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Trump: Terrorism at a ’Point Where It’s Not Even Being Reported’ By ’Very Dishonest Press’ - Breitbart | Monday in an appearance at MacDill Air Force Base’s U. S. Central Command in Tampa, FL, President Donald Trump took aim at the “dishonest press” for the manner which it covers the threats of terrorism or in some cases ignored. Trump went on to vow to defeat those “forces of death and destruction. ” “The challenges facing our nation, nevertheless, are very large — very, very large,” Trump said. “We’re up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You’ve seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe. You’ve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that. “So, today we deliver a message in one very unified voice: To these forces of death and destruction, America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them,” he added. “We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism and we will not allow it to take root in our country — not going to allow it. You’ve seen what’s been going on over the last few days. We need strong programs so people that love us and want to love our country, and will end up loving our country, are allowed in. Not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 0fake |
Russia, China Look To Autonomous Financial System | Russia, China Look To Autonomous Financial System 11/07/2016
TASS.COM
Russia and China need to create an autonomous financial system which would be minimally subject to political risks and external pressure, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Chinese Central Television (CCTV).
“As I see it, what should we be guided with in creating a modern financial system in the People’s Republic of China and in the Russian Federation?” he said. “We need to set up a modern, protected and simultaneously quite autonomous financial system, which would be subject to political risks to a lesser degree.” Nowadays, Russia and China are considering integration of Russia’s national payment system, the Mir bank cards, and China’s UnionPay system, he said.
“In our view, it would help to enhance the reliability of payments,” Medvedev said, adding that sometimes some countries were trying to exert “all sorts of political pressure.” European banks had been regularly fined by US financial authorities and financial companies, he added.
“They say ‘We will take ten billion euros from a French bank and seven billion euros from a German bank’. Our European partners agree with this,” Medvedev said.
“I am not speaking about the nature of these disputes but that we must protect our financial systems. China must protect its own system and Russia must protect its own system. Therefore, this cooperation is very useful as in this situation no-one will be capable of blocking the road of financial traffic,” he emphasized. Russia looks to predictability of China’s economic growth
Russia expects that China’s economic growth will be predictable and is set to cooperate with Chinese partners for the purpose, Russia’s Prime Minister said in an interview.
“We are interested in predictability of China’s economy growth and so we are ready to work with our Chinese partners,” Medvedev said, adding the Russian government was implementing a plan aimed to boost the economic growth.
“Actually, everyone needs it. Our country needs it as recently we have been plunged in a phase of such decline. Both European and US economies need it since they have not been gaining fast growth, to say nothing about Japan. Also, the Chinese economy needs it since it had been gathering speed in the past years but has slowed down later,” he said. “It is closely watched by everyone as China’s economy is the most significant factor of the world economic growth.”. Energy and high technology sectors
Russia and China may reach the goal of $200bln trade by 2020 but energy and high technology sectors along with traditional trade should move up a gear, Russian Prime Minister said.
“Indicators have been improving this year as a result of joint work of the two states, including our countries’ leaders, governments, ministries, agencies and businesses,” Medvedev said. Russia, China intend to develop small satellite for Wi-Fi network
“I am convinced that if we move ahead like this, by 2020 we will be able to reach the trade of $200 billion worth. However, attention should be turned to key aspects of cooperation,” he said explaining he implied the energy sector, with some projects like the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.
“In 2015 construction of an eastern stretch of the gas pipeline was launched,” he said. “Also, it includes oil supplies along the Skovorodino-Mohe (oil pipeline) extension and construction of large facilities, in particular the construction of Unit 3 at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant.”
Besides, high-tech projects should be enhanced, he said.
“I mean wide-body jets, heavy helicopters and other projects in the high-tech sector,” Medvedev said. “It seems to me that if we diversify trade like this, our countries will be quite capable of reaching the level which we agreed on several years ago,” he said in conclusion. Share | 1real |
CIA Finally Puts Biggest Lie About Iraq War To Rest; Bush/Cheney Should Be In Prison | If you or your conservative friends, as many still do, ever believed that the Iraq war was a response for 9/11, the CIA finally put that myth to rest. Not only was the Iraq war one of the most fiscally and internationally irresponsible moves the George W. Bush administration could have made, it was based on lies and, as the CIA just confirmed, a political agenda.As recently as a year ago, polls were conducted that said that more than half of Americans still believe the lie that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. He wasn t. The success of that massive lie is no doubt what led us to the fact free world which gave us Donald Trump.Instead of waiting to gather all the intelligence, according to the CIA, the Bush administration was fully committed to pulling the trigger immediately following the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.Discussing the first days of the Bush administration on BBC Radio 4 s Today Programme, (former CIA analyst John) Nixon said: We had gotten word that they saw Iraq as unfinished business . We never really understood at that point what unfinished business meant, but we knew that they wanted to do something. He added: You know, they had their minds made up from day one. And then after 9/11, that s when the death warrant for Saddam Hussein was signed. Source: IndependentNixon didn t offer any speculation as to why Bush had it in for Hussein, but a number of explanations have been floated, such as it was (as Nixon seems to imply) the younger Bush finishing what his father started when the George Bush Sr. invaded Iraq. Another possible explanation is even worse. It s war profiteering, plain and simple. It s also highly likely that it was both. The bottom line, though, is that we never should have been in Iraq and that was a giant failing of not just Washington, but of our media. Unfortunately, neither the media nor Washington seems to have learned their lessons and we will be led by lies from now until at least the end of the Trump administration.Featured image via Mike Heffner/Getty Images | 1real |
Donald Trump, Rex Tillerson, Rodrigo Duterte: Your Morning Briefing - The New York Times | Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • Serious disagreements emerged between Donald J. Trump and some of his nominees in the third day of confirmation hearings. Mr. Trump’s choice for defense secretary, Gen. James N. Mattis, said Russia was trying to break NATO. Here’s where General Mattis stands on other issues. Rex W. Tillerson, the choice for secretary of state, faces a second round of questions — Wednesday, he called for China to be denied access to its artificial islands in the South China Sea. Follow our coverage of the hearings. _____ • The intrigue over a sensational but entirely unverified dossier on Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia deepened. The who compiled the information disappeared from his home in Britain, saying he feared for his safety. Mr. Trump discussed the dossier with James R. Clapper Jr. the director of national intelligence. They had radically different takeaways from the conversation. And the Justice Department said it would investigate the decision by James B. Comey, above, the F. B. I. chief, to inform Congress about a new review in the Hillary Clinton email investigation ahead of the election. _____ • Prosecutors in South Korea are planning to use revelations about a cultural blacklist to strengthen the impeachment charges against President Park . So far, two versions of the blacklist have been reported by the news media, citing anonymous sources. One version listed more than 9, 000 people, including some of the country’s most beloved filmmakers, actors and writers. Above, Hong one of the artists who was reportedly blacklisted. _____ • Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, ended a visit with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines in which he promised the country about $8. 7 billion worth of business deals, investments and equipment. Mr. Abe is on diplomatic push that will continue with stops in Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Separately, Mr. Duterte ordered government agencies to provide free contraception to women, especially the poor, in a move that is likely to face strong resistance from Catholic leadership in the country. Above, protesters in the Philippines. _____ • And we look at Aceh Province, Indonesia, which began enforcing Shariah law in 2001. Women are required to wear head scarves, alcohol is prohibited and many offenses are punishable by public whipping. The nation has drifted in a conservative direction, but one Aceh politician says that “a silent majority” thinks the local government has gone too far. In the country’s capital, Jakarta, three candidates vying to be governor of the city will meet for a televised debate tonight. The incumbent, a Christian, is on trial over charges that he insulted the Quran. _____ • India’s largest conglomerate, the Tata Group, named Natarajan Chandrasekaran, 53, to be chairman of its holding company, Tata Sons, ending months of turmoil. • Health care stocks tumbled after Mr. Trump denounced pharmaceutical companies for shifting manufacturing abroad. But many of the imports are generic drugs — a large percentage of which are manufactured in India — that help keep costs down. • The Environmental Protection Agency accused Fiat Chrysler of cheating on emissions tests on at least 104, 000 diesel vehicles, a case with echoes of the Volkswagen scandal. • Vietnam’s industrial policy will take a hit if Mr. Trump follows through on his pledge to scrap the Partnership, but companies have their own plans for going global. • U. S. stocks were down. Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • President Obama will end the policy that allows Cubans who reach U. S. soil to stay legally, a move long sought by the Cuban government. Above, Mr. Obama in March last year. [The New York Times] • Hong Kong’s chief secretary, Carrie Lam, leaves her post today. She submitted her resignation and, if approved, will run for chief executive. [Hong Kong Free Press] • President Xi Jinping of China called for “greater coordination” on South China Sea disputes in a meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling party. Mr. Xi is headed to Switzerland on Sunday. [South China Morning Post] • In Bangladesh, a popular restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter reopened after a terrorist attack in July that killed 22 people. [The New York Times] • Wilbur Ross, the billionaire chosen by Mr. Trump to manage trade with China, once volunteered to be part of project by a famous Chinese artist. [South China Morning Post] • “Star Wars” was the inspiration for the common name scientists gave to the world’s newest primate — the Skywalker hoolock gibbon — which was discovered in the Chinese province of Yunnan. [BBC] (In this new section, we’ll help you start your day right.) • We’re not saying you will need this tomorrow, we’re simply presenting it for your consideration: Here’s how to nurse a hangover (and how to head one off). Have a great weekend! • An inspiring story of weight loss and its aftermath: Brooklyn’s borough president reversed his Type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise, without taking medication. • Recipe of the day: Give baked sweet potato fries a shot. • Portraits of addiction. A photographer spent a year traveling in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines to explore the region’s underworld of “ice,” or crystal methamphetamine. • In an opinion column, a nuclear scientist argues that the Trump administration should links of communication with North Korea to avoid a nuclear catastrophe. • “The Handmaiden,” an erotic period drama from South Korea, earned six nominations for the Asian Film Awards. Here’s the full list. If you’re superstitious, today isn’t your day. But Friday the 13th isn’t universally feared. Many countries disregard it. In Greece and some countries, Tuesday the 13th is the dreaded day. It’s Friday the 17th in Italy. The number four is unlucky in parts of Asia — its pronunciation in several languages is close to the word “death,” making April 4 ( ) a day to stay inside. A a cute charm showing a cat with a raised paw, is used to ward off the bad luck. Other animals believed to combat bad omens include pigs. In Germany, marzipan pigs are given as gifts on New Year’s Eve. And if a cricket is chirping in your house, don’t kill it. Across Asia, Africa and Europe, the insects are viewed as harbingers of wealth. Magpies have great significance in Britain. Seeing a single magpie can be bad luck, it is believed, though saluting one can ward off ill fortune. But if you spot a group, you may be in luck, according to an old nursery rhyme that goes: _____ Des Shoe contributed reporting. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. | 0fake |
World War 3 Alert The United States Gets Ready for Nuclear War | November 4, 2016 at 7:41 pm
this person shouldn't be able to post any more media lieing BS. there's not going to be a war if Clinton isn't elected president…. and it doesn't look like she is so delete your account and so posting BS so people feed in to it like sheep. | 1real |
U.S. Economy, Showing Resilience, Added 156,000 Jobs Last Month - The New York Times | Amid a presidential campaign marked by fears about the country’s economic future, the American jobs machine keeps chugging. Employers added 156, 000 positions in September, the Labor Department said on Friday, enough to accommodate new entrants to the labor force and entice back workers who dropped out after the Great Recession. The unemployment rate, which had been stuck at 4. 9 percent since spring, ticked up slightly to 5 percent, but that was mostly because more people were drawn into the labor force by evidence that hiring is still going strong. For all the anxiety at home and turmoil abroad, like the vote in Britain to withdraw from the European Union, the current expansion shows little prospect of ending abruptly. Average hourly earnings rose by 0. 2 percentage point last month, bringing the wage gain over the last 12 months to 2. 6 percent, well above the pace of inflation. The typical workweek also grew slightly in September, after a pullback in August. “It was solid, not spectacular,” said Diane Swonk, an independent economist in Chicago. “The good news is that participation went up, even though the unemployment rate did, too. Regaining that ground is very important. ” Before the report was released, economists on Wall Street looked for the economy to add 172, 000 jobs in September. Revisions for July and August showed that 7, 000 fewer jobs were created in those months than the Labor Department first estimated. Given the latest figures, the Federal Reserve is still expected to delay raising interest rates until late this year, and there was little in the report to suggest that the job gains might lead to significantly higher inflation. “There are still plenty of unemployed people out there, enough for employers to continue to hire at a substantial pace,” said Michael Gapen, chief United States economist at Barclays. “The expansion will end before you run out of labor,” added Mr. Gapen, who estimates that the unemployment rate could drop to 4 percent by the end of 2017. The overall participation rate inched up to 62. 9 percent, above the low point of 62. 4 percent last September, but well below the most recent peak of 66. 4 percent in early 2007. With many workers still available to be hired — what economists and policy makers at the Federal Reserve blandly term “labor market slack” — the current pace of hiring should be able to continue with little threat of overheating the economy. Moreover, the labor force itself jumped by nearly half a million, a bright spot in an otherwise steady picture of the economy. The nation has added an average of 178, 000 jobs a month this year, less robust than the average monthly gain of 229, 000 in 2015 but still a healthy reading given the longevity of the recovery and the slowdown in population growth among adults of working age. Mr. Gapen attributed most of September’s dip in job creation, which was below the consensus forecast and the annual average, to an unexpected 11, 000 drop in government payrolls. The public sector added more than 50, 000 positions in July and August, and Mr. Gapen said the private sector’s relative strength was what counted, not a slowdown in government hiring. “It’s not a negative signal,” he said. “We see the miss as mainly a government issue. ” Despite the robust hiring in the last couple of years, tens of millions of workers have barely felt the benefits of the recovery, and notable pockets of economic weakness remain more than seven years after it began. Those two contrasting realities — healthy hiring and falling unemployment on the one hand, millions of economically sidelined Americans on the other — sustain the narrative of the two main presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump. Both candidates’ critiques of the economy contain kernels of truth. Friday’s report, while generally strong, contained fodder for both. The jump in participation, and healthy gains in professional services fields, bolster Mrs. Clinton’s case that the economy is growing steadily and creating jobs. The drop in manufacturing jobs by 13, 000 will underscore fears among voters that their livelihoods are imperiled, a main factor in Mr. Trump’s appeal. In addition to strong gains in services, the closely watched construction industry added 23, 000 jobs. The housing market has been booming in many parts of the country, and like manufacturing, construction remains an important source of jobs for workers with just high school diplomas. “I’m heartened to see that we have an unmistakable trend toward jobs,” said Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez. “I know there’s a doom and gloom caucus out there, but they’re on a collision course with the facts. ” Another encouraging development was a slowdown in the huge round of job cuts in the mining and logging industries prompted by falling prices for oil and other commodities. After falling for 23 consecutive months, with 223, 000 jobs slashed during that time, employment in the sector was flat last month. “Instead of declining, jobs may start coming back to the sector,” Ms. Swonk said, noting that the recent rebound in oil prices may spur new investment in exploration and drilling after a drought. Although Wall Street watches every jobs report, this one drew less attention because the Federal Reserve is not expected to raise rates until December at the earliest. The Fed will meet in November, but it is not expected to raise rates so close to the election. Moreover, waiting until December to decide whether to tighten monetary policy would allow policy makers to consider the October and November jobs reports. Mr. Gapen said December remained the most likely target for the Fed’s next interest rate increase, but he added that it was hardly certain. “We think there’s a 60 percent chance the Fed will act, or slightly better than even,” he said. “There is a little something for everyone in this report from a perspective. ” The 2. 6 percent increase in wages in the last 12 months is better than the 2. 3 percent annual increase in 2015, but it is still less than many workers would hope to see at this point in the recovery. Still, there are plenty of signs the tighter labor market is finally paying off and producing raises, for workers at both the bottom and the top of the pay scale. This trend may also indicate that minimum wage increases in many states are beginning to filter through the broader economy. As the more modest gain in payrolls for September suggests, some big employers have slowed the pace of recruiting slightly, but they continue to add to payrolls. Ernst Young, the giant accounting and consulting firm, plans to hire 15, 200 people in the United States in the 2017 fiscal year, which began July 1. In the 2016 fiscal year, Ernst Young hired 16, 375 people, said Dan Black, Ernst Young Americas recruiting leader. “It’s not a moment,” he said. “It’s more of a scenario. ” | 0fake |
Failed vote to oust president shakes up Peru's politics | LIMA (Reuters) - Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski could end up the surprise winner of an attempt to oust him from power this week, after some opposition lawmakers broke ranks with party leaders to support him, opening a divide that might strengthen his hand. Despite having a Congressional majority, the rightwing opposition party Popular Force was unable to push through a motion to remove Kuczynski from office on Thursday, after 10 of its own lawmakers broke ranks to save the president. The vote cemented a growing divide in the opposition and looked to threaten its control over Congress, potentially aiding Kuczynski as he tries to restore political stability and revive investments in one of Latin America’s most robust economies. The surprise defection was the result of a deal struck between Kuczynski and Popular Force rebel lawmaker Kenji Fujimori to get his father and ex-president Alberto Fujimori out of prison, alleged Popular Force secretary general, Jose Chlimper. Over the past year, Kenji has courted Kuczynski’s center-right government while challenging his sister Keiko’s leadership of the rightwing populist movement that their father formed in the 1990s. In defiance of his sister, Kenji threw his support behind Kuczynski ahead of the vote on whether to remove him from office over unproven graft allegations. Nine other Popular Force lawmakers followed his lead. “This is the birth of a serious and formal split (in the Fujimori movement),” said Guillermo Loli, the head of political research for pollster Ipsos Peru. “Everything points to a pardon,” he added. Kuczynski’s government denied that a pardon for Fujimori was part of its political negotiations. In an address to the nation late on Friday, Kuczynski said he would spend the coming days reflecting on his year and a half in office. “I’ll be announcing to you changes to make sure 2018 is not just a year of greater growth, but politically different,” Kuczynski said. Efforts to reach the Popular Force lawmakers who defected were not successful. One, Clayton Galvan, said on local TV channel Canal N that Alberto Fujimori called them from prison to ask them to help Kuczynski stay in power. Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for graft and human rights crimes, is a deeply divisive figure in Peru. While many consider him a corrupt dictator, others credit him with ending an economic crisis and bloody leftist insurgency during his 1990-2000 term. Freeing him would likely anger the well-organized foes of the Fujimori clan - a mix of technocrats, leftists, human rights activists and academics. “The day (Kuczynski) signs a pardon, he loses all of those guys. Permanently,” said Harvard University political scientist Steve Levitsky. Support from the anti-Fujimori crowd was key to Kuczynski’s razor-thin victory over Keiko in last year’s presidential election, and to keeping the motion to oust him from succeeding. “Kuczynski was saved by two diametrically opposed political groups: Kenji’s group and the left, which opposes a pardon. He can’t please both of them,” said Levitsky. Kuczynski, a 79-year-old former investment banker, took office amid hopes he would usher in cleaner government and faster economic growth. Instead, a graft scandal roiling Latin America has stalled investments and ensnared him in allegations of wrongdoing. Before the vote on Thursday, Kuczynski fanned fears of a return to Peru’s authoritarian past and described the motion as part of a legislative “coup” attempt by Keiko’s supporters. Popular Force denies the charge and says the bid to remove him was part of its fight against corruption and within the bounds of the constitution. A hardline Popular Force lawmaker loyal to Keiko, Hector Becerril, said the Kenji faction represented “traitors.” “If they have any sense of decency after this vote, the least they could do is present their resignations,” Becerril told journalists on Friday. “Hopefully today.” With 10 votes fewer, Popular Force would command 61 seats in the 130-member, single-chamber Congress, less than an absolute majority, though it would still be the biggest voting bloc. The political crisis has cost Kuczynski his interior minister, Carlos Basombrio, who announced his resignation on Friday. Kuczynski could make a decision about other Cabinet changes in coming days, his government said. | 0fake |
Controversial Former Fox CEO Roger Ailes Dead At 77 | It has been reported that embattled former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes passed away this morning at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. The news was confirmed in a statement given to Drudge Report by his wife, Elizabeth Ailes. Elizabeth Ailes statement on her husband s passing.Roger Ailes was born on May 15th, 1940 in Warren, Ohio. He attended Ohio University and graduated with a bachelor s degree in radio and television. His long career in television began in 1962 as a production assistant for The Mike Douglas Show, a local talk show. In 1967, Richard Nixon appeared on the program, and Ailes argued with him about the political importance of television. That lead Nixon to hire Ailes to produce television for his campaign. After getting his foot in the door with Nixon, Ailes worked on two other presidential campaigns and helped Rudy Giuliani get elected mayor of New York City. He went on to become the president of CNBC in 1993, before being hired as CEO of Fox News in 1996. Ailes unique style of management and fearless approach to controversy have completely changed conservative broadcasting.Ailes was forced out of Fox News after allegations of sexual harassment came to light by some of the network s most popular and high-profile talent.A 2016 lawsuit by Gretchen Carlson alleges that Ailes retaliated against her for speaking out about his sexist treatment, denying her promotions and stalling her advancement.Megyn Kelly backed up Carlson s version of events, and went public with details of her own sexual harassment by Ailes when she was a young reporter.Lorie Luhn, who booked guests for the network, told of over 20 years of abuse. According her statements to New York Magazine, one time Ailes put her in charge of finding young talent for the network and told her, You re going to find me Roger s Angels. You re going to find me whores. Andrea Tantaros was demoted and taken off of the air for refusing to hug Ailes.RNC field consultant Kelly Boyle was told by Ailes, You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys. Rudi Bakhtiar was fired by Fox after refusing to wear mini-skirts that Ailes sent her after a job interview in which he made her stand and show off her legs.Shelley Ross published an article in The Daily Beast where she detailed harassment and abuse she endured from Ailes, including suggestions that they form a sexual alliance in order for Ross to prove her loyalty.On the set of The Mike Douglas Show, model Marsha Callahan says she was told by Ailes that he could help her advance her career if she put on a garter belt and stockings, then lifted her skirt to show Ailes.Photo by Stephen Lovekin via Getty Images. | 1real |
BUSTED! Anti-Trump Contractor Arrested for Leaking Classified Info to the Media [Video] | The traitor just arrested is a piece of work. She s a Georgia contractor who is pro-Bernie, anti-capitalist, anti-Trump You get the picture. She obviously has an agenda and wants desperately to leak info to the media of A RUSSIAN HACK ATTEMPT. We just can t figure out how this report that proves no interference in the 2016 election was such a big deal to her: No evidence that any votes were affected by the hack. NSA ReportHere s what we know about the woman who will be spending 15-20 years in prison for leaking:The Justice Department announced charges Monday against a federal contractor with Top Secret security clearance, after she allegedly leaked classified information to an online media outlet.Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation in Georgia, is accused of removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, according to a federal complaint.REALITY WINNER S FACEBOOK PAGEThe document Winner allegedly leaked is the same one used as the basis for the article published Monday by The Intercept, detailing a classified National Security Agency memo. The NSA report, dated May 5, provides details of a 2016 Russian military intelligence cyberattack on a US voting software supplier, though there is no evidence that any votes were affected by the hack.A US official confirmed to CNN that The Intercept s document is a genuine, classified NSA document.US intelligence officials tell CNN that the information has not changed the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which found: Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. DHS assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying. Prosecutors say when confronted with the allegations, Winner admitted to intentionally leaking the classified document and she was arrested June 3 in Augusta, Georgia.An internal audit revealed Winner was one of six people who printed the document, but the only one who had email contact with the news outlet, according to the complaint. It further states that the intelligence agency was subsequently contacted by the news outlet on May 30 regarding an upcoming story, saying it was in possession of what appeared to be a classified document.The Facebook page of Reality Winner is full of her exercising. Here s just one of her doing Lord knows what at the Atlanta Airport:Read more: Daily Caller | 1real |
The 3 Officers Killed in Baton Rouge - The New York Times | One officer had just become a father. Another had been a police officer in Baton Rouge, La. for less than a year. A third left behind four children. All three were married. “They are everyday heroes,” Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said. Here are brief biographies of the three law enforcement officers who were shot dead by Gavin Long on Sunday. Corporal Jackson, 32, was a veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department. He and his wife had a baby in March. The morning after five police officers were killed in Dallas this month, part of the turmoil that spread in the wake of killings by the police in Louisiana and Minnesota, Corporal Jackson, who was black, typed out his thoughts on Facebook. “I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me,” he wrote. “In uniform I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat. ” He added: “Please don’t let hate infect your heart. This city MUST and WILL get better. ” Nine days later, Corporal Jackson was dead, just over a month after his 10th anniversary on the Baton Rouge force. He was assigned to the Police Department’s uniform patrol bureau. “When they graduate from the academy, we’re all in our finest gear and our dress uniforms, and they walk across the stage one at a time and they greet me,” Jeff LeDuff, the former police chief in Baton Rouge who hired Corporal Jackson, said in an interview. “Esprit de corps is high,” Mr. LeDuff continued. “I remember he couldn’t hold it. He was so happy to get that commission that he was smiling, and it lit up the stage with that smile on his face. That was the sort of man he was. ” In 2007, Corporal Jackson was among the officers who suffered smoke inhalation while trying to save an infant in an apartment fire. “That man wrote his legacy,” Mr. LeDuff said. “He wrote something his little boy will have for the rest of his life. He will understand fully what his father was, what he stood for and what he was doing when his life was taken. ” Officer Gerald, 41, served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for less than a year. Like Corporal Jackson, he was assigned to its uniform patrol bureau. He was a veteran of the military who joined the Police Department in October. But even before he became an officer in Baton Rouge, he was keenly aware of the dangers the job posed: At least three times on Facebook, he posted pictures of police badges wrapped in mourning bands. He served in the Marine Corps before he shifted to the Army. The Marine Corps said Monday that Officer Gerald had spent four years as a Marine, leaving in 1998 as a corporal. He was a food service specialist who worked at bases in California and North Carolina. As a Marine, he never deployed to a combat theater. That changed in 2003, less than a year after he enlisted in the Army, when he was sent to Iraq for the first of three tours there. A repairer of Black Hawk helicopters, he held the rank of specialist and was assigned to the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Tex. Not long after the shooting started in Baton Rouge, Officer Gerald’s wife posted a link on Facebook to a local television station’s coverage of the episode. “Everyone please pray! !!” she wrote. “My husband along with others is out there. ” In Officer Gerald’s neighborhood just east of Baton Rouge on Monday, blue star balloons floated above several mailboxes, and a flag flew at in his yard. A neighbor, Carmen Thomas, said Officer Gerald was generous with smiles and waves when he was out with his daughters. Last Halloween, she recalled, he gave out heaps of candy from the tailgate of his pickup truck. “He was really friendly,” she said. Deputy Garafola, 45, a deputy with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, was a father of four. The lawman who died in Baton Rouge on Sunday, Deputy Garafola had worked for the sheriff’s office since April 23, 1992, when he was assigned to the corrections division. About two years later, he moved to the office’s uniform patrol division, and later spent eight years working in the traffic section. He joined the civil division, handling matters such as foreclosures, in 2007. “He takes this seriously, and it shows throughout his dealings with as well as the public,” the agency said in a newsletter in November, after he was named civil deputy of the month. “He is willing to go beyond the call of duty. He is very professional and diligent. ” Deputy Garafola, the sheriff’s office said, had a “mantra of ‘People First. ’” “Deputy Garafola is very professional and conscientious in performing his duties and in dealing with citizens and attorneys,” the sheriff’s office wrote in 2013. “Deputy Garafola’s enthusiasm and ability to motivate his has resulted in increased productivity. ” In Denham Springs, La. where Deputy Garafola and his family lived, he and his son would mow their own lawn — and then help their neighbors, free of charge. “He never asked for a dime,” said Kailey Young, one of Deputy Garafola’s neighbors. Ms. Young described Deputy Garafola as a “goofy” man who focused on his family when not at work. He would, Ms. Young said, meet his youngest daughter at the bus stop and play in a paddle boat with his children in the pond behind the family’s home. In a Facebook post on Monday, Deputy Garafola’s wife, Tonja Garafola, said, “Our hearts are completely broken and still in disbelief of it all. ” In a tribute to her husband, Ms. Garafola wrote: “Brad I love you so much and I don’t know how to do this without you, you’re my best friend, my rock and my hero! !!” Three people were wounded in the shooting, including two deputies in the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux III said one deputy, Nicholas Tullier, remained in critical condition on Monday. Deputy Tullier, 41, has worked for the sheriff in East Baton Rouge Parish for 18 years and is part of the uniform patrol traffic division. Bruce Simmons, 51, is assigned to the same division. A veteran of the sheriff’s office, he was wounded, but his injuries were not the authorities said. A Baton Rouge police officer was also wounded. He has not been identified, but the city’s police chief, Carl Dabadie Jr. said the officer was 41 years old and had worked for the department for nine years. His injuries are not the chief said. | 0fake |
Donald Trump On Accusations Of Sexual Assault: Mexico Did It | Donald Trump is backed into a corner. After he was caught on tape admitting to sexually assaulting women, surprise! several women have come out saying Trump sexually assaulted them. He s running out of defenses, so Trump turned to one of his old hits. He s blaming the accusations on the Mexicans. Well, one Mexican in particular: billionaire Carlos Slim.As early as Friday, Mr. Trump is planning to claim that Mr. Slim, as a shareholder of New York Times Co. and donor to the Clinton Foundation, has an interest in helping Hillary Clinton s campaign, according to a Trump adviser.Attacking the Mexican billionaire would allow Mr. Trump to hit several targets. He could slam the failing New York Times, which he says had to be rescued by a foreigner Mr. Slim, the adviser said.Source: VoxUnfortunately, this is how Trump sees the world. People are either with him or against him. Not surprisingly for the controversial land developer, Trump has made a lot of enemies, and it appears those enemies are spread throughout the world. That alone should disqualify him for the position that is in large part, diplomacy.Beyond that, though, this is a man who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. He admitted on tape the he grabs women by the pussy. Why should it surprise anyone that he actually grabbed some? Here s a list of all the women who (so far) have accused Trump. Even if Trump is right that it s some sort of personal vendetta by the New York Times (he s not), reports have come out in the Daily Beast, from CBS News, from a People Magazine reporter, from the Palm Beach Post, from Rolling Stone, from BuzzFeed, from the Guardian, from Vanity Fair, from USA Today, from Jezebel, from the New Yorker and from the Washington Post.Gotta wonder how he s going to blame the Mexicans (or perhaps the Chinese) on all of these.Featured image via Ty Wright/Getty Images. | 1real |
Suspects in Malta blogger's murder sent to trial | VALLETTA (Reuters) - Three men accused of killing Maltese anti-corruption blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia were committed to trial on Thursday by a magistrate hearing preliminary evidence. Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat were arrested in early December on the strength of phone intercepts and accused of having killed Caruana Galizia in a carbomb as she drove out of her home on Oct. 16. In the Maltese judicial system, police have to present initial evidence to a magistrate, who decides whether there are sufficient grounds to press charges. On the third day of the preliminary hearing, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit ruled that the three should be sent to trial. The trio have denied wrongdoing. Police told the court that George Degiorgio was sitting on a boat outside Valletta harbor when he sent an SMS to trigger the deadly bomb, which had been planted overnight in Caruana Galizia s hire car. Mobile phone data showed that Alfred Degiorgio and Muscat had repeatedly visited Caruana Galizia s home village Bidnija in the days before the blast. Police believe they watched from a nearby vantage point as Caruana Galizia set out in her car and told George Degiorgio via telephone to detonate the device. Her death shocked Malta, the smallest nation in the European Union, which has been engulfed by a wave of graft scandals, including accusations of money laundering and influence peddling in government all of which have been denied. Caruana Galizia exposed many of these cases, but had never written about the three suspects, who had fallen foul of local police in the past. The slain blogger s family say the mastermind behind the killing must still be at large. Malta s attorney general must now draw up precise charges against the Degiorgios and Muscat, and no trial date has been set. | 0fake |
Elementary School Cancels Mock Election After Students Support Trump | by Cassandra Fairbanks | Nov 3, 2016
A New York elementary school has cancelled their mock presidential election after some of the students began to chant the Republican nominee’s name.
Mock debates and elections have long been a staple of children’s schooling. I personally have fond memories of “campaigning” for Ross Perot in second grade. The free exchange of ideas, and arguing your beliefs, has traditionally been an important, and fun, part of growing up.
Sadly, that tradition appears to be coming to an end, at least at Jericho Elementary School in Centereach, where students will now be holding a mock election to choose their “favorite school lunch” instead.
The cancellation of the mock election came after some students were reportedly chanting “Trump,” and repeating “negative rhetoric about minorities.” Some of the students had reportedly stated that they did not want Muslims here.
While some may find that offensive, this is an issue in the world, and in the news. Perhaps a better way to handle it would have been to have a discussion or a debate and allowed students to argue their feelings on the issue — instead of shutting down discussions entirely.
The school’s principal said in a statement that he decided to toss the learning experience aside to prevent minority students “from feeling uncomfortable.”
“I mean, kids often repeat what they hear on the TV or the news, but it doesn’t mean it’s OK,” school principal Glen Rogers said. “We have a diverse community here. We want all our students to feel valued.”
Comfortable or not, immigration is an issue in this election, which students should be free to explore and discuss.
“Some people were getting angry because some people like Trump and some people like Clinton,” Miranda Waters, a fifth-grader at the school told ABC News. “Some people think Clinton’s not good. Some think Trump’s not good. So there’s a lot of arguments going on, and I don’t like that.”
The discouragement and shaming for discussing political beliefs, and attempting to silence voices which may stray away from what the left deems acceptable, has lead to a generation of college students who believe that they have a right to never be offended — and who are willing to trade free speech to ensure it. Cassandra Fairbanks is a DC-based writer and political commentator who has been published in a range of outlets including Sputnik News, Teen Vogue, TeleSUR, and Bipartisan Report. Join We Are Change! | 1real |
Tradesman keeps promise | October 27, 2016
Ivy Pollard, 73, from the backend of Brighton was all set for a binge-watching session of her favourite TV series when the tradesman who said he would arrive between 7am and Midday arrived between 7am and Midday.
‘I’d just finished skinning up the first spliff of the day when the miracle took place’ she said. ‘There was this unexpected knock at the door which I was hoping would be the new clown costume and accessories that I ordered 3 weeks ago!’
‘But it wasn’t! It was the guy from Swirlpool! The one thing I wasn’t expecting! Someone actually doing what they said they were going to do! The only time I experience that level of follow-through is on the toilet, or in my pull-ups, but even that doesn’t happen all that often.’
‘It was all a bit embarrassing actually, because there wasn’t anything wrong with the oven yet. The warranty had just expired so I knew it was only a matter of time. I thought I was being clever by booking an engineer straight away, confident that by the time he turned up, there would be something wrong with it.’
‘Mind you, he didn’t mind. It turns out he’s a big Game of Thrones fan as well. So we had a smoke and cracked on with the show. We had a jolly old day in the end, much to the chagrin of the other customers he was scheduled to see that day, but, then again, that’s tradesmen for you.’ Jodster | 1real |
We must smash the Clinton machine: Democratic elites and the media sold out to Hillary this time, but change is coming | A Times story headlined “Obama Privately Tells Donors Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary” had Obama telling DNC high rollers to “come together.” In it Obama “didn’t explicitly call on Sanders to quit” but a “White House official” confirmed his “unusually candid” words. It was a plant dressed up as a scoop. Obama spoke not privately but on background, and not to his donors but through them (and the paper) to his base. It was a different portrait of Obama as unifier: political, financial and media elites, all working as one to put down a revolt.
Obama’s neutrality is a polite scam. His “private” chat came before voters in 29 states even had their say. Presidents never let appointees make endorsements, but three Obama cabinet secretaries — Agriculture’s Tom Vilsack, HUD’s Julian Castro and Labor’s Thomas Perez — backed Clinton early, thus shepherding whole economic sectors into her camp. At Obama’s DNC, ethically challenged Debbie Wasserman Schultz brazenly violates party rules by daily rigging the game for Clinton.
Sanders often says he took on “the most powerful political machine in America,” by which he means the Clintons. He’s really fighting the whole Democratic Party: White House, Congress, DNC, elite media and, sad to say, national progressive groups. That includes organized labor but also nearly every liberal lobby in town. He’s been a more constant friend than Hillary Clinton to almost all of them — but he must face and defeat them all. That he’s done so in 14 states — 15 counting Iowa-and fought four more to a draw is a miracle — and a sign their days are truly numbered.
Donald Trump has accomplished little by comparison. Everything was easier for him. When he hit party elites, no one hit back. Democratic elites had a flawed but still formidable Clinton to carry their water. Republicans had Jeb Bush, and now Ted Cruz. Trump took the low road and then lowered it some more, yet could help himself to issues of broad populist appeal without an establishment type feigning agreement. The media that ignored or dismissed Sanders coddled and appeased Trump. Eight years of open GOP warfare prepared Trump’s way. Bernie’s in the first wave to hit the Democratic beach.
With each call to surrender, Sanders just gets stronger. The day the Politico story ran, he swept Democrats Abroad 69 percent to 30 percent. The next day Hillary took Arizona with 58 percent of the vote but Sanders blew her out in Idaho and Utah, polling an unheard-of 79 percent in caucuses that shattered turnout records. On Saturday he’d chalked up three more wins in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington with average margins of 76 perfent. In a Times/CBS poll out this week the man who started the race 60 points down closed the gap to five. In a Bloomberg poll released Saturday he took a 1 point lead.
It raises a question that the elites who rig rules, stifle debate and call on Sanders to withdraw must answer: Who do you think you are? It also raises a question for Washington-based organizations allegedly safeguarding progressive values: What have you done? With all her money, contacts and celebrity and full, albeit covert support of her president and party, Clinton needed every last liberal endorsement to survive Iowa, Nevada, Missouri, Illinois and Massachusetts. How did she get them? If those endorsements don’t strike you as at least counterintuitive, ponder the record:
Clinton backed NAFTA and the TPP, dithered on the minimum wage and still doesn’t support a living wage. Why would labor help her defeat a man who never once left its side on these and countless other vital issues?
She backed the Defense of Marriage Act in the ’90s, opposed same-sex marriage till 2013 and recently recalled Nancy Reagan as a hero of the AIDS crisis. The Human Rights Campaign may be the bravest and most loyal of all liberal lobbies. Why abandon a stalwart ally like Sanders for one who dithered and dodged on every tough issue?
From Sister Souljah in 1992 to Barack Obama in 2008, the Clinton record on racial politics is highly mixed. She backed the Clinton/Gingrich welfare bill that left millions of African Americans in poverty and the Clinton crime bill that landed millions more in jail. Why did a PAC run in the name of the Congressional Black Caucus pick her over a guy who went to jail to protest segregated housing?
The answers are many and complicated. One is that some once great, grass roots movements pledged their troth to a political party and lost touch with their values and their members. Led by hired technicians and assorted other Washington lifers, many froze members out of their decisions. It’s a big part of the story but not the whole story. Another part pertains to ideology and the tyranny of tactical thinking.
Ideology is easy to spot in those we deem extremist; it’s harder to see in those we deem “centrist.” All ideologues think their ideology is empirical — Engels called his “scientific socialism” — but centrists get away with it. We call their shared ideology “neoliberalism.” Its adherents include deficit hawks, military interventionists, market deregulators, free traders and, the key to it all, pay-to-play politicians.
This ideology is bipartisan. Without the full support of Democratic elites, NAFTA, the TPP, the Iraq war, Wall Street deregulation, every revolving door and no bid contract, every cut ever made to Social Security or Medicare, would be impossible. The culture wars we so loudly deplore are mostly a sideshow staged by political elites to hold onto their base while conducting their business. This election exposes the real divide in American politics, the one separating us from them.
Neoliberal politics is entirely tactical and tactical thinking is static. Most people oppose Wall Street crooks, Mideast ground wars and cuts to Social Security so they talk endlessly about what the Congress they’ve corrupted won’t pass and what other voters allegedly won’t support. Neoliberals love horse-race politics because it never favors reform. Polls favor known quantities. Endorsements go to people in power; money to those willing to reward the investment. Tacticians rely on marketing tools made to manipulate, not illuminate.
Since global finance capitalism runs on pay to play politics, neoliberals promise “change” but can never deliver reform. They can’t talk us out of wanting a living wage or universal health care so they argue tactics: change is impossible because someone else doesn’t want it; we can’t afford it, even though it saves us money.
The tyranny of tactical thinking surely led some progressives to Clinton despite knowing she’d likely let them down again. It even infects the minds of voters. In hopes of catching a Democratic ear or two, I’ll illustrate the point using polls.
Eight month ago Bernie was a stranger to Democrats. In a recent CNN poll his popularity among them surpassed Clinton’s. (85 percent /10 percent versus 76/19). The Times poll shows the gap widening. In it, 56 percent of Dems say if he’s the nominee they’ll support him “enthusiastically.” Just 40 percent say the same of her. On issues his lead is far greater; that’s why she mimics him rather than the other way around. Yet this is the same poll in which she beats him by 5 percent. Some Democrats who prefer him vote for her. I put it down to tactical thinking. In that same poll 72 percent of Democrats say regardless of how they feel she’ll be the nominee. Seventy-eight percent say her ideas are “realistic”; 56 percnt say his are. The case she makes is purely tactical; she can win; she can pass her program; she has more delegates. They’d be reasonable arguments if they were true, but all evidence says they aren’t. That so many smart people buy into them only proves my point: ideology makes you stupid. Like all ideologues, neoliberals see themselves as fact driven free thinkers. Last fall polls started showing Bernie beating Republicans who beat Hillary. Clintonites said early polls mean nothing. In their best ‘pay no attention to the man behind the curtain’ voices, neoliberal pundits treated this baseless assertion like a law of physics. It’s not. We take early polls with big grains of salt but Clinton and Trump were very well known with high, hard negatives. That’s different. Six months later he still beats her in every general election poll; her people still dismisses the polls. She says Republicans haven’t attacked him yet, but she sure has. The result: people like her less and him more. She says wait till voters find out he’s a socialist. They did and guess what: socialism got more popular. If they find out how honest and frugal his brand of socialism is they’ll like it even more. Pundits tout Clinton’s foreign policy cred. As Secretary of State she no doubt took copious notes but she’s wrong on every issue she and Sanders dispute. She says her Iraq war vote was a long time ago and anyway she apologized but her theory of the case resembles Jeb Bush’s. (She blames W. Jeb blames the staff) As Secretary she applied her Iraq War logic to Libya and Syria. She promoted fracking, bugged the office of the U.N. Secretary General and meddled illegally in a Honduran coup. At what point is her experience cancelled out by her inability to learn from it? And does Bernie ever get credit for being right? She has vast political experience but may be the most gaffe-prone major candidate ever to run for president. Bernie on the other hand rarely misspeaks. Pundits who prize “message discipline” seem not to notice. They used to say independent voters decide elections, but independents abhor Hillary and adore Bernie so they say it less now. Hillary ranks worst of all the candidates on honesty and Bernie best. He has the highest favorability rating of any candidate in the race. Save for Trump, she has the lowest of any major candidate in the history of polling. To fact driven, free thinking neoliberals none of it matters. Facts that contradict ideology never do. Clintonites say Bernie should quit so she can focus on Trump. But Trump’s no more inevitable than Clinton. If he gets croaked in Cleveland, does anyone believe she has a better shot than Bernie of bringing some of his followers back into the Democratic fold? In any case it’s not Bernie but her response to him that kills her. Coming out against the TPP or the banks would help if she seemed at all sincere. Her clumsy smears—Bernie wants to repeal Medicare, Bernie opposed the auto bailout, Bernie loves the Minutemen etc., etc.—serve only to fuel doubts about her character. Her shameless surrogates accuse him of partisan disloyalty. Could voters care less? Bernie won’t quit but even if he did it wouldn’t fix what ails her. Both Clinton and Trump argue their inevitability. It’s an illusion propped up by rules meant to stifle dissent. (Superdelegates in her case, winner-take-all in his) She’d be the weakest candidate Democrats have nominated in half a century or more. He’d be the worst ever nominated by either party. Neither will finish strong. Both may crumble. Each will then say early wins in a rigged system entitle them to nominations. Will either party have the wisdom to say no? Current rules of both parties are undemocratic All conventions are free to adopt their own rules. Victory may well go to whichever one has the courage to change. Hillary Clinton’s closing argument, other than her inevitability, is the impossibility of the middle class getting what it wants: a living wage, single payer health care, an end to pay-to-play politics. One thing’s for sure; we’ll never get them without new leader and new rules. The range of possible outcomes includes a Clinton/Trump race but also a Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz or John Kasich-led ticket coming out of Cleveland 10 points ahead of Hillary Clinton or 5 points behind Bernie Sanders. It also includes a Sanders/Trump race in which Bernie beats Trump by more than FDR beat Alf Landon. It only sounds crazy if you’re wearing neoliberal blinders. Two polls in the last five days (Bloomberg and CNN) say that’s exactly what would happen. For this to happen, lots of other stuff has to happen first. Republicans have to flinch and nominate Trump. Bernie has to pick all the low hanging fruit that’s left and win a couple of tougher races. The Democrats have to unstack the deck. I have a suggestion. Start with the superdelegates. For a solid year the Democratic National Committee has broken its own rules. As Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard noted in resigning as a DNC vice chair to back Bernie, officers may not back candidates until a nominee emerges. Schultz and other Clintonites mock the rule. In slashing debates from 26 in 2008 to six in 2016 and repealing a ban on federal contractor donations, Schultz, a payday loan industry ally, acted with zero due process; no notice, minutes, meeting or vote. DNC members said not a word. 435 of them, all unelected, are superdelegates. They had no business voting to begin with. All their votes should be allotted to candidates in proportion to their performance in each state. Bernie Sanders must stay in the race not only till the convention but till the end of whatever ballot nominates him or Hillary Clinton. He must do so because he and not she would make the stronger candidate and the better president. Regardless of how the next primaries, he should do it because his campaign isn’t just a revolution, it’s a movement that must outlast this election and many more to come. Blinded by ideology and self-interest, party elites say everything we want is impossible. The people in the movement know if we keep eyes on the prize we can do great things, even a thing as great as electing Bernie Sanders president. | 0fake |
Anti-Trump Protester Holds Reprehensible Sign about Melania – TruthFeed | Anti-Trump Protester Holds Reprehensible Sign about Melania Anti-Trump Protester Holds Reprehensible Sign about Melania Culture By TruthFeedNews November 13, 2016
Want to see exactly how reprehensible the moral character of Anti-Trump protesters is?
Take a look at what this Hillary Supporter has on his sign.
“Rape Melania”
Police, please arrest this worthless scumbag and lock him up.
Support the Trump Presidency and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter. | 1real |
Breitbart News Daily: Trump vs. the Bureaucrats - Breitbart | On the Thursday edition of Breitbart News Daily, broadcast live on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 from 6AM to 9AM Eastern, Breitbart Alex Marlow will continue our discussion of President Trump’s first 100 days. [Robert E. Moffit, Ph. D. Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, will discuss what President Trump can do to counter the federal bureaucrats openly fighting his administration. Breitbart Legal Editor Ken Klukowski will discuss President Trump’s Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton will discuss Nikki Haley’s confirmation as UN Ambassador and President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring immigration from seven countries while a review of the vetting process is completed. Live from London, Rome, and Jerusalem, Breitbart correspondents will provide updates on the latest international news. Breitbart News Daily is the first live, conservative radio enterprise to air seven days a week. SiriusXM Vice President for news and talk Dave Gorab called the show “the conservative news show of record. ” Follow Breitbart News on Twitter for live updates during the show. Listeners may call into the show at: . | 0fake |
JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO: “We’re tired of being lectured to by the fat cats in Washington” [Video] | Next stop after BREXIT is the US! Judge Jeanine nails it and says we need to know the facts to fight this elitist agenda. We re tired of being lectured to by the fat cats in Washington . | 1real |
Biden and Trump Agree to Fight Pistol Duel--Final Arrangements Pending | Thursday, 27 October 2016 Biden and Trump to Duel
Seeking to duplicate, if not surpass, the famous duel between Vice President Aaron Burr and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, and Vice President Joe Biden, agreed to fight a pistol duel. Although details of the duel have yet to be finalized, Amiko Aventurista, reports the duel will likely take place on the eve of the election.
Three independent sources confirmed negotiations over broadcast rights are extremely tense. Trump demands the duel be the inaugural show of his new venture, Trump TV. "It was my idea. I was the one who said I could shot someone on Fifth Avenue and my supporters would be with me. Other than Hilary, Obama, Rubio, Cruz, Jeb Bush, and a ton of others, I can think of no one better to shot than hair plug Joe. I'm the greatest shooter ever. A real sniper."
Biden insist MSNBC must be the broadcaster because its liberal and minority audience wants to see Trump with several gun shots. In a response to Trump, Biden said, "There is no way I can miss. His hair glows bright orange. All I have to do is point toward the glow".
Megan Kelly of Fox says Fox must host the show because she wants to see "blood" coming everywhere out of Trump just like he said blood was coming out of her. CNN's Wolf Blitzer decline to comment. Even ESPN is making a play for the event, pointing out it regularly shows non-traditional sporting events, such as bull riding, cross bow, and bowling.
Both sides agree Lin Manuel Mirada, producer of the hit Broadway show, Alexander Hamilton, should direct the event. Manuel Mirada said, "I would be honored to produce the event. I know my smash Broadway hit, Hamilton, is only a show about a duel not a real duet but I think that experience qualifies me to produce a show about a real duel. After all, the only difference is the guns are real."
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has agreed to fully pay for and sponsor the event. NRA President Wayne LaPierre release the following statement, "Finally we have bi-partisan agreement. I should have thought of this first". Make Amiko Aventurista's | 1real |
Armstrong: Stop Trying to Make Temple Attacks About Race | Jenice Armstrong, Philly, October 26, 2016
The Temple attacks were about troublemaking teens–not race.
The youngsters who jumped those college students as they walked to campus Friday night are delinquents who need to be put in check before it’s too late.
They were nothing but miscreants who took out their aggression and misdirected rage on random passersby. Why? Because they felt like wilding out that night. They were out to create chaos, so they did.
So, don’t talk to me about gentrification in North Philly.
Don’t talk to me about poverty.
Don’t talk to me about race relations.
Those are whole other conversations and not what these attacks were about.
No one was safe from these teens that night. Not the six Temple students who were injured. Not the Temple police officer knocked from her bicycle by a 15-year-old. Not even a police horse. Anyone could have gotten caught up in that madness.
According to news reports, a crowd of 150 youngsters started gathering after an Instagram advertised an 8 p.m. meet-up at the AMC North Broad Street 7 (formerly the Pearl Theater at Avenue North), on Broad Street near Oxford at the southern end of the campus.
{snip}
Most of the high schoolers who responded to the online posting were good kids looking to socialize. But then the delinquents did what they often do and ruined it for everybody.
According to police, a group of 20 to 30 boys and girls in their early to late teens randomly attacked Temple students as they returned from a football game at Lincoln Financial Field.
{snip}
People keep trying to make this a racial thing because at least two of the victims were white and all of the assailants were African American. They make that assumption even though we don’t know the race of the other injured students. (Lots of African Americans go to Temple.) Nor do we know the race of the injured officers.
Street violence is street violence. It knows no skin color. {snip}
{snip}
Another student, a junior environmental science major who didn’t give her name, told a website called theTab.com, “My boyfriend ran and got away but the second I tried to run, they grabbed me by my hair and started beating my head and back.
“I remember shoes coming for my face and after that I heard other kids from the group saying, ‘Yo chill, yo chill, it’s just a girl,’ and they pulled my attackers off me.”
{snip}
Temple has promised increased security, but when it comes to random street violence, anything can happen to anyone–black or white. | 1real |
Trump arrives in Philippines for Asian leaders' summit | MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in the Philippine capital Manila on Sunday to attend an annual gathering of leaders from East and Southeast Asian countries. Trump arrived from Vietnam, where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, during which he delivered a strong message on trade and briefly met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Philippines will be the last leg of a tour that has also taken Trump to Japan, China and South Korea. Just hours before Trump s arrival, Philippine riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of anti-American protesters from reaching the U.S. embassy in Manila. | 0fake |
O’Reilly Sues Ex-Wife He Allegedly Assaulted For $10 Million – For ‘Cheating’ After She Left Him | Bill O Reilly is a real piece of work. On his show, he often passes judgment on those he believes aren t upholding what he considers family values , while when not in front of a Fox News camera, his home life disintegrates around him.Recently, the host, who once accused Beyonce of singing gangsta rap that encouraged young girls to get pregnant, suffered a civil court deathblow when a panel of judges granted his ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy sole custody of the pair s two children based partly on some of the disturbing statements from the children themselves. O Reilly s daughter once told investigators that fights between her parents could reach the point of violence thanks to O Reilly s legendary temper.[A] court-appointed forensic examiner testified at a closed hearing that O Reilly s daughter claimed to have witnessed her father dragging McPhilmy down a staircase by her neck, apparently unaware that the daughter was watching. The precise date of the alleged incident is unclear, but appears to have occurred before the couple separated in 2010. The same source indicated that the daughter, who is 16 years old, told the forensic examiner about the incident within the past year.O Reilly ongoing ugly separation with his former wife took another twist this week when O Reilly s lawyers announced that they would be pursuing a lawsuit against McPhilmy. Her crime was that she went on to have another relationship after she left O Reilly (but prior to their legal divorce). Or as O Reilly calls that: Fraud.Gawker notes:According to court documents filed late last month, however, O Reilly intends to sue McPhilmy for $10 million on charges of misleading him about the terms of their separation agreement. In the same papers, the Fox News host accuses McPhilmy of using the proceeds of their separation to underwrite an affair with another man. And he wants the entire lawsuit to proceed in secret.O Reilly claims that his separation agreement, which included financial compensation to McPhilmy should be invalid because she was in a relationship with another man. It s not entirely clear why. One theory is that this is really about control. O Reilly doesn t like the idea that his ex-wife gets to live her life out from under his thumb especially if she got to keep some of his money in the divorce.That would fall in line with O Reilly s deeply troubling actions in the wake of his marriage woes. When he suspected his wife of having an affair in the first place, he used his political and financial power to try to persuade his local police department to harass the suspected interloper (who was a police detective on Long Island). The police department appears to have done O Reilly s bidding, ordering a bewildered internal affairs officer to mess with the detective in order to get him to stop dating O Reilly estranged wife. The police ordered [Internal Affairs detective] Harasym to meet with two private detectives working on behalf of Bill O Reilly. They had information about an NCPD officer they believed to be carrying on with O Reilly s wife. Delargy told Harasym to launch an investigation into the man and to tell him to end the relationship.Instead O Reilly lost his wife, his kids, and any claim he ever had to get to be sanctimonious in front of a camera. With nothing left to lose, O Reilly appears to want vengeance instead. It s hard to imagine a court will side with him, but it does present O Reilly the opportunity to once again make his ex-wife s life miserable. It may not be family values, but it s certainly O Reilly s values.Featured image via The Blaze | 1real |
The Freakout From An Obamacare Ruling Could Be Unlike Anything We've Seen | WASHINGTON -- Experts have a pretty good sense of what will happen if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell, cutting off Obamacare’s tax credits in roughly two-thirds of the states. Without that financial assistance, most of the people now buying insurance through healthcare.gov, the online marketplace run by the federal government, wouldn’t be able to pay for their coverage anymore.
A ruling wouldn’t affect people living in states like California and Kentucky, which operate their own insurance marketplaces. But the results in the rest of the country would be dramatic and visible. More than 8 million people would end up uninsured, according to estimates by the non-partisan Urban Institute. Economic disarray would follow, as panicked insurance companies hiked premiums and pulled out of markets suddenly bereft of customers.
What the experts can’t say is how people would feel about such a shock, because it’s hard to think of a time when government took away benefits from so many people, across such a large swath of the country, within such a short time. There just isn’t a great historical analogue for predicting how people would react -- or, for that matter, how that reaction would affect politics. Even veteran strategists seem stumped.
But one recent episode may offer some clues. It comes, ironically enough, from Obamacare’s own history.
In the fall of 2013, insurance companies canceled coverage for millions of Americans, either because the old policies weren’t up to Obamacare’s standards or because the insurers decided the old policies were no longer profitable to sell. The cancellations surprised most Americans, not least because President Barack Obama had famously promised that people who liked their old insurance plans could keep them. You couldn’t turn on the television without hearing from somebody dismayed, angry, or scared about what was happening. Looking back at 2013, it’s hard to remember a time when, for better or worse, a change in domestic policy created so much turmoil.
The differences between 2013 and a potential Supreme Court decision are large enough to make direct comparisons impossible. That’s particularly true when it comes to figuring out who an angry public would hold responsible this time around. The court’s conservative majority, for issuing such a decision? Republicans, for backing this case and trying to take away people’s insurance? Obama and the Democrats, for creating the law in the first place?
But if the 2013 controversy doesn’t indicate much about the shape of a reaction to a Supreme Court reaction, it may say something about the scale -- and why the intensity of reaction this time, whatever its direction, is likely to be even larger than it was last time.
One reason for this is the raw numbers involved. Nobody knows exactly how many policies insurance companies actually canceled in the fall of 2013. At one point, The Associated Press compiled an estimate, based on reports from state insurance officials, suggesting that the number was close to 5 million. But subsequent estimates suggested that number was far too high. One of the most thorough examinations available came from Lisa Clemans-Cope and Nathaniel Anderson at the Urban Institute. They concluded that cancellations probably numbered around 2.6 million. Jon Gabel, from the University of Chicago, came up with an even smaller number: 1.9 million.
You shouldn't take either figure as gospel. In both cases, the scholars in effect juxtaposed survey data with estimates of the number of people with “non-group” insurance, which itself has been difficult for experts to measure. But even if the Urban Institute and Gabel estimates are low by a million or two -- which would be a huge error -- it’d still be far less than the 7.7 million who would instantly lose insurance from an adverse ruling in King v. Burwell -- to say nothing of the millions more who would have to pay higher premiums in the future because state insurance markets would be in such trouble.
And the people who got cancellation notices last time didn’t necessarily end up in worse shape. On the contrary, a large percentage of the people with canceled policies became eligible either for Medicaid, which is basically free, or subsidized insurance, which cost much less than the old, unsubsidized policies. Exactly how many has been difficult to pin down, because the data on what people were paying before the change -- and what they were getting for that money -- is so spotty. But some of the best information available comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which surveyed people buying coverage in the new markets. Forty-six percent of respondents who’d lost non-compliant plans said they had found new policies that cost less, while another 15 percent said they found new policies that cost roughly the same. Just 39 percent -- a significant fraction, but still a minority -- ended up paying more.
By contrast, if the Supreme Court yanks tax credits in the states using healthcare.gov, then 100 percent of the people who were receiving that assistance will see their premiums go up. The increases will not be small. Calculations from the Kaiser Foundation suggest that, for people who now rely on tax credits, premiums would rise on average by $268 each month -- enough, again, to make the cost of maintaining coverage prohibitive.
And that, ultimately, is the biggest difference between the 2013 cancellations and what would happen, this summer, if the court strikes down subsidies in the healthcare.gov states. Two years ago, if you were one of those people who lost your coverage, you were still able to find an alternative. And thanks to the law’s regulations -- yes, the same ones that sometimes made coverage more expensive -- you at least knew that your new policy was comprehensive. It had to include all essential benefits, including mental health and prescription coverage. And it had to limit your out-of-pocket expenses. This summer, if the Supreme Court takes away your coverage, you'll end up with ... nothing. Just like that, you’ll go from the ranks of the safely insured to the ranks of the uninsured -- a far more drastic, and hazardous, transition than people experienced because of plan cancellations in 2013.
To be clear, forcing millions of people to change insurance policies back then was plenty disruptive, far more so than the law’s advocates realized it would be. But that disruption was part of a transition to a new environment for health insurance -- one in which more people had coverage and those with coverage were more secure. By contrast, the (considerably) greater disruptions from a Supreme Court decision eliminating tax credits would signal a return to the pre-Obamacare status quo -- an environment in which many fewer people had insurance and those with coverage couldn’t be as confident it would pay for their needs.
Such a transformation could be a nightmare for whichever politicians the public holds responsible -- to say nothing of the people who suddenly find themselves with no way to pay their medical bills.
| 0fake |
Gold prices grow by $60 as Trump wins, US dollar trashed | Gold prices grow by $60 as Trump wins, US dollar trashed Republican Donald Trump has won the US presidential election . Hillary Clinton congratulated her rival on the victory and refused to speak to her supporters. As Pravda.Ru has reported before, Trump's victory has greatly affected the state of affairs on world market s. During the last four hours, against the backdrop of the struggle between the presidential candidates, gold has risen in price by 4.5%, or $60. January futures for Brent oil fell by 2.2%. According to The Financial Times, the Mexican peso has fallen to a record low against the US dollar, having lost 13.1%, to 20.69. The Swiss franc has gained 1.9% vs. the US dollar to 0.9577. The Canadian dollar has declined to an eight-month low against the US currency. The Australian dollar has dropped by 1.9 percent to $0.7615. The pound sterling has gained 1.04 percent to $1.2513. The euro has climbed by 2.2 percent to $1.1261. Pravda.Ru Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru WikiLeaks: Trump leads in global US elections | 1real |
U.S. State Department tweets, then deletes congratulations for Iran Oscar win | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Monday issued and then deleted a congratulatory message for an Oscar win by a prominent Iranian director who criticized President Donald Trump’s travel ban as “inhumane.” The State Department’s official Persian-language Twitter account, @USAdarFarsi, tweeted congratulations to the Iranian people and Asghar Farhadi, director of “The Salesman,” after the movie won an Oscar for best foreign-language film on Sunday, according to screenshots of the message circulated on Twitter. READ MORE TOP NEWS: Tweeting accountant in spotlight over Oscar best picture blunder For White Helmets leader, Oscar win a victory for Syrian people Breakingviews: PwC might have seen Oscars mixup coming Farhadi boycotted the Oscars ceremony to protest Trump’s January executive order that temporarily banned entry to the United States by Iranians and citizens of six other Muslim-majority countries, and issued a statement criticizing the order. The ban was blocked by federal courts, although the administration is working on a new order. Farhadi chose two Iranian-Americans - a female engineer and a former NASA scientist - to represent him at the ceremony. Anousheh Ansari, an engineer who was the first female space tourist, read a statement on Farhadi’s behalf calling the travel ban “inhumane.” “Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war,” Ansari said, reading from Farhadi’s statement. According to screenshots circulating on Twitter, the @USAdarFarsi account posted a message around 1 a.m. EST congratulating Farhadi on the award, which was Iran’s second Oscar victory. The tweet was then deleted, although it is unclear exactly when. “A congratulatory tweet was posted,” a State Department spokeswoman said. “We later removed the post to avoid any misperception that the USG (U.S. government) endorsed the comments made in the acceptance speech.” A second State Department official said the decision to delete the tweet was made within the department. The @USAdarFarsi account, which launched in February 2011 and seeks to engage directly with Iranians, had previously tweeted messages about “The Salesman,” including on Jan. 24, when it noted its Academy Award nomination and sent best wishes to Farhadi. That tweet, which is still online, was published days before Trump issued the travel ban that sparked Farhadi’s protest. Farhadi also won an Oscar in 2012 in the same category for his film “A Separation.” In his acceptance speech that year, Farhadi referred to tensions at the time between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program, and said the Iranian people “despise hostility and resentment.” | 0fake |
Trump’s First Congressional Speech Stuns Media Detractors – Stock Markets Rally | 21st Century Wire says Last night, an embattled President Donald Trump gave his first address to Congress. The results surprised even his fiercest critics. He became president of the United States in that moment, period, said Trump critic and CNN commentator Van Jones. That was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics. Period. Make no mistake, it was a house divided, but it seems that the White House achieved its chief objective to stop the public relations hemorrhaging, for now at least.One unusual aspect of this Trump speech reports suggest that the President actually spent the day of his first address to a joint session of Congress revising and rehearsing his speech.It seemed to have paid off. Immediately after his speech, Trump rallied with a jump in approval ratings, and a sharp stock market rally.All signs are that America might finally have a President for the moment SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Under Secretary of State Shannon meets Tillerson: U.S. official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson on Thursday, a senior State Department official said. The brief meeting took place at the Washington transition offices just hours before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to step down and depart the State Department. Earlier Thursday, Trump’s spokesman said Shannon was asked to stay on, at least temporarily. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to vote as soon as Monday to approve Tillerson as new secretary of state. (This story corrects to say Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, not U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, met with Tillerson) | 0fake |
DON’T EXPECT GOVERNMENT Or Black Lives Matter To Help: PRIVATE CITIZENS, FREE MARKET Provide Much Needed Help For Total Strangers In LA Flood | After Obama was embarrassed by Donald Trump acting more presidential than he, as Trump traveled to one of the poorest states in America bringing a semi-truck filled with needs for the LA flood victims. He finally managed to find his way off the golf course on Martha s Vineyard to visit the people who couldn t have cared less if he showed or not, by the time he got there. Like Trump said, it was too little too late for Obama s phony photo-op.Of course, only Obama could turn the flood into a race issue. While refusing so far to survey the Louisiana flood disaster until days later, he did let state and local officials know that he s watching to make sure they don t engage in racial discrimination. In a 16-page guidance issued Tuesday, the Obama administration, led by the Justice Department, warned Louisiana recipients of federal disaster assistance against engaging in unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency). The guidance s frameworks highlight the importance of complying with nondiscrimination requirements of civil rights statutes, addressing the needs of the whole community, and ensuring equal opportunity to access recovery efforts. Black residents should be asking where the thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters, who are so concerned about the lives of Blacks in America are when they really could ve used their help? George Soros, Al Sharpton and Barack are so good at organizing, why weren t they putting their heads together and coming up with a plan to help the poor black residents of LA who had lost everything they owned to the historic flooding? They can be organized in a very short time to create chaos, burn cities and loot, but where are they when they have an opportunity to do something positive for Blacks in LA? The recent flooding that hit Louisiana is the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey in 2012. So far we know that at least 13 are dead and tens of thousands were left homeless in the flooding. Even worse, most of those affected do not have flood insurance. Up to $21 billion worth of housing stock was wiped out by the deluge of rain.The recovery will be long and difficult in one of the poorest states in the country. There is the challenge of finding employment and housing for all these displaced people. Given the fact that Louisiana is a hot and humid state most of the year, there will also be the issues of dealing with mold and increased injuries as people try to rebuild.But one of the greatest stories of the Louisiana flooding is how the people and free markets are playing a role in helping to both rescue people and deliver relief much quicker than the government.Black patriot Arlene Barnum asks, Where s the BlackLivesMatter men? Citizens to the RescueThe rains that swamped parts of Louisiana over a period of a few days were relentless. Local governments and first responders were overwhelmed with calls for help from people trapped in their homes by rising waters.#CajunNavy pic.twitter.com/hjScnNu7Gy Ben Sanders (@BenSandersLaw) August 14, 2016Instead of waiting for the government to come rescue them, the people of Louisiana used their own privately-owned boats to save their neighbors. This Cajun Navy drew its ranks and fleet from Louisiana s large numbers of sportsmen. People who needed rescue contacted a Facebook group and the boats used smartphone apps such as the GPS app Glympse and the walkie talkie app Zello to coordinate. The Cajun Navy was responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Louisianians and their pets and livestock.#CajunNavy is shown deploying in this pic by Troy @gulfsails #BatonRougeFlood pic.twitter.com/P9yI0QRQoM walter michot (@WalterMichot) August 15, 2016#CajunNavy doing what they can to help in #BatonRouge pic.twitter.com/7nltb8Q1nU Ashley Doan (@AshleyMDoan) August 15, 2016The people of Louisiana also distributed immediate relief to their displaced neighbors much more efficiently than the government was able to. One of the best examples of this was the conversion of a movie studio into a shelter housing over 2,000 people. The Celtic Media Centre is one of Louisiana s premier film production studios located in Baton Rouge, which was one of the cities hardest hit by the flooding. The studio s executive director, Patrick Mulhearn, saw how devastated his neighbors were by the high water and decided to open up Celtic as an emergency shelter.There were smaller examples of churches opening themselves up, without prodding by either the Red Cross or the state government, as storm shelters for those who lost everything. Such shelters are all over the parishes that were flooded, and have largely been stocked with supplies by volunteers all over the state. People are even taking donations to the parking lots of stores that were unaffected to bring food, water, and other supplies to the flood zone.People looking to donate supplies have been coordinating their relief efforts on Facebook and other social media. If people are looking to donate supplies, they can use social media to find places to drop them off. If people in other parts of the state and out of state want to donate, they re being directed on social media to places where they can help.Even while the streets of Louisiana flooded, trucks from Wal-Mart and UPS did not stop rolling. Wal-Mart, in particular, was able to use its corporate meteorologists to plan delivery routes and shift deliveries of much-needed supplies such as baby formula and water to the affected areas. UPS is able to prioritize delivery of items such as mail order prescription drugs. Companies are rushing supplies into the disaster area quicker than lethargic government agencies and the Red Cross.Motivated by HistoryIn 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Louisianians tried waiting on the government. That help never came and over 1,500 Louisianians died in the flood waters of New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and Jefferson Parish. The people of Louisiana learned the hard way that they had to rescue themselves.The people of Louisiana were motivated by a sense of community. While the Federal government was giving anti-discrimination lectures to flood victims, the Cajun Navy was rescuing people of all races. Louisiana has come together like never before.But it wasn t just the compassion of the people of Louisiana that saved lives. Companies which were seeking profit were also responsible. Everyone from the smartphone app developers to the retailers who provided the products to sustain and save lives played a role in this. Businesses and entrepreneurs meeting the needs of customers were literally lifesavers.For entire story: Kevin Boyd | 1real |
10 radikale Vorhaben, die Donald Trump sofort nach Amtsantritt durchsetzen wird | Donnerstag, 10. November 2016 10 radikale Vorhaben, die Donald Trump sofort nach Amtsantritt durchsetzen wird Er wird der mächtigste US-Präsident seit Jahren: Mit republikanischen Mehrheiten im Repräsentantenhaus und im Senat kann Donald Trump die nächsten vier Jahre praktisch durchregieren. Doch welche Pläne will der sympathische Milliardär eigentlich genau umsetzen? Hier erfahren Sie, was Präsident Trump in den ersten 100 Tagen seiner Amtszeit vorhat: 1. Weißes Haus zu Weißem Hochhaus ausbauen "Make America Great Again" – so lautete Trumps Wahlslogan. Anfangen mit der Greatmakerei will der neue Präsident direkt bei seinem Amtssitz. Das Weiße Haus, auf dem künftig in großen, goldenen Lettern "Trump White Tower" stehen wird, soll direkt nach Trumps Amtsantritt im Januar 2017 um 345 Etagen aufgestockt werden. Den lukrativen Auftrag zur Errichtung des Weißen Hochhauses soll Trumps eigene Baufirma erhalten. 2. Austritt aus der EU (USAxit) Trump will die Vereinigten Staaten schnellstmöglich aus der EU austreten lassen. "Es kann nicht sein, dass irgendwelche Bürokraten in Brüssel dem kleinen Mann diktieren, welche Krümmung sein Gewehrlauf maximal aufweisen darf! Ich sage raus aus dieser EU!", so Trump im Wahlkampf. 3. Alles, was Obama je getan oder gesagt hat, rückgängig machen Darauf haben Republikaner lange gewartet: Trump will alle Gesetze und jede einzelne Amtshandlung Obamas so schnell wie möglich rückgängig machen. Doch nicht nur das: Auch Barack Obamas private Leistungen sollen nachträglich revidiert werden, darunter auch seine Doktorarbeit aus dem Jahr 1991. Zudem soll eine im Jahr 2005 von Obama gerettete angefahrene Katze ausfindig gemacht und getötet werden. 4. Rückzug aus Krisengebieten Donald Trump will, dass die Vereinigten Staaten aufhören Weltpolizei zu spielen und sich mehr auf sich selbst konzentrieren. Hierzulande wird das zur Folge haben, dass unsere Politiker behaupten, Deutschland müsse nun international mehr Verantwortung übernehmen, was zu mehr Aufrüstung und Kriegseinsätzen führen wird. Ganz anders sähe es aus, hätte Hillary gewonnen: Sie hätte Deutschland zu mehr internationaler Verantwortung gedrängt, woraufhin deutsche Politiker bereitwillig aufgerüstet hätten, um mehr Kriegseinsätze bewältigen zu können. 5. Burkapflicht für alle Frauen, die keine Sieben oder höher sind Diese Maßnahme liegt Donald Trump besonders am Herzen: Alle Frauen, die von dem Milliardär visuell weniger als sieben von zehn möglichen Punkten erhalten, sollen dazu verpflichtet werden, ihre unförmigen Körper künftig unter einer Burka zu verstecken. Wer der Verhüllungspflicht entgehen will, kann mit Schönheitsoperationen auf der Skala nach oben klettern. Verwechslungen mit Frauen aus der Gruppe der 3,3 Millionen in den USA lebenden Muslime sind ausgeschlossen, da sie am ersten Tag nach Amtsantritt geschlossen in Guantanamo interniert werden. 6. Alaska an Wladimir Putin abtreten Donald Trump will kein Kalter Krieger sein: Als Zeichen des guten Willens und der Zusammenarbeit mit Wladimir Putin will Trump den Bundesstaat Alaska an Russland abtreten. Trump ist an Alaska ohnehin nicht viel gelegen, weil die Frauen aufgrund des kühlen Klimas dort so gut wie nie sexy Klamotten tragen. Im Gegenzug wird Putin dann die Lösung sämtlicher Krisen im Nahen Osten übernehmen. 7. Umbau des Yosemite-Nationalparks in einen Luxus-Golfplatz Mit der Umweltpolitik seines Vorgängers Barack Obama hat Donald Trump nichts am Hut. Das erkennt man auch daran, dass er den über 3000 Quadratkilometer großen Yosemite Nationalpark in einen Luxus-Golfplatz mit dem Namen Trumpemite National-Golfplatz umwandeln wird. Den lukrativen Auftrag zur Errichtung des Golfplatzes soll Trumps eigene Baufirma erhalten. 8. Waffenpflicht für alle Als kleines Zugeständnis an seine Unterstützer von der NRA plant Trump schon in den ersten 100 Tagen seiner Amtszeit die Einführung einer Waffenpflicht ("mandatory right to bear guns") für alle US-Amerikaner, die imstande sind, eine Waffe zu halten. Säuglinge unter 6 Monaten sind ausgenommen, müssen aber eine Kuschelwaffe besitzen. Durch die Waffenpflicht sollen Amokläufe und Schießereien in den USA endgültig der Vergangenheit angehören, da bewaffnete Wahnsinnige sofort erschossen werden können. 9. Steuersenkung auf 0%, um den verdammten Staat endlich auszubluten Um die amerikanischen Bürger endlich vor der Tyrannei des raffgierigen Staates zu befreien und ein angenehmes Investitionsklima für Unternehmen zu schaffen, hat Trump angekündigt, alle Steuern auf 0 Prozent zu senken. Statt von einer milliardenschweren Bürokratiemaschinerie sollen alle Staatsgeschäfte dann von einem Büro mit maximal drei Mitarbeitern bewältigt werden, das sich über einen eigenen Limonadenstand in der Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington finanziert. 10. Mauer um die USA Eine Mauer zu Mexiko reicht Trump schon lange nicht mehr, seit er gehört hat, dass Flüchtlinge auch über das Meer oder Kanada in die USA einwandern können. Darum will er das gesamte Land entlang der Grenzen und der Küstenlinie mit einer 32.143 Kilometer langen und fünf Meter hohen Mauer umgeben. Das hat noch einen weiteren Vorteil: Nicht nur kann niemand mehr rein, es kommt auch keiner mehr raus. Den lukrativen Auftrag zur Errichtung der Mauer soll Trumps eigene Baufirma erhalten. ssi, dan; Fotos: Meistens Shutterstock; Foto Trump: Gage Skidmore , CC BY-SA 2.0 Artikel teilen: | 1real |
Review: ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Crosses a 1933 Classic With ‘Apocalypse Now’ - The New York Times | You can’t keep a good monster down, especially in Hollywood. After years in storage, the mighty ape with the big teeth and the thing for pale blondes has been dusted off and digitally turbocharged for “Kong: Skull Island. ” Once again, a lot of the noise and action involve guns, monsters and crashing jungle chases, but the most promising moments involve King Kong and the really little lady he unexpectedly meets. In the past, their brief encounter made for some strange moments, none weirder than in the original 1933 film when Kong pauses while undressing his human doll to smell his fingers. It was beauty that killed the beast, or so it has been repeatedly claimed. In 1933 it was Fay Wray’s scantily clad beauty who took the rap for bringing Kong down off the top of the Empire State Building. (Fighter planes with machines guns helped.) By 1976, the relationship had grown rather more complicated, and Jessica Lange was weepily begging Kong to hold onto her. In the 2005 redo it was Naomi Watts’s turn to shed tears for him. In “Kong: Skull Island,” the big guy has a new look and a new gal pal, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) who’s somewhat feistier and certainly more sensibly dressed than her predecessors. She points and she shoots, and not just her camera. “Skull Island” pretty much exhumes the same story conceived for the 1933 classic. This time, the adventurers include a group of scientists run by Bill Randa (John Goodman) who has his glinting eyes on a mysterious, seemingly unexplored island. Mysteries were made for solving, and this island, Randa reasons, may contain all manner of wonders, or perhaps something beyond human imagining. So, with a military unit led by Lt. Col. Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) the scientists ship out, accompanied by Mason, a war photographer who’s soon trading barbs and looks with the world’s prettiest mercenary, James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston). The filmmakers fold a lot of moody detail into the introductions, including real locations and the fog of war: The story takes place in 1973 and the movie was primarily shot in Vietnam. (It was directed by Jordan from a script by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly.) If the sweat, bantering grunts and teeming bars feel borrowed from innumerable other movies, they are also mostly on hand to get the story up and the characters running, which happens once the travelers pierce the thick clouds surrounding Skull Island. There, they meet the enemy and the enemy is — surprise — us, although there are plenty of digital terrors red in tooth and claw. Over the years, critics have pushed and pulled at “King Kong,” denouncing its representation of the islanders (played by black actors in the 1933 film) and reading it metaphorically through black masculinity and white femininity. Later Kong movies have tried to sidestep criticism by changing the representation of the islanders while leaving beauty and the beast intact. Yet even as “Skull Island” avoids some stereotypes, it embraces others, partly through a struggle that pits a pathological black character against a pair of white saviors. Kong, meanwhile, at times feels sidelined, brought out every so often to wreak havoc and briefly exchange soulful looks with Mason. “Skull Island” has momentum, polish and behemoths that slither and thunder. The sets and creature designs are often beautifully filigreed, but the larger picture remains murky. Backed by government and guns, the scientists prove to be colonialists by another name, an idea that the filmmakers bat around a bit, including in allusions to Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness. ” These references pad “Skull Island,” giving audiences (and critics) something to chew on and help explain the repeated, nods to “Apocalypse Now,” Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 retelling of the Conrad novel: the fireball sun, the military helicopters in formation and even a napalm attack. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a Dennis character right out of “Apocalypse Now,” a loopy, grizzled survivor named Hank Marlow who is played by John C. Reilly in charming crazy mode (the narrator in “Heart of Darkness is also a Marlow). Marlow pops up after Kong makes his star entrance swatting down helicopters and scattering survivors. Far larger than his forebears, Kong looks as big as a mountain here. Supersizing is a default mode of the contemporary blockbuster, but in this case a Kong may have something to do with his role in an evolving studio franchise featuring monsters (a. k. a. MonsterVerse) that kicked off with the 2014 “Godzilla. ” If all goes according to corporate plan, Kong will be slugging it out with Godzilla soon enough. That doubtless excites studio executives and some fans, but the promise of a return engagement drains much of the pathos from Kong. In many ways “Skull Island” looks and plays like its antecedents, despite the cosmetic tweaks, digital effects and attempts at inclusive casting. Like those earlier films, it too asks the critical question in many such tales — “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most monstrous of them all?” — through an ape who, because he’s a close relative, turns our gaze back on ourselves. Kong is the beast we know, the beast we deny, the beast we fear, the beast we kill. Here, though, Kong is no longer the beast we love, the tragic who, if he didn’t always win the affections of his prisoners, achieved immortality by seducing viewers. “Skull Island” is adept at goosing you it deploys feints and frights capably amid its clichés and deaths. Every so often it also pauses and allows Kong and Mason to move you. As each recognizes the other, they bridge the divide, but perhaps because their relationship is more empathetic than romantic, these encounters don’t have the resonance they should. Alas, beauty no longer has her beast, the beast no longer has his beauty and this darkness has no heart even if it will have a sequel. | 0fake |
Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won't Build a More Peaceful World | Tweet Widget by Hugh Esco
The author, a reader and colleague of BAR, offers a corrective to our use of the word “jihad,” a term that, in “an Islamic conception, has nothing to do with ‘holy war.’” In this “appeal,” Mr. Esco warns: “When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.” Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won't Build a More Peaceful World by Hugh Esco
“No one seems to use of phrases like ‘Christian Terrorists,’ although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase.”
Black Agenda Report led the way by banning the perjorative use of “illegal” to describe workers in this country without documentation. This publication did so in an article years ago comparing its use to that of the n-word. Many other media outlets including those in the mainstream have since followed suit, so that these days the word is only heard in those venues intent on expressing their contempt for our fellow workers in this divisive way.
This is my appeal that Black Agenda Report and the readers who look to this publication for thought-leadership decide for ourselves that FOX news does not need our help creating a hostile world for our Muslim neighbors who respect a messenger who in his final sermon instructed the faithful, "Treat others justly so that no one will be unjust to you."
Fringe white supremacist groups have long shown a willingness to use violence to advance their political agenda and to justify their tactics by misquoting the Bible and claiming a Christian Identity. Still no one seems to paint all Christians as equally heinous, to treat their claims of Christian faith with any seriousness or to adopt the widespeard use of phrases like “Christian Terrorists,” although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase.
Yet it serves the monied interests who profit from war to create fear by conflating the actions and strategies of small sectarian militias who misquote the Quran to advance their secular agenda with the beliefs of 1.6 billion Muslims who actually seek to practice its precepts.
“The Arabic word ‘jihad’ most often translates as ‘struggle.’”
For Muslims around the world an Islamic conception of jihad has nothing to do with “holy war,” a concept put forward in 1095 by the Catholic Pope Urban II to justify the crusades against Muslims. The Arabic word most often translates as “struggle,” and is used forty-one times in the
Quran, thirty-one times to speak of what the context reveals is a “jihad al-nafs,” or an inner struggle in the path of the Divine, what Islamic scholars have called “the greater jihad.” It is the sort of lifetime commitment to personal integrity that supports being good partners to spouses, good parents to children, good neighbors, to be civically engaged to create a better world for our communities.
The Quran includes ten references to “jihad al-qital,” referred to as the “lesser jihad” by the scholars and theologians. Jihad al-qital is an external militant struggle, ordained by legitimate civil authorities and constrained by rules-of-engagement respecting the distinctions between combatants and others. It includes an expectation that the lives of captured combatants will be spared. Jihad al-qital bears more in common with the Christian concept of just-war, than with the
scorched earth policies of the crusades which burned the libraries of Byzantium, or the Jewish tribes annihilation of all the indigenous peoples of Canaan, along with their livestock and shrines.
We create a communications disconnect when we turn jihad into a pejorative, one where Muslims and non-Muslims wind up talking past each other.
“We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us. ”
We also empower Al-Qaida and ISIS and similar organizations and their allies among the elites of the United States, when we let them appropriate this key Islamic concept to describe their terrorist activities. We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us.
When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, this hate speech, this disrespect for the faith of 1% of our fellow US citizens and roughly a quarter of our global neighbors, we first show our ignorance but worse share responsibility for creating an atmosphere which lends support to the attacks being suffered on a regular basis by our Muslim neighbors, both here at home and abroad. We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.
If we need an Arabic word to describe terrorism, that word would be hirabah, which translates as “unlawful warfare.”
Nuclear blackmail is hirabah. Drone strikes are hirabah. Cluster munitions are hirabah. White phosphorous is hirabah. Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are hirabah. Wars for oil are hirabah.
And distorting language to tell people that words mean the opposite of what they mean is also a form of cultural warfare, and ought to be unlawful, but is perpetrated daily by elected officials, agencies of our own government, the war industry funded think tanks, FOX-News and other Islamophobes in the media. Sectarian militias and FOX news ought not be given the power to redefine the 'sixth' pillar of Islam for the non-Muslim world.
“Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are ‘hirabah.’”
And they certainly do not need our help doing it. In that final sermon referenced above, the Muslim Prophet also prohibited usurious loans and instructed those with accumulated wealth to give every year to the state specified percentages for distribution to the needy. No wonder the disaster capitalists want us to be afraid of our Muslim neighbors.
If fearing our neighbors serves the interests of disaster capitalists, it is highly unlikely to do us any good.
Jihad, even in its lower form, shows its practitioners to be more civilized that the imperial purposes to which our tax dollars are put in imperial wars of aggression and occupation. Jihad al-nafs is an islamic principle to which all the worlds' people, with or without faith, should aspire.
So-called 'jihadist terrorist' is an oxymoron, one which creates a disconnect for those who understand Arabic and Islamic teachings. We ought to say 'sectarian militia' when that is what we mean. Doing so is as essential to our learning to respect our immigrant neighbors as was our rejection of the pejorative use of 'illegal'. Getting the language right is a key early step to creating peace with our Muslim neighbors in the global community. It will help us take the next step of ending our imperial occupations. FOX news is not a legitimate source for a vocabulary useful to our struggle, our jihad for a just future. But respect for the faiths of others can move us in the right direction. Hugh Esco is a founding officer of the Georgia Green Party who works by day in IT, and on nights and weekends for a world worthy of passing on to the next generation. He can be contacted at [email protected] | 1real |
BRITAIN’S ISLAMIC REALIST Tommy Robinson Tears Into Leftist Reporter: “50,000 British Muslims Downloaded A Terrorist Magazine Last Year…These People Are Waging War On Us!” [VIDEO] | Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson went to town on a reporter today after he was interrupted in the midst of a Rebel Media interview at the scene of the London terror attack.Robinson was speaking with Rebel Media s Caolan Robertson on the unsurprising nature of the incident in light of the suspected perpetrator s identity being released. This isn t a shock to me, said Robinson. I don t understand people who are surprised by this. We have over 3,000 Muslims who are monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week at a cost of nine billion [pounds] a year. We re following them, waiting for them to do this. As Robinson continued to rant, a crowd apparently formed around him and began filming. Among them was a reporter who quickly took the offense against Robinson. Do you have information that no one else seems to have? inquired the reporter. I have information that shows there was four terrorist attacks last week in France, shot back Robinson. There was 12 planned last year. Driving your car like this man has done is exactly what the Inspire magazine, which is Al Qaeda s magazine, which was downloaded by 50,000 British Muslims last year 50,000 British Muslims downloaded a terrorist manual. Milo | 1real |
KHAN REACTION: Read The Letter The Families Of ELEVEN Fallen Soldiers Just Sent To Trump | The families of eleven American soldiers who lost their lives serving the United States have banded together and sent a letter to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, reacting to his attack on the family of deceased Army Captain Humayun Khan.After his father Khizr Khan spoke to the Democratic Convention, Trump asked ABC News, Did Hillary s scriptwriters write it? Minimizing the loss of Khan s son, Trump also said: I think I ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I ve had tremendous success. I think I ve done a lot. Karen Meredith, who lost her son Ken Ballard in Iraq, organized a letter with the families of eleven other fallen soldiers to demand an apology from Trump. Here is the letter:August 1, 2016Donald J Trump725 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10022Mr. Trump,We are all Gold Star Families, who have lost those we love the most in war. Ours is a sacrifice you will never know. Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know.Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant, and personally offensive to us. When you question a mother s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us. When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice.You are not just attacking us, you are cheapening the sacrifice made by those we lost.You are minimizing the risk our service members make for all of us.This goes beyond politics. It is about a sense of decency. That kind decency you mock as political correctness. We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American, comments.We hope you will hear us.Sincerely,Diane and Neil Santoriello, Mother and Father of 1LT Neil Santoriello, KIA, IraqSummer Lipford-Mickelson, Mother, Frederick Sirko, Father, Kirby Mickelson, Stepfather, Laura Sirko Samimy and Bridget Sirko Gentle, Sisters of PFC Steven Sirko, KIA, Iraq.Sue and Randy Loudon, Mother and Father of 2ndLt. Christopher Loudon, KIA, IraqMelanie House, Widow of HM3 John Daniel House, KIA, IraqDerek and Lorene Davey, Mother and Father of Cpl. Seamus M. Davey, KIA, IraqCeleste Zappala, Mother, and Raphael Zappala, Brother of SGT. Sherwood Baker, KIA, IraqSue Niederer, Mother of 2LT Seth Dvorin, KIA, IraqFulvio and Gilda Carbonaro, Father and Mother of Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, KIA, IraqKaren Meredith, Mother of 1LT Ken Ballard, KIA, IraqSergio Torres, Father, Lupe Torres, Mother and Beatriz Saldivar, Aunt of SGT Daniel Torres, KIA, IraqMG (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, and Frank Eaton, sons of Col. Norman Eaton, KIA, VietnamThese families are right. Trump does need to apologize, instead of doubling down. Likely, he ll just launch another attack at more Gold Star families instead, though, because that is just the kind of sorry excuse for a human being he is.Featured image via Flickr | 1real |
Japan says jet fighters conducted drills with U.S. aircraft over East China Sea | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese F-15 fighter jets on Saturday conducted an air exercise with U.S. B1-B bombers in the skies above the East China Sea, Japan s Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) said. The joint drill comes as South Korea braces for a possible further missile test by North Korea as it marked its founding anniversary, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region. The exercise involved two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flying from Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam, which were joined by two Japanese F-15 jet fighters. On Aug. 31, Japanese F-15 fighter jets also conducted an air exercise with U.S. B1-B bombers and F-35 stealth fighters in skies south of the Korean peninsula, two days after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan. | 0fake |
Trump rivals call for release of NY Times editorial board tape | SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s Republican presidential rivals urged him on Monday to ask the New York Times to release a recording of an interview he did with the newspaper’s editorial board, following a report he told it he was not serious about his immigration proposals. News website BuzzFeed reported on Monday that Trump had suggested to the Times’ editorial board in an off-the-record briefing on Jan. 5 that he would likely not stand by his immigration proposals if elected president. Trump, the Republican front-runner, has called for deporting all illegal immigrants and has said he would get the Mexican government to pay for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. “Donald Trump should ask The New York Times to release the audio of his interview with him so we can see exactly what it is he truly believes about this issue that he has made the cornerstone of his campaign,” U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said in a statement. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called on Trump to do so before this week’s Super Tuesday, the biggest single day of state-by-state presidential nominating contests for the Nov. 8 presidential election. “There’s one of two instances: It is either false ... (or) he actually now is telling the New York Times editorial board: ‘Pay no attention to what I’m saying on immigration because I, Donald Trump don’t intend to do anything I’m saying,’” Cruz said at a campaign rally in San Antonio. BuzzFeed quoted New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal as saying he would not comment “on what was off the record at our meeting with him.” “If (Trump) wants to call up and ask us to release this transcript, he’s free to do that and then we can decide what we would do,” BuzzFeed quoted Rosenthal as saying. New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the newspaper was “not commenting beyond what our editorial page editor told BuzzFeed.” A Trump official was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson in San Antonio; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 0fake |
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bomb Squad In Action Ahead of Trump Inauguration | WASHINGTON, D. C. — A block in Washington, D. C. was temporarily shut down by law enforcement and a bomb squad dispatched after an apparent backpack was found on a busy street corner. The ordeal lasted over an hour as a man in a bomb suit and another in a vest and helmet took measures to inspect the potential threat. The street was eventually reopened and the item in concern was apparently deemed safe. | 0fake |
The real Clinton email scandal is that a bullshit story has dominated the campaign
| Some time ago, Hillary Clinton and her advisers decided that the best course of action was to apologize for having used a personal email address to conduct government business while serving as secretary of state. Clinton herself was, clearly, not really all that remorseful about this, and it showed in her early efforts to address it. Eventually aides prevailed upon her to express a greater degree of regret, which they hoped would lay the issue to rest.
It did not. Instead, email-related talk has dogged Clinton throughout the election and it has influenced public perceptions of her in an overwhelmingly negative way. July polling showed 56 percent of Americans believed Clinton broke the law by relying on a personal email address with another 36 percent piling on to say the episode showed bad judgments albeit not criminality.
Because Clinton herself apologized for it and because it does not appear to be in any way important, Clinton allies, surrogates, and co-partisans have largely not familiarized themselves with the details of the matter, instead saying vaguely that it was an error of judgment and she apologized and America has bigger fish to fry.
This has had the effect of further inscribing and reinscribing the notion that Clinton did something wrong, meaning that every bit of micro-news that puts the scandal back on cable amounts to reminding people of something bad that Clinton did. In total, network newscasts have, remarkably, dedicated more airtime to coverage of Clintons emails than to all policy issues combined.
This is unfortunate because emailgate, like so many Clinton pseudo-scandals before it, is bullshit. The real scandal here is the way a story that was at best of modest significance came to dominate the US presidential election overwhelming stories of much more importance, giving the American people a completely skewed impression of one of the two nominees, and creating space for the FBI to intervene in the election in favor of its apparently preferred candidate in a dangerous way.
Why Hillary Clinton used a personal email account
When Hillary Clinton took office as secretary of state, she, like most people, already had a personal email account. Like most people who started a federal job in 2009, she was also disheartened to learn that the then-current state of federal IT departments was such that she could not connect her personal smartphone to a State Department email address. If she wanted ready access to both her email accounts, she would need to carry two smartphones.
As any reporter in Washington knows, this indignity was in fact visited upon a huge number of DC denizens for many years. Everyone working in government felt that this was kinda bullshit, but nobody could really do anything about it. (Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts has opined that carrying two phones could be reasonable grounds to suspect someone is a drug dealer.)
Clinton decided to do something about it. Namely, she told her top aides to just email her at her personal address so she could keep using whichever devices she wanted. This violated an internal State Department policy directive, known as a Foreign Affairs Manual, which stated that while it was okay to use personal digital devices to do work occasionally, normal day-to-day operations should be conducted on standard State Department equipment. Clinton chose to ignore this guideline and because she was the boss nobody could stop her. Career foreign service officers and other State personnel have every right to be peeved that Clinton opted out of an annoying policy rather than fixing the underlying issue, but its hardly a matter of overwhelming public concern.
And, indeed, it turns out Colin Powell also used a private email address for routine work. Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright didnt use email, and back before Albright only weird nerds even knew what email was. So at the time Clinton took office, only one previous secretary of state had ever faced the question of what email account to use, and he reached the exact same conclusion Clinton did just use your personal email address.
Why Hillary used a private email server
When Hillary tried the eminently sensible I was following precedent defense, Politifact dinged her answer as mostly false on the grounds that while Powell did use a personal email account, he didnt use a private email server.
This distinction has attracted a lot of attention. And its proven politically damaging because while lots of people maintain two email addresses and sometimes do work stuff on their personal email, very few Americans use a private email server as opposed to relying on a commercial email service. But legally speaking, this is completely irrelevant. As the State Department inspector general concluded in its report on Clintons conduct, the guideline Clinton violated was a principle that normal day-to-day operations should be conducted on an authorized Automated Information System.
Using a private server violates that rule, but so would using a Gmail address or simply checking your State.gov email address from your personal laptop rather than a Department-issue one.
But while the use of a private server is legally irrelevant, its certainly unusual. And it leaves people wondering: Why did Clinton go out of her way to set up a private server?
Clinton, as you may have heard, is married to former president Bill Clinton, who stepped down from office in January of 2001. Clinton was in the White House throughout the 1990s when the rest of us were being bombarded with AOL signup CD-ROMs, so he didnt have a personal email when he left. Gmail didnt exist back then, and his new job was, in effect, running a Bill Clinton startup. He launched a charitable foundation, he established his presidential library, and he made big bucks on speaking tours. He had a staff and he needed IT infrastructure and support. So he paid a guy to set up an email server that he could use.
Hillary Clinton who is, again, his wife also set herself up with an account on the same server. This is a bit unusual, but a lot about being married to a former president is unusual. What its not is suspicious.
The private server was not a transparency dodge
Its become a bit of an article of faith among journalists frustrated with public officials constant FOIA-dodging that this is all obviously dissimulation and Clinton was really trying to evade the Freedom of Information Act.
Many people, for example, point to the fact that Clinton would routinely travel with multiple digital devices as debunking her supposed convenience argument. But this is silly. Ive been known to travel with an iPhone, an iPad, a Kindle, and a laptop all at once. That doesnt mean needing to carry two separate iPhones (one to check my work email and one to check my personal email) wouldnt be inconvenient. After all, what if I was replying to a work email while a text came in to my personal phone and I wanted to check it.
Id be left juggling phones and looking like an idiot, exactly how federal employees tended to look in the heyday of the double-fisting phones era.
I would not want to do that. Colin Powell did not want to do that. Hillary Clinton did not want to do that. Because that would be terrible.
By contrast, its a terrible solution to a desire to avoid having your emails disclosed to the public via FOIA. One way you can tell its a terrible solution is that Hillary Clintons work emails have been disclosed to the public. You can read them right here.
The specific timeline is that the House Select Committee on Benghazi requested Clintons emails in the summer of 2014, at which point the relevant State Department personnel realized they did not have the emails because Clinton had been using her personal address. State asked Clinton for the emails, and she handed them over later that year. It was only in March of 2015 that the New York Times broke the story of Clintons personal email account in a scoop by Michael Schmidt (the server was reported a few days later by the AP)*, which reported that the emails had been handed over to the State Department two months ago.
This is fairly clearly not an optimal approach to government record-keeping, as Thomas Blanton of the National Security Archive at George Washington University told Schmidt at the time:
Its a shame it didnt take place automatically when she was secretary of state as it should have. Someone in the State Department deserves credit for taking the initiative to ask for the records back. Most of the time it takes the threat of litigation and embarrassment.
According to the Inspector Generals report, Clinton should have preserved any Federal records she created and received on her personal account by printing and filing those records with the related files in the Office of the Secretary.
There are two possible interpretations here. One is that Clinton hatched the private email account plan as an elaborate dodge of federal record-keeping laws, but then months before the public became aware of the servers existence complied with requests to turn them over. The other is that the federal records rule on the book was antiquated and a bit absurd, requiring officials to turn over paper copies of emails for no good reason, and simply got ignored out of sloppiness.
But she deleted 33,000 emails!
Suspicion at this point is then supposed to focus on the fact that she had her lawyers delete more than 30,000 emails from her server.
After Hillary left office, the State Department told her she had to turn all her work-related emails over to them, so she tasked a legal team with determining which emails were work emails and which were not. She turned the work emails over because thats what she was legally required to do. She deleted the others, presumably because she did not want Trey Gowdy and Jason Chaffetz to rummage through her inbox leaking whatever they happened to find amusing to area journalists.
Now, is it possible that Clintons legal team simply decided to entirely disregard the law and delete work-related emails?
In some sense, sure. But theres no evidence that this happened. Generally speaking, in life we assume it would be moderately difficult to hire a well-known law firm to destroy evidence for you without someone deciding to do the right thing and squeal.
Besides which, it would be almost comically easy to catch Clinton in the act of systematically destroying relevant emails. The vast majority of the work-related email correspondence of an incumbent secretary of state, after all, is going to be correspondence with other government employees. Maybe she shoots a note to the Pentagon about Benghazi, or circulates ideas for a speech draft with her communications team. Any message like that, by definition, would exist on a government server as well as on her private one. This means it would be fully accessible via FOIA and also means that if Clintons copy were found to not be in the pile of emails she turned over, shed be caught red handed.
The available FOIA workarounds are available to everyone
Now whats true is that Clinton could, in theory, have conducted work-related email conversations using another persons personal email address.
She could, for instance, have emailed Jake Sullivan on his Gmail address then deleted the email from her private server. Wed be in the dark and shed get away with it.
The key thing to note here, however, is that the availability of this option has nothing to do with Clintons decision to use a personal account as her exclusive account and also has nothing to do with her decision to host her personal email on a private server.
At any given time, any federal employee can use her personal account to email any other federal employee at his personal account. If they receive a Freedom of Information Act request, they are legally obligated to hand that correspondence over. But in a practical sense, if they want to break the law they can probably get away with it. And as Ezra Klein has noted, there are a lot of workarounds here:
As every reporter knows, when official sources want to tell you something particularly delicate, they email you from a personal account or, much more often, they call.
A lot of my reporting happens by email. But virtually none of my reporting with the White House happens by email. There, emails for clarification, or comment, quickly lead to phone calls. The reason unsaid but obvious is that phone calls don't leave an official record. White House officials can talk freely on the phone in a way they can't over email.
Similarly, the White House keeps a visitor's log. If you make an appointment to meet with someone, your entrance and point of contact are recorded for posterity and searchable online. When someone who shouldn't be meeting with you wants to meet with you, they tend to suggest an off-site location: a restaurant downtown, or a nearby coffee shop. Peet's Coffee doesn't keep a list of everyone who walks in or out.
We do not, however, generally treat all federal employees as having a massive ethical cloud over their heads just because they could probably use this workaround to break the law. There is zero reason to apply heightened scrutiny to Clinton just because she also could break the law.
Besides which, when you are secretary of state there is a much simpler and easier way to mask your correspondence: classification.
Here, for example, is an email Sullivan sent to Clinton on June 4, 2011, that was duly handed over to the State Department and made available by the FOIA office:
Im not saying the contents of that message dont deserve to be redacted for security purposes. The fact is that I have no idea. But the reality is the American national security state is really, really good at using official channels to avoid disclosure of information. Nobody needs a private email server to pull that off.
Indeed, the allegation that the server setup was an elaborate con to evade transparency law is doubly ridiculous. On the one hand, a private server would not be necessary to carry it out. (All you need is to have a private email address on the side, which everyone does.) While on the other hand, the exclusive use of a personal email account means that Clintons personal account has come under an exceptional level of security.
The classification thing is a red herring
Its precisely because nothing about the basic setup of the email account was in any way wrong that the investigation ended up focusing on the question of mishandling classified information.
The key point here is that using a State.gov email account would not have changed anything. When US government officials have conversations about classified matters, they are not supposed to use email. They are supposed to use special secure channels.
Nonetheless, mistakes happen in part because classification standards are vague and ever-changing. Technically speaking, forwarding a Washington Post article detailing things revealed by Edward Snowden could constitute an improper discussion of classified matters.
As FBI Director James Comey concluded, no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Clinton over this matter. Almost all of the relevant statutes require an intent to mishandle classified information in order to bring a prosecution, a standard that Clintons conduct clearly does not meet. Critics have thus chosen to focus on 18 USC 793, a statute that sets a lower gross negligence standard.
However, as Jack Goldsmith, one of the top lawyers in George W. Bushs administration explains, such a prosecution would be entirely novel, and would turn in part on very tricky questions about how email exchanges fit into language written with physical removal of classified information in mind.
Ben Wittes, a veteran legal journalist and Brookings fellow who has spent the past several years specializing in national security law, wrote that Comeys characterization was clearly correct:
For the last several months, people have been asking me what I thought the chances of an indictment were. I have said each time that there is no chance without evidence of bad faith action of some kind. People simply don't get indicted for accidental, non-malicious mishandling of classified material. I have followed leak cases for a very long time, both at the Washington Post and since starting Lawfare. I have never seen a criminal matter proceed without even an allegation of something more than mere mishandling of sensitive information. Hillary Clinton is not above the law, but to indict her on these facts, she'd have to be significantly below the law.
Its true that to a layman the Espionage Acts reference to gross negligence sounds similar to Comeys characterization of Clintons actions as extremely careless. But as Philip Zelikow, a counselor to Condoleezza Rice during the Bush administration and currently the Director of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia explains, they only sound alike unless you do a tiny bit of homework on the history and caselaw of the Statute.
Did Hillary Clinton do something criminal with her emails? Philip Zelikow walks you through. #election2016 @AnnCompton @pastpunditry pic.twitter.com/kS8Z4dq9Qf
Miller Center (@Miller_Center) November 3, 2016
As the Cato Institutes Julian Sanchez writes, attempting a prosecution for non-malicious mishandling would likely result in the statute being held unconstitutional: the Supreme Courts opinion in Gorin v. United States (1941), which suggests that the Espionage Acts intent requirements are an important feature that save it from unconstitutional vagueness.
This legal analysis is important because it makes it clear that even if the Weiner laptop emails arent simply client-side copies of the exact emails the FBI already has, there is essentially no chance it will change the ultimate verdict. The reason Clinton isnt getting locked up is that there was no malign intent. Finding another email with classified information on it wont change that conclusion.
A bullshit scandal amidst a serious election
Network newscasts have, remarkably, dedicated more airtime to coverage of Clintons emails than to all policy issues combined.
Cable news has been, if anything, worse, and many prestige outlets have joined the pileup. One malign result of obsessive email coverage is that the public is left totally unaware of the policy stakes in the election. Another is that the constant vague recitations of the phrase Clinton email scandal have firmly implanted the notion that there is something scandalous about anything involving Hillary Clinton and email, including her campaign manager getting hacked or the revelation that one of her aides sometimes checked mail on her husbands computer.
But none of this is true. Clinton broke no laws according to the FBI itself. Her setup gave her no power to evade federal transparency laws beyond what anyone who has a personal email account of any kind has. Her stated explanation for her conduct is entirely believable, fits the facts perfectly, and is entirely plausible to anyone who doesn't simply start with the assumption that she's guilty of something.
Given Powells conduct, Clinton wasn't even breaking with an informal precedent. The very worst you can say is that, faced with an annoying government IT policy, she used her stature to find a personal workaround rather than a systemic fix that would work for everyone. To spend so much time on such a trivial matter would be absurd in a city council race, much less a presidential election. To do so in circumstances when it advances the electoral prospects of a rival who has shattered all precedents in terms of lacking transparency or basic honesty is infinitely more scandalous than anything related to the server itself. | 0fake |
EXTORTION? HOW IRAN Used Nuke Deal To Force Obama To Retreat From Embarrassing “Red Line” Threat To Syria | If I were a European and was forced to deal with the massive influx of Muslim refugees from Syria, I d be pointing the finger at President Obama, who clearly can t himself when it comes to caving to Iran.Foreign Affairs journalist for the Wall Street journal, Jay Solomon told MSNBC s Andrea Mitchell that Iran actually threatened to end nuke talks if Obama enforced his red line threat with Iran:.@WSJSolomon: Iran threatened to end nuclear talks if @POTUS enforced red line against Assad after chemical attack: pic.twitter.com/czFeFA2K10 Kenan Rahmani (@KenanRahmani) August 22, 2016 | 1real |
Drop in Gang Violence Drove New York City Shootings Below 1,000 in 2016 - The New York Times | A steep drop in gang violence last year drove shootings in New York City to the lowest number in at least a Police Department data shows, a result of what police officials say has been a focus on gang takedowns and targeted arrests in some of the city’s roughest neighborhoods. The internal police data, obtained by The New York Times, paints a detailed portrait of the motives, locations and circumstances behind murders and shootings for the last two years. shootings fell to 412 in 2016, from 560 the year before, according to the data, which tracked shootings and murders through Dec. 28 of each year. killings dropped to 79 in 2016, from 129 in 2015. Those helped push citywide shootings to a new low of 998 by year’s end, police officials said, down from 1, 138 in 2015. Murders also fell, to 335 from 352 the year before. The New York City police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, has noted the department’s efforts to push shootings below 1, 000 for the first time since at least the early 1990s, when the police began keeping similar records. Mr. O’Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio were expected to discuss those efforts at a news conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Scores of gang takedowns this year, resulting in about 900 arrests, took violent people off the streets and made it more costly to engage in crimes, police officials said. “Precision policing targets those people who are responsible for the violence, which in a significant amount of cases are gangs,” said Stephen P. Davis, the department’s chief spokesman. “By going after the gang members, arresting them, we recognize the resultant reduction in violence. ” Violent crime has been more persistent in some communities, especially outside Manhattan. But the Police Department, in continuing to drive down crime even as it has pulled back from heavy enforcement and aggressive tactics like has shown the value of focusing resources on stopping serious crime, said David M. Kennedy, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “New York City, in many ways, convinced the rest of the country that things like zero tolerance were the way to make communities safe,” he said. “And now it’s showing the country that you absolutely do not need to do that, you should not do it, and there are much, much better and less damaging ways to work with communities to produce public safety. ” The reductions in New York stand in stark contrast to some other cities, most notably Chicago, which had a sharp increase in murders and shootings in 2016 and ended the year with 762 homicides. The New York Police Department data offers a rare glimpse into the more granular ways that the department’s Detective Bureau tracks and classifies crime, as well as the tangle of reasons that people are shot and killed. Shootings and murders dropped across almost every category of motive last year. Murders in which drugs were the primary motive, for example, dropped to 29 in 2016, from 42 the year before. But domestic killings rose slightly, to 57 last year from 49 in 2015. Criminologists believe gang enforcement can result in arrests of people who are also domestic offenders, but they say that domestic violence remains more difficult to prevent, because it can escalate inside homes, without the police being notified. Mr. Kennedy said that efforts in smaller jurisdictions across the country to respond to the earliest signs of domestic violence and to punish repeat offenders were showing results, but that those strategies would be more difficult to replicate in a city the size of New York. Fewer people were murdered with guns in 2016, but the number of people killed by cutting rose to 73, from 50 the year before. Murders and shootings on the street, in public housing and in commercial locations all dropped last year through Dec. 28. Murders on playgrounds climbed to 12, from three the year before, and also rose in dwellings and in vehicles. More broadly, murders indoors ticked up by 19, while outdoor murders fell by 49. About a third of shootings and murders occurred between 10 p. m. and 2 a. m. and more than half happened between 6 p. m. and 2 a. m. The biggest share of murders were motivated by what the police call a “dispute. ” Of those, the largest share had to do with words that were exchanged, followed by disputes over a man or woman, over money, and over a previous history. Five murders in 2016 were deemed to be motivated by a stare or a disrespectful act, two by gambling and two by road rage. Just under a third of the shooting cases last year were closed with an arrest, and 22 percent of the cases were closed because the police had exhausted all leads. Forty percent of the murder cases were closed with an arrest, and eight others were termed an exceptional clearance, a category that would include cases in which the person suspected of being the killer was murdered before an arrest was made. | 0fake |
Kremlin says not yet known if Putin will seek re-election | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday it was not yet known if Russian President Vladimir Putin will run for re-election when his term ends next year. Peskov said Putin met former finance minister Alexei Kudrin to talk about a strategy for economic development up to 2024. Asked if Kudrin was helping draft Putin s program for the next term, Peskov told reporters: It is now yet known if Putin will run for the next presidential term. The next six-year term expires in 2024. | 0fake |
PRIORITIES: #BlackLivesMatter Terrorists Protest Cops In Gun-Free Chicago, While Ignoring 6 Murders, 21People Shot Over Christmas Weekend | The December tally in Chicago (so far) is: December to Date Shot & Killed: 29 Shot & Wounded: 189 Total Shot: 218 Total Homicides: 31Six men were killed and at least 21 other people have been wounded in shootings across Chicago over the holiday weekend. The latest homicide happened early Sunday in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.About 2:15 a.m., 29-year-old Tyree White was outside with a 28-year-old woman near West 59th Street and South Wentworth Avenue, when someone walked up and opened fire, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner s office. White, of the 200 block of East 121st Place, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene less than 30 minutes later, authorities said.A pregnant mother of three was killed by a hit-and-run driver, though the baby survived the tragedy.Karla Y. Leanos had been crossing the street in North Lawndale in the 4200 block of West Ogden around 10 p.m. when she was hit by a 2008 Chrysler traveling westbound at a high rate of speed, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner s office. The vehicle did not initially stop, police said. A woman was shot in the back and taken to Stroger, where her condition was stabilized, police said.Saturday night, a 36-year-old man was fatally shot in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side, police said.The 36-year-old was sitting outside with other people in the 2800 block of West 21st Place about 9:50 p.m. when a white SUV pulled up and a passenger displayed gang signs and then fired shots, police said.Black lives matter .just not the ones who are killed by other blacks in their own neighborhoods.The man was shot in the chest and mouth and was taken by a friend to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died, police said. The medical examiner s office could not immediately confirm the fatality.Less than three hours earlier, a 28-year-old man was found shot to death in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side.He was found about 7:20 p.m. in the 600 block of South Tripp Avenue with gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach, according to police and the medical examiner s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was being withheld Sunday morning pending notification of his family.Another man was killed Christmas Day in Englewood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 11:36 a.m. Friday in the 700 block of West 71st Street found 20-year-old Angelo Frazier with multiple gunshot wounds to the thigh, authorities said.Frazier was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, authorities said. He lived in the 600 block of Sullivan Lane in University Park. About three hours earlier, a 22-year-old man was shot to death outside his West Side Austin neighborhood home.Kylan D. Collier was discovered unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head about 8:30 a.m. on the stairs of the back porch of his home in the 5500 block of West Monroe, authorities said. He was dead at the scene. The weekend s first fatal shooting happened about 4:50 p.m. Thursday in the Park Manor neighborhood on the South Side.A witness told police that 30-year-old Craig Harris went outside and four males were waiting for him in a gangway in the 7300 block of South Vernon, authorities said. Police said the witness heard gunshots then ran inside to call police.Harris, who lived on the same block as the shooting, was shot in the temple and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The latest nonfatal attack happened early Sunday in the South Side Chicago Lawn neighborhood.A 55-year-old woman went to answer her door in the 6700 block of South Oakley Avenue about 5:30 a.m. when she was shot in the shoulder and abdomen, police said. Two males were seen fleeing the scene. The woman was taken Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition, police said. Less than 90 minutes earlier, a man was shot and critically wounded in Englewood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired about 4:15 a.m. found a 25-year-old man in the driver s seat of a vehicle in the 6000 block of South Laflin, police said. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital.At 2:27 a.m., two people were shot near the Aragon Ballroom in the Uptown neighborhood on the North Side. A 68-year-old man was standing outside in the 1100 block of West Lawrence when he heard gunfire and realized he d been shot in the leg, police said. A 34-year-old woman sitting in her vehicle nearby also heard the shots and then suffered a graze wound to the forehead. They were both taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where they were listed in good condition. Police said an unoccupied SUV that had crashed into a building was discovered in the area of the shooting, but it was not immediately clear how the vehicle was connected to the investigation. About 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Austin, a 16-year-old boy was standing outside in the 5200 block of West Adams when two males came out from the alley and shot him in the left leg, police said. He was taken to West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, where he is listed in good condition.Less than two hours earlier, a man was shot in the Oakland neighborhood on the South Side. The 18-year-old man was shot in the abdomen about 4:30 p.m. in the 3800 block of South Ellis during an attempted robbery, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. At least 14 other people have been wounded in other shootings since 12:15 p.m. Thursday.Additionally, three people were shot Saturday by Chicago Police. A man and a woman were fatally shot in the West Garfield Park neighborhood just before 5 a.m. and a man was critically wounded in a separate police-involved shooting that afternoon in Washington Heights. Via: NBC Chicago | 1real |
Clinton thrilled Obama 'has my back' in U.S. election: Reuters interview | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday welcomed President Barack Obama’s endorsement, telling Reuters in an interview that it “means the world” to her that her former rival has her back in the 2016 campaign. “It is absolutely a joy and an honor that President Obama and I, over the years, have gone from fierce competitors to true friends,” Clinton said. Clinton and Obama will begin campaigning together next week in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | 0fake |
U.S. intel chief declines comment on any Trump request about Russia | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats declined to say whether President Donald Trump asked him to help deny any collusion between his campaign team and Russia, as reported by the Washington Post, saying his talks with Trump were private. “On this topic, as well as other topics, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president,” Coats said about the alleged request. He was speaking at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. | 0fake |
I’m a Doctor. If I Drop Food on the Kitchen Floor, I Still Eat It. - The New York Times | You may have read or heard about the study debunking the rule. It said that no matter how fast you pick up food that falls on the floor, you will pick up bacteria with it. Our continued focus on this threat has long baffled me. Why are we so worried about the floor? So many other things are more dangerous than that. I first became interested in the rule years ago, when I was a of a book on medical myths. We cited a number of studies showing that food that touched household surfaces — even for brief periods of time — could pick up bacteria or other harmful substances. This most recent study was similar in that it tested a variety of foods, a variety of substances, for various periods. And, like those other studies, this one found that food touching the floor, even for a very short amount of time, could pick up bacteria. There’s no magic period of time that prevents transmission. But even though I know bacteria can accumulate in less than five seconds, I will still eat food that has fallen on my kitchen floor. Why? Because my kitchen floor isn’t really that dirty. Our metric shouldn’t be whether there are more than zero bacteria on the floor. It should be how many bacteria are on the floor compared with other household surfaces. And in that respect, there are so many places in your house that pose more of a concern than the floor. Perhaps no one in the United States has spent more time investigating the occurrence of bacteria on public surfaces than Charles Gerba. He’s a professor of microbiology and environmental sciences at the University of Arizona, and he has published many papers on the subject. In 1998, he and his colleagues investigated how well cleaning products could reduce coliform bacteria counts on household surfaces. As part of that research, they measured various locations in the house before any cleaning. They found that the kitchen floor was likely to harbor, on average, about three colonies per square inch of coliform bacteria (2. 75 to be exact). So there are some. But here’s the thing — that’s cleaner than both the refrigerator handle (5. 37 colonies per square inch) and the kitchen counter (5. 75 colonies per square inch). We spend so much time worrying about what food might have picked up from the floor, but we don’t worry about touching the refrigerator. We also don’t seem as worried about food that touches the counter. But the counter is just as dirty, if not dirtier. The same thing happens in the bathroom. I know a lot of people who are worried about the toilet seat, but it’s cleaner than all the things in the kitchen I just mentioned (0. 68 colonies per square inch). What’s dirtier in the bathroom? Almost everything. The flush handle (34. 65 colonies per square inch) the sink faucet (15. 84 colonies per square inch) and the counter (1. 32 colonies per square inch). Things get dirty when lots of hands touch them and when we don’t think about it. We worry about the floor and the toilet seat, so we clean them more. We don’t think about the refrigerator handle or the faucet handle as much. If we carry this logic out further, there are things we handle a lot and never really clean. One study, for instance, found that about 95 percent of mobile phones carried by health care workers were contaminated with nosocomial bacteria. Of those contaminated with staph aureus, more than half were contaminated with methicillin resistant bacteria (MRSA). Think about how many people have handled the money in your wallet. A study of bills found that 94 percent were colonized by bacteria, 7 percent of which were pathogenic to healthy people and 87 percent of which were pathogenic to people who were hospitalized or who had compromised immune systems. Where do you keep your money? In a wallet or purse? When did you last clean it? It’s probably filthy. I see people pay for food every day and then eat what they’re handed with no concern that the food might have been contaminated. And the money and the hands that just held it could be much dirtier than the floor. There are so many studies out there showing that things we touch every day are so, so dirty. Gas pump handles. A. T. M. buttons. Remote controls. Light switches. Computer keyboards. The dirtiest thing in your kitchen, by far, is likely to be the sponge you keep near the sink. Most people almost never wash or disinfect those sponges. Mr. Gerba found they had, on average, more than 20 million colonies per square inch. All of this should remind you that it’s always a good idea to wash your hands before you eat. is still one of the best ways to prevent illness. People react to news like this in one of two ways. One is to become paranoid about everything. Such people start to clean compulsively, worry about all the things they’re touching, and use hand sanitizer obsessively. The alternative is to realize that for most of us, our immune systems are pretty hardy. We’ve all been touching this dirty stuff for a long time, without knowing it, and doing just fine. I clearly fall into the latter group. If I drop food on the floor, I still eat it. I do that because the harm I might get from the floor is not worth my concern compared with many, many other things. You may feel differently. Either way, make an informed judgment based on relative risks, not on any arbitrary span of time that one thing has been touching another. | 0fake |
WIKILEAKS: Suggest Sanders Was A Possible Plant Or Threatened By Mook | We Are Change
Wikileaks emails have shaken the very fabric of the political spectrum to the core. We have seen Clinton campaign collusion between the media, DNC, DOJ, DOS, etc. But now everyone’s fears that Sanders was potentially a plant or threatened may have been confirmed in an email from 2015.
In an email exchange from Robby Mook (re47@hillaryclinton.com) to John Podesta ( john.podesta@gmail.com ) on May,26,2015 Mook forwards an email from Christina Reynolds to the rest of the Clinton camp. In which she says that Senator Sanders went after HRC and WJC on wealth including using the word hustle. She then goes on to say that she followed up with Brad (potentially DNC CFO Brad Marshall who resigned ) and “the only thing that they’ve pushed is from the attached docs trying to get reporters to write that HRC and Bernie are actually in the same place.” Likely Referring to political stances now exposed to be a lie by Wikileaks because of Hillary’s private and public opinion.
Following up on our call on Friday, just wanted to give some updates and flag that Bernie went after HRC and WJC on wealth (including using the word “hustle.) I followed up with Brad. The only thing they’ve pushed is from the attached docs—trying to get reporters to write that HRC and Bernie are actually in the same place. They are happy for any suggestions, but were not planning on making any big attacks around the announcement.
Mook then writes, “This isn’t in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch–or did you establish a direct line w him?”
What agreement is Robby Mook talking about? What does he mean by “send a signal via Welch.” Is Robby Mook referring to Vermont representative Peter Welch?
Even if Mook was talking about Brad Marshall DNC CFO when he said “This isn’t in keeping w the agreement” that would expose that not only the Clinton campaign but the DNC was feeding reporters to write stories. However this possibility quickly falls apart since earlier this year Guccifer 2 revealed the DNC rigged the primary against Sanders. So Mook wouldn’t need to send a signal to the DNC CFO they were already well connected from the beginning.
The alternative is that it’s a different Welch and different Brad and that Mook wasn’t talking about Sanders but was talking about Brad. However the email chain would suggest that it’s Sanders who Mook is referring to because deeper down the string of emails are two links forwarded from Colin Campbell (Business Insider Journalist) to Clinton staffer Josh Schwerin . One to a story that is criticized by the Clinton campaign in which Sanders bashes Hillary and the other to a story about Hillary Clinton’s campaign selling pants suits.
But it doesn’t end there, in the attachments that Christina Reynolds remarked in the email under a section in the document called “Personal Comments Praise” are positive comments by Senator Sanders about Hillary Clinton.
So I then decided to do some digging through CNBC’s reporter list and contributor list from 2015 and found no one named Brad worked there in July 2015. I looked at July, 2015 because no earlier date was available from archive.org.
I then did the same for Business insider looking for a reporter named Brad seeing as Wikileaks has already previously exposed the close connection between the media and Clinton campaign. Thinking that I could debunk the claim that Bernie Sanders was a potential plant and Robbie Mook was talking about Brad at business insider since CNBC didn’t have anyone named Brad who worked there.In which I found that business insider did not have an entry at all for 2015 either available on archive.org.
Again alternatively Mook might have been referring to another reporter not apart of CNBC or Business Insider named Brad. However the next comment “I could send a signal via Welch” doesn’t make sense. Seeing as how connected the campaign was to the media why would Mook need to send a signal?
It’s also worth noting that earlier in the year it was revealed that the Sanders campaign sold out to the Hillary Clinton’s campaign for a private jet towards the end of the campaign run.
Whatever the case may be this email is deeply disturbing and connecting the dots if the two people mentioned are Peter Welch and DNC CFO Brad Marshall things just got a lot more crazier if that’s even at all possible with recent Wikileaks emails revealing Podesta talking about satanic spirit cooking. What did Robby Mafia Mook mean by “since we clearly have some leverage?” Was the “leverage” Blackmail? threats? Maybe that explains Bernie’s cut on his face later on during the DNC. With such a wild election cycle absolutely nothing would surprise me anymore. Do you feel the Bern?
“The mafia never separates.”
~Robby Mook
The post WIKILEAKS: Suggest Sanders Was A Possible Plant Or Threatened By Mook appeared first on We Are Change .
| 1real |
Migrant Boat Landings Up 57%, 1,300 Arrive in Sicily over Weekend | Illegal migrant sea crossings to Italy are up 57 per cent on 2016 so far, with 1, 300 landing in Sicily over the weekend. [Reuters reports that around half a million migrants have made their way to Italy since the beginning of 2014, with a 181, 000 making landfall in 2016. Numbers so far indicate that 2017 will mark another high for landings and drownings, with both up on the same period last year. Sicily’s latest arrivals were picked up on two ships, one from Norway operating on behalf of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and one operating on behalf of an NGO named Proactivia Open Arms. NGOs like Proactivia Open Arms have been accused of becoming an “indispensable” part of the industry by the think tank GEFIRA. The organisation states NGO vessels pick up migrants from smuggler boats just outside Libyan waters and, rather than taking them to safe Tunisian ports nearby, bring them to Italian Coast Guard vessels which will transport them to Europe. Consequently, GEFIRA argues “these operations cannot be classified as genuine rescue operations” and has called for their prosecution. Source: GEFIRA, Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri claims that around 40 per cent of migrants arriving in Italy are transported by NGO vessels, and has also accused them of acting “like taxis” for . “[W]e must avoid supporting the business of criminal networks and traffickers in Libya through European vessels picking up migrants ever closer to the Libyan coast,” he said. “This leads traffickers to force even more migrants onto unseaworthy boats with insufficient water and fuel than in previous years. ” However, the Frontex agency has previously confessed that “all parties involved in [ ] operations” including itself, “unintentionally help criminals achieve their objectives at minimum cost [and] strengthen their business model by increasing the chances of success”. Despite an admission that its current approach is encouraging and increasing drowning deaths, the agency has said it will not change its tactics in the Mediterranean Sea “because they stem from European values”. This contrasts sharply with the “tough love” approach to illegal sea crossings adopted by Australia, which sees all incoming vessels intercepted at sea and removed to their port of origin or a processing centre. The deterrent effect of this strategy has prevented any illegal crossings for over 900 days. Tony Abbott, the former prime minister who introduced it, advised EU leaders in September 2016 that “if you want to stop the deaths [and] you want to stop the drownings, you have got to stop the boats”. “Effective border protection is not for the squeamish, but it is absolutely necessary to save lives and to preserve nations. The truly compassionate thing to do is: stop the boats and stop the deaths. ” | 0fake |
No Account for You |
Ed wasn’t excited about his job. He worked for a large automotive manufacturer. This is the kind of industry that might invest heavily into robots and research and development, but when it comes to managing their supply chain and accounts receivable, their IT infrastructure was frozen in amber circa 1974.
The pay was fine, but the work was frustrating. Things like “Code reviews” and “refactoring” were viewed as “wastes of time” or “developers playing with toys”. Unit tests were a luxury for “lazy” developers- good developers should just be writing code that works. If the work you’re doing isn’t directly involved in getting cars built and shipped, you shouldn’t be doing it.
Ed was looking to get out of the company, and while he kept sending out resumes, he found more excuses to get away from his desk by taking smoke breaks with Mitchell. Mitchell was a lifer- he joined the company back when pensions were a thing, and was close enough to retirement that he just needed to keep his head down and stay the course to check out with a nice nest-egg. “But you,” he’d tell Ed, “you’ve gotta get out of here. You’re young. You shouldn’t be wasting your time here.”
After one of those smoke breaks, Ed returned to his desk to see Pilar waiting for him. Pilar was their summer intern, a junior in college. She mostly handled “manual reporting”, which was a euphemism for “we don’t actually have a reporting system for this data set, so we have an intern run SQL queries against production and then copy/paste the results into a spreadsheet.” Yes, there were still manual reports because none of the SBUs wanted to pay to automate them.
“I’ve got a new report,” she said, “and it’s on something called SCORDBE? You wouldn’t know how I get access, would you?”
Ed didn’t know. At best, he might have seen the acronym someplace on a PowerPoint during a quarterly meeting once. “No, but has anyone shown you the Internal Apps Sheet?” He was referencing a spreadsheet used to track support contacts for different applications. He CTRL+F-ed to the entry for SCORDBE. “Oh, no…”
The SCORDBE database was administered by Yev “Ticket-Nazi” Kassem. He automatically closed any tickets for changing the database- even for production releases. Any ticket requesting access to the database, for any reason, received a simple reply: “NO ACCOUNT FOR YOU.” He used IP whitelists to prevent connections from unapproved devices. While it probably was good for security, that was an afterthought. Yev had a small bit of power, and he wanted to make sure that he held onto it.
Still, that was just the database side. There was an application on top of that database. He scrolled across the spreadsheet, past the cloumns for “Approving Manager”, “SBU Contact”, “SBU Backup Contact”, “SBU Backup Bakcup Contact” and found “IT Development Contact”. It was Mitchell.
“I don’t think you’ll get very far with the database,” Ed said. “But maybe Mitchell can help?”
Pilar went off to visit Mitchell, and Ed got back to his regular work. A half hour later, Mitchell CCed him on an email to Pilar. “I’ve got a solution. Just visit this URL and it’ll run your query. And you can change the id=… part at the end to do it for other part numbers.”
Ed didn’t think much about it until his next smoke break. “So,” he said, “how’d you get past the Ticket-Nazi?”
Mitchell laughed. “I didn’t.” He paused and lit his cigarette, taking a few drags before explaining. “SCORDBE is about 35,000 lines of Perl written back in the 90s. Nobody ever wants to touch this code, and nobody really understands what it does. I figured there had to be some poorly escaped queries, so I just grepped until I found one. Now we can run ad-hoc queries as needed.”
Ed left the company a short time later. Mitchell, and his injection-based reporting solution, however, are still there. [Advertisement] BuildMaster integrates with an ever-growing list of tools to automate and facilitate everything from continuous integration to database change scripts to production deployments. Interested? Learn more about BuildMaster! | 1real |
A 'goddess party secretary' ponders her future in fast-moving China | WUHAN, China (Reuters) - In the mid 1980s, as a wave of economic reforms swept China, Qi Jing s parents fled the poverty of their farming village to seek opportunity in the bustling city of Wuhan. Her father found a job as a glass cutter, and later as a security guard, while her mother took care of their home. Thirty years later, in a country transformed, Qi headed in the reverse direction in search of her own future. Soft-spoken and rail thin, Qi grew up a city girl whose only inkling of the hardship her parents and grandparents knew came during annual trips back to their village in Henan province. In college, Qi majored in English and grew to love romantic British literature. One of her favorite books was Jane Austen s Emma . She was attracted by the main character, a woman of strength and individuality. She wanted to study sociology in graduate school, but failed to make it into the school of her choice. Instead, she applied for a program to turn fresh graduates into rural officials. She had been a red-scarf-wearing Young Pioneer as a child - like almost all her classmates - and then a member of the Communist Youth League in her teens. When a college professor suggested she take the next step and join the Communist Party it seemed like the logical thing to do. As did going to work for the party. I ve all along been in touch with what my advantages are, where my abilities lie, she said. And in going through certain experiences, she added, I ve discovered what kind of profession I m suited to. This is how my dream has become more and more clear. Qi moved from Wuhan, in central China, to a nearby village to be the assistant to the local party boss. It was an eye-opening experience, with a heavy work load and problems far more complex than she d imagined. Two years later she moved to Putuan, a rural township further afield, to run the local branch of the Communist Youth League, the organization in charge of cultivating future party members. I really wanted to explore the flashpoints of humanity. In college it was all theoretical. The villagers posed complicated challenges, but sometimes so did her superiors in the system in which she worked. She felt she had a more open mind, and more creative ideas than some older officials up the chain of command. Last year, she helped the township organize its first lotus flower festival to attract tourists. She contacted a photo studio and spent her own money and a weekend having photos of herself taken in traditional robes, hair extensions flowing, among the lotus fields. She posted the photos on the messaging app WeChat. Local media picked up the story, dubbing her the goddess party secretary - and the pictures went viral. But five years into her new life in the countryside and approaching the age of 30, Qi feels like she s nearing a crossroads. She would like to find a boyfriend and get married, but her attempts to date rural boys haven t panned out. A long-distance relationship with someone in Wuhan, an hour away, doesn t seem practical. I used to be fairly optimistic, but now I m neutral, she said. At a certain age, one s opportunities get fewer and fewer, especially for women when it comes to your work and family choices. You must face them all. | 0fake |
A Parable Of The Thanksgiving Turkey: He Never Saw It Coming: “A High-Impact, Hard-To-Predict Event” |
The Black Swan Theory is used by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain the existence and occurrence of high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations. One example often put forth by Taleb is the life and times of the Thanksgiving Turkey.
The turkey spends the majority of its life enjoying daily feedings from a caring farmer. Weeks go by, and it’s the same thing day-in-day-out for the Turkey. Free food. Open range grazing. Good times all around.
The thinking turkey may even surmise that the farmer has a vested interest in keeping the turkey alive. For the turkey, it is a symbiotic relationship. “The farmer feeds me and keeps me happy, and I keep the farmer happy,” says the turkey. “The farmer needs me, otherwise, why would he be taking care of me?”
This goes on for a 1,000 days.
Then, two days before Thanksgiving on Day 1,001, the farmer shows up again.
But this time he doesn’t come bearing food, but rather, he’s wielding an ax.
This is a black swan event — for the turkey.
By definition, it is a high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare event for the turkey, who not only never saw it coming, but never even contemplated the possibility that it could occur.
For the farmer, on the other hand, this was not a black swan event. The farmer knew all along why he was feeding the turkey, and what the end result would be.
The very nature of black swan events make them almost impossible to predict. The point of this parable is to put forth the idea that sometimes we are the Thanksgiving turkey and understanding this may make it easier to begin to, at the very least, contemplate the possibility of far-from-equilibrium events.
This year, when you enjoy that drumstick or Turkey breast, give thanks to the latest victim of the black swan for being non-contemplative, otherwise, he may have bugged-out long ago and you’d be eating a chicken instead.
Editor’s Note: We’d like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you for visiting our web site. Many of you have joined our community and often hang out in our comments area sharing your ideas with others, making new friends, and keeping us all abreast of developing news that we may not catch. It is you, the SHTFplan community, that has made this web site what it is today. In fact, without you, what we’ve achieved would simply not be possible.
Thank you for the many years of good times. I have personally met numerous folks directly via this web site that have become good friends – and not just online, but in real life! I hope others have had the same opportunity. For newer readers, this is a fantastic community. Sure, things might get a bit heated at times given the substance of the topics being posted, but all-in-all there are a lot of people here ready to share their knowledge, inspirations and friendship. It’s a great way to meet new friends who may have similar interests and beliefs, so if you’ve never posted please don’t be afraid to do so!
Thank you all! Have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving Day!
Sincerely,
Mac Slavo
| 1real |
Police give all clear after BA plane searched in Paris | PARIS (Reuters) - Police said a security alert on a British Airways plane in Paris on Sunday was a false alarm. Passengers were evacuated from Flight BA303 at Charles de Gaulle airport before it was due to fly to London for what officials said was a security reason. Sniffer dogs checked the plane and found no threat, police said as they lifted the alert. | 0fake |
Top Iranian nuke negotiator ordered to stop screaming at Kerry | Iran's foreign minister and lead negotiator in nuclear talks with the United States has been ordered by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader to stop shouting and yelling at Secretary of State John Kerry during negotiating sessions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told his country's state controlled media in a recent interview that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed him to stop yelling at Kerry and other top U.S. officials during the talks.
Reports about Zarif's temper first emerged in the Iranian press last November, when the United States and Iran agreed to extend talks through June of this year.
Zarif is said to "frequently shout at Western diplomats" with such force that bodyguards have been forced to enter the negotiation room.
During one incident described by Iranian officials to the press, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, a chief western negotiator, admitted that Zarif had been shouting, and she had gotten used to it.
Abbas Araqchi, an Iranian diplomat who is also a member of the negotiating team, is reported to have said in an interview that during past negotiations in Geneva, Zarif "shouted" at Kerry and spoke to him in a manner "unprecedented" in the history of U.S. diplomacy.
Zarif appeared to cop to this behavior during a recent interview with the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), according to an independent translation of the report provided to the Washington Free Beacon.
Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon. | 0fake |
Sanders won't call for release of Clinton's bank speech transcripts | Rindge, New Hampshire (CNN) The war over Wall Street between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton escalated Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," where both candidates defended their records.
Clinton repeated her accusation that Sanders and his campaign are engaged in an "artistic smear" by using innuendo against her.
Sanders, for his part, declined to join calls -- including from his own spokeswoman -- for Clinton to release transcripts of her paid speeches to big banks, but he didn't reject those calls either.
CNN's Jake Tapper asked Clinton about the implication from the Sanders campaign that Clinton changed her vote on a bankruptcy bill fifteen years ago as a senator.
Earlier in the week, the Sanders campaign had forwarded to reporters comments and writings by Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate who is now a senator from Massachusetts. Warren has said that Clinton had agreed with opposing the bankruptcy provision as first lady, but ultimately voted for it years later as a senator.
Clinton told Tapper she voted for the bill she didn't like in 2001 as part of a deal to strike a provision about child support she said would hurt women and children. That's the way Congress works, Clinton said.
"That's the way it happens sometimes," she said. "I didn't like the bill any more than I had liked it before. It still had very bad provisions. But I also pushed hard for a deal to protect women and children. So, okay. I held my nose, I voted for it. It never became law."
Clinton bristled at the implication, however.
"This attack by insinuation, by innuendo, is really getting old," she said, arguing the Sanders campaign is "grasping at straws" to make the case she is beholden to Wall Street.
Clinton said she has a tougher plan to take on Wall Street than he does and she'd rather debate those issues.
Earlier this week, Sanders criticized his opponent over her ties to Wall Street at MSNBC's Democratic debate.
"What being part of the establishment is, is in the last quarter, having a super PAC that raised $15 million from Wall Street, that throughout one's life raised a whole lot of money from the drug companies and other special interests," Sanders said Thursday.
Sanders, meanwhile, declined to to join calls for Clinton to release transcripts from her speeches to Goldman Sachs and other big banks, despite mounting pressure from progressives for the Democratic front-runner to do so.
The Vermont senator also ripped a key Clinton surrogate, predicted a close race in New Hampshire's upcoming primary and even exuded confidence that he will do well in South Carolina.
"Do you think she should (release the transcripts), and what do you think would be revealed in those transcripts?" Tapper asked Sanders.
"No idea," Sanders said. "I have no idea what she said and I think the decision as to whether or not to release it is her decision."
"You don't have a position on it at all?" Tapper asked.
"No," the Vermont senator said.
When asked at the debate whether she would release the transcripts, Clinton simply said she would "look into it."
But progressive activists, as well as some Republicans, have put pressure on Clinton over her paid speeches, with some calling on her to release the transcripts. And Symone Sanders, a spokesman for the Vermont senator's campaign, called for the transcripts to be released before Tuesday's primary.
"I think that is a question that is going to live on further, even after this debate is over, and it's a question that deserves to be answered," she said.
Sanders, however, did not hold back when Tapper asked him about David Brock, the man who runs the pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA.
"I happen to like Hillary Clinton, but I am astounded by some of the people that she has hired, including David Brock," Sanders said, questioning his opponent's judgment.
Brock is a recovering "right-wing attack man" and lead a crusade against the Clintons in the 1990s.
Now, however, he is a major Clinton backer and has regularly targeted Sanders. Among other attacks, Brock recently said that a Sanders TV ad didn't feature enough African-American and Latino faces and claimed "Black lives don't matter much to Bernie Sanders."
"David Brock, people will remember, used to be a real right-wing guy who was attacking people like Anita Hill," Sanders said. "This is an African-American law professor who tried to do the right thing, and he admitted it. He said, 'I lied about her.'"
Sanders added, "I just don't understand where the Clinton people are coming from hiring somebody like that. Every day, you know, they're attacking us in one way or the other."
The Vermont senator believes Tuesday's primary will be a close one.
"We think it's gonna be a close election, we're working really hard," Sanders told Tapper.
It's a sentiment Sanders has echoed for the past five days in the Granite State.
"Don't make me nervous, and don't jinx me," he added.
Both Democratic campaigns have tried to manage expectations for the primary. Clinton has pushed the narrative that Sanders hails from Vermont and thus has an edge with his New England neighbors. In turn, Sanders reminded voters that Clinton won the state in the 2008 primary when she ran against then-Sen. Barack Obama.
The Sanders campaign has said it's insulting to New Hampshire voters to suggest that they would only support him because he's from the New England area.
"Well, in this sense it is. Look, I mean, obviously, Vermont and New Hampshire are separated by a river, we are close states," he told Tapper. "But you know what? Secretary Clinton won this state in 2008. Her husband ran several campaigns in this state.
When we began this campaign here in New Hampshire, we were 30 points down in the polls and she was much better known in this state than I was."
Earlier in the week, Sanders reiterated the same line, telling reporters on Tuesday that Clinton "has very significant political connections."
"She has the support of virtually the entire political establishment here in New Hampshire," he added.
But although Sanders says he's focused on not letting New Hampshire slip away, he believes his campaign will be viable in South Carolina, a state where Clinton is considered to have a significant advantage.
"I think we are the underdog now," Sanders said. "I think we have seen some real momentum there. I think we got a shot at it." | 0fake |
Trump’s Wiretapping Claims Puncture Veneer of Presidential Civility - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — When last they saw each other six weeks ago after the ceremonial passing of power, President Trump and former President Barack Obama parted with smiles and handshakes. But it did not take long for the surface bonhomie to degenerate into a fierce and public clash unlike any other in modern times. While Mr. Obama has remained quiet for the most part, some of his closest loyalists moved into opposition mode, leading what some only call “the resistance. ” Mr. Trump, convinced that Obama holdovers still in government are trying to sabotage his presidency, took the conflict nuclear over the weekend by accusing his predecessor of bugging his telephones last year. Mr. Trump provided no proof, and the charge was quickly dismissed by intelligence veterans and, indirectly, the F. B. I. but that did not make it any less sensational or any less historic. Never in recent generations has the natural friction between current and past presidents spilled over into such a public spectacle. If sustained, it could fray the institution of the presidency, further erode the public’s already low confidence in the nation’s leadership and leave both allies and enemies with the impression of an America at war with itself. Perhaps it should be no surprise that it came to this between the 44th and 45th presidents. During last year’s campaign, Mr. Obama called Mr. Trump a “con artist and a ” who could not be trusted with the nuclear codes. Mr. Trump called Mr. Obama “the worst president in the history of the United States” after spending years questioning whether he had been born in the United States. They put that rancor aside for a cordial meeting after the election, but that barely veiled the chasm between them in terms of personality, politics and policy. “We’re in a unique period,” said Newt Gingrich, the Republican former House speaker who has been an outside adviser to the new president. “Trump is a genuinely disruptive figure who threatens everything Obama stands for. ” Mr. Obama’s camp insisted they are simply defending their legacy. “It takes two people to duel, and only one seems to be aiming his weapon,” said Jennifer Psaki, White House communications director under Mr. Obama. “The uniqueness of the time is the fact that you have one unhinged and misinformed sitting president pointing his gun at a former. That is unprecedented. ” Denis R. McDonough, Mr. Obama’s last White House chief of staff, said the former president’s team could not remain silent in the face of false assertions. “What I have witnessed in recent days is former colleagues speaking out against untruths when needed,” he said. “That is best characterized as not backing down from attacks it is not seeking out conflict. ” But inside the Trump White House, it has become an article of faith that people seeded throughout the government by Mr. Obama have been leaking everything they could get their hands on to damage the new president. “I think that President Obama is behind it, because his people are certainly behind it,” Mr. Trump said in a recent interview with “Fox Friends. ” “And some of the leaks possibly come from that group, you know, some of the leaks, which are really very serious leaks, because they’re very bad in terms of national security. ” Other presidents have endured fractious relations. After leaving office, Herbert Hoover regularly castigated Franklin D. Roosevelt, who ostracized his predecessor. Harry S. Truman was so estranged from Dwight D. Eisenhower that they did not speak during a frosty ride to the 1953 inauguration. Ronald Reagan publicly blamed his woes on the mess he said Jimmy Carter had left him, just as Mr. Obama from time to time pointed the finger at George W. Bush. But none of those moments compared to what America has seen in recent days. “Trump is on new ground in going after Obama,” said the historian Robert Dallek, who has written acclaimed books on John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. Most presidents have publicly ignored their predecessors “until we get to Trump,” he added. “He is either ignorant of recent presidential history or simply doesn’t care. ” The closest analogue in modern times may have been Johnson and Nixon, both presidents who favored secret wiretapping. In his last days in office, Johnson was furious at Nixon after wiretaps revealed that a Republican intermediary seemed to be trying to undercut possible peace talks before the 1968 election. For his part, Nixon was convinced that Johnson had bugged him. Yet neither Johnson nor Nixon publicly aired those grievances at the time. “The Nixon tapes show that Nixon always thought that Johnson taped his 1968 campaign, and possibly Nixon himself,” said Luke A. Nichter, a leading scholar of Nixon’s secret Oval Office tapes at Texas AM University. “Nixon said that it was J. Edgar Hoover who told him this. However, based on the available records, the closest to wiretapping Nixon that L. B. J. ever came was monitoring the phone calls out of Spiro Agnew’s campaign plane. ” Before last year’s campaign, Mr. Obama told advisers that he was inclined to keep quiet after leaving office to give his successor a chance to govern, much as Mr. Bush did for him. But he expected that successor to be Hillary Clinton or even Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio. Mr. Trump was a different story, and Mr. Obama concluded he would speak out if he felt the nation’s ideals were under threat. Ten days into the new administration, when Mr. Trump issued his first temporary travel ban on visitors from seven largely Muslim countries and cited Mr. Obama’s own actions as precedent, the former president did just that in a statement saying he “fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion. ” His team did not wait even that long. The day after the inauguration, former Obama administration officials, including John Kerry, whose tenure as secretary of state had just ended, joined a women’s march in Washington protesting Mr. Trump. Other officials appeared on television talk shows and newspaper pages to speak out against the new president’s policies. Mr. Trump’s team has been angered by the criticism but even more by what they see as the enemy within. With so few of his own political appointees in place, much of the government is still operating with acting officials, some held over from the Obama administration. Moreover, the federal Civil Service, while officially neutral politically, is not dominated by Trump supporters, judging by vote results in Washington and its suburbs. So when Mark Levin, the conservative radio host, contended that Mr. Obama had targeted Mr. Trump for surveillance in what he called a “silent coup,” an assertion picked up by Breitbart News, the former website of the White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, it struck a chord. Along with reports that in Mr. Obama’s last days in office his administration changed the rules on distributing intelligence and made a point of spreading information about Mr. Trump’s team and Russia to different parts of the government to “preserve” it, the wiretapping allegation pushed Mr. Trump over the top. “It’s a sign of how deeply frustrated he is,” Mr. Gingrich said. “They have a much bigger assault against them than people have had in the past. ” And so, Mr. Gingrich added, Mr. Trump needs to figure out how to get control of his own bureaucracy. “He’s not going to survive,” he said, “unless he profoundly rethinks what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. ” | 0fake |
SOCIALIST MILLENNIAL MAGNET Bernie Sanders Tells Supporters How to Vote, After Hillary Caught Saying He Lied to Supporters About Free Stuff | Hillary Clinton s campaign also announced Sunday night that it had canceled tentatively planned events with Sen. Bernie Sanders for Monday.Instead, her primary rival will now be on the campaign trail Wednesday in Iowa and Wisconsin instead. Wednesday s Des Moines stop was added to make up for appearances tentatively scheduled in Iowa on Monday, October 3, the campaign said in a release.Sanders will be in Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, and will host rallies in Madison and Green Bay, Wis., in the afternoon.He will discuss the Democratic nominee s plan to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, and Donald Trump s plan, which would benefit himself and other millionaires and billionaires, the campaign said.Though unclear if it s related, the schedule change comes a few days after audio from a February fundraiser leaked that made public Clinton s take on fans of her then-rival Sanders, who she suggested were overly idealistic. 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 it means but it is something that they deeply feel, she said.Sanders, who ran for president as a member of the Democratic Party, said of course it bothered him that Clinton said he sold a false promise to his supporters.But, he said Sunday, his supporters should still vote for her. For entire story: The Hill | 1real |
Kremlin calls North Korea's latest missile launch another 'provocation' | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that North Korea s latest missile test was part of a series of unacceptable provocations and that the United Nations Security Council was united in believing such launches should not be taking place. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments to reporters on a conference call after Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, deepening tension after its recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb. In Russia we are deeply concerned about these provocative launches which are further stoking tensions. Clearly demonstrating that our position is that such launches are unacceptable is the most tangible thing we can do right now, said Peskov. Judging by the United Nations Security Council, that is a unanimous point of view which unites Security Council members. Peskov also said that President Vladimir Putin was expected to attend the Zapad-2017 military exercises on Monday and would observe the war games from a command center near St Petersburg. The war games have stirred unease in some countries because Russian troops and military hardware will be training inside Belarus, a Russian ally which borders Ukraine as well as NATO member states Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Peskov said that Putin had held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier on Friday. He did not provide further details. | 0fake |
German ban on Islamist group True Religion confirmed as complaints dropped | BERLIN (Reuters) - German federal prosecutors on Tuesday finalised their ban on an Islamist association accused of radicalizing youngsters, saying that complaints about the ban from two members of the group had been withdrawn. Last year, the interior ministry banned the Islamist group True Religion, saying it had persuaded about 140 people to join militants in Iraq and Syria. [nL8N1DG28O] Following the ban, police launched dawn raids across Germany on about 190 mosques, flats and offices linked to the group. The federal prosecutor said that since the association itself had not complained about the ban and the two members complaints had been withdrawn, the prohibition ruling was final. The case comes as Germany commemorates last year s Islamist-motivated attack on a Berlin Christmas Market which killed 12 people and injured many others. | 0fake |
Cory Booker SHUTS DOWN Every Republican Fighting To Defund Planned Parenthood In Just 2 Minutes (VIDEO) | As we get ready for the most bigotry-fueled, racist, misogynistic administration in the modern history of the United States, the Republican Party is already setting its sights on robbing people of their human rights. Knowing full well that President-elect Donald Trump shares their values (or lack of), the GOP has already announced their plan to defund Planned Parenthood, and Democrats across the country are organizing to stop them.Perhaps the most perfect takedown of this plan we ve seen so far comes from New Jersey s Senator Cory Booker, who was a massive supporter of Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign. During a press conference this week, Booker absolutely tore into the GOP while showing us all how to resist and stand up to such a hateful movement. Here s what Booker said, and it should be shared with every single pro-life (or really, pro-birth) Republican you know: So, I don t have a message for fellow Republican elected, because they re not depending on Planned Parenthood in their neighborhoods. They re well paid comfortable people. I have a message for every American, Democrat, and Republican who rely on these services or know people that do, or have the kind of heart to care enough to stand up for the women that receive these services. Booker called out New Jersey governor Chris Christie and reminded the GOP that there are very real, very serious consequences for defunding such a critical organization: I saw what happened when Chris Christie in my state cut the funding to Planned Parenthood. I saw in poor neighborhoods doors being shut, hours being constricted. Then, Booker pointed out exactly why resisting the defunding of Planned Parenthood is crucial, and how he plans to help lead the fight: This is a moment in America. Republicans now think they re elected with a mandate to do these kind of things. I saw just this week the craven overreach of the Republican Party when they tried the Republican GOP to gut Independent Ethics Oversight. And what we saw there was the American people standing up and saying We will not tolerate this! and so this is another point.We see that they will listen if enough people stand up and fight!And so this is the first shot in what is going to be a battle leading into real reconciliation. And if enough Americans stand up and say we re not going to tolerate this. We didn t elect anybody to rip out the key preventive services to make it harder to be someone struggling in this country to get basic healthcare services, that I believe in women, that I believe fundamentally in this country and that institutions like this make a stronger, better, more intelligent, more compassionate, more loving.And so frankly, what I m going to be doing every single day now leading the group reconciliations is trying to wake up the conscience of other folks, trying to call to people to protest, to fight, to stand up. Because this cannot be allowed to happen. Too many people will suffer. The consequences will be felt by all. Booker s powerful words could not have come at a better time, as the GOP has made targeting Planned Parenthood one of their first priorities. You can watch Booker shut down the GOP below:What Booker is saying gives us hope that if enough people resist and fight the Republican Party s hatred and self-serving interests, we can protect the basic human rights of every American.Featured image via Alex Wong / Getty Images | 1real |
Sexists Came Out IN DROVES As Hillary Clinton Accepted Historic Nomination (TWEETS/VIDEO) | Last night, Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Philadelphia and gave a powerful speech that was the perfect celebratory end to the Democratic National Convention. Her speech portrayed her accurately as a candidate far more qualified to lead America than Donald Trump, and broke down the barriers with not only Bernie Sanders supporters, but Republican voters as well.Clinton s acceptance speech was a massive success for those reasons alone, but something even more surreal was taking place we all witnessed an historic moment as Clinton had shattered America s highest glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party. And the sad thing was, that while Clinton set new ground for women in America, all conservatives could do was complain about her voice and appearance.Apparently, nothing brings out blatant GOP sexism like a strong, intelligent, accomplished woman achieving something monumental. Instead of recognizing that history was literally being made before our very eyes, conservatives made sure to take Clinton down a notch by insulting her on the most minor things. One of the first sexism offenses came from Brit Hume on Fox News, who reduced Clinton to her voice and mouth when he said: She has a habit, when speaking, of breaking into a kind of a sharp, lecturing tone, makes you feel like. She has a great asset, as a public person, which is a radiant smile, but she has a not so attractive voice. You can watch Hume reveal his sexism below:Unfortunately, he was far from the only one:TwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTrump, who is probably one of the most sexist people in the country, also joined in:TwitterThese were things that have never and would never happen to a male presidential candidate:TwitterAnd no sexist attack is ever complete without demanding that women smile and look happy all the time just to make men feel comfortable:TwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterMeanwhile, no one is complaining about Trump s combative tone, his nonstop yelling or telling him he needs to smile more.TwitterAmerica still has a long way to go to end sexism, but Clinton has definitely moved us one massive step closer toward gender equality.Featured image via Alex Wong / Getty Images | 1real |
SHOCKING! HERE’S HOW OFTEN Airlines Bump Passengers From Flights [Video] | Who knew that the Department of Transportation keeps records on how many people are bumped involuntarily from a flight. Can you guess the numbers?Airlines have always bumped passengers from overbooked flights but with the recent a** kicking of a passenger on a United Airlines flight (see below), you probably never thought of it. Here s what we know:If you ve flown much then you know that airlines overbook flights. When that happens, they usually offer free tickets to anyone willing to give up their seat.In this case, EVERYONE wanted to stay on the plane including one man who eventually had to be physically tossed off by uniformed men He claimed to be a doctor and needed to get home to see patients in the morning. We re sure you ll hear more about this man but we can t verify that he s a doctor. We just find it odd that he would endure this treatment by the security at the airport. It was a disturbing situation for sure!In the fine print when you buy your ticket, the airline reserves the right to toss you if they re over booked This isn t the way to do it! Does anyone else out there REALLY miss the good old days of flying? I do!Flying these days can be a nightmare check this one out:A United passenger was forcibly removed from a flight from Chicago to Louisville after he refused to voluntarily give up his seat.Fellow passengers on the flight posted jarring videos late Sunday night of uniformed men dragging the man off of the flight after what United called an overbook situation. Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked, a United spokesperson told Yahoo News when asked about the incident. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. Audra D. Bridges and Tyler Bridges posted video of the incident:@united @FoxNews @CNN not a good way to treat a Doctor trying to get to work because they overbooked pic.twitter.com/sj9oHk94Ik Tyler Bridges (@Tyler_Bridges) April 9, 2017ANOTHER ANGLE:@United overbook #flight3411 and decided to force random passengers off the plane. Here s how they did it: pic.twitter.com/QfefM8X2cW Jayse D. Anspach (@JayseDavid) April 10, 2017Bridges and Anspach gave similar accounts of the incident to the Louisville Courier-Journal and on Twitter: United had overbooked the flight and was looking for four volunteers to leave the plane in order to send four United crew members to Louisville. Passengers were allowed to board and United offered $800 to anyone who gave up their seat, but when there were no volunteers, United said a computer would randomly select four passengers. The man in the video claimed to be a doctor who had patients to see in the morning and refused to leave, at which point airport security dragged him off the plane.The United Contract of Carriage lays out specific policies for passengers who are not allowed to board overbooked flights but doesn t cite policy for removing passengers who are already seated on such flights.Via: Yahoo | 1real |
North Carolina Democrats win extension of voter registration deadline | WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - A state judge in North Carolina gave residents in counties hit hard by Hurricane Matthew five extra days to register to vote after Democrats sued to get an extension to Friday’s deadline, while a federal judge ordered an extension in one Georgia county. The Democratic Party in North Carolina challenged the state election board’s refusal to extend the cutoff date, saying in its suit that thousands of people would have been deprived of their fundamental right to vote in the Nov. 8 election if Friday’s deadline was not extended by at least five days. The judge ordered an extension to next Wednesday in 36 counties, a lawyer for the state Democratic Party said on Twitter. “This ruling will ensure that those communities who have suffered from the devastating flooding brought on by Hurricane Matthew have the grace period that they need in order to exercise their right to vote and make their voices heard in this critical election,” party officials said. Twenty-four people have died in North Carolina and thousands have been forced from their homes in the eastern and central parts of the state due to record flooding in Matthew’s aftermath. North Carolina is a battleground state in the presidential election and could play a pivotal role in the race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. State officials said this week they would not extend the regular deadline to register to vote, but allowances would be made for forms delayed by mail delivery. Those who miss the deadline can still register and vote on the same day during the statewide early voting period from Oct. 20 through Nov. 5. The state has a Republican governor, Pat McCrory, who faces a tough contest for re-election. The state’s Republican Party opposed any extension. “It is clear that North Carolina Democrats, who have been dominated in voter registration by Republicans, want to use a horrific natural disaster to change the rules in the middle of the game,” state Republican Chairman Robin Hayes said in a statement. In Georgia, U.S. District Judge William Moore ordered the voter registration deadline extended until Tuesday in Chatham County, which includes the city of Savannah. The judge said the administrative difficulties of doing so “pale in comparison to the physical, emotional and financial strain Chatham County residents faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.” A federal judge on Wednesday gave residents in Florida six extra days to register to vote after that state’s Democratic Party sued for more time due to Matthew. South Carolina extended its registration deadline due to Matthew from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11. | 0fake |
Dr. David Duke and Adrian Salbuch : The international impact of a U.S President Trump and U.S. Senator Duke! | Dr. David Duke and Adrian Salbuch : The international impact of a U.S President Trump and U.S. Senator Duke! November 1, 2016 at 12:32 pm
Dr. David Duke and Adrian Salbuch : The international impact of a U.S President Trump and U.S. Senator Duke!
Today Dr. Duke had renown Argentine journalist Adrian Salbuchi as his guest for the hour.
Our show is aired live at 11 am replayed at ET 4pm Eastern and 4am Eastern.
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And please spread this message to others. | 1real |
Hacked Election – The Firesign Event Wildcard Special Report [Video] | Leave a reply
Alexandra Bruce – This is Daniel Liszt, Dark Journalist’s Election 2016 Special Report featuring me, Alexandra Bruce in the first segment and then Dr. Robin Falkov of Event Horizons Radio in the second segment.
I discuss the unprecedented details of this wildly leak-driven Election, several days prior to the disclosure by Dr. Steve Pieczenik, that WikiLeaks has been used as a channel by over 15 US intelligence agencies, to systematically undermine the Clinton Campaign, in a soft counter-coup against the soft coup that has been committed by the Clintons via the Clinton Foundation over the past several years, with their corruption and co-option of everybody of strategic interest to them and their agenda to return to the White House.
This is the most leak-driven election in history, due to this covert campaign which has used WikiLeaks to expose the emails of key figures of the Clinton Campaign. The Benenson Group’s “Salvage Report” – which was leaked by Anonymous clearly shows that one’s exposure to Alternative Media is a major determinant of how one will vote.
Of those polled in the Report, those who only watch the Mainstream Media had a much more favorable impression of Hillary Clinton. Those who were exposed to Alternative Media tended to have a negative view of Clinton and to have a more favorable view of Trump (I screwed this up, during the interview). Those who have not been paying attention to the flood of leaks are more likely to vote for Hillary. In this poll, that group is over-represented by women and non-whites.
Besides WikiLeaks, there have also been leaks by the decentralized hacktivist group, Anonymous, by embattled New Zealand Internet entrepreneur Kim DotCom; by DC Leaks and by Clinton “Fixer”, Jeff Rovin, who broke his 27-year silence with his withering revelations published by the National Enquirer about the inconceivable depravity of both Bill and Hillary Clinton’s activities, which he actively helped to cover-up for the better part of two decades.
One of the craziest-seeming leaks but potentially the most serious was that of the Benenson Group’s Firesign “Salvage Report”, in which Clinton’s top strategist runs through scenarios that would prevent Trump supporters from going to the polls to vote. The options include a fake holographic “Alien Invasion”, that would terrify the public on election day and throw the results into chaos.
The ainwave-entrainment-frequencies/” target=”_blank”>advanced brainwave entrainment frequencies and 3D laser FIRESIGN technologies proposed for deployment by the Benenson Group are above Top Secret and it’s unlikely that either Joel Benenson, members of his staff or anyone in the Clinton camp have the security clearances to know the details about it, let alone to discuss it as an option to be deployed in a bid to win the election. This fact could actually land some of those people in some very hot water.
That aside, there are rumors that FIRESIGN was tested with success in the theater of a Middle East military operation. In that particular case, it is said that images and subliminal themes of a religious nature were projected onto the skies above the battlefield and into the minds of those targeted, causing a large scale surrender of enemy soldiers.
In the second part, Dr. Robin Falkov opines that the Trump presidency may be the last chance for America to wrestle control back from a variety of special interests unified by a Transhumanist agenda, including Common Core, Open Borders, Mandated Vaccines, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Centralization of Power via a powerful Artificial Intelligence Global Control Grid.
Don’t miss this fascinating Dark Journalist Special Report on Election 2016. Share this: | 1real |
FBI Wants you to Believe It Examined 650,000 Emails in 691,000 Seconds | . FBI Wants you to Believe It Examined 650,000 Emails in 691,000 Seconds In no surprise to anyone paying even marginal attention, the FBI’s clearing Hillary Clinton of wrong... Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/fbi-wants-you-to-believe-it-examined.html In no surprise to anyone paying even marginal attention, the FBI’s clearing Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing in its briefly reopened investigation — however, the time the agency took to reach this conclusion is not only bereft of logic and reason, it constitutes the most hubristic of insults to the public’s intelligence. In just 691,000 seconds from announcement to conclusion, FBI Director James Comey wants you to believe agents thoroughly examined over 650,000 emails newly ‘discovered’ on Anthony Weiner’s computer — including any threads resulting, as well as all attachments — before deciding Clinton innocent of wrongdoing.We, the people of this planet, are just not that stupid — nor are we even mildly amused by this farcical bullshit passed off as a credible investigation.Seriously.Indeed, the lightning pace of this putative second investigation not only boggles the mind, it forces uneasy questions concerning the true motivation and apparent exceeding necessity to ensure Hillary Clinton walks away scot-free amid rapidly mushrooming evidence of flagrant corruption and mendacious collusion.Just a cursory comparison of two investigations shows such marked differences it would be impossible not to question legitimacy of the FBI’s findings.In the summer of 2015, the FBI commenced its first probe into the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server during her tenure in office, after John Giacalone — then Director of the National Security Branch — met with Comey to voice concerns emanating from the Intelligence community about classified information possibly handled carelessly.For nearly a full year — 365 days, or 31,536,000 seconds — a sizable task force of FBI agents pored over an enormous cache , first comprised of 30,000 emails, but later totaling 44,900 after additional documents not originally handed over by the Clinton camp to the State Department were discovered. This means — rounding off the rough estimate of one year — the bureau combed an average of just over 123 documents every day. While that might seem to be manageable with a slew of investigators on the job, a basic comparison of the two probes proves the literal inanity of the reopened investigation.Later in the day on October 28, Comey announced the commencement of the secondary probe — albeit to the consternation of current and former officials who felt his telling Congress broke a number of investigatory guidelines, including possibly influencing the outcome of the presidential race.According to Comey, an additional 650,000 documents located on the computer of Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s now-disgraced and estranged husband Anthony Weiner deserved careful scrutiny for pertinence and relevance to the original investigation of the Democratic nominee.Public and official speculation predicted a months- or years-long investigation, even with substantial manpower dedicated to the task.But on Sunday, November 6, in yet another shocker of an announcement from the FBI director, Comey inexplicably declared nothing of relevance to the Clinton investigation —“ no new conclusions ”— had been revealed in its secondary probe. This means — again rounding for brevity to eight days the total length of the investigation — FBI agents inspected some 81,250 documents each day. Granted, both estimates have been averaged and roughened, but only for comparison’s sake — and that contrast doesn’t survive the scantiest litmus test of believability.Not at all.Before the nay-sayers jump in with a there’s no comparison deflection, consider the following points.Although an algorithm or program combing those documents might indeed retrieve subjects of interest to investigators — keywords, germane subjects, accordant people’s names, and the like — in no way would such technological gatekeepers reveal subtle nuance as has been displayed in emails published by Wikileaks from Hillary Clinton, campaign chair John Podesta , and the Democratic National Committee.Such fine gradations of meaning, naturally found in the English language but also purposefully employed to throw off investigators and interlopers, could not possibly be revealed by artificial means — at least not that quickly and particularly not with currently-available technologies.Still not convinced?Consider that if such technology did indeed exist to that discerning level of scrutiny in our heightened and overarching surveillance and police states, no criminal would ever roam free.Law enforcement departments and the National Security Agency together have amassed astonishingly voluminous data sets on every person in this country, including through emails and online activities. A technology advanced enough to comb for subtleties in language would hone in on criminal behavior and activity with incredible frequency.And while NSA programs have been revealed to hunt for keywords, there are limits to its effectiveness — no terrorist plot has yet been halted in progress because the intelligence to discover it hasn’t yet solidified to that point.Technology experts immediately weighed in claiming such technology does indeed exist, is frequently employed, and can do the job perfectly in a mere eight days — no worries.But, as Wikileaks rebutted in a number of tweets, it isn’t quite so simple.Emails between Clinton, her campaign staff, the DNC, and other insiders have proven to be a literal trove of revealing details — including Hillary’s use of the name of aide Huma Abedin as a deflection, and President Obama’s use of a pseudonym to communicate on the private server in an attempt to thwart future investigators.Programs and algorithms would have to be fed such information, but not all of those pseudonyms were known — and that represents only one such complication. Even working around the clock, as Comey alleged the FBI did in its second probe, 82,000 documents daily isn’t even worth comparing to the 123 averaged each day in the initial investigation. So, what are we to believe about the clearing of Hillary Clinton for a second time?That’s up to you — to each of us — to draw a conclusion.But to characterize that second investigation as anything other than a charade to placate an irate public would be criminal willful denial of conspicuous evidence — criminal willful denial that the utter bullshit the FBI just brazenly served the American people doesn’t somehow stink. By Claire Bernish Dear Friends, HumansAreFree is and will always be free to access and use. If you appreciate my work, please help me continue.
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Have the Dallas Police Improved? Depends on Whom You Ask - The New York Times | DALLAS — When Andre Stubblefield leaves his dilapidated apartment complex in southern Dallas, he always carries his work gloves, vest and hard hat, even when he is not going to work. The police have stopped him regularly over the years, asking for identification — about four times in the last four months alone. So he carries his work attire to show that he is a working man, not a criminal. “I got to fake like I’m wearing my work stuff, so they won’t mess with me,” said Mr. Stubblefield, 30, who works in demolition. In the wake of last week’s sniper shooting that left five Dallas police officers dead, many people have lamented that it happened in this city, with a black police chief who even critics say has made inroads with the community and worked to steer his force away from its history of racism and abuse. Since Chief David O. Brown took over the department in 2010, complaints have dropped 64 percent, and he has started training and a successful community policing program. But for all the progress that the Dallas police have made, this remains one of the most segregated big cities in the country, with yawning racial gaps in housing, schools and employment. Decades of discriminatory federal, state and local policies have concentrated the city’s black population in deeply poor and underdeveloped neighborhoods south of Interstate 30, which serves as a line of demarcation between opportunity and neglect. While downtown Dallas is flush with glassy skyscrapers and restaurants, large tracts of the city’s southern sector are empty and ragged. “People look at the Black Lives Matter movement as people protesting against police brutality,” said Terry Flowers, the executive director and headmaster of St. Philip’s School and Community Center in South Dallas. “I think it is much larger than that. People are protesting against a social engineering of inequity. In the broader community here, there is tension. You get pulled over by a police officer, there is automatic tension. ” So while the Dallas Police Department has gained national acclaim, the extent to which these reforms have changed how black residents view the police, and the extent to which they have altered the way the city’s most marginalized residents interact with the police, depend largely on whom you ask. A 2014 survey by the Embrey Family Foundation found that while 67 percent of Dallas’s black residents believed that the city’s black men received “a lot” of discrimination, only 37 percent of white people thought the same. From his small brick home in a predominantly black, part of Oak Cliff in southern Dallas, Yafeuh Balogun, 32, said that complaints might be down in Dallas, but that police harassment of community members and police killings of unarmed citizens had not gone away under Chief Brown. That is why Mr. Balogun helped found the Huey P. Newton Gun Club in 2014. The group is named for the Black Panther who advocated armed and its members go on patrols with rifles on their backs in an effort to watch the police and to reduce their presence by guarding their own neighborhoods against crime. The club was created after a Dallas police officer killed an unarmed black man in an Oak Cliff apartment complex and injured a child with a stray bullet. Chief Brown defended the officer, who was not disciplined. Perched at a computer in his home and wearing camouflage pants, Mr. Balogun said he and other activists had already fought for the release of data on use of force, petitioned City Hall to overhaul a process that has failed to hold police officers accountable for fatal shootings, and protested what they perceived as police brutality. “We found out those actions were not enough,” Mr. Balogun said. So, they decided to pick up guns. Armed he said, is a more means of resisting police brutality. Mr. Balogun’s group is part of a constellation of militant black nationalist groups in Dallas, birthplace of the New Black Panther Party, born out of a legacy of police brutality stretching back at least 40 years. The most infamous case was the 1973 death of a Latino boy, Santos Rodriguez, after an officer who believed he had stolen money from a vending machine killed the handcuffed child in a game of Russian roulette. The officer served just two and a half years. Members of the black nationalist groups sometimes find their way into Connection, an Afrocentric store where the owner, Akwete Tyehimba, said she tried to direct their “energy to the more positive areas. ” Her store, which sells items like books, Bobo masks and Kuba cloths, promotes the “unification of African people around the world,” she said, and disavows violence. One young man who wandered into her store during a Malcolm X celebration in May was Micah Johnson, the sniper in last week’s fatal shootings, she said. Mr. Johnson showed no signs of militancy, she said. Instead, he was enamored of the store’s collection, as though “he was maybe coming into some level of of his culture,” Ms. Tyehimba said. “He was very warm,” she added. “He said he had never seen anything like this before. ” Mr. Balogun met Mr. Johnson briefly in the months before the shooting. He said that Mr. Johnson did not mention his plan, but that the videos of officers killing Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and that frustration over the lack of police accountability had probably led to his killing rampage. Activists from the group Mothers Against Police Brutality were among the protesters on Thursday when Mr. Johnson began shooting. They said the crowd was protesting national events, but also homegrown police killings. Collette Flanagan, 53, helped found the group after the Dallas police killed her son, Clinton Allen, who was unarmed, in 2013. The officer who fired his weapon said that Mr. Allen had been choking him, and he was not charged criminally. Ms. Flanagan has not been impressed by Chief Brown’s supposed efforts at transparency. She pointed to an April department newsletter in which Chief Brown cited pressure from the Justice Department for police agencies to release data as the reasoning behind the department’s publishing the information. “By doing it on our own terms, we can release this information in our own format, which allows us to tell our story,” he wrote. That has led to data that is not as transparent as it seems, activists argue. For example, Ms. Flanagan’s son is listed as an armed suspect in the police shootings data. His weapon? His hands. “Clinton wasn’t a martial arts expert or a professional boxer,” Ms. Flanagan said. “Yet all of their investigations find in favor of the officer. ” But from the small living room of a home in a tidy subdivision of Oak Cliff, a few minutes’ drive from Mr. Balogun, the view of the police under Chief Brown looked decidedly different. With the smell of Sunday’s dinner — collard greens, pulled pork and baked mac and cheese — wafting from the kitchen, Carol Hampton and her group of friends discussed the positive impacts of Chief Brown’s reforms. “Community policing is working,” Ms. Hampton said. The friends, all of them black, had been appalled by the deaths of Mr. Sterling and Mr. Castile, but did not believe policing was a problem in Dallas anymore. “I don’t think we have those issues,” Kevin Walker, 48, said. “I think about harsh policing in Louisiana, and people getting stopped 20 times a month. I don’t hear about that kind of harassment here. ” Yet all five people in the living room who had sons said they would still give them “the talk” about how to react if stopped by the police. Hilari Younger, 35, the youngest adult there, was the only one among them who had attended the protest last week. “My neighborhood is very hostile to the police,” Ms. Younger said. “The police look for every little reason to stop you. ” Quaneque McCarver, 23, learned that the hard way. A couple of years ago, she said, the police mistook her for a prostitute and briefly cuffed her and made her sit on the ground while she was pregnant. Still, that has not changed her attitude toward the police in general, she said. “I wasn’t hurt,” she said. “They let me out of my handcuffs, and they let me go about my business. ” The police have also helped her in the past. So the shooting angers her, she said, because she believes it will only stoke tensions between the police and black communities. Mr. Stubblefield, too, was upset about the shooting, saying it would only worsen a bad situation for black men like himself. About three years ago, he said, he worked for a party rental company and set up a bouncy house for a children’s party in a predominantly white part of Dallas. As he used his phone to take video of the house for his boss to make sure they had set it up correctly, the police rolled up. Someone had complained, they said, that he was taking pictures of people without their permission. So they pulled him to the side and made him sit on the ground with his hands behind his back. “It made me feel like, that’s embarrassing,” he said. “Kids coming with their parents, looking, whispering. ” | 0fake |
Obama briefed after Britain votes to leave EU | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama was briefed by his advisers late on Thursday on Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, a result that he had argued passionately against during an April visit to London. Obama, who was scheduled to deliver remarks to global entrepreneurs at a conference at Stanford University at 10:45 a.m. PDT (1:45 p.m. ET/1745 GMT), was dining out at an upscale restaurant with a small group of top venture capitalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs as the results for the “leave” campaign began to roll in. The group at San Francisco’s Twenty-Five Lusk included John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, and LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman. Obama dined for more than two hours, departing shortly after British networks called the referendum for the “leave” campaign, and markets plunged. A White House official said Obama had been briefed on the returns and would “continue to be updated by his team as the situation warrants.” “We expect the president will have an opportunity to speak to Prime Minister Cameron over the course of the next day, and we will release further comment as soon as appropriate,” the official said in a brief statement to reporters. Obama traveled to London in April at the request of Cameron, whom he calls a friend, exhorting Britons to stay in the EU, an unusual intervention that was denounced as meddling by those in the “leave” campaign. Obama also warned that leaving the EU would put Britain at the “back of the queue” for a trade deal with the United States. Obama’s term in the White House ends on Jan. 20, 2017. His former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic candidate in the Nov. 8 election, had also said she hoped the UK would stay in the EU. The presumptive Republican nominee - real estate magnate Donald Trump - had taken the opposite stance, saying he thought the UK should leave. Trump, in Scotland on Friday to reopen a golf resort, told reporters that Britons “took back control of their country” by voting to leave the European Union. | 0fake |
Noncitizen Faces Deportation for Illegal Voting After Getting Driver’s License | A Peruvian woman originally hoping to become a naturalized citizen in Illinois now faces deportation after her record of illegal voter registration and casting ballots for federal candidates has come to light. [Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick, a Peruvian woman married to an American citizen in Illinois, became registered to vote at a driver’s license issuing office in 2005, according to court records. She presented a valid green card and passport from her home country to satisfy the identification requirements to obtain a license. Because of guidelines under the National Voter Registration Act (a. k. a. Motor Voter) the DMV employee reflexively offered Fitzpatrick the opportunity to register to vote, despite her documented alien status. Having studied English in college and working as a translator in the medical field, Fitzpatrick reportedly questioned the state employee if she was “supposed to” register. The DMV agent responded, “it’s up to you. ” The woman would later sign a document attesting to U. S. citizenship, allowing her to become a fully registered voter, reportedly casting ballots for federal candidates in 2006. Federal law currently bars noncitizens from voting in federal or state elections, potentially leading to deportation. Fitzpatrick’s voting record would likely have remained unnoticed had she not pursued citizenship and her registration experience. In the waning days of the Obama Administration, Fitzpatrick appealed her deportation order to the U. S. 7th Circuit in Chicago, arguing that the DMV employee essentially entrapped her for not counseling against registering to vote. The appellate court placed little stock in her defense, noting that she was fully literate in English and the conversation was likely scripted from the state officer’s perspective. DMV employees and other state agents that are required to offer voter registration opportunities are barred from saying “anything that will discourage an applicant … from registering to vote,” the court noted. In general, state agencies providing voter registration opportunities are not in the business of verifying the contents of applications. Documents are checked for completion and are then forwarded to appropriate election officials. In Fitzpatrick’s case, the Illinois DMV employee’s duty was complete when they had an attestation of voting eligibility in hand. Election law expert J. Christian Adams said in a statement shortly after the 7th Circuit ruling that the case “demonstrates how difficult it is to pursue noncitizen voting crimes without verification measures in voter registration. ” As Breitbart Texas has reported recently, states like Texas and Virginia are currently considering legislation that would require documented proof of U. S. citizenship when registering to vote, similar to current law in Kansas. The 7th Circuit panel inquired if individuals like Ms. Fitzpatrick were priorities for removal by the Department of Homeland Security. Government attorneys told the court on January 17 that “the answer was yes. ” Logan Churchwell is a founding editor of the Breitbart Texas team. You can follow him on Twitter @LCChurchwell. He also serves as the communications director for the Public Interest Legal Foundation. MARGARITA DEL PILAR FITZPATRICK by Public Interest Legal Foundation on Scribd, | 0fake |
RADICAL INTERIM MISSOU PREZ EXPOSED AS POLITICAL ACTIVIST…Forced Out Predecessor…VIDEO Shows Coordination With Rich Black Starving Student | Now we ll just sit back and wait to see if Middleton s name appears on the White House registry in October or early November Mike Middleton, the man just named as the interim president of the University of Missouri, worked as a political activist with the protestors who forced out his predecessor.As NBC reports: The University of Missouri s governing board on Thursday appointed a recently retired administrator to be the university system s interim president.Here is former Missouri University resigning from his position after being bullied by students:The Board of Curators announced that Michael Middleton, 68, will lead the four-campus system until it finds a permanent replacement for Tim Wolfe, who resigned Monday under pressure from students who criticized his administration s response to a series of racial incidents. Middleton retired in August after teaching at the law school for 17 years. But he subsequently worked with the black protestors who created racial tensions by staging a series of direct actions designed to antagonize other students.Middleton is featured prominently in a video released three weeks ago called Response To Skeptics, which was produced by a video team at the university s Academic Support Center.The video opens with Jonathan Butler the lead activist leveling political charge at people who don t accept the black activists claim of racial problems at the campus, which is located only 120 miles from Ferguson, where the current protests and political campaign began in August 2014.Then Middleton appears, to insist there is a race-relations problem because race-activists say there is a race-relations problem. How can anyone deny there s a race relations issue on this campus? Are they not listening to the people who are saying their is? Are they calling all these people liars? That s as bad as calling all of them racist? This is a problem because a huge part of our community agrees that it s a problem. Middleton is a longtime lawyer and political activist in the race-relations sector. His UM biography says:Professor Middleton joined the law faculty in 1985 after an illustrious career with the federal government in Washington. He was a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and in 1977 was appointed Assistant Deputy Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of [Health, Education, and Welfare].After serving as Director of the Office of Systemic Programs for the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, he was appointed Associate General Counsel of the EEOC s trial division. He returned to his alma mater from St. Louis, where he was director of the St. Louis district office of the EEOC.Beginning in 1997 he served as the Interim Vice Provost for Minority Affairs and Faculty Development for the University of Missouri. In 1998 he accepted the position of Deputy Chancellor.Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
Wow! | http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/wikileaks-confirms-hillary-clinton-campaign-acknowledge-massive-email-cover/ It’s always the cover-up that gets ya!
This is certainly getting interesting, folks. It’s 13 days before the elections. This email leak confirms Hillary Clinton and her staff were engaged in a cover up designed to prevent Congress from seeing incriminating emails about well – everything!
The issue is this. Early voting has occurred and is occurring across the nation. People have already cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton. If the Democrats pull her as a candidate and put anybody else in – likely Biden – then they will lose all the votes cast for Hillary as she will no longer be the Democratic candidate.
All the Democrat illegal immigrant voting fraud, dead peopl e voting fraud, busing people around to vote in multiple precincts fraud plus all legal citizen Democrat votes cast early will no longer be valid if Hillary Clinton is removed as the candidate!
And the 32K emails haven’t yet been released! How low did you go, Hillary?
It’s a bit late now to do Michelle Obama’s bidding to “take the high road.” For you that might be a gutter. Shift Frequency 2016 SF original Oct. 26, 2016 | 1real |
WATCH: Shocking Number Of Swedish Citizens WALK BY GIRL BEING RAPED By “Middle Eastern Man” In Car [VIDEO] | During the Democrats first debate last month, Bernie Sanders said we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people. Denmark s Prime Minister came out swinging, demanding that Sanders get his facts straight, Denmark is not a socialist nation, it has a market economy. Democrats have been working for decades to adopt the progressive policies based on political correctness that permeates most European nations.Sweden, the Rape Capitol of the world, is a perfect example of how well their politically correct, open-border policies have worked out for them. As the Muslim invasion of these European nations escalates, we are seeing this indifferent attitude of live and let live that only benefits those Muslim invaders who have no intention of assimilating in their host nations. This video shows how a nation gripped with fear reacts with apathy towards the criminal as opposed to taking action to save the supposed victim. It illustrates how easily a group of invaders can overtake a nation conditioned to accepting everyone, so as not to offend anyone. Sadly, we live in a country which has the highest rate of reported cases of rape. And this land is called Sweden. Rape is a very serious crime which not only affects our country, but the rest of the world. So in our new social experiment, we put Swedish citizens up for a test. This video is a great example of what happens to a nation who puts political correctness before the safety and security of its citizens: A poor girl can be heard screaming for help from the backseat of a car. There is no question she is being sexually assaulted, yet one after another, Swedish citizens continue to walk by pretending not to hear.At one point in the video, the rapist a brave passerby took action to stop him. Sadly, most of the other apathetic citizens were satisfied to look the other way, so as not to get involved. The biggest sin of the humankind is indifference. | 1real |
Two°: readers pick story on meat and climate change | CNN columnist John D. Sutter is reporting on a tiny number -- 2 degrees -- that may have a huge effect on the future. He'd like your help. Subscribe to the "2 degrees" newsletter or follow him on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . He's jdsutter on Snapchat.
(CNN) Update: This poll is now closed and the results are in: Readers selected food and meat's impact on climate change as the next topic for CNN's Two° series. Thanks to everyone who voted! Sign up for the Two° newsletter to get updates about that story and this series.
Every story needs a villain -- and climate change is no exception.
Knowing which countries and industries contribute to climate change, and in what proportions, is key to understanding how we can fix this problem and avoid 2 degrees Celsius of warming , which is what policymakers regard as the threshold for "dangerous" climate change.
Plus, this story is complicated by the fact that nearly all of us -- certainly those reading this column on a mobile phone or computer -- contribute to climate change in some way.
We're all partly to blame.
I'm going to be exploring this idea of "climate villains" for the next month or so, as part of CNN's Two° series , which looks at that threshold for dangerous warming. That's the point at which some island nations are expected to be submerged , drought risks go up considerably and water availability goes down.
I'd like your help in deciding which bad guys to target.
Below, you'll find a Facebook poll that lists four of my favorite climate villains, all of which came from your suggestions. Pick the one you find most interesting and I'll go out into the world to report on the winner. The poll closes at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 16.
I've met people -- smart people, reasonable people -- who think that climate change is caused by aerosols from hairspray (it isn't) or that it's just part of a natural warming cycle (it's not). Burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat, as well as chopping down rainforests, contributes to climate change.
Here's a breakdown of global greenhouse gas emissions by sector, according to 2012 data synthesized by the World Resources Institute. This is kind of a "blame" chart.
On Wednesday, I asked people on Facebook to identify their preferred climate villains . Among the most interesting (and sometimes humorous) responses you submitted: dinosaurs ("they turned into the oil that we want to get at, right?"); millennials ("It is always millennials' fault for everything ..."); parents ("the process of procreation ... results in increases in demand of the earth's resources and is the driving force for most of our planet's woes"). I was mentioned by name ("John Sutter. I bet he's double secret super villain. No doubt."), as was Willis Carrier , the guy who commercialized the modern air conditioner, and James Watt, who invented an efficient steam engine
You also identified more nebulous bad guys, like apathy, greed, ignorance and consumerism. Geography found its way into the mix, too. China, America and the "3rd world" all made your list.
Some countries are more to blame than others, sure. But it turns out that the most industrialized countries -- the United States, European countries and, increasingly, China and India -- are among the biggest contributors to climate change, because they burn the most fossil fuels.
Those are the countries most responsible for the warming we're already seeing, as well as for much of the warming that we will seen in coming years. According to the World Bank, the atmosphere already has warmed 0.8 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times , and about 1.5 degrees of warming is already "locked in" to the atmospheric system because of how much carbon we've burned.
All of this data is a rough guide to help you vote. Each of the four topics you suggested for this poll is a worthy candidate. Our diets, our reliance on fossil fuel reserves, our willingness to turn precious forests into farms and our addiction to gas-burning cars and other dirty modes of transit -- all of these contribute to climate change. And each is worth exploring in depth.
I don't want to play the blame game forever. I agree with those of you who said we need to move past finger-pointing and toward solutions. I do think, however, that by exploring who and what's causing climate change, we'll have a better sense of how to solve this urgent problem.
So, please vote. Tell your friends. And thank you for helping decide where I'll focus my energy. | 0fake |
Obama administration paves way for Iran to rebuild its air force with US-made aircraft | BY ROBERT SPENCER
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
How is this not treason?
“Iran to Add U.S.-Made Aircraft to Its War Fleet: Obama admin paves way for Tehran to rebuild its air force,” by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon , October 24, 2016:
The Obama administration is forging a pathway for Iran to purchase American-made airliners that are likely to be converted for use in the Islamic Republic’s military, drawing concerns on Capitol Hill amid a flurry of recent attacks by Iranian-backed forces on U.S. military assets in the Middle East, according to conversations with lawmakers and fleet information obtained by the Washington Free Beacon .
Iran recently announced that it had struck deals with the U.S. Boeing airline manufacturer and France’s AirBus that would permit the companies to transfer technology and provide training to help the Islamic Republic produce equipment that would strengthen its aging fleet of American-made planes.
Iran currently uses at least six Boeing aircraft as part of its air force fleet. These planes were put on display last week when Iran launched a series of war drills aimed at deterring Western attacks.
As Iran angles to purchase 80 new jets from Boeing, which has lobbied heavily in favor of these sales, the Obama administration is being accused of helping to pave the way for Iran to transfer these commercial liners for use in its war fleet, according to lawmakers and sources familiar with Iran’s military buildup.
Iran has a history of transferring commercial jets purchased from America to its air force for use in military operations and the transfer of weapons and other illicit material abroad.
Lawmakers worry that the White House’s efforts to facilitate new airliner sales to Iran Air, the country’s national airline, will help Tehran bolster its war fleet at a time when it is threatening military action
FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE CLICK LINK | 1real |
WILL WHAT THIS NFL OWNER Just Threatened To Do Put An End To Anthem Protests?…Is It Too Late? | Cowboys owner Jerry Jones just threatened to sue the NFL if Commissioner Goodell s contract extension is approved. Is this too little, too late? With many advertisers threatening to drop the NFL, this is a double whammy for Goodell who has shown nothing but weakness during the protest against our national anthem.Jerry Jones threatens to sue NFL if Roger Goodell doesn t take action on national anthem protests pic.twitter.com/f0nb9X82RM FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) November 9, 2017Don t forget Jones was kneeling with the players just a month ago. He saw the light when this began to hit him in the wallet. Americans aren t buying the tickets and not watching the NFL so Jones is back on the pro-anthem train.Jones knelt alongside his players on September 26 in a show of unity before they all stood for the anthem. The following week he said any of his players who disrespect the flag won t be allowed to play.A photo from last weekend s game tells it all This should make Americans furious with these players who stood behind our military with fists up Shame on them! | 1real |
PARTNERS IN CRIME: Goldman Sachs, The Clintons & Wall Street | Shawn Helton 21st Century WireThe cozy relationship between Goldman Sachs and the Clintons has reached dizzying new heights in recent years, giving the Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton an immensely influential partner on Wall Street.As the public and most of the mainstream media is still processing the political bombshell concerning the newly reopened FBI probe into the Hillary Clinton s email server case the global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs quietly endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate this past week.The financial ties that bind the Clintons and Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs are nothing new, but never before have the connections been so exposed. Let s take a trip down collusion lane to review some of the more questionable examples of their political and financial merger formed long ago MONEY CHANGERS Wall Street s Goldman Sachs are inextricably linked to the Clinton s and The Clinton Foundation. (Photo illustration 21WIRE)The Clintons & Goldman Sachs While campaigning for his first term in the White House, former president Bill Clinton received an enormous amount of support from Washington insider lobbyists and investment banking firms on Wall Street.At the top of the pile sat Goldman Sachs In 1992, the LA Times reported that presidential nominee Bill Clinton, received the largest share of his financial support at least $2.6 million from lawyers and lobbyists, and that Clinton also received additional support from big securities firms such as Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and Stephens Inc. in his hometown of Little Rock, Ark. In fact, Goldman Sachs employees and their family members were responsible for the biggest contributions from a single firm: $98,700. For decades the Clintons have remained close allies to the banking behemoth Goldman Sachs and in the process, a mutually beneficial relationship has taken hold, something that even the NY Times admits: Over 20-plus years, Goldman provided the Clintons with some of their most influential advisers, millions of dollars in campaign contributions and speaking fees, and financial support for the family foundation s charitable programs. By now, there should be little doubt that the Clinton political machine is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wall Street banking cartel. Their relationship was built over three decades.The real watershed moment came here BLANK CHECK: Bill Clinton laughs with Wall Street elites after signing the Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999. Key to the Kingdom In one of the most significant financial rulings in the modern era, the Clinton presidency gave big banks like Goldman Sachs the skeleton key to the kingdom by deregulating the investment banking system almost entirely.The Clinton/Goldman Sachs/Wall Street partnership was fully forged after the removal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which banking luminaries cynically named the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 officially titled the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The original Glass-Steagall was a depression-age four-part provision under the Bank Act of 1933 that strictly prohibited securities activities that could be harmful to investors the same sort of rogue speculating and paper fiat fraud which triggered the Great Depression (1929-1941). In fact, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which repealed Glass-Steagall, opened the door for the shadow banking realm outside of regulatory oversight which led to a much higher trading risk, as banks became more interlinked.Simply put: Clinton s repeal of Glass-Steagell removed the firewall between speculative investment banking and regular high street retail and consumer banking which exposed everyone to toxic, subprime ponzi schemes and fake paper products being pushed around the globe by the banking elite which ultimately caused the global economy to crash in 2008. All that can be laid at the feet of one William Jefferson Clinton. And Hillary still claims that, My husband did so well with the economy. Really?In a cross-posted article featured at Huffington Post, Nomi Prins underscored the complicit nature of Wall Street and Washington after the removal of tighter bank regulations under the Clinton administration during the 1990 s: To grasp the dangers that the Big Six banks (JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) presently pose to the financial stability of our nation and the world, you need to understand their history in Washington, starting with the Clinton years of the 1990s. Alliances established then (not exclusively with Democrats, since bankers are bipartisan by nature) enabled these firms to become as politically powerful as they are today and to exert that power over an unprecedented amount of capital. Rest assured of one thing: their past and present CEOs will prove as critical in backing a Hillary Clinton presidency as they were in enabling her husband s years in office. Prins herself was a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, senior managing director at Bear Stearns, as well as having worked as a senior strategist at the now defunct investment banking firm Lehman Brothers. Following the financial crash in 2007-2008, Prins blew the whistle on the banking world in a book entitled It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street. Prins has become an advocate for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act since departing from the investment banking world.The media outlet Common Dreams described the merger between Citicorp and Travelers Group (becoming Citigroup), which was dubbed the Citi-Travelers Act on Capitol Hill. It was a conglomeration that went hand in hand with the Clinton administration s influence on banking deregulation marked by the repeal of Glass-Steagall: Then, in 1998, in an act of corporate civil disobedience, Citicorp and Travelers Group announced they were merging. Such a combination of banking and insurance companies was illegal under the Bank Holding Company Act, but was excused due to a loophole that provided a two-year review period of proposed mergers. The merger was premised on the expectation that Glass-Steagall would be repealed. Citigroup s co-chairs Sandy Weill and John Reed led a swarm of industry executives and lobbyists who trammeled the halls of Congress to make sure a deal was cut. At the time, it was the largest financial merger even though it was technically illegal, as stated by the former Bankers of America CEO Kenneth Guenther. In 1999, after 12 attempts in 25 years, Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, which led to the repeal of Glass-Steagall.The repeal of Glass-Steagall was pushed heavily by Citigroup s co-CEO Sanford Weill and lobbyist Roger Levy and according to a report by The Nation: They laid out more than $290 million for lobbying in 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and donated more than $150 million in the 1997 98 election cycle a figure sure to be topped in 1999 2000. How much of those contributions made their way to the Clinton family and what kind of impact did this have after they left the White House?In 2005, Bill Clinton was paid over half a million for speaking at three private Goldman events.In 2013, after stepping down from her position as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton gave a total of three paid speeches at Goldman Sachs events to the tune of $675,000 dollars, in which one attendee said she sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director, according to a quote obtained by Politico. Indeed, Clinton gave a glowing speech to the Goldman gang and in the process, as Wikileaks released in early October, the Democratic nominee believes in both a public and a private position on Wall Street reform and that it is an oversimplification to suggest that investment banking led to the most recent financial crisis.That Clinton leak provided another window into the much protected alliance between finance and politics, but it s only the tip of a much larger iceberg.In 2015, the Washington Post reported that Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton earned in excess of $25 million for delivering 104 speeches since the beginning of 2014, a huge infusion to their net worth as she was readying for a presidential bid. ANOINTED : Chelsea Clinton with Goldman Sachs-backed hedge funder Marc Mezvinsky.The Clinton family is chock-full of banking connections, as Chelsea Clinton joined the Avenue Capital Group, which according to reports is a $12 billion hedge fund whose founder has contributed to many Democratic Party campaigns. Chelsea is married to Marc Mezvinsky, a former investment banker for Goldman Sachs. Chelsea s tenure at Avenue Capital Group was from 2006-2008 just prior to Hillary Clinton s run for president in 2008. Since then Chelsea has risen to vice chairman inside the Clinton Foundation.Marc Mezvinsky was forced to close one of his hedge funds recently, Eaglevale Hellenic Opportunity, after had the fund lost most of its initial investor funds of $25 million after blowing the money on secondhand junk Greek bank stocks and toxic government debt.The apple doesn t fall far from the tree As it turns out, Marc is the son of troubled former Congressman Ed Mezvinsky another close friend of Team Clinton.Politico reports on one of Ed Mezvinsky s financial controversies in 1999: In the waning days of Clinton s presidency, federal prosecutors and the FBI were bearing down on former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky (D-Iowa), who had fallen for a series of Ponzi schemes and pulled in nearly $10 million money from other investors to cover his losses. Continuing, Politico outlined new information concerning a pardon request sent by from Ed Mezvinsky s wife to then President Bill Clinton: records released last week by the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock and obtained by POLITICO show Mezvinsky and his then-wife ex-Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-Pa.) pleaded with the former president for a presidential pardon to head off the looming federal case. In 2016, the Daily Mail reported the following: Chelsea Clinton s husband and his partners have suffered a huge loss after trying to bet on the revival of the Greek economy, and are now being forced to shut down one of their hedge funds.Marc Mezvinsky, 38, and his partners, former Goldman Sachs colleagues Bennett Grau and Mark Mallon, raised $25million from investors to buy up bank stocks and debt from the struggling nation.That fund however has lost 90 percent of its value, investors with direct knowledge of the situation told The New York Times, and will now be closed. THE INSIDERS A ground-breaking ceremony at Goldman Sachs headquarters in Manhattan in 2005. Hillary Clinton is joined by Michael Bloomberg, Lloyd Blankfein (current Goldman Sachs CEO), Former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Image Source: ilovemyfreedom)The NY Times further outlined the long-held Clinton/Goldman connection just two years before the 2007-2008 financial crisis: The Clintons relationships with Wall Street deepened in the 2000s, when Mr. Clinton set up his foundation in Harlem and Mrs. Clinton was elected to the Senate from New York. That brought her in close touch with the big Wall Street firms, a source of jobs and tax revenue for New York and a leading source of campaign funds for Mrs. Clinton. During her years in Congress, employees of Goldman donated in excess of $234,000 to Mrs. Clinton, more than those of any other company except Citigroup, accordingto the Center for Responsive Politics.Along with other New York politicians, Mrs. Clinton worked to obtain federal tax breaks to resuscitate Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and those breaks helped Goldman build its new, roughly $2 billion headquarters. When it broke ground in 2005, Mrs. Clinton and other New York officials were on-site. HOW TO MONETIZE INFLUENCE Lloyd Blankfein at a Clinton Global Initiative event with Hillary Clinton. (Image Source: sputniknews)The Wall Street RacketTo understand who powers the Clinton Foundation s billion dollar RICO influence-peddling slush fund, you need to understand how money is laundered between Wall Street and Washington DC.Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup and many others were all ordered to pay millions for misleading investors after the 2008 crash, then in April of 2016, Goldman was ordered to settle a federal and state probe for $5 Billion dollars. CNBC reported the following: Goldman Sachs will pay $5 billion to settle federal and state probes into the bank s sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis, the Justice Department announced Monday.Authorities said Goldman misrepresented the quality of loans it securitized and then sold to investors ahead of the housing bubble and 2008 crisis. The settlement includes a $2.4 billion civil penalty, $1.8 billion in relief payouts to underwater homeowners and affected borrowers and $875 million to resolve various other claims.This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail, acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery said in a statement. In 2013, a Bloomberg article questioned how Goldman managed to survive and even thrive during the 2007-2008 economic crisis: Whether Goldman could have gone the way of Lehman Brothers or Merrill Lynch remains the subject of much debate. Goldman maintains that it did not need, or want, the $10 billion bailout that Hank Paulson [ former Goldman alum] pushed on it and other firms in October 2008. But the fact remains that when the Federal Reserve allowed Goldman and Morgan Stanley but not Lehman Brothers to become bank holding companies on Sept. 21, 2008, Goldman was able, three days later, to raise $10 billion in equity, $5 billion from the public and another $5 billion from investor Warren Buffett. That would probably not have happened without the Fed s expedited decision and support. (A week later, Morgan Stanley saved itself from bankruptcy when it negotiated a $9 billion equity investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.) All told the Clinton friendly investment giant Goldman Sachs (after making record profits) became the fifth mega-bank ordered to pay billions to the Department of Justice after the financial crash of 2007-2008. In addition, the firm was ordered to pay $3 billion to the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2014 not including pending private lawsuits levied on the firm since the Great Recession.In a New York Review article Goldman Sachs was already under investigation for committing fraud at least a year before the economic crash in 2007-2008: Data gathered mostly from the Corporate Research Project, a public interest website, show that on thirteen occasions between 2009 and 2016, Goldman was penalized by US courts or government agencies for fraudulent or deceptive practices that were committed mostly between 2006 and 2009. CASHING OUT Bill Clinton with his top economic strategist Robert Rubin. (Image Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch)Wall Street Selects Team Clinton The Clinton connection to Goldman Sachs emerged in the early 1990 s as Robert Rubin, a former senior partner with Goldman (with a 26-year tenure with the firm), joined former President Clinton s economic policy team, later becoming Secretary of the Treasury in 1995. Around that time, the Clinton presidency ushered in soaring tax hikes under the Rubinomics banner (aka Clintonomics), the plan raised taxes on most Americans, specifically the middle class, in what was said to be the largest increase in American history at the time.According to Congressional record (Vol.146 part 2), In 1995, the economy grew at a sickly 1.5% Clinton s vetoes of spending cuts [insured] continued deficits well into the 21st Century. In a Multinational Monitor report entitled Wall Street s Best Investment: Ten Deregulatory Steps to Financial Meltdown, by Robert Weissman and James Donahue, a clearer picture of the financial collusion spawned in the 1990 s under the Clinton administration was revealed: During the Clinton Administration, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who had run Goldman Sachs, enthusiastically promoted the legislation. In a 1995 testimony before the House Banking Committee, for example, Rubin argued that the banking industry is fundamentally different from what it was two decades ago, let alone in 1933. U.S. banks generally engage in a broader range of securities activities abroad than is permitted domestically. Even domestically, the separation of investment banking and commercial banking envisioned by Glass-Steagall has eroded significantly. With a pedigree that included Goldman Sachs, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), The Brookings Institution and the Bilderberg Group, Robert Rubin emerged in 1999 as the vice chairman at Citigroup (1999-2009) after overseeing its merger as well as helping to craft the repeal of Glass-Steagall while serving as Secretary of Treasury. Rubin made a fortune with Citigroup causing sharp criticism in media and from those within the financial sector following the 2007-2008 crash. Here s a passage from Bloomberg regarding Rubin in the aftermath of the banking collapse: When it collapsed, due in part to bank-friendly policies that Rubin advocated, he made more than $100 million while others lost everything. You have to view people in a fair light, says Phil Angelides, co-chair of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, who credits Rubin for much of the Clinton-era prosperity. But on the other side of the ledger are key acts, such as the deregulation of derivatives, or stopping the Commodities Futures Trading Commission from regulating derivatives, that in the end weakened our financial system and exposed us to the risk of financial disaster. SWORN FBI director James Comey sworn in by former DOJ head Eric Holder. (Image Source: thewhitehousespin)Under the MicroscopeOver the summer 21WIRE observed some curious connections between the Clinton Foundation and FBI director James Comey, as well as his questionable handling of other cases related to the Clinton family. Here s the following passage to consider in light of the new information related to the Clinton investigation: Many will also be unaware that before Comey was installed by the Obama Administration as FBI Director, he was on the board of Director at HSBC Bank a bank implicated in international money laundering, including the laundering of billions on behalf of international drugs and narcotics trafficking cartels.Forbes also points out where Comey was also at the key choke-point during the case involving dodgy auditor KPMG which followed on by the HSBC criminal case: If Comey, and his boss Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, had made a different decision about KPMG back in 2005, KPMG would not have been around to miss all the illegal acts HSBC and Standard Chartered SCBFF +% were committing on its watch. Bloomberg reported in 2007 that back in June of 2005, Comey was the man thrust into the position of deciding whether KPMG would live or die for its criminal tax shelter violations. In 2015, the Guardian discussed the financial relationship between HSBC and the Clinton Foundation receiving a startling $81 million in donations from clients of the large bank: The charitable foundation run by Hillary Clinton and her family has received as much as $81m from wealthy international donors who were clients of HSBC s controversial Swiss bank.Leaked files from HSBC s Swiss banking division reveal the identities of seven donors to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation with accounts in Geneva. A new update on the FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation was announced over the last 24 hours, in addition the recently reopened Clinton email probe from last week. It remains to be seen how in-depth this new investigation will be.To call it collusion would be an understatement. When looking back at the financial affairs of the Clintons, Goldman Sachs and others on Wall Street it s clearer than ever that what we are looking at is a criminal syndicate.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
The Westboro Baptist Church Just Crucified Trump With A 2-Word Description Of His Candidacy | The Westboro Baptist Church doesn t leave much room for dissension among its ranks, so when a Phelps family member speaks on an issue, you can pretty well assume that their sentiment mirrors that of the entire cult. That s what makes the conversation The Daily Caller had with Lee Ann Phelps, whose husband Timothy is the late Fred Phelps son, all the more interesting. Talking politics at all with a cult family that hates everyone is typically a pointless endeavor, but in this case something stuck out that is just too good to pass up.Phelps said she couldn t support Donald Trump for president because he is too fringe. Yes, you read that right. Still, you ll want to take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the laughter that is undoubtedly making its way to the surface when you read it again: Donald Trump is too fringe for the Westboro Baptist Church. The same cult that pickets just about anything imaginable with such incendiary slogans as God Hates F*gs and America Is Doomed thinks that Trump is too far out there on too many issues to be considered for the presidency.According to Merriam-Webster, fringe means: Not part of the mainstream; unconventional, peripheral, or extreme. There is nothing in America more unconventional, peripheral or extreme than the Westboro Baptist Church. At least there used to be nothing that compared. Now we have a failed businessman masquerading as a success declaring racism and hate to be what will make America great again. You could almost wager that if you were to ask just about anyone who their guess would be for a WBC endorsement, Donald Trump would win hands down.While she says she isn t voting, Phelps has declined to weigh in on the Democratic candidates at all.Featured image from Wikimedia | 1real |
The Benghazi bust: Trey Gowdy and his GOP colleagues embarrassed themselves | There’s not really any good news for the GOP in the aftermath of yesterday’s House Benghazi Committee interrogation of Hillary Clinton. There had been some flickers of hope among conservative activists that the committee Republicans, led by chairman Trey Gowdy, would finally produce the long-rumored “smoking gun” that would prove once and for all that Hillary did… whatever evil thing she supposedly did with regard the Benghazi. Or maybe they’d goad her into making a terrible gaffe that would ruin her politically. But that’s not what happened.
After weeks of damaging stories about the Benghazi committee’s partisan agenda and vanishing credibility, it might have done Gowdy some good to put together a quiet and informative hearing that was befitting the “serious investigation” that he insisted he was leading. Instead, Gowdy took the lead role in proving correct each one of his Republican colleagues who said the committee was focused on damaging Hillary Clinton’s presidential chances.
In his opening statement, Gowdy tried to shoot down allegations that the committee was focused on Clinton. “There are people frankly in both parties who have suggested that this investigation is about you,” Gowdy said to Hillary at the outset. “Let me assure you it is not.” But when it came time for Gowdy to ask questions, he focused singularly on Clinton’s emails with Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton friend and DC barnacle who was feeding Hillary intelligence “reports” from a source he knew in Libya. Gowdy used the volume of emails sent from Blumenthal to Clinton to portray him as a key advisor who had unfettered access to Clinton, and contrasted him with slain Libya ambassador Chris Stevens, who never emailed Clinton directly. “Help us understand how Sidney Blumenthal had that kind of access to you, Madame Secretary, but the ambassador did not,” Gowdy asked with much gravity.
Gowdy’s implication – that Stevens either lacked access to Clinton or that Clinton prioritized her communications with Blumenthal – was flagrantly false, and Gowdy knows it was false. Stevens had access to Clinton through a variety of means and could have been in touch with her at a moment’s notice if he’d wanted. But Gowdy used the frequency of email communication – and only email communication – to give the impression that Blumenthal was in the loop while the ambassador was not.
This theme was picked up on by his Republican colleagues, who weren’t nearly as subtle in their dishonesty as Gowdy was. Rep. Mike Pompeo grandiosely asked Clinton if Stevens had had Clinton’s cell phone number, fax number, or home address, and if he’d ever “stopped by your house.” After Clinton said no to all these things, Pompeo went in for what he thought was the kill: “Mr. Blumenthal had each of those and did each of those things. This man who provided you so much information on Libya had access to you in ways that were very different from the access that a very senior diplomat had to you and your person.” If you’re the sort of thick-headed dolt who thinks the ambassador was at a disadvantage because he couldn’t send the Secretary of State a postcard or pop in on her every Sunday afternoon, then this point was probably quite compelling.
While the Republicans were wasting their time trying to portray Clinton as a tool of Sid Blumenthal, the Democrats used their time to make clear just how pointless they believe the entire investigation is and allowed Clinton her opportunities to offer sanitized and carefully worded defenses of the Libya intervention. At least one member of the committee used the hearing to pose useful and interesting questions about issues that arose from the Benghazi attack: Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). She asked Clinton about policies for outsourcing security to local militias and security contractors, which has caused problems for the State Department and other government agencies. All in all it was a bust for Gowdy and the Benghazi committee, to the point that conservative pundits were griping about how poorly the Republicans fared against Clinton. Anyone who doubted that the committee was a partisan exercise in Clinton-bashing came away free of doubts. The only sliver of good news for the Republicans is that it likely won’t matter. The notion that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton engineered some sort of evil Benghazi cover-up is already assumed to be true in the minds of conservatives and Republican voters. The fact that Gowdy and crew spent the day stepping on rakes and scoring own-goals in a failed attempt to “prove” it won’t change their minds. And the House GOP won’t put the brakes on the investigation because the committee’s utility as a vehicle for strategic press leaks outweighs the bad press it’s enduring at the moment. The Benghazi committee will grind on, performing much the same role it always has. | 0fake |
'Sahel coalition' wants victories against Islamist militants by mid-2018 | LA CELLE-SAINT-CLOUD/PARIS (Reuters) - A French-backed West African military force to tackle Islamist militants must secure its first victories by the middle of 2018 to prove its worth and ensure more concrete support from the United Nations, the French and Malian leaders said on Wednesday. The G5 Sahel - composed of the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad - launched a symbolic military operation to mark its creation in October amid growing unrest in the region, whose porous borders are regularly crossed by jihadists, including affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State. However, France which has some 4,000 troops in the region, has bemoaned that the militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while the G5 force has struggled to win financing and become operational. To give the force a boost, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of the five participating countries, Germany and Italy as well as the Saudi and Emirati ministers at a summit. In a sign Gulf Arab states are upping their influence in the region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates committed 130 million euros ($152.75 million) on Wednesday, although the initiative has not won support from key regional player Algeria. As far as the G5 are concerned, we are aware that the clock is ticking, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Ke ta told a news conference after the summit of some 15 nations to discuss the force s implementation. There is an urgency today that we quickly achieve results in the fight against terrorism, he said, warning of a possible jihadist rush from the Middle East to West Africa. Thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, French troops and U.S. military trainers and drone operators have failed so far to stem the growing wave of jihadist violence, leading world powers to pin their hopes on the new force. Despite French efforts, U.S. reluctance at the United Nations has meant the force does not have direct financial backing from the U.N. making it harder to secure almost $500 million in initial funding for the operation and much-need equipment. Macron sees the full implementation of the G5 force as a long-term exit strategy for his own forces that intervened in 2013 to beat back an insurgency in northern Mali. We have a very simple objective which is to have the first victories in the first half of 2018, Macron said. He added that the aim was to ensure 5,000 men were ready by then. Macron has personally backed the force, including asking Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to contribute to it and prove the kingdom s intention to tackle extremist ideology. Saudi Arabia on Wednesday confirmed it would provide 100 million euros for the force, while the UAE will provide 30 million euros, bringing commitments to more than half the amount targeted. A separate donor conference is to be held on Feb. 23. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are interested in the Sahel. Getting a seat at the table, being seen as security stakeholders, is something that fits in their respective strategies, said Jalel Harchaoui, a geopolitics researcher at Paris 8 University. Macron said he wanted to push the Security Council to divert funds from the more than 10,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping force in Mali to the G5. One notable absence in Paris was Algeria. Authorities in Paris are concerned it is not fully co-operating in tackling militants roaming along its border or pushing the implementation of Malian peace talks that it brokered. All those who want to take part in the Sahel coalition are welcome. I went to Algeria last week and I invited Algeria to co-operate more actively to the work today. It s Algeria s decision, but I want (their help), Macron said in reply to a journalist s question. Algiers remains suspicious of military activity by its former colonial ruler near its border. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has said the mission duplicates existing activities since Algeria has already been co-ordinating counter-terrorism efforts with the G5 for over 10 years. | 0fake |
Saudi Arabia Re-Elected, Russia Loses UN Human Rights Council Place | Carol Adl in News , World // 0 Comments
Russia has failed to win re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
President Putin was beaten by Hungary and Croatia in a vote by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Friday.
For the first time since its inception in 2006, Russia will not be a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after being narrowly beaten by Croatia in a vote.
More than 80 human rights and aid organizations had urged UN member-states to vote Russia off the council because of its military support to President Bashar al-Assad during the crisis in Syria.
Saudi Arabia on the other hand was successfully re-elected despite criticism from human rights organizations.
RT reports:
Saudi Arabia sailed through the Asian ballot with 152 votes, and will represent the region on the UNHRC alongside China, Japan and Iraq for the next three years.
South Africa, Rwanda, Egypt and Tunisia were chosen from the African group, Cuba and Brazil from Latin America and the Caribbean, and the US and the UK will represent the Western bloc, which comprises Western Europe and North America.
Over the next term, which will last between 2017 and 2019, the 14 chosen members will be tasked with formulating the UN’s official position on conflicts occurring around the world, as well as the domestic policies of member states.
The elections took place against a backdrop of criticism from non-governmental human rights organizations, who say that the body has been hijacked by oppressive regimes looking to deflect criticism and drive their own agendas.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International produced a joint statement earlier this year condemning Riyadh for “an appalling record of violations” in Yemen, where it has conducted a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels since 2015, which has resulted in the deaths of up to 4,000 civilians. The two organizations called for Saudi Arabia, a member of the UNHRC since it was created in 2006, to be suspended – to no avail.
Saudi Arabia used its power in the council to block an outside inquiry into the campaign last month, while leading a successful resolution that placed the responsibility of investigating human rights abuses in the hands of its allies, the exiled Yemeni government.
Saudi Arabia carried out 157 executions domestically last year – the highest number in two decades, and is on pace to match the number this year. Critics of the regime have often faced detention, while women do not enjoy autonomy and equal status before the law. | 1real |
Boiler Room EP #129 – Mandalay ‘Massacre:’ Initial Boil Down with Hesh, Spore, Jay, Funk and Pharaoh | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along side Jay Dyer of Jays Analysis, Fvnk$oul & Infidel Pharaoh (ACR Contributors) for the hundred and twenty ninth episode of BOILER ROOM. Turn it up, tune in and hang with the ACR Brain-Trust for this weeks boil downs and analysis and the usual gnashing of the teeth of the political animals in the social reject club.Hesher, Spore, Jay Dyer, Fvnk$oul and Infidel Pharaoh representing the ACR Brain-Trust with their initial analysis of the Mandalay Bay Massacre. The details, the anomalies, opinions, hypotheses and the questions we came up with in the first 24 hours after the event.Direct Download Episode #129 Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved! Reference Links, for your consideration and research: | 1real |
BET Had More Than A Few Things To Say To Stacey Dash About Her Hypocrisy (TWEETS) | By now you ve probably heard about the remarks Clueless star and Fox News contributor Stacey Dash made about race, segregation and BET. However, if you haven t they went something like this: I think it s ludicrous. We have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you re only awarded it you re black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms, it s a double standard there shouldn t be a black history month. We re Americans. Period. Well, as you can only imagine that didn t go over so well. The twitterverse had her name trending within hours and pretty much everyone had something to say regarding Dash s ridiculous remarks. In fact, BET responded themselves. First by tweeting a link that displayed Every Time Stacey Dash Proved She Was Clueless :Every Time Stacey Dash Proved She Was Clueless: https://t.co/mto8DSxVhe pic.twitter.com/NBDorO6Jna BET (@BET) January 20, 2016THEN they tweeted:? Soooooo @REALStaceyDash can we get our check back or nah? #Remember #YouWereOnTheGame #AndWeDontMeanTheRapper pic.twitter.com/2vWq03J0c9 BET (@BET) January 20, 2016Dash clearly forgot that she guest-starred on BET s The Game. She also clearly forgot all of these moments in her life as well while making her dimwitted remarks. Roland Martin tells it like it is:.@REALStaceyDash says there should not be Black networks or awards shows. So why has she done interviews/photo spreads w/Black magazines? rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016Hey @REALStaceyDash. Did you tell @FoxNews you attended the 2011 @NAACP Theatre Awards? I know. Pesky facts! pic.twitter.com/JheCjiB445 rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016Remember that time @REALStaceyDash adorned the cover of a Black health magazine, Heart & Soul? Hmmmm. pic.twitter.com/Egr6c8ExpB rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016My bad @REALStaceyDash. You were a PRESENTER with @TheOrlandoJones at the NAACP Theatre Awards. I know. The Internet pic.twitter.com/9OSY7U3Lta rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016One more @REALStaceyDash. So no to Black History Month @naacpimageaward @BET, but yes to Black men's mag King? Hmmmm pic.twitter.com/dokpzt3Pn9 rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016 Wait. Is that @REALStaceyDash on the cover of @GetJETmag with Damon Wayans promoting Mo' Money? Wow. Black magazine. pic.twitter.com/RTgSUAtFhj rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016Hey @REALStaceyDash! That was a pretty smooth cover shoot for the Black men's magazine Smooth! #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/OIAnRA1bz5 rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 20, 2016Oops.According to Dash, she herself is ludicrous and a bad American for appearing in programming on BET, going to award shows for only people of color, and for appearing on magazines meant for the black community. She really and truly seems clueless as her former role suggests.It s clear why Fox News hired her. Dash will say the things that clearly don t make sense to appeal to the audience that Fox has built up over the years old, white people who are angry and scared of anyone who doesn t look or sound like them. It s too bad, really, because she s in a role where she could reach out to that audience to offer some much-needed clarity, but instead she caters to their myopic minds by agreeing with them and telling them what they want to hear.Featured image: Twitter | 1real |
Trump Fans At Wisconsin Game Wear Obama Mask With Noose Attached (TWEETS) | There s no doubt that two men seated near the front row at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., are not Hillary Clinton supporters, nor do they support America s first black president. One of the unidentified men wore a Barack Obama costume to Saturday s Nebraska vs. Wisconsin game which displayed a noose around the neck of the president. The other man was pulling the rope around Obama s neck.I can t imagine what it must be like for people of color who have this experience this disgusting amount of hate everyday. I feel sick pic.twitter.com/KmkxkWNcv3 ? (@woahohkatie) October 29, 2016Here s that image again:Employees at the Wisconsin arena ask the football fan to remove the display.The fan also toted a sign critical of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Although the writing on the sign was difficult to decipher in the tweet, judging by the costume we re guessing it wasn t too kind.The situation was brought to the attention of university police on Twitter, but the fan was not removed from the game. The university cited the fan s right to free speech. The Wisconsin police answered tweets from those upset by the costume. Each one said, While we don t support the offensive image of a noose, its a form of free speech. Guest Svcs. asked them to remove it, they did. @mk_rodgers While we don t support the offensive image of a noose, its a form of free speech. Guest Svcs. asked them to remove it, they did. UW-Madison Police (@UWMadisonPolice) October 30, 2016At some point, the men exited the arena, this time with one wearing a Donald Trump costume with a noose around Hillary Clinton s neck.It APPEARS the men were first asked to removed the Obama mask then asked to leave. This was their exit pic.twitter.com/Xv1UxMOfaW ? (@woahohkatie) October 30, 2016The University of Wisconsin released a statement:During the first half of this evening s Wisconsin football game against Nebraska, UW officials were made aware that an individual in the seating bowl had donned a highly insensitive and offensive costume. UW Athletics guest services staff were dispatched to the individual s seating area where they asked him to remove the offensive components of the costume. He complied.UW Athletics policy regarding admission into the stadium with a costume stipulates that no one may be wearing a mask upon entering the facility. Once inside, it is permissible to wear a mask. The costume, while repugnant AND COUNTER TO THE VALUES OF THE UNIVERSITY AND ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT, was an exercise of the individual s right to free speech. The university also exercised its rights by asking the individual to remove the offensive parts of the costume.UW-Madison is dedicated to promoting a campus environment where all people feel valued, safe and able to thrive. To that end, the university continues to encourage all of our community members to engage in discussion over vital issues in ways that promote greater understanding and respect for all persons.What s even more unnerving about the display would be the white people standing around the men seeing nothing wrong with their actions. This was at a football game, not a political event, not that either is acceptable for this sort of behavior.Earlier this month, a man featured a float in a parade displaying Donald Trump executing Hillary Clinton. The float displayed a Trump/Pence sign and a Make America Great Again sign, along with something to do with the Democratic presidential nominee s health.Trump supporters on Twitter are defending the football fans deplorable behavior, but just as the Indiana man questioned Hillary s health, we should question the mental health of Donald s supporters.Only Trump supporters would find this behavior acceptable while disparaging Colin Kaepernick for his form of silently protesting racial inequality.Image via Twitter. | 1real |
Jewish Leader Close To Trump Says President Has Persuaded Abbas To Make Concessions to Israel | TEL AVIV — President Donald Trump has convinced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make certain concessions that will allow the peace process to move forward, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder told Israeli lawmakers at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York. [Lauder, considered one of the closest Jewish leaders to Trump, has the president’s ear, according to the Jerusalem Post. The Lauder and Trump families have been friends for decades. Lauder, who has extensive ties in the Arab world, has advised the president on how to advance diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East, the report said. Lauder, who served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unofficial envoy to Syria, told Israeli ministers at the conference that he was confident Trump would succeed in his attempt to jumpstart the moribund peace process. The politicians briefed by Lauder included Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Science and Technology Ofir Akunis, as well as opposition leader Isaac Herzog. “Trump is very optimistic that he can renew the peace process,” one of the politicians told the Post after speaking to Lauder. “Lauder understands from Trump that he believes Abbas can be convinced by him and Arab leaders to come back to the table and make concessions. ” Three of the ministers, Bennett, Shaked and Akunis, emphatically expressed their opposition to a Palestinian state in their speeches at the conference, saying that Abbas has not proved himself a viable partner for peace. Herzog, on the other hand, had harsh words for Netanyahu but praised Trump. “So far, Trump’s peace efforts have been impeccable,” Herzog said. “We know what Trump wants. What Netanyahu wants, no one knows. I have grave doubts about Bibi’s intentions. If he wants peace, he will enjoy political support even from my camp. But if he opts for what Bibi usually wants, he will find us a fierce opposition and we will replace him as soon as possible. ” Trump is scheduled to arrive in Israel on the morning of Monday, May 22 for a visit. He will be arriving from Saudi Arabia. Some reports have said he will also visit Bethlehem in the West Bank to tour the Church of the Nativity and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the second time this month. The first meeting was in Washington on May 3. | 0fake |
Cruz allies prevail in North Dakota delegate race | Fargo, North Dakota (CNN) Ted Cruz claimed a majority of delegates in North Dakota on Sunday -- though the delegates are not bound to him, so their loyalty remains uncertain.
North Dakota Republicans selected 25 national delegates and, of those, 18 were on a list of preferred delegates that Cruz circulated -- a clear win for the Texas senator.
The delegates met Sunday evening, just as the convention ended, and selected State Party Chairman Kelly Armstrong to be chair their convention delegation and chose Republican National Committeeman Curly Haugland and RNC Committeewoman Sandy Boehler to serve on the powerful convention rules committee.
Party leaders make up many of the slots, including Gov. Jack Dalrymple, First Lady Betsy Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and top party donors. But party activists won a good number of slots, too.
The delegates who said they were supporting Cruz Sunday were adamant in their support. Rick Becker, who ran a close race for the Republican nomination for governor at the convention, said he didn't want to hold out making a decision in order to be wooed by candidates.
"Should I play that game? No, I don't care. If I was actually undecided, I'd say that, but I just kind of, I'm always standing by principle, as boring as that might be. I know I'm going to support Cruz, I can't fathom what would occur." Becker said. "Holding out for a helicopter ride, or the goodie bags, or all that kind of crap. I'm just, I'm not interested in that."
With the delegates formally unbound and free to make their own decisions at the national convention, it would be impossible to declare North Dakota's results a clear win for any of the three campaigns. But the race was on Sunday evening to do just that anyway. The Cruz campaign sought to portray the results as an unequivocal win.
"I'm thrilled to have the vote of confidence of Republican voters in North Dakota who delivered such a resounding victory today," Cruz said in a statement. "As I met them over the weekend, North Dakota Republicans recognized that I am the only candidate who can move this country forward by protecting freedom and liberty. Whether we defeat Donald Trump before the convention or at it, I'm energized to have the support of the vast majority of North Dakota delegates."
Even though none of the 17 national delegates contacted by CNN said they were voting for Kasich, the Ohio governor's campaign claimed a victory of sorts Sunday evening.
"Cruz strong arm tactics fail in ND, where he lost key floor vote & helped elect delegates who will vote @johnkasich in Cleveland. #NDGOP16" tweeted top Kasich strategist John Weaver.
Cruz himself addressed the North Dakota Republican gathering Saturday. The other campaigns sent surrogates. Former candidate Ben Carson rallied the more than 1,600 state delegates for Trump Sunday morning, with a speech focused heavily on faith and his efforts to teach Trump religion and spirituality. But behind the scenes he lobbied North Dakota Republican brass one-on-one.
Ahead of Sunday's speech, he pulled Haugland into a private meeting, he also met privately with former Gov. Ed Schafer the night before.
"We had an opportunity to really explain things, to explain rationale for doing things," Carson told CNN backstage at the Scheels Arena. "I said the proof will be in the pudding we'll see how it all comes out."
As the delegates packed into this Fargo hockey arena for the final day of their state convention, the Trump, Cruz and Kasich campaigns worked furiously to identify supporters. Republicans were scheduled to vote for 25 national delegates from a list of 74 nominated delegates.
But the state's unique delegate selection process -- which lets delegates vote for whichever candidate they prefer at the national convention -- led to much battling between the campaigns.
North Dakota's lone congressman, Rep. Kevin Cramer, endorsed Trump Sunday, shortly before North Dakota Republicans began selecting the delegates to the national convention.
"It's something I'd been processing for a long time and it really culminated with my online straw poll where I really did want to give voice to the people who can't be here," Cramer said.
Because the delegates will be unbound, they are not formally committed to any campaign. But that didn't stop the campaigns from working to set expectations so they could claim victory.
Trump adviser Barry Bennett told CNN that "a plurality" on the list of 25 preferred were leaning toward Trump after a strong lobbying effort from Cramer, who Bennett called the Trump operation's "Sherpa" over the course of the hectic weekend.
"We'll be drinking champagne here all day," Bennett said, if the slate of 25 delegates picked by party leaders earlier this weekend passes in the convention. Of the 25 people the party leaders put forward, 16 were chosen and nine new delegates were selected.
Still, as is the case on the ground in states around the country, Cruz's campaign has had a strong presence in and around the convention. In addition to Cruz's speech on Saturday, Carly Fiorina, the former presidential candidate and top Cruz surrogate, has been meeting publicly and privately with potential delegates since Friday.
As many as 10 of the delegates on the preferred list have indicated some or solid public support for Cruz.
Kasich's delegate wranglers were equally optimistic Saturday after reviewing the list of party picks, saying they saw at least 20 on their who could be swayed to their side.
In the end, however, the decisions will not be known until the delegates place their vote on the first ballot at the national convention in Cleveland. | 0fake |
Britain frustrated by slow pace of Brexit talks: finance minister | MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May s top ministers are all frustrated by the slow pace of Brexit negotiations, but her team owes her its loyalty as she negotiates Britain s departure from the European Union, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday. At the Conservative Party s conference in Manchester, northern England, Hammond played down the importance of four new red lines set down by foreign minister Boris Johnson in a British newspaper that underlined the rifts in cabinet. We re all frustrated by the slow progress that we ve made over the last few months with the European Union negotiations, that s why the prime minister went to Florence 10 days ago and made a key speech which was designed specifically to unstick the logjam in the negotiations and move them forward, he told ITV television. Boris position on these issues are well known. I back the prime minister in what is a very complex and delicate negotiation with our European Union partners to deliver Britain s exit in the way the British people have mandated us to do. | 0fake |
Looks Like Mike Pence Is Gonna Go Down With The #TrumpRussia Ship (VIDEO) | If there is anyone who is a thorn in the side of the Donald Trump administration, it s MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. She is relentless in her thorough and well thought out journalism, exposing Trump for the fraud that he is.In yet another report, while many think if Trump is impeached or forced to resign Mike Pence will take over the role of president, Maddow is letting America and the world know he may go down with the ship.Maddow reports: Mike Pence had been the head of the Trump transition. As such, he would have been intimately involved with the selection and vetting process for a job as important as national security adviser. Nevertheless, Vice President Mike Pence has professed absolute ignorance of any of the scandals of any of the foreign payments, contacts and all the rest of it surrounding Mike Flynn. Pence was the leader of the transition. As leader of the transition, he was notified in writing by members of Congress about Flynn s apparent financial ties to the government of Turkey. The transition was also apparently notified twice by Flynn s own lawyers about his financial relationship with the government of Turkey, but nevertheless, Vice President Mike Pence says he has no idea about any of that. Further: Vice President Mike Pence claims he had absolutely no idea about that despite him being notified about on the record multiple times and it being a matter of considerable public discussion. Mike Pence s role in the Mike Flynn scandal is flashing like a red beacon for anyone who sees him as the normal Republican in this setting. Maddow is absolutely correct. There is no way, with all this information coming out, that Pence was left completely in the dark with no knowledge of what has been going on. If Trump is going down, Pence will undoubtedly go down with him as he should.Watch Maddow here:Featured Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images HT Politicus | 1real |
TINGLE UP HIS LEG? NBC Paid Off Chris Matthews Staffer After Sexual Harassment Claim | Here s yet another claim that s really iffy because the victim experienced juvenile and inappropriate comments from Matthews If this is sexual harassment then 99.9% of men AND women have encountered this sort of behavior We re obviously not fans of Matthews but this is a ridiculous claim by a staffer not matter who it is REMEMBER WHEN MATTHEWS WAS CAUGHT ON A HOT MIC OGLING THE FIRST LADY:PAYOUT TO ACCUSER:An MSNBC spokesman confirmed Saturday the company made a separation-related payment to one of Chris Matthews employees after the woman complained about sexual harassment.Matthews paid $40,000 to settle with an assistant producer on his show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, in 1999 after she accused him of harassment. An MSNBC spokesperson contested that claim to the Caller, saying the company instead paid significantly less as part of a severance package.The woman complained to CNBC executives about Matthews making inappropriate comments and jokes about her while in the company of others.The MSNBC spokesman said that they thoroughly reviewed the situation at the time and that Matthews received a formal reprimand. Based on people who were involved in matter, the network concluded that the comments were inappropriate and juvenile but were not intended to be taken as propositions.The woman received separation-related compensation when she left MSNBC and has gone on to work in a number of high-profile media positions. NBC declined to comment on whether the employee left because of Matthews or whether this was the only claim in Matthews history at the company.Read more: Daily Caller | 1real |
Silicon Valley blasts Senate proposal to tax startup options | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A proposal by the U.S. Senate to change the way shares in startup companies are taxed incited panic and dread in Silicon Valley on Monday, with startup founders and investors warning of nothing less than the demise of their industry should the proposal become law. The provision in the Senate’s tax reform plan, which appeared to catch the industry by surprise, involves the treatment of employee stock options. These options give the holder the right to purchase shares in the future at a set price and can be very valuable if a company does well and the share price increases. Options are often a major portion of the compensation for startup employees and founders, who take lower salaries in anticipation of a big payout if their startup takes off. Options typically vest over a four-year period. Senate Republicans have now proposed taxing those stock options as they vest and before startup employees have the opportunity to cash them in, resulting in annual tax bills that could easily climb into the tens of thousands of dollars, say startup founders and venture capitalists. “If there were a single piece of legislation to adversely affect startups, it would be this,” said Venky Ganesan, managing director at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures. “Everyone is freaked out.” Justin Field, vice president of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association, said that the Senate’s proposed tax change would be “crippling” to the startup industry. How far the provision gets remains to be seen. The National Venture Capital Association was successful in getting a similar proposal removed from the House tax bill, although it “didn’t fully appreciate” the Senate’s intention to add the tax provision, Field said. The association also helped to steer lawmakers away from a proposal discussed late last year to tax venture capitalists’ profits on investments at a higher rate. Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, has filed an amendment to repeal the provision in the tax bill, according to his spokesman. Under current tax code, employees are taxed only when they exercise their options. Options are exercised when the price they were granted at—known as the strike price—is lower than the share price, and some shares can then be sold to pay the taxes. But the Senate proposal would require startup employees to pay regular income tax on the value gain of their stock options even before they are exercised. These options are illiquid assets, and cannot be spent or saved. “What this would mean is every month, when your equity compensation vests a little bit, you will owe taxes on it even though you can’t do anything with that equity compensation,” Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist with Union Square Ventures, wrote on his blog Monday. For instance, if a startup employee receives stock options at a dollar per share, and the shares increase in value by $1 every year during the four-year vesting period, the employee would have to pay income tax on $1 per share after the first year, pay again on the $1 increase in value after the second year, and so on. When that employee owns hundreds of thousands and even millions of shares, that is a hefty bill to pay. And there is always the risk the startup will eventually fail. “This reform will force the average employee to pay taxes on that bet well before they even know if it’s a winning ticket,” said Amanda Kahlow, founder and executive chairman of marketing data startup 6sense. For startup founders in particular, such a tax bill could be ruinous. “It would mean that I would have to sell the company,” said Shoaib Makani, founder and chief executive of long-haul trucking startup KeepTruckin. “I have zero net worth aside from the common stock I hold in the company. It would be impossible. I would be in default.” Some executives in the startup industry, however, have pushed for companies to move toward bigger salaries so employees are not so dependent on options to buy a house or pay for other large expenses. And when startups suffer valuation cuts, employees can end up with worthless options. The Senate’s proposal came as a revenue-generating measure to help offset tax breaks in the bill. A spokesman for Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, did not respond to requests for comment and other Republicans on the committee were not immediately available. A spokeswoman for Senator Ron Wyden, the committee’s ranking member and a Democrat, said he was aware of concerns that the provision would limit startups’ ability to attract talent. | 0fake |
Exclusive: U.S. House to vote on Iran Sanctions Act renewal as soon as November | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives plan a vote as soon as mid-November on a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, congressional aides told Reuters on Tuesday, setting up a potential showdown with the White House and Senate. The Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, which expires on Dec. 31, allows trade, energy, defense and banking industry sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile tests. Its fate is one of the major pieces of unfinished business facing lawmakers when they return to Washington on Nov. 14 for the first time after the Nov. 8 elections. U.S. Representative Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is expected to introduce the 10-year renewal as soon as Congress gets back, aides said. Congressional aides said a “clean” renewal, meaning unchanged from the current legislation, was likely to pass the House. Its fate in the Senate was much less certain, and a White House spokesman would not say whether President Barack Obama would sign it into law. Republicans control majorities in both the House and Senate, and every Republican in Congress opposed the international nuclear deal announced in July 2015, in which Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions. Republicans have since tried repeatedly to pass legislation to clamp down on Iran, accusing Obama of being so eager to burnish his foreign policy legacy that he conceded too much to Tehran in the nuclear talks. Some Senate Republicans want more than a clean renewal of the ISA. They are trying to build support for legislation that would renew it but also do more to punish individual Iranians and businesses over the country’s ballistic missile tests and what they see as its support for terrorism. Some senators have also pushed for a law that would eliminate the president’s right to waive sanctions for security reasons. Obama’s administration had asked Congress to hold off on renewing the ISA, saying it has enough power to reimpose economic sanctions if Iran violates the nuclear agreement even if it expires. White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to say how Obama would respond to the bill if it passed both houses of Congress and reached his desk. “I won’t prejudge at this point whether or not the president would sign that bill,” Earnest told reporters traveling with the president in Los Angeles. “The president and the Treasury Department retain significant sanctions authority that already has been used to impose costs on Iran for their flagrant violation of their international obligations,” he said. White House opposition to the bill could generate resistance from Democrats in the Senate, making it more difficult for any legislation to garner the 60 votes needed to move ahead. Because Republicans hold only 54 seats in the 100-member chamber, they would need Democratic support to move any bill. Renewing the sanctions bill could also increase frustrations in Iran. Iranian officials have been complaining for months that remaining U.S. sanctions have frightened away trade partners and robbed it of too many benefits it was promised under the nuclear deal. A House Foreign Affairs Committee aide said addressing the ISA before it expires is a “top priority” for Royce. “The Iran Sanctions Act was enacted to curb Tehran’s support for terrorism and its very dangerous weapons proliferation. It should remain in place until the regime stops exporting terror and threatening us and our allies with deadly weapons,” Royce said in a statement sent to Reuters. “That’s why I’ll be introducing a bipartisan, long-term extension of these important sanctions,” he said. | 0fake |
New Pew Report: Significant Economic Impact of Illegals' "Anchor Babies" | Email
The Pew Research Center released a report last week based on information from the National Center for Health Statistics on birth rates in the United States. Data found within the report could raise concerns over both the economic and cultural ramifications of the birth rates of foreign-born mothers in the United States.
According to the report, "In 2014, about 275,000 babies were born to unauthorized-immigrant parents in the United States, accounting for about seven percent of all U.S. births, and 32 percent of all U.S. births to foreign-born mothers."
While that figure represents a decline in the number of babies born to unauthorized immigrants in the United States, the economic impact of these children is significant, as illegal families are granted access to welfare programs through their U.S.-born children, known as “anchor babies.”
Last year, in an analysis of 2009 census data, National Review reported that 71 percent of illegal-alien-headed households with children received some sort of welfare, compared with 39 percent of native-headed households. Furthermore, children of illegals are granted access to public schools, which can cost approximately $160,000 per pupil for a K-12 public school education, based on an average yearly cost of $12,300 per student.
These 275,000 children are also granted access to healthcare. Under ObamaCare, these families are eligible for costly subsidies paid for by taxpayers who, in many cases, are not eligible for the same subsidies and therefore are faced with either exorbitant healthcare costs for their own families or stiff fines for opting out of health insurance.
Furthermore, the data also reveal that foreign-born mothers live in families that make less money than U.S.-born counterparts. Pew Research writes, “While median family income for new U.S-born moms is about $51,200 annually, this figure is $41,300 for new foreign-born moms. And while about 26% of new U.S.-born mothers live in poverty, this share rises to 31% for foreign-born new mothers.”
Pew advises, “The share of babies born to moms from Latin America has declined while the share of babies born to moms from regions such as Asia has increased."
It’s also worth noting that when these babies become adults, they will compete for wages against the children of U.S.-born parents in a slow-growing economy weighed down by crippling regulations.
Pew reports, “While the annual number of babies born in the U.S. has fluctuated in recent years — most markedly during the Great Recession when there was a significant drop in births nationwide — the trajectory over the past four decades or so has been upward. In 2014, there were 4.00 million births in the U.S., compared with 3.74 million in 1970.”
The report continues, “This growth has been driven entirely by the increasing numbers of babies born to immigrant women. In 2014, immigrant women accounted for about 901,000 U.S. births, which marked a threefold increase from 1970 when immigrant women accounted for about 274,000 births. Meanwhile, the annual number of births to U.S.-born women dropped by 11% during that same time period, from 3.46 million in 1970 to 3.10 million in 2014."
The International Business Times reports that by 2042, minorities will become the majority and by 2050, will make up 54 percent of the populace. By 2023, non-whites will be the majority among children.
The impact on the cultural makeup of the United States is troubling, as it remains to be seen whether these families will assimilate into the American culture. In a piece for The New American last week, Thomas Sowell wrote, People who came here a hundred years ago usually did so in order to fit within the framework of America and become Americans. Some still do. But many come from a very different cultural background — and our own multiculturalism dogmas and grievance industry work to keep them foreign and resentful of Americans who have achieved more than they have. Some immigrant groups seek to bring to America the very cultures whose failures led them to flee to this country. Not all individual immigrants and not all immigrant groups. But too many Americans have become so gullible that they are afraid to even get the facts about which immigrants have done well and improved America, and which have become a burden that can drag us all down.
One need not look further than California to find evidence of Sowell’s observations. At Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, for example, American flag t-shirts were banned during Cinco de Mayo (May 5), a Mexican holiday, so as to not offend the Mexican students.
As noted by Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow at the Kathryn and Shelby Collom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, American has drifted far from its belief in “E Pluribus Unum” (Latin for “Out of Many, One”), and has made any expectation for assimilation into American culture a taboo and politically incorrect goal: Patriotic assimilation is the bond that allows America to be a nation of immigrants. Without it, America either ceases to be a nation, becoming instead a hodgepodge of groups — or it becomes a nation that can no longer welcome immigrants. It cannot be both a unified nation and a place that welcomes immigrants without patriotic assimilation. Over the past few decades, however, America has drifted away from assimilating immigrants. Elites — in the government, the culture, and the academy — have led a push toward multiculturalism, which emphasizes group differences. This transformation has taken place with little input from rank-and-file Americans, who overwhelmingly support assimilation. As Ronald Reagan worried just as it was first getting underway, this tectonic shift that “divides us into minority groups” was initiated by political opportunists “to create voting blocs.”
With foreign-born mothers having more children than U.S.-born mothers, the best hope to preserve the American culture is for these families to adapt to the American culture.
Meanwhile, the data reveal that an increasing number of children are being born to unmarried parents. The latest figures show that 42 percent of U.S.-born women were unmarried when giving birth.
The Pew Research Center reports, The share of babies born to unmarried mothers has consistently been higher for U.S.-born women than for immigrant women. However, the roughly 10-point gap between the two groups in 2014 is the largest disparity since birth data by nativity and marital status became available 30 years earlier.
Overall, 41 percent of babies born in 2014 were to unmarried women — double what it was 30 years ago. Teenagers comprise six percent of the births among unmarried U.S.-born women and two percent of foreign-born women. | 1real |
China says diplomacy needed to rid Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons | BEIJING (Reuters) - Denuclearization of the Korean peninsula should be achieved through peaceful and diplomatic means, China s foreign ministry said on Monday, as the United Nations discusses fresh sanctions against North Korea following its latest nuclear test. At a regular news briefing, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated China s call for more steps by the U.N. Security Council, saying he hoped its members could reach consensus. A U.S.-drafted resolution originally called for an oil embargo on the North, a halt to key textile exports and financial and travel bans on leader Kim Jong Un, but appears to have been watered down, according to a draft seen by Reuters. North Korea drew global condemnation for conducting its sixth nuclear test on Sept 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb. | 0fake |
FBI director, Apple general counsel to testify March 1: House panel | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Senior Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Sewell will testify at a March 1 congressional hearing on encryption issues, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee said in a statement on Thursday. The hearing comes amid a dispute between the tech giant and the government over unlocking an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters. | 0fake |
After talks, Mexico says at 'impasse' with Trump over wall payment | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States will be stuck at an impasse unless they solve U.S. President Donald Trump’s “unacceptable” demand of payment for a border wall, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday. Fresh home from failed talks in Washington, Guajardo also expressed concern about Trump’s “unpredictability” and habits on Twitter. President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday canceled a scheduled visit to the United States next week following Trump’s insistence that Mexico “respect” the United States and pay for a new wall on the southern U.S. border. “Sincerely, there is clear disagreement at the moment because of a campaign promise he made that from the Mexican perspective is unacceptable,” Guajardo told Mexican television network Televisa. “It is serious, because it leaves us at an impasse until we find a mechanism to resolve it,” the minister said, adding that Trump should not underestimate Mexico’s resolve on the issue. “Mexicans are not going to pay.” He said communication with Trump’s team remained open. The White House on Thursday floated the idea of imposing a 20 percent tax on goods from Mexico to pay for a wall at the southern U.S. border, sending the peso tumbling and deepening the crisis between the two neighbors. Guajardo said the United States and Mexico could reach mutually beneficial improvements to the North American Free Trade Agreement if the issue of paying for the wall was resolved. Trump had tweeted on Thursday that it would be better for the Mexican leader not to come to Washington if Mexico would not pay for the wall. Guajardo joined Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray in meetings with White House senior officials on Wednesday. He said that the meetings had been productive, but that Trump’s later tweet had forced Mexico to cancel due to the question of “dignity.” “That unpredictability of reaction creates problems,” Guajardo said, referring to Trump’s Thursday tweet even as he praised a constructive attitude of other members of Trump’s team including Trump strategist Stephen Bannon. “Their attitude to work, to plan, to see solutions is extraordinary, Believe me” Guajardo said. Trump kept up his criticism of Mexico on Friday saying the United States’ southern neighbor had taken advantage of it long enough and demanding that “Massive trade deficits & little help on the very weak border must change NOW!” | 0fake |
Terror Plot to Run Crowds Over in Times Square Thwarted | RedFlag News | Terrorism
By Justin Holcomb, Townhall.com
An Uber driver from Brooklyn has been accused of traveling to the Middle East to join ISIS and expressed support for a Nice-style attack with a garbage truck in Times Square, New York authorities said.
Mohamed Rafik Naji, 37, faces charges of providing material support for terrorism and was arrested in his home on Monday.
Last summer, Naji allegedly expressed support to an informant for carrying out a deadly attack in Times Square with a garbage truck crushing pedestrian just like the ISIS truck attack in Nice, France in July.
"They (ISIS) want an operation in Times Square," Naji told the informant on July 19.
"As alleged, the defendant was persistent in his efforts to join ISIL and support its terrorist objectives,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Capers. “We will continue to identify and prosecute individuals like Naji who seek to empower our nation’s enemies and endanger our citizens and partners around the world.” | 1real |
Only a Rumbling Volcano Could Make North Korea and the West Play Nice - The New York Times | Today the volcano that straddles the border between China and North Korea is tranquil. Hot springs simmer on the surrounding peaks, wild blueberries grow on its green slopes and a pool called Heaven Lake fills its crater. But Mount Paektu, as the North Koreans call it, is only asleep. When it last awoke about a thousand years ago, the Millennium Eruption unleashed one of the most violent volcanic events in recorded human history. And when North Korean scientists recorded a swarm of tiny earthquakes rumbling beneath the volcano from 2002 to 2005, they were so concerned that the reclusive country eventually contacted the West for help. The result was a rare collaboration of scientists from North Korea and researchers from countries with which it has hostile relations. Officials in Pyongyang first reached out in 2011, and after two years of planning the project was set. In 2013, volcanologists from the United States and Britain met researchers in North Korea to investigate Mount Paektu and its magma plumbing. The effort has since yielded tantalizing insights into the slumbering giant that once blanketed the Korean Peninsula in an avalanche of ash. Mount Paektu is sacred to the North Korean people. They valorize it as the site where Kim Il Sung, the founding father of modern North Korea, used guerrilla tactics to fight the Japanese during World War II, and as the supposed birthplace of his son, Kim who succeeded him as the country’s leader. North Koreans make pilgrimages to the mountain, and students march up its summit singing songs. It is an important fixture in their everyday lives, visible in their paintings and propaganda. Even kindergartners sing the song “Let’s Go to Mount Paektu. ” “That cultural significance explains part of the motivation for the scientists there to understand the volcano,” said Clive Oppenheimer, a volcanologist at the University of Cambridge who was part of the team. “They are concerned about the cultural impact that a future large eruption would have. ” That willingness to work helped the team collect vital information about the volcano’s inner workings. But the collaboration was not without its difficulties. “Typically as a geologist you want to walk around and explore, and you could imagine in North Korea that can be something of a challenge,” said James Hammond, a geophysicist at Birkbeck, University of London, who participated in the research. “You can’t just walk off and go wherever you want to. But with some communication and scientific argument, everything we wanted to do, we got. ” They communicated through translators who accompanied them throughout the trip. One challenge was the scientific gap between the two groups. Barred from attending conferences outside their country and denied access to most scientific literature, the North Koreans had been isolated from the last 20 years of debate in volcanology and geophysics. But they were eager to learn. (Efforts to contact the researchers from the Earthquake Administration and the State Academy of Science through North Korea’s permanent representative to the United Nations were not successful.) One of the questions that the team set out to answer was how much gas the Millennium Eruption sent into the sky, and whether the event affected the climate in the Northern Hemisphere. Large eruptions can release huge clouds of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. There, the sulfur gas transforms into a sulfate aerosol that reflects sunlight and cools the planet. The famous modern example was the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, which ejected so much volcanic dust and rock into the stratosphere it caused what is known as “the year without summer. ” Blizzards hit New York in June, and frost wreaked havoc on crops in New England in July. That eruption released an estimated 28 megatons of sulfur. When the sulfur falls back to the ground, it can get trapped and preserved in polar ice. Previous studies of ice cores from Greenland dated to A. D. 946, when the Millennium Eruption occurred, had low levels of sulfur, suggesting that the eruption emitted a small amount of gas and did not have strong effects on the climate. But the team thought the ice core estimates might have been low and wanted to test for sulfur traces within the white pumice that came from the actual eruption and was now scattered across the volcano. By analyzing the white pumice for geochemical clues, the team found that the Millennium Eruption actually emitted a large amount of sulfur into the atmosphere: an estimated 45 megatons. That is about 20 times what previous estimates had suggested, and about 1. 5 times what was emitted by Mount Tambora. “This eruption had much more gas than we thought it did in the past,” said Kayla Iacovino, a volcanologist at Arizona State University and lead author on the team’s most recent paper. “It had enough gas to place it as one of the largest volcanoes in human history. ” With that information, Dr. Iacovino said that the gas from the Millennium Eruption had the potential to affect the climate. But that does not mean that it did. Several factors, like the mountain’s high latitude and the time of year it erupted, could also have influenced its climate effects. The team published its findings last month in the journal Science Advances. Longpré, a volcanologist at Queens College in New York who was not involved in the research, said the paper “offers a fresh and improved view on this enigmatic volcanic event. ” He said that the authors’ estimates for sulfur emissions were most likely much closer to the true emissions from the Millennium Eruption than previous studies provided. But he added that the finding required further investigation. Dr. Iacovino said that the next step to forecasting any future eruptions would be continued monitoring. “We were able to make this collaboration supersuccessful in no small part thanks to the North Korean government,” she said. She hopes the results from their work with the North Koreans will lead to further research. “If we can understand the volcano’s history, what the volcano is capable of, only then can we start to make predictions of what it might do in the future. ” | 0fake |
Even Colbert’s ‘Trump Bully’ Is Jumping Off The Trump Train, And It’s Hilarious (VIDEO) | Throughout this entire election Stephen Colbert has invited a schoolyard bully on The Late Show who supposedly advises Donald Trump on all his ridiculous and childish nicknames. It s been a schtick that started out funny, but has become all too real when noticing Trump s behavior.So, when Colbert once again had Timmy the schoolyard bully on his show, it was the usual back and forth of sophomoric nicknames, but then Timmy did something unexpected he switched sides.Apparently, Trump has become too much of a bully for even Timmy the schoolyard bully, and is now supporting Hillary Clinton for president. He said: Okay, listen, I know You know, we need to talk for a second, man to fart knocker. I m in over my head, man! I thought this would be fun, ya know? Share some laughs, destroy the GOP, maybe even ban an entire religion from the country, but Trump s out of control! That guy is way too childish to be president! I m voting for Hillary! Cooties be damned! Trump will likely come up with a nickname for Timmy now. Just you wait. The Republican candidate can t handle anyone who thinks for themselves and supports sanity over himself.Watch the hilarious segment here:Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
Hilltop tribe's bitterness a challenge for Libya peace effort | BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) - Elders of a powerful tribe that defended the regime of former leader Muammar Gaddafi have a message for the United Nations as it tries to broker peace in Libya - talk to us or you will fail. The U.N. launched a new round of negotiations in September to unite a country that splintered along political, ideological and tribal lines during and after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that unseated Gaddafi. Western officials hope the talks will pave the way for elections next year and produce a functioning government that could curb militant activity, tackle migrant smuggling and stabilize the oil-rich nation s rapidly deteriorating economy. But conversations with the robed elders of the Warfalla tribe at their meeting in a hall in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid show how difficult that will be. Located 145km (90 miles) southeast of Tripoli, the isolated hilltop town did not accept the fall of Gaddafi in 2011 and held out against rebels two months longer than the capital. We are for dialogue... but the U.N. has never contacted us, said Muftah Eftais, leader of the council of elders. Winning over losers of the 2011 revolution will be key to stabilizing the North African country. The Warfalla account for 1.5 million out of six million Libyans, according to the elders council. We are represented in all regions. If the U.N. wants a solution for Libya you need to talk (to us) the tribes, said Eftais, drawing words of support from the assembled tribesmen. The U.N. Libya office said its envoy, Ghassan Salame, met a group of Libyan notables including a Warfalla representative from Bani Walid in late October, and that other members of the U.N. mission had been in touch with town officials on political, human rights, humanitarian and economic matters. At least two Warfalla delegates have also taken part in the latest talks in Tunis, a U.N. official said, but Eftais said the elders did not feel represented by them, highlighting Libya s multi-layered divisions. Bani Walid residents express their loyalty to the old regime much more openly than they did on a Reuters visit to the town in 2014. In the main square a Gaddafi-era green flag is hoisted next to pictures of martyrs killed in the 2011 violence and subsequent fighting. The elders govern Bani Walid and control their own armed force, in the absence of any national authority or army. Asked if life was better under Gaddafi, several exclaimed: We were in paradise. Cut off from Tripoli, they said their town has suffered even more than others from late public salary payments that have left people across the country struggling to get by, and from what they say are arbitrary detentions for their support of Gaddafi. None of us 60 elders have been to Tripoli since 2011 because we fear getting arrested, Eftais said. Two elders died in an ambush by unidentified gun men on the way home from peace talks in a town west of Bani Walid. Some say claims of isolation and discrimination are exaggerated. The problem with Bani Walid is that they sided with Gaddafi and Gaddafi lost, and they can t live with that, said Abdulrahman Swehli, the head Tripoli s High State Council who is from the rival town of Misrata. Economic troubles have deepened in Libya since 2014, when a battle for the capital led to rival parliaments and governments being set up in Tripoli and the east. A 2015 agreement sought to unite the two camps but instead created a third, U.N.-selected government, led by Prime Minister Fayez Seraj. It has struggled to make an impact after failing to win approval from military commander Khalifa Haftar, the dominant figure in eastern Libya. The new U.N. talks, held in Tunis, were suspended last month as neither side could agree on what role Haftar should play. He is said to have presidential ambitions but is a divisive figure. The Bani Walid elders say they do not support either camp. We are neither with Seraj nor with Haftar. Since 2011 the same people have been... in the GNC (parliament), government, playing musical chairs, said Eftais. The elders want the talks to take place in Libya, under the supervision of Libyans. After negotiations between rival parliaments, the U.N. says it is planning a national conference that would gather hundreds of representatives from across Libya and make any deal as inclusive as possible, bridging deep communal rifts. Bani Walid s enmity with Misrata, a wealthy port city 125 km to the northeast, shows how deep such divisions can run. Historical hostility between two communities that fought in the early 20th century was reignited when Misrata was shelled for weeks by Gaddafi forces in 2011. The following year, Bani Walid was attacked by fighters from Misrata and other towns, who daubed slogans on the walls that can still be seen today. In 2014 Misratans became the dominant force in Tripoli and the main source of military opposition to Haftar. But Misratan Islamist-leaning armed groups have been sidelined, while Haftar has managed to consolidate power in the east with help from tribal allies and foreign backers including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. As in other towns that forged alliances with Gaddafi during his 42-year rule, many in Bani Walid are nostalgic. State employees are often unpaid, schools and hospitals have been run down, and citizens have been caught up in the intermittent conflict. Several residents said they would vote for the late Gaddafi s most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, who made a last stand in Bani Walid before disappearing into the desert. His whereabouts are not clear. Life was 100 times better under the old system. We had security, a salary, health care, said Mohamed Hussein, a 40-year old who was searching with his cousin for iron in the ruins of hotel. We are trying to sell the iron for maybe 10 dinars $1.2 on the black market) because our salaries have not come through. The hotel has not been rebuilt as a drop in oil revenues due to armed group blockades has left little spare cash in what was once one of the richest countries in the Middle East. | 0fake |
All Governments Lie, The Movie | October Boomerang ‹ › David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.com and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org . He hosts Talk Nation Radio . Talk Nation Radio is on VT Radio and is syndicated by Pacifica Network. The show also airs on WTJU, Charlottesville, VA; WCSX-Detroit, MI; KGHI, Westport, WA; WHUS, Storrs, CT; WPRR, Grand Rapids, MI; KRFP-LP, Moscow, ID; KZGM, Cabool, MO; KMUD, Garberville, CA; WAZU, Peoria, IL; WXRD, Crown Point, IN; Geneva Radio, Geneva, NY; KKRN, Round Mountain, CA; KSKQ-LP, Ashland, OR; WUOW-LP, Oneonta, NY; No Lies Radio, Pinole, CA; WYAP-LP, Clay, WV; The Detour, Johnson City, TN; WZRD, Chicago, IL; WEFT, Champaign, IL; WXPI, Pittsburgh, PA; WDRT, Viroqua, WI; Veracity Now, online; Liberty and Justice Radio, Shirley, MA; Ithaca Community Radio, Ithaca, NY; WMCB, Greenfield, MA; PRX.org; KAOS 89.3fm, Olympia, WA; WUSB 90.1 FM, Stony Brook, NY; WOOL-FM, Bellow Falls, Vermont; WSLR-LP 96.5 in Sarasota, Florida. He also blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org And is a prolific author. His latest books are; War Is A Lie , Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union , and When the World Outlawed War Swanson holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Read his full and complete biography at DavidSwanson.org and also visit book site at War Is Crime . All Governments Lie, The Movie By David Swanson on October 31, 2016 A Film About Liars and the Journalists That Expose Them
By David Swanson
Picture, if you will, video footage of vintage (early 2016) Donald Trump buffoonery with the CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves commenting on major media’s choice to give Trump vastly more air time than other candidates: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”
That’s the introduction to a powerful critique of the U.S. media. A new film screens in New York and Los Angeles this week called All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone .
The website AllGovernmentsLie.com has screening dates , a list of lies , and a list of good journalists who expose lies . The lists on the website are not identical to the content of the film, but there’s a good deal of overlap — enough to give you a sense of what this project is about.
I’d have made various changes and additions to the film. In particular, I’m tired of all the focus on Iraq 2003. This film touches on war lies since then, but still gives that one particular set of war lies prominence.
Still, this is a film that should be shown in cities, homes, and classrooms across the United States. It includes and is driven by Noam Chomsky’s analysis of how the media system is “rigged” without those doing the rigging believing they’ve done anything at all. It’s a survey of skullduggery by corporate media. It’s an introduction to numerous journalists far superior to the norm. And it’s an introduction to I.F. Stone. It includes footage of a presentation of the annual Izzy Award which goes to journalists acting in Stone’s tradition.
One of the lies listed in the film and on the website is that of the Gulf of Tonkin (non-)Incident. Anyone paying attention knows of it now as a war lie. And it was a transparent war lie at the time in a particular sense. That is: had the North Vietnamese really shot back at a U.S. ship off their coast, that would not have been any sort of legal, much less moral, justification for escalating a war. I’d love it if people could grasp that logic and apply it to the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and every other part of the earth today.
But the Gulf of Tonkin lies about Vietnamese aggression against the U.S. ships innocently patrolling and firing off the coast of Vietnam were not transparent to people with faith in the U.S. role of Global Policeman. Someone had to make the lies transparent. Someone had to document that in fact the Secretary of So-Called Defense and the President were lying. Sadly, nobody did that in the first 24 hours after the Congressional committee hearings, and that was all it took for Congress to hand the president a war.
And it was decades before White House transcripts came out and before the National Security Agency confessed, and additional years before former Secretary Robert McNamara did. Yet, those revelations simply confirmed what people paying attention knew. And they knew it because of I.F. Stone who just weeks after the (non-)incident published a four-page edition of his weekly newsletter exclusively about Tonkin.
Stone’s analysis is useful in looking at the incident or lack thereof this past month in the Red Sea off Yemen. And in fact it is to Yemen that Stone immediately turned on page 1 in 1964. The United Nations, including its U.S. ambassador, had recently condemned British attacks on Yemen that Britain defended as retaliatory. President Dwight Eisenhower had also warned the French against retaliatory attacks on Tunisia. And President Lyndon Johnson, even at the time of Tonkin, Stone notes, was warning Greece and Turkey not to engage in retaliatory attacks on each other.
Stone, who tended to look even at written laws that nobody else paid any heed to, pointed out that three of them banned these sorts of attacks: the League of Nations Covenant, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and the U.N. Charter. The latter two are still theoretically in place for the U.S. government.
The United States in Vietnam, Stone goes on to show, could not have been innocently attacked but itself admitted to having already sunk a number of Vietnamese boats. And indeed the U.S. ships, Stone reports, were in North Vietnamese waters and were there to assist South Vietnamese ships that were shelling two North Vietnamese islands. And in fact those ships had been supplied to South Vietnam by the U.S. military and the good old American tax payers.
Stone did not have access to closed committee hearings, but he hardly needed it. He considered the assertions made in speeches by the only two senators who voted against the war. And then he looked for any rejoinders by the chairmen of the committees. He found their denials to be non-denials and nonsensical. It made no sense that the U.S. ships simply happened to be randomly hanging around in the vicinity of the South Vietnamese ships. Stone didn’t believe it.
Stone also filled in the background information. The United States had been supporting guerrilla attacks on North Vietnam for years prior to the non-incident. And Stone raised numerous suspicions, including the question of why the U.S. ships had supposedly made sure they were out in international waters for the (non-)incident to (not) occur, and the question of why in the world Vietnam would take on the United States military (something nobody could explain, though Eugene McCarthy proposed that perhaps they had been bored).
Missing from the film and website of All Governments Lie is I.F. Stone’s work on lies about the outbreak of the Korean War. We’ve learned more since he wrote it, but seen little more insightful, relevant, or timely for our understanding of Korea and the world today.
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org . Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie . He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org . He hosts Talk Nation Radio .He is a 2015 and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook .
Help support DavidSwanson.org, WarIsACrime.org, and TalkNationRadio.org by clicking here: http://davidswanson.org/donate . | 1real |
Senator Gillibrand calls Trump Twitter post 'sexist smear' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand fired back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday and said she would not be silenced after he attacked her on Twitter for calling for an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct against him. Six U.S. senators, including Gillibrand, have said Trump should resign. Trump lambasted Gillibrand on Twitter on Tuesday writing, “Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump.” Schumer is the Senate Democratic leader. Gillibrand, whose name has been floated as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, said she would not back down. “It was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice, and I will not be silenced on this issue,” she told reporters at a news conference. Trump did not answer a reporter’s question at a White House event later on Tuesday when asked what he meant by the tweet. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, told that some people thought Trump’s tweet contained sexual innuendo, said, “Only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read it that way ... it’s obviously talking about political partisan games that people often play and the broken system.” Sanders told a regular White House briefing that Trump had used similar language previously to refer to men of both major parties. Other Democratic lawmakers rallied behind Gillibrand, including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, another possible 2020 presidential candidate. In a tweet directed at Trump, Warren wrote on Tuesday, “Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand? Do you know who you’re picking a fight with? Good luck with that, @realDonaldTrump. Nevertheless, #shepersisted.” U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s attack on Gillibrand was “nasty, unbecoming of a president,” but he did not join her call for Trump to resign the presidency over sexual misconduct accusations. More than a dozen women have accused Trump, a New York-based real estate developer and former reality television star, of making unwanted sexual advances against them years before he entered politics. Trump, a Republican, has denied the allegations. Reuters has not independently verified the accusations against Trump. Interest in accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct came to the fore again on Monday when three women who had previously accused Trump of misconduct called on the U.S. Congress to investigate his behavior. On Tuesday, a fourth woman who had also previously made similar accusations backed their call for an investigation during an interview with NBC. Nearly 60 female Democratic U.S. lawmakers called for an investigation in a letter on Monday. By Tuesday, the group said many male colleagues had also joined on, bringing the number to more than 100 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representative Trey Gowdy, Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, responded to the group in a letter on Tuesday that said, “The specific allegations set forth in your letter constitute crimes,” both federal and state. Gowdy noted that congressional panels cannot prosecute crimes so he was forwarding the group’s letter to the Justice Department. He added that any charges not alleging crimes should go to the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over “allegations related to fitness for office and non-criminal matters.” Trump has called the accusations fabricated stories and he has said he did not know his accusers. On Monday, Gillibrand called the allegations credible and called on Trump to resign over them. The attention to sexual harassment accusations against Trump comes amid a wave of similar accusations against prominent men in Hollywood, the media and politics in recent months. Federal Election Commission records showed Trump gave $4,800 to Gillibrand’s Senate campaign in 2010, and that he donated $2,100 to her in 2007 while she was a member of the House of Representatives. Concerns over sexual impropriety have become a political issue the United States, leading to the resignations of two Democratic and one Republican lawmaker. Reuters has not independently verified accusations against them. The issue of sexual harassment has also become central to Tuesday’s U.S. Senate election in Alabama after accusations of misconduct were made against Republican candidate Roy Moore. The White House said on Monday that the women’s accusations against Trump were false and “totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts” and later promised to provide a list of those accounts to reporters. On Tuesday, the White house sent a list of three 2016 media reports, including a New York Post interview with a British man who disputed one of the accusers’ accounts of alleged groping and said he never saw it happen. It also included New York Daily News and CNN reports with two other former pageant participants supporting Trump. | 0fake |
BENGHAZI SPOKESLIAR SUSAN RICE TELLS CNN: ‘We should expect’ Iran To Use Funds It Gets For Terrorist Operations [VIDEO] | Tell us Susan what s worse, Iran with a nuclear weapon and billions of dollars to help fund muslim terrorists or Iran with a nuclear weapon and frozen assets? President Obama s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, told CNN s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that we should expect Iran to use the money it gets under sanctions relief for military and even terrorist operations.As part of Obama s nuclear agreement with Iran, tens of billions of dollars frozen as part of the sanctions on Iran will be released over time provided Iran complies with a list of deadlines outlined in the agreement. What do we think they ll spend that money on? We think, for the most part, they re going to need to spend it on the Iranian people and their economy which has tanked, she told Blitzer.Of course, murderous regimes like Iran don t generally limit themselves to domestic infrastructure projects and welfare schemes, which Rice quickly acknowledged. But yes, it is real, it is possible, and, in fact, we should expect that some portion of that money would go to the Iranian military and could potentially be used for the kinds of bad behavior that we have seen in the region up until now, she said.By bad behavior Rice is presumably referring to Iran s funding of terrorist organizations, and its expanding military operations throughout areas such as Yemen.Despite the fact that the Obama administration fully expects Iran to use its newly released billions to fund terrorism, Rice told Blitzer those concerns didn t play an important role in negotiations. The goal here, Wolf, was never, and was not designed to prevent them from engaging in bad behavior in the region. They re doing that today, she said. The goal is to ensure that they don t have a nuclear weapon, and therefore, when they are engaging in that bad behavior, are that much more dangerous. Rice s acknowledgement of Iran s bad faith might not bother the administration, but it is likely to cause a little concern in congress.After all, Iran s bad behavior is a pretty good indication that the murderous regime in Tehran has no intention of cleaning up its act which makes it somewhat hard to trust they will abide by an Obama sponsored agreement.Via: BizPacReview | 1real |
Taliban condemn Trump's decision on Afghanistan war, vow 'jihad' will go on | KABUL (Reuters) - A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban condemned on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will keep American troops in Afghanistan with no set timetable for withdrawal. “Instead of continuing of war in Afghanistan, Americans should have thought about withdrawing their soldiers from Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement issued hours after Trump’s televised speech on U.S. policy in Afghanistan and South Asia. Mujahid said “as long as there is even one American solder in our country”, the Islamist insurgents would “continue our jihad”. | 0fake |
Saudi king to start Russia visit on Thursday: state news agency | DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia s King Salman will begin a visit to Russia on Thursday at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, Saudi state news agency SPA said, the Gulf ruler s first trip to Moscow since becoming king in 2015. During the visit the two countries plan to set up a $1 billion fund to invest in energy projects as part of efforts by two of the world s biggest oil producers to expand cooperation, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier on Monday. SPA said the two leaders would discuss bilateral and regional issues, but gave no details. Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Russia helped forge a deal between OPEC and other producers to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day from January to lift crude prices. | 0fake |
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