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Provost Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Case at Berkeley - The New York Times | SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California, Berkeley, announced Friday that Claude Steele, the university’s executive vice chancellor and provost for the past two years, resigned his administrative positions for personal reasons. Mr. Steele’s abrupt departure comes at a time of turmoil for the university, as he and other top administrators have been criticized for their handling of a widening sexual harassment scandal. Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for the university, said an interim successor for Mr. Steele would be named in the coming days. In a statement released by the university, Mr. Steele said his wife faced “quite significant” health problems and that he needed to spend more time with her. The university’s chancellor, Nicholas B. Dirks, praised Mr. Steele for his “lasting impact” on the university, citing his work in dealing with the university’s finances and and “improving the campus climate” with regard to racial diversity. Mr. Steele will remain at Berkeley in a faculty position, joining the psychology department next year, according to the announcement. The statement did not mention the sexual harassment scandal, which has grown in magnitude in recent weeks. Mr. Steele has been criticized for his handling of claims of sexual harassment made against the dean of the law school, Sujit Choudhry. A report by the university found that Mr. Choudhry had repeatedly hugged and kissed his executive assistant, behavior that an investigator concluded was “unwelcome and objectively sexual in nature. ” Mr. Steele allowed Mr. Choudhry to stay on as the dean, but ordered a cut in his salary and required that he undergo counseling and write a letter of apology to his assistant, who was told to look for work elsewhere at the university. Alumni and students expressed outrage at the terms of the punishment, which became public in March when Mr. Choudhry’s assistant, Tyann Sorrell, filed a civil suit. Prominent alumni of the law school called the punishment “feeble. ” Court papers filed with the lawsuit say that when Ms. Sorrell questioned why university officials had not taken stronger action against Mr. Choudhry, Mr. Steele told her that he had decided against termination because it “would ruin the dean’s career, that is, destroy his future chances for higher appointment. ” Mr. Choudhry has since resigned. The university this month released hundreds of pages of investigative reports showing violations of the university’s sexual harassment policies by 19 university employees. Most of the cases had not previously been made public. In addition to these cases, the university is investigating 16 cases involving sexual harassment and nine involving sexual violence. | 0fake |
Don't blame all immigrants for San Francisco shooting | Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) As the nation was preparing for the July Fourth weekend, there was grim news from San Francisco. On Wednesday night, Kate Steinle , 31, was fatally shot, apparently randomly, while walking with her father on a busy pier. A Mexican immigrant, who CNN reported was in the country without documentation, was arrested in her death.
Illegally re-entering the country after being deported, as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is said to have done, is a federal felony . He has also been accused of a horrific, violent crime. And according to immigration authorities, he has seven other felony convictions, including four for drug offenses.
But that doesn't make him a symbol of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Nor is he the poster boy for out-of-control illegal immigration across our southern border (illegal immigration from Mexico is at a 40-year low). He does not represent the overwhelming majority of immigrants in this country -- legal or otherwise -- who are productive members of society.
Lopez-Sanchez is simply a dangerous individual who should not have been free and among us.
It is a myth that increased illegal immigration leads to more crime. Research from the Immigration Policy Center shows that crime rates fell in the United States as the size of our immigrant population, including undocumented immigrants, grew from 1990 to 2010.
Most undocumented immigrants come to the United States to work and provide a better life for themselves and their families.
Consider that several mass shootings, from Aurora to Newtown to Charleston, were committed by young white men. Does that mean that all young white men are potential mass murderers? Of course not.
The same news outlets that are now trumpeting Wednesday's murder as proof that undocumented immigrants are criminals often overlook or ignore other stories of undocumented immigrants who are genuine heroes. In 2013, an undocumented immigrant rescued a mother and her child on Staten Island, New York, amidst the storm surge of Superstorm Sandy.
One takeaway from this episode is that deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is not the answer to our immigration problems. Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times, and yet he was still here in the country without authorization.
Back in 2011, the deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told an immigration subcommittee of Congress that it costs $12,500 to deport a person. Multiply this by five and that is how much taxpayer money was wasted on a criminal who remained at large to randomly take the life of an innocent young woman.
Another lesson here is our country does not need more immigration enforcement; our country needs smarter and better immigration enforcement. Up to now, immigration authorities have wasted time, manpower and money chasing after people working productively in their communities as, say, gardeners and maids, while felons like Lopez-Sanchez slipped through the cracks.
That's why it was good news last week that the Department of Homeland Security announced it is rethinking its deportation priorities to focus on recent arrivals and serious criminals.
This move is a step in the right direction, because it is time to start seriously targeting those immigrants who are a real threat to public safety. The government will be focusing its enforcement efforts on three categories of people: convicted criminals, recent border crossers and terrorism threats.
True, Lopez-Sanchez should not have been in the country, or he should have at least been behind bars. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement erred in not seeking a warrant or court order for his arrest and he was released in accordance with city law in March.
What's more, President Barack Obama's proposed executive action on immigration, currently tied up in a legal battle, might also have made a difference because it would have freed up resources to go after people like Lopez-Sanchez.
Although Steinle's death was a tragedy, it was the alleged action of one man. All undocumented immigrants do not deserve to be vilified by false association. | 0fake |
SIXTY KILLED IN NEW US-SAUDI WAR CRIME IN YEMEN | Home › WORLD NEWS › SIXTY KILLED IN NEW US-SAUDI WAR CRIME IN YEMEN SIXTY KILLED IN NEW US-SAUDI WAR CRIME IN YEMEN 0 SHARES
[10/31/16] The murderous and criminal character of the US-Saudi war against Yemen, the poorest country of the Middle East, was laid bare once again Sunday with the report of an air strike that claimed the lives of scores of civilians in the Red Sea port city of Al Hudaydah.
The bombs struck a prison facility inside a government compound controlled by the Houthi rebel movement, which controls the north and west of the country.
According to reports from Yemen, more than 60 people were killed in the air strike, which demolished two detention centers, and at least 40 more were wounded. The Saudi warplanes used their familiar tactic of dropping bombs on the facility and then waiting for people to rush to the scene to search for survivors before bombing again to achieve the maximum death toll.
Prisoners and guards alike were buried in the rubble. Photographs released from the scene showed lines of bodies covered in sheets.
The prison bombing, which took place at about midnight Saturday, followed close on the heels of another air strike in the western city of Taiz in the western Yemeni highlands, the country’s third largest population center and a major cultural center.
Taiz has been the scene of bitter fighting between the Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed ground forces for the past year and a half.
Saturday’s raid there targeted the al-Salw residential district near the front lines, demolishing several homes. Among those struck was the house of Abdullah Abdo, in which the US-supplied bombs dropped by Saudi jets took the lives of 11 members of the same family. Many of the victims were children. Reportedly seven of the dead were women.
The air strikes Saturday were the bloodiest since October 8, when Saudi warplanes attacked a funeral home in the capital of Sana’a, killing and wounding at least 700 people. As many as 155 people died in that attack, which left many of the wounded without limbs and otherwise maimed. Like the latest strike on the prisons, it was a “double tap” bombing raid, timed to ensure that those rushing to the aid of the wounded would also be killed.
There is every reason to believe that this earlier attack was not a matter of collateral damage or mistaken targeting, but rather a deliberate attempt to decapitate the Houthi regime in Sana’a. The funeral that was hit was for the father of the government’s interior minister and was attended by a number of senior officials, who lost their lives.
In the aftermath of that horrific bombing, US officials issued mealy-mouthed statements to the effect that Washington’s support for the Saudi war was “not a blank check” and that it would be realigned in accordance with “American values.”
Since then, US aid has continued to flow. US planes are continuing to refuel Saudi fighters in midair so that they can carry out these murderous attacks. And the US Navy has itself joined the onslaught, launching Tomahawk cruise missiles at alleged Houthi radar stations, supposedly in retaliation for missiles fired at a US warship in the Red Sea. US military officials have subsequently acknowledged doubts about the supposed missile attacks, raising the possibility that a US Navy radar malfunction had generated ghost signals.
Just one day before the latest atrocities carried out against the Yemeni people, both the United States and Saudi Arabia were voted onto the United Nations Human Rights Council. The elevation to this panel of the two countries most responsible for killing an estimated 10,200 Yemenis in the past year and a half, the great majority of them civilians, and pushing at least half the population to the brink of starvation serves to unmask the hypocrisy of the entire “human rights” framework for justifying imperialist wars and interventions all over the globe. Post navigation | 1real |
After Somalia's deadliest bombing, a brother's desperate search | MOGADISHU (Reuters) - When Somalia s deadliest truck bomb exploded on Saturday, Abdi Ali Ibrahim raced to the smoking crater just meters from where his beloved sister Asha had a small business selling fuel. The truck had detonated next to a fuel tanker causing a huge fireball and the road was strewn with body parts. Hopeful that Asha, a pregnant mother-of-two, may have been injured and taken away by ambulance, Ibrahim embarked on a frantic round of Mogadishu s hospitals, starting with the biggest, Madina. I found many dead bodies, injured ones, body parts and burned bodies that were horribly shrunken. She was not there, he told Reuters as he sat hunched on a bench. For two days Ibrahim clung to the hope that 44-year-old Asha had somehow survived the twin bombings that killed more than 300 people, the worst such attack in Somalia s history. The bombings were similar to others claimed by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents although the militants have yet to claim Saturday s attacks. Experts say the target may have been nearby government buildings, but the bomb went off too early. Rushing from hospital to hospital, Ibrahim was nauseated by the piles of burned flesh, but also tormented by the slim possibility his sister and her unborn baby might have survived and be in pain somewhere needing his help. Finally, Ibrahim returned to the scene where Asha sold fuel. Just three meters away from where she sat, I saw a dark hole blown by the truck bomb. I could see sacks laid by the road upon which police placed organs, heads, limbs, Ibrahim said. I saw her hand on a stone under a tree. It was her hand and it had the ring on her finger. Ibrahim took the hand to his elderly mother. He said she cried so hard that at first her words were inaudible to the crowd of relatives pressing around her. She touched the hand three times and said, This is the hand of my daughter, I am sure. This is the ring on her finger ... go and bury her . As the scale of the attack became clear, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo ordered three days of national mourning, doctors begged for blood donations, and the city s overstretched ambulance workers who had toiled to save the injured found time to begin ferrying the dead to the morgue. Mass burials of unidentifiable bodies began, the blackened corpses wrapped in white sheets. Perhaps one of them was Asha. That gave Ibrahim and Asha s children from her first marriage, a 21-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter, a new problem. Could they conduct a funeral service for a hand if they could not find a body? I asked many clerics how I should bury a hand, Ibrahim said. Some said funeral prayers must be conducted over the hand before burial. Others rejected my idea and said no funeral prayer could be given for a body part. Finally I washed the hand, wrapped it in a piece of white shroud and buried it in a grave. The dilemma is becoming more and more common. Al Shabaab is using bigger and bigger bombs. In 2016, 723 Somalis were killed in 395 bomb attacks, according to Nairobi-based think-tank Sahan Research, up from 193 deaths in 265 attacks in 2015. This year will probably be another grim record in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been riven by civil war since 1991. According to think-tank Sahan, 40 percent of those killed last year and more than half of the injured were civilians. The Islamist insurgency that began in 2007 has been steadily losing ground since it was driven out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011 but its ability to mount devastating attacks remains. Ibrahim said he was distraught when he first saw Asha s hand but is glad now that he found it. I am satisfied because I know my sister has died, he said. There are many people who have not even found a single piece of their missing loved ones. | 0fake |
Trump Throws Twitter Tantrum Bashing Republicans For Not Taking Healthcare Away From People Fast Enough | Donald Trump went on a tirade on Friday morning because Republicans in Congress are not stripping healthcare from millions of Americans fast enough.For months, Trump has failed to get an Obamacare repeal bill on his desk because Americans overwhelmingly oppose it because they now realize that the Affordable Care Act keeps them insured, and in many cases, alive.The Trumpcare bill that has been hitting roadblock after roadblock in Congress strips healthcare from millions of Americans, drops coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, makes healthcare premiums more expensive, and takes away vital care for women and children among a slew of other important provisions, all so that the wealthy can get a massive tax cut.While in France on Bastille Day, Trump whined on Twitter that Republicans are not moving fast enough to repeal healthcare.Republicans Senators are working hard to get their failed ObamaCare replacement approved. I will be at my desk, pen in hand! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2017So impt Rep Senators, under leadership of @SenateMajLdr McConnell get healthcare plan approved. After 7yrs of O Care disaster, must happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2017After all of these years of suffering thru ObamaCare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2017.@VP Mike Pence is working hard on HealthCare and getting our wonderful Republican Senators to do what is right for the people. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2017Again, Trump s healthcare policy would actually kill people, but he is demanding that Republicans jam it through Congress as quickly as possible.And Americans were not thrilled about it and told Trump as much on Twitter.How about crafting a GOOD healthcare plan first? Or maybe IMPROVING Obamacare? Don t just push through a bill for the sake of it! Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) July 14, 2017So you want them to rush through an act that may kill millions just to get Obamacare erased? You re demented. Resign. Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) July 14, 2017Why not improve what s already in place? Why not include Dems in the process? Why keep working to divide us all? Why won t you lead? CD Harrison ? (@cdharrison) July 14, 2017Yeah. Because 22 million losing their insurance is really going to make it better. Kelly Scaletta (@KellyScaletta) July 14, 2017Isn t it more important to take your time to develop something that actually works to keep Americans healthy? Sally Hawker (@SallyHawker12) July 14, 2017So cruel. . trying to take away healthcare from millions all for a tax break for billionaires. Warren Buffet doesn t want your tax break. Maureen O Brien (@boru2308) July 14, 2017From the man who said, Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated the word disaster is meaningless. Bill Adler (@billadler) July 14, 2017I wish that you were a better person. I wish that you worked as hard for every citizen of the U.S.A. as hard as you do at your golf game. Robin D. Ashe ??? (@VampWriterGRRL) July 14, 2017Featured Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images | 1real |
U.S. Green Party's Stein investigated in North Dakota pipeline protest | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sheriff’s department in North Dakota is investigating possible charges against the U.S. Green Party presidential candidate, Jill Stein, for damaging equipment during protests on Tuesday over construction of an oil pipeline. Stein was part of a group protesting the Dakota Access pipeline and spray-painted construction equipment, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department said. Stein does not dispute the account. Protesters, who say the project will damage burial sites considered sacred to a nearby Native American tribe and pollute the area’s drinking water, also attached themselves to bulldozers and broke a fence, the department said. Stein, a 66-year-old doctor and environmental activist from Massachusetts, said in a statement that she had spray-painted the words “I approve this message” onto a bulldozer, a nod to the phrase American politicians append to their advertisements to comply with transparency laws. No arrests were made, the department said, and the investigation was continuing. The department also posted a picture on its Facebook page that showed Stein spraying the bulldozer, calling it a “criminal act.” The $3.7 billion, 1,100-mile (1,800-km) pipeline project would be the first to move crude oil from the Bakken shale, a vast oil formation in North Dakota, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Energy Transfer Partners is leading a group of firms to build it. The project sparked violent clashes during the weekend between tribe members and other protesters and security officers near the construction site, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is seeking a court order to block construction. The Green Party opposes continued investment in oil extraction because of its link to climate change. “I hope the North Dakota authorities press charges against the real vandalism taking place at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation: the bulldozing of sacred burial sites and the unleashing of vicious attack dogs,” Stein said in her statement. She said that pipeline security officials had used dogs and pepper spray on protesters over the weekend. A spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners did not respond to a request for comment. A Reuters-Ipsos poll in late August showed Stein the first choice of 2 percent of voters, trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump and Libertarian Gary Johnson. The U.S. presidential election will be held on Nov. 8. Stein was arrested for trespassing in Texas during her 2012 presidential campaign when she tried to take supplies to protesters opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline. | 0fake |
COLLEGE STUDENTS ASKED TO SIGN A Petition Canceling Christmas…Did They Agree? [Video] | 1real | |
Congress Knew For At Least Two Years About Pentagon Efforts To Take Back Bonuses From Veterans | Print
Although members of Congress are now absolutely outraged the Pentagon is trying to recoup bonuses given out to thousands of troops, it turns out, Congress actually knew about this problem for at least two years.
Andreas Mueller, chief of federal policy for the California National Guard, wrote an email to the California congressional delegation, stating the Guard told members of Congress about the bonus reclamation issue two years ago, The Los Angeles Times reports.
In fact, Mueller noted that the Guard had even offered a solution, but Congress took zero action.
In effect, the scandal stems back to about a decade when the National Guard was called upon to supply more troops. Guard officials were only supposed to give out bonuses to high-value positions like intelligence or civil affairs, to incentivize more soldiers to head to Iraq and Afghanistan during a marked troop shortage. But that rule was ignored and thousands of soldiers received bonuses they weren’t actually supposed to, unbeknownst to them.
Now, the Pentagon wants those bonuses back and with interest.
Since the story first broke Saturday, members of Congress have declared how abhorrent it is for veterans to be targeted with tax liens and wage garnishment for refusing to pay back these bonuses. GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine Corps reservist, wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Sunday, asking for him to get involved as to find a solution to this “boneheaded” decision .
On the other side of the aisle, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi sent House Speaker Paul Ryan a letter Monday arguing that as soon as Congress gets back in session, members should immediately pass legislation to halt the Pentagon’s collection efforts.
Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer also wrote a letter to Carter, insisting that he had the power to simply forgive the debts without any action from Congress.
“Thousands of our service members are paying the price for mistakes made by California National Guard managers, some of whom are now serving jail time or paying restitution for their crimes,” Feinstein and Boxer said . “It is outrageous to hold these service members and their families responsible for the illegal behavior of others.”
But in the meantime, the California Guard certainly does not have the legal power to forgive debts, however much it might want to do so.
Article reposted with permission from The Daily Caller shares | 1real |
Furious Dollar Rally Fizzles On "Black Friday"; US Stocks Set To Open At New All-Time Highs - Russia News Now | This post was originally published on this site
Having soared to fresh 13 year highs in a quiet overnight session on thin liquidity due to the US Thanksgiving holiday, which sent the USDJPY just shy of 114 and the Yuan to 6.96, the dollar pared back its weekly advance with modest profit taking after traders wondered if the rally has gotten “too stretched.” European shares were fractionally higher, with Asian stocks and US equity futures rising and both the Dow Jones and the S&P set for new all time highs. Oil followed the USD lower, down fractionally ahead of next week’s OPEC meeting where negotiations now focus on whether non-OPEC led by Russia nations will cut or freeze.
With the US offline yesterday, American markets are set for another early close on Black Friday: U.S. equity markets close at 1pm, bond markets close at 2pm.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell from the highest level in more than a decade, while emerging-market currencies clawed back gains after India’s rupee and Turkey’s lira fell to record lows on Thursday. U.S. equity-index futures signaled stocks will edge higher as trading resumes following the Thanksgiving holiday. European shares were little changed, oil pared a weekly gain and Treasuries fell.
The recurring story every day since Trump’s election is that as a result of the upcoming debt-funded fiscal stimulus, inflation is poised to jump which in turn has fueled a surge in bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes, propelling the greenback higher against all but two of it peers this month. Traders see an increase in borrowing costs in December as a certainty, while the odds of additional moves by June have risen to more than 60 percent, according to futures data tracked by Bloomberg .
As shown virtually every day on these pages, the “Trumpflation” bet on global reflation has sent the USD soaring, while slamming EM currencies, fading the prospect of future rate cuts by these economies, while industrial metals like copper continue to soar.
Expectations of rises in U.S. inflation and interest rates have driven the greenback to a gain of more than 6 percent in October and November combined, its strongest performance over a similar period since its rally in early 2015 . Most investors expect those gains to continue, but a combination of the Thanksgiving break in the United States, market participants’ need to process corporate flows at the end of the month and a raft of risks in the first half of December all speak for cashing in some of those gains now.
“The dollar bull run had perhaps become a little stretched,” said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London. “We’ve had a very strong run since the election and it’s just a bit of a pull back.”
It is Black Friday in the US, and the National Retail Federation projects that about 137.4 million consumers will make purchases in stores or online over the four-day weekend that starts on Thanksgiving, marking the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. U.S. retail spending is expected to rise 3.6% to $655.8 billion in November and December, the Washington-based NRF estimates. Retailers are poised to take full advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday period, now known by some as Black Week, which accounts for about 15 percent of holiday spending, according to the trade group. However, the amount Americans have spent has declined in the last three years, slipping 26 percent from 2013 to an average of $299.60 per person last year, according to the trade group, so there are risks.
This holiday season is expected be better for retailers with unemployment, gasoline prices and inflation low, while wages, home values and the stock market continue to rise. Companies such as Kohl’s Corp., Gap Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc. have said the U.S. presidential election was a major cause of consumers’ recent reluctance to open their wallets. With the outcome settled, they’re expecting the dollars to finally flow. “We’ve had some, we believe, pent-up demand — just based on the economics of our consumer,” J.C. Penney Co. Chief Executive Officer Marvin Ellison said in an interview this month. “We’re anticipating we’ll see pent-up demand released, and it being post-election will only help that.”
As the following chart of retail stock performance shows, the market is as optimistic as the retailers coming into Black Friday.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, was up 0.2% in early European trading and headed to close the week around 1 percent higher. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.7 percent. European equities were steady in morning business, with a rally in defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities offsetting weaker banking and commodities stocks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was unchanged, on track for a third straight week of gains.
European shares have gained 4.5 percent since Donald Trump’s surprise victory in this month’s U.S. presidential election. “It looks as if the market is taking a breather after a good run. The market view is that Trump is going to spend more and will shield the U.S. more so that we get higher inflation and higher domestic growth,” Ronny Claeys, senior strategist at KBC Asset Management, said. “ The market has reacted positively on Trump, but this could change as his policies are vague at this stage. Investors will react more on his policy details ” Claeys added cited by Reuters . Emerging-market shares are poised for the first weekly increase in more than a month, led by commodity and energy producers.
In rates, U.S. yields gapped higher at the open, rising as high as 2.411%, “but have been unable to hold those gains and that has encouraged some profit-taking,” said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at CIBC in London, and the 10Y was last trading at 2.37%. “There is a degree of consolidation (but) there is still a consistent bias that means the dollar will remain pretty much supported into the Fed meeting next month. The message seems to be to take some profit and we will be looking to go again.”
In the European bond market, short-dated German government bond yields set a new record low and were on track for their biggest two-week fall in more than three years, highlighting demand for top-rated assets. Demand for German debt for use as collateral for short-term lending in repo markets has helped drive two-year bond yields lower this week . Jitters ahead of an Italian referendum on Dec. 4 has also bolstered demand for German bonds, regarded as among the safest assets in the world. Rates on 10-year German bunds fell two basis points on Friday to 0.24%. Yields on 40-year Japan government bonds slid five basis points to 0.715 percent, reversing an earlier climb after an auction of the debt saw 499.7 billion yen ($4.4 billion) of securities sold at a highest yield of 0.725 percent. “The 40 year bonds were well received in the auction, triggering a bout of bond buying,” said Masahiko Sato, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Tokyo.
* * *
Bulletin Headline Summary from RanSquawk Price action in Europe thus far has been muted amid ongoing holiday-thinned conditions and a lack of notable newsflow A day of profit taking and position adjustment, while month end (real money) flow is also starting to kick in with the USD rally taking another pause Looking ahead, highlights include UK GDP and US Services PMI. Note there are also early US closures today for yesterday’s Thanksgiving Holiday
Market snapshot S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 2205 Stoxx 600 up less than 0.1% to 342 FTSE 100 down less than 0.1% to 6828 DAX up less than 0.1% to 10690 German 10Yr yield down 2bps to 0.24% Italian 10Yr yield down less than 1bp to 2.12% Spanish 10Yr yield down 2bps to 1.57% S&P GSCI Index down 0.3% to 370.2 MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.6% to 136 Nikkei 225 up 0.3% to 18381 Hang Seng up 0.5% to 22723 Shanghai Composite up 0.6% to 3262 S&P/ASX 200 up 0.4% to 5508 US 10-yr yield up 2bps to 2.37% Dollar Index down 0.26% to 101.44 WTI Crude futures down 0.7% to $47.63 Brent Futures down 1% to $48.53 Gold spot up 0.3% to $1,188 Silver spot up 0.9% to $16.44
Global Headline News J&J Said to Make Takeover Approach for Drugmaker Actelion: Actelion shares soar by most in more than 2 years; deliberations said to be at early stage after initial offer Amazon Said in Talks to Buy Dubai’s Souq.com in $1b Deal: no final decisions have been made, talks could still falter; MidEast e-commerce site initially planned to sell a stake Black Friday Merchants See Americans Exhaling After Election: with uncertainty gone, stores see consumers poised to spend; Thanksgiving weekend accounts for 15% of holiday sales Holiday Price War Intensifies as Wal-Mart, Target Pursue Amazon: brick-and-mortar chains offering bigger discounts than in 2015 U.S. Boosts Refiners’ 2017 Biofuel Quotas to Record Levels: EPA mandates above levels the agency proposed in May Chevron to Pick Winner of Indonesian Geothermal Bid in Dec./Jan.: co. reviewing bids from 5 companies, including Marubeni, Pertamina Trump Expected to Pick Ross for Commerce Job, Person Says: President-elect Trump is expected to nominate as secretary of commerce investor Wilbur Ross OPEC’s Last Push for Oil Deal Shifts Focus to Iran, Russia: Algerian minister to meet his counterpart in Tehran Saturday GoDaddy Said in Exclusive Talks to Buy Host Europe: Reuters KKR Said to Partner With Arrow Pharma for INova Bid: AFR Samsung Bioepis Nasdaq IPO May Be Delayed: Maeil Business U.S. equity markets close at 1pm, bond markets close at 2pm
In Asia, stock markets traded mostly positive, although gains were reserved after a small lead from Wall St. where US participants were absent due to Thanksgiving holiday. Nikkei 225 (+0.3%) traded choppy throughout the session with the index driven by JPY fluctuations, while ASX 200 (+0.4%) was also higher despite upside being limited by weakness in gold. Hang Seng (+0.5%) conformed to the positive tone while Shanghai Comp (+0.6%) initially lagged amid quiet news flow and after the PBoC reduced its weekly net liquidity injection by around 90% from the prior week. 10yr JGBs were initially pressured amid gains in riskier assets and as yields rose alongside their US counterparts. However, JGBs then recovered from their lows in the wake of a firmer 40yr auction leading to outperformance in the super-long end and curve flattening. PBoC injected CNY 120bIn in 7-day reverse repos, CNY 70bIn in 14-day reverse repos, CNY 25b1n in 28-day reverse repos for a weekly net injection of CNY 40bIn vs. last week’s CNY 425b1n net injection.
Japan reported its latest consumer price data, which met or beat most expectations: Japanese National CPI (Oct) Y/Y 0.1% vs. Exp. 0.0% (Prey. -0.5%) Japanese National CPI Ex. Food (Oct) Y/Y -0.4% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prey. -0.5%) Japanese Tokyo CPI (Nov) Y/Y 0.5% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prey. 0.1%) Japanese Tokyo CPI Ex-Food (Nov) Y/Y -0.4% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prey. -0.4%).
Top Asian News Macquarie, ANZ to Pay $11 Million Over Malaysia Rates Probe: Australian banks admit attempted cartel conduct in 2011 In Asia Currency-Reserve Checkup, Two Countries Come Out on Top: IMF gauge shows Thailand, Philippines offer resilience China Bad-Loan Disposal No Easy Task With Slowdown, Survey Shows: Only 4% of bad-loan managers find it easy to dispose of NPLs JAL Plans First Post-Bankruptcy Bond to Fund Airbus Purchases: Airline plans to sell about 20 billion yen of notes next month Angry Soldiers Another Headache for Modi Amid Rupee Note Crisis: Suspected suicide of voluntary reservist highlights concerns
In Europe, as expected, given yesterday’s US thanksgiving holiday, newsflow and price action has been light today. European equities trade flat, with Actellion higher by almost 10% amid talk of a potential merger, with Shire touted as a bidder. To the downside, Banca Monte Paschi traders got their usual morning break as Co. shares were halted limit down once again, this time as a consequence of the EUR 5bIn capital raising. Fixed income and commodity markets have been equally dull, with Bunds marginally higher today amid light volumes and little to drive price action. The energy complex has seen modest softness as all eyes focus on next week’s OPEC meeting, with participants becoming somewhat saturated with comments from the different nations in the build up.
Top European News U.K. Economy Shows No Sign of Brexit Effect as Spending Rises: consumers and businesses increased their spending in 3Q as the U.K. economy registered resilient performance after Brexit vote Brexit May Take Decade So Give the Pound a Rest, Investors Say: Pound already reflects changing economy, Standard Life says; Kames Capital now “slightly more optimistic” on currency Nordea Chairman Says Talks With ABN Amro Are Unlikely to Resume: Nordea isn’t tempted to buy ABN shares, Wahlroos says Greece’s Biggest Bank Sees Trump Boost to Country’s Economy: Piraeus Bank chair Handjinicolaou speaks in interview, declines to give timeframe for pending CEO pick Lufthansa Condemns ‘Emotional’ Pilots as Strike to Span Weekend: union has extended action, claiming company aims to destroy it
In currencies, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent at London morning trading, leaving it up 0.3 percent this week. Japan’s currency gained 0.4 percent to 112.80 per dollar. It’s down 1.8 percent in the week, the worst performance among major currencies. The rupee strengthened 0.4 percent after sinking to a record low Thursday, while the Turkish lira gained 0.3 percent. China’s yuan, which fell to an eight-year low against the dollar this week, was little changed. The yuan rose this week to an August high versus a basket of peers, signaling that its declines against the greenback have been more moderate than those of other currencies. South Africa’s rand headed for its first weekly gain in three weeks before a credit-rating review by Moody’s Investors Service.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.8 percent to $47.58 a barrel. OPEC’s focus has shifted to negotiations with Iran and non-member Russia for production curbs after Iraq’s prime minister signaled it will agree to cut output. Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1,190.24 an ounce, the first advance in four days. Copper slipped less than 0.1 percent in London and has surged 8.2 percent this week. The industrial metal has soared 21 percent this month.
Looking at today’s events, the main focus this morning was on the UK where we got the second estimate of Q3 GDP which came in at 0.5%, as expected. Also in the UK today was the CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey for November which soared from 21 to 26, smashing expectations of a 12 print, while French consumer confidence data is the early print this morning. Markets in the US should be quiet again today but there is some data due out including the remaining flash November PMI’s (services and composite), wholesale inventories and the advance goods trade balance for October. It’ll also be worth keeping an eye on any retail sales data for Black Friday sales in the US. A reminder that this Sunday the second and final round of the French centre-right primary is due to be held. The run-off is between Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe, the former coming out on top in the first round, with the winner going on to be the chosen Republican candidate. We should know the winner around 9pm GMT on Sunday evening.
US Event Calendar 8:30am: Advance Goods Trade Balance, Oct., est. -$59b (prior -$56.5b) 8:30am: Wholesale Inventories m/m, Oct P, est. 0.2% (prior 0.1%); Retail Inventories m/m, Oct. (prior 0.3%) 9:45am: Markit US Services PMI, Nov. P, est. 54.8 (prior 54.8)
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DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Good luck to all those braving the sales today. It’s staggering to see the number of ‘How to Survive Black Friday’ articles out there now and how many more stories there are with tips and strategies to get the best bargains on the day. Apparently it now takes weeks of precise planning and preparation. It sounds like you’ll need a decent plate of leftover turkey this morning to build up the energy first.
If the last 24 hours is anything to go by then it’s likely to be another fairly quiet day ahead with the US scheduled for an early close. While there wasn’t much to shout about in markets yesterday the most interesting story concerned a Bloomberg report about the ECB possibly putting off decisions about the future of its bond-buying program until next year. The crux of the story concerned the parameters of the program and how the technical issues relating to bond scarcity may have eased with the recent rise in yields. The story also suggested that ‘some’ policy makers would consider a delay on the QE extension decision but we’d also caveat that with the mention of ‘most’ policymakers still seeing a need to send a dovish message at next month’s meeting given the inflation outlook. Indeed we’d highlight that the recent message from ECB officials has been just that including President Draghi’s recent comments. A reminder too that the 2019 staff forecasts will be available for the first time at the meeting next month. That said, it is worth noting that expectations were fairly high for a QE announcement in December 2014 and we had to wait for January 2015 for the decision to eventually be made so you can’t entirely rule out the possibility a delay.
With that Bloomberg report coming as markets in Europe closed we didn’t get to see too much of a reaction. 10y Bund yields finished little changed at 0.251% with yields, if anything, a couple of basis points higher following the story. The periphery was a bit more mixed (Portugal and Spain 1bp lower and Italy 1bp higher) but again moves were fairly modest. This morning we’ve seen 10y Treasury yields rise nearly 5bps however. There was also some focus on FX markets yesterday with a number of EM currencies making new recent lows including currencies in India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines. The Turkish Lira (-1.44%) was also under pressure despite Turkey’s central bank raising rates for the first time in nearly three years. Following that though the European Parliament then voted overwhelmingly in favour of suspending EU membership talks with Turkey.
Elsewhere, equity markets in Europe yesterday were generally a touch firmer despite volumes some 50% or so below the usual daily average The Stoxx 600 closed up +0.31% as healthcare and tech stocks led the move higher, while credit indices were marginally tighter. A bit of stability in the Oil complex seemingly helped too with WTI continuing to hover around the $48/bbl level ahead of the OPEC meeting next week.
Back to the ECB, Vice-President Constancio also added to the recent chorus of dovish communication from the Bank yesterday. He said that ‘we want our policies, including unconventional policies, in place until we are convinced there is a sustained path toward our objective of inflation’. The ECB’s twice-yearly Financial Stability Review was also released yesterday with the report warning about the risk of a possible abrupt global correction on the back of political uncertainty and elevated geopolitical tensions which is posing risks to stability, banks, confidence and economic growth.
This morning in Asia, with the exception of China it’s been a broadly positive session for equity markets. The Nikkei (+0.77%), Hang Seng (+0.38%), Kospi (+0.10%) and ASX (+0.62%) are all up although in China the Shanghai Comp (-0.43%) has dipped lower. US equity index futures are also a smidgen higher while sovereign bond markets are generally weaker. 10y JGB yields in particular are a couple of basis points higher at 0.053% and the highest yield since mid-February. The Yen (-0.25%) however is under pressure and approaching ¥114 following the latest leg higher for the Dollar. The latest CPI data was also out in Japan overnight. The good news is that headline CPI return to positive territory at +0.1% yoy versus -0.5% in September, however the core remains rooted in deflation at -0.4% yoy (from -0.5%). The core-core did also improve to +0.2% yoy from 0.0%. Our economists noted that the increase in overall CPI was mainly due to a sharp increase in the price of fresh vegetables due to unfavourable weather.
The only other snippet to mention from yesterday was the economic data. The most significant came from Germany where there was no final revisions made to the Q3 GDP print of +0.2% qoq, leaving the YoY rate at +1.7%. The components of the report showed that growth mainly came from domestic demand, especially private and government consumption. Meanwhile Germany’s November IFO survey revealed a business climate reading of 110.4 which was unchanged from the month prior. A slight increase in the current assessment component was offset by a modest decline in expectations. In France business confidence was also unchanged in November at 102.
Looking at today’s calendar the main focus this morning in the European session will likely be on the UK where we’ll get the second estimate of Q3 GDP and where the Office for National Statistics is expected to confirm that GDP grew at +0.5% qoq during the quarter. We’ll also receive the wider components of the GDP report which will be interesting to see. Also due out in the UK today is the CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey for November while French consumer confidence data is the early print this morning. Markets in the US should be quiet again today but there is some data due out including the remaining flash November PMI’s (services and composite), wholesale inventories and the advance goods trade balance for October. It’ll also be worth keeping an eye on any retail sales data for Black Friday sales in the US.
A quick reminder before we sign off that this Sunday, the second and final round of the French centre-right primary is due to be held. As a reminder the run-off is between Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe, the former coming out on top in the first round, with the winner going on to be the chosen Republican candidate. We should know the winner around 9pm GMT on Sunday evening. Related | 1real |
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: Teachers Should Incorporate Islam In More Subjects | Does anyone in recent history remember the US Department of Education asking educators to place more emphasis on Christianity or Judaism in their curriculums? Yeah neither do we As parents across the country storm school board meetings over a perceived overemphasis on Islam in the curriculum, bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. are suggesting ways teachers can focus more on the religion.A recent blog posted to Home Room, The official blog of the U.S. Department of Education, points out that terrorist attacks in Paris and California sparked anti-Muslim incidents in schools and other places.Muslim students, and those perceived to be Muslim, could be bullied, and the government wants teachers to know how to create an anti-bias learning environment by focusing specifically on those students and their faith. This means incorporating the experiences, perspective and words of Muslim people into the curriculum through social studies and current events instruction, children s literature, in order to learn about different cultures, the blog reads. When you teach about world religions, be sure to include Islam. It s also important to be aware that some Muslim students may feel relieved and comfortable discussing these issues in class and others may feel nervous, scared or angry to be talking about a topic so close to home. The education experts authors Jinnie Spiegler, director of curriculum with the Anti-Defamation League, and Sarah Sisaye of the Education Department s Office of Safe and Healthy Students suggest that teachers pick controversial current events ripe with examples of bias and injustice to highlight anti-Muslim discrimination, and to discuss what actions (students) could take to make a difference. Teachers should also take it upon themselves to spread awareness about Muslim cultural traditions by encouraging events like Hijab days, when female students wear the Islamic religious scarf donned by their Muslim classmates. The education experts provided a link to a YouTube video of an event at Vernon Hills High School in December as an example.Meanwhile, in places like Tennessee, state officials are reviewing curriculum early amid a barrage of complaints about questionable lessons on Islam in middle school history courses. Parents have highlighted lessons that required students to read, write and recite the Islamic conversion prayer; and pointed out the disproportionate amount of time students spend studying Islam versus other religions.Parents have also questioned the accuracy of texts that suggest Christians and Muslims worship the same God and that Islam is a religion of peace, EAGnews reports. A lot of the things we hear about Muhammad and a lot of the warfare that was waged is very much sugar coated, Williamson County School Board member Susan Curlee said at a December town hall. My concern is, are we going to be asking students on a test to potentially compromise their faith for the sake of a grade? she questioned.Also in December, parents in Greenville, Virginia raised objections to a world geography lesson at Riverheads High School that tasked students with copying the Islamic conversion prayer in Arabic, by hand. The intent, according to the lesson, is to give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy, The Shilling Show reports.The lesson doesn t appear to explain what the shahada or Islamic statement of faith is exactly There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah but it does discuss the inspiring beauty of the Koran.And it s those types of lessons that are sparking a backlash from parents across the country, from lawsuits in Maryland to proposed legislation in Tennessee, centered on what many view as Muslim indoctrination through curriculum.A bias toward Islam is one of the reasons Tyler County Board of Education President Bonnie Henthorn decided to homeschool her children, rather than allow them continue in public schools, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.And while the Education Department blog stresses the importance of creating classrooms that are free from discrimination and harassment based on protected traits including religion, it offers no suggestions for teachers struggling to explain to parents why government approved texts and associated lessons focus more on Islam than other religions. Via: EAG News | 1real |
WIKILEAKS: CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN Held 75,000 Shares In Putin-Connected Energy Company | The disclosure that Clinton Chair John Podesta transferred his shares in Putin-backed Joule Unlimited to an anonymous holding company when he joined the Obama Administration is extremely concerning Hillary Clinton s campaign chairman John Podesta s membership on the executive board of an energy company, Joule Unlimited, which received millions from a Putin-connected Russian government fund, also included 75,000 common shares, according to an email exchange uncovered by the Wikileaks hacks. In the newly-uncovered email exchanged under the subject Podesta Outstanding Docs for Joule, Eryn Sepp, who was an assistant to Podesta at the Center for American Progress, forwarded a message to Podesta from Mark C. Solakian, who was Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Joule Unlimited Technologies, Inc. It is my understanding that John transferred the resulting 75,000 common shares from the option exercise to the Leonidio LLC., Slovakian wrote in a January 2014 email, referencing the Delaware-based holding company. As such, we would need to edit the Transfer of Share Agreement to reflect the transfer of 75,000 common shares to the LLC. Podesta s membership on the board of directors of Joule Unlimited was first revealed in research from Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer.In the report, tilted, From Russia with Money: Hillary Clinton, the Russian Reset, and Cronyism, it s revealed that Podesta joined the Joule Unlimited board in June 2011.Read more: Breitbart | 1real |
Seinfeld’s ‘Elaine’ Wants Bernie Sanders To Clarify A Few Things In SNL Cold Open (VIDEO) | If you watched the most recent Democratic debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, you may have noticed that things got a bit brutal, with the crowd noises even seeming reminiscent of a WWE showdown.Clearly noticing this were the folks over at Saturday Night Live, who literally had Hillary (played by Kate McKinnon) and Sanders (played by Larry David) going head to head."Are you feeling THAT Bern?!" #SNL pic.twitter.com/oRXmSAN2Tz Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) April 17, 2016During the SNL reenactment of the debate they had a members of the audience ask the candidates questions, and since the debate took place in New York City, one of the trusty citizens was Elaine Benes from the hit show Seinfeld played by this week s SNL host Julia Louis Dreyfus, who perfectly reprised her famous role.Elaine wanted to know how exactly Bernie was going to break up the banks, and lets just say, she wasn t too fond of his answer. Bernie answered: Once I m elected president, I ll have a nice schvitz in the White House gym, I ll sit them down and yada yada yada, they ll be broken up. With Elaine replying: You can t yada yada at a debate. Of course, yada yada yada also being a famous line from Seinfeld and seeing Julia Louis Dreyfus back with Larry David who co-created the show alongside Jerry Seinfeld was definitely amazing.Elaine, clearly annoyed, asked Hillary: Doesn t it suck to be the only girl in a group of guys? And when Hillary said yes, Elaine added, Don t worry, because everyone thinks you are by far the funniest I mean, the most qualified. There were also questions from Rachel Green from Friends, but Elaine had one more question for Sanders: Senator Sanders, you believe the super-rich should pay more in taxes? But wouldn t that be bad for actors who made a lot of money on a certain very successful sitcom? even worse for the person who created that sitcom? Of course, speaking of herself and David.David s Sanders responded: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you should vote for her. All in all, it was definitely a lot of fun to see Elaine back in action. Now, if only she would do her infamous dance.Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
Comment on 7 Photos That Capture Shocking Differences In Social Classes (IMAGES) by para para dinle | 7 Photos That Capture Shocking Differences In Social Classes (IMAGES) By Stephanie Kuklish on November 26, 2013 Trends are ever changing but Social Class seems to only get worse. 489 Subscribe
Throughout history it has been very apparent that there are generally three distinct classes of people; the poor, the less poor, and the very rich. The “middle class” is a phenomenon of recent centuries. No matter how much the government tries to subsection us, rename us, and create different social groups, it always falls back to these three main groups of people.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, the middle class is disappearing and it seems that soon we may be looking at two social cultures; the extremely poor, and the extremely rich.
These?seven pictures capture the contrast of diverse social classes, side by side in the same photo. Not much has changed over time. | 1real |
EU to impose arms embargo on Venezuela, lays basis for sanctions: diplomats | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to impose an arms embargo on Venezuela and will consider further sanctions in response to the political crisis in the South American country, two EU diplomats said. The measures will bring the EU more into line with the United States, which imposed sanctions earlier this year, and they signal a change of tone in Brussels, which had previously resisted taking a tougher approach toward Caracas. The steps were approved today, paving the way for approval (by the bloc s foreign ministers) next Monday, an EU diplomat said, adding that the ministers backing was a formality. Spain has long pushed for sanctions on those close to President Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accuses of installing a dictatorship, but the EU has been divided over whom to target, while Britain is a significant arms supplier to Venezuela. Diplomats said the turning point for EU governments was regional elections that appeared to favor Maduro s ruling Socialists last month. Polls had suggested the opposition would easily win a majority but in the end it won only a handful of governorships, according to the pro-government electoral board. However, the decisions taken by EU ambassadors at a meeting on Wednesday only prepare the legal basis for sanctions, without any names. Travel bans and asset freezes would only be imposed on Venezuelan officials should the evolution of the situation require it , a second EU diplomat said. Once approved, the arms embargo will be accompanied by a ban on exports of equipment that could be used for internal repression and of surveillance equipment, the diplomats said. Critics said it was hypocritical for the bloc to target Venezuela while European countries sold weapons to Saudi Arabia. The idea of imposing an arms embargo on Venezuela while refusing to impose one on Saudi Arabia is beyond parody, not least because of Saudi Arabia s murderous assault on Yemen, which has created one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world, said U.S. philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky. But it is easily understandable on the assumption that principles and values are intended for oratorical flourishes, while what matters is tens of billions of dollars in arms sales, Chomsky said in an email to Reuters. Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen s civil war starting in 2015, attacking Houthi militia and loyalists of a former president said to be supported by Iran. The war has killed more than 10,000 people. | 0fake |
NBC Reports U.S. Prepping Possible False-Flag Cyber-attack Election Day | Eric Zuesse The reliability of all of these reports can reasonably be questioned, but here they are: On October 14th, NBC News bannered “CIA Prepping for Possible Cyber Strike Against Russia” , and reported that, “The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News. … The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation.” On October 30th, “Super Station 95” reported an “Update” saying that “a trusted source” said: It appears the United States is going to engage in battle in Syria. SuperStation95 just received this communication from a trusted source: I just landed back in the US from Diego Garcia. War is brewing. The island has more aircraft and refueling tankers than I have seen since 2005. Docks were full and 30 ships were moored off shore.This is a huge buildup. B1s and B2s and b52s in abundance. Never seen them all at one place. It seems stupid to bunch them up at one facility. Our layover was only supposed to be for 4 hours but the flight crews were so backed up we stayed overnight. The hotel was full and we bunked in a tent. We have never had to do that before. AF security is everywhere and they were assey. (Acting like strict, suspicious assholes) Just a heads up, keep your eyes open. I know that I am not giving away in classified information, the Russians have a satellite dedicated to watching this island. Also, the navy had 2 subs at the docks at once. I have never seen more than 1 there. B52s have new paint jobs — all flat black. Whats up with that? On top of all this, huge numbers of in-flight refueling tankers are also on the island. More than enough to supply air operations to/from the Middle East, non-stop. This is a very bad development. The US would never stage this much hardware at Diego Garcia unless they were planning a full-out, prolonged, military action. Based upon my military experience as a contractor who has visited Diego Garcia every 6 months for 11 years, we are going to war. On November 3rd, NBC News headlined “Exclusive: White House Readies to Fight Election Day Cyber Mayhem” , and reported “Officials are alert for any attempts to create Election Day chaos, and say steps are being taken to prepare for worst-case scenarios, including a cyber-attack that shuts down part of the power grid or the internet. But what is more likely, multiple U.S. officials say, is a lower-level effort by hackers from Russia or elsewhere to peddle misinformation by manipulating Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.” This news-report included a video of Andrea Mitchell, headlined “Is Russia a third party in the 2016 race?” If the United States government, on or after Election Day, says that Russia had done something of this nature, then the U.S. ‘response’ to the alleged ‘cyber-attack from Russia’ would presumably be one or more of “the exact measures the CIA was considering,” as NBC reported on October 14th, and World War III could then start with a cyber-war that could escalate to serious consequences, such as deactivating a power-grid in one or both of the countries, and, subsequently, a direct military invasion, of one by the other. But how would the U.S. public ever be able to come to know whether that alleged Russian provocation actually existed and wasn’t instead provoked intentionally by the U.S. government in order to provide a pretext for the U.S. to invade Russia? (After all, we’ve been pouring troops and weapons onto and near Russia’s borders for months now — and how would the U.S. respond to a provocation in which Russia surrounded our border with nukes?) On November 2nd, ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ an anonymous retired Green Beret, headlined “Something Big Is Underway On All Fronts: ‘Within The Next Few Weeks The Future Of The United States Will Be Decided’,” and he reported that: As of this writing, the increased U.S. troop presence in Eastern Europe includes a battalion-sized element of American troops being emplaced in the Suwalki Gap, Polish territory that borders Lithuania in a 60-mile stretch of corridor. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 600 Russian and Belarussian airborne troops conducted training exercises in Brest, on the Belorussian-Polish border only a few miles from where the U.S. forces are deploying in Poland. This on the heels of Britain deploying 800 men, tanks, and jets to Estonia, along with pledges of Challenger 2 tanks, APC’s (Armored Personnel Carriers), and drones. Two companies of French and Danish Soldiers will join the British in the deployment to Estonia. For the first time since 1945, Norway has violated its treaty with Russia (then the Soviet Union) not to station foreign troops on its soil. A company of U.S. Marines will soon be stationed for a 6-month deployment in Norway. The situation is heating up in Ukraine, according to a report on fort-russ.com entitled Ukraine Moves Massive Force up to Lugansk Frontline , published October 28, 2016. The report reveals the Ukrainian Army is deploying 3,500 soldiers and 200 armored vehicles of the 15th Motorized Infantry Brigade to Krasny Oktyabr in the district of Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine. For the first time in history, Romanian airspace is being patrolled by the RAF (Royal Air Force) of Britain. His report closes: “The next war will be initiated by an EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse] device detonated above the continental United States followed by a limited nuclear exchange and then conventional warfare. … Obama is the joker, setting the stage for the transfer of power. That transfer is not going to occur with the losing candidate (in either case) going gently into that good night. The stage is set for a war to begin. The stage is set for a false flag operation to take down our grid. The stage is set to steal the election for Clinton or declare it null and void. Within the next few weeks, the future of the United States will be decided…with or without the consent of the governed.” If it’s not true, then why is the U.S. engaging in these preparations? Russia has never attacked America. The Cold War was supposed to have ended. The U.S. government obviously thinks it now is actually hotter than ever, and so, apparently, we place the jihadists on the back burner; we’ve got a much bigger war to wage, and we’ll know soon whether it starts soon after the ‘election’. | 1real |
Brent Bozell: Attack on Hannity Part of ’Liberal Strategy to Monopolize the Media’ - Breitbart | President of the Media Research Center Brent Bozell has criticized the attacks against Fox News host Sean Hannity, describing them as “part of the liberal strategy to their monopoly over television news. ”[On Wednesday, a number of companies including Cars. com, Peloton, and Leesa Sleep pulled their ads from Hannity following pressure from activists over Hannity’s pursuit of claims made by Fox News that murdered DNC employee Seth Rich had contact with Wikileaks before his death. In a series of tweets, Hannity accused figures including George Soros, David Brock of Media Matters, and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of “liberal fascism,” after his advertisers were reportedly “inundated with emails” from groups asking them to stop advertising on the show. Now Bozell, whose organization the Media Research Center analyzes liberal bias across the mainstream media, has accused advertisers of “joining in the liberal cause and advancing the liberal strategy” and becoming “servants of the politically correct. ” He also attacked the military financial services company USAA for “succumbing to the pressure of extremists,” adding that Hannity has “for decades been a fierce supporter of the military at every turn. ” Please read my full statement slamming advertisers who are boycotting Hannity. pic. twitter. — Brent Bozell (@BrentBozell) May 25, 2017, Hannity is now the second Fox News show to have ads pulled this year, after over 90 companies dropped advertising on Bill O’Reilly’s show The O’Reilly Factor over allegations of sexual harassment, following pressure from activists. O’Reilly was eventually released by the network, despite being America’s cable news host. “We have remained silent for far too long. A bridge has been crossed. Stay tuned,” Bozell added. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 0fake |
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate Clinton Foundation | AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged the Justice Department on Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate if donors to the Clinton Foundation got special treatment from the State Department when it was run by his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Trump made the appeal at a rally before thousands of cheering supporters in Akron, Ohio, as he tries to rebound from a slide in national opinion polls with little more than two months to go until the Nov. 8 election. Trump accused former President Bill Clinton and his wife of turning the Clinton Foundation charity into a “pay-for-play” scheme in which wealthy donors, foreign and domestic, got favors from the State Department during Hillary Clinton’s 2009-2013 tenure as the country’s top diplomat. Trump faulted both the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation for not indicting Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state. FBI Director James Comey cited her careless handling of classified emails but opted not to prosecutor her. “The Justice Department is required to appoint a special prosecutor because it has proved to be, sadly, a political arm of the White House,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever seen anything like it before.” Trump’s appeal came the same day a conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, released 725 pages of State Department documents, including some it said were examples of preferential treatment provided to donors at the request of former Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band. Trump’s call for an independent investigation followed an announcement by the Clinton Foundation that it would no longer accept foreign donations should Clinton be elected president. The Clinton campaign fired back at Trump, saying the foundation had already laid out “the unprecedented steps the charity will take if Hillary Clinton becomes president.” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said in a statement that Trump “needs to come clean with voters about his complex network” of businesses that are in debt to big banks, including the state-owned Bank of China, after a New York Times report on the subject. “Donald Trump should stop hiding behind fake excuses and release his tax returns and immediately disclose the full extent of his business interests,” Podesta said. While keeping up the attack on Clinton, Trump in his speech also outlined some agenda items, as Republicans have been urging him to do for months. The more disciplined Trump followed a campaign shake-up last week that brought in veteran pollster Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager. But in a sign that organizational challenges remain, Trump canceled a rally planned for later this week in Las Vegas and postponed an immigration speech in Denver. Earlier on Monday, Trump insisted he was not “flip-flopping” on immigration, despite a comment by Conway on Sunday that his plan to deport 11 million illegal immigrants was still under review. In his Akron remarks, Trump, struggling to broaden his support beyond the white working-class voters who have been his base of support, again urged blacks and Hispanics to give him a chance, saying: “What the hell do you have to lose?” repeating a line he delivered on Friday that was criticized by Clinton as “ignorant.” Trump said Democratic politicians had not been able to stem crime and poverty in inner cities despite pledges to do every election year. “I say it and I’m going to keep saying it and some people say: ‘Wow that makes sense’ and some people say: ‘That’s not very nice,’” Trump said. “And I say it with such a deep-felt feeling, what do you have to lose? We’ll bring jobs back. We’ll bring spirit back. We’ll get rid of the crime.” | 0fake |
Egyptian air force strikes arms convoy at Libyan border | CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt said on Thursday its air force had hit 10 four-wheel-drive vehicles carrying arms, ammunition and contraband at Egypt s western borders with Libya. Egyptian security forces have been battling an insurgency by Islamic State that was until recently concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula but has extended to other parts of the country. A number of criminals gathered and prepared to sneak into the Egyptian border, using a number of four-wheel-drive vehicles, the Egyptian military said in a statement that gave no details of casualties. | 0fake |
Ron Paul: ‘I Can’t Support Trump if He’s GOP Pick’ and ‘Neocons Will Love Hillary’ | David Sherfinski Washington TimesFormer Texas Rep. Ron Paul said Friday he couldn t support GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump if Mr. Trump wins the party s nomination, saying Mr. Trump s views on the scope of executive authority could surpass those of President Obama. No, I couldn t do that, Mr. Paul said on Fox Business Network when asked if he would support Mr. Trump, should the billionaire businessman win the GOP nomination. He s [the] opposite of a libertarian. Mr. Paul, a three-time presidential candidate, said on foreign policy, Mr. Trump probably wouldn t be that much different than former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. I think the die-hard neoconservatives would not be that extremely unhappy with Hillary, Mr. Paul said. Trump is going to be the most efficient [at] using the executive orders, he said. He ll say this is the way it is, you know. Obama was pretty arrogant. If you don t do it, [the] Congress, I ll write an order Continue this story at Washington TimesREAD MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files | 1real |
Roaming Charges: Comfortably Dumb | Email
+ Hillary Clinton is in no danger of losing the election and never has been. She could speak freely about the injustices being done to native people and native land in North Dakota. But she has remained “comfortably dumb” about the Dakota Access Pipeline. Her silence indicates her true position, which we already know from the Wikileaks documents. Anyone who believes otherwise is, to use the Clinton team’s own word, a “loser.”
+ HRC has already been endorsed as an eco heroine by every major green group in the country, which, naturally, means after taking office she can frack away with impunity.
+ Yesterday, police culled from across North Dakota encircled the encampment of tribal people protesting the Dakota pipeline. Outfitted in military gear, armed with assault weapons and backed by armored personal carriers, drones and helicopters, the police raided the camp, firing concussion grenades into the crowds, dousing people with pepper spray, shooting them with rubber bullets, savagely beating people with police clubs (baton is too dainty of a word.) In all, more than 140 protesters were arrested on fallacious charges of criminal trespassing and rioting. The riot was all the doing of the cops and the pipeline company. Dozens of protesters were injured, some seriously. The raid continues this morning, as does Hillary’s silence.
Meanwhile, in a federal court-room in Portland, Oregon, the armed militants who seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last year, held it for 48 days, threatened federal officials and local residents and did more than $6 million worth of damage to the site walked free, acquitted of all charges.
Rarely have the hypocrisies of the American justice system been revealed more vividly. White privilege in action.
+ The bosses of organized labor continue to disgrace themselves and their unions by their support of the pipeline company and its brutal tactics. This week Terry O’Sullivan, head of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, lashed out at unions that opposed the pipeline, calling them “bottom-feeders.” O’Sullivan also smeared tribal protesters as “THUGS.”
“The facts are on our side, yet in the past month, we have witnessed vocal opposition from groups, including some self-righteous unions, who know little about the project and have no job equity in it,” O’Sullivan wrote to his members. “These unions have sided with THUGS against trade unionists. They are a group of bottom-feeding organizations that are once again trying to destroy our members’ jobs.”
Is it any wonder big labor is in decline?
+ Do black lives matter to Black Lives Matter, Inc?
The answer to that question probably depends on how you view DeRay Mckesson. Is the high profile activist the real power behind BLM or a self-anointed figurehead, angling for the spotlight?
Regardless, Mckesson has now endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, a move which is as predictable as it is crippling for the movement with which he is aligned. “Her platform signals both deep understanding of the challenges and a plan to move us forward,” McKesson wrote. “When I met with her last week, it was clear that she now understands these issues well at a policy level and that she has researched the implications of the positions that she has proposed.”
In exchange for a little face time with Hillary, Mckesson is willing to overlook or dismiss Clinton’s description of black youths as “super-predators,” her fanatical support for the racist Clinton Crime bill, her unapologetic backing of the awful welfare reform law pushed through Congress by her husband, her mercenary actions in Haiti, her bombings of brown and black people around the globe, her continued support for the death penalty as the rest of the nation finally turns against this vile form of punishment, her stubborn opposition to drug decriminalization and her constant hectoring about family values and personal responsibility, coded language for deprecations about the black family.
The Clintons have long mastered the technique of capturing the support of those battered precincts of American society on which they have inflicted the most damage. They expect that black support is in the bag, that blacks, like environmentalists and Hispanics, have no where else to turn, that their leaders will intoxicated by the merest nod of recognition in the waiting line. They are assured that the displaced and oppressed will vote for Clinton regardless of her record Like so many other social justice groups before them, Black Lives Matter is treated by the Clinton machine as just another prop which they can manipulate almost at will for their political advantage.
A Wikileaks document shows how this kind of stagecraft works in practice. On January 16 of this year, Jake Sullivan, one of Hillary’s top advisors, emailed Hillary and John Podesta draft language for Hillary to apologize for her rancid description of young black men as “super-predators.” This racist statement, which had never been retracted over the last 20 years, would have been fatal for nearly any other candidate.
Here are the tepid words Sullivan proposed putting in Hillary’s mouth:
Looking back, I shouldn’t have used those words.
It’s unfortunate because my life’s work has been about lifting up children and young people who have been let down by the system or society. Kids who never got the chance they deserved, especially in African-American communities. We haven’t done right by them. We need to. We need to replace the school to prison pipeline and replacing [sic] it with a school-to-college pipeline.
As an advocate, as First Lady, as Senator, I was a champion for children. And my campaign for president is about breaking down the barriers that stand in the way of these kids, so that every one of them can live up to their God-given potential.
Now that’s pretty dull pablum and doesn’t even approach being a real apology. But what’s really interesting here is the timing. The non-apology apology was crafted on the 21st with the advance notice of a planned Black Lives Matter protest at Hillary’s fundraiser on January 24th. The “apology” is publicly released the next day, on the 25th, as if it were an organic response to the Black Lives Matter protest. All theater.
As with climate change and economic inequality, the subject of racial justice in America has largely vanished from the scripts of Hillary’s stump speeches, the platform, venerated by Mckesson, is already moldering away in some vault at the National Archives. Do black lives matter to Black Lives Matter, Inc.? Of course, they do. But they don’t matter to Hillary Clinton and no one should believe for a moment that they do.
+ Jake Sullivan, by the way, is married to Beltway insider Maggie Goodlander, who sharpened her knives as a speechwriter for Joe Lieberman and now toils as a “senior advisor” to John McCain. Do you really think either Sullivan or Goodlander believe anything they write?
+ HRC backs the coup in Honduras. The new junta begins jailing and killing workers, trade unionists, human rights activists and native people. State Department funds the slaughter. The Nation magazine and Michael Moore avert their eyes.
+ If you ever feel the need to purge your lunch, no need to thrust your finger down your throat, just watch Michael Moore’s latest film, Trumpland, where he slobbers all over photos of the young Hillary Clinton.
Moore has been love with Hillary since the 1990s, but his once secret passion has suddenly erupted orgasmically on the screen. Trump’s perv-talk with Billy Bush is less nauseating than Moore’s vapid mewling about Hillary.
Here are a few gems from Moore’s embarrassing recent performance on MS-DNC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews”:
“I’d rather Hillary be the nominee than Bernie.”
“Hillary may not be [a socialist], but she’s a Christian and that’s the same thing.”
“Hillary won’t harm the children, she won’t harm the planet.”
Where’s Charlton Heston when you need him?
+ As far as he knows, Bill is still “dicking bimbos” in Chappaqua and Hillary continues to blame him for advising her on how to shield her e-mails from the prying eyes of the press. But none of that matters. They are members of the same cult, baptized in the blood of Iraq. Thus Colin Powell endorsed Hillary for president this week, one lying war criminal saluting another.
+ Tom Hayden, former SDS hotshot turned Clinton supporter, died this week. In Hayden’s FBI file, J. Edgar Hoover instructed his agents: “One of your prime objectives should be to neutralize him in the New Left movement.” In the end, Hayden neutralized himself.
I was never a huge Tom Hayden fan. My allegiance was to the Panthers and the Yippies: Stew Albert, Judy Gumbo, Abbie and Anita Hoffman, Nancy Kershaw, all of whom became friends over the years. In fact, in our last conversation Hayden asked me “why do you hate me so much?” This was just after his slavish endorsement of Hillary. That said, Jim Kavanagh , a former SDS organizer, recalls that Hayden did publicly confess his regrets about one of his most ignoble retreats, the one that led him into the arms of the Israel lobby–a mea culpa we ran on CounterPunch.
+ Alexander Cockburn on Hayden, from the Village Voice in 1982: “In the halls of the national gallery in Washington there are 46 portraits of Benedict Arnold. None look alike, yet they all resemble Tom Hayden.”
+ The New York Times doesn’t have a comics page. For laughs we have to turn to its editorials. This week we were treated to a real howler, Jonathan Rauch’s essay on “ Why Hillary Needs to be Two-Faced ,” in which Rauch argues, laboriously, that Hillary needs to deceive the electorate in order to enact policies for the “good” of the nation. But doesn’t the moral measure for “getting things done” depend entirely on who they’re done to (the poor) and who they are done for (Wall Street)?
+ Perhaps the decline in humaneness in politics is driven in part by a decline in the humanities in academia…
+ Oregon’s self-styled “progressive bisexual” governor, Kate Brown, has now endorsed the TPP. I think Congress pushes it through in the lame duck session after the election, though if the GOP had any brains, and it doesn’t, they’d wait until after HRC takes office and force her to publicly lobby for its passage.
+ Speaking of the Nanny State, 35% of the tax revenues from Oregon retail marijuana sales go toward funding……. the police .
+ California seems poised to legalize the sale and possession of marijuana. This move can’t come soon enough. Even though the Golden State began decriminalizing the use of pot in 1998, there have been more than 500,000 marijuana-related arrests in California the last 10 years alone.
+ Jeff Gerth is a former investigative journalist with the New York Times, who now writes for Pro Publica. Gerth has broken a lot of big stories in his career, including the Whitewater scandal, but his prose is so opaque and his narrative gifts so limited that few people have ever understood the import of his pieces, not even his editors. If a politician wanted to bury a scandal, all they really had to do was it leak it to Gerth, who would write it up in his muddled way and it would all be forgotten by the next morning.
The Wikileaks emails have a fascinating back-and-forth between Gerth and Podesta about the Clinton Foundation. If the Clintons had any sense, they would have dumped the whole matter into Gerth’s lap. Instead, Gerth writes Podesta to alert him to the fact that another reporter is onto the story:
Are you aware of a forthcoming–in a few days–massive examination of the Clinton Foundation by a conservative financial analyst? My understanding is that it raises questions about the foundation’s financial reports and its shift into areas–AIDS, for example–that exceeded its original authorization from the IRS. I’m not writing anything about it but curious if you have heard anything?
How Podesta’s hopes must have wilted at that last sentence.
+ Watching MSDNC talking heads, like Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow, dismiss the latest Clinton Foundation scandals reminds me of the BP press team spinning Deepwater Horizon.
+ Joe Biden was on MSDNC this week quoting the racist sociologist Charles “Bell Curve” Murray favorably. Biden told Chris Matthews that he made “my boys” take the quiz on white alienation in the back of Murray’s rotten book, Coming Apart: the State of White America. Should we be surprised? As chief author of the Clinton crime bill, Biden transformed Murray’s theories into vicious policies.
+ Lyin’ Hillary gets refreshingly honest for a moment: “I’m proud to have the support of real billionaires.”
+ Utah Rep. Chris Stewart compared Trump to Mussolini, and even though Trump falls a little short of the gold standard (i.e., Hitler), Stewart now says he’s going to vote for the authoritarian mogul any way.
+ Bernie Sanders says that he’s prepared to be a liberal thorn in Hillary’s side after she’s election. Being a socialist thorn in her side, alas, would prove a little too prickly, I suppose.
+ The Clinton campaign have shown Sanders no such consideration. Apparently, Clinton operatives have been stalking Sanders for much of the last two years. They even snapped a photo of Sanders sunbathing at an elite club in Martha’s Vineyard. The photo was sent to John Podesta by former Bill Clinton aid Tina Flournoy. A few days later the campaign leaked the photo to gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who posted the photo on his site, quipping that Sanders was lounging after having raised Wall Street money for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
The Clintons wanted to embarrass Sanders, but it just proved that he has a pretty good body for his age.
This is the same creepy tactic the Clinton campaign used against Obama in 2008, when they leaked a photo of Obama in traditional Somali garb.
+ One state, under surveillance, divided by wealth, with liberty and justice for those who pay…
+ What’s really driving the national debt? America’s imperial boot print: $6 trillion and counting for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With more than 800 military bases around the world, nearly half of the federal tax goes for military spending. Running out of enemies to fight? Wait a few minutes, we’ll create some new ones.
+ Clinton condemned Trump’s critique of the US military strategy in Mosul as “wrong” and “dangerous.” For HRC, any criticism of US foreign policy is “dangerous,” but not nearly as dangerous as the policy itself.
+ Israel’s politicians make Trump and Clinton seem almost sane by comparison. Check out the latest depraved boast from Israeli Defense Minister Avigidor Lieberman who announced, apropos of nothing, that Israel’s next war on Gaza will be its last “ because we will completely destroy them .”
+ NFL viewership is down, way down . Good. I’ve long thought that the sadistic joy NFL fans take from watching talented young black men inflicting brain damage on each other is an appalling metaphor for the dumbing down of American society.
+ Fragment from a dream last night: HRC moves into White House, notices an empty space on the wall of the Oval Office. Turns to Huma. Points. “Let’s put Qaddafi’s head there, shall we?”
Sound Grammar | 1real |
China warns Taiwan not to rely on foreigners after attack threat | BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan will fail to get foreign support for its cause, the Chinese government said on Wednesday after a Chinese diplomat threatened the self-ruled island with attack, while Taiwan said it was committed to peace. China considers Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is its main source of arms. Beijing regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue between it and the United States. In September, the U.S. Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2018 fiscal year, which authorizes mutual visits by navy vessels between Taiwan and the United States. That prompted a senior U.S.-based Chinese diplomat to say last week that China would attack Taiwan the instant any U.S. navy vessel visited the island. Asked about the remarks at a regular news briefing in Beijing, An Fengshan, spokesman for China s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan was an internal matter and China opposed any form of military contacts between Taipei and Washington. What I want to stress and point out is that any relying on foreigners to build oneself up or plots to harm national sovereignty and territorial integrity will be opposed by the entire Chinese nation, and cannot succeed, An said. China suspects Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who leads the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, wants to declare the island s formal independence. Tsai says she wants to maintain peace with China but will defend Taiwan s security. The Chinese air force has this year carried out a series of drills near Taiwan, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets to shadow the mainland aircraft. Speaking at a security forum in Taipei, Taiwan Vice President Chen Chien-jen said China had been sending more naval vessels and aircraft through the East China Sea, in addition to its provocative behaviors in the South China Sea, where Taiwan is also party to a festering territorial dispute. Nevertheless, we remain committed to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but this requires cooperation from both sides, Chen said. We are looking for positive dialogue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and hope it will happen soon. That would benefit the people on both sides, our region and our world. Since Tsai took office, China has suspended a regular dialogue mechanism with Taiwan and has been slowly siphoning off its remaining diplomatic allies. | 0fake |
South Africa's Zuma asks court to set aside report on influence-peddling | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday asked the High Court to set aside a report by the anti-corruption watchdog on alleged influence-peddling in his government, saying he would instead set up a commission of inquiry into the allegations. The court has been hearing a case brought by Zuma who had challenged the right of the report s author, South Africa s anti-graft agency known as Public Protector, to call for a judicial inquiry to investigate the allegations. Zuma, 75, who previously described the State of Capture report as unfair in parliament, said setting up such an inquiry was his prerogative. The report published a year ago recommended a judicial investigation into allegations of systemic corruption by Zuma, some of his ministers and heads of state-owned companies. The report focused on allegations that Zuma s friends, the businessmen and brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, had influenced the appointment of ministers. Zuma and the Guptas have denied the accusations. In a fresh application on Tuesday, Zuma s lawyers argued that the entire report by former Public Protector head Thuli Madonsela should be set aside. Should the court grant his application, Zuma would set up a separate commission of inquiry himself within 30 days of the date of the order, court papers presented by his lawyers said. The main opposition Democratic Alliance party opposes Zuma s application, saying it is unconstitutional. It says it wants the court to support Madonsela s recommendation for a judicial inquiry. | 0fake |
Bosnia must make reforms or EU window could close - Hahn | SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia must start making concrete reforms if it wants to join the European Union, or the window to becoming a member could close, the bloc s enlargement chief said on Monday. The European Union accepted Bosnia s application 15 months ago - but Johannes Hahn said the Balkan nation had not made any of the reforms or changes agreed with the bloc and international creditors. So far nothing has been delivered. We now expect very concrete results, Hahn said after meeting political leaders. Bosnia s prime minister, Denis Zvizdic, said he hoped the leaders would reach a compromise on outstanding issues by later this month or early January. The ethnically divided country has so far not managed to respond to the initial EU questionnaire on its readiness to join the bloc. Political bickering has held up a law raising excise tax on fuel, required to unlock external financing for infrastructure projects. There has also been no sign of development and energy and agriculture sector strategies demanded by the bloc. There are a lot of issues in the pipeline but I would like to have them through the pipeline, said Hahn. It is absolutely high time now to deliver on what has been agreed, otherwise, the window can be closed again and this is not something we all would like to see, he told a news conference. Hahn urged government and opposition leaders to stop appealing to ethnic nationalism, and said the EU would be looking for evidence of European values, including a respect for court rulings. Without that understanding one cannot make any progress, he said. | 0fake |
New Alleged Audio: Bill Clinton Encourages Mistress to Hide His Role in Securing Her a State Job | Getty - Michael Loccisano, Mike Nelson
Despite the fact that Hillary Clinton is the one running for president, as the election looms ever closer, new details continue to emerge about former President Bill Clinton — particularly regarding his alleged affairs and sexual assaults.
Gennifer Flowers has long claimed that she engaged in a consensual affair with the former president while he was still governor of Arkansas. The affair lasted some 12 years, according to Flowers, who refers to her former boss as “the love of her life.”
When she first went public with allegations of the affair, she provided the press with a series of tape-recorded phone calls as evidence. But there was something else in that alleged audio, something that was all but overlooked until Flowers gave a new interview this past week to Breitbart's Aaron Klein.
In the midst of several conversations regarding a lawsuit alleging that Clinton had engaged in numerous affairs, Flowers also recorded a brief exchange referencing her job.
The job wasn't anything special on the surface — a clerical position working for the state of Arkansas, making around $17,000 per year. Flowers secured the job just over a year prior to Clinton's run for the presidency.
But prior to getting the job, Flowers sent a letter in which she told Clinton about her financial troubles. The National Memo reported on the contents of that letter:
"Gennifer wrote Clinton again on February 25. 'Since we were unable to connect by phone,' the letter began, 'I thought I should drop you a note.' Flowers complained that Gaddy hadn’t been very successful in helping her and that her financial situation was dire. She enclosed a copy of her lawyer’s letter threatening to sue the radio station, and closed by asking Clinton to 'Please, be in touch.'
Three months later, Gaddy sent Flowers to the Arkansas Merit System to be tested for an administrative assistant position that paid $17,524."
As Clinton prepared his campaign for the presidency, he and Flowers spoke again on the phone — after a woman in her office had complained that she was more qualified for the job — and Flowers again allegedly recorded their conversations :
GF – But anyway, then Wednesday, there was a grievance filed in my office when I got the job by a girl who felt like she should have gotten it, a black girl named (deleted). And they called me as a witness. So I go in and uh, nothing big came of it. It’s just that they were questioning me about how I found out about the job. And I said, “Well, that personnel said it that it was a possibility there would be a position,” and then uh, “they told me that it would be advertised in the newspaper. And it was and I pursued it from there."
BC – Good for you.
GF – Well the only thing that concerns me, where I’m, where I’m concerned at this point is the state job.
BC – Yeah. I never thought about that, but as long as you say you’ve just been looking for one, you’d uh, check on it. If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no.
GF – Well and I would. But I’m… here is the thing I’ve got to consider, too, is I’ve gotta go in there to work every day. You know what I mean?
BC – Yep.
GF – And if, and if these people start talking or someone in the press…
BC – Well, have they been nice to you there?
GF – Yeah they have been. But I don’t, you know, I mean, I just want you to know what’s going on. And I’ll be glad to hang in there.
BC – Has the, has the…
GF – But if it gets real…
Clinton did eventually admit to having sexual relations with Flowers, though he insisted there had only been a single encounter.
Flowers, who has never been a fan of Hillary Clinton's, has come out in recent months in support of Donald Trump. She was one of the women Trump invited to sit in the front row during the debates in an effort to make the Clintons uncomfortable.
You can listen to Klein's interview with Flowers below: | 1real |
Dispute erupts over House panel subpoenas for CIA, FBI | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A political feud erupted on Wednesday over the U.S. House Intelligence Committee’s probe of suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, with charges that the panel’s Republican chairman subpoenaed the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency without telling Democratic members. Committee aides complained that the chairman, Representative Devin Nunes, who publicly recused himself from leading the Russia probe in April following a secret visit he paid to White House officials, failed to consult Democrats on the subpoenas. The subpoenas asked the agencies to provide details of any requests made by two top Obama administration aides and the former CIA director to “unmask” names of Trump campaign advisers inadvertently picked up in top-secret foreign communications intercepts, congressional sources said. The former officials named in the subpoenas were Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and former CIA Director John Brennan. “Subpoenas related to the ‘unmasking’ issue would have been sent by Chairman Nunes acting separately from the committee’s Russia investigation. This action would have been taken without the minority’s (Democrats’) agreement,” said a senior committee aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another congressional source, who also requested anonymity, said Democrats were “informed and consulted” before the subpoenas were issued. The CIA declined to comment on the subpoenas and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NSA did not immediate respond to requests for comment. U.S. privacy laws and intelligence regulations require that Americans’ names picked up in foreign communications intercepts be concealed unless senior officials request them to be disclosed for intelligence or law enforcement purposes. Any such requests undergo rigorous legal reviews. Several U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that all such requests by Obama administration officials were properly scrutinized and appropriate. SUBPOENAS FOR TRUMP LAWYER, EX-AIDE The spy agency subpoenas were not mentioned in a bipartisan announcement on Wednesday that the panel approved subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in connection with the Russia probe. The committee also approved subpoenas to the two men’s firms, Flynn Intel Llc, and Michael D. Cohen and Associates PC, the committee statement said. “As part of our ongoing investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 campaign, today we approved subpoenas for several individuals for testimony, personal documents and business records,” Republican Representative Mike Conaway and Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, who are leading the committee probe, said in a joint statement. Conaway assumed Republican leadership of the probe after Nunes recused himself. Nunes retained his power to issue subpoenas. U.S. intelligence agencies reported in January that Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a campaign of computer hacking, fake news and propaganda intended to swing the election to Republican Trump over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied conducting such a campaign. Trump denies any collusion between Russia and his campaign and has questioned the veracity of the U.S. intelligence finding. Trump fired Flynn in February for failing to disclose the content of his talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. The retired Army general is the subject of congressional, Justice Department and Defense Department investigations into his apparent failure to disclose payments he received from Russian and Turkish entities. Cohen is one of several Trump associates under scrutiny in an FBI examination of possible contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia, according to the New York Times. It reported that Cohen was involved in a back-channel plan, which never came to fruition, that would have involved a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Moscow. CNN reported on Wednesday night that congressional investigators were looking into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had an undisclosed private meeting with Kislyak during the campaign, citing Republican and Democratic sources in Congress and intelligence officials briefed on the probe. The focus of the probe is on whether such a meeting took place on April 27, 2016, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where Trump delivered his first major foreign policy address, CNN reported. During his confirmation hearing in January, Sessions testified that he “did not have any communications with the Russians” during the campaign and said in a written statement given to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was not in contact with anyone linked to the Russian government during the campaign. It was reported in March that he met with Kislyak twice during the campaign, once at the Republican National Convention in July and once in his Senate office in September. Sessions later admitted having the meetings but said they were part of his Senate duties and were unrelated to the campaign. He later recused himself from the Russia probe. | 0fake |
Florida state senator resigns after racial slur | (Editor’s note: please be advised that paragraphs 4-6 contain language that may be offensive to some readers) By Bernie Woodall FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida state senator resigned on Friday after coming under pressure for yelling obscenities and racial slurs inside a lounge frequented by lawmakers at the state capital in Tallahassee. Senator Frank Artiles, a Republican from Miami-Dade County, made the comments on Monday night to two Democratic senators, both of whom are black, at the members-only Governor’s Club, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday. “I am responsible and I am accountable and effective immediately, I am resigning from the Florida State Senate,” Artiles wrote in a resignation letter delivered to the state Senate Majority Leader Joe Negron on Friday. Artiles yelled at Democratic Senator Audrey Gibson, who earlier that day had questioned some bills Artiles sponsored, according to the Miami Herald. He called the Jacksonville senator a “bitch” and a “girl.” Artiles also called Democrat Perry Thurston, a black senator from Fort Lauderdale, an “asshole.” He also said Negron had risen to majority leader because of the support of six Republican senators he called “niggas,” the newspaper reported. Artiles on Wednesday apologized on the state Senate floor. He did not directly mention the comments he made on Monday night, but admitted he made offensive comments. Thurston on Thursday filed a formal complaint to have Artiles expelled from the legislative body. He could not be reached for comment on Friday. Gibson issued a statement on Friday, saying, “This has been an ordeal that no one should have to endure.” On Tuesday, Negron said in a statement that he has been informed of Artiles’ comments by the senate’s minority leader, Democrat Oscar Braynon. “Racial slurs and profane, sexist insults have no place in conversation between senators and will not be tolerated,” Negron’s statement said. Public protests followed, including one at Artiles’ Miami-area headquarters where signs were posted on his office windows demanding that he resign. Artiles, a former Marine, was elected in November to the senate after serving six years in the Florida House of Representatives. “My actions and my presence in government is now a distraction to my colleagues, the legislative process and the citizens of our great state,” he said in his resignation letter. | 0fake |
Feeling Cornered, Coal Industry Borrows From Tobacco Playbook, Activists Say - The New York Times | Greg Zimmerman, an environmental activist, was scrolling through the website of a coal industry association when he came across a presentation that startled him: “Survival Is Victory: Lessons From the Tobacco Wars. ” What surprised Mr. Zimmerman, the deputy policy director at the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation advocacy organization based in Denver, was that the coal industry was, at least in this presentation, deliberately drawing a comparison between itself and the tobacco companies. That is more typically the argument of environmentalists, who often compare fossil fuel companies to the tobacco industry. They note that the tobacco giants for many years funded science and advocacy groups to spread doubt about risks of smoking. Fossil fuel companies, they argue, have engaged in similar efforts, and investigations by state attorneys general have focused on the tactics of Exxon Mobil, which has funded groups that deny the scientific evidence that human activity has increased global warming. Fossil fuel companies and their allies generally ridicule the comparison to tobacco. But here was an internal document from the industry that, as Mr. Zimmerman said, “has sort of done our job for us. ” Others have taken note of it as well. After reviewing the presentation, shared with him by a reporter, the state attorney general leading the investigation of Exxon Mobil, Eric T. Schneiderman of New York, called it important. “This is just the latest example of the fossil fuel industry explicitly adopting the Big Tobacco playbook,” he said. Mr. Schneiderman reached a settlement last year with Peabody Energy, the giant coal company, after finding that it had not properly disclosed to the public and its shareholders the risks of climate change and regulation to its business — an investigation similar to Mr. Schneiderman’s efforts to determine whether Exxon Mobil had committed fraud in its public statements about climate change. The “Survival Is Victory” presentation was given a year ago at the convention and annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, an industry group representing coal interests in Western states. The author of the presentation, Richard Reavey, is the vice president for government and public affairs at Cloud Peak Energy, a mining company based in Wyoming. From 1990 to 2007, Mr. Reavey served as an executive with Philip Morris International, working in communications and government affairs. The slides did not acknowledge the scientific consensus on climate change, but stated that public opinion had shifted so substantially that the question was moot. “We need to get out of the binary debate on climate change,” one slide read. “Right, but dead, is not a victory. ” The presentation called on the industry to prepare for more stringent regulation, and to build a better future for the industry and its workers by pushing for more research into technology that can capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks, which could extend the use of coal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognized a possible role for carbon capture in meeting global goals for limiting carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, but commercial development of the technology has proved somewhat troublesome. Mr. Reavey noted that the tobacco industry had settled lawsuits with 48 states in 1998 and agreed to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. The deal looked to some like the “End of Days,” he wrote in a slide, but “a much more heavily regulated tobacco industry is viable and profitable. ” Like so many elements of climate change, coal is a polarizing issue for political parties. The 2016 Republican Party platform strongly supports a continued role for coal, referring to it as “an abundant, clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy resource,” and calls for killing the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would continue the process of reducing dependence on coal for producing energy. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president, has promised to “defend and implement” the Clean Power Plan while providing economic opportunities in coal communities affected by it. For its part, Exxon Mobil has stated that it now accepts the validity of climate science and favors a carbon tax it also says that since the it has not funded groups that play down scientific evidence of the human role in global warming. In an interview, Mr. Reavey, who developed the slide presentation, said it simply recognized the “political reality” that Americans accepted climate science in increasing numbers. And while the presentation compared coal and tobacco, the two industries are “completely different,” he added. “At the end of the day, energy is something that we, as a society, require. Tobacco is not. ” But a string of recent bankruptcy filings by coal companies has shown the extensive support from the industry for groups that deny the scientific validity of climate change and oppose environmental regulations. Mr. Reavey said that his company, Cloud Peak, “has never fought climate change — never fought it, never denied it or funded anyone who does. ” The executive director of the industry group, Judy Colgan, recalled that Mr. Reavey’s presentation delivered a message the audience was ready to hear. The industry, she said, has recognized that the time for arguing over climate science has passed. “We can fight this climate debate all we want to it’s not going to help the industry survive,” she said, adding that very few people are going to change their minds. Instead, she added, developing carbon capture should be the top priority. Naomi Oreskes, a historian who has compared the science and public relations of the tobacco and fossil fuel industries, said that while much of the investigative attention in the past year has focused on Exxon Mobil, the coal industry presentation “is a reminder that this is a much more complicated story than just Exxon Mobil. ” Money the coal industry spent on attacking climate science might have been invested to develop effective carbon capture technology, she said. “That, to me, is a little bit heartbreaking,” she added. “Now I think, ‘Guys, that’s a day late and a dollar short. ’” | 0fake |
France's Le Drian says China is 'well placed to push' North Korea to talks | BEIJING (Reuters) - China has leverage to persuade North Korea to go back to talks over its nuclear ambitions, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday, after meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. North Korea s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles has fueled a surge in regional tensions as United Nations-led sanctions appear to have failed to bite deeply enough to change its behavior. Western diplomats have said that China is largely responsible for patchy enforcement. But Beijing bristles at the notion that it should be doing more to rein in North Korea, which does about 90 percent of its trade with China, saying it is fully enforcing U.N. sanctions and that everyone has a responsibility to lower tension and get talks back on track. We want to force the negotiations ... and it s true that China is well placed to push, Le Drian told reporters during a joint briefing with Wang after arriving in Beijing for a four-day visit. A military solution was an extreme option, he said. China advocates for a dual suspension plan to address the issue in which Pyongyang would halt its nuclear and missile programs and Washington would stop military exercises with its allies in the region, though U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled it out. Wang said the proposition is realistic and feasible . France thought it was a real proposition but that the conditions to realize it have not been met. But if we don t have the conditions we have to create the conditions, Wang said. Le Drian countered that he didn t see it as the right approach. I don t believe much in the double-suspension strategy, because first of all [North Korea] isn t prepared to negotiate the very principle of this nuclear program, Le Drian said. Le Drian has said previously that bellicose statements by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have created fears of a dangerous miscalculation, particularly since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3. Washington this week imposed sanctions on 13 Chinese and North Korean organizations Washington accused of helping evade nuclear restrictions against Pyongyang and supporting the country through trade of commodities like coal. The U.S. Treasury also put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism. But North Korea last week ruled out negotiations with Washington as long as joint U.S-South Korea military exercises continue, and said that Pyongyang s atomic weapons program would remain as a deterrent against a U.S. nuclear threat. The air forces of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a regular joint drill in December, which will include hundreds of aircraft and about 12,000 U.S. personnel. | 0fake |
REPORT: USDA GIVES $6.9 BILLION TO “INELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS” AKA NON-CITIZENS | Your tax dollars up in smoke thanks to the USDA. The two culprits are food stamps and the school lunch program. We cannot afford to feed the entire world or the millions of illegals crossing our border. The U.S. spent a record $80.4 billion on giving free groceries to Americans but also to non-citizens. The bloated federal agency charged with feeding the poor and eradiating food insecurity in the U.S. blew nearly $7 billion to provide ineligible recipients with the welfare benefit and there appears to be no end in sight to the fleecing.In fact, the agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has for years violated a measure known as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) that requires agencies to conduct annual risk assessments to identify programs that make significant improper payments of $10 million or more. Not only has the USDA violated IPERA in the last four years, it also refuses to implement a more efficient verification process before doling out benefits by asserting that it would create barriers for families that need help. Last year the USDA made an astounding $6.9 billion of improper payments, according to a scathing report made public this week by the agency s inspector general. Two programs accounted for a chunk of the money that was wasted; food stamps, officially known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to eliminate the stigma of welfare and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) which cost American taxpayers a whopping $16 billion in 2014. Of the $6.9 billion in fraudulent payments made by the USDA, those two programs accounted for $4.2 billion. Thus, they have been coined high-risk programs, according to the USDA watchdog.The overwhelming majority of improper payments go to provide ineligible recipients with goods or services, the report confirms. This is par for the course at the USDA and the agency seems to have no intention of cleaning up its rolls. In fact, the agency goes out of its way to cover up wrongdoing in four of its most fraud-infested programs. USDA is noncompliant with the improper payment requirements for a fourth consecutive year, the report says. Not coincidentally, a separate probe conducted by the investigative arm of Congress, also found that the USDA needs to improve its verification process for program access. That report, also made public this week, focuses only on the National School Lunch Program, which is notorious for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.Also this week, Congress held a special hearing to address waste, fraud and abuse in child nutrition programs operated by the USDA. At the hearing, held by the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, witnesses identified misused taxpayer dollars in three of the nation s largest child nutrition programs, which include school lunch and breakfast. The Forensic Audits and Investigative Service director at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified that both programs have been designated as high-error by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In fact, nearly half of the households that received benefits were not eligible because their income exceeded eligibility guidelines, according to the director Jessica Lucas-Judy.Judicial Watch has reported extensively on the pervasive fraud and corruption in the government s various food assistance programs, especially food stamps, which has grown immensely under President Obama. Last year JW reported that the government spent a mind-boggling $80.4 billion to give a record number of people many who didn t even qualify for the welfare benefit free groceries. A few years ago JW uncovered documents that show illegal immigrants also receive food stamps from Uncle Sam under an outrageous initiative with the Mexican government to promote participation by undocumented aliens.Via: Judicial Watch | 1real |
Today’s Upside Move In Gold & Silver Is Nothing Compared To What Is Coming | 29 Views November 01, 2016 GOLD , KWN King World News
As the gold and silver markets stage a rally, today’s move in gold and silver is nothing compared to what is coming.
A Terrifying Crisis John Embry: “Things are continuing to deteriorate across the globe. Now we are facing the very real possibility of another world war, and in a world with massive nuclear arsenals on both sides I find that to be terrifying… Continue reading the John Embry interview below… Advertisement To hear what billionaire Eric Sprott & Rick Rule are doing with their own money and which $7 billion company John Embry & Dr. Marc Faber oversee click on the logo:
John Embry continues: “In my mind, that crisis dwarfs the economic and financial deterioration.
On a separate note, I laughed when I saw the U.S. GDP number come in at 2.9 percent. That is totally at odds with important economic indicators such as freight traffic, industrial production, construction, oil consumption, etc.
Along those same lines, the inflation rate published by the government sharply understates the true rate of inflation for the average U.S. citizen. The price of necessities — food, energy, housing, and healthcare, are all now rising much faster than the official inflation rate. And those are the primary items that the average consumers spend the bulk of their incomes on in the United States.
The issue of Obamacare has become a national disgrace, with premium increases in 2017 to exceed double-digit percentages in virtually all constituencies. It will be interesting to see how this reality is reflected in voting patterns next week. Despite the mainstream press awarding the election to Hillary Clinton, there may be a bigger backlash coming from the voting public than anticipated. The public has become increasingly disenchanted with the establishment and what it has done to living standards for the average American.
However, irrespective of who wins the election, I foresee a big upward price move in gold and silver that may have already started today, as there are no palatable solutions to the world’s massive debt problems. I have long believed that we are going to experience a global hyperinflation for the first time in history, and this represents the most disruptive social condition that can possibly occur. Eventually the debt will have to be dealt with but I suspect that will happen in the wake of the hyperinflation. At that moment the only refuges will be hard assets, with gold and silver at the front of the pack. Meaning, today’s upside move in gold and silver is nothing compared to what is coming.”
***KWN has now released the remarkable audio interview with Nomi Prins CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
***ALSO RELEASED: This Key Signal Will Indicate Liftoff For Gold & Silver And The Mining Stocks CLICK HERE.
***KWN has also released Rick Rule’s timely audio interview CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
© 2015 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the articles is permitted and encouraged. About author | 1real |
Hillary at the Laugh Factory, Part 7: Loser | Hillary at the Laugh Factory, Part 7: Loser Users browsing this forum: Majestic-12 [Bot] , MSNbot Media and 29 guests Display posts from previous: Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by precedent, by implication, by erosion, by default, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other - until the day when they are suddenly declared to be the country's official ideology. ~ Ayn Rand
Rubiks & Rubik’s Cube ® used by special individual permission of Seven Town Ltd. Write down this number and report to your Kommissar at the nearest railroad station. Don't forget warm clothes and a shovel!
In Hillary's America, email server scrubs you
Obama transfers his Nobel Peace Prize to anti-Trump rioters
Democrats blame Hillary's criminal e-mail server for her loss, demand it face prison
Afraid of "dangerous" Trump presidency, protesters pre-emptively burn America down to the ground
Clinton Foundation in foreclosure as foreign donors demand refunds
Hillary Clinton blames YouTube video for unexpected and spontaneous voter uprising that prevented her inevitable move into the White House
Sudden rise in sea levels explained by disproportionately large tears shed by climate scientists in the aftermath of Trump's electoral victory
FBI director Comey delighted after receiving Nobel Prize for Speed Reading (650,000 emails in one week)
U.N. deploys troops to American college campuses in order to combat staggeringly low rape rates
Responding to Trump's surging poll numbers, Obama preemptively pardons himself for treason
Following hurricane Matthew's failure to devastate Florida, activists flock to the Sunshine State and destroy Trump signs manually
Tim Kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane Matthew while debating weather in Florida
Study: Many non-voters still undecided on how they're not going to vote
The Evolution of Dissent: on November 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under George W. Bush
Venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food
Breaking: the Clinton Foundation set to investigate the FBI
Obama captures rare Pokémon while visiting Hiroshima
Movie news: 'The Big Friendly Giant Government' flops at box office; audiences say "It's creepy"
Barack Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Micah Johnson"
White House edits Orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to NRA and Republican Party
President George Washington: 'Redcoats do not represent British Empire; King George promotes a distorted version of British colonialism'
Following Obama's 'Okie-Doke' speech , stock of Okie-Doke soars; NASDAQ: 'Obama best Okie-Doke salesman'
Weaponized baby formula threatens Planned Parenthood office; ACLU demands federal investigation of Gerber
Experts: melting Antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80% off select items by this weekend
Travel advisory: airlines now offering flights to front of TSA line
As Obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition, Trump preemptively purchases 'T' keys for White House keyboards
John Kasich self-identifies as GOP primary winner, demands access to White House bathroom
Upcoming Trump/Kelly interview on FoxNews sponsored by 'Let's Make a Deal' and 'The Price is Right'
News from 2017: once the evacuation of Lena Dunham and 90% of other Hollywood celebrities to Canada is confirmed, Trump resigns from presidency: "My work here is done"
Non-presidential candidate Paul Ryan pledges not to run for president in new non-presidential non-ad campaign
Trump suggests creating 'Muslim database'; Obama symbolically protests by shredding White House guest logs beginning 2009
National Enquirer: John Kasich's real dad was the milkman, not mailman
National Enquirer: Bound delegates from Colorado, Wyoming found in Ted Cruz’s basement
Iran breaks its pinky-swear promise not to support terrorism; US State Department vows rock-paper-scissors strategic response
Women across the country cheer as racist Democrat president on $20 bill is replaced by black pro-gun Republican
Federal Reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion-dollar check
Widows, orphans claim responsibility for Brussels airport bombing
Che Guevara's son hopes Cuba's communism will rub off on US, proposes a long list of people the government should execute first
Susan Sarandon: "I don't vote with my vagina." Voters in line behind her still suspicious, use hand sanitizer
Campaign memo typo causes Hillary to court 'New Black Panties' vote
New Hampshire votes for socialist Sanders, changes state motto to "Live FOR Free or Die"
Martin O'Malley drops out of race after Iowa Caucus; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president
Statisticians: one out of three Bernie Sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two
Hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking-gun evidence in her emails, claims they contain only smoking-circumstantial-gun evidence
Obama stops short of firing US Congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes-men
In effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad, White House urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas
TV horror live: A Charlie Brown Christmas gets shot up on air by Mohammed cartoons
Democrats vow to burn the country down over Ted Cruz statement, 'The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats'
Russia's trend to sign bombs dropped on ISIS with "This is for Paris" found response in Obama administration's trend to sign American bombs with "Return to sender"
University researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities
Archeologists discover remains of what Barack Obama has described as unprecedented, un-American, and not-who-we-are immigration screening process in Ellis Island
Mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a "safe space," changing Missouri motto to "The don't show me state"
Green energy fact: if we put all green energy subsidies together in one-dollar bills and burn them, we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy
State officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing ObamaCare with state lottery
NASA's new mission to search for racism, sexism, and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race, gender, and class power struggles over multibillion-dollar budget
College progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action
ISIS opens suicide hotline for US teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios
Virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write 'death to America' in Arabic
'Wear hijab to school day' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break
ISIS releases new, even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from Planned Parenthood
Impressed by Fox News stellar rating during GOP debates, CNN to use same formula on Democrat candidates asking tough, pointed questions about Republicans
Shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism, discovers they are same people
Pope outraged by Planned Parenthood's "unfettered capitalism," demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need
John Kerry accepts Iran's "Golden Taquiyya" award, requests jalapenos on the side
Citizens of Pluto protest US government's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with New Horizons space drone
John Kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons
Chicago Police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend
Cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for Americans who can't afford Obamacare deductibles
State-funded research proves existence of Quantum Aggression Particles (Heterons) in Large Hadron Collider
Student job opportunities: make big bucks this summer as Hillary’s Ordinary-American; all expenses paid, travel, free acting lessons
Experts debate whether Iranian negotiators broke John Kerry's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations
Junior Varsity takes Ramadi, advances to quarterfinals
US media to GOP pool of candidates: 'Knowing what we know now, would you have had anything to do with the founding of the United States?'
NY Mayor to hold peace talks with rats, apologize for previous Mayor's cowboy diplomacy
China launches cube-shaped space object with a message to aliens: "The inhabitants of Earth will steal your intellectual property, copy it, manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor, and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices"
Progressive scientists: Truth is a variable deduced by subtracting 'what is' from 'what ought to be'
Experts agree: Hillary Clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of Americans in top 1%
America's attempts at peace talks with the White House continue to be met with lies, stalling tactics, and bad faith
Starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag #DontHoldUpTheLine
Hillary: DELETE is the new RESET
Charlie Hebdo receives Islamophobe 2015 award ; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable, illogical deaths
Russia sends 'reset' button back to Hillary: 'You need it now more than we do'
Barack Obama finds out from CNN that Hillary Clinton spent four years being his Secretary of State
President Obama honors Leonard Nimoy by taking selfie in front of Starship Enterprise
Police: If Obama had a convenience store, it would look like Obama Express Food Market
Study finds stunning lack of racial, gender, and economic diversity among middle-class white males
NASA: We're 80% sure about being 20% sure about being 17% sure about being 38% sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record
People holding '$15 an Hour Now' posters sue Democratic party demanding raise to $15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services
Cuba-US normalization: US tourists flock to see Cuba before it looks like the US and Cubans flock to see the US before it looks like Cuba
White House describes attacks on Sony Pictures as 'spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking Juche and its prophet'
CIA responds to Democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director's cut of The Making Of Obama's Birth Certificate
Obama: 'If I had a city, it would look like Ferguson'
Biden: 'If I had a Ferguson (hic), it would look like a city'
Obama signs executive order renaming 'looters' to 'undocumented shoppers'
Ethicists agree: two wrongs do make a right so long as Bush did it first
The aftermath of the 'War on Women 2014' finds a new 'Lost Generation' of disillusioned Democrat politicians, unable to cope with life out of office
White House: Republican takeover of the Senate is a clear mandate from the American people for President Obama to rule by executive orders
Nurse Kaci Hickox angrily tells reporters that she won't change her clocks for daylight savings time
Democratic Party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most Democratic voters think 'midterm' is when to end pregnancy
Desperate Democratic candidates plead with Obama to stop backing them and instead support their GOP opponents
Ebola Czar issues five-year plan with mandatory quotas of Ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences
Study: crony capitalism is to the free market what the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity
Fun facts about world languages: the Left has more words for statism than the Eskimos have for snow
African countries to ban all flights from the United States because "Obama is incompetent, it scares us"
Nobel Peace Prize controversy: Hillary not nominated despite having done even less than Obama to deserve it
Obama: 'Ebola is the JV of viruses'
BREAKING: Secret Service foils Secret Service plot to protect Obama
Revised 1st Amendment: buy one speech, get the second free
Sharpton calls on white NFL players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness
President Obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser
Obama wags pen and phone at Putin; Europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from NATO members
White House pledges to embarrass ISIS back to the Stone Age with a barrage of fearsome Twitter messages and fatally ironic Instagram photos
Obama to fight ISIS with new federal Terrorist Regulatory Agency
Obama vows ISIS will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole
Harry Reid: "Sometimes I say the wong thing"
Elian Gonzalez wishes he had come to the U.S. on a bus from Central America like all the other kids
Obama visits US-Mexican border, calls for a two-state solution
Obama draws "blue line" in Iraq after Putin took away his red crayon
"Hard Choices," a porno flick loosely based on Hillary Clinton's memoir and starring Hillary Hellfire as a drinking, whoring Secretary of State, wildly outsells the flabby, sagging original
Accusations of siding with the enemy leave Sgt. Bergdahl with only two options: pursue a doctorate at Berkley or become a Senator from Massachusetts
Jay Carney stuck in line behind Eric Shinseki to leave the White House; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks
100% of scientists agree that if man-made global warming were real, "the last people we'd want to help us is the Obama administration"
Jay Carney says he found out that Obama found out that he found out that Obama found out that he found out about the latest Obama administration scandal on the news
"Anarchy Now!" meeting turns into riot over points of order, bylaws, and whether or not 'kicking the #^@&*! ass' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence
Obama retaliates against Putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot Russian girls online during work hours
Russian separatists in Ukraine riot over an offensive YouTube video showing the toppling of Lenin statues
"Free Speech Zones" confuse Obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes
Obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed
Gloves finally off: Obama uses pen and phone to cancel Putin's Netflix account
Joe Biden to Russia: "We will bury you by turning more of Eastern Europe over to your control!"
In last-ditch effort to help Ukraine, Obama deploys Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson's Rainbow Coalition to Crimea
Al Sharpton: "Not even Putin can withstand our signature chanting, 'racist, sexist, anti-gay, Russian army go away'!"
Mardi Gras in North Korea: " Throw me some food! "
Obama's foreign policy works: "War, invasion, and conquest are signs of weakness; we've got Putin right where we want him"
US offers military solution to Ukraine crisis: "We will only fight countries that have LGBT military"
Putin annexes Brighton Beach to protect ethnic Russians in Brooklyn, Obama appeals to UN and EU for help
The 1980s: "Mr. Obama, we're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back . The 1970s are right here with us, and they're wondering, too."
In a stunning act of defiance, Obama courageously unfriends Putin on Facebook
MSNBC: Obama secures alliance with Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
Study: springbreak is to STDs what April 15th is to accountants
Efforts to achieve moisture justice for California thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in America
North Korean voters unanimous: "We are the 100%"
Leader of authoritarian gulag-site, The People's Cube, unanimously 're-elected' with 100% voter turnout
Super Bowl: Obama blames Fox News for Broncos' loss
Feminist author slams gay marriage: "a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"
Beverly Hills campaign heats up between Henry Waxman and Marianne Williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district
Biden to lower $10,000-a-plate Dinner For The Homeless to $5,000 so more homeless can attend
Kim becomes world leader, feeds uncle to dogs; Obama eats dogs, becomes world leader, America cries uncle
North Korean leader executes own uncle for talking about Obamacare at family Christmas party
White House hires part-time schizophrenic Mandela sign interpreter to help sell Obamacare
Kim Jong Un executes own " crazy uncle " to keep him from ruining another family Christmas
OFA admits its advice for area activists to give Obamacare Talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea
President resolves Obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all Americans equally healthy
Obama to Iran: "If you like your nuclear program, you can keep your nuclear program"
Bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from Washington DC
Obama: "I'm not particularly ideological; I believe in a good pragmatic five-year plan"
Shocker: Obama had no knowledge he'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week
Server problems at HealthCare.gov so bad, it now flashes 'Error 808' message
NSA marks National Best Friend Day with official announcement: "Government is your best friend; we know you like no one else, we're always there, we're always willing to listen"
Al Qaeda cancels attack on USA citing launch of Obamacare as devastating enough
The President's latest talking point on Obamacare: "I didn't build that"
Dizzy with success, Obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to HillaryCare
Carney: huge ObamaCare deductibles won't look as bad come hyperinflation
Washington Redskins drop 'Washington' from their name as offensive to most Americans
Poll: 83% of Americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy
GOVERNMENT WARNING: If you were able to complete ObamaCare form online, it wasn't a legitimate gov't website; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords
Obama administration gets serious, threatens Syria with ObamaCare
Obama authorizes the use of Vice President Joe Biden's double-barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at Syria
Sharpton: "British royals should have named baby 'Trayvon.' By choosing 'George' they sided with white Hispanic racist Zimmerman"
DNC launches 'Carlos Danger' action figure; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the Republican War on Women
Nancy Pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees
Hubble discovers planetary drift to the left
Obama: 'If I had a daughter-in-law, she would look like Rachael Jeantel'
FISA court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government's rubber stamp
Every time ObamaCare gets delayed, a Julia somewhere dies
GOP to Schumer: 'Force full implementation of ObamaCare before 2014 or Dems will never win another election'
Obama: 'If I had a son... no, wait, my daughter can now marry a woman!'
Janet Napolitano: TSA findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies, elderly, or Tea Partiers, 9/11 was not an act of terrorism
News Flash: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) can see Canada from South Dakota
Susan Rice: IRS actions against tea parties caused by anti-tax YouTube video that was insulting to their faith
Drudge Report reduces font to fit all White House scandals onto one page
Obama: the IRS is a constitutional right, just like the Second Amendment
White House: top Obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad IT advice to avoid spam mail from Nigeria
Jay Carney to critics: 'Pinocchio never said anything inconsistent'
Obama: If I had a gay son, he'd look like Jason Collins
Gosnell's office in Benghazi raided by the IRS: mainstream media's worst cover-up challenge to date
IRS targeting pro-gay-marriage LGBT groups leads to gayest tax revolt in U.S. history
After Arlington Cemetery rejects offer to bury Boston bomber, Westboro Babtist Church steps up with premium front lawn plot
Boston: Obama Administration to reclassify marathon bombing as 'sportsplace violence'
Study: Success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program
US Media: Can Pope Francis possibly clear up Vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration?
Michelle Obama praises weekend rampage by Chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy
This Passover, Obama urges his subjects to paint lamb's blood above doors in order to avoid the Sequester
White House to American children: Sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay Easter eggs; union-wage Easter Bunnies to be replaced by Mexican Chupacabras
Time Mag names Hugo Chavez world's sexiest corpse
Boy, 8, pretends banana is gun, makes daring escape from school
Study: Free lunches overpriced, lack nutrition
Oscars 2013: Michelle Obama announces long-awaited merger of Hollywood and the State
Joe Salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun-free environment: 'rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good'
Dept. of Health and Human Services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as 'undocumented sex partners'
Kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop Putin riding meteor unless bare-chested
Deeming football too violent, Obama moves to introduce Super Drone Sundays instead
Japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover U.S. should America suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending
Feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances
Urban community protests Mayor Bloomberg's ban on extra-large pop singers owning assault weapons
Concerned with mounting death toll, Taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to Chicago
Karl Rove puts an end to Tea Party with new 'Republicans For Democrats' strategy aimed at losing elections
Answering public skepticism, President Obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country
Skeet Ulrich denies claims he had been shot by President but considers changing his name to 'Traps'
White House releases new exciting photos of Obama standing, sitting, looking thoughtful, and even breathing in and out
New York Times hacked by Chinese government, Paul Krugman's economic policies stolen
White House: when President shoots skeet, he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class
To prove he is serious, Obama eliminates armed guard protection for President, Vice-President, and their families; establishes Gun-Free Zones around them instead
State Dept to send 100,000 American college students to China as security for US debt obligations
Jay Carney: Al Qaeda is on the run, they're just running forward
President issues executive orders banning cliffs, ceilings, obstructions, statistics, and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward
Fearing the worst, Obama Administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects
World ends; S&P soars
Riddle of universe solved; answer not understood
Meek inherit Earth, can't afford estate taxes
Greece abandons Euro; accountants find Greece has no Euros anyway
Wheel finally reinvented; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013
Bigfoot found in Ohio, mysteriously not voting for Obama
As Santa's workshop files for bankruptcy, Fed offers bailout in exchange for control of 'naughty and nice' list
Freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves
Obama: green economy likely to transform America into a leading third world country of the new millennium
Report: President Obama to visit the United States in the near future
Obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs
Modernizing Islam: New York imam proposes to canonize Saul Alinsky as religion's latter day prophet
Imam Rauf's peaceful solution: 'Move Ground Zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt'
Study: Obama's threat to burn tax money in Washington 'recruitment bonanza' for Tea Parties
Study: no Social Security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years
Obama attends church service, worships self
Obama proposes national 'Win The Future' lottery; proceeds of new WTF Powerball to finance more gov't spending
Historical revisionists: "Hey, you never know"
Vice President Biden: criticizing Egypt is un-pharaoh
Israelis to Egyptian rioters: "don't damage the pyramids, we will not rebuild"
Lake Superior renamed Lake Inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness
Al Gore: It's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears
Michael Moore: As long as there is anyone with money to shake down, this country is not broke
Obama's teleprompters unionize, demand collective bargaining rights
Obama calls new taxes 'spending reductions in tax code.' Elsewhere rapists tout 'consent reductions in sexual intercourse'
Obama's teleprompter unhappy with White House Twitter: "Too few words"
Obama's Regulation Reduction committee finds US Constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't
Taking a page from the Reagan years, Obama announces new era of Perestroika and Glasnost
Responding to Oslo shootings, Obama declares Christianity "Religion of Peace," praises "moderate Christians," promises to send one into space
Republicans block Obama's $420 billion program to give American families free charms that ward off economic bad luck
White House to impose Chimney tax on Santa Claus
Obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed
Conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop-up picture book "The Road to Smurfdom"
Al Gore proposes to combat Global Warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in Earth's atmosphere
Obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people's suffering: "When you pray to God, do you always hear a response?"
Obama regrets the US government didn't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college
Fluke to Congress: drill, baby, drill!
Planned Parenthood introduces Frequent Flucker reward card: 'Come again soon!'
Obama to tornado victims: 'We inherited this weather from the previous administration'
Obama congratulates Putin on Chicago-style election outcome
People's Cube gives itself Hero of Socialist Labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the Obama Administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies
Hamas: Israeli air defense unfair to 99% of our missiles, "only 1% allowed to reach Israel"
Democrat strategist: without government supervision, women would have never evolved into humans
Voters Without Borders oppose Texas new voter ID law
Enraged by accusation that they are doing Obama's bidding, media leaders demand instructions from White House on how to respond
Obama blames previous Olympics for failure to win at this Olympics
Official: China plans to land on Moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof
Koran-Contra: Obama secretly arms Syrian rebels
Poll: Progressive slogan 'We should be more like Europe' most popular with members of American Nazi Party
Obama to Evangelicals: Jesus saves, I just spend
May Day: Anarchists plan, schedule, synchronize, and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above
Midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel "50 Shades of Hay"
Study: 99% of Liberals give the rest a bad name
Obama meets with Jewish leaders, proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich
Historians: Before HOPE & CHANGE there was HEMP & CHOOM at ten bucks a bag
Cancer once again fails to cure Venezuela of its "President for Life"
Tragic spelling error causes Muslim protesters to burn local boob-tube factory
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: due to energy conservation, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off
Obama Administration running food stamps across the border with Mexico in an operation code-named "Fat And Furious"
Pakistan explodes in protest over new Adobe Acrobat update; 17 local acrobats killed
White House: "Let them eat statistics"
Special Ops: if Benedict Arnold had a son, he would look like Barack Obama | 1real |
Bankrupt Hanjin breaks stalemate, vessels begin cargo unload | Bankrupt Hanjin breaks stalemate, vessels begin cargo unload October 28, 2016 A Hanjin Shipping Co ship is seen stranded outside the Port of Long Beach, California, September 8, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A Hanjin shipping vessel which has spent months in limbo has docked in Vancouver to unload cargo and replenish almost bare food provisions. The Hanjin Scarlet docked at DP World's Centerm terminal within the Port of Vancouver on Oct 27. Peter Lahay, ITWF Inspector and coordinator: Hanjin Scarlet has been sitting 28 miles outside Prince Rupert for several months. Hanjin's collapse forced ports around the world to deny service to its ships for fear they would not be paid. South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd filed for court receivership at the end of August, which set the stage for its assets to be frozen. Michael Gurney, Prince Rupert Port Authority spokesman: The Hanjin Scarlet arrived into the port on Aug. 30 and discharged some containers at one of its terminals. It then remained under arrest and at anchor in the outer harbor for nearly two months Also under arrest: Hanjin Vienna remains at anchor off Victoria, British Columbia. Will discharge on Nov 3.
(VANCOUVER) A container vessel that spent months sitting off Canada's west coast due to the collapse of South Korea shipping company Hanjin docked in Vancouver on Thursday, according to union officials and ship tracking data.
The Hanjin Scarlet arrived at DP World's Centerm terminal within the Port of Vancouver by early afternoon, according to Thomson Reuters ship tracking data.
The ship, which has 24 crew members, will unload cargo on board, Lahay said. He added that crew members had less than 10 days worth of food and provisions left, and had run out of fresh food.
The vessel, with nearly 800 containers on board, had been sitting some 45 km (28 miles) outside Prince Rupert for several months, said Peter Lahay, an inspector and coordinator with the International Transport Workers Federation. | 1real |
New Watergate: Someone Bugged The Democratic National Headquarters | Comments
A new story about the cyber attack on Democratic National Committee headquarters is giving rise to new questions. We have to stress that as of right now, it’s a single source exclusive report from Mother Jones , which comes from unnamed DNC sources who are quoted on background only. MJ reports that the Democratic Party’s outside security company found signal intelligence indicating that a cellular interception device was being deployed to intercept DNC, and that that information and technical details were turned over to the FBI for investigation.
In an episode reminiscent of Watergate, the Democratic Party recently informed the FBI that it had collected evidence suggesting its Washington headquarters had been bugged, according to two Democratic National Committee officials who asked not to be named by Mother Jones :
The second sweep, according to the Democratic officials, found a radio signal near the chairman’s office that indicated there might be a listening device outside the office. “We were told that this was something that could pick up calls from cellphones,” a DNC official says. “The guys who did the sweep said it was a strong indication.” No device was recovered. No possible culprits were identified.
The DNC sent a report with the technical details to the FBI, according to the DNC officials. “We believe it’s been given by the bureau to another agency with three letters to examine,” the DNC official says. “We’re not supposed to talk about it.”
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment
Of course, would not the first time that Democratic National Committee headquarters have been targeted for bugging to intercept the information contained within those walls.
We already know that the DNC’s emails have been compromised already, which itself IS a second Watergate incident not materially different than stealing memos from a filing cabinet.
However, we cannot stress enough that the Mother Jones report may be inaccurate because is not supported by a major disclosure of the underlying facts, named sources or other corroborating media reports.
Yet. | 1real |
With Trump win, Republican chairman Priebus emerges as key adviser | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s White House victory puts a spotlight on Reince Priebus, an establishment Republican figure who emerged as a trusted adviser to the New York businessman and helped encourage discipline in the campaign’s final weeks. Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has been mentioned as a contender for chief of staff. In a pre-election interview, Priebus told Reuters that Trump won over voters who were frustrated with Washington and its politicians. “They viewed Donald Trump as the antidote to so many things that they’re frustrated with, whether it be Washington, whether it be their job, whether it be what they were promised, and all sorts of things in life, and how it wasn’t delivered,” he said. “And Trump was the antidote to all of those feelings.” Trump’s victory was a vindication for Priebus, who refused to bow to pressure to distance the party apparatus from him. He talked to Trump almost every day, sometimes more than once a day, and frequently traveled with the candidate. He helped prepare him for Trump’s debates against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump made clear his high regard for Priebus when he invited him on stage during his victory speech early Wednesday morning and asked him to say a few words. Comparing Priebus to the race horse Secretariat, Trump said, “I tell you Reince is really a star and he is the hardest-working guy.” Henry Barbour, an RNC member from Mississippi, said Priebus had “developed a position of trust” with Trump. “He had regular conversations with Trump about different ideas and not surprisingly some ideas Trump had were probably not the greatest and Reince kind of talked him off some of those cliffs,” he said. Once Trump vanquished 16 seasoned politicians to win the Republican presidential nomination, Priebus threw the weight of the RNC behind Trump and built a voter turnout effort that paid off despite Trump’s refusal to invest more money in it. “He has been a prodigious fundraiser. He invested heavily in bringing our data and analytics up to speed, and he put the full resources of the RNC to help build out the Trump campaign,” said Steve Duprey, a prominent Republican from New Hampshire. “And he helped coach Donald Trump in how to be a presidential candidate.” Trump’s unpredictable nature and views on issues such as trade that break with Republican party orthodoxy have led to rifts with many establishment figures in the party. But Priebus told Reuters that his staunch support for Trump was based on the fact that Trump won more Republican votes than any previous nominee, 14.5 million. “These are the same people who say the party is irrelevant and in the next breath they say that the party ought to singlehandedly nullify the wishes of 14.5 million people,” he said. If Trump had lost, Priebus would have faced pressure to step down as party chairman, since he also presided over the loss of Mitt Romney in 2012. He remains extremely popular among the 168 elected members of the RNC who would most likely re-elect him. Priebus is being talked about for re-election at the RNC or possibly being appointed by Trump to serve as his White House chief of staff, where he may be a potential conduit between Trump and Paul Ryan, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Both Priebus and Ryan hail from Wisconsin and are friends. “We hope Priebus goes into the Trump White House in a senior position,” said Scott Reed, a prominent Republican strategist in Washington. Asked whether he would seek re-election as RNC chairman, Priebus said he did not yet know. “I’ve honestly put that in a box and decided that I would deal with it Wednesday or Thursday, kind of think about it a little bit, kind of see where things are at,” he said. | 0fake |
Oracle Report: Friday, October 28, 2016 | Balsamic Moon Phase: release; dream; prepare for the new
Moon in Libra
Aspect of the Aeon Sophia (Wisdom): Kali, Goddess of Endings and Beginnings; Matangi, Goddess of the Wind, Goddess Who Clears the Way
Aspect of the Aeon Thelete (Will): Elias, God of the West, God of Alchemy
Skill: make a change that is needed, listen to the inner voice
True Alignments: helping others, self-respect, able to go deeply with someone, good riddance, wonderment, open to the new, revising, mettle, putting down a battle, 2018 foreshadowed to some degree, admitting things to oneself that need to be recognized
Catalysts for Change: escapism, old stories, poor loser, prejudice, not helpful, afraid to look within, depending too heavily on outer signs and minimizing inner promptings, fear of change, lack or loss of self esteem or self worth, indecision, blocked emotions, miscommunications and misunderstandings (the Sun and Mercury are still in range of conjunction)
Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month: “three masters hanging in a special room in an art gallery” (light reflected on life; expansion of perceptions; linking mind, body, and spirit; vision and visionary)
Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: “the magic carpet of Oriental imagery” (transcending difficulties; transcending the unraveling control paradigm; fantastical experiences)
When the New Moon for a lunar month occurs in the cardinal signs of Aries, Libra, Cancer, or Capricorn, major shifts occur within our lives and within the world at large. These are the “cardinal points” of the year, just like a compass with the four directions, and just like a Medicine Wheel with the four corners. As we come to the last days of this Libra lunar cycle, we have a final push to turn a corner or make a change (or having a corner turned on you or someone making a change that turns your corner). Light has shone brightly all month to help us see and shift (New Moon at “three masters hanging in a special room in an art gallery”)… | 1real |
Jury Delivers Devastating Blow to US Justice Department | By Roger I. Roots, J.D., Ph.D. October 28, 2016
Just days ago , I reported on the federal trial of the “Malheur 7” (Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox, Jeff Banta, David Fry, Neil Wampler and Ken Medenbach,) in Portland, Oregon. I was privileged to have a front-row seat at the trial as a volunteer paralegal and legal researcher for Ryan Bundy, who represented himself throughout the proceedings.
Almost everyone who followed the “Oregon Bundy case” predicted convictions all around. A dozen co-defendants pled guilty before the trial began. Virtually every attorney I spoke with expressed the sentiment that defending the accused was a lost cause. Coverage of the case in Oregon’s largest circulating newspapers presented the case wholly from a prosecution perspective. My inbox contains more than one email urging me to abandon my efforts to help the defense.
As I sat at the table between Ryan and the Ammon Bundy team throughout the six-week trial I was able to discern that evidence at the trial was diverging sharply from the prevailing narrative outside the courthouse. The defendants were accused of conspiring to prevent employees of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management from performing their duties at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in rural eastern Oregon. Yet federal prosecutors failed to produce a single piece of evidence of any specific threat aimed at a USFWS or BLM employee.
The U.S. Justice Department alleged in Count 1 that the seven defendants (and many others) had engaged in an “armed standoff” at the federal wildlife refuge with the intent of scaring away the various government employees who normally work there. Every defendant was utterly innocent of the allegation. Some were not even aware that federal employees normally worked there). Several defendants were also charged with firearm possession in federal facilities with the intent to commit a federal felony (the conspiracy alleged in Count 1). And two defendants, Ryan Bundy and Ken Medenbach, were accused of stealing federal property valued over a thousand dollars.
In fact, Ammon Bundy and the other defendants took a monumental (and quite daring) stand for the plain text of the Constitution when they occupied the Malheur Refuge in January of this year. They pointed to Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution which seems to plainly forbid the federal government from owning land inside the states unless the states agree to sell such real estate to the federal government.
Needless to say, the present reality in the American west is in sharp contrast to this piece of constitutional text. The feds claim to own and control millions of acres of land in western states—most of which (such as the Malheur Refuge area) was never purchased from state legislatures or anyone else.
The most frightening revelations from the Malheur 7 trial involved the lengths which the U.S. government went to in its prosecution. During the Bundy occupation, the FBI literally took over the tiny nearby town of Burns, Oregon and transformed it into an Orwellian dystopia. There were license plate scanners mounted on utility poles, drones throughout the skies, and military transport vehicles speeding across the countryside. FBI agents captured and monitored every phone number connected between every accused occupier. Federal and state police appeared in such numbers that their total numbers will probably never be fully tallied.
The occupation was met with a bonanza of government spending by agencies at every level. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife and BLM employees who were supposedly too frightened to go to work were put up in luxury hotels, along with their families. (In the aftermath of the occupation, the feds have spent further millions to “rebuild” the Refuge, supposedly because the occupiers tainted it; prosecutors were openly planning on asserting the inflated “bill for damages” at sentencing in the event the defendants were convicted.)
Most startling of all were the undercover government informants that were revealed in the trial. After weeks of wrangling and arguing with defense lawyers, the Justice Department finally stipulated that at least nine undercover informants were planted among the Refuge occupiers. Thus, informants outnumbered the defendants on trial. One informant was even a “bodyguard” for Ammon Bundy and drove him to his arrest. Another informant admitted he trained occupiers in shooting and combat skills.
After a week of deliberating over the evidence, the jury came back with its verdict yesterday afternoon, acquitting every defendant. (Jurors said they were divided regarding an accusation that Ryan Bundy aided and abetted the theft of government property when he and others climbed utility poles and took down two of the government’s surveillance cameras.)
There are reports that the U.S. Justice Department spent $100 million on the case. But twelve Americans saw through the government’s cloud of disinformation and dealt a mighty blow for liberty. The Best of Roger I. Roots, J.D., Ph.D. Tags: Roger Roots, J.D., Ph.D. [ ] is attorney, sociologist, and a member of the advisory board of the Fully Informed Jury Association. He is author of The Conviction Factory: The Collapse of America's Criminal Courts . | 1real |
U.S. Senate approves Chao to lead Transportation Department | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Elaine Chao, a former top U.S. labor official, was sworn in on Tuesday to lead the U.S. Transportation Department, which overseas aviation, vehicle, train and pipeline safety. Chao, a former U.S. labor secretary and deputy transportation secretary, took office hours after the U.S. Senate voted 93 to 6 to confirm her. Chao, 63, will face key decisions on how to regulate the growing use of drones and automakers’ plans to offer self-driving cars. She will also be a key player in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet if his administration pushes ahead with a major infrastructure spending program, as the businessman-turned-politician promised during last year’s presidential campaign. “Your leadership and your experience will serve well as the secretary of transportation, overseeing what we anticipate will be historic investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, airports and above all in our future,” said Vice President Mike Pence, who administered the oath of office to Chao. Chao tweeted: “It is an honor to rejoin the extraordinary people of @USDOT and begin working to rebuild America’s infrastructure.” The Transportation Department has a $75 billion annual budget and about 60,000 employees. It includes the Federal Aviation Administration, which handles air traffic control. Chao, the wife of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position, also will have to decide whether U.S. fuel efficiency standards should be revised, as some automakers have sought. There are dozens of other pending regulatory issues facing the next administration, including railroad safety and staffing rules and whether to set rules requiring airlines to give more passengers with disabilities seats with extra leg room and whether to ban or restrict personal phone calls on U.S. flights. At her confirmation hearing this month, Chao declined to take positions on a number of issues, including whether air traffic control jobs should be privatized, concerns over the safety of shipments of crude oil by rail, foreign airlines’ push to move into the U.S. market and regulation of developing technologies. AAA, the largest U.S. auto club with more than 50 million members, praised Chao’s confirmation. AAA CEO Marshall Doney said the group “firmly believes that significant, additional investments are needed to maintain existing infrastructure and to enhance the nation’s (transportation) system.” The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents major U.S. and foreign automakers, said that from “autonomous vehicles to safety to fuel efficiency to infrastructure, Secretary Chao’s leadership will profoundly impact our sector and many others.” | 0fake |
FAKE NEWS WEEK: Truth, War Propaganda, CIA and Media Manipulation | In response to the establishment media s contrived fake news crisis designed to marginalise independent and alternative media sources of news and analysis, 21WIRE is running its own #FakeNewsWeek campaign, where each day our editorial team at 21st Century Wire will feature media critiques and analysis of mainstream corporate media coverage of current events exposing the government and the mainstream media as the real purveyors of fake news throughout modern history The Centre for Research on GlobalizationNever before has it been so important to have independent, honest voices and sources of information. We are as a society inundated and overwhelmed with a flood of information from a wide array of sources, but these sources of information, by and large, serve the powerful interests and individuals that own them. The main sources of information, for both public and official consumption, include the mainstream media, alternative media, academia and think tanks.The mainstream media is the most obvious in its inherent bias and manipulation. The mainstream media is owned directly by large multinational corporations, and through their boards of directors are connected with a plethora of other major global corporations and elite interests. An example of these connections can be seen through the board of Time Warner.Time Warner owns Time Magazine, HBO, Warner Bros., and CNN, among many others. The board of directors includes individuals past or presently affiliated with: the Council on Foreign Relations, the IMF, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Warburg Pincus, Phillip Morris, and AMR Corporation, among many others.Two of the most esteemed sources of news in the U.S. are the New York Times (referred to as the paper of record ) and the Washington Post. The New York Times has on its board people who are past or presently affiliated with: Schering-Plough International (pharmaceuticals), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chevron Corporation, Wesco Financial Corporation, Kohlberg & Company, The Charles Schwab Corporation, eBay Inc., Xerox, IBM, Ford Motor Company, Eli Lilly & Company, among others. Hardly a bastion of impartiality.And the same could be said for The Washington Post, which has on its board: Lee Bollinger, the President of Columbia University and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and individuals associated with (past or presently): the Coca-Cola Company, New York University, Conservation International, the Council on Foreign Relations, Xerox, Catalyst, Johnson & Johnson, Target Corporation, RAND Corporation, General Motors, and the Business Council, among others.It is also important to address how the mainstream media is intertwined, often covertly and secretly, with the government. Carl Bernstein, one of the two Washington Post reporters who covered the Watergate scandal, revealed that there were over 400 American journalists who had secretly carried out assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency. Interestingly, the use of journalists has been among the most productive means of intelligence-gathering employed by the CIA. Among organizations which cooperated with the CIA were the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald and the old Saturday Evening Post and New York Herald-Tribune. By far the most valuable of these associations, according to CIA officials, have been with the New York Times, CBS and Time Inc. The CIA even ran a training program to teach its agents to be journalists, who were then placed in major news organizations with help from management. These types of relationships have continued in the decades since, although perhaps more covertly and quietly than before. For example, it was revealed in 2000 that during the NATO bombing of Kosovo, several officers from the US Army s 4th Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group at Ft. Bragg worked in the news division at CNN s Atlanta headquarters. This same Army Psyop outfit had planted stories in the U.S. media supporting the Reagan Administration s Central America policies, which was described by the Miami Herald as a vast psychological warfare operation of the kind the military conducts to influence a population in enemy territory. These Army PSYOP officers also worked at National Public Radio (NPR) at the same time. The US military has, in fact, had a strong relationship with CNN.In 2008, it was reported that the Pentagon ran a major propaganda campaign by using retired Generals and former Pentagon officials to present a good picture of the administration s war-time policies. The program started in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003 and continued into 2009. These officials, presented as military analysts , regurgitate government talking points and often sit on the boards of military contractors, thus having a vested interest in the subjects they are brought on to analyze. In 2013, Public Accountability reported:During the public debate around the question of whether to attack Syria, Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser to George W. Bush, made a series of high-profile media appearances. Hadley argued strenuously for military intervention in appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg TV, and authored a Washington Post op-ed headlined To stop Iran, Obama must enforce red lines with Assad. In each case, Hadley s audience was not informed that he serves as a director of Raytheon, the weapons manufacturer that makes the Tomahawk cruise missiles that were widely cited as a weapon of choice in a potential strike against Syria. Hadley earns $128,500 in annual cash compensation from the company and chairs its public affairs committee. He also owns 11,477 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate ($77.65 on August 23, making Hadley s share s worth $891,189). Despite this financial stake, Hadley was presented to his audience as an experienced, independent national security expert.The major philanthropic foundations in the United States have often used their enormous wealth to co-opt voices of dissent and movements of resistance into channels that are safe for the powers that be. As McGeorge Bundy, former President of the Ford Foundation once said, Everything the Foundation does is to make the world safe for Capitalism. Examples of this include philanthropies like the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation providing immense financial and organizational support to Non-Governmental Organizations. Furthermore, the alternative media are often funded by these same foundations, which has the effect of influencing the direction of coverage as well as the stifling of critical analysis Learn more about the Centre for Research on Globalization and the work of its founder and editor, Professor Michel Chossudovsky, as well how to donate to them at Global Research.ca. The original version of this article was published at Global Research in March 2011. READ MORE ABOUT MSM FAKE NEWS AT: FAKE NEWS WEEKSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
LOU DOBBS: SEAN SPICER On Trump Firing Comey [Video] | White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared on Lou Dobbs tonight to give the first set of explanatory points around the President s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey: | 1real |
Four Arab countries bought thousands of cars from Toyota and delivered them to"Daesh" | Email According to the results of the investigation conducted by Toyota, the Japanese company, about the sources of supply of the "Daesh" thousands of cars, and it confirmed that the four Arab countries bought and handed over to the organization. The unfolding clues Saudi support and Qatar and the UAE group "Daesh," especially with the start of Russian raids on the regulatory sites in Syria, and after that the Russian military handed the Japanese car company "Toyota" pictures of the dozens of cars confiscated by the Syrian army in the battles on the ground have all been with "Daesh ". The source familiar with the Syrian and Russian governments may deliver to the company, "Toyota" a preliminary report on the cars delivered by the company from the Russian military intelligence pictures, and it was the most prominent are the following: that the 22,500 car bought by a Saudi nationality import company, while Qatar has bought 32,000 car, the UAE has acquired 11650 car, the Jordanian army, and imported 4,500 cars the adoption of credit from several banks Saudi nationality, all now with the organization "Daesh." The number of cars owned by "Daesh" type of Toyota more than 60,000, all cars and SUV model "DOUBLE CAB" started. US authorities announced opened an investigation into how "Daesh" for large numbers of cars, but observers said that Washington itself delivered hundreds of these cars to Syria. For its part, "Toyota" confirmed that it has suspended auto sales in Syria since 2012. | 1real |
Soros says Hungarian government lying in attacks against him | BUDAPEST (Reuters) - U.S. financier George Soros on Monday denounced a Hungarian government campaign against him as distortions and lies designed to create a false external enemy. Soros, 86, is a Hungarian-born Jew whose longtime support for liberal and open-border values in eastern Europe have put him at odds with right-wing nationalists, in particular the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, who faces elections in April 2018, last month sent to voters seven statements attributed to Soros that, among other things, called for the European Union to settle a million migrants a year and pay each of them thousands of euros. The statements ... contain distortions and outright lies that deliberately mislead Hungarians about George Soros s views on migrants and refugees, said a statement issued by Soros s Open Society Foundations. With Hungary s health care and education systems in distress and corruption rife, the current government has sought to create an outside enemy to distract citizens. The government selected George Soros for this purpose, it said. The ruling Fidesz party s vice chairman said Soros was engaged in a frontal assault against Hungary. What Soros writes about immigration, in general, is a pro-immigration stance that is open about its disdain for the nation state, Gergely Gulyas told a news conference. Decisions made in Brussels echo that in the field of immigration policy. Days before a recent immigration decision in the European Parliament Soros was meeting with the rapporteur on the subject as well as five different EU commissioners. I am not a conspiracy theorist but this holds some clues. Soros said each of the seven statements was a distortion or lie, refuting them one by one. It said Soros proposed admitting an annual 300,000 refugees to the EU only while strengthening European border controls and making migrant relocations within the bloc voluntary, not mandatory as Budapest asserted. It said Soros proposed no payments to migrants, rather EU subsidies to member states to help them cope with migration. To three other proposals attributed to Soros - that he wanted milder criminal sentences for migrants, to push national cultures and languages into the background to facilitate easier integration of migrants and sanctions against countries that oppose migration, the Open Society statement said, Nowhere has Soros made any such statement(s). This is a lie. Orban once received a Soros grant to study at Britain s Oxford University but later turned against the billionaire philanthropist, vilifying him as an alleged mastermind of a global agenda to weaken nation states. The election campaign of Orban s Fidesz party has built on a series of billboards warning Hungarians, Don t let Soros have the last laugh and showing a laughing Soros in black and white. Some of the billboards have had stinking Jew scrawled on them. The billboards, along with calls from Orban to preserve Hungary s ethnic homogeneity and his endorsement of a World Two Hungarian leader who allied with Nazi Germany, drew accusations of anti-Semitism earlier this year. Alluding to the billboards and to Orban s rejection of immigration, especially from Muslim nations, the Open Society Foundations accused Budapest of stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and employing anti-Semitic tropes reminiscent of the 1930s . Fidesz pulled the billboard campaign just before a July visit to Budapest by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Orban vowed to fight anti-Semitism. The government has denied its campaign was anti-Semitic, and re-launched the billboards in the autumn in promoting a national consultation with voters. Gulyas said it was outrageous that Soros called the campaign anti-Semitic. Immigration which Soros supported was bringing hundreds of thousands of people into Europe whose cultural background was inimical to Jewsm he said. It is not us who should be facing anti-Semitism charges, he said, adding that Fidesz also had nothing against Muslim culture but was against mass immigration of people with a different cultural background to Hungary s Christian roots. | 0fake |
GREAT ANSWER! TRUMP’S Response To Question From BBC Reporter: “This was your choice of a question, there goes that relationship!” | This was your choice of a question, there goes that relationship! @POTUS reacts to Laura Kuenssberg s question https://t.co/v9jJpyT2tn Sky News (@SkyNews) January 27, 2017 | 1real |
Trump taps net neutrality opponent Ajit Pai to head FCC | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday tapped Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai to head the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which is expected to roll back many of the Obama Administration’s telecommunications and internet policies. Pai, a former Justice Department, FCC and Capitol Hill staffer, in December predicted landmark “net neutrality” rules adopted in 2015 would not last. The son of Indian immigrants who grew up in Kansas, Pai said the commission should take a “weed whacker” to unneeded rules and was harshly critical of many FCC regulations imposed during the Obama administration. “During the Trump administration, we will shift from playing defense at the FCC to going on offense,” he said in December. “We need to fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation.” Pai will also have a key role in deciding whether to approve or reject or impose conditions on mergers involving cable and telephone companies. In May, Pai opposed FCC conditions imposed on Charter Communication’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Last week, then FCC chairman Tom Wheeler urged Republicans against dismantling internet access protections that bar service providers from slowing consumer access to web content. Internet providers fear net neutrality rules make it harder to manage internet traffic and make investment in additional capacity less likely. The Republican-controlled Congress is also considering rewriting the net neutrality rules. Pai said in 2015 that consumers would be worse under net neutrality and should “expect their bills to go up, and they should expect that broadband will be slower going forward.” Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington state Democrat, criticized Pai in a letter to President Donald Trump Monday as “not a supporter of the FCC’s strong rules to protect an open internet, putting at risk our robust net neutrality rules and the three million internet economy jobs it supports.” Under Wheeler, the FCC and major telecom and cable companies have been at odds over a number of big issues in recent years, including tougher broadband privacy rules and a proposal to allow pay-TV consumers to ditch set top boxes. Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, Frontier Communications Corp, T-Mobile US Inc and Charter all praised Pai’s appointment in separate statements. “Chairman Pai will work with his fellow commissioners to quickly and decisively put back in place the commonsense regulatory framework necessary to support the president’s agenda,” AT&T said. However, advocacy group Free Press President Craig Aaron said Pai “has been on the wrong side of just about every major issue that has come before the FCC during his tenure. He’s never met a mega-merger he didn’t like or a public safeguard he didn’t try to undermine.” U.S. Telecom, an industry trade group, said in a statement it shares Pai’s vision for a “future based on a bold but pragmatic strategy to erase the many regulatory barriers impeding the expansion of our nation’s communications infrastructure, and the jobs and economic opportunity that depend on it.” Pai does not need Senate confirmation as chairman but his current term expires at year end and he will need to be reconfirmed to continue. | 0fake |
SUNDAY SCREENING: Operation Hollywood (2004) | Our weekly documentary film curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE.How many of your favorite movies have been shaped and directed by the Pentagon? Since the 1970 s, a number of successful Hollywood blockbuster hits, including Patton, Apocalypse Now, Top Gun, Three Kings, Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down and others have had their productions and budgets augmented by the US military machine including the use military bases, heavy weaponry, submarines aircraft and aircraft carriers generously made available to the studios but at a price. The quid pro quo is that Pentagon s experts are then allowed to vet hundreds of screenplays each year, and even have direct input into the story lines.Operation Hollywood explores the cozy relationship between the big entertainment studios and the military industrial complex, and asks why Americans, and the world, accept that the Pentagon will use movies to promote its own brand of propaganda in the furtherance of a US-centric global agenda of militarization. Watch:. Run time: 52 min Director: Emilio Pacull Distributor Arte France and Les Films d Ici (2004)For additional background on this topic, listen to author Jay Dyer s highly informative lecture on the subject.SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS HERESUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
MI Republican Gov Rick Snyder Now Trying To Steal $550 Million Dollars From Teachers | Michigan s Republican governor, Rick Snyder hasn t quite satisfied his penchant for evil doing. Snyder, who is globally infamous for overseeing the poisoning of the city of Flint, Michigan, is now trying to re-steal more than half a billion dollars from Michigan s teachers.In 2010, a law was passed that forced school employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay to their healthcare retirement benefits. The law was ruled as unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals on June 7. That means that the already collected $550 million dollars that are currently held in escrow must be returned to the school employees that it was originally stolen from. Governor Snyder s decision to drag this case out, even though the Attorney General will not assist in the appeal, is a shameful use of the people s time and money. School employees deserve to have their hard-earned money returned to them as soon as possible, but instead they will have to wait as Governor Snyder spends more time defending what is clearly an unconstitutional law, said David Hecker, president of American Federation of Teachers Michigan.That ruling doesn t fit into Snyder s master plan. He is now suing to appeal the court s decision. The suit is so frivolous and politically toxic that even the governor s Republican comrade, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schutte isn t willing to touch it with a ten-foot pole. Schuette has announced that he will not represent the Snyder administration. After reviewing the appellate decision in American Federation of Teachers V. State of Michigan the Attorney General is declining to provide counsel if the Governor wishes to appeal the ruling, said Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely.Bitley also said that In this case, we ve not only reviewed the ruling, but we ve also spoken with many teachers and heard from many teachers across Michigan, and it just didn t make sense to continue the appeals process through our office at this point. Snyder insists that he is trying to protect the stability of the system, according to a statement from Snyder s press secretary, Anna Heaton.The Snyder administration has proven once again how badly government functions when it is controlled by Republicans. Snyder s political career is virtually over. That means he is free to fight for the causes he truly believes in without worrying about his name becoming more tarnished than it already is. Apparently, those causes include stealing from teachers and school employees paychecks.Featured image from Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 1real |
U.S. Senate intelligence panel 'highly likely' to probe Flynn Russia contacts | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the Senate intelligence committee is “highly likely” to look at contacts between Michael Flynn, who resigned as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser on Monday, and Russia’s Washington ambassador. “The intelligence committee is already looking at Russian involvement in our election ... it’s highly likely they’d want to take a look at this episode, they have the jurisdiction to do it,” McConnell told a regular press briefing. Flynn quit on Monday after only three weeks in the job amid revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Moscow’s ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, in a potentially illegal action, and had later misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. [nL1N1FY1L9] | 0fake |
John McCain in Munich: Trump Administration Is in ‘Disarray’ | Sen. John McCain wasted no time at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday as he portrayed the Trump administration as being in a state of “disarray,” in contrast to the message of reassurance from administration officials. [McCain used the recent departure of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to defend his portrayal of the administration as in “disarray. ” “I think that the Flynn issue obviously is something that shows that in many respects this administration is in disarray and they’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said, according to the Huffington Post. McCain lauded Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis: “The president, I think, makes statements that on other occasions he contradicts himself. So we’ve learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says. ” McCain commented that his job was to work with President Donald Trump on areas where they agree. He spoke of the three coequal branches of the United States federal government, remarking on Trump’s recent temporary travel restriction executive order: “I can assure you that … what we just saw on the immigration order that both the legislative and the judicial branches will be exercising our constitutional responsibilities. ” A senior White House foreign policy adviser told reporters this week that Vice President Mike Pence would seek to reassure U. S. commitment to European partners and the transatlantic alliance at the conference. In opening remarks to the conference, McCain said: I know there is profound concern across Europe and the world that America is laying down the mantle of global leadership. I can only speak for myself, but I do not believe that that is the message you will hear from all of the American leaders who cared enough to travel here to Munich this weekend. The senator continued, “These are dangerous times, but you should not count America out. ” McCain then pointed out that Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Vice President Pence, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, and a bipartisan congressional delegation traveled to the conference. A senior administration official told reporters this week that the vice president is attending the security conference on behalf of the President of the United States. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz remarked that there was “still a lot of uncertainty,” according to the Post. Kurz said the “big topic” at the conference has centered around what to expect next from the United States. “Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance. The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance,” the vice president stated in a Saturday speech to conference participants. “For our part, thanks to President Trump, the United States will be stronger than ever before. Our leadership of the free world will not falter, even for a moment. ” Pence continued, “Today, tomorrow, and every day hence — be confident, that the United States is now and will always be your greatest ally. ” In closing, Pence said, “Our choice today is the same as it was in ages past: Security through shared sacrifice and strength, or an uncertain future characterized by disunity and faltering will. The United States chooses strength. The United States chooses friendship with Europe and a strong North Atlantic alliance. ” Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana. | 0fake |
McMaster says 'of course' Trump supports NATO Article 5 | TAORMINA, Italy (Reuters) - U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said on Saturday that “of course” President Donald Trump backed NATO’s mutual defense doctrine, despite not making an explicit reference to it during a visit to Brussels this week. Speaking at NATO headquarters earlier this week, Trump disappointed allies by not mentioning his support for Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is viewed as an attack on all. During his election campaign, Trump appeared to called Article 5 into question by suggesting that NATO members who did not pay their fair share for the alliance may not deserve to benefit from it. “I think it’s extraordinary that there would be an expectation that the president would have to say explicitly that he supports Article 5. Of course he does,” McMaster told reporters at the end of a Group of Seven summit in Sicily. “He did not make a decision not to say it,” McMaster continued. “It was implicit in the speech. There was no decision to not put it in there. It is a matter of fact that the United States, the president, stands firmly behind our Article 5 commitments under NATO.” | 0fake |
Trump Humiliates Himself And Wastes Time At G-20 Summit By Throwing A Twitter Tantrum About Hillary’s Emails | Incapable of putting his f*cking phone down during an important overseas trip, Donald Trump embarrassed our country again by going on a tirade on Twitter.Hours ahead of a meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump chose to post a rant on Twitter rather than prepare for what could end up being a disastrous exchange with the man who ordered the interference in the 2016 Election.My experience yesterday in Poland was a great one. Thank you to everyone, including the haters, for the great reviews of the speech! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2017Just to recap, Trump s speech included white supremacist code words such as western values. Trump also insulted the Polish people by downplaying the horrific experiences they suffered during World War II.On top of that, Trump attacked President Obama during a press conference and was snubbed by the Polish First Lady when he tried to shake her hand. Trump s visit to Poland was embarrassing, not great. Trump then claimed that everyone is talking about Hillary Clinton s emails at the G-20.Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2017This is incredibly doubtful. World leaders have way more important things to talk about. It s likely that Trump is the only one talking about Hillary s emails while the rest of the attendees are concerned with how Trump s meeting with Putin will affect Europe and NATO. After all, Trump still owes his puppet master a favor for putting him in the White House.Trump then ended his hissy fit by attacking the media.I will represent our country well and fight for its interests! Fake News Media will never cover me accurately but who cares! We will #MAGA! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2017This tweet actually contradicts his earlier tweet about his Poland speech. Trump thanks everyone, including the haters, for the great reviews of his speech. Now he is bitching because the media is allegedly covering him inaccurately. Which is it?Of course, Twitter users humiliated Trump for his outburst.Trump, nobody in Poland cares about your conspiracy theories on why you lost the popular vote. Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) July 7, 2017You ve already made America the world s laughing stock, and you re still obsessed with #fakenews instead of, say, climate change. Why? pic.twitter.com/r4A3w3LzKX Jack Schofield (@jackschofield) July 7, 2017The decline in the world s opinion of you and therefore of the USA is catastrophic compared with the huge respect for @POTUS44 pic.twitter.com/KRyo10sL31 Jack Schofield (@jackschofield) July 7, 2017Donald Trump is a complete joke. He can t even go to the G-20 without being totally obsessed with attacking Hillary Clinton and the media.Featured Image: Steve Pope/Getty Images | 1real |
U.S. officials working to restore public trust in police: attorney general | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday strongly condemned the weekend slaying of three Louisiana police officers and said federal authorities were working to help restore public trust in police following a series of violent incidents. Lynch, in remarks prepared for a conference of black law enforcement officers, condemned the Baton Rouge attack “in the strongest terms possible” and said agents from the FBI and other federal agencies were in the city to help local authorities. “At the Department of Justice, we are determined to do everything we can to bridge divides, to heal rifts, to restore trust, and to ensure that every American feels respected, supported, and safe,” Lynch said in remarks prepared for the event. | 0fake |
With Latest Hire, Trump Might’ve Just Gone To War With The NRA | Trump s brand-new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, is raising some eyebrows, and not because he s another former Wall Streeter. He supported both Obama and Hillary, and has expressed some considerably liberal views on things like gun laws and the 2nd Amendment. That may well put Trump at war with the NRA, because the NRA is likely to see this as a betrayal of sorts.In 2012, Scaramucci was very clear in his position on gun laws, and they do not match what the NRA wants to see in the White House at all:Image via TwitterHe also told all of Twitter that he s always supported strong gun laws. The NRA hates any gun laws in fact, they like to push lawmakers to loosen them in response to mass shootings:Image via TwitterSo, of course, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch isn t exactly thrilled with Scaramucci s appointment. She s hoping that he s changed his position since then, because, after all, the only things that matter to the NRA-types are guns. Lives? Safety? Well, those are just collateral damage in the fight for freedom.Loesch and the NRA have been under fire recently for a patently disgusting ad calling liberal protesters messages the violence of lies, and that also said that liberals assassinate the truth. She says that it s up to real Americans to fight the violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth. It s not hard to interpret that as a call to eliminate liberals.Scaramucci is, crazily enough, someone that Trump believes will be loyal to him, first and foremost and above everything else. Will he actually do that, though? Maybe. He ll have to do a complete 180 on issues like gun control, which then throws his convictions and credibility into doubt. Who will come out on top when all is said and done? Only time will tell.Featured image via Scott Olson/Getty Images | 1real |
EU Politicians are Convinced that Tanks are the Best Remedy for Social Disparity | New Eastern Outlook | Region: Europe Following in the wake of the White House policy, European poli tical elites have been stepping up their groundless propagandistic rhetoric about the growing military threat of Russia, Iran, China, which is aimed at achieving further militarization of Europe at the expense of t he social benefits of its citizens. In his recent speech at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, NATO ‘s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he expects a 3% real increase in defence spending in Europe and Canada, however, he added, other than the US , only four NATO members are currently spending 2% of GDP on defence . Against the background of a string of upcoming election campaigns in the EU, it’s really not that hard to predict how Europeans are going to take the announcement that their governments are planning to increase their military budgets. The most likely scenario is that a number of EU states will vote for their own version of Trumpxit, which means that an outsider candidate will have more chances that those from the ruling elites. As the living conditions of an ever increasing number of Europeans continue to deteriorate, it’s highly unlikely that EU citizens are going to tolerate new military expenditures . The data provided by the Eurostat shows that i n 2015, around 25 million children, or 26.9% of the population aged 0 to 17, in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. A total of six member states saw a third of all children being at risk of poverty or social exclusion, these are Romania (46.8%), Bulgaria (43.7%), Greece (37.8%), Hungary (36.1%), Spain (34.4%) and Italy (33.5%). According to the Guardian, having a child while living in a rental accommodation has become unaffordable for young families in two - thirds of the UK. The most inaccessible place for those wanting to start a family was London, with a two-bedroom rental there costing 60% of the average income for someone in their 20 s and 44% for someone in their 30 s . This was followed by the south-east, south-west and the east. At the same time, the number of families with children living in emergency accommodations in England rose by 45% in the last 12 months, reaching the highest level in 12 years . In turn, the Fabian Society says the Tory’s social cuts will increase the number of kids living in poverty by 75% over the next 15 years in the UK, the Daily Mirror notes. Moreover, Berlin has already announced that social disparity will be steadily growing throughout the upcoming decade in Germany. The Finish Yle notes that the number of children living in poor families has tripled over the last two decades. What is striking is that even those families where both parents are employed full time are unable to earn an adequate revenue. Ever since 2008, the deepening social crisis in the EU has been making local citizens feeling increasingly frustrated with their elected officials. At the same time, local political elites are reluctant to address the most pressing problems of their population, instead they prefer to increase military spendings and cut social benefits provided to the poor. The chain of events, namely the Brexit and the Trumpxit shows the growing frustration of the hard-working people that are still unable to provide decent childhood for their children. And it doesn’t take a genius to know that the ruling elites are going to face a bitter electoral defeat in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria. There’s really no way they can win. Jean P é rier is an independent researcher and analyst and a renowned expert on the Near and Middle East , exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” Popular Articles | 1real |
Les Ossètes, un bastion de créativité et de résilience dans le Caucase | Minorités ethniques , caucase , ossétie
Vladikavkaz. Crédit : Lori / Legion-Media
Vladikavkaz, chef-lieu de l’Ossétie du Nord (Caucase russe), est souvent qualifiée de « Saint-Pétersbourg du Caucase » , car aucune autre ville de la région ne compte autant de représentants du monde créatif : peintres, photographes et artistes.
« Dans mon village natal, on aimait raconter cette blague : jetez une balalaïka par la fenêtre, celui qui l’attrapera commencera à en jouer » , raconte l’Ossète Alik Pagaïev, chef de la troupe du théâtre équestre Narty de Vladikavkaz.
Des femmes ossètes au travail, XIXe siècle. Crédit : Photo d'archives
Toutefois, la créativité n’est pas l’unique trait national. Toujours d’après Alik Pagaïev, les Ossètes sont très ouverts à tout ce qui est nouveau, très respectueux envers les valeurs des autres et n’oublient jamais leurs racines. Histoire
Les Ossètes tirent leur origine des nomades iranophones, les Scythes et les Sarmates. Dans les chroniques du IIe siècle ap. J.-C., ces tribus étaient considérées comme une sérieuse force militaire et politique . Lire aussi : Les Balkars, un peuple montagnard contre vents et marées
L’Etat médiéval d’Alanie existait déjà au XIe siècle. Ses habitants étaient réputés dans la région pour leur habileté militaire . Le noyau de leur armée était la cavalerie.
Malgré ce talent, ils furent balayés par l’offensive mongole et pratiquement exterminés vers le XIVe siècle. Il ne restait plus dans les montagnes que quelques centaines d’habitants. Pourtant, le peuple a réussi à survivre et à s’assimiler plus tard en Russie.
Le monde compte actuellement environ 700 000 Ossètes dont 528 500 habitent en Russie d’après le recensement de la population de 2010. La plupart vivent en Ossétie du Nord ( 459 600 ), les autres se sont installés à Moscou ( 7 900 ) et à Saint-Pétersbourg (un peu plus de 3 000 ). On en compte 45 900 en Ossétie du Sud. Ouverts aux nouvelles cultures
« Le Caucase a commencéàêtre rattachéà la Russie au XVIIIe siècle. Les Ossètes ont perçu ces changements comme leur salut : il était très difficile de survivre en montagne, alors qu’il fallait – et l’intelligentsia le réalisait clairement – se développer , a indiqué Anna Kabissova, photographe et journaliste.
Après que l’Ossétie eut rejoint la Russie, de nombreux Ossètes sont partis faire des études à Saint-Pétersbourg . Puis nous avons vu apparaître notre propre école d’art » . Elle a fait remarquer qu’à la différence des habitants des républiques musulmanes , les Ossètes chrétiens sont arrivés plus facilement à s’entendre avec les Russes. Photo d'archives
L’Ossétie du Nord, XVIIIe siècle. Oustinov / RIA Novosti
Un artiste ossète jouant du violon. 1 / 2
« Les Ossètes saisissent vite. Nombreux sont ceux qui s’étonnent : un jeune Ossète originaire d’un village retiré en montagne vient faire ses études à Saint-Pétersbourg ou à Moscou . Deux ans plus tard, il est complètement intégré, il parle russe sans accent et il a de très bon résultats. Je pense que c’est le trait qui a aidé notre peuple à survivre dans les temps les plus difficiles » , estime Alik Pagaïev. Offrandes aux dieux, pirojkis et bière
Les rites chrétiens coexistent en Ossétie avec les coutumes païennes dont les traces se retrouvent dans des dizaines de fêtes populaires. Les Ossètes peuvent faire des sacrifices symboliques en tuant un poulet ou un mouton pour les offrir à leurs invités lors d’une fête. Lire aussi : Shabbat et chachlik : la vie des Juifs dans le Caucase russe
Les célèbres pirojkis nationaux sont une nourriture rituelle. Ces chaussons, grands, ronds et fins, fourrés de viande, de fromage et de pommes de terre symbolisent pour les Ossètes le soleil. Pour toutes les fêtes, chaque famille fait cuire trois chaussons.
Une autre tradition nationale est le brassage de la bière. Les femmes fabriquent de la bière selon une recette locale pour de nombreuses fêtes. Les Ossètes ont leur propre Oktoberfest : le festival de bière organisé chaque année au mois d’octobre à Vladikavkaz rassemble des Ossètes de toute la Russie et d’autres pays.
Des jeunes ossètes interprètent une danse folklorique. Crédit : Yakov Berliner / RIA Novosti
D’après son goût et son aspect, la boisson ressemble plus au kvas russe , mais elle est légèrement alcoolisée (1,5–2 degrés). Cette bière est brassée dans une grande chaudière sur un feu de bois.
Les principaux ingrédients sont ceux de tous les autres peuples, le houblon et le malt, auxquels viennent s’ajouter tantôt des côtes de mouton, tantôt du sucre, tantôt… les recettes se comptent par centaines. Lire aussi : Les Caréliens : vivre à la frontière des mondes Le sens des affaires en moins
« Demandez-moi quelle est l’activité que j’aime le moins et je vous répondrai : faire du commerce, poursuit Alik Pagaïev. Les Ossètes ne possèdent pas le sens des affaires. Nous avons un grand nombre de peintres talentueux et de bons sportifs , surtout dans la lutte libre, ainsi que d’éleveurs de chevaux, mais nous essayons d’éviter le domaine du commerc e » . Respect des invités et amour de la langue maternelle
Parmi les autres traits, il y a aussi le tact. « J’ai travaillé en Kabardino-Balkarie (république du Caucase russe, ndlr) et j’étais toujours étonné de leur habitude à parler leur langue devant les autres. Je viens chez des Kabardes qui m’ont invité, mais ils parlent entre eux leur langue et je ne les comprends pas. En Ossétie, s’il y a un invité, nous parlons russe » , ajoute Alik Pagaïev. Lire aussi : Bienvenue chez les Evenks, un peuple de Sibérie qui lutte pour son identité
Certains jeunes des grandes villes ne parlent pas leur langue. « C’est dommage, car il est important de la préserver. Chez nous, mes enfants ne parlent qu’ossète. Si je les entends parler russe, je leur explique : vous parlerez russe quand ce sera indispensable, mais chez nous on parle notre langue » , souligne-t-il. | 1real |
The Orlando Shooter’s 911 Calls Were Finally Released — and They’re Very Telling |
By Alice Salles
In June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a heavily redacted snippet of the transcript of Omar Mateen’s calls with the 911 dispatchers and police. Mateen, the murderer behind the brutal June killing of 49 nightclub goers in Orlando, Florida, had called 911 amid the massacre, and negotiators then called the killer several times throughout the evening.
At the time of the transcript’s release, the public denounced the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for censoring the Orlando shooter’s pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS). Claiming the omission was meant to ensure would-be terrorists wouldn’t have a “publicity platform,” officials added the transcripts had distracted the public from “ the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime .”
But when the FBI released the full transcripts in September, the documents offered us a closer look into the motives behind Mateen’s actions, which had also been confirmed by one of the hostages. Unfortunately, few pundits dared to bring that information up on primetime television.
Now that the full audio recordings of the calls between the shooter and 911 dispatchers have been made public , Mateen’s comments regarding U.S. military interventions abroad are being brought up again.
The audio recordings were released following an order from Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber. Orlando city attorney Darryl Bloodworth recently promised the city would no longer keep the tapes under wraps, which prompted the judge’s order. The city had been the number one obstacle between journalists and the tapes, claiming their release would “ be a violation of a Florida law that makes photographs, videos or audio recordings showing ‘the killing of a person’ exempt from disclosure, available only to family members .”
In one of the released calls, Mateen can be heard insisting the police negotiator tell “ the US government to stop bombing,” and when the negotiator asks Mateen to tell him where he is, he answers , “ No, because you have to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq .”
The U.S. government, Mateen continues , “ [is] killing too many children, they are killing too many women, OK? … So what am I to do here, when my people are getting killed over there? You get what I’m saying? ” When asked about “what is going on tonight,” Mateen adds :
“ What’s going on is that I feel the pain of the people getting killed in Syria and Iraq and all over the Muslim [unidentified word] .”
As Mateen is pressed to give the negotiator more information, he becomes more hostile and hangs up repeatedly. Asked for his name, Mateen responds with the following:
“ You’re speaking with the person who pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. ”
At one point during the conversation, Mateen asks the negotiator to call him “ Mujahedeen, call me the Soldier of God. ”
While several calls were made, Mateen resisted giving the negotiator any further information, repeatedly referring to the U.S. bombings of Iraq and Syria and even going as far as to accuse the United States of collaborating with Russia, “ and … killing innocent women and children .”
On June 12, 5 a.m., Orlando police and Orange County deputies entered Pulse nightclub and killed Mateen in a shootout . The audio released by the city is one of over 200 other phone calls made to 911 during the shooting. These recordings remain under review by Judge Schreiber, TC Palm reported . Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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Contributed by The Anti-Media of theantimedia.org .
The “Anti” in our name does not mean we are against the media, we are simply against the current mainstream paradigm. The current media, influenced by the industrial complex, is a top-down authoritarian system of distribution—the opposite of what Anti-Media aims to be. At Anti-Media, we want to offer a new paradigm—a bottom-up approach for real and diverse reporting. We seek to establish a space where the people are the journalists and a venue where independent journalism moves forward on a larger and more truthful scale. | 1real |
Stop-gap bill to avoid government shutdown fails Senate procedural vote | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A stop-gap funding bill to avoid a federal government shutdown later this week failed to garner enough votes to move forward in the Senate on Tuesday, with Democrats and Republicans both opposing the measure. The must-pass continuing resolution, or CR, which would keep federal agencies operating from Saturday through Dec. 9, received only 45 of the 60 votes needed to limit debate and be considered for passage by the 100-seat Republican-controlled Senate. Forty Democrats and two independents opposed the CR because it lacked a $220 million aid package to address the drinking-water crisis in Flint, Michigan. It also drew opposition from 13 Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz, the former presidential candidate. Senate leaders said they would explore alternatives to avoid a shutdown. Without an extension, many federal agencies will run out of operating funds when the government fiscal year expires at midnight on Friday. The bill includes $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus and $500 million for flood relief in Louisiana and other states. “This is a 10-week funding bill. Its contents command broad support. It contains zero controversial riders,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said before the vote. Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives vowed to oppose the resolution until Republicans agree to a Flint aid package that the Senate passed by a 95-3 margin this month as part of a separate water resources bill. Flint, a city with over 100,000 people, has had lead-tainted drinking water for more than two years. Democrats, who say it is unfair to aid flood-ravaged areas and not Flint, want Republicans to include Flint aid in the CR or a version of the water resources bill that the House will vote on this week. Republicans say they will consider Flint later. Both sides say the aid package is paid for. “There is no excuse - none - for not including this provision,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat. McConnell told reporters he would consider the possibility of removing the flood-relief provision from the CR to win support from Democrats. “Let’s see him do it,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said when asked about McConnell’s remarks. Reasons for Republican opposition ranged from disapproval of Zika funding in the measure to frustration over the absence of provisions to boost the U.S. Export-Import Bank and block international oversight of the internet. | 0fake |
China air force again flies round Taiwan, over South China Sea | BEIJING (Reuters) - China s air force has again flown bombers and other warplanes through two strategic channels near Taiwan and also over the disputed South China Sea during training drills, state media said on Thursday. Numerous H-6K bombers and other jets recently flew through the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines and the Miyako Strait in Japan s south, and also over the South China Sea on a combat patrol , the official Xinhua news agency said, citing Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke. Shen did not say when the drills began but said all planes had finished their patrols on Thursday, which were intended to improve maritime real combat capabilities and forge the forces battle methods . China has been increasingly asserting itself in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. It is also worried about Taiwan, run by a government China fears is intent on independence. Beijing has never ruled out the use of force to bring proudly democratic Taiwan under its control, and has warned that any moves towards formal independence could prompt an armed response. China is in the midst of an ambitious military modernization program that includes building aircraft carriers and developing stealth fighters to give it the ability to project power far from its shores. Taiwan is well armed, mostly with U.S. weaponry, but has been pressing Washington to sell it more high-tech equipment to better deter China. | 0fake |
France, Italy, Germany defend Paris Accord, say cannot be renegotiated | ROME (Reuters) - Italy, France and Germany said on Thursday they regretted U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and dismissed his suggestion that the global pact could be revised. “We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies,” the leaders of the three countries said in a rare joint statement. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged their allies to speed up efforts to combat climate change and said they would do more to help developing countries adapt. The three leaders tried to convince Trump last week at a Group of Seven summit to stay in the pact and honor U.S. commitments undertaken by the previous administration. In a speech at the White House, Trump said the U.S. would look to renegotiate the agreement and condemned what he called “draconian” financial and economic burdens imposed by the deal. The unusual French-Italian-German statement, released barely an hour after Trump announced his decision, underscored the disappointment of the eurozone’s three largest economies and their resolve to plow ahead without Washington’s support. “We are convinced that the implementation of the Paris Agreement offers substantial economic opportunities for prosperity and growth in our countries and on a global scale,” the three leaders said. “We therefore reaffirm our strongest commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement, including its climate finance goals and we encourage all our partners to speed up their action to combat climate change.” In his speech, Trump complained that the Paris Accord required wealthy nations to help developing countries build renewable energy sources. France, Italy and German indicated they were ready to do more to help in the absence of U.S. funds. “We will step up efforts to support developing countries, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable, in achieving their mitigation and adaptation goals,” the three leaders said. | 0fake |
WELCOME TO PARIS where tour buses have to navigate around all the new Muslim tent cities filling the streets | BNI Store Oct 31 2016 WELCOME TO PARIS where tour buses have to navigate around all the new Muslim tent cities filling the streets Now that France has shut down the filthy Calais ‘jungle’ camp where thousands of illegal alien Muslim invaders had been squatting, Muslim tent cities are sprouting up all over the streets of Paris. Gee, I guess French tourism hasn’t taken a big enough hit yet, following several Islamic terrorist attacks. | 1real |
9 Reasons Why I Am NOT Voting | By Chris Duane Chris Duane explains why he’s not voting and destroys the left-right paradigm surrounding the 2016 US presidential (s)election. Vote for yourself. These... | 1real |
Few surprises for banks, financials in U.S. budget deal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deal Congress is working to pass this week contains few surprises for the financial services industry, according to documents released by the House Appropriations Committee on Monday. Budget bills primarily lay out how government money can flow, but often also include riders - smaller measures attached to the budget so they can become law. During spending negotiations last week, Democrats said many of the riders would lead them to walk away from any budget deal, dubbing them “poison pills.” The proposal unveiled on Monday was hailed for its bipartisan support. “It is a solid bill that reflects our common values and that will help move our nation forward,” said Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, the Republican chairman of the House appropriations committee. “Overall, the Democrats were successful at keeping the omnibus funding bill from being hijacked by inappropriate policy additions, keeping out over 160 proposed poison pill riders,” said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. The House of Representatives and Senate are expected to pass the $1 trillion spending bill that was unveiled on Monday before Friday. Many on Capitol Hill and off had anticipated the bill would include a rider on how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded. Currently, the agency receives its funding from the Federal Reserve, but Republicans have pushed to move the CFPB into the annual congressional budget, saying that would make it more accountable to voters. Instead, the deal was much lighter, only requiring the CFPB to report to Congress when it makes draws from the Fed. Democratic supporters of the CFPB, such as Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, say receiving funds from the Fed maintains the independence of the agency, created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law to protect individuals from fraud. Warren was former President Barack Obama’s first choice to lead the CFPB, and the party’s “Warren Wing,” which includes the Banking Committee’s senior Democrat, Sherrod Brown, is committed to keeping it intact no matter the cost. “Opponents of the CFPB seem to realize that attempts to weaken the agency through the budget process could potentially derail a deal,” said Rohit Chopra, a senior fellow at Consumer Federation of America and former CFPB official. The deal also maintains a contentious rider from the last budget barring the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring companies to disclose their political donations. Democrats want major corporations to show to which candidates and causes they give money, and last year worked to block two SEC commissioner nominations when the nominees would not support donation disclosures. Republicans say the disclosures are not material to investors. | 0fake |
DIRTY JOBS’ MIKE ROWE: Great Opportunities Out There That People Don’t Know Exist [Video] | 1real | |
WIKI: Clinton out of touch, cronyistic, didn't drive car in 35 years, flew all over world but accomplished nothing... | How to contact WikiLeaks? What is Tor? Tips for Sources After Submitting
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PRESIDENT TRUMP CRASHES WEDDING: Shocks Wedding Guests Who Start Chanting “USA! USA! USA!” [Video] | President Trump made a surprise appearance at a wedding at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. last weekend. He greeted the bride and groom who were obviously shocked and excited to see President Trump. The wedding guests started chanting, USA, USA, USA! Trump made surprise stop at wedding reception last night at Bedminster. The crowd broke out into chants of USA! (Video obtained by CNN) pic.twitter.com/sfe6zFdOlI Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) June 11, 2017A few guests of the wedding posted photos on Instagram of Trump with the bride and groom.Trump crashes wedding at his NJ golf club this weekend. pic.twitter.com/N3Khbpe3Oi Caitlin Yilek (@hausofcait) June 11, 2017Kristen Piatkowski and Tucker Gladhill s wedding was suddenly extra special when President Trump decided to crash it! The press was kept in the dark on this and only found out when social media exploded with photos and video. See the comment from CNN below:The White House has been largely silent about the President s weekend activities in Bedminster. Members of the traveling press corps, which did not have access to the club, learned of the wedding visit when images started to appear on social media.Trump was to headline a private fundraiser at the club Sunday night for Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-New Jersey, before returning to Washington Sunday night. MacArthur found himself at the crux of the health care debate this spring when he proposed an amendment to the GOP health care plan that got enough conservatives on board to pass the measure. Via: CNN | 1real |
Anderson Cooper Absolutely OWNS Kellyanne Conway After FBI Clears Hillary…Again (VIDEO) |
In case you missed it, on Sunday, FBI Director Comey once again cleared Hillary Clinton of any wrong-doing with regard to her emails — this, after just a couple of weeks ago saying to congress, that emails found in connection to the Anthony Weiner investigation could have something to do with Hillary’s case. By speculating about these mysterious emails, that we now know had absolutely NOTHING to do with Hillary Clinton, Comey may have been in direct violation of the Hatch Act . Let’s hope Director Comey will have to endure his own investigation very soon!
Speaking of speculation, on a special edition of CNN’s AC360 Sunday night, Anderson Cooper brought up that very thing to Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
“Is it responsible for someone who might be president of the United States to be, in your words, ‘speculating’ about an active investigation when he has no actual facts?”
Kellyanne tried to change the attention back to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server, but Anderson wasn’t having it and asks again.
“Right, you are not answering the question, though. Is it irresponsible for a man who might be president of the United States to speculate about something about which he has no facts?”
Watch their heated exchange below:
Featured image via video screenshot Share this Article! | 1real |
Thousands Expected to Rally for Expanded School Choice in Texas | An estimated 4, 000 Texans are expected to rally in Austin today to show their support for expanded school choice during National School Choice Week. They will bring their message to the south steps of the Capitol building. [Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, the state’s top school choice proponents, will speak at today’s rally. The event begins at 10 a. m. with a march on south lawn at the Capitol followed by the annual rally with more than 20 other Texas elected officials. Abbott proclaimed January 22 through January 28, school choice week in Texas, reaffirming his commitment to “support families’ ability to choose the educational environment that best suits their children’s needs. ” In 2015, he underscored the relevance of a parent’s role in a child’s education. Last year, he signed a school choice week proclamation highlighting the importance “for parents in Texas to explore and identify the best education options available to their sons and daughters, as research demonstrates that providing children with multiple education options improves academic performance. ” Organizer Randan Steinhauser called this year’s rally a “reminder to our legislators that parents in Texas want more education freedom. ” She said: “The demand for more school choice is widespread and it’s time for Texas to join the growing number of states that allow parents the opportunity to choose their child’s education. ” While Texas already offers school choice options like magnet and public charter schools, plus private and home schools, lawmakers hope to expand access for the state’s children through legislation that would create an education savings account (ESA) program. In 2016, the Lt. Governor made the case for ESA’s in a series of Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute (TCCRI) policy summits on education choice held around the state. It featured panels of state legislators who support this kind of school choice plus Steinhauser and others who promoted ESA’s allow parents to have more choice in their children’s education, particularly for children stuck in a failing public school. Roughly 5. 3 million children attend through grade 12 in one of the state’s public schools. The Public Education Grant (PEG) program listed 1, 379 struggling campuses, inching down from the even higher 1, 532 failing schools on the PEG list. According to the Texas Charter Schools Association, 129, 589 students were on charter school wait lists in 2014. Proponents say school choice affords children access to educational settings that best fit them while empowering their parents to become more involved in the education process. U. S. Senator Ted Cruz called school choice “the civil rights issue of the 21st Century” in 2014. He supports universal ESA’s. In September, Daniel Garza, president of the nonprofit Libre Initiative, spoke at a TCCRI summit in support of ESA’s and other similar tax credit scholarships and savings grant programs. He said they provided more educational opportunities to Texas’ Hispanic families. Garza cited the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) a Washington, D. C. private school student voucher program for children, which he maintained had a 91 percent graduation rate, 30 percent higher than their public school peers. At press time, ESA legislation was not filed yet but the issue already stirred up strong opposition from the state’s teacher unions and associations. They assert school choice undermines traditional public schools by diverting public taxpayer dollars away from their coffers, are not held to the same accountability standards, and are not unionized. Lobbyist organizations like the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) vow to stop vouchers. The Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) stand against school choice programs. also balked at the state’s new public school accountability ratings system. Advocacy groups like Texas Kids Can’t Wait only support public schools Raise Your Hand Texas also opposes school choice. Some homeschool parents also have expressed wariness of ESA’s fearing that privately funded school choice will have “strings attached” and bring government intervention and regulation that will impact the state’s for homeschooling liberties. As one parent told Breitbart Texas, “I love the idea of ESA’s, I just want to make sure we don’t lose freedoms we now enjoy (because of them). ” Event organizers include Texas for Education Opportunity, LIBRE Initiative, the Texas Private Schools Association, Texas Homeschool Coalition, Texas Charter Schools Association, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Catholic Conference, ResponsiveEd, Families Empowered, Public School Options, Aspire Texas, EdChoice, Texans for Education Opportunity, Americans for Prosperity — Texas, The Justice Foundation, Agudath Israel, Texas Business Leadership Council, Texas Association of Business, Connections Academy, Institute for Justice, and the Texas Conservative Coalition. National School Choice Week is a nonpartisan, independent public awareness effort to raise public awareness about educational choices available to children such including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling. The first National School Choice Week, in 2011, consisted of only 150 events. Tuesday’s rally is one of 21, 392 nationwide events, including 1, 593 in Texas, to promote school choice over a week that kicked off on Sunday, January 22, and runs through Saturday, January 28. Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Twitter. This article has been updated. | 0fake |
Florida Voters Approve Medical Marijuana, Reject Federal Prohibition | By Mike Maharrey Voters in Florida have approved a ballot measure legalizing medical marijuana, taking a big step toward nullifying the unconstitutional federal prohibition of... | 1real |
772 Daesh terrorists killed, 23 captured since start of Mosul operation: Iraq | Iraq Iraqi forces gather near the village of Sin al-Dhuban, south of Mosul, on October 27, 2016, during an operation to retake the city from Takfiri Daesh militants. (Photos by AFP)
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) has announced that more than 700 Takfiri militants have been killed and nearly two dozen others arrested ever since government forces and allied fighters launched a massive operation to dislodge the terrorists from the northern city of Mosul.
A total of 772 Daesh terrorists have been killed and 23 others arrested since the offensive to liberate Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, was kicked off on October 17, the JOC said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement added that 127 car bombs, 27 makeshift mortar launchers, seven explosive belts and a large weapons cache were also destroyed during the mentioned period.
Furthermore, four booby-trapped houses, 397 explosive devices and five motorcycle bombs were blown up, while three tunnels, a command center for terrorists, 40 defensive fighting positions, seven airstrike-resistant bunkers and three Dushka heavy machine guns were destroyed.
The JOC statement added that 1.5 tons of ammonium nitrate, nine 120mm mortar rounds, 380 mortar shells, 61 Katyusha rockets, 31 missile launchers, three PK machine guns and four anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launchers were also confiscated. Iraqi pro-government forces hold a position near the village of Sin al-Dhuban, south of Mosul, on October 27, 2016, during an operation to retake the city from Takfiri Daesh terrorists.
The Iraqi forces also destroyed four cannons, seized a caravan and four heavy machine guns and discovered two bomb-making workshops.
Also on Thursday morning, Iraqi security forces managed to retake the village of Wadi al-Qasab in al-Shoura district and al-Hamza village in Hammam al-Alil district, both south of Daesh-held Mosul.
Separately, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that 12 Daesh extremists were killed when fighter jets from the so-called US-led military coalition struck Mosul's al-Arabi neighborhood.
Fifteen Daesh terrorist were also killed and two others injured when US-led military aircraft targeted a gathering of the militants in Suwayrah village of al-Shoura district, the ministry added.
Mishraq sulphur factory extinguished
In another development on Thursday, the Iraqi forces put out a fire at the Mishraq sulphur factory, located about 30 kilometers south of Mosul. This file photo taken on October 22, 2016 shows Iraqi forces attempting to extinguish flames after Daesh militants torched the Mishraq sulphur plant, near the Qayyarah base and about 30 kilometers south of Mosul.
Last week, Daesh militants set the factory on fire in a bid to prevent army and security units from making advances.
There are reports that about 50,000 Iraqi ground troops are involved in the Mosul offensive, including 30,000 army troops, 10,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the remaining 10,000 from police and Popular Mobilization Units.
International aid agencies have warned that the military operation to retake Mosul has displaced about 10,600 people from their homes.
“Assessments have recorded a significant number of female-headed households, raising concerns around the detention or capture of men and boys,” said Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, on Tuesday.
She noted that a huge exodus of people from Mosul could occur within the next few days, warning that Daesh terrorists could resort to “rudimentary chemical weapons” as part of efforts to hold up government forces. Loading ... | 1real |
CrossTalk: Trump’s Triumph! | Leave a Reply Click here to get more info on formatting (1) Leave the name field empty if you want to post as Anonymous. It's preferable that you choose a name so it becomes clear who said what. E-mail address is not mandatory either. The website automatically checks for spam. Please refer to our moderation policies for more details. We check to make sure that no comment is mistakenly marked as spam. This takes time and effort, so please be patient until your comment appears. Thanks. (2) 10 replies to a comment are the maximum. (3) Here are formating examples which you can use in your writing:<b>bold text</b> results in bold text <i>italic text</i> results in italic text (You can also combine two formating tags with each other, for example to get bold-italic text.)<em>emphasized text</em> results in emphasized text <strong>strong text</strong> results in strong text <q>a quote text</q> results in a quote text (quotation marks are added automatically) <cite>a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited</cite> results in: a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited <blockquote>a heavier version of quoting a block of text...</blockquote> results in: a heavier version of quoting a block of text that can span several lines. Use these possibilities appropriately. They are meant to help you create and follow the discussions in a better way. They can assist in grasping the content value of a comment more quickly. and last but not least:<a href=''http://link-address.com''>Name of your link</a> results in Name of your link (4) No need to use this special character in between paragraphs: ; You do not need it anymore. Just write as you like and your paragraphs will be separated. The "Live Preview" appears automatically when you start typing below the text area and it will show you how your comment will look like before you send it. (5) If you now think that this is too confusing then just ignore the code above and write as you like. Name: | 1real |
British Speaker opposes letting Trump address parliament | LONDON (Reuters) - The speaker of Britain’s lower house of parliament said on Monday he would not support any plans for U.S. President Donald Trump to address parliament during a state visit planned for later this year, citing Trump’s temporary immigration ban as a factor. More than 1.8 million people in Britain have signed a petition calling for Trump’s planned visit to be canceled or downgraded to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth, part of a grassroots backlash against his immigration policies. Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the decision to offer a state visit, but more than 150 lawmakers have signed a symbolic motion calling for Trump not to be given the honor of speaking in parliament. Asked by an opposition Labour lawmaker about the possibility of a parliamentary address, House of Commons speaker John Bercow said he shared the concerns. “As far as this place (parliament) is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations,” Bercow said, earning a round of applause from lawmakers. Trump’s executive order barring entry to the United States for refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries has prompted worldwide protests, including by thousands of demonstrators in London. The temporary immigration ban faced a legal hurdle on Monday that could determine whether he can push through the most controversial and far reaching policy of his first two weeks in office. As one of the key figures whose approval would be needed for a parliamentary address, Bercow said he would oppose any possible move to invite Trump to speak in either of the two locations which host foreign leaders during state visits. In 2011, Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to address both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall, the oldest building in the parliamentary palace, which has also hosted South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and France’s Charles de Gaulle. “Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall,” Bercow said. “An address by a foreign leader to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor.” | 0fake |
Ex-Goldman banker Mnuchin installed as Treasury secretary | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump swore in former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary on Monday, putting him to work on tax reform, financial de-regulation and economic diplomacy efforts. The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mnuchin 53-47, with all but one Democrat opposing him over his handling of thousands of foreclosures as head of OneWest Bank after the 2007-2009 housing collapse. At a White House swearing-in ceremony, Trump said Mnuchin would be a “great champion” for U.S. citizens. “He will fight for middle-class tax reductions, financial reforms that open up lending and create millions of new jobs, and fiercely defend the American tax dollar and your financial security,” Trump said. “And he will also defend our manufacturing jobs from those who cheat and steal and rob us blind.” Lawmakers, lobbyists and business groups have been nervously waiting for Mnuchin to take office and fill in the many blanks on how he will pursue tax reform and handle delicate economic cooperation efforts with China, Mexico and other trading partners worried that Trump’s “America First” strategy will upend decades-old trade rules and currency practices. Mnuchin, 54, provided no details of his plans as he was sworn in. “I am committed to using the full powers of this office to create more jobs, to combat terrorist activities and financing, and to make America great again,” Mnuchin said. Trump has pledged to roll back the stricter financial regulation under the Dodd-Frank reform law enacted after the financial crisis, pursue tougher trade policies on China and Mexico to reduce U.S. trade deficits, and reduce business tax rates. Mnuchin faces immediate challenges with the March 15 expiration of a U.S. debt ceiling suspension, ushering in the threat of a new default showdown, and a March 17 meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies, where he will face tough questions about Trump’s plans to increase trade protections. In April, Mnuchin will have to determine whether to declare China a currency manipulator as part of Treasury’s semi-annual currency report. “There is a real open question as to whether this administration is going to cut itself off from international monetary cooperation, whether it’s exchange rate policies or attitudes towards multilateral institutions or international regulatory policy,” said Edwin Truman, a former Treasury and Federal Reserve official now with the Peterson Institute for International Economics Among Mnuchin’s biggest jobs is managing a sprawling congressional tax reform effort that seeks to slash business tax rates and enact a new border tax adjustment system aimed at boosting U.S. exports. Mnuchin will quickly need to build a core management team to handle such challenges. Treasury and White House representatives did not respond to requests for comment on Monday on reports that Trump would soon nominate David Malpass, a former economist at failed Wall Street bank Bear Stearns, as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, the agency’s top economic diplomacy job. Malpass, a Trump campaign adviser who had been leading Treasury transition efforts, was seen as a leading candidate for the job, with experience from international economic posts in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. Other names that have been floated for senior posts include Goldman Sachs banker Jim Donovan for deputy Treasury secretary and Justin Muzinich, a former Morgan Stanley banker, for undersecretary of domestic finance. Mnuchin, a second-generation Goldman Sachs banker who led the firm’s mortgage bond trading but left the bank in 2002, came under fire from Democrats over his investor group’s 2009 acquisition of another failed lender, IndyMac Bank, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank, rebranded as OneWest, subsequently foreclosed on more than 36,000 homeowners, drawing charges from housing advocates that it was a “foreclosure machine.” Mnuchin grew OneWest into Southern California’s largest lender and sold it for $3.4 billion in 2015. He has also helped finance Hollywood blockbusters such as “Avatar,” “American Sniper” and this past weekend’s box office champion, “The Lego Batman Movie,” which took in $55.6 million. The Senate on Monday also unanimously confirmed David Shulkin as secretary of veterans affairs, putting the only holdover from the Obama administration in charge of the second largest federal agency. Shulkin had been in charge of the VA’s sprawling health system for the past 18 months. | 0fake |
Sweeping Federal Review Could Affect Consent Decrees Nationwide - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a sweeping review of federal agreements with dozens of law enforcement agencies, an examination that reflects President Trump’s emphasis on law and order and could lead to a retreat on consent decrees with troubled police departments nationwide. In a memorandum dated March 31 and made public Monday, the attorney general directed his staff to look at whether law enforcement programs adhere to principles put forth by the Trump administration, including one declaring that “the individual misdeeds of bad actors should not impugn” the work police officers perform “in keeping American communities safe. ” As part of its shift in emphasis, the Justice Department went to court on Monday to seek a delay in a consent decree to overhaul Baltimore’s embattled Police Department. That request came just days before a hearing, scheduled for Thursday in the United States District Court in Baltimore, to solicit public comment on the agreement, which was reached in principle by the city and the Justice Department in the waning days of the Obama administration. Mayor Catherine E. Pugh said late Monday that the city would “strongly oppose any delay in moving forward. ” Supporters of police reform called on Judge James K. Bredar, who is overseeing the negotiations between Baltimore and the Justice Department, to deny the request, arguing that Mr. Sessions was interfering with the will of the city. “This has all been negotiated by the affected parties,” said Ray Kelly, the president of the No Boundaries Coalition, a citizen advocacy group. Referring to Mr. Sessions, he said, “Now we have an outside entity telling us what’s best for our citizens and our community when he has no experience, no knowledge. ” Baltimore is one of nearly two dozen cities — including Ferguson, Mo. Cleveland and Seattle — that were the subject of aggressive efforts by the Obama administration to improve relations between the police and the communities they serve. That effort produced consent decrees with 14 departments. The broad review announced Monday could threaten some of those decrees if the Justice Department seeks to change its past stance about systematic police abuses in the affected agencies. But the Justice Department would not be able to unilaterally unwind the agreements without court intervention. Vanita Gupta, who ran the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama and negotiated the Baltimore consent decree, said it was unclear whether Mr. Sessions could withdraw from that agreement, which has not yet been officially approved by a judge. Noting that Kevin Davis, the Baltimore police commissioner, had expressed strong support for the plan, Ms. Gupta questioned “whether the attorney general is really in sync with law enforcement. ” She added that Monday’s announcement “signals an alarming retreat away from ensuring that police departments engage in constitutional policing. ” Beyond Baltimore, the most closely watched decision will come in Chicago, where the Obama administration, in its final days, issued a report that found failures in the Police Department after a series of police shootings of minorities. Negotiations have begun for a possible monitoring agreement, but Mr. Sessions has indicated he thinks the report was shoddy, casting doubt on the prospect of a deal. In a joint statement on Monday night, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Superintendent Eddie Johnson of the Chicago police said Mr. Sessions’s announcement would not alter their own plans, outlined several weeks ago, for police reform in Chicago. “We can only speak for our intentions, we can’t speak for the federal government’s,” they said. In Baltimore, a city with a history of tensions between and the police, the consent decree grew out of a federal review that followed the unrest in 2015 over the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody. The review culminated in August, when the Justice Department issued a blistering report that found that the Baltimore police had engaged in a “pattern and practice” of discrimination that systematically violated the civil rights of black residents. In January, days before Mr. Obama left office, Mayor Pugh and the Justice Department signed a broad blueprint for an overhaul. In its court filings on Monday, the Justice Department noted that the Trump administration had “announced several new initiatives and policies that prioritize combating and preventing violent crime” in response to spikes in violence in cities across the country, including Baltimore. Mr. Sessions has expressed deep skepticism about the value of consent decrees like the one planned for Baltimore, saying they vilify the police, and he has indicated that he wants to scale them back. In a speech in February, his first as attorney general, he said that the federal government’s role should be to “help police departments get better, not diminish their effectiveness. ” Mr. Sessions said the agreements were demoralizing to the police and could be generating a rise in violence and murders in some large cities, a contention that has been challenged by many criminologists. Kristen Clarke, who leads the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has fought for greater federal oversight of troubled police departments, said the request for a delay in the Baltimore case was deeply troubling. “Attorney General Jeff Sessions is undermining and obstructing extensive efforts that have been made to promote policing reform in a small set of the most broken police departments in our country,” she said. | 0fake |
Trump calls Obama, Clinton Islamic State 'co-founders,' draws rebuke | WASHINGTON/MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump called President Barack Obama and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton the “co-founders” of Islamic State, ratcheting up his assertion that they are responsible for the rise of the militant group and sparking renewed criticism of his leadership ability. Clinton’s White House campaign on Thursday called the remarks a “false claim,” in Clinton’s latest response to a series of attacks by Trump in which he has sought to portray America as less safe, blaming Democrats and depicting himself as the only one who can restore security. Democrats, in turn, have used Trump’s often hyperbolic statements ahead of the Nov. 8 election to argue that he is unfit to be president and lacks the temperament to be trusted with matters of national security. “This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States,” Clinton senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “What’s remarkable about Trump’s comments is that once again he’s echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure,” Sullivan said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. For Republicans uncertain about whether Trump has the discipline to maintain focus for his campaign, the latest comments were concerning. Many see the New York real estate mogul as spending too much time fighting within his own party and have called on him to refocus his campaign message on Clinton. “ISIS is a solid GOP message to show contrast with Hillary Clinton and the failures of the Obama-Clinton administration,” said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist who remains undecided about the nominee, using acronyms for Islamic State and the Republican Party. Even so, she added, “Trump should have simply said that the Obama administration’s decision to pull all troops out of Iraq, with no stay-behind agreement, created a vacuum and allowed ISIS to metastasize. It’s absurd for him to say that Obama and Clinton are founders of ISIS - and he can’t blame the media for this.” A group of about 70 Republicans, including five former members of Congress, called on the Republican National Committee to stop helping Trump in the wake of his recent remarks and instead focus on getting members of Congress re-elected. “Trump’s divisive and dangerous actions are not only a threat to our other candidates, but to our party and the nation,” the letter stated. In response, Trump said he would stop raising money for the Republican Party if it ends its help for his campaign. “If they want to do that they can save me a lot of time and a lot of energy,” he told Fox News. “I’m the one raising the money for them.” Some Republicans see a small silver lining in Trump talking more about Clinton. “It is helpful – at least to the rest of the ticket – that he is focusing a little more on Clinton than on other Republicans, whether defeated primary opponents or other elected officials who are on the ballot, for a change,” said former New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen, who is not supporting Trump. “But tomorrow, or later today, he could blame (Republican Senator) Jeff Flake for A-Rod’s retirement,” Cullen said, referring to Yankees player Alex Rodriguez’s decision to leave professional baseball. “I have zero confidence in Trump’s ability to stay on one message or to drive one message for any length of time longer than about 10 seconds.” Trump has previously criticized Clinton for supporting the Iraq War in 2003 while she was a U.S. senator. Trump frequently says, to contrast himself with Clinton, that he opposed the war - but in interviews before the invasion he did voice support. Now, Trump is arguing that in trying to end the war and withdrawing U.S. troops in 2011, Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time, and Obama created Islamic State. Republicans frequently trace the birth of Islamic State to the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the last U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. But many analysts argue its roots lie in the decision of George W. Bush’s Republican administration to invade Iraq in 2003 without a plan to fill the vacuum created by Saddam Hussein’s ouster. It was Bush’s administration, not Obama’s, that negotiated the 2009 agreement that called for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. Clinton posted on Twitter that Trump’s comments are disqualifying. “Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our commander-in-chief,” she wrote. The White House declined to comment on Trump’s claim. Appearing in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday morning, Trump repeated his attack for the third time, saying the U.S. government “has unleashed ISIS.” “In fact, I think we’ll give Hillary Clinton ... most valuable player,” Trump said. “ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award. Her only competition is President Barack Obama.” Trump first made the assertion in a speech on Wednesday night in Florida, saying, “I call them co-founders” of Islamic State. In an interview on Thursday morning, Trump defended the remarks. “Is there something wrong with saying that?” Trump told CNBC. “Why - are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS? All I do is tell the truth, I’m a truth teller.” Trump was also asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt if he “meant that (Obama) created the vacuum, he lost the peace.” “No,” Trump responded. “I meant he’s the founder of ISIS. I do.” The Democratic National Committee lambasted Trump’s remarks. “Donald Trump should apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions on the founding of ISIS,” the DNC said in a statement. “This is yet another out of control statement by a candidate who is unraveling before our very eyes.” Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Trump on CNN, saying his remarks were “legitimate political commentary.” | 0fake |
In Mexican slum, a decades-long wait for quake relief | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - I first visited Camp No. 3 a few days after the Sept. 19 earthquake. After reporting from collapsed buildings around the city, this was a different type of shock. Row after row of tiny tin shacks crammed into a small lot hidden behind a high fence in the middle class neighborhood of Lindavista. Here, hundreds of families who lost their homes in an earthquake 32 years ago are living in deplorable conditions, with children and grandchildren born during the interminable wait for promised government-subsidized homes. The 1985 earthquake was a defining moment for the Mexican capital. The death toll is still disputed, but at least 5,000 were killed. Some say many more died. Three decades on, hundreds of its victims are still living in hovels in encampments across the sprawling city of 20 million and now the latest quake has made thousands more people homeless. On first impression the camp is a little menacing, the smell of marijuana hangs in the air and residents warn of thieves and petty crime they blame on new arrivals - people who have moved in to occupy shacks left by families who have received new homes. A strong sense of community prevails among the 1985 earthquake survivors, necessary perhaps for families who share outdoor toilets and use bared electric cables to heat water to bathe. And as I have seen among many of Latin America s poorest people, there is resourcefulness. Most families had some kind of work, many setting up small businesses like food stands selling tacos, or makeshift photocopy shops on the roadside. One woman made her living charging for toilet paper and access to a bathroom. According to the leaders of the Lindavista camp, its ramshackle shacks are home to around 750 people, divided into roughly 250 families. There are almost 200 children who are the grandchildren of those originally resettled here, according to local leaders. At least six such camps exist in the capital. Mexico City s housing institute said that since 2016, it has delivered 173 homes to victims of the 1985 quake and expects to hand over 120 more before the end of next year. Click on reut.rs/2go1OS4 for related photo essay | 0fake |
Mark Kirk Becomes First Republican To Un-Endorse Donald Trump (VIDEO) | Facing a tough reelection against Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, vulnerable GOP Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois announced today that he is un-endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In a Tweet, Kirk said his military experience helped lead him to make the decision:Given my military experience, Donald Trump does not have the temperament to command our military or our nuclear arsenal. Mark Kirk (@MarkKirk) June 7, 2016Then, in a statement, Kirk told reporters: As the presidential campaign progressed, I was hoping the rhetoric would tone down and reflect a campaign that was inclusive, thoughtful and principled. While I oppose the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump s latest statements, in context to past attacks on Hispanics, women, and the disabled like me, make it certain that I cannot and will not support my party s nominee for President regardless of the political impact on my candidacy or the Republican Party. And like that, Kirk became the first Republican to un-endorse Donald Trump. Benn Sasse and Lindsey Graham, Republican Senators from Nebraska and South Carolina, have pledged not to support Trump either, and Trump s former rivals, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are still on the fence.Other Republican Senators, such as Kelly Ayotte, Bob Corker, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and Jeff Flake, have all expressed condemnation for Trump s comments about the judge presiding over the University case, but have pledged continued support.Kirk s announcement, coincidentally, comes just one day after his challenger, Duckworth, said Kirk s refusal silence equals betrayal to the people.Watch Kirk explain to reporters his un-endorsement: JUST IN: @SenatorKirk talks exclusively to @nbcnews @HallieJackson RE: him not supporting Trump: pic.twitter.com/OsxSmkwDt0 Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 7, 2016Featured image via Gabriella Demczuk | 1real |
ALABAMA ABC AFFILIATE Can’t Find One Voter Who Believes Roy Moore WaPo Report [VIDEO] | A Birmingham, Alabama ABC affiliate sought out voters in Columbiana, AL to gauge their reactions to the Washington Post report that alleged Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Moore engaged in inappropriate conduct with four teenage girls more than 34 years ago.None of the respondents according to Walsh told her they believed the Post s reporting. It s hard to believe the events that transpired yesterday, Gordon Fluker of nearby Wilsonville, AL said to Walsh about the Washington Post report.Moore continues to lead his Democrat opponent by double digits Voters are not buying the accusers story The latest problem with the story is the mother of the accuser s story. She just made a huge mistake in her recounting of what happened over 34 years ago The character assassination of Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore continues with different RINO Republicans coming out to say Moore should step down as a candidate for US Senate. The problem is that the press and the anti-Moore politicians have crucified Moore We thought you were innocent until proven guilty!Another key fact: The claim is a 40 year old claim brought to light by a woman who has ties to the DNC So many things about this claim just don t pass the smell test. Breitbart News has yet another item that doesn t help the accuser s case:MOTHER MAKES BIG MISTAKE: The mother of Leigh Corfman, who says that Alabama Senatorial Candidate Roy Moore tried to engage in a sexual encounter with her when she was 14, has contradicted a key detail of Corfman s story. Speaking by phone to Breitbart News on Saturday, Corfman s mother, Nancy Wells, 71, says that her daughter did not have a phone in her bedroom during the period that Moore is reported to have allegedly called Corfman purportedly on Confman s bedroom phone to arrange at least one encounter.Moore strongly denies Corfman s claims.The Washington Post, which first published its newsmaking, on-the-record interview with Corfman last week, cited Corfman as remembering that she provided Moore with her number when she was 14. She said that she spoke to Moore from what she described as the phone in her bedroom.Citing Corfman, the Post reported:After her mother went into the courtroom, Corfman says, Moore asked her where she went to school, what she liked to do and whether he could call her sometime. She remembers giving him her number and says he called not long after. She says she talked to Moore on her phone in her bedroom, and they made plans for him to pick her up at Alcott Road and Riley Street, around the corner from her house.Soon after, Corfman said, he called again, and picked her up again at the same spot.Later on, Corfman described a third phone call:She says that after their last encounter, Moore called again, but that she found an excuse to avoid seeing him. She says that at some point during or soon after her meetings with Moore, she told two friends in vague terms that she was seeing an older man.Corfman clearly claimed she spoke to Moore on what she said was her phone in her bedroom on at least one of those occasions. The Post did not specify whether the second or third alleged calls purportedly took place on a bedroom phone.Wells, Corfman s mother, was asked by Breitbart News: Back then did she have her own phone in her room or something? No, she replied matter-of-factly. But the phone in the house could get through to her easily. HOW COULD HE BE GUILTY?The Post story relies heavily on Corfman s memory and her ability to recount events consistently.The newspaper reported that Corfman described her story consistently in six interviews with The Post. The Post story uses the word remembers 10 times when quoting or paraphrasing Corfman.Here are those 10 times:1: The Post cited Corfman thusly: I wanted it over with I wanted out, she remembers thinking. This detail related to Corfman s claim that Moore drove her to his house, removed his own clothes besides his underwear, took off her shirt and guided her hand to his underwear.2: During the initial alleged encounter, when Corfman said that Moore was watching her while Corfman s mother went into the courtroom, the Post reported, She remembers giving him her number and says he called not long after. 3: I remember the further I got from my house, the more nervous I got, Corfman was quoted as saying when she recalled the alleged drive with Moore from her house.5 7: The Post used the word three times when citing Corfman in the following paragraph:She remembers an unpaved driveway. She remembers going inside and him giving her alcohol on this visit or the next, and that at some point she told him she was 14. She says they sat and talked. She remembers that Moore told her she was pretty, put his arm around her and kissed her, and that she began to feel nervous and asked him to take her home, which she says he did.8 Referring to the alleged sexual encounter, the Post reported:She remembers that Moore kissed her, that he took off her pants and shirt, and that he touched her through her bra and underpants. She says that he guided her hand to his underwear and that she yanked her hand back.9 In that same encounter, the Post relates:She remembers thinking, I don t want to do this and I need to get out of here. She says that she got dressed and asked Moore to take her home, and that he did.Meanwhile, Wells told Breitbart that she and her daughter stick by the Post s story. It s truthful and it was researched very well, she said.Asked if she could remember Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, allegedly asking to watch her daughter in 1971 while Wells went into a courtroom, Wells recounted the story essentially the same way she told it to the Post.Wells told this reporter: We were sitting in the hall. He came up and started talking to us. We were sitting on a bench waiting to go into court. He said, you know, What are you doing. You know, we told him. He is Roy Moore. And he said, You don t want her to go in there and hear all of the bickering. And I said, No. He said, I will be glad to stay out here with her and bring her in if she needs to come in. And so that is the way it started. Probably if it were in today s times that never would have happened, Wells added. He sounded like someone that I could trust and we were there in the courthouse. Corfman described her own troubled background to the Post, including three divorces, bankruptcies and a history of drug abuse.The Post related:She says that her teenage life became increasingly reckless with drinking, drugs, boyfriends, and a suicide attempt when she was 16.As the years went on, Corfman says, she did not share her story about Moore partly because of the trouble in her life. She has had three divorces and financial problems. While living in Arizona, she and her second husband started a screen-printing business that fell into debt. They filed for bankruptcy protection three times, once in 1991 with $139,689 in unpaid claims brought by the Internal Revenue Service and other creditors, according to court records.Moore strongly denied Corfman s claims. These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign, Moore said in immediate response to the Post s story.Moore s campaign said in a statement, This garbage is the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation. The campaign pointed out that Moore has been married to his wife, Kayla, for nearly 33 years and has four children and five grandchildren. It also noted that Moore has served in public office in the past and that no such allegations were previously made.The statement said:The Judge has been a candidate in four hotly-contested statewide political contests, twice as a gubernatorial candidate and twice as a candidate for chief justice. He has been a three-time candidate for local office, and he has been a national figure in two ground-breaking, judicial fights over religious liberty and traditional marriage. After over 40 years of public service, if any of these allegations were true, they surely would have been made public long before now, the statement continued.On Saturday, Moore further addressed the allegations: Now I want to address something that some people have come here to hear about, Moore said at a local campaign event. Shortly after becoming the Republican nominee for the United States Senate, the Washington Post began an attack on the Foundation for Moral Law, on my wife, and on me. For weeks, we read about my salary which they distorted, about taxes where they said we were paid money we never got. But we endured that. Later, they came out and endorsed my opponent in this race, he continued. Just two days ago, the Washington Post published yet another attack on my character and reputation in a desperate attempt to stop my political campaign for the United States Senate. These attacks about a minor are completely false and untrue about something that happened nearly 40 years ago. But more than being completely false and untrue, they are very hurtful to me personally. I wanted to make it clear to the media present and the people present, I have not provided alcoholic beverages beer or anything else to a minor. I have not been guilty of sexual misconduct with anyone, he declared. These allegations came only four and a half weeks before the general election on Dec. 12. Why now? For forty years I have been closely scrutinized in the press and the public media. I have had investigations by the attorney general, I ve had investigations by the judicial inquiry commission on more than one occasion, I ve had investigations by the court of the judiciary, I ve been in five statewide campaigns in which they do opposition research they do investigations, as you can see in every one I ve ever run and three county elections and two major controversies over religious liberty and the Ten Commandments and same-sex marriage, he continued. I ve been investigated more than any other person in this country. That grown women would wait forty years to come right before an election to bring charges is absolutely unbelievable. | 1real |
Taking Calcium Supplements Causes Brain Lesions | in: General Health , Sleuth Journal , Special Interests Taking calcium supplements — even at low doses — linked to brain lesions in the first study of its kind. Most calcium supplements are just plain bad news. The idea of taking calcium in pill or tablet form to “keep the bones strong” just doesn’t make that much sense given, first, that we are designed to get our calcium from food. Second, our bone is a living tissue, which requires vitamin C, amino acids, magnesium, silica, vitamins D and K, etc., not to mention regular physical activity, just as much as it does calcium. Taking calcium to the exclusion of these other critical factors doesn’t make sense; nor does it make sense to look at osteoporosis as a deficiency of calcium supplements! As we have reported on extensively in the past, not only is consuming limestone, bone, and the shells of oysters and eggs not a good idea because the calcium can deposit in our soft tissues leading to heart attacks and strokes , but even the goal of maintaining bones as dense as a 25-year old late into life (known as the T-score) is fraught with danger, including a far higher breast cancer risk for those with the highest bone density . Instead of pathologizing aging, and focusing on making the bone denser by any means necessary, the focus should be on bone quality and agility and bodily self-awareness late into life, which helps the elderly prevent the falls that lead to fracture in the first place. In other words, simply having a gait or vision disorder can be at least as an important factor in fracture risk as bone mineral density. The problem with poor quality, inorganic, calcium supplements, however, does not stop with their contribution to cardiovascular disease risk. A combination of factors including low magnesium, vitamin K2 and the presence of fluoride in the water and diet can lead to pineal gland calcification , as well as the calcification of other brain structures, which recently has been hypothesized to be a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease . (click image to enlarge) A truly provocative study on this topic published last year in the British Journal of Nutrition somehow slipped through the cracks, because not only did we miss it but we do not recall it being reported elsewhere. Titled, “ Elevated brain lesion volumes in older adults who use calcium supplements: a cross-sectional clinical observational study ,” the study looked at the possibility that since calcium supplements have now been linked in multiple studies with vascular pathologies associated with cardiovascular diseas they may also be associated with the occurrence of brain lesions (known on MRI scans as hyperintensities) in older adults. These brain lesions, visible as brighter spots in MRI scans, are known to be caused by lack of blood flow (ischemia) and subsequent neurological damage. According to the study, “Brain lesions,also known as hyperintensities, are areas of damage observed on brain MRI ( See Above ). These lesions are common in older adults and increase the risk of devastating health outcomes, including depression, cognitive decline, dementia, stroke, physical disability, hip fracture and death. Postmortem studies have determined that these lesions form primarily due to ischemia, especially larger lesions (.3mm) and lesions found in depressed individuals.” The observational study enrolled 227 older adults (60 years above) and assessed food and supplemental calcium intakes. Participants with supplemental calcium use above zero were categorized as supplement users. Lesion volumes were assessed with MRI scans. Key findings were: Greater lesion volumes were found among calcium supplement users than non-users The influence of calcium supplements was of a magnitude similar to that of the influence of high blood pressure (hypertension), “a well-established risk factor for lesions.” The study found that the amount of calcium used was not associated with lesion volume and that “even low-dose supplements, by older adults may be associated with greater lesion volumes.” Even after controlling for food calcium intake, age, sex, race, years of education, energy intake, depression and hypertension, the association between calcium supplement and lesion volumes held strong. The study details were summarized as follows: “In the present cross-sectional clinical observational study, the association between Ca-containing dietary supplement use and lesion volumes was investigated in a sample of 227 older adults (60 years and above). Food and supplemental Ca intakes were assessed with the Block 1998 FFQ; participants with supplemental Ca intake above zero were categorised as supplement users. Lesion volumes were determined from cranial MRI (1.5 tesla) scans using a semi-automated technique; volumes were log-transformed because they were non-normal. ANCOVA models revealed that supplement users had greater lesion volumes than non-users, even after controlling for food Ca intake, age, sex, race, years of education, energy intake, depression and hypertension (Ca supplement use: β = 0.34, SE 0.10, F(1,217)= 10.98, P= 0.0011). The influence of supplemental Ca use on lesion volume was of a magnitude similar to that of the influence of hypertension, a well-established risk factor for lesions. Among the supplement users, the amount of supplemental Ca was not associated with lesion volume (β = – 0.000035, SE 0.00 015, F(1,139)= 0.06, P= 0.81). The present study demonstrates that the use of Ca-containing dietary supplements, even low-dose supplements, by older adults may be associated with greater lesion volumes. Evaluation of randomised controlled trials is warranted to determine whether this relationship is a causal one.” What is the mechanism beneath this association? The researchers discussed the already established link between calcium supplementation and increased ischemic stroke risk, indicating that calcium supplementation may contribute to calcium deposits in the vasculature (i.e. arterial calcification), mainly in the fatty deposits (atheromas) that contribute to blocking the opening (lumen) of the blood vessels. They state that this process can lead to lack of blood flow and subsequent oxygen deprivation (ischemia), ultimately leading to the development of brain lesions. Another mechanism by which excess calcium may have a direct neurotoxic effect on the brain is the influx of excess calcium into brain cells, which lead to cell death. This possibility is greatly increased if the blood-brain barrier is compromised. The researchers also highlighted the importance of the finding that calcium supplementation may have as significant a deleterious effect on brain lesions as high blood pressure (hypertension): “If this finding is confirmed in longitudinal studies, it could have important health implications – because it is obviously much easier to cease Ca supplement use than to medically manage hypertension.” In other words, hypertension is often caused by toxic antihypertensive drugs that may actually increase the risk of cardiac mortality . Why not remove one of the modifiable causes: calcium supplementation, which would strike to one of the root causes of the problem and resolve it. The researchers concluded their study as follows: “The use of Ca [calcium] -containing dietary supplements by older adults was found to be associated with greater brain lesion volumes, even after controlling for the usual amount of dietary Ca intake. Interestingly, neither the amount of supplemental Ca nor the duration of supplemental Ca use was associated with lesion volume. These findings indicate that adverse biochemical effects of supplemental Ca use may exist in older adults, regardless of the dose.” So, what do we do instead of taking calcium supplements? First, consider why you think you need calcium supplements. Is it because of the dairy industry promoting for decades the concept that we need calcium (from milk)? Or, is it because your doctor is throwing around terms like osteopenia and osteoporosis carelessly, without explaining to you that the present day bone mineral density (BMD) reference ranges assume that aging is a disease and even if you are 60 or 100 for that matter you are still supposed to have the BMD of a 25-year old young woman; an absurd and dangerous idea. Please read the expose, “ Osteoporosis Myth: The Dangers of High Bone Mineral Density ,” in order to understand how millions of healthy women were made to believe that aging is a disease, with worse health outcomes as a result of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Now, when it comes to calcium, focus on food sources. The site NutritionData.com lists about 1,000 of the highest calcium-containing foods, categorized by food group: Foods highest in Calcium . Also, remember that the accelerated bone loss that occurs later in life in women, is triggered by hormonal changes associated with the exhaustion of the ovarian reserve. Nature, however, provides ‘back up’ support for the ovaries in the form of pomegranate . Other hormone-modulating foods include the fermented soy food miso , prunes , and even vitamin C , which has recently been found to regenerate steroid hormones . For a far more extensive research resource on bone health, you can view our page dedicated to the topic here: Bone Health . © November 2, 2016 GreenMedInfo LLC . This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter . Submit your review | 1real |
Australia Legalizes Medical Marijuana Across The Entire Continent | Share on Facebook Australia has made become the first entire continent to legalise marijuana, after their Parliament took a vote on Wednesday. Australia, with a population of around 23 million has followed several states in the U.S. and decided to decriminalise the use of marijuana. The amendments were made to their Narcotic Drugs Act,which means legal cannabis farms and the distribution of marijuana products will have to governments go-ahead. Sussan Ley, the Minister of Health , said in a statement “This is a historic day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products so genuine patients are no longer treated as criminals," she went on “This is the missing piece in a patient's treatment journey, and [we] will now see seamless access to locally produced medicinal cannabis products from farm to pharmacy.” The details have not been finalised just yet, but it is thought within the next few months patients with a prescription for medical marijuana will be allowed to start growing their crops. This is a huge leap for supporters of legalised marijuana across the world, and hopefully now other continents such as North America and Europe will do the same. Related: | 1real |
Democrats Won’t Have A Chance in 2018 Unless They Start to Do This | The Democrats went down the path of identity politics long ago but it s only gotten worse in the past 8 years of Obama. He was a mater at dividing groups and pitting Americans against each other according to race, sex and gender. Americans figured it out in this past election when they elected Trump. President Trump has been working for ALL Americans!IDENTITY POLITICS=DEMOCRATSTHE NYP REPORTS:Open up the Republican Party Web site and you ll quickly see an article called Principles for American Renewal with 11 broad statements of principle such as this one under immigration: We need an immigration system that secures our borders, upholds the law, and boosts our economy. Scroll down the Democrats home page and you ll find a dull party platform with 93 bullet points and a list of links entitled People. Each link leads to a subgroup: Women. Hispanics. LGBT people. Ethnic Americans. There are 17 different groups, and a different message tailored for each.Republicans offer a vision to unite America. Democrats offer to break it down into pieces.The Democrats are all about divide-and-conquer tactics when what they need is a vision of our shared destiny and the things we all hold in common as Americans. Liberals have become America s ideological third party, lagging behind self-declared independents and conservatives, writes Lilla, a Columbia humanities professor and committed liberal who believes the single most important issue is on-demand access to abortion for women.President Trump sees what a value it is to keep the very divisive Nancy Pelosi: | 1real |
Trump Won Because the Democratic Party Failed, Not Because the White Working Class Revolted | By Arun Gupta / inthesetimes.com
The reckoning is here for progressives and the Democratic Party now that the unthinkable has happened. Most of America, shell-shocked, is asking how Hillary Clinton and the entire Democratic establishment could lose to a woman-bashing, Mexican-deporting, Muslim-hating, white-supremacist-embracing charlatan?
Simple. Trump captured the historical mood with his message of white nationalism and economic populism. Then he threaded an electoral college needle against an atrocious candidate. Clinton has a lead in the roughly 120 million votes cast for the two major-party candidates, while Trump essentially won with some 107,000 votes. That’s his combined margin in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Clinton failed to defend firewall states like Michigan and Wisconsin, devoting huge resources to insurance states like Florida and Ohio. But here is why she really lost: Clinton had close to 9 million fewer votes than Barack Obama did in 2008, and roughly 5 million fewer votes than he did in 2012. There’s no getting around the fact that much of the Democratic base repudiated Clinton.
It is tempting to say Trump won because of FBI Director James Comey’s outrageous letter 11 days before the election that re-opened the email investigation. Nate Silver, one of the few forecasters who gave Trump a significant chance of winning, suggested Comey may have cost Clinton up to 3 points . That additional margin could have helped hand Clinton a decisive win. And if that happened, there would be no soul searching about an angry white revolt against elites.
But Comey never told Clinton to set up a private email server. Just like WikiLeaks never told Clinton to deliver secret speeches to investment banks. “Crooked Hillary” stuck because of the Clintons’ own doings: the emails, their foundation, $22 million in speaking fees, two-faced policy positions. The primaries were a flashing red light warning of these troubles. Bernie Sanders posed a serious challenge to Clinton despite her backing by the entire party establishment. Even then, if she had tapped Sanders to be her running mate, she might have won because of his appeal among millennials.
But instead of tending to the Democratic base demanding single-payer health care, a Green New Deal and free higher education, Clinton veered right with a Democratic National Convention espousing militarism, American exceptionalism and God. This strategy blew up in Clinton’s face. More Democrats voted for Trump than Republicans voted for Clinton .
Plus, Clinton would never pick a social democrat like Sanders because she is neoliberal to the bone. During the 1990s the Clintons erected much of the scaffolding of neoliberalism with NAFTA, the repeal of Glass-Steagall , the Commodity Futures Modernization Act , the media-monopoly-creating Telecommunications Act , ending welfare and passing laws for the mass deportation of immigrants.
The Clintons kicked off a run during which Democrats have owned the White House for 16 of the last 24 years. Instead of countering the Republicans, they have battered the working class—white, brown, Black—who watched as businesses shuttered and communities shriveled. Obama failed to help workers in a meaningful way despite his resounding mandate. He spent his political capital to save Wall Street and design a health care system more beneficial to the for-profit industry than its patients.
Meanwhile, millions lost their homes, sank into joblessness and descended into poverty. People of color generally realize the Republicans were much more hostile to their interests so they stick with the Democrats. But white workers outside a shrinking labor movement didn’t see either party as particularly hospitable to their interests.
That gave Trump an opening. He radically transformed the GOP in a year, turning it into an anti-free trade and anti-interventionist party reluctant to cut retirement programs. His trick was to stoke the right’s racism and misogyny, which is now being portrayed as a regular Joe backlash against arrogant coastal elites.
The racism directed toward Obama helped to form Trump’s foundation, especially the Tea Party and birtherism. But Trumpism is a fluid identity. Obama won Indiana in 2008, a state that was about 84 percent white then, and performed better among nearly every subgroup of whites in his two victories than Clinton did in 2016 . In fact, according to The New York Times’ Nate Cohn , “Clinton suffered her biggest losses in the places where Obama was strongest among white voters. It's not a simple racism story.”
That is true. It is racism, but it’s not simple. Trump took workers’ social and economic ills produced as much by Democrats as by Republicans, and he fed them through a racial grinder to make his alt-white sausage. He created an identity that a majority of the white working class and middle class flocked to. It is racist, but it’s not fixed. And much of this failure to retain a majority of the white working class in the Democratic Party lays with organized labor, which does little organizing beyond get-out-the-vote and contract negotiation campaigns.
Unions have the resources to painstakingly win workers of all stripes over to social-democratic policies. But for that to happen, organized left forces need to push labor hard. As shown by WikiLeaks , many prominent labor leaders suck up to pro-Wall Street Democrats and sideline policies that would show workers government can be a force for good, and not fear, in their lives. And in this election, Clinton held a slim 8-point advantage among voters from a union household. In Ohio, CNN exit polls showed Clinton losing union households by a 12-point margin , a larger margin than she lost non-union households. This is a clear lesson to unions that they have not been listening to their members.
Trump’s victory is a declaration of a social civil war. We know what many of these battles will be, and it’s going to be a dark four years. But just as the Republican Party has been upended, so have the Democrats. The task ahead is to defend those communities and people most at risk from Trumpism, build power where the left does have real potential—cities of all sizes and deep-blue states—and focus on organizing principled, inclusive radical movements that can shift the entire political terrain rather than uselessly pouring energy into the black hole of the Democratic Party.
ARUN GUPTA is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York and has written for dozens of publications including the Washington Post , the Nation , The Progressive , Telesur English , and the Guardian . He is the author of the upcoming Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction: A Junk-Food-Loving Chef’s Inquiry into Taste (The New Press). 0.0 · | 1real |
Ecuador president replaces vice president jailed in Odebrecht probe | QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador s president on Wednesday tapped Urban Development Minister Maria Alejandra Vicuna to replace jailed Jorge Glas as vice president while he is investigated in a corruption scandal centered on Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. In a political drama that has riveted the small Andean country, Glas was jailed on Monday night after prosecutors determined he was linked to the payment of bribes by Odebrecht. He has not been formally charged. Glas, a close ally of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa who served as his vice president and strategic sectors minister, has maintained his innocence and claimed the new administration of President Lenin Moreno is seeking to smear him for political gain. Moreno on Wednesday announced that Vicuna, a low-profile former lawmaker from the ruling Country Alliance party, would take on the role of vice president during Glas temporary absence. The investigation into Glas and his sidelining from the current government has caused a rift between Moreno and his fiery predecessor and onetime mentor Correa, who says Glas is the innocent victim of a political witch hunt. Tensions are due to rise further between the two politicians with Moreno planning a referendum in early 2018 on whether to ban elected politicians from running for indefinite re-election, a move widely seen as aimed at barring Correa from becoming president again. Fallout from the massive Odebrecht corruption saga continues to sweep Latin America. The company, which has admitted to paying bribes to win contracts in a number of countries, has already paid $3.5 billion in settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland. The scandal has embroiled politicians across the region. Glas, 48, was accused by a fugitive former oil minister of being the ringleader of a bribe network in the energy sector. | 0fake |
CBS’s Schieffer Sees ’Parallels’ of Comey Firing to the JFK Assassination - Breitbart | Friday on “CBS This Morning,” CBS News personality Bob Schieffer reacted President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey earlier this week. While many have made comparisons to Trump’s handling of Comey to Watergate, Schieffer said he saw “parallels” to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. “You know, there are many parallels Watergate,” Schieffer explained. “But I have to tell you, I think all the way back to the Kennedy assassination, to draw parallels. I was there, as you know. I have always felt that if Lee Harvey Oswald had been put on trial, a lot of these conspiracy theories that are still circulating today would have been put at rest then. It is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump finds a way to reassure the American people that these questions about Russia are not true if that is his version. He’s got to lay it all out and find ways not just to tweet out every morning the news is being made up by the news media. ” “He’s got to show some proof,” he continued. “He has got to give them some reason to believe that these things are not true. Frankly, unless he is able to do this, this is going to dog his presidency for the rest of his term. Look at what’s happened in Washington right now. It’s come to a complete stop while the country and Washington tries to digest the firing of James Comey. Putting this to rest is not going to be helped by firing the guy who was doing the investigation. Sending these people out to explain the inexplicable is not going to help. He’s making fools of his own staff. The White House appears to be in chaos. It is the original amateur hour as we look at it from the outside. He’s got a lot of work to do, and so far what he has done has not helped in my view. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 0fake |
Error'd: "X" Marks the Spot | Besides contributing at @TheDailyWTF, I write DevDisasters for Visual Studio Magazine, and involved in various side projects including child rearing and marriage.
Dan writes, "This happened when selecting 'see more' under my (Your) recommendations. Maybe there's buried treasure somewhere?"
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Aeden M. writes, "There has to be a threat somewhere on this machine, even the computer thinks it's a possibility."
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Pope Francis: The Virgin Mary Was No ‘Couch Potato’ | In a video message to young Catholics throughout the world, Pope Francis proposed the Virgin Mary as a model of active Christian discipleship, noting that she was no passive “couch potato. ”[The Vatican released the video message on Tuesday in preparation for the next World Youth Day, to be held in Panama in 2019. The Virgin Mary, Francis said, “encourages us with her faith,” when she acknowledged that the “Mighty One has done great things for me. ” She also “knew how to give thanks to God who looked upon her littleness,” he said, and “recognised the great things that God was accomplishing in her life. ” Importantly, the Pope noted, Mary did not sit by idly but “set off to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was old and needed her to be close by. ” “Mary did not stay at home because she was not a young couch potato who looks for comfort and safety where nobody can bother them,” Francis said. “She was moved by faith because faith is at the heart of Our Mother’s entire life story. ” In his message, the Pope told young people that God is watching over and calling them, looking at all the love they are able to offer. “Like the young woman of Nazareth,” he said, “you can improve the world and leave an imprint that makes a mark on history — your history and that of many others. ” “The Church and society need you,” he added. “With your plans and with your courage, with your dreams and ideals, walls of stagnation fall and roads open up that lead us to a better, fairer, less cruel and more humane world. ” The Pope also encouraged young people to cultivate a relationship of familiarity and friendship with Mary as “our Mother,” urging them to speak to her “as you would to a Mother. ” “Together with her,” he said, “give thanks for the precious gift of faith that you have received from your elders, and entrust your whole life to her. She is a good Mother who listens to you and embraces you, who loves you and walks together with you. ” “I assure you that if you do that, you will not regret it,” he said. Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome | 0fake |
U.S. to unveil revised self-driving car guidelines: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration is set to unveil revised self-driving vehicle guidelines next week in Michigan, responding to automakers’ calls for elimination of legal barriers to putting autonomous vehicles on the road, sources briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was expected to unveil the revised guidelines next Tuesday at a self-driving vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, four people briefed on the matter said. A spokesman for Chao did not immediately comment. The White House Office of Management and Budget approved the undisclosed Transportation Department changes to the guidelines on Aug. 31, according a posting on a government website. On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a sweeping proposal to speed deployment of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The measure could help many automakers and tech companies keep their pledges of getting self-driving cars on the market by 2020 or 2021. The House will vote on the bill under fast-track rules that allow no amendments. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators working on similar legislation has not introduced a bill. The bill, passed unanimously by a House panel in July, would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year. Over three years, the cap would rise to 100,000 vehicles annually. The House measure would require automakers to provide regulators with safety assessment reports proposed in the 2016 self-driving guidelines, but would not require pre-market approval of advanced vehicle technologies. Consumer advocates have called for giving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quicker access to crash data and more funding to oversee self-driving cars. Automakers and technology companies, including General Motors Coand Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo, have sought easier federal rules for self-driving technology, while some consumer groups have pushed for more safeguards. The Obama administration issued guidelines for self-driving cars in September 2016, calling on automakers to voluntarily submit details of self-driving vehicle systems in a 15-point “safety assessment” and urging states to defer to the federal government on most vehicle regulations. Automakers raised numerous concerns about the Obama administration guidance, including the suggestion that automakers should submit systems to regulators for review before putting them on the market. Companies including Waymo, GM, Ford Motor Co, Uber Technologies Inc, Tesla Inc and others are aggressively pursuing automated vehicle technologies. | 0fake |
Liberal Students Overwhelmingly Awarded $30K Federal Truman Scholarship - Breitbart | students are overwhelmingly awarded the Truman Scholarship, a federal scholarship granted to U. S. college juniors for demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to public service, according to a survey by The College Fix. [According to the survey, more than a third of Truman Scholarship recipients have ties to Democratic politicians or leftist activist groups. Only several had ties with Republican or organizations. More than 40 of the 112 scholars in 2015 and 2016 have ties to Democratic politicians or liberal groups while less than a handful were found to have worked for Republicans or conservative organizations. Among the 2015 Truman Scholars, at least 26 had either worked for Democratic politicians and administrations, organizations or were members of the College Democrats before or after they were awarded the Truman Scholarship. The Fix identified only two scholars as having ties to Republicans or conservative groups on their resumes. Multiple scholars interned for local and Congressional Democratic lawmakers, as well as at the White House during President Barack Obama’s tenure. Scholar Frank Smith was a fellow for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Another, Katherine Hamilton, worked on Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Others worked for think tanks and advocacy groups such as the Brookings Institute, Planned Parenthood, Feminist Majority Foundation, NAACP and Urban Institute. The survey revealed that 16 recipients had worked for Democratic candidates, while only two had worked for Republicans. When asked about the discrepancy, Andrew Rich, the executive director of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation claimed that the foundation doesn’t discriminate based upon an applicant’s political activity. “We’re really focused on what they’ve done by way of service and then their engagement with leadership around it. It’s fairly infrequent that it’s political,” Rich said. “Most [scholars] aren’t very political at all. ” “In all honesty, I mean, we do see both intellectual and ideological variety among our applicant pool. To the extent that there’s less … one direction or another, it really has to do with the schools are sending our direction,” he said. Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com | 0fake |
‘WHO’S SPYING ON US?’: Bundy Militia FLIPS Over ‘Hidden’ Cameras In Plain View (VIDEO) | The armed militants occupying federal property in Oregon still haven t been arrested but they are absolutely continuing to do damage. Unsatisfied with tearing down fences and building roads, disrupting the delicate ecosystem, Y all Qaeda is on a hunt for something even more dangerous to humanity than a tyrannical bird sanctuary: cameras.The pretend militia chose perhaps the only person whose hands aren t covered with some of the 55 gallons of lube a good samaritan sent them to climb a ladder and investigate the creepy science box.The box itself, which has a sticker reading SCADA CIRCUIT 10 on the outside, doesn t try to hide what it is. SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition, as a simple Google search can tell you, but these folks apparently lack the computer expertise needed to do more than visit World Net Daily s website. There s also a blinking red light, an antenna, and a WiFi in use sticker. In other words, it is very clearly a not-so-hidden camera.While most would expect cameras to cover a federal wildlife preserve, the Armed and Stupid were completely taken aback by this development. The militiaman up the pole struggled to open the housing, so he solved the problem in the traditional Bundy way by hitting it with something. What s that look like to you, he yelled to his posse. This is United States federal government surveillance. Welcome to America. I m tellin you! Who s spying on us? a woman yelled, as though the cameras were in place simply to keep an eye on them. Your federal government, Utility Pole Guy replied. Wake up people. Ammon Bundy, a product of generations and generations of inbreeding, shared his thoughts on the matter: This tells me that, uh, the government wants to be oppressive. They gotta watch us, control us, and use these things to do that with. This is not what it means to be free. A free people does not need to be watched. A free people needs to be left alone. Wake up America, Bundy said. Let s get our freedom back, adding that the cameras are a sophisticated piece of equipment though to be fair, a spoon is a sophisticated piece of equipment to Bundy.The Bundy terrorists then dismantled the cameras because they re sick of being spied on as they illegally occupy property that is nowhere close to theirs. Then, of course, they were off to hunt for more signs of government oppression.The footage of the Bundy idiots discovering that cameras exist is downright hilarious. Of course, there s always the possibility that the cameras are not government cameras at all. There s also the possibility that the cameras belong to the electric company, since they seem to be pointed directly at a substation located near the property, Winning Democrats Charles Topher notes. Wouldn t that be a hoot. In any case, this monumental display of stupidity is hilarious to see:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvCAxGmDq9k&w=640&h=360]Featured image via screengrab | 1real |
Hillary Unleashes BRUTAL Rant On Trump Supporter Calling Her Husband A Rapist (VIDEO) | Hillary Clinton has had it with Donald Trump s rude, offensive supporters and the numerous intimidation tactics they try to use against her and the rest of the country.On Tuesday night, Clinton was holding a rally at Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park in Fort Lauderdale when a Trump supporter shouted, Bill Clinton is a rapist! over and over, disrupting her speech. As Clinton s supporters tried to drown out the Trump lover by shouting Clinton s name, the Democratic nominee reacted and went off on the protester, delivering the perfect rant while pointing right at the man. She said: You know, I am sick and tired of the negative, dark, divisive, dangerous vision and behavior from people who support Donald Trump. It is time for us to say no, we are not going backwards, we re going forward into a brighter future. The protester, who was completely unharmed during this entire incident, was taken out of the rally by security. But before he left, Clinton left the Trump supporter (and anyone else like him) with this parting wisdom: You may be angry about something, but anger is not a plan. Don t be used. Don t be exploited. You can watch Clinton unload on the Trump supporter below:The protester in the video was likely causing issues at Clinton s event not because he actually believes that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is a rapist but because the website InfoWars has offered to pay anyone shouting Bill Clinton is a rapist at a Clinton rally a hefty reward of $5,000. Yes, these are the desperate tactics conservatives are using to try to bring Clinton down as she crushed Trump in the polls. It s unfortunate and nearly pointless for them it s costing them tons of money to continue smearing her name, and none of it is working.Featured image via Joe Raedle / Getty Images | 1real |
The Comey Confrontation: In Our New Third-World America, Corruption Is A Feature, Not A Bug | 1real | |
Retired Colonel BLASTS Trump’s ‘Amateur’ Demand That Navy Sailors Support GOP Legislation (VIDEO) | Donald Trump made a plea to naval officers at a ceremony recently, practically begging them to support him politically and it s landed him in hot water. According to retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, the move was completely amateur and grossly inexperienced. Trump had made this disgusting display while he dedicated the USS Gerald R. Ford. He completely went off message by demanding that the military audience support his extremely unpopular, unethical health care bill, which would strip health care from 22 million people and cut Medicaid drastically. In his speech, Trump subjected his audience to his truly embarrassing behavior when he said: Call those senators to make sure you get health care. This morning on MSNBC s AMJoy, Wilkerson blasted Trump for this blatantly inappropriate message at the military event. When host Joy-Ann Reid asked Wilkerson what he thought of Trump asking the troops to support his political agenda, Wilkerson issued this brutal takedown during the show: This is just another indication that this man is grossly inexperienced. He s an amateur, he doesn t know what he s doing, he doesn t know the law, he doesn t know custom, he doesn t know protocol. You don t tell your troops, as commander-in-chief, to do something political. You can watch this moment below:COL. WILKERSON on this #Trump clip: It s just another indication that this man is grossly inexperienced. #AMJoy https://t.co/1ncYcVGzVb AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) July 23, 2017For a retired Army Colonel to note his own disgust with Trump s ridiculous authoritarian style of leadership is major. Trump sees nothing wrong with asking everyone to bend to his will and follow him without question or resistance, despite the fact that Trump s agenda and presidency is as unpopular as it s ever been. Colonel Wilkerson knows exactly how dangerous leaders like Trump can be, and America should listen to his words.Featured image via Getty Images | 1real |
WATCH: “HANOI JANE” FONDA Had Chance To Expose Sexual Predator Harvey Weinstein One Year Ago…The Reason DIDN’T Is LAUGHABLE | Speaking to Bill Maher about her participation in the Women s March in DC, Hanoi Jane Fonda remarked about her ability to use her celebrity to express her hate for Donald Trump to the masses. Fonda told Maher that one of the benefits of being a celebrity is that you can bring attention to things that need to be addressed, she then went on to refer to President Trump as the Predator in Chief . Of course, Hanoi Jane had no evidence whatsoever to back up such a hideous claim, yet, she made the claim anyhow. As it turns out, Hanoi Jane actually knew about a certain sexual predator who actually assaulted a much younger actress only one year ago. That younger actress was Rosana Arquette, who shared her horrible experience with the celebrity Jane Fonda. Fonda, who bragged about having so much power to bring attention to important issues, did absolutely nothing about it.Hypocrite Hanoi Jane would rather stay mum about an actual sexual predator who was harming so many young women in her industry, than risk being ostracized in Hollywood. It was better to just stick to the hate Trump script and get along with the other sickening hypocrites in Hollywood than to expose a serial sexual predator who should ve been stopped years ago if there weren t so many self-serving and shallow human beings running around Hollywood. Watch:Hanoi Jane s very comfortable trashing President Trump who she believes can t hurt her career, but when it comes to the mega-Democrat donor, and Hollywood kingpin producer, Harvey Weinstein, all bets are off.. Daily Mail- Jane Fonda has admitted she found out last year that Harvey Weinstein had been sexually harassing Hollywood women and is ashamed she didn t speak up earlier.Watch: I only met Harvey when I was old," @Janefonda tells me. "And Harvey goes for young, because that s more vulnerable. pic.twitter.com/RbrjxCFU6w Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) October 12, 2017More than 30 women have now come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the Hollywood producer who was once described as the God of the film industry.The accusations, including from some of the world s most famous actresses, range from inappropriate massages to rape and date back nearly three decades.While Fonda says she wasn t harassed by Weinstein, she was told of his abuse last year by one of his victims.I found out about Harvey a year ago and I m ashamed I didn t say anything back then, she told CNN s Christiane Amanpour in an interview to air Friday.She was informed of Weinstein s transgressions by Rosanna Arquette one of the many women who have since spoken out against the movie mogul. It came as a shock and a great disappointment, Fonda said. I only met Harvey when I was old and Harvey goes for young because that s more vulnerable. She added that she was proud of the victims for speaking out but it wasn t a unique or isolated case and specifically mentioned Bill Cosby s history. This is not unique, this goes on at the most horrendous high levels, she said. I m glad it s coming out, I m so proud of those fellow actors that are speaking up. I know that it has taken a long time. It is a very, very, very hard thing to do. You don t get anything out of it as the person who has been victimized but it is important that it come out. For the list of women who have come forward claiming to be victims of Dirty Harvey, go here. | 1real |
MSNBC’S MARK HALPERIN Exposed As Sex Predator By 5 Women…MSNBC Gives Slap On The Wrist | Mark Halperin has been accused by 5 different women of disgusting behavior while he was head of ABC News. Some of the things he s been accused of by the women are so disgusting and predatory. He repeatedly rubbed his genitals on 3 different women that was his mojo. He is a special kind of arrogant jerk who preyed on young women using his authority. He got a suspension from MSNBC until they can sort this all out Get the barf bucket out, this guy is a disgusting pig:Longtime political journalist Mark Halperin is out at MSBNC following accusations that he sexually harassed five women while head of ABC News. We find the story and the allegations very troubling. Mark Halperin is leaving his role as a contributor until the questions around his past conduct are fully understood, MSNBC told Fox News in a statement.Halperin, the co-author of best-selling book Game Change, was accused in a CNN report of groping the women in the 2000s while he worked as ABC News political director.The women told CNN that the 52-year-old reporter propositioned them for sex, grabbed their breasts and rubbed his erection on three of them. They said they did not report Halperin.One woman said she visited Halperin in his ABC office in the early 2000s when he forced himself on her. I went up to have a soda and talk and he just kissed me and grabbed my boobs, the woman said. I just froze. I didn t know what to do. Another victim was around 25 years old when she approached Halperin for a gig during the 2004 campaign. The first meeting I ever had with him was in his office and he just came up from behind I was sitting in a chair from across his desk and he came up behind me and [while he was clothed] he pressed his body on mine, his penis, on my shoulder, the woman said.DISGUSTING PIG!Read more if you dare: NYP | 1real |
Feds Find Local Police Willing Partners in Surveillance State | "A man must keep a little back shop where he can be himself without reserve. In solitude alone can he know true freedom." — Michel de Montaigne
If Montaigne is correct, then there are millions of Americans who do not know true freedom.
As reported by The Atlantic on October 19: "If you’re reading this in the United States, there’s a 50 percent chance that a photo of your face is in at least one database used in police facial-recognition systems."
Do the math: the collusion of local police and the federal surveillance state has placed greater than 117 million Americans under the never-blinking eye of the government. From the Atlantic article: Police departments in nearly half of U.S. states can use facial-recognition software to compare surveillance images with databases of ID photos or mugshots. Some departments only use facial-recognition to confirm the identity of a suspect who’s been detained; others continuously analyze footage from surveillance cameras to determine exactly who is walking by at any particular moment.
Of course, the federal Department of Homeland Security offers billions in taxpayer dollars to local and state law enforcement in the form of grants awarded for the purchase of sophisticated surveillance equipment, including perhaps the most pernicious and potentially threatening to liberty: facial recognition software.
From license plate readers to facial-recognition software, from surveillance cameras to cellphone signal trackers, the Department of Homeland Security is providing police with all the gadgets, hardware, and software necessary to keep everybody under surveillance, without the targeted public ever realizing that it’s the Capital, not the cops, that are behind the monitoring.
The technology employed in these devices is astonishingly advanced. For example, a facial recognition product in use by social-media giant Facebook — as well as by dozens of law-enforcement agencies nationwide — is so advanced it sounds almost like science fiction: Using a “nine-layer deep neural network,” the software known as DeepFace uses “more than 120 million parameters” to recreate the user’s face and then scans millions of photos to match the face to the person.
The ability of cash-strapped local law-enforcement agencies to deploy such sophisticated software depends on the largesse of the federal DHS.
According to a report issued by the DHS to Congress, between the fiscal years 2008 and 2014, the DHS doled out more than $9.4 billion in assistance for the fighting of "terrorism" at home. How much of this was spent specifically on facial recognition software is not revealed, although as most such purchases are made through grants under the DHS's Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), the report reveals that nearly $3.4 billion was sent from the feds to local law enforcement from 2008-2014.
In the section of the report highlighting the "successes" of the LETPP, a state-by-state analysis of how the money is being spent is provided, with nearly every state synopsis containing a mention of the facial recognition "advancements" made possible by the DHS.
Here's a sample from the digest for how Illinois is spending its federal funds: Operation Virtual Shield (OVS) is a program implemented in the City of Chicago, Illinois, that created the most extensive video surveillance network in the United States by linking more than 3,000 surveillance cameras to a centralized monitoring system that captures and processes camera feeds in real time. It is able to detect suspicious or dangerous activity and identify its location, and now incorporates facial recognition.
Did you catch that? Surveillance cameras feed images to an "extensive video surveillance network" linking more than "3,000 surveillance cameras to a centralized monitoring system" in real time.
Thanks to Homeland Security and the willingness of state legislators in the Land of Lincoln to surrender their sovereignty (and violate their Article VI oath) in exchange for membership in the massive surveillance system, a network administered by the federal government, citizens of Illinois are now under constant, real-time surveillance by watchers in Washington, D.C.
In a study conducted by Georgetown University and released to the public earlier in October, it was discovered that Of the 52 agencies that acknowledged using face recognition in response to 106 records requests, the authors found that only one had obtained legislative approval before doing so. Government reports have long confirmed that millions of images of citizens are collected and stored in federal face recognition databases. Since at least 2002, civil liberties advocates have raised concerns that millions of drivers license photos of Americans who have never been arrested are being subject to facial searches — a practice that amounts to a perpetual digital lineup. This report augments such fears, demonstrating that at least one in four state or local law enforcement agencies have access to face recognition systems.
The short version of that is that when any American goes in to get a driver's license, the picture taken by the DMV is instantly uploaded to a server owned and operated by the federal government. This creates, as the report describes it, a "perpetual digital lineup" of millions of Americans who have never been accused or even suspected of committing a crime, steps essential to the administration of due process, a protection of personal liberty that has been a key part of Anglo-American liberty since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215!
Notice, too, that local law enforcement is conducting all this vicarious federal surveillance without any oversight or permission from the elected representatives of the people. In other words, the people have no say in this practice of involuntarily submitting their photos to surveillance databases, thus the practice is not a valid exercise of legislative power, as the only legitimate basis for law is the consent of the governed.
In 1815, Benjamin Constant made a timely and timeless observation about the necessity of due process and its relation to the perpetuation of liberty: However imperfect due process, it has a protective faculty which cannot be removed without destroying it. It is the natural enemy and the unyielding foe of tyranny, whether popular or otherwise. As long as due process subsists, courts will put in despotism's path a resistance, more or less generous, but which always serves to contain it....There is in due process something lofty and unambiguous which forces judges to act respectably and follow a just and orderly course.
Sadly, this joint venture between the federal government and local law enforcement to deprive all Americans of their precious due process protections is not limited to those two powerful partners. As reported in Time magazine, shopping centers are getting into the unwarranted surveillance game as well, collecting images of shoppers' faces and license plates while they visit the mall: "Homeland Security is working with a number of retailers to test facial recognition software that would flag people with criminal records, ABC News reports. Shopping malls are also testing out software that will scan license plates in the parking lot and notify security if they are registered to anyone on the terrorist watch list."
What is the answer to the rapid expansion of the federal surveillance dragnet and to the disturbing trend among local government and retailers to help pull it into new corners of coverage?
Americans must exercise their natural sovereignty and demand that local law enforcement seek legislative permission before participating in any surveillance program, and the people must hold lawmakers accountable for their adherence to their oaths of office, particularly the part relating to upholding the Constitution. | 1real |
One more demonetisation death; stone-pelter commits suicide after being out of work for 9 days | One more demonetisation death; stone-pelter commits suicide after being out of work for 9 days Posted on Tweet ( Image via intoday.in )
Ninth day into demonetisation and the death toll has reached 48. These are confirmed deaths reported on Huffington Post India. The number of unreported deaths may be higher if we can link all deaths in the past 10 years to demonetization. While most deaths are of elderly waiting in long bank queues as their sons and daughters patiently waited at home for the news channels to arrive and interview them, there are quite a few suicides, the latest being an innocent stone-pelter in Kashmir who was forced to take the drastic step owing to financial constraints.
While Modi was engaged in a chit-chat with Bill Gates over a cup of tea yesterday, Yakub Ali, a stone- pelter by profession had put an end to his life after he ran out of valid currencies. Sources say he was distressed as his employer urged him to accept 500 and 1000 rupee notes and resume the noble work he was associated with.
“But I can only exchange 4000 rupees,” implored Mr. Ali as his employer gave him a bundle of currency notes in 500 denomination.
“Yes, but you can deposit the rest in your account.”
“But do you know how long the queues are? It takes hours to reach the counter.”
“Here,” he handed him a memory card.
“What is it?”
“Jodha Akbar by Ashutosh Gowariker. I have copied the file in it. By the time it gets over, you should reach the counter, but if you still don’t then there is one more file in it as backup.”
“And which file is it?”
“Sri Lanka’s national anthem. Now go and deposit the money in your account.”
He went to the nearest bank branch and saw the queue. He already heard about people dying in bank queues.
“Let’s deposit the money,” his friend suggested.
“But have you seen the queue? We might die before reaching the counter.”
“But if that happens, you will at least feature on Huffington Post.”
“Do you realize how embarrassing the headline would be for us? Terrorist dies while standing in bank queue.”
“Then what would you do?”
“I will commit suicide. There are better facilities in heaven than a bank queue. And I will feature on the front page anyway.”
The news of his death has cast a gloom over the proceedings of some of the news channels. The journalists abandoned their interviews with politicians in the disguise of traders and hurriedly aired the news, demanding an answer from the Prime Minister.
We tried to contact Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi but they were not available for comments. Sources reveal that they have already left for Kashmir to meet the bereaved family members of the deceased. | 1real |
GOP Sen Lee: Gorsuch ’The Kind of Judge We Want’ - Breitbart | During an interview on CNN on Tuesday, Senator Mike Lee ( ) praised Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch as “the kind of judge we want sitting on the US Supreme Court,” and “an outstanding judge, and extraordinary. There’s no one better. ” Lee said, “This is an outstanding nominee. I’ve argued in front of this judge, when he was sitting on the 10th Circuit, where he now sits. He’s an outstanding judge, and extraordinary. There’s no one better. He’s the kind of judge every lawyer wants to argue in front of, because he’s the kind of judge who reads every opinion, every brief, every citation. And he seeks to decide each case on the basis of the law and facts in front of him. This is the kind of judge we want sitting on the US Supreme Court, someone who reads the law in an effort to decide what it says, rather than what he wishes it said. ” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 0fake |
BREAKING: Acting FBI Director McCabe Contradicts White House, Says Russian Probe Will Continue | Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified today in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. When asked if the rank and file employees of the law enforcement agency, he said, Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the F.B.I. and still does to this day. The vast majority of F.B.I. employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey, McCabe went on to say, It has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to have worked with him. When asked about the current investigation into any ties between the Trump campaign, McCabe said that the agency considers this investigation to be very important and serious. As to what impact Comey s firing will have on the investigation, he said, The work of the men and women of the FBI continues despite any changes in circumstances, he said in response to a question from Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida. There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date. Simply put, you cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing. Given what the White House has said this week, both areas are important. Yesterday, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the press that the reason Comey was fired was because, among other things, that he had lost the confidence of the agents there. One reason many believe President Trump fired Comey, and no one believes anyone but Trump made this decision, because he thought it might slow down the investigation. It now appears neither of those ideas are true.Featured image via Alex Wong/ Getty Images. | 1real |
George Takei’s Latest Twitter Poem Roasts Trump’s Idiotic North Korea Statement To Perfection (TWEET) | George Takei has been on a social media role since the start of the Trump era, providing astute commentary with a brilliant wit that has made him beloved to millions. His latest Twitter poem something he does fairly often might be one of my favorite posts of his yet.Here it is:The crisis has grown very direTrump threatens with fury and fireSo before war's begunAgainst Kim Jong-unWe'd better make Donnie retire George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 9, 2017 The crisis has grown very dire Trump threatens with fury and fire So war s begun Against Kim Jong-un We d better make Donnie retire I d say we re all thinking something pretty similar! Or, at least, according to the latest polling, an overwhelming majority of us are (sorry Trump fans, but those are the facts).Here are a few of his other latest Twitter poems:You tweet us ad nauseumMueller's not tricked cause of 'emSo tweet your memoirsDuring years behind barsYou no doubt'll serve lots of 'em George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 8, 2017Happy Bday oh dearest ObamaThanks for 8 yrs of no dramaFor your wisdom and strengthFor sparing no lengthAnd no daily national trauma George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 5, 2017Things just went south in a hurryNow that they've sat a grand jurySubpoenas galoreI've popcorn. Want more?As karma unleashes its fury. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 4, 2017Putin tried this n that hackeeInstalling a personal lackeyIt's since come to passWe sanctioned his assWhile Trump is increasingly wacky George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 2, 2017Keep it up, George! You can bet it pisses Trump off every time he sees one, considering how thin his skin is.Read more:Featured image via Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for GLAAD | 1real |
A Wrenching Decision Where Black History and Floods Intertwine - The New York Times | PRINCEVILLE, N. C. — Betty Cobb’s house is a shell nearly two months after floodwaters went halfway up the walls of her home. Volunteers have ripped out moldy wallboard. Two small chandeliers hung over the bones of the living and dining rooms, the furniture and the carpeting long gone. On the kitchen counter lay a patchwork of family photographs, their vibrant colors washed away, and a book — “Hurricane Floyd and the Flood of the Century” — saved from the water. Hurricane Floyd, which roared through here in 1999, was supposed to be just that: a event that caused flooding the likes of which this town’s residents would never see again. But that perception was shattered in early October when Hurricane Matthew barreled inland and sent water pouring around a levee built along the Tar River and into the town, inundating hundreds of homes, including Ms. Cobb’s. Seventeen years ago, Ms. Cobb decided to rebuild, here in a town that has a special place in American history. Princeville, population 2, 100, is believed to be the oldest town chartered by freed slaves, who founded a community that has survived numerous floods and the Jim Crow era. It remains 96 percent black. Ms. Cobb, 69, is now considering a question looming over many homeowners: After two devastating floods, does she want the option to sell her home to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, something that the town’s leaders voted down in 1999, fearing it would lead to the end of their community? “This is home, this is what I know,” said Ms. Cobb, who was leaning toward staying but worried about taking out a loan to rebuild. “I really don’t know. ” A number of residents have expressed an interest in selling to FEMA, which would prevent anyone from building again on their land and lead to a reduction in the town’s tax base. The town’s four commissioners will vote at some point on whether to make that available to residents (the mayor votes in case of a tie). They can also consider elevation of homes and reconstruction of damaged ones. Residents on the nation’s coasts and along inland waterways have assessed storm damage and wondered if they should relocate — a painful and fairly uncommon form of hazard mitigation known as retreat. Here, the consideration has a wrenching historical dimension. This is where a freed slave, Turner Prince, established Freedom Hill in 1865, which became Princeville 20 years later, a town where extended families have proudly lived for generations. And many of them are determined to rebuild. This stretch along the Tar River is no stranger to flooding, and some say that it is probably the reason that were able to settle the land in the first place. White landowners in the 19th century did not want it. “Their existence in this space was not a matter of chance or choice, but instead the discarded and unwanted space was what former slaveholders allowed them to occupy,” Richard M. Mizelle, Jr. an associate professor of history at the University of Houston, wrote earlier this year, tying Princeville’s location to environmental racism — the relegation of black people to land and hazardous areas that expose them to greater levels of pollution. But many people are proud of what they have built here, and how it has endured. “The freed slaves made it what it is,” said Mayor Bobbie Jones, 55, who wants the levee improved and opposes the buyouts and hopes residents who want to leave will first seek private buyers, perhaps like himself. “If we decide to allow individuals to participate in the buyout, it will have a devastating effect,” Mr. Jones said, standing in front of more than 100 residents at a recent meeting. Other towns like Eatonville, Fla. which was incorporated in 1887, still exist today. Many others have faded, like Nicodemus, Kan. which has about 25 residents, or Blackdom, N. M. which was abandoned after a drought. “I’m fighting so hard to make sure that Princeville is not one of the casualties,” Mr. Jones said. “It would be a devastating tragedy, not only for me, but for the world. ” Still, residents like Angela 46, want at least the option to move beyond this land. “That history will never be lost,” said Ms. whose small white house filled with floodwater after Matthew. The town’s founders, she said, would have settled safer land if they had the chance. “I really believe that they would want better for us,” Ms. said. In 1967, the Army Corps of Engineers completed a levee that held off floods until Hurricane Floyd’s sent water over its top, forcing harrowing rooftop rescues — including Mr. Jones’s — and damaging or ruining nearly every home here. The town leadership rejected taking buyouts at that time and instead chose to rebuild the town and fix the levee. Last year, the Corps of Engineers completed another proposal to extend the levee, which officials with the corps say would have at least reduced the latest destruction, but it has not been funded. The flood inundated community pillars like the school and the fire station — which is currently operating out of a tent — and left residents displaced and streets still piled with debris. “So many people have lost so much, and we’ll have to start all over again,” Linda Worsley, 66, a retired telephone company analyst, said as she picked up the mail at her uninhabitable home even as it was being demolished. Ms. Worsley is determined to rebuild on land that has been in her family since her grandfather, a sharecropper, and his brother bought it in the 1920s. Ms. Worsley, who as a commissioner voted against buyouts in 1999, said residents should have the option this time, although she hopes few people will take them. “I have always been proud to say that I was from Princeville,” Ms. Worsley said, adding, “To just lose all of that, it would be like Princeville is another lost colony. ” It was her job to organize the town’s Christmas parade, which was scheduled for last Saturday but had to be canceled. Instead, Ms. Worsley and her neighbors gathered at the Quality Inn in Tarboro, which is across the Tar River from Princeville, for a lunch of pulled pork, chicken and green beans. So many displaced residents are staying at the hotel while they await FEMA trailers that it has become a stop for the school bus, its lobby a town square for Princeville residents. Mary Alston, a volunteer from Cary, N. C. put the question to Ms. Worsley and two of her friends, “Are y’all going to stay or … ” “I’m going to stay,” Annette Waller, 60, said. “Oh yes,” Brenda Hunter said, “I’m going to stay in Princeville,” and talk at the table turned to demolition, duct work and how long it would take to return home. Others in the hotel have decided to leave. David Birth, 70, a retired machine operator, whose home on Main Street was destroyed, said he had already bought land in Tarboro and would live there, in a trailer. “When the first flood came, it took the first house,’’ he said. “The second flood took this one. I’m not going to let my grandchildren be in the same situation. ” For now, many families are waiting: waiting to see how far flood insurance goes, what FEMA will offer, and what the town decides. Back at Ms. Cobb’s house, as volunteers carted away wheelbarrows filled with wallboard, Ms. Cobb’s daughter, Regina, 48, looked across the street where trees hide the Tar River. If it were up to her, she said, she would leave, although she said she would support her mother’s decision. “We were supposed to be on a flood plain, and we only made it through 17 years,” Regina Cobb said. “That river isn’t going anywhere. ” | 0fake |
Is It Really Wise For The President To Be Giving Out His Personal Cellphone Number? | Most of us tend to be quite selective about who we give our phone number to so you would instantly assume that the President of the United States would guard his personal cell number with a great deal of secrecy too. Well, apparently that isn t the case.In yet another break from convention, President Donald Trump has been handing out his personal cellphone number to world leaders, telling them to call him directly, raising security concerns in the White House. Even if it is just for conversations with other world leaders, it s still more than a little hypocritical of President Trump to be using a personal phone when he has spent a great deal of time and energy berating Hillary Clinton for using a private email server while she was Secretary of State, claiming the practice left her vulnerable when sending confidential information and leading to chants of Lock her up! from Trump supporters while on the presidential campaign.According to both former and current unnamed US officials, President Trump has urged the leaders of Mexico and Canada to call him on his personal number, however, only Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken him up on the offer. Furthermore, according to an unnamed French official, Trump also swapped phone numbers with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, when the two spoke immediately after Macron s victory earlier in May.Although it doesn t seem that crazy to think that world leaders might hit each other up on their cells, leader-to-leader calls generally follow a standard protocol. In the case of US Presidents, calls are usually placed on one of several secure phone lines, including those in the White House Situation Room, the Oval Office or the presidential limousine. According to national security experts, Trump using his cellphone for such calls puts him at an extremely high risk of being listened in on, particularly by foreign governments. If you are speaking on an open line, then it s an open line, meaning those who have the ability to monitor those conversations are doing so, said Derek Chollet, a former Pentagon adviser and National Security Council official. If someone is trying to spy on you, then everything you re saying, you have to presume that others are listening to it. A perfect example of this practice was when Edward Snowden leaked that the US was monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel s cell in back in 2013, despite Germany being an American ally. If you are Macron or the leader of any country and you get the cellphone number of the president of the United States, it s reasonable to assume that they d hand it right over to their intel service, said Ashley Deeks, a law professor at the University of Virginia and former assistant legal adviser for political-military affairs in the U.S. State Department.Giving your personal number out when you re a New York City real estate mogul is obviouslyly common practice, but Trump should probably find another way to make his deals now that he is President of the United States.Featured image via Brian Blanco/Getty Images | 1real |
LEFTIST ALAN COLMES THINKS WE SHOULD STOP “USING” THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT SPORTING EVENTS | Remember when the left would have been ashamed to say singing The Star Spangled Banner was considered a false display of patriotism? Jamie Foxx is being heavily criticized for his performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at Saturday night s fight. How about stopping this false display of patriotism altogether? What does two people beating the bejesus out of each other have to do with the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air ?Here s racist Jamie Foxx s version of The Star Spangled Banner In fact, what does this song have to do with today s America in the first place? The melody is based on an old English drinking song, has images of war, and is impossible to sing. And, contrary to what one might think based on exposure to it, the last two words are not play ball! In the case of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, the anthem and the whole event celebrated and rewarded an abuser of women. At least seven assaults against five women have resulted in citations, not to mention other times police were called but no charges were filed. We re glorifying a violent sport and using our national anthem to sanctify it.Let s once and for all confine this song to military exercises and classrooms. Better yet, let s choose a better national anthem, like America the Beautiful or This Land Is Your Land. Here s an even better idea: Since we re a nation of immigrants, how about America from West Side Story, which would also celebrate a great American composer, Leonard Bernstein? And let s hope Mr. Mayweather takes some of his millions and donates it to women s shelters.Via: Huffington Post | 1real |
Hannity Predicts Book Deal, MSNBC Contributorship and Maddow, Colbert, Maher Bookings for Comey - Breitbart | Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Sean Hannity sounded off on former FBI Director James Comey in his opening monologue on the heels of an announcement the Department of Justice was appointing a special prosecutor to investigate potential ties between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia. Hannity said he expected Comey, who was fired last week by Trump, to have multiple opportunities given a memo he penned that was leaked to The New York Times about his meeting with Trump had potentially spurred this appointment of a special prosecutor. “Now James Comey — he didn’t do his job,” Hannity said. “He got fired. Now he’s a bitter partisan and he’s out for blood. He’s a disgruntled fired . And frankly, anything he has to say for himself in a memo — well first, it is his word versus Trump, but it is meaningless. Donald Trump is not getting impeached over this. And it’s only a matter of time — what did I say after he got fired? Comey will get a dollar book deal, a movie, a primetime special — Diane Sawyer, or why not George Stephanopoulos? Why not go totally in for the Clintons and probably a MSNBC contributorship? He wants to be booked on Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher — the biggest Trump haters in the country. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 0fake |
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