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BOOM: Canada And Mexico Cave Ahead Of Trump Presidency: They Are Ready To Renegotiate NAFTA Trade Deal | Well, that didn’t take long.
Just two days after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, his purported fear-mongering rhetoric is already starting to pay dividends.
Trump ran on a platform of better trade deals and bringing jobs back to America and world leaders, despite their many outcries, were paying attention.
As Joe Joseph reports, both Mexico and Canada have agreed to re-negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) signed under President Clinton.
You have the Canadian Prime Minister and his Mexican counterpart that are now saying, “hey buddies… hey United States… we want to renegotiate NAFTA.”
…Maybe, just maybe, we might actually have a little bit of justice… he hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet .
| 1real |
Florida's Puerto Ricans strongly favor Clinton: poll | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Florida’s rapidly growing Puerto Rican population heavily favors Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, according to a poll released on Wednesday by groups with links to the Democrats. Seventy-four percent of Puerto Ricans now registered to vote in Florida said they would likely pick Clinton in the Nov. 8 election, versus 17 percent for Trump, according to the poll from the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Latino Decisions. Puerto Ricans, who traditionally lean toward voting Democratic in Florida, are a big enough group to swing the closely-fought state. Florida, the third-largest state in the country in terms of electoral college votes needed to win the White House, has seen an influx of people from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as the Caribbean island’s economy has floundered in recent years. More than one million Puerto Ricans now live in Florida, according to the Pew Research Center, making up about 5 percent of the total population. The Center for American Progress Action Fund is a progressive non-partisan organization that has been critical of Trump in the past. Latino Decisions has consulted for the Clinton campaign. Florida is currently too close to call between Clinton and Trump, according to the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project, and both candidates have been focusing their campaigns there heading into the election. Trump angered many Hispanics when he launched his campaign last year by calling some Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers, and his hardline immigration policies have done little to attract Latino voters. The poll did not gauge the level of eligible Puerto Rican voters who have registered in Florida, an important measure given historically low Latino turnout. Latino voter registration lagged white and African-American voters in the 2014 congressional elections by 12 to 15 percentage points nationally, according to the U.S. Census. But it said Puerto Rican voters now registered in Florida appeared motivated. Some 84 percent said they would definitely vote, with another 14 percent saying they would probably do so. Only 2 percent said they definitely would not. The poll included 504 registered Puerto Rican voters in Florida with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. It was conducted from Sept. 17 to Sept. 26. | 0fake |
LISTEN: Clinton ‘Crime Family’ EXPOSED By Veteran FBI Assistant Director | LISTEN: Clinton ‘Crime Family’ EXPOSED By Veteran FBI Assistant Director Posted on October 30, 2016 by Shae Weatherall in Politics Share This
On the heels of the FBI announcing its renewed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, Veteran FBI Assistant Director and wiretap expert James Kallstrom is speaking out. In his statements, Kallstrom exposes the Clintons as being a “crime family,” adding credence to the long list of allegations against them for unethical and illegal activities throughout the last several decades. Hillary and Bill Clinton sharing a secret, Former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom (inset).
During an interview with radio host John Catsimatidis, former FBI Assistant Director in Charge, New York Division, James Kallstrom, came forward with some serious statements about the Clinton family. According to Kallstrom, the FBI’s original investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails was impeded by the Department of Justice and other top officials in our government. However, now that the case has been reopened, he is apparently seeing it as an opportunity to add his expert opinion and his own insider knowledge of the situation.
The Hill has provided a partial transcript of Kallstrom’s remarks:
“ The Clintons, that’s a crime family, basically ,” Kallstrom said. “ It’s like organized crime. I mean the Clinton Foundation is a cesspool .”
“ The problem here is this investigation was never a real investigation ,” he said. “ That’s the problem. They never had a grand jury empanelled, and the reason they never had a grand jury empanelled, I’m sure, is Loretta Lynch would not go along with that .”
“ The agents are furious with what’s going on, I know that for a fact ,” he said.
Listen as former FBI Asst. Director Kallstrom speaks about why he supports Donald Trump as president and explains how he knows that Hillary Clinton would be a devastating choice to lead America.
Among the many statements he made during the full ten-minute interview , perhaps this one was the most profound:
“ It’s just outrageous how Hillary Clinton sold her office for money. And she’s a pathological liar, and she’s always been a liar. And God forbid if we put someone like that in the White House. ”
Given her extensive and tainted legal and political history, it is truly outrageous that Hillary Clinton was ever allowed to become the Democrat nominee for president to begin with. Now, she’s under a second federal investigation for wrongdoing while she was serving as our Secretary of State, and shockingly, there are still those who support her.
She is obviously corrupt to the core, but hopefully, over the next few days, as more information comes out, people will open their eyes and realize that Hillary’s “campaign” for votes is no different than any other self-serving racket she and her family have been involved in. | 1real |
Trump keeping 'open mind' on pulling out of climate accord | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was keeping an open mind on whether to pull out of a landmark international accord to fight climate change, in a softening of his stance toward global warming. Trump told the New York Times in an interview that he thinks there is “some connectivity” between human activity and global warming, despite previously describing climate change as a hoax. A source on Trump’s transition team told Reuters earlier this month that the New York businessman was seeking quick ways to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. But asked on Tuesday whether the United States would withdraw from the accord, the Republican said: “I’m looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it.” A U.S. withdrawal from the pact, agreed to by almost 200 countries, would set back international efforts to limit rising temperatures that have been linked to the extinctions of animals and plants, heat waves, floods and rising sea levels. . Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also said he was thinking about climate change and American competitiveness and “how much it will cost our companies,” he said, according to a tweet by a Times reporter in the interview. Two people advising Trump’s transition team on energy and environment issues said they were caught off guard by his remarks. A shift on global warming is the latest sign Trump might be backing away from some of his campaign rhetoric as life in the Oval Office approaches. Trump has said he might have to build a fence, rather than a wall, in some areas of the U.S.-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, tweaking one of his signature campaign promises. Also in Tuesday’s interview, he showed little appetite for pressing investigations of his Democratic rival in the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton. “I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways,” he told reporters, editors and other newspaper officials at the Times headquarters in Manhattan. But Trump said “no” when asked if he would rule out investigating Clinton over her family’s charitable foundation or her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama’s first term. If Trump does abandon his campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor for Clinton, it will be a reversal of a position he mentioned almost daily on the campaign trail, when he dubbed his rival “Crooked Hillary,” and crowds at his rallies often chanted: “Lock her up.” His comments to the Times about Clinton angered some of his strongest conservative supporters. Breitbart News, the outlet once led by Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, published a story on Tuesday under the headline, “Broken Promise: Trump ‘Doesn’t Wish to Pursue’ Clinton email charges.” The FBI investigated Clinton’s email practices, concluding in July that her actions were careless but that there were no grounds for bringing charges. The Clinton Foundation charity has also been scrutinized for donations it received, but there has been no evidence that foreign donors obtained favors from the State Department while Clinton headed it. Trump, a real estate developer who has never held public office, brushed off fears over conflicts of interest between his job as president and his family’s businesses. “The law’s totally on my side, the president can’t have a conflict of interest,” he told the New York Times. My company’s so unimportant to me relative to what I’m doing,” Trump said. Conflict-of-interest rules for executive branch employees do not apply to the president, but Trump will be bound by bribery laws, disclosure requirements and a section of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits elected officials from taking gifts from foreign governments, according to Republican and Democratic ethics lawyers. “There may be specific laws that don’t apply to the president, but the president is not above the law,” said Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota, a former associate counsel to Republican President George W. Bush. “Do we really want to run our government where you have the president, the leader of the United States and the free world, saying: ‘I’m going to do the bare minimum to squeak by?’” asked Norman Eisen, a former top ethics lawyer in Obama’s White House. Trump’s businesswoman daughter Ivanka joined her father’s telephone call with Argentine President Mauricio Macri earlier this month and attended a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. When asked whether House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress would consider his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Trump boasted he was popular with the party’s leaders on Capitol Hill. “Right now, they’re in love with me,” he said. Since his Nov. 8 election victory, Trump has been meeting with prospective candidates for top positions in his administration. Ben Carson, a former Republican presidential hopeful who dropped out of the 2016 race and backed Trump, has been offered the post of secretary of housing and urban development, Carson spokesman Armstrong Williams said. Carson, a retired surgeon who met with Trump on Tuesday, will think about it over the Thanksgiving holiday, Williams said. Trump arrived in Florida on Tuesday evening to spend Thursday’s holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. | 0fake |
U.S. Gulf Coast groups concerned as Trump picks BP lawyer to top DOJ post | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s selection of Jeffrey Bossert Clark to be the Justice Department’s top environmental lawyer has raised concerns by Gulf coast environmental groups as he was the lawyer for international oil company BP Plc in the aftermath of the company’s 2010 drilling rig explosion. Trump named Clark on Wednesday to be Assistant Attorney General for environment at the Department of Justice, representing the U.S. government on environmental regulation and enforcement issues. Clark, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, represented BP after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and Macondo oil well rupture that killed 11 workers and caused the largest offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history. The accident polluted large parts of the Gulf, killing marine wildlife and harming businesses. Along the U.S. Gulf coast, local communities are still grappling with cleanup and restoration, and had relied on the federal government and EPA to protect them against climate change and oil and gas company accidents, said Cynthia Sarthou, director of the Gulf Restoration Network in Louisiana. “I think the enforcement of any pollution laws is going to be at risk right now,” Sarthou said. “Bossert (Clark) is unlikely to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for pollution.” Sarthou added that most of the oil and gas infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf coast is aging, putting local environmental groups on alert for future accidents. “While this administration continues to choose profits over people, South Louisiana residents continue to struggle to recover from the economic, health and environmental impacts of the BP oil drilling disaster,” said Colette Pichon Battle, of the Human Rights Network, a lawyer who represented local communities affected by the BP accident. According to a White House statement, Clark is a “complex trial and appellate litigator with especially deep experience in administrative law.” In addition to practicing law in private practice, he also served worked as deputy assistant attorney general for environment at the Justice department from 2001 to 2005. As an attorney, Clark also represented industry groups in several challenges against the previous administration’s Environmental Protection Agency. This includes a lawsuit to revoke the “endangerment finding,” the scientific finding that gives the agency authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and one to challenge California’s ability to set its own stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles. Clark was not available for comment. | 0fake |
The Trump presidency on Feb. 7 at 9:47 EST | (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday: Trump’s order temporarily banning U.S. entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries comes under intense scrutiny from a federal appeals court that questions whether the ban unfairly targets people over their religion. Homeland Security chief John Kelly tells a congressional panel he should have delayed Trump’s travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries and on all refugees so he could brief Congress on the executive order. Two Republican senators plan to unveil legislation to curb legal immigration by halving the number of people allowed to live as legal permanent residents. Trump is planning to issue an executive order targeting a controversial Dodd-Frank rule that requires companies to disclose whether their products contain “conflict minerals” from a war-torn part of Africa, according to sources familiar with the administration’s thinking. The Senate confirms billionaire Betsy DeVos as education secretary, with Vice President Mike Pence casting an unprecedented tie-breaking vote, and another controversial nominee, Jeff Sessions for attorney general, wins committee approval. The Senate’s top Democrat accuses Trump’s Supreme Court pick of avoiding answering questions “like the plague” and dodging efforts to gauge his judicial independence during a meeting that deepened his concerns about the nominee. Andrew Puzder, Trump’s choice to lead the Labor Department, admits to employing an undocumented immigrant, a revelation of the type that has derailed Cabinet nominees in previous administrations. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismisses Trump’s warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the president has shown the “real face” of American corruption. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, seizing on an Iranian missile test, are nearing common ground on a tougher U.S. policy toward Tehran ahead of their first talks at the White House. Trump reiterates “U.S. support to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally” during a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the White House says. China’s foreign minister, seeking to diminish tension with the United States after Trump’s election, says there would be no winner in a conflict between the two nations. Trump says there is no reason to curb law enforcement agencies that seize cash, vehicles and other assets of people suspected of crimes, a practice that some lawmakers and activists have criticized for denying legal rights. | 0fake |
Catalans should be allowed to determine their own future-Scottish govt | EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The Spanish region of Catalonia should be allowed to determine its own future, Scotland s devolved pro-independence government said, adding that the strength of Catalan feeling could not be ignored by the international community. The statement came after an independence vote organized by Catalonia s autonomous regional government on Sunday, ruled illegal by Madrid, erupted into violence as police tried to stop it going ahead. The results of the vote overwhelmingly backed independence, although turnout was 42 percent because those in favor of keeping Spain as one country boycotted it. The autonomous Catalan government has called for international mediation. Spain will maintain that this vote is not legitimate but the strength of feeling demonstrated cannot be ignored by Spain, nor by the wider European and international community, Scotland s foreign minister Fiona Hyslop said. There must now be dialogue to resolve this matter in a way that respects both democracy and the rule of law, and allows the people of Catalonia to determine their own future. Scotland itself rejected independence from the United Kingdom in a binding 2014 referendum, although nationalists are still the dominant force in Scottish politics. | 0fake |
Inquisitive Child Inspires Her Tutor to Start a New Path - The New York Times | An innocent question posed by a young girl led Naivon Lake Jr. to chart out a new course in his life. He was at an internship last December, tutoring at an elementary school, when a student addressed Mr. Lake’s supervisor. “Naivon is smart, right?” the girl had asked. Mr. Lake’s supervisor chuckled and replied that he would not be there otherwise. “If Naivon is smart, why isn’t he in college?” the girl said. Mr. Lake overheard the conversation, words that rattled him and knocked him into a moment of introspection and unexpected clarity. “I’m not a hypocrite,” Mr. Lake, 20, said. “If I’m telling her, ‘You have to go to school and do this,’ I can’t not go to school. ” He had graduated from the Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development in Brooklyn, but came out with no plans to attend college. He had wandered through school, never fully recovering from the death of his beloved aunt during his sophomore year, but paid just enough attention at school to receive a diploma. “I was always at school, I just wasn’t at class,” Mr. Lake said. Instead, he preferred to hang out with his friends on the courtyard to play soccer. His mother scolded him for his truancy, but it was not enough to improve his attendance. It took a school official to explain to him that the peers he had been skipping class with were going to graduate, but he was not. “If I don’t graduate, I don’t go to college,” Mr. Lake said. “If I don’t go to college, I won’t get a good job. ” He raced to finish assignments for the class credit needed to walk across the stage at graduation. School, after all, was not so difficult, Mr. Lake said. He always had a knack for memorizing information, and was quick to understand math formulas and science theories. He graduated on time, but without a next step in mind. College was a possibility, but not something he had done the work to actually pursue. “I was just lost,” Mr. Lake said. “I figured, I don’t like being idle too long, so I had to get a job. ” For the next year, he worked 70 to 80 hours a week at a Duane Reade, hating every shift he clocked in for. In fall 2015, at his mother’s urging, he begrudgingly entered Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow’s Young Adult Internship Program. Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow serves people like Mr. Lake who are considered and unemployed youths. It is a beneficiary agency of the Community Service Society, one of the eight organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. With its help, Mr. Lake landed a paid internship as a tutor at El Puente Taylor Wythe, which operates an center and summer camp program. It was rewarding in an unexpected way, he said. “Just being there nurtured me as a whole individual,” he said. “My patience is way higher than it was before. Tolerance for things is a lot more sturdy. ” It was there that he met that inquisitive girl who inspired him to go to college. Earlier this year, he returned to Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow and met with a college counselor. He applied and was accepted into LaGuardia Community College. The Community Service Society used $65 in Neediest funds to pay for Mr. Lake’s college application fee. Mr. Lake is enrolled as a student, pursuing a major in commercial photography. He has ambitions of starting an event photography business, a passion that developed in high school. He also hopes to eventually pursue a degree in information technology and web design. Yet, Mr. Lake still finds himself fighting boredom with school and struggling to get excited for class, except for his photography assignments. To resist his old habits, he tries to remind himself of the patience and focus he sharpened as a tutor. “I feel like I really matured as a person, after seeing what I’ve gone through and reflecting on it,” Mr. Lake said. “I can’t afford to slack off. ” He currently works part time as a tutor at El Puente Beacon Leadership Center, where he has motivated many students to complete homework they wanted to put off some later earned perfect scores on those assignments and on tests. They all credit Mr. Lake’s guiding hand with their success. “I really have an impact on someone’s life,” Mr. Lake said. “It sticks with you. It’s powerful. It’s a powerful thing. ” | 0fake |
South Africa court says cannot compel Zuma to set up influence-peddling inquiry | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African High Court ruled on Friday that it could not compel President Jacob Zuma to set up a commission of inquiry into alleged influence-peddling in his government. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) had asked the court to force Zuma to establish a commission based on a report last year by an anti-graft watchdog into allegations that businessman brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta had influenced the appointment of ministers. Zuma and the Gupta brothers have denied the accusations. The president has challenged the report in court, arguing that the Public Protector had no right to ask him to form such a commission, as this was the president s prerogative. To compel the President at this stage will not only be tantamount to denying the hearing or his day in court, but it will also be understood to mean the Public Protector s powers are unassailable irrespective of the content of the decision, that cannot be correct, Pretoria High Court Judge Motsamai Makume said. It will be in the best interests of justice to grant the President a stay of the implementation of the remedial action pending a decision of the review application. New allegations of inappropriate collusion between state-owned companies and the Gupta brothers have put more pressure on Zuma and ministers close to him. But the ruling was a boost for the scandal-plagued Zuma at a difficult time. Allegations of widespread corruption and the raiding of taxpayer funds by outside interests known locally as state capture have dented investor confidence in an economy which fell into a recession earlier in 2017. On Wednesday, thousands of South Africans marched in anti-corruption protests in a rallying cry against Zuma and his powerful allies three months before a new African National Congress leader is chosen. Zuma also survived a no-confidence vote in parliament in August but he lost the support of a number of ANC MPs, showing deep divisions within the party that has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994. The DA said it had noted the ruling with interest , saying it approached the court to avoid delays in probing influence-peddling allegations. On a number of occasions, including before the National Assembly, President Zuma has stated that he will establish a Commission of Inquiry. To date, he has not done so, the party s federal council chairman James Selfe said in a statement. This matter has not been dismissed but has in fact been held back pending the outcome of the President s review application, which will be heard at the end of October, where we will also be in court to continue this fight for accountability. Some analysts said the legal battles would prolong probes into influence-peddling allegations. The court had its legal duties to perform, and this is going to allow Zuma not to perform his political duties, NKC African Economics analyst Gary van Staden said. Ultimately its negative for state capture . It s not going to bring any finality to what s been going on. | 0fake |
UK announces new troop deployment near Russia's borders | Military British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon (Photo by AFP)
British Defense Minister Michael Fallon says the UK is set to deploy hundreds of troops to the Baltic region in Europe to support its NATO allies in the face of a “more assertive Russia.”
Fallon told a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on Wednesday that Britain would send 800 soldiers to Estonia to fulfill its pledge to deliver one of four battalions to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern Europe.
“Backed by a rising defense budget, this deployment of air, land and sea forces shows that we will continue to play a leading role in NATO, supporting the defense and security of our allies from the north to the south of the alliance,” Fallon said.
NATO had announced in July that it would deploy, on a rotational basis, four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—to deter what it referred to as “any Russian incursion.”
During his address at the meeting, Fallon also said that four British Typhoon fighter jets would be dispatched to Romania under the NATO Southern Air Policing mission, which is supposed to protect the Baltic states' airspace against possible attacks from Russia.
“This is about two things: reassurance, and that needs to be done with some formidable presence, and deterrence,” Fallon had said in an earlier interview. “This is not simply a trip-wire….This is a serious military presence.”
The move is likely to draw criticism from Moscow, which has been angered by NATO’s military buildup on its Western borders.
The US-led military alliance cut its ties with Moscow in 2014 and has been reinforcing its presence near Russia’s borders ever since.
The UK and Russia have strong disagreements over a number of issues, mainly the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.
The two countries’ military forces have been involved in a series of aerial and naval confrontations, with Britain sending its jets and warships on several occasions to intercept Russian bombers and naval fleets.
The latest of those encounters occurred on Thursday, when the Russian aircraft career Admiral Kuznetsov and its seven-ship task force were “shadowed” by two British warships on a course to sail through the North Sea and English Channel, on their way to Syria. Loading ... | 1real |
Rubio on Russia Probe: ’I Wouldn’t Use the Term Witch Hunt’ - Breitbart | Sen. Marco Rubio says he wouldn’t use the term “witch hunt” because “these questions need to be answered” #CNNSOTU https: . On Sunday’s broadcast of on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked about President Donald Trump’s tweet claiming the naming of a special counsel is part of “single greatest witch hunt” in American political history, Sen. Marco Rubio ( ) said he wouldn’t use the term “witch hunt” to describe the investigation into possible ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russia. Rubio said, “I wouldn’t use the term witch hunt. ” He added, “I want to know the truth, I want to know the entire truth, I want us to put it in a report and I want to share it with you and the whole country so people can reach their own conclusion. ” ( The Hill) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0fake |
Scores Die in Nice, France, as Truck Plows Into Bastille Day Crowd - The New York Times | PARIS — A Bastille Day fireworks celebration was shattered by death and mayhem Thursday night in the southern French city of Nice when a large truck barreled for more than a mile through an enormous crowd of spectators, crushing and maiming dozens in what France’s president called a terrorist assault. It came eight months after the Paris attacks that traumatized the nation and all of Europe. Officials and witnesses in Nice said at least 84 people, including children, were killed by the driver of the rampaging truck, who mowed them down on the sidewalk. He was shot to death by the police as officers scrambled to respond on what is France’s most important annual holiday. Graphic television and video images showed the truck accelerating and tearing through the crowd, dozens of victims sprawled in its path, and the windshield of the vehicle. Municipal officials and police officers described the truck as full of weapons and grenades. “The horror, the horror has, once again, hit France,” President François Hollande said in a nationally televised address early Friday. He said the “terrorist character” of the assault was undeniable, and he described the use of a large truck to deliberately kill people as “a monstrosity. ” “France has been struck on the day of her national holiday,” he said. “Human rights are denied by fanatics, and France is clearly their target. ” Mr. Hollande, who only hours earlier had proclaimed the impending end of a state of national emergency on July 26, said that the measure would be extended by three months and that additional soldiers would be deployed for security. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Friday morning that France would observe three days of national mourning, starting on Saturday. Flags will fly at at all government buildings. “We would like to tell the French people that we will never give in,” he said in a statement outside the Élysée Palace, in Paris. “We will not give in to the terrorist threat. The times have changed, and France should learn to live with terrorism. ” As French officials quickly concluded that terrorism was the likely motive and the scope of the slaughter grew clear, the use of a large commercial truck as the principal weapon of death raised new questions about how to prevent such attacks. The officials warned residents to stay indoors and canceled all further scheduled festivities in Nice, a seaside city of 340, 000, including a jazz festival and a concert on Friday night by Rihanna. “There are numerous victims,” said Brandet, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, on BFM Television. “It’s a tragic, exceptional situation. ” Witnesses described scenes of pandemonium, with conflicting accounts on social media, including a false report of in Nice. “We were enjoying the celebrations when we suddenly saw people running everywhere and tables being pushed down by the movement of panic,” said Daphne Burandé, 15, who was at a bar near the beach to watch the fireworks. “No one explained to us what was happening, and I heard some gunshots not very far away,” she said. “I waited at the bar for more information because I thought it was a false alert. But then, people were still running. ” There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and the identity of the driver was not immediately clear, but the newspaper Nice Matin reported early Friday that he was a Frenchman of Tunisian origin. Christian Estrosi, the president of the d’Azur region of France, which includes Nice, expressed outrage, sympathy and frustration in an interview with on Friday morning, pointedly noting previous attacks on a satirical newspaper in Paris in January 2015 the coordinated series of attacks in and around Paris in November that included a music hall, the Bataclan, among its targets and the attacks this year in Brussels. “Questions are raised,” he said. “As I try to comfort the families, I also try to contain my anger I can’t hide to you that I feel a deep anger. How is it possible in our country that, after everyone said there was a state of emergency, a state of war, we forgot it after Charlie Hebdo, and then there was the Bataclan. After the Bataclan, we forgot, and then there was Brussels. After Brussels, we forgot and there was Nice. ” “There are questions that need to be answered,” he said. Mr. Estrosi said that the families needed time to mourn, and added that it was “our duty” to support them. But he also asked how it was possible that an individual was apparently able to breach security, and he said that he expected an answer from Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister. “I don’t want to hear the usual, ‘We are going to carry out an investigation,’ ” he said. The attack amounted to a to a nation that was struggling to restore some sense of normalcy and had begun to drop its guard. Hours after Mr. Hollande said during Bastille Day festivities in Paris that “we cannot prolong the state of emergency eternally,” a massive white truck came crashing through in Nice. The main strip through Nice was littered with bodies, one after the other. “Whatever the nature of what happened in Nice, the threat of terrorism is particularly high,” Mr. Brandet, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said on the iTele television station. He added that security forces were on high alert in the area and in cities around France. Dozens of people were seriously injured, and many more were psychologically shocked, Mr. Brandet said. The region has activated a White Plan, put in place during the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people, to open all emergency rooms to receive victims, he added. The Islamic State, the militant group that asserted responsibility for the attacks in Paris, did not make any immediate claims for the assault in Nice. It typically takes the Islamic State several hours, and sometimes up to one and even two days, to assert responsibility for attacks in Western countries. It typically does so through its Amaq channel on the encrypted telephone app Telegram, which serves as the group’s news wire. However, as in the hours immediately after the Paris, Brussels and Orlando attacks, there was a now familiar celebration on channels run by groups that support the Islamic State, as well as on at least one channel affiliated with the group, also known as ISIS and ISIL. They cheered the carnage. On a channel created on Thursday, called the United Cyber Caliphate, run by a group that has previously tried to carry out cyberattacks in the Islamic State’s name, a message included a single word — France — followed by a smiley face. The channel of an Islamic State member, Aswarti Media, which has repeatedly been shut down and claims 1, 987 members, was posting the phrase “Allahu akbar. ” Yet another channel suspected of being for the Islamic State showed an image of the Eiffel Tower going up in flames. The attack in Nice took place just as the Euro 2016 soccer tournament had concluded. France had hosted the tournament, and the entire country had been on high alert. There had been reports that suspects linked to the attacks in Paris and the Brussels assault in March had planned an attack during the tournament. With tens of thousands of people gathered at stadiums and in designated “fan zones” during the games, the police and private security took extraordinary measures to try to secure the sites. It was difficult to know if the measures were successful or if in fact there were no plans to attack the soccer tournament. One question people will be asking is whether the security forces, as well as civilians, let their guard down once the tournament was over thinking that the danger had passed. Several witnesses spoke on iTele. A man who gave his name as Michel, working at the Voilier Plage restaurant in front of the Promenade des Anglais, said that around 10:30 p. m. a large white truck drove into a crowd that had gathered near the beach. “A huge number of people started running, then there was a lot of gunfire,” he said. Another witness who owns a restaurant nearby, whom iTele did not identify, said that when the truck plowed into the crowd, it “crushed everyone in its path. ” French television showed footage of a panicked crowd running from the scene. On Twitter, witnesses posted grim photographs of bodies lying in a pile on the asphalt. | 0fake |
Argentina's Fernandez charged with treason, arrest sought | BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A federal judge in Argentina indicted former President Cristina Fernandez for treason and asked for her arrest for allegedly covering up Iran s possible role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people, a court ruling said. As Fernandez is a senator, Congress would first have to vote to strip her of parliamentary immunity for an arrest to occur. The judge, Claudio Bonadio, also indicted and ordered house arrest for Fernandez s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, the 491-page ruling said. Fernandez called a news conference in Congress to deny wrongdoing and accuse Bonadio and President Mauricio Macri of degrading the judiciary. It is an invented case about facts that did not exist, she said, dressed in white. Timerman s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. While removing immunity from lawmakers is rare in Argentina, Congress voted on Oct. 25 to do so for Fernandez s former planning minister Julio De Vido and he was arrested the same day. De Vido is accused of fraud and corruption, which he denies. Argentina s legislature has entered a period of judicial recess until March but can be convened for urgent matters. Fernandez and her allies have been the focus of several high profile cases with arrests and indictments since center-right Mauricio Macri defeated her chosen successor and was elected president in late 2015. Fernandez left office just a few months before the Congress in neighboring Brazil impeached another leftist female leader, Dilma Rousseff for breaking budget laws. The cover-up allegations against Fernandez gained international attention in January 2015, when the prosecutor who initially made them, Alberto Nisman, was found shot dead in the bathroom of his Buenos Aires apartment. An Argentine appeals court a year ago ordered the re-opening of the investigation. Nisman s death was classified as a suicide, though an official investigating the case has said the shooting appeared to be a homicide. Nisman s body was discovered hours before he was to brief Congress on the bombing of the AMIA center. GRAINS-FOR-OIL Nisman said Fernandez worked behind the scenes to clear Iran and normalize relations to clinch a grains-for-oil deal with Tehran that was signed in 2013. The agreement created a joint commission to investigate the AMIA bombing that critics said was really a means to absolve Iran. Argentine, Israeli and U.S. officials have long blamed the AMIA attack on Hezbollah guerrillas backed by Iran. Tehran has denied links to the attack. Earlier on Thursday, two lower level allies of Fernandez were arrested based on the same ruling from judge Bonadio: Carlos Zannini, a legal adviser, and Luis D Elia, the leader of a group of protesters supporting her government. Zannini s lawyer, Alejandro Baldin, told local media the detention was arbitrary, illegal and ran over constitutional and individual rights, after leaving a police station in Rio Gallegos, where Zannini was held. D Elia s lawyer, Adrian Albor, told radio Del Plata that Bonadio had no respect for the law, rights, justice. They are coming for everyone in the previous government. Bonadio wrote in his ruling that evidence showed Iran, with the help of Argentine citizens, had appeared to achieve its goal of avoiding being declared a terrorist state by Argentina. The crime of treason is punishable by 10 to 25 years in prison, Argentina s maximum sentence. The next step in the case would be an oral trial and sentences can be appealed on first instance, which could be a long process. Macri s leader in the Senate, Federico Pinedo, said on Twitter that Congress would analyze the request to strip immunity with sincerity and responsibility. Macri s coalition performed better than expected in Oct. 22 mid-term elections, gaining seats in Congress, but it is not clear if lawmakers will vote to strip Fernandez s immunity. Fernandez, who governed from 2007 to 2015, finished second to a Macri ally in the Buenos Aires province Senate race but won a seat under Argentina s list system. She was sworn in last week. She was also indicted in late 2016 on charges she ran a corruption scheme with her public works secretary. Fernandez has admitted there may have been corruption in her government but personally denies wrongdoing. | 0fake |
Germany says hopes to resume training of Kurdish fighters in Northern Iraq | BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany hopes to resume its mission training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq on Sunday, provided the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government does not worsen, a German defense ministry spokesman said on Friday. Germany suspended its training assistance last week citing the increased tensions between Baghdad and the Kurds after the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq voted in a non-binding referendum for independence. Germany, along with other Western nations, joined Baghdad and Iraq s neighbors in opposing the referendum, partly due to concerns that it would distract from the fight against Islamic State militants, in which the Kurds have played a key role. If there is no serious changes on the ground, it s highly probable that the training will resume on Sunday, the German defense ministry spokesman said. The spokesman said Germany took the decision to resume the training after consultations with the Kurdish and Iraqi parties and with the United States. He was speaking on the day when Iraqi forces completed their push to take back control of the contested province of Kirkuk from the Kurds, who had moved into the area in 2014 to prevent Islamic State seizing the oilfields. Germany has provided 32,000 assault rifle and machine guns, as well as other weapons valued at around 90 million euros since 2014. About 150 German soldiers are providing training to the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters for their combat against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. | 0fake |
Transgender People Will Be Allowed to Serve Openly in Military - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Thursday removed one of the final barriers to military service by lifting the Pentagon’s ban on transgender people serving openly in the armed forces. “Effective immediately, transgender Americans may serve openly,” Mr. Carter said. “They can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender. ” The decision pushes forward a transformation of the military that Mr. Carter has accelerated in the last year with the opening of all combat roles to women and the appointment of the first openly gay Army secretary. He made his feelings on ending the transgender ban clear last year, when he called it outdated and ordered officials across the military to begin examining what would need to be done to lift it. When Mr. Carter ordered that assessment, there were already thousands of transgender people in the military. But until Thursday, most had been forced into an existence shrouded in secrecy to avoid being discharged, a situation much like that faced by gay men, lesbians and bisexuals before the lifting of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 2011. Transgender people have “deployed all over the world, serving on aircraft, submarines, forward operating bases and right here in the Pentagon,” Mr. Carter told reporters. “The lack of clear guidelines for how to handle this issue puts the commanders and the service members in a difficult and unfair position. ” For many transgender people, the lack of clarity described by Mr. Carter has resulted in them being forced out of uniform. Army Capt. Sage Fox, 43, was in the reserves when she told her unit that she was transgender in November 2013. A month later, she was placed on inactive status and has not done any reserve duty since. She called the end of the ban “thrilling news,” and said she expected to be reactivated as a reservist in the coming weeks. She was confident that the military would adapt. “We’re military officers. We are trained to be adaptable, and I get so frustrated when people think we’re not going to be able to deal with this,” she said in an interview. “You’re on the battlefield, the situation changes in the blink of an eye, we adapt and overcome. That’s what we do. ” Mr. Carter said the Pentagon would cover the medical costs of those in uniform who are seeking to undergo gender transition, though it would expect new recruits who are transgender to spend at least 18 months in their transitioned gender identity before joining the military. The Pentagon also plans to begin a broad, yearlong training program about the changes for service members up and down the ranks. The military’s top leaders, including Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were on board with ending the prohibition, Mr. Carter said, although none of the military’s top brass appeared with him for the announcement. Lifting the ban on transgender people has faced resistance from some at the highest ranks of the military, who have expressed concerns over what they consider to be a social experiment that could potentially harm the military’s readiness and effectiveness in combat. When Mr. Carter in July 2015 first ordered the military to begin examining how to lift the ban, he indicated the work would be completed earlier this year. But as winter turned to spring and the ban remained in place, “I think everyone was raising questions about what was going to happen,” said Aaron Belkin, the director of the Palm Center, a research institute that has studied the effects of having gays, lesbians and transgender people in the military. Still, the announcement on Thursday came faster than Mr. Belkin would have predicted when he began to press for lifting the transgender ban three years ago, after the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell. ” “I thought it would take 10 or 15 years” he said. Mr. Belkin said that the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the opening of combat roles to women and the lifting of the ban on transgender people were “all about the same idea — that job assignments should be based on merit, not about gender identity or sexuality. ” Those within the military who did not feel similarly were unsurprisingly silent on Thursday. Republicans in Congress were not. Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for the new policy to not be carried out until Congress could convene hearings. And Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement saying he would examine “legislative options to address the readiness issues associated with this new policy. ” “Our military readiness — and hence our national security — is dependent on our troops’ being medically ready and deployable,” Mr. Thornberry said. “The administration seems unwilling or unable to assure the Congress and the American people that transgender individuals will meet these individual readiness requirements at a time when our armed forces are deployed around the world. ” But several studies on the issue have concluded that lifting the ban is unlikely to have any appreciable effect on the readiness of the armed forces. Estimates of the number of transgender service members have varied, but the number most often cited comes from a study by the RAND Corporation and commissioned by Mr. Carter. It found that out of the approximately 1. 3 million service members, an estimated 2, 450 were transgender, and that every year, about 65 service members would seek to make a gender transition. Providing medical care to those seeking to transition would cost $2. 9 million to $4. 2 million a year for the Pentagon, which spends about $6 billion of its $610 billion annual budget on medical costs for service members, according to the report, which was completed in March. The report also said that if the Pentagon did not cover medical procedures like hormone therapy and surgery, transgender service members would probably not seek medical care and could have higher rates of substance abuse and suicide. Making the announcement on Thursday, Mr. Carter said the Pentagon had studied the experience of allied countries that already allow transgender people to serve in their militaries, such as Britain, Australia and Israel. He also cited the experience of companies such as Boeing and Ford, which offer health insurance policies that cover the costs of gender transitions. “That’s up from zero companies in 2002,” Mr. Carter said. “Among doctors, employers and insurance companies, providing medical care for transgender individuals is becoming common and normalized in both public and private sectors alike. ” But as much as any practical concern played into the decision, Mr. Carter said it was also “a matter of principle. ” “Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to compete to do so,” he said. “After all, our force is built upon having the most qualified Americans. And the profession of arms is based on honor and trust. ” | 0fake |
Ryan tries to tamp down Comey memo furor, says has confidence in Trump | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan tried to tamp down the furor on Wednesday over reports that President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to quash part of his Russia investigation, saying “we need the facts” and adding he has confidence in the president. “I’m sure we’re going to want to hear from Mr. Comey if this happens as he allegedly describes; why didn’t he take action at the time? So there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Ryan told reporters. “What I told our members is: now is the time to gather all the pertinent information.” Asked if he had confidence in Trump, Ryan said, “I do.” | 0fake |
CIA 'mission' on cars shows concern about next-generation vehicles | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - WikiLeaks documents showing the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency considered a “mission” against connected car technology underscores auto industry concern that the science behind the next generation of vehicles could be turned against them. Cyber security is considered key to the rollout of tomorrow’s self-driving and today’s connected cars, which resemble computers on wheels with a host of communications routes that hackers could target. If consumers are to trust smart vehicles, they must deem them safe from attack. Security experts cite the terrifying hypothetical example of a remote attack on a fully autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or brakes, in which the passenger would have no recourse to regain manual control of the car. “You have a lot of car companies trying to design cars to be better suited to automation, which means they’re more attractive to hackers,” said auto consultant Roger Lanctot of Strategy Analytics. A major strategy for automakers is to reduce the number of communications gateways to crucial systems and to require services offered by third parties to go through a single secure path. WikiLeaks documents show the CIA citing “vehicle systems” and a car operating system from QNX, owned by Blackberry Ltd, as “potential mission areas” for the CIA’s “Embedded Devices Branch” to consider. The QNX operating system, which is used by most global automakers, provides a “a comprehensive, multi-level, policy-driven security model ... to mitigate attacks,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. But given the collection of software, hardware and network components that make up a connected car, “security is only as strong as its weakest link,” it said. While the CIA’s interest in cars brought widespread attention, the industry has already received wakeup calls about cars’ potential to be hacked. Researchers in 2015 used a wireless connection to turn off a Jeep Cherokee’s engine, prompting a recall of 1.4 million vehicles by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In September last year, Chinese cyber security researchers hacked a Tesla Inc Model S sedan, remotely tapping the brakes and popping the trunk. The electric carmaker subsequently patched the bugs using an over-the-air fix. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its cyber security protocol. The hacking of the Jeep and the Tesla “brought it home to the industry that even if its improbable it’s technically possible,” said Mark Wakefield, global co-head of the automotive practice at AlixPartners. If a car was seen as vulnerable, it “could be a big brand problem,” Wakefield said. Hacks could also expose private information shared between car and third parties - credit card numbers, account numbers or passwords - to theft. A January survey by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute found that 33 percent of respondents said they were “extremely concerned” over hacking of full self-driving cars to cause crashes. The number of ways into cars has proliferated, from cell phone signals to dongles. One such gateway is the standard OBD-II port found under the steering wheel historically used for onboard diagnostics. Today, hundreds of after-market devices use the port, whether to monitor driving for insurance needs or provide conveniences like safety alerts. “The security of these devices is important, as it can provide an attacker with a means of accessing vehicle systems and driver data remotely,” warned the FBI in a March 2016 bulletin on cyber security risks to motor vehicles. Carmakers are also building walls between non-crucial infotainment systems and driving controls so that any breach is blocked before it could compromise key functions like brakes. The first step the industry is tackling is intrusion detection, said Lanctot. But what to do when a breach is detected is complicated, because shutting off parts of a car could be unsafe, he said. Tesla was first to champion “over-the-air” technology in which wireless software updates are sent remotely to cars. Although some have argued such updates are a way in for hackers, Tesla and others see them a key protection to upgrade security and repair vulnerabilities quickly. In January, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill calling for cyber security standards for new cars but so far U.S. regulators have issued recommendations, not rules, on how carmakers should shield their computer systems from hackers. The industry is “years away” from solving the cyber security problem, Lanctot said, noting that the first generation of cars built after the Jeep hack that include some kind of detection capabilities will not be seen until early in 2018. | 0fake |
Trump's Jerusalem plan revives tensions in EU diplomacy | PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France said on Friday the United States had sidelined itself in the Middle East by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel s capital, but the EU s top diplomat insisted Washington remains a mediator as Europe struggled for unity in its diplomacy. U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem revived old tensions between EU governments that want to see peace in the Middle East but have varying degrees of sympathy towards Israel and the Palestinians. I hear some, including Mr Tillerson, say things will happen in time and the hour is for negotiations. Until now (the U.S.) could have had a mediation role in this conflict, but it has excluded itself a little, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is in Paris for talks after visiting Brussels and Vienna. The reality is they are alone and isolated on this issue, he told France Inter radio. With Britain distracted by its planned exit from the European Union, France is trying to lead Europe in Middle East negotiations, organizing a peace conference last January. But it is EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini who represents the bloc in the Middle East Quartet of the United States, United Nations, the EU and Russia. On Thursday, Mogherini pledged to reinvigorate diplomacy with Russia, the United States, Jordan and others to ensure Palestinians have a capital in Jerusalem too. She said Washington was still a pivotal peacemaker. But Hungary blocked a statement planned by all EU 28 governments in response to Trump s announcement of Wednesday, leaving it to Mogherini to deliver a rejection of it. There is no change in Hungary s Middle East policy compared with the recent past. We have made it clear previously that we urge a negotiated solution, the foreign ministry said in response to a Reuters request, declining to comment on the U.S. decision. We do not consider a joint statement by the 28 member states of the European Union necessary on the matter. On Wednesday evening, the Czech foreign ministry said it would begin considering moving the Czech Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem only based on results of negotiations with key partners in the region and in the world . Many in Israel saw the Czech ministry s statement as an endorsement of Trump s move. But Mogherini said on Friday Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek had reassured her the statement was definitely not an act of support for the U.S. administration s decision. He guaranteed to me that the Czech Republic stays firmly with the common European consolidated position, Mogherini told a news conference with Jordan s foreign minister. Prague accepts Israel s sovereignty only over West Jerusalem, diplomats say. Palestinians want the capital of a future state they seek to be in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Mogherini stressed that all EU governments were united on the issue of Jerusalem and in seeking a solution envisaging a Palestinian state in territory - the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem - that Israel took 50 years ago. The EU believes it has a duty to make its voice heard as the Palestinians biggest aid donor and Israel s biggest trade partner, but policy divisions within the bloc have weakened its influence. EU foreign ministers will aim to present a unified front to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. A senior French diplomat said it was crucial that EU governments had a clear message for the Israeli premier. What we are going to try and do is convince our European partners when we meet Netanyahu ...to tell him that what is happening with the United States is a serious issue for him, Israel and any peace prospect, the diplomat said. Netanyahu will first stop off in Paris on Sunday to hold talks with President Emmanuel Macron. EU governments have a range of positions, from the Czech Republic s strong support for Israel, also shared by Germany, to Sweden s 2014 decision to recognize a future state of Palestine. The EU is also perceived by some in Israel as being too pro-Palestinian, partly because of the EU s long-held opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. | 0fake |
BUILD THE WALL! House Voted on Funding Trump’s Wall in Partisan Vote | Yes, this will happen! America needs a wall at our southern border and the House just passed a spending measure that funds a portion of Trump s wall!The House passed a spending measure Thursday that includes funding for a portion of President Donald Trump s border wall with a vote largely along party lines.The funding was included as a part of a minibus, which packaged together four appropriations bills aimed at funding the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, water projects and the legislative branch. The lower chamber opted to group the must-pass appropriations measures together due to leadership s lack of votes to pass an all-encompassing omnibus.Building the structure has been a top priority for the president, who placed a strong emphasis on the proposal during the course of the campaign.Democrats have met the border wall proposal with strong opposition, feeling that the project will be expensive and ineffective.Read more: Daily Caller | 1real |
Man searching for unbiased review of ADHM and Shivaay on internet ends up exhausting data pack | Man searching for unbiased review of ADHM and Shivaay on internet ends up exhausting data pack trendinfo.com)
Nikhil Gupta, a resident of Delhi, used up his internet pack on Sunday while searching for an honest review of the movies Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay.
Being a movie aficionado, Mr. Gupta was looking forward to the release of the movies and was following Social Media trends and news about them for the past few weeks, and in the process learned that it’s actually possible to judge the content of a movie without watching it.
He soon realized the universe was divided into two distinct groups, one that loves ADHM and hates Shivaay and the other that loves Shivaay and hates ADHM. The following tweet from Mr. Nikhil Wagle compounded his confusion further: Don’t like @karanjohar films. But will watch #AeDilHaiMushkil to oppose hyper nationalism n hooliganism.l
— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) October 21, 2016
The aforementioned statement spoke volumes about his commitment to the, um, cause he was supporting but did not shed much light on Mr. Johar’s filmmaking abilities. He realized he needed to wait for the movie release and read the reviews to decide which one to watch first.
On Sunday morning, he recharged his internet data pack for a GB and looked up movie reviews on Google. He first opened NDTV’s website where the reviewer Saibal Chatterjee gave Shivaay a 2 star rating, which was consistent with his usual ratings that range from 1.5 to 2.5. However, he was surprised to see a 4 star rating for ADHM.
‘How did this miracle happen? Does he have all the keys on his numeric keypad now or has someone at NDTV told him the rating should be done on a 5 point scale?’ Mr. Gupta pondered.
He placed ADHM higher on his priority list, although IMDb ratings of ADHM and Shivaay were 5.4 and 7.6 respectively. When he was about to close the browser, he noticed two contrasting reviews of ADHM on Indian Express. He quickly went through them and was relieved to see the reviews were done by two different individuals and it was not a case of split personality disorder.
By the time he read the final review on the 10th page of Google, he started to lose faith in humanity, and hence decided to read audience reactions instead, only to find comments, such as ‘boycott ADHM’ and ‘I love Anushka Sharma.’ He read thousands of comments, which significantly improved his reading skills but did not help him arrive at a conclusion. While going through the comments, he received a notification from his internet service provider that he had zero balance left on his data pack.
‘Damn, I could’ve watched both the movies online with 1 GB.’
He had no choice but to watch the movies and find out himself. He went to the nearest theater and watched both the movies back to back. Later when he came back home, he wrote his own review titled – “Boycott Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay.’ | 1real |
Shocking! Scientists Reveal The Universe Could Delete Itself At Any Moment! | The end of everything is nearing us all! Or perhaps not, but we won't know when it's here.
It's a mysterious universe we are living in, so magnificent and complex that researchers and experts have come up with hundreds of theories on how it originated, how it works and when it ends.
The infinite questions that we hold about the universe will keep us thrilled for the rest of our lives, and the universe will probably end before we can even figure it out.
We fear the universe will trigger either a Big Crunch or a Big Rip during it's course, colliding into a singularity state or ripping itself apart .
Scientists have revealed that the universe could delete itself, without anyone even noticing it. Experts believe that our universe has reached it's lowest state with every particle in existence except for the "Higs Field".
Watch the following video to know more!
Disclose TV SOURCE | 1real |
Trump Veers From Party Line on Gun Control - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that people on the terror watch list should be barred from buying firearms, putting himself in the center of a debate in Congress revived by the worst mass shooting in United States history. Mr. Trump’s stance, expressed in a Twitter post, does not necessarily jibe with the positions of the Republican Party and the National Rifle Association, whose endorsement Mr. Trump frequently boasts about on the campaign trail. His tweet could be read to support measures pushed by Democrats and opposed by Republicans in Congress, reflecting the unusual nuances of the issue, which touches on public safety and civil rights beyond the Second Amendment. “I will be meeting with the N. R. A. who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the list, to buy guns,” Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter. His comment came three days after 49 people were killed when a gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State stormed an Orlando nightclub. On the same morning, a group of Democrats took to the Senate floor in a filibuster to protest the lack of improvement in gun safety measures in recent years. “I’ve had enough,” said Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, who spoke on and off for more than 14 hours. “I couldn’t just come back to the Senate this week and pretend like this is business as usual. ” When he finished talking shortly after 2 a. m. on Thursday, Mr. Murphy said he had secured agreement for votes on the measures. “I am proud to announce that after 14+ hours on the floor, we will have a vote on closing the terror gap universal background checks,” Mr. Murphy said in a Twitter message posted around 1:50 a. m. The filibuster drew significant attention online, with supporters tweeting support and encouragement as the hours dragged on. Mr. Murphy acknowledged that support after ending the filibuster. “This would never have happened without you,” he said in a separate Twitter post. “Without your outpouring of support — your calls, tweets emails. ” The Democratic legislation, sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, would seek to prevent individuals on the government’s terror watch list from purchasing guns on the recommendation of the Justice Department alone. Ms. Feinstein unsuccessfully proposed a similar measure last year, after 14 people were killed by an Islamic extremist couple in San Bernardino, Calif. The legislation she is now proposing goes even further, covering not just people on the watch list at the time of purchase, but anyone who had been on the list in the preceding five years. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, had been on the list but was removed after an F. B. I. investigation turned up no evidence that he was plotting any crimes. N. R. A. officials said on Twitter that they would be happy to meet with Mr. Trump, but that the group had not changed its position: withholding guns from people on the terrorist watch list, the vast majority of whom have not been charged with a crime, would give the government too much power to deny people of their Second Amendment right. At one point in 2014, the list had 800, 000 names, and in the past famous Americans like Senator Ted Kennedy and Representative John Lewis had undergone additional screening at airports because their names were similar to those on the list. The group has supported a competing measure put forward by Republicans, led by Senator John Cornyn of Texas. Under the proposal, when someone on the watch list tried to buy a gun, federal prosecutors would have three days to persuade a judge that there is probable cause to deny the purchase. Democrats say that burden is too high. “The N. R. A. believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period,” said Chris W. Cox, the executive director of the group’s Institute for Legislative Action, in a statement. “At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow Americans who are wrongly put on a watch list to be removed. ” A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump confirmed that he met with Mr. Cox in New York on Tuesday, though the terror watch list was not on the agenda. Mr. Trump’s campaign did not clarify Wednesday how far his proposal would go or articulate which of the dueling measures — Mr. Cornyn’s or Ms. Feinstein’s — Mr. Trump most agrees with. Democrats were not counting on Mr. Trump’s support and almost seemed not to want it. They have been more than happy to associate him with the N. R. A. which Democrats view as the biggest obstacle to gun control. Republicans are under pressure to show some action in response to the Orlando shooting, and Mr. Cornyn said on Wednesday evening that he was working with Ms. Feinstein on a potential compromise. But Ms. Feinstein, speaking to reporters after a classified briefing on the Orlando shooting that Mr. Cornyn also attended, said she doubted a deal would be reached. As for Mr. Trump’s role, she was dismissive. “Oh, Trump just makes everything worse,” Ms. Feinstein said. During the primaries, Mr. Trump, who is a gun owner, spoke often about his affinity for guns as a way to prove his conservatism. He is in step with the N. R. A. on virtually all other gun issues, including his opposition to a ban on assault weapons. “By the way, I’m going to save your Second Amendment,” he said Wednesday at a rally in Atlanta. As he has after other mass shootings, Mr. Trump said Wednesday that more gun ownership was the answer, not less. He said that the carnage could have been minimized “if some of those great people that were in that club that night had guns strapped to their waist or strapped to their ankle, and if the bullets were going in the other direction. ” Actual floor debate on any of the proposals in Congress was not expected until Thursday at the earliest. Mr. Murphy was aided by a large cast of Democrats but especially his fellow Connecticut senator, Richard Blumenthal, as well as Cory A. Booker of New Jersey and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the minority whip. They yielded briefly for questions from Republicans but otherwise talked incessantly about the need for tighter gun control. By early evening, the Democrats brought out a poster showing photographs of victims of the Orlando shooting. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, stood next to the poster, reading out the victims’ names and speaking about their lives. A spokesman for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said that the speechmaking by Democrats was merely delaying the consideration of the measures, as well as proposals on F. B. I. financing and other amendments to the Senate appropriations bill. Jonathan Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said that while the Democratic legislation was “a very promising step in the right direction,” none of the proposals currently under consideration go far enough. “We need to require background checks for all gun sales if we truly want to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists and other dangerous people,” Mr. Lowy said. Mr. Lowy added that he still does not entirely understand what Mr. Trump is proposing. “You certainly can’t enact the tweet into law — you need more specifics than that,” he said. “We’ll have to see what actual legislation, if any, Trump actually supports. ” | 0fake |
VENDING MACHINES FOR SYRINGES? This State Is The First In Battle Against Heroin | Do you think this is a good idea or is this enabling the addict?Las Vegas is betting on a new approach to combat rising heroin and HIV rates: vending machines of clean needles.But the syringe exchange vending machines, a first in the United States, aren t open to just anyone walking by. They are accessible to clients of Trac-B Exchange, a program run by the Las Vegas Hard Reduction Center.And the machines don t take money. Instead, drug users scan a card and enter a unique ID number in order to vend one of the colorfully gift-wrapped boxes inside. This is a harm reduction approach, said Chelsi Cheatom, program manager for Trac-B Exchange, in an interview with NBC Las Vegas affiliate KSNV. People are already exchanging in these behaviors, and anytime someone s engaging in a behavior that could cause them some potential health side effects, we want to encourage them to reduce their risk of harm. The center worked in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Health District and the Nevada AIDS Research and Education Society (NARES) to install the new machines, which will be available at three different locations by the end of May. Each client will be limited to two kits a week; each box contains syringes, alcohol wipes, safe sex supplies, and a sharps disposal box. Providing clean needles and supplies is a proven method for limiting disease transmission in a community, said Dr. Joe Iser, Chief Health Officer of the Southern Nevada Health District, in a statement Wednesday.Nevada is the first U.S. state to launch a vending machine program for clean syringes, but the vending machine model has been in use for several years in Puerto Rico, Europe, and Australia.In 2014, a harm-reduction group installed crack pipe vending machines in Vancouver, Canada. But that program operated differently, with full access to anyone for just a quarter.Read more: NBC | 1real |
Pennsylvania gun control advocates challenge law on city gun rules | PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Pennsylvania gun control advocates on Wednesday asked the state’s top court to knock down a 2014 law allowing gun-rights lobbying groups to sue cities that adopt gun restrictions and recoup legal costs if they prevail. Firearms advocates, including the National Rifle Association, contend the law is necessary to prevent gun owners from becoming ensnared by a patchwork of municipal ordinances that violate their right to bear arms. Gun control advocates challenged the law on a technicality - that it passed as part of what they called an unrelated piece of legislation. “These two bills were cobbled together for political expediency at the end of the legislative session,” Martin Black, representing five Democratic lawmakers who sued to overturn the law, told the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.More than 80 towns across Pennsylvania repealed gun laws - ranging from requirements that owners report lost or stolen firearms to bans on guns in public parks - rather than face hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills to defend ordinances that were seldom enforced. Five municipalities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have faced lawsuits under the law. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms, and efforts to regulate gun ownership are often fiercely contested. Wednesday’s arguments focused on the tortured legislative history of the bill and whether its passage violated a provision of the state’s Constitution that specifies that laws must focus on a single issue. A lower court found last June that the passage was unconstitutional because Republican lawmakers tucked the firearms legislation into a bill dealing with scrap metal. That bill passed on the final day of the 2014 legislative session and was so rushed that Republican Governor Tom Corbett signed the wrong bill. Republican legislators said at the time that the language was necessary because towns were ignoring laws that made it a criminal offense for towns to pass gun restrictions. “What does suing the city over a firearms matter have to do with the theft of copper wire?” asked a skeptical Justice David Wecht. Attorney Nick Orloff, arguing on behalf of Republican legislators, said both bills dealt with crime prevention. “It’s meant to deter crime,” Orloff said. But Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFire PA, scoffed at that idea. “Say the city of Philadelphia passes a soda tax,” Goodman said. “If I don’t drink soda, I don’t get to sue because I didn’t pay the tax.” | 0fake |
Zika Bill Is Blocked by Senate Democrats Upset Over Provisions - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a federal spending bill that would have provided $1. 1 billion to fight the Zika virus, saying Republicans had sabotaged the legislation with politically charged provisions. The move raised the possibility that no new money would be available soon to fight the disease as Southern states brace for a summer outbreak. The stalemate, accompanied by a sharp war of words on the Senate floor, raised the prospect that the partisan divide in Congress was hindering the government’s ability to respond effectively to a pressing public health emergency. Democrats said they blocked the bill because Republicans were using the legislation to score political points, jam through unpalatable policy changes and cut money from other programs, including provisions that would hinder access to contraception for women and weaken environmental restrictions on pesticide use. Republicans, in turn, accused Democrats of manufacturing excuses for blocking the bill, but they did not dispute that some of the provisions favored Republican policy positions. Democrats and the White House have been pushing since February for the Republican majorities in Congress to approve $1. 9 billion in emergency financing to fight Zika, which can cause brain damage and other serious defects in infants born to infected mothers. The Democrats reacted with disbelief on Tuesday as Republicans tried to turn the tables and blame Democrats for delaying the money because they had blocked the legislation. “We have a public health crisis descending on our country,” Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said after the vote. “Pregnant women all across America are looking at this with dismay, utter dismay, as we sit here in a partisan gridlock manufactured by the other side. ” The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, was incensed. “I don’t know what universe my friend is living in,” Mr. Reid said, referring to Mr. McConnell. “What does he think? Does he think we’re all stupid? The American people are dumb?” The sniping continued as Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican, declared, “Our Democratic friends block it because they are sore losers. ” Public health officials reacted with their own dismay at the breakdown on Capitol Hill. “If we don’t get new money, we won’t be able to do things at a pace that is necessary and appropriate to the urgency of this threat,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is working on three potential vaccines against the Zika virus and overseeing a study of thousands of pregnant women infected with the virus. In May, the Senate approved $1. 1 billion in funding after months of partisan brinkmanship, during which the Obama administration ultimately redirected nearly $600 million previously approved to fight the Ebola virus so that federal health agencies could get a start on working against the Zika virus. House Republicans, in turn, adopted legislation providing $622 million, with most of the money cut and redirected from other federal programs — a move opposed by Democrats who said the money for Zika should be treated as an emergency expenditure. Ultimately, Democrats were willing to go along with the Senate version, but in talks controlled strictly by Republicans, House and Senate negotiators agreed last week to provide $1. 1 billion, with $750 million in cuts and policy changes. Democrats charged that Republicans had the legislation by adding provisions that would restrict the role of Planned Parenthood, the women’s health organization, and similar clinics in providing contraceptive services related to fighting the Zika virus, which can be transmitted sexually. The Democrats also said that Republicans had inserted a provision cutting $540 million in financing from the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature health care law, and that they had stripped a House provision that would ban the flying of the Confederate battle flag in federal cemeteries. Another provision of the bill that Democrats disliked was a further reallocation of money from Ebola programs, totaling $107 million. Democrats have long maintained that money previously appropriated to fight Ebola is vitally needed. Even as officials brace for the arrival in the continental United States of mosquitoes carrying Zika, the Obama administration does have some flexibility in reapportioning funds among different health programs — in addition to the nearly $600 million already taken from Ebola programs — while waiting for Congress to act. The White House has been reluctant to specify how much money it might be able to temporarily redirect to fight Zika — or how long it would be able to make do — because that could ease pressure on Congress to approve the new money. Whichever side is more to blame, it was clear that no new government funds would be approved to fight the Zika virus until after Congress returned from a recess for the Fourth of July holiday. And even then, the prospects of an agreement are uncertain. With Southern states expected to be hit hardest by Zika, lawmakers representing Florida have been among those pushing hardest for bipartisan action. But even Floridians were divided on Tuesday. Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, said Republicans had poisoned the chances for moving ahead by blocking money for Planned Parenthood, knowing Democrats would never agree. “They’re just not living in the real world, and they’re just not facing the fact that this is an emergency,” Mr. Nelson said. He noted that at least five babies had been born with microcephaly in the United States — the most recent one in Florida — but said he expected the disagreements to continue. “We go until enough of these horrible cases are born that it is finally beginning to penetrate their hard heads,” he said. Senator Marco Rubio, Mr. Nelson’s Republican counterpart from Florida, blamed Democrats’ political motives for sinking the bill. “It’s a talking point that they want to take into the July Fourth recess, unfortunately,” Mr. Rubio said. Democrats on Tuesday morning urged renewed negotiations, but Mr. Cornyn, speaking to reporters off the floor, said “There’s not going to be another opportunity to deal with this for the near future. ” The vote on Tuesday morning was 52 to 48, with Republicans falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster and advance the bill to a final vote. The debate was so sharp that Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, accused Democrats of favoring insects over people in their opposition to easing the pesticide restrictions. “The Democrats are more focused on protecting the mosquito than they are protecting people,” he said. | 0fake |
Hillary Wants Aggressively Interventionist Foreign Policy | 10-27-1 6 The first Bill and Hillary Clinton co-presidency included eight years of Balkan and other wars of aggression. Bush/Cheney exceeded their lawlessness. Obama outdid the worst of both previous administrations - attacking seven countries, destabilizing others, orchestrating coups in Honduras, Paraguay and Brazil, threatening Venezuelan democracy, enforcing puppet rule in Haiti, continuing Plan Colombia aid, responsible for massacres, disappearances and torture of regime opponents, along with instituting increasingly anti-Sino/Russia policies, risking confrontation with both countries. On October 27, the Wall Street Journal said 2016 electoral politics scrambled traditional positions on foreign policy and international intervention, obliterating many of the usual partisan distinctions and presenting political challenges for whoever wins in November. Hillary will likely exceed the worst of Obamas aggressiveness on the international stage, according to her public statements and (what) top aides say. Shell be more hardline on Russia, China and Iran, risking direct confrontation. Earlier she said I think Ive been very clear that my position is in favor of what I called smart power that uses all the tools at our disposal, and military power always should be a last resort. Her views as first lady, US senator and secretary of state show how often she favors it aggressively, her rage for wars insatiable. As president and commander-in-chief, shell likely circumvent international and constitutional law like her predecessors, waging war on any nation she chooses. Former acting CIA director Michael Morell, a likely Hillary administration appointee, urges a more muscular US geopolitical role, including new sanctions on Russia and Iran, earlier saying: Ships leave Iran on a regular basis carrying arms to the Houthis in Yemen. I would have no problem from a policy perspective of having the US Navy boarding their ships and if there are weapons on them to turn those ships around. This type aggressiveness would risk greater Middle East war than already, maybe involving Russia and China, challenging US interventionism - knowing their nations are next if its not stopped. Earlier, Hillarys top national security advisor Jake Sullivan said (w)e need to be raising the costs to Iran for its destabilizing behavior, and we need to be raising the confidence of our Sunni partners. Last years nuclear deal failed to change overall US policy toward Iran - wanting pro-Western puppet governance replacing its sovereign independence. Instead of cooperating with Iran in furthering regional peace and stability, a Hillary administration appears planning to challenge it confrontationally - perhaps with another war in mind, a far greater challenge than against other Middle East states, especially with Russia likely to intervene if asked. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. Donate to Rense.com Support Free & Honest Journalism At Rense.com Subscribe To RenseRadio! Enormous Online Archives, MP3s, Streaming Audio Files, Highest Quality Live Programs | 1real |
Editor of Austria’s Largest Paper Charged with ‘Hate Speech’ over Migrant Article | Breitbart October 26, 2016
An editor of Austria’s largest paper, Kronen Zeitung, is to be tried for hate speech over a commentary he wrote about the migrant crisis last year.
On 25 October 2015, Christoph Biro wrote of the masses of migrants who were travelling through the Styrian countryside and remarked on the assaults and property damage committed by migrants, reports Kurier .
Calling the majority of the migrants “testosterone-driven Syrians”, Mr. Biro recounted the multiple reports of migrants carrying out, in his words, “extremely aggressive sexual assaults”.
He also detailed Afghan men had slashed the seats of the trains that were transporting them to Germany because they refused to sit where Christians had previously sat. This article was posted: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 6:12 am Share this article | 1real |
NORTH CAROLINA: Top Democratic Donor – Blacks Are “Seriously F***Ed In The Head” [VIDEO] | NORTH CAROLINA: Top Democratic Donor – Blacks Are “Seriously F***Ed In The Head” [VIDEO] NORTH CAROLINA: Top Democratic Donor – Blacks Are “Seriously F***Ed In The Head” [VIDEO] November 2, 2016, 3:39 pm by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton Leave a Comment 0
NoisyRoom.net
In North Carolina , a major donor to US Senate candidate Deborah Ross, was caught on video by Project Veritas saying some very disturbing things. He compared black Republicans to Jews helping Nazis during the Holocaust. Benjamin Barber also said that blacks are “seriously f***ed in the head.”
James O’Keefe and Project Veritas have been relentless in exposing Democrats and the left this election cycle. They’ve done terrific work, much to the chagrin of Barber. Benjamin and Leah Barber were caught on undercover video at a fundraiser for Ross. They are also major donors to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Figures.
First up in the video is Ross comparing voter ID laws to racist Jim Crow laws in the South. Then the conversation with the Barbers began. And it was a doozy.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Leah Barber said about African Americans who support Republicans. “You’re voting against your self-interest. In the name of change, what is the change that they want to see?”
From PJ Media :
In a new video released today by Project Veritas Action, a top Democratic donor is caught on camera horribly maligning Republican blacks at a fundraiser for North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Deborah Ross. In the video, Benjamin Barber, a prominent Ross and Clinton donor, compares blacks who vote Republican to Nazis at the fundraiser for Ross on the Upper West Side of New York City on September 19, 2016.
“Have you heard of the Sonderkommandos? Jewish guards who helped murder Jews in the camps. So there were even Jews that were helping the Nazis murder Jews! So blacks who are helping the other side are seriously fucked in the head,” Barber said. “They’re only helping the enemy who will destroy them. Maybe they think ‘if I help them we’ll get along okay; somehow I’ll save my race by working with the murderers.’”
The irony here is rich considering the sordid history of George Soros , another prominent big Democrat donor who literally was a Jewish Nazi collaborator as a teenager during World War II in his native Budapest, Hungary.
An analogy of the Sonderkommandos… work units in Nazi death camps? This guy just trashed African Americans and Jews. What an asshat. The death camps were usually composed of Jewish males, forced to dispose of bodies from the gas chambers. They did not assist with the killings themselves. Assertions otherwise are obscene.
Project Veritas showed the video to some religious leaders and others in the black community who were shocked by the contents of the video.
“I think that Deborah Ross has shown her true colors. If this is not a, if that… what you just showed me is not racism and condescending and basically calling blacks stupid and ignorant and saying that we are voting against our own self-interest if we support any Republican. I am appalled. I am incensed. Deborah Ross should be called to task for something like that,” said Bishop Wooden, a black voter in North Carolina.
No one should be shocked by this… the undercurrent of racism and Antisemitism has always been out there for the Democrats. You just got to see some honesty for a change instead of the usual pandering. Disgusting and revealing. 0 | 1real |
George And Laura Bush Celebrate Their 70th Birthdays | Daily Wire | George And Laura Bush Celebrate Their 70th Birthdays By: Hank Berrien October 26, 2016
On Saturday, former president George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush celebrated their 70th birthdays together in Crawford, Texas.
President Bush’s birthday was July 6, and Laura’s is on November 4.
Some of the attendees included former commerce secretary Donald Evans, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, and Ross Perot Jr., the son of H. Ross Perot. George Strait performed, and sang “Happy Birthday,” per People. Typical of Bush’s down-home style, he wore jeans, a western-style shirt and a prominent belt buckle.
The dinner included an avocado and grapefruit salad, Mesquite smoked peppered beef tenderloin, Southern fried catfish, roasted corn and poblano pudding, bourbon carrots, and cheddar and black pepper biscuits. The dessert was a Texas chocolate sheet cake.
Bush also invited guests to his art studio at the ranch, dubbed Studio 43, where he works on his paintings.
Laura Bush was working as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District when she met George in 1977; their friends Joe and Jan O'Neill invited them to a barbecue. They were married in November 1977 at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, where she had been baptized. She wore a tan, two-toned dress she had bought off the rack.
George W. Bush later called his proposal to his wife the "best decision of my life." Laura, an only child, said she gained "brothers and sisters and wonderful in-laws" and made her feel part of the family. Tags | 1real |
U.S. Army Tests High-Energy Laser That Can Destroy Drones | The U. S. Army has been testing a laser weapon that can destroy drones. [Researchers are testing Stryker infantry transport vehicles mounted with a 5kW laser weapon so that one day, the weapon can destroy drones on the front lines, the Daily Mail reported. The laser weapon brought down 50 drones during a firing exercise. “They love the system and they are excited about not only what they can do with it in the air, but what they can do with it on the ground as well,” Lt. Col. Jeff Erts, who is in charge of the experiments, said. The Army is also working with Lockheed Martin to test a 60kW laser weapon. Other branches of the military also plan to utilize laser weapons. The U. S. Navy is planning on deploying laser weapons on its ships within the next two years. | 0fake |
BERNIE SUES To Allow 17 Year Olds To Vote | Next up is a law suit to make it legal for H-1B Visa holders, felons and illegal aliens to vote in every state. You didn t think the Democrats were trying to protect illegals and grant dangerous criminals an early release because they cared about them, did you? Bernie Sanders s campaign has filed a lawsuit against Ohio s secretary of state to allow 17-year olds to vote in the Democratic primary on March 15, according to a CNN report.Sanders s campaign manager told reporters in Michigan on Tuesday that Republican Jon Husted, who is Ohio s secretary of State, has changed the rules to make it so that those who are currently 17, but will be 18 by the time of the November general election, cannot vote in the state s primaries. The secretary of state has decided to disenfranchise people who are 17 but will be 18 by the day of the general election, Weaver said, according to CNN. Those people have been allowed to vote under the law of Ohio, but the secretary of state of the state of Ohio has decided to disenfranchise those people to forbid them from voting in the primary that is coming up on March 15. Sanders has galvanized the support of many young liberal voters, and routinely thumps Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among voters under the age of 40. Clinton generally dominates Sanders among older voters.[quote_box_center]After eight years of Obama, who delivered the same false message of hope via free sh*t to America s youth, Bernie Sanders supporters are ready to cast their vote for another lying politician who is promising them a utopia that s impossible to deliver. [/quote_box_center]Millenials are struggling with an immense burden of student debt debt that rose 25% between 2008 and 2012 alone (the Obama years) even as the economy struggled. According to one 2014 calculation, millennials make up about 40% of the ranks of the unemployed; when they have jobs, they may be underemployed (Starbucks barista, anyone?) or underpaid, or competing ruthlessly for a handful of lucrative opportunities. Some studies suggest that while they might be frugal, their financial situations (coupled, sometimes, with a dearth of financial literacy) can spell trouble.One Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey found 24% of millennial respondents were familiar with basic financial concepts; 30% routinely overdrew their checking accounts (racking up banking fees) and more than 20% ended up dipping into their retirement savings (incurring fees and penalties). Nearly half couldn t come up with $2,000 in the next month in an emergency, making them financially fragile .The last president elected with a platform of hope and change largely failed to deliver, in their eyes. Oh, and his administration included Hillary Clinton.The issue [of allowing 17 year olds to vote] came to light after a report in the Columbus Dispatch, in which a state Democratic lawmaker accused Husted of changing the rules to keep those who will be 18 by Nov. 4 from voting in the presidential primary.Husted called those accusations and the Sanders lawsuit baseless in a statement released over Twitter, saying that Ohio is operating under the same set of rules it has used in past primaries.Husted s response to Sanders ridiculous lawsuit can be found here:Some facts about voting for 17-year-olds they can vote in the primary on nominations, not on delegates or issues. pic.twitter.com/i7pe7Eg6Wl Jon Husted (@JonHusted) March 8, 2016Via: The Hill | 1real |
WATCH: Van Jones Scorches Insane Republican Who Think’s Trump’s Chaos Helps His Agenda | Donald Trump is an extreme narcissist who always demands unwavering loyalty from his cable news surrogates. No matter how outrageous his words or deeds, Therefore, it comes as no surprise that during an appearance on ABC s This Week, Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union actually suggested that Trump s chaotic excuse for governing the nation is actually helping move the GOP legislative agenda alone.First, former conservative radio host and #NeverTrump Republican Charlie Sykes was able to weigh in, saying: The role that the president is playing, rather than showing leadership of any kind, he is sowing chaos, confusion and destruction. Schlapp said in response: I get the fact that there s an opinion on Donald Trump that a lot of people don t like Donald Trump. The president does want to get it done but he wants to get it done within the context of the other aspects of these polices. So Dreamers are going to have to be accompanied with border security. And [Obamacare] CSR payments are going to have to be accompanied by other health care reforms. That s where the very outspoken Van Jones chimed in: You just described probably the most complicated set of negotiations in the history of the republic, that this guy is ramming through. Schlapp tried to cut Jones off, but Jones wasn t having it, and plowed on: I m not finished yet, I m not done. The problem you are having is what you are describing is something that would require real leadership, real finesse. On BOTH sides! Schlapp desperately pouted.Jones calmly continued: I ll say on both sides. But your guy, who you are going to love and defend I understand it s your job you have to admit he s his own worst enemy. In order to do what you just described, you would need discipline and focus. That s when Jones really let the bomb drop: That this isn t normal, and Senator Bob Corker started openly questioning Trump s stability and fitness to serve. Jones said: We are so into the crazy now, when something significant happens, we don t notice. [Corker] is not a bomb thrower. And when someone of his stature and his temperament says World War III, that should be a all-cars-stop-on-the-interstate moment. What is going on? Van Jones is correct. This is a very dangerous situation, and Trump s cable news lackeys are enabling this playing of Russian Roulette with our lives and the future of the nation. If we land in a nuclear war, you know who to blame it s the Matt Schlapp s of the world, not the Van Joneses.Watch the incredible conversation below. | 1real |
NANCY PELOSI ASKED: Who’s the Leader of the Dems?…Any Guesses? Soros? [Video] | 1real | |
Hillary Clinton Builds $150 Million War Chest, Doubling Donald Trump - The New York Times | Donald J. Trump entered the homestretch of the campaign at a pronounced financial disadvantage to Hillary Clinton, according to figures Mr. Trump’s team released on Saturday, and far below the goal he set for himself earlier in the race. After raising $100 million in partnership with Republican Party organizations in September, Mr. Trump and committees linked to his campaign began October with $75 million in cash on hand. Mrs. Clinton raised $154 million in September and began October with roughly $150 million in the bank, her campaign said, twice as much as Mr. Trump. Many of the Republican Party’s leading contributors have stayed away from his campaign, judging from financial disclosures filed by Mr. Trump and his party on Saturday, signaling his difficulties in persuading party elites to back him. One exception was Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley investor who spoke in support of Mr. Trump at the Republican convention in July. A person close to Mr. Thiel said on Saturday that the investor was putting $1. 25 million behind Mr. Trump’s campaign. Still, Mrs. Clinton will have a huge war chest for advertising and organizing at a time when she has regained her lead in public opinion polls and Mr. Trump is openly feuding with his party and mired in accusations that he groped women. The monthly figure was a record for Mr. Trump and provided evidence of his powerful appeal among donors: The campaign now estimates that 2. 6 million people have given to his campaign. But it was only a small improvement over his in July and August, suggesting he might have peaked. Moreover, Mr. Trump has so far not followed through on promises to spend $100 million of his own fortune on the campaign. In September, he contributed $2 million, his usual amount since he became the Republican nominee, leaving him roughly $44 million short of his goal. Mr. Trump also said he would blitz Mrs. Clinton with $100 million in advertising, but he has spent about $32 million, according to two Republican media buyers, although they have reserved substantial additional advertising in swing states. “Our ad spending strategy has not changed,” Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman, wrote in an email. “Mr. Trump continues to make significant contributions to his campaign. ” Mr. Trump is not starved for cash and could still make additional investments in television and turnout to increase his chances on Nov. 8. But his campaign has been marred by disagreements with Republican organizations in some key states. On Saturday, Mr. Trump’s campaign cut ties with Matt Borges, the chairman of the Republican Party in Ohio, a pivotal swing state. A Trump aide accused Mr. Borges of publicly undermining Mr. Trump to promote his own ambitions to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee. In a letter to other Ohio Republicans, the aide, Robert Paduchik, said Mr. Borges had spent the past week on a “ media tour with state and national outlets to criticize our party’s nominee. ” Still, Mr. Paduchik added that he expected the Ohio Republican Party to keep covering payroll costs that it had been paying on behalf of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Some leading Republican donors have tried an awkward straddle, providing money to a “super PAC” that is focused on attacking Mrs. Clinton but is said to be aiming its fire to achieve maximum benefit for Republican House and Senate candidates endangered by Mr. Trump’s slide. That group, called Future45, received $5 million from the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson in September and the same amount from his wife, Miriam. An additional $2. 3 million came from Joe Ricketts, the TD Ameritrade founder, and other donors, including the coal magnate Joe Craft. But disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday hinted at fragmentation and disarray among outside groups that support Mr. Trump and have competed with one another for dollars and turf. While Mr. Trump’s sons and advisers have appeared at for two groups — Great America PAC and Rebuilding America Now — at least three additional super PACs have organized in apparent support of him. One, called Save America From Its Government, was founded by Andrew Beal, a banker and real estate investor who is a member of Mr. Trump’s economic advisory team. According to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Beal gave $2 million to the group in September, nearly all of the money it reported raising. A fourth group, a committee called American Horizons, was attacked by the Trump campaign this summer for promoting a “Dinner With Donald” contest that Mr. Trump had neither authorized nor agreed to. The complaints do not appear to have affected : American Horizons raised $750, 000 from July to September, a third of it from donors giving hundreds of dollars each. The committee has spent just $12, 000 on expenditures backing Mr. Trump. But the biggest chunk of spending, about $400, 000, went to fees to a consulting firm owned by the PAC’s treasurer. | 0fake |
null | Not into the zombie thing, but this movie was hilarious. | 1real |
HUGE! Has Wikileaks finally burst the Hillary Clinton bubble? | HUGE! Has Wikileaks finally burst the Hillary Clinton bubble? When the mainstream media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Bloomberg , and Washington Post, have lifted their coordinated blackout on all things negative about Hillary Clinton, you know it’s bad. Next week, Julian Assange is set to release Hillary’s actual emails which could be the smoking gun that finally brings her down. Be sure to watch the MSNBC segment in below video:
h/t Trico | 1real |
Homeschool Families Targeted In District’s ‘Operation Round Up’ | Off the Grid News – by Daniel Jennings
A public school official in Florida has urged citizens to fight truancy by reporting any children they suspect might not be in school or being educated — including homeschool families.
It is all part of an “anti-truancy” initiative called Operation Round Up, in which residents of Jackson County, Florida, are urged to be on the lookout for children not in school and to report them to school officials or to police.
A truancy report can lead to a home check by sheriff’s deputies or police and possibly the arrest of the parents, TV station WJHG reported.
The policy of the Jackson County School District is to send law enforcement to the homes of suspected truants.
“Sometimes if these citizens don’t call me, I have no way of knowing,” Shirl Williams, director of student services for the school system, told the TV station. “So if it’s a nosy neighbor, be a nosy neighbor. Just call me and let me check out the situation.”
Williams acknowledged that homeschool children can be mistaken for truants but urged citizens to report them so school authorities can investigate.
“Sometimes the community will see them around town and they think, ‘Hey, they’re not being educated.’ Sometimes the community is right,” Williams said.
Home School Legal Defense Association attorney TJ Schmidt wrote Williams and the Jackson County superintendent, saying that while truancy is a problem, homeschoolers should not be targeted.
“Your statements suggest that everyone should report children they think aren’t being educated,” the letter read. “In our opinion, this is a threatening practice, and will instill a spirit of suspicion and hostility against homeschoolers in the community.”
Schmidt wrote to Williams after a parent saw her on TV and complained to HSDLA.
© Copyright Off The Grid News | 1real |
BENGHAZI SPOKESLIAR SUSAN RICE TELLS CNN: ‘We should expect’ Iran To Use Funds It Gets For Terrorist Operations [VIDEO] | Tell us Susan what s worse, Iran with a nuclear weapon and billions of dollars to help fund muslim terrorists or Iran with a nuclear weapon and frozen assets? President Obama s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, told CNN s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that we should expect Iran to use the money it gets under sanctions relief for military and even terrorist operations.As part of Obama s nuclear agreement with Iran, tens of billions of dollars frozen as part of the sanctions on Iran will be released over time provided Iran complies with a list of deadlines outlined in the agreement. What do we think they ll spend that money on? We think, for the most part, they re going to need to spend it on the Iranian people and their economy which has tanked, she told Blitzer.Of course, murderous regimes like Iran don t generally limit themselves to domestic infrastructure projects and welfare schemes, which Rice quickly acknowledged. But yes, it is real, it is possible, and, in fact, we should expect that some portion of that money would go to the Iranian military and could potentially be used for the kinds of bad behavior that we have seen in the region up until now, she said.By bad behavior Rice is presumably referring to Iran s funding of terrorist organizations, and its expanding military operations throughout areas such as Yemen.Despite the fact that the Obama administration fully expects Iran to use its newly released billions to fund terrorism, Rice told Blitzer those concerns didn t play an important role in negotiations. The goal here, Wolf, was never, and was not designed to prevent them from engaging in bad behavior in the region. They re doing that today, she said. The goal is to ensure that they don t have a nuclear weapon, and therefore, when they are engaging in that bad behavior, are that much more dangerous. Rice s acknowledgement of Iran s bad faith might not bother the administration, but it is likely to cause a little concern in congress.After all, Iran s bad behavior is a pretty good indication that the murderous regime in Tehran has no intention of cleaning up its act which makes it somewhat hard to trust they will abide by an Obama sponsored agreement.Via: BizPacReview | 1real |
Re: UK Children's Charity: Muslims Are Kidnapping White Girls And Forcing Them Into Sex Slavery | Print
Islam and sex slavery are like peanut butter and jelly - you always find the one next to the other. Muslims kidnapping vulnerable white girls in the UK and forcing them to be sex slaves has reached an epidemic level, according to a recent report from the UK Charity Barnados. They say that Muslims are setting up fake businesses, primarily car washes, when, in reality, they are brothels and transit houses for these kidnapped girls:
Barnardo’s claims girls are being ferried from one unit to another as sex slaves for Kurds[s].
It suggests white British girls on the run from the care system in Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough are being targeted.
The report said: “There were connections between people that work in car washes and the sexual exploitation of children on Teesside.
…
Officers on the immigration-led operation found beds at one. It was suggested staff were living on the premises.
Cleveland Police said: “It was not confirmed that child sexual exploitation had taken place although enquiries were conducted.” ( source )
This is a sad and sickening picture of what the UK has become. Once one of the safest places in the West, it has allowed itself to become little more than a third-world cesspool, where its own women are being sold like slaves in the Muslim bazaars of old, and the government refuses to do its job to stop it, instead allowing it to continue and trying to stop those who want to put a stop to it.
Shoebat.com
*Article by Andrew Bieszad | 1real |
TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO Of President Trump’s Inauguration Speech: “January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again” | 1real | |
U.S. lawmakers propose ban on arbitration of sexual misconduct claims | (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill that would ban agreements to keep sexual harassment and discrimination claims out of court, amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men. Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unveiled the bill on Wednesday, saying mandatory arbitration agreements had forced women to privately arbitrate misconduct claims, effectively silencing victims and enabling serial harassers. An arbitration case is similar to a lawsuit, but the proceedings are typically confidential. Dozens of prominent American men in politics, media and entertainment have been accused in recent months of sexual harassment and misconduct. In some of those cases, their accusers had been required to sign agreements with their employers to keep work-related legal claims in arbitration. The bill would make those agreements unenforceable in sexual harassment and discrimination cases brought under federal law. Lawmakers said an estimated 60 million U.S. workers have mandatory arbitration agreements. The issue of sexual harassment was in focus in Washington on Thursday as Senator Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, announced he would step down after several women accused him of unwanted touching. Franken has denied some of the claims and apologized to other accusers. On Tuesday, Representative John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan, resigned after allegations that he sexually harassed staffers. Conyers, who was the longest-serving member of Congress, has denied the claims. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business have said in the past that arbitration can benefit both employers and workers who want to keep their claims confidential. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Kamala Harris of California, and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. It also has two sponsors from each party in the House. The lawmakers were joined at a news conference in Washington by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who sued former network chief Roger Ailes for harassment last year. The claims led to Ailes’ resignation and a $20 million settlement for Carlson. Ailes and Fox denied any wrongdoing. Carlson said arbitration agreements like the one she signed with Fox allow harassers to stay in their jobs, even when victims are pushed out or fired. | 0fake |
US Military on Ground in Syria Training Opposition for Raqqa Operation | 0 9 0 0 The US is training Syrian opposition for the operation to retake Raqqa from Daesh terrorists.
WASHINGTON(Sputnik) — US forces are on the ground in Syria, equipping, advising, and training Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and partners for the operation to isolate and then retake the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa, Coalition Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said at a briefing Wednesday. “I will not talk about locations where our US forces are in Syria but they are there," Townsend stated. "They equip and train at various locations, and we have advise and assist teams that will accompany partner forces anywhere they fight Daesh." © AFP 2016/ AHMAD AL-RUBAYE US Soldier Uses Kalashnikov to Show Yezidis How to Repel Daesh in Sinjar (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) On Tuesday, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said that "capable, motivated" local Syrian forces would lead the offensive on the city.
Raqqa operation is expected to overlap with the offensive to retake Iraq's Mosul , according to the Defense Department.
Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia and other countries, seized Mosul in 2014 and Raqqa in 2013 along with a number of other cities and towns in the two countries. ... | 1real |
Tips for Whittling Down Your Tax Bill - The New York Times | Regardless of what Congress ends up doing about the future of the tax system, you don’t need to pay more than you owe for the 2016 tax filing season. You can probably whittle your liability by going through last year’s records and checking to see if tips from tax professionals may apply to you. Whether you use a professional tax preparer or software, or handle the return on your own, you will need to assemble information and gather receipts and tax documents. Here are the basics: You need to track your income, but you are likely to get plenty of help on that. Be prepared for a blizzard of tax forms. Employers issue Forms to employees. Banks, brokerage houses and other payers, including businesses that use independent contractors, issue Forms 1099 and sometimes Schedules reporting the money they paid. They must report these payments to the I. R. S. as well, and discrepancies are likely to result in an I. R. S. notice. But it is up to the taxpayer to claim itemized deductions and available tax credits. If you neglect to do so, you may end up overpaying. Taking deductions requires good . Consider the rules for charitable deductions on donated money, household items or clothing, valuable art or properties. Sidney Kess, a New York accountant and lawyer, who is a senior consultant to the accounting firm Citrin Cooperman, said your own check is sufficient for gifts of less than $250, but for higher amounts a receipt from the charity is needed. “To claim a deduction for items or property worth over $500 but less than $5, 000, in addition to a written acknowledgment, records have to show when and how you got the property, the cost or other basis, and you must report this information on Form 8283,” Mr. Kess said. “For a deduction over $5, 000, you need an appraisal from a qualified appraiser. ” But is only part of what confronts taxpayers trying to reduce liabilities. The tax code — four million words by some estimates — is of complexities, but therein lie opportunities. Mr. Kess discussed one such opportunity: deciding how family members should file their returns. Like so much involving taxes, it’s complicated. Say a couple has a daughter in college who earned money from a summer job. The couple provides more than half her support and could claim her as a dependent, but the I. R. S. imposes certain limits. Personal exemptions, which exclude $4, 050 per person from income, begin to phase out for married couples filing jointly with adjusted gross income of $311, 300 and are eliminated when income reaches $433, 800. If the parents had an income below those levels, they would probably have claimed their daughter as a dependent. Because their income is above the upper limit, they do not do so. Instead, she claims her own exemption on her return reporting her summer income, and she can take an education credit as well. Her parents could not get that credit because of their high income. Individual Retirement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts can be used to shelter tax refunds, noted Barbara Weltman, a lawyer in Vero Beach, Fla. and author of two J. K. Lasser books, “1001 Deductions Tax Breaks 2017,” and “Small Business Taxes 2017,” both published by Wiley. “You can use your tax refund to lower your 2016 tax,” Ms. Weltman said, “but you have to file as early as you can” because the deadline for depositing the money into an I. R. A. or H. S. A. is the same as the due date for filing tax returns, April 18 this year. If you are eligible for an I. R. A. or H. S. A. claim deductions for them on the return, based on the amounts calculated by the accounts’ custodians, and include Form 8888, directing the I. R. S. to deposit those amounts directly into the accounts. Tell your account custodian (it may be a bank or a mutual fund company or a brokerage) that the deposit should be applied to 2016, she said. Any excess from the refund can go to your regular bank account. Julian Block, a tax lawyer in Larchmont, N. Y. said that big refunds can sometimes cause problems. He cited the case of a new client who, he discovered, had been receiving a plump refund every year. Mr. Block advised him to file a revised Form with his employer, aimed at reducing the amount of money being held out of his regular paycheck and paring down his refund. The reason, Mr. Block said, is that online identity thieves are increasingly active, and if they file a fraudulent return using your Social Security number and claiming a refund, your own refund will be delayed while the I. R. S. sorts it out. Of course, you won’t be held liable for the actions of a thief. If, instead, you owe a small balance to the I. R. S. you won’t have that headache, though you will need to check whether your identity has been compromised in other areas of your financial life. Mr. Block also noted that there is an alternative to an I. R. A. for some older people, including people who turn a hobby into a small business or do work like child care. If they are over age 70½, such people can no longer contribute to an I. R. A. but they can set up and contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension Plan. That enables them to deduct contributions now and withdraw money in later years. It will be taxable then, but their income may be lower, too. For tax purposes, alimony counts as earned income, he added, so recipients who otherwise qualify for an I. R. A. may contribute the alimony to it and claim a deduction. Many people do not realize that they are allowed to deduct the cost of health insurance, regardless of whether their unreimbursed medical expenses are high enough to take a deduction on Schedule A, Mr. Block said. They can deduct the health insurance cost on the front of the Form 1040, on Line 29. That’s just one of several deductions on the front of the 1040 that are worth keeping in mind. Others include teachers’ outlays of up to $250 for students or for their own professional development, the deductible part of tax, student loan interest, alimony paid and an H. S. A. deduction for those who are eligible. All are especially valuable because they reduce adjusted gross income on Line 37. That number ripples all through a tax return, often limiting other tax breaks. In addition to filing a 2016 return by April 18, many taxpayers must file Form to pay quarterly estimated taxes on income on which no taxes are withheld, like income interest, dividends and capital gains on investments, or rental and royalty income. Preparers often base the calculations on the previous year’s taxes, Mr. Kess said, but if tax cuts are indeed enacted by Congress, estimates based on 2016 taxes may turn out to be too high. If that happens, you will need to recalculate the estimate later — in June, September or even the end of the year, depending on when a law is enacted — and can reduce the payments accordingly. For anyone thinking, “I wish I’d known that last year,” Greg Rosica, a tax partner with EY, formerly Ernst Young, in Tampa, Fla. says it’s probably not too late. Whatever the reason, you realize belatedly that you failed to take a deduction for which you were qualified. All is not lost. “It’s fairly simple to amend returns,” Mr. Rosica said. Taxpayers may file a Form 1040X up to three years beyond its original due date. Say you filed a Form 1040 for 2013 income in March 2014. The due date was April 15, 2014, so you have until April 18 this year. But if you filed under an automatic extension in 2014, you have until Oct. 16 of this year to file the amended return. Mr. Rosica is a member of the editorial board for the “EY Tax Guide 2017,” which is published by Wiley, and includes this tip: Many taxpayers know they can deduct state income taxes on their federal return, but many do not realize they have the option of deducting sales taxes instead. That is advantageous if you live in a state like Texas, New Hampshire or South Dakota that has no state income tax. It may also be a boon to anyone who bought a item like a car with a big sales tax, and is often the best choice for people over age 65 because many states — even New York — exempt Social Security income and some income from state income taxes. Both Mr. Rosica and Mr. Kess advised taxpayers to check the tax consequences of any big life changes that may have taken place, like getting married or divorced or having a baby, all of which could affect filing status and the number of personal exemptions, as well as bring medical expenses that may have tax consequences. Changing jobs or moving may also mean income changes that would affect withholding. If you have a financial account outside the United States, be careful to report it, Ms. Weltman said. “Foreign financial accounts are high on the I. R. S. scrutiny list, and people who fail to disclose foreign accounts can be penalized severely,” she said, including people who inherited accounts overseas and those who worked abroad and still have ties where they once lived. FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is used for accounts of $10, 000 or more and is filed electronically with the Treasury, while Form 8938, which is attached to Form 1040, is used in more complex situations, with the lowest threshold being for accounts of $50, 000. | 0fake |
HILLARY’S TOP AIDE Is About To See Her Husband’s Scandalous Life Played Out On Big Screen: “WEINER” Debuts In May [WATCH TRAILER] | Dinesh D Souza s Hillary s America will debut in theaters in July. Clinton Cash is a documentary that investigates donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign entities, paid speeches made by Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the Clintons personal enrichment since leaving the White House in 2001. It also debuts this summer. And now, Weiner exploring the life of a world class narcissist who just happens to be married to Hillary s top aide and special friend who is also tied to Hillary s email scandal investigation, Huma Abedin. With so many scandalous movies surrounding the life of Corrupt Hillary debuting this spring and summer, it s hard to know what to see first. We only have one question. Did filmmaker, Mr. Kriegman credit Andrew Breitbart for exposing (pun intended) the truth about Anthony Weiner?Mr. Kriegman s careful chronicling of Mr. Weiner s campaign is poised to prompt a much broader reassessment of a tabloid-tarred politician. Weiner, a feature-length documentary by Mr. Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, will be released on May 20, amid one of the most contentious presidential elections in memory, and it may be the most intimate and provocative portrait of a political race since The War Room. Mr. Weiner whose moth-to-the-flame instinct toward exposure led in part to his resignation from Congress in 2011 after admitting he had lied about online liaisons with women granted extraordinary access to Mr. Kriegman, in exchange for the occasional use of his footage during the campaign. The filmmaker agreed to step out of the room whenever Mr. Weiner asked.And yet there is Mr. Kriegman in the back of a sport utility vehicle, filming as Mr. Weiner tries to persuade his wife, Huma Abedin, to appear at a primary-night party where Sydney Leathers, Mr. Weiner s erstwhile sexting partner, is lurking outside. Mr. Kriegman is inside the couple s apartment at breakfast time as Ms. Abedin, a frozen smile on her face, confides to the camera that she is living a nightmare. There are startling moments of Mr. Weiner analyzing his own transgressions (he calls them the things ) and facing teary-eyed staff members. Hours after Mr. Weiner s campaign is stricken by revelations of new online infidelities, the film finds husband and wife alone in a conference room, staring at each other for what may be the longest and most painful onscreen marital silence this side of an Ingmar Bergman film. The door closes, and I m filming, and I m riveted by what s happening, Mr. Kriegman recalled in an interview last month. But I m definitely thinking to myself: I can t believe I m standing here right now. He almost never got the chance. Mr. Kriegman had known Mr. Weiner for years, serving as chief of staff in his district office. After a decade in politics, he began pursuing a film career, earning credits on MTV and PBS. He and Ms. Steinberg, who are both 36, and previously collaborated on a documentary about prison reform, came to view Mr. Weiner as an ideal subject.Via: NYT s | 1real |
A Celebrity Z-List? Yes, It Exists - The New York Times | When Sofia Richie chopped her hair and visited a doctor’s office recently, Us Weekly was there. Not to be outdone, People heralded Mindy McKnight as “the voice for millennial moms. ” And In Touch offered an “adorable” picture of Sarah Wright Olsen’s infant napping next to a plush rabbit. Meet the striving celebrity underclass that has risen to dominate the gossip machine. Aspiring models, reality show stars, actors, YouTube vloggers and viral news subjects can now all curry coverage just by replenishing their social media accounts with photos of their babies, their butts or both. These are people you’ve probably never heard of — or have a nagging suspicion you might have, but don’t quite know why. For the record, Ms. Richie is a teenager best known for appearing on Justin Bieber’s Instagram account (not to mention being Lionel Richie’s daughter). Ms. McKnight films hair tutorials on YouTube. And because In Touch didn’t bother to explain who Ms. Wright Olsen even is, I Googled it. Turns out that after a supporting role on the NBC sitcom “Marry Me,” she now runs a parenting blog. These have crept onto our radar through our supermarket tabloids and Facebook news feeds, and a crop of publications has emerged to cover them, whether sincerely or satirically. The relentless Instagram gossip outpost The Shade Room airs their dirty laundry, the deliciously absurd podcast “Who? Weekly” pokes fun at their claims to fame, and Time Inc. ’s shiny new digital celebrity site, Instant. me, hopes to build on their brands. It used to be that the only way a person could land in the pages of the glossy celebrity magazines was to lose 100 pounds, serve as some heartwarming testimony to American values, or be murdered. But in the early aughts, the magazines started diversifying their coverage of Hollywood’s leading Jens and Bens with stories on the romantic dupes and plastic surgery nightmares of reality television. Now, as the rise of social media demolishes the leverage that celebrity tabloids once had over their most famous subjects, the gossip industry keeps defining celebrity downward. (After all, no magazine can match the reach of Taylor Swift’s more than 90 million Instagram fans or Kim Kardashian West’s 47 million Twitter followers.) When Ms. Kardashian West first rose to prominence, commentators sneered that she was “famous for nothing. ” The accusation seems quaint now: Tabloids have moved on from covering reality television stars like Ms. Kardashian West to following reality TV supporting characters, former reality TV stars, friends and exes of former reality TV stars — even people who post their own family dramas straight to YouTube. These days, gossip sites are also fueled by figures largely famous for doing nothing much. Jeremy Meeks, whose image went viral when Twitter swooned for his hot mug shot, has popped up on the websites of Us Weekly and People since his release from prison earlier this year. Instagram models like Ms. Richie, Sahara Ray and Bronte Blampied can milk months of coverage out of a couple of shots of themselves posing with Mr. Bieber. And Refinery29 recently ran a spread on the “Gucci Gang,” a group of four stylish Parisian girls whose central accomplishment is attracting a combined 50, 000 Instagram followers. As the de facto crew leader, Angelina Woreth, put it, “It’s easy to hate us, actually, because we are not doing something, we’re not really doing anything. ” Across the web, a new gossip press further enables these lesser celebrity castes. Drama generated by the young stars of YouTube, Vine and Musical. ly churns through nimble aggregation centers like Superfame and Trending All Day. The freewheeling Guru Gossip forum cuts through the glittery facade of online beauty gurus, while Get Off My Internets deflates the egos of the set. And The Shade Room, a gossip site focusing on black celebrities, pulls in 6. 1 million Instagram followers. While it posts plenty of news on known quantities (Beyoncé, Drake, Kevin Durant) it recognizes that some of the juiciest material comes from the smaller players (Tameka Harris, Karlie Redd, Keke Wyatt) who keep their names circulating on Twitter by spilling their guts on Instagram. Then there is “Who? Weekly,” the cutting podcast in which the hosts, Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger, guide listeners through celebrity’s confounding new frontier. The podcast’s name derives from the typical reaction of a layperson to reading a noncelebrity’s name in the news. As the hosts explained in a handy primer published in July, “the subjects of gossip coverage can be divided into two categories: Whos (as in: *furrows brow* Who?) and Thems (as in: ‘Oh, them. ’)” On a recent episode, they take on Brittany Farrar, the of Aaron Rodgers’s little brother, Jordan Rodgers (who is now dating the “Bachelorette” star JoJo Fletcher) who recently accused Jordan of cheating in a series of Instagram posts. “Why are we still hearing about her?” Ms. Weber asked. Mr. Finger replied: “Because she wants us — she did her due diligence in making sure we talked about her. ” And just like that: A Who was born. Legacy media companies are dancing as fast as they can to keep up. In May, Time Inc. debuted Instant. me, dedicated to covering the foot soldiers of social media. Instant sells its subjects — a constellation of YouTube creators, Snapchat fitness models and pets — as “The New Famous. ” It’s illustrated with a Tumblr aesthetic (dancing pizzas, glimmering diamonds, waving koalas) and littered with emoji. The institutional voice is synergetic like: “We’re hungryyyyyy and these slow cooker chicken tamales from Cooking Light sound amazinggggg. ” (Cooking Light is a Time Inc. property.) The site is sponsored exclusively by Degree, and every few minutes, Instant. me’s social stars jump eagerly into a deodorant ad. Instant’s prerogative is to constantly surface social faces (the recurring segment “Who to Follow” offers dossiers on emerging talents) while inspiring Instant viewers to join their ranks (“Just the Tip,” another segment, gives advice on how to build your own social fandom). A can watch Instant. me for hours without seeing a recognizable name, and that’s kind of the point. “The goal with Instant is for my grandmother to be able to go onto the site and enjoy herself and get caught up,” Kirstin Benson, Instant’s editorial director, told Adweek in July. Time Inc. has started a kind of publication on the just as the internet has atomized celebrity into a zillion tiny fandoms. Few people are typically energized by the generic category of “social media figure. ” They get their kicks by closely following a select few of their favorite stars, the stars’ friends and family, and a network of (often infighting) fans. The obsessive monitoring of all these channels drums up sufficient drama to create an enduring story line, even if only a few thousand people can manage to follow along. Plus, the setup provides fans the illusion of power in determining which Whos become Thems (Blac Chyna, a rap video vixen engaged to Rob Kardashian, is on her way toward recognition) and which seem destined to fade into permanent obscurity (I’m sorry, Sarah Wright Olsen). But these modern fandoms produce grist for too. There’s something deliciously surreal about monitoring the online movements of the barely famous, a class of people who are just unpolished, desperate and savvy enough to act mad, sloppy and sexy. The fact that publications like People and Us Weekly are covering it with a straight face adds another absurd layer. Besides, these people are assaulting our social feeds every day whether we like it or not. Outlets like The Shade Room and “Who? Weekly” have managed to extract bits of hilarity, delight and shame out of that arid media landscape. They have intuited what the traditional tabloids don’t quite get: The pursuit of celebrity has emerged as a grand tabloid narrative in and of itself. | 0fake |
Federer survives Tiafoe scare to advance | NEW YORK (Reuters) - World number three Roger Federer survived a first-round scare from Frances Tiafoe before grinding out a 4-6 6-2 6-1 1-6 6-4 victory over the American teenager in front of a raucous crowd at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. Federer looked more relieved than overjoyed when Tiafoe’s forehand found the net on match point to keep his hopes of a 20th grand slam title alive. “We had a good fight,” Federer said in an on-court interview. “It was exciting and this is why I came to New York, to go through these emotions,” he said with a laugh. The 19-year-old Tiafoe broke Federer in the first game of the match and bellowed out a loud “Come on!” when his forehand winner found the line to capture the opening set. Federer, who has won this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon since taking a six-month break last year, soon found his groove once he broke Tiafoe to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and reeled off nine of the next 10 games. However, his poor form returned in a 23-minute fourth set when his serve and the accuracy of his trusty one-handed backhand completely deserted him. Federer said Tiafoe could go on to have a big career. “He is a great player and has a bright future ahead of him,” he said of the 19-year-old. Despite coming away with the win, the shaky performance raises questions about the health of the 36-year-old Swiss, who sat out the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month with back pain. He acknowledged that he was worried about his back going into the match but said he felt “much, much better”. “This win will give me a lot of confidence,” he said. Due to rain, the speedy 2-hour and 35-minute five setter was played under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium, which amplified the volume of the rowdy crowd. Federer next meets either Slovenian Blaz Kavcic or Russian Mikhail Youzhny. | 0fake |
Breaking: "The biggest gathering of police officers I've ever seen greet Trump" - USAPoliticsNow | usapoliticsnow admin 2016 Election , US News
Daily Mail reporter David Martosko writes: “Wow… The biggest gathering of police officers I’ve ever seen greet Trump, on the Orlando airport tarmac right now” Wow… The biggest gathering of police officers I've ever seen greet Trump, on the Orlando airport tarmac right now pic.twitter.com/AFqIeXsx4N
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) November 2, 2016 ORLANDO —
— Kevin Cirilli (@kevcirilli) November 2, 2016
| 1real |
Over 60% of Republican Voters Are Embarrassed By ‘Childish’ Trump/Cruz Slap Fight | In an article aptly titled, Why some Republicans are feeling shame, The Washington Post s Sean Sullivan describes a party sinking into despair at the ridiculous spectacle of Donald Trump bickering with Ted Cruz:[Carlos] Gimenez is watching with disgust, as are many Republicans across the country, as his party s presidential race turns into a tabloid talk show. After a winter that featured anatomical insults, violent clashes at rallies, and fierce accusations of lying and dirty tricks, Republicans say the past week has been particularly dispiriting.Under normal circumstances, I would be cringing right along with them. In decades past, any presidential candidate that acted with such reckless disregard for civility would be shamed out of the public square. Even Karl Rove, the scummiest political operative in Washington D.C., always did his smears from a distance by using proxies that could not be directly linked to the Republican candidate.Those days are long gone as the two frontrunners really are just one thrown chair and a paternity test away from turning the Republican primaries into a full-blown Jerry Springer episode:The luridness has weighed not only on Republican elected officials but on voters as well. In a recent CBS News-New York Times poll, 60 percent of Republican primary voters said the campaign has made them mostly embarrassed for the party rather than mostly proud. The survey was conducted before the Cruz-Trump fight involving their spouses erupted.I imagine that number is closer to 70% by now and instead of cringing along with Republican voters, I can only point my finger and laugh. A lot.By the way, that was 60% of REPUBLICAN primary voters, the most faithful of the faithful. How do you think Republican moderates view the whole thing? Independents? Democrats? Yeah, when Trump wins the nomination, he s going to be utterly crushed in the general election no matter WHO the Democratic nominee is. How can I NOT laugh?It s even funnier to point out, You built that. And they did. So very very much. They fully embraced the incoherent rage and hate of the Tea Party because it won them elections. It didn t matter that your average Tea Partier was completely detached from reality and common decency as long as they voted Republican, attacked Obama and did it loudly. The conservative movement let the fringe take over because it was easier than admitting that the Bush years were a total disaster of their own making.And so the Tea Party dragged the level of discourse into the mud and buried it. They set the bar so low that it s now allowed Donald Trump to run the kind of campaign that used to be unthinkable, filled with vulgarity, violence and idiocy that is an international embarrassment. Even worse, the Democratic primary has been a model of civility between the candidates (if not their followers). It s like watching a family with two well-behaved children and then looking down at your two screaming neurotypical brats throwing temper tantrums. You want to be mad at that other family but all you feel is a burning shame that you failed as a parent somehow. Featured image via Getty Images | 1real |
Trump says Obamacare in 'death spiral,' urges Congress to act | CINCINNATI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the Obamacare healthcare system is in a “death spiral” and must be reformed soon, a day after insurer Anthem Inc announced it would withdraw from the Ohio healthcare insurance exchange next year. Trump has struggled to get a healthcare package passed by the U.S. Congress even though his Republican Party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate. A House plan was approved on May 4, and the Senate is trying to pass a version this summer. Trump, visiting Cincinnati, Ohio, to tout his infrastructure plan, met with several people who dislike President Obama’s signature healthcare law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, and afterward called on Congress to act. “Obamacare is in a total death spiral and the problems will only get worse if Congress fails to act,” he said. Trump spoke a day after Anthem announced it would not participate in the Obamacare insurance exchanges next year in Ohio, a potentially crippling blow to the healthcare system. Trump said opposition from Democrats needed to be overcome in order to gain passage of a new law. “It’s only obstruction from the Democrats. The Democrats are destroying healthcare,” he said. “It’s only going to be Republicans or bust. The Democrats are really in our way.” | 0fake |
WOMAN ARRESTED For Wearing T-Shirt Naming Muslim Extremist Who Fled Country After Failed Jihad Attempt [VIDEO] | This is a SHOCKING example of a government putting the rights of violent extreme Muslims before their own citizens: | 1real |
UK PM May's spokesman says not aware of Brexit concerns over German political crisis | LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May s spokesman said on Monday he was not aware of any Brexit-related concerns in the British government following the collapse of German Chancellor Angela Merkel s talks to form a three-way coalition government. I m not aware of any broader concerns, the spokesman said when asked whether May was worried the situation would affect Britain s ability to negotiate a Brexit deal. It s a matter for Germany and a matter for politicians in Germany. | 0fake |
House GOP To Waste MORE Time And Money With Silly Investigation Into House Democrats | When House Democrats staged a 26-hour sit-in to protest the House s refusal to take up anything having to do with gun legislation, most people probably didn t expect the GOP to throw a tantrum, and then take their balls and go home. However, after the humiliation of the latest fruitless Benghazi panel, you d think that they d be a little more skittish about launching more investigations that are politically motivated. You d be wrong. They re about to do it again.House GOP leaders are looking at launching a frivolous investigation, this time into the House Democrats who were involved in last month s sit-in, to determine whether they should be punished for it. Republicans just can t get past the idea that something is only American, is only patriotic, if they agree with it. Very little is more patriotic than civil disobedience, and that s what the sit-in was.Republicans weren t so quick to jump to investigating Ted Cruz when he and a small cadre of Senate members shut down the entire government for 16 days because of Obamacare, or that Tea Partiers have disrupted other business in both the House and the Senate. They and their minions will say that s because Cruz & Co., and every other Republican, didn t break any rules, and House Democrats did.But at least the Democrats didn t bring the entire government to a standstill. It s only when Democrats disrupt Congress that it s a problem.House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy even said: Members of Congress (need) to adhere to the rules and the decorum of what is expected of being on the floor. What an odd interest in adhering to the rules all of a sudden. This is the GOP that s been having all sorts of fun passing closed rules to block amendments. In fact, they broke the record for the most closed rules in Congress. While the party in power can change the rules and make rules all they want (or, at least, that s how that power seems to be used), the House GOP has never shown any interest in actually doing things the right way.McCarthy believes that this isn t what democracy should look like, and claimed he d never seen such blatant flouting of the rules. Oh, please. What absolute bullshit.Nevertheless, they re looking into whether Democrats intimidated the floor staff to break decorum rules so they could engage in a purely political stunt, the purpose of which was to line their coffers with campaign cash. Those are ridiculous allegations on their face. Like Hillary Clinton can t possibly be innocent in Benghazi, House Democrats can t possibly have actually done this to try and spur movement on gun legislation.Because that would make the GOP look worse than they already do.Because they can t have this black mark on their record in an election year.Because admitting a mistake and making good-faith efforts to fix it and move forward just aren t the GOP s style.Because the GOP is more about political stunts these days than actually working for the people.That s what Benghazi is for them a political stunt intended to try and polish an image that s so badly tarnished it s permanently black.Democrats, and the public in general, are sick to death of Congress refusing to do anything anything at all about gun violence in this country. They don t even want to fund research into gun violence as a public health issue because they believe all such research will be politically biased against guns and gun owners. The GOP is too far up the NRA s ass now to be saved.It s a shame Republicans can t see past their own haughty, disgustingly dark brown noses with the NRA brands on them. They might actually have a chance to remain politically relevant if they d stop with the stunts, plus they d actually be working for the people! Imagine that!Featured image by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images | 1real |
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: How Obama Plans To Prevent “Certain” Social Security Beneficiaries From Owning Guns | There is nothing about Obama s executive order gun grab. Barack Hussein Obama has an agenda that, for some reason, no one in America seems to be able to stop. From the video showing fake tears flowing from Obama s left eye, to every false word uttered from his mouth, it is clear he will stop at nothing to fundamentally change America, just as he promised the American voter when he campaigned back in 2007. The White House released a fact-sheet Jan. 4 which previews the executive gun control Obama will unveil Tuesday and one aspect of the new controls is the inclusion of information from the Social Security Administration in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm. On July 18 Breitbart News reported on Obama s push to ban gun-possession for Social Security beneficiaries who are believed incapable of handling their own finances.At that same time, the Los Angeles Times reported that a ban was being put together outside of public view, so all the details were not known. But the Times did know that the ban would cover those who are unable to manage their own affairs for a multitude of reasons from subnormal intelligence or mental illness to incompetency, an unspecified condition, or disease. The ban pertaining to Social Security beneficiaries is now tucked into the mental health aspects of Obama s executive gun control.According to the White House executive order preview:Current law prohibits individuals from buying a gun if, because of a mental health issue, they are either a danger to themselves or others or are unable to manage their own affairs. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has indicated that it will begin the rulemaking process to ensure that appropriate information in its records is reported to NICS. The reporting that SSA, in consultation with the Department of Justice, is expected to require will cover appropriate records of the approximately 75,000 people each year who have a documented mental health issue, receive disability benefits, and are unable to manage those benefits because of their mental impairment, or who have been found by a state or federal court to be legally incompetent. The rulemaking will also provide a mechanism for people to seek relief from the federal prohibition on possessing a firearm for reasons related to mental health.Again, the push for a ban on gun possession for certain Social Security beneficiaries was already in the works during the summer, but it is also incorporated into the mental health aspect of Obama s executive gun control.And this means that information on beneficiaries who meet the criteria of mental impairment demonstrated in part by an inability to manage their own benefits will be added to the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) so that the beneficiaries cannot buy a gun. Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
PARENT FURIOUS AFTER 4TH GRADE CLASS JOINS HATEFUL PROTESTORS AND TEACHER IN CHANT ON CAPITOL STEPS: “[Governor] Walker Sucks!” | The children were greeted at the Capitol steps in the communist state of Wisconsin by protestors singing hate songs with signs that read: Republicans and Walker rape or molest women and girls.APPLETON, Wis. I don t frequent the Capitol building in Madison so I just assumed the Capitol Singers, a group protesting Governor Scott Walker in song had faded away.I learned recently however that they are, as a line censored out of the sitcom Last Man Standing said of the Clintons, They re like shingles; just when you think they are gone, they pop back up. I received an email recently from a listener to my radio show who chaperoned a field trip his daughter s 4th grade class at Horizons Elementary School in Appleton took to the State Capitol in late May. The story he shared was simply stunning:Everyone on the field trip to the capitol was eating lunch on the capitol steps. At the same time there was a group of people protesting Walker and Act 10 singing hate songs and holding up signs saying that Republicans and Walker rape or molest women and girls.Another parent pointed out to me that my daughter s teacher was down there singing with them. I thought that I needed to find out what was actually being sung down there because a bunch of students were down there listening and recording on their cell phones what was happening. That is when I realized that they were singing terrible hate songs against Walker and what the signs said.By the way, her teacher was holding a piece of paper with the words they were singing on it. When the kids were on their way back up they started chanting Walker sucks and some other mean things. That s when I stopped them and asked why they were doing that and they didn t know what to say. I asked three times and one of the boys spoke up and said that Mr. Niquette was just doing it also. That is my daughter s teacher.Feeling it inappropriate to confront the teacher in front of children, the parent contacted the school to see if such behavior violated school policy. He ended up in an email exchange with the teacher, Scott Niquette:Scott, my issue is you going down there and singing with those people on the field trip.Did you see the signs they were holding? I m guessing that you saw the words you were reading off the sheet you were holding. Do you understand what the children were doing after they saw you down there singing? Scott there is video of you singing that hate Walker song.When the kids were walking back up the hill they were chanting hate speech toward Walker until I stopped them and asked them why. The answer was obvious. Someone with influence in their lives was doing the same thing. You have influence on these children and they trust that you will lead them. For crying out loud Scott those signs were way inappropriate. Talking about molesting children and raping women.In a show of Olympian chutzpah, Niquette pleaded ignorance in his response:With respect to the Capitol Singers, I joined them during my lunch break simply because I enjoy singing. I am currently an active member in our church s choir I honestly did not see or notice any signs regarding molesting children or raping women when I entered the circle of singers. If I had, I can assure you that a most certainly would have immediately left. Again, I joined them simply because I enjoy singing. With respect to my teaching, I also take that very seriously and take great offense to accusations that I do not You have visited my classroom on numerous occasions and sat in on a few lessons. What did you see and hear I stick to the objectives and leave the politics out.He couldn t resist joining a group of Scott Walker haters in public but we re supposed to trust he keeps politics out of the classroom? He didn t see what the signs said? He was unclear of the lyrics he was singing off a sheet?I reached out to Horizons principal Karen Brice. Initially she told me she hadn t heard of the incident and frankly found it hard to believe. But she told me she would look into it. A few days later she called me back, saying only that school officials were investigating to determine whether district policy had been violated.Then there is this classic line from Niquette in his email response to the parent:In retrospect, however, I do think I will save singing with the Capitol Singers for a time when I am at the capitol of my own accord to better reduce any opportunities of misunderstanding.Via: EAG News | 1real |
U.S. judge orders special counsel to turn over evidence on Michael Flynn | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. District Court judge ordered Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Tuesday to turn over any potential evidence that could be material for when he sentences President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation during his interview in Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia. Flynn has agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation. Moscow has denied interfering in the election and Trump has denied any collusion. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told the government in a filing to turn over any exculpatory evidence, known as “Brady” material, that could potentially help Flynn’s defense or information that is “material either to the defendant’s guilt or punishment.” The order by the judge is considered routine, and the government by law is required to turn over such information to the defense if it exists. A sentencing date has not been set, but a status report ahead of sentencing is due by Feb 1. | 0fake |
Treasury Secretary’s Actress Wife Answers Critics on the Left for ‘Deplorable’ Display of Wealth…Poses In Couture Gowns | Treasure Secretary Steve Mnuchin s wife is answering critics who shot her down for doing a little bragging on Instagram. Granted her Instagram post was a huge display of wealth but she has every right to speak out on what she s wearing etc She also snarked at a woman on Instagram who called her deplorable . Is it deplorable ? You be the judge:She listed the high end fashion items she was wearing. A woman claimed the taxpayers would be paying for this trip but the Mnuchins later stated that they would be reimbursing the feds for this trip to Kentucky.She might be stirring the pot again with her latest magazine appearance on the cover of local society magazine Washington Life. The ironic thing is she appears in the magazine apologizing but is wearing 2 different 10K gowns LOL! The Scottish-born wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, 54, is featured in a six-page spread inside the magazine s September issue, where she gives her first stateside interview since moving to the capital back in January.That sit-down came just a few days after she was widely criticized for lashing out at a woman on Instagram, and Linton, 36, used the opportunity to apologize for her actions. I deserved the criticism, said Linton, who was likened to Marie Antoinette and Cruela de Vil after her social media meltdown. Her outburst came after Jennifer Miller, a working mother with three children, called Linton deplorable in the comment section of an Instagram photo she posted of her and Mnuchin deboarding a government plane on August 21 following a trip to Kentucky.The couple will be reimbursing the feds for the flight to Kentucky Remember that President Trump said he wanted a rich person in positions such as Commerce and Treasury:Read more: DM | 1real |
I thought I was just scared of Trump – but it’s his America I fear | Israeli official secretly visits Dubai: Report ‹ › GPD is our General Posting Department whereby we share posts from other sources along with general information with our readers. It is managed by our Editorial Board I thought I was just scared of Trump – but it’s his America I fear By GPD on November 4, 2016 Misogyny, racism and bigotry won’t go away if Donald Trump loses next week’s election; it was already here before he drew it out into the mainstream ‘Even if Trump loses, this isn’t simply a bad dream that we’ll awaken from on 9 November.’ Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP by Jessica Valenti
W ith the presidential election less than a week away, my once-composed optimism has given way to panic. Sheer, stomach-churning panic. You see, up until now I had done a somewhat decent job of not allowing myself to imagine the unimaginable: Donald Trump winning. But as election day looms closer, and the racism and sexism that infects Trump’s campaign is ratcheted up, it’s hard not to be terrified.
In the past week, a Ku Klux Klan newspaper endorsed Trump and white supremacists announced their plan for widespread voter intimidation. Trump rally-goers shouted antisemitic invective at reporters, and a historically black church in Mississippi was burned and “vote Trump” scrawled across the side. Another woman came forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault , and a Texas official called Hillary Clinton a “cunt”.
This isn’t a political divide between left and right, Democrats and Republicans; it’s an immeasurable moral chasm. And so I understand why it’s been easier for many horrified by Trump to simply pretend there’s no way that he could actually win the presidency.
Read more at Guardian UK Related Posts: | 1real |
‘Cork Dork’ Sniffs, Swills and Spits Through the World of Wine Experts - The New York Times | CORK DORKA Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for TasteBy Bianca Bosker329 pages. Penguin Books. $17. Some people shuffle paper for their jobs. Sommeliers lick rocks. Well, not all sommeliers. But a number of them do, if they’re desperate enough to want to know the difference between the taste of blue slate and that of red. Some forgo brushing their teeth in the morning, or drinking hot beverages, or using perfume, scented laundry detergent, extra salt. Their palates — and their noses — are their instruments. Who would risk blistering or blunting them? Would a violinist leave her Stradivarius in a locked trunk on a sweltering day? She would not. Bianca Bosker’s “Cork Dork: A Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste” is a compendium of bewitching and sometimes disgusting facts. (There’s an art to spitting, apparently.) Do ignore the subtitle, which is filled with about as many additives as your average plonk, and every bit as cloying. It’s deceptive. Bosker’s journey into this sodden universe is thrilling, and she tells her story with gonzo élan. I’m not one to let blurbers, often into service by authors or publishers, do my work. But when the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the “Kitchen Confidential” of the wine world, she’s not wrong, though Bill Buford’s “Heat” is probably a shade closer to this book’s sensibility and heart. “Cork Dork” is likely to find a large audience. The real miracle is that Bosker was sober enough to write it. “Most days,” she explains, “I was drunk by noon, hung over by 2 p. m. and, around 4 in the afternoon, deeply regretting the burger I’d devoured for lunch. ” Bosker was the technology editor of The Huffington Post when she heard about the World’s Best Sommelier Competition. She videos. She marveled. She decided to change her life. For 18 months, she shadowed renowned wine fanatics, hoping to understand their obsession and to become a certified sommelier herself. The goal was more foolhardy than she knew. Sommeliers, at least in her hometown (New York) are a diehard lot. They’re best described as punctilious sybarites — “the most masochistic hedonists I’d ever met,” as Bosker writes. They spend evenings on their feet. During the day, they practice the arcane rituals of wine service, ingest a magnum of wine esoterica and, if they’re aspiring to become master sommeliers, sample more than 20, 000 kinds of wine so that they can make such blind declarations as: “This is a blend from the right bank of Bordeaux from the village of in the 2010 vintage of Grand Cru Classé quality. ” That’s a direct quote, by the way. It comes from Bosker’s friend — and Sherpa — Morgan Harris, a precocious, brassily opinionated sommelier at New York’s Aureole. He and other expert tasters are expected to become the Alan Turings of wine, deciphering flavors as if the Battle of the Atlantic depended on it. Bosker had exactly no experience in this field. But because she’s possessed of a jolly hubris, she manages to wheedle and bluff her way into a series of jobs for which she isn’t remotely qualified, and then to muscle her way into the most elite group in Manhattan — which would be like me deciding I wanted to brush up on my baseball skills by joining the Yankees for spring training. She gets a quick, boozy education, and so do we. About how to decant properly, which is as difficult as sinking a hole in one. About how to serve, which involves more rules than cricket. (Whatever you do, do not show customers the back of your hand.) She gives great gossip. While trailing a “somm” at Marea, an upscale Manhattan restaurant, Bosker learns that management keeps SparkNotes on its 1 percenter clientele. They’re a confetti of acronyms, the most devastating of which is HWC, or “Handle With Care. ” (At other restaurants, it’s SOE, or “Sense of Entitlement. ” Ow.) Readers also get a feel for restaurant economics from “Cork Dork,” and this much is clear: Sommeliers are secret weapons, capable of adding extra zeros to the bottom line. They’ve mastered the fine art of the upsell, sometimes based on the semiotics of customer clothing and accessories alone. Is Dad wearing a $50, 000 Patek Philippe watch? Do not give him a bottle of Pinot Grigio if the most expensive one on your list is only $80. “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED,” Harris booms. (Steer him toward a $270 bottle of Chablis grand cru instead.) I’d say that Harris deserves his own reality show, but in a sense, he already has one, as do some of the other somms that Bosker follows. They’re on the Esquire Network’s “Uncorked. ” It felt a bit dishonest of the author not to reveal it. And while I appreciated her bravado, I grew similarly queasy, as time wore on, with how she would congratulate herself for her way into an event she had no business attending. Did she promise the organizers publicity in her book? A magazine article? Too often, she doesn’t say. On occasion, Bosker radiates youthful maybe a touch of naïveté. But she is, in the main, great company as a narrator — witty, generous, democratic. She devotes many pages to singing the praises of taste and smell, which philosophers throughout the ages have considered the baser senses, and shows how just about any of us can sharpen them. She’s suspicious, as any good journalist should be, of cant — she’s a decanter! — and interrogates at length whether the florid language of the sommelier (“notes of vanilla, cassis and saddle leather”) is useful or even authentic. She shows up at one of her fancy tasting groups with a plastic cup of chervil and asks everyone to give it a sniff. They can’t identify it — even though they regularly claim to detect hints of the herb in what they drink. Eventually, she interrogates the entire notion of wine expertise, which in turn raises the biggest question of all: What does make a wine great? Especially if, as one damning study found, most judges in a California wine competition gave contradictory ratings to the same bottle of wine every time they tasted it? And if a wine economist explains that there’s little correlation between quality and cost once a bottle exceeds $50 or $60? (“After that,” Bosker writes, “brand, reputation and scarcity start to nudge up a bottle’s cost. ”) Bosker ultimately arrives at her own kind of homespun answer to what makes a wine special. It accommodates tastes high and low, and she’s still certainly capable of enjoying three different vintages of the fabled Château d’Yquem. “It tasted like the sun,” she writes. “It tasted like an experience that would never repeat itself. ” | 0fake |
Syrian rebels down army helicopter in southwest: Observatory | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian insurgents brought down an army helicopter in southwest Syria on Friday, near the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, a war monitoring group said. The Syrian military could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the aircraft went down in government territory southwest of Damascus after a missile hit it. Rebels are fighting Syrian government forces in the vicinity. Two Syrian army officers from the helicopter s crew died, the Britain-based monitor said. | 0fake |
House leader says willing to do conference committee on healthcare | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he is willing to go to a conference committee with the Senate if it passes a pared-down version of Obamacare repeal. Ryan said the Senate had made it clear that they did not want their “skinny repeal” bill, the contents of which are not yet known but was expected to be voted upon on Thursday or Friday, to become law and that the aim of passing the legislation was to keep alive the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act. If a conference committee produces legislation, both the House and Senate will have to vote on it, and Ryan said the burden would fall on the Senate to pass it first. | 0fake |
Kentucky Republicans Introduce Abortion Ban, Tells Women They Have No Choice | Kentucky Republicans declared war on women as soon as the new legislative session began.One of the 11 bills introduced on Tuesday would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the Republican assertion that fetuses feel pain at that point in a pregnancy.However, that assertion is not supported by science.According to multiple studies, including one in 2005, scientists generally agree that fetuses can t feel pain until well into the third trimester after 24 weeks. The 2005 study suggests 28 weeks. This is real science. Abortions after 24 weeks are already allowed to be limited by states under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision made by the Supreme Court.But Kentucky Republicans added insult to injury by telling women that they the only choice they have is to get pregnant or not.Kentucky GOP Senate President Robert Stivers told the Courier-Journal that a mother has a choice early on to make a decision to conceive or not conceive. But once conception starts, there becomes another life involved. And the legislature has its ability to control how that life may proceed or how it would be terminated. Did you hear that, Kentucky ladies? A middle-aged white guy just told you that you don t have a choice and that he has the right to CONTROL your body and your reproductive health decisions.And you can bet Republicans are going to be introducing similar bills and much worse in states across the nation and federally since Republicans control Congress and will have a puppet in the White House starting on January 20th.ACLU of Kentucky communications director Amber Duke condemned legislation as a serious threat because they ignore women s health needs in individual circumstances. We believe that women deserve dignity and should have the right to make personal and private medical decisions without interference from politicians, she said.This proves once again that Republicans hate women and they are even more dangerous now than ever before.Featured image via WomanSurvival.com | 1real |
‘If I Sleep for an Hour, 30 People Will Die’ - The New York Times | PARIS — It’s 1944, in occupied Paris. Four friends spend their days in a narrow room atop a Left Bank apartment building. The neighbors think they’re painters — a cover story to explain the chemical smell. In fact, the friends are members of a Jewish resistance cell. They’re operating a clandestine laboratory to make false passports for children and families about to be deported to concentration camps. The youngest member of the group, the lab’s technical director, is practically a child himself: Adolfo Kaminsky, age 18. If you’re doubting whether you’ve done enough with your life, don’t compare yourself to Mr. Kaminsky. By his 19th birthday, he had helped save the lives of thousands of people by making false documents to get them into hiding or out of the country. He went on to forge papers for people in practically every major conflict of the century. Now 91, Mr. Kaminsky is a small man with a long white beard and tweed jacket, who shuffles around his neighborhood with a cane. He lives in a modest apartment for people with low incomes, not far from his former laboratory. When I followed him around with a film crew one day, neighbors kept asking me who he was. I told them he was a hero of World War II, though his story goes on long after that. It remains painfully relevant today, when children are being bombed in Syria or boarding shabby boats to escape by sea. Like most Westerners, I usually ignore their suffering, and assume that someone else will step in to help. But Mr. Kaminsky — a poor, hunted teenager — stepped in himself, during the war and then for many different causes afterward. Why did he do it? It wasn’t for the glory. He worked in secret and only spoke about it years later. His daughter Sarah learned her father’s whole story only while writing a book about him, “Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger’s Life. ” The English translation comes out this week. It wasn’t for the money, either. Mr. Kaminsky says he never accepted payment for forgeries, so that he could keep his motives clear and work only for causes he believed in. He was perpetually broke, and scraped together a living as a commercial photographer, he said. The wartime work put such a strain on his vision that he eventually went blind in one eye. Though he was a skilled forger — creating passports from scratch and improvising a device to make them look older — there was little joy in it. “The smallest error and you send someone to prison or death,” he told me. “It’s a great responsibility. It’s heavy. It’s not at all a pleasure. ” Years later he’s still haunted by the work, explaining: “I think mostly of the people that I couldn’t save. ” Mr. Kaminsky empathized with refugees partly because he was one himself. He was born in Argentina to Russian Jews who’d first fled Russia to Paris, and then been kicked out of France. When Adolfo was 7, the family, by then with Argentine passports, was allowed to rejoin relatives in France. “It was then that I realized the significance of the word ‘papers,’ ” he explained. After dropping out of school at 13 to help support his family, he was apprenticed to a clothes dyer, a precursor to the modern dry cleaner. He spent hours figuring out how to remove stains, then read chemistry textbooks and did experiments at home. “My boss was a chemical engineer, and would answer all of my questions,” he said. On weekends he helped a chemist at a local dairy, in exchange for butter. In the summer of 1943, he and his family were arrested and sent to Drancy, the internment camp for Jews near Paris that was the last stop before the death camps. This time, their passports saved them. Argentina’s government protested the family’s detention, so they stayed at Drancy for three months, while thousands of others were swiftly sent on to die. Mr. Kaminsky remembered a math professor who had agreed to tutor him in the camp. “One day, when it was time for our classes, he wasn’t there. He hadn’t wanted to tell me beforehand that his name was on the list. ” The Kaminskys were eventually freed, but they weren’t safe in Paris, where Jews were under constant threat of arrest. Soon Argentines were being deported, too. To survive they would have to go underground. Adolfo’s father arranged to get false papers from a Jewish resistance group, and sent Adolfo to pick them up. When the agent told Adolfo that they were struggling to erase a certain blue ink from the documents, he advised using lactic acid, a trick he’d learned at the dairy. It worked, and he was invited to join the resistance. Mr. Kaminsky’s cell was one of many. His would get tips on who was about to be arrested, then warn the families, assembling new papers for them on the spot. The group focused on the most urgent cases: children who were about to be sent to Drancy. They placed the kids in rural homes or convents, or smuggled them into Switzerland or Spain. In one scene from the book, Mr. Kaminsky stays awake for two nights straight to fill an enormous rush order. “It’s a simple calculation: In one hour I can make 30 blank documents if I sleep for an hour, 30 people will die. ” Historians estimate that France’s Jewish resistance networks together saved 7, 000 to 10, 000 children. Some 11, 400 children were deported and killed. After the war, Mr. Kaminsky didn’t plan to keep working as a forger. But through his wartime networks, other movements got in touch. He continued forging papers for 30 more years, playing a small role in conflicts ranging from the Algerian war of independence to the struggle in South Africa to the Vietnam War, making documents for American draft dodgers. He estimates that in 1967 alone, he supplied forged papers to people in 15 countries. I can’t vouch for every cause. Some of the rebel groups he supported used violence. And at close range, his stubborn idealism was no doubt maddening. He had two kids soon after World War II, but couldn’t tell them or his about his underground work, so they didn’t know why he rarely visited. Girlfriends assumed he was absent because he’d been cheating. He was supposed to follow one woman to America, but never showed up, because he’d joined the Algerian resistance. “I saved lives because I can’t deal with unnecessary deaths — I just can’t,” he told me. “All humans are equal, whatever their origins, their beliefs, their skin color,” he later added. “There are no superiors, no inferiors. That is not acceptable for me. ” In 1971, convinced that too many different groups knew his identity, and that he’d soon be caught and imprisoned, Mr. Kaminsky quit forging for good, and mostly made a living teaching photography. On a visit to Algiers he met a young law student, of Tuareg ancestry, who was the daughter of a liberal Algerian imam. They’re still married, and have three children. The last time I saw Mr. Kaminsky, he showed me a photograph he took just after the liberation of Paris. It shows about 30 children who’d come out of hiding, and were hoping to be reunited with their parents. He knows there are children in similar peril today, and that having the wrong passport can still cost your life. “I did all I could when I could. Now, I can’t do anything,” he said. Surely, though, the rest of us can. | 0fake |
General Motors NAILS Trump For Lying After He Accuses Them Of Making Chevy Cruze In Mexico | Donald Trump just attacked an American car company and got humiliated in response.In his first tweet of the day on Tuesday, Trump accused General Motors of manufacturing the Chevy Cruze in Mexico and shipping it across the border tax-free to sell in the United States. He then threatened them to make the car here or pay a huge tax penalty.General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017There s just one problem. Most Chevy Cruzes are made here in the United States by American workers.General Motors fired back at Trump in a statement. General Motors manufactures the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio. All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S. But as a result of Trump s accusations and threats General Motors stock price tumbled briefly and then recovered. Keep in mind that General Motors was nearly wiped out of existence at the beginning of the Great Recession, which would have cost thousands of Americans their jobs. Trump s attack on General Motors could have harmed the company in a way that would have harmed American workers he the stock price fallen more than it did.And Americans were unforgiving on Twitter in response to Trump s bullshit and even called out the fact that GM CEO Mary Barra is one of Trump s economic advisers.@realDonaldTrump attacks on individuals companies are crony capitalism, with potentially devastating consequences. https://t.co/sUEgf4lLFI Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) January 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump and isn t GM s chairman and chief executive, Mary Barra, one of your appointments to your economic advisory panel? Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) January 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump ?https://t.co/aKqWcZFvOX John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) January 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump Hey, like your suit jackets! ?????? pic.twitter.com/M7lOkgCa3O Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) January 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump Wow! I might buy one because it must be a strong car going through the wall you are building. Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) January 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump What s the tariff on this bullshit? Why not make it here? pic.twitter.com/AtTt089gKC Derek (@KentuckyBlacc) January 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump You re word means nothing. You are only fooling the truck washed now. #GoAway #NotMyPresident ErinHazel??#RESIST (@ErinRHazel) January 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump https://t.co/cIEI41bIYm pic.twitter.com/2fdKUIa7ML Tyler Hansen (@tjhansen) January 3, 2017Trump just flat-out lied to the American people and got busted for it by General Motors. Next time Trump decides to attack an American company he should do his homework first and then look in the mirror because his company has most of their products manufactured in China and Mexico, which make Trump the biggest hypocrite in America.Featured image via Twitter | 1real |
Russia tell U.S. to step back from dispute over military observation flights | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday told the United States to step back from a confrontation over military observation flights before the two countries became embroiled in another round of tit-for-tat retaliatory measures. The United States has accused Russia of flouting the so-called Open Skies Treaty, an agreement designed to build confidence between the two countries militaries, and said it plans to take measures against Moscow. The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported on Tuesday that would include restricting Russian military flights over American territory in response to what it said was Moscow preventing U.S. observation flights over its heavily militarised Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday that Moscow would respond to any new U.S. restrictions. Nobody has canceled the principle of reciprocity in international relations, said Zakharova. | 0fake |
In Liberian slum, residents demand change from next president | MONROVIA (Reuters) - Crammed into tumble-down shacks on a sandspit that the Atlantic Ocean is steadily devouring, the residents of Liberia s most notorious slum have one common desire: an end to their daily struggle with dire poverty. Next month, when the 75,000 inhabitants of the capital Monrovia s West Point neighborhood decide who should be the next leader of Africa s oldest republic, an ex-soccer star or the current vice president, they will not be nostalgic. The last president didn t give any help to the common people - no improvement, no development, said Ishmael Campbell, a 26-year-old fisherman born and raised in the shantytown. We need a president who will be there for us. While the world has feted President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, for keeping the peace after a prolonged civil war, those living in West Point take a dimmer view of her 12-year tenure. Like most in West Point, Campbell lives in a shack along one of the labyrinthine back alleys where houses are packed so close that residents must squeeze through shoulder-wide paths choked by rotting fish and sewage. On Johnson Sirleaf s watch, an Ebola epidemic saw them placed under quarantine, hemmed in by barbed wire and soldiers who opened fire on protesters challenging the order. Then a global commodities crash dashed the country s hopes of mining riches. The economy quadrupled in size, thanks in large part to the fact that peace prevailed, but Johnson Sirleaf was criticized for failing to curb corruption. The two candidates through to the Nov. 7 runoff election, George Weah, a former FIFA world player of the year, and Vice President Joseph Boakai, must persuade struggling voters across the West African nation that they can make a difference. Though representing the ruling party, Boakai has presented himself as the candidate for change, playing up his humble beginnings in a bid to distance himself from the tinted-windows government elite despised by the poor. Neither he nor Johnson Sirleaf are seen as corrupt, but Boakai has been nicknamed sleepy Joe for falling asleep at public functions and few are buying his message in West Point. He doesn t care about us, he just cares about himself, Campbell said. West Point, where jobs are few and many residents spend the hot afternoons playing checkers or fixing fishing lines in the shade, is a Weah stronghold. The youth are on the streets, but they want to work, said Eugene Nyuti, 35. George Weah is going to empower the youth. Weah is a senator and has been goodwill ambassador for UNICEF; many Liberians call him the ambassador . His policies are vague, although he says he wants to improve the country s roads, and critics say he lacks political experience, but he won a clear lead in the first round of the election, with 38 percent of the vote to Boakai s 28 percent. West Point s problems are echoed to varying degrees across Liberia, which has relied heavily on international donor support since the end of the war in 2003. The state-run Liberia Electricity Corporation struggles to generate enough revenue to erect more power lines. Thousands across Monrovia illegally connect to the grid with crude wires. Still, West Point stands out. Asked about their most desperate need, residents point to the rubbish-strewn ocean that laps at their homes. Old sand bags and tires have not stopped the problem. Houses regularly slide into the sea. Towards evening as Joseph Myame, 25, watched fishermen roll their wooden canoes onto the beach, he too is praying for a Weah victory. Maybe he can make a bit of a difference. But whoever wins, the problems are too big. | 0fake |
Afghan schools closing due to violence, undermining gains in educating girls, says rights group | KABUL (Reuters) - Spreading violence in Afghanistan is forcing many schools to close, undermining fragile gains in education for young girls in a war-ravaged country where millions of girls have never been to school, said a Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday. After more than a decade and a half of international intervention in Afghanistan, corruption, insecurity, waste, and other problems mean around two-thirds of Afghan girls still do not go to school, the rights group said. Despite the challenges, millions of children have received education, but those gains are now threatened by spreading violence and declining international funding, the report found. As security in the country has worsened, the progress made toward the goal of getting all girls into school may be heading in reverse a decline in girls education in Afghanistan, the authors wrote. In the most insecure areas of the country, schools are closing at an alarming rate due to insecurity. While the war has affected schools since at least 2005, as the fighting has escalated and spread to previously secure areas, more schools have closed . In Kandahar, for example, at least 130 of 435 schools were closed over the summer, a local government official told HRW. Threats from Islamic State militants forced the closure of at least 61 schools in the northern province of Jawzjan, education ministry spokesman Kabir Haqmal told Reuters. He said he could not yet comment on the report s findings, but acknowledged that Security has a great impact on education, and when there are challenges, fewer girls attend. Access to education can be undermined by factors ranging from limited numbers of qualified teachers and community opposition to a lack of sanitary facilities. One of the more successful education programs is also one of the most threatened by a drop in international funds, the HRW report found. So-called community-based education (CBE) programs have helped expand access to schools in many areas, the researchers said. But such programs were only a temporary solution, as they were all run by non-profit groups out a shrinking pool of international donations, they said. The absence of long-term strategic thinking by government and donors exposes CBE programs, and students, to unpredictable closures, they added. International aid has been essential to the progress in expanding access to education since 2001, they concluded, but ranked bureaucratic hurdles, corruption, and insecurity among the reasons why the government often left the funds unspent. | 0fake |
‘I’ve Got Thick Skin’: We Talk to the Pro-Trump Mayor Who Was Running From Us - The New York Times | After spending Friday searching for him, we met with Mayor Roger Claar of Bolingbrook, Ill. at City Hall. He had been a bit difficult for us to locate since a he helped organize for Donald J. Trump became an issue in the village’s mayoral race. BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — It was supposed to be an easy glide to yet another term for the longtime mayor of this suburb of Chicago. But then Mayor Claar helped throw the and things got complicated. Jackie Traynere, 54, a labor organizer, is mounting an ambitious challenge against him. Here’s the story of one village election on Tuesday that has become as much about Mr. Trump as the candidates on the ballot. • Ms. Traynere was so mad about the event last fall that she decided to run against Mr. Claar. The Democratic apparatus in Illinois — senators, members of Congress, you name it — is lining up behind her. • Mayor Claar hadn’t answered our interview requests, so we had been hoping to catch up with him Friday. • Finally, we talked with him at City Hall — he does not regret the though he has been disappointed by the reaction. Here’s how the search unfolded. A little about Bolingbrook, 30 miles southwest of Chicago: About 74, 000 people live here and it’s fairly diverse. The mayor’s race is officially nonpartisan, and usually only several thousand people show up to vote. But with a challenger to Mr. Claar and all the attention on the race, this year could be different. The “Rog Mahal” — also known as the Bolingbrook Golf Club — was the scene of the for Mr. Trump. It was built by the city for $36 million in 2002, according to The Chicago Tribune, and many people in Bolingbrook see it as a sign of lavish excess. Mayor Claar’s election HQ is along a stretch of strip shopping centers, tucked between an optometrist’s office and a cellphone store. Campaign signs are plastered on the glass doors, and little wooden Uncle Sams decorate the entry. Three workers are milling around. One of them: the mayor’s wife. Ms. Claar was polite but said she had nothing to add about how the campaign was going or why Mayor Claar might not want to meet. Onward. Around here, Mayor Claar has plenty of fans. Everyone seems to know him. He’s been around through this village’s expansion. Subdivisions have replaced cornfields. The population has almost doubled since 1990, and Mayor Claar has been there through it all. At Sophia’s House of Pancakes, Ms. Traynere is meeting with supporters over club sandwiches and bowls of soup. She seems energetic and talks fast, but she also says she’s starting to come down with a cold as her campaign reaches the homestretch. Her complaints about her competitor, the mayor? She says the village’s debt is too high. She says he runs the whole village — top to bottom — and that he can be a “bully. ” But most of all, she says the Trump event turned her stomach. “Trump’s own words,” she says are what threw some residents here for a loop. Bolingbrook is 20 percent black, 25 percent Hispanic and 11 percent Asian — a big change, she says, from when she was growing up here. “The way he talks about minorities,” she says, “that’s not what we experience in our community. That just doesn’t jibe with our town. ” She goes on: “When people realize that that was the mayor who brought him here, that definitely turned their head to think, ‘hmm, maybe I ought to look at a few other things. ’” But why is such an array of prominent Democrats lining up behind her for a little municipal race? Critics say it seems a bit much. Her supporters don’t seem the least bit troubled by all the backing, though. They’re thinking more about the mayor and the . Off to City Hall — we need to find Mayor Claar. After a wait in the lobby of Bolingbrook’s municipal building, Mr. Claar suddenly appears in the doorway. Mayor Claar has gotten word of our search for him, and is actually clutching a printout of the story we have been writing today. For the record, he acknowledges that he has gotten our earlier phone messages and email requests for interviews, but says that he simply had not wished to talk to us. That said, he shows us to a conference room and patiently takes more than half an hour of questions. The mayor says that the he helped throw for Mr. Trump is the essential reason that he finds himself with such a race. He doesn’t regret the . Not at all, he says. But he adds: “I’m disappointed that some people will take that one thing over 31 years and that’s it. ” | 0fake |
BREAKING: Hillary Clinton’s Deleted E-mails Found By FBI On Her Server | Oops! Hillary Clinton thought her server was wiped clean but it appears as though KARMA has arrived on the scene. The FBI has Clinton s e-mails! Maybe she ll finally be held accountable for Benghazi. This is going to get very interesting.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has successfully recovered personal and work emails from Hillary Clinton s private email server, according to a new report.Sources told Bloomberg News that some of Clinton s emails have been extracted from the server, thus disproving the claim that Clinton managed to wipe her server clean after she deleted all of her emails earlier this year.Therefore, some of the emails that Clinton deleted the ones that she determined were NOT relevant to federal investigations are now in the hands of the FBI.The federal investigation, therefore, is now out of Clinton s control.Outside computer specialists have said the FBI has the technical capability to recover deleted e-mails. The exact number of personal e-mails recovered by the FBI could not be learned. Once the e-mails have been extracted, a group of agents has been separating personal correspondence and passing along work-related messages to agents leading the investigation, the person said. Since the existence of the e-mail system became public in March, Clinton has seen her standing in polls slide, particularly in regards to questions about her trustworthiness. She also has been heavily criticized by congressional Republicans who have raised questions over whether the private server jeopardized the security of sensitive data. Internal government watchdogs have determined that classified information ended up on the system. Their findings sparked the FBI inquiry.Read more: Bloomberg News | 1real |
Martha MacCallum: It's Donald Trump's moment. And this is how we got here, America | And then there was one.
There is an expression on Wall Street for a stock that just keeps moving up and up, while everybody is scratching their heads trying to figure out what’s going on.
They put their hands up and say “Don’t fight the tape.”
It comes from back in the day when there actually was ticker tape, and when Wall Street wasn’t everyone’s favorite punching bag.
But it helps explain what is going on right now in the mind bending age of Donald Trump.
You can’t fight the tape and you can’t fight a phenomenon. Donald Trump is a phenomenon. Barack Obama was a phenomenon. A phenomenon is a “happening” or an “experience.” It doesn’t happen much folks, but it’s happening now. So get ready for the ride of a lifetime.
The point is all the wise old men and naysayers and chart readers in the world can’t stop a political phenomenon when it’s pulling out of the Trump Train station.
Nobody was going to beat Barack Obama in 2008. That’s a fact. It was his moment. It wasn’t that John McCain ran a bad campaign, or picked the wrong VP. It was just that it didn’t matter, it was over when it started. It has to do with understanding your moment, reading the populace, knowing that they want exactly the opposite of what they’ve had in the White House. They want a charismatic candidate to match what they are feeling and promise to give them exactly the big fat cheeseburger they’ve been wanting ever since they went on that awful diet.
Michelle Obama told her husband it was Iowa or bust for them. She knew that if they couldn’t win Iowa, they couldn’t win America, but if they could – there would be no stopping them. She told her husband it was now or never and that she would only do this thing once. Even though he was a new senator, she correctly assessed this was their “Moment” and they would not get a redo. She was absolutely right on.
The country was war weary and the handsome young Senator promised “Hope and Change.” Political pendulums swing hard and feed on stark contrast. He was not a Bush and not a Clinton. Not at all. In fact, he was Barack Hussein Obama. He was Kennedy-esque, with a young attractive family. He was Bobby Kennedy’s dream of how the Civil Rights movement crescendos. He was the man who perfectly matched the mood, and he grabbed it. That’s what it’s all about.
Just ask Governor Chris Christie, who missed his moment. Had he run against Barack Obama in 2012, he would have won. The tough talking New Jersey Governor was getting a ton of attention in 2011. He’d shockingly won a blue state governor’s race when the odds were stacked against him. He was “telling it like it is” to anybody who crossed him. He shouted down Teacher’s Unions for depriving kids of the education they deserved. He told firefighters and policeman that the pensions they’d been promised would never arrive, if they weren’t willing to give back a little to keep the programs solvent. These YouTube hits were going viral, getting coverage. The portly governor with his tie askew was the opposite of the snappily dressed lean and eloquent president, who’d lost his shine a bit, four years in.
But while GOP leaders begged Christie to run, he demurred. He said he wasn’t ready. It wasn’t his time. But as it turns out, it was. And he never got it back.
So now we have had 8 years of ObamaCare and Obamanomics. Eight years of promising to end the “Era of War”.
Still we are mired in rising costs, stunted economic growth and an epic battle with an enemy that is a “He Who Shall Not be Named.” Except that everybody knows his name is Radical Islamist Terrorist.
In fairness, the president’s approval numbers have risen of late to 51 percent, many are satisfied. However, it may have something to do with the tenor of the sloppy primaries that have given him almost “former president” nostalgia points already. Still there is an undeniable restlessness in the country. We see it in the crowds who turn out in droves for Bernie and Donald.
As long as it took for Republicans to see, Donald Trump is the perfect storm of message “Make America Great Again” (genius simplicity) and Man. This brash businessman, Anti-Obama sold his brand brilliantly with his huge success on “The Apprentice.” Now Reality TV meets politics. I bet Mark Burnett wishes he’d thought of it. He was from the beginning the guy we all already knew. Love him or hate him, he leapt over the ‘name recognition’ hurdle like it was a parking curb. And it didn’t even cost him a dime.
But surely he would not abide the rigor and tedium of the Campaign Trail. What would he do fly his jet all around the country? Yes. Stay at Holiday Inns in places that don’t have Trump Hotels, um yes.
Surely this rich guy, wouldn’t have a way with voters. He’d rather be in his Tower, as his beautiful wife sips champagne (he doesn’t drink), not out there in flyover state diners and arenas pressing the flesh. Wrong. He would say scandalous things! Yes. Just think of all the tape and tabloid that already existed on this guy? There would be no way he’d get away with it. Wrong again.
Besides, the republicans had the deepest bench they’d had in a long time. Superstars. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina the list went on. And on, actually. It even spilled across two debate stages, there were so many bright and talented options. All they had to do was nominate the most conservative, electable one, as Bill Buckley had instructed. (See Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole). And they must remember as Ronald Reagan warned, no shooting inside the tent guys. Well, without apologies to Buckley or Reagan, the guy who beat them all was not your textbook conservative to be sure and he shot up the tent until it fell down on top of them, as he slipped out the back flap and dusted off his suit.
Here’s the thing. His message was right on for his audience. He talked to them about what he felt was wrong with the country and how he wanted to fix it. Too many illegals stealing your jobs and committing crimes? Build a wall. Your company went under? We will get you a better job! Sick of everything being so damned PC? Me too! He said. Don’t worry, we are going to win again. You’ll be so tired of winning. That sounds awesome, they cried! And then -- to top it all off -- he made them laugh. He made them howl actually, at the off-color jokes and “craps” and “hells” he sprinkled in with his happy warrior rants.
The pundits scoffed. It’ll be over by summer… make that fall… The Super Bowl? The Conventions? Forget it guys.
Trump’s son Don Jr. nailed it. He said my Dad is a “blue-collar billionaire” “a common sense conservative,” none of this highfalutin panel jibber jabber. Gimme Trump, the GOP voters said.
The guy gets me.
Donald has wanted this shot at the White House since the early ‘90’s when he took out full page ads and wrote letters railing against Japan and how they were eating our lunch and it needed to stop. Now his handsome, well-educated and well-liked kids are taking the weight off him at the office, and he knows, this is his time. It’s now or never. And one other thing. Don’t look for Mr. Trump to get all presidential on you any time soon. Why would he? As any good businessman knows, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And like he says, it’s too soon for that.
But can he seal the deal?
Buckle your seat belts, America. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Martha MacCallum currently serves as the co-anchor of "America's Newsroom" alongside Bill Hemmer (Weekdays 9-11AM/ET). She joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in January 2004. Click here for more information on Martha MacCallum. | 0fake |
ATF Associate Deputy Director: ’Assault Weapons’ Import Ban Nonsensical | In a “white paper” published by the Washington Post, ATF Associate Deputy Director Ronald Turk shows that a continued ban on the importation of numerous “assault weapons” is nonsensical. [The reasons behind his assessment include the growing use of and similar rifles for hunting and shooting sports. Turk wrote, “Since the sunset of the Assault Weapons ban in 2004, the use of and similar rifles now commonly referred to as ‘modern sporting rifles’ has increased exponentially in sport shooting. These firearm types are now standard for hunting activities. ” Because of his paradigm shift regarding the view and usage of “assault weapons,” Turk suggests the ATF review and update its “almost study” on such firearms. He then made clear that another reason for lifting importation limitations is the fact that American manufacturers currently make and sell rifles that are identical or similar to many of the firearms that are banned from import. Because of this, “restriction on imports serves questionable public safety interests. ” Turk also noted that a characteristic of importation bans in this area has been modifications to rifles modifications that allow them to survive the import restrictions and enter the U. S. under different classifications. The various classifications mean more unnecessary work for importers and more paperwork for the ATF. He also addressed suppressors, highlighting their broad use in hunting and shooting sports and suggesting it is “archaic” to continue to regulate them via the National Firearms Act. Turk touched on M1 Garands, 1911s, and other U. S. firearms that are in holding overseas, awaiting clearance to be shipped back to the U. S. and sold to citizens. He wrote: There is no clear public safety reason why CR defense articles should be denied to the American public, while many . S. origin CR items are approved. Additionally, these items do not represent any discernable public safety concern, as demand lies with collectors of vintage military firearms. Importation and sale through licensed dealers would effectively regulate the lawful transfer of these firearms through a licensee and a background check. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com. | 0fake |
Iraqi forces reach road between Iraqi-Syrian towns: Hezbollah-affiliated TV channel | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have reached the main road between Albu-Kamal in Syria and al-Qaim in Iraq, the Lebanese TV news channel al-Manar, which is affiliated to the Syrian government s ally Hezbollah, reported on Friday. The two towns are very close to each other on opposite sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border in the last important territorial stronghold of Islamic State. | 0fake |
GOP HOUSE LEADERSHIP Place Political Careers Before National Security: Why They Are Reportedly Caving (Again) To Democrats | Is this why we worked so hard to get a GOP majority in the House and Senate? Spineless weasels Republican House members blasted their GOP leadership Wednesday for caving to Democratic leaders demand that they abandon the House s bipartisan bill to tighten screening of refugee applicants from Syria and Iraq. The bill to bolster the Syrian and Iraqi [refugee] vetting process passed with a veto-proof majority and is supported by a vast majority of Americans, said Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC)57% , who is one of the two co-authors of the original House bill that GOP leaders are now abandoning. It would be a shame to bow to the wishes of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and the White House, leaving our country vulnerable to foreign terrorism, he told Breitbart News exclusively.After the Paris attacks that killed over 120 people, the House passed a bill with a huge bipartisan majority that would implement tough screening requirements for refugees. The bill was criticized by Democrats and President Obama, who vowed to veto the legislation and suggested that Republicans work with them to tighten oversight of visas given to legal visitors.Now, House Republican leaders are reportedly planning to abandon their original idea to tighten screening of refugees and are instead caving to Democrats who want to only fix security gaps in the legal-visitor visa program.Republican House leadership is backing away from the refugee problem because they fear their fix will be rejected by Democrats and lead to a partial government shut-down.Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) also told Breitbart News exclusively that he isn t surprised that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is following in the steps of former House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)32% by bowing to Democrats, rather than putting up a fight.He called the original vote a show vote that was arranged by the leaders, and told Breitbart News that the entire refugee program needs to be stripped of its funding.Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) told Breitbart News exclusively that GOP House leadership should fix both problems. This should not be an either or question, Babin said. Both should be addressed in a timely manner. We should concern ourselves first and foremost with the safety and security of the American people. Babin recently released a letter, signed by more than 70 of his colleagues, calling on House leadership to include language in the must-pass omnibus spending bill that would defund the refugee resettlement program. More than 70 of my colleagues joined me in calling for an immediate suspension in the refugee program to give us time to put in place security measures that the Administration has failed to implement Babin told Breitbart News. We must restore Congressional authority and ensure that Congress has a final sign-off on any Administration proposed Security measures. Congress has until December 11th to pass the omnibus bill.Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
How Wisconsin could be a turning point in the GOP race (+video) | Donald Trump is forecast to lose Wisconsin, and while that doesn't necessarily signal a deeper shift in the race, it could be decisive nonetheless.
How SNL's 'the bubble' sketch about polarization is all too true
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz greets supporters from the back of a pickup truck at a campaign stop at Altoona Family Restaurant in Altoona, Wis., last week.
It was, Republican opponents of Donald Trump said at the time, a last-ditch rallying cry to prevent the mercurial billionaire from winning the GOP presidential nomination and effectively taking over the party.
Five weeks later, #NeverTrump is still trending – and the Republican movement to derail the “Trump train” faces its moment of truth Tuesday in the Wisconsin primary. Conservative groups have spent millions of dollars on television and radio attack ads. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a onetime contender for the nomination, has rallied support for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Mr. Trump’s top opponent. In Milwaukee, whose suburbs are rich with Republican voters, conservative talk radio hosts have been skewering Trump relentlessly.
“Honestly, If Donald Trump does win in Wisconsin, I don’t know how he’s possibly stoppable,” says Charlie Sykes, Wisconsin’s top conservative radio voice, speaking Monday on MSNBC.
“But I do think that people are going to look back at Wisconsin and say, ‘All right, this is exactly what it will take to stop Donald Trump from being the Republican nominee.’ ”
There are indications that Wisconsin could indeed slow Trump’s momentum. One key poll has Senator Cruz 10 points up.
For his part, Mr. Sykes says the lead-up to Wisconsin has uncovered a “formula” for stopping Trump that includes a new willingness by the media to drill down on issues with Trump – as MSNBC host Chris Matthews did last week on abortion. Trump said he believed women should be punished for having abortions, then quickly reversed himself after an uproar ensued.
But many of Wisconsin’s lessons about how to beat Trump are particular to the state. Its deeply ingrained sense of civility, as well as its relatively higher levels of education and religious adherence, all play to Trump’s weaknesses.
In the end, Wisconsin’s biggest contribution to the #NeverTrump movement could simply be in denying him the delegates he needs to win a majority by the Republican National Convention this summer. At the convention, Trump’s chances of securing the nomination will plummet if he can’t do it on the first ballot.
In Wisconsin, Trump has been his own worst enemy, with a brash style that clashes with the state’s culture of civility.
“Even when Scott Walker was battling the unions [in 2011] and 100,000 people were marching around the capitol, those were family-friendly events,” says Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “There were massive policy disagreements, but not a lot of personal insults.”
Trump’s recent retweet of an unflattering picture of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, is just one example of his tone-deaf approach in Wisconsin, the only state voting Tuesday. Trump’s repeated attacks on Walker and on the Republican speaker of the House, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, have also baffled observers, as both men are popular among the state’s Republicans.
Trump is running into the buzzsaw of a state GOP that coalesced around Walker during his clashes with public unions and the subsequent recall election in 2012, which the governor survived, followed by his reelection in 2014.
“That means there’s not a rump group of the party ready to bolt to go to Trump,” says Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School poll. Last week, the poll showed Cruz beating Trump, 40 to 30 percent.
On the plus side for Trump, Wisconsin does not register voters by party and allows same-day registration. So first-time or infrequent voters inspired by Trump’s message can easily turn out for him.
Ultimately, observers still expect Cruz to win, though there are important demographic reasons not to put too much stock in a Cruz victory. Nate Cohn, a specialist on voter analytics at The New York Times, points to several factors that have always spelled trouble for Trump in Wisconsin, including:
Education. The state is average or above average in every educational category, while support for Trump skews toward those with less education. Wisconsin is unusual in that “many of its most strongly Republican areas are well-educated suburbs,” Mr. Cohn notes.
Religion. Wisconsin is also a bit above average for religious adherence, and “with the exception of white Roman Catholics, Trump fares worse in areas where larger shares of the population are reported to be religious adherents,” Cohn writes.
Family. Trump also fares worse in areas with strong traditional families; Wisconsin has an above-average number of married couples.
Ancestry. Wisconsin’s population skews toward those from “predominantly Protestant countries in Northern Europe,” a demographic in which Trump has struggled, Cohn reports.
In short, Wisconsin Republicans are similar demographically to those in Iowa, Kansas, and Utah, all states where Cruz beat Trump – who then rebounded.
The key for Trump will be to recover quickly if he loses Wisconsin. The calendar both helps and hurts him. The next contest isn’t until April 19, so he potentially faces two weeks of being cast as a loser. The good news for him is that the next contests are on friendlier turf – his home state of New York, followed by Pennsylvania.
But if Trump loses Wisconsin badly enough that he earns no delegates, his path to clinching the Republican nomination before the convention becomes steeper. Then, his biggest failing as a candidate – his weak organization – could come into play.
He has a dearth of insiders both nationally and inside the state parties who can defend his interests in delegate allocation.
Trump has already reportedly been losing delegates to Cruz, whose operation is going after those who are uncommitted or won by candidates no longer in the race.
Trump has attempted to address this by bringing in veteran Republican strategist Paul Manafort to wrangle delegates at the convention, a major “get.”
The third remaining GOP candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, remains an important factor, preventing Trump and Cruz from going against each other one-on-one. Governor Kasich appears to have benefited from the departure of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio from the race March 15. He scored 21 percent in the latest Marquette poll, up from 8 percent in late February, and is the choice of older-generation GOP leaders in the state, including former Gov. Tommy Thompson and former Rep. Scott Klug.
Polling shows Kasich beating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the general election in November, while both Cruz and Trump lose to Mrs. Clinton.
“At least at the moment, he seems to have a better chance at preventing another Clinton presidency,” says Rich Bonomo, an engineering researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Kasich trails far behind Trump and Cruz in the delegate count, and the only way he can win the GOP nomination is through a contested convention. But for some Wisconsin voters, Kasich is an important option – the only candidate left with executive branch governing experience and more-moderate Republican policies.
Rebecca Forbes Wank, bookkeeper for the University of Wisconsin press, says she doesn’t like Cruz, because he’s “so far to the right.” And she can’t vote for Trump, in part because “the way he’s been running has made it OK for people to be racist.”
That leaves her with Kasich. In ultra-liberal Madison, Trump and Cruz supporters are few and far between, but in the wider state, they are the ballgame. And after Tuesday, Republicans nationally will be one step closer to knowing whether they’re headed for a contested convention. | 0fake |
Treasury, Bank of England and IMF Brexit forecasts proved wrong | Treasury, Bank of England and IMF Brexit forecasts proved wrong Published: October 29, 2016 Source: Express UK
THE Treasury, Bank of England and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are among the self-appointed anti-Brexit so-called economics experts who keep getting their forecasts WRONG. The IMF were among the institutions that forecast an economic disaster if Britain voted to Brexit
Establishment institutions, as well as global investment banks, issued united and terrifying warnings of economic disaster if Britain opted out of the European Union (EU), in an effort to sway the public into voting to Remain.
Yet figures released yesterday showed booming Britain's economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the three months after the vote, providing the crowning piece of unarguable evidence that the vote to leave did not negatively impact the UK.
The Treasury, under the leadership of George Osborne, had predicted Britain would fall into immediate recession after a Brexit vote, with GDP coming in at -0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2016.
But yesterday the Treasury admitted the claim had been based on GUESSWORK which turned out to be wholly ill-informed.
Despite the rank amateurism and inaccuracy of almost all forecasts since Brexit a negative report on Britain’s economic competence – and since Brexit they have almost ALL been negative – risks serious harm to the welfare of the nation.
The IMF said Brexit could reduce the UK economy by as much as 9.5 per cent, and added that Britain could expect "sizeable" long-term losses in income.
Head of the IMF Christine Lagarde had the audacity to say she could not see ANYTHING positive to come from leaving the EU and an exit could have "particularly severe" consequences.
Ms Lagarde added that interest rates could also rise sharply in the event of leaving Europe, which would negatively impact on households with high debts. | 1real |
Northrop Unveils Sixth Gen Fighter Concept | Northrop Unveils Sixth Gen Fighter Concept page: 1 Long time lurker, lost my original Username so...had to make a new one. Saw this on the news, breakingdefense.com... The shape looks familiar to the aircraft spotted over Kansas and Texas link a reply to: Cavrecon22 The F-XX and F/A-XX aren't even close to flying their demonstrators yet. They're testing systems, but they're nowhere close to flying. The Pentagon hasn't settled on the requirements yet. Looks like something out of Call of Duty! Awesome looking thing. Ah. Artist's impressions are a fools game. It's a fantasy until it actually starts getting prototyped, build and delivered. Russia seems to generate quite a few artist's impressions of things that would never get built. For instance, this is an artist's impression of my new house... .. but this is what got built. Aliens and UFOs : 1 hours ago top topics 2016 US Elections : 15 hours ago, 22 flags active topics new topics The Above Top Secret Web site is a wholly owned social content community of The Above Network, LLC .
This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.
All content copyright 2016, The Above Network, LLC. | 1real |
WATCH: NANCY PELOSI COMES UNGLUED! Calls A Pie Chart “A Pie Crust”…Doesn’t Know Difference Between 1.4 Billion Dollars “1.4 Trillion Dollars” | Is Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) the member of Congress who s receiving Alzheimer s drugs from the D.C. pharmacist who revealed a dirty little Washington secret about the drugs he delivers to Congress members only 2 weeks ago? Nancy s even more bizarre than usual behavior has led a lot of Americans to question her mental capacity and wonder if she s one of the members who s receiving the medications to treat serious health problems ?Something is clearly wrong with Nancy Pelosi. Why is everyone in Washington DC and in the media ignoring her bizarre and incoherent interviews that leave viewers wondering how in the world she is fit to serve. American Mirror During her recent weekly press conference, the House Minority Leader was seen stumbling over words, uttering gibberish, staring blankly at reporters, and on at least two occasions, suffering from face spasms. What an event-filled morning has been, Pelosi began, botching her opening line.It went downhill from there. Really one that, uh, marks a transf for she said, before staring at reporters barely 10 seconds into the appearance, and finally saying, transformative moment Moments later, she confused trillions and billions. When President Bush left office the deficit was 1.4 trillion, she said as she suffered an apparent facial spasm, uh, trillion dollars. So you re talking about an enormous amount of money. The national debt increased by an enormous amount the debt was 1.4 billion in terms of the deficit. Watch her incoherent interview here:A Washington D.C. pharmacy revealed on Wednesday that they deliver medications that treat serious health problems to members of Congress, including medications to treat Alzheimer s disease.Pharmacy owner, Dr. Mike Kim, said that he has gotten used to knowing highly sensitive information about some of the most powerful people in Washington, STAT reported. At first it s cool, and then you realize, I m filling some drugs that are for some pretty serious health problems as well. And these are the people that are running the country, Kim said, listing treatments for conditions like diabetes and Alzheimer s.Kim expressed concern over some of the serious health problems that members of Congress have because the diseases could severely limit their ability to serve in their elected positions. It makes you kind of sit back and say, Wow, they re making the highest laws of the land and they might not even remember what happened yesterday. Daily Wire | 1real |
Joining NATO would help Finland's security but unlikely for now: finance minister | HELSINKI (Reuters) - Joining NATO would improve Finland s security but is unlikely to happen any time soon because of a lack of wider support, Finance Minister Petteri Orpo said on Wednesday. His National Coalition Party, part of a three-party ruling coalition, had a clear position that NATO membership would strengthen Finland s security, and Finland should be part of all western institutions, Orpo told Reuters. Finland is one of six members of the European Union that have not also joined the Western military alliance. It has forged closer ties with NATO in recent years over heightened security concerns in the Baltic Sea region, but has stayed out of the alliance in line with a tradition of avoiding confrontation with Russia, with which it shares an 833-mile (1,340 km) border and a difficult history. This government will not seek membership, and we are committed to that... When the next government will be formed, this issue will likely be considered again, taking into account the situation in the country and the security environment. A poll released by the Defence Ministry on Tuesday showed only 22 percent of Finns support NATO membership while 62 percent opposed it. Because a large majority of parliamentary parties, as well as of the citizens, do not support seeking a membership, the issue is not that topical. Orpo s NCP (National Coalition Party) leads opinion polls with support of around 21 percent. The next general elections will be held in 2019. President Sauli Niinisto said last month that any move to join NATO would need public approval via a referendum. | 0fake |
Former Trump Advisor: Paul Ryan Should Step Down If He Cannot Pass Obamacare Repeal - Breitbart | Betsy McCaughey, a former Donald Trump economic advisor, said that Speaker Ryan should step down if he cannot pass an Obamacare repeal package. [Speaking to radio host John Castimatidis on AM 970 in New York, McCaughey said, “If he can’t do his job as Speaker, to hold these Republicans together and get a repeal and replace bill through, somebody else should be Speaker. ” Betsy McCaughey, the former lieutenant governor of New York, said that “Obamacare is in a death spiral,” and accused Speaker Ryan of pushing for “ . ” McCaughey is not the first Republican to oppose the Ryan plan to replace Obamacare. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows ( ) said that the Ryan plan’s refundable tax credits could amount to a new “entitlement program. ” Congressman Pete Sessions ( ) has said that taxing expensive health insurance plans creates a new “Cadillac tax. ” The former Trump economic advisor said that Speaker Ryan is not in line with Trump’s agenda. She said, “Ryan has attached things to his version of the replacement bill that are very unpopular. He’s got to get on board with Donald Trump, because Donald Trump’s program is popular. ” McCaughey argued that limiting the tax deductibility of health coverage raise taxes on half of America. She said, “That’s like stabbing in the back the rust belt union workers who made Donald trump’s amazing victory possible. ” | 0fake |
#HAMILTON Star Makes Jokes On Twitter About “Black Dudes” Taking Sexual Advantage of Drunk “White Chicks” | When not lecturing the Trump Administration form his bully pulpit, Hamilton star Brandon Victor Dixon is advocating rape, recently unearthed Tweets reveal. St. Patty s day weekend is like Christmas for black dudes who like white chicks. Happy holidays boys. @reesewaters #seasonsgreetings. St. Patty's day weekend is like Christmas for black dudes who like white chicks. Happy holidays boys. @reesewaters#seasonsgreetings Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) March 17, 2012Here s how one Twitter user responded after Mike Cernovich uncovered Dixon s vile tweet (above):https://twitter.com/JenThePatriot/status/800442947359543296Via: Danger and PlayDixon retweeted this vile tweet in July, 2013 about turning a white, married, suburban housewife & mother into a jump off by a racist actor friend J Lee:What did they mean by this? pic.twitter.com/1Ehb2qHcqy Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 20, 2016 | 1real |
Islamic State cleared from Syria's Raqqa: monitor | BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias have completely taken Syria s Raqqa from Islamic State, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by a U.S.-led international alliance, has been fighting Islamic State inside Raqqa since June. | 0fake |
German far-right party drops bid for journalists' private data | BERLIN (Reuters) - The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday dropped a controversial bid for data on the ethnic backgrounds and private views of journalists after concerns surfaced about its registration form for a party congress. The party s initial registration form had sparked sharp criticism on Friday from the German Journalists Association, and prompted an investigation by the Berlin data protection office. The party, which rails against what it calls the Islamisation of Europe and fake news coverage by mainstream news outlets, became the third largest force in the German Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, in Sept. 24 elections. AfD officials had declined to comment to the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper, which first reported the issue on Friday, and did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters. However the party s spokesman downplayed controversy about the issue in a posting on Twitter on Saturday. Test version deleted. Starting immediately journalists can use the official registration form on our website, AfD spokesman Christian Lueth wrote on Twitter. The initial media version had asked journalists to check a box in which they agreed to the collection, storage and use of personal data provided, such as name, medium and press pass number, as well as special data . The form referenced a section in Germany s data protection law, which lists such special data as including racial and ethnic background, political views, religious or philosophical convictions, union membership, health or sexual orientation. Other parties require basic information for registration of journalists, but do not ask for such personal details. This is an unacceptable intrusion into the private affairs of journalists, said Hendrik Zoerner, spokesman for the German Journalists Association. We call on the AfD to immediately remove the required agreement. The AfD won nearly 13 percent of vote on Sept. 24, making it the third largest party in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, and the first far-right group to move into the legislature in more than half a century. German civil rights groups are mobilizing to stage a large protest at the start of the party congress in the northern city of Hanover on Dec. 2. | 0fake |
(Video) Clinton: As president, I would ‘model the kind of behavior’ I’d hope all Americans would have | Like breaking federal laws and treating Secret Service agents like her minions? | 1real |
How Cycling Helps Save the World (and Save Your A*@ when the SHTF) | We recently moved from NYC to Portland, Oregon, and I have to say the biggest change (besides all of the trees and so much more living space!) is the cycling culture. Portland is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. There are bikes everywhere you look (I just bought this one and I love it). Not only are there safe bike lanes leading everywhere—including all the way to the airport—there’s also a bike shop on every corner and even a bike assembly area within the airport terminal itself. The bike culture also flourishes in Portland because cyclists and drivers both follow the rules (and, let me tell you, that’s a HUGE change from NYC as well).
Cycling is great for your body and great for the environment. People who ride their bicycles regularly have better cardiovascular fitness, less body fat, increased energy, and they experience less depression. These are all ideal characteristics for being conditioned in a SHTF situation. Cycling to work instead of driving saves close to 10% of your household emissions and biking combats noise pollution, traffic, and uses far less rubber than what is needed for car tires. It makes sense that anyone who is interested in having a sustainable lifestyle would also be interested in traveling by bicycle as much as they can.
Why Cycling Matters in a SHTF Situation
In addition to health benefits, knowing how to cycle and having the necessary gear can come in handy in a dire SHTF situation. I recently read an article about how traveling by bike is your best bet for surviving the zombie apocalypse—the article was a bit of a joke, but it got me thinking seriously about bugging out and how to travel safely in a potentially dangerous situation.
Riding a Bicycle Lets You Avoid Traffic : First of all, anytime there is an emergency, from a severe weather event to a terrorist threat to a fire, traffic becomes an immense and literal roadblock . You won’t be limited to roads at all if you have a bicycle. Being able to take alternate routes means getting the heck out of Dodge faster—of course, you’ll have issues with covering long distances, but people stuck in hours of traffic will too.
Riding a Bicycle Does Not Require Fuel : There’s also the issue of getting gas and maintaining your energy source for your car. Sure, if you’re prepared, you’ll have a few extra tanks on hand, but what happens when that dries up? In a national or worldwide SHTF situation, gasoline will be among the first resources to go scarce. When the gas is gone, even if drivers are able to power through traffic and use their preps, it’s only a matter of time before they have to abandon their cars and continue their travels on foot.
Bikes are Easy to Repair : A bicycle is a straightforward machine that requires only a slight bit of research to repair. You don’t want to be worrying about your engine or oil changes when you’re on the run.
You Can Still Carry Cargo : If you’ve traveled to Indonesian countries you’ve seen how much gear (or how many people!) can be packed onto a single bicycle. Having a basket or rack is an easy and affordable way to make your bike more emergency friendly. Even just having a simple set up for your bug-out bag and some of your preps will make a huge difference.
You Can Accommodate Children on a Bicycle : If forced to abandon your car, having smaller children means that they slow you down, and if they aren’t willing to walk you will find yourself in a terrible situation indeed. Carriers or trailers like this one mean your child can be sleeping soundly while you travel.
Riding a Bike is Better for Your OPSEC Situation : Bicycles are stealth and silent when you are riding them and are reliable in an off-grid situation . They are small and easy to camouflage–they can even be pulled up into a tree or stashed behind some bushes at a moment’s notice.
At the very least, understand that you cannot rely on your vehicle in a true SHTF situation if you have to flee your home. Loading up your trunk with preps could potentially be a waste of time—instead, you might do well to learn how to ride a bike and be sure one is packed in that trunk of yours.
Pamela Bofferding is a native Texan who now lives with her husband and sons in New York City. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing with her dogs.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 12th, 2016 Off-Grid Travel: The DIY Survival Bike Cycling and Walking to Work Increases the Feeling of… 3 Uses a Stationary Bike Has When the Grid Goes Down Could the Survival Bike be your Bug Out Vehicle of Choice? SHTF Planning: 7 Ways to Use The Items Around You To Adapt… | 1real |
We Sh*t You Not: Game Show Host Steve Harvey Given Role In Trump Admin (VIDEO) | Just when you think things can t get any more bizarre than they already are regarding Donald Trump and his choices for his administration, he goes and ups the ante.According to Reuters: Entertainer Steve Harvey says he will team up with Housing Secretary-designate Ben Carson on inner city initiative. JUST IN: Entertainer Steve Harvey says he will team up with Housing Secretary-designate Ben Carson on inner city initiative Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) January 13, 2017Yes, that Steve Harvey. The same guy who is an entertainer, comedian and game show host. The same guy who f**ked up Miss Universe, which probably explains the Trump connection. The same guy who makes fun of people on The Family Feud.Steve Harvey will be working with Ben Carson with the department of Housing and Urban Development. So, basically, it would seem Trump is putting all the black people he may know in charge of the position with urban in the title. Although, it s surely just coincidence.It seems as if Harvey is excited for the role and is looking forward to working with Ben Carson to bring positive change to inner cities. Comedian Steve Harvey says he'll work with Ben Carson to bring "positive change to inner cities" at Trump Tower pic.twitter.com/oHrHPK4U2c CBS News (@CBSNews) January 13, 2017All in all, let s hope Carson and Harvey do a good job and bring about positive change within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and to the inner cities they will be directly working with.Yet, it can t be overlooked that this choice is rather mind-boggling.Featured Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 1real |
[Video] WATCH HOW MARCO RUBIO Handles Same Reporter Who Attempts Interview With Hillary | There s just something about Shrillary that almost makes you wonder if everything she does has to be staged Watch how differently Marco Rubio is able to handle an impromptu interview with this TMZ reporter vs Hillary Clinton (below): h/t IJ Review | 1real |
Republican Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Eliminate The Department Of Education Entirely | Republicans are apparently hell-bent on destroying public education any way they can. The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as secretary of education in a 51-50 vote on Tuesday. And as if that weren t enough, a GOP representative introduced a bill to do away with the Department of Education entirely.Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced the one-page bill, which states that the Department of Education would terminate on Dec. 31, 2018. Now, to be honest, I could understand if this were a panicked, knee-jerk reaction to DeVos confirmation. Kind of a smoosh it before it lays eggs response. It wouldn t make it a good idea, but it would be understandable. Sadly, that doesn t appear to be the case at all.Massie wants to eliminate the agency, which has been in place since 1980, because he just doesn t think the federal government should be in charge of education. Instead, he thinks the issue would best be left to states and local municipalities. (Insert eye roll here.) Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children s intellectual and moral development. States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students, Massie said in a statement.Massie isn t alone on this one, as seven other Republicans have also signed onto his bill: House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (Utah) and Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Jody Hice (Ga.), Walter Jones (N.C.) and Ra l Labrador (Idaho).The bill was introduced shortly after Vice President Mike Pence cast his tie-breaking to confirm DeVos. All Democrats voted against her and two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), broke ranks with their party and opposed her confirmation as well. Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep this blithering idiot from being confirmed as education secretary.Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep this blithering idiot from being confirmed as education secretary. And now, Republicans are trying to sabotage public education by abolishing the Department of Education entirely. Lovely.Read more:Featured image via T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images | 1real |
Kanye West: I Would Have Voted for Donald Trump, If I Had Voted ⋆ USA 24 |
Rapper Kanye West has come out in support of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, drawing boos and whistles from fans.
Kanye West has always been something of a provocateur and a nihilist, and is staunchly anti-political correctness.
Last night he stirred a maybe unprecedented level of controversy, however, declaring at a Saint Pablo Tour show in San Jose: “I would have voted on Trump”. West told the audience at a concert in San Jose, California on Thursday night that he didn’t vote in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential elections “but if I would have voted, I would have voted for Trump.”
“This is my platform and I’m going to talk about the paradigm shift that’s happening right now,” he said at the top of a 40-minute political speech that came at the cost of several songs.
It’s hard to ascertain exactly the point he was trying to make as we only have tweets and videos from attendees, not a transcript, to go off, but it sounds as though he was mostly praising the disruptive nature of Trump’s campaign, which ‘inspired racists to reveal themselves’. “I would’ve voted for Trump”– @kanyewest pic.twitter.com/XtyUteCgUZ
— albertoreyes (@albertoreyes) November 18, 2016
“Whether you voted for Hillary or Trump, this is a safe space for both of you,” he told the audience, asking any Trump voters to make themselves known. He also reiterated his desire to run for president in 2020, saying his focus would be on education and that his campaign would use a different political model.
“Stop focusing on racism,” he added, declaring sombrely: “We are in a racist country – period.” His stance stands in stark contrast to 2005 Kanye, who famously declared that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” in the wake of the devestating Hurricane Katrina.
The concert received an understandably mixed response.
Kanye was apparently happy when one woman screamed that she loved him in spite of his appreciation of Trump’s campaign, but there was also a lot of booing, stunned silence and even a few projectiles – one of which was a Yeezy shoe, which Kanye promptly signed and returned to the thrower. (h/t:independent) Search | 1real |
Germany's Merkel rejects total ban on arms exports to Turkey: NDR | BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday rejected a total ban on arms exports to NATO partner Turkey, saying that such sales had already been restricted somewhat, but Turkey remained a key ally in the fight against Islamic State. Merkel s comments came a day after Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Berlin had put most arms exports to Turkey on hold due to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country and increasingly strained ties. Merkel told broadcaster NDR that Germany would decide on arms sales requests from Turkey on a case-by-case basis. She also said she saw no reason to impose a travel warning for Germans traveling to Turkey, but said Berlin would keep its options open. | 0fake |
Obama Tries to Reassure Latin America About a Future With Donald Trump - The New York Times | LIMA, Peru — President Obama said here on Saturday that, while Donald J. Trump was unlikely to reverse the warming of ties with Cuba, he would almost certainly trade deals in Latin America. “There are going to be tensions that arise, probably around trade more than anything,” Mr. Obama told an audience of students and young leaders from Latin America. “Because the campaigned on looking at every trade policy and potentially reversing those policies. ” Even on trade, though, Mr. Trump will have a tough time making drastic changes to United States policy, Mr. Obama said. “But once they look at how it’s working, I think they’ll actually determine that it’s working for both the United States and our partners,” Mr. Obama said. “The friendships we’ve established with countries like Peru, the reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba, investments we’re making in trade, environmental policies and so forth — all those things I expect to continue,” he added. Mr. Trump has offered contradictory views on Cuban relations. Early in his campaign, Mr. Trump claimed to support restoring ties, but he said more recently in Miami that Mr. Obama should have gotten a better deal. Mr. Obama was speaking to aspiring entrepreneurs and civil society leaders about how to improve their lives and countries — one of his preferred activities — during the last stop of his final overseas trip as president. He began his trip on Tuesday in Greece, went to Germany on Wednesday and flew to Peru on Friday to attend the Economic Cooperation summit meeting. Along the way, he has tried, with limited success, to reassure audiences that Mr. Trump will not discard the agreements and priorities that Mr. Obama has devoted much of his presidency to advancing. His toughest task was here at a summit meeting of an organization that helped birth the Partnership trade agreement, an accord that is almost certainly dead as a result of Mr. Trump’s victory. Also, one of Mr. Trump’s signature campaign strategies was to demonize immigrants from Latin America, and he referred to those crossing the border from Mexico as rapists and criminals. Just about every question posed to Mr. Obama from the audience here had to do with the anxiety Mr. Trump has stirred in this part of the world. “The United States is such a big country that, after any election, people are uncertain,” Mr. Obama said. “I think it will be important for people around the world to not make immediate judgments. ” He also predicted that relations between Latin America and the United States would not change much. “The main message I want you to know is that you have a partner in me and you have a partner in the United States government,” Mr. Obama said to applause. “And we are going to work together. ” Part of the reason relations are unlikely to change dramatically, he said, is that the United States’ security depends on Latin American nations’ faring well enough that their people decide to remain home instead of attempting the arduous journey to enter the United States illegally. “The best way for my daughters to be secure in America is to make sure that people in Guatemala or El Salvador are also feeling secure because, if they’re not, that may spill over the borders to us,” he said. While the illegal migration of Mexicans has largely halted in recent years, gang violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala has combined with economic desperation to drive migrants from those countries to seek safety in other countries, mainly the United States. Answering a question on Saturday from a Venezuelan audience member, Mr. Obama painted a dark portrait of the progress of freedom around the world, and said the wave of countries adopting democratic governance had reversed itself. “You’re seeing some countries that are going backward rather than forwards in terms of freedom of press, freedom of the internet, in terms of respecting political opposition and civil society,” he said. Venezuela’s economy is nearing collapse as its government cracks down on opposition leaders in an increasingly desperate effort to cling to power. Mr. Obama also said a growing number of people were now arguing that democracy is incompatible with development. China’s success over the past 30 years in creating a manufacturing colossus through its authoritarian measures has some leaders, particularly in Asia, insisting that too much democracy can be detrimental. But Mr. Obama said that, over the long term, countries that pursue democracy, transparency and accountability fare far better than those that do not. “In this time that we live in, development is based on knowledge and innovation and education and new thinking and sharing of ideas,” Mr. Obama said. In authoritarian systems, economies respond poorly to change because their populations are not as or as flexible, he said. “You can maintain order for a while with repressive nondemocratic governance, but it will rot from within,” Mr. Obama said. “Over time, those governments fail and those economies fail. ” Mr. Obama told the crowd here to avoid fervent nationalism and identity politics, which he said could lead to conflicts. “If the most important thing about you is that you are an American,” Mr. Obama began, drawing an implicit contrast with Mr. Trump, “if that’s the one thing that defines you, then you may end up being threatened by people from other places, when in fact you may have a lot in common and you may miss opportunities. ” Mr. Trump has defined his governing philosophy as “America First,” and has already appointed avowed nationalists to top positions in his administration. Mr. Obama described himself as a proud American, but said the world was far too interconnected for leaders to be wholly focused on their own nations. “If there’s pollution in China, then that affects you here in Peru,” he said. | 0fake |
SOROS & HIS CONNECTION TO THE RIOTS | SOROS & HIS CONNECTION TO THE RIOTS 53.6K shares by DML DAILY / November 12, 2016 / CRAZY LEFT /
The mainstream media is pushing the narrative that the protests spreading throughout the country are peaceful, and represent the widespread hatred for President-elect Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the media is pushing a false narrative.
Fact is theses are not protests. According to the law, the events taking place are riots. Under Federal Law, a riot is a public disturbance involving an act of violence by one or more persons assembled in a group of at least three people. Inciting a riot applies to a person who organizes, encourages, or participates in a riot. It can apply to one who urges or instigates others to riot. According to 18 USCS 2102 ” to incite a riot”, or ” to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot”, includes, but is not limited to, urging or instigating other persons to riot.
George Soros, the radical left leaning billionaire who supported Hillary Clinton and donates to radical groups such as Black Lives Matter and MoveOn.org, is behind the riots and needs to be held accountable. The majority of people showing up to these riots are paid to do so by Soros-funded-groups.
Below is a video produced by RT.com It connects Soros to the riots. This video was sent to us by one of our readers, Charee.
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ANARCHY BY DESIGN: ‘Anti-Trump’ Flash Mobs, Hollywood and The Wall Street War Chest | Shawn Helton 21st Century WireIt s a novel scene, even for America: President Elect Donald Trump is facing an unprecedented wave of organized opposition prior to moving into the White House. While the Democratic Party are hoping to leverage these street action into votes in 2017 and 2018, the real strategy here seems to be about forging deeper narratives and creating a collective feeling of disenfranchisement among liberal millennial. It may appear like a grassroots uprising, but upon closer inspection, there big money and big players behind it all.Within 24 hours of the dramatic conclusion to 2016 presidential election on November 8th, highly organized flash mobs directed in part by the Democratic Party s leading community organizing digital platform, MoveOn.org (funded by Wall Street billionaire and top Clinton donor George Soros) spread rapidly throughout several cities across America including Oakland, Los Angeles, New York and Portland. While vitriolic anti-Trump dissent consumed some urban parts of the country, mainstream media outlets, as well as a column of Hollywood celebrities and entertainers added to the disillusionment as they took to the airwaves and social media to express their shock and emotional fears that a Trump presidency would be the end of the world, for some anyway.Readers would not be amiss in questioning the true nature of the heavily coordinated color revolution-style MoveOn marches across America, as they reveal a much deeper social engineering agenda at play one that enlists a likely coalition comprised of corporate media outlets, Silicon Valley, along with Hollywood together peddling a highly reactionary, if not incendiary political message.Make no mistake: this is a well-financed and concerted attempt to further divide America along new cultural lines of identity a division which will eventually benefit the same elite establishment which both the popular left and the popular right believe they are currently railing against.Let s review the impetus behind the anti-Trump protests, before discussing the unusual nature of an outright rejection of the democratic process by organized oprotesters quietly nudged by Hollywood and media operatives MOVE ON: A Manufactured March On America For nearly a week, street protests have been promoted by the same mainstream news networks that had predicted a Hillary Clinton landslide only eight days ago.Networks like CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and the Washington Post are still reluctant to report how within hours of the election result, the Soros-tied NGO MoveOn.org issued a press release calling for nationwide protests. This was followed by petitions to Abolish the Electoral College. In my first report discussing this potentially explosive situation unfolding across America, it was shown how MoveOn members had created more than 200 gatherings nationwide, with the number continuing to grow What this demonstrates more than anything is how the amalgamation of virtual community-based flash mobs and professional political agitators have been fostered by various Democratic party NGO s since the early 2000 s not only through MoveOn.org, but also through Democratic Party affiliated foundations like Answer Coalition.In addition to Soros s billions being poured into a near endless web of political front organization and change agent NGOs, other Wall Street financial institutions have backed their favorites, like Goldman Sachs and others, sponsoring the Hillary Clinton campaign and maintaining strong stakes the Clinton Foundation as well as ties to Clinton family in general. In 2015, the Washington Post reported that Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton earned in excess of $25 million for delivering 104 speeches since the beginning of 2014, a huge infusion to their net worth as she was readying for a presidential bid. Here we see an example of the financial nexus formed between powerful players like Soros, Wall Street s Goldman Sachs and America s progressive leftwing political establishment. Clearly, there is a high level agenda at work here, and you only need to follow the money to see who are the chief beneficiaries.SEE ALSO: PARTNERS IN CRIME: Goldman Sachs, The Clintons & Wall StreetSome of the most notable uprisings in America include the designer social justice campaigns all of whom have George Soros money behind them through a vast network of foundations and social front groups like The Occupy Movement (aka OWS) in 2011, as well as Soros funded protests in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) street action group this past year. Each of these have a common thread they have all evolved into some form of violent social unrest often steered by paid provocateurs. Media outlets generally do not like to cover this side of the events because it simply doesn t fit the favored Left vs Right narrative the media loves so much. Hence, most members of the public especially the protesters themselves have little or no idea what is driving street violence and the crisis narrative.One wonders whether Soros an ideologue, or a business speculator? Maybe both. Soros boast about taking down foreign nations and capitalizing on subsequent market tremors, but his conquests are certainly not limited to overseas targets.Media ManipulationIn 2011, the same year as the OWS protests, it was reported that National Public Radio (NPR) accepted a $1.8 million dollar grant from the George Soros founded The Open Society Institute rebranded as the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The NGO managed to gain even greater influence on NPR s reportage. Below is a passage describing the Soros funded Impact on Government project: NPR is using the two-year grant as seed money to start a local-national initiative, known as the Impact on Government project. Eventually, the plan is to have two public radio reporters in every state keeping tabs on state government issues that are woefully under-reported by the media. This is to be a multi-media project for radio, the Web and social media. Many critics of the collaboration charged that NPR joined the ranks of many other media outlets funded by Soros. According to the conservative watchdog, Media Research Center there has been an additional $48 million taken by media outlets from Soros tied NGO s since 2003: It turns out that Soros influence doesn t just include connections to top mainstream news organizations such as NBC, ABC, The New York Times and Washington Post. It s bought him connections to the underpinnings of the news business. The Columbia Journalism Review, which bills itself as a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms, lists several investigative reporting projects funded by one of Soros foundations. In August of 2016, it was reported that DCLeaks.com which claims to be run by the same hackers who leaked a trove of e-mails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has published a 69-page report from OSF in which the Soros organization documents its plans to use the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray to accelerate the dismantling of structural inequality generated and maintained by local law enforcement, and that George Soros s Open Society Foundations approved a $650,000 dollar donation to BLM: Recognizing the need for strategic assistance, the U.S. Programs Board approved $650,000 in Opportunities Fund support to invest in technical assistance and support for the groups at the core of the burgeoning #BlackLivesMatter movement. Additionally, here s a passage from the leaked OSF documents that discusses the social engineering used to influence policy change: The latest example of Black Lives Matter follows upon previous social movements that have taken very different paths, including the Dreamers and Occupy Wall Street, which call into question the role that philanthropy should play in supporting, encouraging, and/or building these social movements as they evolve to affect real policy change and sometimes though not always transition into longer-term institutions. The end of result of the media manipulation and street actions driven by engineers like Soros is that misinformed members of the public will exact violence against innocent bystanders.Here s a YouTube video depicting 49-year-old David Wilcox being violently attacked by a mob (following a minor traffic accident in Chicago) after he was labeled a White Trump supporter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7zEibNcejAHere s another video on YouTube featuring a Chicago Tribune interview with a bruised and battered Wilcox, days after a street mob attacked him WARNING: Adult language please be advised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_17ZCJLg8Back in August, a Wikileaks email dump revealed a message sent by George Soros to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the email, Soros himself gave explicit instructions on how to handle the social unrest occurring in Albania in January of 2011. Here s a passage of the Soros message to Clinton. An important thing to remember to date, Wikileaks findings have yet to be unproven: There are serious concerns about further unrest connected to a counter-demonstration to be organized by the governing party and a follow-up event by the opposition two days later to memorialize the victims, Soros says. The prospect of tens of thousands of people entering the streets in an already inflamed political environment bodes ill for the return of public order and the country s fragile democratic process, he adds. I believe two things need to be done urgently, he adds. 1. Bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements.2. Appoint a senior European official as a mediator. Soros suggested three candidates: Carl Bildt, Martti Ahtisaari, and Miroslav Lajcak, saying all have strong connections to the Balkans. The US and the EU must work in complete harmony over this, but given Albania s European aspirations the EU must take the lead, he stressed, adding that his foundation in Tirana was monitoring the situation closely and can provide independent analysis of the crisis. Democracy Alliance Plots RevengeThe Soros controlled NGO machine continued this week when it was revealed that the Soros funded Democracy Alliance was set to retool those groups being used to rattle president-elect Trump: George Soros and other rich liberals who spent tens of millions of dollars trying to elect Hillary Clinton are gathering in Washington for a three-day, closed door meeting to retool the big-money left to fight back against Donald Trump.The conference, which kicked off Sunday night at Washington s pricey Mandarin Oriental hotel, is sponsored by the influential Democracy Alliance donor club, and will include appearances by leaders of most leading unions and liberal groups, as well as darlings of the left such as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairman Keith Ellison, according to an agenda and other documents obtained by POLITICO. In an interesting twist, FOX News revealed that a Craigslist ad (image, above) found to be connected to the anti-Trump protests may also be linked to a Planned Parenthood affiliate. The following is a passage from that report: The Craigslist ads read: STOP TRUMP up to $1500/week. Hiring immediately! Call Today Start tomorrow! $15-$18 hourly rate + bonus + overtime up to 77 hours per week!They were placed by a Planned Parenthood affiliate in major cities like Boston, Denver, Columbus, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh right before the election to defeat the candidacy of Donald Trump. However, most of them are still active on Craigslist, fueling questions about whether the group is now among those feeding the post-election anti-Trump protests across the country. Its no secret Planned Parenthood has taken a strong stance on Trump s views of their organization, making it likely they would attempt to thwart the president-elect.FOX News also mentioned that Planned Parenthood received $553.7 million in tax dollars last year, [and] had pledged to spend $30 million to defeat Trump, according to Rolling Stone. There is a decidedly edgy public persona of Soros linked NGO s and their splinter protest groups such as BLM, yet the mainstream media is soft on many of the various group s objectives. In a NY Times article this was recently confirmed as Cat Brooks, a co-founder of Anti Police-Terror Project, told a crowd in Oakland on Friday. We need to be more than angry, we need to organize and funnel our anger into action. Polling America & the Celebrity Crisis Post-TrumpAs 21WIRE previously outlined, there where great webs spun by think-tanks and media with regards to the statistical outcome of the 2016 presidential election in America: One of the great myths being spun by the establishment media was that Donald Trump had no support from women, latinos and blacks in the US. As it turned out, this was a lie propagated in a failed attempt to margnalize Republican voters and give a false impression of a liberal Democratic mandate in America. In the end Trump gathered 29% of Latinos, 9% of African Americans and 49% of college educated white women. For months, mainstream media pundits and polls insisted that all of these demographics were exclusively for Hillary Clinton. Here s another look at the psychologist and internet radio personality Kiki Green, who passionately explains the symbiotic relationship between the Democratic Party, Hollywood and the Clinton campaign all who worked in concert to dupe certain groups into voting for Hillary Clinton WARNING: Adult language please be advised: To top it off, actor Robert DeNiro, who once played the politically obsessed character Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, threatened to punch Donald Trump before the election, and is now said to be woefully depressed following the Real Estate mogul s historic win.Here s DeNiro s cheap attempt at swaying voters a month before the US election. Watch as the actor name drops Colin Powell to somehow delegitimize Trump. Powell of course was one of the neoconservative architects of the false WMD narrative that led to the Iraq invasion in 2003 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzhjpWbGM5sThe Hollywood hits against Trump haven t stopped there, over the past 24 hours, Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg penned an open letter discussing the Trump victory. Katzenberg himself was a seven-figure donor ($1 million) to the Clinton friendly super PAC Priorities USA Action. Here s a passage of Katzenberg s piece published at the Hollywood Reporter: I have been involved in politics for more than 50 years, and this is certainly not the first time I ve been on the losing end. It always hurts. And this one maybe hurts more than the rest partly because we didn t really lose. Our side got more popular votes, while Trump received fewer votes than Mitt Romney or John McCain. The Electoral College is how we choose presidents, and I (mostly) respect this. But I hope everyone, including Mr. Trump, recognizes that this was not an election that, by any stretch, resulted in a mandate. Interestingly, Katezenberg s emotive plea proved to be heavy-handed with the takeaway that Trump really didn t win, as he explains his candidate Clinton, didn t really lose the popular vote. While its true, the Clinton camp received a total of 62,522,062 to Trump s 61,300,582, some 1,221480 votes separate the pair across America it should also be mentioned that Trump did far better in the all important swing-states, which statistically speaking, usually define most presidential elections.According to the Cook Political Report, which provides up-to-date 2016 election analysis, Trump s margin in swing-states was overwhelmingly in his favor with the president-elect garnering 22,055,535 to Clinton s 21,181,776 throughout 13 swing-state totals. The final swing-state tally gave Trump an 873,759 votes more. One other notable stat showed how Clinton gained her vote total (not mentioning the 14 cases of voter fraud reported), as it was hinged on one state, California. In fact, Clinton received 6,633,714 to Trump s 3,541,015 in the highly democratic state that holds a population of 39.35 million according to census reports.So, just as a caveat to Katzenberg s plea used to distort public opinion without California, a massively left-leaning state, Clinton wouldn t be anywhere near Trump s numbers. Like Trump or not, he was a clear winner of 2016 and got votes where it counted the most. PROGRAMMING PROTEST? Soros linked groups are distorting the public s perception with their organized color revolution-style protests. (Image Source: the news at 9)Color Revolutions & Smart Mobs Whether in the flesh, social media or through mainstream TV, the populace is subject to various forms of hyperreal propaganda around the global in many ways this is being used to push certain political regime changes and party objectives through the use of deceptive color revolutions and their many incarnations.In a recent article discussing how the Pentagon reportedly paid PR firm Bell Pottinger $540 million to produce fake terror videos used to steer Western political interests, we also explored the psychological aspect to social engineered color revolutions. Here s a passage from the 21WIRE report below: The scale of such US-sponsored social engineering projects are breathtaking. In June of 2014, in an article entitled, Pentagon preparing for mass civil breakdown, by Nafeez Ahmed, published at the UK s Guardian, we learned that:A new research programme is funding universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world, under the supervision of various US military agencies. The program was brought to fruition during the height of the banking crisis in 2008, as Ahmed points out, suggesting it was already in the works for some time and time was of the essence.The social science study may have been as big or bigger then the Snowden documents on NSA bulk collection, where not only are Americans being tracked but their behavior is being categorized, labeled and scrutinized, prompting those who value civl rights and privacy to question the ethics and morals of such a US government program. The Guardian article also outlined the type of militarized language used to describe civil movements promoting political change, ironically they used the NGO/US State Department engineered uprising in Egypt as a model for one social science study: Among the projects awarded for the period 2014-2017 is a Cornell University-led study managed by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research which aims to develop an empirical model of the dynamics of social movement mobilisation and contagions. The project will determine the critical mass (tipping point) of social contagians by studying their digital traces in the cases of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the 2011 Russian Duma elections, the 2012 Nigerian fuel subsidy crisis and the 2013 Gazi park protests in Turkey. Essentially, this is computer modelling of color revolutions over sees an expensive digital tool in the Pentagon and the CIA s regime change operations. The blending of socially engineered political agitator mobs and color revolutions is becoming more and more imperceptible as any group-think meme can cause a sudden flash gathering for the cause of the day.In a book from 2011 written by Susanne Elizabeth Shawyer entitled Radical Street Theatre and the Yippie Legacy: A Performance History of the Youth International Party, 1967 1968, we gain a clearer perspective of the term Smart Mobs and the nature of these cross-platform gatherings: The potential for ideological uses of flash mobs soon became clear by autumn 2003. Because of its original apolitical nature and network organization, the flash mob was easily appropriated for other means beyond random fun. Flash mobs were soon used for political or commercial end by those seeking to capitalize on the trendy cultural capital of flash mobs. Adding to that, Shawyer cites author social science critic Howard Rheingold, who penned a book entitled Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution in 2003 and continued to outline the nature of smart mobs: A smart mob may be composed of strangers who have no relationship to each other beyond their mutual connection to the network, yet this connection creates a virtual community and provides the opportunity for collective action. Taking the smart mob phenomena and grafting it onto the recent anti-trump riots in Portland, Oregon, we can see how a large block of people can become useful provocateurs, paid or otherwise. PORTLAND RIOT Are NGO s stirring the masses in America? (Image Source: thewashingtonpost)According to the local Portland NBC affiliate KGW: More than half of the anti-Trump protesters arrested in Portland didn t vote in Oregon, according to state election records. At least sixty-nine demonstrators either didn t turn in a ballot or weren t registered to vote in the state.KGW compiled a list of the 112 people arrested by the Portland Police Bureau during recent protests. Those names and ages, provided by police, were then compared to state voter logs by Multnomah County Elections officials.Records show 34 of the protesters arrested didn t return a ballot for the November 8 election. Thirty-five of the demonstrators taken into custody weren t registered to vote in Oregon. Earlier this year, we discussed how political game changers had been targeting the Trump campaign, as the George Soros-funded Democrat Party-oriented advocacy group MoveOn.org and host of other splinter groups associated with Black Lives Matter, played a large role in the Chicago University student-organized shutdown at a Trump campaign rally.Since then, numerous protests and violent confrontations were organized, serving as a disruptive force during the US election cycle. Left-wing critics routinely cited Donald Trump as the reason for the all the high-profile confrontations, trying to rationalize how he is somehow attracting the flash mob when in reality the flash mobs are being organized via a few foundation-funded community organizing portals like MoveOn.org.The Role of Hollywood & Media When you mix the Hollywood molotov commentary with that of the socially engineered flash mob, you have a designer reality that big media uses to polarize the public over certain political outcomes, giving them the ability to blame any other group not associated with the group-think entity.Media outlets have also played a role in perpetuating the mass victimization meme spread throughout America with headlines like Anti-Trump demonstrators say nationwide protests are just a taste of things to come , published at The Washington Post, Bullying in the Age of Trump, published by the NY Times, Campuses Confront Hostile Acts Against Minorities After Donald Trump s Election, also published at the NY Times all stories designed to create an emotional reaction rather than a rational one.In fact, there s been a wave of false claims levied at Trump supporters as sanctuary sites are being rolled out on college campuses for those in need of Trump recovery and now, reportedly New York City high school reportedly allowed their students to skip class Tuesday to join protests at the Trump Tower despite objections from fellow educators, along with a lesson plan on Trump s behavior.Here are two YouTube clips depicting celebrity meltdowns over Trump s presidential win. Interestingly, the Hollywood crisis on display below is designed to manipulate young Americans taken in by the celebrity-generated drama more likely an attempt to graft psychological trauma onto an unsuspecting viewer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjZoljZcVcwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlBNQ5AEGUYThis definitely represents a low ebb in American culture, and in history too.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE NOW & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
BUSTED! CRAIGSLIST AD EXPOSES Rent-a-Mob for Phoenix Anti-Trump Thugs | The usual suspects are going to show up tonight for President Trump s rally in Phoenix, AZ. With Soros and Democrat donors throwing money at rent-a-mobs, you can bet the faux protesters will be out in droves tonight with their mass-produced identical signs. Craigslist had ads for tonight s rally asking for protesters:THE AD WAS FLAGGED:Real post on Craig s list that was flagged and removed asking for professional actors to protest TrumpInsane! pic.twitter.com/IAa1UMcZGf Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 21, 2017MORE UNEMPLOYABLE YOUNG SNOWFLAKES PAID BY SOROS More unemployable young liberals paid by https://t.co/kcOLe2tAt3 Soros funding. Remember follow the money and ignore the idiots taking it. pic.twitter.com/KAiWqppz1T Gay & Deplorable (@purplemeatballs) August 22, 2017Leading anti-Trump activists backed by major Democratic donors including George Soros are mobilizing large numbers of protesters ahead of President Trump s rally in Phoenix on Tuesday, with the intention of stealing the spotlight from the president s event.Local leaders of Indivisible, one of many resistance protest groups formed as a direct response to Trump s election, are organizing thousands of protesters associated with a coalition of left-wing groups ahead of Tuesday s event. In addition to organizing mass protests outside the rally, Indivisible is encouraging protesters to register for tickets for the rally itself, increasing the likelihood that protesters will disrupt Trump s speech, as often happens at Trump s rallies.Although originally founded by activists not backed by donors, Indivisible s website now states that the group is a project of the Advocacy Fund, a progressive advocacy group that receives money from the Open Society Policy Center, an arm of Soros Open Society Foundations. That revelation follows USA Today s reporting in May that leaders of Indivisible and Women s March met with Democracy Alliance, a Soros-led network of left-wing donors, to discuss funding options.VIA: DAILY CALLERVia: Truthfeed | 1real |
Thousands rally in Philippines, warn of Duterte 'dictatorship' | MANILA (Reuters) - Thousands of Filipinos rallied on Thursday to denounce Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and warn of what they called an emerging dictatorship, in a major show of dissent against the controversial but hugely popular leader. Politicians, indigenous people, priests, businessmen, and left-wing activists held marches and church masses accusing Duterte of authoritarianism and protesting at policies including a ferocious war on drugs that has killed thousands. Signs saying Stop The Killings and No To Martial Rule reflected fears that Duterte would one day deliver on his threat to declare nationwide military rule like that imposed by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The rallies marked the 45th anniversary of the start of that era, remembered by many Filipinos as brutal and oppressive. Effigies of Duterte were burned, including one which bore both his face and that of late Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. A protester with a toy gun played dead on the ground in a reenactment of one of a spree of drug-related killings that activists say are executions staged by police. Police reject those allegations. Anti-Duterte Senator Risa Hontiveros said democracy was under threat by a Dutertatorship with a policy of killing . Vice President Leni Robredo, who was not Duterte s running mate, said Filipinos should recognize signs of rising tyranny . It s sad that we seemed to have not learned our lessons, Robredro said. There s a culture of violence around us. Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and held power for 14 years until his removal in a bloodless, army-backed people s power uprising. He abolished democratic institutions and was accused of killing, torturing and disappearing thousands of opponents. Duterte has expressed admiration for Marcos. His critics are alarmed by his autocratic rhetoric and a vicious disdain for his detractors. But he won last year s election by a big margin and has maintained one of the highest public approval ratings of a Philippines president. Several thousand turned out on Thursday to show their support for Duterte at a rival rally that entertained crowds with live music, dancing and food. This is to tell the people that here we are, we are the majority who are happy with the government and not those few who are just griping , said rally organizer Benny Antiporda, a former journalist. Millions of Filipinos admire Duterte s down-to-earth style, his decisiveness and even his imperfections. His supporters at home and among the diaspora see him as a champion of ordinary people and the best hope for change that presidents from the political elite failed to bring. The anti-Duterte demonstrators criticized his pro-China stance and the destruction in southern Marawi City by military air strikes targeting Islamist militants. Others decried what they see as his cozy relationship with the still-powerful Marcos family. It seems that what we fought for in 1972, is again back. The total disrespect for human life, dignity, human rights. And that was how we started, said Rene Saguisag, a former senator and human rights lawyer. In some ways, it may be worse. | 0fake |
Haitians in U.S. malign Trump decision to send them back home | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Haitian immigrants on Tuesday decried a U.S. decision to end a program that granted 59,000 Haitians temporary visas after the 2010 earthquake, saying they would be sent back to a country that has yet to recover from that disaster and others since. The United States offered Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to Haitians after the January 2010 earthquake killed some 300,000 people and devastated a country that has long been the poorest in the Americas. The administration of former President Barack Obama extended the program several times, finding that conditions in Haiti were too dire to send the beneficiaries home. President Donald Trump’s administration, after previously granting a six-month extension, announced on Monday that it would end TPS for Haiti in July 2019. Any Haitian who cannot obtain another kind of U.S. visa will be subject to deportation back to the Caribbean nation, where some earthquake victims are still homeless and the country is wobbling from Hurricane Matthew, a cholera outbreak and political instability. “We’re just left in a void,” said Sebastian Joseph, 26, a Haitian immigrant living in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn where Haitians and other Caribbeans are concentrated. He said virtually all Haitians want to stay in the United States, where they have carved out a niche in construction and healthcare services such as caring for the elderly and sick. “America has been the home of the free for 200 years or more. Everybody wants to come to America,” Joseph said. “A lot of people will go back to nothing.” Trump’s supporters note that the visa program was always meant to be temporary and that Trump ran a 2016 presidential campaign promising restrictive immigration policies. At least one Haitian TPS recipient in Brooklyn accepted that eventually she must return. “If they say I have 18 months and that’s it, I say thank God, and then I will go,” said Margaret Etienne, who gave birth to a 3-year-old son here who is now a U.S. citizen. “It’s my country. I love my country,” she said after buying takeout from a Haitian restaurant with her son on a stretch of Church Avenue that is also called Bob Marley Boulevard, after the late Jamaican musician. In ending the TPS designation, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke said she had determined that the “extraordinary but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no longer exist.” Some critics dispute that Haiti has recovered and question how Duke reached such a conclusion. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, the state with the most Haitians, urged Trump to extend TPS, warning in a column he wrote for the Miami Herald that “Haitians sent home will face dire conditions, including lack of housing, inadequate health services and low prospects for employment.” Fifty-nine percent of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line of $2.41 per day, according to the World Bank. “It’s not going to be good for me. I don’t know what I would do,” said Ives Joseph Laforgue, 63, an unemployed Haitian immigrant in Flatbush who said he had open-heart surgery in 2014 and lives off the charity of Brooklyn’s Haitian community. Still, he said he would have even less in Haiti. Haitian community leaders and pro-immigration politicians in New York on Tuesday pledged to pressure the Trump administration to extend TPS. Among them was U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat who introduced legislation that would protect from deportation immigrants who have TPS and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), another program subject to presidential discretion that was extended by Obama but is due to expire in March 2018. Ricot Dupuy, station manager of Radio Soleil, a Haitian-themed broadcaster in New York, said he thinks the decision is racially motivated. “This pressure to send immigrants back home ... The idea is to whiten America,” Dupuy said from his Brooklyn studio. “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not stupid. They know that TPS holders, it’s good for this country. The business community knows it’s good for them. And eventually they may have the last word.” | 0fake |
’We’re Digging Coal Again’: Trump Celebrates Opening of New Coal Mine | President Donald Trump celebrated the opening of a new coal mine in Pennsylvania, sending a recorded video to miners for the ceremony. [“I’m absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great day,” Trump said in the video. “The miners of Pennsylvania — we’re digging coal again. ” The Corsa Coal Company is opening the Acosta coal mine and is expected to employ miners. Yesterday, Trump delivered a speech via video celebrating the opening of a new coal mine in Pennsylvania https: . pic. twitter. — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 9, 2017, Trump reminded the miners of his promises during the campaign, and his ongoing efforts to reduce regulations to bring back jobs. “Clean coal will power America into the future,” Trump said. He also celebrated his decision to remove the United States from the “horrendous” Paris Climate Agreement, asserting that it would have sent the United States back “decades and decades. ” “We are doing something special and we are helping American coal,” Trump said. Hail to their hero. At Acosta mine opening. pic. twitter. — Debra Erdley (@deberdley_trib) June 8, 2017, Trump also highlighted the mine’s opening during his speech announcing his decision to withdraw from the climate agreement. The president’s video aired as attention was focused on former FBI director James Comey’s testimony to the Senate. He vowed to continue fighting for coal jobs despite opposition: Though Washington may be some 180 miles down the road, as long as I’m the president of your great country, each and every day I’m fighting for you and I’m fighting for all the forgotten men and women in our country. It’s not easy, we have a lot of bad opposition, we have a lot of bad, bad phony opposition, but together we will all make sure that our nation is a land of prosperity and opportunity for all. Table centerpiece @CorsaCoal Acosta Deep Mine opening day pic. twitter. — Stephen Huba (@shuba_trib) June 8, 2017, | 0fake |
Obama budget envisions $2.9 trillion in 10-year deficit reduction | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled a budget that proposed $2.9 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, largely by curbing tax breaks for the wealthy and proposing new savings in the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs. The budget would boost spending to $4.1 trillion for 2017, up $196 billion from fiscal 2016, while raising revenues by $308 over the same period, according to documents released by the White House. Spending increases are spread across a wide range of programs, from new support for community colleges to helping NATO and other European allies resist “Russian aggression”. The budget also proposes $375 billion in new 10-year savings to federal healthcare programs, including several changes to the Medicare program for seniors. These include new competitive bidding requirements for the Medicare Advantage Program, certain co-payments for home health episodes, and new mandates for pricing rebates for name-brand drugs. (This version of the story corrects figure in headline to ‘$2.9 trillion’) | 0fake |
Obama, Trump and the Turf War That Has Come to Define the Transition - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump and President Obama have been unfailingly polite toward each other since the election. But with Mr. Trump staking out starkly different positions from Mr. Obama on Israel and other sensitive issues, and the president acting aggressively to protect his legacy, the two have become leaders of what amounts to dueling administrations. The split widened on Friday when the Obama administration abstained from a United Nations Security Council vote that condemned Israel for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and allowed the resolution to pass. A day earlier, Mr. Trump had publicly demanded that Mr. Obama veto the measure, even intervening with Egypt at the request of Israel to pressure the administration to shelve the effort. “As to the U. N.,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter after the vote, “things will be different after Jan. 20. ” It was the latest in a series of Twitter posts and public statements over the last week in which Mr. Trump has weighed in on Israel, terrorism and nuclear proliferation — contradicting Mr. Obama and flouting the notion that the country can have only one president at a time. That longstanding principle has largely collapsed since the victory by Mr. Trump, who campaigned on a strategy of breaking all the rules and has continued to speak in unmodulated tones. “In some ways, Trump is neutering the Obama administration,” said Douglas G. Brinkley, a professor of history and a presidential historian at Rice University in Houston. “They’ve avoided personally attacking each other, but behind the scenes, they’re working to undermine each other, and I don’t know how the American people benefit from that. ” For its part, the Obama administration on Tuesday announced a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the Arctic and the Eastern Seaboard, invoking an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to claim that Mr. Trump had no power to reverse it. White House officials asserted a similar privilege in their decision not to veto the Security Council resolution. Israel’s aggressive construction of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, they said, puts at risk a solution to the conflict. Mr. Trump’s opposition to the measure, and the likelihood that his administration will reverse the position, played no part in the decision, they said. “There’s one president at a time,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser. “There’s a principle here that the world understands who is speaking for the United States until January 20th, and who is speaking for the United States after January 20th. ” In the last week, Mr. Trump has written on Twitter that the United States “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” accused China of an “unprecedented act” in seizing a United States Navy underwater drone in the South China Sea and then, after the Pentagon and the Chinese negotiated the drone’s return, suggested that the United States should “let them keep it!” He condemned the deadly truck rampage at a Christmas market in Berlin as an “attack on humanity,” which he also said vindicated his proposed ban on immigration from countries plagued by Islamic extremism. On Friday, Mr. Trump wrote in a Twitter post that the suspect in the attack had made a religiously motivated threat. “When will the U. S. and all countries, fight back?” he wrote. Mr. Trump’s pronouncements are often so vague and offhand that their impact on policy is open to debate. But his intervention to press Egypt to delay the Security Council vote disrupted a sensitive diplomatic negotiation, and muddied perhaps Mr. Obama’s final opportunity to make a statement on the stalled Middle East peace process. When Egypt buckled, the same resolution was brought to a vote by four other countries on the Security Council: Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela. The United States watched the proceedings largely from the sidelines. On Friday morning, Mr. Obama, from his vacation home in Hawaii, directed his national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, to tell the ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, not to block the resolution. “In a practical sense, the message this sends is that the Obama administration is over,” said Daniel C. Kurtzer, a former American ambassador to both Egypt and Israel. “Everybody knows this resolution doesn’t carry any weight. The assumption has to be that the Israeli government will take some retaliatory measures. Knowing that Trump is coming into office, and knowing that Trump tried to oppose this, they will do so with impunity. ” This role reversal between the departing and incoming presidents deepened what was already an unsettled moment in American foreign policy: a sense that the White House’s policies toward the world’s most troubled places had run out of steam and were about to change radically, but in ways that were wholly unpredictable. Mr. Trump has been careful to be respectful of his predecessor, and the ’s aides have said that the two men have spoken often. When people at his rallies jeer at the mention of Mr. Obama’s name, Mr. Trump hushes them — a courtesy he does not extend to his former opponent, Hillary Clinton. But Mr. Trump has shown little patience for the traditions of the interregnum between presidents. “President Obama and his team have been unbelievably gracious to the and his team, but at the end of the day, he’s not someone that’s going to sit back and wait,” Sean Spicer, whom Mr. Trump named on Thursday as White House press secretary, said on CNN. Noting the close alliance between Israel and the United States, Mr. Spicer said, “It is something that we should protect, and he wanted to make it very clear that anything that undermined Israel, which is a great friend of the United States, he was going to make sure his voice was heard. ” It is not unprecedented for future presidents to dip into foreign affairs before taking office. During his transition in 1968, Richard M. Nixon dispatched two aides, Henry A. Kissinger and Robert Ellsworth, to meet with Soviet officials to pass along his views on a nonproliferation treaty and a summit meeting, an idea that was being pushed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Nixon later wrote that he “did not want to be boxed in by any decisions that were made” before he took office. More often, though, incoming presidents have been . In December 1932, the departing president, Herbert Hoover, was deeply frustrated when Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had won a landslide victory a month earlier, declined to work with him on the issue of war debts owed to the United States by Britain and France. “Governor Roosevelt considers it undesirable for him to assent to my suggestions for cooperative action,” he said. Eliot A. Cohen, a Republican foreign policy expert who worked in the George W. Bush administration and is a critic of Mr. Trump, said the was still communicating in the style of a political candidate. “I don’t think he has a good sense of how every word that comes out of his mouth can have real consequences,” he said. Whatever their frustrations about his interference, White House officials were careful not to criticize Mr. Trump after the Security Council vote. And in his Twitter message promising change at the United Nations, Mr. Trump pointedly did not criticize Mr. Obama or his administration. Still, Mr. Trump has shown no sign that he will surrender his Twitter account or curb his public statements in the next 28 days, which could lead to more mixed messages and tension with the White House. Experts have said Mr. Trump would do well to follow the example of his reticent predecessors. “This is not politesse,” said Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian. “Even a who has been in public life for a long time has not been fully briefed or fully staffed, and hence may be in a position to do this better once he’s in the White House. ” “What’s the rush?” he said. | 0fake |
U.S. Senate panel to vote Tuesday on Powell nomination to lead Fed | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee will vote on Tuesday on the nomination of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to lead the U.S. central bank, the panel said in a statement. The committee said on Thursday the vote would be held at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Powell would assume the Fed chair post after Janet Yellen’s term expires on Feb. 3. | 0fake |
Inauguration Week: A User Guide to Donald J. Trump’s Big Day | WASHINGTON, D. C. — It’s finally here. Inauguration Week. Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States on Friday, January 20. Here are some important details to know if you plan on attending (or watching) the transition of power. [When Where: Most of the festivities will take place Thursday, Jan. 19 through Saturday, Jan. 21 — with Friday being the official date. Unofficial events, however, will be taking place all week across the nation’s capitol. Here are the basic from the welcoming ceremony, to the swearing in, to the parade. Transportation: DON’T DRIVE. Whatever you do, do not attempt to drive around downtown D. C. later this week. Between the barricades, road closures and sheer amount of spectators, driving will be next to impossible. Take the metro instead and pick up a limited edition SmarTrip card commemorating the inauguration (while supplies last). This fancy $10 card (a 30% savings, mind you) comes with a pass for unlimited Metrobus and Metrorail rides. What’s even better is you can keep the card: it’s valid both before and after Jan. 20. Add money to it by going online at wmata. com. Note: A few metro stations will be closed within the security perimeter. For all the metro specifics, click here. For those who choose to use a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft, be warned: there will be a geofence in place around the security perimeter. According to USA Today, “the security perimeter will go into effect 48 hours before the ceremony and last until Sunday morning in some areas. ” But never fear, “Uber has worked with officials for months to prepare for Inauguration Day, the company said. Its engineers altered its navigation systems to account for road closures and blackout zones and changed dispatch algorithms, so vehicles won’t be matched with riders on the other side of a barrier. ” Bottom line: Leave early and pack patience. Accommodations: If you don’t already have a place to stay, good luck. List of Prohibited Items: Ammunition, explosives, weapons — you know, the usuals. But careful, and balloons also make the long list of “ ’s”. Click here for a complete list of prohibited items. Weather: Latest weather forecast models indicate that Trump’s big day may be warmer than normal, with current predictions of temperatures in the 50s and 60s. One would be wise though to come prepared for a chilly few days. Wear layers and don’t forget comfortable shoes: all public events take place outside. Oh, and don’t forget an umbrella, there’s a chance of rain! Security Measures — for the curious: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has said officials expect from 700, 000 to 900, 000 attendees this week, with 99 groups expected to demonstrate either for or against Donald Trump. With a price tag of tens of millions of dollars, a lot of security measures are coming together, and it’s not just the usual metal detectors and bag checks — though there will be plenty of that. Rooftop snipers, boat restrictions in the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, and “multilevel perimeters” along the viewing areas and parade route will be set in place. Manhole covers are being welded shut, and light poles, trash cans, and even mailboxes are being removed from the area. Officials say there will be some 28, 000 security personnel dedicated to keeping spectators safe. In addition to local law enforcement officers, and those being brought in from this includes help from the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, and Coast Guard, as well as troops from the National Guard. Staying Safe: Despite the beefed up security, there are still some safety precautions one can take. Don’t carry a ton cash, use a purse with zippers (or even better, a cross body bag) and pack photocopies of all your important documents (think ID, credit cards, airline tickets, etc. ). With such an influx of people, its bound someone is going to get lost. Be sure all children, disabled and elderly people carry an information card, including their name, address, emergency contact info, and medical information. There is also the potential that some protests may get violent. If this happens, move away from the action as calmly and quickly as possible. Avoid becoming involved and keep your loved ones close. Move into a safe, enclosed area and stay alert. To sign up for alerts text INAUGURATION to 888777 to receive updates from Park Police on road closures, missing persons, crime and emergencies. To report emergencies, call 911 or Park Police at (202) . : For all the balls, galas, receptions and parties, check out these guides. Many of these are but tickets may be purchased for several. | 0fake |
Fabulous 7-Year-Old Protests Transphobia For His Trans Best Friend (IMAGE) | Children are proof that hate is taught and learned. We are not born with prejudice. It is our upbringings that make us hate those unlike ourselves. Case in point a 7-year-old boy and his little sister, who is 5, who are protesting North Carolina s sweeping anti-LGBT legislation, because their best friend, who is transgender, is being directly affected by it. The children s story was so inspiring that it was picked up by the popular Facebook page Have a Gay Day. // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>This.Posted by Have A Gay Day on Tuesday, April 5, 2016Their mother, Janna Harris Cadenas, is very proud of her children. She posted to the Have a Gay Day Facebook page:Now that I went through all the posts This is my son in the picture. His name is McCartney, he is 7 years old. He asked me to take him to this rally because his best friend is Transgender and for her privacy and age, she was not able to attend. My son is a beautiful, kind and intelligent soul. He was fully aware of why he was there this day and not only did he know what his sign said, he knew which song it references and can tell you every word of that song and just about any other Beatles song you can throw at him for that matter. That s his dog in the picture behind him. HIS name is Rigby, after the Beatles song. He s our newest rescue and he was proud to be mistaken for a girl all day while my Daughter Starkey Jude was mistaken for a boy. She didn t mind either and knew why she was there as well, she s 5. Guess I got pretty lucky to get the amazing, loving, accepting children I was blessed with. Oh, and they are both vegetarians and go to animal rights protests too. I m pretty sure I m winning at Momming these 2 amazing humans. If you doubt that feel free to ask them their opinions, they will definitely tell you.We need more citizens like Janna Harris Cadenas and her children. The sweep of anti-LGBT legislation across the southeast by bigots in power is nothing short of shameful. These lawmakers need to take a cue from these children, and realize that hate is not the way. It is not a family value or a Christian value, and it is certainly not an American value.You re awesome, Mrs. Cadenas, and thank you and your children for your support of our vulnerable community.Featured image via screen capture from The Gaily Grind | 1real |
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