a large part of laws, elements and information on national machinery, Nicole Ameline, panel member, told Reuters. We have asked a lot of questions. North Korea told the panel on Nov. 8 that it was working to uphold women s rights and gender equality but that sanctions imposed by major powers over its nuclear and missile programs were taking a toll on vulnerable mothers and children. Domestic violence is prevalent and there is very limited awareness about the issue and a lack of legal services, psycho-social support and shelters available for victims, the panel said. It said economic sanctions had a disproportionate impact on women. North Korean women suffer high levels of malnutrition , with 28 percent of pregnant or lactating women affected, it said. We have called on the government to be very, very attentive to the situation of food and nutrition. Because we consider that it is a basic need and that the government has to invest and to assume its responsibilities in this field, Ameline said. Unfortunately I am not sure that the situation will improve very quickly. The report found that penalties for rape in North Korea were not commensurate with the severity of the crime, which also often goes unpunished. Legal changes in 2012 lowered the penalties for some forms of rape, including the rape of children, rape by a work supervisor and repeated rape. This has led to reducing the punishment for forcing a woman in a subordinate position to have sexual intercourse from four years to three years, the report said. It said women trafficked abroad and then returned to North Korea, are reported to be sent to labor training camps or prisons, accused of illegal border crossing , and may be exposed to further violations of their rights, including sexual violence by security officials and forced abortions. | 0fake |
Top Trump Twitter Poster Banned | ADVERTISEMENT
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He would post using the username microspookyleaks and had over 85,000 followers when suspended.
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Indonesian court recognizes native religions in landmark ruling | JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia s Constitutional Court on Tuesday affirmed the rights of devotees of faiths outside the country s officially recognized religions, in a move activists welcomed as a new chapter for religious freedom .Against a backdrop of rising intolerance toward minorities in the world s largest Muslim-majority nation, the court said Indonesians would not be required to identify as either Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist or Confucian on their national identification cards.The ruling reviewed by Reuters followed a legal challenge by followers of some of Indonesia s indigenous faiths. Bonar Tigor Naipospos from the Setara Institute, a group that advocates for religious harmony, said Indonesians who refused to embrace one of the regulated religions on their identity cards had limited access to education, restricted employment opportunities and were denied legal marriage. The Court recommended that a seventh, catch-all category be created - Believers of the Faith - for ID cards. This is a new chapter for religious freedom in Indonesia for both government and followers of indigenous religions, Naipospos said. This is a door for the government to recognize their rights. A spokesman for Indonesia s president Joko Widodo could not immediately be reached for comment.Indonesia s founding constitution says the state is based on the belief in the One and Only God but guarantees each and every citizen the freedom of religion and worship .However, blasphemy laws passed in 1965 stipulated only six religions would be protected. Subsequent regulations and laws effectively enshrined those as the only religions recognized by the state. The ruling (on Tuesday) means the end of Indonesia recognizing only six religions, said Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch.In the 2000 census, about 400,000 people identified as holding beliefs outside the six main religions, although Harsono said this probably underestimated the extent of believers in non-recognized faiths.Across Indonesia s vast chain of islands, more than 200 distinctive native faiths, such as the Sundanese people s Wiwitan, the Dayak s Kaharingan and the Torajan s Aluk To Dolo survived even as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam dominated during different eras.Its people also blended elements of the major religions over time and infused them with animist and mystical beliefs. The court ruling should also apply to followers of non-indigenous religions such as Baha i and Judaism that are not formally recognized in Indonesia, said Nia Sjarifudin of the Unity in Diversity Alliance. In recent decades, Indonesia s reputation for tolerance has been tarnished as its unique syncretic form of Islam has been challenged by more fundamentalist interpretations imported from the Middle East.In the past year, an alliance of Islamist hardliners pushed successfully for the imprisonment of then Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, for insulting Islam under the 1965 blasphemy laws.Atheism is not legal in Indonesia, and non-believers have also been charged with blasphemy. | 0fake |
NEWSFLASH FOR OUR IMPERIAL PRESIDENT: STATES CAN REFUSE IRAN DEAL [Video] | As Barack Hussein Obama tours around the country trying to convince the low information voter that the lopsided and dangerous deal he and John Kerry cut with Iran is somehow beneficial to the United States of America he may want to consider the states can shut down his deal if they so choose to act.The Obama administration has sent the Iran nuclear deal to Congress for a 60-day review provided by the Corker bill. However, President Barack Obama has pre-empted Congress by going to the UN Security Council first, which has already voted to end international sanctions and accept the deal. Furthermore, even if Congress rejects the deal, it will struggle to muster a two-thirds majority to override the president s veto.There is one effective way, however, that the Iran deal can be rejected: states and local governments can refuse to comply with it.That may come as a surprise. States and local governments do not play much of a role in foreign policy. However, they cannot be forced to implement an international treaty or agreement that is not self-executing i.e. one whose implementation requires new congressional laws.Thanks to the victory at the Supreme Court by then-Texas Solicitor General Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)96% in Medell n v. Texas (2008), it is a settled principle in constitutional law that states cannot be forced to comply with international treaties unless Congress has passed statutes giving them effect.The Iran deal stipulates (p. 15):25. If a law at the state or local level in the United States is preventing the implementation of the sanctions lifting as specified in this JCPOA, the United States will take appropriate steps, taking into account all available authorities, with a view to achieving such implementation. The United States will actively encourage officials at the state or local level to take into account the changes in the U.S. policy reflected in the lifting of sanctions under this JCPOA and to refrain from actions inconsistent with this change in policy.The sanctions to which the deal refers are the array of divestment laws that have been passed in recent years to prevent pension funds and contractors from providing economic benefits to Iranian companies the Iranian regime. 30 states have passed divestment laws, roughly a dozen have passed contracting restrictions, and some have passed supplemental legislation, such as a 2012 law passed in California that applies to the state s insurance industry.Many of the states that have applied harsh restrictions on Iran, moreover, are liberal blue states. New York, for example, maintains a blacklist of persons determined to be engaged in investment activities in Iran. As the state government explains further: Once an entity appears on the list, it will be considered a non-responsive bidder/offerer and prohibited from entering into contracts with New York State or local governments. That includes companies that are not Iranian themselves, but do business with Iran.The Iran deal lifts sanctions on some companies that appear on New York s blacklist. However, the state restrictions remain in force.The Iran deal obligates the federal government to take appropriate steps to cancel state and local restrictions, and requires the government to refrain from further sanctions in the future. The truth is that the federal government has no constitutional authority to do so.Divestment laws and contracting restrictions can remain in place at the state and local level until they are superseded by federal statute. The language of the Iran deal itself is not enough to constitute such statutory authority, even if the Iran deal does pass by failure to override Obama s veto.If the states want, they can add new sanctions and restrictions on Iran perhaps to replace those that the federal government is lifting, such as restrictions on Iranian engineers studying nuclear technology at American universities.The Iran deal specifies that Iran will treat an an imposition of new nuclear-related sanctions, as grounds to cease performing its commitments. That paragraph (27) deals with federal sanctions, but is written vaguely.That leaves great power in the states hands to trigger the deal s collapse or force Obama to re-negotiate.Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
Internet Heroes Make Trump-Putin Facebook Friendship Anniversary Video; It’s BRILLIANT (VIDEO) | The internet is full of hidden gems, and this hostile political environment and corrupt Trump administration has given us some of the most hilarious, powerful memes and videos we ve seen in a while. The latest masterpiece to grace the internet was inspired by the friendship anniversary videos we ve been seeing on everyone s Facebook feed the ones that celebrates close friendships with a highlight reel of all the time you ve spent connecting on Facebook.Well, two geniuses filmmakers Evan and Adam Nix have given us something truly amazing with a new friendship anniversary video of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Poking fun at their disturbingly close and suspicious relationship, the Nix brothers got super creative and took a lighthearted approach to a concerning issue that most of America is extremely worried about. This video was released right as Trump is facing new criticism for his praise and defense of Russia, and his relationship with Putin and Russia has been called the biggest scandal in recent months.The Nix Bros. hilariously start the friendship anniversary out by stating A few months ago today you rigged the election together The video goes through several pinnacle points of Trump and Putin s weird connection, even once striking a sentimental tone in their friendship: And while there are several dictatorships, there s only one like yours ;) That s terrifying! At the very end, the video closes with a statement almost every American even conservatives know to be true: We are all totally fucked. You can watch the film below: The short film is absolutely genius, and worth every second. The Nix Bros. are known for their funny political videos, and we re so happy they weighed in on Trump and Putin with their satirical brand of comedy. At a time when the chaotic Trump administration is undoing everything America has worked to become, we all need a good laugh every now and then.Featured image is a screenshot | 1real |
Re: WikiLeaks: Neera Tanden has ANOTHER ringing endorsement for Hillary! (No, not really) | WikiLeaks: Neera Tanden has ANOTHER ringing endorsement for Hillary! (No, not really) Posted at 3:21 pm on October 29, 2016 by Doug P.
As emails released by WikiLeaks have revealed, Hillary Clinton adviser and Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden has demonstrated brutal honesty when it comes to the Clintons’ dealings, and a new email released today is no different: Neera Tanden knows (and she spells like Trump!): "Sometimes HRC/WJC have the worst judgement" https://t.co/hRSAhG2eua pic.twitter.com/cTs0oGSb4m | 1real |
Falling Apart: West’s Media-Driven Deception in Syria | 21st Century Wire says The wagon wheels are already coming off of the NATO-GCC regime change road show in Syria.Now, foreign policy buffoons in Washington are resorting to some of the most desperate tactics seen yet, including more semantic maneuvers to try and conceal their lethal aid for jihadist terrorists in Syria and Iraq.Washington s latest PR thrust began last week when it was proudly announced in the US media Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda in Syria) was rebranding itself into a newer, supposedly kinder and gentler terrorist moniker, Syrian Conquest Front. Charming.Washington spin doctors are now desperately back-pedaling, following an embarrassing challenge by Donald Trump to both President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claiming it was they who founded ISIS (see article below). Contrary to all facts and multiple previous admissions, Washington are now claiming that it has never backed and armed terrorists, but rather non-Jihadist Salafists (an oxymoron). The other popular lie that Washington and the other NATO governments have been pushing is that the Syrian rebels are actually from Syria. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of terrorist rebel fighters are from outside Syria soldiers of fortune and paid privateers from as many as 81 different countries of origin.SEE ALSO: Proof: US and NATO-backed Rebels Are NOT Fighting ISISIt s clear now that Washington has dug such a deep hole with regards to its sponsorship of the dirty war in Syria that it simply cannot get out without losing face internationally and domestically.The domestic side is particularly worrisome for Democratic Party leaders Obama and Clinton, because it is an election year and Clinton has built most of her campaign on her foreign policy credentials which now includes the prenatal and pediatric development of ISIS and Al Nusra Front. To say that Clinton was one of the architects of the current conflict is no exaggeration, as she was actively promoting regime change by any means in Europe and the Middle East in 2011 and 2012 with her cynically titled Friends of Syria controlled opposition tour. FRONT: Hillary Clinton fronted the Friends of Syria tour through 2011-2012, in order consolidate Gulf and other support for regime change and the present dirty war in Syria.To those who have been reading between the western spin on Syria over the last 4 years, the truth about this Washington-led Dirty War in Syria should come as no surprise: that the Obama Administration s policy of supporting extremist armed terrorist opposition groups in Syria was part of a deliberate strategy explicitly designed to topple the government in Damascus and its elected president Bashar al-Assad. By doing this, Washington and its allies have facilitated the creation of Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, IS or Daesh ) caliphate in Syria and Iraq.A recent Sputnik article confirms how Hillary Clinton pressed through the policy of backing the myriad of known extremist terrorist groups by just referring to them as moderate rebels :In December 2012, only months after the defense intelligence report, President Obama caved to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the more hawkish wing of the national security establishment saying the United States considered the opposition to be the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. By maintaining a strict policy of media deception regarding Syria, the US State Department believed that it could avoid any responsibility and obfuscate its own sponsorship audit trail by playing a sophomoric and highly cynical name game between moderate rebels and known terrorist organizations like Jabhat al-Nusra Front (Al Qaeda in Syria), Jaysh al-Islam, Ahrar al-Sham, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, the Turkmen Brigades and many more. Aside from those living in the reality bubble that is Washington and its media stable, most people are now well aware that there are no moderate rebels in Syria and no matter how many name changes are announced by operatives at CNN or SITE Intelligence they are still all terrorists and they are all fighting (including ISIS) together to overthrow the government in Syria. 21WIRE previously covered CNN s sordid role in running PR for the jihadist terrorists groups in Syria, led by CNN s star journalist , Clarissa Ward (pictured above, in her Undercover Muslim costume), who has become one of the corporate media s leading apologists for US-NATO and GCC-sponsored violent militant extremists presently running amok in Syria, as CNN and Ward have gone out of their way to try and rehabilitate US-NATO and GCC-backed terrorist suicide bombers in Syria.Interestingly, CNN s media operative Ward even took the PR roadshow to the UN, using her CNN-Pentagon profile to push out Washington s new pro-Al Nusra (Al Qaeda) PR campaign. Sputnik added here: Perhaps embodying the confusing about face of America s foreign policy in Syria was when a member of the press, CNN s senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward, testified before the UN Security Council on the situation in Aleppo that the only ones who have emerged as heroes on the ground are the Islamist factions, even to those who hate fundamentalism. LEADING FROM BEHIND: Obama kept insisting that, Assad Must Go. For years now, US President Obama, Secretaries of State John Kerry and Hillary Clinton et all have been clamouring in unison that, Assad Must Go . Now it looks as if Assad might outlast all of them.While the blatant distortion of reality continues by the US State Department and its media functionaries like Clarissa Ward and CNN, the West s dirty war in Syria rages on and with Washington, NATO and Saudi-Qatari money and arms still flowing there is no end in sight . SputnikThe Obama administration s policy in Syria of opposing Assad at all costs has led the United States to make strange bedfellows arming non-Jihadist Salafist groups who are unfortunately led by a cadre of fighters from the former al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front.This week Republican nominee Donald Trump caused an uproar by insisting that his Democratic rival former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her former boss President Barack Obama founded ISIS a charge that led to an counter assault by Hillary surrogate Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on Sunday who levelled a mirror accusation against Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.While a Pentagon memo supports the allegation that in 2012 the United States was willingly aiding al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) that subsequently metastasized into Daesh, the more immediate conflict of interest in Washington s foreign policy in the Middle East is the support of the current so-called moderate rebels opposing Assad who, by their own admission on social media, are led by al-Nusra Front.Al-Nusra Front, who just changed their name to the Syrian Conquest Front and renounced affiliation with al-Qaeda, with the open acceptance of the terror network, in a bid to garner new support from the West were the leading force in the surprise bid to break the Syrian government s siege in Aleppo Continue this article at SputnikREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files | 1real |
This Time, There Really Is a Hispanic Voter Surge - The New York Times | Hispanic voters were largely credited with President Obama’s victory in 2012, but they weren’t as crucial as many believed. Mr. Obama didn’t even need to win the Hispanic vote to put him over the top, thanks to high black turnout and support among white voters in the North. The turnout among Hispanic voters didn’t surge, even though exit polls implied that it had. This year, Hispanic voters, perhaps motivated by Donald J. Trump’s policy proposals (including deportation) and harsh language aimed at undocumented Hispanic immigrants, really might decide this election. Early voting data unequivocally indicates that Hillary Clinton will benefit from a long awaited surge in Hispanic turnout, vastly exceeding the Hispanic turnout from four years ago. It’s too soon to say whether it will be decisive for her. The geographic distribution of Hispanic voters means that many of her gains will help her in noncompetitive states like Texas and California, not Michigan and Pennsylvania. But the surge is real, and it’s big. It could be enough to overcome Mr. Trump’s strength among class voters in the swing states of Florida and Nevada. If it does, it will almost certainly win her the election. In Florida, voters who indicated they were Hispanic on their voter registration form represent more than 15 percent of the early vote. In 2012, Hispanic voters were just 12 percent of the final electorate. The numbers are striking in part because of the sheer magnitude of the early vote so far. Already, more than 6. 4 million total voters have cast their ballots in the state — equal to 75 percent of the final turnout in 2012. In total, as many Hispanic voters have already cast ballots in Florida’s early voting period as cast ballots in all of 2012. The Hispanic surge in Florida isn’t simply because Mrs. Clinton has drawn typically reliable Election Day voters to vote early instead: According to Daniel Smith of the University of Florida, fully 36 percent of the Hispanics who have voted so far did not vote in 2012. It’s also striking because Hispanic voters are typically among the least likely to participate in early and absentee voting. If that pattern continues this year — suggesting a robust Hispanic turnout on Election Day — Mr. Trump is probably in serious trouble. The polls in Florida appear to have assumed a lower level of Hispanic turnout. The final poll in Florida suggested that the state’s electorate would be 67 percent white, by registration, and 14 percent Hispanic — just two percentage points higher than the 12 percent of 2012. A new Quinnipiac poll today had Mrs. Clinton ahead by one point in the state, and put Hispanic voters at 16 percent of the electorate. But this was based on the race that registered voters to pollsters, not the race that they indicated on their voter registration form. In our two Florida polls, registered Hispanic voters represented 13. 6 percent of the electorate, but 16 percent of likely voters were Hispanic voters. If registered Hispanic voters represent 15 percent of the electorate, Hispanic voters could be 18 or 19 percent of voters. The data on Hispanic turnout is not as illustrative elsewhere in the country, because most other states do not ask about race and Hispanic origin on voter registration forms. But this is a national trend. The Hispanic vote in Nevada has propelled Democrats to a considerable lead in the early vote. Many analysts believe that it has already been enough to secure the state for Mrs. Clinton. The turnout has surpassed 2012 levels in several of Las Vegas’s heavily Hispanic precincts. The huge surge in Hispanic turnout is possible — and sustainable — in part because there was no surge four years ago. Even now, the turnout among white registered voters is at a higher percentage in the Florida early vote than among Hispanic voters because Hispanic turnout, historically so low, has a long way to go to catch up. There’s another possible error in the polls: Mrs. Clinton’s share of the Hispanic vote. In general, the polls of Hispanic voters give her a larger lead than the one Mr. Obama held with that group in 2012. But there are plenty of surveys where this doesn’t seem to show up. There are very few surveys that show Mrs. Clinton faring much, much better than Mr. Obama, suggesting an underlying bias in many public polls. Why would the polls tend to underestimate Democratic strength among Hispanic voters? There’s considerable evidence that pollsters tend to contact too many Hispanic voters who live in less Hispanic areas. These voters tend to be more Republican. If true, Mrs. Clinton’s strength among less assimilated, and Hispanic voters in heavily Hispanic and urban areas might be missed in the polls. Mrs. Clinton had a lead of 60 to 26 percent among Hispanic voters in Florida polls, which used English and Spanish interviews and had the right number of voters and voters in heavily Democratic areas. Whether Hispanic turnout will be enough for Mrs. Clinton to win the presidency is hard to say. In the most contested states, Hispanic voters represent a larger than average share of the electorate only in Florida and Nevada. They’re just a fraction of the electorate in many of the states that could prove decisive — North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire or Michigan. Hispanic voters can give Mrs. Clinton a knockout blow with a win in Florida. It would be especially symbolic if it came early in the night. But if Hispanic voters don’t put Mrs. Clinton over the top in Florida, she’ll need to cobble together enough strength among black voters and white Northerners in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan. In that event, Hispanic voters would still be an important part of Mrs. Clinton’s path — say, in helping win Nevada and Colorado — but not clearly decisive. Either way, it’s likely that the Hispanic vote will pad Mrs. Clinton’s margin in the national popular vote and sustain her chances in the Electoral College. | 0fake |
U.S. Senate set to approve $1.1 billion in Zika virus funding | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday cleared the way for approval of $1.1 billion in immediate funds to battle the Zika virus that is linked to birth defects, well above what is in legislation pending in the House of Representatives. By a vote of 68-29, senators limited debate on the measure, paving the way for likely Senate approval this week. Two other funding approaches failed to get enough support to advance in the Senate. Meanwhile, the White House threatened to veto a $622.1 million Zika bill poised to pass the House of Representatives later this week, saying it was “woefully inadequate.” Unlike the Senate legislation, the House bill also requires that the $622.1 million be fully offset with spending cuts elsewhere. Many conservative Republicans in the House refuse to approve Zika funds that would add to federal budget deficits, while Democrats and some Senate Republicans favor treating the problem as an emergency that would not have to be financed with spending cuts. Republican Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri told reporters that the Senate measure “trimmed this package back (from Obama’s request) to what really addresses the emergency at the time.” Democratic Senator Patty Murray from Washington, who crafted the legislation with Blunt, added, “We are going to need to keep the pressure on House Republicans to set aside their partisan bill and actually get the administration the emergency resources they need.” It was unclear how long it might take the Senate and House to work out their differences once they pass their respective bills. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. Last year, Brazil began detecting an increase in microcephaly and the virus has been spreading rapidly in the Americas, with new cases now being reported in warm climates in southern U.S. states including Florida. House Republicans argue their $622.1 million bill, when coupled with $589 million the Obama administration already shifted to Zika from unused funds to battle Ebola, would provide enough money through Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year. The administration says it needs the emergency funds to help state and local governments eradicate mosquitoes that spread the virus and to develop a vaccine. (This version of the story was corrected to say $622.1 million from $622.1 billion in the 3rd and 11th paragraphs.) | 0fake |
U.S. vote authorities warned to be alert to Russian hacks faking fraud: officials | (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are warning that hackers with ties to Russia’s intelligence services could try to undermine the credibility of the presidential election by posting documents online purporting to show evidence of voter fraud. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said however, that the U.S. election system is so large, diffuse and antiquated that hackers would not be able to change the outcome of the Nov. 8 election. But hackers could post documents, some of which might be falsified, that are designed to create public perceptions of widespread voter fraud, the officials said. They said that they did not have specific evidence of such a plan, but state and local election authorities had been warned to be vigilant for hacking attempts. On Oct. 7, the U.S. government formally accused Russia for the first time of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations to interfere with the election process. U.S. officials familiar with hacking directed against American voting systems said evidence indicates that suspected Russian government-backed hackers have so far tried to attack voter registration databases operated by more than 20 states. Tracing the attacks can be difficult but breaches of only two such databases have been confirmed, they said. The officials said there is no evidence that any hackers have succeeded in accessing equipment or databases used to record votes. Many states use systems that would be difficult to hack or defraud, including paper ballots which initially are tallied by machines. U.S. elections are run by state and local officials, not the federal government. On Nov. 8, votes will be cast in hundreds of thousands of polling stations in 9,000 different jurisdictions, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State. The U.S. officials declined to comment on Republican candidate Donald Trump’s contention that the election is being “rigged.” Trump said in the third and final presidential debate with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on Wednesday night that he would not say until the election results were known whether or not he would accept the outcome. Trump and his campaign officials have repeatedly said that the potential for voter fraud remains high but they have not provided any evidence. On Thursday, Trump said he would accept the results of the election “if I win.” He said he reserved the “right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result.” Clinton supporters said Trump is unwittingly aiding an effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to undercut the credibility of the vote. Washington and Moscow are at odds over several issues, from Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict, the war in Syria and cyber attacks. “Trump does not even know he is being manipulated,” said Michael Morell, a former deputy CIA director who has endorsed Clinton. “Trump is an unwitting agent of Putin.” | 0fake |
Trump has a history of questionable behavior with women: NY Times | (Reuters) - Interviews with dozens of women who have worked for Donald Trump or interacted with him socially reveal a pattern of often unsettling personal behavior by the Republican presidential candidate, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The Times, which said it based the article on more than 50 interviews, quoted women who recounted episodes in which he treated women as sexual objects and made comments about their bodies. But some women said Trump had encouraged them in their careers and promoted them within his businesses, often in positions in which women tended to be excluded. When asked about the unflattering incidents described in the article, Trump either denied that they took place or disputed the details, the newspaper said. “A lot of things get made up over the years,” Trump told the Times. “I have always treated women with great respect.” A Trump representative did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment. Barbara Res, who oversaw construction of Trump’s Manhattan business headquarters, said he would sometimes interrupt meetings with comments about women’s figures. During a job interview for a Los Angeles project, for example, Trump made a random aside about Southern California women. “They take care of their asses,” Res recalled Trump saying. Years later, when Res says she had gained weight, she said Trump told her: “You like your candy.” Even so, Res, who worked for Trump for 12 years before quitting and then came back as a consultant for six more, said she was grateful to Trump for her professional opportunities, though she said he frequently called her “Honey Bunch,” the Times reported. Trump also earned a reputation for being seen with beautiful women dating back to his days at a New York military-style boarding school where he was named “ladies’ man” in the yearbook, the Times reported. Barbara Fife, a deputy New York mayor in the 1990s, recalls Trump telling her at her City Hall office that he was in a hurry because he had “a great date tonight with a model for Victoria’s Secret,” she told the Times. “I saw it as immature, quite honestly,” Fife was quoted as saying. As a candidate, Trump has made frequent references to his record in business as evidence of how American women would benefit if he is elected. He has often said that no one “cherishes” or “respects” women more than him. Some of those interviewed praised Trump for giving women positions of power. “I think there are mischaracterizations about him,” Jill Martin, assistant counsel at the Trump Organization, told the Times. “For me, he’s made it a situation where I can really excel at my job and still devote the time necessary for my family.” The story comes less than two weeks after the last of Trump’s Republican rivals dropped out, all but assuring him the party’s presidential nomination this summer. Throughout his improbable campaign, Trump has managed to deflect criticism about his attitude to women, fueled by verbal insults he lobbed at Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and former Republican candidate Carly Fiorina. | 0fake |
BOOM! TED CRUZ Will Conduct Hearing TODAY: Focusing On Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR And Obama Regime’s Cover-ups, “WILLFUL BLINDNESS” To Radical Islam | Ted Cruz has no interest in playing Mr Nice Guy with Obama or his willing accomplices in the FBI, DHS or his DOJ It s been over a week since the largest terror attack on American soil in 15 years, yet nobody in Congress has successfully steered the discussion to the actual source of our perilous security situation. The Obama administration is covering up all connections of the Orlando shooter to known Islamic terrorists with the help of the Muslim Brotherhood advising DHS and the FBI. Yet, all Republicans and Democrats want to discuss is guns. That is about to change.On Tuesday, June 28, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts, will conduct a hearing investigating the willful blindness on the part of the relevant law enforcement agencies to domestic Islamic terror networks. The subject of the hearing is Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts To Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism. Senators on the committee now have an opportunity to expose the Muslim Brotherhood influence within DHS and the FBI, their invidious Countering Violent Extremism Agenda, and their hand in covering up counter-terrorism investigations.Senator Cruz hinted at the agenda he plans to pursue at this hearing in an op-ed for Conservative Review earlier this week:President Obama s politically correct reluctance to attribute the terrorist threat we face with radical Islam hobbles our ability to combat it by discouraging counterterrorism agents from taking radical Islam into account when evaluating potential threats. The examples of Fort Hood, Boston, San Bernardino, and Orlando demonstrate the harmful consequences of this administration s willful blindness.Just yesterday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced at a press conference that the motives of the Orlando jihadist might never be known and that our most effective response to terror is unity and love. This comes on the heels of the government s attempt to redact any mention of Islamic rhetoric in the 911 call and DHS releasing another internal document scrubbing all references to Islamic terror. Just this week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a front group for Hamas, was allowed to sit in on FBI interviews with members of the Fort Pierce mosque. The FBI was supposed to cut ties with CAIR, and DOJ was supposed to prosecute them in 2009 following the Holy Land Foundation trial, in which CAIR was implicated as a co-conspirator, yet they are granted full access to FBI counter-terrorism investigations. How can Republicans let this stand for one day? Worse, they are validating the Democrat premise by obsequiously holding vote after vote on the non sequitur of gun control while our own government is willfully allowing Islamic terrorist sympathizers to operate freely within DHS and sabotage all investigations that would have prevented these attacks.This hearing will likely focus on which figures within the federal government worked to squelch any research connecting the dots between local Muslim Brotherhood officials, these individual terrorists, and foreign terror networks. Senators on the committee now have an opportunity to expose the Muslim Brotherhood influence within DHS and the FBI, their invidious Countering Violent Extremism Agenda, and their hand in covering up counter-terrorism investigations. They can demonstrate how the federal government has hamstrung local law enforcement by refusing to cooperate and share information regarding jihadists living in their communities.Most importantly, this is the first opportunity to finally change the narrative from the false discussion about guns, which has nothing to do with Islamic Jihad. Hopefully, this committee hearing will be the beginning of a concerted effort for the legislative branch to actually engage in some critical oversight of the perfidious actions within the top echelons of federal law enforcement. The fact that GOP leaders in the House and Senate are not pushing multiple hearings and legislation dealing with this issue is scandalous, but unfortunately, not unexpected. Via: Conservative Review | 1real |
BREAKING : DOJ Says They Will “HELP” Review the 650K Emails – TruthFeed | BREAKING : DOJ Says They Will “HELP” Review the 650K Emails BREAKING : DOJ Says They Will “HELP” Review the 650K Emails Breaking News By Amy Moreno October 31, 2016
Oh great, now the biased DOJ is going to “help” the FBI go through the 650K emails because they want to “HURRY THROUGH” it?
That’s unsettling and smells of more “rigged favors” from Loretta Lynch.
On Friday the FBI announced they were reopening the email investigation into Hillary’s mishandling of classified information.
In a statement, the FBI said that they discovered “new emails” pertinent to the earlier investigation on “several devices.”
We now know there were 650K emails found on Huma and Anthony’s private computer.
How do you feel about the DOJ “helping” sift through the emails?
I say, HELL NO! BREAKING: Justice Dept. says it’ll dedicate all needed resources to quickly review emails in Clinton case – AP This is a movement – we are the political OUTSIDERS fighting against the FAILED GLOBAL ESTABLISHMENT! Join the resistance and help us fight to put America First! Amy Moreno is a Published Author , Pug Lover & Game of Thrones Nerd. You can follow her on Twitter here and Facebook here . Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter. | 1real |
Wintry Blast in Greece Imperils Refugees in Crowded Camps - The New York Times | First it was the icy snow. Now comes the freezing rain. An arctic blast that has reached as far south as the Mediterranean is generating perilous conditions for thousands of refugees in overcrowded migrant camps in Greece and prompting the European Union to declare the situation “untenable. ” On Wednesday, a Greek navy ship docked at Lesbos island to take on as many as 500 refugees. They have been struggling to survive the subzero temperatures in the severely overcrowded main camp in Moria, using pup tents that were supposed to be temporary when they were set up last year in warmer weather. Video and photos taken by migrants inside the camp and posted to social media showed flimsy shelters sagging under a blanket of snow, and people waiting in long lines in the falling snow for food and to use bathrooms. In one video, a man identifying himself as a migrant shows people lifting the flaps of tents near a slushy pathway. “Look at how human beings are living,” said the man, speaking French. Imploring officials of the European Union to look at the situation themselves, he said: “Why can’t people leave here? How is it possible to live in these conditions, my God?” On Tuesday night, the snow turned to freezing rain, forming rivers of muck around the camp and drenching tents and clothing, aid organizations reported. On Samos, another island where the main migrant camp is overflowing, refugees reported freezing conditions with no heat. At refugee camps on the Greek mainland, and especially near the northern border, migrants continued to grapple with living outside under heavy snowfall. “This is unbearable,” said Roland Schoenbauer, a spokesman for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, who said he was receiving reports from doctors in camps across Greece warning of rising health risks from the cold and humidity. “It shows what happens when you try to squeeze too many people into these camps. You can’t stockpile human beings. ” A year after the European Union sealed its borders to large numbers of newcomers, Greece remains Europe’s holding pen for nearly 60, 000 men, women and children. Many have been living for months in a distressing limbo in sordid refugee camps on the mainland and on Greek islands near Turkey, unable to move to countries where they hoped to seek asylum, and with no means or motivation to return to Syria, Iraq or other countries from which they fled war or economic hardship. Eric Kempson, a British citizen who has been living on Lesbos for over a decade, has been documenting the deteriorating conditions in the Moria refugee camp, posting videos of tents collapsing under the weight of snow and migrants slogging through muddy walkways. “It is now heavy rain and melting snow, which is causing flooding in the camp,” Mr. Kempson wrote to The New York Times, via Facebook, describing the conditions in the camp on Wednesday. “It’s like we begin the vicious circle again and nothing gets better, only worse. ” On Monday, the European Commission issued a statement saying the Greek refugee situation was the responsibility of Greek authorities. “The situation has become untenable,” a spokeswoman, Natasha Bertaud, said in Brussels. The United Nations refugee agency and other aid groups have been working to move migrants from camps into better shelters, including hotels. In some cases, however, they have met resistance: Hotel owners on Samos, for example, were generally refusing to house migrants, Mr. Schoenbauer said. But a bigger problem is the extremely slow processing of asylum applications for those in the Greek camps. While the numbers of people streaming across the Aegean Sea from Turkey have slowed to a trickle after Turkey and the European Union signed a deal to resolve the crisis last March, thousands of migrants have yet to be registered for asylum. That is partly because the European Union has sent just a fraction of the assistance it pledged to Greece last year to help clear the backlog. A separate European Union plan to ease Greece’s burden by relocating tens of thousands of asylum seekers has also failed to take off, with European countries taking only a few thousand of the many stuck in Greece. The bottlenecks have overwhelmed many of the camps, especially on the Greek islands, where migrants arriving after the March deal are supposed to be held until being deported to Turkey. The camp at Moria, for instance, run by the Greek police and nongovernmental organizations and designed for about 3, 000 people, was reinforced with small container shelters that can each house up to 30 people. But hundreds of makeshift tents have been set up outside for months to accommodate an overflow of asylum seekers — first under the beating Greek sun, and now under the pelting snow and rain. “The snow is only the tip of the iceberg,” Mr. Schoenbauer said. “The bigger problem is the overcrowding of the islands, and one reason for the overcrowding is the fact that the asylum procedure remains far too slow. ” | 0fake |
BOOM! Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Rips Into Obama’s Gun Grabbing Legislative Minions: “Radical ISLAM Killed These People!” [VIDEO] | Don t think for a minute this union-style Black Lives Matter/Occupy type sit-in wasn t orchestrated in our Oval Office by our Community Organizer in Chief. Obama is desperate to pass gun control legislation before he leaves office. The Democrats who are occupying our House floor are only acting as puppets for his radical agenda. As California Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman spoke Wednesday evening during an unprecedented sit-in on Capitol Hill to demand a vote on gun control, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) interrupted him, shouting: Radical Islam killed these people! Sherman, a moderate Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, had joined several dozen of his party colleagues in a protest against House Republicans refusal to allow votes on several gun regulations all of which had already failed in the Senate.Though the bills have no chance of becoming law, Democrats hope to win at least one of the votes, which would enable them to argue that by voting Democrat this November, Americans could help them retake the Senate and pass new gun restrictions.The protest was led by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who has long drawn on his history in the civil rights movement for partisan purposes, and who hinted last weekend during a Southern California visit that Democrats would do something big on guns.The protest was also timed to coincide with, and drown out, a speech in New York by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump responded to rival Hillary Clinton s attack earlier this week by criticizing Clinton for alleged corruption at the State Department and for her foreign policy record, while laying out his own alternative economic policies.Rep. Gohmert began heckling Rep. Sherman during his speech which was broadcast via Periscope by another Californian, Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego, in violation of House rules. At roughly 4:24 in the video below, Gohmert points to a poster of the victims of the June 12 terrorist attack and insists that radical Islam killed them not the lack of gun control regulations.Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
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