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Hamas Threatens Israel After Assassination Of Senior Military Official | Hamas’ prime minister in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh vowed “divine punishment”on Saturday for the assassins of military wing operative Mazen Faqha last week, and said his group was preparing “radical measures” against Palestinians caught collaborating with Israel. [Haniyeh said, “These murderers and their dispatchers will not escape divine punishment, punishment by the people and punishment by the resistance organizations. ” “Assassinations do not frighten us,” he added, according to a report on Channel 2 news. The terror group has accused Israel of killing Faqha on March 24. Faqha was a Hamas operative released as part of a prisoner exchange that secured the release of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit from Hamas captivity. Faqha was shot dead by men using guns with silencers near his home in southwest Gaza City. According to the Palestinians, he was shot four times in the head. Israel did not comment on his assassination. Haniyeh pledged that “every hand that hurt the martyr Mazen … will be cut off. ” The Hamas Interior Ministry, meanwhile, said, “Vigorous steps will be taken against the agents and collaborators of Israel in coming hours and days. ” Iyad the Palestinian ministry’s spokesperson, said the measures may include arrests, trials and even executions. On the Sunday after the assassination, the terror group established roadblocks near the Erez Crossing with Israel. On Monday, the roadblocks were opened for people entering Gaza City but remained closed for Palestinians wishing to leave the coastal territory. Hamas was reportedly looking for the assassins, believing they never left Gaza. On Wednesday, the group posted a video showing Israeli politicians and military figures with cross hairs on their faces. The officials shown included Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and others. Faqha, 38, was released after serving nine life sentences for his role in planning a terror attack in 2002 in which nine Israelis were killed and 52 were wounded. Originally from a small village in the West Bank, Faqha was head of a Hamas office tasked with launching terror attacks against Israel. His subordinates specialized in recruiting suicide attackers, collecting weapons and preparing explosive devices. After his release in the Schalit prisoner exchange he was expelled to Gaza. His father said last week that Israeli authorities had contacted him repeatedly, telling him to warn his son against taking part in terror activities or there would be consequences. | 0fake |
Irish PM 'surprised' that agreed Brexit border deal could not be concluded | DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland is surprised and disappointed that the British government was unable to conclude a deal Dublin believed had been agreed on the future of the Northern Ireland border after Brexit, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Monday. We had an agreement this morning. We re disappointed and surprised to hear that agreement cannot be concluded today but we re happy to give the UK government more time, if it needs it, so we can conclude it in the coming days, Varadkar told a news briefing in Dublin. He said Ireland s position was unequivocal and that Ireland would accept changes to the agreed text only if the meaning remained the same. | 0fake |
World War 3: Putin Declares Norway An ‘Enemy’ Of Russia | Putin Prepares For World War 3 With Simulated Drills Across Russia
“This is very dangerous for Norway and Norwegians,” he said.
“How should we react to this? We have never before had Norway on the list of targets for our strategic weapons. But if this develops, Norway’s population will suffer,” he warned.
“Because we need to react against definitive military threats. And we have things to react to, I might as well tell it like it is,” Klintsevitsj added.
Russia has on several occasions criticized the plans to deploy 330 US troops at Værnes. Norway’s defence minister, Ine Eriksen Søreide, has rejected those criticisms and insisted that the deployment does not constitute a US military base but is rather a test run that will be evaluated during 2017.
“There is no objective reason for the Russians to react to this. But the Russians are reacting at the moment in the same way toward almost everything the Nato countries are doing,” Søreide said.
Before joining Nato in 1949, Norway allayed Russian fears by pledging not to open its territory to foreign combat troops so long as Norway was not attacked or threatened with attack.
Norway’s government argues that Nato troops are already training regularly in the country and that the deployment of troops does not equate to the opening of a permanent American base.
The US already has vast amounts of military equipment positioned in Norway — notably in tunnels dug into mountains — but no troops.
Klintsevitsj’s remarks bring to mind similar Russian comments made about Norway’s neighbour to the south, Denmark.
In March 2015, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark warned that Danish ships will become Russian targets if Denmark joins Nato’s missile defence system.
“I don’t think the Danes fully understand the consequences of what will happen if Denmark joins the American-controlled missile defence. If it happens, Danish war ships will become targets for Russian atomic missiles,” Mikhail Vanin wrote in an opinion piece published by Jyllands-Posten. | 1real |
100 Years Ago, 1.5 Million Armenians Were Systematically Killed. Today, It's Still Not A 'Genocide.' | Soon, much of the empire’s Christian Armenian population would be targeted and nearly wiped out, accused of conspiring against the empire with the Russians. Many Armenians say the genocide was collective punishment for the actions of a few.
In August, after a wave of deportations began that would force hundreds of thousands of Armenians on brutal death marches toward the Syrian desert, Varoujan was tortured to death, according to eyewitnesses at the time. Varoujan was just one of many men, women and children who lost their lives.
This week, Armenians from around the world are gathering in Istanbul to commemorate the deaths of nearly 1.5 million Armenians who died in what would later be known by many -- but not by Turkey, the United States and some other countries -- as the Armenian Genocide. A century on, the killings are hardly a thing of the past, with sensitive geopolitics still fueling the controversy.
“Rape and beating were commonplace,” wrote acclaimed historian David Fromkin in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the Ottoman Empire’s downfall, A Peace to End All Peace. “Those who were not killed at once were driven through mountains and deserts without food, drink or shelter. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians eventually succumbed or were killed."
An Armenian man in Istanbul, who as a schoolboy discovered his family was Armenian, told The WorldPost one story passed down to him by his parents: His grandfather, too exhausted to walk any farther in the death march toward the Syrian desert, refused to go on. He would rather drown than walk another mile to his death, he told the Turkish Ottoman guards. And so, the man says, they held his grandfather under the water until he was dead.
The number of intellectuals reportedly rounded up by Ottoman Turks on April 24, 1915, in Constantinople (now Istanbul), kicking off what would become a massive wave of arrests, deportations and killings. Many of these Armenians were later deported and in many cases killed. Armenians commemorate the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide every year on April 24.
The number of dead bodies reportedly found in 1916 in a mass grave in Maskanah, a northern town in what is now modern day Syria, according to Jesse B. Jackson, U.S. consul in Aleppo. "As far as the eye can reach mounds are seen containing 200 to 300 corpses buried in the ground," he said in a cable to Washington.
The number of nations that officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. The list does not include the United States, Israel and many others who on the centenary are grappling with labeling the killings a genocide. Germany is expected to finally do so on the anniversary.
If President Obama decided to label the 1915 killings as genocide, already strained relations would likely only worsen with Turkey, where the United States has an important air base in the south, close to Syria. Turkey and the U.S. government have butted heads over the Syrian crisis, with a U.S.-led coalition targeting solely Islamic State extremists, while Turkey insists military efforts must also focus on bringing down Syria's Bashar Assad. The United States has said Turkey, hosting over 1.7 million desperate Syrian refugees, has failed to do enough to counter extremists who often cross its border into Syria with ease.
The decision angered many Armenians in the United States and abroad who say they had hoped President Barack Obama would use the centennial as an opportunity to put things right, considering his track record of acknowledging the genocide prior to assuming the presidency.
A box that contains bones of Armenians who were killed in Syria during their exodus from persecutions by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 are displayed at the Vank Cathedral in the historic city of Isfahan, some 250 miles south of the capital, Tehran, on April 20.
In a recent column in the Daily Sabah, a Turkish newspaper known for its staunchly pro-government rhetoric, one columnist wrote that the genocide claimed by Armenians is just a ruse by the Armenian diaspora and descendants in Turkey to tear apart the country and take over Turkish territory.
While Turkey in recent years has taken more conciliatory steps towards addressing the killings of Armenians, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan making what was considered to be a groundbreaking speech last year in which he offered condolences to the descendants of those killed, tempers have recently flared. | 0fake |
Republican Senators Don’t Want Ted Cruz Anywhere Near Their Re-Election Campaigns | Ted Cruz thinks he could be an asset to the campaigns of his fellow Republican senators. There s just one problem, though: most of them don t like him.Republicans currently face an uphill climb this year, especially with Donald Trump at the top of the 2016 ballot. The nomination of Trump presents a major problem for Republicans who hope to keep their seats or take seats away from Democrats.Indeed, instead of riding Trump s coattails to victory, Republicans are looking at down-ballot rejection as people associate them with the Republican nominee and his vile campaign.Despite being destroyed by Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz wants to lend a hand to his colleagues. That can go a long way toward establishing good relationships, one Cruz adviser told The Hill. At the same time, though, I d be wildly surprised if he suddenly started moderating his principles just to get along. Establishing good rapport with colleagues is incredibly crucial to running for higher office. But Ted Cruz has alienated and pissed off most of his Senate colleagues because of his aggressive losing strategies in recent years, the biggest of which is undoubtedly the government shutdown in 2013.Cruz incited the shutdown because he thought it would force President Obama to dismantle Obamacare. In the end, it was a PR nightmare for Republicans as the American people rightfully blamed them for shutting the government down.But the Cruz adviser thinks his colleagues will be interested in taking Cruz s help. I think politicians are practical people, he said. They re going to be pretty interested in the kind of support he can give them I think fewer people would say they don t want him now. Unfortunately for Cruz, he seriously underestimates just how much his colleagues loathe him.As it stands, incumbent Republicans facing tough re-election battles don t want Ted Cruz making their lives more difficult.When asked by The Hill if she would accept help from Ted Cruz, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte said, Uh, no. I don t think I d ask anyone to come up, generally, other than I had [Sens.] Joni [Ernst (Iowa)] and Shelley [Moore Capito (W.Va.)] up, she continued. This is about me campaigning for New Hampshire. I m going to be focusing on my campaign for me. It s not a reflection on him, or anyone else he hasn t contacted me, but I m sure there s a lot of different races out there. In other words, please don t come to New Hampshire, Ted.In Pennsylvania, Senator Pat Toomey also faces a tough campaign, but that doesn t mean he wants Cruz there to make it worse.[Cruz is] not going to [be] into what my campaign is doing, Toomey insisted.And then there is Arizona Senator John McCain, who has famously referred to Cruz as a whacko bird. Yeah, he definitely does not want Cruz stumping for him in his home state.McCain said he only seeks help from people he is close to. I m not close to Sen. Cruz, McCain declared.So it looks like many Republicans would rather not have Cruz s support, which isn t surprising considering how extreme he is on several issues.Frankly, if Cruz wanted his colleagues to be more enthusiastic, perhaps he should have thought about that before becoming the most annoying voice in the Senate.Featured Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 1real |
Agencies of Fear | Share This: B y ANDREW COCKBURN T he intrusion of the FBI into the 2016 presidential election may have come as a shock to most people, but it should not have surprised anyone who has spent time in the Oval Office. Stretching back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, presidents have learned, sooner or later, that while they may revel in the title of “Chief Executive,” their command of coercive bureaucracies, such as the FBI and the intelligence agencies, along with the military services, and others, is limited at best. ABOVE: FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover succeeded in holding power for life by bribing politicians with his knowledge of their sins and crimes. He himself was a reactionary and closet gay man. At worst, presidents may find these powerful institutions actively colluding with their political enemies. Currently, we have credible reports of agents in the New York FBI Field Office defying their nominal superiors in the justice department to dig with zeal into the Clinton Foundation on the basis of nebulous leads from a partisan and largely discredited screed by a former Bush speechwriter. Richard Nixon would have found this a familiar scenario. Early in his presidency, he came to appreciate how little control he exerted over the assorted fiefdoms of the intelligence and law enforcement bureaucracies. His solution was to set up a whole new police agency with extraordinary powers, the Drug Enforcement Administration, using the cover of a war on drugs, that would be under his direct control. Recognizing this for the threat it was, the entrenched institutions struck back, crippling Nixon with media leaks, notably those from “Deep Throat”, deputy FBI director Mark Felt. Sometimes the hobbling of executive power may emanate not from widely recognized instruments of power, such as the FBI, but from more obscure but nonetheless potent corners of the enforcement universe. Thus the Obama Administration’s signature foreign policy achievement, the agreement to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment program, is currently being actively undermined by a little-known branch of the U.S. Treasury, OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which supervises the enforcement of US sanctions around the world. Under the agreement hammered out by Secretary of State John Kerry in July 2015, Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in return for the lifting of an array of economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other western powers in recent years. The most onerous of these controls were those enjoining banks from doing business with nominated Iranian banks and other entities, with savage penalties levied on anyone who infringed the rules. The effect has been to deter international banks from doing any business of any kind with Iranian banks, for fear of inadvertently triggering a billion dollar fine from the U.S. sanctions police. Recognizing that the Iranians might lose faith in the agreement if promised rewards from the ability to trade freely with the rest of the world do not appear, the Obama Administration has taken steps to remedy the situation, or thinks it has. Speaking recently at a ceremony in London honoring his role in negotiating the deal, Kerry announced that so long as banks make a pro forma effort to ensure they were not dealing with a sanctioned institution (there are still plenty of those) OFAC would not penalize them even if it turned out they were wrong. “OFAC… has made it very, very clear that if you do due diligence in the normal fashion,” said Kerry, “and later it turns out it was some unenforceable entity that pops up, you will not be held accountable for that.” Except that OFAC has different ideas. As detailed by attorney Tyler Cullis, a specialist in sanctions regulations, writing in the blog SanctionLaw, OFAC states on its own website that the “normal” due diligence cited by Kerry is absolutely not “necessarily sufficient.” Instead, Treasury’s Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam Szubin, OFAC’s boss, has made it clear that anyone doing banking business with Iran had better exercise “ enhanced (my emphasis) due diligence,” essentially meaning they have to prove their counterparties are pure as the driven snow, or they will get it in the neck. The consequences are predictable; international banks will deem it smart to pay attention to the sanctions cops rather than the diplomat and steer clear of Iranian business, with consequent disillusionment over the deal in Iran and the neutralizing of a key administration success. As Nixon might have said, par for the course. NOTE: ALL IMAGE CAPTIONS, PULL QUOTES AND COMMENTARY BY THE EDITORS, NOT THE AUTHORS PLEASE COMMENT AND DEBATE DIRECTLY ON OUR FACEBOOK GROUP CLICK HERE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Cockburn is the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine . An Irishman, he has covered national security topics in this country for many years. In addition to publishing numerous books, he co-produced the 1997 feature film The Peacemaker and the 2009 documentary on the financial crisis American Casino . His latest book is Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins (Henry Holt). Note to Commenters Due to severe hacking attacks in the recent past that brought our site down for up to 11 days with considerable loss of circulation, we exercise extreme caution in the comments we publish, as the comment box has been one of the main arteries to inject malicious code. 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Sanders rejects deal on Puerto Rico, offers alternative | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday rejected a bipartisan deal reached in the House of Representatives on legislation to address Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, calling it a concession to Wall Street. Breaking with the Obama administration, Sanders called on Senate colleagues to instead back an alternative he has proposed to allow the U.S. territory the same access to restructure its debt in bankruptcy court that is afforded to municipalities. Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives last week unveiled a bill, hammered out in talks between lawmakers from both parties, that included a framework for restructuring Puerto Rico’s $70 billion in debt and putting the island’s financial operations under the control of a federal oversight board. A House vote is expected in the first week of June, ahead of a $1.9 billion debt payment due on July 1, but any legislation would have to clear the Senate as well. Democratic congressional leaders have acknowledged disagreements with some parts of the bill but said negotiations had led to a workable compromise, and the Obama administration has urged Congress to quickly pass it. “It is critical that Congress pass this as there are very significant bond payments due in July,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last week. “Time is of the essence.” Sanders’ rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, has also backed the legislation. But Sanders, who represents Vermont as an independent but who caucuses with Democrats, said Wall Street would benefit at the expense of Puerto Rico’s workers. “This legislation looks out for the needs of Wall Street vulture funds first and foremost. That is unacceptable,” he wrote in a letter to Senate colleagues on Monday. He cited provisions exempting residents from new overtime protections and allowing minimum wage on the island to dip to $4.25 for a period of up to five years, far lower than the U.S. minimum wage of $7.25. Instead, Sanders said the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department could find other solutions, such as providing loans to Puerto Rico’s electric authority and water agency, and directly purchasing new bonds issued by the U.S. commonwealth. (Refiles to add dropped letter in “Representatives,” paragraph 1.) | 0fake |
7 Tips for Avoiding a Wedding Toast Disaster - The New York Times | Click here to read more on how to craft the perfect wedding toast. In theory, giving a wedding toast is easy. Just say a few nice words about the bride and groom, then ask the assembled crowd to raise their glasses. But such toasts often come up short — or worse, become the low point of the wedding weekend. Should you be asked to give a toast, there is no need for it to live in infamy. Here are a few guidelines with some memorable toasts from television and movies as examples of what to avoid. 1. Keep the alcohol at bay. Even Dean Martin sipped apple juice when performing. If there is one common denominator for the world’s worst wedding toasts, it could probably be measured in blood alcohol content. Giving a good toast is tricky enough without trying it with half of your wits about you, so wait until afterward to enjoy your favorite beverage. 2. Don’t wing it. Think about what you are going to say long in advance. Then write it down. “You should start writing a wedding toast months before,” said Peggy Klaus, a speech and presentations coach in Berkeley, Calif. And practice your toast in front of a mirror several times to nail the delivery. “If you don’t prepare, your nerves will take over, and it just won’t work,” Ms. Klaus said. Everyone needs an editor, and if you don’t have one handy, ask a friend or a spouse to play one for a few minutes and show them what you plan to say. 3. Keep it short and simple. No more than three minutes. (Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address in less time, and that seemed to turn out O. K.) “You basically want to tell one nice story about the couple and wish them well, and that’s all anyone wants to hear,” said Sarah Parker, who wrote a book on wedding toasts. “But you should find time to identify yourself and your relationship with the newlyweds, and perhaps remark upon the beauty of the ceremony. “ Keeping it short will allow you to spend time polishing those few sentences that you will have to deliver. 4. Don’t rush it. Speak slowly and loudly enough for everyone to hear. Nonprofessional speakers tend to rush through a speech, or talk so softly that many people strain to hear what they are saying — if they can hear it at all. Some speakers post a friend at the back of the room to signal whether the speech is being heard there. 5. Tell one story about the bride and groom. An embarrassing anecdote may be funny — but this may not be the time to share it. Try to say something the couple would enjoy hearing. It’s their day, not yours. Some toastmasters seem to gravitate toward roasting the couple, rather than praising them. But sarcasm is overrated, and often focuses on shortcomings rather than strengths. Concentrate on what is particularly nice about the bride and groom, and try to celebrate that. 6. If you want to get fancy by staging a skit, singing a song or performing some elaborate dance, be careful. Most of us dance more like “Seinfeld’s” Elaine than the Jackson Five’s Michael. And remember who are the real stars of the show. Ms. Klaus cautions anyone going in this direction, since she thinks it can be a little : “Remember, the toast is not about you, it’s about the couple. ” And there is a risk of trying to do too much: There was a reason they kept a hook just off the stage during the old vaudeville shows. 7. Have fun. Think of giving a toast as a great opportunity, not a burden. “It’s a gift to the bride and groom,” said Ms. Parker, the author of a book on how to toast at weddings. And if you do it just right, you may start a few tears running down their cheeks. | 0fake |
MI BOARD OF EDUCATION Will Allow Students To Choose Gender, Bathroom, Locker Room And Even A New Name With No Parental Consent | Every parent in the United States of America should be alarmed by this covert attempt by Board of Education members to essentially tell our kids that their power supersedes that of the parents. Furthermore, this reckless policy of placing same sex kids in bathrooms and locker rooms puts children in danger of being in private spaces with sexual predators and or sexual offenders Make sure to add your comments to the MI Board of Educations HEREMichigan s State Board of Education has drafted a guidance that would push the state s schools to allow all students, regardless of parental or doctoral input, to choose their gender, name, pronouns, and bathrooms.Spearheaded by board president John C. Austin and signed by state superintendent Brian Whiston, the guidance informs Michigan public schools that only the students themselves i.e. not their parents or doctors can determine what their individual gender identities are. The responsibility for determining a student s gender identity rests with the student. Outside confirmation from medical or mental health professionals, or documentation of legal changes, is not needed, the guidance states.Gender identity is defined in the guidance as a person s deeply held internal sense or psychological knowledge of their own gender, regardless of the biological sex they were assigned at birth. Notably, the guidance makes no mention of a student s age affecting whether or not they can pick a gender without their parent or doctor.In fact, the guidance seems to intentionally cut parents out of the process.The guidance states: School staff should address students by their chosen name and pronouns that correspond to their gender identity, regardless of whether there has been a legal name change. Students can even ask to have their chosen name and gender included in the district s information management systems, in addition to the student s legal name. But what about when school staff members are speaking with parents about their son or daughter?The guidance states that Transgender and GNC [gender nonconforming] students have the right to decide when, with whom, and to what extent to share private information. Accordingly, the board makes clear, When contacting the parent/guardian of a transgender or GNC student, school staff should use the student s legal name and the pronoun corresponding to the student s assigned sex at birth, unless the student or parent/guardian has specified otherwise. In other words, a boy named Jake could become a girl named Jane at school, seemingly without his parents ever knowing.Names, pronouns, and genders aren t the only things the board wants students to choose.The guidance informs schools that Students should be allowed to use the restroom in accordance with their gender identity. And the board makes clear that single-stall bathrooms are not inclusive enough: Alternative and non-stigmatizing options, such as an all-gender or singleuser restroom (e.g., staff bathroom or nurse s office), should be made available to students who request them, but not presented as the only option. Locker rooms also should become inclusive of students many gender identities. A student should not be required to use a locker room that is incongruent with their gender identity, the guidance states. Locker room usage should be determined on a case-by-case basis, using the guiding principles of safety and honoring the student s gender identity and expression. Students who are bothered by having members of the opposite sex in their locker rooms can request an adjusted changing schedule or use of a private area in the facility. The board quietly issued the statement and guidance on February 23rd, without a press release. The public has only until April 11th to comment on the proposed guidance, according to the Department of Education website. The board will finalize the guidance at a meeting on May 10th. Via: Daily Caller | 1real |
Venezuela opposition refuses swearing in, small protest breaks out | CARACAS/PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela s opposition refused on Wednesday to swear in newly-elected governors before a pro-government legislative superbody it deems unconstitutional, as a small protest broke out in southern Bolivar state over fraud allegations. The pro-government electoral council announced in the middle of the night that the ruling socialists had won the Bolivar governorship, meaning President Nicolas Maduro s government took 18 of 23 states in Sunday s vote. Polls had put the opposition far ahead, and anti-Maduro politicians have alleged a litany of dirty tricks including switching electoral centers to dangerous areas at the eleventh hour and gross abuse of state resources. However, they have failed to give evidence of ballot-tampering, and some opposition candidates have conceded they lost due to high abstention in their demoralized ranks. Still, the disparate opposition coalition said its five winning candidates would not be sworn in by the controversial legislative superbody known as the Constituent Assembly. The governors-elect will only be sworn in as established in the constitution and the laws of the Republic, the Democratic Unity coalition said in a statement on Wednesday. Leftist Maduro has previously said that governors not sworn in by the pro-government legislative body will not be allowed to take their posts in a country reeling from widespread food and medicine shortages, a collapsing currency and soaring inflation. He described Venezuela s electoral system as the world s most secure and slammed U.S. President Donald Trump and other foreign leaders who questioned the veracity of the vote. Bolivar became a flashpoint after the electoral council briefly showed the opposition winning on its web site Sunday night before proclaiming the Socialist Party candidate as winner in the early hours of Wednesday. Opposition candidate Andres Velasquez accused the electoral council of invalidating some ballots cast for him. Pockets of his supporters protested outside the electoral board s offices in state capital Ciudad Bolivar, with some clashes breaking out on Monday and Tuesday. Some 50 people rallied on Wednesday, though the protest quickly fizzled. I am going to demonstrate to the world that this electoral process is fraudulent, Velasquez told local radio in Bolivar, home to many of Venezuela s gold and diamond mines. However, nationwide protest like those that rocked Venezuela for four months earlier this year are not expected, given fatigue and disappointment among demonstrators. The perennially divided opposition is in disarray after Sunday s election, with some leaders calling fraud and others conceding defeat, often in uncoordinated press statements. Sunday s election has left the socialists more confident of winning a presidential vote expected in late 2018. | 0fake |
Germany seeks to maintain unity if U.S. decertifies Iran nuclear deal | BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government on Friday vowed to work for continued global unity if U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he will not certify Iran s compliance with a 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by world powers, as expected. We have a great interest in the continuation of this international unity. If ... an important country like the United States comes to a different conclusion as appears to be the case, we will work even harder with other partners to maintain this cohesion, government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters. Trump is to deliver a speech at 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT) to announce a confrontational new approach to U.S. policy toward Iran. In a big shift, he is expected to say he will not certify Iran s compliance with the nuclear deal. | 0fake |
Trump transgender decision 'shocking and ignorant': advocate | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender individuals from the U.S. military amounts to a “shocking and ignorant attack on our military and on transgender troops,” a leading advocate said on Wednesday. “The President is creating a worse version of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ As we know from the sad history of that discredited policy, discrimination harms military readiness,” said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center. | 0fake |
Pick a Peacemaker : House - | Pick a Peacemaker By Suzy Kassem November 08, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - To vastly improve your country and truly make it great again, start by choosing a better leader. Do not let the media or the establishment make you pick from the people they choose, but instead choose from those they do not pick. Pick a leader from among the people who is heart-driven, one who identifies with the common man on the street and understands what the country needs on every level. Do not pick a leader who is only money-driven and does not understand or identify with the common man, but only what corporations need on every level.
Pick a peacemaker. One who unites, not divides. A cultured leader who supports the arts and true freedom of speech, not censorship. Pick a leader who will not only bail out banks and airlines, but also families from losing their homes -- or jobs due to their companies moving to other countries. Pick a leader who will fund schools, not limit spending on education and allow libraries to close. Pick a leader who chooses diplomacy over war. An honest broker in foreign relations. A leader with integrity, one who says what they mean, keeps their word and does not lie to their people. Pick a leader who is strong and confident, yet humble. Intelligent, but not sly. A leader who encourages diversity, not racism. One who understands the needs of the farmer, the teacher, the doctor, and the environmentalist -- not only the banker, the oil tycoon, the weapons developer, or the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyist.
Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows corporations to outsource jobs for cheaper labor when there is a national employment crisis. Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls. Books, not weapons. Morality, not corruption. Intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance. Stability, not fear and terror. Peace, not chaos. Love, not hate. Convergence, not segregation. Tolerance, not discrimination. Fairness, not hypocrisy. Substance, not superficiality. Character, not immaturity. Transparency, not secrecy. Justice, not lawlessness. Environmental improvement and preservation, not destruction. Truth, not lies.
Most importantly, a great leader must serve the best interests of the people first, not those of multinational corporations. Human life should never be sacrificed for monetary profit. There are no exceptions. In addition, a leader should always be open to criticism, not silencing dissent. Any leader who does not tolerate criticism from the public is afraid of their dirty hands to be revealed under heavy light. And such a leader is dangerous, because they only feel secure in the darkness. Only a leader who is free from corruption welcomes scrutiny; for scrutiny allows a good leader to be an even greater leader.
And lastly, pick a leader who will make their citizens proud. One who will stir the hearts of the people, so that the sons and daughters of a given nation strive to emulate their leader's greatness. Only then will a nation be truly great, when a leader inspires and produces citizens worthy of becoming future leaders, honorable decision makers and peacemakers. And in these times, a great leader must be extremely brave. Their leadership must be steered only by their conscience, not a bribe.
- Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem | 1real |
Trump calls for ending visa program after N.Y. attack, blasts Democrats | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday seized on the deadly New York City truck attack to step up demands for stricter U.S. immigration laws, asking Congress to end a visa program that let the Uzbek suspect into the country and saying he might send him to Guantanamo Bay. In a day of harsh recriminations over Tuesday’s attack that killed eight people in America’s largest city, Trump appeared to assign some blame for an incident that authorities have labeled as terrorism to top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who accused Trump of politicizing a national tragedy. Trump said he would consider sending the suspect, identified by authorities as Sayfullo Saipov, to the military prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama tried but failed to shut. No detainee has been sent to the Guantanamo prison since 2008. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later told reporters that Trump considers Saipov an “enemy combatant,” a designation that would curtail his legal rights. Trump called the suspect “this animal” and lambasted the U.S. justice system for terrorism suspects as “a joke” and “a laughingstock.” Since taking office in January, Trump has sought to increase deportations of illegal immigrations and limit legal immigration. The Department of Homeland Security said Saipov entered the United States in 2010 through the so-called diversity visa program, designed to provide a path to U.S. residency for citizens from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Authorities said Saipov drove a rented truck along a bike path in lower Manhattan, mowing down cyclists and pedestrians. Police shot and wounded Saipov before arresting him. Trump reprised what has been his stance as a White House candidate and as president - that tougher immigration laws should be a first line of defense against such attacks. “I’m going to ask Congress to immediately initiate work to get rid of this program,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have to get much tougher,” he said. “We have to get much smarter. And we have to get much less politically correct. We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything.” Schumer helped create the diversity visa program in 1990 when he in the House of Representatives, but he was also part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who crafted an immigration bill in 2013 that would have done away with the program. That bill was passed by the Senate but killed by the Republican-led House. The program, via a lottery, selects up to 50,000 people per year who receive U.S. visas, and eventually permanent residence in the United States. Those selected undergo U.S. security checks before being allowed to immigrate. “The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Sanders said later that Trump does not blame Schumer for the attack and would “love” to work with the senator on tougher immigration laws. Trump on Wednesday also renewed his call for a “merit-based” visa system - which would favor the highly skilled - and for ending “chain migration,” which allows legal immigrants to apply for relatives abroad to come to the United States. Trump said there were “23 people that came in or potentially came in” with Saipov. Asked if legislation to end the visa program would be taken up, No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn told reporters that Congress must first pass legislation to protect illegal immigrants brought into the country as children, “and then the next thing we need to do is turn to our legal immigration system and see how we can change it.” Trump accused congressional Democrats of blocking immigration legislation that would make the nation safer. “We have a lot of good bills in there. We’re being stopped by Democrats because they’re obstructionists. And honestly, they don’t want to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said. Both the Senate and the House are controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham criticized the Trump administration for not declaring Saipov, who remained hospitalized after being shot in the abdomen by a police officer on Tuesday, as an “enemy combatant.” “It’s ridiculous to believe that one day of interviews in a hospital tells us all we need to know about Saipov’s terrorist ties,” Graham said in a statement. The complaint filed against Saipov said he had waived his rights and agreed to speak to investigators without an attorney present. As a presidential candidate, Trump called for a total ban on Muslims entering the country as a counter-terrorism measure. Courts have blocked his latest executive action barring entry into the United States by people from several Muslim-majority countries. Sanders said the White House has not ruled out adding Uzbekistan to the list of countries named in the travel ban. In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer said that “instead of politicizing and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, (Trump) should be bringing us together and focusing on the real solution, anti-terrorism funding, which he proposed to cut in his most recent budget.” | 0fake |
FBI UNDERCOVER Informant On Hillary’s 2010 Sale Of Uranium Identified | The FBI informant who went undercover to look into Hillary Clinton s role in an Obama administration-era uranium company was identified yesterday in an exclusive from Reuters:William Campbell, a Russian lobbyist, is the informant, according to Reuters. He will be testifying before a congressional committee about the 2010 sale of Uranium One, where a Russian-backed company bought a uranium firm with mines in the U.S. Campbell gave information to the FBI about what he saw while undercover as an informant. I have worked with the Justice Department undercover for several years, and documentation relating to Uranium One and political influence does exist and I have it William CampbellCongressional committees have previously tried to interview Campbell, as he was undercover for roughly five years, working to get information on Russia s efforts to grow its atomic energy business in the U.S.Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told The Hill that a deal was reached in late October, clearing the informant to talk to Congress for the first time almost eight years after he first went undercover.Two House chairmen also announced a probe in late October which is digging into new reports about Russian efforts to influence the Uranium One nuclear purchase that gave Russia control of roughly 20 percent of America s uranium.When Clinton served as secretary of state, Russia routed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, and former President Bill Clinton collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in Russian speaking fees as part of Russian efforts to influence the U.S. government to approve the deal, The Hill reported.OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON THE GAG ORDER THAT HAS BEEN LIFTED BY SESSIONS:LAWYER FOR FBI INFORMANT: My Client Knows What Russians Were Saying During Bribery of Clintons [VIDEO]Campbell s attorney, Victoria Toensing, said on Fox Business that former attorneys general under the Obama administration are the reason her client hasn t been able to tell what all the Russians were talking about during the time that all these bribery payments were made. The lawyer for the FBI informant under a gag order that prevents him from going before Congress spoke out about what s to come with the Clinton/Russia Uranium story:Fox Business reported: An informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is under a gag order that prevents him from testifying before the United States Congress that Russian nuclear officials were involved in fraudulent dealings in 2009 before the Uranium One deal was approved.Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch blocked the informant from testifying last year and threatened criminal action against him if he were to do so.In an interview with FOX Business Lou Dobbs, Victoria Toensing, the attorney representing the FBI informant, said she has never heard of a criminal penalty for breaching a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). If it does and it is unconstitutional and it s invalid, if it prohibits my client from giving information to the legislature, the executive cannot say to people, Hey, you can t give information to another body of the government, Toensing said.KEY POINTS: The Republican leadership was blocking the investigation into both Benghazi and the Russia uranium scandal involving Clinton.The NDA (gag order) is unconstitutional and Toensing says this type of gag order has a criminal penalty. She says she s never heard of this type of gag order.Victoria Toensing is one of the best lawyers in DC and will get to the bottom of this one way or another. The plot thickens on this one Read more: Daily Caller | 1real |
Japan's Abe announces snap election amid worries over North Korea | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would dissolve parliament s lower house on Thursday for a snap election, seeking a mandate to stick to his tough stance toward a volatile North Korea and rebalance the social security system. Abe, in power for five years, had been expected to call the election for next month to take advantage of improved support and disarray in the opposition camp. I ll demonstrate strong leadership and stand at the forefront to face a national crisis, Abe told reporters, mentioning Japan s fast-ageing population and North Korea. This is my responsibility as leader and my mission as prime minister. Natsuo Yamaguchi, the head of Abe s junior coalition partner the Komeito party, said he understood the election would be on Oct. 22. Abe said he would redirect some revenue from a planned sales tax hike in 2019 to child care and education rather than paying back public debt, although he added he would not abandon fiscal reform. Rebalancing the spending would offset the potential negative effect on consumption from the tax rise, he said. We will turn Japan s social security system into one that responds to all generations by boldly diverting policy resources to resolve the two major concerns - child rearing and (elderly) nursing care that working generations confront, he said. Abe rejected criticism that holding an election would create a political vacuum at a time of rising tension over North Korea s missile and nuclear arms program. Pyongyang has fired ballistic missiles over Japan twice in the last month and conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 3 We must not give in to North Korea s threats. By gaining a mandate from the people with this election, I will forge ahead with strong diplomacy, Abe said, adding that now was the time to put more pressure on Pyongyang, not open dialogue. Abe, whose ratings have risen to around 50 percent from around 30 percent in July, is gambling his ruling bloc can keep its lower house majority even if it loses the two-thirds super majority needed to achieve his long-held goal of revising the post-war pacifist constitution to clarify the military s role. He said his goal was for his coalition to retain a majority in the chamber. A weekend survey by the Nikkei business daily showed 44 percent of voters planned to vote for Abe s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) versus 8 percent for the main opposition Democratic Party and another 8 percent for a new party launched by popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The Nikkei poll was more positive for Abe s prospects than a Kyodo news agency survey that showed his LDP garnering 27.7 percent support, with 42.2 percent undecided. Abe s image as a strong leader has bolstered his ratings amid the North Korea crisis and overshadowed opposition criticism of the premier for suspected cronyism scandals that eroded his support earlier this year. Given the results seen in other major developed countries, however, some political analysts are not ruling out the unexpected. Abe s big gamble could yield a big surprise, veteran independent political analyst Minoru Morita said. The prime minister had been expected to face a grilling over the cronyism scandals during a session of parliament from Thursday and opposition party officials saw the move as a ploy to avoid difficult questions. Abe on Monday asked his cabinet to compile a 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) economic package by year-end to focus on child care, education and encouraging corporate investment. He told public broadcaster NHK that diverting sales tax revenue would make it impossible to meet the government s target of balancing Japan s budget - excluding debt servicing costs and bond sales - by the year beginning April 2020. But we are absolutely not lowering the flag of fiscal consolidation, he said. He said he believed it was necessary to revise the constitution s pacifist article 9 to clarify the military s status but said the wording of a proposed change was up to his party. The main opposition Democratic Party is struggling with single-digit ratings and much depends on whether it can cooperate with liberal opposition groups. On Monday, just hours before Abe s election announcement, Tokyo Governor Koike said she would lead a new conservative, reform-minded Party of Hope to offer voters an alternative to the LDP. Our ideal is to proceed free of special interests, Koike, a former LDP member, told a news conference. An LDP internal survey showed seats held by the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito could fall to 280 from the 323 they now hold, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. Reforms adopted last year will cut the number of lower house seats to 465 from 475. | 0fake |
HILLARY 2016 FAN JAMES TAYLOR: “Every day that Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are in the White House is a day that I am thankful for” | Time to exhale James Barack Obama supporter James Taylor doesn t just think the U.S. president is great he believes Obama is the greatest of all-time. I ve been watching politics since (Dwight) Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and Obama is my favorite, favorite president, Taylor said in an interview Wednesday. I am just thankful for every day that he s in office. I am so proud that he represents my country and I think he represents me I think he represents the America that I know. Taylor, 67, is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. The pop icon performed America the Beautiful at Obama s second inauguration in 2013. I had a really tough time during the Cheney-Bush years, I did, and I had a hard time accepting that that administration represented me because I don t think they did, Taylor said.The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also called Obama s family precious and said he appreciates the U.S. leader because he s sane and balanced. He promised to give us a health care system, it s a work in progress, but he has put us on a road to that, Taylor said. I m so grateful for what he s done for gay rights and for the emancipation of gay people. Particularly from my point of view, I think that was so overdue and so important, and so important for America to be ahead of the curve on this. Taylor criticized Congress in Obama s defense. I ve never seen a Congress that has been so obstructive and so contrary and so committed to doing anything that will foul up this administration. I just think it s an absolute scandal that he has had so little cooperation, he said. So anyway, you hit a nerve and I ll go on forever. But I ll just say it a third time: Every day that Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are in the White House is a day that I am thankful for. Obama isn t the only politician Taylor is supporting: The singer said he s on the Hillary Rodham Clinton train, too. And aside from the fact that she s a woman running, she s the right person. The whole point black or white, male or female, gay or straight, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist it doesn t matter what these other connections are, he said. Our country needs to come together and the question is, Is this public servant someone who will bring us together? And I think she is. Taylor will release a new album, Before This World, on June 16, and will perform a concert for SiriusXM at The Apollo in New York City on the same day. He will also launch a U.S. tour in July.Via: AP News | 1real |
Cambodia's Hun Sen challenges EU and U.S. to freeze assets | PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen encouraged the United States and European Union on Friday to freeze the assets of Cambodian leaders abroad in response to his government s crackdown on the opposition and civil society. Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, has taken a strident anti-Western line ahead of a 2018 election and has dismissed donor criticism of the dissolution of the main opposition party. The United States and European Union have suspended funding for next year s election and Washington has put visa curbs on some Cambodian leaders. There is no current proposal for asset freezes by either the United States or European Union, but some lawmakers have floated the idea. I encourage the European Union and United States to freeze the wealth of Cambodian leaders abroad, Hun Sen told a group of athletes in Phnom Penh, the capital. Hun Sen said he has no money abroad and any actions by the EU and the U.S. would not hurt him. The U.S. embassy made no comment. EU Ambassador George Edgar said on Friday there had been no decision on further measures by the bloc. The Supreme Court dissolved the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) last month at the request of the government, on the grounds it was plotting to seize power. Hun Sen accused Kem Sokha, the leader of the CNRP of a U.S.-backed anti-government plot. The opposition leader and the United States denied that. China, Cambodia s largest aid donor, has leant its support to Hun Sen, saying it respects Cambodia s right to defend its national security. | 0fake |
Paul Ryan Is So Unpopular Even 8th Graders Refuse To Pose In Pic With Him (VIDEO) | House Speaker Paul Ryan is hugely unpopular, garnering only a 29 percent approval rating. Apparently, 8th graders disapprove of him, too. While on a field trip in Washington, D.C. on Friday, about half of the 8th-grade students from a South Orange Middle School refused to do a photo-op with Ryan. Instead, the nearly 100 students opted to sit in a parking lot across the street while the remaining students took part in the photo op, according to Mashable.Elissa Malespina, a school librarian and the parent one of the eighth graders who declined the photo op, said that she is proud of her son. I am so proud of my son and 1/2 the 8th grade at South Orange Middle School, Malespina wrote on Facebook. They went to D.C. on a field trip and toured the Capitol building. The kids had a chance to have their picture taken with Paul Ryan and over half the class choose not to, including my son! What a powerful statement. I can t take a picture with someone who supports a budget that would destroy public education and would leave 23 million people without healthcare, Matthew Malespina, a student at the school, told The Village Green. It s not just a picture, student Matthew told ABC News. It s being associated with a person who puts his party before his country. I think that taking the picture represents that you agree with the same political views and I don t agree with his political views so I chose not to be in it, eighth grader Wendy Weeks said.To some of the students, it had to do with Ryan s association with Donald Trump. I didn t want to be in [the picture] because he believes in most of what Trump believes in, Louisa Maynard-Parisi, told The Village Green.Even though their politics might be different from Ryan s, other students decided to participate. I thought it would be interesting to see one of the nation s lawmakers in person even if I strongly disagree with many of his views, said Alex Klint, one of the 8th-grader s said.Residents weighed in with conflicted feelings. I m sort of torn on this (although each kid has the right to make this choice), wrote one SOMA resident. Even though I totally disagree with everything he stands for, he is a legitimately elected official and represents our government at work. Meeting our representatives is an honor for a kid at least for what the office stands for (even if the person occupying that chair is less than honorable). And I do feel if there had been some conservative school where the kids refused to pose with President Obama, we would have been appalled by that, the resident added.Matthew s mother told the paper, It is his right as a citizen to do so and I commend him and his fellow students for doing so in a respectful way. Listen to the children they get it. Photo by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images. | 1real |
FBI NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE Just Gave A Wake Up Call To Hillary Clinton | EXCLUSIVE: FBI New York Field Office Told To Continue Clinton Foundation ProbeOfficials at FBI headquarters instructed its New York field office to continue its corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation following the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump, according to a former senior law enforcement official.The instructions ordered agents to go forward with their ongoing inquiry into the Clinton Foundation which is focusing on issues of corruption and money laundering, according to the source. There were no instructions to shut it down, to discontinue or to stand down on the investigation, but to continue its work, the former official told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview.He said he received this information about a week ago and that the order originated from the bureau s headquarters in Washington, D.C. well after the November 8 election. He did not know who at FBI Headquarters issued the order.Read more: DCF | 1real |
Trump seguirá viviendo en su domicilio particular al considerar que la Casa Blanca es “un cuchitril” | Trump seguirá viviendo en su domicilio particular al considerar que la Casa Blanca es “un cuchitril” SE NIEGA A REBAJAR SU NIVEL DE VIDA SÓLO PORQUE MILLONES DE AMERICANOS LE HAYAN VOTADO vivienda
El nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ha informado esta tarde que seguirá viviendo en su domicilio particular al considerar que la Casa Blanca es demasiada pequeña.
El empresario y político neoyorquino ha declinado mudarse a la residencia oficial de la presidencia alegando que es “un cuchitril y ahí no me cabe nada”. Al líder republicano le parece absurdo rebajar su nivel de vida sólo porque millones de americanos le hayan votado.
El presidente electo establecerá como principal centro de trabajo la mansión de Palm Beach, en Florida, donde reside, aunque ha ordenado a su equipo que queme todas las cortinas de la residencia presidencial “porque huelen a negro”.
Los seis pisos y 5100 metros cuadrados que tiene la Casa Blanca provocan claustrofobia al vencedor de las elecciones, que ha querido tender la mano a Barack Obama y le ha ofrecido un puesto de mayordomo. | 1real |
China says it respects Mugabe's decision to resign | BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday that it respects Robert Mugabe s decision to resign as Zimbabwe s president, a week after the African country s army and Mugabe s former political allies moved to end his four decades of rule. The 93-year-old Mugabe had clung on for a week after an army takeover, and finally resigned on Tuesday, moments after parliament began an impeachment process, prompting dancing in the streets of the capital, Harare. China has close ties with Zimbabwe and traditionally also with Mugabe himself, who is reviled in the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of Africa s most promising states. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing that China was happy to see Zimbabwe peacefully and appropriately resolve the issue via talks, and that its policy toward the country would not change. China respects Mr Mugabe s decision to resign. He remains a good friend of the Chinese people, Lu said, adding that Mugabe had made historic contribution to Zimbabwe s independence and liberation . Zimbabwe s army seized power after Mugabe sacked his former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was a favorite to succeed him. Mugabe s move was an apparent bid to smooth a path to the presidency for his wife Grace, 52, known to her critics as Gucci Grace for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping. Mnangagwa is expected to be sworn in within days and serve the remainder of Mugabe s term until the next election, which must be held by September 2018. Asked about a U.S. call for free elections in Zimbabwe, Lu said China believed it could handle its own affairs and China hoped other countries would not interfere. China and Zimbabwe have a close diplomatic and economic relationship, and China had stood with Mugabe s government in the face of Western economic sanctions, investing in auto, diamond, tobacco and power-station projects. In August, Zimbabwe said a Chinese company planned to invest up to $2 billion to revive operations at Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), which ceased production in 2008 at the height of an economic meltdown. That year, China vetoed a proposed Western-backed U.N. resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and financial and travel restrictions on Mugabe and 13 other officials, saying it would complicate , rather than ease, conflict. | 0fake |
Look out, Paul Ryan! Masochist Paul Nehlen is gunning for House speakership | — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) October 26, 2016
It wasn’t enough to go down in flames this past August when he ran to unseat Rep. Paul Ryan in Wisconsin; Aspiring congressman Paul Nehlen is apparently in the throes of full-on masochism. This just in: Paul Nehlen, defeated by Ryan in primary, to challenge @SpeakerRyan for House speaker. Ok then… pic.twitter.com/0Hq3vB2GIV
— Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) October 26, 2016 Wow. Paul Nehlen announced he's challenging Paul Ryan for House Speaker pic.twitter.com/GDJ5cOW3qL
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) October 26, 2016
Speaker Ryan must be terrified right now. NOT A PARODY: Guy who Lost to Paul Ryan By 70 Points Announces Bid For Speaker https://t.co/tlDyib2Uio via @RightWisconsin
— Real Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 26, 2016 @elianayjohnson @Olivianuzzi @SpeakerRyan Well he only lost to Paul Ryan by 70% "It was rigged"
— Stacy R (@In2why) October 26, 2016
Wow. With such a proven track record, it’s no wonder Nehlen’s brimming with confidence. Apparently this is a Paul Nehlen from a parallel universe where Paul Ryan didn't kick his ass in the primary https://t.co/K2xIHqOMFQ | 1real |
OBAMA’S EPA GESTAPO TO SKIP Hearing On CO Mine, Toxic Sludge Disaster…Will Attend UN CLIMATE CHANGE Meeting With Obama Instead | Priorities priorities Arizona Sen. John McCain wants a subpoena issued immediately for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to attend a hearing in his home state on the Colorado mine disaster the agency caused last year.The August disaster caused an uncontrolled rupture of an abandoned gold mine that caused 3 million gallons of toxic sludge to spill into the Animas River, which sullied the waterways of three states. It s my understanding that the EPA has decided not to send a representative to this field hearing, the Arizona Republican said Wednesday, requesting that the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee issue a subpoena. EPA s response is unacceptable. It s a violation of our obligation to protect the interests of Native Americans and their tribes and EPA must be present at this hearing. I respectfully request that the committee issue a subpoena for EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to appear at the field hearing. The hearing will be held on Earth Day, April 22, which is a big day for the EPA. McCarthy is expected to be part of President Obama s delegation to New York for a climate change meeting at the United Nations. Obama plans to sign a deal he agreed to in Paris to cut greenhouse gas emissions with nearly 200 other countries to fight global warming.The field hearing will be held in Phoenix at the request of American Indian tribes affected by the toxic spill that crossed through Navajo land.The EPA said it would send testimony from a high-ranking agency official in lieu of an actual official attending.Via: Washington Examiner | 1real |
Texas court dismisses indictment against former governor Rick Perry | AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday dismissed an abuse of power indictment against Rick Perry, ending a case that dragged on the former Texas governor’s unsuccessful bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Perry, who campaigned for the nomination in 2012 and 2016, faced a first-degree felony charge in state courts that could have brought up to 99 years in prison because of a funding veto he made in 2013 seen as being intended to force a Texas county district attorney to resign. “When the only act that is being prosecuted is a veto, then the prosecution itself violates separation of powers,” the court said. The longest serving governor in Texas history, Perry, 65, was indicted on the two charges in August 2014 by a grand jury in Travis County, a Democratic stronghold in the heavily Republican state. “The court’s decision today proves that this indictment was nothing less than a baseless political attack,” Perry told a news conference. “I have always known that the actions that I took were not only lawful and legal - they were right.” He first threatened and then vetoed $7.5 million for an integrity unit in the Travis County District Attorney’s office. Many said Perry played hardball politics to force out county District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving. In July 2015, a Texas state appeals court threw out a lesser charge against Perry for coercion of a public official, leaving only the abuse-of-power charge. Lawyers for Perry, whose term ended at the start of 2015, have argued the governor was acting within his powers when he made the funding cut. A prosecutor in the case said that Perry acted unlawfully to pressure Lehmberg by threatening the funding cut. Lehmberg remained in office. In September 2015, Perry, struggling to raise money and languishing near the bottom in presidential opinion polls, became the first member of the crowded Republican field to drop out of the 2016 White House race. On the campaign trail, Perry tried to rally support among Republican voters by saying the indictment was the result of a partisan attack by Democrats. Analysts noted, however, the threat of a trial during his campaign likely scared away major donors, dooming a campaign seen as a long-shot. Perry dropped out of a gaffe-filled campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. | 0fake |
Insiders: Sanders and Trump will win New Hampshire | Killing Obama administration rules, dismantling Obamacare and pushing through tax reform are on the early to-do list. | 0fake |
Hacker Releases More Democratic Party Documents - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — A hacker believed to be tied to the Russian intelligence services made public another set of internal Democratic Party documents on Friday, including the personal cellphone numbers and email addresses of nearly 200 lawmakers. The files appeared to be less politically embarrassing and damaging than the hacker’s initial trove, which came from the Democratic National Committee. Those documents, released by WikiLeaks last month on the eve of the party’s convention, led to the resignation of the committee’s leader, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. But the emergence of another set of leaked documents threatened to intensify international tensions over Russia’s suspected meddling in United States politics. The hacker claiming responsibility for the breach — working under the pseudonym Guccifer 2. 0, which American intelligence officials believe is an alias for a Russian intelligence hacker — appeared eager to taunt Democrats in releasing the latest files. Those documents came from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the arm for House Democrats. “It’s time for new revelations now,” the hacker wrote in posting the files. “All of you may have heard about the DCCC hack. As you see I wasn’t wasting my time! It was even easier than in the case of the DNC breach. ” On Friday night, the hacker indicated that more leaks would follow, writing on Twitter that “the major trove” of the House committee documents would be sent to WikiLeaks. “Keep following,” the hacker wrote. While it became known last month that the House committee had been hacked along with the D. N. C. this was the first time its files had become public. In a statement, the House committee said it was investigating the authenticity of the documents and was working with federal law enforcement officials. The F. B. I. is leading the investigation. American intelligence officials said they are virtually certain that Russian intelligence officials were behind the attack. They said that the breach appears to have extended beyond the two Democratic groups to include the personal email accounts of at least 100 Democratic officials. Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House subcommittee on the National Security Agency and cybersecurity, said he was not overly concerned that his personal information was released. “If it’s simply my email being sent around, half my constituents have my email,” he said. “If it were to turn out that someone was hacking into emails, it would be a different situation. Worse comes to worst I can get a different email or cell number. ” Mr. Himes dismissed the idea that the leak could affect his, or anyone else’s, election campaign this year. “It’s hard for me to imagine how just having a bunch of numbers, cellphones and emails would in any way affect the election,” he said. “It wasn’t totally unexpected. ” He added that the cybersecurity subcommittee was likely to discuss the hack in more detail, saying the release of personal information made the threat “feel that much more real” to members. “If there were the ability for someone to hack into those accounts, that really gets worrisome,” he said. “Someone could cause a lot of damage if they were able to send emails out from a member’s account, but I’m not hearing that that’s a risk at this point. ” The D. N. C. documents that were released last month proved intensely embarrassing for committee officials because they contained emails indicating that party leaders favored Hillary Clinton as their nominee over her rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The committee’s interim leader, Donna Brazile, created a special cybersecurity panel this week to guard against future attacks. Much of the latest batch of documents from the House committee, including overviews of particular races and campaigns, appeared largely innocuous in comparison to the D. N. C. breach. Beyond the cellphone numbers and email addresses for Democratic lawmakers, the latest release also included passwords for some internal databases. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign files do not appear to have been directly breached in the cyberattack, but the personal accounts of some campaign officials might have been, and a voting analytics program used by the campaign was opened as part of the D. N. C. breach, officials say. The American authorities remain uncertain whether the electronic to the Democrats’ computer systems was intended as fairly routine cyberespionage or as part of an effort to manipulate the presidential election. The Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, urged the Russians last month to try to find 33, 000 “missing” emails from Mrs. Clinton’s personal server. But after his remark produced an intense backlash, Mr. Trump said later that he was being sarcastic. | 0fake |
Michigan’s Republican Governor Just Won A Major Leadership Award | Fortune released their The World s 19 Most Disappointing Leaders list on March 30. Coming in at number one on the list is Michigan s Republican governor Rick Snyder.Fortune gave Snyder the Don t Blame Me, I m Just The Governor Award for his failures over his handling of the Flint water crisis. Fortune writes:Snyder and his team sparked national outrage after an attempt at cost-savings left the impoverished city of Flint, Mich. with a lead-tainted water supply that is being blamed for illness and brain damage, especially among its youngest residents. Called to testify before Congress, Snyder, who touted his competence in his gubernatorial campaign, labeled the experience the most humbling of his life then attempted to shift blame. He described it as a failure of government and blasted the Environmental Protection Agency for its dumb and dangerous rules on allowable amounts of lead in water systems.Because you don t win an award like that and not offer a response, Ari Adler, a spokesman for Snyder, said that Snyder is concerned with fixing problems, not internet polls. The rank of each leader received was based on internet votes. Though, the 19 leaders in the poll were chosen by Fortune s editorial staff.Adler also said: The decision on whether to use corrosion control in the Flint water supply was not about saving money, but rather was a mistake made by bureaucrats who misinterpreted a flawed federal rule. Gov. Snyder is the only leader at all levels of government involved in the Flint water crisis who has been willing to stand up and apologize, take responsibility for what happened on his watch, and tackle the problems head on to fix what happened in Flint and fix the system that caused it to happen. It s responses like this that make one wonder how much money Snyder has wasted after he hired two PR firms while the nation raged against him. You can t say that you have accepted responsibility for a crisis right after you blame other people for that crisis.There is also the fact that the Flint water crisis did not happen in a bubble. It happened while the Snyder administration worked fervently to erode democracy in Michigan. It happened while Detroit s and other communities school systems and critical infrastructure were left to ruin.That s why Snyder s sorry-not-sorry is even more disingenuous than it might seem at first glance. He has at no point even acknowledged that his administration s system-wide dismantlement of local governments and austerity measurements that have proven to be fatal, have anything to do with the crisis. The only thing Snyder kind-of-but-not-really acknowledges is that his administration is in charge and, therefore, shares some of the responsibility for the Flint water crisis on the basis of Snyder being Michigan s figurehead.So here s to Snyder s latest achievement. Let it be the first of many.Featured Image: (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) | 1real |
Ryan on meeting with Trump: 'It’s important we don’t fake unifying' | The Republican party was struggling to heal its deep wounds on Thursday, as House speaker Paul Ryan claimed he was “very encouraged” by his meeting with Donald Trump but again declined to endorse him.
In a series of eagerly watched meetings on Capitol Hill that drew placard-waving protesters and hundreds of reporters, the presumptive Republican nominee held peace talks with GOP leaders in a bid to unify around something more than hostility toward Hillary Clinton.
Ryan and Trump issued a joint statement that hailed “a very positive step toward unification”, adding: “We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal.”
Ryan admitted last week that he was not ready to throw his weight behind Trump, becoming the highest-ranking Republican to withhold his endorsement after a primary election plagued by extraordinary rancour. Despite growing pressure from his own ranks, he declined again on Thursday.
“I think we had a very encouraging meeting,” he told reporters afterwards. “Look, it’s no secret that Donald Trump and I have had our differences. We talked about those differences today. That’s common knowledge.
“The question is, what is it we need to do to unify the Republican party and all strains of conservative wings in the party? We had a very good and encouraging conversation on just how to do that.”
It was important to discuss “core principles” that tie Republicans together, added Ryan, who was running mate to Mitt Romney four years ago and is seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2020.
These included the constitution, separation of powers and supreme court.
“I was very encouraged with what I heard from Donald Trump today,” Ryan said. “I do believe that we are now planting the seeds to get ourselves unified and bridge the gaps and differences, and so from here we’re going to go deeper into the policy areas to see where that common ground is and see how we can operate from those same core principles.”
But he admitted: “This is a process. It takes a little time. You don’t put it together in 45 minutes.”
Asked specifically whether he was endorsing Trump and what was holding him back, the speaker sidestepped by replying: “The process of unifying the Republican party, which just finished a primary about a week ago – perhaps one of the most divisive primaries in memory – takes some time.”
He added: “It’s very important that we don’t fake unifying, we don’t pretend unification, that we truly and actually unify so we are full strength in the fall. I don’t want us to have a fake unification process here. I want to make sure that we really, truly understand each other.”
Trump’s insurgent campaign has put him at odds with the Republican establishment and won him almost 11m votes, giving him a strong hand in the negotiations. An increasing number of Republicans in Congress have called on Ryan to accept the popular will, despite his objections to Trump on both substance and tone, including his call for a temporary ban on Muslims.
Ryan acknowledged: “It’s really kind of unparalleled, I think. He has gotten more votes than any Republican primary nominee in the history of our country and this isn’t even over yet … It’s really a remarkable achievement.”
The challenge is to keep adding voters without subtracting any through a positive vision based on core principles, he added. “Here’s what we agree on: a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a disaster for this country. It’s effectively a third Obama term.”
Ryan met Trump behind closed doors for 45 minutes at the Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington along with chair Reince Priebus.
Although he declined to offer specifics on the issues discussed, Priebus described the meeting as a “positive step towards unification” in an interview with MSNBC shortly after its conclusion.
“It was a positive mood, it was a mood of cooperation and a feeling of, it’s time to unify the party. And I think both parties wanted to do that,” he said.
The RNC chair also sought to downplay Ryan’s reluctance to endorse Trump, saying the expectation had been that the primary would continue for another month or two.
“I think everyone was caught a little off guard by how quick it all ended. I think we all were surprised,” Priebus said.
Trump and Ryan were then joined for a second meeting with other members of the House Republican leadership team: majority leader Kevin McCarthy, majority whip Steve Scalise, conference chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and deputy majority whip Patrick McHenry.
McMorris-Rodgers, like Ryan, has yet to back Trump as the party standard-bearer, while McCarthy and Scalise have said they will support the nominee.
Trump then met with the Senate Republican leadership at the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was characteristically mum when returning to the Capitol after his sit-down with Trump, offering only that it was “a very good, constructive meeting”.
John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, used similar words to describe the meeting in a tweet that showed him posing alongside Trump.
Cornyn later told reporters on Capitol Hill that he expected the party to ultimately unite behind Trump.
Among the issues discussed was immigration, Cornyn added, including Trump’s broader tone on the subject.
“There is a way to talk about these issues that isn’t offensive to people,” he said.
A handful of Republican senators joined Trump’s meeting with the leadership: Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Rob Portman of Ohio and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
Sessions, one of Trump’s chief surrogates, has criticized Ryan’s reluctance to endorse Trump.
“I think he made a mistake on that. I’m not sure what was in his mind,” Sessions told reporters on Capitol Hill this week. “But I think that can be repaired.”
Although Senate Republican leaders have been more willing to rally behind Trump, their members find themselves in a decidedly precarious position. Twenty-four Senate Republicans are up for re-election in November, with many facing tough races in key battleground states.
Wicker, who chairs the NRSC, the organization tasked with keeping the Senate in Republicans’ control, has already committed to backing Trump. Following the meeting, the senator reiterated his support for the nominee while adding Trump and GOP leaders had “a very positive and productive conversation today aimed at unifying the party for victory this fall”.
As the lawmakers huddled with Trump for what is expected to be the first of many meetings, protesters gathered outside to show their disdain for the former reality TV star. Professional organisers from Code Pink held up signs stating “Stop hatred against immigrants”, “Islamophobia is unAmerican” and “Trump is a racist”. Other protesters included so-called Dreamers, immigrants brought to the US as children, from the advocacy group United We Dream. A giant Trump mask and a cardboard coffin were displayed.
Hundreds of journalists flocked to the scene of the meeting, even as the Republicans in attendance declined to address the cameras. A handful of lawmakers who did not participate in the meeting did, however, offer their perspective on what to expect as Trump presses forward with his charm offensive on Capitol Hill.
Chris Collins, a representative from New York who is backing Trump, said he was “baffled” at the assertion by some of his colleagues that they would not vote for Trump in November. But he was confident about Trump’s ability to win over those still on the fence through one-on-one meetings.
“People will see the Donald Trump I know, not necessarily the one you see in the rallies,” Collins said.
Trump’s overtures while in Washington extended even to his fiercest critics. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who exited the race in December and has openly declared that Trump would destroy the Republican party, told reporters on Thursday that the two had a “cordial, pleasant” phone conversation.
Graham said the 15-minute call centered predominantly on national security, and he provided Trump with his assessment of the nuclear accord with Iran and the war against Isis.
Steps away from the chaos, Democrats at the US Capitol used the opportunity to portray Republicans as belonging to the “Party of Trump”.
The Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, said the meetings served as “the latest sign that the Republican leaders in both houses are marching lockstep with Donald Trump”.
The Nevada senator aimed his fire in particular at McConnell, who threw his support behind Trump last week when it became all but certain that the real estate mogul had clinched the nomination.
“Donald Trump is everything that the Republican leader and his party could ever want in a nominee. His policy positions are identical to the Republican party platform,” Reid said in remarks on the Senate floor.
He then proceeded to tie the GOP to Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric toward immigrants and women, pointing out that Republicans in Congress have blocked action on immigration reform and policies such as equal pay for women and paid family leave.
“Trump owes his candidacy to the Republican leader and to the policies that he’s led,” Reid said. “It was an obstructionist, anti-woman, anti-Latino, anti-Muslim, anti-middle class, anti-environment, and anti-Obama and anti-everything Republican party of the last eight years that made Donald Trump a reality.”
Reid’s counterpart in the House of Representatives, minority leader Nancy Pelosi, took a similar approach in tying congressional Republicans to Trump.
“Since when have the House Republicans been so concerned about intolerant statements and discriminatory ideas?” Pelosi said at her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill.
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said he read Ryan and Trump’s joint statement “with amusement” and commented: “I don’t know anybody here who’s going to lose any sleep over the meeting.”
Earnest told reporters: “Speaker Ryan has described his view that the entire Republican party, including the presumptive nominee, should rally behind the agenda that Speaker Ryan has put forward. I think the reason he may be encountering some difficulty is he’s the speaker of the House. He should be implementing that agenda already.”
He accused the Republicans of inaction over releasing funds to combat the Zika virus, the Puerto Rico financial crisis and the opioid abuse epidemic.
“Unfortunately the Republicans seem much more focused on the elections than they do on embracing the results of the last elections that gave them a majority in Congress.
“If Republicans had much conviction about their agenda, they’d be trying to implement it now” rather than trying to convince Trump and their own members, Earnest added. “I think that’s why there might be skepticism both inside and outside about whether Republicans actually do have a governing agenda.” | 0fake |
Poland's ruling party plans legal changes ahead of 2018 local elections | WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party said on Friday it planned legal changes to enhance democracy ahead of local elections next year but analysts said the measures aimed to boost the party s electoral prospects. The party came third at the last local election in 2014 and its proposals, to be debated in parliament this month, would smooth a path for candidates supported by parties such as itself and make it harder for independent candidates backed by citizens committees. Opinion polls show the nationalist party is supported by 37 percent of the electorate and many voters say its policies fight inequality. The European Union, however, says that its policies undermine democracy and the rule of law. We will introduce two terms for mayors and presidents starting from 2018. (We also plan) to replace majority electoral law with a proportional system, PiS deputy Lukasz Schreiber told a news briefing. Critics say many voters appreciate the PiS welfare program and so turn a blind eye to changes it has made to the judiciary and media aimed at cementing its rule. The party wants changes including scrapping single-member constituencies in which the candidate with the most votes wins, party representatives told reporters in parliament on Friday. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski says the present system is undemocratic and creates scope for abuses. Kaczynski has no formal post in the government but is seen as the ruler of the former communist country of 38 million people. On Friday, state television showed a quote from Kaczynski from last month in which he said the system of single-member constituencies was undemocratic because it led to entrenched local leaders all-but certain to win re-election. There are some places in Poland where we (PiS) received 40 percent of votes (in local elections) but we have nothing or almost nothing. It is undemocratic. It creates a danger of abuses ... and one needs to eliminate this, he said. Local elections are expected in late 2018. Many town leaders elected in 2014 had the support of local committees rather than established parties. The leaders are called presidents in cities and mayors in towns. The biggest opposition party Civic Platform, which is centrist, came second in that election while the PiS was third. Initial information suggests that the PiS project favors big parties as it scraps single-member constituencies. This looks like politicizing the local election, said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political analyst at Warsaw University. Critics say the party has taken control over state companies, institutions, media, and the judiciary in order to strengthen its power and improve party s chances in future elections. | 0fake |
Goldman Sachs Endorses Hillary Clinton For President | Well finally we have the big global Business/Bank Goldman Sachs officially endorsing Hillary Clinton for President !! They have been giving her money and paying for speeches for some time now. Get ready for Hillary's *actual* policies to kick in if and when she gets elected. Ironic. GS has been a target of political activism for years. Now they can bank on Hillary protecting them. Goldman Sachs Endorses Hillary Clinton For President He’s with her. On Sunday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earned the endorsement of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein—an endorsement she had been working toward for years. As was revealed by Wikileaks, Hillary Clinton spent the run up to her presidential campaign giving speeches to Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks, where she praised their talents and explained her positions on financial regulation. On October 24, 2013, Clinton told Goldman Sachs that Dodd-Frank had to be done mostly for “political reasons” because Congress needed to look like it was doing something about the crisis. She said, “There’s nothing magic about regulations, too much is bad, too little is bad. How do you get to the golden key, how do we figure out what works? And the people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry.” The anti-Bernie anti-Thesis | 1real |
Tennessee Official Resigns In Shame After Saying ‘KKK Is More American Than’ Obama (VIDEO) | A Tennessee official has resigned from his position after he was stupid enough to splash racist posts all over his Facebook page.David Barber was the deputy director of Shelby County Corrections Center until he decided to flaunt his racism on social media. In one post, Barber said that the Ku Klux Klan is more American than the nation s first black president.Image via SlateIn another post, he called the president obummer and said he hoped the Muslims would kill him and mooshelle as queers. Image via Local MemphisShelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell said that he was appalled when he read Barber s racist posts. I was offended, he said. I think anybody who read it would be offended. It was horrible. It was very offensive. According to Luttrell, he was informed about the posts on Friday. His department decided to investigate Barber before firing him and he then resigned on Tuesday. The mayor said that Barber apologized but still may have been fired if he had not decided to resign on his own. He was very contrite, very apologetic. He recognized that he made a mistake, Luttrell said. I don t know [why he did it]. That s a question only he can answer. Luttrell added that even though the posts were written on Barber s personal Facebook page, that page also identified him as a government employee. This was an action by an employee who should have known better. What he did, his behavior was intolerable; it was offensive. We afforded him his rights and due process. He recognized his discretion and [resigned], Luttrell said.Luttrell noted that he isn t sure Shelby County currently has a formal social media policy. But he said if they don t, they will very soon.Luttrell s interview can be seen here: Watch more on this story, here: | WBTV CharlotteFeatured image via Local Memphis | 1real |
“The Newshour” anchors to dubsmash Arnab Goswami’s voice to combat sinking TRPs | “The Newshour” anchors to dubsmash Arnab Goswami’s voice to combat sinking TRPs Posted on Tweet
Faced with a sharp slump in viewership after the departure of their former editor-in-chief and star anchor Arnab Goswami, the makeshift anchors of Times Now’s prime-time debate, “The Newshour” have decided to dubsmash Goswami’s voice in a desperate bid to restore their TRPs. (Image via aisfm.edu.in)
Goswami’s loud, hard-hitting voice, one of the main reasons behind The Newshour’s catapult to dominance, will now be played in The Newshour studios, while the makeshift anchors move their lips to his statements. According to senior Times Now journalist Navika Kumar, their usual stand-in Newshour anchor Anand Narasimhan has been spending sleepless nights, hard at work, trying to move his lips to Arnab’s audio flawlessly. “It’ll be a while before Rahul Shivshankar joins us and does a more believable and buy-able impression of Arnab, but until then, we’ve got to do this much at least,” Navika told The UnReal Times .
Narasimhan has admitted to finding this task the most difficult thing he’s ever had to do in life. “To open your throat and try to scream the loudest, yet without screaming, to keep interrupting people correctly before they finish a couple of words, to keep uttering that you would bring in some panelist in to the debate and yet not bring him, to keep announcing ever 5 minutes that you would open the phone lines and yet not open them..Whew! This is as Herculean as it can get. I expect to be featured on Ripley’s Believe it or not, if at all I’m able to achieve this dubsmashing feat,” the anchor described, before going ahead to practice moving his lips to “THE NATION WANTS TO KNOW!”
Navika also added that the crew has a backup plan in place, should the dubsmashing go awry. “In the worst case, if no one is able to lip sync properly, we will try to get Dr. Manmohan Singh to do the job. He doesn’t have to dubsmash, he might as well speak and we can have Arnab’s voice as the voiceover,” the senior journalist added. The channel, however, soon had a reason to cheer, as Bollywood actor Anupam Kher volunteered to act as Arnab for free. “Dubsmashing Arnab is the least I can do for my country and our soldiers at the border. It is a role that I would be proud and privileged to accept, all for the sake of the jawans,” Kher exclaimed.
The move has, however, come in for sharp criticism from the channel’s bete noire s. “Dubsmash => Dumb smash. Enough said :)” tweeted Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha. The last word though, went to AAP spokesperson The Ashutosh. “Why the Times Now sud depend on lip sinking the Arnab’s voice !!! Will the Modi answer !!!” (sic) the former IBN7 editor tweeted. Tweet About Ashwin Kumar
1 of the proud columnists of URT, former co-editor of URT Tamil, amateur musician, Real Harris Jayaraj devotee, UnReal T. Rajendar fanatic, passionate about stopping female foeticide. View all posts by Ashwin Kumar → Related Posts | 1real |
U.N. calls Syria talks a 'big missed opportunity', seeks new ideas | GENEVA (Reuters) - A round of Syria peace talks that ended on Thursday was a big missed opportunity but there may be more talks next month if ideas can be found to encourage President Bashar al-Assad s government to engage, U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said. He said neither side had actually sabotaged the latest talks by refusing to attend, but he laid most of the blame for the failure of the round at the feet of the government side. De Mistura voiced milder disappointment with the Syrian opposition, after they arrived in Geneva ruling out any future role for Assad. But he said that tough public stance had been tempered by a mature position in the closed-door discussions. The goal we had was to bring about real negotiations, de Mistura told a news conference. Let me be frank. We did not achieve, we did not achieve these negotiations. In other words, negotiations in reality did not take place. I would conclude by saying (it was) a big missed opportunity. A golden opportunity at the end of this year when in fact there is a clear indication by many sides that the military operations are coming to a close, he added. De Mistura said he was leaving Geneva for consultations in New York with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, followed by a meeting with the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. I will probably need to come up with new ideas, parameters, about how to move the talks forward, particularly on constitution and elections, he said, adding that plans for a new round of Geneva talks in January depended on their outcome. Civil war has ravaged Syria for more than six years. Chief opposition negotiator Nasr Hariri said the international community needed to do more to persuade government negotiator Bashar al-Ja afari to come to the table, warning that the talks were in great danger . The international community needs to find a new approach, otherwise this stalemate will continue and unfortunately it will be at the expense of Syrians, he said. One European diplomat said the talks had been a charade because of the government s behavior. Although the regime has presented itself here, that is all that it has done. I would go further: it s not just a kind of disengagement that they ve shown, it s an extraordinary contempt, he said. I understand that a large amount of their time here was spent negotiating personal admin matters and expenses, rather than the substance of the talks. As he left the talks, Ja afari accused the opposition, backed by Western countries and Saudi Arabia, of sabotaging the round. Ja afari said Damascus did not want the talks to fail but the opposition had put down a precondition last month by concluding a conference known as Riyadh 2 with a declaration that Assad had no role in Syria s political transition. De Mistura said the Damascus government had wanted him to insist that the opposition withdraw the statement. That was not possible or a logical approach because to me it sounded like a precondition. The government engaged me with only on (discussions about) terrorism. The truth is there is not one single subject they accepted except that one. | 0fake |
MAN BRUTALLY ASSAULTED At CA Trump Rally Tells Horrific Story Of Attack By Domestic Terrorists [VIDEO] | This video would be on a 24/7 mainstream media loop if the man who was brutally attacked by an angry mob was a Bernie Sanders or Hillary supporter. Will we ever see the faces or know the names of the 17 people arrested at this violent anti-Trump riot? When will these people be treated like the domestic terrorists they are? Injured Trump Supporter Cole Bartiromo Tells How He Was Brutally Assaulted by a group of 20-30 Anti-Trump Protestershttps://t.co/8daEcRGW9s Trump's Got My Vote (@veganvecoh) May 1, 2016 | 1real |
Papua New Guinea police order protesting asylum seekers out of Australian-run camp | SYDNEY (Reuters) - About fifty asylum seekers departed an Australian-run detention camp in Papua New Guinea on Thursday after police moved into the complex, confiscating food, water and personal belongings from the roughly 310 who remained. The Manus Island center was sealed off after a three-week standoff the United Nations has called a looming humanitarian crisis as detainees defied attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to close it. Right now we have no water, one of the asylum-seekers in the camp said in a mobile telephone message. I came back to my room and they took my laptop and money and cigarettes. Video images shot and posted on social media site Facebook by Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz showed police using a megaphone to tell asylum seekers to leave because their stay at the camp, located on land used by the PNG navy, was illegal. Men boarded buses in footage he posted later on social network Twitter. The buses took the men to alternative accommodation, three sources said. In Geneva, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it had received reports of force being used to remove the refugees and asylum seekers and called for calm. We urge both governments to engage in constructive dialogue, to de-escalate the tensions and work on urgent lasting solutions to their plight, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement noting it lacked full access to the shuttered facility. A police blockade of the camp was still in place, Tim Costello, chief advocate of aid group World Vision Australia, said by telephone from outside, adding that he had seen buses leave and that the accommodation he had visited was unfinished. PNG immigration and police officials did not return telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment. The camp in PNG, and another on the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru, have been the cornerstones of Australia s controversial immigration policy, which has been strongly criticized by the United Nations and rights groups. Australia opened the camps in a bid to stem a flow of asylum seekers making dangerous voyages by boat to its shores. Under its sovereign borders immigration policy, Australia refuses to land asylum seekers arriving by sea, and sends them to the offshore camps instead. At the camp, witnesses said officials in army fatigues led away Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani, a resident for four years who posts regular social media messages on conditions there. Boochani later posted that he had been released after being handcuffed for several hours and had left the camp. My understanding is that a number of people, a small number of people, have been arrested, including the individual, Australia s Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton told SKY News, referring to Boochani. Pictures sent via a messaging service showed upturned boxes of food and torn packets of rice and instant noodles and smashed furniture, including broken beds. Last year PNG s Supreme Court ruled that the center, first opened in 2001, breached its laws and fundamental human rights, leading to the decision to close it. But the asylum seekers say they fear for their safety if moved to a transit center on the island, and risk being resettled in PNG or another developing nation permanently. We don t want another prison. We want to leave this place, but they need to give a good solution for us, the first asylum-seeker said. We don t want another prison. We want a third country. Most of those in the camp are from Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria. The transit centers had food, water, security and medical services, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said. They think this is some way they can pressure the Australian government to let them come to Australia, Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra. Well, we will not be pressured. | 0fake |
WMD FRAUD: Sexed-up UN ‘Chemical Weapons’ Report on Syria Contrived to Trigger More Sanctions, Intervention | 21st Century Wire says When the UN released its summary of their chemical weapons report on August 30th, the usual suspects led by the US, UK and France, immediately rushed to their media pulpits to claim that this was proof that Syria, under the leadership of President Bashar al Assad, was somehow guilty (again) of the charge of using chlorine bombs against its own people. This latest UN report was the result of a year-long joint inquiry with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Before the full report was even released, western officials and their media surrogates began hysterically claiming that it was imperative for the UN Security Council to move for more sanctions against Syria, to impose a Safe Zone (No-Fly Zone) and to possibly give more license to increasing US-led military intervention in Syria. When confronted with the summary of the yet-to-be released report, Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, came straight out of the gates, stating it was wrong to jump to conclusions before actually reading the report, replying simply, There are a number of questions which have to be clarified before we accept all the findings of the report. Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin.This week the full report was finally released, and as it turns out Russia s Churkin was 100% correct. The report, as with many other US-led attempts to fabricate cases of weapons of mass destruction against governments it wishes to depose, seems at the very least to be sexed-up, and at most a completely fraudulent assessment of events on the ground in Syria. The only real conclusive findings in this report point to ISIS using sulfur mustard gas in Syria. Once again, the West, led by the United States, has attempted to position what appears to be another fabricated case against the Syrian government and place that in the same report next to real findings of a malicious ISIS chemical weapons attack in a somewhat crude attempt to conflate the two (ISIS and Assad) in the court of public opinion.Even worse than attempting to falsely attribute chemical weapons attacks to Syria and Assad, the UN is also guilty of ignoring witness testimonies that have said chlorine attacks were in fact staged by western-backed rebels (see details and assessment of the UN report below). POWELL & POWER: Same WMD fraud, different target nation. You could tell that a desperate agenda was in play judging by the over-the-top and leading statements made by US, UK and French representatives before the report was released two weeks ago.Of course, leading the charge, with a her summary of the yet-to-be released fraudulent assessment in hand, was R2P hawk and US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, who insisted that Syria must pay a price . She added, It is incumbent on the council to act swiftly to show that when we put that Joint Investigative Mechanism in place we were serious about there being meaningful accountability. Once again, just like Colin Powell before her, and as with Iraq the west brazenly touts another dodgy dossier, custom-made for yet another humanitarian stitch-up. British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft also joined-in the diplomatic pantomime, saying the UK is calling for the imposition of a sanctions regime and some form of accountability within international legal mechanisms. French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre demanded a quick and strong security council response and said, We need a resolution with teeth. Back in August 2013, Western and Saudi-backed rebels launched an elaborate media-driven WMD hoax also designed to assign blame to the Syrian Government for sarin gas attacks in East Ghouta, Damascus. Western newspapers ran photos of Assad with headlines like, Now They re Gassing Their Own Children (image, above). On the back of that stunt, both the US and the UK even went so far as to press for a declaration of war vote in both their parliaments. Unfortunately for their military industrial complexes, the public did not buy it, but that hasn t discouraged them to keep on trying.What s more shocking however, is why the United Nations would allow its name to be attributed to such a fraudulent and misleading document one that is clearly designed to bolster another bogus case for western military intervention. In the end, this type of self-interested abuse and manipulation by certain UN Security Council members only serves to damage the credibility of the UN as an international arbiter and the institution as a whole (maybe that s part of the West s agenda too).Verdict: The evidence presented in the UN report derives hearsay reporting only from activists and rebels (listed terrorist groups), in effect, lowering the bar so that absolutely no burden of proof is required by accusing parties.Considering what is at stake, and knowing full-well just how the US, UK, France and its NATO allies have demonstrated they are willing to conjure any report of chemical attacks by the regime and will hold this up as a violation of Barack Obama and Washington s ethereal Red Line this is leads immediately to calls to mount another humanitarian intervention.Joining in the party also, are the West s new instruments of war: high-profile human rights charities with links the US State Department. One such organization, Human Rights Watch, whose CEO Ken Roth has already been seen on multiple occasions tweeting fake Syria images in order to build the case for regime change , called on the UN Security council to renew its resolution referring Syria to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch stated, Russia and China don t have a leg to stand on by continuing to obstruct the Security Council, he said, The Security Council diminishes its importance if it doesn t take strong action against demonstrated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. To learn more about Human Rights NGOs are being used to support western imperial objectives read 21WIRE s detailed report on this subject:AN INTRODUCTION: SMART POWER & THE HUMAN RIGHTS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXMore on the Washington s latest dodgy dossier from award-winning journalist Robert Parry Robert Parry Consortium NewsUnited Nations investigators encountered evidence that alleged chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian military were staged by jihadist rebels and their supporters, but still decided to blame the government for two incidents in which chlorine was allegedly dispersed via improvised explosives dropped by helicopters.In both cases, the Syrian government denied that it had any aircraft in the areas at the times of the purported attacks, but the U.N. team rejected that explanation with the curious argument that Syria failed to provide flight records to corroborate the absence of any flights. Yet, if there had been no flights, there would be no flight records.The U.N. team also dismissed out of hand the possibility that jihadist rebels who had overrun some air bases and thus had operational helicopters at their disposal might have used them as part of a staged event designed to incriminate the Damascus regime and thus justify U.S. or other outside military intervention.Another problem with the U.N. team s findings is that the home-made chlorine bombs had minimal military value, inflicting relatively few casualties and only a handful of deaths.Why the Syrian government, which was under intense international pressure regarding alleged chemical weapons use and was in the process of surrendering its stockpile of such weapons, would have jerry-rigged a handful of homemade bombs and dropped them for no discernible military effect makes little sense.However, since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been thoroughly demonized over his harsh reaction to an uprising that began in 2011, pretty much any accusation against him no matter how unlikely or implausible is widely accepted in the mainstream Western media and political circles. In other words, the U.N. team was under pressure to reach a guilty verdict.Accusations of StagingYet, the evidence from at least one of the incidents examined by the U.N. team suggests that an attack on Al-Tamanah on the night of April 29-30, 2014, might well have been staged by rebels and then played up by activists through social media. Seven witnesses stated that frequent alerts [about an imminent chlorine weapons attack by the government] had been issued, but in fact no incidents with chemicals took place, the U.N. report stated. While people sought safety after the warnings, their homes were looted and rumours spread that the events were being staged. [T]hey [these witnesses] had come forward to contest the wide-spread false media reports. Accounts from other people, who did allege that there had been a government chemical attack on Al-Tamanah, provided suspect evidence, including data from questionable sources, according to the U.N. report.The report said, Three witnesses, who did not give any description of the incident on 29-30 April 2014, provided material of unknown source. One witness had second-hand knowledge of two of the five incidents in Al-Tamanah, but did not remember the exact dates. Later that witness provided a USB-stick with information of unknown origin, which was saved in separate folders according to the dates of all the five incidents mentioned by the FFM (the U.N. s Fact-Finding Mission). Another witness provided the dates of all five incidents reading it from a piece of paper, but did not provide any testimony on the incident on 29-30 April 2014. The latter also provided a video titled site where second barrel containing toxic chlorine gas was dropped tamanaa 30 April 14 Some other witnesses alleging a Syrian government attack offered curious claims about detecting the chlorine-infused barrel bombs based on how the device sounded in its descent.The U.N. report said, The eyewitness, who stated to have been on the roof, said to have heard a helicopter and the very loud sound of a falling barrel. Some interviewees had referred to a distinct whistling sound of barrels that contain chlorine as they fall. The witness statement could not be corroborated with any further information. As in other cases that were investigated, the U.N. team demanded that the Syrian government provide flight records to support its denial that any of its aircraft were in the air in that vicinity at the time of the attack. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stated that no military activities were conducted from land or air in Al-Tamanah on the dates of the incidents, but did not provide any records of flight operations to support this statement, the U.N. report said.In the Al-Tamanah case, the U.N. team judged the evidence insufficient to reach a firm judgment regarding who was responsible. However, in two other cases, in Talmenes in April 2014 and Sarmin in March 2015, the U.N. team accused the Syrian military of dropping chlorine-infused barrel bombs. Investigative LimitationsYet, regarding all eight cases that were examined, the U.N. team acknowledged significant limitations on its ability to investigate.The report said, As was the case with the Fact-Finding missions, the lack of access to the locations under investigation due to the dire security situation on the ground affected the manner in which the Mechanism [a committee from the U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] was able to conduct its investigation. Visits to certain locations would have facilitated the ability of the Mechanism to (a) confirm and access specific locations of interest; (b) collect comparative environmental samples; (c) identify new witnesses; and (d) physically evaluate the material of interest to the Mechanism (e.g., remnants). Other challenges and constraints include the following factors: (a) the time period that had elapsed since the incident (i.e. in some cases, more than two years since the incident); (b) the lack of chain of custody for some of the material received; (c) the source of information and material was of secondary or tertiary nature; (d) some of the information material, including those depicting the size and nature of the incident, were misleading; (e) finding independent sources of information that could provide access to individuals and information material proved difficult; and (f) the impact locations were not preserved and were compromised by the time they were recorded (e.g., the videos and photographs of the impact locations were taken days after the incident and in many cases after the remnants had been removed from the impact location). In other words, the U.N./OPCW investigation was compromised by its inability to conduct an effective on-the-ground assessment and was forced to rely on witnesses who were often allied with the rebel forces or sympathetic to the political opposition to President Assad.This problem is reminiscent of what happened inside the U.S. Intelligence Community in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq when some 18 witnesses supposedly defectors from Saddam Hussein s regime became walk-ins who presented claims about the Iraqi government s supposed weapons of mass destruction.CIA analysts debunked some of these bogus claims and traced some of the deceit to the machinations of the pro-invasion Iraqi National Congress (INC), but given the political-and-media hatred of Saddam Hussein the CIA analysts were under intense pressure to accept some of the dubious accounts that were then incorporated into U.S. intelligence products and used to justify a war under false pretenses.As with Iraq where the U.S. government had helped fund anti-regime groups such as the INC a similar situation exists inside Syria where U.S. officials have assisted the opposition in organizing politically and mastering propaganda skills. So, the means and opportunity for depicting regime atrocities through social media are there, along with the motive.These activists as well as the radical jihadists and other armed rebels have become increasingly desperate to induce the United States to intervene militarily against the Syrian army and thus make their desired regime change possible. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Aug. 30, 2013, claims to have proof that the Syrian government was responsible for a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21, 2013, but that evidence failed to materialize or was later discredited. [State Department photo]Obama s Red LineThe emphasis on creating a chemical weapons casus belli increased when President Barack Obama set the Syrian government s possible use of such weapons as a red line that might cause him to intervene directly with U.S. forces.That comment and the political pressure for instituting another Mideast regime change were the backdrop for the sarin gas attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013, which anti-Assad activists, the mainstream U.S. press, and the U.S. State Department immediately blamed on government forces.In the ensuing days, Obama came to the edge of authorizing a retaliatory military strike before hearing from U.S. and other Western intelligence services that they had doubts about who had actually pulled off the attack.Since then, the sarin case against Assad has largely collapsed (although to defuse the crisis he agreed to a Russian plan for Syria to surrender all its chemical weapons). The evidence now appears to indicate that radical jihadists released the sarin with the goal of goading Obama into joining the war on their side, i.e., a false-flag operation.As the sarin case fell apart in 2014, the U.S. government shifted its emphasis toward chlorine-gas allegations. I first encountered this bait-and-switch tactic when I pressed a senior State Department official to back up or back off the increasingly discredited sarin gas claims.While sidestepping the sarin case, the official asserted that the Syrian government almost surely was responsible for the more recent chlorine-gas incidents, citing the bombs delivery by helicopter and arguing that only the Syrian government possessed such aircraft.According to the U.N. report, however, that belief regarding the government s monopoly of helicopters may not be true, since rebel forces had captured air bases where operational helicopters were present. That means, at least theoretically, the jihadists could have staged the night-time attacks complete with prior alarms spread by activist first-responders, known as white helmets, about the imminent arrival of government helicopters with chlorine bombs.But the more nettlesome question, which the U.N. report does not address, is why would the Syrian government launch these strange attacks while realizing that any chemical weapons incident could prompt U.S. military intervention that could tip the war in favor of the jihadists and other rebels, especially since the chlorine attacks had virtually no military value.Few FatalitiesWhile the makeshift chlorine bombs may have sent scores of civilians to get medical attention, very few of the casualties were fatal, according to the U.N. report. By contrast, the Aug. 21, 2013 sarin attack killed hundreds, with the U.S. government putting out an even higher (and almost surely exaggerated) number of 1,429 dead Continue this report at Consortium NewsREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files | 1real |
Twitter bans ads from two Russian media outlets, cites election meddling | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc on Thursday accused Russian media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik of interfering in the 2016 U.S. election and banned them from buying ads on its network, after criticism the social network had not done enough to deter international meddling. RT and Sputnik condemned the decision, saying Twitter had encouraged ad spending with its sales tactics, while Russia’s foreign ministry said the ban was due to U.S. government pressure and that it planned to retaliate. San Francisco-based Twitter said in an unsigned statement on its website that election meddling is “not something we want” on the social network. It cited a report this year from U.S. intelligence agencies and said it had also done its own investigations of RT and Sputnik. “We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter,” the company said. Twitter, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have all recently detected that suspected Russian operatives used their platforms last year to purchase ads and post content that was politically divisive. Russia has denied interfering in the election. Twitter said it would take the estimated $1.9 million it had earned from RT global advertising since 2011 and donate the money “to support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections.” The company said it would allow RT and Sputnik to maintain regular, non-ad Twitter accounts in accordance with its rules. RT, an English-language news channel, accused Twitter’s sales staff of pressuring it to spend big on advertising in 2016 ahead of the election. “The more money RT spent, the bigger the reach to American voters that Twitter would provide,” RT said, describing the Twitter sales pitch. It said it never “pursued an agenda of influencing the U.S. election through any platforms, including Twitter.” Twitter declined to comment on any discussions with advertisers. A former Twitter employee said the sales pitch to RT is similar to what the company uses to lure advertisers to Twitter, which has struggled to turn a profit. On Thursday, Twitter said it may become profitable for the first time next quarter after slashing expenses and ramping up deals to sell its data to other companies, which could help to break its reliance on advertising for revenue. Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would limit Russia media ad spending. In April, Reuters reported that RT and Sputnik were part of a plan by Russian President Vladimir Putin to swing the U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, according to three current and four former U.S. officials. On Oct. 19, U.S. lawmakers, alarmed that foreign entities used the internet to influence last year’s election, introduced legislation to extend rules governing political advertising on broadcast television, radio and satellite to also cover social media. General counsels for Twitter, Facebook and Google will testify on Nov. 1 before public hearings of the Senate and House intelligence committees on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. “Twitter is wisely positioning itself to be able to tell the committees that the company has taken steps to address the issues raised,” Adam Sharp, a former Twitter executive, told Reuters on Thursday. The Russian foreign ministry said the ban was a “gross violation” by the United States of the guarantees of free speech. “Retaliatory measures, naturally, will follow,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to the RIA news agency. Sputnik, a news agency, said on its website that Twitter’s move was regrettable, “especially now that Russia had vowed retaliatory measures against the U.S. media.” Some analysts said transparency, rather than a ban, would have been a better approach. Unlike Facebook, Twitter allows anonymous accounts and automated accounts, or bots, making the service more difficult to police. “Banning any particular person, group or country is just bad policy - in other parts of the world, platforms will come to be viewed as a tool of U.S. or other foreign policy and it will give authoritarian regimes more excuses to ban speech,” Albert Gidari, who as a lawyer has represented tech companies, said in an email. Gidari is now privacy director at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. A U.S. lawmaker, Representative Adam Schiff, applauded Twitter’s move. “Serving as a platform for free expression does not require assisting foreign powers in their efforts to push propaganda, whether by promoted tweets or other means,” Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. | 0fake |
Donald Trump Just Won A Major Award, And Ted Cruz Is Going To Be Devastated | Each year, the People For the American Way s Equine Posterior Achievement Award is granted to public figures who drag America to a new low of right-wing extremism. For several years now, Ted Cruz has been honored with the top spot. But this year, the prize has been handed to Donald Trump.It s official Donald, you are the biggest horse s a$$ in America according to the adjudication panel of People for the American Way.Will Trump be as quick to crow about this victory as he was when he was crowned Man of the Year by WorldNetDaily? It didn t seem to bother him that the site is conspiracy theory central, and as Right Wing Watch points out, is convinced that Obama is about to throw every man, woman and child in America into a FEMA camp.Trump worked hard for this honor though. He labeled all latin American immigrants as drug dealers and rapists, he called for Muslims to be banned from entering the U.S. (even Muslim Americans returning from holiday), he lied that thousands and thousands of Muslims in America cheered while 9/11 was happening, and failed to retract or apologize when he was busted for it. Instead he chose to stand up at his next rally and physically mock the disabled reporter who had exposed his lie. On top of this, he spends the majority of time hate-tweeting any journalist or media outlet that dare refuse to kiss his trust fund tycoon posterior.This level of commitment to running for President as a bigoted man child needs to be honored somehow, and thankfully, People For The American Way solved the problem for us. Sadly, it does mean that Ted Cruz winning streak is over. He will clearly have to work harder to win back the accolade next year. His brand of evangelical, homophobic, anti-choice, anti-science, pro-gun BS might well appall any rational human being but there s a new bigot in town.Featured Image via Flickr/Flickr | 1real |
Mexico's Senate picks new electoral prosecutor amid graft spat | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico s Senate on Friday named the country s new top prosecutor for election-related crimes, after the official previously in the post was fired amid a graft scandal involving a close former aide of President Enrique Pena Nieto. Hector Marcos Diaz, a lawyer and academic with a long career in Mexico s electoral bodies, was approved as the newest prosecutor for electoral crimes with 92 senators votes, the Senate said in a statement. The previous incumbent, Santiago Nieto, was fired by Mexico s acting attorney general in October on the grounds that he broke a code of conduct for officials. Nieto had given a newspaper interview in which he accused Emilio Lozoya, the former boss of state oil firm Pemex and a senior member of the president s 2012 campaign team, of writing to him to ask that he be declared innocent of funneling cash from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht into Pena Nieto s campaign. Odebrecht is at the heart of a Brazilian bribery and kickback probe, known as Lava Jato or Car Wash, that has reverberated across Latin America. The ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has been trying to shake a reputation for graft that threatens to undermine the party s efforts to stay in power in next July s presidential election. The firing of Nieto was widely seen as a setback to those efforts. The PRI has overseen the arrest of various former state governors, but Lozoya poses a more difficult challenge, given his proximity to the president. Both Pena Nieto and Lozoya have denied involvement in any wrongdoing related to the 2012 campaign. | 0fake |
US Hostage Survives Terrorist Ordeal in Syria to Deliver a Stunning Message to US-UK ‘Regime Change’ Crowd | 21st Century Wire says A small miracle a rare moment of truth on the mainstream media. Buried below all of the salacious and sensational headlines and faux Russian intrigue in Washington over the last week, FOX News host Tucker Carlson delivered a stunning short interview with Theo Padnos, an American journalist who was held captive for two years (2012 2014) by US-UK and GCC-backed terrorists from Al Nusra Front aka Al-Qaeda in Syria.During the last 6 years under president Barack Obama, failing US officials like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have been whitewashing the true nature of the co-called moderate rebels in Syria repeatedly attempting to characterize them as righteous freedom fighters striving for an embryonic democracy in Syria. Padnos obliterates the institutional US government and media deception on this subject, and sets the record straight about the wanton savagery of so-called rebels , many of whom are not even from Syria: They re murdering people in the streets, they re employing children as torturers. They are destroying the society over there. Some of them are interested in money, some of them are interested in power, some of them love their guns. They re having a wonderful time during the Jihad ( ) They have the keys to these cool pick-up trucks, they have free food They re constructing a real prison archipelago over there full of prisoners, and full of anyone they really don t like. Survivor: Theo Padnos An incredible axis of power to many young men who have had none for most of their lives it s a dangerous scenario that s unfolding over there in parts of the country that the government doesn t control. The host then asked Padnos what he thought of the Assad government in Syria. The answer was not something you will ever hear from any of the experts on CNN or NBC who have been all-out for regime change since hostilities broke out in 2011: The Assad regime? Right now, there is approx 16 million people who are living in safety. The schools function, the universities function, hospitals function, there s traffic police in the streets. Listen, it s not Switzerland it s not a perfect society I think they themselves recognize this. Anybody who wants peace in Syria will acknowledge and respect the peace that they have at the moment and not degrade and damage it somehow which the Obama Administration has done by sending missiles and all kinds of weaponry to the rebels which I thought was disgraceful because it destroyed such peace, as there was. There remains a situation in which there are rebel enclaves and these rebel enclaves are not peaceful, of course not. They are being destroyed. Look, it s a civil war. The rebel enclaves just a minority of the population lives there, the majority of Syrians are living a relative peace under the Assad regime. Yes, that is preferable to the bombings and the crucifixions in the streets that we are seeing, and the murdering of citizens, the torturing and the imprisoning of random which is what they [the rebel terrorists] are doing. Watch Tucker Carlson stunning segment with Theo Padnos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dksPBRg5tGQ . READ MORE WIKILEAKS AT: 21st Century Wire WIKILEAKS FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
FOX News Just Admitted It Made Up Story About Hillary Being “Indicted” For Foundation | Comments
The alt-right and other Trump supporters were flush with excitement yesterday as their online echo chamber resounded with stories that Hillary Clinton was about to be indicted on the basis of the newly discovered emails on Anthony Weiner’s computer. Today, of course, we learned that this was nothing but a bold-faced lied. While many of the more obscure right -wing blogs named nothing but imaginary sources to support their outrageous claims , the most legitimate source of the false story was none other than Fox News.
On November 2 Fox News’ Bret Baier claimed that, according to two anonymous sources within the FBI, the agency’s investigation of Clinton would “continue to likely an indictment.” The very next day reality forced him to walk back those claims, which he called “inartful,” acknowledging that “that’s not the process.”
Nonetheless, Baier did not entirely disavow his ruse of an imminent Clinton indictment, maintaining that “there is confidence in the evidence.” Given that Clinton’s indictment has been impending for months in the right-wing universe one would think that these shameless schemers would have wised up to the fact that it’s not going to happen – and for good reason . Instead, every time there is the slightest mention of Clinton’s emails, no matter how vague and clearly inconsequential , the alt-right rumor mill kicks into overdrive on its vicious crusade to smear the potential first female president in any way possible.
In reality, there is absolutely nothing so far to suggest that there is anything incriminating in the most recent batch of Clinton emails, and it has become increasingly clear that FBI Director James Comey’s announcement of the renewed investigation was nothing but a cynical and hypocritical political ploy. In part the announcement was designed to fuel a new Republican storyline that Clinton is unfit for the presidency because she is under federal investigation. The demagogues making these claims conveniently ignore the fact that Trump is under investigation in no fewer than 75 cases , including the rape of a 13 year-old girl.
Another disconcerting storyline in yesterday’s firestorm of right-wing rumors is the political interference of Trump supporters in the FBI. If Baier’s so-called anonymous sources really were FBI agents, it would represent yet another recent example of meddling in the presidential election by Trump supporters at the supposedly impartial agency. In any case, the endless lies and distortions of the right-wing pseudo-media, from Fox News down to the lowliest blog, are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. | 1real |
GOP Lawmaker Links Abortion To The Economy In One Bizarre And Horribly Offensive Rant (VIDEO) | Republican lawmakers come up with the most ridiculous things to push their agendas. Take women s reproductive rights. They have all manner of reasons for why abortion should be illegal; from the misogynistic, religious and moral reasons all the way over to the misogynistic and outright bizarre ones. A lawmaker in Wisconsin just tossed himself into the misogynistic and outright bizarre corner with the most ridiculous and offensive idea out there: Labor force shortages are tied to population declines. Labor force shortages are a limiting factor in economic growth. And limited economic growth poses a problem when government tries to pay for public services and infrastructure. In spite of this Mr. Speaker, ironically, the Democrats continue their effort to support the abortion industry. Yes, he really did essentially say that women should be forced to give birth, even to children they can t care for, to ensure a strong labor force and thus, a stronger economy.Holy hell, this is right up there with the guy from Oklahoma who said that hormonal contraception litters women s uteruses with tiny, dead babies. How do people come up with this bullshit? And they manage to make it sound completely reasonable when they do it. Watch this guy try to sound all reasonable about it below:WOW. WI Rep. Scott Allen thinks women should be forced to procreate for the sake of the labor market.Women are PEOPLE, not incubators. ? pic.twitter.com/I189JGSoqp NARAL (@NARAL) November 3, 2017Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
RT: Russia Just Tested a Nuclear-Capable Warhead That Can Outsmart US Anti-Missile Systems | Editor’s Note : Meanwhile, in countries that aren’t being distracted by the biggest bread and circuses election show you’ve ever seen…
Russian strategic missile troops reportedly launched an RS-18 ballistic missile on Tuesday. The launch may have been a test of the advanced hypersonic glider warhead, which would be able to defeat US anti-missile systems.
The test was conducted at midday from a site near the town of Yasny, Orenburg region, in the southern Urals, and the warhead reached the Kura test range in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East.
“The test was a success. The warhead was delivered to Kura field,” the Defense Ministry reported.
Popular defense blog MilitaryRussia.ru says the launch was meant to test Russia’s hypersonic glider warhead, currently known by its developer designation, ‘object 4202’, or Aeroballistic Hypersonic Warhead.
A select few countries are currently developing the technology. The US has the HTV-2, a device developed by DARPA that has two partially successful tests under its belt. The Chinese warhead using the same technology is called DF-ZF, with Beijing first confirming a test in 2014. India is also studying hypersonic flight technology, but unlike Russia, the US and China, it is reportedly not developing a strategic missile warhead.
A hypersonic glider vehicle (HGV) is different from a conventional ballistic missile warhead in that it travels most of the time in the stratosphere rather than in space. It gives an HGV-tipped missile greater range and may give anti-missile systems a shorter window to respond to an attack.
More importantly, an HGV can maneuver during the approach to a target at high speed, making interception significantly harder, because it makes guiding an interceptor missile towards the attacking vehicle challenging and potentially impossible with current rocket technology.
Object 4202 is reportedly meant to be used with Russia’s next-gen heavy strategic missile the RS-28 Sarmat. Military experts estimate that the new ICBM, an image of which was first made public this week, may carry up to three HGVs as payload.
A previous possible test of object 4202 was reported in April. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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Contributed by RT.com of RT.com . | 1real |
Trump suggests he may do away with Russia sanctions if Moscow helpful: WSJ | (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he would keep intact sanctions against Russia “at least for a period of time,” and that he wouldn’t commit to the “one China” policy until he sees progress from Beijing in its currency and trade practices. In excerpts from an hourlong interview published by the Journal on Friday, Trump said: “If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?” Trump suggested he might do away with the sanctions - imposed by the Obama administration in late December in response to Moscow’s alleged cyber attacks - if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to Washington, the Journal reported. Trump told the newspaper he is prepared to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin some time after he is sworn in on Jan. 20. “I understand that they would like to meet, and that’s absolutely fine with me,” he said. Asked if he supported the “one China” policy on Taiwan that has underpinned U.S. relations with Beijing for decades, Trump told the Journal: “Everything is under negotiation including One China.” Trump angered the Chinese by taking a congratulatory phone call after his election win from Taiwan’s leader and questioning the “one China” policy. The United States has acknowledged the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China. Trump has said in the past he would label China a currency manipulator after he takes office. In the interview, he said he wouldn’t take that step on his first day in the White House. “I would talk to them first,” he said. “Certainly they are manipulators,” he added. “But I’m not looking to do that.” But he made plain his displeasure with China’s currency practices. “Instead of saying, ‘We’re devaluating our currency,’ they say, ‘Oh, our currency is dropping.’ It’s not dropping. They’re doing it on purpose,” he said, according to the Journal. “Our companies can’t compete with them now because our currency is strong and it’s killing us,” the Journal quoted Trump as saying. China’s Foreign Ministry responded on Saturday by saying the “One China” principle was non-negotiable and was the “political basis” for China-U.S. relations. “We urge the relevant parties in the United States to recognize the high degree of sensitivity of the Taiwan issue and abide by commitments made by successive U.S. administrations from both parties to pursue the One China policy ... and properly handle the Taiwan issue so as not to affect the stable development of China-U.S. relations and cooperation between the two countries,” spokesman Lu Kang said. | 0fake |
SUNDAY SCREENING: 24 Hours After Hiroshima (2010) | 21st Century Wire says This week s documentary film curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE. By August 1945, the Allied Manhattan Project had successfully detonated an atomic device in the New Mexico desert and subsequently produced atomic weapons based on two alternate designs. The 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces was equipped with a Silverplate Boeing B-29 Superfortress that could deliver them from Tinian in the Mariana Islands. In August 1945, during the final stage of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAsnaEM_Q8U . Run time: 40 min Director: Pamela Caragol Wells Distribution: National Geographic ExplorerSEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS HEREREAD MORE WWII NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire WWII FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER@21WIRE.TV | 1real |
The Republican Clerk Who Wiped Thousands From The NY Rolls Just Got Very Bad News | Republican Clerk Diane Haslett-Rudiano is living proof that voter fraud exists, but not in the way her party is selling it. They would have you believe that dead people are voting by the thousands; that entire congressional districts are won by people who moved away decades ago. You ll hear stories of illegals storming the southern border at great peril to their own lives so they can vote in American elections. Those stories would be all false. We know why Republicans want to keep people from voting. If enough people voted, things would change.Haslett-Rudiano was handed something we don t hear about often enough in these kinds of matters: She was suspended without pay pending an investigation. The translation to that is that it doesn t look good that whatever this woman was involved in cost thousands of New Yorkers their right to vote. According to Telesur TV:The board may fire her as soon as Tuesday, and the New York Daily News reported that colleagues said she is being forced out. Why is it alleged that 125,000 people have been removed from the voter rolls? Why did 60,000 people receive notices to vote that didn t have the primary date? Why were people told they were in the wrong polling place time and time again? New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer told CBS 2. The next president of the United States could very easily be decided tonight and yet the incompetence of the Board of Elections puts a cloud over these results. The New York Attorney General said he received over 1,000 voter complaints, compared to 150 complaints in 2012. Haslett-Rudiano is thought to have skipped a step in a regular protocol of updating the voter list with deaths and changes of address.The error resulted in nearly 8 percent of Brooklyn s registered voters being denied their ballot.She skipped a step. Oops! Who gets the shaft? The registered, disenfranchised voter. In Brooklyn, they re probably hoping to hit more Democrats. Eight percent of any population is mind-blowing. It s a potential game-changer no matter where you go. The lengths the GOP will go to see to it that people lose interest in the voting process are astounding. They ll enact voter fraud legislation and pull tactics that have folks remembering voting as some line they used to stand in for no reason.Keep your corporate shills in office, gut education so you can cultivate more Republicans, and hope you don t lose too much in the next crash. The Republican way.Featured image by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images | 1real |
Here’s The Deal That’s Being Offered To Gardaí | 0 Add Comment
THEY DID IT! They really did it! The government, against all odds, bravely negotiated until the 11th hour and saved us from total chaos as gardaí agreed to cancel strike action.
Crowds lined the streets late last night to cheer on the government as they made their way down O’Connell St in an open top bus, waving to the crowds invoking memories of the Italia 90 homecoming.
A dire situation that was totally not of the government’s own making, Enda Kenny and his cabinet rescued defeat from the jaws of victory and relabelled it, but how? What offer was placed on the table for the 10,000 plus guards who were ready to withdraw their labour?
WWN sources have furnished us with a complete copy of all that was offered to the guards to avert strike action, and we have the offer listed below:
1) 8 government piggy banks (the government promise the use of piggy banks was not meant to be derogatory) which can be smashed open by gardaí with a hammer. The exact contents of them are unknown, but after shaking them and holding them to their ears, GRA representatives were said to be ‘excited’.
2) A guard will be picked via lottery system and given the chance to use a taser on Leo Varadkar. The Taoiseach was adamant this was included in the deal despite it not being among the GRA’s demands.
3) One new uniform per station, to be worn by officers on a rotation basis.
4) A pat on the back from the government every month with a variation of the phrase ‘well done’ to accompany it.
5) Vague agreement to provide resources to upgrade the force from the 1870s to at least 1960s standards by 2050.
6) €15 premium payment on annual leave but all gardaí will be forced to holiday in a caravan park in Wicklow.
7) Free team bonding trip to Tayto Park, and tickets to the Late Late Toy Show for all 12,500 gardaí who were set to strike on the condition that the GRA tell the public that the government are ‘the best’.
8) 100% mortgages and free pints in exchange for arresting at least one opposition TD on drink driving charges.
9) An increase of 4 cents per year in the shoelace allowance if gardaí turn a blind eye to Simon Harris’s burgeoning Crystal Meth empire.
10) Gardaí will agree to unpaid overtime if the government admit NASA has conclusively proven Fiscal Space is a myth.
11) Gardaí will be given one extra day of annual leave if they agree not to spoil the most recent of season of Game of Thrones as Frances Fitzgerald is only on season 3.
12) Once Gardaí approve the deal, both sides have agreed to paper over the cracks and carry on as normal. | 1real |
Sarah Palin Calls For Executing Democratic ‘Cheaters’ On Election Day | Sarah Palin agrees with Donald Trump that Democrats will somehow cheat to help Hillary Clinton win on Election Day, and her final solution is to kill them.In a post-debate rant on Facebook, America s village idiot wrote that Trump is wise for refusing to say whether he will accept the election results on November 8th if Hillary Clinton wins.During the debate, the Republican nominee said everyone will just have to wait and see because he wants to keep America in suspense. His answer was outrageous and unpatriotic because if Trump chooses to reject the results on Election Day and claim that the contest was rigged, he would not only be causing a Constitutional crisis, his supporters have already threatened to attempt a bloody violent coup and an effort to assassinate Clinton.But Sarah Palin is okay with this. Seems silly media sheep are all chomping down on one issue after this debate, at least according to all the reporters who hollered out this same question to me: What about Trump not accepting the election results? Palin wrote.More power to Trump for explaining how vitally important the legitimacy of every election is to our democracy within our Republic.What reasonable person would preemptively accept any and all hypothetical questions and conditions of any hypothetical election? Trump s answer was RIGHT.Every American s sacred vote MUST be respected and legitimized in today s elections but they must be FAIR elections. We re in the midst of proof of voter fraud and questionable even violent participatory elements in campaigns. That s why state legislators are now cracking down on voter fraud via tighter laws ensuring the security of our elections.When Trump is pressed on this, it harkens back to all the GOP primary candidates who screamed at Trump to support the Republican nominee no matter what and Trump initially responded that he could, depending on fair treatment. That is WISE and INSIGHTFUL! Trump got screwed in that deal when he eventually pledged to support the nominee and then some of his fellow candidates turned tail and refused to reciprocate when Trump won.Trump learned why give opponents permission and incentive to act unfairly and cheat? It s shortsighted to commit to accepting the outcome of a race REGARDLESS of unscrupulous cheaters. How totally unfair that would be to the American voter!Except that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in this country despite what Palin and Trump claim. In fact, a comprehensive study found that out of one billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014 only 31 cases of fraud were found.And then Palin echoed Trump supporters with the following threat. Trump gave potential cheaters fair warning that we ll not give them any quarter, she wrote. We ll hold them accountable. They d better be on their toes. Cheaters will not win. Here s her full rant via Facebook.Trump has basically accused minority and Democratic voters of being cheaters, which means Sarah Palin just called for executing anyone that Trump s poll watching-thugs accuse of cheating on Election Day, and that includes Hillary Clinton and members of the media.You might point out that Palin didn t use the words execute or kill, however, she specifically said that we ll not give them any quarter. No quarter is a term that is defined as follows:In war, a victor gives no quarter (or takes no prisoners) when the victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life of a vanquished opponent in return for their surrender at discretion (unconditional surrender).So, yes, Sarah Palin is among the Trump supporters who are threatening violent rebellion if the election does not go Trump s way.Featured Image: Screenshot | 1real |
Britain's Brexit firebrand Farage meets Trump in New York | NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage visited Donald Trump at his home on Saturday, after suggesting he could act as a go-between to help smooth British relations with the U.S. president-elect. British Prime Minister Theresa May is not expected to meet the incoming leader until early next year and Farage has suggested her criticisms of Trump in the early days of the campaign could damage ties with Washington. “We’re just tourists!” Farage, head of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), told reporters as he waited for an elevator to take him up to the meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. He later tweeted a photograph of himself with Trump standing in front of a pair of golden doors and smiling broadly, the president-elect giving the camera a thumbs-up. “It was a great honor to spend time with @realDonaldTrump,” Farage tweeted. “He was relaxed and full of good ideas. I’m confident he will be a good President.” Trump’s election campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said: “I think they enjoy each other’s company, and they actually had a chance to talk about freedom and winning and what this all means for the world.” In a separate photograph posted on Twitter, UKIP donor Arron Banks, Breitbart London Editor in Chief Raheem Kassam, and Gerry Gunster, an American whose advocacy firm worked on the Brexit campaign, were also pictured with Trump and Farage. May - who spoke to Trump by phone on Thursday - and her predecessor David Cameron last year described Trump as “divisive” and “wrong” over his call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. At that time he was not considered likely to win the presidency. In a leaked diplomatic telegram, sent on Nov. 9 and printed in the Sunday Times newspaper, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, said he believed Britain had built better relationships with Trump’s team than other foreign diplomats. “(Trump) is above all an outsider and an unknown quantity, whose campaign pronouncements may reveal his instincts, but will surely evolve and, particularly, be open to outside influence if pitched right,” he said. “We should be well placed to do this.” While the British government has congratulated Trump on his election, the head of the opposition, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said he should “grow up” on the immigration issue and recognize that the U.S. economy depends on migrant workers. “The treatment of Mexico by the United States, just as much as its absurd and abusive language towards Muslims, is something that has to be challenged and should be challenged,” Corbyn, whose wife is Mexican, told the BBC on Sunday. UKIP, which has only one member of parliament in London, said Farage and Trump spent more than an hour discussing Trump’s victory, global politics and Brexit. A UKIP official has suggested Farage could even be the next ambassador to the United States, but British media reported that May’s office rejected the idea of any role for Farage, citing unnamed sources who described him as an “irrelevance”. A day after Trump’s election victory, Farage called on the real estate mogul to reverse “loathsome” Barack Obama’s policy by making Britain his top priority. Farage said he had been pleased at Trump’s “very positive reaction” to the idea that a bust of former British prime minister Winston Churchill be put back in the Oval Office. He has also joked about sexual assault allegations against Trump, urging him to “schmooze” May but not touch her. He proposed that in any meetings between the British and American leaders, he could attend to be the “responsible adult to make sure everything is OK.” Farage, who spoke at a Trump rally during the election campaign, had predicted the former reality TV host would tap into the same dissatisfaction among voters that led to Britain deciding on June 23 to leave the European Union. Trump made repeated references to Brexit during his campaign, saying it had highlighted the desire for change among voters frustrated with traditional politics. (Story refiles to add dropped word “the” in first paragraph.) | 0fake |
U.S. pressed to disclose secret court's order on Yahoo email search | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. senator and civil groups critical of surveillance practices on Friday called on the government to release a 2015 order by a secret court directing Yahoo to scan all its users’ incoming email, saying it appeared to involve new interpretations of at least two important legal issues. Their concerns center on the nature of the technical assistance the court required Yahoo to provide and the scope of the search that legal experts said appeared to cover the Silicon Valley internet company’s entire network. Yahoo installed a custom software program to search messages to hundreds of millions of accounts at the behest of U.S. intelligence officials with an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret tribunal, Reuters reported on Tuesday. They were looking for messages containing a single piece of digital content, three former employees and a fourth person apprised of the events told Reuters. Intelligence officials told Reuters that all Yahoo had to do was modify existing systems for stopping child pornography from being sent through its email or filtering spam messages. But the pornography filters are aimed only at video and still images and cannot search text, as the Yahoo program did. The spam filters, meanwhile, are viewable by many employees who curate them, and there is no confusion about where they sit in the software stack and how they operate. The court-ordered search Yahoo conducted, on the other hand, was done by a module attached to the Linux kernel - in other words, it was deeply buried near the core of the email server operating system, far below where mail sorting was handled, according to three former Yahoo employees. They said that made it hard to detect and also made it hard to figure out what the program was doing. How much companies can be forced to do to comply with government orders for searching data is being debated in the courts. Companies have successfully argued that changes that would degrade users’ experience or force them to write new code, essentially a form of speech, would violate basic rights. Most famously, Apple refused to write code that would unlock an iPhone belonging to a gunman in last year’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. The FBI later dropped its demand. In the case of Yahoo, company security staff discovered a software program that was scanning email but ended an investigation when they found it had been approved by Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, the sources said. Lawmakers are concerned about the request and whether information about it is being properly disclosed to the public. “Recent reports of a mass-email scanning program have alleged that federal law is being interpreted in ways that many Americans would find surprising and troubling,” said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a member of the intelligence committee and frequent critic of government surveillance programs. “The USA Freedom Act requires the executive branch to declassify Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions that involve novel interpretations of laws or the Constitution,” Wyden said. Intelligence officials said the Yahoo order resembled other requests for monitoring online communications of suspected terrorists. The program is far different from the bulk collection of emails and telephone records that was disclosed by fugitive National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, they said, stressing the target was a digital “signature” associated with a single entity’s suspected terrorist activity. But legal experts question whether the order might have stretched the concept of a “facility” used by a foreign power from its traditional definition, involving a single phone number or an email account, to include a large company’s entire communication network. “If the facility means all of Yahoo’s network, I don’t see how that’s consistent with the Fourth Amendment,” which bars unreasonable searches, said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology. | 0fake |
DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON’S Awesome Message To Americans After The Election: “Lead by example…We got this!” | 1real | |
REPUBLICANS CALL FOR ANSWERS: Did Wasserman-Schultz and Podesta Just Get Caught In A Big Lie? | Busted! Even moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine said it best when she questioned how Wasserman-Schultz wouldn t know of the payment to Fusion GPS: It s difficult to imagine that a campaign chairman, that the head of the DNC would not know of an expenditure of this magnitude and significance. She and John Podesta testified last month that they knew nothing of the payment for a dossier on Trump Oops! Now, Republicans want answers:Congressional Republicans on Sunday called for Democrats John Podesta and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to provide further answers about their party paying for a dossier on President Trump s alleged ties to Russia, after telling Senate investigators last month that they had no knowledge of such payments.Wasserman Schultz is the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Podesta was the chairman of Hillary Clinton s 2016 presidential campaign. Both groups purportedly paid millions for research that led to the dossier, The Washington Post reported last week.Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, suggested on Fox News Sunday that the DNC paying a law firm for so-called opposition research connected to the dossier was tantamount to money laundering. I m not an election law expert, but the good news is you don t have to be, to understand the absurdity of believing that you can launder all of your campaign money by just hiring a law firm, said Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor. So I m interested in that. He also seemed to question Podesta and Wasserman Schultz telling the Senate Intelligence Committee last month that they didn t know who paid for the dossier. I am also interested in sharing some memory tricks with folks at the DNC because no one can remember who paid $10 million to a law firm to do oppo research, Gowdy said. I find that stunning. $10 million and no one can remember who authorized it, who approved it, who said, This is a really good idea. When questioned about the issue by Fox News last week on Capitol Hill, Wasserman Schultz said only: I wasn t aware of the arrangement at all. HOW COULD SHE NOT KNOW ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENT?READ MORE: FOX NEWS | 1real |
Literally NOBODY Is More Upset About Trump’s Defeat In Iowa Than Ann Coulter (TWEETS) | Christian Conservative extremist and blowhard Ann Coulter took to Twitter after Donald Trump s surprise defeat in Iowa on Monday night, with a lengthy and hysterical rant that suggest literally nobody is more upset about this loss than her.Poor Ann Coulter. She s been having a fabulous time riding on Trump s coat tails these last few months, and then out of nowhere, defeat. Let s face it, her last brain cell died of loneliness some considerable time ago and she simply has neither the real nor emotional intelligence to deal with such a shock to the system. Plus, she has access to Twitter. Let the lunacy commence.She sowed a little lie ahead of time, just in case Trump did get a drubbing. Apparently, Fox News are trying to keep Trump out of the White House. You know, those liberal hippies at Fox!GOPs just show up & vote. Fox trying to suppress Trump vote by telling 1st time caucusers that GOPs bicker all nite. https://t.co/9UTwAGYpdf Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016Then she spent some considerable time attacking Marco Rubio for coming such a close third to Trump. With Trump on 24% and Rubio on 23%, there was just 1% in it. Coulter refers to the son of Cuban immigrants as the sweaty little Mario .Fox is slyly denigrating Cruz by ignoring him. IT APPEARS HE'S ABOUT TO WIN. But it's all hands on deck for the sweaty little Mario. Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016But although Trump lost, he won to the only people who matter to Ann Coulter. First, the evangelical Christians. Coulter wants a Christian Conservative champion in the White House, hence her denigration of Rubio and her reluctant acceptance of Ted Cruz as Plan B.CNN's John King just explained that TRUMP is winning the most heavily Evangelical areas of the state! GO CHRISTIANS! Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016Not just Christians that Coulter prefers though is it? No, Coulter seems to think the ethnicity of voters makes the vote more powerful too.Trump is the leading GOP vote-getter tonight, among natural-born-American candidates. Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016Who are these natural-born-American candidates? The likes of Trump and Huckabee of course. To a thoroughbred racist like Coulter, Rubio, Carson and Cruz might well make themselves Evangelical enough, but they will never make themselves white enough. They just aren t good old-fashioned European immigrants to the United States, like the other children of immigrants in the race.So after a quick outburst of vitriol against Ted Cruz for winning and being a bit too Cuban and Canadian Has Cruz stopped speaking yet? I went out to get a sandwich 40 minutes in. Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016 she turned on the caucus itself.Yes, I can barely remember Reagan, Bush, McCain & Romney all lost Iowa caucus, then became nominee (i.e. 1st!). https://t.co/o292AWWymj Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 2, 2016Finally this morning she was reduced simply to tweeting seemingly random numbers. To which some Twitter users had some brilliant responses.@AnnCoulter The number of babies you've eaten? Donald J. Trump (@Re_lDonaldTrump) February 2, 2016 @AnnCoulter pic.twitter.com/Hj2DSD6Rk5 neilsaavy7099 (@714_319) February 2, 2016@AnnCoulter Is that the number of times you've pegged Hannity or the caliber of handgun you're going to use on yourself when Sanders wins? Duke St. Rollins (@DukeStRollinsv2) February 2, 2016Sadly, not much sympathy around for Ann Coulter or her patron Donald trump this morning. But despite Coulter s bleating, choosing a Republican in this race is like choosing death by hanging, gas chamber or firing squad. You might have a personal preference, but every one of them is going to be fatal. The GOP s domination by extremist candidates is a death sentence, whichever candidate carries it out. Featured Image via Gage Skidmore (Flickr Creative Commons)/Gage Skidmore (Flickr Creative Commons) | 1real |
U.S. lawmakers disrupt Orlando 'moment of silence' over gun policy | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives erupted in shouting on Monday as lawmakers held a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Orlando mass shooting as Democrats protested the Republican-led chamber’s refusal to consider tighter gun regulations. After Speaker Paul Ryan, the House’s Republican leader, called for the moment of silence, Representative James Clyburn asked for recognition to ask about guns. Clyburn, the number three House Democrat, is from South Carolina, where a gunman killed nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church a year ago on Friday. Ryan ruled Clyburn out of order, and the chamber erupted with shouts of “No Leadership,” and chants of “Where’s the bill? Where’s the bill? Where’s the bill?” from Democrats. Several Democrats had said they would not participate in a moment of silence to mark the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in which a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando. They said they were frustrated that Congress does not respond to mass shootings with more than symbolic gestures. | 0fake |
Federal Judge Questions Trump’s Legitimacy After Attack On Fellow Judge For Halting Muslim Ban | The judicial branch of our government is getting sick and tired of Donald Trump s tirades.After Trump signed an unconstitutional executive order banning travelers from seven countries from entering the United States, worldwide chaos ensued.Thousands of people were detained and denied their rights as attorneys raced to their rescue. A federal judge then blocked the order and Trump has been attacking U.S. District Court Judge James Robart ever since.The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. A terrible decision Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2017Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2017If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017Trump has literally been whining about Judge Robarts decision for over a week and acts like judges aren t allowed to act as a check and balance against the executive branch.And his behavior toward Robarts has angered one federal judge so much that he is calling Trump s legitimacy into a question, which is a yuuuge deal.Federal District Judge Dan Polster explained to the Cleveland Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday and explained that checks and balances exist because the Founding Fathers were fearful of a president who might want to be a king or dictator, which is exactly how Trump is acting.Polster continued by telling the audience that he doesn t think any federal judge will be intimidated by Trump because they took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and it means a lot and I think that oath means even more today. With that said, Polster believes Trump undermined his legitimacy by attacking the judicial branch for halting the executive order. This is serious business, because you start calling into question the legitimacy of someone, that undermines the whole system, all right? I think to say it publicly, that s his right. But it calls into question, and some might even say forfeits, his or her own legitimacy. So I ll leave it at that. It s an important question, but that s how I feel. When you call into question the legitimacy of a federal district court judge, that s a line that shouldn t be crossed. And there you have it. Trump s attacks on our judicial branch are literally starting to backfire on him as judges start to speak out publicly against him. While Trump has the right to disagree with judges, personally attacking them disgraces the office he holds and diminishes the power of the executive branch. It makes Trump s position look weak and desperate. And it could affect the decisions judges make in the future on executive orders and laws Trump signs. In short, trying to bully judges is not a good idea.Read more:Featured image via Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images | 1real |
This List Proves Republicans Are Damned LIARS About Obama’s Replacement For Scalia | As you may have heard, virtually every Republican in the nation is spewing over the fact that America will be destroyed if Obama replaces Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Their excuse to block any nominee until after the next election is what s known as the Thurmond Rule. Named after the amazingly racist Strom Thurmond, this isn t a real rule. It s only an opinion that a president shouldn t nominate a SCOTUS replacement in the last 6 months of their term.Yes, you are correct in what you just thought. Obama isn t ANYWHERE NEAR his last 6 months. But, when have things like facts stopped Republicans before?The reeking hypocrisy of Republicans on this issue is amazing. Not only is the rule they are using not an actual rule, but it doesn t even fit the facts of the situation. But wait, it gets far better. Republicans have said that for the past 80 years, we have not had SCOTUS appointments during the end of a president s term. Let s fact check that, shall we?Frank Murphy (1940) and Anthony Kennedy (1988), have in the last 80 years been appointed during the last year of a presidential term. There are 14 final year appointments total in the history of the United States, so to say it s some kind of rule is blatantly stupid.The full list is as follows: Oliver Ellsworth, 1796 Samuel Chase, 1796 William Johnson, 1804 Philip Barbour, 1836 Roger Taney, 1836 Melville Fuller, 1888 Lucius Lamar, 1888 George Shiras, 1892 Mahlon Pitney, 1912 John Clarke, 1916 Louis Brandeis, 1916 Benjamin Cardozo, 1932 Frank Murphy, 1940 and Anthony Kennedy, 1988.For now, let s focus on Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy was appointed during the last year of Ronald Reagan s term. Here is where Republican hypocrisy really goes wild.Mitch McConnell could be considered the head Republican cheerleader for the effort to block any nominee that Obama makes to replace Scalia. McConnell cited this rule, talking all about how it should be up to the American people to vote for a president who will make a nominee giving the people a voice in the decision. How did Mitch McConnell vote on Anthony Kennedy? McConnell voted to confirm Anthony Kennedy, along with practically every other Republican on the list at that point. Where was his outrage back then?Senator Chuck Grassley made a huge stink out of voting in a replacement SCOTUS judge as well, saying it was standard practice to not confirm SCOTUS nominee in an election year. You already guessed it. Grassley voted for Anthony Kennedy as well. Why did he do this when it wasn t standard practice, as he said?This ultra-stupid phenomenon is not only limited to old-school senators. Marco Rubio was asked both during the recent debate and by Chuck Todd this same question about a SCOTUS appointment. It was pointed out to him that Reagan appointed Kennedy in 87 during his last year. Marco responded: It doesn t really matter what Reagan did back in 87. I think the president should allow the next president to appoint the justice to the Supreme Court, and if it s me and I anticipate that it will be I m going to look for someone in the mold of Justice Scalia, who while irreplaceable, I think is a model jurist and one of the great jurists in American history. Source: Crooks and LiarsMarco really is being the most honest out of everyone. It doesn t matter what Republicans do. Frank, to the point and honest. Republicans don t care about rules or precedent. They just want to have a chance to stack the Supreme Court so they can destroy the last bits of America that are available to everyone, regardless of class.Featured image from Youtube | 1real |
Football Follies 2016: NCAA Week 9 | Print
Of all the weeks to turn in a late Follies post from your LU Football Commentary Service.
We’ve already had two outcomes for our Inner Circle (more below, in case you’re still in suspense).
But we’re also in a position to ask the eternal question: if Cal and USC play and no one pays attention, did anything happen? (FWIW, USC won, 45-24. Another Storied Rivalry settled for 2016. Cal ballcaps back in the closet, folks.)
Next week: CFB rankings to lampoon.
Tennessee whupped up on Jacksonville Thursday night in the pros. As nature seems to have intended this year. Get a defense, Jags.
Inner circle
The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-2), which beat Notre Dame 28-27 on 30 October 2010, will be at Memphis Saturday for an American West showdown. The Tigers are giving 6.5, but we think TU has a better shot than that. Should be a good game.
Oklahoma, holding steady at #16, hosts Kansas (motto: “What difference, at this point, does it make?”) on Saturday evening, while laying a ridiculous 40.5. Has the betting fraternity been held in isolation for the last six weeks? Kansas isn’t nearly as bad as they were a year ago, and Oklahoma’s defense couldn’t stop a gum-wrapper chain if it were barreling down the field. Anything could happen, but this is just the sort of situation where Oklahoma ends up struggling in the final 2 minutes to stay on top of a 3-point lead. We’ll believe 40 when we see it.
Oklahoma State gets to host #10 West Virginia, pride of the Big 12, in Stillwater early Saturday. As befits a ranked visitor facing a Gundy squad, the Mountaineers are giving, but not a lot – 3.5. That said, WVU could well find a way to rattle Cowboy QB Mason Rudolph. Game by game, the Mountaineers have tended to be a one-trick pony on defense this year, but they keep finding the right trick to get the job done.
New #22 Navy will be squaring off with South Florida at Ray-Jay in Tampa by the time this goes to post. The 6-2 Bulls top the American East at the moment, while 5-1 Navy leads the American West, so there will be a lot of talk about a conference-champ preview. The Bulls scored 35 on Florida State in a wild early-season loss, but just took a bad dive last game against Temple. They’re favored by 6, but Navy’s likely to cover. (Umm. Well, any minute now, Navy’s going to start getting in the same hemisphere as “covering.” Good grief, Navy’s secondary just can’t keep up with these guys.)
Army will be in Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest Saturday, on the short end of 7. Wake could more than cover, but Army took a drubbing from North Texas last week, and will be out for blood. Key week to see if this year’s Black Knights are for real.
Air Force , also coming off a painful loss to Hawaii, heads to Fresno State Friday evening for the late game. Falcons give 14.5. We think the Bulldogs will cover.
Virginia Tech , back at #25 (for now), knocked off Pitt 39-36 in a rock-‘em-sock-‘em slugfest last night in Pittsburgh. Hard-fought battle with major yardage on both sides, but some intermittently impressive defense poking through as well. See what you can do, Hokies, when you don’t eat yourselves alive with penalties and turnovers?
Nevada , we’re happy to say, has the week off. New #19 LSU is off this week as well, preparing for the rivalry bout with Alabama next week.
For all you offense fans out there, TCU hosts Texas Tech on Saturday. We, personally, are going to be extremely disappointed if the combined total points clock in anywhere south of 130. Toads give 9.5.
Kansas State is off to Iowa State to see what the Wildcats can do with the 1-6 Cyclones’ bad habit of losing. K-State is 4-3 and a solid shot for a bowl bid – but, still facing OK-State, Baylor, rival KU, and TCU down the stretch, they really want to add to the “W” column this weekend.
Toledo is our other Thursday night winner, because we just know they had a Great Learning Experience coming in second to Ohio last night (31-26, for those with a thirst for data). Apparently it’s been quite a while since the Bobcats won in Toledo. Seemed to be all anybody could talk about. Rockets go to 6-2; their biggest conference game at division-leader (and #20) Western Michigan will be Thanksgiving week, and when they win that one, they may just get another crack at Ohio for the MAC crown.
Wyoming hosts #13 Boise State, and it’s a measure of the Cowboys’ improved performance this year that the Broncos are only laying 13.5. It wouldn’t surprise us, exactly, for the Pokes to cover.
Top 10
#1 Alabama is off, preparing as any sensible team would to meet LSU.
New #2 Michigan heads to East Lansing for something they’ve been wanting to do since 2012: win the Paul Bunyan Trophy back from Michigan State. This is the year they can do it. The Wolverines give 24 at the moment. The 2-5 Spartans will play them tough, of course, but we’re figuring on Blue from out here in the cheap seats. And who cares if the trophy looks like a manly man’s Hummel figurine? There’s nothing foofy about, you know, collecting.
In default of better options, Clemson is cycling back through #3, and takes on #12 FSU in Tallahassee, in the marquee slot on Saturday evening. Tigers give only 4, even though the ‘Noles haven’t been all that, recently. The one and only Paul Bunyan Trophy, in play once more. (Image: Wikipedia)
New #4 Washington is at #17 Utah, giving 11.
New #5 Louisville heads to Charlottesville with a gift of 33 for hapless Virginia.
New #6 Ohio State, which owes us all an apology for upsetting the top 10 in this incontinent way, hosts Northwestern, giving 27.5.
New #7 Nebraska will be at #11 Wisconsin, facing the real probability of losing top 10 standing in their Storied Rivalry game, not to mention the Freedom Trophy. Which may be Just A Trophy, but is discreetly attractive at least. Badgers give 9.5. Why they fight. (Image: UW Athletic Communications via Fox Sports)
New #8 Baylor is at Texas, giving 3.5, and better watch its six.
#9 Texas A&M hosts New Mexico State, which makes for a meeting of Aggies but doesn’t seem to have a lot of other merits. A&M is laying 43.5.
Best of the rest
We can’t vouch in advance for the football, but it’s always an exciting weekend when Florida (#14) and Georgia meet in their Storied Rivalry to fight for the Okefenokee Oar.
#15 Auburn at Ole Miss might be kind of interesting. Miami at Notre Dame holds possibilities, featuring a tight 1.5-point spread (Arsh) and the usual primo slot on the Notre Dame Broadcasting Channel. The Okefenokee Oar’s glamour shot from its Facebook page.
Other ranks
In FCS, McNeese State hosts Abilene Christian for the Cowboy Homecoming on Saturday evening. Abilene Christian is 1-7 and sucks royally, but they are coming off their one win (over Incarnate Word), and McNeese has whiffed on some softballs this season. But Go Pokes! 70s and clear for the 6 PM game start.
In Div II, Slippery Rock (5-3) heads to Clarion to take on PSAC rival Clarion U. on Saturday. The Eagles are 2-6 and have already had their obligatory losses to ranked powerhouses California U. (PA) and IUP. We don’t want to say it’s cake for Clarion from here on, but we do suspect SRU may be a tad more motivated. Little Clarion P-A (pop. 5,000) is northeast of Pittsburgh (and Slippery Rock), and just southwest of the Allegheny National Forest, where it will be in the 60s and clouding up something fierce for the noon kickoff.
In Div III, Rose-Hulman , AKA The Bomb, is now 6-2 and perched atop the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference after the epic win over Franklin. The Fightin’ Engineers host Bluffton U. (OH) in Terre Haute on Saturday, in a game that could be a showstopper. The Beavers come in 6-1 (4-1 conference), and although they lost to Franklin, they beat RHIT’s archrival Mt. St. Joe in September. Fight hard, Engineers. 70s and overcast for the 1:30 PM kickoff.
Christopher Newport , now 5-2 after the owwie at Frostburg State, could do itself some major good hosting Salisbury U. (MD) for Homecoming Saturday night. Salisbury (6-1) is second in the NJAC, behind Frostburg, but also ranked #17 in the Coaches’ Poll. See how easy? Vault Salisbury and Wesley (which CNU beat a few weeks ago) in the NJAC, and maybe surge back into the top 25. Well, it’s a goal. Topping out at 70, with clear skies, for the 4 PM game start.
Merchant Marine has the week off.
Pros
Our Redskins lead us off Sunday morning, playing Cincinnati at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM PDT because they’ll be at Wembley Stadium in London. Bengals give 3.
New Orleans hosts Seattle (-2.5) in the (godlier) early slot.
San Diego and Denver are going to get right back on that horse in Sports Authority at Mile High, and we’d like to see the Broncos do something with their 4-point give this time. They did wallop the Texans, for what that’s worth.
Dallas has a big one coming up Sunday night, hosting Philly in Arlington. The 5-point Cowboy advantage isn’t completely unjustifiable.
Steelers have the week off.
Monday night gives us Minnesota (-4.5) at Chicago. | 1real |
Democrat Clinton raised more than $140 million in August: campaign | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrat Hillary Clinton raised about $143 million in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party, the her campaign announced on Thursday. Of the total, about $62 million was raised for the candidate’s White House run and about $81 million was raised for the Democratic National Committee and state parties. Clinton spend most of the month of August working the Democratic fundraising circuit and trying to amass a war chest to use against Republican Donald Trump. The August hauls included a lucrative two-week swing of high-dollar events in the moneyed East Coast vacation spots of Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons, along with star-studded luncheons in Los Angeles and gatherings with high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley. A three-day, $19 million fundraising trip to California included a stop at the home of former basketball star Magic Johnson, lunch at the home of musician Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel and an afternoon event in Northern California with Apple’s Tim Cook. Twenty people paid at least $200,000 each to attend a nighttime event at the estate where Laurene Powell Jobs is building a dream home designed by her late husband, Steve Jobs. Clinton has already saturated the airwaves in key states with television ads, while Trump has spent almost nothing on the general election. Trump has struggled to raise large sums of cash. Instead, much of his campaign has been self-funded, using his personal wealth to fuel his shoestring primary campaign. But supporters of Trump have warned that a general election requires more to be spent on expensive television ads and requires outside fundraising. Trump has not yet released his fundraising totals for the month of August. Clinton’s campaign has already announced plans to spend $77 million in swing state advertising before the Nov. 8 election. Her campaign said the average donation in March was $50, a signal that she is drawing from small-dollar donors and not just those who write checks worth thousands of dollars. “Thanks to the 2.3 million people who have contributed to our campaign, we are heading into the final two months of the race with the resources we need to organize and mobilize millions of voters across the country,” campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement. | 0fake |
After Telling 37 Lies In One Day, Trump Calls Fact Checkers ‘Scum’ (VIDEO) | Donald Trump is a serial liar and that probably explains his dislike for fact-checkers. Donald has viciously targeted the media and his supporters respond by frequently referring to reporters as the enemy. While giving a speech at an airport in Sanford, Florida, Trump went after fact-checkers. These fact-checkers, they ll check facts with me and I m like, like, 99-per-cent right, and they ll say, And therefore he lied, Trump said. Oh boy, these people are bad. What a group of people we have. What a group of dishonest scum we have, I m telling you. He literally called fact-checkers scum. Daniel Dale, a Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star, fact checks Donald and the paper produces a list almost daily of Trump s lies.Dale noted on Twitter that Trump said 35 false things yesterday. Donald Trump said 35 false things yesterday. #TrumpCheck pic.twitter.com/EwfYFEDFx9 Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 26, 2016His following tweet reads, Donald Trump s 35 false claims on Tuesday follows his record-tying 37 false claims on Monday. Donald Trump s 35 false claims on Tuesday follows his record-tying 37 false claims on Monday. Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 26, 2016The day before Trump s speech in which he blasted fact-checkers, the Star counted 37 false claims from the GOP presidential nominee.That tied the record he set at the third and final presidential debate, which he claimed every poll showed him winning, which was, of course, not at all true.The paper admits that there are grains of truth in some of his false claims but most are flat wrong. The list includes Trump s regurgitated rhetoric on Hillary Clinton s emails. Trump claimed the deletion of emails was such an expensive process, however, a free software program was used.He said nobody has asked her running mate, Tim Kaine, about comments her aides made about Catholics in hacked emails, though Kaine has been asked on national television. He bragged, for at least the second time, that he had won 42 states in the Republican primary, though it was 36 states.Watch: There is a massive imbalance in the frequency of dishonesty. @DDale8 says Trump lies a lot more than Clinton https://t.co/Kp6KvPNtmO Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) October 30, 2016The paper fact-checked the three presidential debates. Trump said 104 false things. In contrast, Clinton said 13. You have a candidate who is frequently saying 20 false things in a day, up to 37 on some days, Dale said.At the rally in Florida, Trump called journalists a bunch of phony low-lifes. Trump s assault on the First Amendment has been vicious. In August, Trump pointed at MSNBC s Katy Tur. What a lie. Katy Tur. What a lie it was, Trump said, pointing at her from the stage. Third. Rate. Reporter. Remember that. After that, the Secret Service had to escort her to her car. And now it s fact-checkers who are being targeted.Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty. | 1real |
WATCH: MILO Video Producer Pushed, Spat On By UC Davis Protesters - Breitbart | Footage from inside the MILO protests at UC Davis shows protestors screaming and spitting at video producer Matt Perdie, with one describing him as a “Breitbart fascist. ”[After one protester demanded that he stop being filmed, other protestors attempted to help his case by screaming and spitting in the face of the cameraman. Perdie was then pushed around by protestors, as another man screamed “f*** off” in his face with a loudspeaker, before spitting at him. In a statement to Breitbart News, Matt Perdie said: “One of the protesters didn’t like the fact that I was filming him while working for Breitbart, so he summoned a few of his smelly cronies on me, instructing them to get me away from him. A bunch of them started yelling obscenities in my face, another was shoving me by ramming me with his back towards me. It’s pathetic. These losers try to do everything in their power to intimidate and silence those with opposing opinions. Then the same protester who told people to push me away then proceeded to tell the other protesters to grab my camera. ” He said: ‘Get that camera! Someone grab that expensive camera!’ When I confronted him about inciting people to damage or steal my equipment, protesters then pushed and shoved me. I also had a guy spit in my face because he didn’t like me filming in a public space. ” Other reports from the evening have shown ski protestors jumping tearing down barricades and engaging in fights, whilst shouting chants comparing MILO to fascists and Ku Klux Klan. At least one man was arrested. One reporter for ABC10, Frances Wang, faced protestors pouring hot coffee over her photographers camera whilst she was conducting an interview. The event was set to be the first event on the third and final leg of the MILO’s “Dangerous Faggot Tour. ” You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 0fake |
The Fall of the Saudis, the Battle After ISIS | Country: Iraq Iraq is going to invade and destroy Saudi Arabia. They would have done it back in 1990 except for waffling by George H.W. Bush who had initially authorized the move and then rescinded approval, according to statements made by former Congressman Ron Paul, based on WikiLeaks State Department hacks. Saddam was blocked in 1990, and that may well have been a huge mistake on the part of everyone involved. When the US returned in 2003, it was Saudi cash that financed the Sunni Wahhabist was against the coalition government in Baghdad, a war that continues to this day, with the same cast of characters, the same Saudi cash, but they now call it “ISIS.” 5000 Americans died fighting Saudi paid jihadists. Saudi Arabia has always known that Iraq has only allowed them to continue their mischief so long as they served a purpose. When the war with Iran ended in 1988, that purpose had ended also. Saudi mischief in Iraq, playing tribe against tribe, pushing for Kurdish separatism and partnering with Israeli intelligence, ramped up as America scaled back her military presence under President Obama. By 2014, a logistics and command structure to destroy both Syria and Iraq had been established, headquartered in the Saudi embassies in Beirut and Amman and operating military operations centers, designed and built by the Israelis, at key locations in Turkey and quickly bolstered by satellite facilities across Iraq and Syria. The Saudi’s were feeling time getting away from them, their decades of military buildup, based on endless oil and investment performance, no long sustainable. They had to knock out Syria and Iraq, using Israel, Turkey and NATO as surrogates, push the US into destroying Iran and cleanse Yemen of threats. They bribed everyone they got near. Were the Saudi’s really the ones behind the Arab spring? Do we see the hands of Saudi Arabia when Israel channels Hamas fighters into the Yarmouk Camp, outside Damascus, to bolster ISIS forces? These are the telling events few see, but that prove the hypothesis and provide what is needed to predict a future that may well no longer include the Dark Kingdom. With a world obsessed with Islamic extremism and terror threats, why is no one looking at where it comes from, who finances, whose ideas are behind it and who it serves? With fingers pointing at the Mossad or CIA and so many others, the real issue is Wahhabism and the real root of it all is Saudi Arabia. There is no version of 9/11 that doesn’t credit Saudi Mohammed Atta as planner of 9/11, whether assisted by Israeli art students or Osama bin Laden, depending on which theories you follow. The Saudi’s did it and American civil courts are busy now assessing the damages. Oil money and sovereign immunity and, oh yes, control of the UN Human Rights Council, from which Russia was just expelled, protect them also, despite their abuses and love of head chopping. What is playing out now will lead only one direction, to a stronger Iraq, one under Shiite control with the economically powerful Sunni families, quietly migrating to their second homes in Dubai and Qatar. The crippled military the US saddled Iraq with will be gone, replaced by powerful Iranian trained militias. The American trained army joined ISIS. Had Prime Minister Maliki, back in 2014, been more aware of the threat, he would have moved against the Army. That, however, would have renewed the civil war, a war that could only have been ended with Iranian military intervention and Iran was still reeling with sanctions and the threat of American invasion. That threat is gone also. That world is gone, or soon will be as is being played out in Mosul and Aleppo. No one would have imagined Baghdad’s resolve or the partnership between Russia and Iran. Still in question is Turkey’s role. It is clear someone promised them Aleppo and Mosul, as is reflected in their military incursions into Syria and Iraq. If Saudi Arabia thinks Turkey will lift a hand to block Iraq’s wrath, they are delusional. Turkey knows it can have peace with Iran and that both share similar ideas about the Kurds. This far outweighs any Turkish ambitions to the South. Turkey may well be planning a new Ottoman Empire, but Saudi Arabia is not in the cards for Turkish occupation. This leaves the protection of the United States and the upcoming election. Is there any American political leader that would oppose Iraq were they to hit Saudi Arabia, by 2020 or 2021? The prediction is that Iraq will come out of this war intact and, if they do, with a victorious army for the first time genuinely answerable to Baghdad and reeling from the battle of Mosul, likely to leave 20,000 civilians dead in its wake or more, the national enmity for Saudi Arabia will know no bounds. The Sunni gangsters from Anbar that aligned with the Saudis are mostly dead, many beheaded by ISIS. The promised Kurdish state in Erbil, the so-called “Barzani Sultanate” will not be handed control of the massive Kirkuk oil fields and the Ceyhan Pipeline by ISIS, as may well have been planned. Without these assets, Erbil will still enjoy a strong commercial presence but will never be able to reach into the Kurdish diaspora and bring the millions home and under questionable rule, subject to Erbil’s deal making with everyone. Eventually Erbil will become a ghost town, the sons that returned will again migrate and Turkish ambitions, seemingly undone, will be fulfilled. As it appears now, Iraq will survive. Iraq also knows that what Saudi Arabia tried twice, they will try again and that the only way Iraq can be free is if Saudi Arabia falls. And then there is Iran. Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior editor and chairman of the board of Veterans Today , especially for the online magazine “ New Eastern Outlook .” Popular Articles | 1real |
Trump tweets thanks to Steve Bannon for service and role in campaign against Clinton | (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump praised his former chief strategist Steve Bannon on Saturday, thanking him on Twitter for his service and his role in the presidential election campaign against Hillary Clinton. “I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S,” Trump tweeted. Trump on Friday fired Bannon in the latest White House shake-up. | 0fake |
Anti-Trump protests are paid and staged, Craigslist reveals | November 12, 2016 348 Ads on Craigslist reveal that paid anti-Trump protesters and Soros-sponsored staged demonstrations are continuing to fuel hate and division. Share on Facebook
It was reported previously on The Duran that MoveOn – a George Soros controlled NGO, is behind the organization of anti-Trump protests across the country. As the protests continue, however, Craigslist has become an important recruitment tool for some of these organizers, and here is what it reveals:
Fight the Trump Agenda! We’re hiring Full-Time Organizers 15/hr! – reads a Craigslist ad from Washington CAN in Seattle . Activists are promised Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Paid Vacation, Paid Sick Days, Holidays, and Leave of Absence .
Washington CAN claims to be the state’s oldest and largest grassroots non-profit with over 35 years of organizational experience. It is unclear whether it has any direct ties to Soros’s MoveOn, but it certainly wouldn’t be a wild assumption to make under the circumstances.
In another instance, a Craigslist ad exposed paid Anti-Trump protesters being recruited for a staged event in Los Angeles. And this time the Soros link is quite clear and in the open. TruthFeed reports:
In this case, a Craigslist ad in Los Angeles shows that activists are wanted to block traffic in the heavy traffic intersection of Highlands and Hollywood.
Here’s an example of a Soros employee literally “posing” as a protester. Not all that “grass roots.”
Obviously, no one is disputing the fact that there are millions of people unhappy with the election results. Neither is there any doubt that thousands across the the country are protesting genuinely out of emotion and desire to express their discontent. What’s important is that these people realize that they are playing right into the hands of an establishment agenda that doesn’t have America’s best interests in mind.
The election is over and we have a clear winner. The losing side has conceded, admitting that the election was fair and calling for a peaceful transition of power. For all the smart folks out there this is a clear indication that it’s time to go home, back to school, back to work, back to your daily routine and stop trying to prolong the division and hate that has been eating away at this country for far too long. | 1real |
In His Own Words: STUNNING Unofficial TRUMP AD That Will BLOW You Away! [VIDEO] | Wow! America is hungry for a real leader. America, this is what leadership looks like https://youtu.be/JCXpkAPQvhk | 1real |
Trump reaffirms commitment to defend U.S. and allies | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned in a phone call North Korea s continued destabilizing and provocative actions, following that country s most recent nuclear test, the White House said on Sunday. Trump also reaffirmed that Washington would defend itself and its allies using the full range of diplomatic, conventional, and nuclear capabilities at our disposal, the White House said. The two leaders condemned North Korea s continued destabilizing and provocative actions, confirmed the two countries ironclad mutual defense commitments, and pledged to continue close cooperation, the statement said. | 0fake |
Democrats seek disclosure after Russia-backed political ads | (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Election Commission to require transparency for social media advertising after Russians bought U.S. political ads on Facebook Inc (FB.O) in an alleged attempt to influence the 2016 elections. Pressure is mounting on regulators and Silicon Valley companies to open up the opaque world of online political ads and to prevent governments from using them to sway elections or attempt other meddling. “Social media platforms offer the ability to target millions of users based upon a wealth of highly detailed information,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the election commission. “As we have seen, the low cost of reaching these users equips hostile foreign actors with a powerful new tool for disruption of our democratic process.” Some 20 Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives signed the letter. Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said this month that an operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on thousands of Facebook ads promoting divisive messages before and after last year’s U.S. presidential election. Russia has denied meddling in the U.S. election, in which Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. U.S. congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating the allegations. The Federal Election Commission last week sought public comment on possible regulatory changes, and the commission is considering holding a public hearing, with Facebook and other tech companies as invited witnesses. Facebook has said it is working with U.S. authorities who are investigating alleged Russian meddling and also taking steps, such as removing fake accounts, to prevent manipulation of its platform. | 0fake |
Grizzly Miss-Steppe: How Washington Post Rewrote its Fake News Story on ‘Russian Hack’ of Vermont Power Grid | MEDIA MELTDOWN: Many now believe that Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has transformed the Washington Post from a paper of record into the world s most expensive fake news blog.Kalev Leetaru ForbesThe Washington Post sparked a wave of fear when it ran the breathless headline Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, U.S. officials say. The lead sentence offered A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to U.S. officials and continued While the Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations of the utility, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a security matter, the penetration of the nation s electrical grid is significant because it represents a potentially serious vulnerability. Yet, it turns out this narrative was false and as the chronology below will show, illustrates how effectively false and misleading news can ricochet through the global news echo chamber through the pages of top tier newspapers that fail to properly verify their facts.The original article was posted online on the Washington Post s website at 7:55PM EST. Using the Internet Archive s Wayback Machine, we can see that sometime between 9:24PM and 10:06PM the Post updated the article to indicate that multiple computer systems at the utility had been breached ( computers plural), but that further data was still being collected: Officials said that it is unclear when the code entered the Vermont utility s computers, and that an investigation will attempt to determine the timing and nature of the intrusion. Several paragraphs of additional material were added between 8PM and 10PM, claiming and contextualizing the breach as part of a broader campaign of Russian hacking against the US, including the DNC and Podesta email breaches.Despite the article ballooning from 8 to 18 paragraphs, the publication date of the article remained unchanged and no editorial note was appended, meaning that a reader being forwarded a link to the article would have no way of knowing the article they were seeing was in any way changed from the original version published 2 hours prior.Yet, as the Post s story ricocheted through the politically charged environment, other media outlets and technology experts began questioning the Post s claims and the utility company itself finally issued a formal statement at 9:37PM EST, just an hour and a half after the Post s publication, pushing back on the Post s claims: We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organization s grid systems. We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding. From Russian hackers burrowed deep within the US electrical grid, ready to plunge the nation into darkness at the flip of a switch, an hour and a half later the story suddenly became that a single non-grid laptop had a piece of malware on it and that the laptop was not connected to the utility grid in any way.However, it was not until almost a full hour after the utility s official press release (at around 10:30PM EST) that the Post finally updated its article, changing the headline to the more muted Russian operation hacked a Vermont utility, showing risk to U.S. electrical grid security, officials say and changed the body of the article to note Burlington Electric said in a statement that the company detected a malware code used in the Grizzly Steppe operation in a laptop that was not connected to the organization s grid systems. The firm said it took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alert federal authorities. Yet, other parts of the article, including a later sentence claiming that multiple computers at the utility had been breached, remained intact.The following morning, nearly 11 hours after changing the headline and rewriting the article to indicate that the grid itself was never breached and the hack was only an isolated laptop with malware, the Post still had not appended any kind of editorial note to indicate that it had significantly changed the focus of the article.This is significant, as one driving force of fake news is that as much of 60% of the links shared on social media are shared based on the title alone, with the sharer not actually reading the article itself. Thus, the title assigned to an article becomes the story itself and the Post s incorrect title meant that the story that spread virally through the national echo chamber was that the Russians had hacked into the US power grid.Only after numerous outlets called out the Post s changes did the newspaper finally append an editorial note at the very bottom of the article more than half a day later saying An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid. Yet, even this correction is not a true reflection of public facts as known. The utility indicated only that a laptop was found to contain malware that has previously been associated with Russian hackers. As many pointed out, the malware in question is actually available for purchase online, meaning anyone could have used it and its mere presence is not a guarantee of Russian government involvement. Moreover, a malware infection can come from many sources, including visiting malicious websites and thus the mere presence of malware on a laptop computer does not necessarily indicate that Russian government hackers launched a coordinated hacking campaign to penetrate that machine the infection could have come from something as simple as an employee visiting an infected website on a work computer.Moreover, just as with the Santa Claus and the dying child story, the Post story went viral and was widely reshared, leading to embarrassing situations like CNBC tweeting out the story and then having to go back and retract the story.Particularly fascinating that the original Post story mentioned that there were only two major power utilities in Vermont and that Burlington Electric was one of them, meaning it would have been easy to call both companies for comment. However, while the article mentions contacting DHS for comment, there is no mention of any kind that the Post reached out to either of the two utilities for comment. Given that Burlington issued its formal statement denying the Post s claims just an hour and a half later, this would suggest that had the Post reached out to the company it likely could have corrected its story prior to publication Continue this story at ForbesREAD MORE MSM FAKE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire MSM Watch FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Episode #162 – SUNDAY WIRE: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ with guest Vanessa Beeley | Episode #162 of SUNDAY WIRE SHOW resumes this November 28, 2016 as host Patrick Henningsen brings a 3 HOURS special broadcast of LIVE power-packed talk radio on ACR LISTEN LIVE ON THIS PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULED SHOW TIMES:SUNDAYS 5pm-8pm UK Time | 12pm-3pm ET (US) | 9am-12pm PT (US)This week s edition of THE SUNDAY WIRE is on the road broadcasting LIVE from the Valley of the Sun. This week host Patrick Henningsen covers this week s top stories in the US and internationally. In the first hour we ll cover the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and also take on the mainstream establishment s engineered fake news faux crisis which is being used by corporate media outlets to attack and smear independent and alternative media orgs. Then we ll be joined by 21WIRE special contributor, Vanessa Beeley, to discuss what Syrians and Russians are really saying about President-Elect Donald Trump, and also her latest piece critiquing the deceptive Syria coverage run by foundation-funded Democracy Now! Later in the third hour, we ll talk more about the fake news, CIA infiltration of US media organizations, Operation Mockingbird, and in particular, the report produced by The Washington Post which 21WIRE exposed this week as a work of shoddy journalism and NeoMcCarthyist Russiaphobic fear mongering. SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TVStrap yourselves in and lower the blast shield this is your brave new world *NOTE: THIS EPISODE MAY CONTAIN STRONG LANGUAGE AND MATURE THEMES*Listen to Sunday Wire EP #162 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised with guest Vanessa Beeley on Spreaker.Direct Download the Most Recent Episode// <![CDATA[ broadstreet.zone(46707); // ]]>Sunday Wire Radio Show Archives | 1real |
FAKE NEWS ALERT! FORMER GOV OF MARYLAND Calls for Boycott of Trump Party for Totally FAKE Reasons [Video] | 1real | |
Trump Panics Over Russia Scandal, Kisses Up To Sessions After Trashing Him For Weeks (TWEET) | Donald Trump doesn t just flip flop on his campaign promises and policies he also walks back his own insults whenever it s convenient for him to do so!On Saturday, Trump completely embarrassed himself by praising Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the man he had just spent the last two weeks mercilessly trashing. After Sessions announced that the Justice Department would be doubling down on leakers, Trump tweeted this: After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action! For National Security, the tougher the better! That s right Trump is seriously acting like he hasn t been attacking Sessions for weeks because the A.G. decided to recuse himself from Trump s Russia investigation. Most notably, Trump stated that if he d known Sessions was going to recuse himself, he wouldn t have hired him as Attorney General in the first place. Things were getting so heated that there were even rumors that Trump might fire Sessions. Now, Trump is trying to kiss up to Sessions in a pathetic attempt to get the A.G. on his side.Trump is not a man of integrity. He will literally do anything to get ahead and advance himself he won t even stand by his own word. We ve seen this time and time again as Trump walks back his previous comments, proving that he is extremely unstable and nothing he says can be trusted. He will lie about anything to get people on his side or protect himself from having to answer to his faults. It is up to Americans not to forget Trump s prior transgressions, and hold him accountable whenever he tries to disguise himself as a somewhat decent human being. Hopefully, Sessions doesn t forget what Trump did to him either, because Trump is one person who doesn t deserve to brown-nose his way out of this.Featured image via Tom Pennington and Win McNamee / Getty Images | 1real |
Bill Cunningham Looked Past the Runway to Capture Modern Identity - The New York Times | This is the age of street style, an era when we talk about “the show outside the show”: the people who dress to be photographed by the growing hordes of snappers on the sidewalk waiting to capture the exaggerated fashions necessary to stand out from the peacocking crowd and bestow upon them their 15 minutes, or seconds, of fame. Go to any fashion show and you can see it: a woman or man in a colorful, kooky swarmed by photographers jostling for the best shot and calling, “Look over here!” and, “Who are you wearing?” — lemmings in the land of the . But Bill Cunningham, who began it all, was never among them. Since his death on Saturday, many of the memorials and the hagiographies that have poured out over the internet have dubbed Bill (I can’t call him Mr. Cunningham, as I’ve known him, and been squeezed up next to him on fashion show benches, for too long) the father of street style, and rightly so. Still, a more accurate way to think of him might be as someone who applied the tenets of visual journalism to fashion. He began his career as a reporter, after all, and his photographs were simply another expression of the same discipline: They weren’t filtered, airbrushed or staged. He was among the first to recognize the value of observing what people wore in their everyday life, and to understand that it was a reflection of identity and culture, a means of communication used by all, and thus a crucial historical record. Before there was Scott Schuman, a. k. a. “The Sartorialist,” or Tommy Ton, or Phil Oh, there was Bill, riding his bicycle, reporting on what he saw: the idiosyncratic and the ubiquitous, but above all, the honest. His subject was not what was manufactured to catch his eye, but what people wore to feel part of the group, or to stand out from the group, or to otherwise telegraph their place in the world — be it at a charity ball or at a popular shopping street corner, no matter. Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, has often been quoted as saying, “We all dressed for Bill. ” It’s a lovely and genuine sentiment — both fashion and society are peppered by women whose dream was to be photographed by Bill, and having him take your picture became a seal of approval — but the truth is, he wouldn’t have wanted anyone to dress for him. He wanted to understand and record how they dressed for themselves. He himself dressed the part. He created his own uniform years ago, calculated to take himself out of the (bigger) picture: a blue French worker’s jacket, khakis and sneakers. It spoke, proclaiming very loudly, “This is not about me. ” But it was about his eye. He taught me (his pictures taught me) that while what was on the catwalks was interesting, it was what happened to the clothes afterward — how they were used, or not used — that really mattered. It wasn’t that he rejected fashion he loved it, with a enthusiasm for discovery. But he understood that its power was personal. Clothes are the front line of communication they are the first thing we say about ourselves to each other, and the first judgment we make in turn. That was his story. And it is why his videos and columns were so obsessively interesting. Harold Koda, the former head of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, once told me that the debate over whether fashion belonged in the museum had been resolved when the powers that be started seeing fashion as a decorative art that represented popular attitudes and mores — toward beauty, craft and society — at a specific moment in time. This belief also drove Bill, whose thousands of pictures now comprise an invaluable portrait of popular identity in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. They recorded the casualization of life, the rise of the cause ribbon, the advent of the “It” bag and the problem of global warming (What the hell do you wear when it’s summer in January and snowing in April? ). Street style has become an increasingly ersatz game, less about unique and the revelatory than marketing, with brands shipping clothes to popular stars to wear in theoretically shots — clothes they have not chosen, mind you, but been given (or even paid to wear). In the same way that the red carpet has become an advertising vehicle, so, too, have many sidewalks. Bill represented the truth behind all of that. His legacy is our reality, and we should not forget. | 0fake |
Republicans Are Bragging That Trump’s Inauguration Broke A Record; No, Not That Record | We ll likely never know exactly how many people attended Donald Trump s inauguration, but despite his claims, the crowd size was much smaller than either of President Obama s inaugurations and much smaller than the Women s March on Washington in protest of Trump.Still, despite a roster of d-list entertainment and too little fanfare, Republicans have to brag that Trump set records, any record, so they found one. According to McClatchy, Trump set the record for numbers of prayers in his inauguration.While for most Americans, that statistic might elicit, at best, a yawn, Sarah Palin (yes, she has a blog now) was the one who jumped on it most enthusiastically, with this clickbait headline:Donald Trump was inaugurated yesterday as America s 45th President yesterday.In the midst of the ceremonies, he set a record and a surprising one, at that.President Trump set the record for the most prayers ever said during an inaugural ceremony.While not as clickbaitey, that non-record record was covered by The Kansas City Star and conservative blogs like Townhall.We weren t the only people noticing the desperation in this story:@kberntson2 @SarahPalinUSA What kind of devout Christian assaults women and stiffs people who work for him? Your kind of Christian? Ugh!!!!! Judy Cox (@jccox722) January 21, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Also, consider a lot of the praying was people going Please don t let Trump fuck up the country too badly. (((Mad Bastard))) (@MadBastard_v2) January 21, 2017@SarahPalinUSA OMG, Sarah, just .just log out of everything Joe Van Wick (@thejoevanwick) January 21, 2017.@SarahPalinUSA Seriously? A record for the most prayers? Only you would believe the story Steven B. (@stevenbastian) January 21, 2017@SarahPalinUSA please get off social media. You re embarrassing yourself. Kay Look (@KayLook5) January 21, 2017@SarahPalinUSA who gives a shit? John Sanity (@JohnSanityUSA) January 21, 2017. @SarahPalinUSA I m sure he had to resort to prayer since he also broke the record for the lowest attendance & approval ratings ever. Mayra Martinez (@MayraMM) January 21, 2017If the implication is that starting an administration is somehow a sign of character, note that the previous prayer record was set by Richard M. Nixon. Of course, Trump has already bypassed Nixon s level of corruption and lies. Many say the country needs the prayers, but the country needs action. Perhaps Trump can set another record for shortest time before impeachment.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images | 1real |
9 in Navy Disciplined Over Iran’s Capture of Sailors - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Four hours behind schedule and 300 miles from their destination in Bahrain, the crews of two Navy patrol boats figured they had to make up time somehow. Immediately after leaving port in Kuwait, they veered off their planned route through the Persian Gulf, and their troubles began. First they accidentally sailed through Saudi Arabia’s territorial waters. Then one of the boats broke down while passing less than two miles from an island. When Iranian military boats swarmed the American vessels, they tried to get away. But the Iranians blocked their path and took the crews captive. Navy officials on Thursday gave that account of the encounter in January that resulted in the detention of 10 American naval personnel for about 15 hours by the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. In a stinging report, the officials described numerous mistakes in the way the mission was planned and executed, and they laid out the reasons some sailors were responsible, both on the boats and up the chain of command. Nine officers and enlisted sailors — including a captain and the commanding officer of the boats — face discipline, with some being relieved of command because of the episode, which embarrassed the service and occurred just hours before President Obama gave his last State of Union address. “Our actions on that day in January and this incident did not live up to our expectations of our Navy,” Adm. John M. Richardson, the chief of Naval operations, said Thursday. He added: “Big incidents like this are always the result of the accumulation of a number of small problems. And so it’s just the nature of these things.” At the time of the encounter, Republicans assailed the Obama administration for tolerating the way the sailors were treated by their Iranian captors, who blindfolded them and held them at gunpoint. But senior administration officials — including Secretary of State John Kerry, who corresponded with his Iranian counterpart during the episode — thanked the Iranians for quickly resolving it. Administration officials said that was a positive outgrowth of the diplomatic channels between the United States and Iran opened by the nuclear deal struck last year. The report issued Thursday was much more critical of the Iranians and painted a starker picture of what occurred after one of the boats — known as riverine command boats — began having engine problems. As it was being repaired, two Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy boats approached the American boats at high speeds, the report said. Shortly thereafter, two more Iranian boats arrived at the scene. “Now overmatched, the riverine command boat crews submitted to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy’s direction,” the report said. The Iranians “boarded, searched and seized the riverine command boats, and then searched, blindfolded and bound the crew. They struck the U. S. flag, replacing it with their own. Two sailors were forced at gunpoint to drive the riverine command boats to Farsi Island. ” On the island, the crews were put in a room and interrogated as a group. Then several of them were questioned individually, and at least some of those interviews were taped. The following morning, the crews were given food and filmed by an Iranian television crew. The crew’s captain was given a script to read off to the camera, apologizing for the episode. He refused but was told that if he did not read it, they were not going to be released. He read the statement, and this was shown on Iranian television. The crews were then blindfolded, taken back to their boats and given permission to leave. They met up with an American Navy ship and were taken off the boats and flown to an American base in Qatar, where the military interviewed the sailors. The report acknowledged that the American boats were in Iranian waters, but said Iran had violated international law by preventing them from leaving. “These two boats and their crew members had every right to be where they were on that day,” Admiral Richardson said at a news conference at the Pentagon. Although the Iranians were within their rights to investigate why the boats were near the island, Navy officials said, they violated international law by holding the sailors at gunpoint, videotaping interviews with them and damaging equipment on their boats. In a speech a day after the episode, Mr. Kerry said that “all indications suggest or tell us that our sailors were well taken care of, provided with blankets and food, and assisted with their return to the fleet earlier today. ” He said “this kind of issue was able to be peacefully resolved and efficiently resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure and strong. ” But in March, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran may have violated international law when it seized the sailors, saying “Iran’s actions were outrageous, unprofessional and inconsistent with international law. ” The report released Thursday was far more explicit. | 0fake |
Mexico warns of tariffs, spurns U.S. aid under review by Trump | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An emboldened Mexico hardened its opposition to President Donald Trump on Friday by saying it would retaliate if the United States imposed a border tax and that it can afford to lose financial aid that might be pulled to pay for a border wall. Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said Mexico could respond to any tax the United States were to unilaterally impose on imports from its southern neighbor to finance the wall with levies on select goods, aimed at U.S. regions most dependent on exports south of the border. “Without a doubt, we have that possibility, and what we cannot do is remain with our arms crossed,” Videgaray said in a radio interview. “The Mexican government would have to respond.” The statements by Videgaray and Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, who minimized the potential impact of the rumored loss of U.S. security aid, toughened the defiant tone from Mexico since President Enrique Pena Nieto last month canceled a trip to meet Trump over the wall dispute. Mexicans are angry at Trump’s calls for U.S. firms not to invest south of the border, insults to immigrants and threats to make Mexico finance the border wall. The peso currency has weakened on concerns he will hurt Latin America’s No. 2 economy. Pena Nieto had faced criticism he was too accommodating with Trump but got a much needed ratings boost after cancelling the summit. A plan to deport third-country nationals to Mexico fueled outrage this week. Mexican officials were publicly blunt with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security John Kelly over Trump’s immigration and trade proposals in a visit to Mexico on Thursday. Osorio Chong told local radio that Mexican officials’ rejection of Trump’s bid to send non-Mexican illegal migrants from the United States to Mexico was “very clear.” “They asked us if (non-Mexican illegal immigrants) could be here while they are going through the legal process there. We said that there was...absolutely no way.” Videgaray said the trade strategy would replicate a 2009 campaign of retaliatory tariffs that helped Mexico win a dispute with the United States. On Wednesday, the minister mentioned Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin as states that could be targeted in a conversation with lawmakers leaked to two newspapers. “This is not our preference,” he said. “Mexico believes in free trade.” A U.S. executive order on Jan. 25 that mandated the construction of a border wall also required government agencies to report the financial assistance they gave Mexico in the past five years, leading to speculation Trump wants to redirect the aid to pay for its construction. Osorio Chong said on Friday that Mexico had no need for such financial aid from the United States, signaling that it would not come close to paying for the estimated $21.6 billion cost of the wall. Like in other middle-income emerging economies, many in Mexico consider it humiliating to take aid from wealthy countries. A large part of U.S. aid to Mexico comes through the Plan Merida program, under which the U.S. Congress allocated $2.6 billion to security assistance between 2008 and 2016. Of that, $1.6 billion had been disbursed by November 2016, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service. “When they realize what’s left of Merida, they will understand that it’s not even that significant,” Osorio Chong told local radio. “We don’t object to them moving these resources... Mexico now has its own capabilities,” he said. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Friday it will accept proposals next month for the design of Trump’s wall, a first step in picking vendors. Videgaray said a meeting of Tillerson, Kelly and Pena Nieto in Mexico City was a short courtesy visit. He said in a more substantial meeting of the ministers, Kelly told him that deportations of undocumented immigrants from the United States would not be militarized, after Trump characterized the process as a “military operation.” | 0fake |
In Illinois, partisan politics send budget battle into overtime | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Any hope for a break in Illinois’ long-running budget stalemate devolved into more partisan bickering and deeper divisions on Wednesday as the state legislature ended its spring session without a deal on a spending plan for a third year in a row. Democrats and Republicans blamed at each other for an impasse that gives Illinois the dubious distinction of being the only state to go nearly two straight fiscal years without a complete budget. A third budget-less year risks potential downgrades of Illinois’ already low credit ratings. Citing Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s unwillingness to meet, House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said budget talks will move to a June overtime session in which a tougher vote of a three-fifths majority will be needed for approval. “The governor’s reckless strategy of holding the budget hostage to create leverage for his corporate agenda that pads the profits of large corporations and insurance companies has for the third year left Illinois without a budget at the end of the May legislative session,” Madigan said in a statement. Rauner returned fire at a state capitol news conference. “Today we’ve seen a complete dereliction of duty by the (Democratic) majority in the General Assembly, once again, a tragic failure to serve the people of Illinois, a tragic failure to pass a balanced budget along with critical structural changes to protect taxpayers and grow more jobs,” the governor said. Democratic Senate President John Cullerton blamed Rauner for blocking a budget by trying to kill a bipartisan spending and reform package in the Senate and later being murky in his preferences for property-tax freeze legislation that he had demanded in exchange for supporting new revenue. “(Rauner) came in the middle of the process, told Republicans to vote no, didn’t give support and the same thing happened in the House. The Republicans didn’t vote for anything, and as a result, we don’t have a budget,” Cullerton told reporters. The Senate last week passed a $37.3 billion fiscal 2018 budget plan that includes income tax hikes, a sales tax on services and spending cuts without Republican votes. That budget legislation was not taken up by the House. Illinois, the nation’s fifth-largest state, has been limping toward the June 30 end of its second-consecutive fiscal year operating under court-ordered spending, stopgap spending, and ongoing appropriations mandated by law. As a result, the state’s pile of unpaid bills has topped $14 billion. Rating agencies, which have pushed Illinois down the credit scale six times to a level two steps above junk since January 2015, have signaled more downgrades are possible. The state’s cash crunch has delayed $1.1 billion in payments to public school districts, led to big spending cuts at state universities, and put social services providers on life support. Before adjourning, the House and Senate approved a school-funding overhaul, legislation authorizing the sale of the state’s main office building in Chicago, and a minimum wage hike. Republicans opposed each measure, and none passed by large enough margins to fend off potential Rauner vetoes. | 0fake |
Zika Looms in Asia, Tempered by a Fuller View of Its Dangers - The New York Times | The Zika virus caught the world’s attention last year after experts noticed that a small percentage of women carrying the virus in Latin America were giving birth to children with microcephaly, a defect that causes malformed heads and severely stunts brain development. The virus is now endemic there, and scientists fear that caseloads may spike again during the hot, wet months of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, which begins in December. But although the Zika strain circulating in Latin America is originally from Asia, health experts know little about its history on that side of the Pacific. “We know the virus has been circulating in the region for the better part of 70 years, but we don’t know how extensively,” said Duane J. Gubler, an emeritus professor at the Medical School in Singapore. Zika may have been understudied for decades because there were no routine tests for it until recently, scientists say, and perhaps also because the symptoms resemble those of mild dengue fever. Another possibility, they say, is that women carrying the Zika virus gave birth to microcephalic children at home. Microcephaly was first noticed in Brazil only because doctors in neonatal intensive care units of several hospitals realized that they had far more children with the problem than they normally did, and many of the mothers reported having Zika symptoms months earlier. But the Zika scare in Latin America has prompted a recent surge in awareness and monitoring of the virus in Asia. Health ministries across the region have reported hundreds of new infections in recent months. And in October, the World Health Organization said that the Western Pacific region was “highly likely” to report more cases — and possibly new outbreaks. Humans are primarily infected with Zika through the bites of mosquitoes from the Aedes genus — the same ones that carry dengue, yellow fever and other illnesses. Zika can also be transmitted sexually, although scientists have not yet determined how long the virus lingers in semen or vaginal fluids. The majority of people who contract Zika never experience symptoms, and the symptoms that do appear — including fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis — are often mild. But Zika can cause microcephaly and other birth defects in infants born to women who are infected during pregnancy. Scientists also believe that Zika infections are linked to the prevalence of syndrome, a rare disease of the nervous system that can cause muscle weakness and even paralysis. A Zika vaccine is being developed, but the process may take years. In February, as microcephaly and cases that scientists believed were linked to Zika appeared in Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Health Organization declared the Zika epidemic a public health emergency. The agency announced an end to that emergency this month but cautioned that the disease should now be viewed, like malaria and yellow fever, as a continuing threat. By 75 countries had reported Zika transmissions for the first time since 2007, with nearly half of the new transmissions occurring this year alone. In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Thailand have reported many of the cases this year, with hundreds each. Thailand also reported Southeast Asia’s first two cases of microcephaly in infants in late September, and Vietnam reported what it said was probably its first microcephaly case in late October. The United States Centers for Disease Control said in a September memo that pregnant women should “consider postponing nonessential” travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries because the virus is linked to birth defects. But the number of reported Zika infections and infant malformation cases with likely links to Zika in the region is still significantly lower than the number in Latin America and the Caribbean. (More than 2, 000 babies have been born with microcephaly in Brazil, far more than in any other country.) The C. D. C. has also said that recent reports of new Zika cases in Southeast Asia may simply reflect increased awareness or monitoring, rather than increasing transmission. Scientists say that tropical Asian countries’ long experience with diseases may help their response. Girls who contract Zika are believed to be immune when they reach their childbearing years, meaning they cannot give birth to microcephalic babies. People who live in countries that are “hyperendemic” to dengue — including Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines — also carry natural antibodies that some scientists say may help them to suppress or protect against Zika infections. Dr. Sutee Yoksan, a dengue expert at Mahidol University in Thailand, said that theory is now being tested through research projects in multiple countries. (Other scientists, by contrast, worry that dengue antibodies may make Zika infections worse.) Southeast Asian officials so far appear relatively sanguine about the risks that Zika poses to their citizens, and dengue remains a greater threat, said Tikki Pang, a former director of policy research at the World Health Organization. But those officials probably would feel political pressure to respond to Zika more aggressively, he added, if it became clearer to them that the virus posed a risk to unborn children. Asia’s experience with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and other infectious diseases has prompted increased coordination among its countries’ health ministries since the early 2000s, health experts said in interviews, and that coordination may come in handy if Zika transmission surges in the region. But officials may be underestimating Zika’s spread in Southeast Asia, in part because some countries lack the resources to test for Zika infections on a large scale, the experts said. The fight could also be hindered by a chronic lack of political will in the region to address diseases with investments in vaccine development, public education and new technologies, they said. | 0fake |
Rudy Giuliani's fall from America's Mayor | But by amplifying his charge that President Barack Obama doesn't love America, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani appears ready to risk sullying the powerful mythology that grew around his leadership when he steadied and steeled the nation in the terrible, confusing time after 9/11.
Since those fleeting days when he was a unifying figure, Giuliani has more often dealt in waspish rhetoric and savage mockery -- especially of a president he says has "failed."
"America's Mayor" has gone rogue, lashing out at Democrats and liberal orthodoxy on the war on terror and saying, for example, during the Ferguson controversy last year that the biggest danger to a black child was not from a white police officer but from another African American.
The latest firestorm over Obama's patriotism may complete Giuliani's political journey from the center left of the Republican Party to the conservative jungles where Sarah Palin and Donald Trump roam.
"Rudy has devolved into this red meat Republican base ideologue who periodically seems to need self identification," said Douglas Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College and a New York City media commentator. "Maybe it is Rudy in his dotage, where he has lost whatever boundaries he once had. He sounds like a bitter old man."
Giuliani seems to be relishing his moment back in the spotlight.
But he's also causing awkward moments for Republican candidates limbering up for a crack at the presidency in 2016 -- a fact the White House was quick to exploit on Friday.
"It's sad to see when somebody who has attained a certain level of public stature, and even admiration, tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly," said Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest. "And the truth is, I don't take any joy, or vindication, or satisfaction from that. I think, really, the only thing that I feel is I feel sorry for Rudy Giuliani today."
Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz also joined in, seeking to use Giuliani to frustrate the GOP's effort to short circuit controversies which could tarnish the party's image.
"Now is the time for its leaders to stop this kind of nonsense. Enough," she said.
Giuliani's blast, delivered in a closed door Republican dinner, and repeated in a media tour, centers on a claim that Obama was not brought up to "love" his country like most Americans.
It's a familiar charge from the conservative fringe, that Obama is somehow different and doesn't view America as an exceptional paragon but is obsessed with apologizing for its failings.
"I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe the president loves America," Giuliani was quoted as saying by Politico.
Asked by Fox News host Megyn Kelly Thursday whether he wanted to apologize, Giuliani replied: "Not at all. I want to repeat it."
"I don't feel this love of America," Giuliani said. "I believe his initial approach is to criticize the United States."
Giuliani dug in further in an interview with the New York Times, rejecting the idea that his remarks were born of racism.
"I thought that was a joke, since (Obama) was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, " said Giuliani. "This isn't racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism," said Giuliani.
Far from being chastened, Giuliani, who wore a conspiratorial grin on Fox News, seems gleeful in the firestorm. His behavior might be explained by a boxing maxim he was taught as a boy, which may also shed light on his calmness on 9/11.
"My father taught me ... when you get hit in the face for the first time, you're going to panic," Giuliani said in an interview with Forbes magazine in 2011. "Instead of panicking, just accept it. Stay calm. And any time anybody hits you, they always leave themselves open to be hit."
Giuliani's actions may be both a glimpse at his political philosophy and reflect a decision to wade into the political echo chamber to solidify his standing among a certain group of conservatives.
"He understands political posturing, he understands the effectiveness of rhetoric," said Errol Louis, a CNN political commentator from New York. "He clearly wants to play a role on the national stage. I guess he has chosen the role of bulldog -- go after the president, attack him, make wild accusations."
With a failed presidential campaign behind him, and having been out of office for a decade-and-a-half, it may be that Giuliani sees his future on the conservative talk circuit.
"To the extent that Giuliani will be involved in the game moving forward, it will be as a commentator or an analyst," said Costas Panagopoulos, a campaigns expert at Fordham University, New York. "In order to do that successfully these days, it helps to be controversial, sometimes inflammatory. I am not surprised that he has become increasingly forceful in his comments in the media. He is convinced that will help him."
Giuliani has rarely been known to back down. He was a Yankee fan growing up in Brooklyn, a ruthless prosecutor who took on unions and the Mob and a hard driving Republican who ran a liberal city.
When he awoke on September 11, 2001, Giuliani was a polarizing figure with a large ego and a sharp tongue. He might have purged New York street crime but was starting to grate on the city's nerves at the end of his second term.
Within hours, with a staggering display of calm, purpose and leadership, he had recast himself as a modern-era Winston Churchill, steadying and inspiring his people in their darkest hour. His heroics were such that he became one of those politicians who become known by a single name.
Marching up Broadway, he grabbed a mike and told people to evacuate southern Manhattan. He conjured up national resolve and resistance, as a country waited hours to see its president, out of sight on Air Force One.
"People tonight should say a prayer, for the people that we have lost, and be grateful that we are all here," he said in a late night press conference 12 hours after the Twin Towers came crashing down in a toxic cloud of fire and ash. "Tomorrow New York is going to be here and we are going to rebuild and we are going to be stronger from before."
Making Giuliani its Man of the Year, Time Magazine said: "When the day of infamy came, Giuliani seized it as if he had been waiting for it all his life."
But he struggled to meet huge expectations. His 2008 presidential campaign was a bust, plagued by poor organization and his liberal views on social issues that conflicted with the conservative base.
But there was also a sense that he was playing the September 11 card too much: Joe Biden's crack that there were "only three things he mentions in a sentence, a noun a verb and 9/11" was funny because it bore more than a ring of truth.
That was years ago now. But while his years of elective office are behind him, Giuliani still seems to pine for the political spotlight. So he has every incentive to keep this row going as long as he can. | 0fake |
Argentina says satellite calls detected, likely from missing submarine | BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina s defense ministry said seven failed satellite calls that it believes came from a missing naval submarine were detected on Saturday in a likely sign the crew of 44 was trying to reestablish contact. The calls, believed to be from the ARA San Juan submarine, lasted between four and 36 seconds in the late morning and early afternoon, the ministry said in an emailed statement. The ministry said it was working on tracing the location with an unnamed U.S. company specialized in satellite communications. | 0fake |
The Syrian town shattered by war that may finally have seen an end to the fighting | By Robert Fisk on October 29, 2016 Robert Fisk — The Independent Oct 26, 2016 The rubble of the smashed town of Mouadamiya. Click to enlarge
From the moment you cross the bridge over the old steam train railway line to Deraa, you can see what happened to this little town south-west of Damascus . It’s not just the bullet holes, the smashed buildings, the toppled mosque with its minaret lying in pathetic chunks, nor the apartment blocks that have slid into the streets after two years of Syrian tank fire and helicopter bombing. Nor the underground hospital. It’s not even the women walking with their children again through the scarred streets, nor the street-sellers outside the blitzed buildings.
It’s the young men, some bearded, eyes alert, the men of the old Liwa al-Fatah, the Liberation Brigade militia that fought the Syrian army, queuing up without their weapons to register at the checkpoint. Still proud but now working with the government to keep the government’s enemies out of Mouadamiya, they are a guarantee, of sorts, that their town will stay rebel-free. The regime still holds 800 of their relatives and friends in unknown prisons; another guarantee, of sorts, that they will remain loyal.
What also happened was a change of heart. And a phone call to the opposition from a man identified as a British “officer” called Ford. The government also realised it should never have taken the land from the people of Mouadamiya before the war, nor dismissed their peaceful protests with such arrogance in 2011. And then the men who took up arms realised, two years later, that they had been betrayed.
Such a moment came to 27-year old Mahmoud Khalifa when he took a phone call in November 2013 from the “Military Operations Centre” in Jordan, whence the West’s agents and Arab allies have tried to direct, coerce and arm the tens of thousands of men who want to destroy President Bashar al-Assad.
“There was a Saudi on the phone and he handed me over to a British officer who said his name was Ford, Dr Khalifa recalls. “We asked for help, we called for arms, weapons, money. And the answer from Ford was: ‘We can send ammunition for light weapons. We can’t send heavy or sophisticated weapons.’ I asked why, and the answer came back: ‘You are in an area so close to the capital that we will not allow you to advance.’
“They were playing with us. I insulted the two officers. I told them: ‘We will not allow you to use us like an instrument – and this is the last time you call us.’” Dr Khalifa, who is a medical doctor, narrows his eyes when he says this. His “allies”, it seems, wanted the war to continue – to destroy Syria rather than the regime. And he is a man with another burden. His older brother is one of the 800 prisoners, arrested in Damascus because the army realised his family connection to the doctor.
The Military Operations Centre is real enough. Captured rebels have talked about the “MOC” in Jordan, and Syrian intelligence officers have for months monitored communications between the MOC and elements of Jabhat al-Nusra (aka al-Qaeda) and the febrile Free Syrian Army around the southern city of Deraa. The Syrian army believes it is located close to the Jordanian-Syrian border. It is a worthy subject of investigation.
But when the war ended in Mouadamiya, promises were kept. The government agreed that Syrian militiamen in the town would remain free – and allowed to travel anywhere in Syria under government control, providing they surrendered their weapons. According to 45-year old Khaled Khodr – the head of the Liwa al-Fatah and nicknamed the Mayor by his fighting men – 600 fighters along with their families, a total of 1,500 who did not trust the government, were permitted to leave with their side-arms for rebel-held areas in Idlib province.
Dr Khalifa has been told that 95 of them are now gathered near the Turkish border, keener to become refugees in safety than carry on the fight.
But sides call this a reconciliation and it’s a miniature version of what the Syrian government must intend for eastern Aleppo: the surrender of their enemies and the expulsion of those who will not give up their weapons and the gradual restoration of life for the surviving civilians after months of ruthless bombardment. There’s even a “reconciliation committee” in Mouadamiya – one of dozens operating in other townships around Damascus and Homs – to oversee the new peace, with local mukhtars – town leaders – and former fighters and Syrian military intelligence officers on the committee.
Peace must come in stages. The electricity and water in Mouadamiya was never cut by the government, a smart move by someone in authority who realised that there were limits to a siege – albeit scarcely applied in Aleppo – which might lead to submission at a later date. Syrian troops have not entered Mouadamiya and the men who defended it believe the 800 prisoners will be freed after the new governor arrives to hoist the Syrian flag over the municipal buildings in a few days’ time and to declare the town safe. A Syrian intelligence man, a big beefy figure who refused to give his name or talk publicly, admitted that this was the intention: the prisoners would be freed “step by step”.
Could this be a model for eastern Aleppo if the slaughter ends? The ex-fighters here have their doubts. Too many of the armed groups in Aleppo are foreigners who would prefer to fight on. Too many are Islamists. In Mouadamiya, Khaled Khodr’s Liwa stepped in at once when Nusra Islamists arrived from the suburb of Ghouta and tried to join their fight – he told them to leave. But this did not spare the town. Among the buildings destroyed in the long battle was the largest school – never a rebel base, according to the former fighters – and in all 1,800 of its people were killed in the siege, most of them from the Liwa. Only just over 2,000 civilians lived on amid the wreckage. Mouadamiya’s mukhtar, Mohamed Jallab, reckons that 40,000 of its inhabitants who fled three years ago have now returned.
And reconciliation seems to work, at least publicly. The former Syrian fighters talk with government soldiers on the edge of the town, even sharing their cigarettes, queuing up to sign a register to visit Damascus and talking freely – in and out of the hearing of the soldiers — of their battle against the regime. They were, like all militiamen, civilians when there was no war to fight: I met a painter, two truck drivers, a barber, three students – one of them studying Arabic literature in Damascus, who was a nurse during the fighting – a car mechanic and a former government soldier who has agreed to rejoin the ranks of the army he fought against for so many months.
Although the “reconciliation opening” of Mouadamiya commenced less than two weeks ago, there had been a de facto truce holding – on and off – for two years, and many of the combatants knew each other. It’s always that way in a civil war – or “the crisis”, as both sides refer to the Syrian bloodbath here. There was a kind of honour during the siege. At the start, there had been Free Syrian Army men, mostly regime defectors with little heart in the battle, but the local fighters lost many of their comrades during the siege. Dr Khalifa says he lost 20 of his relatives and friends.
At the hospital – operating rooms underground, wards one floor above – Dr Ratep Daoud displayed the three primitive tables with cardiac equipment and ventilators and green sheets and flaking walls where he and his internist and pediatrician and Dr Khalifa tried to save so many lives amid the bombardment. The hospital was never hit, but 1,600 of the doctors’ patients died in this cramped building. Eighty per cent of them were fighters. Just as in eastern Aleppo, the local civil defence men pulled wounded and corpses from the rubble. They did indeed wear “white helmets” – though they were not called that – and several of them could be found resting in their trucks and office near the hospital. For them, the war is also over.
Mouadamiya is a curious town. The vegetable gardens that the 2,000 or so civilians nurtured to ward off starvation are still there. So are the plastic screens to prevent government snipers shooting at the people of Mouadamiya. There are massive ramparts of earth around the old front lines. Twenty years ago, most of this was rich farmland: prosperous families lived in the stone villas, the remnants of which stand on the outskirts. Ancient olive groves still snake their way into the town and stand behind scorched apartment blocks, their gnarled trunks and swaying branches a faintly ironic balm amid so much destruction.
These were the lands appropriated before the war, when the townspeople demanded their restitution and a new state governor. The regime did not listen to them. The same happened in Deraa. And in Homs and other cities. And of course, eventually, protest turned into war. And foreigners, who neither knew nor cared where Mouadamiya was, sent in their guns and agents to keep it running. | 1real |
REGISTERED MUSLIM VOTERS UP Over 324,000 Since Last Presidential Election…CAIR Applauds | Another item Obama can check off his bucket list More than a quarter million Muslims have become registered voters since the last presidential election, a Muslim group reported on Tuesday.In June there were 824,000 registered Muslim voters whose first, middle or last names matched a list of 43,538 traditionally Muslim names, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which used a private national database of voter information. That number represents a significant bump from the 500,000 voters the group accounted for in 2012, using the same method.One reason for the surge, CAIR suggests, is increased political involvement resulting from rhetorical attacks on that faith community by public figures. While the press release does not mention GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump by name, it does contain two links to articles about how the candidate is attacking Muslims and fueling prejudice, hate incidents. CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw applauded the Muslim community for its efforts to get out the vote, and slammed hostile proposals made by Trump over the course of his campaign, including a ban on Muslims entering the United States. As a community under the pressure of hostile political rhetoric calling for profiling of American Muslims, Muslim immigration bans and warrantless surveillance of mosques, we must utilize all the tools of positive civic engagement to preserve religious freedom and other constitutional rights, said McCaw.Earlier in the month, CAIR launched a nonpartisan voter campaign, titled Muslims Vote, to encourage increased participation by American Muslims in the 2016 election cycle. The campaign looks for ways to get American Muslims involved in a number of activities, including volunteering, voter registration and hosting candidate forums. Via: Washington Examiner | 1real |
Michelle Obama Makes The White House Garden Permanent, So Racists Called Her A ‘Gorilla’ | The absolute hatred conservatives have for First Lady Michelle Obama knows no bounds and now we are being treated to another example of it. In 2009, Mrs. Obama planted a garden on the White House lawn in an effort to promote healthy eating and to encourage others to plant their own home gardens as well.But conservatives have complained ever since because for some reason they oppose healthy eating.It s been seven years since the garden was planted and it has flourished, expanding from 1,100 square feet to 2,800 square feet and now Michelle is protecting what she and the White House staff have spent years developing by making it permanent.As we all know, Donald Trump has vowed to reverse or overturn everything President Obama and the First Lady have ever done over the last eight years. That means Michelle Obama s garden could very well be plowed over just to spite Democrats and the Obama family. Conservatives would certainly cheer on this petty act. But Michelle has taken steps to ensure that the garden remains on the grounds for future First Families to enjoy by setting it in stone.With a stone walkway running through it and stone walls surrounding the plots consisting of steel and concrete, Michelle Obama officially dedicated the garden on Wednesday in a ceremony at the White House. This little garden will live on as a symbol of the hopes that we all hold of growing a healthier nation for our children, Obama said. I am hopeful that future first families will cherish this garden like we have, and that it will become one of our enduring White House traditions. In addition, a message etched in the stone reads, White House Kitchen Garden, established in 2009 by First Lady Michelle Obama with the hope of growing a healthier nation for our children. Now the garden is a historic symbol representing President Obama and his family s time in the White House, which makes it far more difficult, if not impossible, for the next president to get rid of. And racist conservatives are enraged so much about it that they lost their shit and spewed hateful and racist remarks all over the internet.Here are some screenshots.And here are some tweets via Twitter.@gatewaypundit I ll bet her gardening is done by others & will stop in her privileged life outside of WH Deplorable#22 (@donnakaye2014) October 6, 2016@gatewaypundit Woman grew up privileged but acts like she grew up poor in the ghetto, disgraceful person. JRader (@ZZBlueComet) October 6, 2016@BigStick2013 @gatewaypundit plow it under ,no reminders of destruction of our constitution by obama Trumplican (@Trumplican1) October 6, 2016@nprpolitics Bulldoze it and put in a putting green. Bill Ferrin (@WFerrin) October 6, 2016And from Facebook.As usual, conservatives have zero class and only have a capacity for hatred. President Obama should seriously sign an executive order praising oxygen so we can watch right-wingers hold their breath in protest.Featured image via Wikimedia | 1real |
Planned Parenthood Shooter Speaks Out, Sounds Like GOP Candidate | Robert Dear, the accused terrorist who shot up the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, is speaking out about his rampage and still sounding like anti-choice activists on the right.Dear spoke to the Colorado Gazette newspaper, and was not ashamed of what he did.The accused Planned Parenthood shooter spoke to The Gazette on Friday at the El Paso County jail, saying he had no remorse for killing three people at the clinic on Nov. 27. I killed three and I saved 3,000 3,000 babies or more, said Robert Lewis Dear Jr., referencing abortions conducted at the clinic.Dear s shooting spree followed the release of several videos deceptively edited to make it seem as if workers at Planned Parenthood clinics were breaking the law and selling fetal body parts. Those videos were created by activists at the group Center for Medical Progress and their leader David Daleiden, who was recently indicted in Texas for tampering with government records and other charges.Despite this, attacks on Planned Parenthood have become a part of the Republican mainstream. Presidential candidates have said they would defund the organization to varying degrees, citing the hoax videos as evidence.Meanwhile congressional committees have previously and continue to harass and attack Planned Parenthood but have been unable to point to any crimes that haven committed.Similarly, numerous state attorney generals including Republicans have investigated Planned Parenthood but have been completely unable to bring up evidence of crimes on their behalf.The attacks have continued, even after Dear s murder spree. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently promised to ramp up investigations of Planned Parenthood while vowing to give Daleiden a pardon for his crimes.In conservative media like Fox News Channel, viewers have been fed a steady diet of anti-abortion, anti-Planned Parenthood on a regular basis. Those outlets have told their viewers that Planned Parenthood is doing illegal, horrific things with baby parts, and have thought nothing of the consequences of those lies on the public and people like Dear.Featured image via YouTube | 1real |
Israeli troops clash with Palestinian protesters in West Bank, Gaza | GAZA (Reuters) - At least 31 people were wounded by Israeli army gunfire and rubber bullets, medics said, in Palestinian protests in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Thursday after the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel s capital. In the West Bank cities of Hebron and Al-Bireh, thousands of demonstrators rallied with chants of Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine , witnesses said. Some Palestinians threw stones at soldiers. Eleven protesters was hit by live fire and another 20 by rubber bullets, medics said. A military spokeswoman said soldiers had used riot-dispersal gear against hundreds of rock-throwers. In the Gaza Strip, dozens of protesters gathered near the border fence with Israel and threw rocks at soldiers on the other side. Seven protesters were wounded by live fire, one was in a critical condition, the health ministry said. Four people were wounded by live gunfire in the West Bank and another 20 were hit by rubber bullets, health officials said. An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment. Palestinian authorities called a general strike in protest at U.S. President Donald Trump s announcement about Jerusalem on Wednesday. Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital. Palestinians want the capital of an independent state of theirs to be in the city s eastern sector, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move never recognized internationally. Member of armed groups including from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas s Fatah faction, appeared at a news conference in Gaza, their faces hidden by masks and called for a resumption of armed resistance in the West Bank. Abbas traveled to the Jordanian capital, Amman, to meet King Abdullah where he updated him on the latest developments, the Wafa news agency said. | 0fake |
“MEATHEAD” ROB REINER Calls For ‘ALL OUT WAR’ Against Trump…Twitter User Warns “Hollywood Folks” To Be Careful…They Might Just Get A War | Writing on Twitter Sunday, the All in the Family star mentioned a Fox News report about the Trump campaign s alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election. When Fox says that DT colluding with the enemy is not a crime, the fight to save Democracy is now an all out war. US-Stay strong. #Treason, he wrote.When Fox says that DT colluding with the enemy is not a crime, the fight to save Democracy is now an all out war. US-Stay strong. #Treason Rob Reiner (@robreiner) June 25, 2017One of our favorite conservatives on Twitter, Nick Short of politicallyshort.com warned Hollywood crybaby Rob Reiner to be careful what he wishes for: There was no collusion, but keep up your propaganda. You hollywood folks need to watch your mouths calling for "war". You might get it. https://t.co/KK8Eqh2Mq8 Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) June 25, 2017Hollywood conservatives hammered Reiner on Twitter over his reckless remarks calling for action against President Trump:Hollywood actress and comedian Rosanne Barr called Rob Reiner s comments, fake news .FAKE NEWS Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) June 26, 2017Hollywood actor Nick Searcy blasts Reiner:https://twitter.com/yesnicksearcy/status/879471613867155460Comedian Mark Dice asks Reiner if he s trying to incite another Democrat terror incident?Is this a dog-whistle to incite another radical liberal terrorist to shoot more people? Mark Dice (@MarkDice) June 27, 2017Hey Meathead here s the real collusion with Russia:Ever hear of #UraniumOne meathead?They are all involved with #Russia Even #Podesta pic.twitter.com/8Xa3bzDu2Y covfefeand (@DJTsavesAmerica) June 26, 2017These responses to Reiner s tweet are just plain hilarious:Due us a Favor! pic.twitter.com/Lei8JiMSMq Joey Brooklyn (@Joe_America1776) June 26, 2017Archie was so correct when he named you meathead Vince (@seriousserb) June 25, 2017 | 1real |
EXCLUSIVE: Foreign Minister: Turkey ’Very Clear’ in Entering Syria to Defeat Islamic State - Breitbart | WASHINGTON, D. C. — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says Turkey has been “very clear” in explaining its presence in Syria: to defeat the Islamic State. [While expressing support for a political mechanism to remove dictator Bashar Çavuşoğlu did not affirm Erdoğan’s statement expressly stating that Turkey’s army had entered Syria “to end the rule of the tyrant Assad, who terrorizes with state terror. ” “From the beginning, our target has been very clear. We have been in Syria to defeat Daesh and to clear many cities in Manbij from Daesh and make those areas or zones. ” He added, “our position regarding Assad has also been very clear. Assad has killed more than 600, 000 innocent people,” he said, noting that the Syrian dictator has used chemical weapons “including chlorine gas to carry out these atrocities. ” Turkey has been accused of playing a “double game” on the Islamic State in Syria. President Erdoğan has been accused of helping the terrorist organization in their fight against Kurdish rebels and Syria’s President Bashar . An State militant told Newsweek in 2014 that the Islamic State saw Turkey as its ally: “ISIS commanders told us to fear nothing at all because there was full cooperation with the Turks. ” The man, who was named “Sherko Omer” for his safety, said, “ISIS and Turkey cooperate together on the ground on the basis that they have a common enemy to destroy, the Kurds. ” Last year, reported, “The Cumhuriyet daily’s Can Dundar and Ankara representative Erdem Gul landed behind bars Nov. 27 for reporting that Turkish intelligence shipped weapons to radical Islamists in Syria. Though they were released three months later, they eventually received jail terms for revealing state secrets. ” In October 2015, nearly 130 people were killed in Turkey after two suspected Islamic State bombers attacked a rally put on by a group of leftists, the first of a string of bombings and mass shooting the Islamic State has taken credit for within Turkey. In November, Erdoğan announced that Turkey was in Syria “to end the rule of the tyrant who terrorizes with state terror. ” He insisted that his forces were not in Syria for “any other reason. ” Several days later, Erdoğan reportedly clarified his statement in what was seen as backpedaling of his admission to seeing that Assad’s regime is toppled, saying instead that his troops are only in Syria to target “terror organizations. ” In the month of March 2016 alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the deaths of 2, 658 people, including 588 civilians. There were 125 children killed in the conflict. They died in bombings, by mortars, IEDs or random gunfire. Çavuşoğlu asked, “Are we going to legitimize such a regime?” Asked whether removal of Assad is currently possible without leaving a power vacuum ripe for exploitation by Iran and Hezbollah, Çavuşoğlu said, “there will be no vacuum if the political process works. ” He added, “while we are defeating Daesh on the ground, we need to focus on political solutions,” which include talks in both Astana and Geneva. Pressed further and asked if he still felt this way considering Iran’s role in the region, which has been instrumental in causing instability, he added, “Iran’s role there is very clear. It’s dominating not only in Syria but also dominating the politics in Iraq. Therefore, if we only target Daesh, we will be serving the interests of Iran and Hezbollah and other groups on the ground. I don’t think we prefer this. ” Breitbart News reported that the Pentagon, which has been working with the Syrian Kurdish YPG and the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga to take Daesh down, has cast some doubt on Turkey’s role in taking Daesh out in the northern reaches of Syria. “We have made clear … that we are open to a Turkish role in the continued operations to defeat ISIS in northern Syria,” We haven’t come to an agreement about what that role will be or if there will be one,” Pentagon spokesman Col. John Dorrian said. “But we talk to Turkey through military channels and I believe at diplomatic levels every day. ” He added, “I think I’d like to leave it at we would expect Kurds to be involved. And that’s probably about where we’re at. ” Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter and Periscope @AdelleNaz. This article has been edited since publication. | 0fake |
Full Transcript and Video: Trump News Conference - The New York Times | President Trump on Thursday announced his new nominee for labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, during a news conference at the White House. Following is a transcript of that event, as prepared by the Federal News Service. For more coverage, read our live analysis. TRUMP: Thank you very much. I just wanted to begin by mentioning that the nominee for secretary of the Department of Labor will be Mr. Alex Acosta. He has a law degree from Harvard Law School, was a great student former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito. And he has had a tremendous career. He’s a member and has been a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and has been through Senate confirmation three times, confirmed did very, very well. And so Alex, I’ve wished him the best. We just spoke. And he’s going to be — I think he’ll be a tremendous secretary of labor. And also as you probably heard just a little while ago, Mick Mulvaney, former congressman, has just been approved weeks late, I have to say that, weeks, weeks late, Office of Management and Budget. And he will be I think a fantastic addition. Paul Singer just left. As you know, Paul was very much involved with the or as they say, “never Trump. ” And Paul just left and he’s given us his total support. And it’s all about unification. We’re unifying the party and hopefully we’re going to be able to unify the country. It’s very important to me. I’ve been talking about that for a long time. It’s very, very important to me. So I want to thank Paul Singer for being here and for coming up to the office. He was a very strong opponent, and now he’s a very strong ally. And I appreciate that. I think I’ll say a few words, and then we’ll take some questions. And I had this time. We’ve been negotiating a lot of different transactions to save money on contracts that were terrible, including airplane contracts that were out of control and late and terrible just absolutely catastrophic in terms of what was happening. And we’ve done some really good work. We’re very proud of that. And then right after that, you prepare yourselves, we’ll do some questions, unless you have enough questions. That’s always a possibility. I’m here today to update the American people on the incredible progress that has been made in the last four weeks since my inauguration. We have made incredible progress. I don’t think there’s ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what we’ve done. A new Rasmussen poll, in fact — because the people get it — much of the media doesn’t get it. They actually get it, but they don’t write it. Let’s put it that way. But a new Rasmussen poll just came out just a very short while ago, and it has our approval rating at 55 percent and going up. The stock market has hit record numbers, as you know. And there has been a tremendous surge of optimism in the business world, which is — to me means something much different than it used to. It used to mean, “Oh, that’s good. ” Now it means, “That’s good for jobs. ” Very different. Plants and factories are already starting to move back into the United States, and big league — Ford, General Motors, so many of them. I’m making this presentation directly to the American people, with the media present, which is an honor to have you. This morning, because many of our nation’s reporters and folks will not tell you the truth, and will not treat the wonderful people of our country with the respect that they deserve. And I hope going forward we can be a little bit — a little bit different, and maybe get along a little bit better, if that’s possible. Maybe it’s not, and that’s OK, too. TRUMP: Unfortunately, much of the media in Washington, D. C. along with New York, Los Angeles in particular, speaks not for the people, but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system. The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. Tremendous disservice. We have to talk to find out what’s going on, because the press honestly is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control. I ran for president to present the citizens of our country. I am here to change the broken system so it serves their families and their communities well. I am talking — and really talking on this very entrenched power structure, and what we’re doing is we’re talking about the power structure we’re talking about its entrenchment. As a result, the media is going through what they have to go through too often times distort — not all the time — and some of the media is fantastic, I have to say — they’re honest and fantastic. But much of it is not a — the distortion — and we’ll talk about it, you’ll be able to ask me questions about it. But we’re not going to let it happen, because I’m here again, to take my message straight to the people. As you know, our administration inherited many problems across government and across the economy. To be honest, I inherited a mess. It’s a mess. At home and abroad, a mess. Jobs are pouring out of the country you see what’s going on with all of the companies leaving our country, going to Mexico and other places, low pay, low wages, mass instability overseas, no matter where you look. The Middle East is a disaster. North Korea — we’ll take care of it folks we’re going to take care of it all. I just want to let you know, I inherited a mess. Beginning on day one, our administration went to work to tackle these challenges. On foreign affairs, we’ve already begun enormously productive talks with many foreign leaders, much of it you’ve covered, to move forward towards stability, security and peace in the most troubled regions of the world, which there are many. We have had great conversations with the United Kingdom, and meetings. Israel, Mexico, Japan, China and Canada, really, really productive conversations. I would say far more productive than you would understand. We’ve even developed a new council with Canada to promote women’s business leaders and entrepreneurs. It’s very important to me, very important to my daughter Ivanka. I have directed our defense community headed by our great general, now Secretary Mattis. He’s over there now working very hard to submit a plan for the defeat of ISIS, a group that celebrates the murder and torture of innocent people in large sections of the world. It used to be a small group, now it’s in large sections of the world. They’ve spread like cancer. ISIS has spread like cancer — another mess I inherited. And we have imposed new sanctions on the nation of Iran, whose totally taken advantage of our previous administration, and they’re the world’s top sponsor of terrorism, and we’re not going to stop until that problem is properly solved. And it’s not properly solved now, it’s one of the worst agreements I’ve ever seen drawn by anybody. I’ve ordered plan to begin building for the massive rebuilding of the United States military. Had great support from the Senate, I’ve had great from Congress, generally. We’ve pursued this rebuilding in the hopes that we will never have to use this military, and I will tell you that is my — I would be so happy if we never had to use it. But our country will never have had a military like the military we’re about to build and rebuild. We have the greatest people on earth in our military, but they don’t have the right equipment and their equipment is old. I used it I talked about it at every stop. Depleted, it’s depleted — it won’t be depleted for long. And I think one of the reason I’m standing here instead of other people is that frankly, I talked about we have to have a strong military. We have to have a strong law enforcement also. So we do not go abroad in the search of war, we really are searching for peace, but its peace through strength. At home, we have begun the monumental task of returning the government back to the people on a scale not seen in many, many years. In each of these actions, I’m keeping my promises to the American people. These are campaign promises. Some people are so surprised that we’re having strong borders. Well, that’s what I’ve been talking about for a year and a half, strong borders. They’re so surprised, oh, he having strong borders, well that’s what I’ve been talking about to the press and to everybody else. One promise after another after years of politicians lying to you to get elected. They lied to the American people in order to get elected. Some of the things I’m doing probably aren’t popular but they’re necessary for security and for other reasons. And then coming to Washington and pursuing their own interests which is more important to many politicians. I’m here following through on what I pledged to do. That’s all I’m doing. I put it out before the American people, got 306 Electoral College votes. I wasn’t supposed to get 222. They said there’s no way to get 222, 230’s impossible. 270 which you need, that was laughable. We got 306 because people came out and voted like they’ve never seen before so that’s the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan. In other words, the media’s trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made and they’re not happy about it for whatever reason. And — but a lot of people are happy about it. In fact, I’ll be in Melbourne, Florida five o’clock on Saturday and I heard — just heard that the crowds are massive that want to be there. I turn on the T. V. open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a machine, despite the fact that I can’t get my cabinet approved. And they’re outstanding people like Senator Dan Coats who’s there, one of the most respected men of the Senate. He can’t get approved. How do you not approve him? He’s been a colleague — highly respected. Brilliant guy, great guy, everybody knows it. We’re waiting for approval. So we have a wonderful group of people that’s working very hard, that’s being very much misrepresented about and we can’t let that happen. So, if the Democrats who have — all you have to do is look at where they are right now. The only thing they can do is delay because they screwed things up royally, believe me. Let me list to you some of the things that we’ve done in just a short period of time. I just got here. And I got here with no cabinet. Again, each of these actions is a promise I made to the American people. I’ll go over just some of them and we have a lot happening next week and in the weeks — in the weeks coming. We’ve withdrawn from the disaster known as Trans Pacific Partnership. We’re going to make trade deals but we’re going to have one on one deals, bilateral. We’re going to have one on one deals. We’ve directed the elimination of regulations that undermine manufacturing and call for expedited approval of the permits needed for America and American infrastructure and that means plant, equipment, roads, bridges, factories. People take 10, 15, 20 years to get disapproved for a factory. They go in for a permit, it’s many, many years. And then at the end of the process — they spend 10s of millions of dollars on nonsense and at the end of the process, they get rejected. Now, they may be rejected with me but it’s going to be a quick rejection. Not going to take years. But mostly it’s going to be an acceptance. We want plants built and we want factories built and we want the jobs. We don’t want the jobs going to other countries. We’ve imposed a hiring freeze on nonessential federal workers. We’ve imposed a temporary moratorium on new federal regulations. We’ve issued a new rule that says for each one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. Makes sense. Nobody’s ever seen regulations like we have. You go to other countries and you look at indexes (ph) they have and you say “let me see your regulations” and they’re fraction, just a tiny fraction of what we have. And I want regulations because I want safety, I want environmental — all environmental situations to be taken properly care of. It’s very important to me. But you don’t need four or five or six regulations to take care of the same thing. We’ve stood up for the men and women of law enforcement, directing federal agencies to ensure they are protected from crimes of violence. We’ve directed the creation of a task force for reducing violent crime in America, including the horrendous situation — take a look at Chicago and others, taking place right now in our inner cities. Horrible. We’ve ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Justice to coordinate on a plan to destroy criminal cartels coming into the United States with drugs. We’re becoming a drug infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. We are not going to let it happen any longer. We’ve undertaken the most substantial border security measures in a generation to keep our nation and our tax dollars safe. And are now in the process of beginning to build a promised wall on the southern border, met with general — now Secretary Kelly yesterday and we’re starting that process. And the wall is going to be a great wall and it’s going to be a wall negotiated by me. The price is going to come down just like it has on everything else I’ve negotiated for the government. And we are going to have a wall that works, not gonna have a wall like they have now which is either nonexistent or a joke. We’ve ordered a crackdown on sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal law and that harbor criminal aliens, and we have ordered an end to the policy of catch and release on the border. No more release. No matter who you are, release. We have begun a nationwide effort to remove criminal aliens, gang members, drug dealers and others who pose a threat to public safety. We are saving American lives every single day. The court system has not made it easy for us. And are even creating a new office in Homeland Security dedicated to the forgotten American victims of illegal immigrant violence, which there are many. We have taken decisive action to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country. No parts are necessary and constitutional actions were blocked by judges, in my opinion, incorrect, and unsafe ruling. Our administration is working night and day to keep you safe, including reporters safe. And is vigorously defending this lawful order. I will not back down from defending our country. I got elected on defense of our country. I keep my campaign promises, and our citizens will be very happy when they see the result. They already are, I can tell you that. Extreme vetting will be put in place and it already is in place in many places. In fact, we had to go quicker than we thought because of the bad decision we received from a circuit that has been overturned at a record number. I have heard 80 percent, I find that hard to believe, that is just a number I heard, that they are overturned 80 percent of the time. I think that circuit is — that circuit is in chaos and that circuit is frankly in turmoil. But we are appealing that, and we are going further. We’re issuing a new executive action next week that will comprehensively protect our country. So we’ll be going along the one path and hopefully winning that, at the same time we will be issuing a new and very comprehensive order to protect our people. That will be done sometime next week, toward the beginning or middle at the latest part. We have also taken steps to begin construction of the Keystone Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipelines. Thousands and thousands of jobs, and put new buy American measures in place to require American steel for American pipelines. In other words, they build a pipeline in this country, and we use the powers of government to make that pipeline happen, we want them to use American steel. And they are willing to do that, but nobody ever asked before I came along. Even this order was drawn and they didn’t say that. TRUMP: And I’m reading the order, I’m saying, why aren’t we using American steel? And they said, that’s a good idea, we put it in. To drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, D. C. I’ve started by imposing a lobbying ban on White House officials and a lifetime ban on lobbying for a foreign government. We’ve begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare. Obamacare is a disaster, folks. It is’s disaster. I know you can say, oh, Obamacare. I mean, they fill up our alleys with people that you wonder how they get there, but they are not the Republican people our that representatives are representing. So we’ve begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare, and are deep in the midst of negotiations on a very historic tax reform to bring our jobs back, to bring our jobs back to this country. Big league. It’s already happening. But big league. I’ve also worked to install a cabinet over the delays and obstruction of Senate Democrats. You’ve seen what they’ve done over the last long number of years. That will be one of the great cabinets ever assembled in American history. You look at Rex Tillerson. He’s out there negotiating right now. General Mattis I mentioned before, General Kelly. We have great, great people. Mick is with us now. We have great people. Among their responsibilities will be ending the bleeding of jobs from our country and negotiating fair trade deals for our citizens. Now look, fair trade. Not free, fair. If a country is taking advantage of us, not going to let that happen anymore. Every country takes advantage of us almost. I may be able to find a couple that don’t. But for the most part, that would be a very tough job for me to do. Jobs have already started to surge. Since my election, Ford announced it will abandon its plans to build a new factory in Mexico, and will instead invest $700 million in Michigan, creating many, many jobs. Fiat Chrysler announced it will invest $1 billion in Ohio and Michigan, creating 2, 000 new American jobs. They were with me a week ago. You know you were here. General Motors likewise committed to invest billions of dollars in its American manufacturing operation, keeping many jobs here that were going to leave. And if I didn’t get elected, believe me, they would have left. And these jobs and these things that I’m announcing would never have come here. Intel just announced that it will move ahead with a new plant in Arizona that probably was never going to move ahead with. And that will result in at least 10, 000 American jobs. Walmart announced it will create 10, 000 jobs in the United States just this year because of our various plans and initiatives. There will be many, many more, many more, these are a few that we’re naming. Other countries have been taking advantage of us for decades — decades, and decades, and decades, folks. And we’re not going to let that happen anymore. Not going to let it happen. And one more thing, I have kept my promise to the American people by nominating a justice of the United States Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, who is from my list of 20, and who will be a true defender of our laws and our Constitution, highly respected, should get the votes from the Democrats. You may not see that. But he’ll get there one way or the other. But he should get there the way, and he should get those votes. This last month has represented an unprecedented degree of action on behalf of the great citizens of our country. Again, I say it. There has never been a presidency that’s done so much in such a short period of time. And we have not even started the big work yet. That starts early next week. Some very big things are going to be announced next week. So we are just getting started. We will be giving a speech, as I said, in Melbourne, Florida, at 5:00 p. m. I hope to see you there. And with that, I just say, God bless America, and let’s take some questions. Mara (ph) Mara (ph) go ahead. You were cut off pretty violently at our last news conference. QUESTION: ( ) TRUMP: Mike Flynn is a fine person, and I asked for his resignation. He respectfully gave it. He is a man who there was a certain amount of information given to Vice President Pence, who is with us today. And I was not happy with the way that information was given. He didn’t have to do that, because what he did wasn’t wrong — what he did in terms of the information he saw. What was wrong was the way that other people, including yourselves in this room, were given that information, because that was classified information that was given illegally. That’s the real problem. And, you know, you can talk all you want about Russia, which was all a, you know, fake news, fabricated deal, to try and make up for the loss of the Democrats and the press plays right into it. In fact, I saw a couple of the people that were supposedly involved with all of this — that they know nothing about it they weren’t in Russia they never made a phone call to Russia they never received a phone call. It’s all fake news. It’s all fake news. The nice thing is, I see it starting to turn, where people are now looking at the illegal — I think it’s very important — the illegal, giving out classified information. It was — and let me just tell you, it was given out like so much. I’ll give you an example. I called, as you know, Mexico. It was a very, very confidential, classified call. But I called Mexico. And in calling Mexico, I figured, oh, well that’s — I spoke to the president of Mexico I had a good call. All of a sudden, it’s out there for the world to see. It’s supposed to be secret. It’s supposed to be either confidential or classified, in that case. Same thing with Australia. All of a sudden, people are finding out exactly what took place. The same thing happened with respect to General Flynn. Everybody saw this. And I’m saying — the first thing I thought of when I heard about it is: How does the press get this information that’s classified? How do they do it? You know why? Because it’s an illegal process and the press should be ashamed of themselves. But more importantly, the people that gave out the information to the press should be ashamed of themselves, really ashamed. Yes, go ahead. QUESTION: ( ) TRUMP: Because when I looked at the information, I said, “I don’t think he did anything wrong if anything, he did something right. ” He was coming into office. He looked at the information. He said, “Huh, that’s fine. ” That’s what they’re supposed to do. They’re supposed to — he didn’t just call Russia. He called and spoke to both ways, I think there were countries. He’s doing the job. You know, he was doing his job. The thing is, he didn’t tell our vice president properly, and then he said he didn’t remember. So either way, it wasn’t very satisfactory to me. And I have somebody that I think will be outstanding for the position. And that also helps, I think, in the making of my decision. But he didn’t tell the vice president of the United States the facts. And then he didn’t remember. And that just wasn’t acceptable to me. Yes? QUESTION: (inaudible) clarification here. During your campaign, did anyone from your team (inaudible) Russian government or Russian intelligence? And if so, what was the nature of those conversations (inaudible)? TRUMP: The failing New York Times wrote a big, long story yesterday. And it was very much discredited, as you know. It was — it’s a joke. And the people mentioned in the story, I notice they were on television today saying they never even spoke to Russia. They weren’t even a part, really — I mean, they were such a minor part. They — I hadn’t spoken to them. I think the one person — I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him. I don’t think I’ve ever met him. And he actually said he was a very member of I think a committee for a short period of time. I don’t think I ever met him. Now, it’s possible that I walked into a room and he was sitting there, but I don’t think I ever met him. I didn’t talk to him ever. And he thought it was a joke. The other person said he never spoke to Russia never received a call. Look at his phone records, et cetera, et cetera. And the other person, people knew that he represented various countries, but I don’t think he represented Russia, but knew that he represented various countries. That’s what he does. I mean, people know that. That’s Mr. Manafort, who’s — by the way, who’s by the way a respected man. He’s a respected man. But I think he represented the Ukraine or Ukraine government or somebody, but everybody — people knew that. Everybody knew that. So, these people — and he said that he has absolutely nothing to do and never has with Russia. And he said that very forcefully. I saw his statement. He said it very forcefully. Most of the papers don’t print it because that’s not good for their stories. TRUMP: So the three people that they talked about all totally deny it. And I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia. President Putin called me up very nicely to congratulate me on the win of the election. He then, called me up extremely nicely to congratulate me on the inauguration, which was terrific. But so did many other leaders, almost all other leaders from almost all of the country. So that’s the extent. Russia is fake news. Russia — this is fake news put out by the media. The real news is the fact that people, probably from the Obama administration because they’re there, because we have our new people going in place, right now. As you know, Mike Pompeo has — has now taken control of the CIA, James Comey at FBI, Dan Coats is waiting to be approved, I mean he is a senator and a highly respected one and he’s still waiting to be approved. But our new people are going in. And just while you’re at it, because you mentioned this, Wall Street Journal did a story today that was almost as disgraceful as the failing New York Time’s story, yesterday. And it talked about — these are (ph) front page. So director of national intelligence just put out, acting a statement, any suggestion that the United States intelligence community, this was just given to us, is withholding information and not providing the best possible intelligence to the president and his national security team is not true. So they took this front page story out of The Wall Street Journal top and they just wrote the story that its not true. And I’ll tell you something, I’ll be honest, because I sort of enjoy this back and forth that I guess I have all my life but I’ve never seen more dishonest media than frankly, the political media. I thought the financial media was much better, much more honest. But I will say that, I never get phone calls from the media. How did they write a story like that in The Wall Street Journal without asking me or how did they write a story in The New York Times, put it on front page? That was like the story they wrote about the women and me, front page, big massive story. And it was nasty and then they called, they said we never said that, we like Mr. Trump. They called up my office, we like Mr. Trump, we never said that. And it was totally — they totally misrepresented those very wonderful women, I have to tell you, totally misrepresented. I said give us the retraction. They never gave us a retraction and frankly, I then went on to other things. OK, go ahead. QUESTION: ( ) said today that you have big intellectual margins (inaudible) 300 or more (ph) or 350 (ph) electoral (ph) votes. President Obama about 365 ( ). (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Yeah. QUESTION: Obama ( ) 426 on ( ). So why should Americans. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: . ..I’m skipping that information, I don’t know, I was just given (ph) we had a very, very big margin. QUESTION: ( ) why should Americans trust you ( ) the information ( )? TRUMP: Well, I don’t know, I was given that information. I was given — I actually, I’ve seen that information around. But it was a very substantial victory, do you agree with that? OK thank you, that’s. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Go ahead Sir, yes? QUESTION: Can you tell us in determining that Lieutenant General Flynn did — whether there was no wrongdoing in your mind, what evidence was weighed? Did you ask for transcripts of these telephone intercepts with Russian officials, particularly the Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who he was communicating with? What — what evidence did you weigh to determine that there was no wrongdoing? Further to that, Sir, you said on a couple of locations this morning, you are going to aggressively pursue the source of these leaks. TRUMP: We are. QUESTION: Can we ask what you’re going to do and also, we’ve heard about a — a review of the intelligence community headed up by Steven Feinberg, what can you tell us about that? TRUMP: Well, first of all about that, we now have Dan Coats, hopefully soon, Mike Pompeo and James Comey and they’re in position so I hope that we’ll be able to straighten that out without using anybody else. The gentleman you mentioned is a very talented man, very successful man and he’s offered his services and you know, it’s something we may take advantage of. But I don’t think we’re need that at all because of the fact that you know, I think that we are gonna be able to straighten it out very easily on its own. As far as the general’s concerned, when I first heard about it, I said huh, that doesn’t sound wrong. My counsel came, Don McGahn, White House Counsel, and he told me and I asked him, he can speak very well for himself. He said he doesn’t think anything is wrong, you know, really didn’t think. It was really, what happened after that but he didn’t think anything was done wrong. I didn’t either because I waited a period of time and I started to think about it, I said “well I don’t see” — to me, he was doing the job. The information was provided by — who I don’t know, Sally Yates. And I was a little surprised because I said “doesn’t sound like he did anything wrong there. ” But he did something wrong with respect to the vice president and I thought that was not acceptable. As far as — as far as the actual making the call, fact I’ve watched various programs and I’ve read various articles where he was just doing his job. That was very normal. You know, first everybody got excited because they thought he did something wrong. After they thought about it, it turned out he was just doing his job. So — and I do. And by the way, with all of that being said, I do think he’s a fine man. QUESTION: Sir, if I could, on the leaks — on the leaks, sir. .. TRUMP: . ..Go ahead. Finish off then I’ll get you. QUESTION: I’m sorry. What will you do on the leaks? You’ve said twice today. .. TRUMP: . ..Yes, we’re looking at them very — very, very serious. I’ve gone to all of the folks in charge of the various agencies and we’re — I’ve actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks. Those are criminal leaks. They’re put out by people either in agencies — I think you’ll see it stopping because now we have our people in. You know, again, we don’t have our people in because we can’t get them approved by the Senate. We just had Jeff Sessions approved. Injustice, as an example (ph). So, we are looking into that very seriously. It’s a criminal act. You know what I say, when I — when I was called out on Mexico, I was shocked because all this equipment, all this incredible phone equipment — when I was called out on Mexico, I was — honestly, I was really, really surprised. But I said “you know, it doesn’t make sense. That won’t happen” but that wasn’t that important a call, it was fine, I could show it to the world and he could show it to the world, the president who’s a very fine man, by the way. Same thing with Australia. I said “that’s terrible that it was leaked” but it wasn’t that important. But then I said to myself “what happens when I’m dealing with the problem of North Korea?” What happens when I’m dealing with the problems in the Middle East? Are you folks going to be reporting all of that very, very confidential information, very important, very — you know, I mean at the highest level? Are you going to be reporting about that too? So, I don’t want classified information getting out to the public and in a way that was almost a test. So I’m dealing with Mexico, I’m dealing with Argentina, we were dealing on this case with Mike Flynn. All this information gets put into the “Washington Post” and gets put into the “New York Times” and I’m saying “what’s going to happen when I’m dealing on the Middle East? What’s going to happen when I’m dealing with really, really important subjects like North Korea? We got to stop it. That’s why it’s a criminal penalty. QUESTION: I just want to get you to clarify this very important point. Can you say definitively that nobody on your campaign had any contacts with the Russians during the campaign? And on the leaks, is it fake news or are these real leaks? TRUMP: Well the leaks are real. You’re the one that wrote about them and reported them, I mean the leaks are real. You know what they said, you saw it and the leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of the news is fake. So one thing that I felt it was very important to do — and I hope we can correct it. Because there’s nobody I have more respect for — well, maybe a little bit but the reporters, good reporters. It’s very important to me and especially in this position. It’s very important. I don’t mind bad stories. I can handle a bad story better than anybody as long as it’s true and, you know, over a course of time, I’ll make mistakes and you’ll write badly and I’m OK with that. But I’m not OK when it is fake. I mean, I watch CNN, it’s so much anger and hatred and just the hatred. I don’t watch it any more because it’s very good — he’s saying no. It’s OK, Jim (ph). It’s OK, Jim (ph) you’ll have your chance. But I watch others too. You’re not the only one so don’t feel badly. But I think it should be straight. I think it should be — I think it would be frankly more interesting. I know how good everybody’s ratings are right now but I think that actually — I think that’d actually be better. People — I mean, you have a lower approval rate than Congress. I think that’s right. I don’t know, Peter (ph) is that one right? Because you know I think they have lower — I heard lower than Congress. But honestly, the public would appreciate it, I’d appreciate it — again, I don’t mind bad stories when it’s true but we have an administration where the Democrats are making it very difficult. TRUMP: I think we’re setting a record or close to a record in the time of approval of a cabinet. I mean, the numbers are crazy. When I’m looking, some of them had them approved immediately. I’m going forever and I still have a lot of people that we’re waiting for. And that’s all they’re doing, is delaying. And you look at Schumer and the mess that he’s got over there and they have nothing going. The only thing they can do is delay. And, you know, I think that they’d be better served by, you know, approving and making sure that they’re happy and everybody’s good. And sometimes — I mean, I know President Obama lost three or four, and you lose them on the way, and that’s OK. That’s fine. But I think it would — I think they would be much better served, John, if they just went through the process quickly. This is pure delay tactics. And they say it, and everybody understands it. Yeah, go ahead, Jimmy. QUESTION: ( ) TRUMP: Well, I had nothing to do with it. I have nothing to do with Russia. I told you, I have no deals there, I have no anything. Now, when WikiLeaks, which I had nothing to do with, comes out and happens to give, they’re not giving classified information. They’re giving stuff — what was said at an office about Hillary cheating on the debates. Which, by the way, nobody mentions. Nobody mentions that Hillary received the questions to the debates. Can you imagine — seriously — can you imagine if I received the questions? It would be the electric chair. OK, he should be put in the electric — you would even call for the reinstitution of the death penalty, OK. Maybe not you John. Yes? We’ll do you next Jim, I do you next( ph). QUESTION: ( ) clarify — TRUMP: Yes, yes, sure QUESTION: Did you direct Mike Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador — TRUMP: No, I didn’t. QUESTION: — prior to your — TRUMP: No, I didn’t. QUESTION: — inauguration. TRUMP: No, I didn’t. QUESTION: And then fired him — TRUMP: Excuse me. QUESTION: ( ) TRUMP: No, I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence. Very simple. Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So, it certainly would have been OK with me if he did it. I would have directed him to do it if I thought he wasn’t doing it. I didn’t direct him, but I would have directed him because that’s his job. And it came out that way — and in all fairness, I watched Dr. Charles Krauthammer the other night say he was doing his job and I agreed with him. And since then, I’ve watched many other people say that. No, I didn’t direct him, but I would have directed him if he didn’t do it. OK? Jim? QUESTION: Thank you very much, and just for the record, we don’t hate you. I don’t hate you. TRUMP: OK. QUESTION: So, pass that along — TRUMP: Ask — ask Jeff Zucker how he got his job. OK? QUESTION: If I may follow up on some of the questions that have taken place so far here, sir — TRUMP: Well, that’s — well, you know, we do have other people. You do have other people and your ratings aren’t as good as some of the other people that are waiting. QUESTION: It’s pretty good right now, actually. TRUMP: OK, go ahead, John. QUESTION: If I may ask, sir, you said earlier that WikiLeaks was revealing information about the Hillary Clinton campaign during the election cycle. You welcomed that. At one time — TRUMP: I was OK with it. QUESTION: — you said — you said that you loved WikiLeaks. At another campaign press conference you called on the Russians to find the missing 30, 000 . I’m wondering, sir, if you — TRUMP: Well, she was actually missing 33 and then that got extended with a pile after that. QUESTION: Then( ph) your( ph) numbers( ph) were off too. TRUMP: No — no, but I did say 30. But it was actually higher than that. QUESTION: If — if I may ask you, sir, it — it sounds as though you do not have much credibility here when it comes to leaking if that is something that you encouraged during( ph) the campaign — TRUMP: OK, fair question. Ready? QUESTION: Well, if I may ask you that — TRUMP: No — no, but let me do one at a time. QUESTION: If I may as a follow up? TRUMP: Do you mind? QUESTION: Yes, sir. TRUMP: All right. So, in one case, you’re talking about highly classified information. In the other case, you’re talking about John Podesta saying bad things about the boss. I will say this, if John Podesta said that about me and he was working for me, I would have fired him so fast your head would have spun. He said terrible things about her. But it wasn’t classified information. But in one case, you’re talking about classified — regardless, if you look at the RNC, we had a very strong — at my suggestion — and I give Reince great credit for this — at my suggestion, because I know something about this world, I said I want a very strong defensive mechanism. I don’t want to be hacked. And we did that. And you have seen that they tried to hack us and they failed. The DNC did not do that. And if they did it, they could not have been hacked. But they were hacked and terrible things came in. And, you know, the only thing that I do think is unfair is some of the things were so — they were — when I heard some of those things I picked up the papers the next morning and said, oh, this is going to be front page, it wasn’t even in the papers. Again, if I had that happen to me, it would be the biggest story in the history of publishing or the head of newspapers. I would have been headline in every newspaper. I mean, think of it. They gave her the questions to a debate and she — and she should have reported herself. Why did Hillary Clinton announce that, “I’m sorry, but I have been given the questions to a debate or a town hall, and I feel that it’s inappropriate, and I want to turn in CNN for not doing a good job. ” QUESTION: And if I may follow up on that, just something that Jonathan Karl (ph) was asking you about. You said that the leaks are real, but the news is fake. I guess I don’t understand. It seems that there’s a disconnect there. If the information coming from those leaks is real, then how can the stories be fake? TRUMP: The reporting is fake. Look, look. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: You know what it is? Here’s the thing. The public isn’t — you know, they read newspapers, they see television, they watch. They don’t know if it’s true or false because they’re not involved. I’m involved. I’ve been involved with this stuff all my life. But I’m involved. So I know when you’re telling the truth or when you’re not. I just see many, many untruthful things. And I’ll tell you what else I see. I see tone. You know the word “tone. ” The tone is such hatred. I’m really not a bad person, by the way. No, but the tone is such — I do get good ratings, you have to admit that — the tone is such hatred. I watched this morning a couple of the networks. And I have to say, Fox Friends in the morning, they’re very honorable people. They’re very — not because they’re good, because they hit me also when I do something wrong. But they have the most honest morning show. That’s all I can say. It’s the most honest. But the tone, Jim. If you look — the hatred. The, I mean, sometimes — sometimes somebody gets. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Well, you look at your show that goes on at 10 o’clock in the evening. You just take a look at that show. That is a constant hit. The panel is almost always exclusive . The good news is he doesn’t have good ratings. But the panel is almost exclusive . And the hatred and venom coming from his mouth the hatred coming from other people on your network. Now, I will say this. I watch it. I see it. I’m amazed by it. And I just think you’d be a lot better off, I honestly do. The public gets it, you know. Look, when I go to rallies, they turn around, they start screaming at CNN. They want to throw their placards at CNN. You know. I — I think you would do much better by being different. But you just take a look. Take a look at some of your shows in the morning and the evening. If a guest comes out and says something positive about me, it’s — it’s brutal. Now, they’ll take this news conference — I’m actually having a very good time, OK? But they’ll take this news conference — don’t forget, that’s the way I won. Remember, I used to give you a news conference every time I made a speech, which was like every day. OK? (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: No, that’s how I won. I won with news conferences and probably speeches. I certainly didn’t win by people listening to you people. That’s for sure. But I’m having a good time. Tomorrow, they will say, “Donald Trump rants and raves at the press. ” I’m not ranting and raving. I’m just telling you. You know, you’re dishonest people. But — but I’m not ranting and raving. I love this. I’m having a good time doing it. But tomorrow, the headlines are going to be, “Donald Trump rants and raves. ” I’m not ranting and raving. Go ahead. QUESTION: If I may, just one more followup. .. TRUMP: Should I let him have a little bit more? What do you think, Peter? Peter, should I have — let him have a little bit more? Sit down. Sit down. We’ll. .. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Just because of the attack of fake news and attacking our network, I just want to ask you, sir. .. TRUMP: I’m changing it from fake news, though. QUESTION: Doesn’t that under. .. TRUMP: Very fake news. QUESTION: . .. I know, but aren’t you. .. (LAUGHTER) TRUMP: Go ahead. QUESTION: Real news, Mr. President, real news. TRUMP: And you’re not related to our new. .. QUESTION: I am not related, sir. No. I do like the sound of Secretary Acosta, I must say. TRUMP: I looked — you know, I looked at that name. I said, wait a minute, is there any relation there? Alex Acosta. QUESTION: I’m sure you checked that out, sir. TRUMP: OK. Now I checked it — I said — they said, “No, sir. ” I said, “Do me a favor, go back and check the family tree. ” QUESTION: But aren’t you — aren’t you concerned, sir, that you are undermining the people’s faith in the First Amendment, freedom of the press, the press in this country, when you call stories you don’t like “fake news”? Why not just say it’s a story I don’t like. TRUMP: I do that. QUESTION: When you call it “fake news,” you’re undermining confidence in our news media (inaudible) important. TRUMP: No, no. I do that. Here’s the thing. OK. I understand what you’re — and you’re right about that, except this. See, I know when I should get good and when I should get bad. And sometimes I’ll say, “Wow, that’s going to be a great story. ” And I’ll get killed. I know what’s good and bad. I’d be a pretty good reporter, not as good as you. But I know what’s good. I know what’s bad. And when they change it and make it really bad, something that should be positive — sometimes something that should be very positive, they’ll make OK. They’ll even make it negative. So I understand it. So, because I’m there. I know what was said. I know who’s saying it. I’m there. So it’s very important to me. Look, I want to see an honest press. When I started off today by saying that it’s so important to the public to get an honest press. The press — the public doesn’t believe you people anymore. Now, maybe I had something to do with that. I don’t know. But they don’t believe you. If you were straight and really told it like it is, as Howard Cosell used to say, right? Of course, he had some questions also. But if you were straight, I would be your biggest booster. I would be your biggest fan in the world, including bad stories about me. But if you go — as an example, you’re CNN, I mean it’s story after story after story is bad. I won. I won. And the other thing, chaos because zero chaos. We are running — this is a machine and Reince happens to be doing a good job but half of his job is putting out lies by the press (ph). You know, I said to him yesterday this whole Russia scam that you guys are building so that you don’t talk about the real subject which is illegal leaks, but I watched him yesterday working so hard to try and get that story proper. And I’m saying “here’s my chief of staff,” a really good guy, did a phenomenal job at RNC. I mean, he won the election, right? We won the presidency. We got some senators, we got some — all over the country, you take a look, he’s done a great job. And I said to myself, you know — and I said to somebody that was in the room, I said “you take a look at Reince, he’s working so hard just putting out fires that are fake fires. ” I mean, they’re fake. They’re not true. And isn’t that a shame because he’d rather be working on healthcare, he’d rather be working on tax reform, Jim (ph). I mean that. I would be your biggest fan in the world if you treated me right. I sort of understand there’s a certain bias maybe by Jeff (ph) or somebody, you know — you know, whatever reason. But — and I understand that. But you’ve got to be at least a little bit fair and that’s why the public sees it. They see it. They see it’s not fair. You take a look at some of your shows and you see the bias and the hatred. And the public is smart, they understand it. Go ahead. QUESTION: (inaudible) . ..for those who believe that there is something to it, is there anything that you have learned over the last few weeks that you might be able to reveal that might ease their concerns that this isn’t fake news? And second. .. TRUMP: . ..I think they don’t believe it. I don’t think the public — that’s why the Rasmussen poll just has me through the roof. I don’t think they believe it. Well, I guess one of the reasons I’m here today is to tell you the whole Russian thing, that’s a ruse. That’s a ruse. And by the way, it would be great if we could get along with Russia, just so you understand that. Now tomorrow, you’ll say “Donald Trump wants to get along with Russia, this is terrible. ” It’s not terrible. It’s good. We had Hillary Clinton try and do a reset. We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20 percent of the uranium in our country. You know what uranium is, right? This thing called nuclear weapons like lots of things are done with uranium including some bad things. Nobody talks about that. I didn’t do anything for Russia. I’ve done nothing for Russia. Hillary Clinton gave them 20 percent of our uranium. Hillary Clinton did a reset, remember? With the stupid plastic button that made us all look like a bunch of jerks. Here, take a look. He looked at her like, what the hell is she doing with that cheap plastic button? Hillary Clinton — that was the reset, remember it said reset? Now if I do that, oh, I’m a bad guy. If we could get along with Russia, that’s a positive thing. We have a very talented man, Rex Tillerson, who’s going to be meeting with them shortly and I told him. I said “I know politically it’s probably not good for me. ” The greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship that’s 30 miles off shore right out of the water. Everyone in this country’s going to say “oh, it’s so great. ” That’s not great. That’s not great. I would love to be able to get along with Russia. Now, you’ve had a lot of presidents that haven’t taken that tack. Look where we are now. Look where we are now. So, if I can — now, I love to negotiate things, I do it really well, and all that stuff. But — but it’s possible I won’t be able to get along with Putin. Maybe it is. But I want to just tell you, the false reporting by the media, by you people, the false, horrible, fake reporting makes it much harder to make a deal with Russia. And probably Putin said “you know. ” He’s sitting behind his desk and he’s saying “you know, I see what’s going on in the United States, I follow it closely. It’s going to be impossible for President Trump to ever get along with Russia because of all the pressure he’s got with this fake story. ” OK? And that’s a shame because if we could get along with Russia — and by the way, China and Japan and everyone. If we could get along, it would be a positive thing, not a negative thing. QUESTION: Is tax reform on the line (ph)? QUESTION: Mr. President? Mr. President? Mr. President, since you. .. TRUMP: Tax reform is going to happen fairly quickly. We’re doing Obamacare. We’re in final stages. We should be submitting the initial plan in March, early March, I would say. And we have to, as you know, statutorily and for reasons of budget, we have to go first. It’s not like, frankly, the tax would be easier, in my opinion, but for statutory reasons and for budgetary reasons, we have to submit the healthcare sooner. So we’ll be submitting healthcare sometime in early March, March. And after that, we’re going to come up, and we’re doing very well on tax reform. Yes? QUESTION: Mr. President, you mentioned Russia. Let’s talk about some serious issues that have come up in the last week that you have had to deal with as president of the United States. TRUMP: OK. QUESTION: You mentioned the vessel — the spy vessel off the coast of the United States. TRUMP: Not good. QUESTION: There was a ballistic missile test that many interpret as a violation of an agreement between the two countries and a Russian plane buzzed a U. S. destroyer. TRUMP: Not good. QUESTION: I listened to you during the campaign . .. TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me. When did it happen? It happened when, if you were Putin right now, you would say, “Hey, we’re back to the old games with the United States there’s no way Trump can ever do a deal with us. ” Because the — you have to understand. If I was just brutal on Russia right now, just brutal, people would say, you would say, “Oh, isn’t that wonderful. ” But I know you well enough. Then you would say, “Oh, he was too tough he shouldn’t have done that. ” Look, all of the. .. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: I’m just trying to find out your orientation to those. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Wait a minute. Wait, wait. Excuse me just one second. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: All of those things that you mentioned are very recent, because probably Putin assumes that he’s not going to be able to make a deal with me because it’s politically not popular for me to make a deal. So Hillary Clinton tries a reset. It failed. They all tried. But I’m different than those people. Go ahead. QUESTION: How are you interpreting those moves? And what do you intend to do about them? Have you given Rex Tillerson any advice or counsel on how to deal? TRUMP: I have. I have. And I’m so beautifully represented. I’m so honored that the Senate approved him. He’s going to be fantastic. Yes, I think that I’ve already. .. QUESTION: Is Putin testing you, do you believe, sir? TRUMP: No, I don’t think so. I think Putin probably assumes that he can’t make a deal with me anymore because politically it would be unpopular for a politician to make a deal. I can’t believe I’m saying I’m a politician, but I guess that’s what I am now. Because, look, it would be much easier for me to be tough on Russia, but then we’re not going to make a deal. Now, I don’t know that we’re going to make a deal. I don’t know. We might. We might not. But it would be much easier for me to be so tough — the tougher I am on Russia, the better. But you know what? I want to do the right thing for the American people. And to be honest, secondarily, I want to do the right thing for the world. If Russia and the United States actually got together and got along — and don’t forget, we’re a very powerful nuclear country and so are they. There’s no upside. We’re a very powerful nuclear country and so are they. I have been briefed. And I can tell you one thing about a briefing that we’re allowed to say because anybody that ever read the most basic book can say it, nuclear holocaust would be like no other. They’re a very powerful nuclear country and so are we. If we have a good relationship with Russia, believe me, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. QUESTION: So when you say they’re not good, do you mean that they are. .. TRUMP: Who did I say is not good? QUESTION: No, I read off the three things that have recently happened. Each one of them you said they’re not good. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: No, it’s not good, but they happened. QUESTION: But do they damage the relationship? Do they undermine. .. TRUMP: They all happened recently. No. .. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: . .. this country’s ability to work with Russia? TRUMP: They all happened recently. And I understand what they’re doing because they’re doing the same thing. Now, again, maybe I’m not going to be able to do a deal with Russia, but at least I will have tried. And if I don’t, does anybody really think that Hillary Clinton would be tougher on Russia than Donald Trump? Does anybody in this room really believe that? OK? But I tell you one thing, she tried to make a deal. She had the reset. She gave all that valuable uranium away. She did other things. You know, they say I’m close to Russia. Hillary Clinton gave away 20 percent of the uranium in the United States. She’s close to Russia. QUESTION: Can we. .. TRUMP: I gave — you know what I gave to Russia? You know what I gave? Nothing. QUESTION: Can we conclude there will be no response to these particular provocations? TRUMP: I’m not going to tell you anything about what response I do. I don’t talk about military response. I don’t say I’m going into Mosul in four months. “We are going to attack Mosul in four months. ” Then three months later, “We are going to attack Mosul in one month. ” “Next week, we are going to attack Mosul. ” In the meantime, Mosul is very, very difficult. Do you know why? Because I don’t talk about military, and I don’t talk about certain other things, you’re going to be surprised to hear that. And by the way, my whole campaign, I’d say that. So I don’t have to tell you. I don’t want to be one of these guys that say, “Yes, here’s what we’re going to do. ” I don’t have to do that. I don’t have to tell you what I’m going to do in North Korea. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Wait a minute. I don’t have to tell you what I’m going to do in North Korea. And I don’t have to tell you what I’m going to do with Iran. You know why? Because they shouldn’t know. And eventually, you guys are going to get tired of asking that question. TRUMP: So when you ask me what am I going to do with a ship, the Russian ship as an example, I’m not going to tell you. But hopefully, I won’t have to do anything, but I’m not going to tell you. OK. QUESTION: Could I just ask you — thank you very much, Mr. President. The trouble. .. TRUMP: Where are you from? QUESTION: BBC. TRUMP: Here’s another beauty. QUESTION: That’s a good line. Impartial, free and fair. TRUMP: Yeah. Sure. QUESTION: Mr. President. .. TRUMP: Just like CNN right? QUESTION: On the travel ban — we could banter back and forth. On the travel ban would you accept that that was a good example of the smooth running of government. .. TRUMP: Yeah, I do. I do. Let me tell you about this government. .. QUESTION: Were there any mistakes. .. TRUMP: Wait. Wait. I know who you are. Just wait. Let me tell you about the travel ban. We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court. Got a bad decision. We had a court that’s been overturned. Again, may be wrong. But I think it’s 80 percent of the time, a lot. We had a bad decision. We’re going to keep going with that decision. We’re going to put in a new executive order next week some time. But we had a bad decision. That’s the other thing that was wrong with the travel ban. You had Delta with a massive problem with their computer system at the airports. You had some people that were put out there, brought by very nice busses, and they were put out at various locations. Despite that the only problem that we had is we had a bad court. We had a court that gave us what I consider to be, with great respect, a very bad decision. Very bad for the safety and security of our country. The rollout was perfect. Now, what I wanted to do was do the exact same executive order, but said one thing. I said this to my people. Give them a period of time. But Gen. Kelly, now Sec. Kelly, said if you do that, all these people will come in and (inaudible) the bad ones. You do agree there are bad people out there, right? That not everybody that’s like you. You have some bad people out there. Kelly said you can’t do that. And he was right. As soon as he said it I said wow, never thought of it. I said how about one week? He said no good. You got to do it immediately because if you do it immediately they don’t have time to come in. Now nobody ever reports that. But that’s why we did it quickly. Now, if I would’ve done it a month, everything would’ve been perfect. The problem is we would’ve wasted a lot of time, and maybe a lot of lives because a lot of bad people would’ve come into our country. Now in the meantime, we’re vetting very, very strongly. Very, very strongly. But we need help. And we need help by getting that executive order passed. QUESTION: Just a brief . But if it’s so urgent, why not introduce. .. TRUMP: Yes? Go ahead. QUESTION: Thank you. I was just hoping that we could get a yes or no answer on one of these questions involving Russia. Can you say whether you are aware that anyone who advised your campaign had contacts with Russia during the course of the election? TRUMP: Well I told you, Gen. Flynn obviously was dealing. So that’s one person. But he was dealing, as he should have been. QUESTION: During the election? TRUMP: No. Nobody that I know of. Nobody. .. QUESTION: So you’re not aware of any contact during the course.. TRUMP: Look, look, look. .. QUESTION: . .. of the election? TRUMP: How many times do I have to answer this question? QUESTION: Can you just say yes or no? TRUMP: Russia is a ruse. I know you have to get up and ask a question. It’s so important. Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven’t made a phone call to Russia in years. Don’t speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn’t. I just have nobody to speak to. I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the election. I told you this. And he called me on the inauguration, a few days ago. We had a very good talk, especially the second one, lasted for a pretty long period of time. I’m sure you probably get it because it was classified. So I’m sure everybody in this room perhaps has it. But we had a very, very good talk. I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does. Now, Manafort has totally denied it. He denied it. Now people knew that he was a consultant over in that part of the world for a while, but not for Russia. I think he represented Ukraine or people having to do with Ukraine, or people that — whoever. But people knew that. Everybody knew that. QUESTION: But in his capacity as your campaign manager, was he in touch with Russian officials during the election? TRUMP: You know what? He said no. I could only tell you what he — now he was replaced long before the election. You know that, right? He was replaced long before the election. When all of this stuff started coming out, it came out during the election. But Paul Manafort, who’s a good man also by the way, Paul Manfort was replaced long before the election took place. He was only there for a short period of time. QUESTION: Mr. President. .. TRUMP: How much longer should we stay here, folks? QUESTION: Mr. President. .. TRUMP: Five more minutes. Is that OK? Five? QUESTION: Mr. President, on national. .. TRUMP: Wait. Let’s see. Who’s — I want to find a friendly reporter. QUESTION: Mr. ... TRUMP: Are you a friendly reporter? Watch how friendly he is. Wait. Wait. Watch how friendly he is. Go ahead. QUESTION: ( ). .. TRUMP: Go ahead. QUESTION: So first of all, my name is (Inaudible) from (Inaudible) Magazine. I (inaudible). I haven’t seen anybody in my community, including yourself or any of the — anyone on your staff of being ( ). Because ( ). However, what we’ve already heard about and what we ( ) is ( ) so you’re general forecast (ph) like 48 ( ). There are people who are everything (ph) happens through their packs (ph) is one of the ( ). .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP:. ..he said he was gonna ask a very simple, easy question. And it’s not, its not, not — not a simple question, not a fair question. OK sit down, I understand the rest of your question. So here’s the story, folks. Number one, I am the least Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Number two, racism, the least racist person. In fact, we did very well relative to other people running as a Republican — quiet, quiet, quiet. See, he lied about — he was gonna get up and ask a very straight, simple question, so you know, welcome to the world of the media. But let me just tell you something, that I hate the charge, I find it repulsive. I hate even the question because people that know me and you heard the prime minister, you heard Ben Netanyahu (ph) yesterday, did you hear him, Bibi? He said, I’ve known Donald Trump for a long time and then he said, forget it. So you should take that instead of having to get up and ask a very insulting question like that. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. QUESTION: Thank you, I’m Lisa (ph) from the. .. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: See, it just shows you about the press, but that’s the way the press is. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Lisa Dejardown (ph) from the PBS News Hour. On national security and immigration, can you give us more details on the executive order you plan for next week? Even its broad outlines? TRUMP: Yeah. QUESTION: Will it be focused on specific. .. TRUMP: It’s a very fair question. QUESTION: . ..countries? And in addition, on the DACA program for immigration. TRUMP: Right. QUESTION: What is your plan, do you plan to continue that program or to end it? TRUMP: We’re gonna show great heart, DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me, I will tell you. To me, it’s one of the most difficult subjects I have because you have these incredible kids. In many cases, not in all cases. And some of the cases, having DACA and they’re gang members and they’re drug dealers, too. But you have some absolutely, incredible kids, I would say mostly. They were brought here in such a way — it’s a very — it’s a very, very tough subject. We’re gonna deal with DACA with heart. I have to deal with a lot of politicians, don’t forget and I have to convince them that what I’m saying is — is right. And I appreciate your understanding on that. But the DACA situation is a very, very — it’s a very difficult thing for me because you know, I love these kids, I love kids, I have kids and grandkids. And I find it very, very hard doing what the law says exactly to do and you know, the law is rough. I’m not talking about new laws, I’m talking the existing law, is very rough, it’s very, very rough. As far as the new order, the new order is going to be very much tailored to the what I consider to be a very bad decision. But we can tailor the order to that decision and get just about everything, in some ways, more. But we’re tailoring it now to the decision, we have some of the best lawyers in the country working on it. And the new executive order, is being tailored to the decision we got down from the court. OK? QUESTION: Mr. President. .. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: . ..reopening of the White House Visitors Office? TRUMP: Yes. QUESTION: And she does a lot of great work for the country as well (ph). Can you talk a little bit about what’s first for (ph) Melania Trump does for the country and (inaudible) so opening White House Visitors Office, what does that mean. .. TRUMP: Now, that’s what I call a nice question. That is very — who are you with? QUESTION: ( ) TRUMP: Good, I’m gonna start watching, all right? Thank you very much. Melania’s terrific, she was here last night, we had dinner with Senator Rubio and his wife who is by the way, lovely. And we had a really good discussion about Cuba because we have very similar views on Cuba. And Cuba was very good to me in the Florida election, as you know the Cuban Americans. And I think that Melania’s gonna be outstanding, that’s right, she just opened up the visitors center, in other words, touring of the White House. She, like others that she’s working with, feel very, very strongly about women’s issue, women’s difficulties. Very, very strongly, she’s a very, very strong advocate. I think she’s a great representative for this country. And a funny thing happens, because she gets — she gets so unfairly — Melania, the things they say. I’ve known her for a long time, she was a very successful person, she was a very successful model. She did really well. She would go home at night and didn’t even want to go out with people. She was a very private person. She was always the highest quality that you’ll ever find. And the things they say — I’ve known her for a long time — the things they say are so unfair. And actually, she’s been apologized to, as you know, by various media because they said things that were lies. I’ll just tell you this. I think she’s going to be a fantastic first lady. She’s going to be a tremendous representative of women and of the people. And helping her and working her will be Ivanka, who is a fabulous person and a fabulous, fabulous woman. And they’re not doing this for money. They’re not doing this for pay, they’re doing this because they feel it both of them. And Melania goes back and forth and after Barron finishes school — because it’s hard to take a child out of school with a few months left — she and Barron will be moving over to the White House. OK, thank you, that’s a very nice question. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Go ahead. QUESTION: Mr. Trump? TRUMP: Yes, oh, this is going to be a bad question, but that’s OK. QUESTION: It doesn’t( ph) have( ph) to be a bad question. TRUMP: Good, because I enjoy watching you on television. Go ahead. QUESTION: Well, thank you so much. Mr. President, I need to find out from you, you said something as it relates to inner cities. That was one of your platforms during your campaign. Now you’re — TRUMP: Fix the inner cities. QUESTION: — president. Fixing the inner cities. TRUMP: Yep. QUESTION: What will be that fix and your urban agenda as well as your HBCU Executive Order that’s coming out this afternoon? See, it wasn’t bad, was it? TRUMP: That was very professional and very good. QUESTION: I’m very professional. TRUMP: We’ll be announcing the order in a little while and I’d rather let the order speak for itself. But it could be something that I think that will be very good for everybody concerned. But we’ll talk to you about that after we do the announcement. As far as the inner cities, as you know, I was very strong on the inner cities during the campaign. I think it’s probably what got me a much higher percentage of the African American vote than a lot of people thought I was going to get. We did, you know, much higher than people thought I was going to get. And I was honored by that, including the Hispanic vote, which was also much higher. And by the way, if I might add, including the women’s vote, which was much higher than people thought I was going to get. So, we are going to be working very hard on the inner cities, having to do with education, having to do with crime. We’re going to try and fix as quickly as possible — you know, it takes a long time. It’s taken more a hundred years and more for some of these places to evolve and they evolved, many of them, very badly. But we’re going to be working very hard on health and healthcare, very, very hard on education, and also we’re going to be working in a stringent way, in a very good way, on crime. You go to some of these inner city places and it’s so sad when you look at the crime. You have people — and I’ve seen this, and I’ve sort of witnessed it — in fact, in two cases I have actually witnessed it. They lock themselves into apartments, petrified to even leave, in the middle of the day. They’re living in hell. We can’t let that happen. So, we’re going to be very, very strong. That’s a great question and — and it’s a — it’s a very difficult situation because it’s been many, many years. It’s been festering for many, many years. But we have places in this country that we have to fix. We have to help African American people that, for the most part, are stuck there. Hispanic American people. We have Hispanic American people that are in the inner cities and their living in hell. I mean, you look at the numbers in Chicago. There are two Chicagos, as you know. There’s one Chicago that’s incredible, luxurious and all — and safe. There’s another Chicago that’s worse than almost any of the places in the Middle East that we talk, and that you talk about, every night on the newscasts. So, we’re going to do a lot of work on the inner cities. I have great people lined up to help with the inner cities. OK? QUESTION: Well, when you say the inner cities, are you going — are you going to include the CBC, Mr. President, in your conversations with your — your urban agenda, your inner city agenda, as well as — TRUMP: Am I going to include who? QUESTION: Are you going to include the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional — TRUMP: Well, I would. I tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? QUESTION: — Hispanic Caucus — TRUMP: Do you want to set up the meeting? QUESTION: No — no — no. I’m not — TRUMP: Are they friends of yours? QUESTION: I’m just a reporter. TRUMP: Well, then( ph) set up the meeting. QUESTION: I know some of them, but I’m sure they’re watching right now. TRUMP: Let’s go set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the Black Caucus. I think it’s great, the Congressional Black Caucus. I think it’s great. I actually thought I had a meeting with Congressman Cummings and he was all excited. And then he said, well, I can’t move, it might be bad for me politically. I can’t have that meeting. I was all set to have the meeting. You know, we called him and called him. And he was all set. I spoke to him on the phone, very nice guy. QUESTION: I hear he wanted that meeting with you as well. TRUMP: He wanted it, but we called, called, called and can’t make a meeting with him. Every day I walk and say I would like to meet with him because I do want to solve the problem. But he probably was told by Schumer or somebody like that, some other lightweight. He was probably told — he was probably told “don’t meet with Trump. It’s bad politics. ” And that’s part of the problem in this country. OK, one more. QUESTION: (inaudible) TRUMP: No, no, one question. Two we can’t handle. This room can’t handle two. Go ahead, give me the better of your two. QUESTION: (inaudible) . ..not about your personality or your beliefs, talking about (inaudible) some of it by supporters in your name. What do you. .. TRUMP: . ..And some of it — can I be honest with you? And this has to do with racism and horrible things that are put up. Some of it written by our opponents. You do know that. Do you understand that? You don’t think anybody would do a thing like that. Some of the signs you’ll see are not put up by the people that love or like Donald Trump, they’re put up by the other side and you think it’s like playing it straight? No. But you have some of those signs and some of that anger is caused by the other side. They’ll do signs and they’ll do drawings that are inappropriate. It won’t be my people. It will be the people on the other side to anger people like you. OK. (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Go ahead, go ahead. QUESTION: You’re the president now. What are you going to do about it? TRUMP: Who is that? Where is that? QUESTION: What are you going to do about — what are you going to do about (inaudible). TRUMP: Oh, I’m working on it. I’m working on it very — no, no, look. Hey, just so you understand, we had a totally divided country for eight years and long before that. In all fairness to President Obama, long before President Obama we have had a very divided — I didn’t come along and divide this country. This country was seriously divided before I got here. We’re going to work on it very hard. One of the questions I was asked, I thought it was a very good question was about the inner cities. I mean, that’s part of it. But we’re going to work on education, we’re going to work on — you know, we’re going to stop — we’re going to try and stop the crime. We have great law enforcement officials, we’re going to try and stop crime. We’re not going to try and stop, we’re going to stop crime. But it’s very important to me — but this isn’t Donald Trump that divided a nation. We went eight years with President Obama and we went many years before President Obama. We lived in a divided nation. And I am going to try — I will do everything within my power to fix that. I want to thank everybody very much. It’s a great honor to be with you. Thank you. Thank you very much, thanks. END | 0fake |
Tim Kaine Says Hillary Clinton Has Learned From Email ‘Mistake’ - The New York Times | Hillary Clinton will be “real transparent” with Americans after learning lessons from the controversy over her use of a private email server, her running mate, Tim Kaine, said on Sunday, expressing optimism that she could improve her trust deficit with voters over the next month. Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Kaine also said Mrs. Clinton and President Obama would together decide how to proceed with Mr. Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court, if she won the presidency in November. Mr. Kaine’s primary objective on NBC was to help Mrs. Clinton move on from her latest email imbroglio: her inaccurate statement last week that the F. B. I. director, James B. Comey, had called her answers about her private email server “truthful. ” Mr. Comey told Congress last month that he could not say if Mrs. Clinton had lied to Americans about her email practices, also saying the F. B. I. had “no basis to conclude she lied to the F. B. I. ” While Mrs. Clinton said on Friday that she “may have ” by suggesting that Mr. Comey had unconditionally vouched for her, Mr. Kaine focused on Mrs. Clinton’s admission that her use of the private server had been a “mistake” — a word he repeated four times — and said she had apologized for the matter. “I know that this is something that she’s learned from, and we’re going to be real transparent, absolutely,” Mr. Kaine said. Mrs. Clinton made her first apologies roughly a year ago and has promised to be more open, yet she was criticized for going more than 200 days without holding a formal news conference until Friday, when she took questions from reporters in Washington. Mr. Kaine suggested that more voters might trust Mrs. Clinton “even a month from now,” reflecting an ABC Post poll on Sunday in which Mrs. Clinton held an edge in trustworthiness over Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee. Asked which candidate was more honest and trustworthy, 49 percent of respondents chose Mrs. Clinton and 40 percent chose Mr. Trump, while the margin was narrower — 46 percent to 43 percent — among registered voters. Both results were Mrs. Clinton’s best against Mr. Trump since the poll started asking the question in May, according to a news release accompanying the poll. Mrs. Clinton holds a lead of eight percentage points among registered voters over all, according to the poll, and has improved markedly with white women — a group that Democrats have struggled to win for decades. But she continued to fare poorly among white men without college degrees. Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman, on Sunday played down the troubles that Mr. Trump has caused for himself recently with comments at his rallies and interviews, including his attacks on a Gold Star family and his surprising decision to withhold endorsements from Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senator John McCain for several days last week. Mr. Manafort said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the general election was just starting and that Mr. Trump would focus on attacking Mrs. Clinton starting on Monday with an economic speech in Detroit. “The campaign is a campaign — we’re at the beginning,” Mr. Manafort said. “Starting Monday, we’re going to be announcing our economic plan. When we do that, we’re comfortable that we can get the agenda and the narrative of the campaign back on where it belongs, which is comparing the tepid economy under Obama and Clinton versus the kind of growth economy that Mr. Trump wants to build. ” Perhaps Mr. Kaine’s most surprising comments were about the fate of Judge Garland. He and Mrs. Clinton strongly support Judge Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court, but the judge’s future remains unclear in the Senate. If the Senate does not act on Judge Garland, and Mrs. Clinton becomes president in January, she would have to decide whether to stick with the choice of Mr. Obama, her close ally, or to pick someone else for the vacancy. Mr. Kaine, who represents Virginia in the Senate, said the fate of Judge Garland “will be for the president and the to decide,” adding that it was up to Republicans in control of the Senate to bring the nomination to a vote. Asked if it was a 100 percent certainty that Mrs. Clinton would stick with Judge Garland’s nomination if she were elected, Mr. Kaine sidestepped the question and said that the onus was on Republicans to hold a vote and that he would vote in favor of the nomination. On Syria, Mr. Kaine said he believed the Obama administration had sent “a mixed message” about whether President Bashar had to be deposed after crossing Mr. Obama’s red line forbidding Syria to use chemical weapons. Still, Mr. Kaine said he supported the administration’s decision not to focus on ousting or replacing Mr. Assad and instead to concentrate on battling the Islamic State in Syria and elsewhere. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who challenged Mr. Trump for the Republican nomination and has refused to endorse him, ruled out voting for Mrs. Clinton in November, as some Republicans have said they would do. But asked if he would vote for Mr. Trump, Mr. Kasich said, “I wish that I could be fully enthusiastic — I can’t be — so I don’t know what’s going to happen in the end. ” He also said he did not know if Mr. Trump could win Ohio in November — a key state in his electoral strategy — if Mr. Trump continued to make controversial comments. “I still think it’s difficult if you are dividing to be able to win in Ohio,” he said. “I think it’s really, really difficult. ” Mr. Kasich also confirmed a recent report in The New York Times Magazine that one of his aides had received a phone call from the Trump campaign to offer the slot with a promise that Mr. Kasich could have unusual authority over domestic and foreign policy in a Trump administration. Mr. Kasich, in his remarks to CNN, did not go into detail and added that he had personally never gotten a call. He added: “I was never interested in being anyone’s vice president. Never considered it. Why would I want to be? I would be the worst vice president. I have too many opinions. ” The Trump campaign has disputed details about the call, and Mr. Trump has said he never offered the position to Mr. Kasich. | 0fake |
On Same Day : Obama Throws Top US Marine General In Jail, Then Allows ISIS Leader To Escape | An absolutely shocking Ministry of Defense report circulating in the Kremlin today says that the Obama regime, yesterday, announced that it was preparing to jail one of the United States top military leaders, General James Cartwright, for up to 5 years.
Via AlternativeNews
President Obama is interviewed by NPR’s Steve Inskeep at the White House on Monday.
While at the exact same time, President Obama personally ordered thousands of Islamic State ISIS terrorists freed, including their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from the Levant War Zone city of Mosul, Iraq. [ Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]
Please Scroll Down For Video Below! According to this report, General Cartwright, a four-star American Marine general and formerly the second-ranking officer in the entire US military, was forced by the Obama regime to plead guilty in a US Federal Court, on 17 October, for the crime of speaking to the internationally respected foreign policy reporter David Sanger.
General Cartwright’s talks with this reporter, this report explains, involved the Obama regimes secret, and deadly, deployment of the most dangerous computer virus ever created named Stuxnet—and that Sanger detailed in his book Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power that painted an unsettling picture of a White House perplexed by Afghanistan, confused by the dilemma of humanitarian intervention, and thrown off balance by the Arab Spring.
US Marine 4-Star General James Cartwright
After the 2012 publication of Sanger’s book revealing for the first time the many war crimes committed by the Nobel Peace Prize winning President Obama, this report continues, the Obama regime retroactively classified everything General Cartwright had told to Sanger (and that affected Hillary Clinton too, but who wasn’t charged), and then promptly filed charges against him for lying to US federal investigators—and that with his guilty plea now puts him at risk of serving 5 years in prison and having to pay a $250,000 fine.
At the exact same time General Cartwright was standing in a US Federal Court watching the Obama regime destroy his life and reputation yesterday, this report astonishingly details, President Obama ordered US military forces to allow an estimated 9,000 Islamic State terrorists to escape from Mosul that was authorized by a “ deal/agreement ” he had made with Saudi Arabia—and that just hours ago Foreign Minister Lavrov responded against by warning the Americans that if these fighters are allowed to leave Mosul and go to Syria, Russia would make “ the appropriate military and political decisions ”.
And of these 9,000 Islamic State terrorists President Obama is allowing to escape from Mosul, this report grimly states, is their terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—who just minutes prior to the US-led attack on Mosul beginning yesterday, was “ magically whisked ” to safety.
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (left) and President Obama (right)
MoD experts writing in this report note that President Obama’s “ fantasy strategy ” of defeating these Islamic State terrorists by allowing them and their leader to escape the battlefield makes no logical military sense at all—unless, of course, the Obama regime, and its Saudi Arabian and Qatar allies (who Hillary Clinton secretly admitted were funding these barbarians), never planned on defeating them in the first place.
Being called by the American military as Operation Inherent Resolve , this report continues, the Obama regimes “ make-believe/pretend ” battle to defeat ISIS terrorists in Mosul began yesterday (17 October) and is being led by over 6,000 US troops [the Pentagon still refuses to admit exactly how many thousands of US troops are really in Iraq and Syria] backed by Australian troops rushed to the war zone (9.45 a.m. IST bulletin)—but whose true “ aim/goal ”, some experts claim, is a “ secret terror deal ” between the US and Saudi Arabia to allow these barbarians [who have already killed over 33,000 people worldwide ] to go to Syria so that they can kill Russian soldiers.
Standing ready to defeat this Obama-Saudi Arabian “master plan” to unleash these Islamic State terrorists on Russian troops in Syria, however, this report notes, are the 100,000 estimated Iranian-backed Shiite forces who are making ready to destroy these barbarians during their “planned and protected” US escape.
To the consequences of the failure of President Obama’s and Saudi Arabia’s “master plan” for their ISIS terrorists, this report continues, Israeli intelligence officials are now warning that these Shiite militias loyal to Iran will not take part in the fighting to liberate Mosul, but will be stationed to the west, where they will block ISIS attempts to flee to their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, and from there, these militia fighters will be able to move ahead Tehran’s secret project of forging a path to the Mediterranean through Iraq and Syria—and that, interestingly, US president candidate Donald Trump’s top military advisor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, concurred with yesterday by his, likewise, warning that Iran will be the real winner when the Iraqi city of Mosul is taken back from the Islamic State.
To the American people being allowed to know the “ horrid truth ” of the Obama-Clinton-Saudi Arabia-Qatar “ cabal of evil ” destroying the Middle East, this report says, continues to be nearly non-existent as the mainstream American reporters who are supposed to be telling these people truthful facts, are, instead, showering Hillary Clinton with money, while at the same suppressing from the public their knowledge of her many crimes proven by Wikileaks—and that, astonishingly, CNN reporter Chris Cuomo proved by blatantly lying to the American people this week falsely telling them it was illegal for them to read Hillary Clinton’s secret Wikileaks emails—with him further lying and saying that journalists, like him, were allowed to read them, so people should listen to him, not what they can see (and prove) for themselves.
With General Cartwright now facing years in prison for a “ made-up/pretend ” Obama regime crime, while the leader of ISIS is allowed to go free, this report concludes, one can only “ wonder in fear ” what the next Obama-Clinton outrage will be—but with President Putin’s patience “ fast running out ”, his previous warning to these Americans of World War III may be the only thing to stop this madness before the whole world is destroyed by these insane madmen, and woman.
| 1real |
South African prosecutors say Pistorius sentence 'shockingly lenient', seek appeal | BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa s state prosecutors told the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Friday the six-year sentence for murder handed to Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius was shockingly lenient and asked for the right to launch an appeal. Pistorius was imprisoned in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine s Day 2013. The case has attracted worldwide interest. He was not in court for Friday s hearing. Women s rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women say Pistorius has received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status. The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail. That conviction was increased to murder by the SCA in December 2015 and his sentence increased to six years by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa. State prosecutors, led by advocate Andrea Johnson, said the sentence by Masipa was too lenient as the jail term was less than half the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa. Johnson said the High Court did not list the substantial and compelling factors for deviating from the 15-year sentence and that Pistorius had not shown remorse for the murder. There is no true, gut-wrenching remorse, Johnson said. It is shockingly lenient and has accordingly resulted in an injustice, she said, referring to the sentence. Lawyers for the gold medalist, known as the Blade Runner for his carbon-fiber prosthetics, say he did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp. Barry Roux, lead defense lawyer for Pistorius, said the athlete was suffering from severe and worsening post-traumatic stress disorder over the case. Roux said Masipa had addressed the misperception that Pistorius deliberately killed Steenkamp. Leave to appeal should really not be granted, he said. The court did not set a date for when it would rule on whether the appeal can be heard or not. | 0fake |
Congress split over privatizing air traffic control | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress is divided over whether to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system as both chambers advance bills to expand airline passenger protections. On Thursday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee adopted legislation that includes Federal Aviation Administration reforms, but unlike a House panel, does not spin off air traffic control and leaves it with the FAA. “The support is not there,” said Senator Bill Nelson, the top Democrat on the panel. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the privatization plan on Tuesday, putting air traffic control under the oversight of a nonprofit corporation. President Donald Trump has said the move would modernize air traffic control and lower flying costs. The proposal has drawn fire from private plane owners and rural airports. Critics say it would hand control of a key asset to special interests and big airlines. American Airlines Group Inc, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines Co and JetBlue Airways Corp all back the proposal. Congress has until Sept. 30 to reauthorize the FAA, but Republican Senator John Thune, chairman of the committee, said the Senate may not take up the proposal until after the August recess, potentially leaving little time to come up with a compromise measure. The Senate bill would require new rules prohibiting cancellation, baggage, seat selection and same day change fees that are not “reasonable and proportional.” Airlines for America, an airline trade group, said it would result in “government-mandated price controls” and should be rejected. In 2016, U.S. airlines collected $7.1 billion in baggage and reservation change fees. Both measures would make it illegal for an airline to bump an already boarded passenger from a flight. In April, a United passenger was forcibly removed from his seat, prompting public outrage. The airline has since banned the practice. The Senate bill also requires new rules that would mandate airlines promptly refund passengers for baggage fees or other fees if they do not receive services. The House bill would require the FAA to set minimum seat sizes on U.S. airlines and a minimum distance between rows to “protect the safety and health of airline passengers.” The average distance between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches in the 1970s to about 31 inches today, supporters say, and the average width of airline seats has shrunk from 18 inches to about 16-1/2 inches. One contentious issue is training requirements for pilots, and whether certain simulated training hours can be counted. Thune said that two-thirds of U.S. airports are only served by regional carriers and that there is a “crisis” in trying to attract pilots, while Democrats said the revised rules could lead to unqualified pilots. Both bills would seek to speed approval of some commercial drone use and testing, while studying privacy implications. The measures also require medium- and large-sized airports to provide clean private rooms in all terminals for nursing mothers and would enshrine a ban on making in-flight mobile phone calls in law. The Senate bill would direct a study of airplane air quality and require a study of whether airlines are shrinking airplane bathrooms to add more seats. | 0fake |
Village people: The rural past that unites Russia and Finland | expats , Karelia , regions , folk , vacation , nature "The Russian countryside reminded me of the Finnish countryside that does not exist anymore. By seeing cows and goats walking along the lanes of the village I got an image of what life was like in my grandmothers’ childhood in Finland." Source: Alena Repkina
”Terveh,” I saluted a lady in her seventies while walking along the lanes of the village of Vedlozero, in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. I knew that according to statistics, one third of the inhabitants of the village spoke Karelian, a closely relative language to my native Finnish. So I was greeting passers-by in the village in Karelian in order to find out how the situation was in reality and which kind of people still spoke the language.
”Please come inside and have Karelian pies,” answered the lady with a friendly voice, in Karelian of course. I went inside, sat at the table, ate freshly baked melting Karelian pies, drank tea and chatted with the lady and her husband. Karelians: Life on the border between cultures
We talked together in mixed Baltic-Finnic: me in Finnish, and my hosts in Karelian. They talked about their offspring, about their children who live in bigger cities and speak Karelian too, and about their grandchildren, who speak only Russian.
My hosts told me about their plantations and their life in the village, which is to a large extent self-sufficient. I saw their milk-producing goats, green cucumbers, red tomatoes and large potato fields. It is impressive what they are able to prepare from their natural resources. The Finland that once was
I walked back to the house that belonged to my real hosts, the parents of a friend of mine. On my way there I had a look at the white birches and especially the rowan trees, which are sacred trees for ancient Finns. I realized that lakes and fauna in the village express clearly that Finland is a part of the same continuum extending through all northern Russia until the Ural Mountains.
The Russian countryside reminded me of the Finnish countryside that does not exist anymore. By seeing cows and goats walking along the lanes of the village I got an image of what life was like in my grandmothers’ childhood in Finland. A photographic journey around Karelia in fall
I saw neighbors helping each other and grandchildren spending their summer days at their grandparents’ place. I enjoyed dinner together with my hosts. This taught me something about Russian hospitality and mutual solidarity, about the warmth with which they treat their guests.
The parents of a friend of mine offered me pickled cucumbers, sausages, olivier salad, different pies and sour cream, and made me feel relaxed and welcome. We talked about the trip to the lake we had made the day before; how we had caught fish and had lunch on the sands along the shore of the lake.
Steaming sauna baths and vodka enjoyed with good company became etched in my mind as a symbol of Russian comradeship. The most important and interesting discussions between true friends in Russia, I learned, are debated in the sauna, or alternatively, in front of the vodka bottle in the small hours. Russia and the village
I started to realize, similarly to many Russian writers and social thinkers of the 19th century, the significance of the rural atmosphere to the russkaya dusha (Russian soul). A village community such as Vedlozero reflects for me the Russian soul, the solidarity of people in their community and their hospitality.
On the point of leaving Vedlozero, Anni, an old Karelian-speaking lady, said goodbye in a heart-warming Orthodox style. “Jumalanke”– let God be with you – she wished me from the bottom of her heart. I suddenly realized that at this very moment the lady had unveiled the true face of Russia to me.
Sakari Linden is Executive Director of the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity, which promotes Finnish identity and maintains cultural relations to Uralic (Finno-Ugric) peoples. He travelled to Russia (St. Petersburg and Karelia) for the first time in July 2011, and, subsequently, has traveled to Russia on several occasions. He studied Russian for two months in Petrozavodsk (the capital of the Republic of Karelia) in fall 2015.
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Michigan’s Republican Governor Needs Your Tax Dollars To Fix The Flint Water Crisis He Created | The water crisis in Flint is not just simply a man-made disaster, it is the actualization of unconstrained Republican policy. For more than a year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and the emergency manager of Flint ignored the voices of all those who spoke out about the contamination of Flint s water. Now, Michigan is forced to rely on Obama and the federal government to rescue them.In April 2014, Flint s emergency manager forced the city to switch from using Detroit s water system to using the Flint River for water. The decision to do so was touted as a means to cut costs for the city. It turned out to be a disaster. There is an unusual amount of salt in the Flint River. The river is also extremely contaminated. So when the salt began to corrode the pipes of Flint s water system, lead leaked into people s drinking water. One study found the pipe corrosion problem could have been solved for as little as $100 a day. Now it is estimated that it will cost up to $1.5 billion dollars to fix Flint s water system. There has been massive outcry over the water system transition since day one. When evidence was shown that Flint s water had become contaminated, Snyder and the emergency manager choose not to act. That s why Snyder is currently being investigated by the EPA.For those not in the know, an emergency manager acts as the feudal lord for cities that want to behave fiscally irresponsibly. The emergency manager law was implemented by Snyder. When a local government fails to meet certain criteria, the governor appoints an emergency manager to replace the city government. The local government still exists, but those democratically elected officials do not have any real power. You might say that s just tough luck for Michiganders who elected Snyder. But you would be wrong. The emergency manager law was overturned through a ballot initiative in 2012. Snyder and Michigan s Republican-controlled state government decided to replace the law, with an almost exact copy.Now as many as 100,000 people have been poisoned by reckless neglect (and Republicans unfaltering devotion to destroying effective government.) This disaster was entirely preventable. The same way that the massive water shut offs in Detroit, that have received international condemnation, are completely unnecessary.At this point, there is no way that the Flint water crisis can be solved without receiving financial aid from the federal government. Snyder declared the disaster a state wide emergency last week, which makes it so that he can request financial aid from the federal government. Snyder must call on the Obama administration to fix his mess.Featured Image Credit: Michigan Municipal League via Flickr Creative Commons License 2.0 | 1real |
Obamacare architect: ‘The law is working as designed,’ just needs ‘a larger mandate penalty’ | Print
On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN Newsroom,” MIT Economics Professor and Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber argued that “The law is working as designed. However, it could work better. And I think probably the most important thing experts would agree on is that, we need a larger mandate penalty.”
Gruber said, “Obamacare’s not imploding. The main goal of Obamacare was two-fold. One was to cover the uninsured, of which we’ve covered 20 million, the largest expansion in american history. The other was to fix broken insurance markets where insurors could deny people insurance just because they were sick or they had been sick. Those have been fixed, and for the vast majority of Americans, costs in those markets have come down, thanks to the subsidies made available under Obamacare.”
When asked about the 22% Obamacare premium increases, Gruber stated, “the 22% increase, let’s remember who that applies to. That applies to a very small fraction of people, who have to buy insurance without the subsidies that are available.”… | 1real |
Legionaries of Christ hit by new scandal as priest fathers two | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Legionaries of Christ, a Catholic religious order which fell into disgrace after the discovery that its founder was a sexual abuser with a secret family, has been hit by fresh scandal with revelations that the head of its Rome seminary fathered two children. The order said in a statement late on Friday that Father Oscar Turrion would leave the priesthood. It also released a letter by Turrion in which he asks forgiveness for the scandal ... forgiveness for my bad example and the negative witness I have given . The Legionaries is a conservative order of Roman Catholic priests. Turrion was rector of the Pontifical International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae, a seminary for men in the order studying for the priesthood in pontifical universities in Rome. The Legionaries said Turrion, a 49-year-old Spaniard, told his superiors in March that he had just had a daughter. A new rector was appointed and Turrion was ordered not to practice his ministry publicly. On Thursday Turrion acknowledged that he had previously had a son with the same woman several years ago, the order said. This meant he had a secret family while he was head of the seminary. In his letter, Turrion said he did not come clean earlier out of weakness and shame and that he had not used any of the seminary s money, supporting his family with donations from friends. He said he had lost his grounding and fell in love with a woman during the period of turmoil that hit the order when revelations about its founder, Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, came to light between 2006 and 2014. Maciel founded the order in Mexico in 1941 and for decades the Vatican dismissed accusations by seminarians that he had abused them sexually, some when they were as young as 12. The order was run like a cult, former members said, with rules forbidding any criticism of the founder or questioning his motives. Maciel enjoyed the support of the late Pope John Paul and was spared official censure for years despite what critics say was overwhelming proof of his crimes. In 2006, a year after John Paul s death, a Vatican investigation concluded that the previously denied accusations of molestation were true. Pope Benedict ordered Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penitence . After Maciel s death in 2008, Vatican investigations found that he had also fathered several children with at least two women, visited them regularly and sent them money. He also used drugs. The Vatican appointed a commissioner to run the order and phase in a new leadership, rejecting suggestions from critics that it be suppressed. New constitutions for the order were approved in 2014 but the Vatican still has a special representative in its leadership. Turrion s case was very similar to that of Thomas Williams, a former Legionaries member who left the priesthood in 2013 after it was discovered that he had fathered a child with the daughter of the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Williams, an American moral theologian, kept his family secret while continuing to teach at the Legionaries university in Rome, appearing often on U.S. television. | 0fake |
Saudi Arabia says Shi'ite judge killed by kidnappers | RIYADH (Reuters) - A Shi ite Muslim judge abducted in eastern Saudi Arabia a year ago has been killed by his kidnappers, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Monday. Sheikh Mohammed al-Jirani disappeared last December from outside his home in the Qatif region, which is home to about one million Shi ite Muslims in the predominantly Sunni Muslim kingdom. SPA said a security officer and one of the kidnappers were killed in a clash on Dec. 19 and a second kidnapper was arrested. It also said the judge s body had been found in the remote farming district of Awamiya but did not say when he had been killed. Authorities said earlier this year that three men being sought in connection with the abduction were already on a wanted list for their suspected involvement in terrorist attacks in eastern Saudi Arabia. Since 2011 the region has been shaken by frequent, though mostly peaceful, protests by the Shi ite minority. However, Shi ite militants, angry over what they say is repression of their community, have sometimes attacked Saudi security forces in the oil-producing Eastern Province where Qatif is located. | 0fake |
Trump expected to delay U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected this week to delay relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, U.S. officials and a diplomatic source said on Wednesday, despite his campaign pledge to go ahead with the controversial move. With a deadline for a decision looming, Trump is likely to continue his predecessors’ policy of signing a six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the embassy be transferred to Jerusalem, an action that would have complicated his efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the sources said. Trump has yet to make his decision official but is required by law to act by Friday, according to one U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Barring a last-minute surprise, Trump is expected to renew the waiver. His administration intends to make clear, however, that Trump remains committed to the promise he made during the 2016 presidential campaign, though it will not set a specific timetable for doing so, officials said. Asked whether Trump would sign the waiver, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Wednesday: “Once we have a decision, we’ll put it out,” adding there would be “something very soon on that.” While there have been divisions among Trump’s aides on the issue, the view that appears to have prevailed is that the United States should keep the embassy in Tel Aviv for now to avoid angering the Palestinians, Arab governments and Western allies while the president seeks to nurture peace efforts. Trump avoided any public mention of a potential embassy move during his visit to Israel and the West Bank in May. Despite that, most experts are skeptical of Trump’s chances for achieving a peace deal that eluded other U.S. presidents. The status of Jerusalem is one of the major stumbling blocks. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move not recognized internationally. Israel considers all of the city its indivisible capital. PRO-ISRAEL RHETORIC The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Jerusalem is home to holy sites of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions. Shifting the U.S. Embassy would be widely seen as Washington’s recognition of the Israeli position on Jerusalem’s status, which successive U.S. administrations have said must be decided in negotiations between the two sides. Former President Barack Obama renewed the waiver in December, setting off a six-month clock for Trump. CNN was first to report that Trump was expected to sign the waiver. On the campaign trail, Trump’s pro-Israel rhetoric raised expectations that he would act quickly to move the embassy. But after he took office in January, the issue lost momentum as he met Arab leaders who warned it would be hard to rejuvenate long-stalled peace efforts unless he acted as a fair mediator. Some of Trump’s top aides have pushed for him to keep his campaign promise, not only because it would be welcomed by most Israelis but to satisfy the pro-Israel, right-wing base that helped him win the presidency. The State Department, however recommended against an embassy move, one U.S. official said. “The president is still committed to moving the embassy,” one U.S. official said. “It’s not a question of whether but when it will be done.” The Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by Congress in 1995 mandating relocation of embassy to Jerusalem allows the president to waive the requirement in accordance with U.S. national security interests. | 0fake |
Woman Who Wants To Control Texas Education Thinks Preschool Makes Kids Gay (IMAGE) | There s currently a woman who wants to be selected to serve on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). Her name is Mary Lou Bruner, and she s about as far-right in ideology as one could ever seem to imagine. She s an ultra-right-wing Christian conservative who believes heavily in conspiracy theories, and her latest theory is just a bonkers as all her others.According to Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, Bruner is now putting out the theory that preschool programs are a plot to make children gay. Not only that, but to also turn kids against their parents who do not accept Islam and gay marriage. Smith, who seems to have access to the SBOE hopeful s private account, tweeted out a screen-capture of Bruner s Facebook post declaring this absurd theory. In the post, Bruner said: The GLBTQ agenda is one of the big reasons the liberals want 3-year-old and 4-year-old children to attend public school Pre-K programs. The federal government wants to indoctrinate the little children, teaching them a homosexual marriage is just as good as a marriage with a father and a mother. The federal government wants to push its socialistic and multicultural agenda onto these impressionable litter children who believe anything they are told.Children who get government indoctrination in Pre-K are going to become confused about their sexuality, and they are going to become rebellious because the government curriculum plans to tell the children not to listen to their parents if their parents tell them something different. The government curriculum plans to tell the little children their parents are ignorant, and they don t understand because of the way the parents were taught. Or the little children will be told their parents are bigoted because they do not accept Islam and gay marriage. Likely #SBOE member Mary Lou Bruner: pre-K is feds indoctrinating kids to make them sexually confused #txlege pic.twitter.com/ngMtsOq1S3 Evan Smith (@evanasmith) April 22, 2016The fact that this woman is running for the Texas State Board of Education and could very well have influence over what is taught is absolutely terrifying. Bruner is clearly a few sandwiches short of a picnic.Newsflash to Bruner: you re not taught to be gay, and teaching acceptance and love of others is actually the Christian thing to do. As a person who was raised in a very evangelical Christian home and is also a lesbian, let me tell you, if you re taught to be gay, where the hell did I learn it? The only learned behavior Bruner is promoting is wanting to teach kids to be discriminatory, vindictive, and hateful of anyone who doesn t fit her definition of how to live one s life.Bruner needs to stay as far away from educational decisions as possible. She needs to keep her crazy conspiracy theories within the confines of her own home. She s truly what is actually dangerous, not kids getting early childhood education. For goodness sake.Featured Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images | 1real |
A Myterous Ice Monster Has Been Filmed In Alaska - What Is It? | A Myterous Ice Monster Has Been Filmed In Alaska - What Is It? # thinkbig 50
Witness report: Our employees did not investigate. It’s kind of far out in the middle of the river. Video was taken right by our BLM Fairbanks District Office facing downstream. We’re not sure what it is. We’re letting you all be the judge. Tags | 1real |
Killer of South African anti-apartheid leader Hani denied parole | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s Justice Minister Michael Masutha on Friday denied parole to the killer of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani, saying he had not expressed remorse for the murder. Janusz Walus has served more than 20 years of a life sentence for the assassination of Hani, who was a senior member of the now-ruling African National Congress (ANC) and head of the South African Communist Party. Walus, 64, emigrated from communist Poland in 1981 and became involved in far-right politics in South Africa. He shot Hani outside the anti-apartheid activist s home in 1993. The killing triggered nationwide riots that threatened to derail South Africa s 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy after decades of white apartheid rule. Masutha also blocked Walus parole application in 2015, a decision that triggered several court challenges. The Supreme Court of Appeal referred the matter back to the justice minister for reconsideration. Masutha said on Friday a psychologist s report had highlighted Walus political ideology as a risk factor. The report said Walus expressed remorse for the fact that the victim s children are fatherless and the wife is a widow . However, he showed no remorse for murdering Chris Hani. He still rationalizes his actions and insists that they were politically motivated. His ideas about communism still stand. | 0fake |
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